Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Janelle – Wednesday Mom:
Little baby Tate is 5 months old already.  It seems like just yesterday  we told Jack a baby was growing in my belly and he’d have a little brother soon.  I was anxious to see what Jack would do the day he met Tate.  Jack was interested at first but after a few weeks Jack grew seemingly bored of his baby brother.

I was fearful that boredom could turn to jealousy or even regression in Jack’s behavior. Jack started being a little demanding and had a few bathroom accidents. Jack was used to my undivided attention and he wanted it back. I was still adjusting to having two kids so I’m sure it was hard for Jack.  I knew between the lack of sleep, a newborn crying, and an unhappy kid I had to try to turn things around and make it fun for Jack.

Tate started to get really responsive with us about a month ago and it has helped the situation immensely. Now that Tate smiles and laughs at Jack he has become a very sweet big brother.  Jack is always including Tate in every game he plays. Jack asks if Tate wants to share his snack and helps me feed Tate fruits and vegetables. Jack even kisses him goodnight.  If I pick Jack up from school and Tate is not with me, Jack asks where he is.  I believe Jack realized that this special little baby is a part of our family and isn’t going back to where he came from.

It is such a thrill to see the two boys interact.  Tate always has his eye on Jack watching everything he does.  Tate loves to smile, especially at his big brother.  I know as they grow older they’ll be wrestling and fighting and who knows what else, but for now I’m going to relish these utterly sweet moments.  I might even take some video so I can show them in the future how much they love each other.  I hope my boys build a great relationship just like I have with my sisters!

From Melissa – Monday Mom:
Last year, we started to support a young child in Africa through one of the many available programs. I explained to Brady that we were providing this boy (Obvious) with food and water. We talked about how our monthly contributions would help Obvious have a home and attend school. So Brady started to refer to him as his brother. At first he got some odd responses when he referred to having a brother (especially from his daddy). But he continued to refer to his “brother” Obvious. He even keeps a picture of Obvious in his bedroom.

Brady has prayed for Obvious every single night of the past year. (Little does he know, that our sponsored child was changed last summer because Obvious’s family moved out of the area). I never told Brady because I figured it couldn’t hurt to continue to pray for little Obvious, whose birthday is just 10 days before Brady’s.

Brady has always had a compassionate heart, and recently saw the magazine that our program sends to us regarding how our money is being used. He saw that you could buy animals to help families. So this Christmas, Brady would like to donate some animals to those less fortunate than himself. (Of course, his first choice was a donkey – and they are EXPENSIVE). He also has decided that he is buying this animal for his brother: Obvious.

While that may not be entirely true, he is partially correct, in that the animal will be given to someone in a similar situation as Obvious’s family. So recently, rather than going through the toy magazines, we have started to look at animals to purchase for gifts. I plan to put up pictures of the animals we purchase now (and in the future) in Brady’s playroom or bedroom as a constant reminder of the gift(s) he gave. He may have slightly less toys under the tree this year, but hopefully he will look at his pictures and remember that his gift keeps on giving. And the BEST part of all…. he came up with this idea on his own!

From Jaime – Friday Mom:
I picked Andrew up from day care the other day and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was playing from the radio they have in their room. That’s nothing unusual, since after Thanksgiving ALL that’s on the radio is Christmas music. But what shocked me is that Andrew was singing along. He knew EVERY word of the song.

They’ve been learning songs for their holiday show at the end of the month. So his class is going to be singing (and signing) Rudolph and the dreidel song, which he also proudly sang at the top of his lungs while running around the room in circles.

It’s now the third day of Hanukkah. Andrew still tells us that Hanukkah involves Santa and reindeer. And he comes over wanting to blow out the candles like it’s his birthday. One of these days we’ll get him to understand that Christmas and Hanukkah are two different holidays…I think.

From Wednesday Mom: Janelle
Ever since we moved to Mississippi we have had our fair share of weather.  We have seen it all  – from hot, humid sun leaving us without power to cold and blustery snowfall, and  even a hurricane when we lived here 5 years ago.  Last night we experienced another severe thunderstorm that woke us up at 4:45am to tornado sirens.

My husband heard them first and alerted me to get dressed and gather flashlights, candles, baby food, water, etc.  We looked at the radar and saw that within a few minutes the severe storm was about to hit us and our entire town.  The giant purple blob on the screen was a little frightening.   I quickly scooped up the kids and hid in our “safe spot” in the laundry room.

Jack was delirious, confused, and scared all at the same time.  As we sat there huddled together in the laundry room I tried to explain to him what was happening and that we needed to be protected just in case we did get hit by one.  It is very hard to explain the severity of Mother Nature to a three year old.  He didn’t understand why he couldn’t just sleep through it, or watch through the window.  He was also concerned about what his friend/crush Kelsey was doing.  He asked if she was in her laundry room, too.  At least he kept the humor alive!

Luckily, we made it through safely with no damage.  Unfortunately, there were tornadoes reported in other areas of our state with damage.  I am so thankful that I’m not dealing with a whirlwind of a house like other people are.  Jack and Tate were good sports.  Practicing tornado drills when I was in elementary school finally came in handy.