Updates and such

It's a slow night here at work (Thank God) for a change and so I have a few minutes to catch up a bit.
Emmett's sister, niece and niece's friend left this morning to go back to Santa Barbara. We had a really nice visit, I just wish I hadn't had to work almost the whole time. I really enjoy Emmett's sister, she's the most mellow one in the clan - they are a pretty intense group. I always have to be a bit careful because a lot of times they don't get my sense of humor. They all have a tendency to take things pretty seriously and I, of course, don't take much of anything very seriously - well, most of the time I don't. Laughter and Anger are my two coping mechanisms and I use them both liberally haha. Anyway, J. is the most mellow of the group and very kind, thoughtful, and into psychoanalysis. She reads a lot of those kind of books, so I'm always interested in the theories that she's read about. Her daughter, whom Tommy calls "Na", is just a wonderful girl. So many kids these days when they hit 11, 12, or 13 can be pretty difficult, but Na is a great girl. The last two times they have come to visit she has asked to bring a friend, she's at the age - I remember it so well, and her friends are just as nice as she is, what a breath of fresh air with so many girls that act badly and/or try to be women when they are that age, to have these two girls in your house that are polite, respectful and not trying to be anything other than themselves. I only hope we get half that lucky with Thomas and any other children we may have.

Tommy is doing awesome! He's showing some interesting emotional development. I don't know if I mentioned before that he has started showing fear. It's so sad but sort of cute. The first time he saw the movie Dinosaurs back in October he enjoyed it but lost interest after a while, but now he squirms and gets scared at parts and won't watch. Emmett and J. took the kids to see the Lemony Snicket movie and apparently it was too scary for Tommy. He was trying to watch it but got scared every time Jim Carrey came onscreen and Emmett would have to hold him or walk around with him. It's funny to see him actually have these emotional reactions for the first time.

The next thing that he has started doing is showing sadness when people leave. I guess it's probably more accurate to say that we are understanding him when he communicates his emotions, because we don't know how long he has been having them. Anyway, today when J., Na and Na's friend K. left and we came in the house after waving goodbye, he plunked down on the floor and started crying. I picked him up and was comforting him and he starting saying, "Where did Nee-nee go? (that's what he calls J.)" "Where did Na go?" and then looking so sad with his lip stuck out. It was very sad but also a breakthrough of sorts. Of course, he's still Tommy so he forgot about it like 2 minutes later.

We have been working on the whole Santa Claus thing the last couple of weeks, but I don't think he has much grasp on the concept. He LOVES the Christmas tree this year and all the ornaments, it's very cool.

Well, it got a little busier here at the end at work. It's 2am now and I have to be at my other job by 8:30 tomorrow morning. Ugh. This two jobs thing is for the birds. But I think I'll learn a lot if I can stick it out just for a little while.

I gotta run - so little sleep now that I need to get home and grab it while I can.

Love,
Melissa