December 25, 2013
I know I’m 23 days past due, but I’d like to give a review
of Orion’s growth over this past year.
He still plays dolls with Omega but it’s becoming less and
less interesting to him. You can tell from the following pictures that it's Omega who usually comes up with the ideas of what to play...
His masculinity is definitely starting to be more noticeable. He loves cars, trucks, tractors and trains. Often on Sunday mornings he’ll say with a sweet yet desperate voice, “Daddy, will you play cars with me?” He has started to notice that he's not quite like Omega and I. He really needs male influences and fellowship. I'm glad David takes his role seriously and makes time to teach him manly things and be a godly role model Orion can imitate.
I'll be honest. David really knows how to help Orion much better than I. I want to get the book "Love and Respect in the Home" by Emmerson Eggerich so I can learn how to show respect to Orion.
This is what he does when he gets to decide what to play.
Little by little he is gaining more independence and
personality apart from Omega. So far he’s been her little parrot. We still have
a hard time in worship when we ask a question, Omega is first to answer and
then he just repeats what she says. When we started homeschooling (translate: Doing
one hour of phonics per day), Orion didn’t know what to do with himself. He was
unbearably lonely and at a loss for what he could do that would be fun by
himself. Now, he’s a little more comfortable without Omega but still definitely
prefers to play with her. Bottom line: They're best friends.
Favorites –
- They both look forward to staying in hotels
because they like going swimming, and it’s especially fun when Daddy gets to
play with them.
- His favorite toys are kiwi’s (little stuffed
animals) and cars/tractors.
- He loves riding bikes. We finally got him a bike
that fits his legs and which the chain doesn’t fall off. When we went to SOULS
they spent the week biking around the loop.
- One of Omega’s favorite past times is listening to
me read her a story. Orion’s not quite as fond of that unless there are
pictures. I think the books I’m trying to read are over his head and he can’t
follow along. I need to be sensitive to that. But, he does love watching you
tube videos with Daddy. They watch the Discovery channel “How It’s Made” a lot.
And they watch videos about helicopters and motorcycles too.
Linguistic Quirks–
·
He can say his R’s now. I think this development
happened sometime in the summer. So, no more baby pronunciations. Some words
are still cute, like “amblueyence” and “breakfrist”
·
Tonight I heard him copying something David says
frequently, “Bad day” like in the context of an accident and you say, “Oh…bad
day for that guy!” And, I’ve also heard him copy something I say, “Oh dear!”
·
He’s been having more and more control over his
emotions and verbal expressions when he doesn’t get what he wants or someone
crosses him. More and more he actually pauses and says, “Mom I’m having a hard
time with Omega, can you help me?” instead of getting angry.
·
One of his oft repeated sayings is “Mom, I’m
hungry.” (usually about 30 minutes before it’s time to eat)
Bedtime – Our bedtime rituals have evolved
yet again. Usually I read a story on Omega’s bed with my head on the feet side
so I don’t get sleepy. They snuggle on each side of me, and they have
particular sides they always go on.
After that I have talky/play snuggle time with each of them (5 minutes)
and then “huggy/kissy snuggle” where I pet their face and “do their back.”
Recently, after I’ve left the room and said goodnight they’ll call me and say
they’re scared. I go back into pray with them and lay next to them for a few
minutes until they fall asleep. What are they scared of? A few months ago we
had an illegal come barreling into our driveway at full speed and circled our
house, then weaved around the garage and barn and flew through “garden #2”,
breaking several T posts. It was rather frightening for her and ever since then
she doesn’t want to go into a room by herself. Our neighbor’s car also got
stolen by illegals while they were at church and the intern guys’ house got
food and shoes stolen from them while they were at work. We’ve had just a few
too many incidents with illegals and we are eager to move. For the play-snuggle time Orion
usually wants me to play “Kiwi’s” with him or cars.
Eating habits –
- He still likes desserts.
- He actually really likes salad too, as long as
it has “yeast flakes dressing.” They like that on their rice too (It’s a simple
recipe with oil, lemon, braggs, yeast flakes and peanut butter).
- Biscuits and gravy is a favorite food as well as
cornbread.
- They both like plain cheerios with soymilk and
of course they could eat toast with butter and yeast flakes and fruit for every
meal and be very happy.
- They love popsicles, even water popsicles if we
don’t have any juice or smoothie.
- He REALLY likes banana ice cream (just frozen
banana blended in the Vitamix with no water.)
- He likes
helping me in the kitchen as long as I let him taste test things. He’s usually
hungry before anyone else and will readily help if he perceives there is something
to much on while he does it (especially popcorn on Friday night).
- Lately they’ve really enjoyed eating on the
counters.
I let them sit up there when I’m getting their breakfast ready and
sometimes we’ll just stay there and they’ll eat while I clean up the kitchen (I
usually eat breakfast before they wake up). Then at supper, since David and I
have stopped eating then, they just stay in the kitchen instead of going to the
dining room table to eat. It just feels more cozy and laid back to sit on a
counter. It’s easier to clean up too.
Last year I prayed that Orion would develop a servant’s
heart. I bought him tractor pajama’s because I wanted to be reminded to pray
for him to work hard like a tractor. Since then I've become a little more
organized in regard to chores. I read a book called “Managers of their Chores”
which gave me a little more direction and motivation for how to implement
expectations and see them followed through. (“You can only expect what you
inspect” was a little gem I picked up in that book!) I need to do a little more
tweaking but as far as “chores” go, he makes his bed, gets dressed, puts his
pajama’s away, turns off the salt rock night light, unloads the dishwasher,
washes dishes, wipes the table, cleans up toys, and helps with meal prep
throughout the course of the day. You may read this and feel really impressed,
but let me tell you, this too is still a work in progress. It takes a lot of
prodding, and a hovering presence to see that it gets done. I’m still learning
how to motivate and instruct without getting impatient. Playing while he works
is still so irresistible.
One of the activities we came up with to teach work ethic
was “Little Helper’s Kitchen.” We basically turned our dining room into a
restaurant and sewed matching aprons and a created a menu that people could
order from. We have showed it to church family and neighbors and they order a
week in advance so I can get the right ingredients. The kids help me make the
food and then when the customer’s show up, they open the door, greet them, show
them to their seat and fill their water cups. They bring them a menu, take
their order and then serve their food. When they are done they clear the table,
give them their check and provide change if needed. Then they help me clean up
the kitchen when the customer leaves. So far we’ve earned $125 from three sets
of customers!
This next year I’m continuing to pray for a strong work
ethic. “The very best legacy which parents can leave their children is a
knowledge of useful labor and the example of a life characterized by
disinterested benevolence” {AH 390.1} If by God’s grace he can learn to work
hard and do it cheerfully, without complaining or delaying, I will feel like a
very successful mother. I really want to look for opportunities this next year
to serve others. My kids MUST experience the joy of service regularly and
habitually. I need to make it happen more frequently.
About mid January David left for Fresno. I only lasted about a week and a half without him. It was surprisingly very stressful to not have him around. I had a hard time sleeping because I couldn't cuddle with him, and I think what made it so hard was not knowing how long our separation would last. After getting a new realtor and some other things in place, I took off with the kids to Fresno too. We went from our spacious 4 bedroom house to a 5th wheel. Here's where we've been staying.
It's a bit cramped but I'm thankful we are together.
I also miss Marilyn's bread and free organic tomatoes and other farm
fresh produce (although being here we've had all you can eat oranges!
and farm fresh produce is on it's way). I miss the quietness (we are
right next to an airport where loud jets scream through the air, and a
train loves to chime and where traffic never stops).
