LINK TO VIDEO OF Jeroen, Linde, Mike & Chris testing Photo Booth late one night.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Summer 2008 has been relatively cool and rainy. Amazingly the grass is lush green. Our garden is pitiful and because of the coolness, we’ve not been to the beach too often. We’ve had some glorious summer days, but nothing over 85. We’ve had some wonderful visits with family. It was wonderful to visit with everyone.
Funny Quotes:
Jack: “I’m a ‘big’ boy now”, and the emphasis is on the word BIG. This quote by Jack on August 23rd, after he decided not to take a nap or rest.
Isabelle: “Doing the bum shake” she says, getting up from the sand at beach and shaking her bum.
QUICK SNIPPETS of STUFF HAPPENING:
Larrivee Family: Ray & family & Helen visiting, Jeroen and Linde staying at our house; family gatherings;, dinners at our house and in Richmond;, Richmond walks and tag games; John with all the kids in Richmond in one room holding court; playing Pictionary and Queens; blueberry picking; hanging out with Jeroen & Linde; John’s familiy visiting; Bob’s family visiting; Katie staying with us; bowling; Helen and the kids; walks with Ray, Tonny and Gwen; everyone playing with our kids in the back yard.
Cooney Family: blueberry picking; family vacation to Eastam, Cape Cod; walks to park; Cummington Fair; Red Lion Inn jaunt; working on roof; managing rentals at the cottage; playing on beach at cottage; swimming at Laurel Lake; Isabelle practicing swimming with Mike; Isabelle’s 4th birthday; cookout with friends; visiting the Quiles; running to the daddy wee; eating and picking lots and lots of blueberries; baseball in backyard;
Not so fun: minor colds and then jack’s turning to pneumonia…again and bringing him to ER; pregnant for 3 months (or which I thought) and then miscarriage and my trip to ER.
BIG THINGS:
Tonsil and Adnoid surgeries: Isabelle and Jack had their Tonsils out on the same day at the end of June. For two weeks we had to stay home and they had to eat cold soft foods. It is an experience I NEVER want to go through again,although it went better than ever expected. They could both rest at the same time, eat the same things, watch tv together, and experience it all together. The worst was the medicine. The strong stuff (codeine) tasted/smelled terrible and Jack hated it. We had to force/pin him down every time. Mike and I got quite good. I would hold Jack, force his head back. Mike would hold Jack’s hands and I would hold Jack’s nose, and squirt the medicine into the back of his mouth, then hold his nose until he swallowed. He nearly gagged every time. Of the entire experience, Bella had the worst time for the first day (when we all stayed at the hospital), then improved dramatically. Within two days she took regular Tylenol. Jack took the codeine for nearly two weeks. Mostly we think it’s because he would not drink enough and he’s too stubborn or too young to understand that you NEED to drink to have less pain. Differences now: both do not snore, they can breathe through nose (could not before), voices higher, squeaker/sweeter, more energy, eating more, hearing better, needing less sleep. Isabelle wakes up awake now, not sleepy. Behaviors are different. I now have two completely different kids. I’m going through terrible two’s, three’s and fours. It’s my worst day, every day. They fight, bicker, screech with each other. I think it is all the medicine that was in their body and maybe all the changes occuring in their bodies such as growing. After two months though, it’s now getting slightly better.
Jeroen & Linde: We all hada a fantastic time with our nephew and niece. Jack and Bella LOVED having them stay at our house. Their own personal playmates. Jeroen and Linde stayed with us so they could bike to Eastover, where they worked during their stay in the US. They loved it and made friends quickly. They worked, rested, played with the kids, visited and then often went to hang out with friends at Tallyho late at night. Amazing how it feels to have a 19 and 17 year old in the house. What a difference. We enjoyed them immensly. They stayed in my old office…a small place but it all worked out. What we remember are the easy conversations, long talks, listening of music, playing with cybercam, watching youTube, dinners together, coffee at Barrington Coffee, them playing with kids, naps in afternoon, the smiles and laughter. And of course “Myrouen” and “Mylinde” as Isabelle dubbed them. (She thought we were saying “Your Roon” and so she started calling him MY ROON. Jack still now refers to him by that name and then started calling Linde “myLinde”. The nicknames have stuck. Isabelle now calls me Mom, because she said she’s a big girl now….just like Linde who calls her mother Mom.
Roof: Mike completed the roof! What a difficult job well done and over. It looks great and I know he feels good that it’s done as well.
Vacation to Eastam MA: First I must confess that every time vacation comes around I’m psyched and feel that a restful, peacefull vacation is coming. Not so with little kids. The same work and troubling issues comes with you too. That said, we overall had a wonderful vacation. Weather was perfect every day our cottage on the bay side water was private, in a prime location and perfect size. It could have been cleaner, but luckily it had everything else. We almost came home after 3 days because of the bickering between the two and the tenacity with which they (especially Jack) refused to go to bed. Every night was a chore.
The days though consisted of late breakfasts, leisurely trips to the beach, walks down the steps, swimming if the water was in, looking for shells, running in sand or making sand castles, walking way out on sand bar, chasing sea gulls, resting in hot sun, reading, kids swimming in mini pool, dinners in our cottage either on the porch or huge window overlooking ocean, and watching sunsets. By Thursday everyone relaxed and enjoyed every minute.
Isabelle: Since the surgery, she is the most changed. Much more talkative especially with strangers, probably because she can hear so much better. Before she was more lethargic and sweet. Now she’s tenacious, outspoken, challenging, and not as biddable. I hear a lot of “no mommy”. She often lashes out at Jack – pinching hard or biting. It’s as though the anger doesn’t know where to come out.
Then at times she’s so sweet. She now wants lots of hugs…needs them. And she repeats “I love you mommy” very often.
Bella has given up Dada (or dora) doll. Now her best friends are Mr. Horse and Baby Baba. It’s the string of course.
Isabelle is starting school next week. She has had one test run so far. Very tenative at first, but after a while talked and talked the teacher’s ear off.
Jack: Jack is sweet and huggable. His little neck is edible. He loves to hug and demands them often. BUT he can be fiercely independent. “NO MOMMY” and then hit me. We feel we have no power over him. Discipline does not work. We tell him what to do, and he’ll say no. We tell him to go to bed, and we’ll be up 7 times to shush him up (he and bella share room). He knows the game and has us figured out. We want guidance and feel helpless. Jack is not a mean kid, just too smart for his own good.
We’re slowly potty training him. He tells much of the time, although we’ve slacked a bit with all the company.
WHAT THEY DO:
Isabelle:arts and crafts, reading, running, picking raspberries; pinching or biting Jack; Always says ” Come on Babes” (we call jack Babes) when she wants him to come play
Jack: when he’s happy will do his happy walk, kicking out legs like a german soldier; hits bella constantly…mostly with his taggy blankie which doesn’t really hurt, but annoys Isabelle to the extreme.; loves playing ball especially t-ball and he loves to retrieve the ball; running; stop/go running with Mike; he loves to wink, which is the funniest thing, and he’ll do a fish kiss which is equally as funny.
Words: full sentences. Jacking saying “no, no, no ____”; “Mommy too, Daddy too, Bella too, Jack too, kitty too” has become “Mommy and Daddy and Bella and Jack and Kitty”