18 Months Old - part 1

On Thursday, Nicholas turned 18 months old.  We haven't had his check-up yet so I don't have growth stats.  We did go to the doctor this week though so I do have a weight of 22 lb 7 oz and the beginnings of his first sinus infection.   Gotta record all those milestones, right?

Anyway - he is feeling much better now.

He has 8 front teeth (top and bottom) and I think 4 molars (2 top, 2 bottom), but he's not keen on my checking.  

Food:  He loves to eat.  Still loves to drink milk.  Fruit is his favorite but likes chicken, green beans, carrots (sometimes) pumpkin and banana bread, crackers, black beans, and cheese.

Language:
English: shoes, hat, mom, dad, milk, thank you, ready go, Cocoa, ball,
Spanish: aqua (sounds like baba); nina (that's what he calls Mikaela now);
Signs: car, hat, shoes, where, milk, please, eat, water, color,

All signs are accompanied with an approximation of that word, mostly English but some Spanish, except for car.  When he signs car, it's accompanied with "vroom" or some other sound effect of that sort.

He does a lot of babbling too where it seems he's asking you a full sentence but only one word is recognizable.

Activities:
climbing
throwing balls
throwing fits
coloring
dancing to music
talking on mommy's phone
reading books
dumping toys out of buckets
avoiding naps (almost down to one nap, but it's not very long for Mommy's liking!)

Kid Stories

Not quite an interpreter....

Mikaela was singing a Spanish song in the car coming home from Graemma's recently.  Mike and I were trying to figure out the meaning of her simple song.  There's a line - La vaca lola - that puzzled us.  She could tell us about "the cow" or "la vaca", as well as other parts like tail and head, (and their Spanish counterparts) but when we asked about "lola" she replied, "I have no idea."  Then, continued on with her song.

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Papa's Legacy

Mike's grandfather, Newt, or "Papa" as he was more affectionately known, must be smiling down on his great-grandson.  Mikaela is responsible for putting her dishes in the sink when she finishes eating.  Nicholas has been watching this chore for awhile and decided to take his own plate from the table upon completion of dinner one night.  However, since he was done, that must mean every one else was too and proceeded to clear Mikaela's plate, even though she was still trying to eat.  Papa's legacy lives on...

A Juggling Act

I love my job.  I really do.  And I think I'm pretty good at it.  Sure, there's stress (which my type A personality can compound at times) but usually after a couple of weeks, I fall into a groove and things run pretty well.  There will be certain times where things get hectic and I have to put in a few more hours or bring work home, but after having kids, I'd started to find a better balance between teaching (job) and home.

I had always dreamed of being a stay at home mommy.  However, when Mikaela was born, living in our current home without my income just wasn't feasible so I worked.  We were so fortunate to find a sitter who has basically become a member of our family and who (or whom?) my children love dearly.  So when Nicholas came along, I made a choice to continue working.  I wanted to.  I knew I had great care for my kiddos while I was at work and I continued to love what I do.

Last year was tough.  Adjusting to life with two, having an infant and all that entails (sleepless nights, nursing, etc), losing a co-worker that I depended on so much for daily support and friendship, taking on an extra work responsibility (which was great, but scary) made me think many times that I needed to call it quits.  But I didn't.

The students kept me going, even when they frustrated me with their drama, or challenged me to find that way to reach them, to help them understand, to finally master that concept or skill.  So I signed on for another year.  Genuinely excited about this coming year.

The first couple of weeks bring stress and hectic life always.  There's no getting around that.  Any teacher (or family member of a teacher) can relate.  But like I said before, you fall into a groove and things go okay.

However, with each passing year, the demands of what we are supposed to do just keep getting higher and higher.   It's no longer enough to show up, teach good lessons, file the correct paperwork and leave at the end of the day.  

As I danced in the living room with my kids tonight, I thought, "Are the demands of my job, the things that make me spend extra time away from these two worth it?"  And I honestly struggle with the answer.

I LOVE my job.  I LOVE my students.  I LOVE seeing them laugh and learn.  I LOVE watching them figure things out, ask questions, rise to my expectations because they do.  All. The. Time.  Even when there are those frustrating moments, they still make me smile and remind me why I do this.

But when 4 o'clock comes (okay so it's really more like 4:15 - 4:30), I NEED to be done at work.  Because there are two little ones waiting for me at home who deserve my attention, time, love, and energy.   I only get them for a little while and I can't waste a second of it.

But having my evenings and weekends for family is becoming less and less of a reality, or at least that's how I feel now with added demands in my job.  So, I have some thinking and praying to do.