Blissful Summer

(* read my rant at the the bottom of my post....yarg I am not a techie!)

We've been having a great time with the kids the last few weeks. Our routine is unfolding and things are meshing. The only time that I am struggling with timing is naptime for the boys. Arlo is outgrowing naps, but still really benefits from them. He has a hard time laying down if Tirfe is up, and keeps Aesa up if they lay together, but needs my attention 100% of the time after 3pm if he doesn't rest a little. So I either end up with two tired, napless boys, and a tiny break for myself (with the added bonus of their room somehow getting extremely messy while they are "napping"), or one boy who naps and one boy who asks me "what do you think we should do right now?" a dozen times while I try to take a shower or anything else I need to accomplish. Each day is a little different. I am trying to look at the bright side, everything seems to work out in the end, tired, rested, whatever. It is a bit of a juggling act though. All of this has been going on long before Tirfe came home, they will outgrow it one day.

Tirfe is doing really well. She has mastered sitting up now, it is awesome, I love that she can engage in her world from a new vantage point and have so much more control over her activities. I love the sitting baby stage. She is so proud. Her list of accomplishments this week also include waving bye-bye, clapping (personal favorite), and high fives. We are pretty sure she will be crawling soon. She is really close, loves to rock on her hands and knees, panting and squeeling (adorable).

Arlo and Aesa are still enjoying her a ton. They love it when she "talks" to them, they are thrilled if she laughs at them. So far the only jealousy I have seen has been from Arlo when Tirfe was so busy laughing at Aesa that she didn't see the cool moves Arlo was doing, he was a little heartbroken over it. This was one of the days he did not nap. His mood swing led to a break in the bedroom which was followed by an hour and a half accidental (on his part) nap that totally restored his more pleasant demenor. It worked for me.

Arlo loves to be a part of everything Tirfe is doing. He picks out her clothes in the morning, usually some beautiful dress like one of her traditional Ethiopian dresses that is two sizes too big right now. He even tried on her green one that is bigger, hilarious. He has to give her zerberts on her belly while I hang her upside down before she can lay down for naps or the night. Tirfe thouroughly enjoys it, almost all the time. It is so fun watching their bonds grow and solidify, so amazing and rewarding.

Last night we went to a concert in the park. It was a tad loud, but Tirfe held out for quite a while. They boys were much less interested than she was. They found a pile of sandy soil and filled their hats over and over and over so they could make a pile. Whatever keeps them busy. Aesa played with a stick in the sand next to the sidewalk for at least a half-hour. If he'd had a hose we'd have been set for the evening.

(*i type and type and type whilst I have a minute or two to myself, due to tv induced catotonics or actual sleeep (ha!) at naptime, and then I am left with a post that is not only discombobulated, but unpleasantly paragraphed and all bunched and mushed in the picture category. SO, I say, to myself. I will post shorter, more frequent, less pictified entries. It is the only solution. I will really try. Maybe i can hit my stride and stop trying to post at either naptime or in the middle of the night. hehehe. We'll see.) For now, I appologize for the weird layout.