I need to be better about blogging. Since I'm not really keeping much
of a journal, this blog has been a good way for me to remember the fun
things my kids say and their odd stages. I had already forgotten about
A applauding my cooking until I read my blog post about it. But, I
guess that's to be expected, since I've also forgotten my boys' names,
what day it is, and what I did yesterday. Pregnancy brain has fully
settled in, and I find myself incapable of locating keys or remembering
conversations.
Since I didn't write a Christmas summary letter this year, I might as well take this time to do an update on our family.
B -- B1 has been super busy finishing our basement. What started as
an attempt to finish one bedroom so we would have room for this new
baby has lead to framing the entire basement, finishing the bedroom, and
completing a bathroom. While we are still a long way from being done,
B1 has made some amazing progress, and done all of it (so far)
without contracting it out. We have had some wonderful help from one of
his coworkers, his dad, and a few neighbors. We've chalked up his
urgency to do this to his "nesting" stage. He's always nested worse than
I do when the pregnancy draws to a close. Last year the nesting
instinct was satisfied by all the work we had to do on our new house;
with D, B1 painted our condo; with B2, he unpacked boxes that
had sat for a year and set up the nursery.
B2 -- B2 started basketball this week through the city program. He is very
excited. He spent most of last summer/fall playing basketball, so he's
really excited to be on this team. As an added bonus, a friend of his
from 1st grade is on his team, and he was just super thrilled about
this. We're still not sure if transferring him to the charter school was
a good idea. Academically, I believe it was--he has done much better in
class, and the communication from his teacher is well above what we've
had from the traditional schools. But, we really worry about B2 making
friends. We are now halfway through the year, and I still don't think he
has really made a friend. When he has free time and wants to invite
someone to play, it's always the neighbor kids or friends from past
wards/schools. When we ask about his friends at school, he mainly refers
to this one boy that (frankly) I don't think treats him very well, but
B2 insists on continuing to try. I hate to transfer him back,
particularly because I know one of the 4th grade teachers at the charter
school and REALLY REALLY want B2 in her class; if we leave next
year, it will be a small chance that he will get back in. We're just
going to have to keep watching him closely and this summer reconsider
whether this school is the best option for him.
D
-- We are realizing more and more that there must be a pre-Earth life,
because D has a personality so incredibly different from his
brothers. We have really struggled over the last few months trying to
understand how to be the sort of parents that D needs. He is a
wonderful, sweet boy that needs lots of attention and lots of choices.
I'm still learning how to give him options that I can live with. For
example, I have places that I need to be (doctor appointments, church,
etc.), and I have places I want to go (shopping, play dates, and so on),
both of which require certain behaviors from Dallas (such as getting
dressed and putting on shoes). Sometimes, he has no problem doing what I
ask, but more often it seems that the more urgent my errand, the more
stubborn he becomes. I quickly run out of options--I can't leave him
home alone, I can't take him shopping in just his underwear, or shorts
and a shirt without shoes when it's 5 degrees outside, and staying home
and missing my appointment only hurts me and doesn't teach him anything.
So, we've been doing a lot of experimenting with different rewards,
punishments, and language to see what works. Of course, the same thing
doesn't work every day, but generally I think we are making progress.
I'm trying to appreciate his stubborn personality and likewise release
some of my own preconceived notions of parenthood. But, the last few
months have taught me a lot about the importance of agency, and how our
Heavenly Father must feel when we use our agency for good. I am so
pleased when D happily says, "Yes Mommy" when I ask him to do
something, or when he comes and tells me that he made a paper airplane
just for me. Now, if I only I could make him love to get dressed and run
errands with me (or go to preschool and church happily), we'd have it
made. :)
A -- A is officially into EVERYTHING now. He
can finally climb onto our couches and kitchen chairs (they are
slightly taller than I think is average, so we got a few extra months
where he would try but just could pull himself up onto these furniture
pieces). He has also discovered that he can push our kitchen chairs over
to the counters so he can climb up and reach what is on the counters.
He can also bypass the baby locks on the cabinets (most worrisome is the
one that locks up all our cleaning products; thankfully, right now he
mainly likes to pull everything out but doesn't try to eat any of the
poisons) and climb up and down stairs. He can't open doors yet or climb
out of his crib, so we do still have some control over where he can go
in the house, but I'm sure that won't be long. We stored his high chair
this past week or so, and he now sits at the table in a booster seat. He
loves being with the family and loves to feed himself, but he also
loves to throw everything--food, toys, books, sippy cups, and so on.
Sometimes I wonder if he's going to stop growing because I'm convinced
all of his food winds up on the floor. But, regardless of the mischief,
he does everything with a smile. Well--except going to nursery. He cries
about that. But he's very happy otherwise. He still claps a lot, and is
getting better about saying Thank You. He's even starting to form
sentences. The other day at dinner, A randomly pointed at Dad and said,
"That's Dadda; that's Mama [pointing at me]." Brian and I looked at
each other to confirm that we heard what we thought we heard. A has a
rather extensive vocabulary, though I still think it's only our family
that can understand most of his words. He likes to say "Bye!" to
everyone that leaves--the cashier at the grocery store, his teachers in
nursery, the neighbors who knock on the door. He may not be so willing
to say hi, but he'll happily bid them farewell. But, probably my
favorite part of the day is when Dad comes home, and A happily cries,
"Hi Dadda!" and runs to him to give him a hug. It reminds me of when I
was a kid, and how we'd all cheer when my dad came home from work and
run to say hi.
And, then there's me. I finished working
at CP at the end of December. I'd been there in one capacity or
another for the past 8.5 years, so it was very surreal to be attending
my final Christmas party and to be processing my final payroll. I still
wake up each morning and think that I need to check my email, and I
wonder each day what's happening in the office and thinking about what I
need to do for the upcoming payroll and which new employees need
insurance paperwork.
My pregnancy has been going well.
The baby moves consistently and measures on schedule. I'm just shy of 35
weeks along right now, and it's weird to think we'll have another baby
in just over a month's time. We still don't have a name picked out for
either sex. B1 has been so focused on
work, finishing the basement, and his upcoming check ride to really give
baby names much of a thought, and I've been so bogged down the last few
weeks with a cold that alternates between wiping me out, giving me
migraines, and keeping me from being able to breathe that most days I
just try to survive to bedtime. So, I haven't really given names much of
a thought either. This whole pregnancy has been different than my other
three--at first, I feared there was something wrong with me or the baby
because I didn't have the same immediate attachment that I had with my
other three boys. After our ultrasound, and some talks with my OB, I've
realized that this is common behavior and not necessarily indicative of a
problem. Now, being this close to the end and still not knowing if
we're having a boy or girl has been both fun and frustrating. I've
wanted to buy little girl clothes that I see on sale, but don't want to
if we end up having another boy (and, I've also seen some really cute
little boy clothes that I've considering buying, but would already be
too small for A and silly to purchase if this baby is a girl). But, I'm
also really looking forward to finding out when the baby is born
whether it's a boy or girl--it's like I get Christmas all over again in
February. :) We get a lot of people asking if we are hoping this baby is
either a boy or a girl, and I think frankly we don't care. We are just
happy to have another baby blessing our family. And, I'm happy that this
is the last time I will be pregnant (knock on wood).
So,
that's our family news. I know, nothing super exciting, but at least I
have some things written down for when I forget them tomorrow. :)
