April 9, 2012

  • Grant has been really fussy lately.  If he runsinto problems or wants something, he just suddenly starts crying loudly.  It’s getting really old.  He was pretty awful yesterday at my mom’shouse for Easter dinner.  I wonder if it’sbecause he’s changing a lot right now? He’s trying to do so many more things, and is frustrated when he can’t.  For about a week he tried to put his shoes onby himself, and he would cry and yell because he couldn’t do it, but also yelland say he didn’t need help.  It was alot of yelling.  And then one day he sortof figured it out.  He got his socks andshoes on by himself.  They were on, ifnot on perfectly.  Yesterday he got themon the wrong feet, and no one noticed till my aunt saw him at church.  He’s also trying to put on his pants byhimself, with mixed results.  He getsupset if I don’t understand what he’s saying. Usually I’m pretty good, but sometimes not.  I will kind of repeat what he said, and he’llusually say “yeah”.  But a few times Idon’t get it right, and I have to keep guessing as to what he was saying, andhe starts getting pretty upset.  He likesto tell me in a commanding (and slightly desperate tone), “Hear my voice!!!”  That really cracks me up.  That is NOT a phrase that I ever use.  I would say “listen to me” or “listen to whatI am saying”, not “Hear my voice!”  I tryto tell him that I was listening, and I do hear his voice, but I can’t quitetell what he’s saying.  Last night he wastalking about looking for something, but I couldn’t tell what.  I kept guessing things, and he kept gettingmadder and madder that I didn’t know what he was saying.  He said it was “yellow and nice”, so I kept guessingdandelions (because he loves to go out and pick dandelions with Madeleine, andthey pile them up in the basket of her tricycle).  And he would get soooo mad.  I started playing 20 questions… is it in ourhouse?  At Haley and Tegan’s house?  Outside? Inside?  And he kept trying tobreak down crying and not answer my questions anymore, but I somehow convincedhim (barely) that I was trying my best and just keep helping me.  And finally I guessed “thunderstorms”, andthat was it!  He wanted to look out thewindow for thunderstorms.  We had finallyhad our first two nights with lightning last week, and for some reason heremembered and decided to look for them again. Sadly, our next potential forecast for thunderstorms is in 10 days (onthe 10-day forecast), so that’s a no-go. 

    I had Granttake a nap yesterday, so that he wouldn’t be so cranky at Easter dinner, but asI mentioned, he was rather awful.  Butthen he stayed up really late, and I had to get up early with Madeleine.  So when the kids were at their grandparentsthis afternoon, I mostly just slept.  NowI’m writing.  They’ll be home soon, and I’vehardly done anything.  I guess thankgoodness for grandparents.  I just wish Ihad gotten my lego project advanced today. Oh well. 

    This morningMadeleine had her test for entrance into the dual-language program nextyear.  It’d be nice if she could get in,because it would give her something to learn. She pretty much already knows what kids learn in kindergarten, so it’dbe nice for her to use the time to learn Spanish.  I asked her how the test went.  It was about 15 minutes with the principal ofthe school.  Madeleine said she just hadto point to things, such as a ball.  That’sthe only one she says she remembered. She also said there was one thing she didn’t know, but that everythingelse was easy.  Who knows.  I guess we’ll wait and see.  And if she doesn’t get in, she can stilllearn Spanish someday. 

    Madeleinehas really been making the cutest little things lately.  She made a ladybug by cutting out all theparts, the body, the wings, the head, and taping them together and drawing cutedecorations on them, such as a face and spots. I ask her how she got so good at those kinds of things, and she said itwas because she was 5 now. 

    Hmm.   I can’t think of anything else right now,but I can think of lots of work I still need to go and do.  So… adieu!