Sunday, January 12, 2014

Mobile Moments, 1/6-1/12

This past Monday was the twelfth day of Christmas, noted by our family as "Three King's Day." All through my childhood we marked the occasion with one last gift hidden under our beds by the magical visiting magi.

Though Abby is now old enough to have appreciated the start of the tradition in our own home, it was left uncelebrated- one of many, many things I've forsaken since those few days before Christmas in which my whole reality was changed and I found myself sucked soul-deep into a seemingly unending personal trial. I will perhaps find the courage to write about the details soon, but for now I am still expending most of my energy in a desperate attempt to push forward to the next minute, hour, day.

I've found more comfort lately in simple physical (but extremely low-exertion) tasks, such as my latest project, and have largely abandoned the blog to its slow but steady completion, though I fit in one last post this week when Mia inspired a video and the sharing of her most recent accomplishment.

Blessedly, the children have not failed to awe, impress, and remind me of what's most important, even if they do so intermittently between episodes of screaming, fussing, tantruming, and otherwise causing loads of trouble. Michael, in particular, seems to be making great strides in communication, attempting an unprecedented number of new words and proving his knowledge and understanding by identifying objects on the pages of his favorite books. Mia continues to improve upon her pulling-up strategies, and has mastered the art of the standing nighttime wake-up cry. As for Abby, she is full of surprises nearly every day, but her latest achievement of note is the accuracy with which she has begun repeating pitches and rhythms when she sings and attempts to play the songs that she knows. She has no understanding yet of how to match a pitch to a note on her tiny toy piano, but I know when she's attempting Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by the punctuation of her hammering. Occasionally, too, she sings it while she plays- a regular piano gal in the making.

Hardly even grazing my mind until now has been that ever-encroaching day: Michael's second birthday. This will have been his last full week as one-year-old, though I can hardly bear to allow that reality to sink in just yet.

Train track-building with Granda.


Abby designs her own track.


She's got her eye on the big, wide world but she's not ready to take it on just yet.


Playing "Bunny Hop" with Mima (and having too much fun for my smartphone to properly capture).


Looks like someone found Mommy's glasses.


Making progress on my Art Therapy project.


Princess castle-ing.


A little boy and his little bowl.


Mia finds a new use for the rubber scraper, as she showcases those dreamy eyes.


Overheard this week:

Between Tom and Abby

T: "Abby, the toilet is not very clean."
A: " Well, you have to clean it, then."

T: "Mommy needs a hug."
A: "No."
T: " Okay. I'm going to give Mommy a hug."
A: "NO! I'm gonna do it!"

Between Nana and Abby

N: "Hello, Darling."
A: "I'm not a darling!"

Michael

"Pulled pork, sea turtle, shark, owl, sock, flower"

Mia

She's been saying "dada/dadada" for awhile, but now she'll often do it on command.

{nom nom} We've finally discovered a love of purees, which helps me better fill her tummy even as she digs into all of the bite-sized morsels of table food that cover her tray at mealtimes.

As for teeth, she's now officially got eight of them, though the latest two (upper left and right lateral incisors) are only about a millimeter exposed for now.