Just another happy home looking to spread the love
1) “Mommies, you sit there pweese. I’m gonna show you a magic trick. Ladies and…ladies. Abracadabra – open Sesame Street!”
2) “What are we going to do with that baby? She’s always pooping!”
3) “When I get older I’m going to have big brains, big arms, and a big belly – just like you.”
One thing’s for sure…that kid keeps us laughing.
1) Sprout is now 4! Wow, I can’t believe we have a 4-year-old. It rained on his party day so he didn’t get his bounce house and ice cream truck, but he did get pizza, a lightning m.cqueen cake, a house full of people who love him, and positively spoiled rotten with gifts.
2) At 4 years old he now brushes his own teeth and gets himself dressed (so what if 80% of the time his undies are backwards?) and he has tie shoes. He also has his first bike and will be attending soccer camp soon. He knows all of his letters and can spell a few words. He’s so proud to be a big boy!
3) At 4 years old he also now rolls his eyes, makes faces behind our backs, and if one parent gives him an answer he doesn’t like, he’ll quickly run to the next to try to get a better answer. Ahhh yes, 4 going on 14.
4) We are struggling with bed wetting. He’s such a deep sleeper that he just doesn’t wake to use the toilet…despite a million different attempts, he’s only ever had 1 successful dry night. So he’s still in p.ull ups overnight and mommies are at a loss. Suggestions please??
5) His teeth are fixed! It took a few hours of filling and capping in the OR, but they didn’t have to pull any which was the biggest concern. He was such a brave boy and his recovery was amazingly quick. And for better or worse, bio mom didn’t attend the surgery so all potential awkwardness was avoided.
6) Rosebud is up to 18lbs! Hanging right in there at the 50th percentile for her age. 75th for length and 95th for head circumference. Vaccinations are still really rough for her – spikes a 103/104 fever and is crabby for days. I can only imagine how bad it would be if we weren’t on a delayed schedule.
7) She’s sitting for long periods of time and trying to pull up on anything she can find. No interest in crawling, but she beams with pride if you let her hold your fingers so she can walk across the room. She’s holding her own bottle, eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies, and talks, talks, talks up a storm. 2 teeth have popped through with more shortly to follow.
8) Her favorite things include: the water (baths, pools, oceans, she’ll take it however she can get it), Sop.hie the giraffe, and tossing her spoons off the high chair with a giggle and an “uh oh”. She is curious, feisty, and fearless – and I’m pretty sure she knows exactly how cute she is. We are in trouble.
9) Both of them are absolutely thriving at the new daycare. They are loved and challenged and enjoyed – its such a grateful change from the last place. I’m still not loving the food (nothing junky per se, but lots of processed foods, starches, and canned fruits/veggies), but having one less lunch to pack every day is awesome.
10) We still have zero idea what’s going on with their case. They could be with us for another month, or forever. They are so tight-lipped on these things its maddening. Has mom gone to rehab? Gotten a place to live? Completed an iota or all of her plan? No clue!
We’re (begrudgingly) back from a lovely week at the cape and while I have 400+ pictures to sort and edit, I snagged a few to share with y’all on this quiet Monday morning. They are all SOOC, so don’t judge them too harshly!
We enjoyed gorgeous weather all week which meant lots and lots of beach time – not that anyone would complain about that! Baby girl LOVED splashing in the ocean and that handsome guy up there caught all sorts of crabs and lobsters and fish – oh my.
When we weren’t beaching it, we did plenty of this:
And this (sorry to have to do that to her beautiful face but rules are rules….):
We even set sail and joined a band of pirates. Arrrrr
And brought Sprout to his first baseball game
But mostly, we just spent a whole lot of time talking, and laughing, and loving.
Six months ago the rest of my life began. It has been the hardest, most exhausting six months I’ve ever experienced. I’ve doubted myself more than I ever have. I’ve cried more than I ever have. I’ve learned more than I ever have.
I can’t gush enough about the two children that call me mommy (well, lately its more mama or maaaammmmaaa ma ma mmmm). I am so proud of them. I am proud to have them in my life. They are much more than I deserve and even on the hardest days, I know how blessed I am. I’m thankful for every bump, bruise, twist, and turn that landed me where I am today.
In celebration of all that love, we are off to my favorite place!
See ya when we get back 🙂
I’m going to open this post by saying that I’m not putting myself out there as any kind of expert. Every kid is different and there are a million different parenting philosophies, all most of which will work for some kid somewhere. Truth be told, while it would be great if someone was helped by this post, most of the reason I want to write this is so that I can come back and remind myself what works on days I’m feeling overwhelmed, because surely they will come again.
Now for a little brag…in prep for our case management conference, I was reviewing Sprout’s behavior journal and I couldn’t help but feel really good about the progress he’s made. In his first month with us, Sprout had at least two “regular” tantrums per day and two to three “severe” tantrums a week which was defined to include property destruction, urinating, and/or screaming until he lost his voice. Well, he has been with us six months now and recently we’ve barely touched the behavior journal. His last severe tantrum was in March and now he averages less than 1 tantrum per week. Way to go Sprout!
So here’s what appears to be working for us…
Parenting is hard and insanely complicated. The overwhelming truth is that even though this post ridiculously long, dealing with tantrums is just a tiny piece of my parenting and discipline puzzle. Also, I’ve screwed up on every single one of those bullet points up there. But like I said, this is just one small piece and the sum is so much greater than its parts. Keep calm and carry on!
Questions? Reactions? Disagreements? Real-life scenarios? I’d love to hear ’em!
Late last night Rosebud and I were sitting in the kitchen while the rest of the house slept. I was rocking and singing and kissing those delicious cheeks as I’ve done so many times before. She softly slurped her formula laced with teething tabs and held my finger in her chubby little hand waiting for some relief to the throbbing gums. Then I glanced up and saw the picture of the woman who created this beautiful child and my heart broke for her. Did she ever have someone to rock her and sing to her and to ease her hurts? Does she have any idea what she is missing?
Over the past few weeks I’ve been finding myself staring at that picture more and more, studying her face and trying to look into the cold brown eyes that I imagine are hiding so much. There was once a time when I judged her. I was jealous of her. I was angry with her. But lately those feelings have melted. Its occurred to me that there are enough people in this world to pass judgement on women like her. That’s not my job here.
On a recent business trip I made small talk with the grandmotherly woman sitting next to me on the plane. After looking at pictures of all 12 of her grandchildren, I bragged about my wonderful foster kids and the amazing light in their hearts. As kind as she was, she responded as so many do, “How could a woman do that to her children? It’s just awful. She should be ashamed of herself – and just give them up to someone who can raise them better.”
Our Growing Family 