I feel like the only thing I ever say nowadays is that something something was busy. but for real, as evidenced by my lack of blogging last month, June kicked my booty. So, I'm cutting myself some slack. I mean, we barely took any pictures in June, we were off our game big time! Back to the regularly schedule program of life with two cute boys.
July Fourth was relatively uneventful. I had a big day planned of staying at the house and doing not much of anything. Best laid plans. We ended up starting the day Barnes & Noble, Sam wanted a book on something, but then the book was too expensive, so the boys just played on the train table. Perk - 9:30 on a holiday is a perfect time for this activity - there were no other kids to get in the way. It was wonderful. Then, while were there, B&B called to see if we wanted to meet them at the pool..... in thirty minutes. So we rushed to get William swim diapers, run home for swim clothes, and then back out to the club to meet them. We still beat them there. Because we're awesome like that. So William swam, Patrick and I sat in the shade, we ate lunch and relaxed. It was pretty nice.
OH!! Forgot to mention - Patrick got ear tubes!! It was pretty eventful, which is good. I love his ENT, Dr. Blankenship. He had left it up to us after his first appointment, but because sweet little Tat has been on so many antibiotics and there seems to always be a little fluid in his ear, we went with the tubes for preventative measure. I just hated thinking that he had an ear infection every time he fusses for a moment of doesn't sleep well, etc. So, we went to St. Francis very early for the surgery, which maybe took 10-15 minutes, and we were home before 9 I think. Easy cheesey. Patrick was in straight denial of the surgery and played like a champ most of the day. We've kept him out of the water park for two weeks and he gets cotton balls in his ears for bath time, but as of this morning's follow-up, he is good to go. He will still need to wear ear plugs in lakes, oceans, public pools - but he can get in and enjoy. Which he will be thrilled with - he's such a water baby.
Back to the holiday - so after swimming we all took naps and then back out to B&B's for dinner. The boys played like rockstars and surprisingly stayed awake all night. William and Patrick worked out how both could play with the firetruck finally - Patrick pushes William. It's hilarious - but it occupies both of them happily.... We went to watch fireworks from Bill's office at the government center on the 10th floor and it was the perfect seat. I don't think we could have had a better view and we were inside. No heat no bugs no crowds. It was great. William was absolutely enthralled with the fireworks and Patrick was pretty mesmerized as well. I think they both fell asleep in the car on the way home and then the holiday was over, back to work and school. Boo.
Patrick keeps taking little half steps like he is starting to think he might be able to walk on his own. Sometimes he'll down to a farmer's squat like William used to do all the time, and sometimes he falls forward into a running crawl, but I don't think that full on walking is far off. He seems so little....but whatcha gonna do?!! At pickup today actually, Ms Tonja told us that he confidently took two steps, like he knew precisely what he was doing.... and she literally cried. I love that woman. Apparently, Patrick laughed at her. We told him that wasn't nice to laugh at people. haha. I'm sure William is going to love when Tatrick can chase after him... I know Tat will enjoy being able to keep up. They were playing chase the other day and poor Tat was a whole room behind so quickly.
William's imagination is out of control. We love it. we are constantly chasing bears & dinosaurs, picking up puppies, and everything in sight can be a sword. Sunday William had turned the vacuum wand into a sword. At some point he realized that by hitting it on the ground it would come apart and pieces would fly. Of course, after the first time, I realized this was a bad idea - I was on the floor - Patrick was in the room.... So, as I'm telling him that he needs to stop, someone could get hurt, he goes to hit it on the ground again, but instead totally nailed my face. Hard. Bleeding. Poor kid. He started crying when Sam came in to tell him we don't that, even though we told we weren't angry with him... he's a sensitive kid. I look like a cat attacked me. Surprisingly, only one person at work has mentioned it. haha
We are trying to meld our parenting/discipline styles. Sam will say I've gone off the reservation hippie, but I don't think so. I'm just really liking what I read about gentle parenting right now. And honestly, it's not far off what we choose to do in the first place, but we're making it work for both of us. And of course, while we are still trying to work it out between us, William gets upset and hits me for one reason or another and that's an automatic time-out. This sends him into hysterics, but that's the rule. Hitting=corner. In the meantime, dinner is ready and on the table. we try to continue with the meal while waiting for him to calm down and say sorry (the corner is in the dining room), but that doesn't work. So we stand in the hallway where he can't see us. All this time we are taking turns talking to him and saying all he has to do is say he is sorry and then he can get out of the corner. Nothing. Even when I would go and hold him to try and get him to calm down - he won't tell me he's sorry. Forty five minutes later he finally kind of spits it out and gives me a big sheepish hug.... then goes and pretends to be a puppy. Defiant and oh so stubborn when he wants to be. I have a feeling that our parents are laughing at us right now.
We think Patrick is allergic, or atleast very sensitive, to peaches all of a sudden. I swear he had them in 1st foods, but last week he had real peaches at school and came home with an awful ugly diaper rash. Which we didn't think anything of after it mostly cleared up overnight with liberal Desitin, but then it came back in full force after he had Fruit Medley for breakfast, that had peaches in it. So, we've put those in the back of the cabinet, told his teachers, and I think we've about beaten the diaper rash. It was bad though, open sores bad...poor baby. Just not used to food allergies. Neither Sam or I have any, or William as far as we know... My brother was allergic to milk when he was little and I remember that being a huge pain. Though, he did get a special pizza just for him and special sorbet - maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought... Hope it doesn't last - but we don't really eat that many peaches anyhow. Sam had a bad experience in high school...we don't talk about it... haha!
Just because it was so cute - this is the conversation I had with William in the car on the way home from school. M: What'd you do in school today? Did you play with your friends? W: I not nice to my friends M: Why baby? We have to be nice to our friends W: I not want to talk to my friends. I talk to Garrett. He my best friend M: Garrett's your best friend? W: I not want to talk to Garrett. He not nice to me. Police car my friend (a police car was passing in front of us) M: Ok baby W: You go fast and catch police car? M: I can't catch the police car, he's too far ahead.... At home.... Sam asks about school and his friends... W: Garrett not nice, it's not OK.
Who knows what was actually going on - but my poor baby. He's come home saying that two days in a row now and I guess we better ask his teachers if anything is going on. I hope it's just something silly, like he needed his space and they all wanted to give him a hug... I thought it was funny when he said "it's no OK" - that is totally something I say - guess he really is listening to me...
Patrick is definitely William's little brother and is obsessed with trucks and cars just the same. And maybe I'm just in denial of what a big boy he is becoming, but it catches me by surprise when I see my little baby crawling around driving a car on the floor. Like he shouldn't be old enough to know how to do that or something... But he was playing with a truck at school when we picked him up and his teachers said the same thing - he plays with them ALL DAY LONG. If I wasn't so pre-occupied with my sadness that he's getting big, I would probably find it adorable. Atleast the boys might have a common interest...
And I'm too tired to go into real detail. But the short story - William hates swim lessons. Screaming, pleading, hates them. Sam had some luck with him eventually, but it was a bit painful to participate/watch. I just want him not to 100% fear the water and be able to get himself to safety if he falls in. I don't need him to be a water baby - just a safe baby. At this rate, he may just have to walk around in a life jacket at all times.
Loves.
