Favorites

I think I hit my low point this past weekend. I had a string of nights of really bad sleep, Archer had an epic fuss one evening (the kind of inconsolable screaming that took me right back to the Colic Days of Baby Brighton), Pacey started getting sick and I just didn't have the energy to enjoy my sister's visit the way I wanted to. Instead, I had a long, ugly cry about how overwhelming everything felt. Meanwhile she, my 28-week pregnant sister, cleaned my bathrooms, folded my laundry and played endless games of ponies (the torturous likes of which you really can't imagine) with my chatterbox of a daughter. Who is now deeply in love with her auntie and a bit disillusioned with mommy who is not terribly inclined towards playing ponies.

ANYWAY. It was nice to see her, lovely to see my kids reconnect with their TeeTee and I got clean bathrooms out of it :)

Today I have just the baby this morning (sitting on my lap, he says Hi) while the big kids are both in school. The house is almost eerily quiet. Without further ado - free time being rather severely limited - here are some favorite things right now.

Pacey, age 6 and 10 months

This kid is ridiculously adaptable. He has embraced his new school experience wholeheartedly. I love seeing him meander down the driveway to the bus each morning, excited to see what school has in store for him. He's already making huge strides (telling time, learning new sight words, etc) and I am very, very impressed with the ways this school is meeting his needs and communicating with me.

I love that he loves his independence. At 3:00 pm the bus drops him off at the end of our driveway (special transport FTW!) and he runs up the drive with a huge grin on his face. He drops his backpack in the entry, pulls his shoes off, immediately wants to know where Sister and Baby Archer are, and then announces he's hungry. It's all just so very normal and exactly what I pictured the elementary school experience to be like as a parent. Once again, I wish I could go back and tell the 2006/2007 me that things would be just fine with this kid of mine.

Not my favorite: the four frillion times he gets out of bed for various things before finally settling down for the night

Brighton, age 4 and 4 months

This girl is a lover. She snuggles the baby, she gets in my lap whenever it's free, gives her dad the hugest bear hugs and *hates* it if she misses hugging her big brother goodbye in the morning. Her imagination is unparalleled and I love hearing the stories she comes up with. She is very helpful and is starting to reliably complete the small household tasks I assign her.

She is very motivated to learn. I feel a little bad that I had to take her down to just two days of preschool a week, but it won't affect her. I did buy a selection of workbooks that she LOVES to work on and was tickled pink to have "homework" after her first day of school (just an About Me page to fill out). She's a smarty pants and I'm excited for her to start kindergarten next fall.

Not my favorite: The rather adolescent looks she shoots me sometimes and the way she says, "MOM, I KNOW" when I remind her of something she OBVIOUSLY already knows.

Archer, age 8 weeks

The smiles. Oh, the baby smiles. It never fails to amaze me what a drastic physiological response your body can have to a smile. He coos too, and will "talk" back and forth with me. I feel like he's my most responsive baby in that way so far. His little fist grasps the neck of my shirt now when he falls asleep in my arms. It's so sweet, as is the fact that he still sleeps best if I'm holding him (though terribly inconvenient at times).

Not my favorite: Formula poop/gas. Good lord. Also, the seeming disinterest in sleeping for longer stretches at night yet.

Chris, age Old

A little shout out to my husband who went on a trip to see a friend this past weekend. There were some...issues with said friend that sort of ruined the weekend for him. It's not my story to tell, but suffice it to say there is a credit card account with my name on it that bears a charge to a certain county jail for bail (not for my husband, I hasten to add). This friend screws up a lot, to be honest, but Chris has hung in there with him and tried to be there in various transitions in his life. I admire his loyalty (however I will be raising an eyebrow VERY LOUDLY if the suggestion of another trip comes up next year).

And now I have 20 minutes left before I'm due back for pick-up so I'm going to unload the dishwasher. Or maybe just snuggle my baby :)