Susan's Blog: Are you happy?

Wow, it’s been a month since I last blogged. Wow. Glad you’ve missed us (subscribe below if you’d rather not keep checking and checking). Where have we been? We’ve been here, doing life with two kids. We’ve been wrestling Avery, and when we haven’t been actively engaged in battle, we’ve been exhausted. Managing the needs of two kids often feels impossible. Sometimes it is easy; most times it is trying.

“Are you happy?”—This is what Avery asks us after we’ve been “un-happy” with her. It’s her little way of inching towards reconciliation with dear ol’ ma and pa. Avery has been giving us plenty to be “un-happy” about it lately. Honestly, we’re a little puzzled why this has been a difficult month for Avery. She’s absolutely CRAZY about school. The teachers have been remarking that Avery is doing well there, and loving it. On the flip side, Avery’s been bringing home some new “habits.” Extreme bossiness, defiance, yelling or screaming, talking back, pouting, and hitting are now regular occurrences in our home, and we’re struggling to figure out how to get through to her. Consequences and discipline are barely scratching the surface. Perhaps this is what 3 1⁄2 year olds are like? Perhaps there are a couple children in pre-school that are showing Avery the ropes? Maybe I’m jumping the gun here, but it seems as though outside influences (school friends, who, of course, aren’t being monitored every single second by the teacher (and I wouldn't expect that they would be)) are having an influence on Avery. The timing of this “eruption” of behavioral stuff is just too suspect. And so, it seems, it’s begun: teaching Avery that what she’s learning from others may or may not be something that we feel is acceptable behavior, and, more importantly, why. Sure, Avery’s a little young, but I believe we’ve got to start laying the foundation now. The shift from compliance to discernment isn’t far off.

And so, where’s Ro? In the midst of the craziness she’s still sweet little Ro—likely taking notes on all that is occurring around her. Her nine-month appointment went well (she's now ten-months), and she’s busy fine-tuning her cruising skills, and perfecting her pincher-grasp. She’s got four little teeth now, and loves to “tackle” Avery. I’m so glad that they have each other.

And, we’re absolutely loving fall—so beautiful, so delicious (bring us pumpkin flavored stuff and we’ll love you forever). There’s so much I’d love to blog about, and hopefully will soon. In the meantime here’s a few of my favorite pictures from the last month.

Avery riding the train at one of our favorite fall stops--Sonny Acres.

Avery loving the pony ride.

Cheesing by the ghosts--and yes, I know her pants are rolled up too high.

Avery embracing her roots.

Feeding smelly, dirty animals...and enjoying it.

Cuddling with smelly, dirty animals. Seriously kid, show some restraint!

Displaying what I like to call the "sponge phenomenon." She saw a character on Dora make a silly face and then turned around and made a silly face at me.