Walking Matthew!

Matthew has taken his first steps...and then some. I was dying to share the good news on the day it happened, but my computer was dead! Here he is walking towards a bunny cage (we were pet-sitting for a friend), then crawling over to see the camera:

I can't get enough of that breathy excitement and big, smiley face. This kid just makes me happy.

Well, a week later, Matthew has had a little more practice and we were able to make a game of it tonight. This clip is towards the end when he was already pretty tired. He wanted lots of hugs from me:

I love, love, love how he walks to Alice and Robert. And having him melt backwards onto me was pretty sweet, too. He did not, however, want to walk to James, even when James was in Bobby's lap. We finally coaxed Matthew to lean forward and stumble well enough that James was convinced it was walking. Whew, no hurt feelings.

I don't blame Matthew for his discerning reluctance. James is kinda rough on the little guy. Half the time he's trying to be mean (e.g. squeezing Matthew's hands or tackling his back half so he can't crawl away or yelling in his face to make him cry), and the other half of the time James is just loving too roughly (big, smothering hugs that knock Matthew over, slamming the bathroom door in his face to keep him away from the toilet, or handing/throwing toys to him and accidentally smacking him). Matthew has developed a special warning grunt/squeal just for James. It's a little like the sound you make when you're starting a new exercise routine with long, slow sit-ups. Nnnnnng-uh.

I just love this little man! Now that he's on the verge of toddlerhood, his hair suddenly looks way too shaggy. Time for his first haircut. You can look for that blog post soon ;)

Potty Training?

So, um, James is potty trained now. It happened way faster and more completely than I ever could have imagined. He just got it. Right away. It's freaking me out. Shouldn't I still be cleaning human waste from my carpets twice a week at this point?

All the things that I hate about potty training were completely bypassed this time: hourly "potty turns," cleaning solid waste from underwear (and the floor, and his legs, and my hands), accidents on furniture, accidents in the car, accidents out and about, urgent potty emergencies, bedwetting...totally not an issue with James. I'm completely flabbergasted!

Blown away.

He doesn't even ask for treats anymore. It's been 10 days. WHAT?!

Blind, Deaf and Dumb

My computer has been severely crippled for the last week or so. At first, I enjoyed the excuse to digitally disconnect from everything and spend time working on more analog projects. Four days later, I was feeling deaf and blind...I had no idea what was going on with my friends or extended family. A day after that, I realized I also felt voiceless. Silenced. I couldn't share any of my good news or struggles with anyone because I was digitally mute.

Then I remembered the telephone.

I called my mom and spilled out all my news in a whirlwind conversation that *almost* made me late picking up Robert from school.

That brief conversation was good, but not enough. I'm glad to be back online.

I knew I had become dependent on my computer for gathering information, but I never pegged it as a place where disseminating information was just as (if not more so) important to my happiness. I mean, I'm "me" all the time, right? Why should I feel any less "me" if I can't blog about potty training or making applesauce? Maybe it's composing an email or blog post that solidifies the experience for me? Dunno, but it's important.

Glad to be blogging again.

Our new front yard!

The Master Gardener walk this spring inspired me. I decided I was finally ready to commit to a new front yard, but not willing to do all the plant research and back-breaking work myself.

(Yes, I will design a chicken coop and construct it myself in my garage while 7 months pregnant, but please don't make me research ornamental plants and yard design manuals. I find the artistic side of design a little tedious and intimidating and exhausting.)

So, we called in the professionals at Country Arbors Nursery in Urbana to propose a design. I was not initially impressed with their service, but found the design attractive and simple and clean. Just what I wanted. And the price was right, too. They just finished the installation an hour ago:

Hostas, boxwoods, and an "accent boulder" line the front walk. There's an empty swath on the right for planting annuals.

Flagstone path from front porch to lawn, accent boulder, crisp lines around the trees.

Flagstone path from lawn to hose, serviceberry tree (edible berries!), a variety of visually-appealing ground covers, and a few hydrangeas under the cedar. Gotta find a better place for the hose box until these plants grow up and fill in a bit more.

Right side of the front (serviceberry, etc.)

Left side of the front

So, not only did they create new garden beds and select and arrange certain pretty plants just-so, but they managed to connect the new bed to our recent drainage work! It's a seamless and artistic blend of form and function.

They also took out all the river rock and corroded black plastic that had filled in the garden beds until now.

The installation included soaker hoses under the mulch for easy watering. How cool is THAT?!

And the nursery provides a full replacement guarantee for the plants for one year.

I am so, so, so pleased. So happy with the new look. So excited to learn how to care for these plants and keep these garden beds looking great.

First Full Week of School

Robert started kindergarten! He likes to go to school, he likes to come home, he likes his teacher, he likes a challenging new playground, and he especially likes all the neat little awards in place to promote positive behavior. He has come home happier and a little more mature this week. He even plays better with James, believe it or not.

Slinging on his backpack

We've made it a habit to play on the playground for half an hour after school. Robert loves the glider thingy (kinda like a zipline) where you hold on and jump over to the other side of the play structure. He does that back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. He's been doing fancy tricks with it, too, but fell and smacked his head last Friday. I have experienced few things more terrifying than picking up a sobbing child and watching blood stream down the back of his neck *shudder*. Once I got a good look at the wound, it wasn't so bad.

His newest "smile pose."

Anyway, we're still adjusting to the new routine, and this is just the honeymoon period, but it's been very, very good for all of us. So far. Yay!

Robert typically rides home in the stroller with Matthew. Kindergarten can be exhausting.

Robert wrote this note to his teacher, "Here is a fon for the fon boks. Frum Robert" I helped with some spelling and spacing. I also prepared as many tape strips as he needed.

Alice started 3rd grade. She likes the added responsibilities and freedoms that come with third grade: more homework, choosing who to sit with at lunch (younger grades must sit by classmates), Chrome books in class, and cursive writing. Oh, she loves cursive writing. Surprised? She's energetic, bold, and friendly. This girl completely embraces growing up. She makes it look so easy.

Eight looks great on this little lady.

Alice is also enrolled in a research study that is examining the relationship between physical fitness and cognitive performance. She gets to play active games with her friends for two hours after school...a total party for her. She comes home at dinner time tired, but not worn out. I miss her a little every day, but I don't miss the opportunity for Robert and James to develop a relationship outside of her presence. She's a dominant character, y'know, and it's neat to watch the boys experiment with their own fun and games together.

James, well, is getting used to more attention from me. I hear things like "I like you" and "You're my favorite" and "We're a family!" a lot more. There's so much love popping out of this kid's mouth! I really, really like that. Another benefit of having Alice and Robert in school is that I finally get to talk James through things without interruption. He's learning to cope with frustration and fear a little better. He still picks on Matthew a bit, but we're working on that. I like seeing him just be his casual, comfortable self. At the grocery store today, he was singing, "Fah-woh uh poffet, don't go away."

James checking out a stripey caterpillar he found.

James is taking swim lessons from our favorite swim teacher. It's interesting to watch him with other adults, especially adults asking him to do hard/scary things. He groans and whines a little, but complies pretty easily, and enjoys the praise at the end. Then he's proud of himself for doing something so difficult. I'm thinking we'll start potty training next week...ugh...ack...*sigh*...or never. I hate potty training. And I've never done it with a baby in the house. Will someone please come over and do it for me?

Normally, I require a helmet and shoes. Check out those dimples beneath his eyes!

Matthew is a peach. What more can I say? He enjoys the stroller ride as we drop off and pick up kids every day at school. He's crawling, pulling himself up on things, and eating, eating, eating. He had a well-baby checkup last week. Unfortunately, he's only 25th percentile for length. WHAT?! The doc wasn't too concerned since he's measured 25th-50th percentile for half of his life, and there's a lot of error in the process of stretching an infant as far as he'll go. It's not Matthew's absolute size that concerns me, it's his relative size to his two gigantic brothers. This boy will need to use something other than brute strength to hold his own with those two.

(Shhh. Don't tell anyone he got the last mini popsicle.)

As for me, the school day comes with a little more time and space for other things. I am in that weird spot where I'm looking for something more to do, but many of the things I want to do don't fit well into the little bit of time/energy I have. I've wasted a lot of time just staring at my planner feeling that I should be doing something right now, but what?!