Daniel
Daniel went from being the most chill baby to the almost-toddler that we very lovingly call “Menace” as a nickname. His favorite activities are going up the stairs, getting into the cat food, emptying out drawers, or any other thing he knows he isn’t supposed to do. He is a true second child who doesn’t get the same level of attention Caleb got at his age and exposes all of the gaps in our babyproofing.
He is still very happy, though! When he isn’t getting into trouble, he is happy to be a goob and always leads with his head. He will cuddle you by rolling his head into you which is also how he starts “wrestling” with Josh and Caleb. Caleb and I play a game call Monster Pillow (or sometimes Mommy Monster) where I pretend to sleep on a pillow, and then he steals it and runs away to hide it while I yell about where my pillow went. Daniel joined in this weekend by crawling over and also laying his head on the pillow. It was adorable.
He just started calling on his knees after months of slithering around on his belly like a snake. He occasionally engages “turbo speed” which is when he basically sprint-crawls toward danger or trouble. But he far prefers standing up to crawling and will pull up on anything in his path, even if it’s not stable enough to support his weight.
Daniel also loves music and will dance by either bouncing up and down or rocking side to side. We have a school bus with a button to play songs, and he will push the button, dance, and then push the button again to play a new song when it’s over.
Daniel is still obsessed with Caleb and starts laughing maniacally if we walk down the hall to Caleb’s room in the morning. He is also obsessed with food. If you are holding him and trying to eat anything, he will lunge for it or try to Lady-and-the-Tramp-it with you.
Caleb
I can’t believe Caleb is almost FOUR! He is still a chatterbox and likes to ask “why?” about everything. Unfortunately he is not satisfied with you saying you don’t know the answer to all of his questions.
He loves to be a “big helper” in the kitchen or when running errands. If we get takeout during the weekend, he always asks to ride in the car with me to pick up dinner and really likes to take trips to the grocery store (and not just because he gets a cookie at Publix). He will pretend he is a crane when adding groceries to the cart and is (mostly) good about being gentle with his transfer.
We went to Cleveland last weekend and took a trip to Babyland for the first time. There was a “birth” while we were there, and afterwards, Caleb’s review was, “A baby doll fell out of that tree. That’s so silly!”
He’s definitely been enjoying the extra time together this summer when I go pick up the boys early to hike around Sibley Pond or go play at the library. I took him to the river one day during daycare vacation week, and he walked nearly 2 miles! Plus, there’s nothing he loves more than throwing rocks into water, and the river is the perfect place to do that.
He’s still on the shy side but has been surprising me with moments like being very unbothered at the dentist and not crying when we left him at the nursery of a new church.
Me
I am making the most of “funemployment”! This week I saw Barbie on Tuesday and then saw Oppenheimer with Josh on Friday since he had most of the day off. I saw two movies in a week! Prior to this week, it’s probably been 18 months since the last 2 movies I saw in a theater.
They are both excellent movies but very different from each other. Barbie has some hilarious moments as well as some touching ones, especially as a mother, and I was most struck by the sound/score of Oppenheimer.
Daniel is outgrowing a lot of his baby equipment, so I’ve been selling it on Facebook Marketplace or donating it, and my strategy right now is to just do everything as quickly as possible because if I stop to think about how he’ll be one / not a baby anymore in 3 weeks, I get sad. I am excited to see him grow up and grow into more of his personality, but it is the end of the baby era in our house, and endings are allowed to be sad.
I am also nearing the weaning process for Daniel which is another thing making me sad. Part of me is excited to be done washing pump parts and bottles and to have the option to exercise in the early morning again, but again, it’s the end of the baby era, so I’m mourning that a bit.
Besides the transition out of the baby era, I’ve been working outside a decent bit. My garden did pretty well this summer. I got a lot of straightneck squash but only 1 zucchini, a few rounds of green beans (should have 1 more coming), some cucumbers, lots of tomatoes, and a decent amount of blueberries before the squirrels picked the bush clean. The fact that it rained nearly every day in June as well as being able to water the garden with a push of a button on my phone (thanks, Wyze!) made it even easier to maintain this summer. All of the rain did not help me get ahead of the weeds in our yard, though!
I’ve been making good use of the Libby app for reading novels and also bought/read Des Linden, Kara Goucher, and Lauren Fleshman’s memoirs. If I had to pick one to recommend, it would be Linden’s Choosing to Run which I’d like to write a proper review of, so I won’t elaborate on it now.
Speaking of running, it’s not going great. Have you ever tried to get back in shape in JULY? It is miserable. This is why people hate running! But hopefully every time I get out the door, it is a tad less miserable, and then when October rolls around, I’ll have the tiniest bit of fitness to enjoy in the cooler weather. Hopefully.