Aedan: 64 Months, Week 3
Owen: 22 Months, Week 4
With another Sunday, we decided to go back to Fellowship Church to try that one out again. We had only gone there once, but Ben and I were both feeling tired that first time, and we wanted to give the church one more chance. The kids stayed with us for the music and then went to the children's church. The service was pretty good, and we enjoyed the sermon. We were also invited to a church picnic shortly after church ended that afternoon. Since we had gone to an extra event at every other church we have tried, we decided it would be good to try this picnic as well. So after church we went back home to change clothes and gather some swim suits and things. The picnic was at a local Christian camp, not too far from our house. We started with eating lunch, and they had quite the spread of hamburgers and hot dogs, plus lots of sides and desserts. The kids didn't eat too much because they were too excited to go and play. Ben got to sit and talk to a few people from the church for awhile, while I tried my best to keep my eye on the kids. After awhile, we decided to let them go swimming in the pool that was right near the picnic area. Samantha came with me to get the bag of swimming stuff from the car, and then they all got changed. At first only Samantha and Aedan got in the pool, but Aedan wasn't so sure about swimming because the water was a little chilly. However, I convinced Samantha to go over to him and play with him to get him interested in swimming more. Then, Owen discovered that his older siblings were swimming, and he wanted to join in, too, so Ben helped get him changed, while I changed too, so that I could go swimming with him. It was fun playing in the pool together. The weather was warm and sunny, and the kids love taking advantage of time to go swimming.
Since we were at the picnic all afternoon, Owen ended up falling asleep in the car on the way home, and I was able to carry him up to his bed to lay him down for a little bit longer of a nap. We then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and getting ready for Aunt Christy, Brielle, and Oliver to arrive the next day.
Monday morning Izzy had an appointment at 8:00 to have the bumps on her eye checked out. I wasn't sure if they were an allergic reaction or an infection, but they were getting worse, and I wanted to make sure she got looked at. I hoped that I could be back by the time Ben had to leave for his meetings on campus. However, we had to wait awhile to be seen, and the doctor was very thorough in checking her out since she was a new patient. He ended up giving us an antibiotic ointment and antibiotic pill to give Izzy to try to help clear them up, with a plan to come back in a week to get it checked again.
Aedan was acting pretty tired that day, so I had him lay down for a nap that afternoon. However, he didn't fall asleep because he was too excited about our visitors coming. Ben ended up being able to come home early from campus to take Samantha to reader's theater since she enjoyed going so much last week. Aunt Christy, Brielle, and Oliver, arrived mid-afternoon and we spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and playing, spending quite a bit of time playing outside in the back yard.
On Tuesday it was supposed to be a cold and rainy day, and we debated what we were going to do, thinking about going down to Philly to the children's museum, but ultimately, we decided to go to the indoor play place in called Bee's Backyard to let the kids run around and play for awhile. I packed a lunch for us to eat, and we went up to Scranton for the morning. The kids had a blast running around, jumping, sliding, and chasing each other, while Christy and I were able to sit and talk while we watched our kids play. It was a good choice for the day, especially because the kids were all tired and we needed to be back for nap time. I decided to have Aedan lay down for a nap again that day, and he actually fell asleep this time. Samantha did a good job of just taking some time to herself reading. It was one of those afternoons where it was nice to have a quiet house for a couple hours while everyone napped.
Ben was busy during much of his free time this week moving the swings on our swing set to make room for the new horse swing that Christy got for me. However, we had to borrow something from our neighbor to help get the bolts in after Ben bored a hole into the wood. It took quite a bit of time to get everything done, but I was very appreciative of all the work he put into it. The kids were excited to have the horse swing added to our play set.
Wednesday was supposed to be the best day weather-wise, so even though it was a little cool and cloudy that morning, we decided to go to Lake Jean in Rickett's Glen State Park with thoughts of maybe going on a trail, but definitely checking out the beach, letting the kids play in the sand, and if they were up for it, even trying to go swimming. We had not been to this state park yet, but we heard good things about it, and Pennsylvania State Parks are free. Since we were stuck behind a truck painting lines on the road, making it take longer to get there, we decided to just drive straight to the beach to let the kids start playing. We got everyone dressed in their bathing suits and let them enjoy time outside at the beach. The big kids didn't mind getting in the water, even though it was a little windy and cloudy when we first got there. Owen and Oliver preferred to play in the sand, digging and driving the trucks around. After we were there for awhile, the sun finally started to peek out, and it turned into a wonderful, warm day. Since the kids were having such a great time playing, we decided to buy lunch at the snack stand so we could stay and play longer. Discovering this beach at Lake Jean was a wonderful activity for our morning, and it was fun for the kids to have all this time to play together, swim, and dig in the sand.
All the kids were tired that afternoon after spending the morning at the beach, so it was good to get back for naptime. Here I am with Owen when he woke up from his nap that afternoon. He wakes up pretty slowly, as you can tell by his grumpy face in these pictures.
I'm not sure when Aunt Christy took these pictures and videos of the kids, but they were having a great time acting out Moana in Samantha's bedroom. They all had their different parts and were singing right along with the music. I loved seeing everyone get along and play together in this fun, creative way.
After a fun, full week with a house full of kids, lots of playing, lots of messes, and (lots of tears and tantrums, because after all, they are kids), Friday morning was their last time together before Aunt Christy, Brielle, and Oliver had to start the drive back home to Aurora. Aedan and Brielle were playing very cutely with animals on his bed, so I had to stop and take a video of them. I'm glad that they were able to stay at our house for so long. It's great for the kids to have these memories together and to continue building their relationships with one another. Plus, I enjoy spending time with my sister like this. Even though we are far apart, we can still have extended time like this together, and I was glad they were able to make the trip out.
Aedan was really upset when they pulled out of the driveway. It took him quite awhile to calm down and stop crying. He was really tired, which didn't help, but he always gets really sad when we have visitors and then they have to go home. He loves having built-in playmates always around, and we got to do some really fun stuff in our new city while they were here.
Friday afternoon we had Aedan nap again because Ben's colleague and his family were coming over for dinner that evening, and we wanted Aedan to be in a good mood and not have an emotional meltdown. Samantha and Aedan were excited to play with their kids who are the same gender and one grade older than they are. When they arrived, the kids gave our guests a tour of the house, before jumping right in to playing together. We grilled out for dinner, Ben made his yummy peanut butter chocolate cheesecake for dessert, and we even let the big kids eat outside at the patio table together so they could talk, and then so the adults could have uninterrupted conversation as well. They were easy to talk to, and it was fun to get to know them more. I think the kids enjoyed meeting some new friends and having kids around their age that they could play with. We will definitely have to get together with them again in the future.
Over the last week or so, Samantha has asked if she can marry Daddy when she grows up, and Aedan has asked if he can marry me when he grows up. They were such sweet, genuine statements. I just love their innocence, and it means they love us, right?
After having a busy week with our out-of-town visitors, Saturday was a big day in our house because Ben and I decided to take on the task of putting together the kids' bunk beds. They arrived in the mail from Wayfair in the middle of the week, and we decided it would be good for the kids to begin sharing a room sooner rather than later, so that hopefully they can get somewhat used to it before school starts, and also so that we can have a bed open as we go through the process to become foster parents again. They really were pretty easy to put together, and we were happy with how they looked. They were nice, solid beds, and they took up the exact footprint of Samantha's old bed. Samantha and Aedan were so excited to come up to their new room once I had the beds made, and everything was all ready. Now, over the coming week, I just need to work on how we are going to organize the clothes in their closet, and how we will combine their toys into one room. But, here are Samantha and Aedan sitting on their new bunk beds. They have been asking for a long time about when they get to share a room, and they were thrilled that the day had finally arrived.
(Blog about August 11-17, 2019)
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