Three Months Home

I haven't forgotten about the Q&A post, and promise to get to it soon. We received lots of good questions that I look forward to answering (if you still want to submit a question, go HERE).

I intended to blog on Thursday, as it was officially 3 months since we arrived in Georgia as a family of four. But Thursdays are busy around our house, so it just didn't happen. Then came the weekend, and it was non-stop.

But I do think it's probably about time for an update on both boys, so here goes...

WILLIAM
Our growing-up-too-fast 8-year-old is really a good big brother. He gets irritated with Daniel at times, but that's totally understandable. The thing is, when I see him lose his cool with his little shadow, I see myself. I realize I don't model the best behaviors at all times. Definitely some homework for me :) I know it's frustrating for him to have someone who follows him everywhere he goes and copies everything he does. And I know he's still struggling with sharing Daddy & Mommy, particularly since Daniel has needed a lot of attention since coming home. But things are starting to settle and we continue to try & make sure William gets his own special attention as well.

He is getting so tall. I seriously think he might catch up to me (Jenn) in the next couple of years.

William had strep throat a couple of weeks ago.This is definitely the sickest we've ever seen him, but thankfully he's feeling 100% now.

He continues to enjoy soccer, although I think it's a little different for him this year. In the past, it's been a lot of fun. But he's up an age level now and playing with some kids that are nearly 2 years older than he - and it's a lot more serious and a lot more work than before. I guess this is where we figure out if he REALLY likes soccer or not!

He is doing extremely well in school. He is getting almost all A's & 1 B - in grammar. We were thrilled, and we're so proud of him. He loves going to church and is all abot being  outside riding his bike, scooters, or just running. I seriously think we have a future track star!

He seems to always have a girl or two following him around. And he doesn't seem to mind the attention. He was in the backyard the other day with Daniel. He casually said, "I wish there were some girls here to chase me." I asked why, and he said, "because I like for the girls to chase me." We are in TROUBLE!

DANIEL
My mother-in-law had knee surgery last week. The week before, she mentioned how she couldn't wait to get her knee fixed so she could keep up with Daniel. I told her I have 2 good knees, and I can't keep up with that boy. He is non-stop. He is reluctant to close his eyes at night, for fear he might miss something while he's sleeping. And the second those eyes open in the morning, the mouth is moving and so are the legs.

Like William - and like most children, I suspect - Daniel does best with structure. He's still getting used to school. His business has gotten him into trouble a couple of times, but it's nothing we can't work through. Expectations are important, and I try to remember that.

He made me laugh last week while we were at soccer practice. It was a bit cool outside, and he told me the fan made his face cold... so we then talked about the word "wind"!

He's grown almost an inch, but hasn't put on much weight yet. He has a great appetite, but his metabolism has got to be at turbo speed, as active as he is. I don't think he's going to be in the Guiness Book for world's tallest man, but that's okay!

He tests the limits of everything. We've never had a toddler, but I think we've now had the toddler experience. He has to touch everything. He'll sometimes touch something, knowing he's not supposed to, and then look to see what we're going to do about it. We bought him a shirt that says "Trouble is my middle name" - a perfect shirt for this boy.

He thrives on verbal affirmation. He loves to help me in the kitchen. He will eat most anything we put in front of him, but prefers hot dogs and any type of sausage (bratwurst, kielbasa, you name it). He surprises us on an almost daily basis with the words he's learning.

His vocabulary continues to expand. He was building with magnetix the other day, and said "Look Mommy - 2 triangles!" I was extremely excited to hear this: a great attempt at putting together his own English sentence, counting objects, and recognizing a shape that we haven't worked on much at home yet (yay for preschool!).

One of our Norwegian friends attempted to teach us a Norwegian game last weekend (similar to one that Zack & I played growing up). None of us was very good at it, but it has proved to be helpful in working on new English words. Here's a video of Daniel attempting to play the game early Saturday morning...