Van Van Says

Meeeeeeeee! - Usually in a high pitched squeal when he wants something you've got or with his arms upstretched when he wants you to pick him up.

Num num - When he's ready to eat.

Oh oh - Uh oh

Bah - Ball

Dah Duh - All done (Over and over again at dinnertime...we have a hard time believing this statement since he's usually still stuffing something into his mouth when he says it. Usually we wait to get him out of his seat until he's pushing himself up out of his high chair looking at us like, "What's wrong with you people? I've been telling you I'm Dah Duh for half an hour now!!!")

See - As he points to various things. This was probably his actual first word although we weren't convinced of it until much later.

Um - As he stares into space...Ben says he's a contemplative boy :)

He also does mama, dada, and nana. I can't wait to hear what he comes up with for Sofie!

Nuclear

I'm proud to report that we are a nuclear family once again! After two months traveling back and forth to Ohio for work, Ben is finally a full-time resident of North Carolina. He arrived in the wee hours of Halloween morning and we had a blast carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating and passing out candy in this lively neighborhood. The kids are settling nicely into a new routine. We put Nana on a plane home on Nov. 3rd (I'm still pinching myself over the fact that she actually got on a plane after 35 years of adamantly refusing to fly) and Ben jumped into full-time Daddy-ing. I was anticipating chaos, but it turns out I sold him desperately short because he is WONDERFUL with the kids. It's been quite a relief for me.

The last few months have been jam-packed and eventful. The processes of applying, interviewing, and beginning this job were a complete whirlwind and one that I am so glad I got caught up in. I couldn't have asked for a better place to work or a job more suited for me. I feel really fortunate to have landed where we have. In August Van and Sofie both had birthdays, complete with parties and out-of-town guests layered on top of packing up our old place and traveling to find a new place. We arrived at our new house with Nana in tow on September 3rd and I jumped right into my job (before our furniture arrived!) on the 7th. Over the last two months we've seen Ben only every other weekend as he finished up his position in Ohio and I traveled quite a bit (St. Louis, Denver, Atlanta) through the course of my training. Nana was our anchor at home with the kids and we couldn't have possibly managed this transition without her. Through it all the kids have been resilient, if a bit confused. We are so relieved to be on the other side of the crazy, entering a steadier phase and rooting ourselves into this community.

I hope to find time to return to my semi-regular blogging. In the meantime, a few of my favorite photos from the last few months!