April 4

I think this Do-Nothing Monday was actually busy, and I don't like that. 

We started the morning with a visit from our Parents As Teachers parent educator. We talked about Eli and Lily's development, and it came at a good time. Eli has just started doing things like playing peek-a-boo, clapping his hands, repeating words... you know, the kinds of things we expect 10-12-month-olds to do. He is nowhere near walking, and just got his third tooth. I was feeling discouraged and concerned. On one hand, I'm excited to see a burst in development! On the other, what gives? My 14-month-old feels more like a baby about to turn one! Yes, he was premature, but even with a generous adjustment based on when we expected him to arrive, he should still be doing more than he is.

But as I talked with her, she pointed out that he actually is doing a lot of the things that are expected for his age. He has just started expressing opinions: he will do the stiff-as-a-board trick when I try to buckle him into his car seat, and he throws himself down on the ground when he's upset. He is independent, and solves problems to get what he wants. Eli may not be doing the flashy, exciting stuff yet, but he is still pretty close to being on track developmentally. So, yay, Eli! You are your own person, and you are developing at your own pace. We are blessed to have you!

Day 4 of my 30-day wrapping challenge was short cross carry with a ring. It was fine.

By the time the little ones went down for naps, I was feeling overwhelmed. We still needed to do school, I needed to prep dinner, then we had to get to baseball practice at 4:45, Chris would meet us there, then home for dinner, Caleb and I still needed to do a training run, and Chris had to leave by 7:00 to go teach a class to aspiring minority small business owners. It was stressful.

But we made it. Baseball practice went well, but as we drove home Caleb explained to me that he was feeling discouraged and stupid. He felt like there was so much about baseball that he didn't know yet, like how and when to run the bases. We talked about being a rookie, how even if he knows how to play the game, there are still lots of things he has to learn. I feel like I gave him some solid Mom-advice, but kids are weird, and you never know if they're actually hearing the words you're telling them. Hopefully he heard me.

We went on to have a good run. Caleb was not at his fastest today, but he had a good attitude and that counts for a lot. 

Training run #7: done!