There's so much going on in my family that whenever I blog, I don't feel I ever get into as much detail about each girl as I'd like. So, this post is about Clara! Emily's preschool class gets a marble in their Wow Jar whenever they get a big Wow, and I think our little one has definitely been earning it lately!
It's amazing, the amount of things she can do now that she couldn't do a month ago. She now holds up her head well enough that I can carry her around on my hip, which is great because she was getting too big for the on-her-back hold, especially when I tried to do it with only one arm. She'd get all smooshed and complain about it. She really enjoys her toys, her fish gym and her bouncy seat, and it won't be long before she's got more control with her little zombie arms. We borrowed a bumbo for her to sit in, which she likes because she can sit with her sisters and watch them play, although she's only good for about 5 min at a time there. It's hard work, controlling that noggin!! She smiles so easily, like she's always having a good time! She sucks on her hands when she's hungry, which is a hilarious, slurping sound. She's also a very noisy nurser, with lots of slurps and commentary. And just the happiest kid there is. Even if she's got wicked diaper rash, she still just squeaks her displeasure - I wouldn't really call it a cry. She can wiggle herself around on the floor now, to the point where I have to be sure she's exactly in the center of my bed if I leave her there. And she loves to stand up on my lap and stretch out her long legs. Bathtime is SO fun! Emily has decided she's big enough for a shower now, so Audrey and Clara get to have baths together, and really enjoy their time together.
I'm so in love with this little girl. I love her snuffy little baby noises, and her soft, round, fuzzy head that's just perfect for me to nuzzle and kiss. She's got the best little toothless grin, and she's really involved with what's going on around her. There's no "plopping" her to the side - she wants to be up with the rest of us, sitting on my lap during dinner, seeing what's going on! she's been a stinker about taking a bottle, but she's getting better and seems to be able to get by pretty well when I'm at work. But I love coming home to her! Tonight, she nursed probably 6 or 7 times between 3:30 and 8:30. I don't mind, I love snuggling with her and feeding her, and she loves it, too. She often stops nursing to just smile up at me, then keeps grinning and dives back in for more, with the attitude that what she's doing is special, as though no baby has ever nursed like her before. I'll probably be up with her in the night tonight to feed her, too, but I really, really don't mind, because she's really fast and she generally lets me sleep pretty well. And I'm happy to see her no matter what time of day. :p
My life is to happy and dull to be a reality TV show. Nobody would watch it - too saccharine. When I'm old and senile and don't know where I am, I sure hope that I think I'm here, now, with my amazing family and happy little life. These really are the good times. It's not just that absolutely everything goes my way, although plenty of it does. I actually get satisfaction from knowing that the things that have been or could be stressors to my life are things that I've learned from and have made me a better person, and I'm happy anyway. I'm just thankful I've had pretty light doses of Real Life so far. I promise to be a quick learner of life lessons, if it means I can keep this going!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Normalcy
I think we're starting to figure out what's normal. This coming week will be our first full week of work and preschool. So far, I think we're set up well. Clara is taking a bottle no problem now, and Amanda seems like she's into a routine with the girls. Emily LOVES preschool, just like I thought she would; her teacher comments that she loves to see Emily's smile every day. Imagine that - my girl is smiley! Audrey is handling the adjustment well, and I've gotta say that I do love my Wednesday afternoons with her. Travis has planned another trip, to Singapore this time, for the end of September, so he seems to be rolling along nicely in his job. The only hiccup in our family seems to be the project I'm currently on at work, and I'm afraid I'm going to just totally screw it up. It's either much simpler than I think it is, and I'm overthinking it, or I have no freaking clue and it's going to blow up in my face. I just don't want to make a fool of myself, whereas usually I try to actually do a good job at things. But, in the larger scheme of our family life, it's a pretty small problem to have, and I'm glad we're limited to that.
Clara is a real chatty baby now! She's discovered putting her hands in her mouth, and I fear that it's only a matter of time before she moves from sucking on her fists to sucking her thumb, but we might luck out. She seems to be capable of going to sleep on her own much more easily than my first two babies. Emily is firmly a thumbsucker and I think it will absolutely crush Audrey when we take away her baby blankets someday... I was wondering if I could soak them in something nasty-tasting, but I don't want her ingesting chemicals or other nasty stuff... maybe I could soak them in spinach juice or something. :) Anyway, my girls are having a great time together. Emily is learning that Audrey likes to keep things from her (the last puzzle piece, the other half of whatever she has) just because she enjoys what happens - Emily screams and begs and gets mad and then gets in trouble for pushing/stealing/etc. I am hoping Emily learns to outsmart that one, because it'll be a much easier lesson to teach than to try to get Audrey to stop doing that. I remember doing those same things to my older siblings because I so desperately wanted them to play with me or acknowledge me (or get their noses out of a book!), and then being forced to figure out a new way to play with them. It's hard! I won't make her do it yet, not when she's not even 3!!
Speaking of, we will soon be entering Birthday Season. I've been making a list of things that I think my girls would really like, for both birthday and Christmas, so hopefully we won't just be adding another layer of crap to our toy-filled house. I am trying to find the bright side of birthdays, in that it means I can get rid of the toys they don't play with (or with some, hide them until Clara is ready for them), and maybe it'll feel a little less congested in my house. We bunked the girls' beds - awesome!! - so there's a little bit more room in their room now. I am hoping someday to move those bunkbeds into Clara's room, when she's ready for a bed too, and turn the yellow room into a playroom. Then I can tell them to go play and they can actually have a place to themselves to do that. As it is now, if i tell them to go upstairs, Audrey gets into my eye makeup (i'm sorry, but that eyeshadow was absolutely stunning on her. what a beauty!) or my lotion or my toothpaste... She seems to really enjoy being left to her own devices. She "painted" her nails the other day with magic marker. I think I've got a real girly girl on my hands! She's in a princess outfit or a leotard probably 60% of the time, asking me, "Don't I look beautiful?" Oh yes, she does.
Emily's first preschool project was a construction-paper cookie. The kids had to cut out the circle, and then glue black circle chocolate chips to it, using the same number of chocolate chips as they counted on the roll of a pair of dice. Then they wrote their name on it. Emily's circle was absolutely perfect, and she spaced each of the letters of her name to match the location of her five chocolate chips. The next day, she and Audrey sat down at their craft table and made their own cookies, howling at me to make more chocolate chips! make more! make more, Mom!!! They each made at least 2, including using a large can of tomatoes for tracing the cookie circle. Audrey's cutting was adequate, but then Emily would clean up the edges until they were perfect and round. I'm not sure I've got the right kid in preschool... :)
In my own head, lately I've realized that I seem to be at a weird point in my life. As I was growing up, I knew that I wanted to get married someday, and have kids. In college, I realized that I didn't want to do music for a career but that I did want to have a career of some kind, and heck, why not engineering? So, now I've got it all: amazing husband, 3 great kids, a career with a fantastic company in a great location with great flexibility for my family, a nice house, wonderful neighbors, lots of great friends, happy family... so, now what? It's not that I'm unhappy without something to chase, because this truly is awesome where I am. It's just the first time in my life that it's happened!! I mean really, now what do I push myself towards next?
Clara is a real chatty baby now! She's discovered putting her hands in her mouth, and I fear that it's only a matter of time before she moves from sucking on her fists to sucking her thumb, but we might luck out. She seems to be capable of going to sleep on her own much more easily than my first two babies. Emily is firmly a thumbsucker and I think it will absolutely crush Audrey when we take away her baby blankets someday... I was wondering if I could soak them in something nasty-tasting, but I don't want her ingesting chemicals or other nasty stuff... maybe I could soak them in spinach juice or something. :) Anyway, my girls are having a great time together. Emily is learning that Audrey likes to keep things from her (the last puzzle piece, the other half of whatever she has) just because she enjoys what happens - Emily screams and begs and gets mad and then gets in trouble for pushing/stealing/etc. I am hoping Emily learns to outsmart that one, because it'll be a much easier lesson to teach than to try to get Audrey to stop doing that. I remember doing those same things to my older siblings because I so desperately wanted them to play with me or acknowledge me (or get their noses out of a book!), and then being forced to figure out a new way to play with them. It's hard! I won't make her do it yet, not when she's not even 3!!
Speaking of, we will soon be entering Birthday Season. I've been making a list of things that I think my girls would really like, for both birthday and Christmas, so hopefully we won't just be adding another layer of crap to our toy-filled house. I am trying to find the bright side of birthdays, in that it means I can get rid of the toys they don't play with (or with some, hide them until Clara is ready for them), and maybe it'll feel a little less congested in my house. We bunked the girls' beds - awesome!! - so there's a little bit more room in their room now. I am hoping someday to move those bunkbeds into Clara's room, when she's ready for a bed too, and turn the yellow room into a playroom. Then I can tell them to go play and they can actually have a place to themselves to do that. As it is now, if i tell them to go upstairs, Audrey gets into my eye makeup (i'm sorry, but that eyeshadow was absolutely stunning on her. what a beauty!) or my lotion or my toothpaste... She seems to really enjoy being left to her own devices. She "painted" her nails the other day with magic marker. I think I've got a real girly girl on my hands! She's in a princess outfit or a leotard probably 60% of the time, asking me, "Don't I look beautiful?" Oh yes, she does.
Emily's first preschool project was a construction-paper cookie. The kids had to cut out the circle, and then glue black circle chocolate chips to it, using the same number of chocolate chips as they counted on the roll of a pair of dice. Then they wrote their name on it. Emily's circle was absolutely perfect, and she spaced each of the letters of her name to match the location of her five chocolate chips. The next day, she and Audrey sat down at their craft table and made their own cookies, howling at me to make more chocolate chips! make more! make more, Mom!!! They each made at least 2, including using a large can of tomatoes for tracing the cookie circle. Audrey's cutting was adequate, but then Emily would clean up the edges until they were perfect and round. I'm not sure I've got the right kid in preschool... :)
In my own head, lately I've realized that I seem to be at a weird point in my life. As I was growing up, I knew that I wanted to get married someday, and have kids. In college, I realized that I didn't want to do music for a career but that I did want to have a career of some kind, and heck, why not engineering? So, now I've got it all: amazing husband, 3 great kids, a career with a fantastic company in a great location with great flexibility for my family, a nice house, wonderful neighbors, lots of great friends, happy family... so, now what? It's not that I'm unhappy without something to chase, because this truly is awesome where I am. It's just the first time in my life that it's happened!! I mean really, now what do I push myself towards next?
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