Ahhh (A July 13 Post)

Note: This post was composed and supposed to be posted on July 13. Internet issues delayed the posting. So by "today", I mean July 13. And if you know me at all, you know I need to type this because you know it is driving my Type A little self nuts to have the blog date NOT match the actual date of this post's composition. But I feel a little better with the parenthetical in my blog title. Because historical accuracy for this blog is a matter of paramount import!!! (Ok, that last bit is tongue in cheek. I am neurotic but in a self-aware kind of way.)

Started today with a walk outside with the boys. It was wonderfully morale boosting to be outside moving around and taking in the world and people around us. Micah loves riding our neighbor's little tricycle/big wheel type toy and I love watching him pedal with such purpose and enjoyment. There are lots of pretty flowers and trees to enjoy on our walk along with the various homes that we pass. At one point we heard women talking and when they passed us, I could see that they all had large baskets and containers balanced on their heads. It was such a cool moment because it is such a common sight here but a new sight for me and for the boys. I think walks outside the compound are a must!

Another source of the ahhh is that I found some promising crock.pot recipes online. Food options are different enough that some of my go to dishes are not so much a go. And food prep can be more complicated here, so something as easy as a good old crock.pot is very appealing.

Kid Updates:

Tiras continues to be very active and on the move. It's hard to believe that it has been just a few weeks that he has been walking and that he was a crawler when we arrived. Stages shift so dramatically at this age! He is very playful and the sound of his very merry laughter when wiggling around during a diaper change or an attempt to dress him is one of the happiest sounds I know. He laughs and laughs as if I am in on the joke. He also thinks it is hilarious to feed me and to try and brush his own teeth.

Not a lot of Tiras quotes, of course. He seems to have paragraphs to say, and he does say them. However, at this point, said paragraphs are in his own particular Tirasian dialect. He does say "hello", "goodbye", and "thank you". He is prone to pick up a cell phone or similarly shaped object and say "hello" and then launch into a conversation with an imaginary caller. He also says "no" and "uh uh". Whereas he once upon a time said yes EVERY time he so much as heard the inflection of a questioning tone, be it directed to him or to somebody else, nowadays I can't remember the last time we heard an affirmative response to a query.

Micah has made friends with the neighbor's dogs and is now asking for a dog of his own. Since he was initially skittish around our neighbor's fur babies, it is great to see him so enthusiastic about them.

Micah also gave me some sage advice last night. Sternly delivered as you will see:

Micah: I think you should come to bed at the same time I go to bed.

Me: Replied something about having to get a few things done. This precipitated a very emphatic response.

Micah: You said the same thing last night and you didn't get enough sleep. This is un-ceptable (unacceptable). Now we are going through the same thing all over again today.

I thought about what he had to say and about how I had dragged all through the day and I went ahead and followed Micah's advice and woke up feeling quite wonderful for it!