So much to catch up on, I don't know where to start! The other weekend we enjoyed an afternoon at the pumpkin patch with our friends Jeff, Amber and Lauren. It was pretty funny right from the start-when we got there and parked, we discovered that Hailey had a dirty diaper-that had leaked. So, we changed her and put her into the backup pants that I keep in my bag, and as Ahmad called them, they were "seafoam green". Oh well, it was just the patch, right? As we were standing in line, Amber called me and said that Lauren threw up when they got there and it was all over her. And they didn't have anything to change her into, what did I have? I had a pair of Miles' pants (size 3T) and one of Hailey's onesies (size 6 months) and Lauren is 19 months old. But it worked! The onesie was amazingly stretchy....! Despite the funny outfits, a good time was had by all.
The other weekend while I was working, Ahmad, Miles, and Hailey were playing outside and Miles wanted to play football. He had his helmet on and was ready-but then he asked Ahmad for another one. When asked why, he said it was for his friend, who was standing right beside him. Miles has an imaginary friend! His name is Joshish and he appears at random times. He was around quite a bit for that week or two, but hasn't been mentioned too often lately. OK, time for a classic Zahler tale-when I was little, probably 3ish, I had an imaginary friend and her name was Sarah Cindy. She lived in this huge pink motel in a nearby (was it nearby? Or was in my town? I'm not really sure) town. My dad tells a story that one time my mom and I got into an argument because I wanted Sarah Cindy to spend the night, but we were having company in for the weekend and my mom said there wouldn't be room. HA! Cracks me up. That's one the first things I told Ahmad when he told me about Joshish-there was always room for him to come over! :)
Miles likes to get in the closet and do "work". He pulls everything out and then has to put it all back. It's very important work!
Hailey is doing so much these days! She's eating everything that we eat and loves it! We only give her water to drink (and breastmilk) and she doesn't get any sweets or other obvious bad foods (i.e. chips that Miles thought she would like), but pretty much, she's eating what we're eating. We've also noticed that she eats with her left hand. Wonder if she'll be a lefty! She still takes baby food at daycare just because we thought nutritionally it was better because for a while, she wasn't eating a very balanced diet. And she still eats it just fine from them, so we stuck with it. We'll see how much longer that goes on though. She's also reciprocating affection! She's trying to kiss us sometimes and is hugging me! I love it. She started doing it when I get up with her at night. I always pick her up and hug her to me and ask her what's wrong, etc etc. She started hugging me back! Now she hugs me often, just presses her little body to me and clings on. Melts my heart.
My Little Pumpkin!
Hailey also did another first-she made her first sign. I've been doing sign language with her pretty much since birth, mainly signing "milk" when I feed her. Once she hit 6 months, I started with other signs and have been waiting for her to catch on. The other night I thought she signed "light" when I did after we finished her night time story, but wasn't sure. Well, the next night, she did it again! Yup, she signed it. I was surprised she didn't sign "milk" first, but then I thought, she gets her point across just fine by sucking on my face or fussing that I know when she wants to eat. Why would she bother signing?! And another first is that she stood up by herself! She was standing up holding on to the stool and let go-and stayed standing! She's done it several more times now and has even done some real standing-using her legs and bending at the knee to lower herself or to stand up. I can't believe it! She'll be walking before we know it!
A drawer Hailey can play in!
All warm and ready for a walk!
Miles is still motorcycle obsessed. On almost a daily basis we talk about motorcycles and he still insists he wants one and that he's big enough to touch the ground while riding it and therefore should have one. It's a never ending battle. And I probably didn't help much. It was pretty funny. One day when I was talking to my mom, she told me there was an ad in the paper for a powerwheel that sounded like a motocross bike type. She asked if it might be good for Miles for Christmas. I told her it was a good idea, but probably not. They were big and pretty expensive. That evening, I got on Craig's List, which I hardly ever do, and found an ad for a motorcycle powerwheel for $50. It was down the street from my work, so I contacted them and went to see it the next day. It was cute. And I talked them down. I couldn't resist. I brought it home and Miles loved it. :)
The other day when I took him to school, he got upset with me because I didn't turn in the first drive to school. I mean, an all out tantrum-screaming, not walking, crying, hysterical. It was a bit ridiculous I have to admit, but now kind of funny. We've had a talk about how I am the driver and the mommy and I make the decisions about where we drive. I hope that sticks.
Miles playing in my makeup
Miles had a rough few days (like 2-3) the other week and the administration at his preschool decided it was best to move him to a new room. We had briefly talked about it, but I didn't realize that meant the next infraction. Well, it did and he was moved mid-day one day. He's now in the older 4 Pre-K room. He's by far the youngest in the room, but maybe this will be good for him. He's been in there 2 weeks now and has done great. He did learn 1 new bad word, but didn't take it too far. I hope this is a good move for him! We have noticed that he's already learning lots more, which is fantastic. He's sounding out words and is able to identify what letter most of them start with. Maybe he'll be reading soon! And he's working on learning the months in order. He does January and February and then skips to June and can finish out the year. If we get spring in there, he'll be set! Another thing I've noticed in the past week is that he's having a hard time with transitions. Like finishing one thing (TV show, finished playing, putting on jammies, etc) and moving on to the next. We give him plenty of warning-"Miles, almost time for jammies!", "Miles, this is the last show, then jammies", "Miles, 2 more minutes until jammies", "Miles, time for jammies" and he's still have trouble. Really wanting "one more thing" or not wanting to finish playing. We'll keep working on it, but this is definitely something new for him.
Last weekend, we went to South Bend to visit Ahmad's family. We had a great visit! We went over to the Azar's house Friday night and had a nice time. Saturday, Jamal and Tiphanny were headed out of town for the evening, so the kids were at grandma and grandpa's house. We had all the grandkids there! We went to the pumpkin patch and came back and did activities and played. It was great. We definitely decided we don't want 5 kids though! :)
Ramzi
Miles and Tofiq dancing
Mckenzy is all smiles!
"Up Mama!"
I don't know who's sillier!
All smiles with Aunt Tiph!
5 grandkids!
Now we're looking forward to this weekend and hope to have some quality time with the family. As long as the rain holds out tomorrow, we're going to head to Zoo Boo to do some trick or treating. We're all going to dress up this year, so I can't wait to go! Miles is Spiderman (and can't wait to save people), Hailey is a Ladybug, I'm a Princess, and Ahmad is the Red Stripe Man from the Red Stripe beer commercials. It should be a good time!
