2018
24
Sep
22:33

fishes

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel, the turkey

we have had some major breakthroughs on the swimming front over the last month. the turkey is now swimming under the water like a little fish. he’s swimming all around the steps and out-and-back between us and the steps for a good 10-15 feet. today, for the first time, he started popping up to take a breath of air in the middle of his swimming. he’ll be going the whole distance before we know it.

the sequel was doing great but has become more cautious in the last few weeks which has led to a bit of a regression. today, however, he grabbed the kickboard and figured out how to balance himself on it and kick around all by himself. he’ll swim between us and the steps up to 5 feet but he’s not as eager about it as he used to be.

2018
23
Sep
21:16

girls, girls, girls

   Posted by: arcanai   in the turkey

the turkey talks a lot about his future as a family man. he tells us all about his plans of marrying charlotte, how they’re going to have a house far away, how they’ll sleep in the same bedroom, how they’re going to have twenty… yes, TWENTY, “itty-bitties,” how he’s going to talk to her belly and the itty-bitties will kick his face. we think it’s hilarious listening to all of his plans (and hope it’s normal).

today, i asked him if his friend hannah was in sunday school and he proceeded to tell us that she was and that he sat next to her because she’s his 3rd girlfriend. when i inquired about his others, his response was “ms kyla is my oneth girlfriend, my twoth girlfriend is kaitlin, hannah is my third, and my fifth girlfriend is ms robin.”

so many things to be amused by here… the fact that he has a list, his creative numbering even though he knows ordinal numbers just fine, that he skipped four, that #3 and #5 are daughter and mother, that his frequently projected wife didn’t make the list. we couldn’t stop laughing.

2018
1
Sep
13:31

all i want for Christmas…

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel

we were having a great time playing at the kiddie park area of the local aquatic center for the first time this morning. unfortunately, the sequel missed a step one of his times climbing up and down the slides and hit his mouth. at first, i thought he just caught the bottom of his chin and it was no big deal. unfortunately, when i sat him down to inspect him more thoroughly, i found that he had knocked his lower front teeth loose too. hard to tell the extent but one of them is sticking further forward and twisted to the side a bit now. i feel so badly. when we got home, i made him a nice soft lunch but it still hurt him and he kept asking me every few bites to kiss his teeth. it broke my heart… my kisses are supposed to make all the hurt stop and he just kept looking at me like “why isn’t it working, momma?” i am praying that he’ll have the restraint to stop touching and tonguing at them so that maybe they can re-seat themselves and it’ll all be fine. we’ll baby his poor mouth for the holiday weekend and keep a close watch and evaluate on tuesday whether he needs to see a dentist.

2018
24
Aug
13:18

for quits

   Posted by: arcanai   in Nuthin' Special

i quit my job today. in a month or so, i’ll be a full-time sahm. i am excited and terrified… we’re making a big sacrifice so i hope that i don’t fail. granted, i’ve been a full-time sahm AND a full-time employee for four years so this should be much easier but i’m still anxious to do it right.

2018
14
Aug
13:21

snuggle finger

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel

i was snuggling with the sequel, who is a big thumb-sucker, this morning. i went to take his night shirt off to start getting ready for the day and when i took his left hand to take the sleeve off, he shouted “no, no, no! snuggle finger!” i laughed and laughed. he’s never used that term before and it was just too adorable.

2018
10
Aug
20:16

Underwater

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel, the turkey

The boys have been making giant strides in the pool this week. They are both diving diving under to get pool toys, first couple steps for the sequel and up to 3.5 feet for the turkey.  This is huge for the turkey who has a generally cautious personality.  He’s also started swimming back and forth across the steps.  The sequel,  on the other hand,  is completely fearless. He’ll jump into the deep and just float under the surface staring up at us with complete trust that we’ll get him.

2018
7
Aug
21:09

that old joke

   Posted by: arcanai   in feelin bad

i’m officially old. in the elevator today, i had a guy ask me if my purple hair was a mid-life crisis. so apparently my colorful hair that brings me so much joy makes me look like a joke. *sigh* i know it was just one random stranger but, seriously, it took a five-second exchange to deflate my whole self-esteem. and that, folks, is why you shouldn’t talk to strangers. jerk.

2018
3
Aug
8:58

worship

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel, the turkey

over the last few weeks, the boys’ favorite play has been “worship service.” they have lego pieces they’ve declared to be microphones (although we accidentally left those in AL this week so we’ve had to make new ones) and they get up on the trampoline, plug in their mics, and ask if we’re all ready for the service. then they joyfully jump up and down while singing (read: shouting) “power in the name of jesus” or “what a beautiful name it is.” they raise their hands and get all into it. the turkey has even started taking a break between songs to bow his head and say a prayer.

every time i feel like we’re completely failing at this parenting stuff, they do something to make me think we can’t be messing up too badly.

2018
1
Aug
8:48

two wheels

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel

the sequel made the move from three to two wheels on his balance bike this weekend and he’s doing great. he can already coast again!

we want to get the turkey a real bike for his birthday but we still have to push him to ride his trike where he can practice pedaling. he’s so fast and good on his balance bike, he just doesn’t want to move on!

2018
12
Jun
19:47

movement

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel, the turkey

the turkey really pedaled his tricycle for the first time today. he had a major meltdown about it but he did it and he was able to pedal himself around for quite a while before we finally gave into the tantrum and let him go back to his balance bike. he might not have been too happy about it but hubby and i were very excited and encouraging. if he can get the pedaling piece down, i think he’ll be ready for a real big boy bike.

meanwhile, the sequel decided this week that he’s a bike-rider too. he’s been riding his little mini balance trike all over the place. he’s turning and steering and doing so great. he also started driving brother’s cozy coupe car today. he’s been able to make it go backward for a while now but today was the first time he was able to flinstone it forward. these boys are growing so fast!

2018
12
Jun
8:48

i welcome

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel

the sequel has the most endearing sense of manners right now. he says “please” for something and then follows up with “thank you.” when we respond with “you’re welcome,” he shouts in his beautifully joyful voice “i welcome!” i seriously love these exchanges.

2018
3
Jun
21:17

helping others

   Posted by: arcanai   in Nuthin' Special

so, we teach our boys that we help people. and we do. anytime we can. but how do you teach your kid that we need to help others but that it’s not always safe to accept help from others? today, we had a very long trip home from alabama. when we got home, the boys were tired and hungry and the turkey had to pee. hubby and were both loaded down with baggage. it was a mad dash to get home and get back to normal. the elevator stopped a floor before ours and a little boy, not much older than the turkey, got on by himself. hubby and i exchanged an “oh-my-goodness-what-are-his-parents-thinking” look. he got off on our floor and by the time we got all of our stuff out of the elevator, he was back from the unit he had gone to and he was visibly upset. we asked and he said nobody was answering at the door. we asked him if he wanted to come home with us so that we could help him find his mom. yes, i know that the right thing would have been to not put him in a position where he needed to come into our home but, as i said, we were heavily laden and not thinking of anything more than getting our boys home and getting him help. he didn’t even hesitate to accept our help which immediately rang warning bells in my head because our boys wouldn’t either. and while we knew we were truly there to help him… who else might he have gone off with that wouldn’t have been so nice? and my boys would too. in a heartbeat. because we teach them the value of helping. *sigh* so we brought him home and he calmed down while playing with the boys and hubby called our security service to let them know we had found a lost boy. fortunately, his mom had already contacted them so it didn’t take long for her to come up and retrieve her son. they both cried their eyes out in our foyer and i cried thinking of all the ways that things could have gone wrong for this little boy (today is his 6th birthday) and how easy it would have been for it to be my boy instead. they were on the crowded elevator together and he ran off of it before she could grab him. i’ve had that fear every single time i’ve gotten on or off the elevators with my boys… how easy it would be for one of them to slip away from me at the very last second. so we started drilling the turkey about what to do if we get separated in the building here. and we’ll continue to drill it into him, along with other safety plans. he needs to memorize one of our phone numbers… this poor boy didn’t even know how to reach his mom. but how do we not scare him to death? how do we not ruin his innocence with worries about “bad people”? how do we tell him that we should always help but he needs to say “no. thank you.” if someone wants to bring him home to help? i want to go apologize to his mother for how worried she must have been about him coming home with strangers. i want to apologize for being so quick to judgement when we saw him alone on the elevator. and i want to let her know how terrified i was for his safety, like he was my own.

2018
23
May
21:24

blessings upon blessings

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel, the turkey

the turkey is doing really well with reading and he’s starting to grasp really important math concepts. he overwhelms me with his effervescent joy. an infectious light just shines from him. don’t get me wrong; he’s no angel. we still have lots of attitude regarding sharing and brother getting attention but, the majority of the time, he’s just full of joy. his laugh is the sound that i imagine fills heaven.

the sequel is able to jump both feet off the floor and hold his own weight while swinging.  he is insanely affectionate. he’s got three teeth coming in right now so he’s crankier than normal but he also wants extra snuggles when he wakes up and it’s just so sweet. he scoops up both his lovies, his blanky, and his glow-friend (emptying the bed) and hops into my arms. when i ask him if he is ready to get up yet, he says “no. i snuggling.” and his voice just kills me.

i am constantly amazed at the blessings the Lord gives me.

2018
5
May
15:51

dried up

   Posted by: arcanai   in the turkey

the sequel is officially weaned. it’s very sad but it was time. he didn’t even notice the first couple nights. and then he woke up one morning, snuggled up to me, and asked for milk. i think it was just a comfort measure because he was sick. i will miss this phase of motherhood tremendously!

2018
21
Apr
17:06

name that brother

   Posted by: arcanai   in the sequel

the sequel woke up this morning and decided he could say his brother’s name. and, just for good measure, he even through in his own name!