By: Revanche

My kids and notes: Year 7.10

December 20, 2022

Life with JB

I found myself explaining US foreign policy, because they wanted to know why we didn’t think their auntie should go touristing in Iraq. We had to explain that generally speaking Iraqis don’t have much reason to like Americans and that led to how the US had used the CIA to secretly mess about elections in many places, including South America. We had to resort to using a fairly simple and potentially terrible analogy.

I could see my child-free friend’s eyes signalling they thought I was opening a dangerous door but I went with it anyway: it’s like if the neighbors decided that Dad and I weren’t doing a good job because they want us to do things for them and we aren’t. So they’d come here and take us away and replace us with new parents who would do what they wanted.

*pregnant pause*

JB: but I don’t want new parents.

PiC passing by: thanks!

Me: Right, so it didn’t matter what the people in those countries wanted. American politicians wanted specific leaders in power so they manipulated the elections, and put the leaders THEY wanted in power, even though it’s not our country and not our business.

I don’t know if they got it. I don’t doubt that most of it went over their heads.

Life with Smol Acrobat

All in one weekend, a bunch of words came together: up! bye!

Hug made it into the practice rotation (uck!) as did cut (ack! with a chopping hand motion). “Cuk!” = cook. “Book” is spot on. Love that. “Muk” for milk.

Used to be, they wouldn’t even try. They’d just babble a string of liquid sounding syllables or yell.

Conversations with them have been largely guesswork and mostly still are. We recently took a class on supporting speech for toddlers who are late developers and that’s helping us help them. We learned that their lack of mimicry has more to do with their not being ready than an inability and that just repeating the word that we want them to try 3-4 times, by itself, helps more than prompting. Oh. That sort of explains why they balked anytime we said “say bye!”

Now they enjoy saying bye out loud and on time, sometimes, which is neat. Some days they won’t STOP saying bye.

Also! PiC finally gets to be dada! He’s been designated “mama” for the past two years.

Pupdate

I went through old pictures of when we first brought Seamus to meet Sera at the rescue and brought her home with us. It made me so sad. She’s slowly warmed up to us but she loved him so much. As did we all.

She’s been hovering by me a lot more lately this month, which is unusual, but I kind of like it. Except when she follows me so closely I have no room to turn around.

Precious Moments

While giving Smol Acrobat their Tylenol, I mused aloud, I really should have given this to you before I brushed your teeth. They abruptly stopped halfway through drinking their water and slid off their bed.
Me: Where are you going?
They signed (vaguely) “toothbrush”.
Me: Oh! I was … ok. I was talking to myself buuuuut you understand words.

*****

Smol has gotten in the habit of taking their trike out for a ride but refusing to come home on the trike or under their own power. We’ve ended more than a few walks in tears because they demand to be carried and my bones demand non-compliance lest I am wrecked by carrying them.
Smol: “uck?” (hug)
Me: sure, HUG.
Smol: up?
Me: No, no up. Mama HELP. Mama will help you push it home.
Smol: Oh. Uck?
Me: Sure, I’ll give you a hug.
Smol, “now that you’re down here again!”: up!
Me: no up. Only HELP.
Smol: oh. *Shuffles feet* Ok.

*****

The kids found their little wind up bunny and chick toys, so they started playing with them and predictably one of them broke almost immediately.

JB complained, why doesn’t the bunny go far?

Me: might be that you messed with it too much when it was running, and it got a little broken. *test the bunny a few times*

Smol Acrobat grabs for the bunny.

Me: no, wait, Mama’s helping it right now. Hang on. It’s a little ouch ouch.

JB: it got SHOT.

Me: …..??!!

*****

I turned off the hood. Smol’s head popped up, issues guttural roars, pointing at the stove.

“I turned it off!”

Smol: *guttural roar”