Summer Update

Two days ago I peeked on Collier, as he played on the back porch. I found him sitting in the chair like a big boy. He learns new skills almost every day, as he continues to prefer walking to crawling. He's housing seven teeth now, and he's still drooling enough to warrant a bib.

No, I haven't cut his hair yet. How can I cut those few curls in the back--I mean, my kid has some curls! (It's so unbelievable as to be untrue, so I keep them for cuteness and for proof.)

Collier is even cuddlier than Hamilton, which I'm loving as he's still so little compared to his big brother. He often lays his head on my shoulder even if he's not tired. It's just for a few seconds, just like a hug. He loves food, and he'll still eat anything you feed him--you just better have a lot ready to give him.

Despite the heat, the boys have LOVED playing in the dirt area I cleared for them. We hope to fill it with sand soon, but both sure love the dirt. Several times this past week we bathed them/hosed them off on the patio before they stepped one foot inside.

I so enjoy this view out our double window: I can keep an eye on the boys while they play in the dirt and heat, while I'm cooking dinner or cleaning up the kitchen. I can also intervene as Hamilton steals Collier's toys, flicks dirt in his face, or whacks him with a plastic shovel. All of those things happened this week. Hamilton now understands that I can see him, so he often takes a quick peek toward the window if he's just done something questionable.

Claire and I went to earthArt on Thursday for some much-needed away-time from the boys. We painted our clay pottery from our last girls' trip, so in a week or so we can pick up our creations. I'll be sure to snap some pictures of our handmade treasures to share. We ate lunch out before our pottery time, and we finished the afternoon with frozen yogurt before heading home.

The boys love to play in the little pool, so unless I want wet boys when they're done playing outside, we have to empty the pool before venturing into the backyard. Hamilton likes to jump in onto his knees splashing water everywhere.

Hamilton's so much bigger this year in the pool than last year; I can hardly believe it.

Collier tries to climb everything, so he wasn't detered by the lounge chair.

Isn't this a determined face?

This past week Mr. Morgan and I ate breakfast one morning with just Hamilton, since neither Claire nor Collier were awake yet. As we dined on fresh blackberries from Mimi and Pops's garden, Hamilton said sweetly, "I love you."

He does volunteer this phrase occasionally, so I replied as usual, "I love you, too."

He corrected me in a serious tone, "I was talking to the blackberry."

Some New Things

Here's a list (I'm a fan of them) explaining some new advances, new realizations, and new occurrences in the last few days and weeks.

1. Collier is "walking" now. He's been standing up from a sitting position for a few weeks, but this week he started taking steps on his own with no encouragement. Sometimes his little expression when he's walking on his own says, "Yes, I can do this...that's it...steady." I think the most steps he's taken in a row is probably five, but it's still a surprise when he comes walking in from the next room.
2. Hamilton started putting an "s" at the beginning of some words. Instead of "why you 'pank me?" this week, a few times he said "don't spank me" as he shook his head. Yes, we've had lots of spankings this week. Most times Hamilton still calls it a "'panking 'tick"--an old paint stirrer. Part of me is happy he seems to be outgrowing the no-"s" way of speaking, but it's also really cute and fun to hear.
3. I survived my first week of summer with all three kids at home all day every day. We planned several playdates, visited the library, and hung out at the pool yesterday. It's been a long week, so I'm rewarding myself with a date night on Saturday with Mr. Morgan. I'm planning for us to see Snow White and the Huntsman. He's been talking about seeing the other Charlize Theron movie.
4. Claire has embraced her "teenage summer" by sleeping in late, losing herself in a book series, and seeing her neighborhood friends. She has still managed to be helpful to me most days, and Mr. Morgan has her cutting the grass as part of her chores.
5. I've been sent almost a dozen hacked/spammer emails from three different friends whose Yahoo accounts have been compromised. Two things: I'm thankful I use Gmail, and Yahoo email sucks.
6. I've also decided that voicemails stress me out. To have a voicemail waiting on me makes me feel like a failure--I've failed to answer the ringing phone in time, I've failed to click over fast enough from my previous call, I've failed to hear my phone ring or turn the ringer on, I've failed to give the caller enough information previously such that an interrupting phone call is necessary, etc. Emails sitting in my Inbox and text messages waiting to be read do not have the same effect. Why is that?

Wonder Boy

I've been sadly negligent in posting about Collier's monthly progress. I haven't updated since he was six months old, and that's such a long time in baby months! He's now one week shy of nine months. Yesterday he pulled himself up in his crib all by himself! I went in to get him from his nap, and this smiling face greeted me.

He's been crawling quickly and everywhere for a few months, and he's even gotten better and more accustomed to sitting. He also can stand for several minutes at a time by himself, and it seems like he's itching to start cruising around the furniture.

Collier conquer skills so quickly: Just a few days ago he pulled up to his knees, then two days later he's onto his feet. He's even started climbing the stairs. In my memory Hamilton didn't progress this quickly, though Hamilton also didn't have a big brother to keep up with. I think Collier will be the kid that will force us to install a gate at the top of our stairs. He would have gone down head first yesterday if I hadn't been there to pull him back from the brink.

Collier's the happiest little thing, but he's still spitting up some (much to Mr. Morgan's chagrin). He's got two teeth coming in nicely on the bottom, which you can see in this picture. We still call him "Baby" many times, though he's quickly moving from baby to toddler.

Some Recent Changes

We've changed Hamilton's crib into a toddler bed to get him used to a big-boy bed before we put the twin in his room. Actually I still have to paint the bed's headboard and footboard, and Deb still has to make the bedding; so this change is only a small move toward replacing his crib.

Yes, Hamilton still is wearing Christmas pajamas, but they are his favorite. He always asks to wear them--his "Sanny Claw jahmass."

And I just got my hair cut and colored today. I feel like a new woman.

Collier now sits up well on his own, though he still prefers crawling around on his belly.



The Week with Kids

1. I've been setting the alarm to wake me up this week earlier than the children, so I can get my pumping out of the way before Collier wakes needing to be fed. Since I'm freed up to feed him when he does wake, Mr. Morgan is able to get ready for work without much delay making his morning easier (I hope). I've used the quiet, alone hour of the morning to read my Bible and journal. I've enjoyed this time to myself as I start my day, though juggling the pump while reading and writing is a bit cumbersome.

2. Caring for two small children has proved more work than I thought it would be--if that's possible. I'm just not sure I was really prepared for how precious little time I'd have to do anything else not involving their welfare. Surely all parents are not this clueless.

3. Since Claire's 11 now, I've been relying on her to help this summer in many new ways. She gives Hamilton baths many nights, and sometimes she'll put him to bed all by herself. Today while I sat in the car with the boys, she ran in to buy diapers. She told me she'd never been into a grocery store all by herself before. Tuesday night Mr. Morgan and I finally saw the final Harry Potter movie, and I was so comfortable with leaving the babysitter only a few instructions because I knew Claire would help her and show her where things were when necessary.

4. I'm so ready for our upcoming beach trip with Mom and Dad. Having help during the day with the boys and staying put during the mornings will be a welcome treat after our busiest week of the summer. Monday we met Claire's new piano teacher. Tuesday Hamilton's friend West came over for camp. Wednesday I had a hair appointment. And, today, we played at the Shealys' awesome, neighborhood pool. Tomorrow is Claire's middle-school orientation, so we'll all be out and about early again.