Hi
all,
Aibek asked me on the way home from school
today, "Mama? Do you and daddy lub me and Winat?" Of course We
do honey. Do you love me and Daddy? "I love you all day long." and
then he burst into song- “skinamarinkidink skinamarinkidink do. I love you. I
love you in the morning and in the afternoon..." Guess I know what
they did at school today. Love that kid.
Mama Muffins hair salon.
It's not often that Rinat wants to take a
bath with Aibek these days but ever once in a while they do and it's just so darn
cute. I always loved when Rinat would want me to take one with him because I
felt like it's what he did instead of snuggling. It was a way for us to be
together in a way that was close but not confining if that makes sense and I just
loved it. We would play with the toys and pour water over each other’s heads. Well,
Bek has always been a big snuggler but never wanted me in the bath with him.
But Rinat is a different story. He loves it when Rin agrees to get in there
with him. They play hair salon, shoot
each other with water guns, and play with the little people and animals. It's
cute to watch them bond in this way.
My heart breaks for this little boy who has
come so far but who is still struggling. He has started speech again.
And I have been noticing some motor skills that he is lacking so I see
some PT in our future. Rin has had his own challenges. His of course were not
language related or motor skills in need of help but he struggles with sensory
issues and has trouble controlling his emotions. These boys have such different
needs and it is so hard to see them struggle. But I feel so fortunate that we
have all these resources at our disposal. And the money to pay for them. And
the time to spend driving around to appointments. And the energy to support the
therapists. And a strong marriage so we can get the support that we both need
as parents so that we can support our kids and give them the best life
possible. So while we all struggle with
our own needs, I feel so lucky that we are the team that we are and the
supportive people we have around us.
Things are just motoring along. The kids are learning new things and we are
just doing what we do. Rin is having a great year and is enthusiastic
about going to school every day. He is working hard and becoming so
responsible. He does his homework without me even asking and reminds me
when I forget to sign his sheet. This big boy of mine (he's up to my
shoulders!) is just so amazing and I am just beside myself with how grown up he
is these days. I mean, don't get me wrong he's not perfect. He
loves nothing more than to run around like a maniac screaming and playing
sports all day long with his friends but he is also getting some satisfaction
out of doing a good job at school too and I am so glad. He has even
started to get into reading books. He has always enjoyed nonfiction and
learning about sharks or dinosaurs or whatever his latest thing is but he is
now getting into stories like "How to train your dragon". One
morning when Peter was gone early, Rin creeped into my room and crawled in
Peter's side of the bed with his book and just sat there reading until I was
fully awake. I have gotten so much enjoyment during my life out of
reading a good book and I am glad to know that he is enjoying it too.
When you read, you can go wherever it takes you, make a new friend,
explore a fantasy land or go on a adventure all without leaving the house only
for the cost of the book (or for free from the library!). I take a book
wherever I go and I am not ever for a single second bored, irritated that I
have to wait at the doctor's office, lonely at home alone, or anything.
Bek is also working hard at school and has
started saying things like "war rhyme with roar" which I am so happy
to hear him saying. Sometimes with his speech issues, I have a hard time
knowing what he understands and what he doesn't. I think he knows way
more than I give him credit for. At his conference, I asked about him
learning the letters and how he doesn't seem to know that many yet. Well,
his teacher pulled out the cursive box of letters and he went to town on them-
he even got B which I think is pretty hard (and mostly looks like L to me).
I am glad to know he's learning at school. I mean, I know they
adore him but I want to make sure he's learning too.
Rinat telling me his friends all want to
have playdates at our house bc it's more fun and their house is boring. I
wonder if that means that I am a slacker parent and let them do stuff I
shouldn't or just that I give them to freedom to be kids and make mistakes.
We don't have a huge house or million electronics or anything fancy but they
love it here for some reason. And I love our tiny imperfect house for
that reason too- it makes our kids happy and really what more could we want?
This big boy of mine is turning out to have
so much compassion. I wasn't feeling well and he just went about taking care of
his brother and asking me if there's anything I need. He didn't complain or
anything. "Poor mom. I hope you feel better soon." And he also made breakfast
the last few days. Toast w cream cheese, yogurt for him and cereal for Aibek.
He is a great kid. He has such a loving heart.
His new football cards and how he was so
excited. He organized them by team and put rubber bands around them all. He's
so cute.
Then we had a combo TGiving and Baptism at
the lakehouse and poolhouse.
We scrambled to get out of town ahead of a
snowstorm rapidly approaching with guesstimates of 3-6". Once we were
on our way and it started to come down, "It looks like Alaska. " came
from Rinat in the backseat. But we got there safe and sound to meet up with
everyone.
Lazy morning and lots of coffee. Lots
of cooking, Cousins playing, relatives eating, going to bed fat and happy.
Friday was more of the same- lazy morning,
cousin time, taking a family walk, way too much wine and staying up way too
late in the night and regretting it the next morning when the kids were up
bright and early.
Saturday was a rush rush rush to get ready
for the baptism and it was lovely. I have made no secret of the fact that
I don't subscribe to any particular religion but it was a really sweet
ceremony. All 22 children and 50 adults enjoyed it I think (yeah, I know-
crazy number of people). The first family walked in the door and my sweet
boys took their job as host seriously "Hi, I'm Aibek, wanna come to my
room and play?" and led them all off to show them all of the treasures
hiding in his backpack. And Rin too was absolutely in heaven (no pun
intended) having all those kids in GigiMar's house. They, as usual,
jumped right into immediate friendships with whoever would play with them.
I love that.
Despite the fact that I was 99% sure one of
my children was going to misbehave (despite the promise of dire consequences if
they did) they did well. The ceremony started with the minister talking
to the kids about the meaning behind baptism. They sat in front of the
table listening to what he had to say. And then it was time for the
water. First came Ingrid and when the minister put held her down close to
the bowl, she stuck her chubby little hand in the water bowl and splashed
around a little bit. Cute little thing. Then was Bek and he did
great- he stood still and listened and didn't yell anything at all
inappropriate to my immense relief. And finally little Anna Grace.
She's at that age. You know, the one where the worst thing in the
world is to be more than 2 inches away from mom? Well, she made sure
everyone knew she wasn't super happy about being passed from mom over to
godmother Kate but in the cutest way possible. The kids all did great.
The children's dinner was adorable- each
place setting had a flashing snowglobe and they were super excited about it.
And about the cupcakes. Finally, with kids running around like
maniacs and beginning to melt down, families trickled back out the door and on
their merry ways. The house got quiet again, we all took off our shoes,
and dug into dinner ourselves.
Another- and this one extra special-
holiday done.
Love to all, -m
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