Enter November

Halloween came and went quickly this year. The kids all went right after Avey was out of school and I was still in the city. They got a good haul, and then it was home for a light dinner and bed. We had just a few trick-or-treaters come by our place, leaving us with a nice stash of candy. 

Things are getting cold and wet around here again, so that we are getting stuck inside more often. Still no sign of snow, which is pretty rare for Illinois. It’s driving us a little nuts, actually. There’s been enough rain, and it’s still not frozen yet, so I have had to mow the grass twice in the last few weeks. I wish the darn weather would just make up its mind instead of keeping us in limbo. 

Merritt keeps us on our toes. He seems reluctant to learn words, even when we coach him. He doesn’t seem to mind using the hand signs for things he wants, but outside of “Dah dah,” “Ma ma,” and “No!” he doesn’t seem too interested in talking. He knows animal sounds and clearly understands what we’re saying most of the time. He’ll mimic our actions, too. It just seems that learning verbal words is not something that strikes him as interesting for now. Surely he’ll come along soon. 

Since Hakan began potty training, Merritt has made a meticulous study of the process. Last night, he sat himself down on the practice potty (fully clothed), sat for a minute, and then came over to me. I smelled that he had filled his diaper, so changed him, and then when we flushed the potty, he looked at me and rubbed his hands together to indicate that it was time to wash his hands. He knows all of the steps, but we’re not sure we’re ready to tackle that untamed beast.

Hakan’s potty training is great! He was accident free for the whole week, and even wore underwear to bed a couple of nights. He must have really decided to commit to it; He’s a really determined guy. When he decided he was going to get good at doing his own buttons, he would not even let us touch them. When he decided that he was going to buckle himself in his car seat, we were forced to watch him struggle at a distance or catch his wrath. Now that he’s acquired this new skill, we are thinking about preschool. He’s been painfully bored while Carver is away at school, so it might do him some good to find new partners-in-crime.

The rest of us are managing. The boys are all mostly over our colds, and the girls never really got them. Carver had an awesome Saturday at a birthday party for a classmate. Avey keeps busy with her schoolwork, reading, and movies. Kira and I changed the clocks last night, dreading the fallout of boys waking at what would become the 4:00 hour. We hope to have them adjusted to the new time soon. 

My birthday is coming up this week, so we’ll do some of the celebration today, and we did our cake yesterday. Getting old gets real old, real fast. Still, I appreciate all of the warm thoughts and kind gifts I’ve received! 

We’ll have more to report next week!

#Happenings