Time in a Bottle

It is the last day of August. Wasn't Cristovan born like two weeks ago? They tell me he's three months old and, while he looks huge to me, I find it hard to believe. He holds his head up, he sucks his toes, he's got his own passport... but really? Three months? That's a whole new wardrobe size. It's a wonderful thing to be a baby. Every three months your entire wardrobe is replaced. It's a terrible thing for a mom on a budget. Half of my clothes date back to college... which I was attending nine years ago. Nine years ago? Really? I find that hard to believe. I am beginning to think that one indicator of aging is the denial that the aging process is occurring at all. This weekend marks my sixth wedding anniversary with Danny. Six years that have felt more like... two. I should be time-keeper. Both my dad and my cousin Melissa have brought me roses in the past two weeks just for fun. The photo to the left is an actual photo of one of my flowers. I LOVE flowers. Anytime I get some, I take photos of them as if they will last longer that way. I do the same with my kids, I think. I don't think it helps.

Of course time has flown by. I haven't had time to stop and smell the roses. Hyuk! [Insert imaginary elbow jab of joke-cheese here]. I had a book to write in the weeks leading up to the family reunion. Then I had the family reunion. Four generations of Garcias gathered at John U Lloyd State Park and later again at La Carreta. It was remarkably unawkward, with the exception of my siblings, who feel the need to hide in corners during family gatherings. Dominic got his first taste of Nintendo DS (my stomach churns just thinking about it) and my book made people cry. Everyone had a great time- it helps that the Garcias are a particularly enjoyable, entertaining, and low-maintenance bunch. With that project out of the way, I returned to "the cave" to design 25 sample covers for the new church program... in between choir and ensemble rehearsals, several desperate and ill-fated attempts to take some advantage of tax-free-shopping weekend, and naturally, laundry, dinners, baths, debates on the exegesis of excommunication, and Dominic's first reading lessons.

Our homeschooling has officially begun! Dominic has been able to read "I" and "a" in books for a while. Last week he learned his first set of more-than-one-letter sight words (the, to, me, you, etc) and the phonetic sounds of the short vowels "a" and "i". I'm not using a guide or anything, I'm just making it up. And watching him start to read has been so exciting! We've also started writing. Besides knowing the lines go from the top to the bottom, and that circles should be done counter-clockwise, that is also a sort of hodgepodge. One day he's happy to practice his name. Another day he just wants to do numbers. (He loves numbers). He's only 3-- I'm not too worried about structure.

It's a steamy summer afternoon in Ft. Lauderdale. I have an hour and a half to come up with something to eat for dinner. I'm fighting a headache from the fumes of Danny's shoe polish. Cristovan is sleeping, Noemie is reading, Dominic is catapulting toy trains from inside his fort (which looks more like a circus tent in my opinion.) Danny built the fort with the kids this morning while listening to our MP3 player go through our catalog of songs starting with the letter A. Ten hours after starting with the Jackson 5's ABC, we are at Azucar Negra by Celia Cruz. Surely, the end is near. I didn't realize we had so much music!

It took Gio over a week to hitchhike from New York City to South Florida. He arrived on time, sunburnt, and still in possession of his guitar, a considerable feat in my opinion. He couch surfed, using online networking sites to find hosts, and he played at prearranged appearances at most of his stops (Baltimore, Asheville, Savannah, Jacksonville, Cocoa Beach). Gio met Toby for the first time at the family reunion on the beach. Toby stuck his feet in the ocean for the first time on this occasion as well.

Dominic has a roll of measuring tape (which I believe was given to us as a party favor at Lisa Puig's baby shower?) that he takes with him everywhere, even to sleep with him. My son has a tool for a "lovey"... which prompted not a few remarks at a reunion of descendants of a family where all 6 brothers worked in construction. He asked his abuela to measure his arm on her arrival.

The Garcia family cousins. From left to right: Hector and Papo representing Pedro Garcia and the state of New Jersey. This was my first time meeting Papo's kids, Lauren and Daniel. Next to them are Blanca and Yoli who drove over from Bradenton, representing Nivardo Garcia. My mom and Mimi are next, representing Nilo, and to their right, Angelo, who's actually a second cousin. The only cousins that reside in the United States who couldn't make it are the four in California. Five have passed away. The rest of them (6) live in Cuba... a total of twenty-two grandkids for Victorino and Altagracia.

Cristovan is growing so fast! Here he is gagging on his toes.

I don't believe I was ever that flexible.

Dominic writes his name. Well, the bottom one is his.

He insists on writing in caps. Not bad for a first try!

When I was growing up my brother and sister and I used to hold "K-O-M"s (Kids-Only Meeting). When we perceived there was a problem with mom and dad, or when it came time to convene for Christmas gift-planning, we would hold our secret meetings to scheme, strategize, or discuss. It appears Dominic Toby, and Noemie are getting a head start.

Noemie in french braids reading my Wildlife Factfile.

How did this happen so fast? Somebody slow down the clock!

Little man in known for peeing during diaper changes. Dominic and Noemie had their moments but this one has a gift. "Like a Las Vegas fountain show," says Danny. I think we've had a performance three times this week alone. He doesn't look very innocent, does he?