I was amazed today with Oscar, who must think that green beans are the greatest food ever created. This little guy wanted nothing else and polished off an entire can. (Yes, these days we eat quite often out of cans.). The whole stinking thing! So, I opened another for the other kiddos. Sylvia ate hers, but perhaps more shockingly, also drank the green bean 'juice' from the bowl as if it were soup. (Yes, these days we heat our canned food in the microwave.) Rafa, true to form, battled the veggies with gusto. But, in the end, succumbed and ate one lowly bean. Somehow, when I said, "please eat at least one," in my head it sounded like it might inspire him to eat more. But, out loud, it gave him the option to proudly eat one, single, solitary bean. I'm still counting it as a success.
As with most things in life, these three each have their own way. Variety is truly the spice of life.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
no-slumber party
I'm about to start another interim gig and we have lots of stuff to get done around the house, so after we said goodnight to all the little ones, I retreated to our study to do some work. D also had things to do, so he came in and also settled down to work. Apparently, it was a pleasant evening for everyone. D and I, while we were working, enjoyed some calm time together. And, Sylvia and Rafa decided to have a party.
Now, I LOVE that they enjoy each other so much. Watching them share with each other and help each other and be concerned about each other is an incredible joy. But, when I emerged around 10:30 to start MY bedtime routine, the giggling that erupted from their room was NOT cute. I mean, their giggling is always cute. But at 10:30, not cute. They were lying down and hadn't torn everything off the walls or emptied their cabinets or smeared poop everywhere, so I probably should put it all in perspective. If they're healthy and hug-able, it can always be worse, right?
While I didn't get as mad as I sometimes get when they won't sleep (usually when I'm also worn out and trying to nap), I did give them a stern talking to about how it's late, they're tired, they have to go to school in the morning, sleep is good for them, blah, blah, blah, which I am certain I will repeat about a gazillion times before all three are off in college. At least now, when they don't quite tune in to my lecture, they have the excuse that they probably don't quite understand it. It was too much for them. They just needed me to tell them enough is enough and sleep. But, somehow it made me feel better to explain why their mama was putting an end to their fun. And, go to sleep because mami doesn't want to have to deal with two cranky yous tomorrow somehow didn't come up. Let's be honest, that's the real reason.
Now, I LOVE that they enjoy each other so much. Watching them share with each other and help each other and be concerned about each other is an incredible joy. But, when I emerged around 10:30 to start MY bedtime routine, the giggling that erupted from their room was NOT cute. I mean, their giggling is always cute. But at 10:30, not cute. They were lying down and hadn't torn everything off the walls or emptied their cabinets or smeared poop everywhere, so I probably should put it all in perspective. If they're healthy and hug-able, it can always be worse, right?
While I didn't get as mad as I sometimes get when they won't sleep (usually when I'm also worn out and trying to nap), I did give them a stern talking to about how it's late, they're tired, they have to go to school in the morning, sleep is good for them, blah, blah, blah, which I am certain I will repeat about a gazillion times before all three are off in college. At least now, when they don't quite tune in to my lecture, they have the excuse that they probably don't quite understand it. It was too much for them. They just needed me to tell them enough is enough and sleep. But, somehow it made me feel better to explain why their mama was putting an end to their fun. And, go to sleep because mami doesn't want to have to deal with two cranky yous tomorrow somehow didn't come up. Let's be honest, that's the real reason.
Monday, September 22, 2014
failed parenting experiment
We learned a good lesson last night. Unfortunately, we learned it the hard way. We had gone to visit some friends yesterday and Oscar was going to have to try to take his afternoon nap on the go. So, we brought his cherished lamb with us. You know, so there would at least be a modicum of hope that he might snooze. We had a lovely visit with our friends and even talked at length about how dependent he is on his little lamb to sleep. Which was probably our curse. Because we promptly left that gathering to go to Gong-Gong's birthday gathering and left the little lamb at our friend's house. We didn't realize that we had left the little lovey behind until we were already on our way to meet friends at the park in an attempt to wear all the kids out before bed. Then, I had an interview with a board of directors at 9pm and since the friend works with David less than a mile from our house, we figured, how bad can it really be?
You know where this is going. It was that bad.
Since Oscar didn't have his BFF to go to sleep, I spent a little more time snuggling with him and working really hard to get him to sleep. Since he hadn't napped, I had fatigue on my side. But, since I never do that, he sort of thought we were supposed to be playing instead of preparing for slumberland. But, he did drift off to sleep and we moved on, kind of thinking that this parenting is really no big deal. We got it. Mm, hmm. The other kids went to bed, we did various other household tasks, I had my call, I debriefed D about the call and then the whimpering began. Oh, no. Poor Oscar! He woke up. And couldn't find his buddy, his pal, the eternally-present-for-sleeping lamb. This guy.
Yeah, it's sort of my fault. I made him dependent on a stuffed animal so that he wouldn't be dependent on me. Which works. Until you don't have the stuffed animal anymore. Time to soothe again. D prepared some milk. You know, a full tummy can convince anyone it's time to sleep, right? And, off to sleep he went. For a couple hours.
The next time he woke up, he had had about 6 hours of sleep. So, he wasn't completely exhausted, but still tired. And no amount of coaxing, shushing, soothing, rocking, bouncing, (flashback to babies--AACK!) could convince him it was time to rest, much less sleep. And I was tired. So, maybe I didn't try as hard as I ought. I tried tossing every manner of stuffed animal we own in his crib. We have three kids. That's a lot of stuffed animals. He rejected each one soundly. I even attempted to let him sleep in our bed (translate, I was so tired, I just needed to lie down and he could lie on top of me or crawl around, whatever, because resting while he's not sleeping is better than actively trying to convince him to do the same). D tried to help out and took him downstairs to play for awhile until he was SO tired, he had no choice but to fall asleep. At which point, we had already lost most of our night.
The worst part of the entire experience was watching him on the amazing, infrared video monitor, which we generally love. He sleepily and desperately picked up each of the attempted replacement toys and with much confusion and crying put them back down since they were not the beloved lamb. He just couldn't understand why he couldn't find his sleep aid. His drug.
Of course, for SylRafa, we got backup loveys. But this guy decided to fall in love with a wonderful little lamb that we got as a gift. And, of course, THEY DON'T MAKE IT ANYMORE. A few months ago, I did search for one, which included FaceBook crowdsourcing to see if my friends could help me identify its maker, which they did. It's now a collector's item. At the time I thought the price they were asking was ridiculous, but now I'm thinking that compared to 3+ hours of lost sleep, it would have been worth it. I'm sure it has now quadrupled in price, if I could even find one. We might need to tether it to his ankle...
You know where this is going. It was that bad.
Since Oscar didn't have his BFF to go to sleep, I spent a little more time snuggling with him and working really hard to get him to sleep. Since he hadn't napped, I had fatigue on my side. But, since I never do that, he sort of thought we were supposed to be playing instead of preparing for slumberland. But, he did drift off to sleep and we moved on, kind of thinking that this parenting is really no big deal. We got it. Mm, hmm. The other kids went to bed, we did various other household tasks, I had my call, I debriefed D about the call and then the whimpering began. Oh, no. Poor Oscar! He woke up. And couldn't find his buddy, his pal, the eternally-present-for-sleeping lamb. This guy.
Yeah, it's sort of my fault. I made him dependent on a stuffed animal so that he wouldn't be dependent on me. Which works. Until you don't have the stuffed animal anymore. Time to soothe again. D prepared some milk. You know, a full tummy can convince anyone it's time to sleep, right? And, off to sleep he went. For a couple hours.
The next time he woke up, he had had about 6 hours of sleep. So, he wasn't completely exhausted, but still tired. And no amount of coaxing, shushing, soothing, rocking, bouncing, (flashback to babies--AACK!) could convince him it was time to rest, much less sleep. And I was tired. So, maybe I didn't try as hard as I ought. I tried tossing every manner of stuffed animal we own in his crib. We have three kids. That's a lot of stuffed animals. He rejected each one soundly. I even attempted to let him sleep in our bed (translate, I was so tired, I just needed to lie down and he could lie on top of me or crawl around, whatever, because resting while he's not sleeping is better than actively trying to convince him to do the same). D tried to help out and took him downstairs to play for awhile until he was SO tired, he had no choice but to fall asleep. At which point, we had already lost most of our night.
The worst part of the entire experience was watching him on the amazing, infrared video monitor, which we generally love. He sleepily and desperately picked up each of the attempted replacement toys and with much confusion and crying put them back down since they were not the beloved lamb. He just couldn't understand why he couldn't find his sleep aid. His drug.
Of course, for SylRafa, we got backup loveys. But this guy decided to fall in love with a wonderful little lamb that we got as a gift. And, of course, THEY DON'T MAKE IT ANYMORE. A few months ago, I did search for one, which included FaceBook crowdsourcing to see if my friends could help me identify its maker, which they did. It's now a collector's item. At the time I thought the price they were asking was ridiculous, but now I'm thinking that compared to 3+ hours of lost sleep, it would have been worth it. I'm sure it has now quadrupled in price, if I could even find one. We might need to tether it to his ankle...
Friday, September 19, 2014
lost items
We finally have an excuse again when we lose things. Oscar is in the stage when he doesn't ALWAYS have to hold everything in his hands and SOMETIMES letting go of things is fun. Particularly when he can stuff them into some container or other thing. I noticed that he opened the diaper bin, stuffed his NuNu (his lovie, sleepy toy, blanket, thing that we CANNOT lose) in, and closed the bin. So, now he gets to be Mami's helper when I need to throw things away AND we have to always look inside trash cans to see what he's disposed of. He has thrown away toys, shoes, food, perhaps our extra set of car keys that have gone missing? We're going to go ahead and blame him. He can't defend himself. He can't even hold his own freaking sippy cup. Which is a story for another day. But, yet again, I am in awe watching my children be in awe of how the world works and the little gears a-turnin' in their heads. I can almost see his brain working as he processes putting things in, closing the lid, opening it and joyfully seeing them again, or being surprised when it disappears (as in the case of the diaper bin). I love it.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
pics
I got another request for photos, so here you go!
I think we've entered into that stage when we will have to be satisfied with everyone in the photo. I brought my camera to this event because I knew we would have a lovely background for a photo. Then, I proceeded to wait until everyone wanted to go home to take it. So, I'm pretty much the only one who had any interest in the photo. And D was a good sport.
And here is Rafa in one of my favorite poses. Just relaxin with his head in his hands. Life is good.
I think we've entered into that stage when we will have to be satisfied with everyone in the photo. I brought my camera to this event because I knew we would have a lovely background for a photo. Then, I proceeded to wait until everyone wanted to go home to take it. So, I'm pretty much the only one who had any interest in the photo. And D was a good sport.
And here is Rafa in one of my favorite poses. Just relaxin with his head in his hands. Life is good.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
3!
Can you tell things are busier around here? It's harder and harder to get around to things like birthday parties, doctor appointments, and blog posts--to name a few things I'm behind on. We did get to the doctor and the dentist, aren't birthdays great? for their checkups.
Sylvia:
H: 37.75" (68%)
W: 32 lb. 13 oz. (71%)
Rafa:
H: 35.5" (9%)
W: 30 lb. 3 oz. (33%)
Sylvia is trending to be 5'6" and Rafa is trending to be 5'6". The good doctor is hoping puberty will be kind to him or he'll have a good growth spurt in college. I'm thinking the damage will be done by then. Then again, he does have the blue eyes. Speaking of eyes, his light reflexes are not matching up. That can be caused by many different things, I'm told, but we need to go see an ophthalmologist to have it checked out. So, there's another doctor appointment on the schedule. Sylvia also had high blood pressure according to the machine. Perhaps she was worried about Rafa's eyes. The nurse eventually took her BP by hand and said that she then got a reading that was fine by 2 numbers. I guess I should believe her, but there's a part of me that thinks that she's not really concerned and didn't want us to have to worry about or for Sylvia to have that on her chart when she's normal weight, etc.
Not a perfect checkup, but not terrible. I'll try to keep you posted on Rafa's eye thing, but the doc appointment isn't for a month and a half. Since Sylvia once poked him in the eye, he is an established patient with an eye doc and she's out of town or just not working, I know not, for a month. The pedi didn't seem to be terribly concerned, so I haven't started looking for someone else who might be able to see him sooner.
Sylvia:
H: 37.75" (68%)
W: 32 lb. 13 oz. (71%)
Rafa:
H: 35.5" (9%)
W: 30 lb. 3 oz. (33%)
Sylvia is trending to be 5'6" and Rafa is trending to be 5'6". The good doctor is hoping puberty will be kind to him or he'll have a good growth spurt in college. I'm thinking the damage will be done by then. Then again, he does have the blue eyes. Speaking of eyes, his light reflexes are not matching up. That can be caused by many different things, I'm told, but we need to go see an ophthalmologist to have it checked out. So, there's another doctor appointment on the schedule. Sylvia also had high blood pressure according to the machine. Perhaps she was worried about Rafa's eyes. The nurse eventually took her BP by hand and said that she then got a reading that was fine by 2 numbers. I guess I should believe her, but there's a part of me that thinks that she's not really concerned and didn't want us to have to worry about or for Sylvia to have that on her chart when she's normal weight, etc.
Not a perfect checkup, but not terrible. I'll try to keep you posted on Rafa's eye thing, but the doc appointment isn't for a month and a half. Since Sylvia once poked him in the eye, he is an established patient with an eye doc and she's out of town or just not working, I know not, for a month. The pedi didn't seem to be terribly concerned, so I haven't started looking for someone else who might be able to see him sooner.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
on the run
I keep threatening that walking is imminent for little Oscar. I can fairly safely say that the day is finally here. He now walks more than he crawls, although there are certainly times when crawling is faster and he gets down on all fours to scurry across the floor.
Yesterday afternoon, I took the kids for a walk and it was quite different than even 2 months ago. About 2 months ago, Rafa would have begged to be in a stroller rather than walk. Sylvia would want to run, but only holding my hand or the stroller, and Oscar would be chillaxin in the stroller. Yesterday, Oscar refused to sit in the stroller and preferred walking behind and pushing (he made it half way around the block before his little legs were so tired that he was falling more than walking and I put him in), Sylvia went running off as if running were the most fun thing in the world, and even Rafa went charging behind her, most of the way, anyway. I loved that they were happy to run around the block without needing me exactly by their side. I also love that they still are really wonderful about not entering the street without holding my hand.
Once we made it around the block once, though, Rafa was a little tired and wanted to go home. He pushed the envelope a little and asked to cross the street with us to get there, but without holding hands. I didn't let him. But, he refused to keep walking. So, he sat down on the sidewalk. Guess who always wins the test of stubbornness, oh yeah, me. We left him and walked over to a neighbor's house who has a garden that is a favorite place to visit of the kids. It's half a block away and across a street. While we were at the garden, Rafa decided it would be more fun to join us, so he got up, started running towards us, smiling and shouting "Mami, mami!!!" all the way. Then, he stopped when he got to the street. Proud mama moment. And a big sigh of relief, no lie. I'm pretty much terrified of my kids getting hit by a car. Which is probably part of the reason they are so obedient about it. It's been drilled in them.
He proudly said to me, "I'm not in a bad mood anymore. When I was in a bad mood, I sat down, but I'm not in a bad mood anymore." Then, when it was time to go home, Rafa was the one who didn't want to and wanted to keep walking. Seriously, boy?
Yesterday afternoon, I took the kids for a walk and it was quite different than even 2 months ago. About 2 months ago, Rafa would have begged to be in a stroller rather than walk. Sylvia would want to run, but only holding my hand or the stroller, and Oscar would be chillaxin in the stroller. Yesterday, Oscar refused to sit in the stroller and preferred walking behind and pushing (he made it half way around the block before his little legs were so tired that he was falling more than walking and I put him in), Sylvia went running off as if running were the most fun thing in the world, and even Rafa went charging behind her, most of the way, anyway. I loved that they were happy to run around the block without needing me exactly by their side. I also love that they still are really wonderful about not entering the street without holding my hand.
Once we made it around the block once, though, Rafa was a little tired and wanted to go home. He pushed the envelope a little and asked to cross the street with us to get there, but without holding hands. I didn't let him. But, he refused to keep walking. So, he sat down on the sidewalk. Guess who always wins the test of stubbornness, oh yeah, me. We left him and walked over to a neighbor's house who has a garden that is a favorite place to visit of the kids. It's half a block away and across a street. While we were at the garden, Rafa decided it would be more fun to join us, so he got up, started running towards us, smiling and shouting "Mami, mami!!!" all the way. Then, he stopped when he got to the street. Proud mama moment. And a big sigh of relief, no lie. I'm pretty much terrified of my kids getting hit by a car. Which is probably part of the reason they are so obedient about it. It's been drilled in them.
He proudly said to me, "I'm not in a bad mood anymore. When I was in a bad mood, I sat down, but I'm not in a bad mood anymore." Then, when it was time to go home, Rafa was the one who didn't want to and wanted to keep walking. Seriously, boy?
Monday, September 15, 2014
sleepy eyes
C: Sylvia, you need to go to sleep, you have sleepy eyes.
S: I don't want to sleep a lot, just a little.
C: That's fine, just sleep a little.
S: Not my mouth? Only my eyes will sleep, I don't have a sleepy mouth.
Yup, that's about right.
S: I don't want to sleep a lot, just a little.
C: That's fine, just sleep a little.
S: Not my mouth? Only my eyes will sleep, I don't have a sleepy mouth.
Yup, that's about right.
Friday, September 12, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
she knows
D was sitting on the floor of the dining room and Sylvia spontaneously walked over and gave him a hug.
D: How did you know I wanted a hug?
S: Because you love me!
D: How did you know I wanted a hug?
S: Because you love me!
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
manners
D and I are big proponents of teaching our kids manners. Possibly a little OCD about it. Sometimes I wonder whether the words themselves are so important when my child is clearly exhibiting the desired attitude. But then I still make them say, "please."
So, our hearts melted yesterday when our nanny was leaving for the evening and Rafa shouted out, "Thank you for the surprises!" (She had brought little birthday gifts.)
Ever since teaching please and thank you, Rafa either 'got it' faster when to say thank you or he just was better at remembering to do it. I excitedly think he might really understand what gratitude is, although of course he wouldn't label it. I'm not as certain about Sylvia. She might just say it because she's a rule follower. Of course, it may just be that Rafa has better identified the group of settings when we give thanks and really not be grateful within.
Whatever the motivation, even if it's just a rote expression, we hope that we have already laid some groundwork for recognizing gratitude, which I believe is critical for joy.
And if nothing else, it is one way that we have let them know who's in control. And as a parent, that's really the name of the game.
So, our hearts melted yesterday when our nanny was leaving for the evening and Rafa shouted out, "Thank you for the surprises!" (She had brought little birthday gifts.)
Ever since teaching please and thank you, Rafa either 'got it' faster when to say thank you or he just was better at remembering to do it. I excitedly think he might really understand what gratitude is, although of course he wouldn't label it. I'm not as certain about Sylvia. She might just say it because she's a rule follower. Of course, it may just be that Rafa has better identified the group of settings when we give thanks and really not be grateful within.
Whatever the motivation, even if it's just a rote expression, we hope that we have already laid some groundwork for recognizing gratitude, which I believe is critical for joy.
And if nothing else, it is one way that we have let them know who's in control. And as a parent, that's really the name of the game.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
three
We have had kids for 3 years, now. I know this isn't really about me and everyone just wants to hear about the kids, but it's a little hard for me to believe that I've been a parent for 3 years. THREE YEARS. There's sometime about 3 years that sounds like a really long time. We've been doing this parenting thing for a long time, now. They're also more like little people now,--we don't have babies anymore. We have kids. It's probably a part of me that's in denial about growing up. A little like Wendy in Peter Pan, which we read with the kids today.
We celebrated SylRafa's birthday today with a very low key and for us, wonderful, day. It was all about being together as a family today. We did little things to make it special for the kids, but really focused on spending quality time together, without being too distracted by making things fancy. I thought it was beautiful and I hope they did, too. And I'm not just making excuses for being slacker parents. They already had one party with the D's family, they'll have a simple party in school next week, and we'll have a party with extended family, godparents, and possibly a few friends at the end of the month.
I made pancakes with chocolate in the shape of their initials for their birthday breakfast. Sylvia got up early and had fun stirring the batter and be a little helper in the kitchen.
Then came the presents...
And a ride on the train in Hermann Park with the primos and tios.
It wouldn't be a birthday without a sweet treat and after an afternoon outdoors, popsicles were a hit.
We celebrated SylRafa's birthday today with a very low key and for us, wonderful, day. It was all about being together as a family today. We did little things to make it special for the kids, but really focused on spending quality time together, without being too distracted by making things fancy. I thought it was beautiful and I hope they did, too. And I'm not just making excuses for being slacker parents. They already had one party with the D's family, they'll have a simple party in school next week, and we'll have a party with extended family, godparents, and possibly a few friends at the end of the month.
I made pancakes with chocolate in the shape of their initials for their birthday breakfast. Sylvia got up early and had fun stirring the batter and be a little helper in the kitchen.
Then came the presents...
And a ride on the train in Hermann Park with the primos and tios.
It wouldn't be a birthday without a sweet treat and after an afternoon outdoors, popsicles were a hit.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
cousins
I have some really fond memories from my childhood of hanging out with my out of town cousins. They were a bit older, but always loved playing with and entertaining us. Or, if they didn't, they at least pretended to and we were none the wiser. The only thing they didn't like was when we would finally get permission to wake them up to come play in the morning. They didn't like that. I think I was always a little bit in awe that they would want to spend time with little rug rats and always felt a little cool when they would include us in their fun. And, of course, since I try to make my kids relive all the wonderful things from my childhood, whether they want to or not, I want them to have the same fond memories of time with their cousins. I don't think I'm forcing this one on them, though--they adore and worship Scooter, Skeeter, and Squealer.
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