Here in Pittsburgh, we started out our year with some awesome, albeit disturbing temperatures. On Sunday January 6, it was 58 degrees, Monday 62 and Tuesday reached a record high of 69 degrees. I welcomed the weather with the same enthusiasum as most people in the area. We took a walk outside, went to visit Tom's sister and her kids and went to the park there. Hunter had been bouncing off the walls because the weather had been so lousy, we hadn't been outside for weeks. This is something one grows accustomed to living in the Northeast. I accepted the weather here for what it is when I was quite young, maybe nine or ten. That's when I began to really love books. However, from a four-year-olds perspective, it totally stinks. 
The kids had a blast at the park and didn't want to come home, unfortunately it gets dark at 5:30 in the afternoon and our daylight had run out. It was fun while it lasted. On Wednesday the temperatures dropped back down to about normal for this time of year.
I have always been one to worry about the condition of our planet. Since having children, the threat seams more real. We try to be more concious of our choices at home. We switched to all energy saving light bulbs, have energy efficient appliances, have only one car, wash our clothes in cold water, eat less meat. I find myself wondering, do these small things really matter? We're just one family. How many other young parents wonder about the condition in which we're leaving the planet for their unborn grandchildren? I could sit and think about it for hours, but time is a huge commodity in my life right now and this will have to be the extent of it for now.
This is my niece Emily. She is a 6-year-old ballerina, princess, first grader and big sister. She is already dreaming about her wedding and already thinks boys are "cute". Does this seem crazy to anyone else? She and Hunter are good pals and she loves to help me take care of her new baby cousins. Olivia will have someone to show her the ropes of being a girly girl, which I am thankful for. I was always tomboyish growing up. So far, these are Olivia's favorite toys: Hunter's action figures, mainly Wolverine.
Here she sits in her Bumbo, and happily chews on the deadly claws of Hunter's favorite X-Men.
The dilemma here is, I have a serious objection to Barbie dolls. I don't want my little girl thinking her body should look like Barbies, and if it doesn't, for her to have a poor self-image. (Just call me Lisa Simpson) Is it even possible to aviod Barbie all together when raising a girl? Am I just worrying about it too much? Afterall, she isn't even six months old yet!
It doesn't take very long to go from this:
To this:
Hunter is currently refusing haircuts and naps. The haircut thing won't really bother me until it's summer. He told me he wanted to grow his hair long so he can style it like Wolverine. Hunter has had a buzz cut since he was an infant. It's much more manageable in the morning, requires no maitenance and never goes out of style. A sensible choice on my part. I guess letting your child express his individuality is part of being a parent. There have to be some choices you let them make on their own so they can grow as a decision maker, and so you can make the choices on the things that are really important when they are so young.
It's the cutting out of the nap that is really disturbing to me. I guess I'll just have to be happy that he takes a nap about 3 days out of 7. It's pretty hard to refuse a nap once you're already passed out on the couch (Thanks to Maurice Sendak and my favorite show Little Bear).
Gryffin and Olivia both think the world of Hunter. It's so much fun to watch their faces when he's near them. They laugh histerically at just about anything he does. It must be such a confidence booster for Hunter. He loves them just the same and rarely ever gets annoyed that they need so much of my time. He's always there to help me even if sometimes it is begrudgingly. I really do have three amazing kids...
Here's Hunter looking like a really big kid (with shaggy hair).
