Miranda's 5th Birthday and Interview 2019

Miranda is a pretty confident little preschooler. She's very different than James was at this age, she's still working on the letters of the alphabet and counting (though she's really interested in math) but she always knows what she wants and uses some of the biggest words to demand it.

She didn't have a party this year even though James did, in part, because James had to wait until he was 8 for a friends' party, so it seems fair that she wait until she's at least 6, and also in part because she won't be going to school with any of the kids in her preschool next year. So we promised her a party next year when she's in Kindergarten. She still got her very own cake, and a bunch of presents she wanted so she wasn't sad about it. She even got the Barbie camper she's been obsessed with for almost a year.

5 years complete!

Barbie Camper Joy!

Taking the new Barbie camper to the new Barbie supermarket

Birthday Interview, 2019
What's your name? Miranda.
Do you know how to spell it? M-i-r-a-n-a
What's my name? Ericka
What do you call me? Mama

What's my husband's name? Kevin
   What do you call him? Dada.
How old are you? Five.
How old do you think I am? Don't know.  (I am 40.)
How old is Dada? Eight. (He is 39.)
How old is Jame? 8. (Correct.)

What is your favorite animal? Panda bears
What is your favorite color? Rainbow

What is your favorite food? Tacos
    What's your favorite breakfast? Cereal
    What's your favorite lunch? Chocolate toast (toast with Nutella spread)
    What's your favorite dinner? Tacos.

What is your favorite book? They're all my favorite book. (I hear you! She seems to really like The Very Ugly Bug, The Monster at the End of this Book, and lately, Sneezy the Snowman.)
What is your favorite song? Heartbeats only happen. (She means Big Love, Small Moments by JJ Heller)
What is your favorite toy? I have more than one favorite. I think my Barbie camper. (It's probably her Barbies and drawing stuff. She uses both every single day.)
Do you sleep with any toys at night? Sometimes only.

What is your favorite show? Boss Baby (She's also been obsessed with this baking competition lately called Nailed It.)
Which is your favorite movie?  Boss Baby, and the Minions

Are you funny? Yes.
How do you know? Cuz you tell me that I'm funny.

Who is your best friend? Don't have one. (It's probably Sonya, Ava, Mollin, and Elle at PreK.)
Do you like school? Yes.
What do you like about school? I like that we make crafts together.
Who are your teachers? Miss Weaver, Miss Heidi, Miss Heather, I can't remember anybody else. 

Do you love me? Yes! 
Do you love Dada? Yes! 
Do you love James? Yes!

What does it mean that you love someone? It means that you like them and you take good care of them.
Do you want to get married one day? No.
Why not? I don't know.
Do you want have kids one day? No.
I thought you wanted to be a mama? I do, but I don't want to have kids, because kids are a lot of work.

What's your favorite thing about Grandma? She makes us treats and we go to the beach with her.

What do you want to want to be when you grow up? A scientist. I want to be an artist. I want to be everything.

How come? Scientists discover cool things, and I do a lot of art so it makes sense I should be an artist when I grow up and I also like art.
Do you know what's dada's job is? Writing books and being a dad.

What do you like better the park, the library, the Zoo, or the Children's Museum? Don't have one [I like better].
What do you like to do with Dada? Play with him.
What do you play with him? Barbies.
What do you like to do with Mama? Play with her.
What do you play with me? Barbies.

What else do you think I should ask? Nothing.
Tell me something about your ballet class. We do ballet there.
What do you like better, dance or swim class? Swimming.
Do you like Omaha? Yeah.

What do you think the meaning of life is? Meaning? I don't know what that means.
I mean, what do you think the point of life is? To stay alive.

James's 5th Birthday Interview and Pre-K Party 2016

James had a little birthday celebration at school on the actual day of his birthday. We got him some Snoopy and Woodstock cupcakes and his teacher made him a Snoopy hat. So nice! James says Woodstock is his favorite and insists that he's not a bird but a fish. Oh well.

James's PreK class the day he turned 5!

Snoopy cupcakes

Since James's fourth birthday he's matured in so many ways that sometimes I forget that he's really still a little kid. He can read and he can speak and reason the way that I see slightly older kids doing, so I forget that he's still a very sensitive "little" preschooler.

Close up! Dillon, Ellie, James and Lexi

James's Happy Birthday Cupcake-face

Interview, 4/27/16
What's your name? James.
What's my name? Mama.
What's my husband's name? I don't know.
   The guy who left for work this morning? Dada. You had to give me a hint.
How old are you? Five.
How old do you think I am? Seventy-six? (I am 37.)
How old is Dada? Fifty-five. (He is 36.)
How old is Miranda? Almost 3. (Nope, just turned 2 last week.)

What is your favorite animal? An elephant.
What is your favorite color? Green, yellow, and pink.

What is your favorite food? Apples!
    What's your favorite breakfast? Yogurt.
    What's your favorite lunch? Pickles.
    Do you have anything with the pickles? Yes. Cheese sandwich.
    What's your favorite dinner? Pasta. And chicken nuggets!

What is your favorite book? Hm... tick tock tick tock... I know! I Love You Stinky Face.
What is your favorite song? Rock-a-bye-baby.
What is your favorite toy? Play-Doh. (Currently playing with Play-Doh.)
Do you sleep with any toys at night? Um, Fudgie. (In a "duh, mom, type voice)
What is your favorite show? (Thinks about it.) She-zow.
Which is your favorite movie?  Like at the movie theater? Inside Out. I see it at the movie theater. Movie theaters have all different movies, and one time I saw Inside Out at the movie theater. You took me. Sometimes we see movies and the movie theater right? Wait, what are you typing?
Me: Everything you're saying!

Are you funny? Yes.
How do you know? Since you always say that.
Do I say you're funny or do I say I'm funny? I am sometimes.

Who is your best friend? Adrianna. (Girl at school.)
Do you like school? Yes.
What do you like about school? To play and I like show n' tell.
Who are your teachers? Miss Jackie and Miss Tasha. Oh yeah, Miss Jill. Well there's four, so there's one more. Wait, it's Miss Patti!

Do you love me? Yes! 
Do you love Dada? Yes! 
Do you love Miranda? Mm, a little bit. (I laugh.) What? She does bad things. I call her Bad News.

What does it mean that you love someone? That you like someone and that you like them a lot.

Do you want to get married one day? Yes.
What do you think the person that you marry should be like? Ellen. (8.5 year-old girl that lives on Cape Cod.) 
Do you think Ellen would make a good a wife? Yes.
Why? Because she's my BFF. Do you know what a BBF is mama?
Best Friends Forever, that's a good reason. Yeah!

What's your favorite thing about Grandma? That she's really nice.
What's your favorite thing about Nana? That she's also really nice to me.
What about Bob? The same thing?

What do you want to want to be when you grow up? A teacher.
How come? Because I want to teach people work. Dada's a teacher.
What kind of a teacher is he? A worker teacher and I want to be a teacher.
What does Dada teach? Work. Wait, what does Dada teach really?
He teaches people to write stories. So he's a writing teacher? You can erase work, and write writing teacher.

What do you like better the beach, the library, the Aquarium, or the playground? The library, because we can play in the children's room and there's lots of toys.

What do you like to do with Dada? Work.
What do you mean? I used the sucky thing when the mud got in the pipes. (James has been using a siphon to help Kevin fix the sprinklers.)
What do you like to do with Mama? Play. What do you like to play with me? Legos.
What do you like to play with Grandma? I like to play with her iPad.
What do you like to play with Nana? I like to show her Rope Rescue. (Game he plays on TV Roku.)
What do you like to play with Bob? Pretty much everything.
What do you like to play with Dada? You mean Work? 
No, you play with Dada sometimes. What do you like to play with him? She-zow. (They act out James's favorite superhero scenes.)

What else do you think I should ask? What Elmo is.
What is Elmo? A monster.

I thought of another question, what do you think the meaning of life is? Don't know.
I mean, what do you think life is for? It's a game?

James is 3.5 years old 2014

James 3rd Birthday interview

James's interview at 2.5 years old

James wasn't interview ready at 2 years old, but he was starting to use sentences. 

Our 5.5 Wedding Anniversary 2015

Our five-year wedding anniversary was in June of last year, but Miranda was only six weeks old and I was nursing so we really weren't going anywhere to celebrate. At first, we were at peace with this, but 5 years is kind of fun, and when Miranda started sleeping through the night (!) we started looking at some options. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Grandma- thank you, thank you, Grandma.

"Before" picture by Grandma

Kevin found a new Argentinian restaurant he wanted to try in the city, and had the smart idea to book us at a fancy hotel for the night so we wouldn't have to come back to Long Island for the night and listen to the children scream. We set out for our "Anniversitine" or our anniversary celebrated closer to Valentine's than to our actual anniversary.

Since our dinner reservation was in the Lower East Side, we found a random bar to get pre-dinner drinks. We wandered into El Sombrero and it was pretty awesome. The music was straight out of my grandparent's living room, and the drink I got was great: tequila, cointreau, lime juice, passion & guava puree.

Tequila drink at The Sobrero

For dinner we went to Balvanera, an Argentinian (steak) restaurant and wine bar. We had the most amazing appetizer- Empanadas Caseras filled with hand cut roast beef. YUM! Kevin got the strip rare, and I got the skirt steak (entraña) medium. I know my choice sounds kind of gross to American ears, but trust me, it wasn't. Hispanic people pound flank steak into sweet submission. They were a little heavy on the steak but delicious. Both steaks came with thin fries. We washed it down with A Lisa Malbec from Patagonia.

After dinner picture

After dinner we weighed going back to the hotel, getting a drink near the hotel, or getting a drink near where we were on the Lower East Side. Kevin suggested The Magician, so we popped in for "one drink." Right away we spotted Briggs at the bar, who promptly told us that Nick and Emily were also coincidently there with another group of people. All of Kevin's friends like that bar, so it wasn't the craziest thing that's ever happened but it was kind of weird. Especially the part where Kevin and I were out together. We had a lot of fun running into everyone. We also ran into Kevin's college ballroom dance partner (there with Nick and Emily). I didn't even know he'd taken a dance class ever!

Nick, Kevin, me, Emily, Briggs at The Magician on Saturday night

We headed back to the hotel, but we were remiss to give up the good times so quickly so we stopped at bar near the hotel we'd never been to before, Session House, rumored to have a really good Guinness pour, which Kevin confirmed. They had a musician who just happened to play Miranda's early favorite song, You're So Vain (though now it's Itsy Bitsy Spider).

In the lobby of the Waldorf on Sunday morning

To top it all off, we stayed at the Waldorf Astoria over night so we didn't have to drive or take the train back at night, or take care of kids in the morning. The hotel itself is gorgeous, and I want to come back for the super luxurious Sunday brunch sometime. Our room was a bit more sedate, but it was in a corner away from any potential source of noise, and our window framed a view of the Chrysler building which Kevin loved. He loved sleeping even more, and though he assured me he didn't even know how to sleep past 8 am anymore, I'm pretty sure he would have slept through the check out time if I hadn't woken him up a bit before. I did wake up a bit earlier so I luxuriated in bed and finished my super long book. We grabbed some New York bagels for everyone and headed home. Great anniversary. Anniversitine. Whatever.

• The actual day of our 5th wedding anniversary at home in Long Island 2014
• Our 4th wedding anniversary on Cape Cod (Summer Shanty) 2013
• Our 3rd wedding anniversary in Martha's Vineyard 2012
• Our 2nd wedding anniversary at home in Long Island 2011 (because again, new baby)
• Our 1st wedding anniversary in Niagara Falls  (but also in Brooklyn) 2010

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary 2014

Even though our 5th anniversary was the least eventful- we just stayed in Long Island, took the kids to the park, and ordered some Indian food - it was also the best. That's because I'm psyched about being a family of four. I've never been in a family of four, and I love it.

The 4 Clous on our 5th Wedding Anniversary

Five years is always a good time to check the status of things. If someone had asked us what our 5-year plan was when we got married, happy and "2 kids" would have top of my list. Granted I would have also had "student debt paid off," "house purchase," and "wedding weight" on my list but it's no fun if I have nothing left for my 10-year goals right? The state of this union is strong!

The kids are awesome.

At the park

James drew our family! L-R: James, Me, Miranda, and Kevin

When we went to Sunny and Trey's wedding three months after we were first married, Sunny and Trey asked us to give "newlywed" advice. Being so new to the institution of marriage we gave advice about relishing the feeling of being a newlywed. Our attempts to stay in this mindset must have been somewhat effective because my friend Rachel remarked almost a year later that she couldn't believe we were still in the "honeymoon phase."

Picture of us at Trey and Sunny's wedding, September 2009

By the time our friends Lukas and Sarah were getting married a year after us, I warned Sarah that the first year might involve a "testing" of the new limits of the relationship- sticking your toe just over the line to see what you can get away with now that the other person is stuck with you! Of course, shortly thereafter you remember that you don't want to push the other person's limits because you love the person and want them to be happy. That was in June of 2010 and that was before we had kids and before losing my dad.

Brooklyn, June 2010

Here are my thoughts on marriage after another 4 years: the most important part of marriage is picking someone good in the first place. Obviously I love Kevin, but life is really hard, harder than you think it will be when you're young, and so sometimes I think that it's even more important that I like him. If you respect and even admire the person your spouse is, it's easy to keep loving them and to love them even more as the years go by. If you don't exactly respect them, then it's easy to forget to love them over time.

 

Street fair in our town, June 2011

Here is the three-part test I would apply for marriage: 1) Do you love them? (Duh.) 2) Would you go into business with this person? (If not, why not? Yeah, that's going to be a problem in marriage too.) 3) If you want kids, do you want your kids to be exactly like this person? Because you actually don't have any control over that, and your kids will carry your heart around forever. That's basically it.

Martha's Vineyard, June 2012

Of course, Kevin did and would pass my test, but not just pass it, he exceeds it. I think he's awesome. He can do pretty much anything he sets out to do, he's hilarious, loyal, and great at all the relationships in his life: husband, father, son, brother, and friend. He's smart. He's soulful. He's cooperative but challenging in the right proportions. I will never win the lottery (mostly because I don't play the lottery) but I hit the spouse jackpot.

Vegas Baby! June 2013

I know a lot of people say they love their spouse more than the day that got married, but here is some evidence that I do. Kevin didn't just sit with me when my dad was sick, he did everything he could possibly do to help. He talked to doctors, he weighed options when the rest of us were panicked, he helped my mom even on days I couldn't make it to the hospital. I've talked about this before, but especially now that we have kids, it's a comfort to know that I have someone I can rely on to be a good parent, give good advice, and stand up when things get really hard, like when they're sick.

These days instead of trying to toe the line I try to stay far away from the line. Like in another room if I can. But sometimes I get tired/hungry/uncaffeinated and find myself in the general area. Hopefully, I'll get better at that in the next 5 years. In the meantime you can enjoy Kevin's posts about my ridiculous complaints. When they stop, you'll know I've mastered that. Anyway, 5 years! Woo!!

Isaac Turns Five 2013!

Isaac is one of my friend-babies that was born in the pre-blog era so he didn't have a post to celebrate his arrival in the world. I can't believe he's already turned 5! I still remember me and Kevin rushing over to meet him for the first time, and how awkward I felt holding a baby back then. He's had numerous celebrations this week with his school, his family, and even with some special sushi, but here's one more little guy. You're every bit as awesome as your mother says you are!

Isaac born!

Meeting Isaac, August 2008

Meeting his sister Eleanor, 2010

Helping Rachel with her 30 birthday candles, 2010

At James's first birthday, 2012

Family photo at the Bronx Zoo 2012

Close-up of Isaac 2012

It's been too long since I saw you last! For your birthday, maybe I can take some more cute photos of you and your family next time I see you.

Five Years Since We Met 2011

On Saturday, Kevin and I celebrated five years since we first met at a coffee shop in Charlottesville called Mudhouse. I know that by now we should only be celebrating our wedding anniversary, but I can't quite let that day go.

I was terrifically excited about dating him by our second date. I once asked Kevin when he first "knew" and he said it was our sixth date (just 18 days after we met) when I volunteered to give blood with him and then almost passed out while donating. He took me back to my place and asked me to be his girlfriend. A little more than a month after we met, we exchanged I love yous. I had been waiting impatiently for him to say it first.

The day before Kevin said I love you. Yes, I am making "jazz hands"

We had been dating just under four months when we spent our first Thanksgiving together with his mother and brother. (I often tell the story of how the first words out of his mother's mouth when we first met were to ask me if I wanted children!) We were engaged by the following Thanksgiving in 2007.

Hiking the day after Thanksgiving 2006

What's the point of all this? I have a lot of friends I've heard wonder out loud how you know when you found the one. When I was single I often wondered this myself, and I was super frustrated by married people answering, "you just know." It sounded phony. It sounded like they couldn't think of a single redeeming quality about their significant other, or that they had chosen their partner pretty much at random. But when I dated Kevin I suddenly understood. The way you know is that for the first time, you feel confident that this is the person you choose to love. It's the confidence that distinguishes it from your other relationships. In other words, you know because for the first time you don't "think," you "know." That's why people say they "just know." I know it so hard that my only confusion is why every woman isn't also in love with Kevin. Maybe they just don't realize what I have going here.

And here is the gratuitous photo of James (on the five year anniversary of when we met):

He would be waving if he knew how to wave.