I'm in such a weird place in life right now. It's full of transitions. Bill is super close to the end of his degree, but the end date isn't set in stone and he just doesn't have a clue how long it is going to take. We thought we would graduate in May but there ended up being some setbacks and now we don't know.
It's getting close to the end of the school year. I had planned to be gone in June. Now that I think we'll be here I'm like dang, I've got to think about summer and what we're going to do around here. Summers with school-aged kids seem way harder than when they were younger without a plan. Money is a factor. Our rural location is a factor.
I've registered Genevieve to kindergarten but I don't know that we'll be here, so I'm torn on committing to things or not. They have a Jump into Kindergarten event planned this week and requested parents only bring the incoming kindergartener. Why do schools do that? Even normally that is a bit tough but I'm soloing this week so that's not even possible. I don't really care to find someone to watch three of my kids so my one can feel extra special, yet I don't want to get the sidelong look if I bring everyone. Ugh. It's not like she hasn't been to the school a million times, but it would be fun to go just for her. I feel guilty no matter what I choose to do. Love that mom guilt!
I was in the thick of downsizing and thinking of what we want to keep and what we're ready to part with and the delay in finishing has made me want to settle back in so I don't feel perpetually in limbo. Except I do feel in limbo anyway.
Every time I go to Costco or look think about buying meat from my beloved Zaycon Foods company, the thought always pops up, I don't want to over purchase so that I have to throw a bunch of stuff away when we move. Except we don't know when that will be. Gah!
I'm getting the itch to build things again too with the advent of summer and Chloe getting bigger and more independent. I can't wait for her to start walking so that she can hang out outside while we do stuff without having to be carried everywhere. There's too many biting bugs for me to feel comfortable letting her crawl around in the yard.
We're perpetually practicing songs in primary at church that we'll eventually use in the primary program in the fall. I'm wildly curious to see if I'll even be here to accompany the program or not.
Basically I want to have deadlines and make plans around future events, but I can't because our timeline is completely in the air. It's a very uncomfortable place to be. I'm trying to own it but I just feel off kilter. Here's to getting a bit more comfortable and most importantly, for Bill's research to get over the current bumps and he be able to see the end of the dissertation come back into sight. Send happy thoughts my way that I'll handle the weirdness better than I currently am between now and whenever the end of this phase is.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Chloe at nine months
Chloe is just flying through milestones. She doesn't seem to be a kid that thinks too hard about what she wants to do and tries until she can do it. It's more like an idea never crosses her mind and then when it does she does it right then. So she never even thought to stand up until one day she did and she did it right then and hasn't stopped since.
The other day I was laying on the floor next to her and she stood up against me and then let go and stood independently for a second. Whoa girl! You're not even nine months old!
She is such a little monkey. She crawls everywhere and over everything. Nothing seems to get in her way. She can stand up against a flat wall now, which seems to be the last milestone before they start working on walking. She's got fantastic balance.
This is how I find her always now. She only wants to be standing. I forecast she'll be walking in the next month, two at most. She's just starting to see that she could take steps besides just stand up and based on how she does everything else, once she realizes it's possible she'll be off to the races.
Her siblings are her other favorite thing right now besides eating everything in sight. She loves all of them and lights up when they play with here. Aaron is already noticing her encroaching on his space and he's not that happy about it, ha! Hopefully they'll figure it out. She loves him and he's like girl, you are in my space.
At nine months Chloe puts everything in her mouth. She eats like a champ. She often sleeps through the night, particularly if she liked dinner. She is a bit shy around strangers these days, but is always willing to smile and be charming. She's finally growing a tad bit of hair. It's looking blonder all the time. She's at such a great stage and I'm particularly happy that it looks like she'll start walking soonish so that she will be more independently mobile with warm weather coming. Some parents don't want their kids to walk. I'm like bring it on! Then we can go outside and you won't be in the dirt with all the biting bugs and junk we have here. So we will see how it goes.
The other day I was laying on the floor next to her and she stood up against me and then let go and stood independently for a second. Whoa girl! You're not even nine months old!
She is such a little monkey. She crawls everywhere and over everything. Nothing seems to get in her way. She can stand up against a flat wall now, which seems to be the last milestone before they start working on walking. She's got fantastic balance.
This is how I find her always now. She only wants to be standing. I forecast she'll be walking in the next month, two at most. She's just starting to see that she could take steps besides just stand up and based on how she does everything else, once she realizes it's possible she'll be off to the races.
Her siblings are her other favorite thing right now besides eating everything in sight. She loves all of them and lights up when they play with here. Aaron is already noticing her encroaching on his space and he's not that happy about it, ha! Hopefully they'll figure it out. She loves him and he's like girl, you are in my space.
At nine months Chloe puts everything in her mouth. She eats like a champ. She often sleeps through the night, particularly if she liked dinner. She is a bit shy around strangers these days, but is always willing to smile and be charming. She's finally growing a tad bit of hair. It's looking blonder all the time. She's at such a great stage and I'm particularly happy that it looks like she'll start walking soonish so that she will be more independently mobile with warm weather coming. Some parents don't want their kids to walk. I'm like bring it on! Then we can go outside and you won't be in the dirt with all the biting bugs and junk we have here. So we will see how it goes.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Ode to PhDs
I have a lot of friends and family that have gotten PhDs. It never fails, if you ask them about the details they have some story of how it was so difficult to finish. I guess we still needed to live that part of our PhD story. We couldn't just smooth sail to completion like it seemed was happening. The internet isn't really a place to go into details, but suffice it to say that the timeline just got pushed back an indeterminate amount and there is more work than expected before Bill finishes. So here's to keeping on dreaming of the future when school is done and living in the reality of a bit more time here. I'm registering Genevieve for kindergarten and hoping we won't actually be here that long, but hey, it's in the realm of reason.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Chloe at 8 Months
Chloe at eight months is adventurous. She's always finding things to chew on. She puts everything in her mouth. Case in point, she's fascinated by the cords under my desk.
Chloe at eight months loves food. She eats everything we give her. She has two little teeth and she seems to be able to eat anything remotely chewable.
Chloe at eight months is way more clingy than she's ever been. She likes to smile and interact with people still, but safely from my arms. She used to let anyone hold her. Now, not so much. I spent the whole weekend in Utah with her in my arms while she charmed everyone she met.
Chloe at eight months sleeps through the night again! She took a 10-week hiatus from that skill, but she's remembered how to do it. She's slept through four of the last five nights. It's blissful. Maybe after a few weeks of this my sleep deficit will diminish and I won't feel so tired all the dang time.
At eight months Chloe loves to babble. She shakes her head and thinks it's so funny. She loves her siblings. She gets made when folks leave her behind. She's crawling like crazy and starting to pull up on things. I forecast an early walker but we'll see how it goes.
At eight months Chloe is still completely attached to her white knitted blanket. She will not sleep without it. She wraps it around her hand, sticks her thumb in her mouth, rolls onto her stomach in a little child's pose position and sleeps. She naps several times a day and those naps are stretching longer and longer. We spend a lot more time at home because a sleeping Chloe is a happy Chloe.
She's an adventurer. She's loved beyond reason by her siblings. It's so cute to watch them be gentle with her. Well, not always gentle, but they sure do love her.
Chloe at eight months loves food. She eats everything we give her. She has two little teeth and she seems to be able to eat anything remotely chewable.
Chloe at eight months is way more clingy than she's ever been. She likes to smile and interact with people still, but safely from my arms. She used to let anyone hold her. Now, not so much. I spent the whole weekend in Utah with her in my arms while she charmed everyone she met.
Chloe at eight months sleeps through the night again! She took a 10-week hiatus from that skill, but she's remembered how to do it. She's slept through four of the last five nights. It's blissful. Maybe after a few weeks of this my sleep deficit will diminish and I won't feel so tired all the dang time.
At eight months Chloe loves to babble. She shakes her head and thinks it's so funny. She loves her siblings. She gets made when folks leave her behind. She's crawling like crazy and starting to pull up on things. I forecast an early walker but we'll see how it goes.
At eight months Chloe is still completely attached to her white knitted blanket. She will not sleep without it. She wraps it around her hand, sticks her thumb in her mouth, rolls onto her stomach in a little child's pose position and sleeps. She naps several times a day and those naps are stretching longer and longer. We spend a lot more time at home because a sleeping Chloe is a happy Chloe.
She's an adventurer. She's loved beyond reason by her siblings. It's so cute to watch them be gentle with her. Well, not always gentle, but they sure do love her.
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