There's no question - our kids have favorite parents. I'm Isaac's favorite, Ben is Joshua's favorite.
This morning I brought Joshua in bed with us, hoping for just a few more minutes. He wouldn't settle and wouldn't settle and finally saw Ben. So he flopped his way over to Ben and promptly fell back asleep.
Isaac loves me a thousand much and loves Ben three much.
The boys were racing between me and a wall yesterday. Then Ben sat down next to me and Joshua rarely came to me anymore.
Now, this isn't to say that our kids don't like and enjoy the opposite parent. But they do have favorites.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Sunday: a busy day
Today ended up being a bit busier than expected, partially due to poor planning. I had nursery this morning and therefore had to wake Joshua up and he was not so excited about that idea. So then we were running about five minutes late. Not a huge deal, but I wanted to be on time and felt rushed.
Nursery was going well until one of the kids had a very dirty diaper. The other helper was changing it and all the other kids decided to cry. I could only help three at a time, which left one crying. If I tried shifting them around, they all cried for a bit and the the one left out continued to cry. Yeah. I feel like nursery is either really boring or a bit too exciting. I finally went upstairs to pick up Isaac and his room was completely empty. I freaked out just a bit. Not in a "I think my son is in danger" but a "I think my son might be wandering around this big church with tall people in it." As I was going to get the person in charge I glanced in a different room and found him. Phew. They had just changed rooms. I'm still not sure why, but next time I won't get worked up until I check both.
Bible study was at our house at noon. The house was mostly clean still from Friday, but there was still some cleaning and prepping to finish up. Ben was finishing getting ready, Joshua was extra sad, but at least Isaac was cleaning up his train track...we ended up being ready with out any problems (and even got some extra cleaning done) but it wasn't how I imagined that hour going. The time with our friends was very nice though.
I had a nice nap and then Ben went to get his hair cut. We had dinner. We cleaned up the Legos (more pictures to follow). After the boys' bedtime I happily retreated to my quilting though. I was ready for some alone-with-my-own-head time.
Nursery was going well until one of the kids had a very dirty diaper. The other helper was changing it and all the other kids decided to cry. I could only help three at a time, which left one crying. If I tried shifting them around, they all cried for a bit and the the one left out continued to cry. Yeah. I feel like nursery is either really boring or a bit too exciting. I finally went upstairs to pick up Isaac and his room was completely empty. I freaked out just a bit. Not in a "I think my son is in danger" but a "I think my son might be wandering around this big church with tall people in it." As I was going to get the person in charge I glanced in a different room and found him. Phew. They had just changed rooms. I'm still not sure why, but next time I won't get worked up until I check both.
Bible study was at our house at noon. The house was mostly clean still from Friday, but there was still some cleaning and prepping to finish up. Ben was finishing getting ready, Joshua was extra sad, but at least Isaac was cleaning up his train track...we ended up being ready with out any problems (and even got some extra cleaning done) but it wasn't how I imagined that hour going. The time with our friends was very nice though.
I had a nice nap and then Ben went to get his hair cut. We had dinner. We cleaned up the Legos (more pictures to follow). After the boys' bedtime I happily retreated to my quilting though. I was ready for some alone-with-my-own-head time.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Saturday: emotions
I've decided that I have my largest range of emotions in the shortest amount of time while playing racquetball.
Ready: about ready to serve and deciding to serve to Ben's forehand.
Dispair: As the ball leaves the front wall, I realize it is a perfect serve to Ben and he will probably do a great return...great for him, terrible for me.
Elation: I managed to return his return! Go me!
Hope: Perhaps I returned the ball well enough that it will make it to the front wall...come on ball, you can make it...
Resignation: The ball didn't make it to the front wall before bouncing. I lost control of the serve.
This probably takes about five seconds.
Ready: about ready to serve and deciding to serve to Ben's forehand.
Dispair: As the ball leaves the front wall, I realize it is a perfect serve to Ben and he will probably do a great return...great for him, terrible for me.
Elation: I managed to return his return! Go me!
Hope: Perhaps I returned the ball well enough that it will make it to the front wall...come on ball, you can make it...
Resignation: The ball didn't make it to the front wall before bouncing. I lost control of the serve.
This probably takes about five seconds.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Friday: the day
We are having a lot of guests throughout the weekend, so I decided it was time to at least try and get the house in some sort of order.
It started by sending Isaac off to put some mail in the mailbox and put up the flag. He did it! So that is one more thing that he can do by himself and I didn't have to go out in the cold.
Then we did a bit of work - I feel like the boys understood that there was going to be a time where I wasn't going to play and sort of accepted it. Then they helped with the floors. Isaac actually helped, Joshua just looked cute.
During this whole week I've been working on laundry. I really feel like I need a new system, but expect that system would involve me actually putting clothes away. (This isn't all of it either...there is another load in the dryer and a small load still to be washed. I'm not really sure how I got so behind, as usually when I'm behind I can at least get it all in the baskets we have.)
This afternoon I was cleaning up in the office and Isaac and Joshua were playing under my desk. Joshua pushed the CD open button on the computer and jumped back in surprise with a cry when it opened. I told him it wasn't a big deal and shut it. Of course. that got Isaac's attention and so he figured out how it worked. Then he trying to get Joshua to do it. And when he's talking to Joshua, trying to help him, Isaac has the sweetest little voice. Isaac finally managed to get Joshua to try it, but of course it back fired on him a bit as Joshua didn't want to stop after that.
We had the first two groups of people over today, one for lunch and one for dinner. A very pleasant time was had with both, but nothing really of note happened.
It started by sending Isaac off to put some mail in the mailbox and put up the flag. He did it! So that is one more thing that he can do by himself and I didn't have to go out in the cold.
Then we did a bit of work - I feel like the boys understood that there was going to be a time where I wasn't going to play and sort of accepted it. Then they helped with the floors. Isaac actually helped, Joshua just looked cute.
This afternoon I was cleaning up in the office and Isaac and Joshua were playing under my desk. Joshua pushed the CD open button on the computer and jumped back in surprise with a cry when it opened. I told him it wasn't a big deal and shut it. Of course. that got Isaac's attention and so he figured out how it worked. Then he trying to get Joshua to do it. And when he's talking to Joshua, trying to help him, Isaac has the sweetest little voice. Isaac finally managed to get Joshua to try it, but of course it back fired on him a bit as Joshua didn't want to stop after that.
We had the first two groups of people over today, one for lunch and one for dinner. A very pleasant time was had with both, but nothing really of note happened.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Thursday: this morning
I looked in his bedroom: not there. I looked in the toy room: not there. I looked at the front door: still locked. I looked at the basement stairs: the gate was closed and lights off, so it was doubtful he was down there. I puzzled. Then I saw it on the couch - a quilt covered lump. It was Isaac! This is the second time he has hid well and quietly from me.
He also can read the word Meijer. He read it on a prescription bottle and then at the actual store. I haven't tried it in a different font, but was still excited.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Tuesday: 47 months
Isaac turned 47 months yesterday!
(Joshua knows that quilts on the floor mean picture time, so he went from his quilt to Isaac's quilt.)
Attitude: Isaac's been pretty happy and more or less with it lately. We haven't had a lot of behavior issues this month. Isaac's been really nice to Joshua these last few days too. Overall, he's pretty silly and full of energy.
Sleeping: we recently took out Isaac's nap and it seems to be working really well. He's very ready to go to sleep at bed time (we sometimes put him to bed a tad early even) and he sleeps all night until about 7/7:30. If he naps he stays awake for hours. (Case in point - he took a nap at school today and is still awake at 11pm. I might need to talk to them...) During quiet time he has a drawer with activities that are just for quiet time....white board markers, assorted craft items (pipe cleaners, yarn, glue stick, trash pieces of Styrofoam, scissors, toothpicks), a few toys that he hasn't played with much, and some sticker books. I'll have to be proactive about changing things out though. He has been good about putting the items away at the end of quiet time.
Imagination: Isaac has started being a gate again after a few months of not being a gate. He is also a puppy dog and also calls me mama dog all the time. He loves his ball. He still likes playing Castle and is always animating things. Sometimes I think I talk more to toys throughout the day than I do to Isaac.
Color: His favorite color is still black, hands down.
Random things: Isaac has started sounding out syllables for words when we don't understand what he's saying. It doesn't always help. He was talking about someone at school (which is also a new thing) and I said, "his name is roman?" "No. Ro-" "ro" "ing" "ing?" "Yes." Ok, great. He has a friend named Rowing. It turns out the name is Rowen, so I was pretty close. We talk a lot about what letter starts assorted words. He can often give me the sound and sometimes correlate that to an actual letter.
(Joshua knows that quilts on the floor mean picture time, so he went from his quilt to Isaac's quilt.)
Attitude: Isaac's been pretty happy and more or less with it lately. We haven't had a lot of behavior issues this month. Isaac's been really nice to Joshua these last few days too. Overall, he's pretty silly and full of energy.
Sleeping: we recently took out Isaac's nap and it seems to be working really well. He's very ready to go to sleep at bed time (we sometimes put him to bed a tad early even) and he sleeps all night until about 7/7:30. If he naps he stays awake for hours. (Case in point - he took a nap at school today and is still awake at 11pm. I might need to talk to them...) During quiet time he has a drawer with activities that are just for quiet time....white board markers, assorted craft items (pipe cleaners, yarn, glue stick, trash pieces of Styrofoam, scissors, toothpicks), a few toys that he hasn't played with much, and some sticker books. I'll have to be proactive about changing things out though. He has been good about putting the items away at the end of quiet time.
Imagination: Isaac has started being a gate again after a few months of not being a gate. He is also a puppy dog and also calls me mama dog all the time. He loves his ball. He still likes playing Castle and is always animating things. Sometimes I think I talk more to toys throughout the day than I do to Isaac.
Color: His favorite color is still black, hands down.
Random things: Isaac has started sounding out syllables for words when we don't understand what he's saying. It doesn't always help. He was talking about someone at school (which is also a new thing) and I said, "his name is roman?" "No. Ro-" "ro" "ing" "ing?" "Yes." Ok, great. He has a friend named Rowing. It turns out the name is Rowen, so I was pretty close. We talk a lot about what letter starts assorted words. He can often give me the sound and sometimes correlate that to an actual letter.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Monday: 16 months
Joshua turned 16 months a few days ago.
Talking: Joshua still doesn't have many words, but mama, da, more, ni-ni, and ba (ball) are ones that are commonly used. There is also a sign for "all done", but he frequently uses it only to put more food in his mouth immediately afterwards. We've been trying to work on a sign for please, but he is resisting. Often he will even resist us making the sign with his hand.
Ideas: Joshua has his own ideas of what should happen and isn't afraid to let us know if our ideas are different from his. Case in point, I left one of the car toys in the car today. He wanted to bring it in the house and cried for several minutes after finding out that wasn't going to happen. Now that he is walking better, Joshua has also found more independence. He is more happy to go into the child care place at the gym if he can freely walk in by himself.
Sleep: not many changes from last month: still sleeping about eleven to twelve hours at night and waking once to nurse. He naps poorly at daycare and sometimes ok at home. He is still a light sleeper and wakes up several times at night but will go back to sleep without my having to get out of bed.
Eating: Joshua is nursing two to three times a day. He (and Isaac) enjoy spinach smoothies, so I've actually been able to get some vegetables into him...and good ones at that. I need to remember to give him a snack in the late afternoon so that he remains happy until dinner.
People: Joshua is still rather serious around non-family members. But it is possible to get him to laugh on command a bit more. Isaac remains the funniest person.
Playing: Joshua likes to be chased. He plays peek-a-boo while getting his diaper changed. It's really rather cute. He covers his eyes, I say, "Where's Joshua?", and then he uncovers his eyes. He likes balls and going down the slide and sometimes reading. He likes the Ipad, but doesn't always have a very long attention span for it.
Talking: Joshua still doesn't have many words, but mama, da, more, ni-ni, and ba (ball) are ones that are commonly used. There is also a sign for "all done", but he frequently uses it only to put more food in his mouth immediately afterwards. We've been trying to work on a sign for please, but he is resisting. Often he will even resist us making the sign with his hand.
Ideas: Joshua has his own ideas of what should happen and isn't afraid to let us know if our ideas are different from his. Case in point, I left one of the car toys in the car today. He wanted to bring it in the house and cried for several minutes after finding out that wasn't going to happen. Now that he is walking better, Joshua has also found more independence. He is more happy to go into the child care place at the gym if he can freely walk in by himself.
Sleep: not many changes from last month: still sleeping about eleven to twelve hours at night and waking once to nurse. He naps poorly at daycare and sometimes ok at home. He is still a light sleeper and wakes up several times at night but will go back to sleep without my having to get out of bed.
Eating: Joshua is nursing two to three times a day. He (and Isaac) enjoy spinach smoothies, so I've actually been able to get some vegetables into him...and good ones at that. I need to remember to give him a snack in the late afternoon so that he remains happy until dinner.
People: Joshua is still rather serious around non-family members. But it is possible to get him to laugh on command a bit more. Isaac remains the funniest person.
Playing: Joshua likes to be chased. He plays peek-a-boo while getting his diaper changed. It's really rather cute. He covers his eyes, I say, "Where's Joshua?", and then he uncovers his eyes. He likes balls and going down the slide and sometimes reading. He likes the Ipad, but doesn't always have a very long attention span for it.
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