So. What did you do today?

This is a conversation Joshua and I have frequently these days. It is so sweet to see his awareness of others and watch his mind grasp new social skills. Joshua has recently realized that I wake up before him. As we sit down to breakfast, he asks me about everything I have done so far. The conversation usually ends with a few rounds of: "And what ELSE did you do? And what ELSE?" I think Joshua's favorite part is the end of the story when I say, "... and then, I got my Joshua out of bed!"

Bumper cars

Well, folks, I am trying to get back in the habit of posting. However, we are leaving on Friday for about a week, so it isn't going to happen soon!

We find ourselves in a very new season all of a sudden. Each morning, I get the kids up. It is straight to the potty for Joshua (!), and straight to the changing table for Ellie. They both promptly go to their respective vehicles, and then they go nuts until I get breakfast on the table. People who aren't around during these times have said, "Well, that sounds good; they are entertaining themselves!" Yes. Yes. Well, for a moment... that is, until one is going to fast in the game of chase or the other gets stuck between a car and a wall or one runs over the other one's toes... you get the idea! It is fun to hear their delighted shrieks and watch them become friends as they grow.

In case anyone out there hasn't heard, we will welcome Baby Balch #3 in January. We are so excited, and it is fun to be able to talk about the baby with Joshua.

Sibling non-rivalry

Maybe I have posted a lot about Joshua and Ellie together, but it is just too sweet, and I appreciate it every day... so I will continue to talk about it! Joshua has picked up on several phrases we have worked on teaching him. (Phew... finally!) He runs into the house and announces when he is "home", he says "thank you" (sometimes,) and he ALWAYS remembers to say "Morning, Ellie!" or "Morning, Elle-Belle!" whenever she wakes up. I encourage him be telling him that some day she will answer him when he greets her! There bath times overlap from time to time simply because they have so much fun. I am trying to think about what they do together, but I think they pretty much get excited, laugh, and squeal. Ellie flaps her arms in an effort to handle her delight, and Joshua scoots around and shares toys with her.

Getting ready for the day

Clean diapers: check!
Breakfast: Check!
Taking a break before the clothes part :)

Saturday!

When Ellie wakes up first, she sits with Joshua in his crib for a minute.

Mornings are a juggling act, especially since Ellie started eating from a spoon. We have a pretty decent rhythm, and it goes something like this:

• Joshua talks for a little while; I go in and get him. He tells me about things, and then he gets out of bed. He asks for crackers, and when I say, "no crackers for breakfast," he asks for cereal. Every. Morning. :) I gauge from his mood whether it is worth the diaper change battle right away. Sometimes, I go for it. Other times, I wait until after he has eaten. He hasn't realized that it feels great to shed that 5 pound overnight diaper!
• We go into the kitchen, and Joshua gets a bowl for his cereal. He eats cereal and yogurt most mornings with the occasional scrambled egg. During the breakfast moments, enter: Ellie
• She hears Joshua, and she starts to talk. Joshua is very insistent that she needs to get up!
• Diaper change for Ellie; she usually gets dressed for the day
• bottle and food for Ellie at the table with Joshua
• Everyone finishes, and we move on to getting Joshua dressed (Mommy has been showered and dressed for hours... ready for game time!)
• gather a sippy cup for Joshua, a car toy and burp cloth for Ellie
  
• We are in the car by 8:30 most mornings for our daily outing!

Good morning to you!

I love mornings with our kids. It helps that I am a morning person, and it also helps that our kids never wake up before 7 these days. In fact, they usually both sleep until 7:30 or even 8! In the morning, I go and get Ellie as soon as I hear her. She usually starts her day by talking or hiccuping. Such sweet sounds! I peek over the side of the crib and start to talk to her. She perks up and looks around a little. I am greeted with a smile. I continue talking to her and patting her, but I realize this window is short-lived. If I wait too long to pick her up, she realizes it has been soooo long since dinner, and she is HUNGRY!:-) So off we go to eat. At some point during her breakfast, I hear David and Joshua in the back of the house. Joshua is happily telling David all of the things he has been pondering while he waited to get out of his bed. Joshua comes thumping into the living room to greet everyone. His first two requests are usually for milk and music. He loves to dance to music, and he asks for it throughout the day. Ellie's eyes get wide as Joshua gets more and more active. And our day begins!

Playtime for Ellie

Our morning routine these days is as follows:

1. Mommy and Ellie wake up; Ellie eats.



2. Ellie lays on the floor... usually continuing to snooze.



3. Daddy and Joshua wake up; everyone else eats.

The last day or two, Ellie has decided to wake up and "play" a little bit more. She was looking at a book this morning when Joshua came into the kitchen and decided to read it to her. He is such a sweet big brother!

Coffee grooves

Joshua loves to dance. He loves music and rhythm. When he hears music, he often bounces or waves his hands around. In the mornings, when David stirs his coffee, Joshua waves his hands around to the "song" of the spoon scraping the bottom of the mug.

Chaos!

We had a group at our house this morning, and I had to share about our time. A year ago, there was typically one toddler with us. Now, we have a 2 1/2 year-old, a 7 month old baby, and a 3 month old baby. Things started smoothly as we gathered and chatted. Joshua was extra fussy as he has been lately, so I put him down for a nap as usual. No problem. A man rang our doorbell to measure our windows for screens, (yay!), so I showed him around the apartment. I was carrying the 3 month-old at this point. As our time progressed, the 3 month-old went down for a nap in our bedroom, and our landlord rang the doorbell to make sure the "screen man" had come. I showed him our water heater for the third time; he has been fixing it for 5 days now. His little girl wanted so badly to play in Joshua's room and didn't understand why she couldn't. 3 month-old is crying at this point, and our friends are carrying on in the living room. Potty training 2 1/2 year-old is whining and hollering about "Pee-pee!" and treats every 10 minutes or so. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. It was very lively and humorous.

A Cumbersome Cup of Coffee

David got me a French press for Christmas. I really wanted one so that I wouldn't be forced to resort to instant coffee when we don't have electricity. Some people prefer coffee from a French press. I enjoy it, but it takes a little bit more effort than an automatic coffee pot. This morning, I boiled water, measured coffee, and set up the French press to steep. Four minutes later, I went to push the strainer down, and it came apart inside the beaker. Bummer. I think I must not have screwed it together very well after I used it last. Not wanting to waste the coffee... especially since I just heard Starbuck's in Beirut increased the price of coffee by roughly 70%... I used a hand-held strainer and poured the coffee through it to avoid drinking the grounds. All in all, I have to say that it was worth the effort!