Aedan: 75 Months, Week 2
Owen: 33 Months, Week 1
This week was our first "official" week of summer with no more school obligations at all, and I have to admit that I was feeling a little nervous about how we would pass our days together. Even though doing online schooling wasn't ideal, it at least provided a rhythm and routine for our days, and that is something that helps. Also, with the coronavirus and things largely still being closed, a lot of the more typical summertime activities that we would take part in will not be taking place this year. Being still relatively new to NEPA, we were looking forward to exploring more, but that won't be happening this summer, and I was feeling pretty bummed about it. However, we will still have to find fun things to do to get out of the house and spend quality time with the kids.
On Monday morning when I went to get Owen out of his bed, he had to show me his water game before getting up that morning. I love his sound effects and his acrobatic skills! So this is what I hear him doing in his bed! He's so silly and makes me laugh every day with his stories, his facial expressions, and the way he describes things.
Can you tell that he enjoys having his picture taken? I think his personality is more similar to Samantha's than to Aedan's. :) He is definitely a ham for the camera.
After my previous video, I thought he was done, but he still had more to show me. He's rescuing monkey and blankie from the water and putting them back on the boat. I just love hearing his little voice describing things. This video is so precious to me and such a good example of his personality and how good he is at communicating what he wants to say.
I know this is picture overload for Owen, but he was just a cutie that day. At nap time, he decided to sit facing outward and fell asleep that way. Here is a progression of his nap, from sleeping on my lap, to what he looked like after I laid him in his crib and covered him up, to what he looked like when I went into his room after his nap to get him up, but he wasn't quite ready to be awake yet. He certainly loves cuddling with that monkey of his.
I helped the kids hang up the hammock I got in Paraguay that I have never had a chance to use, so they were all very excited about going out and playing in it once Owen got up from his nap. I have no idea what imaginary game they were playing, but it was fun to watch them.
On Tuesday morning the kids were playing outside for awhile and then Owen came inside with a red, puffy ear. I didn't know what happened, if he maybe got a bug bite or as he said, that he hit it on a rock when he fell down, but he kept rubbing it and saying it hurt. You could tell how much bigger it looked in comparison to the other one. I decided I would keep my eye on it, and after a little while, I had him hold some ice on it. By the time he woke up from his nap that afternoon, it was pretty much back to normal, which I was glad for. He must have just gotten stung or bitten by something when he was playing outside.
Our activity of the morning was going over to Dallas for the kids to ride their bikes around the parking lot, and to play on the playground for awhile. Since the stay-at-home order started in March, the kids had not been to a playground, so it was fun to finally allow them to climb, slide, and play. Aedan wanted me to take a video of him riding his bike. Do you see how well he is doing and how fast he is going? I'm so glad that he conquered his fears and got back on his bike! Now we need to try and convince him to maybe try riding without his training wheels. That was going to be one of our goals for the summer.
That afternoon I took these pictures of two areas of our landscaping. One is this rhododendron bush in the front of our house that had beautiful pink flowers on it. The next two pictures are of the area near our garage where Samantha and I planted lots of spring bulbs. They all bloomed even though I planted them late, but as soon as the flowers died, all the bulbs were dug up and eaten/stolen. You can see the exact holes where I planted all the bulbs, so I guess planting bulbs in this area won't work. I will have to find something else to plant that the animals that live around us won't steal!
Ben and I decided to pay for a meal plan program that I saw advertised online called Six Sisters. They make a meal plan for the whole week and give you the recipes and ingredient list to make meal planning and shopping quicker and easier. We chose the healthy meal plan because we have been trying to make healthier recipes, but we have not felt like spending a lot of time scouring the internet for recipes and wondering if they are any good or not. This meal plan program seemed like a good deal, and we have enjoyed trying some new recipes and combinations that we wouldn't normally choose. On Tuesday night we made steak kabobs with peppers and onions. I also made a tropical fruit salad to go along with it. The food was all very delicious!
I haven't included an update on our baby robins, so here is a video of what they looked like on Tuesday. Wow, are they big! They look like they can barely fit in the nest anymore.
Just like on Monday morning, Owen decided to be a show off for me again on Wednesday morning. He does pretty good going up on his head and doing somersaults. Maybe I need to sign him up for gymnastics lessons! He just loves having an audience and my full attention.
As a way to help me get more work done, Ben offered to take the kids out for the morning while I stayed at the house to work. They went to Francis Slocum State Park with the intention to walk along in the stream that flows down the mountain, like we did on Memorial Day, but we hadn't gotten much rain lately, so it was all dried up. Nevertheless, they had fun exploring and even found a little lizard. Here is what Ben said about their morning together:
"The kids did a lot of walking and looking at different animals. We walked down to the lake together, and then over to a creek the kids like to play around in. They had a lot of fun and just enjoyed walking around in a forest together. I made them stop and take a lot of pictures because of how cute they were being, even though Aedan doesn't like to smile and Owen doesn't want to look at the camera."
These two boys have started to build such a sweet little relationship together. For so long it has been Aedan's attachment to Samantha, but now Aedan is stepping up more into his roll as big brother and seeing how much Owen looks up to him, just as he looks up to Samantha. These pictures of them are so sweet with the two of them walking along holding hands.
As I was working at home that morning, I sat outside on the front patio to read for my class. I found it interesting to hear the baby robins chirping in the bushes, and watching the bush rustle around as the mom and dad went in to feed them. I could never get a video ready in time before scaring the mom or dad away, but I got a little clip of it that morning.
Aedan decided he wanted his fire with just Mommy and Daddy on Wednesday night, so we put everyone else to be like normal, and then he came outside to join us for a fire. At first it was a little awkward for him, and he said, "So, what are we going to talk about?" He's definitely not as chatty as Samantha, but it was great to just get to hear him talk about what he's been thinking about lately and to focus all our attention on him. We didn't take a picture of him at the fire, and I wish we had, but I think he had a good time just sitting and talking to us, and being able to stay up late.
On Thursday morning I decided to load the kids up and take them out to Lake Jean for a morning at the beach. It was supposed to be a nice day, even though it did rain a little on our way out there. However, the sun started shining shortly after arriving, and the kids were excited about our first trip to the beach. They were very helpful in bringing everything down and getting set up on the sand. Then, I got sunscreen on everyone and Samantha and Aedan were eager to get right into the water, while Owen chose to stay on the beach, play in the sand, and wade just a little bit into the water. They had a blast swimming and playing. After awhile, Samantha and Aedan discovered some people looking at frogs that were giving birth in the water, and that immediately drew Samantha's attention. She watched the frogs move from one side of the beach to the other, and she ended up meeting a new friend in the process who was equally as interested in observing the fish and frogs in the water. We ate our picnic lunch on our blanket on the sand, and the kids went right back to swimming. It did start raining at one point, and we took shelter under the overhang by the bathrooms until it stopped. We were able to go back down and enjoy more time swimming. The kids were having such a good time that I almost just wanted to stay there all afternoon, but Owen needed to get some sort of a nap in, and after it rained Aedan wasn't too interested in going back in the water and was shivering because he was cold. Samantha was having such a good time with her new friend, but it was time to head out, so we all went to the bathrooms to get changed. We left the beach just in time because as we were in the bathroom, it started pouring outside. We were able to catch a break to run for the van and made our way back home. It was an amazing, fun, first summer day at the beach, and we will definitely have to do this again sometime. The kids all love to swim and play in the sand. Plus, it's free entertainment where we can still be out in the open air and not around too many people. Days like this are what summers are made for.
It rained and stormed pretty much the whole way home that afternoon, and the kids were tired out from being in the sun and water, so we decided to just let them relax and watch a movie once we got back home. In fact, I also decided to just let Owen not nap since it was already around 3:00 when we got back home, and we didn't want him to sleep too late that it would make it hard for him to go to sleep at bedtime. So we decided he could skip his nap that day in favor of an earlier bedtime.
Another goal we have this summer is to at least begin the early stages of potty training with Owen, have him sit on the potty more often and get comfortable with the idea. After our trip to the Midwest we may switch to a more "hardcore" potty training where we encourage him to go more often and transition to underwear. We talked to him about how the potty fairy will come if he goes pee or poop in the potty, and that if he goes pee he gets 2 M&Ms and if he goes poop he gets 4 M&Ms. Shortly after that, he said he wanted to try going potty and he actually went. We were all really excited and made a big deal out of it! We will just have to do more of this and make time for him to sit on the potty and just go from there. It's weird to think my last baby getting out of diapers, but there definitely is something exciting about that!
Friday morning all the kids had dentist appointments so after breakfast we got ready and headed out. We got to go right in, and they took Samantha to a room on her own, while I went into a room with Aedan and Owen. Owen wanted Aedan to go first, and everything checked out well for him. In the week or so leading up to the appointment, I had been talking with Owen about what it would be like at the dentist and how he would have to lay back in a chair, open his mouth, and the dentist would look at and check all his teeth. The last time I took him to the dentist, he refused to open his mouth, so I was hoping he would be more amenable this time. Our strategy worked because Owen did a great job sitting in the chair all by himself and letting the dental hygienist and dentist check all his teeth. His teeth checked out well, and the frenum that he split last week looked fine as well. Samantha came back into the room with the boys and I, and I was told that she didn't have any cavities either, but that I should look into scheduling an orthodontist appointment for her due to the crowding she is experiencing in the bottom of her mouth. I was glad that no one had any cavities, and it was nice to be able to get all three kids' check-ups done at the same time.
The rest of the day the kids and I just spent time playing at home. Our sad news of the day was that there were no more baby robins in the nest when I checked. The big storm on Thursday afternoon must have encouraged them all to fly away. I was a little bit sad because I was hoping to maybe get a glimpse of one of them leaving the nest, but I was glad to have been able to see them as much as I did over the last few weeks.
It was strange as we saw Facebook memories pop up from a year ago, because on June 18th we officially closed on our house and moved out of the U.P. I remarked that I couldn't believe it had been a year. It seems like it's been a long time and only yesterday, all at the same time. This last year has been so full of crazy change, family events, and uncertainty, so this first year living in Pennsylvania has certainly been a memorable one.
On Friday afternoon while I was working on my graduate class, I got a phone call from CYS about a potential placement. It was for a 6 month old foster baby, and the kids were so excited about having another foster child. However, it ended up not working out and they found kinship care for him. It's one of those things that you are glad that they found kinship care, but sad because we were all excited about having a baby to take care of. I really felt like a baby that age would be a good fit for us because he would be a little more regulated in how often he would eat and sleep, but he wouldn't be crawling around or pulling up on things yet. Plus, as I've shared in my blog before, I have been having a little baby itch lately, so I was excited about having a baby for that reason, too. Nevertheless, even though we were sad that it didn't work (in fact, I think Samantha took it the hardest and was really disappointed about it), we know that we will get another call some day. It was good to see how excited and invested the kids were in having another placement because it helped me feel reassured that we we really are all in this together, and that we see fostering as a mission that our whole family is a part of. I'm glad our kids' hearts are being stretched to love even when it's hard.
I'm not sure why, but Owen got the idea that I should take a picture of him in his bed as I put him to sleep that night. He likes to get cuddled up with his monkey and under his blanket, so here is a glimpse of what that looks like.
On Saturday morning we decided to go down to Wilkes-Barre to take part in a peaceful protest for a group called Family First Wilkes-Barre, that was started from a local AME church that is looking to partner with other churches in the area to support positive relationships between the community and the police, and to peacefully protest and support the lives of black people. This is not normally something that would be in my comfort zone, but I was glad to be a part of a group of like-minded people and to show the example to our kids that God values everyone's life and that we should too.
It was a little warm and sticky that morning, so after we got home and had lunch, it was my turn to put Owen down for his nap. Luckily, we had his air conditioner going, and it was cooling off his room nicely. However, you can see his little red cheeks and sweaty head in these pictures of him asleep in my lap.
I always have assignments due on Sundays for my graduate class, so I spent some time working on those on Saturday afternoon. Also, now that our local library is doing curbside pick-up, I decided it would be good for Samantha to have some experience calling and asking for the books she wanted to be put on hold. We got out her library card and made a list of all the titles that she wanted. I helped dial the number and handed the phone off to her. She did a great job speaking clearly and being brave to talk even though she was nervous to do it. I felt like it was a small step of independence for her, and being able to communicate with people on the phone is an important skill to have. I love seeing Samantha grow up and become more independent. She enjoys being treated like a bigger kid and having more responsibilities/privileges than her little brothers do.
I got Owen out of bed after his nap that day, and it was another day where he was waking up slowly. I brought him into my bedroom with me and took the opportunity to get a few pictures of him cuddling into me. He wraps his arms around you so tightly and buries his head right into your shoulder. I love that he will still let me hold him in this way. However, do you see how far down his legs are hanging?! I can't believe how big he's getting, and lately I feel like he is definitely growing taller. But I will take these cuddles from my little boy as long as I can because it makes me sad to think about the day where he will no longer need to sit and cuddle with me while he wakes up from his naps, so I will soak all these moments in.
While I held Owen, I did a little more work for my class. It is definitely harder than I expected it to be, but part of that is that I've never really done an online class before either. Plus, I graduated from college 14 years ago, so it's been a long time since I have read textbooks and had to actually comprehend, remember, and analyze what I was reading in order to then write papers about it. The hardest part is just trying to find time to do my work and be able to concentrate when I have so many other things to do with taking care of the house and the kids, trying to find time to exercise and read my Bible, trying to do fun things with the kids since it's summer, and still have time to relax and hang out with Ben, too.
As I was making dinner that night, I peeked out to see what Aedan and Owen were doing, and I saw them sitting on the floor together and Aedan was reading to Owen. I don't think I had ever witnessed this before. I tried to sneak up and take a video without them noticing because I didn't want Aedan to stop reading. Aedan was doing a really nice job reading the book, even though he didn't know all of the words. Owen loves these PJ Masks books, so he was really happy to have Aedan reading them to him. I love the close bond that these two boys have been forming over the last few weeks as they have enjoyed playing Rescue Bots and Super Heroes together. Owen adores and looks up to Aedan so much. He wants to just play with and do whatever he does, and he loves it when Aedan will include him and play with him.
(Blog about June 14-20, 2020)
No comments:
Post a Comment