357. Christmas

We came to Virginia's Friday night, late because they did some last minute shopping. Virginia slept with Grunty. Harry, Angie, AJ, Emma and Venus came over. Then Abuela and Abuelo, with Judy, Brian, Alba and Veronica. Then Victor and Janet. We had a nice meal, but William was tired, and I went to bed with him. He woke up later, and we found him crying on top of the stairs. Someone turned down the monitor. So William was awake for the festivities.

Somehow they got Tim to dress up as Santa Claus. We took pictures. Abuela wanted to talk about baby Jesus, but the kids went a little nuts with the presents, and she sat down. I think next year we should prepare the children, so she can say her piece.

AJ, Venus and Brian were mobbing the presents so much, there was yelling back and forth, it was a bit too much for me, when the presents were opened. William got a present he liked, shapes that go into a board. He's enjoyed that one when he was being evaluated. He got cars, and a semi truck that holds cars. William and Andrew got all kinds of clothes. His great grandparents gave them some nice clothes, one of the pajamas glows in the dark. Venus got a cell phone for emergencies, and she was very excited. Everyone enjoyed the ball pit that Josephine sent over. Everyone wanted to play with Andrew's lay on your back and swat at things toy. We couldn't get the kids to stop, so we finally took up Andrew and let them play with it, until they got tired of it.

William got an activity center, and a big truck. I gave him some books, one of which I can not find. I gave everyone a calendar with photos of William, Andrew, Virginia and Aida, the godmother. I forgot that Harry might not appreciate that, but after some jokes he was gracious. I gave the women English readers Barbara Lewis Marco's The Little Book of Courage, a sweet little book. I gave everyone at work that too. I've got some more to give out too. I gave Diana tickets to see Avenue Q on Broadway. Brian liked his Mets jersey, and light saber, but the kids were left wanting more, and kept hovering around the presents, looking for more. Someone said, "one present at a time," but that rule did not hold for one second. I got many nice things, of which I am very thankful for. We watched Serenity the next day, a DVD Diana got me, and we all enjoyed that, though Diana took William away when it got violent. I hope everyone is happy with their presents. I was mostly focused on William. I think Andrew liked being held, he's never been held so much, he's usually put down occasionally. Alba was holding him a lot.

So Christmas Day, was nice. Harry and his brood slept over. Later Aida and Natasia came over, and we had a second Christmas. Natasia has a special place in my heart, and it was good to see her and Aida. Kay La is down in Florida with her sister. Lots of presents left for the people who were not there.

I had to work the 26th, but it was a quick ride in, and we got off early. I got home, excited to see my boys, Diana, everyone, and they were out shopping. So I have some time to read the paper and blog.

I had a real swelling up of holiday spirit, very positive emotions this year. I called all my buddhist friends, and the godfathers. I'm in the process of calling family now. I had a very nice conversation with Grandma in Georgia. I feel very lucky, I have such a rich life. I wish everyone happy holidays.

The irony, is that the nearest Buddhist holiday is Bodhi Day on the 19th, celebrated by the Zen tradition. I enjoy other's positive emotions and happiness. Because it means so much to people, there is a great atmosphere, and being around Diana's family is very comfortable now, I enjoy their company. I think William and Andrew make this time special, having children. It's been a good weekend.

356. Seven new teeth!

Diana says she noticed 7 new teeth today in William. Pop.

William said "Daddy", trying to get him to talk to me on the phone, and he went to the door expectant. That's usually when she says "Daddy".

William says "more" for bubbles, the speech therapist taught him that, maybe. She suggests I have a little story book about going home, to help him with the transition. He's been throwing tantrums when he comes home.

We got a present from Celeste, Steve and Katie last night. Tonight we got ones from Zane and Bridget, Kathy and Rich, and Ginger. Yeeha! We're off to New Jersey when Diana and Virginia get back from shopping. William has temporarily fallen asleep, which gives me the freedom to write this.

Happy holidays to everyone! I'm very excited to share this holiday with my two fine boys. William did not tear apart a gift we opened, but he did help me to rip it. I think this is going to be a learning Christmas for him. It's not really my holiday but I'm happy for everyone else, and I get caught up in the positive emotions and giving.

355. Transit Strike

NYC has a transit strike. The thing I noticed on my commute was there was an odd back up at Northern Blvd., where there usually is not one. But the strike really hit home, when I called Alyssa to see if she wanted to meet for diner before sangha night, and she said, "are you crazy, sangha night is canceled." Opse. Harry and Angie are working more with the stike, so Emma, Venus and AJ we sent to Abuela and Abuelo's house to be taken care of. That put a wringer into my night, it's very stressful for me to be listening to Emma crying on top of William and Andrew. Aida and Natasia didn't come over to visit, as promised this week, probably because of the strike, and we still have the inflatable bed out for them, from when they slept over Sunday night. But I did get to meditate, and then went over to Abuela's. I brought William home, and he got angry coming in. Diana says he wants to spend more time outdoors in the cold weather, but we also get into fights about how much to protect him from the cold. I don't want to put the plastic thing over his stroller. He shook my gloves off, preferring bare hands. He's fallen asleep around 10 pm both nights, which has been wonderful. So while Diana and I were not really effected in our commute, the effects spilled over onto others, and that effected us.

I'm getting William 8 matchbox cars, and 5 books. I figure Andrew will get some benefit out of them, too. We got a package from Gretchen today. We got something from Di and Wes in New Mexico. Grandma and Grandpa Parks sent some presents. We're waiting to open thing up Christmas Eve. It's all very exciting.

I'm just starting to read Raising A Sensory Smart Child by Biel and Peske. which they recommended for us to read for William.

Andrew seems to be growing and growing. He's huge, so adorable. William seems to be losing the toddler baby looks, he's more of a little boy now. William is so sweet and wonderful. I love them both very much.

354. Family

It's been a tough two weeks, with Diana going back to work. Taking William over in the morning is an added difficulty, and I'm often taking them home. William cries as he's handed over, which is heart breaking, and he doesn't like coming home either, he fights that. Diana has been surviving on almost no sleep, and I've gotten sick with the cough that William has. Diana's work, cut her off from health insurance, in a mistake. They have made other mistakes, which to me indicate that the board of education is not family friendly. The principle of her school is not family friendly. Both of those statements sound bizarre, but they are true.

There was an article in the times about buying electronic gadgets for children under three, that has made me more anxious about all the time William spends watching DVDs. The evaluation made me feel ignorant, that I had not been more in tune with teaching my son commands and supporting his language development more. I suppose you live and learn. I'm a little negative due to lack of sleep. I'm not sure how Diana does it and keep a positive attitude.

As hard and impossible as it all is, William and Andrew are cute and lovely. And will coo at you for hours. William is saying more and more words, running, giving his brother toys to play with. Poor William has been under the weather a little bit lately. They asked me to work another day at work, and I turned them down. I'll work a little extra in the evening if needed, but weekends are sacred, they are for my family.

353. Evaluation

We met for the formal evaluation today. He's going to get some speech services, which can't hurt him, will teach us, and can help to monitor him for other developments and needs. They recommended some books on sensory integration, that I'll be reading soon. I'm hopeful and upbeat. They say they can't predict anything based on what they see now. Twice a week, for 30 minutes, in our home.

352. Ceremony

We had a wonderful naming ceremony. Vajramati presided again. I haven't seen Linda in a while. Cliff came, but Vava was busy and came later. Trebor came with Jen. Sita brought Carol, who is in town hawking Windhorse books. Nice to meet her, and that she would join in. Seth came; I was too tired to go to his party unfortunately. Jamie came! Haven't seen him in ages. Alyssa held Andrew/Santikara the most. Harry, Victor, Janet, AJ, Venus, Natasia, Emma, Aida, Virginia, Abuela were also there. Twenty people! Nice healthy grub afterwards. Cliff and Vava stayed a while to hang out. I'm so touched that so many people made it out. Sita, Cliff, Harry, Victor and Abuela came to both ceremonies. And Vajramati too, he presided well over the happenings. He has much merit. Trebor took some video, you can see it at:

http://ia300231.us.archive.org/0/items/santi_kara_naming_ceremony/VCLP0114.MP4

351. Santikara

http://www2.bremen.de/info/nepal/Gallery-2/Ngor/6-18/NM-118-1.htm

The link is for the mandala of Santikara, which is Andrew's Buddhist name, for tomorrow's ceremony.

350. Freakenomics

Diana took William off for a retest of his hearing, because he was sick last time. They say nothing is wrong with his hearing.

Poor Andrew has a fever from the shots last night, and has been crying a lot. Diana ended up taking him back to the doctor for antibiotics, he's had a bad reaction to his inoculations.

The doctor gave him antibiotics and he's doing OK. Diana left him with me, to go get William, and we had some good times together. He didn't have a bad night, he seems to be OK. Cute as ever.

Abuela has a doctor's appointment, so no afternoon off. Janet is going to come over and learn where we are, and learn the public transportation routes. She's been getting rides from Victor.

I'm enjoying reading Freakenomics (thank you aunt di!). It has a lot about parenting. Nagabodhi has suggested that I try and write a FWBO parenting book, which is quite daunting, but an interesting idea. I might take a run at it, but not sure it will come to complete fruition.

My back is feeling better. Figures it's my last day off. It's been a wonderful time with the boys. Can't say I've spent more time with Diana even though we've been in the same room. We need to get alone.

349. Janet

Andrew weighs 15 lbs, is 24 inches long, and his head is 42 cm. A wacky mixture of measuring units, right? The doctor gave him 4 shots, and he had a fitful night with fever. William's flu shot booster was not in stock, so we have to take him back. We got our flu shot though, he had 2 adult doses.

William's throwing away garbage and diapers is not so specific and he's been throwing away other things. I don't mind the crayons, we can fish them out or just buy some new ones, but I hope he doesn't throw away something valuable and we don't notice. He doesn't yet have the concept of "trash" but he does like the approval we give him when he throws away a diaper.

Diana said Janet did well. We're probably going to pay her $250 a week to work from noon till 5:30. Harry is going to kick in some money because Emma is there often. Janet is Victor's wife, and she's from Columbia. She's learning English so she can return to her profession as a dentist. She's passed the exam, she just needs to take an oral exam in English. Maybe William will be going to preschool next year.

Diana is going over again today to help them transition for next week. I'm going to take the precious time to clean, read and nap. My back has ruined my plans to take William to museums all week. I need to take my car in too, some trouble starting and maybe I need shocks. My back only feels slightly better than it did Monday. Ugh. I hate it.