Brittany (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} alatariel14) wrote,@ 2009-07-06 14:49:00 |
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Via Regular Mail...
I expected to celebrate the fourth of July with a brand new baby, but said baby has a timeline of her own. I'm glad that I resisted the urge to buy a "Baby's First Fourth" outfit when I was out shopping a few weeks ago. Mentally, it seems as though she will never get here, but physically, I know that's impossible. And so we continue to wait. Tomorrow is the full moon, so here's hoping that I'm cosmically in tune.
Meanwhile, the family foursome celebrated the holiday in a slightly altered fashion. Instead of parking downtown, we watched the Friday night fireworks while driving around Cumming. Johnathan and I used it as an excuse to grab Starbuck's, and the kids had fun searching the sky for sparkles. We celebrated Independence Day with the steam engine parade in downtown Cumming and a low country boil at my cousin's house.
One of my favorite things about being at home for a long weekend is the opportunity to watch my children. Since I spend my days at work, weekends are a time to reconnect and get to know them a little better.
Observation #1 regarding Emily – She still loves shoes as much as ever. We almost lost one of Emily's favorite red shoes while crossing the road for the parade. It was saved from oncoming traffic by a stranger who then flagged us down halfway across the parking lot. Johnathan and I had been trying to figure out why she was suddenly so upset, but couldn’t understand her over the noise. I felt terrible for not being more observant. I suppose the observation isn't as much about shoes as it is Emily's attention to detail. Appearance. She grabbed one of her play purses and was walking around the house with keys in hand, chanting, "Let's go" and "Where's my phone?" It was such a miniature version of myself that I had to laugh.
Observation #2 regarding Emily (and David) – She has a violent streak that doesn't seem to be directed at anyone other than her brother. David has a way of speaking and looking that sends Emily into a shrieking fury. As Johnathan puts it, "Davids are the number one cause of Emily shrieks." Sometimes he bosses her around or yells at her for "being in his way" when she’s halfway across the room. Sometimes he purposely picks at her and makes faces at her in the car…all of which are reasons I can understand (though not condone) her desire to smack him upside the head. However. There are moments when all he has to do is speak, and Emily flies across the room with arms flailing. She has gotten into trouble for her actions numerous times and has received VERY stern reprimands for beating him with cars, blocks, and plastic tools. I have started trying to intercept her when I see it coming, but of course I can't be there every moment of every day. Obviously, hitting is not something that should be allowed, but yet I know that it's an inevitable part of growing up with siblings (or in my case, cousins). I want to teach my kids to be respectful of others, and I certainly don't want a child who is a bully. Yet I don't want my kids to roll over and let people walk all over them. There are moments when I step aside and warn David, "You've been told to stop harassing her...if you don't stop, I'm not going to get onto her when she smacks you." But yet Emily deserves a retaliatory smack of her own whenever she starts wailing on David unnecessarily. Sometimes I wish that I could just let them go at each other and see what happens, but the gap in size and age between them is too great. David could very easily hurt Emily...but then again, she could very easily hurt him by smacking him with metal cars. Sigh. Neither side is innocent. David has always tried to sneak in knocks when no one is looking, but he's a bit more hesitant overall. So. My biggest problem right now is the vicious little raptor who has decided to take matters into her own hands and seems to feel wholly justified in doing so.
Observation #1 regarding David – When it comes to building blocks (both big and small), he is an absolute perfectionist. David has his own way of doing things, and nothing else will suffice. It drives him nuts to see Emily building a tower that is top-heavy or has uneven lines. His eyes fasten on the misshapen jumble and he almost involuntarily springs to "help" her. The problem is that 9 times out of 10, Emily doesn't want help. I have tried to explain to David that at one point, he didn't know how to properly assemble blocks, either...that he had to learn on his own. I tried to point out that if he always fixes Emily's problems, she will never learn to do it for herself. Yet he sputters and protests and looks as if he might go insane with the strain of it. He is just as particular when we're building Lego models based on the pictures in his instruction manual. If a particular piece is missing, a simple substitution will not do. He would rather scrap the entire project rather than use a red block in place of blue. However, this only applies to the initial building project. After the first draft, he will happily disassemble the model and rebuild it in a different way. I suppose it's like knowing all of the rules before you can break them. He has to know how to do it exactly right before he will allow himself to do it any other way. If he retains his meticulous nature, I hope that he becomes an architect...or a brain surgeon.
Observation #2 regarding David – It is time for swimming lessons. Emily seems to be a natural water baby, but David has always been very hesitant at the pool. While I sympathize, I want him to be more comfortable in the water than I am. Even with floaties, he prefers to stay on or near the stairs. His hesitation disappeared, however, when he saw another five-year-old swimming and jumping into the water at the low country boil. This five-year-old was fearless and didn't need any kind of flotation device. I could see the admiration in David's eyes and watched as he moved steadily into deeper water. David's swimming buddy cautioned him not to go too far, but David just grinned and kept floating deeper. Presently, something happened to startle my son, and I watched helplessly as David latched onto his peer and dunked the little boy several times before adult intervention. Sigh. I was horrified by the thought that my five-year-old could have drowned another five-year-old and resolved to take action as soon as possible.
David is trying to grow up on us, and he has started taking our responses to his questions and relaying them to Emily in an all-knowing fashion. It's entertaining to hear him lecturing on topics that were so recently foreign to him.
Emily has made bedtime enjoyable the past few evenings by jabbering to me in the darkness. She was energized by the neighbor's fireworks Saturday night and kept jumping up and clapping her hands every time there was an explosion. Things were a bit more settled last night, but she still talked happily about sheep and kittens while snuggling up to me contentedly. It seems that the sound of the katydids drifting through the window made Emily think of sheep, so she kept insisting that there were sheep outside. Gradually quieted and took over my role, softly "Shhh"-ing as she stroked my hair. The reversal must have worked for both of us because it's one of the last things I remember before waking to find Emily passed out on my pillow. A steady rain was hammering a soothing rhythm on the roof when the clock rolled over to 12:01. Very little beats the scent of fresh rain blowing through an open window, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
I expected to celebrate the fourth of July with a brand new baby, but said baby has a timeline of her own. I'm glad that I resisted the urge to buy a "Baby's First Fourth" outfit when I was out shopping a few weeks ago. Mentally, it seems as though she will never get here, but physically, I know that's impossible. And so we continue to wait. Tomorrow is the full moon, so here's hoping that I'm cosmically in tune.
Meanwhile, the family foursome celebrated the holiday in a slightly altered fashion. Instead of parking downtown, we watched the Friday night fireworks while driving around Cumming. Johnathan and I used it as an excuse to grab Starbuck's, and the kids had fun searching the sky for sparkles. We celebrated Independence Day with the steam engine parade in downtown Cumming and a low country boil at my cousin's house.
One of my favorite things about being at home for a long weekend is the opportunity to watch my children. Since I spend my days at work, weekends are a time to reconnect and get to know them a little better.
Observation #1 regarding Emily – She still loves shoes as much as ever. We almost lost one of Emily's favorite red shoes while crossing the road for the parade. It was saved from oncoming traffic by a stranger who then flagged us down halfway across the parking lot. Johnathan and I had been trying to figure out why she was suddenly so upset, but couldn’t understand her over the noise. I felt terrible for not being more observant. I suppose the observation isn't as much about shoes as it is Emily's attention to detail. Appearance. She grabbed one of her play purses and was walking around the house with keys in hand, chanting, "Let's go" and "Where's my phone?" It was such a miniature version of myself that I had to laugh.
Observation #2 regarding Emily (and David) – She has a violent streak that doesn't seem to be directed at anyone other than her brother. David has a way of speaking and looking that sends Emily into a shrieking fury. As Johnathan puts it, "Davids are the number one cause of Emily shrieks." Sometimes he bosses her around or yells at her for "being in his way" when she’s halfway across the room. Sometimes he purposely picks at her and makes faces at her in the car…all of which are reasons I can understand (though not condone) her desire to smack him upside the head. However. There are moments when all he has to do is speak, and Emily flies across the room with arms flailing. She has gotten into trouble for her actions numerous times and has received VERY stern reprimands for beating him with cars, blocks, and plastic tools. I have started trying to intercept her when I see it coming, but of course I can't be there every moment of every day. Obviously, hitting is not something that should be allowed, but yet I know that it's an inevitable part of growing up with siblings (or in my case, cousins). I want to teach my kids to be respectful of others, and I certainly don't want a child who is a bully. Yet I don't want my kids to roll over and let people walk all over them. There are moments when I step aside and warn David, "You've been told to stop harassing her...if you don't stop, I'm not going to get onto her when she smacks you." But yet Emily deserves a retaliatory smack of her own whenever she starts wailing on David unnecessarily. Sometimes I wish that I could just let them go at each other and see what happens, but the gap in size and age between them is too great. David could very easily hurt Emily...but then again, she could very easily hurt him by smacking him with metal cars. Sigh. Neither side is innocent. David has always tried to sneak in knocks when no one is looking, but he's a bit more hesitant overall. So. My biggest problem right now is the vicious little raptor who has decided to take matters into her own hands and seems to feel wholly justified in doing so.
Observation #1 regarding David – When it comes to building blocks (both big and small), he is an absolute perfectionist. David has his own way of doing things, and nothing else will suffice. It drives him nuts to see Emily building a tower that is top-heavy or has uneven lines. His eyes fasten on the misshapen jumble and he almost involuntarily springs to "help" her. The problem is that 9 times out of 10, Emily doesn't want help. I have tried to explain to David that at one point, he didn't know how to properly assemble blocks, either...that he had to learn on his own. I tried to point out that if he always fixes Emily's problems, she will never learn to do it for herself. Yet he sputters and protests and looks as if he might go insane with the strain of it. He is just as particular when we're building Lego models based on the pictures in his instruction manual. If a particular piece is missing, a simple substitution will not do. He would rather scrap the entire project rather than use a red block in place of blue. However, this only applies to the initial building project. After the first draft, he will happily disassemble the model and rebuild it in a different way. I suppose it's like knowing all of the rules before you can break them. He has to know how to do it exactly right before he will allow himself to do it any other way. If he retains his meticulous nature, I hope that he becomes an architect...or a brain surgeon.
Observation #2 regarding David – It is time for swimming lessons. Emily seems to be a natural water baby, but David has always been very hesitant at the pool. While I sympathize, I want him to be more comfortable in the water than I am. Even with floaties, he prefers to stay on or near the stairs. His hesitation disappeared, however, when he saw another five-year-old swimming and jumping into the water at the low country boil. This five-year-old was fearless and didn't need any kind of flotation device. I could see the admiration in David's eyes and watched as he moved steadily into deeper water. David's swimming buddy cautioned him not to go too far, but David just grinned and kept floating deeper. Presently, something happened to startle my son, and I watched helplessly as David latched onto his peer and dunked the little boy several times before adult intervention. Sigh. I was horrified by the thought that my five-year-old could have drowned another five-year-old and resolved to take action as soon as possible.
David is trying to grow up on us, and he has started taking our responses to his questions and relaying them to Emily in an all-knowing fashion. It's entertaining to hear him lecturing on topics that were so recently foreign to him.
Emily has made bedtime enjoyable the past few evenings by jabbering to me in the darkness. She was energized by the neighbor's fireworks Saturday night and kept jumping up and clapping her hands every time there was an explosion. Things were a bit more settled last night, but she still talked happily about sheep and kittens while snuggling up to me contentedly. It seems that the sound of the katydids drifting through the window made Emily think of sheep, so she kept insisting that there were sheep outside. Gradually quieted and took over my role, softly "Shhh"-ing as she stroked my hair. The reversal must have worked for both of us because it's one of the last things I remember before waking to find Emily passed out on my pillow. A steady rain was hammering a soothing rhythm on the roof when the clock rolled over to 12:01. Very little beats the scent of fresh rain blowing through an open window, and it was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend.
