Go Patriots! (That was for you, Julie.)

So every time I go into iPhoto to download pictures for this blog, this one comes up at the very top.  It is from a beach trip we took with Kris and John a few years ago, and it makes me laugh every time I see it.  For those of you who know Tango, you know he can be a little nutso.  When Trey was about 4 months old, Tango started chewing on everything Trey had sucked on...basically A LOT of things were destroyed in our house.  Tango took a chewing reprieve, but he is back on it.  I thought it was because he is left alone for 9 hours a day at home, but on Saturday he chewed two separate things when I was gone for 30 minutes and then 90 minutes.  Little shit.  

This is the other picture that comes up at the top and is a good visual of what I do for my job.  I tested this kid a few years ago, and the shirt amused me so much I asked him if I could take a picture of it.  I don't think he really understood why it was funny for him to wear it, but it's so symbolic of the student with a learning disability who can be very intelligent but has working memory or retrieval problems and can't come up with the answer quickly or on demand.

Another thing I love about my job is the constant learning that goes on.  In my old job as a learning specialist I got great rewards from working with students and families and seeing constant progress.  In my new (ahem, 5 years now) job, I don't get that same type of personal reward, but the amount of personal learning I have is much greater.  Last week I heard about this opinion piece in the New York Times and sent it to the clinical psychologists who I work with.  Yesterday I read the reply from one of them who not only gave me his opinion but also some further links to read about the topic.  I really am pretty lucky with the constant learning that goes on in my job.

Now, on to family news....

Trey is getting better and better at his walking.  Randy took him to the zoo a few weeks ago and said he walked all over.  I took him to the park yesterday and he was a walking machine.  It's so fun, but IT'S SO SLOW!  I need to start factoring in extra time for how long it takes Trey to get anywhere.

Here are Trey and Oliver, Dyer's son, on a coffee date.  I think this picture may have been the only time the two boys sat still for the entire coffee date.

My two cute boys after another morning at OMSI

 I LOVE this picture of Randy and Trey.  They are watching an NFL playoff game, and Randy is introducing Trey to extra-buttered popcorn.  I know these two are going to be two peas in a pod.

I also really love this picture.  It is of the six offspring of myself and two of my oldest friends.  Kerri and I have known each other since the first grade, and Kelly and I met in the seventh grade.  The girls are lucky that I don't have a scanner (or the energy to go looking through old photo albums) because it would be really fun to post some old pictures of us.  We get together when we can, which is not often enough, but this time we included husbands and kids.  The three of us have seen each other through a lot and I am so lucky to still have these two women in my life.  (Editor's Note: I discovered at dinner that neither of them read my blog, so really I could say anything about them and they would never know.) 

Trey and I had a really great day yesterday.  It was so sunny out and we took full advantage.  First, I made homemade waffles and finally got my boy to eat something.  He's been sick with a cold and hasn't eaten much of anything for the past few days.  Then we went on a walk to the library and stopped to visit with some friends along the way.  Unfortunately, he fell asleep on the way home which kind of screwed up his nap.  

Next, we went on a playdate with Owen, an old friend from Trey's first daycare.  I love the picture below because he looks like such a little boy.

Trey and Owen had fun walking around at the park, but it was a little cold and once Trey's nose started running and wouldn't stop, I decided I wasn't making a good parenting choice and we headed back to Owen's house.

Owen and Trey had fun with Owen's cool toys.  They didn't play much "with" each other, but they played next to each other quite nicely.

Lastly, we went to Kris and John's for dinner and delicious margaritas.  Unfortunately, Trey was super whiny and tired and not the greatest dinner guest.  Thank goodness for Elmo and margaritas.  

Today is the Super Bowl and we are awaiting Julie, Tim and Grady's arrival.  I can't wait to get my hands on Grady.  I don't feel like I see him enough, but it is hard with working full time and our early curfew.  He is four months old already.  I will try and get some good pictures of him today and post them soon.

One of my favorite moments of the day is when I get to crawl into bed and open up my book to read.  I have read every night before bed for as long as I can remember, even when Trey was brand new.  I feel like I read a lot, but when I go back to my book journal where I list my books, it seems that I don't get through many books in a month.  I also find that since leaving Annie Bloom's, it requires a lot more effort to find good things to read.  One of my favorite websites is in support of independent booksellers.  I also like looking at Powell's for what is new and who is coming to read.  Reading is one of my favorite things, and I hope to pass this on to Trey.  This has moved to the top of my reading stack:

Trey doesn't require very much discipline, but I would like some tips and tools to use when needed.  If anyone has other books, websites, tips, etc, feel free to pass them on.