Conversations with Micah 03.005

Micah: Mom! I need some crack!
Me: Some what?
Micah: Crack!
Me: Uhhhh.....crackers?
Micah: Yeah!

Isaiah @ 6.5

Sooooo....despite the fact that we were literally talking about this last week, I completely forgot about Isaiah's half birthday. Between the divorce being final Monday and the kids being with Jeremy Tuesday, it just didn't even occur to me. This is going to be a tough one to write.

So what's new with Isaiah since January?

Well, with all the changes he's been through, Isaiah started seeing a counselor this summer. He likes Miss Allison and seems to enjoy going and she said he's working through things and may be able to transition out of seeing her in another couple of months. We all still have some rough spots, but we're working on it. After school starts I'm hoping there's no more big changes for a (LONG) while and we can all have a chance to settle down.

Isaiah's doing a great job reading. I love it when he picks up a book on his own to either read to himself or read to one of his siblings. He's like me, reading everything around him...books, packaging, signs, etc, etc, etc. It's great that he doesn't just skip over the "big" words he doesn't know. He's always asking me what a word is and, if it's not familiar, what it means. Turns out, I suck at defining things for a 6 year old. This leads to....

...having fun asking Google things. Isaiah and Micah both enjoy using my phone to ask questions. She doesn't define things for him much better than I do, but it usually helps me when I'm stumped with how to phrase something. A few times we've had to define a word in a definition. I need to find a children's dictionary...

Isaiah misses Jeremy sometimes, naturally. He doesn't get as upset between visits any more and rarely asks to call/Skype with Jeremy anymore. It's kind of sad but I also think it sort of means he's adjusting to not having Daddy live with us anymore. I think moving was a good thing because Isaiah doesn't have those memories of Jeremy being around.

I have to admit that I don't know if we would have gotten through everything as well as we did without Isaiah's help. He is the most amazing big brother!!! It may have been unfair how much I've relied on him to watch the little kids while I shower or cook or clean, and I'm trying to keep that in mind. But, he knows how it goes around here and if I have to leave the kids with someone like my dad who hasn't been around them as much, I know Isaiah is a huge resource for that person. Just the other day my dad said he basically didn't have to do anything because Isaiah knew just what needed to be done. He loves his siblings and is so amazing with them. It's just amazing.

(No, he's not perfect. He and Micah bicker and wrestle and inflict pain on each other. But Isaiah will also help when Micah's stuck on his bike or pick up Esther and move her when she's getting too close to something she shouldn't be near.)

Isaiah's started talking about going back to school. He has a few weeks still, but he's missing his friends. I meant to have playdates this year, but there's been too much going on to fit that in! Isaiah did have quite the meltdown a couple weeks ago at dinner because he found out there was only 1 first grade this year (there were 2 last year) and he was going to have Mrs. Gorman, who is "strict". Ha! I think he's calmed down because we talked about how he's such a good kid at school and follows the rules so he's not going to be in trouble if he listens. I also promised that if it was awful, he could switch schools (but then he started talking about leaving for a year and going back....not sure want that going on.) That just seems like teaching him he can avoid things he doesn't like and we all know life isn't like that! Now I pretty much regret that idea.

That's all I can think of for now. Hopefully by 7 things will be more happy than upsetting!

Esther @ 8 Months

Esther is now 8 months old! She is the most adorable little thing! I don't think she's gotten much bigger since 7 months because she's mostly still wearing the same size in clothes. She only has about 3 outfits left in 9-month so I guess she has gotten a bit bigger...12-month is definitely what we're going for now.

This month started out pretty rough for everyone with the move. We all were short-tempered and/or clingy and/or frustrated for a couple weeks. Thankfully we're getting out of that slump and starting to enjoy the new place. Best part about an apartment is it forces us to get out and walk Ruff. Esther usually takes a nap when we go out in the morning...I just strap her on my back in the Ergo and away we go!

My favorite new development just happened this past weekend. Esther started saying "Mama"! I love it! It's really clear, too. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but she really seems to only direct it to me.

Esther is now a pro at getting into a sitting position from her belly. She's also doing a bit of crawling, but usually just a foot or two so she can get whatever she wants. I've also seen her up on hands and feet but she doesn't know what to do after that so she sits (falls) back down.

Speaking of being on her feet...Esther's now pulled herself up to standing twice. Once during a bath in the sink I turned to say something to Isaiah and when I turned back she had pulled herself up. (I missed it!!!) The next time she grabbed the edge of her toy box and pulled up like she's been doing it for a while. The strange thing is, she's tried since then and not gotten anywhere.

I think Esther's favorite thing to do right now is to stand at her toy box and grab for toys. She can do that forever! Another fun activity is playing with her computer...she loves to close the lid! I open it and she closes it...over and over and over again. Peek-a-boo is still a top contender too.

Esther's had several rough days lately. I really don't know if its new teeth, an ear infection or something else but I'm leaning toward teeth. Low fever, diarrhea, super fussy, awful sleep. I actually realized I had lost (thrown away?) all the syringes for my baby Tylenol when the fever really showed up. Thank goodness Auntie Becca was still awake and able to bring us more medicine (with the syringe!) at 1:00 in the morning. Bestest Auntie to the rescue! Things seem to be settling down again, but night sleep still isn't quite back to normal.

We are all currently adjusting to Mommy having a job again. Yay! Part-time, working from home so we're having to work on a schedule that lets me get some things done during the day. I wish Esther would take a longer nap in the afternoon but when she wakes up Isaiah is available to play with her for a bit. (I'm not sure what's going to happen when he goes back to school!)

I've been giving Esther food when the boys and I have our meals for a while now and I've noticed she's really reduced her nursing during the day. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand its nice to be able to leave the house with her and not be nursing in the middle of Target (I'm always worried about comments, never had any)....but I'm not even close to ready for her to wean!

One last big thing is Esther will now go spend at least part of the day with the boys when they are with Jeremy. Its nice to have a couple hours to myself, even if they are taken up by errands, cleaning and work. I'm somewhat surprised by how easy it was for her to start going with them but it seems to have been no big deal. She isn't doing all day yet, but I'm not ready for that either!

We have a bit of "down time" before the next thing that changes our schedule (school!) so I'm expecting some big developments from my Little Bit. Let's see what the next month brings! :)

Conversations with Isaiah 06.008

Me: Isaiah, are you hungry?
Isaiah: No. I'm just hungry for science.