Back to work...

Well I finally got Terah settled and asleep, Alida happily putting a puzzle together and myself with computer in hand reclining to write a blog post.  Moments later Terah is squirming around and waking up before I even type my first word. Sigh!! But I'm hesitant to complain since Terah was such a trooper yesterday on my first official day back to work.  I clocked in over 10 very productive hours thanks to her happily hanging out with her daddy when awake and taking two really long naps on me while I worked.  We had an impromptu family meeting last evening in which both Jason and I acknowledged that day one went better than we expected.  The main reason for the meeting, however, was to brainstorm a few ways to make these long work days easier for Alida.  We came up with a few ideas like making lists of possible activities for the day the night before and me working in the back bedroom some so that girls can be as loud as they want in the front room.  So we'll see. We knew the beginning would be a lot of trying stuff and seeing what does and does not work.  Tomorrow will be a new adventure for me as I'll be taking Terah into the office with me solo for the first time. And for Jason, Kali and Alida they will enjoy some time just the three of them at home - hopefully Kali getting to use her ax and Alida her pruners as they work together on keeping the clearing projects moving forward.

I better get to the few noteworthy items fast before Terah gets discontent in my arms.  This week had a few milestones - one for Alida and several for Terah.

After a few rounds of joining us at the dentist and having her teeth counted it seemed high time for Alida to have her first real appointment.  So on Wednesday of this week, four out of five of us had cleanings scheduled at the dentist. Knowing this was going to be a long afternoon for all of us, we scheduled a few fun things to look forward to following our appointments (a visit to our friend's farm to see baby lambs, to Kline's for Kali to cash in her ice cream coupons from caring for her friend's chickens/ducks for a month, to the co-op and possibly the library time permitting).  None of those things seemed good enough to ease Alida's anxiety about the appointment.  She expressed it by just boldly declaring that she was not having an appointment and suggesting that we wait until she was 5, or at least 10 more days or tomorrow worked too.  Well we knew each day she'd want to push it off until tomorrow and when she turned 5 she would likely want to wait until 6. So we just declared as confidently as she had about not having an appointment that she was having one.  Out of her earshot Jason and I wondered what we would do if she refused, but I was pretty sure she would come through in the moment.

Our kids never cease to amaze and surprise us!  And one child does not necessarily prepare us for the next.  We got there and Alida chose to go first to get it over with.  It was hard enough getting her into the dentist chair and that was as far as we got. There was no convincing her to open her mouth.  After a few minutes (felt like an hour), I hauled Alida back to the waiting room and Kali got on with her appointment. I can't say that it was a moment in which my respectful parenting was at its best. I was frustrated and a tad embarrassed by the scene.  Were we really going to have to leave with clean teeth for only three of us?

A long story short, she wanted to go second and in the end came through after I laid in the chair and she could lay on top of me for her appointment. Yes, I felt rather silly, but it worked!  She was very pleased with her new pink toothbrush and glow in the dark bouncy ball (the ring she picked first broke before she even got out of the chair!).  She also was eager to tell Grandma that she got to choose chocolate toothpaste for her cleaning.  While we were in the bathroom following she told me that it was kind of fun and she hoped we came back sometime.  I about fell over and was very clear that I might need about a year before I had the courage to try again.

It'd be nice to say the rest of the appointment went without a hitch.  The good news in the end was that we all got clean bills of health - so no need to return for at least 6 months!  But Terah was pretty ready to be out of there and she woke from a not long enough nap right when my appointment started.  It was Jason's first time trying a bottle with her but she was too tired for something new and in the end she came back for a brief nursing session to help her wake up happily and then we made it to the end.

We enjoyed a brief and very cold visit to see the lambs, stopped to pick up ice cream and use the remainder of a gift card I had received at my birthday at the co-op and then headed home where we were welcomed by friends who had brought soup and were joining us for dinner.  A good end to a rather exhausting afternoon!

So quickly for Terah's new milestones:  she has discovered her feet and her hands, tried both the doorway jumper and the circle seat this week.  I'm still in a bit of denial that she is ready for those things.  I keep reminding her that she is only three months old.  She has a whole lot to tell us these days too - she makes lots of happy cooing sounds and also seems to be experimenting with how to complain. I'm afraid she might be getting a few whining lessons from the next sister in line.  She is still not what I would call a good night sleeper.  She allows me to spend most of every night in bed but she is a pretty light and squirmy sleeper and sometimes takes a long time to settle in the evening.  But it's moving in the right direction!  I'll try not to focus on the final destination (a night of uninterrupted sleep) and be grateful for the baby steps made towards that goal!

Ok, my time is up.  The baby is talking to the ceiling fan but it's lack of response to her will mean she will be seeking human attention momentarily.  And it's about time to turn my attention to getting lunch on. Here's two short videos to enjoy - one of Terah in the doorway jumper and one in the circle seat where you get a small glimpse of her looking at her hand. Enjoy! Oh I should add when we first got the circle seat down, I came out to the front room to find someone else trying it out:

A few other pictures to end on!  Terah is not sitting up alone yet.  But it is fun to set her up and see what happens.

She loves new faces and other children being around.  This was one of those sweet moments I came upon recently where Terah was getting all sorts of advice from the big kids, and being assured that she would get to join the playdates someday.  Very sweet!

And finally here is one of the projects Jason has been working on: hugelkultur for future blueberry bed!