It’s been SO long since I’ve shared a “three things” post. I saw a favorite blogger to do it a few years ago and love how it’s a quick update on how everyone is doing and what we’ve been up to.
Of course, we are still in the middle of a pandemic, tense election, and one of the biggest fights for racial justice we’ve ever seen. As the saying goes, it’s fine, I’m fine. BUT despite the feeling of being in the Groundhog Day movie since March, navigating working from home, helping two kids navigate virtual learning, ALL while entertaining a toddler- life continues to chug away despite it all.
* Sullivan is now just over a month and half before he turns the big TWO. He weighs about 24 pounds and is about 2 feet 10 inches (from his last well child check in September) He's entered a hit and miss stage with eating- but his favorites are yogurt, pasta, and smoothies. Hates any and all meat and will literally find the ground beef in his pasta sauce and spit it out. He used to LOVE peas and blueberries but won't touch them for anything anymore.
*Loves anything with wheels. Cars, trucks, tractors, you name it- he loves it. He tends to always have an automobile in hand, including at mealtime and bedtime. He also loves to sit in/on anything that moves. If it has wheels or he *thinks* it will move, if he fits in it, he will sit in it. He has maneuvered his way onto chairs and cars for dolls, baby strollers, and small and large pull/push toys.
*We've started to introduce him to the potty. After diaper changes, I always offer him to sit on the potty. At first it was fun, then the novelty wore off and he would sit and then get up right away, but recently he's been sitting on there for longer and more consistently. He also tells us when he wants us to change his diaper. I still strongly believe that you have to follow their lead and do it when they're ready- here's a post about our approach if you're interested :)
*Is a tall drink of water and we constantly get asked if Saidey and Sophia are twins. Saidey grew 3 inches in one year. She definitely hit a growth spurt and nothing fits. She also hit a big milestone this summer when she stopped sucking her thumb completely! SO proud of her- there was some bribing and yucky nail polish involved but it worked! The polish we used here .
*Is doing virtual learning and does mostly well with it. The only struggle- writing. it's the one thing on her independent learning plan that we've fought over and cried tears over. she will "forget" to do it and everyday we go over her plan, we have to sit and do it together.
*Saidey started horse riding lessons about three weeks ago. We stopped gymnastics in March and have decided not to return quite yet. We wanted her to still be involved with something but in a safe way and felt comfortable with private lessons. She gets to ride at the same time as Sophia and let's just say- it's been a good challenge for her and it does not come easy for her like gymnastics did. We will see if she keeps up with it.
* This girl has taken on virtual learning like a CHAMP. I am SO proud of her and I think she has grown so much maturity wise. She manages her own schedule and gets her work done.
*We let Sophia participate in a few horse shows towards the end of the summer/early fall and I am so impressed and proud with Sophia's confidence and growth. I never would have anticipated that she would go out on a 1,000 (guessing) pound animal in front of people. she has so much fun and is so proud of her progress.
* Sophia has become quite the baker. She loves searching for recipes, gathering her list for ingredients, and then baking. She's found some recipes online and has made them all on her own. She expressed interest in doing a cooking YouTube show but we'll see about that- I'm not sure we're quite ready for that yet. One of her favorite recipes is an Oreo frappucino- it is quite tasty- I will give her that!
*Will started a new job at a different company about a week ago. Not too much to report this early on but hoping he adjusts and it's a good fit! He's such a hard and loyal worker so they're lucky to have him =)
*We've gotten into a pretty good groove with our routines of working from home and virtual learning. There are some days that are hectic and emotions can get heightened but we're managing overall.
Most insurance companies are saying they are covering telehealth through January 2021 so I've decided to continue to provide only telehealth to clients through then and reevaluate the next steps at that time. Telehealth is a whole new set of skills and challenges but I've gotten used to it and so have my clients.
*This could probably a whole post in of itself but we decided to confirm our trip we had planned for end of November. It’s been in the works for over a year as far as planning and budgeting. I still second guess our decision everyday but we have weighed the pros/cons/risks, and are planning ahead for safe travels. We are self quarantining for two weeks before we leave- since we all work and go to school at home anyway- it won't be too hard. We will plan on getting groceries and travel needs before and if we do need anything- we will do grocery pick up/delivery. We also plan to quarantine two weeks after we get home as well, and again due to working from home and virtual learning- makes this easy to do.
We are staying in a VRBO house so once we get there- we will need to do a few errands, like get groceries but mostly will be at the house and the beach/outdoor activities. We are traveling to an area with very very low case numbers as well. The main risk is at the airport. We are flying Delta and feel confident in their safety measures- masks required, middle seat unoccupied, etc. The girls do well wearing their masks and Sullivan (although he is not required to wear one) has started "training" and wears his mask quite well. Our longest flight is 3.5 hours- so they may have to take their masks off to eat a snack/drink but we hope to keep that minimal and encourage them to put their masks on between bites ha.
So, there's three things (and then some) about what's been going on with us!
I have a feeling this week will go fast- the girls don't have school on Friday so I only scheduled a few clients earlier in the day so that we can start getting ready for Friday night. Our town has trick or treat night the night BEFORE Halloween. We decided to stay home and do our own version- the kids will still dress up, they'll find candy in our yard/inside, and then we'll do a movie night with Halloween themed food and snacks.
Have a great week and I'm hoping to write a post for Friday about lessons I've learned from the pandemic. There are quite a few haha so stay tuned for that!