The Cousins

It was a great idea…but a little bit like herding cats…and dogs…and sheep…and mice all at once. Getting five kids under the age of five to pose for a nice picture for a mere second is asking for nearly the impossible. I say nearly because the professional photo really did turn out nice…and showcased each of their personalities. My parents loved their 40^th anniversary gift: a picture of their five grandkids.

We’ve spent the last week at my parents home, getting away from our life for a while for a little R&R. Although I’m not sure you would call five kids and four dogs relaxing. We certainly stayed busy, but it was a fun kind of busy. From the park to a small zoo to a big pool to the children’s museum in Indy. Not to mention picking blueberries, Nerf gun fights, bubble blowing and swinging (Emry’s all time favorite now that her fear of swings is overcome). Never a dull moment.

Yes, my parents now have FIVE grandkids. When that happened, I’m not sure. But then I look at my two kids somedays and wonder when that happened, so… And each one certainly has his or her own personality, which comes out more and more each time they are together…and makes it great fun to watch them.

Jay is the eldest. At four years old, he is by far the head of the pack. For now, he’s also the biggest (although his younger brother is giving him a run for his money). Jay is all boy: never still, adventurous, the wearer of Super Hero capes and goes about forever tempting his aunts into Nerf gun fights. He’s also all four: asks questions about everything, tries new things even if he can’t quite do them…and did I already say never still?

Jay washing Aunt Jenny’s truck.

Curtis is one. He’s Jay’s younger (but near-future bigger) brother. Poor thing has had a trial and a half teething, a rite-of-passage that should have an end but I think my sister feels it may never be over. When he’s not upset over those awful teeth, he’s busy with absolutely whatever he can get his hands on, which is everything since he’s quite a quick crawler. (He takes a few steps, but you can tell he thinks crawling way more efficient so who cares about the whole walking thing?) And 95% of that everything winds up in his mouth. (The other 5% simply doesn’t fit.)

Curtis enjoying the cookout.

Benito is also one. An only child and usually the only grandchild about (he lives a few hours from my parents and is at their house often), I’m afraid his cousins may have cramped his style a little bit. For one, he had to share the swing (he and Emry were trying to compete in the But-I-Don’t-Want-To-Share-Tantrum). He was an early everything (roll over, sit up, crawl, walk) so he’s head-first into everything and pretty stubborn about it. He’s also pretty serious and getting him to smile is a real reward. But maybe that’s for the best because when he does smile he’s so cute you want to give him just about anything!

Benito wearing Grandma’s glasses.

And then there are my two. Emry is the only girl. She doesn’t know that yet, so she has no idea what she could probably get away with (although not sharing the swing isn’t one of those things). She certainly can’t keep up with Jay yet, although she would follow him about a bit mesmerized by all he could do. For that matter, she can hardly keep up with Curtis and Benito who are just as big (or bigger) than she. I think her greatest accomplishment of the week was climbing up the ladder to the slide by herself just as the boys could do. Or maybe it was learning to shoot a Nerf gun. Yes, she’ll be forever trying to keep up with the boys.

Emry being a girl – pedicure!

As will little Ethan. Curtis and Benito found having a littler person around fascinating. I think Ethan just found having so many people about paying him attention wonderful, especially ones more at his floor-level. But being tiny and wiry, he’s going to have to go the extra-mile to keep up with his much larger cousins. I have a funny feeling that’s not going to slow him down one bit.

 Ethan’s idea of a good time at the pool.

Next Week

As if I’ve been faithfully posting blogs lately, I’m about to post a disclaimer that my few readers shouldn’t expect a posting next week. Although next week I might actually have time to post. For next week I’ll have grandparents, aunts, great aunts, a great grandfather, nephews and dogs entertaining my kids all day long. Going to one’s parent’s house might not sound like a vacation, but if someone else will keep Emry busy all day that’s all the vacation I need!

My sister would probably say I’m one to talk. For the truth is, Emry will keep herself busy for well over an hour before she starts wandering about and asking, “Mama, play?” And Ethan certainly doesn’t need to be entertained (although I try to get down on the floor and talk to my poor second born on occasion). My sister has two very active boys (ages 4 and 1) to keep track of 24/7. I’m sure she’s looking forward to being at our parent’s even more than I am!

But it is a nice break when I know Emry will be occupied and I don’t have to take that down time to clean bathrooms, vacuum floors, mop, dust, do laundry, cook dinner. Not to say our days won’t be full. Emry will have her cousins there to play with (Jay, Curtis and Benny – she’s surrounded by boys!). Presently only my sister Sally is at home, but my sister Katey will be there the whole time and sisters Jenny and Abby will come through that weekend. Plus my wonderful parents, of course. And who can forget the four dogs that reside there as well? Over the weekend, my grandfather will be around. (He’s staying at a hotel, though. He’s a little too old to deal with five kids and four dogs all day long!) And three of my dad’s sisters. (The impromptu reunion is a memorial service in Chicago over the weekend for my Aunt Julie who would have turned 100 this month but had a stroke this past March and passed away.) Who knew my parents would need more space after their kids grew up and left? Good thing they added on to the house!

So, yes, it’s going to be a very busy time away…but it’s also going to be nice to be away. I just hope I got enough books on CD for Emry – a seven hour drive could prove very exciting otherwise!

Packing List

Just over three years ago when I flew home for a visit my packing list looked like this:

1.      Clothes

2.      Laptop

3.      Phone

4.      Chargers

5.      Books to read on plane (Kindle)

6.      Bible

7.      Toiletries

Today my packing list looks like this:

1.      My clothes

2.      Emry’s clothes (lots of panties)

3.      Ethan’s clothes (lots of onesies)

4.      Laptop

5.      Phone

6.      Chargers

7.      Diapers

8.      Pull-ups

9.      Books to read (for me)

10.  Books to read (for Emry)

11.  Books on CD

12.  Stickers and books

13.  My toiletries

14.  Emry’s toiletries

15.  Ethan’s toiletries

16.  Ethan’s diaper bag

17.  Emry’s “friends” (aka: stuffed animals)

18.  More stickers…

19.  Snacks and drinks for Emry

20.  Bottle/cereal and applesauce for Ethan

21.  Music CDs for Emry

22.  Emry’s little potty

23.  Blankets for Ethan

24.  Blankets for Emry

25.  My pillow

26.  Emry’s hair accessories

27.  More books for Emry…

I’m already exhausted and I haven’t even started packing yet!

Emry's Little World

Emry has always seemed to have a good imagination, although her play tends to reflect her reality. I know that’s normal, but her memory is extremely keen so her play is very realistic. When I think back on the games I use to play as a kid, I wonder if pirates will ever invade her backyard since she’ll never actually see a pirate. But even if she’s never the princess of the entire world, she has proven herself to be quite imaginative as late.

As you saw in the last post, I took pictures of Ethan for his 4-month-anniversary a few days ago. I left the package of month stickers on the bed where Emry sat thinking she might leave them alone. I should have known better. After all, stickers are stickers and since our discovery of them a month or so ago they’re all she wants to do in her spare time (until we’ve run out of them!). When I looked up, I had to laugh:

This week we also got her a little pool to help her survive the summer months. (Did I say help her survive? I meant help Mama survive!) We had a little trouble with getting the water turned on outside the house (first I didn’t know it was off and Ed wasn’t around, then I attempted to turn it on and wasn’t strong enough, then Ed had to get out a clamp to turn it but it snapped off…and well, we currently have an adapter to hook the hose to the kitchen sink until that gets fixed) so Emry and I improvised. Since she already had her Minnie Mouse swimsuit on and since I couldn’t fill the pool with water, I found a couple of buckets, filled them with water and her “friends” (aka bath toys and some dishes) and set them in the empty pool with her. She didn’t know the difference and has spent many happy hours lost in her own world (where ducks take baths in teapots and life consists of counting up to twelve over and over again).

My favorite thing lately is realizing how sharp her memory is. The other day I put on a pair of shoes I had bought three weeks ago and hardly worn. She watched me and then said, “Mama’s shoes at Papa’s work.” She was right. I had gotten those shoes at “Papa’s work” – Dick’s –and I hardly thought she was watching me try them on. She also remembers locations extremely well. We take walks and she can tell you where she is by landmarks: the ice cream shop (Dairy Queen), the donut shop (Sheetz, a local gas station), New York Ave (where a huge military plane flew over very low on Memorial Day), and where all the neighborhood dogs live she likes to say hello to. She calls Toys R Us is the “play store” (we took her there on a rainy day when we all needed to get out of the house and she had a blast wandering aisles for over an hour, “test driving” Power Wheels and carrying a stuff Mickey Mouse she found around until Mickey had to “go home” and was put back on the shelf). She dances when we walk past the local bright pink dance studio, looks for the bunny in a neighbor’s yard because she saw one there once, wants to go to the “steps and slides” (park) when we cross a certain bridge (and let me say there are so many bridges in Pittsburgh – more than anywhere else in the world – to know a particular one is quite a feat) and clearly remembers the local sewage office will give her a lollipop when Mama goes to pay the bill.

It truly is fun to watch her learn and grow, even though I never know what will pop out of her mouth next!

4 Months!!!

Ed often looks at me and remarks how glad he is that Ethan has turned out to be a happy baby for it certainly didn’t look that way at the start. Not that he’s fussy compared to stories I’ve heard other mothers tell, but compared to Emry…well, that’s hardly a fair comparison. Still, he’s seems to have finally gotten over the horror of entering the world and mellowed into a rather contented little guy. And, if I do say so, he’s got quite the handsome little grin.

He’s a wiry little man, lean with hardly any fat. (The onesie he inherited from one of his cousins that says, “I’m Bringing Chubby Back” is even more humorous when he wears it.) I’m not exactly sure what he weighs, but I’m thinking somewhere between nine and ten pounds, and probably closer to the nine. We’ve already started him on baby cereal mixed with applesauce because he’s always hungry, but like his sister he seems to have a high metabolism. He’s also a mover and a shaker. Rarely do I find him where I left him. He can roll both ways and is just starting to use that skill to get around. His favorite mode of moving, though, is to dig in his heels, arch his back and scoot.

His hand-eye coordination is improving. And he has a cute little quirk. He’s a major thumb sucker (Mama empathizes!), so the left thumb goes in for comfort and when I put him in bed (on his tummy because he’ll hardly sleep on his back), he rubs the back of his head with his right hand until he falls asleep like that. It looks rather awkward, but apparently it’s not!

With Sock Monkey!

He loves to clasp his hands.

Yea – 4 whole months!!!!

It Doesn't Make Sense

I know I often take my faith for granted. I was raised in a Christian home. I know all the Bible stories, have sung tons of hymns and have lots of verses memorized. Sadly, one of our many human defects if forgetting the wonder of what Christ has done for us. Until you have a two-year-old remind you…

Last week I started reading Passion Hymns for a Kid’s Heart by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada to Emry for our morning Bible story. Although the stories are a little long yet for her and the pictures a bit too few, she still hears some and loves to flip and find the pictures. Her favorite? Jesus nailed to the cross, flanked by the two thieves.

The first time she sat and just looked at this picture, I told her that was Jesus who had died on the cross (a story she has heard several times already in her young life). The next time she looked at it, she pointed to one of the thieves. I told her that was a thief, he was bad and so he had to die on a cross. Bad is something she does understand (to the extent of her being told her actions or disobedience are bad and worthy of punishment), so I then pointed to Jesus and said, “But Jesus was not bad. He was good. He died on the cross because Emry is bad. Because Mama is bad. Because the thief is bad. But Jesus is good.”

Silence followed this explanation as she looked at the picture. I could tell she was thinking. Trying to make sense of how one man is on the cross because he is bad while another Man is on the cross because He is good. In the end, I don’t think she made sense of it. But like a trusting two-year-old, she took my word for it. Now she looks at the picture and says the thief is bad, but Jesus is good.

Because, the truth is, it doesn’t make sense. There is no logic that Jesus is good but died on a cross while the thief is bad and died on the cross. And even though we explain that Christ died on the cross because we are bad, it still doesn’t make sense. And it’s really not supposed to. Because if we could make sense of salvation through human terms, then we could save ourselves. But we can’t. And so Jesus, who is good, died on the cross.

Someday, I pray, Emry comes to understand the full meaning of the picture she searches through that book to find. That she comes to understand how she is bad, but Jesus is good. That she can’t save herself, but Jesus can. It may not make sense…but it sure is the greatest thing anyone can know.