Elsie had her 5th birthday in unicorn style. She had a party in the house - not in the yard as planned due to some unexpectedly chilly temperatures - with the Music Man as entertainment. We are so lucky to have met so many great kids and parents since moving here and they all made it a special day. At the end of the day, I asked her how she felt about her party. She said it was fun, but she didn't get enough time to jump on the bed with her friends. So, one of these days, we'll have to have a "Jump On the Bed" party.
Our yard plans are coming along, albeit with some hitches. The raised beds that I placed in what I thought was the sunniest part of the yard are actually in the shade from noon to 4:30 or so. I don't know how I made that mistake, but it's made an enemy of a certain tree that is unfortunately placed half on our property and half on our neighbours'. Ultimately, I think we will come to be at peace with the tree once it's been trimmed a bit to thin out the canopy. The window box project has taken a back seat to the pavilion/outpost/decky thingy that Martin built under the shade in our most treed part of the yard. We've had an occasional meal out there and the kids use it as a place to keep their outside toys. We need some outdoor furniture to make it really useful. I've planted some cedars, hemlocks, a red oak, some native perennials, and beefed up the front garden. We had some wildlife activity in the yard: baby squirrels being raised in the trees, baby skunks being raised under our neighbour's shed, and just yesterday two (that we know of) Monarch butterfly eggs were laid on the leaves of my milkweed plants.
Arthur and Elsie have had dirt piles to play in this summer during all of the yard preparations, but Martin's built a sandbox to transition them toward a cleaner play substrate. We just have to find a good beach to take sand from now. Arthur spends a lot of time outside with his trucks. Elsie's been more interested in riding her bike and, since we clued in that she's gotten taller and needed her seat raised, she's found it a little easier than it was last year. One of the highlights of the summer, for me, has been watching her ride her bike down at Victoria Park. Arthur tagged along, capably, on his hand-me-down balance bike and they had a good time biking together.
Arthur is still napping for a couple hours in the early afternoon. With the summer schedule, he seems to be falling asleep around 9:30 or 10 even and waking up at 7 with no wake-ups in the night. I don't nurse him to sleep at night anymore, but still do for naps and when he wakes up from a nap. He has adjusted really well to not nursing to sleep at night. One night, I just said "Arthur let's try going to sleep tonight without boopy." and he just laid on his side of the bed and fell asleep. So easy! Arthur is such a different experience for me. He is very much wanting to do everything by himself. If I try to help him with his food, opening the door, closing the door, pulling a heavy wagon... just about everything... it will be met with sharp cries and resistance. This is so much the case that if I've forgotten and opened the door by myself, he will fuss, close the door, then be happy only when he's completed the task of turning the knob and opening the door. Arthur has been saying "Mama, play me" or "Papa play me" quite a lot in the past couple months. He wants us to get down with him and make the tractors/trucks/cars talk to each other. We all kind of run out of things to talk about after the introductions, but he persists in wanting to do it. Arthur doesn't express his feelings quite as much as Elsie did at his age, but we do get the occasional hug and "lub you" from him. He even tells Elsie he loves her sometimes and tells her that she is his best friend. Elsie is quick to correct him and tell him that she can't be his best friend because she's his sister. When Arthur is sad about something he will often hang his lip down, lower his head and walk very slowly away to be by himself. He can also be found getting down on the ground to curl up and be sad. Today, I asked him to stay out of a picture I was taking, because he kept posing with his hand in front of Elsie's face. This made him so sad that he had to curl up.
Arthur still speaks in choppy sentences, leaving out things like "to", "the", "can", and "do". He has his own way of saying some words: library - "ba-lie", ice cream - "I cream", excavator - "evator". He's memorized how to count to 10, but when he tries to actually count something it can sound like "one, three, two, eight", so there's a part of the concept still missing. He can sing along to the ABC song too. His major interest right now is simply machines: watching videos about machines, talking about machines, reading his Cars and Fire Engines books, and playing with his truck toys. We go to the beach and he immediately sets himself up with the toys we brought and only briefly stops for trips to the water.
We had decided soon after Arthur was born that two kids was plenty and that we were done. We had maintained that decision right up until Martin had a vasectomy. And, in general, we do still believe that we have maxed out when it comes to kids. But... sometimes... when the kids are happy and getting along... and nobody is sick or playing annoying games like repeating everything I say... I sometimes wish I still had another kid to come. I really have to work to remind myself that the more kids you have, the less time you have for the ones that are here right now. Part of the pull is from hanging around women who are pregnant and still growing their families. I imagine that they have organized, and are maintaining, some sort of housework/cooking/personal life/date night schedule that allows them to sanely manage a larger family. Or I attribute to them a level of patience that I have not yet attained. I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes, when I think that there is some way to do it well, I wish I were the type of person to be able to have more kids. If I haven't found my parenting zen by now, chances are it will be a struggle for a while yet and I remind myself that a third child would not magically bring this about... I also remind myself that my husband is sterile.
The goat in the background was not stuck. She was just checking to see if the grass was indeed greener. It always is, dear goat. It always is.
Elsie and Arthur being part of the herd.
Arthur resting after having played tag with an unwilling goat.
We've had some adventures this summer, like a three week road trip to Ontario, hosting cousins on the island, going for hikes, lots of trips to the beach for the evening, and -my favorite- a trip to the goat farm. We had a really great time with the kids and Elsie loves to go out in the field with goats and pretend that she is "a member of the herd." Arthur actually enjoyed holding the teenager chickens and this makes me think he'll be a pretty good little chicken farmer someday. Elsie's been talking about "when we are wealthy enough to buy a barn." I haven't quite teased out what she imagines will be in the barn.
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