A lovely Saturday was had by all this past weekend. Got some mommy time at a resale event by myself while Gram took the babes. Got Jack's fall wardrobe for about $50! Then Bec and I took Jackie boy to play at the bounce houses at the Lincoln school fall festival. He loved everything about it, not just the bounce houses but eating pizza and popcorn and brownies and getting a baloon sword and running into the neighbor family there. When did he get to be such a KID??
We met Nat downtown to explore the Ingenuity Festival for the evening. It was located on the Detroit-Superior Bridge this year. It's a great space... I am not sure I love Ingenuity being there, as I rather liked the way it sprawled into some unused neighborhoods of the city. I think Cleveland could manage to support a Bridge Festival AND an Ingenuity Festival, in my opinion. Still-- it was a neat venue and a lovely, if breezy, evening to be out. Jack had fun drawing on walls, playing with cat puppets, and dancing to music . His favorite part was walking over the river on the metal grates, and stopping to look down and exclaim "OOOH! Look down THERE!!" every single time there was a gap to look through. Much to amusement of passers-by and the chagrin of his mom-who-is-afraid-of-heights. "Yes, Jack, yes I see it down there...", studiously avoiding looking down, myself...
It is fall-crisp out these past few days (thank you!!) and the leaves are turning (quite brilliant, really) and it will be October this week. Wow. Trips to the Orchard and LakeFarm Park to schedule in. Nat's off to a wedding this weekend; friends Jamo and Casey visit the weekend after that. Life flies on...
20 weeks on the inside meant halfway there, halfway to a girl and going clothes shopping, anticipation and oh-we're-not-ready and wishing time could fly all at the same time...Marking the minutes and the days in that way that only seems to happen during pregnancy.
20 weeks on the outside means I am just tired. This whole two kids, working fulltime, going to the gym mama thing-- it's wearing me out, people. So much that the weeks are blending together and I am just glad we're taking a few pictures to mark the time.
I lust after the weekend all week long, looking forward to the possibility of more than 5 interrupted hours of sleep, the possibility of doing more with my time at home than simply feeding myself and the babes, and getting them into bed. Then it's here, that longed for weekend, and I work so hard to grab at life and fit it all in to those two days, while still managing to clean the bathrooms, that I'm more tired when its over than when it began. Sigh.
Nat noted to our Farley's friends on Facebook that "summer is never more than 9 months away." One month gone from it and I am full of yearning to have summer break back again... Perhaps I should begin to mark my time towards that milestone. By my count we're looking at the 14 weeks along...
In the midst of it the kiddos keep growing up. That's another regret about the weariness-- that I feel their milestones and miraculousness blurring by me so fast, that I am not there for it all, or not energetic enough to be a full participant. That I'd rather be vegging on the couch than playing, that I'd rather be asleep myself than rocking a baby back to sleep over and over again. When they both will be this small for such a short, short time. I'd like to get an extra wick to burn, so I can do it all for just a few years, please, so I can soak it all up the way I should...
Jack had his first day of "real" preschool today, the full 2 1/2 hours with no parents in the building. He went in and stayed happily and came home with a tie-dyed tissue paper hat (which was later turned into a hot air balloon to carry around his bumble bee. Of course.) and a copy of The Little Engine that Could from the school library (which was the ONLY book he wanted to read tonight). And he is just so grown up. He acts out dramas with his "fly plane" and the firefighter dinosaur and he collects rocks and seed pods on walks. He talks up a storm and refuses to listen and that charming smile of his! He is so handsome and funny and frustrating and perfect all at the same time, in all his boy-ness. With his big feet and his hair that won't lay down and the two temporary tatoos slowly fading on his forearms and the way he giggles when he runs. Even when I am tired and he doesn't want to go to bed, even when we have the same talk every night about why the lights need to be turned out, even when he wants me to help act out the same play scenarios on endless repeat or he won't get a move on so we can make it to the library or he refuses to eat his supper--- I love him.
The girl-- well, right now may not be the best time to update on her as I am blogging to pass the time while we listen to her cry. Trying and trying to get some semblance of good sleep back, some semblance of the way she slept when she was 7, 8 weeks old... no such luck yet. In the midst of sleep deprivation and frustration with a cry-it-out process that seems to be taking weeks rather than days to be effective, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that little girl is a remarkably happy baby all day. Content to watch the world go by from her bumbo or the beloved exersaucer. Ready with a room-lighting smile and furious kicking anytime we turn our attention to her. Always shiny-eyed and happy when she's outside. Last night she tried valiantly to roll from her back to her belly while holding her feet. She really, really adores Jack's bumble bee toy and she is ticklish and she has that squeaky laugh that's almost too much to handle. She's sort of this proto-person these days with a thoughtful regard for the world and an intense love for her brother (she seems to find him as funny as I do). She's a cute baby, that Ivy Jane. She just needs to sleep...
Ivy is really starting to play with toys-- grabbing them, moving them around, chewing on them, turning them and examining them. Too cute. She does this slow motion grab where she studies the object and then oh-so-carefully reaches out her open hands until she makes contact, little lip pouting out in concentration...
We gave her a first taste of solids this week. some rice cereal mixed with breast milk... there's this little bit of me that is hoping by starting her on food earlier we'll ward off the picky eater syndrome, that we messed up somehow with Jackie...I know, a month and a half is probably not going to change a thing, but at any rate she has seemed interested in our food so we gave it a shot. The first batch was a bit thick, I think, and it all came right back out of her mouth. Tonight I think she actually managed to swallow a few watery bites, and kept opening her mouth for more tastes for quite a while.
Tonight's other experiment was bathing the kiddos together in the big tub. I just plopped Ivy's baby tub in there-- thank goodness for a long tub!-- filled with nice warm water for her, then filled the rest all tepid and bubbly the way the boy likes it. I think they both enjoyed it a lot. Ivy was all smiles, like usual at bathtime, but they did seem to be directed at her brother. And Jack had a blast piling one toy after another into her tub -- "This one is for my sister!"-- pouring little capfuls of his bathwater in for her, and putting bubbles on her tummy. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever.
Oh yeah-- the girl can sit in tripod for a good 15 seconds ad can sit up tall, reaching out for something, for 2 or 3 seconds, before she topples over and laughs about it.
She is only taking about 15 minutes of crying to settle down to sleep in her crib these days-- an improvement, really. Now we are just hoping for the return of sleeping from 9 til 4am or so. Please. Anytime, Ivy Jane...
Pretty tired mama. Morning calls in T-5 hours. A full day. A full life, these days. Teaching is nonstop, it seems, and then the rush to home or Lakewood, to the park or dinner swap or choir. Two hours of bedtime with babes. Spin class in the morning, promising sweat and adrenaline and a guilt free day. And right back at it.
Promise I'll write about these kiddos some more, soon. In the meantime the moon is full and the September air is glorious and I hope the sunset for you was as stunning as the one I glimpsed here, headed up the Marion Ramp to Memorial Hall for choir...
Had a "mommy day" with the two-some today, in an effort to give Nat some uninterrupted stretches of time in which to work on the dissertation. It was a lovely, temperate and sunny day out and I took the crew out to the west side. An underwhelming visit to a resale event (kiddos were terrific there, really, but I think I am better off without kids OR the giant stroller when I actually want to shop) followed by the world's most idyllic visit to Rocky River Park wherein Jack played on the equipment, Ivy laid on a blanket, we picnicked on the grass and the lake was blue. We topped it off with a trip to Starbucks before coming home for some napping (for the kids) and cleaning (for me) and then off again to Target. A dinner of a frozen pizza and some Cars on the tube to close the day. Nice.
In talking with Nat we concluded together that its not really taking care of the kids that is the hard part. In fact, the little darlings are pretty easy to deal with, most of the time. As long as you are not trying to do anything ELSE while taking care of them. As long as their needs are paramount and they are your sole focus, all is fine. Its when you try to, say, clean the house or do something for yourself, like use the bathroom, that things get tricky. So my day today, on my own with the kids, was rather a lark, thanks to going into with the mindset that I would do nothing else besides spend the day with them and keep them out of the house.
Parenting would be a great deal easier and generally more fun, I think, if the rest of life would just stop getting in the way...
Add this to the "you know your baby is growing up when" list:
The boy no longer uses the term "choo choo house". He told me so. We were on our way to Eton place, to visit the train table at Barnes and Noble (previously termed "the other choo choo house") and I asked him if he wanted to go there before or after Trader Joe's. And he said, "NOT choo choo house, Mommy. Eton place!"
I never cease to be amazed and amused at the things that come out of the boy's mouth. And he is amazing these days, a full conversation partner with this amazing memory and adorable lapses of grammar that don't in the least affect comprehension of his message but rather make it more fun to listen to...
But this post is in honor of some things he's been saying for a while, the sort of things which seem like such a part of his repertoire that he'll say them forever. Except he won't say them forever. So here they are.
*Conversations about "minos": As we drive along, he (of course) point out every motorcycle he sees. Then, invariable he asks Nat, "Do you WANT it, dad? Do you want THAT mino??" And he likes for Nat to say yes, and then, every time, he says either, "But somebody else is riding it," (if it's being ridden" or "But somebody else is going to ride it" (if its parked) or "But somebody won't give you money for it" (if it's for sale). With the saddest, most sympathetic tone to his voice. Every time. Poor daddy, all the constant disappointment. At least he has Jack to console him.
To be continued. I have so much more to capture about him. As always. But bedtime calls. As always.
I felt it tonight, for real. That surge of almost indescribable love for the little one I've created. It was this way with Jack, too, I remember. I love them from the start, of course, and snuggle them and laugh at them and enjoy their squishy-ness and revel in the miracle of their existence, my little babies. But Ivy's felt like a stranger to me, almost, til now, an odd, vulnerable, generally appealing and sweet-smelling stranger in our home. I would catch myself studying her and wondering, "Are you really mine? Who are you? Who will you be?"
And who am I now, with you here?
The same questions that ran through my mind 3 years ago (though it is hard to connect with a time when the boy did not own my heart, completely and fully... by now it seems like he's been there forever....)
But tonight. Well, she's honing her cute-ness, you know, with the squeaky breath-catch at the end of her giggle and the eyelashes (oh, the eyelashes!) and the way she grabs onto my arm like its the only thing that's ever mattered to her. Wiggling her way deeper into that heart of mine, stretching and growing herself a space in there...
And then tonight. We are trying to do that thing where you "help" a baby learn to sleep by not picking her up when she wakes and cries. Otherwise known as "sit and listen to your baby cry for upwards of an hour, with short breaks wherein you pat and shush her as you listen to her cry." Good times. Right up there with the 7-plus times she's been waking at night recently. Just so you understand our decision to do this.
So, tonight. She'd finally settled herself after 40 minutes. Was quiet, and, I'd hoped, asleep... for about 20 minutes. Sigh. Crying again. I envisioned another hour at least, set the timer for 8 minutes, did some grading, then went in. Patted, shushed, then finally scooped up her little head in my hand and leaned down close and did my best impression of holding her without actually picking her little, sweaty self up. Because you know that's all she'd been wanting, to he held.
And the way she melted into me at that moment, the way she calmed and hiccuped a little and just sank into my arm, the way she turned her face against my hand and her breathing calmed and the way she is so little and wrapped like a burrito and so soft... I just stood there caught up in wonderment that this is her, the little person who I carried inside of me, the tiny baby who came out of my body and into the world, slippery and new. This little bundle of potential with the personality beginning to sparkle through-- this is my child. My daughter. And in that moment I knew her, and I felt it. That mama love. That feeling that my heart might burst and then the knowledge that it won't because its endless in there, because there is no limit to the love that I can feel for these children.
Children. Two of 'em. She's in there too, now. And there's plenty of room.
It's been a busy, busy weekend and in the midst of it Ivy has turned 18 weeks old. She has marked the occasion with the possible advent of teething and the definite advent of a horrible, horrible pattern of sleep. Seriously. Last night she was us about every 30 minutes between 2 and 5. Um. Really?
We are definitely hoping there is some biological cause for this-- a tooth, a cold, a growth spurt, perhaps all 3? Something, at least, that we can blame it on and something which will pass. Soon.
Other than the sleep issue and a definite increase in moodiness this weekend, Ivy is a funny and happy little thing. She chomps on our fingers and toys and drools on everything. She has found a new, loud voice with which to "talk," saying long strings of "ayaaaayaaaayaaayaa!" with great intention. She loves to watch Jack and loves to be outside. She has enjoyed being worn in the Ergo carrier all weekend and has been a dream baby on our full-day outings.
And in these pictures, her hair kind of looks red...
Fabulous, fabulous weekend its been. The kind of weekend where the school bag doesn't get unpacked and the vacuuming never quite gets done and there are piles of folded laundry everywhere that just didn't get put away. Because we've been out. Out getting coffee and helping friends and riding trolleys and exploring our city and riding on trains and enjoying the glory that is 60 degree weather. Out with the kids and discovering that they are pretty awesome when it comes to being dragged around town for an entire day, two little blond troupers. Out taking advantage of every second of the weekend because that's all we've got, these days, for time together...
Pictures and details to come, soon, I hope. But for now I must take advantage of what few hours of sleep I can get before the week starts up again. The week in all its craziness, all work and rush and busyness. The week that will go so fast as we hurtle along towards another weekend...
May it be a good week. May memories of your wonderful weekend carry you through it well...
We are pretty sure we felt a little toothlet edging through Ivy's top gums tonight. This would be consistent with her generally rangy and unpredictable mood all day. Not to mention the copious amounts of drool pouring out of her mouth. And the fact that she has woken crying 4 times since we put her down to sleep 2 hours ago. Sigh.
Teething. Let the good times roll.
We have vowed to take copious numbers of photos of her over the next few days to capture the last moments of her gummy, wide-mouthed smile before the tooth starts to show. Luckily (somehow, impossibly) it is time already for some weekly pics tomorrow. Where does the time go???
In other news, the Jack-man is officially a preschooler. He and daddy headed off, backpack in tow, for his first day at St. Paul's this morning. Not a real day, just the "meet the teacher, get used to the room" sort of a day, and he didn't even unpack his bag. But Nat reports that he had a great time, participated well in clean up and even reluctantly painted a bit at craft time. I can't believe this is my baby, this kid who is heading full tilt into his school career. Nat says he was confident and happy, no concerns. And Jack told me excitedly that he wanted to go to preschool every day.
The big boy of the house also is well on the way to being potty trained, I do believe. I never thought this day would come, you know? But here we have a kid with no diapers in his room anymore. A few pullups for night and naps and a whole drawer of underwear (might I add not a duplicate print among them? Shocking variety of cute prints for boys undies...). He is staying dry almost all the time, and has even had a few breakthroughs with pooping in the potty over the past few days. He's such a stinking perfectionist. I think that he really has been afraid to move forward with each step of this process until he's known that he can do it successfully. And he really gets very, very upset when he has an accident.
I don't though. Because just saying that he has accidents means that he is actually potty training. And I am just so happy we've gotten here and I won't be wiping his poopy bottom for the rest of eternity. Or even the rest of the year. I feel like we've done it, we've made it out of babyhood for real. We've gone and created a kid.
And, a pretty bright kid to boot. He's always loved numbers, as you know. Well, he can now count to 13 on his own and can count up to 5 fingers or items with excellent 1-1 correspondence. Plus he can recognize the quantity of 5 at a glance. And just this evening, when he earned 6 M&Ms (the grandest total yet) for both peeing AND pooping in the potty-- he was most excited to learn how to make 6 on his fingers. He tried to count his M&M's and put the number on his fingers, then held up his 5 and looked at me and asked "How do I make 6?" And I showed him and he showed me back and counted those 6 fingers right back to me. I was so proud of him. These might not seem like impressive skills to you but according to the scope and sequence of developing number sense in the right way for future mathematical success-- well, he's coming along well. Not reading at age 2 or anything, but I think he'll be doing some basic adding and subtracting at 3...
Better watch out or he'll be bored in kindergarten...
Finally, related news for those of you who are concerned with events outside of our offspring's latest developments:
Nat and I have joined the JCC (Jewish Community Center) in an effort to get in shape and give Nat another opportunity to get the kids out and get time for himself during the day (they have a nice childcare facility complete with little old ladies who just love to snuggle Ivy). I have been going to a 6 am spinning class on my way to work 2-3 mornings a week. While it is actually physically painful to tear myself out of bed at 5am, it is worth it. I rather like the quiet, dark drive to the gym, complete with the two ladies, in reflective garb and hair nets, who walk in the road down South Woodland, every morning like clockwork. I like that feeling of being a part of a secret club, the secret morning people. I love the quiet of the lovely locker rooms, the relaxing shower and time to gt ready in front of a really nice mirror for a change. I love that by the time I get to work at 7:30am I've already had a great workout and can relax the rest of the day. Now, if I can just stick with it...
In the midst of our self improvement, however, two of our family members have gone a bit gimpy. Nat's been having issues with his knee and is all braced up and occasionally sporting a walking stick these days, and kneeling is problematic for him. Not the best situation with a baby and a potty training toddler. And poor Cor managed to do something pretty serious to her leg yesterday morning (during a most delightful trip to the park where she romped gleefully with some neighbor dogs), to the point where she hasn't put any weight on it for about 36 hours now. We are off to the vet with her tomorrow and really hoping she doesn't need surgery. Though I have reassured her that she is worth far more to me than the new iPod Touch I was thinking of getting, really. I do love the silly spaniel and it is heartbreaking to watch her hobble around. Doesn't really bother her and she's gotten much better on 3 legs over the course of the day. But still! My puppy, limping around like an old dog. When did this happen?
It is so sad that we all have to get old. Strange that the passage of time and "getting older" is greeted with anticipation and celebration for babies and toddlers-- note the very existence of this blog!-- but then with such dread and trepidation once we reach the coveted state of adulthood. We spent the first half of our lives striving to grow up and the rest wishing we could stop time or even go back...
In the meantime, off to sleep. Busy day of capturing and recording and reveling in the growing-up of my children, tomorrow.
Yesterday Daddy and the kiddos got their fill of time with Dr. Mann. We managed to accidentally schedule Ivy's 4 month and Jack's 3 year well visits for the same morning, 2 hours apart. Made for a long morning for all, but did offer the chance for multiple trips to the donut shop (a tradition for Jack to celebrate a smooth appointment).
All was well with both babes.
Here are some stats for you:
Jack was pronounced "perfect" (but you knew that!) His height and weight were both in the 97% range. Height: 39 inches Weight: 35 pounds Apparently we don't monitor head size anymore, but he did get his blood pressure taken for the first time and thus far he has no blood pressure problems.
Ivy is "right on track" with her development, though we were warned that by her 6 month visit we really ought to stop going in to her when she wakes at night, or we might get yelled at then. Height: 24.5 inches, 60% Weight: 14 pounds, 60% Head: Just under 25% Nice to know her little noggin is growing along it's own, diminutive, curve (and actually catching up a bit).
That's all for now as weekdays are doozies at the moment. Here's my Wednesday in brief: Up at 5 to nurse a baby and head to the gym. Awesome spinning class then to work by 7:30. Run around and attempt to teach my little darlings something while making lots of copies and coordinating various schedules for 8 hours. Run home by 5 and take over kiddo-care at home. Play with Jack, bounce Ivy, make dinner, play with Jack, locate Buzz Lightyear toy, cajole Jack into eating dinner, nurse the baby, locate Woody toy, locate Buzz Lightyear toy again, play with Jack some more...then plug in the boy, tuck in the baby, tuck in the baby again, locate Buzz Lightyear toy, tuck in the boy, tuck in the boy again, tuck in the baby again, tuck in the baby again, tuck in the baby again. Then do the dishes.
Lest I let the (3 day) weeknd slip by without posting these...
I like these pictures for several reasons:
1. They are of my lovely, elfin daughter. 2. She is wearing what may be my new favorite dress (there's a sweater that matches!! polka dot madness!) 3. She is showing off her new skills of grabbing her feet, trying o-so-hard to sit by herself, and making very cute faces. OK, so that last one's not new. But it is a good skill!!
The girl is 17 weeks old this weekend and she is lovin' herself some exersaucer. As I type she is going to town over there, standing and bouncing and kicking, spinning around to reach out for different toys. A delightful look of surprise and pride comes over her face each time she causes something else to happen. She's got that thing rocking and rolling and a hand on two different toys and this big ol' stream of drool coming out of her mouth and she is CUTE.
All of a sudden this weekend she is seeming so big, so grown up, so competent. So "baby, as advertised" to steal Anthony's phrase. Perhaps its her skill at grabbing and holding and interacting with toys, that has bloomed this week. Perhaps its the fact that she is dressed in 3-6 month clothes and that I spent the afternoon boxing up her teeny tiny summer stuff (sigh...). Perhaps it was yesterday's visit to Pittsburgh to meet an actual tiny baby, Fi and Anthony's little Keely, 17 days old yesterday.
Sitting next to her, Ivy seemed to be a bit of a behemoth, actually. It's amazing how quickly you forget the tini-ness, the mushy baby-ness of a newborn. The little chicken legs and the absolute floppiness and the wide eyed expression. The ball of warmth curled on your chest. It was kind of nice, actually, to hold a little mushy again, as Ivy girl never snuggles in at all these days (what have I done, to be cursed with two children who don't snuggle???). I think it is so much easier to enjoy someone else's newborn, because you are not busy resenting someone else's baby for stealing your sleep and your life-as-you-knew-it. So you can just appreciate the singular moment in time the newborn represents, and soak up the snuggles with no strings attached...
It was a lovely visit all told- a good day for a drive, nigh cold outside, but with some shy autumn-tinged sunshine that broke through just in time for our trip to the fabulous playground. Jack, despite his early reticence to be there, ended up enjoying his time at Fi's house-- giving treats to Otter the cat, playing with the fabulous hover-craft toy, and getting his first ever treat from an ice cream truck. Kid picked a confection named the "two ball screwball". Who on earth is coming up with ice cream novelty names these days? I tell ya.
So, can you tell that school has started?? Blog posts may be few and far between because, as it turns out, working full time with all the school start up stuff to take care of, running after two kids and tucking them in (solo) many nights, going to the gym 3 mornings a week, keeping up with photos, keeping up with facebook, doing laundry and dishes, occasionally noticing the dog, and trying to spend some social time with Nat and friends on weekends-- spare moments are a bit hard to come by. I think I need a secretary. I think of lovely things to post here, all day long, but by the time I sit down after bedtimes, and try to work within the 3-20 minute segments of sleep Ivy gives us for the first bit of the night, it's hard to arrange my mind into a writing mood. Sigh. There is certainly a part of me that is feeling happy and fulfilled and excited to be at work (it's a good year so far, delightful group of kids, a nice laid back vibe to the day... hope that sticks!!)-- a whole lot of me is longing for the stretched out time of summer and our full-time, two parent household.
It's a big adjustment, two on my own. I know there are so, so many mommas who take care of their two, virtually or totally on their own, from day 1. But you see, I got spoiled, soft. So now I need to tone those multi-tasking muscles and develop a rhythm to balance my time and arms and patience between two and it is a slow process for me, I think. I am very, very tired these days. Sleepy-on-the-drive home from work tired, even with more coffee than I should drink, and I am not used to this. Hopefully I will toughen up soon.
It would help if Ivy Jane would remember how to sleep, I tell you that. The Great Crib Transition appeared to be moving in the right direction for about a week, even including one night with a 6 hour stretch in the crib. Then I went back to work and it all fell apart. We now have a girl who wakes 4-7 times a night (shades of little Jack!) and some nights can't even maintain sleep in the swing anymore. I try to be patient and realize that this is a big change for her, a transition, and she too needs to adjust. That she may not yet be drinking her fill from bottles during the day, and might actually need to nurse more at night. I try to remember that at not-yet-four months old, she is too young to be doing this with malicious intent, set on making me to exhausted to think straight at work. That this is normal, not spiteful. But in the dark of night when she won't go back to sleep I can't help but think I must have done something very wrong in a past life, to have these non-sleeping babies. She's a little sleep-shark, this one. Lulled us into complacency with her comparatively excellent sleep early on, and then bam! hits us with nights like this just when we think she should be getting even better. Cruel, cute little thing...
But enough about sleep. Need to actually play catch up, here, before sleep overtakes me for the night...
Quick updates on current milestones for the kiddos.
Ivy: At almost 4 months old, Ivy has discovered her feet. She spends most of her time when on her back or in supported sitting, grabbing onto her toes. She hasn't thought of bringing them to her mouth yet but that's just a matter of time. Her hands sure go there! She likes to suck on the middle two fingers on her hand. Or on one of ours. Drooly, drooly little thing, she is. No teeth yet that I can tell, though. Today she "said" a /g/ sound in her babbling. She's quite vocal and has a terrific range of "ah!" sounds that she makes with great intention.
She seems to be following in Jack's footsteps when it comes to rolling, as well as sleep. Having rolled from tummy to back 3 times, she has decreed that milestone "complete" and has not bothered to do it again. She does, however, pivot around in a full circle when placed on her tummy, and kicks and "crawls" with her legs with great determination. Still loves to stand up on our laps, and loves sitting up, too. On something squishy like the couch, with the help of her freakishly long arms, she can sit in a tri-pod without our support for a second or two. She also laughs a log and continues to be a happy little girl, impressing the ladies in the daycare at the JCC and worming her way into our good graces in the days that follow these rough nights.
Jack's big update is: He has pooped on the potty!!!!! ( I really was doubting this would ever happen) After about 6 attempts yesterday he managed to do it and then liked to talk about pooping "a really BIIIG one" for the rest of the day. Nothing like a 3 year old to change the focus on conversation topics around the house.
He also spent ALL day today (including nap) in underwear and earned a cupcake for a dry day. Of course, we have no cupcakes right now so he is working on delayed gratification...
Perhaps the boy will be potty trained before college after all. Maybe even before pre-school. Orientation starts next week. First he turns 3. Then he starts wearing underwear (can I tell you how cute his little bum looks in train print undies???) Then he starts school. Not sure I can handle the pace at which this is all happening. My baby boy, my little love, cutest child in the universe-- all grown up.
Which he took pains to remind me of, on the way to the park this afternoon. I mentioned something about "my little boy" and he quickly corrected me: "I'm not a little boy, I'm a big boy. I'm growing tall. (pause) My legs are 16 long!! (pause) I'm taller than a mustache."
Taller than a mustache. How can I NOT love him more than anything?
It is a consolation to think that, with the way time moves, it'll only be a moment til Ivy is cracking me up with strange little phrases and these hour-by-hour nights are a thing of the past. The nights are long, the years are short. Right now, in the evening, dark of night not yet upon us, coming off a fairly successful evening on my own with the babes-- the years to come are looking like they might be pretty nice...
It is fall-crisp out these past few days (thank you!!) and the leaves are turning (quite brilliant, really) and it will be October this week. Wow. Trips to the Orchard and LakeFarm Park to schedule in. Nat's off to a wedding this weekend; friends Jamo and Casey visit the weekend after that. Life flies on...
