March comes in like a lion

It is March! In the Netherlands, it means spring time... crocuses and daffodils. In New England, it means it is still winter. We got about 8 inches of snow from March 1-March 2. It was a nice little birthday present for Roel. He got to shovel snow in the morning so he could get down the driveway and head to work. Kiefer and I stayed home because UMass was closed. This gave me plenty of time to make Roel a birthday cake. He requested a chocolate cake. I baked the cake in the morning and made the frosting and put it together in the afternoon. When Kiefer woke up from his nap, we did a little decorating with streamers. Kiefer was so excited about the bright, colorful streamers that he ran around in delight for about 5 minutes. Kiefer was intrigued by the cake and kept pointing to it. I told him we had to wait until Papa got home. When he did, we sang "Happy Birthday," Kiefer helped blow out the candles and we each had a piece of cake. Now Kiefer isn't that big a fan of cake, but he had a couple of bites before he decided it was time to get down and run around.

At the end of January, Kiefer and I went to visit Liam and his new little brother, Emmett. I went to grad school with their mom and dad. Kiefer and Liam had so much fun playing together. Liam has a little drum set and they had loads of fun playing it. After lunch, they decided they would be helpful and swept the floor with a kid sized broom and mop. It was very funny to see.

A couple of weekends ago when it was snowing (again) we decided to escape the snow by heading to Magic Wings, the butterfly conservatory in Deerfield. It was so nice to be in a warm, green environment. Kiefer thought the butterflies were OK, but he was a little scared when the big ones flew near him. He was much more interested in the Chinese button quail that ran throughout the conservatory. There were also parrots and lizards, which Kiefer enjoyed as well. He definitely explored every inch of that place. After about 2 hours of running around, we had a little ice cream. It was not nice to have brave the snow when we left!

At the end of last week, we decided that at 21 months, Kiefer is old enough to not need a pacifier during the day. We thought he would be upset and ask for a paci... especially in the evening, but apparently out of site out of mind. Now the pacifier stays in the crib for when he is sleeping.

We're hoping that he'll say more now that he doesn't have his pacifiers. He does a lot of babbling, but we don't understand what he is saying most of the time. He will point to the apple in one of his Nijntje books and say, "Apple." He also likes to "read" aloud. He makes a bunch of sounds as if he were reading. Kiefer also likes to get piggy back rides from Papa and he will say, "Go!"

This morning was unexpectedly exciting. I have a cold and don't feel very well, but thought I would head to work anyway. On my way in, the gas light came on in the car, so I realized I would have to get some gas after dropping off Kiefer at daycare. When I pulled into the driveway of Kiefer's daycare, I parked and *thought* I unlocked all of the doors as I automatically do before I get out and leave the keys in the car. When I went to open the back door to get Kiefer out, it was locked. I had locked Kiefer inside the car with my keys! This is something I am always afraid I am going to do, and I finally did it. I ran into Holly's and asked her which she thought would be faster: calling Roel and have him drive from work with his key or calling the police. Her son works as a dispatcher with the police so she called him and he said the police would probably be faster so he called them. About 5 minutes later, a police officer showed up and told me a tow truck was on the way to open the car. Kiefer had started to cry because he couldn't understand why I wouldn't get him out of the car, but he was intrigued when the policeman showed up. It didn't take long for the tow truck to show up and within 10 seconds he had the car open. Kiefer was very excited to see the big truck and he thought it was all great. I decided that maybe I should have just stayed home and after doing a few things at work, I did head home to rest.

During UMass spring break, I will be heading to London for 5 days. I will finally be able to see one of the study abroad programs I have been advising on for the past four years. I will also be checking a potential program for our students. It will be a whirlwind trip and it will be the longest I have ever been away from Kiefer. I know I am going to miss him very much!

Even though I am no longer taking classes, school continues to keep me busy. I submitted a paper for publication last week. It is currently in the review process and I should hear in 8-10 weeks whether or not it has been accepted to the journal. In the meantime, I need to be working on my comprehensive exam paper. I'll have to defend it in May. I feel like I have been in school forever... and I guess I kind of have.

Big news for my sister (Aunt Janice) who finished her M.S. in Zoology in December. She has been interviewing for a number of positions and was offered not one, but two in Arizona. She has decided to take a Habitat Specialist position in Kingman. We're very happy for her! Uncle Geoff will finish up the school year (he teaches in northern Michigan) and will join her. They really wanted to relocate to the southwest and they're doing it. We're looking forward to visiting them next winter. It will be nice and warm in Arizona when the weather is frigid here.

A New Year

It has been a cold and snowy winter! Kiefer doesn't really like the snow except for sledding, but it has been too cold for that. So we have spent most of the winter indoors. Kiefer enjoys playing with his blocks and coloring at his little table. He's pretty good putting together both the Mega Blocks and the Duplos, however, his favorite part of playing with either type of blocks is dumping them out of their containers onto the floor. Luckily, thanks to daycare, he is learning how to pick up and he will sometimes help us put them away! Kiefer loves to color and he no longer tries to eat the crayons like he used to a couple of months ago.

Kiefer also enjoys watching a little Curious George, Thomas the Tank Engine or his new favorites: The Berenstain Bears and Fireman Sam, which Roel discovered on PBS/Sprout OnDemand. I remember the Berenstain Bears from when I was a kid, but I had never heard of Fireman Sam before. It is a Welsh stop-motion animation series that was apparently popular in the UK during the 1980s, but the company that brought Thomas the Tank Engine to the US recently picked up the rights to it and has brought it to the US. Kiefer likes to get his toy fire truck when he hears the theme song. It's pretty cute. I almost forgot that he also likes "Little Einsteins." It's a Disney show, which introduces kids to music and art. He loves to clap his hands to the music. Kiefer usually watches one of these in the morning so I have a chance to get dressed and get things together for the day. He also watches one after bathtime as I am getting him into his pajamas. I have found that the distraction means I don't have to chase him around and wrestle him into his pjs.

Kiefer has watched Sesame Street only a few times. I am not a big fan of Elmo (I find him too hyper) so it's not something that I usually pick out for him to watch. A couple of weeks ago, I did let him watch it and Kiefer got really excited when they featured the letter d. He kept saying "D!" He's very good at saying the d, mama, papa and up. Recently he has also started saying tractor. Because he can't say much, he will usually just point to what he wants, and if it is another room, he will take us by the hand and lead us into the room. Holly, his daycare provider, has taught him some sign language and I'm afraid I don't know much, but I do know the sign for "more." Kiefer is a healthy eater and if he runs out of his snack or dinner, he's quick to sign for more. He also signs "eat" when he his hungry. Those are very important signs and he wants to make sure that we understand him!

Another skill Kiefer has just acquired is climbing down the stairs by himself. He's been able to climb up the stairs for months, but going down is more tricky. He goes down backwards on his hands and knees. Even though he can do it, sometimes he is too tired (or lazy) and holds his arms up as if to say, "Pick me up!" We also like that Kiefer now points to his bum when he has a dirty diaper. It's pretty funny and very useful! Now we just need to get him to want to sit on his potty.

Yesterday, I drove up to Laconia, New Hampshire for a day of relaxation and pampering with my college friends. We called it our "2nd Annual Spa Day." We started the tradition last year. Rather than getting Christmas presents for each other, we decided to do something nice for ourselves. I got a pedicure and massage and it was heavenly. Afterwards, we enjoyed a late lunch and even did a little shopping at a nearby outlet. We went to Osh Kosh and Carter's, of course! I love to find deals on clothes for Kiefer. Actually last weekend, we found a great winter jacket for him at the Carter's Outlet in Brattleboro, VT. It is a 2T size for next winter and it was only $8!

I cannot believe that the spring semester starts tomorrow. I am not ready for the campus to be full of students. The study abroad office is going to be very busy and I am going to be swamped with work. It is weird that I won't have any classes this semester! I do have to meet occasionally with my cohort (6 other doctoral students who are also doing their comps this semester) and the department chair a few times during the semester. It will help us move along and work through problems we may encounter with our comps papers. I only just finished my incomplete from an independent study I took this past summer, so it's not like I had much of a break. The good news is that my comps paper is going to expand upon the work I did for the independent study.

We're hoping that the groundhog does not see his shadow in a week so this winter won't drag on for many more weeks!

~April, Roel & big boy Kiefer