Becker Six

The kids turned  a year and a half today.  Wow.  I am learning to call them toddlers instead of babies.  In fact, they don’t just toddle, they run and dance and climb and chase each other.  We rearranged the furniture so that they can’t climb on the fireplace or couch.  They were standing on them and trying to pull one another off.  They can pull themselves up on the arm chairs, but they tend to sit more on the chairs and don’t get as crazy as they do on the couch.  We set up play equipment in the basement, and they are loving it.  They get exercise and a change of scenery.  All three kids have gotten at least a couple molars.  They were all teething at once which led to several grumpy days and many bite attempts.  We really had to referee them all. 

Clara wants to read and write all the time.  She has delivered countless letters to each family member informing us of birthday parties, tea parties, and how much she loves us.  She, of course, wants mail in return.  So we have played mail carrier frequently.  After being off school for 3 weeks, she finally went back for a full week this week. 

We had to remove some dairy products, like milk and cottage cheese, from Conley’s diet.  He might have been having a mild reaction.  We’ll try them again in a few months to see if the symptoms return.  He has been doing fine the last two weeks, so we are grateful for that.  For milk consumption, he and Evaline continue to nurse, which is great since Conley can process breastmilk well but appears to have more difficulty with cow’s milk.  I’ll try to continue with breastfeeding for now.  The American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends breastfeeding beyond the first year when possible.  It’s amazing how recommendations have changed in the last several decades from no breastfeeding to long term breastfeeding.

I am still working on comprehensive exams.  I have passed one and am working on number two.  I’m trying to focus on and enjoy whatever is before me throughout the day, whether it is kids or studying.  Hopefully I am learning along the way.

Here’s a little recap of December…The Christmas celebrations were fun.  It was wonderful to be with family.  The kids loved ripping all the paper this year.  Toby and I stayed up late one night wrapping everything little thing we could find to give them fun on Christmas morning.  Clara played Santa.  She asked too many deep questions about Santa this year and decided that the store Santas were not the real Santa Claus.  She “took over the job and will pretend to be him from now on” for the little kids.  It was a little sad but a little relieving too.  We have been reminding her not to tell her friends since they might still like pretending in Santa.

We loved receiving all the Christmas cards.  They bring lovely reminders of friends near and far.  We have them posted in the kitchen and think of you all. 

The week after Christmas brought the stomach flu, stomach flu, stomach flu.  Each day added a new person to the number.  This resulted in serious cabin fever.  Fortunately, we had been out a lot the week before with travels.  Hopefully we can stay healthy over the next few months.  This winter has been long, but life is so much easier than it was a year ago.

The last several months have been a blur. I started back to school in August and blinked and then it was December. Everything is going ok. It is just constant busyness. Each day Toby and I work, play with the kids, put them to bed, pick up the house, study/work, and start it all again. Each night we feel like little elves as we scurry around putting the house back in order, cleaning food off the floor from dinner, making meals for the next day, and such. Then I go back to study some more. I am in the middle of taking comprehensive exams and, Lord willing, will hopefully finish them in February. Also in the next few weeks, I will be wrapping up my first semester of GTA-ing a course, so that should take some pressure off. Teaching has been quite a learning experience in itself. Before the semester started, I didn’t know how we would make it, but again, it somehow is all working out. Toby has been amazing. He fills in all the gaps. My parents, our nanny, friends, neighbors, and so many others still come by and help out. I just can’t believe all the kindness we have been shown.

So here’s a quick summary of happenings at the Becker house…

September
Clara turned 4! We had a small celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Becker and neighbor friends. The kids played on the equipment in the backyard, and Clara had a blast. The party events were her ideas. Her life has changed incredibly in the in the past year. She has really found her way through the stressful moments and dealt with it well. Sometimes I say to her, “I feel stressed right now, Clara. How do you feel?” She usually takes it all in stride and replies, “Oh the babies will stop crying and it will all be ok. Don’t worry Mommy.” She is remarkable.

Clara even gives me advice while I’m working. She was playing near me while I was uploading a media file for school the other day. I was getting frustrated and couldn’t get the file to open. Clara looked over my shoulder and instructed me, “Mommy just wait. It has to load. Don’t click on anything.” She was right.

I interviewed her on her birthday to record some of her favorites. Here is what she told me. Favorite…

COLOR Blue, then pink and green and yellow and all the colors of the rainbow
FOODS Pizza, cake, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, kiwi, grapes, and bananas
THINGS TO DO Art, play downstairs, read books, play with my dollhouse, jump on the hippity hop
PLACES TO GO Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s, the Park, Nan and Granddad’s house
STUFFED ANIMALS Whooie the Owl and Baby Elmo

October
At their well-baby visit, the kids did great, although Josie continued to weigh extremely low. She was only 17 lbs and not yet on the weight charts. Her height and development were normal, though. Eva was 19 lbs (at the 2^nd percentile) and Conley was almost 22 lbs (at the 10^th percentile). Conley continues to need a strict diet. He can eat unprocessed foods, mainly vegetables, fruit, dairy and meats without grain products of any kind. We pretty much have to cook all his food at home, which is fine. We will continue with this diet until he is four. Then they will re-test him a Children’s Mercy.

In October, we took lots of family walks. Going to the neighborhood park is the best family time for us. We don’t have to load everyone in the car, just in strollers. They really enjoy the out of doors and the play area. The walk seems to bring a bit of restoration to the soul. The kids all went trick-or-treating for Halloween as angels. Edmond, Glen, Lynn, and Penny joined us. Penny was the cutest owl. It was fun to be together.

November
With mild days in Kansas, we were able to continue family walks many evenings, but the shortened days caused us to hurry home sooner. Thanksgiving was nice. We were able to visit both families, the Stansberrys and Beckers. The only sad part of it all was the passing of Toby’s Grandmother, Dollie Belle. We are glad for our memories with her and that all our kids were able to spend time with her.

We have started spelling words now since the kids seem to understand much of what we are saying. They overhear us discussing things and run to do it, such as climb up in their highchairs for dinner. Josie’s favorite word right now is “up”. She loves to be held and says the word at least 50 times a day. It’s hard to resist her. If she says it, then the other kids often start to raise their arms and yell “up, up, up” too. They frequently operate off the power of suggestion.

December
Well, today is only the fourth of December, but we are anticipating cabin fever. It has been harder and harder to get the kids out. We are trying to deliberately plan ways to get out of the house. Bass Pro has been a good distraction. The kids even met Santa! We purchased some used play equipment and are fixing it up for indoor play in the basement. Hopefully this will help. Right now, March sounds like a long ways away. For now, we are all anticipating Christmas and the joy the holidays bring. It’s fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a child.

All three babies are walking. Conley took his first few steps to his Daddy today. So we now officially have three toddlers. I’m happy and a little sad not to have three babies, although this stage is a lot of fun.

The kids keep having more fun together all the time. I catch them trying to hug each other and give one another kisses. They are going everywhere and climbing on everything. This weekend all three were crawling on the fireplace mantel repeatedly. Every time I would get one down, another one would be crawling up. I don’t know how many times we tried to distract or block them to no avail. It was a planned attack on the part of the kids. They climbed everywhere else too. Eva was found standing on an end table, Josie climbed the high chair, and Conley climbed into the tub. You can’t take your eyes off of them for a minute.

I have also found that you can’t give them a bath at the same time. About once a month I try to give them a bath together. It seems like that would be the most efficient way to bathe them, and they would love to play in the tub longer. However, each trial ends in disaster. The babies start to go crazy with the water and try to climb in or out of the tub. It leaves me soaking wet and anxious that someone is going to get injured. Maybe someday it will work.

Although each day has its challenges, day to day life is getting easier. Clara is doing better interacting with the triplets all the time. She tries to find ways to help and is very sweet with them. She often warns me when someone is in danger and has prevented mishaps, which are many. She also entertains them with her dancing or musical performances. She is very fun and quite talkative, telling lots of stories and asking questions.