Walking now!

Asa ran away from me at the library today and I was so excited!

After months of cruising and even taking a couple of steps in between people he is finally walking all over and seems to have forgotten how to crawl. This happened on his 16 month birthday as if to say, "You prayed for me to not learn to walk while you were in Ethiopia, so I held off for 4 extra months, but now it is time to do it." Just a week ago, I felt embarrassed to leave him in the "walking well" Sunday school room of my sister's church knowing he wouldn't take a single step for them. And now you couldn't stop him.

He walks around so much, he wore himself out to the point of sleeping on Daddy.

As a parent I want to decide when my kids will do something. They should walk before they are one, be done with the pacifier and move into a big kid bed before turning two, and potty train by the time they are three. This is what the books and the parents who have well adjusted children have told me and I like to keep life on a schedule.

But really it is not about my schedule and as sad as I am to admit it, the control has never been in my hands. In fact God regularly reminds me that the plans I write on the calendar are erasable.

His schedule is written in black permanent marker that never fades. Nothing will happen a minute earlier or later than the scheduled moment and I love that Someone who cares for my best has that all figured out.

And because I do not need to plan out the events of the world, I have more time to chase after my Buddy Boo, something I would a million times more rather do.

 

School starts

School starts next week.

I'm feeling the bittersweet passage of time thinking about Asher going back to school as a 1st grader.
Summer felt like summer this year. We spent lazy days sleeping in, large chunks of mornings in pajamas, and generally did not have a lot on our "to do," "to go," or "to be" list.

That turned out to be good.

When Asher was born I made a rule that I needed to get out of the house at least once everyday. In part I didn't want to feel trapped by these four walls but I also like to be reminded that there are people and busyness going on out there somewhere. 

This summer we regularly broke that rule. Maybe because leaving the house with three kids is more of a challenge than it was to leave a house with a baby in a carrier or because our window of time between waking up, lunchtime, and naptime is small. We learned to love to be here and the side bonus is that Asher and Amelie learned to play together.

They built forts, played with legos, initiated secret clubs, but the favorite game has become the one of battling Asa. Hmm... did I just admit to the world that my older children delight in stalking and attacking my sweet one year old?  The truth is when they ask me to send Asa down to the basement to play, they aren't wanting to cuddle or play his favorite game of catch.  When I peek down the stairs, I see Asher waving a sword above an oblivious toddler dancing and perfecting tae kwon do "hi-ya" shrieks. Amelie stands guard in the background holding her sword and ready to follow the moment Asher yells the signal to retreat. 

They retreat back to the couch forts.  These lie behind the barricade wall of toys they regularly reinforce to keep Asa from wandering into their portion of the basement.

Meanwhile my sweet Asa sits unfazed and happily goes about his business of throwing balls and generally exploring among the toys.  Really he just giggles over the thrill of being in the middle of what the bigger kids are doing.

These battles have been the mainstay of our summer.

And so how did this nostalgic post about school starting turn into the one that reveals the battles in our basement?

Maybe this oddity that has become normal represents what I will miss about this summer. I will miss overhearing their interactions and the time they spend together.  Watching them create the bonds and memories that make them brothers and sister gives me hope that their relationships will be the kind that support each other through life, just like those I cherish with my own sister and brother.

Play will change. With Asher back in school and Amelie the one dictating our play, we will return to her being the mommy and me being the sister who always carries the brother (Asa) around.

School starts next week and we will soon move on from this summer of homebodiness. The time has been good and the lazy days exactly as a summer should be.

Holding his own

Let me tell you about my Asa.

At 15 months, he is less of a baby than what I think of him as. Maybe it's because he is just starting to get the hang of the whole walking thing. When you can crawl faster than a blink why bother standing up to walk? What those of us who walk on two legs carry with our hands, Asa simply sticks in his mouth and away he goes. Yes just like a mother kitten.
One of his early words is light saber.  He can hold his own in a good family battle, but he is most happiest with a ball. Throwing, chasing, fetching, slamming, he is the boy who lights up at any round object, including the round bollards outside of Target that really do look like giant bouncy balls.

You can't go wrong to feed Buddy Boo macaroni and cheese and there is no doubt when he is done eating.  He is the kid who smashes and swishes every last piece of remaining food all over the high chair and chucks the sippy cup onto the floor. A little destructive? Yes, but it does get the point across.

My cuddly boy loves his blanket and those two fingers automatically head into his mouth any time he needs comfort. We begin each morning with kisses, "MMM - AAA," to each of the Ethiopian giraffes in his room and then we kiss them again before and after naptime and bedtime. Those giraffes get some serious love!

With two older siblings, he fights hard to hold his own - to not be left out of snacktime, getting a turn petting the kitty, and being included in whatever game of chase or wrestling is happening at the moment.

So many things about my boy that I don't want to forget , thanks for letting me share them here with you.