September Update

Wow! The month of September flew by!  It was full of so many new things and lots of inconsistency.  No routines for us pretty much, lol.  I guess that is what happens when you are living between two locations and traveling 1.5 hours every four days or so.  All month long we have spent most Mondays through Wednesdays in Louisville and then Thursday through Sunday at my parents’ lake house in Rough River.  I am pretty much burnt out on all the traveling so, even though I love the low stimulation that the lake house provides for the kids and I, I am going to do a lot less back and forth next month.

Reading with Mamaw at the lake

Eating s'mores at the lake

fire!

House in progress...the reason we are living out of suitcases right now :-)

Ben officially started his new job this month on the 9^th.  The majority of the month was training in the office and getting acquainted with what he would be doing, but by the end of the month he was able to get out to the power plants some.  He has really enjoyed it so far and is looking forward to the challenge of growing in this career.  It has been an adjustment for all of us since he tends to work much longer hours than we were used to with the Navy.  We were a bit spoiled in his last few months with the Navy because of some really short hours so having him not get home until 6pm some days is pretty crazy.  I know it’s not that unusual for the normal work force, but it will just take us some time to adjust to our new normal.

It has been  a month of adjusting to change for me.  I am not a person who likes change a lot and especially not last minute changes.  To make a long story short, we have had a lot of changes, many of which have been last minute changes and that has been pretty stressful for me.  Thankfully, as long as my parents are in town, they have been able to help watch the kiddos so I can still get my exercising in to destress, but it has still be hard for me.  I love all the time we are able to spend with family and the extra help they provide, but I am very much looking forward to moving into our new home and truly being able to start our life here in this new city…and to finally have a bit of consistency and schedule.  I have been able to do a lot of help with the cooking, especially for big family dinners with my brothers and sister- in-law, which I have really enjoyed. 

Reading with Grandaddy

Snuggles with Granpeg

Swinging with Papaw

Reading with Papaw

The kiddos have been doing great, especially in light of all the traveling and changes this month.  Alethea definitely still does not really understand what is going on yet…at least we don’t think she does.  She talks a lot about going to church and seeing her friends.  (We haven’t been going to church this month because we have been spending the weekends in Rough River, just our family of 4.)  She frequently tells us she is going to see her friends and loves her friends.  She talks about Molly, Eli, Laura, Abigail and Elise a lot and doesn’t quite get why we can’t go see them.  Unfortunately, given our circumstances, she has not had any contact with kids her own age which we are hoping will change next month as we start visiting churches and searching for opportunities for her to socialize.   I think that is the hardest part of the whole moving process is watching her come to grips with not being able to see her friends.  It definitely breaks my heart, and often brings a tear to my eyes, to hear her talk about her friends in such a sweet way.

Gardening at Granpeg and Grandaddy's

She caged herself in Apollo's cage, lol

Helping pick watermelon

Sitting in Grandaddy's recliner

Eating on the deck at the lake

A house divided...but not really :-)

Running is good for all of us :-)

In other news, she is continuing to grow like a weed.  Just when I think she is going to slow down her growth some, she has another growth spurt, lol.  At 31 months she was 39.75inches tall and 34lbs which makes her off the charts for height still and average in weight.  This makes for crazy clothes shopping for her especially due to the fact that she seems to have a long torso in proportion to her legs and she has no butt to keep pants up.  So, as a result, she wears 4T and 5T shirts, 3T and 4T dresses, and then 3T and 4T pants (and still 2T in shorts and skirts).  I am so glad, I stopped buying clothes ahead of time a long time ago because I never would have guessed she would be 2.5, but in sizes almost twice her age, lol!

"Take a picture of me!"

Such a big girl!

She can ride a tricycle on her own :-)

This month has also brought a lot of typical two year old issues.  Plus I am sure some of the behavior issues are linked to her dealing with all the changes and emotions associated with those changes, the best way a two year old can.  The first issue we have been struggling with is the fact that she has really been fighting naps.  We shifted the nap back to 2pm and had success with her napping better for the first part of the month, but that last week or so she only took 2 naps the whole time.  She can be yawning like crazy, but just throws a party in her bed come nap time, lol.  It can get a bit frustrating at times, but I am just hoping this phase passes soon.  My prayer is that, once we move into our new house and there is much less stimuli, she will nap better.  The other issue we have been dealing with is typical curiosity of a 2 year old in a house that has 4 levels for her to get into.  It can be a bit much at times to keep up with her and keep her out of trouble.  I am not enjoying the increased about of disciplining and getting on her case I have had to do. L  As a result of all the craziness I have been much more impatient with her and I have been struggling with a bit of Mommy guilt about my attitude towards her this past month.  I have really been trying to work on my attitude and responding more lovingly, even amidst disciplining her.

Oh, just reading in the drawer of her play baby bed :-)

Snuggles with my babies 

She has continued to amaze us with her grasp of language and concepts.  It has been fun to see her pick up on different phrases that she has heard and make connections to come up with her own phrases.  The other day one of my grandparents friends came to the house and my brother invited them in, but they were reluctant to come in.  So Alethea decided to say, “Well you could at least come inside and say hi to the puppies!”, lol.  Another funny one was when my dad used his nickname for me which is “sis” and Alethea mimicked the phrase my dad used putting her own twist on it and she said “isn’t that right sissy poo”.   The “sissy poo” part was her own adaptation that I believe she took from me jokingly saying “sissy poo” while pretending Declan is talking to Alethea. J  Those are just a few of the funny things that come out of our sweet little girl.  She always keeps us on our toes and often keeps us laughing out loud!

Such a good big sister

Getting messy at the playground

Building in the sand at the park

Swinging at the park

Making "soup" at the park

One month of waiting down, a little over one to go!  Thankfully we have definitely learned that God blesses the waiting and we are looking forward to seeing what He has in store for October.