Finally Fall

If you need us, you can find us outside, soaking up as much of this perfect season as possible.

On the Move

Look who decided to get up and start walking this week. We are so proud of our guy and the progress he makes daily.


I would have loved to post a video of his actual first steps but those happened Wednesday after I forced him to walk. Well kind of. I stood him about one inch in front of me and sweet talked him into my arms and then covered him in kisses. I guess he was into it because the next try he took two steps and by the end of the day he was taking 5-6 steps and by last night, well, he was walking across the room.

I guess he was a better walker than even he thought. But I am finding out he is absolutely not the type to just go for it and take rough falls that come with learning something new. Cautious this one. He waited to walk until he was ready and even now he doesn't fall, he simply opts to squat to a seated position prior to the major wipe out. 

I wonder how long this cautious approach to life will last? Into his teen years maybe? And then some? I really wouldn't have a problem with skipping a few of those broken bones, stitches and emergency room visits I've learned come with the boy territory.

So there you have it. All of our kids can walk. Check it off the list. On to the next milestone.

The Three Of Us

The things we do while Nyah is away.


In the morning.

Play

Chew

Fix boo boos

Do tricks

And after nap.

Play hide-n-seek

Jump on the bed

Everything is different when Nyah is away. The energy, the dynamic, and the way they play is a little quieter, a little calmer. Elsa seems to just be trying to pass the time until her sister gets home again. We miss her so much when she is away. And soon Elsa will join Nyah at the ol' preschool. Not sure what I'll do then. 

His Seventh Month

Look who decided to start sitting unassisted and sprout a tooth all in one week.

Raising kids is such a sight to behold, their advancements, their changes all on the way to becoming their little selves. The future is so unpredictable but I sometimes think of the day when we will be able to say we have three children who are _______. Be it potty trained, college graduates, friends, married, happy, and the list could go on forever. 


The pride a parent must experience when children grow in to who they are meant to be, accomplishing milestones and rights of passage along the way, must make parents feel like total champions. 

So for this little moment in time, yes, I am celebrating that I have three children who can sit unassisted. I am so proud. Let the checking off begin. 

Jude has let a little bit more of his personality out this months. And I think its pretty typical, but he wants me to hold him all the time. If I am within eye sight, he usually has his eyes on me letting out little whimpers for my attention. George is wonderful at distracting him though so the girls can still get some love, we can eat cooked food, and have clean clothes, etc.


He is a full on beast with this teething business. Anything within his reach is in his mouth with a vicious head shake to follow, chins and faces of others included.

I mean look at those puppies, ready to bust out.

And though I would like to report major advancements in his sleep situation, well that is a milestone of our dreams. I try not to dwell on his sleep patterns or lack there of but, well, he sleeps for two hours spurts at the max day and night. That's it. But we are hanging in there. At this point I realize he is waking out of habit or out of teeth growing pain but there is no solution. We are here for him. 


He can seriously cover some ground rolling and get to whatever it is he needs. He mimics us when we click our tongues and babbles, "Dada dada dadada," all day long. The moment his diaper comes off his hand heads south and stays there until he is dressed again. Boys. Congrats on that major discovery, Jude.

He is getting sweeter by the minute and his grin absolutely makes our world a better place.

Happy seventh months sweet boy.

Size

We had our first big pediatrician visit in Louisiana earlier this week.  A lot of the usual check up stuff with the dreaded shots, weight, height, etc. I was excited to get Elsa's height and weight because this will be her last appointment before she turns the big 2-0, just kidding, she will only be two. 


When Nyah turned two, I read up that this was the best age to determine what height the child will be as an adult. There are several formulas out there but I guess by doubling the child's height at the age of two is a good indicator of what their adult height will be. Another is based on parents heights, and the child's height and weight at a given age. An awesome and fun little parenting tool, I thought, like guessing the sex of a child during pregnancy by peeing on Draino (have you heard of that one), or doing the Chinese gender chart. 


Well, the height predictor put Nyah at a statuesque 5'9".  And as I ignorantly put Elsa's information in yesterday, excited for the results of my child's future, it predicted her at the age of eighteen to be...5'3". And though I think these are both beyond the perfect heights for our girls, I couldn't help but feel sort of jipped, robbed of the sheer delight it must bring to watch your child physically grow and grow into the beautiful adult they are meant to be, without knowing when they are finished. 

I immediately wanted to give the information back, permanently erase it from my memory because what business of mine is it to predict these girls futures? I mean what if this info lingers in the back of my mind and then the next thing you know I'm steering Nyah away from becoming a jokey and Elsa from being a runway model or volleyball star because I don't want them to get let down or fail? I don't want to let the knowledge of their predicted heights allow me to put them in a box in life because that is a total rip off and completely unfair to my children because the journey and dealing with and overcoming let downs and failures is what building character is all about.


So thanks to modern medicine and simple math equations we are now being way too invasive in our childrens' lives. I mean we look at them in the womb, their protected little world without second thought. And though the medical benefits way outweigh the weirdness of it all, hello, we are not supposed to see in there.


So does height matter in either direction? I think absolutely not, especially in matters that deal with the brain because knowledge is power and that is what I hope they depend on most in life. And as George so kindly reminded me, there are those that defy the odds in life each and every day. 

So wether I will be stretching up to kiss their beautiful cheeks or bending down a bit my heart will remain confident that these two girls will be capable of anything they set their minds on because on the inside, they are both giants.