There is so much I want to write down and remember, but I never find time and energy to make myself sit and write anymore. I snuck a nap in today, so as my house sleeps on this chilly Saturday night, I’m finally taking some time to blog. Here’s what we’ve been up to the last month or two…
We’ve gotten into a pretty solid routine during the week. I’m home with Makenzie and Zachary on Mondays and Wednesdays, they both go to King’s Gate from 9-3 on Tuesdays and Fridays and just Makenzie goes on Thursdays. One or two Thursdays a month I get a babysitter for Zach so I can work a little more and attend AMA meetings. It works for us.
Makenzie loves school and Zach is doing well there. He isn’t very happy when I leave, but that’s true whether I’ve sat him down to use the restroom or handed him to a teacher for the next 6 hours. Kid does NOT like being away from me. If he can’t see me he’s fine, so as soon as I’m out of sight he’s happy. But the minute he hears me or sees me he’s fussy until I’m holding him.
I’m always amazed at the things Makenzie learns at school. I know she’s smart, but she blows me away. She can write all her letters and spell a few words. She loves it when I spell words for her so she can write them. She did a sign for my mom for her birthday, a birthday sign for my friend Jan and a welcome home sign for Justin after being gone for four days. And she’s so proud of herself when she does things like that. Songs and games are other things she brings home from school. She does really well socially at school and her teachers said she is good about holding fits inside when things don’t go her way. Only a few times has she melted down about something. I’m glad she’s good at that at school, I just wish I could get her to control her tantrums at home. I know it’s the way three year olds show emotion, but Makenzie is pretty sensitive and hard to calm once she’s over the edge.
For all the drama we endure, Makenzie’s imagination is worth it. She makes up songs, stories and games; pretends and role plays all day long; and can use even the most boring diaper box for an exciting adventure. We currently have three decorated diaper boxes in the playroom. Each are rocket ships – one for her, Ella and Zach. Zach just wants to eat the stickers.
Zach just wants to eat everything. Between Daphne dragging in dead grass, Makenzie’s love of cutting paper into tiny pieces and my less than clean cooking, I pull a lot of junk out of his mouth. I don’t want to know what I’ve missed. He’s doing really well with “people” food. His favorites are bananas, crackers and carrots. Actually, it’s all good to him. He loves Cheerios and Mum Mums and I started giving him Teddy Grahams broken in pieces. Bread is another favorite. He’s got four teeth all the way in and four in various stages. I am ready for this round of teething to be over. He’s a hard teether; Makenzie wasn’t. I think he’ll have more teeth on his birthday than Makenzie did, though. If they all come in before then. Please let them all come in before then.
Zach started crawling about a month ago and has used his new skill to gain independence and fuel his curiosity. Leave him alone to play in the living room and you’ll find him in his room, Makenzie’s room or the playroom in no time. He could spend hours playing in the playroom (granted, there’s a lot to get into) or upstairs listening to Justin play guitar. He absolutely loves that. So do I.
He pulls up to his knees now, too and is starting to figure out standing, and therefor falling. No bottom drawers are safe from Zach’s curiosity and his favorite things to play with are whatever he can find that he shouldn’t be playing with. And I’ve noticed he gravitates toward Makenzie’s pink and purple toys. I can’t decide if that’s a thing or if it’s just that we have a lot of pink and purple in our house. I’ll make a note of that when I’m birthday shopping.
He’s not a very consistent sleeper these days. If he does wake up in the middle of the night, I can count on him putting up a fight and being awake for at least an hour. The last two nights I’ve figured out that dancing with his Scout toy will calm him down enough to relax and fall back to sleep. I dread retraining him to fall asleep on his own, but he got out of that habit when he got sick and started teething again. Teeth. Ugh. He’s also not a fan of afternoon naps. When he’s home he’ll take a morning nap and maybe one after lunch, but needs another one later in the day. At school he’ll take one after lunch and if he’s not asleep in the car when we get home he’s up until bedtime. I don’t think it’s healthy for him to be so tired, but it does make bedtime a little easier.
We have taken advantage of the unseasonably warm days this winter. We love having picnics, even if it’s in our backyard, and it’s fun to play out front with other neighborhood friends. Usually we all retreat inside during the winter and don’t see anyone until Spring. Not so this year and I’m so glad. We love our neighborhood friends.
We did get an awesome snow day a few weeks ago. Makenzie was at school and I was home with Zach. I watched it snow while holding him asleep in the living room. I felt so peaceful watching the huge, beautiful flakes fall to the ground. I even videoed it from our dining room window it was that pretty. Thankfully Makenzie’s teachers let them play in it and took a great picture of their class. When she got home we bundled up and played. Justin took off early to build snowmen – two, Rossi and Frosty – with Makenzie. How sweet is that? She had a blast, but had enough when she realized her feet were so cold they hurt. I learned my lesson that rubber rain boots do not substitute for snow boots, no matter how many pairs of socks she has on. Hot chocolate and a big blanket helped. I miss childhood.
The most important thing I want to remember is how in love Makenzie and Zachary are with each other. If Zach’s fussy in the car, Makenzie just has to sing and he’ll calm down. If Makenzie is playing on the floor, Zach wants to play with her. If she has it, he wants it and vice versa. If he is practicing a new skill, she wants to help teach him. I hope they don’t become the constantly-bickering brother and sister I hear about. I know they will irritate each other – they already do a little – but I want them to be friends and playmates.
Enough for now. I’ll post pictures soon.
