August 17

It's only the fourth day of school, but we are already slipping into the school routine and it is lovely. After we got Caleb on the bus this morning, there was time for coffee on the deck and playing outside, a (much too short) nap for Eli (he seems to finally be hitting the four-month sleep regression?), and a trip to Costco and Whole Foods before lunch and naps. Perfect.

I got lunch together for the girls, and while they ate I put Eli down for his nap. He was exhausted, so I was certain he would sleep for two or three hours. The girls had finished their lunches, so I read to them and put them down for naps, too. As I snuggled with Lily, I debated what to do with my free time. Prep dinner first, or try to snag a nap and prep dinner later?

I left Lily's room to hear Eli crying. He was awake. Again. Less than 45 minute nap. Again.

But mama was exhausted, so I brought him into my big bed to play while I laid down.

Eli's favorite things to do right now:

Squawk. Loudly.

Roll everywhere. I moved to one side of the bed, and he flawlessly executed a triple roll to get to me in two seconds flat. Kid is fast.

Nurse. That is definitely his #1 favorite thing ever.

Chew. The kid aggressively gnaws on everything he can find. I would think he was teething, except that there are no tooth buds in sight and none of his siblings got teeth before 10 months.

Grab. Especially hair. Man, that kid likes to grab and pull my hair.

Yee-owch!

An hour later, he was rubbing his eyes and fussing, so I put him down for what was sure to be his best nap of the day. He was so tired! 

That is a baby who fell asleep in my arms as I nursed and rocked him in the chair in his room. He was sound asleep, and I laid him gently in his crib and tiptoed out.

45 minutes later, right as it was time to get Caleb off the bus, Eli woke up.

Curses.

The blessing of child #4 is that I've already been there, done that enough times to know what is normal and what is random. I realize this is normal, and he will outgrow it. 'Tis a season, and nothing more.

Caleb got off the bus sad, because he said they had watched too many scary stories at school. You had better believe I zipped off an email to his teacher ASAP. My kid is sensitive, and I'm sure the movies were fine, but she probably had no idea that my boy was so upset. She emailed back within an hour, explaining things and promising that there would be no more such movies now that she knew that there was a sensitive soul in the class.

Caleb also brought home this awesome questionnaire, which perfectly sums up who he is right now. See if you can decipher his inventive spelling and often-backwards numbers. I'll translate below.

My name is: Caleb

My birthday is: July 9th

My favorite thing about school is: Math

When I grow up I want to be a: Jedi

(Illustration of Caleb sitting at our dining room table, building Legos)

My favorites

color: red

number: 6 (it's backwards; it's his favorite number because it's his age. He told me his favorite number will change every year as he ages.)

tv show: Curious George (it's been on PBS kids in the mornings lately)

movie: Duck Tales (we got that from the library two weeks ago)

book: Star Wars

candy: gum

animal: cat (not our cat, but friendly cats)

place: pool

I was so happy and proud that I could decipher everything he wrote! The backwards  numbers have always been a problem for him; by the end of last school year he was getting them right 90% of the time, but I guess that's something that slipped over the summer. His poor fine motor skills mean that his handwriting is pretty illegible, and he's still learning the rules of spacing words. But I am proud of his work, and I am proud of my boy!