Summer break
2 hours into summer break and I am already frustrated with my kids! I am not usually a fan of parenting books, but I think it might be time to read some. I understand Lily's defiance and stubbornness but I am having a tough time understanding/getting through to Aden. I spend more time arguing with him than having fun with him. What is going on with 7-year-olds? What they are thinking/needing developmentally? I want to avoid 1) spending the summer yelling and nagging; 2) letting him veg out in front of the TV or computer all summer because it is easier than dealing with him.
Oh, and what is up with bathroom talk? Lily and Aden both think it is hysterical right now. I alternate between ignoring it (if I don't respond it won't be as much fun, right?), limiting it ("That is bathroom talk, if you want to talk like that go into the bathroom"), or going crazy and snapping at them to stop it right this second! Not surprisingly, my inconsistency isn't very effective...
In the interest of my sanity, I am trying to set goals for our summer. So far we are planning to go to the library quite a bit, and we each picked something we want to learn about. Aden wants to learn more about "how plants make oxygen." Lily wants to learn to read. :) And I think I am going to check out books about flowers and planning flower gardens--I can always dream about a future where I have time to garden again!
But not this summer... this summer I am going to be busy keeping Ronan out of everything! He can officially move across a room and into another one, or get to anything on the floor that he wants. He is funny to watch. He gets onto his hands and feet, walks his feet towards his hands, then moves his hands forward once or twice, face plants, repeats. Or he gets onto hands and knees, moves his hands forward once or twice, belly splats, repeats. Some combination of the two motions can get him across a room pretty efficiently now. He often sits up in between movements, in order to better position himself for his next forward attack LOL. Sometimes he props himself up on his feet/knees and one hand while reaching up with his other hand... I don't think it will be long before he figures out how to pull himself up (ETA yeah, he pulled up to standing on Friday, just two days after my OP). Siblings provide a lot of incentive! You've got to keep up with them, and they are moving targets after all, plus they move all the best toys away from you...
Ronan is eating real food already too! We're just kind of following his lead, mostly skipping spoon feeding in favor of letting him try whatever he can put into his mouth. Two weeks ago he still spit things back out, but now he eats whatever he can get his hands on and wants more. So far he's had banana, avocado, rice crackers, cheerios, pizza crust, bread, and rice chex. And a few tastes of yummy things like hummus, the sauce on my chinese food, and ice cream. :)
Hard to believe he is not even 6 months old yet but already doing so much! I'm sad my baby is growing up so quickly, but being able to move and eat makes him so content that I really can't complain. Really, he is just the happiest baby and I feel so lucky. I just find it ironic that he was in no hurry at all to be born, but seems to be in such a hurry to grow up now! Making up for lost time, I guess.