Samantha: 55 Months, Week 5
Aedan: 20 Months, Week 3 (Week 90)
Since we got back to Oxford on Monday just before noon, I had to reschedule my eye appointment for Tuesday morning instead. (I am trying to get any necessary appointments in before the semester starts for Ben and his availability becomes a little trickier.) Because I had my appointment and we still needed to go grocery shopping for the week, Ben stayed home with the kids that morning, playing at home, and having a good morning together. The kids have really enjoyed this extra time with Daddy lately.
Then, once I got home and took over, he went to work on campus for the afternoon. He also had a second Skype interview with the Pew Research Center. It was with the whole team of people that he would be working with there, and he felt like it went well, like the people were nice and easy to talk to, and that his skill level would fit in well with the group. The next step would be a fly out, so we will see what happens. He also had a phone interview with Drake University on Wednesday afternoon, which he was a little more unsure about. He said he was a perfect fit for what classes they would need taught; however, he said they asked some strange questions that he wasn't quite sure how to answer. Ben has taken being on the job market much better than I would have. He doesn't much let on that he feels nervous or apprehensive, and I continue to pray for him each time he interviews, that he would be able to express himself clearly, that he would be himself, and that God's will would be done in our lives. Things have been so up in the air and confusing through this whole process of applying and waiting over the last several months that I have almost stopped trying to wonder or think about or plan for the future. We have no control over whether a committee will continue to pursue Ben. We have no control over the many schools that have had a phone interview with Ben but have gone with other candidates. It is a slow, frustrating process that I did not expect when I anticipated Ben finishing up his Ph.D, but I believe that makes it even more important to put all the details into God's hands. He has helped us so far in our lives apart and together, and He surely will continue to help us now.
For some reason Samantha did not take a nap on Tuesday afternoon. I didn't let her get up and play for she was laying quietly in her bed, and I figured laying down and resting was better than nothing. However, I was afraid for what that would mean about her evening for she had her gymnastics lesson and we had our community group at church. It was Daddy's turn to take her, so I stayed home with Aedan and got the salad and fruit prepared to take with us to our group. Samantha and Daddy met us at church, and apparently she was too tired to focus much during gymnastics class. He said she needed several reminders to pay attention instead of staring at the trophies or just not doing things in a timely manner. Her ability to focus and listen definitely diminishes when she doesn't nap, but what can you do? Our community group went well that evening even though we didn't have a babysitter. I contacted several high school students but none were available, so we will have to go a different route, I think. It was good for everyone to just talk and catch up with one another after many people traveling over the holidays.
Even though it had snowed over the weekend, the temperatures dropped down so much and it was so windy outside that I hadn't taken the kids outside to play yet. Samantha's preschool was on a 90 minute delay on Wednesday morning, probably due to the cold, windy weather, but I decided that I would take the kids out to play after nap time that afternoon. I had soup cooking in the crock pot so that I wouldn't have to do any dinner prep and could just focus on playing outside with the kids. The process of getting ready to go play outside in the snow always takes so long, but Samantha and Aedan were pretty cute wearing their snow gear. Aedan, in particular, was really excited about being able to wear his snow pants and boots.
I knew we weren't going to be able to play outside for too long since the sun was setting and it was getting darker and colder outside, so I decided to get the sled out and try that on the little hill next to our house. We didn't have a lot of snow, but enough to make the ground slippery. Daddy arrived home as we were sledding, and he was excited to join in the fun for awhile. Aedan thought going down the hill on the sled with Samantha was really fun, but he didn't understand that you had to get off the sled once you reached the bottom so that you could walk back up the hill and sled down again. He got upset the first couple times when I lifted him up off the sled. However, after that he got the general idea and had a great time sledding with his sister. You can even see his little tongue sticking out as they sled in this picture, and you can hear Samantha's laugh.
After awhile Aedan got tired of sledding, so Samantha continued on playing with Daddy while Aedan went over to the play house to play. He went straight for the sand box, which of course he couldn't play with in the wintertime, but then he decided it would be fun to break the icicles off the play house. It was a successful first time playing out in the snow for Aedan, and first time of the season for all. :)
I feel like with the busyness of the holidays and then our trip to Puerto Rico, we just needed a down week with not much planned or scheduled. I was feeling pretty tired and like I could just not catch up on sleep. We also had things to get done around the house, like bringing out the 24 month clothes and hanging them up in Aedan's closet. He has grown a lot lately and many of his 18 month clothes, shirts in particular, are getting too short on his arms. I didn't feel like making plans with anyone or going anywhere, so we did a lot of playing and hanging out at home. Thursday was one of those mornings. After Daddy left for campus, the kids were dancing around the kitchen to Aedan's little music player, and I was able to capture it on video. I love how he spins around in circles, lifting his right leg and stomping it on the ground. This is often how he dances, and I think it is so cute.
Just as Samantha did at his age, Aedan has now discovered that we can flip the camera around on our phone so that he can see himself and we can take pictures of him that way. So after he saw me taking a video of them dancing, he came over so that he could "see." I don't mind though because it's the best way to get decent pictures of him. Then Samantha wanted to join in as well and I got the sweetest pictures of the two of them together. They love each other so much, and it's great to be able to spend these mornings together.
Both Samantha and Aedan love eating cucumbers dipped in Ranch dressing. The biggest problem with Aedan is that we have to stop him from just eating his Ranch dressing with a spoon. Well, as I was cleaning up lunch that afternoon, I looked back and noticed Aedan doing this. He was using his finger to scoop out any remaining Ranch dressing left in his bowl, and when that didn't work, he put the bowl up to his mouth so that he could try to lick the dressing out with his tongue, which of course resulted in a very messy face. It was just too cute.
Since I didn't have a reason to go into Oxford on Friday morning, Ben took Samantha to preschool so that I could just stay home with Aedan. In fact, he ended up sleeping in until about 9:00 anyways, so it was nice that we didn't have to wake him up. Aedan is definitely our little cuddler, and oftentimes he wants to just hang out in his bed for awhile before we get him out. Well, on Friday morning, I picked him up and he instantly laid his head down on my shoulder and snuggled into me. I just stood there rocking him and holding him, and he didn't show any signs of wanting to get down, so eventually I moved over to sit in the rocking chair, and he just stayed like that, snuggled into my shoulder for a good ten minutes or so. We had nothing we needed to do and nowhere we needed to be, so I just soaked in the snuggles. After awhile he started wiggling to get down, but he just wanted to get books to read while sitting in my lap. We were upstairs probably for close to half an hour just reading and cuddling, and it was a wonderful way to start the morning.
I took advantage of our morning at home to get some cleaning done while I just had Aedan. It still was pretty challenging trying to get things done while Aedan was being a monster and trying to be a little too involved in helping me clean, but getting a little done is better than nothing. After spending the morning at home, I made lunch and we left to meet Daddy on campus so that he could have his weekly lunch date with the kids while I went to Zumba. Then, that evening I got to go over to Maggie's house for dinner while Ben fed the kids dinner, played with them at home, and put them to bed. They got out Aedan's Vtech train set, got it set up, and played with the trains for quite awhile.
Also, ever since coming back from Puerto Rico, Aedan's vocabulary has just exploded. We had never really noticed him calling Samantha anything in particular until on Friday when Ben distinctly heard him call her "sissy." He followed her up the stairs saying, "Sissy! Sissy!" and now he calls her that all the time. It's so cute to see all the new things he says like "money," "brush" (for hairbrush like the song Larry Boy sings), "sorry," and "potty." Some day I just need to write down all the words that I hear him say throughout the day. It's interesting that now since he's mastered a lot of his gross motor skills, he is moving on to mastering vocabulary and more small motor skills.
Lately we have been enjoying a lot more time at home, maybe it was because of coming off the busyness of the holiday season, or maybe because winter keeps us indoors a lot more because of the cold weather. Either way, our Saturday was a great family day at home. Samantha always enjoys days where she can stay in her pajamas and choose any activity she wants. We had more time to fix breakfast, and Samantha requested french toast, so I made that while Ben slept in and the kids played together. After breakfast, we had a dance party together in the kitchen with dueling music players.
And after lots of separate play time, I tried to come up with a more focused activity that both kids could do together. We hadn't done Play-Doh in a while, so I busted that out for them while I finished vacuuming the floors, something I can't do while they are napping. (I got most of the house cleaning done on Friday and only had to vacuum and mop the floors on Saturday morning.) Samantha likes to make food with the special molds that came in her Play-Doh kit, and Aedan more just likes stuffing Play-Doh into different sized containers. They did a good job sharing and playing together.
It had been awhile since Daddy had taken Samantha on a date, so he decided to take her on one Saturday night since she had a good nap and was being respectful. So after dinner they went off together to go bowling and then get frozen yogurt at Orange Leaf, which is one of Samantha's favorite places. She talked the whole way to the bowling alley. They played one game of bowling and then she decided she was ready to go to Orange Leaf. She really enjoyed picking out her toppings and wanted all the fruit flavored ones like the little balls, gummy bears, sour patch kids, swedish fish, and then she threw on some mini buckeyes at the end. I think she enjoys getting to pick whatever she wants, and she always eats it all, no matter how weird of a combination she comes up with. Ben said she took almost forty minutes eating her frozen yogurt because she kept getting up and dancing. We love how she will dance wherever she is. She doesn't care about anyone around her, just about being herself and having a good time. :)
While Samantha was on her date with Daddy, Aedan and I ran an errand to Meijer to pick up a few things. He was pretty upset when Samantha and Daddy left without him. He even went to the closet and got his shoes because he assumed that we would all be going somewhere together. He seemed a little tired and fussy that evening anyways. When we got to Meijer he also got really upset when I was trying to put him in the seat in the cart. He refused to sit down and just cried for awhile until I finally convinced him it was okay. We stopped by the bakery to get him a free cookie, and that helped the rest of the shopping trip go smoothly. Then, it was time to head home for a bath and bed time. It's always nice to spend one-on-one time with the kids. It's important for Samantha to go on dates with both Ben and me, and it will be fun to start the tradition with Aedan as he gets a little older and we know more about his interests.
Aedan really enjoyed bath time that night, even though Samantha wasn't with him. However, seeing him in the bath reminded me of a funny story from a few weeks ago. There was one time that Aedan was standing up so that we could wash him off, and then when he sat down, he sat right on top of a toy, hurting his private parts. He cried really hard and felt himself like he didn't know he could get hurt like that. Well, that didn't happen on this night in the bath, but it was just a funny memory I had. We played with the stick-on ducks quite a bit and that's when I discovered how many animal noises he knows. He knows that ducks say "kak-kak," cats say "yah-yah," dogs say "oof oof," pigs say "(snort) (snort)," and cows say "oooo." I am continually impressed at how much Aedan knows and how much more he learns every day. I think he's pretty smart, but I may be a little partial. :)
Sunday morning was our last morning of one service at church, and it's going to be difficult getting used to being up and at church an hour earlier next week. We have enjoyed the more relaxed mornings together, getting ready but not being in a rush and having some time to play and hang out before going out to church, then also getting back at a decent time to still make and have lunch before the kids get too tired and begin to lose it.
It started snowing early Sunday morning, and the kids enjoyed looking out the window and watching the snow blow and cover the grass. Isn't this just a wonderful picture?
I love this picture of Ben and Aedan. They both have great smiles and you can see a lot of similarities between the two of them.
Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so Samantha didn't have preschool. I figured I'd try to take the kids somewhere fun and thought about trying out this new Discovery Zone at Liberty Center Mall. It was a super cold day outside, the Discovery Zone was free, and I heard good things about it from friends. Well, at the last minute Ben decided that he was in a good enough place with his work and would be able to come along with us. I was so excited that we would get an extra day hanging out as a family. With this being the last week before the Spring semester starts, we are trying to soak up as many chances as we can get. The play area was pretty fun, and free, which is always a plus. They had a large pig shaped climbing structure with a slide, buttons you could push to change the colors of the lights, several interactive games, and an area with large blue foam blocks that you could build with and climb on. The kids played for about an hour and probably would have played even longer if the ball area would have been in operation. Then, Samantha decided she wanted to walk around the mall for awhile, so we went into a few stores and let her browse with her purse hooked over her shoulder. We don't go to malls very often, so she finds the stores very interesting. Then, we got lunch in the food court before heading back home. The Discovery Zone was a fun place, and it's a good place to go for free when it's cold but we need to get out of the house for a short morning excursion. We will definitely have to come back another time.
(Blog about January 12-18, 2015)
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