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| Dinner with Daddy |
Matthew just come back! He has been gone for two weeks, and before that he was home for one week, and before that he was gone for two weeks. During the one week that he was home, he was the most awake and energetic that I have ever seen him after a trip! Normally he needs a couple of extra mornings to sleep in and is in a haze after a trip. He bid the reserve line to get into position to get Thanksgiving and Christmas off, and NOT be away for a whole month at a time! Yay, I say, as Baba and Jiji are still in Wisconsin. So while he has been on that reserve line, he has been doing very little flying so that means he's been sleeping at night instead of flying! I finally realized what a toll on the body it is to work the night shift and be away for so long. This time when Matthew came back, he got this from Thomas: "I want to sit next to Mommy. Because I like her more." Oh dear!
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| Sprinkler time in the backyard! |
One night at dinner time, Thomas turned around and wiped his face on the back of his chair. Shocked, horrified, I shouted, "Thomas! Really?! Are you wiping your face on your chair??" Taken aback, he said quietly, "But I didn't wipe it off on your chair, Mommy." Oh. Well ok then. After that night, I put the napkins on the table right in front of him! But not too many at a time! Oy. Always something to teach.
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| Carefully eating her tomatoes |
He's starting to twirl the top little section of his hair. Sometimes he twirls so much, it stands up in a cowlick like Alfalfa or There's Something about Mary. Matthew thinks he's just copying his friends at school who have long hair, but he has always liked playing with hair... my hair.
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| Building a tower o' stuffed animals |
While I was washing dishes after another dinner, I put some raisins on a plate, one for each of the kids. Thomas finished his and started playing in the playroom, and Sophia joined him, leaving raisins on her plate. A few minutes later I heard a huge crash, and Sophia started wailing! When I got there, I saw Sophia clutching her head, crying, sitting under the pulled-down tablecloth surrounded by raisins and shards of her stoneware plate. She cried and cried while I tried to check for lumps, put ice on her head, hustle them both away from the broken plate, reassure both of them that everything was ok, and answer Thomas' never ending questions about what happened, Mommy? Why, Mommy? Why she do that, Mommy? And once we all calmed down enough, I asked her if anything hurt? What happened? Sophia patted her head and wailed, "Raisins!" Was she upset that her precious raisins were on the floor and Mommy wouldn't let her eat them? Or was she trying to communicate that her desire for raisins was the cause of the whole incident? Later, in the middle of her bath, out of the blue she said "Raisins!" and "Raisins fall down!" a few times. It was pretty traumatic for her, and for us!
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| "Is this yours, Mommy?" |
Sophia loves to talk to Chloe: "Henno, Tolie!" Thomas is "Bradda" or Thoma." Auntie Rose and Auntie Pam are "Ata Ro" and "Ata Paam." She has gone from pointing to something at the dinner table and saying, "That!" to "One of that!" to "I want that!" I am constantly prompting her to say "Pleeeease, Mommy!" She does say "thank you" a lot, though, surprising and delighting various waitresses on the rare occasions we eat out. Another of her new phrases is "No. DO that" (while pushing away my helping hand). Meaning, I do that. Washing hands. Pulling on pants. Climbing up into and down from chairs. For the past week, she hasn't had any naps unless she falls asleep in the car, and then she wakes up as soon as I put her in her crib. She's looking a little puffy with shadows under her eyes. But now I have figured out that if I give her a nice long cuddle at naptime, she practically falls asleep in my arms. Bedtime is easier. Matthew and I have "negotiated" with her that if we stand in the doorway, she will lie down and go to sleep quietly. At least all that crying is (knock on wood) done for now, and we can progress to the next step (leaving the doorway)!
Mom and Dad are coming soon! So excited! Especially Sophia and Thomas, who still talk about going to "BabaJiji old hooooouuuuuse" in Wisconsin!
