Thomas Tidbits...: 7 Month Fish!

OK, I'm vowing to update the blog more than once per month. I can barely remember what happened yesterday, so drumming up memories from the last month is nearly impossible. So, here goes...

We have some changes with our family... after much debate, I've decided to take a step back from work for the next year or two. With Justin traveling so much and my job being so demanding, we realized that something had to change. My stress level after returning from maternity leave was through the roof, and it was apparent in my kids' demeanor. I am SO fortunate to work for a company that is pro-family. PSW has bent over backwards for my during every life change, and I am incredibly grateful for that.

So, long story short - for the next couple of years, I'll change from ~50 hours/week or 25-30 hours/week. This was a self demotion to Assistant Sale Manager. The person taking over my role is wonderful and a partner/owner of PSW. Supporting him will be the perfect role for this time of my life. I started the transition this week, and I cannot explain the burden lifted from my shoulders. The best part is that whenever I want to ramp up my career, I can. How lucky am I??

In Fisher News:

: My baby is 7 months old. I know it's clique but really? Fisher is such a sweet little boy. As long as he's fed, sleeps, and gets attention, he's a happy little buddy. Always smiling and engaging. Love him.

: Despite the above, teething has been pretty brutal. We've been waiting for his bottom teeth to come in for about a month now. He's uncomfortable on and off and his sleeping habits are what's hit the worst.

: Our son is SUPER active. In the last month, he started pulling up, crawling with confidence, and climbing. He literally never. stops. moving. Do I only produce active children?!?

: When we feed his certain foods, he puckers his lips after each bite. This was most evident with the introduction of raspberries (with yogurt).

: Fisher loves our pool! He sits on our playa and splashes and loves to float in his floating contraption.

: Brother also loves being outside, just like his big sister. When I take him outside, he literally starts squealing and then sings/coos during our walks.

: Fisher continues his obsession with Eleanor. Literally follows her wherever she goes and lights up when she enters a room. I'm soaking this in because I fear this mutual sibling fascination will soon come to a screeching halt.

In Eleanor News:

I can't keep up with the Eleanor stories. This chick never ceases to entertain me. And annoy me with her tantrums and irrational behaviors. This translates to lots of praising. And lots of time outs. God help us!

Some snippets from the last month:

: Eleanor learned about the five senses at school a couple of weeks ago. When I asked her what she thought she'd learn about her ears and what they do, she said, "My ears wiggle!" Hmmmm, maybe that's our issue with listening...

: I went into E's room when she woke up recently. My hair was a mess, and you could tell I'd been up most of the night with Fisher. Eleanor said, "Mom, you're not pretty enough." Yep, this is true... my kids take a toll on me. If I can shower, it's a good day!

: Ellie is a singing machine. She literally sings all of the time. The best part is that if Fisher is crying and she starts singing, he immediately calms down. One of her most recent renditions was, "1 little monkey jumping on the bed, she fell off and bumped her vagina." What?? This girl...

: Our daughter loves carbs. I asked her what she wanted for dinner the other night, and she replied, " Noodles, crackers, and a bagel." I said, "You can choose one of those, and then you need to choose something more nutritious." She retorts, "Yes, I need some protein... a boiled egg is protein." We honestly have no idea where this came from. We often talk about protein, but we had no idea she soaked in this knowledge.

: E learned about family in the last month at school. When we ask her who is in her family, she rattles off a combination of the following: Mommy, Daddy, Fisher, Nana, Kiki, Bama, Papa, Aunt Meghan, Uncle Tom, Cousin Elizabeth, Aunt Sally, Papa Jim, Uncle Nick, Aunt Jane, Cousin James, Auntie Val, etc. She'll literally go on for about 2 minutes... how lucky is this girl to have so much family??

: The other day I asked Eleanor how her day was at school. She cooly replies, "Mom, I'm a little busy right now." Really? You're 2 1/2 and too busy for me?? Trouble.

: Potty training has been quite the challenge. We've mastered #1 but #2 continues to be a challenge. Lots of accidents. She squatted down on our bathroom floor and did #2 about a week ago, and Justin and I both freaked out and pretty much shamed her for the incident. The next day she woke up and said, "I pooped on the floor, and Daddy was NOT laughing." True story.

: True to form for a 2-year-old, we've had to instill lots of timeouts. When we put her in timeout, we leave her in the time out place for a few minutes. When we return, we ask her if she's ready to come out. If she stops crying and says "yes," we take her out. We then ask her why she was in time out, and she remarkably (usually) understands/replies why. Once of our most recent timeouts was learning that Mom and Dad are the boss and that she has to listen to us. After she said this, she hiccup/coughs and asks, "Is Nana the boss too?" Yes ma'am.

: Another timeout scenario. When she was misbehaving recently, I asked her if she wanted to [insert whatever behavior we were aiming for] or go into timeout. She looks me right in the eyes and says, "I choose timeout." Shit. Already calling my bluff. We clearly aren't very good disciplinarians.

: Eleanor has recently realized that she likes milk with her (pretend) coffee. I asked her for milk with my coffee the other day, and she quickly replies... "I'm out of milk, sorry." Well, OK.

: Our daughter has become somewhat of a puzzle savant. It started with wooden peg puzzles which she outgrew about 6 months ago. We then graduated to larger ~10 piece jigsaw puzzles which lasted for a couple of weeks. She's now completing 25-35 piece puzzles on her own, and she now challenges herself to see how quickly she can finish a puzzle.