T Tuesdays

Hello all.  We are back from a little trip to Oregon for another interview. Details to come.

I have been less than consistent with blogging lately mostly because of work demands--for Ben and for me.  And physical exhaustion.  As we settle into more of a routine I am hoping to change this.  

Anyway.  Another week and more changes.  My babies seriously make me laugh, cry, angry, and ecstatic at any given moment. Mostly, they remind me of the bigger picture.

Andrew

11 months.  That's how old he is.  In a couple of weeks he will be turning one.  One! That is impossible. I know I've said this before, but he really is too little to be one.  

At least to me.

Developmentally, he is very prepared.

He is now cruising all over the floor and the furniture.  He will stand and walk along furniture pieces.  Including me. (Yes, mothers can be considered furniture.  I mean, we can be anything our kids want us to be.)

He recognizes all sorts of animals, people, and objects.  I'm sure he can say "dog" and maybe even "bottle."  Although, to be frank, I'm not encouraging him.  He is my baby, for one thing, and his language will come when he's ready.

He enjoys clapping his hands, making noises with his mouth, putting stuff in his mouth, and dancing.  His favorite time, besides meal times, is bath time.  Playing in the water makes him giggle and smile more than most things can.

Because of the surgery and the medications I was using at the time, I had to stop nursing him.  That was--still is--pretty awful.  More for me than for him.  Ever since, he has started really sleeping through the night.  Since I can't nurse him, he no longer wakes up at 4 am.  Bittersweet.  His bedtime is around 7pm and he goes to bed very easily.  By easy I mean I place him in his crib and he falls asleep.  Just like that.  No stories, songs, or anything else.  I keep things pretty simple around here.

He has started listening to stories as I read them and really enjoys turning the pages for me.

He caught the cold that Ben and I had last week.  It has been pretty awful.  He's lost his voice and everything.  When he cries, it makes me so sad.  Poor baby.

Emily

She's two.  That's all I have to say.

Kidding, kidding.

Last week, in the car, we discovered another of her many musical talents: Rhythm.  This girl has got it.  We were clapping a 4-4 beat and she picked it right up.  When she got off, she paused and resumed with her clapping.  On beat.  Wow. 

She can also sing songs on pitch and in rhythm.  I actually have a video that I will be uploading sometime soon.  

Her sentences really are sentences--with proper sentence structure and everything.  I still interpret most of what she says for people, but she is pretty capable of communicating what she wants or doesn't want without my help.

Nothing is out of reach anymore.  Nothing.  She even knows how to open the gate we have to keep her out of the kitchen.  

She is really asserting her independence in different ways.  Often, she tell me exactly what she wants for meals and especially lets me know what she wants at any given moment.  She surprised me last night with something new:  Clothes.  I've been expecting this so whent it came I really laughed. While dressing her for bed time, I pulled out her footie pajamas and she started saying, "No! Dress, mommy!"  She ran to this purple dress and brought it over to me.  So, that's what she wore for jammies last night. 

I guess I could count her desire to be naked as independence.  If I let her, she would be nude all the time.  Since it is getting colder, I am firm about keeping her in clothes.  I do let her choose what she wants to wear in hopes that it will lead to less melt downs while dressing her.  It works off an on.  But, if I tell her how pretty she is after putting her in clothes, she usually calms down.  Hee hee.

Emily hits.  She hits me, her friends, and especially her brother.  It has been wearing me down for the past few months as we've started watching other kids.  I watch her run over and push them onto the floor and wonder what happened to my sweet little angel.

I tried time outs, stern lectures, and everything but it didn't work.  Out of pure desperation, I asked Google.  It sent me to two websites that use the current research to help guide parents through their questions.  Since I sold back most of my textbooks after graduation (something I am seriously regretting), it was nice to read something that offered advice I understand.  That sounds patronizing, but my mind thinks in terms of development and research so using those models to answer a question is exactly what I need.

 As this is something almost all parents will encounter, here are the links.

When your toddler hits.

How can I get my child to stop hitting me?

Amber

Chugging along.  Ben has been working extra hours lately and that has been hard, but other than that, I'm enjoying my time with the kids. 

Physically, I am sore.  Like everywhere.  I would expect this if I had been working out, but I can't so the reason is uncertain. 

Emotionally, I am getting there.  It still hurts to think about the what ifs.  I have my post D&C appointment this week (probably tomorrow).  I don't really know what it entails, but if anything major comes up I'll let all of you know. 

On a brighter note,  I am starting to exercise a little this week.  I am hoping to get to my aerobics class tomorrow and shake all the frustrations off.  Literally. It will be nice to see some of the ladies again.

Ben

Working a lot.  Really, he has two jobs.  He doesn't really get a break.  He is still finishing up his last 3 independent study courses; however, he gets to spend most of his days off with us.  We are soaking it up.  We know that next year it will be back to the routine of never seeing him.

Last week Ben interviewed at a medical school in Oregon.  I had the opportunity to go with him while Aunt Sue and Henry watched the kids for us (thanks guys!).  We really liked the campus and the curriculum.  It would be a dream to get in.

That's about it for now.

Peace out,