Update on EJ and AA
It has been a long time since I have given an update on the kids' progress. Much is going on. Ellis is doing wonderfully. She can write all her letters and is starting to sound out words. Today she read cat, mat, sat and a bunch of other "at" words. We like coming up with rhyming words. She is also learning to write numbers and can count reliably to 50. Her drawing is really impressive, already better than mine (though that is a low bar).
Ellis continues to be super sweet. Ms. Oliver told me of the following conversation...
Ellis: Ms. Oliver, your phone is broken!
Ms. Oliver: Yes, one of the kids stepped on it.
Ellis: Are you going to get a new one?
Ms. Oliver: Well, iPhones are expensive, so I have to wait until I have enough money.
Ellis: [Things hard for a few seconds.] Ms. Oliver, I have money in my piggy bank that you can have to get a phone.
Another story. A couple of weeks ago, I picked Anders and Ellis up early because Anders was feeling badly and had to get to the doctor. I was pulled out of a meeting with Secretary LaHood to get them in the pouring rain and slog across town with a broken umbrella. The whole thing was a mess and kept getting worse. Ellis was endlessly sweet and patient. She kept telling me it was going to be okay and just to be patient. One time, showing how low I can sink, I looked at her and answered, "Is it going to be okay? Because it seems pretty messed up to me!" She looked back at me and defiantly said, "Don't say that!" Then breaking up, "Because it scares me." There were many tears. Well, that woke me up. I picked that precious child up and snuggled with her for the entire train ride to the doctor's office.
I didn't need to pick up Ellis before heading to the doctor's office. Mike could have gotten her. But something inside my head told me I needed her, and that little voice was right. She is sweet and serious and smart and glowing and she makes things better. Just ask Anders, who thinks everything she does is genius. He gets so excited to see her or interact with her in any way.
They are both so precious and yet so different. Where Ellis has always been serious, focused, intense and introspective while also being cuddly, thoughtful and kind, Anders is always happy, smiley, relaxed and content. He is loving in his own way -- not cuddly but gives hugs and kisses very freely. For about 2 months, he has been grabbing our cheeks with his baby claws and slobbering all over us when he wants to show love. It is shocking how deliberate it is.
Anders is also fully into solid foods, and it is interesting how unstructured we are about introducing new foods this time. Second kid. The good news is it seems to have solved the reflux, which means he is sleeping well, only waking up once at night. The bad news is it has stopped him up. So we are very focused on foods like pears and prunes right now. Another very Anders thing is he cannot sit still while nursing or taking a bottle. He is wiggling and kicking and grabbing and bopping and turning his head (not so comfortable when nursing).
In other news, he sits up reliably and has started scooting around on his tummy. The child still will not roll over, though. I have no idea why. It also appears he has given up the pacifier, which I think was the same age Ellis did.
He charms everyone because he hands out the smiles to anyone that shares one with him. Ms. Sulama (at daycare) says, "He is so sweet. He never complains." All the women who work at daycare seek him out in the morning for a smile. Anders also giggles and laughs so easily. I have a lot to learn from the ease with which he approaches everything. It calms me down after a stressful day and makes me laugh, often at myself.
The long and the short of it is these are some unbelievably wonderful kids.
Ellis continues to be super sweet. Ms. Oliver told me of the following conversation...
Ellis: Ms. Oliver, your phone is broken!
Ms. Oliver: Yes, one of the kids stepped on it.
Ellis: Are you going to get a new one?
Ms. Oliver: Well, iPhones are expensive, so I have to wait until I have enough money.
Ellis: [Things hard for a few seconds.] Ms. Oliver, I have money in my piggy bank that you can have to get a phone.
Another story. A couple of weeks ago, I picked Anders and Ellis up early because Anders was feeling badly and had to get to the doctor. I was pulled out of a meeting with Secretary LaHood to get them in the pouring rain and slog across town with a broken umbrella. The whole thing was a mess and kept getting worse. Ellis was endlessly sweet and patient. She kept telling me it was going to be okay and just to be patient. One time, showing how low I can sink, I looked at her and answered, "Is it going to be okay? Because it seems pretty messed up to me!" She looked back at me and defiantly said, "Don't say that!" Then breaking up, "Because it scares me." There were many tears. Well, that woke me up. I picked that precious child up and snuggled with her for the entire train ride to the doctor's office.
I didn't need to pick up Ellis before heading to the doctor's office. Mike could have gotten her. But something inside my head told me I needed her, and that little voice was right. She is sweet and serious and smart and glowing and she makes things better. Just ask Anders, who thinks everything she does is genius. He gets so excited to see her or interact with her in any way.
Anders is also fully into solid foods, and it is interesting how unstructured we are about introducing new foods this time. Second kid. The good news is it seems to have solved the reflux, which means he is sleeping well, only waking up once at night. The bad news is it has stopped him up. So we are very focused on foods like pears and prunes right now. Another very Anders thing is he cannot sit still while nursing or taking a bottle. He is wiggling and kicking and grabbing and bopping and turning his head (not so comfortable when nursing).
In other news, he sits up reliably and has started scooting around on his tummy. The child still will not roll over, though. I have no idea why. It also appears he has given up the pacifier, which I think was the same age Ellis did.
He charms everyone because he hands out the smiles to anyone that shares one with him. Ms. Sulama (at daycare) says, "He is so sweet. He never complains." All the women who work at daycare seek him out in the morning for a smile. Anders also giggles and laughs so easily. I have a lot to learn from the ease with which he approaches everything. It calms me down after a stressful day and makes me laugh, often at myself.
The long and the short of it is these are some unbelievably wonderful kids.
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