I am not going to be pretend to be surprised that so much time has elapsed since my previous post. I do not even remember writing the previous post! Our lives are pretty jam-packed. I should probably seize this slip of time for a nap but I will instead attempt to ever-so-briefly update this blog with whatever I remember of the last four months. In bullet form. Because that is less intimidating. Here goes:
- We had a dinosaur-themed birthday party for our little guy in April. It was a backyard affair with coordinated balloons and napkins; snacks; pizza; games; and the backyard bouncy castle we guilt-purchased during the early pandemic. The party itself was uneventful, but...
- Myles developed a nasty GI bug later that weekend. He missed a week of school. We ferried him to the pediatrician daily. The pediatrician was nonplussed--we have been riding a post-Covid masking (not post-Covid, exactly -- more on that later) fueled spree of nasty viral illnesses for months and April was a heyday for norovirus. Ever the vomit-phobe, I inquired about anti-nausea medication, but the nurse refused to prescribe it for safety reasons. A few days later we landed in the ER for dehydration; the hospital Drs hand out anti-nausea meds like M&Ms but poor Myles had to be admitted for 24+ hours in order to receive "hospital water" via IV. Prior to the hospital water, he looked like a deflated version of himself, eyes sunken, too weak to protest the IV. We watched hours of Puppy Dog Pals in the ER before moving to the fancy children's floor at Inova Fairfax. Myles befriended a child life advocate named Q who brought crayons, play doh, and assorted other toys while describing the hospital setting in accessible language. (Q also scolded the phlebotomist who bizarrely encouraged Myles to watch her draw his blood because it was a "beautiful color" -- even terrible experiences have hilarious moments...)
- Goodness, I am terrible at this bulleted format. I'll try to be more brief and pithy.
- Ellie got the same GI bug the following week. You had better believe we gave her alllllll the anti-nausea medicine. No ER. No hospital. We bought them both blankets to commemorate the experience--glow in the dark unicorn for Ellie and dinosaurs for Myles.
- There I go, bulleting in paragraphs again.
- Before I forget, we had to take Myles to the same nurse who denied the anti-nausea meds the following day. I asked her to look at a rash that turned out to be a staff infection, per two pediatricians later the same day. But the nurse was alarmed by the marker Myles' had gotten on his back while playing in his hospital bed. She was poised to call child protective services before I pointed out that it came right off with rubbing alcohol.
- So that was the beginning of three! And three has been a wild ride for Myles. M's preschool teacher, who has taught for decades, told us that she loves Myles, but "doesn't know how we get through the day." But note that same teacher recently celebrated her 65th birthday and might, in a country with subsidized early childhood care, have preferred to have retired by now. Per her recommendation, we place Myles on a waiting list for occupational therapy, in case frustration tolerance and irritability issues stem from unaddressed sensory issues. I found a nearby, delightful child therapist for M while we waited for the OT--not lost on me that both children have landed in therapy at this very special age. She listened very gently and patiently to both me and M and at the conclusion of the first appointment, said to Myles, "It sounds like you are an energetic, sensitive guy who loves his puppy and has an awesome family," and Myles kept playing for at least 30 seconds before saying, "This is true."
- So we have learned a few things from Ms. Amy during therapy. She opined that Myles has higher than average social emotional skills and understanding. The therapy setting also demonstrated that the wheels are always turning in M's mind and all too frequently we assume he is not listening when in fact he is processing in his own thorough and methodical way. Ms. Amy also provided gentle reassurance that M has big, strongly expressed feelings--sometimes expressed through kicking, hitting or shouting--because...he is three years old. And last October was his first extended exposure to other children and a structured setting. M's teacher posted an excerpt from a book about three-year-olds outside the classroom; the book posits that most of three is a period of disequilibrium in which the child is frantically trying to catch up emotionally with fast-paced cognitive development.
- At any rate. Our sweet little guy is still our very sweet little guy. A dude with the coolest dance moves. An energetic and athletically capable little mover and climber. A bookwork who loves to snuggle and listen to stories. A devoted friend to his beloved Bow-Wow, his big sister, and his school buddies. A keenly observant kiddo who surprises me everyday. And a sweet little buddy who gives the best snuggles.
- This bulleted form is driving me bananas, but there is an idiom about changing horses midstream that I think applies here...
- I will abruptly pivot to our darling Ellie girl. I am besotted with five-year-old Ellie--she is an awesome girl and we have a great time on our adventures! Peppa is now almost entirely a thing of the past, and has been overtaken by an obsession with all things unicorn--particularly Ellie's unicorn stuffies, neigh-neigh (purchased at Child's Play after a Dr's appt) and uni (inherited from cousin Emma, who Ellie adores--we had a great visit with Shefali & Emma this summer, further solidifying the girls' friendship.) Ellie wanders around muttering "noy, noy" and in addition to her blanket, has unicorn slippers, bathrobe, swimsuit, beach towel, raincoat, dress...
- Ellie continues to love green monster pizza and her best friend W. She and W and another friend are taking ballet classes at a ballet school that is new to Ellie, and both kiddos are taking swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School. We briefly wandered into piano lessons with a soft-spoken gentleman who came our house on Monday evenings but piano practice turned into a battle that did not seem worth fighting--and once when I peeked in on a lesson, Ellie was upside down, head under the piano. So we have taken a pause and have not yet determined whether the pause is permanent!
- It is so exciting to watch Ellie learn to read. We have not been perfectly disciplined about it but it has been awesome to read long, mostly unicorn-themed chapter books to Ellie at night--because it is even more important that Ellie love stories, I think, than that she is immediately proficient in phonics. But the phonics are definitely click too, and she also enjoys addition and subtraction, and occasionally practicing her Spanish. She is curious and articulate and asks fantastic questions. She's also a great big sister and I am so proud to see how thoughtfully she takes care of M when he is sad, bringing him Bow-Wow or holding his hand. They also do drive each other crazy periodically ;).
- A few additional highlights. We went to Peace Ridge Farm later in April and stayed on a farm with goats, emus, and peacocks--oh, my--that is nestled between Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown. In May, Dylan and Angelica visited for Mother's Day--the kids absolutely adore both and had a blast getting shoulder rides and being tickled. In June, we headed to Princeton for 24 hours to hang out with Shefali and Emma; Emma read to the kiddos and the kids played in the backyard and in Emma's bedroom, which had its own playhouse made out of a box that a chandelier arrived in. In June, Nitin traveled to Idaho--by the way, Nitin has a new, private-sector job that involves more travel now, and work has been absolutely crazy for me, in part because my boss is retiring and I am somewhat ambivalently applying to take his place--and Grandma came to visit and help take care of E&M. Two weeks later, in early July, Nitin headed to France for a week, and Grandma and Grandpa visited to help hold down the fort. E&M love their time with Grandma & Grandpa every bit as much as I loved visiting with my Grandma & Papa as a kid. A long story made short--Nitin tested positive for Covid at the airport when he returned to DC and spent 8 nights in hotels quarantining immediately after his time in France. A couple of days later, we traveled to Chicago to celebrate Grandpa's 70th birthday! We heartily enjoyed the time with family and friends.
- So, this summer has been quite a whirlwind so far. I am crossing fingers for an uneventful few weeks before we head to Vermont for our final vacation of the summer, the week before Ellie begins kindergarten. No Covid, please, forces of the universe. No hurricanes, power outages, locusts, etc. Just a boring, quiet few weeks to get our ducks in a row before relaxing in Burlington while we peruse land in search of a post-climate apocalypse homestead.
I am grateful. Our lives are full. We are healthy--knock on wood. We love each other. The larger world is a chaotic, concerning realm--and that remains on my mind, particularly as a parent. Our smaller world is a pretty blessed place. I'd like to try to slow down enough to give more thought about how to ensure that we are sharing our blessings. See you next time--whenever that may be!
Quotes:
Myles, to me: "If you say so, blah blah face." Remarkably effective at expressing his disgruntlement.
--
Ellie: Does Nani have a vagina like you?
B: Yes.
E: But does it have hair?
B: When women grow up, they grow hair there.
E: I do not like that.
B: You can think about whether you want to get rid of it when you grow up. Some people do.
E: But will it grow back?
B: Yes.
E: Probably best just to leave it then.
B: Yes.
E: But does it have hair?
B: When women grow up, they grow hair there.
E: I do not like that.
B: You can think about whether you want to get rid of it when you grow up. Some people do.
E: But will it grow back?
B: Yes.
E: Probably best just to leave it then.
--
...
Myles: Watch out for my wrecking ball!
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Ellie, after splashing gallons of bath water on the floor at the Airbnb in Peace Ridge Farm: "It's not my property." Both kiddos lost their treats for a week. What I thought was a very reasonable lecture left E in tears.
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Ellie, while playing wheelbarrow with her brother: "No, don’t grab by my dress. Grab a body part!"
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Myles, absolutely constantly, including when no one has said anything: "Stop talking to me!!!!!"
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Me, to Nitin: Myles is so reasonable these days.
Myles, in the other room, screaming: Stop doing that, cup!!!
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Myles -- Daddy, do you have a lap?
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Myles has also taken to calling us, Bow-wow, and a host of other characters "Stinky so-and-so" or "Bad so-and-so." The stinky piece is retaliation on his part--we sometimes call him stinky because he's still pooping in his pants daily...
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Nitin, watching me frantically pack for a family trip: “what are you doing?”
Bridget: “what?”
Nitin: “Just like what are you even doing?”
Bridget: “I’m trying to control everything.”
