It’s been a while since I’ve made note of childlike developments, and since I have a morning with no real thought to share (except some general disdain toward the Ottawa mayor who got caught soliciting prostitution, and the Jackson Center girls basketball coach, who was caught at the same place last week…), so a little documenting of life as we experience it is in order.

H Boy – Just shy of 3 years
  • His verbal skills are wicked  good. This is both good (glad he’s age appropriate!) and bad (oh the constant requests!). I love hearing him tell his perception of things. 
  • Storytime has resumed its rightful place of “favorite” in this house; at least one book is required pre-nap and -bedtime. On one exceptionally long day, this tired mama was lounging in his bed as the kids played. I found that if I loafed it, H would start reading to M. Brilliant. All those rounds of Brown Bear paid off as he was able to recite it without much prompting from me.
  • Stones, rocks and dirt. I’ve learned to check the pockets before doing laundry because the boy is toting all of these things around from place to place. We’ve been known to take a rock or 2 to bed with us as well. I’ve decided to be grateful that these are inanimate objects. It could’ve been a turtle. Or worm. 
  • H is a huge fan of being a big brother. If Baby C is up and awake, H is demanding that he hold her. Or if she’s  kicking on the floor, he’s laying right there beside her, chatting her up. This is mostly adorable, but I tend to feel slightly suffocated on behalf of Baby C. 
  • H also has a big brother voice. He will raise it 2 octaves when he’s asking M Girl to do something that he really wants her to do (like race around holding the other end of a laundry basket – “you want to hold it M?”). I’m trying to watch the pitch of my own voice, as I know he got this from somewhere. 
M Girl – 18 months
  • M is our personality. Much like her mama, a little more keen to push limits (or at least test them). 
  • She has quite the propensity for theatrics. She loves to sing and will generally do so when asked (her favorite song is about water, we believe. She’ll sway to that one). When upset she doesn’t just whine or cry, she’ll fling herself on the footstool or floor to show us the sheer devastation she’s feeling. 
  • She’s also a bit more physical then H was at this age. She loves doing sommersaults – when the clothesbasket laps were being requested, M would stop after a lap and randomly do a flip. It was absolutely hilarious. But she’s also climbing anything – including the ladder to the slide – and she’s just started with the jumping bit. She started with a plate (plastic!) that she was standing on, saying “ready, jump!” and then she’d hop off. H has been doing something similar with the footstool.
  • Her words are multiplying every day and I’m amazed by how well she’ll repeat so many things we say. She’s conquered milk, cheese and yogurt (she loves her dairy?), diaper, ball, daddy, doggy, and a few variations that, to the untrained ear sound like a cross between daddy and doggy but are actually mommy, brother and baby. It’s not her speech, it’s your listening. 
  • Her activities include throwing away trash, brushing hair and teeth, and caring for her baby. 
Baby C – 6.5 weeks
  • She’s getting so big! We haven’t found a PCP down here yet, so I’m not sure of her weight, but she’s filling out the 0-3 month clothes quite nicely. 
  • We’ve also garnered some social smiles (results not just of pooping) and bit of babbling gaa gaa, goo goo’s. 
  • Overall we’re a decent sleeper, save for the hours between 7-9pm. These are the hours that the siblings are finally out of the way and she can make her presence known for the attention she deserves. 
Mama and papa bears
  • We’re doing well. Husband is getting settled into the school routine and really enjoys his school, students and faculty. I think he’s relieved to know this was all worth it. 
  • I’m getting things done around here, trying to cook meals and keep my mind sane. I’ve started to try to work out and add a bit of routine to my life. I even went out for coffee last night with a friend. I’m supposed to be heading back to work a the end of September… if I can remember to put in my availability. 
So that’s all folks. Our life in a nutshell. (Look at me, I’m in a nutshell.)