New skills

 Written by Guinevere, but posted by me:

The kids are all well. Jolly decided that he's going to do the kids' marathon in November while I do the grown-up version (he gets to divide his 26 miles over however many months he likes and does the last mile at the finish line), and I'm excited about channeling his perpetual motion into a forward trajectory. The other thing I'm excited about is that we can focus on how athletes need to eat carbs and protein, which are food groups that he currently doesn't always acknowledge. (Last night for dinner, Rip had at least half a lb of salmon, but probably a good bit more, while Jolly had a few plain raw snap peas after wrapping and unwrapping them in a variety of napkins for a while.) (Jolly has lost the mass battle to Rip but he's shooting up in height, so he's probably getting what he needs from the things he does occasionally eat. Either that or he's an epiphyte.) Jolly is grappling with lots of big issues ("When will you DIE?") which is keeping things interesting, and he's generally backed off on the tremendous stinker behavior which is very appreciated.

Rip is a lot of fun right now. He's hit the "WHY?" stage, which is entertaining, and he's got a very good sense of humor and is telling increasingly sophisticated jokes. He's mastering colors and is currently trying to figure out turquoise and other in-between shades (he is particularly charmed by the fact that salmon is SALMON colored). He also using the potty for its intended use (not just as a fetching hat).  It was mostly his idea, and his parents and brother are acting as a cheerleading team and providing short truck videos as rewards.  I really appreciate the fact that our children are not all being difficult in the same way. (Like Jolly whines and Rip tantrums, and when each is happening I can focus on how nice it is that it's a break from the other.) Rip is currently on a big sensory bin kick (sensory bin tub of pinto beans for scooping and truck-driving-in) and also coloring and using bingo daubers and cutting things with scissors. He also likes to wander about outside all by himself (Jolly is currently going on an outside-strike) and help in the kitchen and hold the baby. It's all really cute, because he does pretty much everything with such tremendously happy glee.

I am hoping that Tammy will chose New and Different ways still to rebel when the time comes, but right now she's going through a lot of baby pterodactyl noises and also laughing and squealing and it's all pretty delightful. She's continuing to sleep better than we can discuss openly with most people, and she spends her waking moments perfecting her kicks and doing reverse crunches. She recently figured out how to grab her own feet, and she's started playing with toys (yesterday she grabbed a rattle that Rip had left next to her and waved it around for a while). Her growth patterns are really consistent as per her well-child visit today- she's still spot on her growth curves around the 75%ile in height, 50%ile in weight and 75%ile in head circumference, and 25%ile weight for length. Otherwise, we've discovered that Tammy is, although not routinely spituppy, a truly spectacular barfer when you try to give her medicines or vaccines orally, and it's a very convenient thing that she's not the one of our children taking meds via a syringe every 12 hours. All works out wonderfully, really.


Tammy's adoption was fantastic. I really love that we are now recognized by our home state fully in all ways, and also by the federal government, and I enjoy that we can force backwards entities like my home country to recognize our family by a decree of adoption. The ceremony was lovely and I sobbed my way through the whole thing, in spite of the moments of levity of big brothers requesting gummy bears and announcing the presence of crayons in a bin.


We went out to the same Ethiopian restaurants that we used to be regulars at before we moved off-island, and which we went to after the two previous adoptions. Not only did Tammy not spill water on me, but the boys are sort of at a stage of comporting themselves in restaurants that enables restaurant experiences with our children to be JUST LIKE what I imagined restaurant experiences with children to be like, before actually having children. We ordered a veggie combo, an assortment of many different lentily/vegetably dishes served on a giant teff-flour sourdough pancake, and in spite of having been plyed with most-favorite snacks during the afternoon and not having encountered Ethiopian food in the past two years, the boys tried everything with enthusiasm. Both of them. Rip was delighted to be able to showcase his color knowledge. "I want more pink bread!" (beet-soaked injera). "I want the YELLOW one." And with the addition of some sticker books, they totally behaved themselves reasonably well as dining companions, too. Amazing, especially after an afternoon of sitting in carseats and courtrooms, running on no nap.