Abram

It's been more than a year since I last posted. (Nevermind, just found an unfinished draft from this time last year. Posted below.) I've thought about starting up again hundreds of times over the last 15 months and just never seem to have the time, gumption, or words to do it. I'm not positive I do now, but after reading a few old posts (thanks Timehop!), I was sad that I wasn't recording the little things the way I used to.

I forget the little sweet, funny things the kids say and do moments after we laugh about them. I have a file on my phone of things I wanted to note about Abe and it was last edited October of 2014. I couldn't even keep up with that! But because they were important enough to type out once, I will start there and make this first post back an update on him...

Two year old Abe loves to watch birds and squirrels. Likes to find the moon each morning. Sings along to music, particularly showtunes and Mumford and Sons. Says "I want wee!" when he wants to swing, calls cake "keeeeeeek," and calls the school bus "hey bus."

Since then, he's turned two, and is nearly three now. He talks like such a big kid and has been testing out some naughty phrases as well. ("Shut up," "stupid," etc...it's suuuuuper fun.) He's funny and clever. He will not be ignored and dislikes being alone for very long. He's just about ready to ditch naps (sob!). He loves to make us laugh and can push his big siblings' buttons expertly. He likes to draw and "write letters," thinks being scared is fun (until bedtime), loves to go fast and be chased, dances and sings awesomely, and is still wonderfully snuggly.

He loves our new kitties and constantly tortures them with forced affection. He has an arm on him and can throw and kick a ball like a much older kid. He loves trains and cars and his favorite activity is playing "Team Hot Wheels" (and we have to say that every few minutes as we play.) He plays really well with other kids (who aren't his big bro and sis) and makes me proud with his sharing and kindness.

This year has brought so much growth for him, but unfortunately, lots of pain as well. He broke four bones this year. First was his arm, climbing out of his crib. Actually wasn't too bad (they called it a "buckle" as opposed to a full break) and he healed up quickly.

Then it was his femur, playing on the floor with Evie. That was brutal.

They were tickling and wrestling on the carpet when she rolled over him and he started crying really hard. I scooped him up and tried to stand him up for a hug. He wouldn't stand. I held him on my lap and tried to soothe him, but he kept screaming and grabbing at his leg. The actual event looked so benign that I thought she must have accidentally pinched him or something. Mostly to placate him, I said "OK, let Mama see your owie..." When I pulled his pants down, his thigh was twice its normal size. I gently ran my hand along his leg and could FEEL the break.

After a few "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD"s, I went into survival mode. Laid Abe, howling, on the bed as I got dressed and instructed Evie to do the same. She came back in a backwards Christmas dress and mismatched shoes, ready to go.

In hindsight, I probably should have called an ambulance. I didn't know how bad it was. After excruciatingly long wait times and some x-rays, they sent him to Kalamazoo. I rode in the ambulance there with him, and he fell asleep on the way. In the morning, they put him in a bulky (nearly full-body) cast and we ended up staying another night to manage his pain.

For seven long weeks, he couldn't move. We kept him entertained and tried to keep his cast dry and not gross. (Not easy, considering he blew the thing up with diarrhea about two days in.) He didn't fit in his car seat, so we rarely left the house. We watched The Lego Movie approximately 7,000 times. We did eventually get brave enough to go on a few adventures: to the movies and the store and then even to Frankenmuth where he became a bit of a little celebrity in a pub filled with tipsy old folks.

I wasn't convinced his leg was better when they took the cast off, but was so happy to be able to hold him close to me again. We had seven weeks of learning to sit up and walk all over again; things just settling back to normal, before he slipped on a puddle in the bathroom and refractured the same exact spot.

Back to the ER. Back to Kalamazoo. Back into a cast. As you might imagine, CPS wanted to have a chat with us. It was a humiliating and scary add-on for us at the time, but looking past all that, I'm glad there's help for kids who really would need it.

Six weeks in a much better cast, dealing with a much better doctor, and Abram was once again ready to go. This time he walked into the doctor's office like a peg-legged little pirate to get his cast off. He had been walking (ok, running) in it for weeks. Recovery was much easier the second time around. Blood tests revealed his Vitamin D and calcium levels were a bit low, so we've been supplementing ever since.

The last incident was an accident at the park. He was with my mom and had been going down the "bumpy slide" as they call it. At one point, a bump near the bottom of the slide bumped him right off and he landed on his shoulder. He ended up with a hairline fracture in his collarbone. It healed quickly and I'm convinced it wasn't as bad as it might have been if we hadn't been bulking up his vitamins.

We are hoping that's the end of broken bones for Mr. Abe...and not a sign of things to come with this wild child.

Oh hi.

I'm just sellingahousebuyingahousepackingeverythingweownandmovingthreedaysbeforeChristmas. 

But I just sorted and boxed three junk drawers, so how's about a blog post for a packing detox?

Abram will be two in just over a month, and I can believe it. He seems so big to me these days. He loves to climb and jump and make rarr noises. He loves things that go weeooweeeoo (think siren noise), buses, horses, and puppies. He is obsessed with "Pea-baba" (the movie Mr. Peabody and Sherman), loves to cuddle in a lap to read and flip the pages by himself, and thinks "butt" and "toot" are comic gold. He loves to chase and be chased and says so many words. On normal nights, he sleeps like a champ and most days is a pretty good eater. (Although I think he feeds at least half of his food to the dogs.) Speaking of which, Indy and Abe are besties now and when he calls her, slapping his hands on his legs, she comes a'runnin'. It is as cute as it sounds, trust me.

But don't get me wrong, he can also throw a mean tantrum. His go-to angry move consists of flinging himself to the ground and then ever-so-gently bonking his head. Then he cries accusingly at us as if to say: "How could you let me do that?!"

Ahhh, two. Good to see you again, old friend.

Evelyn is loving school and has been learning so much. She writes her name beautifully and makes the greatest artwork. Her teachers say she's confident but humble and likes to help her friends. She's mama's little shadow and wants to do everything I do and be right where I am at all times. (Mostly adorable, sometimes exhausting.) When we cuddle in bed at night she hugs me tight and says "I love you more than anything." I believe her.

She has recently tested out fibbing for fun, writing her name in Sharpie on our bedroom wall, and other mischief.

Mr. Julian is doing amazing in his kindergarten re-do. I'm thrilled to hear that he's moved into somewhat of a leadership role in his class; his teacher told me that the kids go to him if they need help reading something and he has been helping his friends put on their cold weather gear before recess. My only concern was that he might be bored with the content a second time around, but they've been great about raising the bar to make things new and challenging for him.

He makes up his own jokes (and sometimes they're actually funny!), plays so awesomely with Abe (sometimes with Evie), and is always curious and learning.

Farewell Summer

First day of school, we put our house on the market, Mitch's busiest work month...we got some stuff going on. We're busy, a little crazy, and happy. 

Evie's heading to preschool this month. She did really well at vacation Bible school this year, except for the last two days when she didn't want to go because "you have to pick everything up and it's so long!" So, consider me nervous about much longer times and more picking up at school. Guess she'll just have to learn.

She's a big four year old now and knows she's getting "so big!" She thinks she grows several inches every night as she sleeps. She's a one-woman show and says the funniest things. I'm surprisingly tearful about her heading off to school. Summer with all three at home has been a mile a minute, so I figured I'd be ready for a break...but the thought of having her gone so much during the day makes me sad and makes me realize how big she's getting. :(

Julian is taking a second crack at kindergarten this year. I have no doubt that he would have done great in first grade; he's a reading pro, was at the top of his class for science and math, and did just fine behavior-wise. But we found out about some sensory and vision issues earlier this year, and we're only a few months in working on them. I feel like another year in Kinder can't hurt and might help. I'm also happier having him be closer in age to his classmates this way. And luckily, he doesn't mind at all...and I'm thinking this might be the only age that would happen. 

I dropped him off this morning and he was excited and confident. Surprisingly, (or not?) I still had a hard time leaving him. 

And Mr. Abram is such a funny, sweet little goof. He gives these great tight-squeezing hugs that make me so happy. He takes my face in his little hands and kisses me over and over. He also screams at the top of his lungs frequently and has started throwing some little temper tantrums. He thinks being told "no" is hilarious. He's getting a mind of his own and it's adorable and a little scary. 

Evie and Julian sure do get a kick out of him though. Julian has really enjoyed being able to help more with him and takes pride in his big brother role. He likes to hold his hand and help him up and down steps and out to the car. He's even started unbuckling his car seat for me. 

Evie vacillates between kisses and sweetness and secretly pushing him down when he's trying to take her stuff. She's helping make sure he can hold his own. (Spoiler alert: He can.)

Abe is talking so much now and repeating like crazy. The other day, he was crying about a toy and said clear as day: "I want to play with that." He's a little monkey and loves to climb anything and everything, which has resulted in a few goose eggs and bloody lips. Doesn't stop him!

Aaaaaand, halfway through the first day of school and I can say with confidence...whew. It was time. :)