Judah. My brother Danny keeps him well-stocked with Calvin and Hobbes these days.   Amelie. We think she’s part Labrador. She thinks so too.   Gabriel. This is the face I get when I ask, “Gabe, focus! Are you listening to me!?” I think it’s pretty cute.   Noah. His pout stops strangers on the street in delight. He can work a crowd.   Owen. My sister-in-law and I do an all-afternoon play date swap on Thursdays. One Thursday she takes all my kids, and the next week I keep hers. It’s one of our favorite traditions. This Thursday during our cousin-time-show-and-tell-with-popcorn, Owen pulled out his tooth for the audience.…

I really enjoy watching writer and homeschool coach Julie Bogart on Periscope, and when I first learned of her idea for a poetry teatime with kids, I felt instantly intimidated. And I wanted to throw up my hands in despair. After all, I’m just trying to get through the day, here, people. Forget flowers and tea and poetry! But she is just so wise and down-to-earth, and explained this little habit is one of the easiest ways to expose your children to something really beautiful (poetry!) — because kids love treats! So why not combine a set-apart time for treats with poetry? She also says that poetry teatime is good…

Judah. He’s always been a boy with an intense passion for one thing at a time (e.g. Star Wars). Lately he’s begun growing and blossoming into a boy with more varied interests. Always Star Wars, of course. And also: Reading. Harry Potter. Swim team. Astronomy. Cursive writing and learning Roman numerals. Hiking. Listening to audiobooks with his sister. I love watching the way his unique personality shapes his interests, and vice versa.   Amelie. She’s very reserved at first when meeting new kids, and boys are easier for her to connect with than girls. As a mother it’s downright painful to see your child on the outskirts, not always certain…

Judah. Oh these two. Our firstborns. In many ways similar and also so fiercely different. Things that bring them together: puzzles, the trampoline, their love of pizza and all things sugary.   Amelie. She hit a wall with swimming this week, and we’ve had lots of tears. Judah went through several weeks of it last semester; the shine wears off and their legs and arms ache, and making their bodies move in strange new ways is hard. But she went back and faced her lesson this morning and listened to her coach and did her best. After class she said, all smiles, “Mommy, I didn’t want to, but I did…