Spanish class

I think Shawn was so worn out from all of yesterday's excitement with Abby that he was over-tired last night.  When he finally did fall asleep, it was for short intervals at a time, though he'd go back to sleep fairly easily. 

I woke to see a dusting of snow out my window.  It was hard to tell exactly how much there was, but it wasn't enough to have the snow plows out... yet! 

Abby arrived this morning at about 7:45 am.  I remembered to plan my morning routine better than I did yesterday, so I stayed in bed an extra few minutes (which was nice considering Shawn's aforementioned restlessness).  Like yesterday, within moments of her arrival, Shawn woke up and was ready to play albeit both were a little less rambunctious than yesterday.  There were a few episodes of taking each other's toys and stubbornness, but they were quickly resolved and the playing continued.  I tried to make a big fuss when one of them would initiate sharing or when they'd respond appropriately when I'd mention the word.  I doubt it was the last time I'll need to teach this lesson, but it was a relatively smooth one today!

After breakfast and some playtime, we bundled up to go to Language Stars for Spanish class.  It's been snowing steadily all morning.  Luckily, it didn't take very long to clear the light and fluffy snow off my car and Shawn and Abby waited patiently in the garage... occasionally took a few shuffling steps into the snow on the driveway.  I will say that I'm looking forward to when they are able to get in and out of their car seats on their own!  That will make the process of going somewhere so much easier!  Once we got going, the roads were a bit slippery in our neighborhood, but the bigger, more traveled streets were just slushy.  Great timing for bad weather and our first outing together!

Abby's first time in Spanish class with us went well.  We listened to our Spanish songs CD on the drive there to help get us in the mode.  The center director, Craig, and our teacher, Diego, greeted us right away.  Abby was very shy and timid at first, which is not how I'm used to seeing her at all, but it was also a bit of a relief to have someone besides Shawn be a little clingy.  Diego did a great job helping Abby feel comfortable and get involved.  It didn't take very long before she was standing up front trying to help him attach paper winter clothes to a snow man poster.  (The curriculum theme for the last two classes has been winter clothing - certainly appropriate for today's weather.)  Though she wasn't very vocal, Abby did participate and show that she understood what was going on, regardless of not knowing the Spanish words.  Shawn, on the other hand, was incredibly lethargic and passive in class today.  This was really frustrating since he has started to echo Diego when prompted to say something in Spanish.  Last week, Shawn was repeating and participating throughout the class period.  I had to remind myself that he didn't sleep well last night and probably just wasn't feeling up to the challenge today.  He did show that he was interested in snack time, but he did so silently.  Rats.  We'll try again next week. 

Official snow accumulation reported at O'Hare International Airport at 11:30 am:  2.1 inches

As of the Noon hour, flights making it in to O'Hare are arriving an average of three hours late. 

Shawn fell asleep on the way home, so Abby kept me company and watched the other cars on the street battling the snow with us.  When we got home, I almost threw a fit because our Christmas tree was still sitting at our curb waiting for the village's recycling service to haul it away.  (It's been sitting at our curb since last week when we thought the recycling service was going to take it.  Instead, a neighbor said he saw the guys come to our house, look at the tree, move it around a little, and then left it.  We removed all of the decorations, the lights, the tree stand - everything and left it at the curb next to our trash and recycling, just like we were instructed and that we had done in years past.  Still, our sad, frozen, dried out Christmas tree waited at the curb for its new life as garden mulch or paving hiking trails or composting or whatever it is that happens when a Christmas tree is recycled. 

Anyway, I parked in Raj's spot in the garage - 1) so the snow plow people could clear our driveway, 2) so I could try to bring Shawn inside without waking him up, and 3) because it was easier than navigating a minivan around the trash can and Christmas tree still sitting at our curb in order to get to my side of the driveway.  The plan worked.  Abby played in the living room while I transitioned my sleeping prince from the car to his crib.  He was conked out!  I was able to not only lift him from his car seat without waking him, but even take off his boots, hat, and winter coat once I laid him down!  While he slept, Abby and I ate lunch before it was her turn to nap as well.  She talked to herself in the pack & play for a few minutes before falling asleep, too.  Ahhhhhhh...

Official snow accumulation reported at O'Hare International Airport at 1:00 pm:  3.1 inches

1:30 pm

Surface reports confirm what the radar here at the WGN Weather Center is showing with visibility down to 1/4 of a mile in Waukegan and Wheeling... This band [of moderate to heavy snow] is sitting directly over O'Hare Airport where the snow's falling at the rate of at least one inch per hour.

While both kids snoozed, I heard rumblings outside. I figured it was another passing of the local snowplows coming through the cul-de-sac. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. (Well, not really, but it sounds better than, "I looked out the window.") The sun on the breast of the new-fallen snow gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below (which makes sense since it was about 2:30 pm). When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer - no wait! It's even better! A man is here to take the Christmas tree! He was by himself and had a regular pick-up truck (that had the emblem of wither the village or of the recycling group - I couldn't see which). After rearranging some containers in his truck bed and talking to someone on a very loud walkie-talkie, he managed to haul away our tree. I do believe in miracles! And, I'm sure our association will be pleased that we don't have it hanging out in the front yard anymore! (Oh, wait! Shelley's our association president! Thanks for understanding and being patient, Shelley!)

2:00 pm Heavy snow at O'Hare; over 450 flights cancelled

After about an hour and 45 minutes, I heard Abby chatting away to herself again. When I opened the door to get her, I was greeted with a big "HI!" (pronounced: hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyeee!). Though she was laying down, she was grinning from ear to ear - what a way to wake up! We came downstairs for a snack and worked on coloring the worksheet we got at Language Stars today. Abby really likes to color. We practiced naming the different crayons she was using, to which she identified all as pink (her favorite color).

Before long, Bill was knocking on the door to take Abby home. As I was relaying the day's activities to Bill, we heard Shawn starting to stir on the baby monitor. (NOTE: Little Sir Sleeping Beauty's nap was almost FOUR HOURS long today!!! I guess he really didn't sleep much last night... though now I'm a little nervous about tonight...) Bill and Abby waited for me to get Shawn out of bed so they could say goodbye. Well rested, though still slightly groggy from his hibernation, Shawn was very interested in seeing what Abby was up to. Again, he got concerned when Bill started getting her ready to leave. On the other hand, Abby was suddenly distressed about leaving Shawn too. She may not like putting a hat and gloves on, but Bill said she's usually pretty cooperative about putting her coat and boots on. Not this time. I'd like to think that we've just had so much fun together that Abby simply didn't want it to end! But, I think she probably just didn't want to put on a heavy coat and go out in the cold again.

Once Abby left, I had to reassure Shawn that she'd be back in the morning. He stood at the front window waving and yelling, "Bye-bye, Abby! Bye-bye, Abby-Dada!" for a few minutes after she and Bill were gone. I distracted him from his perch with the offer of some food - I figured he must have been pretty hungry, since it was almost dinner time and he slept through lunch and snacks. He was just finishing a bowl of veggies and noodles (aka 'noo-noos') and some slices of bread when Raj got home from work. Tonight is Boys' Night, so Raj and Shawn have plans to go to Open Gym time at Gymboree. I sure hope they run and climb and jump and throw a LOT so he's tired tonight!

Official snow accumulation reported at O'Hare International Airport at 4:50 pm:  4.5 inches

Official snow accumulation reported at O'Hare International Airport at 7:51 pm:  5.2 inches

Note:  all information in blue italics is from http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/