There has been lots going on in the Soto household! Some fun, but all crazy busy! This will throw things out of chronological order (which will make a little crazy... er), but I don't have time to catch up on the photo aspect of this journaling yet. But I need to at least do a quick update, because we leave for Buffalo in a week! Yes, finally Marek will get to meet his Puerto Rican kin. We are so excited to finally see everyone again! The last time we were there, it was only for 1.5 days, and Ellison was just turning 3. Yikes! Without further adieu...
For starters, Marek starting crawling on September 5! He was getting pretty mobile as it was, but now he's officially working all 4s together. It's the cutest thing. But he is definitely different than his sis - he is into EVERYTHING! Just when you think you're ahead of him, he quickly puts you back into reality. This babyproofing is proving more difficult this time around, because Bubba seems to have an affinity for cords! Yes, I often turn around to see him trying to chew cords (that are plugged into big electronics, mind you)! He has this internal radar that quickly hones in on any electronic device, and that's all he can think about. And speaking of what a little mover he is, he's SUCH A WORM!!! I have never before come out of a diaper changing session sweaty and second-guessing the efficacy of my deodorant. It's like WWE trying to change his clothes or his diaper. He's a maniac. But a darn cute one. Silly boy. One thing that works (if we're on the floor changing him), is to hold my foot up in front of his face while doing the job at the speed of light. He has a total thing for toes! So I've had to work on the agility of my right lower extremity so I can simultaneously wiggle my toes in front of him to keep him centered for the task at hand.
We had to lower Marek's crib to the lowest level, much to the dismay of my back. He gave us each a heart attack over the past few days, as we saw him on the monitor nearly pulling himself up to stand. He's trying so hard to stand up on his own now.
We've realized how to get Ellison's attention. Jonathan and I are in the process of making our own infomercials to instill life lessons in our girl. We realized we needed to use media after we had these conversations with her:
*(Climbing up next to me on the sofa one day): "Mom, you and Dad need to buy me Gerber Term Life Plan so I can go to college."
*"We really need to get the Sunsetter awning for our deck so we can sit out there more. It's retractable, you know." And the follow-up to this came a few days later as we were going through a magazine, "Look, see Mom? There's the Sunsetter." And sure enough, it was.
I'm praying she doesn't start asking for tampons after seeing Playtex commercials on TV.
But once in a while, she shows us that she is, indeed, listening to what we say. After Grandma asked her to do something for her (that visit to be documented soon), Ellison gently stated, "Gram, you need to learn to be more independent."
On another note, Ellison won her very first prize last week. Gram, Ell, Marek, and I all had to go shopping for some things, and we stopped at Lifeway Christian Store for a few things. It happened to be a Veggie Tales party-thingy going on, complete with Larry and Bob mascots, refreshments, etc. I entered both the kids in a drawing, and a couple of days later they called to let me know Ellison's name was drawn. That was exciting - she won a computer game, some DVDs, some books, and a devotional. Fun!
Ellison's loving school! As hard as it is to have everybody completely ready to tackle the day so early in the morning, and as tired as Ellison is, our mornings run pretty darn smooth (knock on wood). She seems to be thriving on a daily schedule like this, though she is one wiped out cookie.
It's been a hard, exhausting week, with lots of working, but one thing that put a ray of sunshine in it - we had great success at our first consignment sale! I am a happy camper! It made all of that hard work feel a little more worthwhile. One down, one to go. By this weekend, it will ALL BE DONE!
[September 14, 2011]
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