Thursday, May 22, 2014

Manners

Elliot and I have a little conversation several times a day.  I'll ask him, "Are you my sweet, sweet boy?"  And he'll answer, "I AM your sweet, sweet boy!"  It's actually cutest when I'm trying to pull him out of a foul mood because he kinda hangs onto a little pout in his voice when he says it, but he will say it.

I spent a lot of time in my adult years prior to motherhood caring for children, and I have never met a child quite like Elliot.  He is just SO lovey and has been a snugglebug from the very start.  And he evokes such strong emotion...when this child cries from hurt feelings, a tiny piece of my soul just dies.  It's actually created quite a problem to discipline him because even lovey snugglebugs need to learn how to share toys and understand boundaries for ornery behavior.

Last week, he had an eye appointment.  He goes in several times a year and once a year they dilate his pupils get get a really good look.  They examine him, give him some drops, wait half an hour and examine him again.  He was due for this procedure at the appointment last week...and oy.

I took three of us to do it this time.  He laid in my lap while I pinned his arms down.  The doctor held his head still and a nurse pried his eye open and gave him the drops.  And we had to do it twice.  It was horrible.

He was still crying when it was over, but he choked out between sobs, "I want my glasses, please."

And when the doctor handed him his glasses, he sniffed very loudly and half-sobbed, half-whimpered, "Thank you."

My sweet, sweet boy.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Rockin' Out

Kendra has demonstrated an appreciation and love for music for most of her life.  So it wasn't too big of a surprise to see her coming down the hall one day like so...



And to our delight, there was a soundtrack to boot!


The tune isn't an original composition, but rather a fun little diddy from Bubble Guppies.  They're no Fraggles, but they have some catchy songs.

The Bug Fair

Kendra has finally developed a long-term memory.  When we mentioned last year's bug fair, she totally remembered the one from the year before that she attended with Grant while Elliot and I stayed home because Paxton was only one week old.  Turns out, I'm a major home body for quite a while after I have a baby...

She was excited for days before the event.  "Mommy, is the Bugs Fair today?"  "No, Sweetie, not until Saturday."  "Is the Bugs Fair today, Mommy?"  "No, not until tomorrow.  But I'll bet they're setting it up today..." And then afterwards she mused many days, "I think the Bugs Fair is still there..."







This little girl sure does like holding bugs! (Seriously, I mean, mealworms?  I could not do that...)  And she was very happy to show her little brother all the ropes.








Although eventually, he had enough fun for one day and ended up like this for a good few minutes:


There was a fun musician there about the time we needed to sit down for a while, so we stopped and enjoyed some tunes.  Before we left, though, someone needed to dance...


It was a pretty fun day out for our family.

Last October.