Much has happened over the last 3 months. First of all, the kids are capable of playing together without adults in the room and without killing each other. Major progress. They are also increasingly loving with each other. Just tonight, I teased Ellis for wanting me to cuddle with her first at bedtime by calling her selfish. Anders immediately said, "Ellis is not selfish!" But they spend a solid amount of time fussing at each other too.
They are also enjoying spending time with other kids, especially without me and Mike. This is a truly liberating concept. Here is Ellis watching the Superbowl with Jack.
And Anders being cross examined by Josh. Anders is still obsessed with strange grown men. But good news, it turns out that he does not like leaving his parents presence with one. We learned that tonight when he was with our friend Danny who walked Anders into another room and Anders got upset. Again, progress.
Ellis has made a good friend at school, who she will be in spring camp with. Here is Ellis and Quincy drawing together. Quincy is a sweet, smart, fun girl who plays very well with Ellis.
Ellis got her hair cut recently and had a very specific idea of what she wanted: bangs. She explained it in great detail to the woman who cuts her hair without any help from me and was very happy with how it turned out (as you can see).
Anders is expressing herself so much better and is often an unstoppable chatterbox. He loves to ask, "What's he doing?" about everyone and everything. Sometimes it is "what's he sayin'?" and many times over the person talking. So if he'd stop asking, he would know what they are saying. He has even asked, "Mommy, what's Anders saying?" Other times I have called him a stinker or something and he responds, "I not a stinker. I Anders!" If he asks for something, I usually ask, "What does Mommy get?" His response is, "Kisses?" And then I get kisses. The cuteness is out of this world. He knows it and takes advantage. When I get angry he tells me he loves me and offers hugs. When he knows he is in trouble he says, "I want to say sorry!" through tears. We are trying to teach him that sorry does not fix everything. Finally, we took steps backward on getting rid of babas and on potty training, but I am taking a breath and letting him have the time he needs...for now...
Ellis is reading a lot. She still needs help sounding out words (and prefers to read the first 3 letters and then guess, rather than sound out), but she can read hundreds of words effortlessly. More impressive, she has started writing notes and even poetry. There are post-it notes all over the house saying things like "I love my family." I'll post one of her poems soon. She is also working on adding and subtracting numbers up to 20 and has started to pick up the concept of multiplication. She is endlessly sweet, often caving to something Anders wants in order to avoid a meltdown but sometimes tired of being the big kid all the time. Ellis has started trying piano and singing more. Last night she belted out "Let It Go" from Frozen. Anders asked if he could "scream" too. But honestly, she has an impressive (and loud) voice. And she is tons of fun. Below is a picture of us getting a pedicure.
Comments