Life - an update

I've been MIA here for awhile - almost a month. Life has been busy. I'll try to give a brief update on all facets.
C. is now 1 year old - her birthday was the 19th of January. We had quiet day at home - my mom was in town visiting (more on that in a minute) so we stayed home, and spent the day opening presents and eating cake. It was a fun day - she was thrilled with the wrapping paper. It was so cute to watch her walk up to one present, tear off a piece of wrapping paper, then turn around to another present, do the same thing, etc. Wrapped empty boxes would have been enough for her, I think. The toys inside were a bonus.
I think I had forgotten just how much fun it is to have a one-year-old around. I could just sit and watch C. all day - she toddles around (we jokingly call it the drunken sailor walk, but she is now faster on her feet than crawling - look out, world!) and finds something she thinks is just fascinating. It could be a toy, a scrap of paper on the floor, a pen, who knows. She will pick this amazing object up, and look to another person in the room and just grin the biggest grin you have ever seen and walk up to that person to show off her treasure. She offers it to you for a brief (very, very brief) second and then goes off to find either another admirer or another treasure. The world is all new in her eyes.
C. also adores beyond belief her big sister M. M. is alternately appreciative and annoyed by this adoration - but C. loves to follow M. around and generally get right in the middle of whatever M. is doing and cause havoc. Balancing including C. with allowing M. time alone is a big job these days, but it's fun.
One year olds are also so much easier than infants to care for. C. still needs lots of attention, but she will play quietly for a few minutes while I change laundry or clean something or do dishes - I have hope the house will look reasonable again at some point in the relatively near future. I have said before that there is a good reason the first year of parenting goes by so fast - and I love babies, but they are exhausting.
M. is now sleeping much better overall. Her sleep is still disturbed by changes in routine, like visiting grandparents, but more often than not she sleeps well and calmly, which is a huge milestone and huge relief for us. She is so independent now, and loves to help. And she actually can help - she cleans up when she spills her drink and I don't have to sneak in a clean-up of her attempt anymore. She loves to move clothes from the washer to the dryer and the dryer to the basket to fold and is quite good at sorting and matching socks and folding her own underwear. She really can dress herself and do the tasks of getting ready for bed - we still have to keep on top of her with reminders of what comes next, but she can do 90 percent of it herself, which is huge (especially on nights when W. has meetings and I'm doing bedtime solo).
We have made the decision of what to do for M. for school in the fall in the last month. Some background on this is needed for it all to make sense, I think. M. has been going to a good preschool located in a Methodist church in our neighborhood. She adored it last year when she was in the 2 1/2 to 3 year old class. This year she is in the 3 to 4 year old class and it hasn't been as great a year. She still has a good teacher - the same one as last year actually - but there have been some issues with negative behavior from other kids effecting her and she is not being challenged there. This school follows the "let kids play and don't force academics on them too early" school of thought, which I generally agree with - but M. is ready for more. We are realizing more and more how smart she is - and she wants to learn. I don't see why we should hold her back from learning if she is eager and excited to do it. So, we are moving her to another preschool for next year. The new school does phonics instruction with the class she will be in, as well as basic math and the typical preschool play time and snack, etc. They are more of a "challenge the kids in a supportive environment" sort of school. It will be more like kindergarten but in a 2 day a week preschool schedule. We think it will be a good balance for her energy levels (she is an introvert like her parents and too much time in groups really wears her out) and need for stimulation. The 2 day a week schedule also means we will have Fridays as family days again - that is W's day off and we've missed having that time together this year.
In addition to the preschool in the fall, we have also officially decided to have me start homeschooling M. on the days she's not in preschool. We're going to start kindergarten work and see what happens. This is for several reasons - including that we are seriously considering homeschooling for M. for elementary school and feel like we need to try it out before we have to do anything official. Worst case scenario - M. learns nothing from me next year - she won't be behind a bit because age-wise she won't be eligible for kindergarten until a year from this fall (Fall 2009) Also, if we find homeschooling makes me even more crazy than I already am and we can't swing it as a family - we have time to make other plans for the future. Equally important, we believe M. is really ready for more - and that she will really enjoy doing school with Mom.
On to other topics. We had a nice visit with my MIL right after Christmas. While she was here, she taught M. how to play Rummikub, which is an important family game in W's family. It really amazed her and us how quickly M. picked it up - and how quickly C. can destroy a game set up. (if you don't know it, this is a numbers game - there are tiles with numbers 1-13 in 4 colors and each player draws 14 to start. You must have runs of at least 3 to play - either of one color in numerical order or the same number and different colors. M. caught on right away and is surprisingly good considering her age). I really do love my MIL - she is a real example to me of what I hope to be like at her age - she started her PhD in Russian Lit. in her late 50's and is currently teaching (Serbo-Croatian this year) and starting her dissertation. She also teaches adult Sunday School, has lots of friends, sews, and does lots of other things.
Then, a week after MIL left, my mom came to visit - and to house-hunt. She has decided that Indiana - Utah is too much space between her and her precious granddaughters, so she is in the process of moving out here to be close to us. She found a condo she loves, made an offer, and it was accepted in less than 24 hours - this week. So, she is now starting to seriously hunt for a job - she has several possibilities - and plan her move.
On the church front, I have decided that for now I will not blog about it. The church world in this state is just too small for me to have any illusion of real illusion of anonymity. (There are 23 Presbyterian churches in Utah - and if you know them much at all you can tell which one is being referred to). W's church - and mine, as I am now a parish associate there - is starting to face some real issues that are bringing about conflict. It is hard - very hard, and frustrating at times - but W and I believe that the church will be the better for getting through all this muck. Eventually. I won't say more here, but prayers for the church would be appreciated. On a good church note - visitors are increasing. Another pastor in the valley commented to us that he has never served somewhere and seen so many visitors. Each week, he said, new people just keep coming through the door - people who want to hear the gospel. Most have a very small connection to his church - but they come anyway. And many keep coming. It's happening at our church, too - and it is really cool to see. I don't want to get into an anti-mormon rant here, but the message of the mormon church is, to me at least, profoundly un-Christian. There is a huge segment of society here that doesn't get grace at all - and many are hungry for that message. It is awe-inspiring to watch - and to know that lives are really being changed by the gospel.
I have some more thoughts about this blog and what I want it to be, but it is now past midnight my time and anyone who has read all of this deserves a medal. I'll save the rest for later - and I hope it's soon.