Update on the Kids

Here is an update on the kids. Because of lack of time, it is just an information dump--not much editing, etc. I just wanted to get these memories down before I forgot. Sorry if it's not so reader friendly.

Aliyah is 7 ½. She is still as social as ever. She has four friends on our street that she loves to play with as much as possible. Although she often complains about going to school, I really think that she enjoys it. She has learned a lot—she is really learning a lot of math and improving her reading as well. She still LOVES reading—and I love that. She always stays up late in her bed with her flashlight reading books. Also, anytime we are driving anywhere, even just to the grocery store, she always brings a book or two to read in the car. Right now she has been reading a lot of Ninjago and Star Wars books. Recently she has learned to do laundry and is now in charge of the towels every week. She likes doing chores that include more mature activities like starting the dishwasher, working the washer and dryer, and vacuuming, using a spray bottle to clean things, etc. She loves playing games. She and I play games a lot—we like Phase 10, Monopoly Deal, Uno, Quirkel, and other ones. She loves helping out with Russell and is constantly carrying him around and “assisting” him. Sometimes a bit too much! Still lots of energy and constantly needs to be engaged in something…still a very loud voice—talking way too loud and lots of yelling and screaming (often out of joy, but still its loud!) She and Spencer are developing an intense sibling rivalry. They are always racing, comparing, teasing, and fighting. And its hard since she is older, she usually can “win” most things, so then Spencer gets mad, then she retaliates and it’s a downward spiral. Hopefully this is just a phase and we can work through it. When they are not fighting, they are best friends. They setup their playworlds together, they have a big fort that that love to play together in , they love sleeping together in the fort, or even squeezing together in Aliyah’s twin bed.

Spencer is 4 ½. I am discovering his personality more and more as he leaves toddlerhood behind. He is a naturally positive and cheerful little guy. He gets so excited about little things and has the most animated happy face and expressions. He loves helping and sharing and is very sensitive to other people’s feelings—unless he is feeling mad, he hates seeing other people sad. He always tries to cheer me up when I am sad, by doing sweet things for me, trying to be funny, or even just telling me that he doesn’t want me to be sad and that I need to be happy. He has a great imagination and can get involved for pretty long amounts of time in imaginary play, whether with his figurines or just with toys or household things. He is a very snuggly boy and we can often find him just wrapped up in a blanket on the floor just relaxing. Although his behavior got out of control after the move, I feel like he is back to feeling normal. He loves preschool and is always so excited to tell us about his teachers and friends. He always talks about his “best pals” from church and school. He loves being funny and being silly in front of other people. He is learning a lot at school and can write his name and knows all his letters. He also loves looking at books—and is also into Ninjago and Star Wars book (yes, it is a fight about who’s books are who’s at home). Spencer still has a temper and can get mad pretty quickly. When he’s mad—he’s MAD. We have been working with him on his temper and it is so nice to see when he keeps himself under control—He will be so proud of himself and make sure we know that “I used my words” and didn’t get mad. He really is a sweet little guy. Right now, he and Aliyah’s favorite TV show is Phineas and Ferb. They are constantly quoting the show together, singing the songs (we borrowed the music CD from one of the movies from the library and we listen to it everyday), and acting out some of the funny things they do. It is so cute to see them so excited about something together. They would be into Phineas and Ferb books, but our library doesn’t have any. Spencer’s speech is improving, but he still has a way to go. He does still have some cute things he says…like “poomer” – which means shooter/rocket launcher/slingshot/etc. basically anything that “pooms”. 

Russell is 19 months and in in that 1 1/2 year old destructive stage. He loves to dump things out, empty out cabinets and drawers, throw all his food on the floor and things like that. Last week I accidentally left the pantry unlocked and I found him eating (and dumping) powdered sugar. This week, his favorite thing is to smear his food in his hair. I have found crayon marks on the table, floor, doors, and some windows—when apparently he has found a stray crayon. And speaking of crayons, lately he has loved trying to stick crayons and pencils in his ears. He is starting to realize that he wants specific things and tries to get his way. He can say “milk” “stuck”, “Sock”, “duck”, “mama”, “dada”, “show” “na-na” (banana), “door”, “more”, “yes” and of course “no”. (However he just recently learned “no”, I was surprised because that is often one of the first words.) There is still a lot of “eh-eh-eh” with pointing. And he shakes his head “no”, when he is meaning yes. One cute thing he does is when he is excited about something happening, he does that 1990’s move of pumping his little arms and saying “Yesssssssssssssss”—its adorable. He recently started being able to climb out of the pack’n’play. He loves playing cars and we can often find him zooming cars along the floor/furniture/walls, etc. complete with vrooming sounds. He is starting to like playing with Spencer’s superhero figurines. He loves talking his clothes off, and I have found him undressed in the morning or after naps. He loves just running around in his diaper…and he is really close to figuring out how to get that off! He also likes dancing, and will dance around whenever he hears music. He has recently started folding his arms for prayers. He likes looking at books, but has a very short attention span when listening to a book—he can only listen to about 5 words and then he is ready to turn the page. He is very sweet and if he sees someone crying he will come and give them a hug. His snow gloves have a monkey face on them and every time he gets them on he kisses the monkey. He absolutely loves shoes and boots! He is constantly going into the closet and putting on someones rain or snow boots. And he will wear them for a while. I find shoes and boots all over the house. At the same time, he refuses to leave shoes and sock on while in the car, stroller, or any other place that he is sitting and can reach his feet. He is still a good sleeper—10-12 hours at night and about a 2 hour nap.