Wednesday, December 10, 2008

No Drips


We knew a long time ago that having Tineke would be the hardest on Laika.  She has always been so possessive and so attached to me.  She is also very spirited and stubborn and affectionate.  When Tineke was born so was a middle child.  We are doing everything we can to give Laika all of the attention she has been used to.  We try to give her a lot of special time, but the necessary time given to Tineke and the attention that Leif gets going to school are keenly observed by Laika, and she does everything she can to compete for attention.  She does so by making us laugh with her wild bum shaking dances, her super expressive storytelling, or by surprising everyone by running into a room wearing nothing but a smile.  She has learned that she can make me feel really bad after she spills something or drops something and then says, "I'm sorry Mommy, I didn't mean to.  I'm sorry."
Sometimes she comes right out and tells me to put my nipple away and give her a hug.  Other times when she feels neglected she is more pitiful and makes herself into a little snail shape on the floor until someone picks her up for a cuddle or uses her body as a bongo drum.

One day she was overwhelmed by the emotional rollercoaster of her life and was crying.  She wanted to rejoin the fun of whatever it was we were doing and pressed her palms against her eyes saying to herself, "No drips.  No drips."  Her way of saying to herself, "Pull yourself together woman."  It was funny and sad at the same time.   

So there are some tragic moments, but for the vast majority of each day she is still the most vivacious and brilliant girl.  She is very loving with both Leif and Tineke.  She runs to get a cloth to wipe Tineke's chin, she puts her soother in her gently in T's mouth and is even trustworthy enough to help with a bottle without pushing down her little sister's throat.   This example of being able to embrace her challenges (while not ignoring them) gives me a glimpse into what a strong person she is going to be.  I just hope that in the future she'll forego the clothes-dropping and skip straight to the storytelling.

First Shots


Yesterday Tineke had her first two immunizations.  She was a champ.  It is so hard to see her experiencing pain for (almost) the first time.  It catches a baby so off guard.  She's just sitting there in her diaper, her soft little thighs all innocently exposed and then a job in each one and a little square bandaid.  She only cried for a minute though.  Leif and Laika played in the waiting room and got stickers for being so well behaved.

When Dr. W. put her on the scale to weigh her she peed.  She came out at 11 pounds 15 ounces, but if she hadn't peed I think she would have been an even 12.  She's is long, heavy and has a nice round head. (95%ile) She's growing really well.

At two months old I'm so proud of her.  She is such a smiley happy little thing.  She is sleeping really well in the night, she grabs toys and pulls them to her mouth, she holds her head up and she has gurgle conversations with me.  These two months have gone so fast and even when I'm really tired and grouchy I'm appreciating every single day of having this new little baby in our lives.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Est-ce que je peux aller au toilette?

Leif hit his second kindergarten speed bump, and came out unscathed.  Yesterday I didn't make him to go to the bathroom before we left for school.  I thought about it, but we were so busy (Laika, fully clothed down to raincoat had decided to lather her hands up with sunscreen to be 'ready for the beach').  He has visited the school bathroom a number of times without incident.  However, lately the students get to jump a beaver with their name on it down a little path every time they ask a question in french.  Leif couldn't recall how to ask to leave for the bathroom.  In his mind speaking in French became a necessity and he froze up.  He sat there ALL AFTERNOON  holding his bladder.  When Jen came to pick him up he was standing in the line up and began to sob uncontrollably.  She and Madame Myriam realized right away what had happened and made sure no one else did.  Jen got Benjamin's spare clothes, took him to the washroom and changed him.  To her credit, even Benjamin still doesn't know why Leif walked home in his spare pants.  By the way, Leif has a spare set of clothes at school, but was too stressed to find it.

Last night Erik and I both shared a tale of wet-pants.  I gave Leif my Grade 1 tree-climbing story.  I'll save my Grade 4 desk-pee story for when he needs a tale of mortification in the older grades.

Today Leif brought Mme. Myriam a card that read, "Thank you!  Merci!  Love Leif" with a heart breaking little picture of him standing there with his arms out for a hug.  Mme. Myriam called him over to thank him.  I asked if she gave him a hug.  Yes.  And a Kiss.  She's French you know.

He still loves school, and Jen, and his teacher.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Leif is a Grown Man


Sometimes Leif takes us completely off guard.
About 2 weeks after Tineke came along, he came and sat beside me and asked earnestly, "So, how's the nursing going?  Is it still stinging?"  He was not trying to be cute, but asked with genuine interest.

You could take two things from this:  either I'm sharing way too much information with my 5 year old son, or he's just very perceptive.  I'm sticking with the latter.

Last night at supper Erik asked Leif if he thinks we should have another baby in our family. Without missing a beat he looked at me, calmly raised his eyebrows and asked, "Would YOU like to do that?"  It isn't lost on him that I would be the one most directly affected by such a decision.

Oh, and in case you're wondering - he would still like to have 'chiplins' or 'forflins'.  We taught him the word 'quadruplets' and he thinks it's hilarious.  He also keeps saying, "Laika, maybe we're having quadruplets!"  But guess what - we're not.  

2 Month Old Kids!




Here are close ups of each baby at 2 months old, in chronological order.
When I'm interacting with Tineke she feels very familiar.  And when she's sleeping or nursing it's a trip down memory lane.

3 Isn't Enough

On Mon and Wed afternoons Jen takes Leif to school and Jacob comes over to play with Laika. This works well for me as I don't have to get all 3 kids fed, dressed and out the door for the day by 11:30.  It gives Tineke a chance to nap in her very own cradle, and Jacob and Laika play well together.  She feels like a big girl and there usually isn't an argument unless Jacob disobeys a direct command from the General.  Such as, "Ok.  Jacob.  So.  I am a princess.  So.  You need to go get me my wand.  Jacob.  Jacob.  Jacob. JACOB."

SHOW (and tell)




Today was Laika's first Show and Tell at preschool.
She brought her Cinderella megabloks carriage with her Angelina doll inside.
She wore her little green dress (slightly too short) with embroidered flowers and ric rac on it and topped off her look with her special flower necklace.

She was so excited!
I managed to take a few pictures so that you could see how shy she was.  She did say a few words, in answer to her teacher's questions.  She said, "Pink."  "Grandpa." "Doll."  and "Yes."

Tonight when Erik asked her what her favourite thing at preschool was she replied, "Show."

She hit the nail on the head.