Welp. Sam is officially 11 months old in two days, so it’s fitting that we only got around to taking his 10 month photos today {ugh}. Seriously though… Miss G is in school from 9 until 3 and you’d think I’d be able to get all sorts of things done during the day, but honestly, most days it feels like I spend the bulk of my time between school runs, attempting to get our bubba to nap, nursing, and preparing meals for our family. Anything outside of that is a bonus. Hence the photos being a month overdue…
Gracen’s been talking about having her ears pierced for ages now, but being the sometimes cautious, emotionally sensitive kiddo that she is, she didn’t actually want to go through the process of getting them done. She loved the idea of being able to wear pretty earrings, but it wasn’t enough for her to take the plunge. So we left it at that. She knew that we were happy to take her, but only when she was ready.
Well, guess what happened today!
After having put off several purchases, returns, and errands for weeks {as you do on summer holidays}, we decided that we’d spend the day at the mall and get everything done in one go. I forget how it came up exactly, but Miss G mentioned something about getting her ears pierced while there and we decided that we’d simply go and check it out so that she’d be prepared when the time came. Well, as we walked towards Claire’s hand-in-hand, she turned towards me with a confident grin and said, ‘I think I’m going to do it today!’ {Side note: While I would have preferred to take her to a proper piercing parlour to have them done, she wasn’t at all on board with the whole needle thing, so Claire’s it was.} As we headed to the back of the store to check things out, an older boy {probably 8 or 9} was having one of his ears pierced, so we browsed / nonchalantly observed from afar. It’s probably one of the best things that could have happened because although he did say that it hurt, there was no big reaction, no jump, no tears. Which is probably exactly what Miss G needed to see. Confident in her decision to have them done then and there, Miss G picked out her earrings and got up in the chair. The manager who was doing them for us was absolutely lovely and put Grae’s nerves at ease by being reassuring, but not so over the top that it seemed insincere. Grae was definitely nervous, but as they got everything prepared, we had a few big hugs and talked about what she could do just before getting them pierced {gently close her eyes, think happy thoughts, take long, slow breaths, etc.} When the time came, she sat there perfectly still and even asked me to take a video of it happening. And because I’d requested that both sides be done at once, it was over in a snap!
After the piercings were done, she did sort of frown and say that it hurt, but that was it. No tears! I cleaned them for her while the Claire’s manager held Sam for me and we were on our way, freshly pierced. ☺
After being flagged during the vision screening routinely done in Kindergarten classes, Miss G and I recently visited an optometrist for a more in-depth eye exam. Though our optometrist did suspect that Grae was farsighted in at least one eye, he had us com back for a second appointment several weeks later, just to be sure. She was desperately hoping that she’d need glasses {sort of crazy, but I remember feeling the exact same way when I was little}, and better yet – she was hoping that she’d need both glasses AND a patch. A fancy patch with a sparkly unicorn on it or one with an eye with long eyelashes on it, to be exact.
I feel like we’ve had such a big month this month. First off, we seem to have hit a huge turning point as far as Sam’s overall comfort and happiness is concerned, which has been a total game changer.
This little man… He’s become so social and smiley recently and I’m just soaking it up. Every night before bedtime we sit and chat together. I tell him things and ask him questions and he fills in my pauses in conversation with the sweetest little coos and sounds. I’m so lucky to get to be his mama.
Another day, another first for our little NICU babe. Tonight, at 38 days old, Bubba had his very first bath. He wasn’t sure about it at first, but as soon as he adjusted to being in the warm water, it was like this sense peace came over him, leaving him perfectly calm and content while ultra alert at the same time. We snuggled skin-to-skin afterwards as we do each night, and then it was time to tuck him in and say goodbye. Leaving at the end of the day is always the hardest part… Here’s hoping that it won’t be for much longer.
Today Miss G met her baby brother for the very first time. Admittedly, it wasn’t the first meeting I’d imagined in my mind, but she didn’t seem to mind one bit. Her thoughts? ‘Mama. He’s so tiny and cute that he looks just like a doll… But he sure doesn’t feel like a doll. He feels just like a little human being.’
Oh my goodness… I can’t tell you how excited I was to finally tell Miss G that she was going to be a big sister! I actually found out that I was pregnant very early on this time around {thanks to feeling horribly before an upcoming girls’ weekend away in Abu Dhabi}, but because we wanted to be certain that all was good with the pregnancy and because 9 months is an extremely long time to wait for something that you desperately want when you’re five years old, we didn’t tell her until I was nearly 15 weeks along. At the time, we were amidst a busy summer with family, and since we really didn’t want anyone accidentally spoiling the surprise, it meant that we waited to tell most of our family members too {talk about some major secret keeping happening!} With the house being a constant stream of people coming and going, we decided that it would be easiest to surprise her with the news while on a little family outing to the park…
I think she was so thrilled that she didn’t even know what to do with herself. She got super silly for a little bit and then just would not let go of her picture of her new baby brother or sister.
Later in the day, a bunch of our family members joined us at the park, so she got to proudly share her news with them.
From then on, her baby photo pretty much went everywhere with her… To the farmer’s market where she’d explain to all of the shopping grandmas that she was going to be a big sister, to the skateboard park, on errands around town, and even to bed with her each night.
It goes without saying that she’s absolutely over the moon and we think she’s going to make the very best big sister.
Truth be told, Gracen doesn’t always want to go to Kindergarten. In fact, many mornings she doesn’t, which sort of breaks my mama {and teacher} heart. Especially since I know we could have easily done a very organic version of homeschool kindergarten this year and filled our days with hands-on explorations, outdoor adventures, and all sorts of play that would have allowed her to thrive while learning everything she would have in a traditional classroom.
Although I’m not sure it can be considered a real ‘first day’, Miss G and I attended her very first Kindergartn session today. It was more of a meeting for all Kindergarten parents and students than anything, but we’d counted down, talked it up, and taken our first day photos, so the first official day it was {in our minds anyways}. ☺
Until today, we really didn’t know what Grae would be doing Kindergarten wise… It’s a whole thing, but because we were in Kuwait last year and didn’t know what part of the city we’d be living in this year, we weren’t able to register her in a school during the usual November to January registration period… We were late to say the least.
Hah! In all fairness, I’ve not shown her how to properly shoes and she’s not asked. Because why would you if you had already mastered this awesome {and very open-ended} weaving method?!
Yesterday, our baby turned four. {FOUR – that’s truly a little hard to believe.} So, in keeping up with our tradition, we sat down together and did our little birthday interview. Now truth be told, this was our third attempt at the video, so it’s perhaps a little less spontaneous than normal, but I’ll take it. {Note to self for next time: remove at least some of the 10 000+ photos on your phone before attempting to take a 5 minute long video.}
Sometimes I’m in awe of what an amazingly kind, creative, and intuitive little person our girl has become over the course of the last three years. She’s always willing to help, she’ll give you her very last bite of her coveted treat, and she wants nothing more than to take care of those around her.
Sometimes I’m in awe of what an amazingly kind, creative, and intuitive little person our girl has become over the course of the last three years. She’s always willing to help, she’ll give you her very last bite of her coveted treat, and she wants nothing more than to take care of those around her.