happy new year!

Hi everyone!

Today Dave started his SECOND semester of law school! I can't believe how quickly the holiday break went by. I'm surprised on one hand, and not surprised on the other. It seemed like so much time, but we were both so tired, we rested a lot. And there is nothing better under the sun than relaxing at home with your favorite person in the world. Especially now that we have a huge sectional sofa! And, now that we have Isaac, we each have TWO favorite people in the world.

Speaking of Isaac, he is magnificent and wonderful...still. He is becoming very very active. He can stand and walk when you hold his hands. He is almost able to put his pacifier back in his mouth if he looses it. He likes to jump and play in his exer-saucer. He is not a little tiny baby anymore. He is more like a little boy than a baby. He still really does not like to sleep though!

He had such a nice time at Christmas. We had two celebrations, one here at home and then a second one at Dave's parents house. I'm not sure Isaac understood anything about Christmas or gift-exchanging, or trees or cookies, but he sure did enjoy meeting his cousin Evan. Evan and Isaac are 8 months apart in age. A big difference now, but not so much in a couple of years. They're super cute and they enjoyed playing with toys together.

We continue to watch Cesar Milan religiously. I learn so much from him about managing energy. Creating calm and reassurance is the job of the leader of the pack. It is a constant reminder to me to be very present and available with the dogs. I am sporadic at this point with walks, but we make up for that with lots of playtime and excrutiatingly long hand-feeding sessions to teach the dogs discipline and engage their minds. With Daisy--she's soooo energetic, her task is to sit quietly and let me put small bits of food near her nose and wait for me to let her eat it. It takes forever when she eats 2 cups of food. And with Merlin, he is very engaged by a game called 'Find it!' I put small amounts of food in little bowls and hide them throughout the house. Then I say "Find it!" and he runs round and round the house until he finds everything. It's fun.

At this point, it feels like BACK TO THE GRIND. But then I remember how everything about this is temporary. And then, I can enjoy it. Our life was really rich and happy before, and after this, Dave will feel more fulfilled in his work and we can maybe step back from the intensity for a while. Perhaps that is a fantasy--we are planning on having Isaac's little brother or sister as soon as possible. So--whatever. I guess, that's life!

Love you, miss you! Email us at schleiferkin@gmail.com.