On the move

The kids are asleep, Leeor is at a concert, and I am surrounded by moving boxes and a nearly empty glass of wine.

Lilit's top two teeth finally busted through and I haven't slept much in the past week. I am tired of being tired but also very much embracing this moment of chaos--we officially closed escrow on our house (our house!) today and yesterday we bought a new refrigerator. When did we become these adults who buy appliances?

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Avi has been going through a lot and expressing it all very well, as is his way. Lately he will call to Leeor or to me with this premise, "I need to tell you something," and then bust out with some deep statement about some feeling or experience he had, such as today, "I was crying a little at school today," to which I responded with, "Oh, tell me about it," and he obliges and explains he was missing Mommy during snack time and it's all I can do to not dissolve into tears and instead I hug him, tell him I missed him, too, and that I'm so glad he tells me about his feelings. He moves on quickly but I continue musing.

Avi also seems to be grasping a more sophisticated understanding of time; he has been sharing memories of things he says happened "a long, long time ago" instead of the entire past being relegated to Yesterday.

This morning, I left for a meeting (though it's not a regular work day and in fact the meeting had been cancelled but I didn't know that until I arrived and saw the sign on the door) while Leeor was still getting Avi ready for school. When I picked Avi up, I didn't immediately notice his pants, but upon closer inspection they were, indeed, a pair of Lilit's jeans, size 18-24 months, snug around his hips and clinging to his skinny legs. We had a good laugh about it and later Avi pointed out to me that Lililt had on another pair of jeans, so it was okay that he also wore a pair that belonged to her. I love toddler reasoning.

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Lilit may skip crawling all together. A champion sitter, she is a new fan of standing while she clutches what is within reach--the couch, my hands, Avi's Radio Flyer wagon handle. I look forward to living in a one-level house as she becomes more and more ambulatory.

She will be 9 months old this week. I swear she said "uh-oh!" today in response to what I uttered as I dropped soft vegetables into her lap instead of into her waiting open mouth.

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Next Tuesday night, we will sleep in our new home in Berkeley, and a whole new chapter begins.