I Want to Stay Six Forever

As you can see from the last post, I'm pretty overwhelmed.  It was a miracle today that Marcus decided to come with me to pick up the boys from school.  That was so nice, & I know BB really appreciated it. 

BB says he likes the school, that he has fun, & that he has made new friends.  But he says he doesn't want to go back; instead he wants to go to Nana & Papa's.  I think it's because it's new & different than what he was expecting a school to be.  He told them he was allergic to milk because he doesn't like to drink it.

Anyway, when Marcus left, as planned I gave the boys a snack & then started cooking while BB started his homework.  I try to brief him on the plan several times before actually doing it so there are no surprises when he has to not play games or watch TV.  Things went well for about 5 minutes or 1 page.  Then he was bored; it was taking too much of his time.  All of a sudden he didn't know how to count to 9.  (He totally knows how to count to 9).  I started explaining how to figure out the different combinations of 9 until it became completely clear that he wasn't listening & was only interested in whining his way out of doing homework. 

Okay BB, let me know when you're ready to try. 

I went back to cooking.  Almond Crusted Chicken with Broccoli & Rice (really Cauliflower Rice). 

He kept whining.  But it's so hard.  I can't figure it out.  I don't know how. 

BB, you figured out almost the same thing with every other number.  Use your counters (crayons) to help.  You know this answer.  You just need to focus & start thinking. 

We probably went back & forth like this for an hour.  There were a few times when he bolted out of the seat to go play or sulk on the couch.  I sternly told him to get back to the table; he was going to sit there until his homework was done.  No playing until he finished his homework.  Eventually I told him that it wouldn't hurt my feelings if he sat there all night, ate & then went to bed without playing. 

Finally finally finally, he decided to start trying.  Quickly he figured out the answers.  Then I walked him through figuring out the rest, how to use the crayons to figure out combinations to equal any number they gave him.  He worked diligently until dinner was ready. 

Somehow a miracle worker came along & possessed Isaiah to calmly & quietly go through books he found in a drawer during this whole trying to cook & help BB with his homework dilemma. 

We sat down to eat.  At first, BB said everything was good & was eating.  Then not so much.  Isaiah loved the Cauliflower Rice as did I.  And the broccoli.  But I overcooked the chicken, an art I have not come close to mastering because for some reason I'm always too afraid of undercooking.  But BB said everything was spicy.  I said if Isaiah the baby is eating it, it must not be that spicy.  I tried to explain the difference between saying something is spicy & just not liking it.  I said it was okay for him not to like it.  But I asked him to finish his broccoli.  He did. 

When he was done, he washed his hands, brushed his teeth, washed his face & changed into his jammies when I asked him to.  And I got in lots of cleaning.  I cleaned the counters, the table, the floor & picked up everything that Isaiah had thrown around the apartment. 

THEN, BB read a whole book to me & Isaiah.  Oh the Wonderful Sounds Mr Brown Can Do...  Wow, he did such a good job!!!  I feel like reading came so suddenly for him.  Isaiah was just playing & cracking up at his big brother the whole time. 

Bedtime for Isaiah - he went right to sleep.  Please stay that way Sweetheart.  BB sat down to finish his homework.  He worked quickly even though he said he was tired.  And we finished an entire "Topic"!  We were excited. 

Bedtime for BB - I said let's say a prayer.  He said his, Now I lay me down to sleep...  And I asked if I could say one too.  I thanked God for him & all the special time we were getting to spend with him & that he was able to hang out with his brother.  I asked God to give us more time to hang out with MB.  I thanked him for lots of things & asked for a lot.  BB told me to ask God to make the Gamefly come faster. 

I said tomorrow, maybe he could say some things to God too.  He said okay. 

He asked me why Jesus died on the cross.  I explained that because God made this rule a long time ago that said when we do bad things we have to sacrifice a real animal.  But we kept doing bad things over & over & God decided to send his son to be the sacrifice instead of all the animals, so that we would be forgiven & go to Heaven. 

He asked me if all of the people, God's people in Heaven not down here, are alive.  I said they were alive in a different way than us.  Like all of the thoughts & feelings called a soul or spirit are still alive. 

He asked me what will happen after I get old.  I said I would probably die. 

I want to stay six forever so I don't get old & die. 

I said, but BB, then you wouldn't get to do all the fun stuff that I get to do.  You'll get to go to more fun schools, get a job, make lots of money, drive cars, play lots of video games & have lots of girlfriends.

Come on!! 

He said he wished he was born in Hawaii like me.  I said we would visit one day. 

This summer? 

No it won't be very soon because tickets are very expensive - like $1,000. 

Okay well I want to go. 

But if we all go, you, me, your daddy, Isaiah -

And my cousins? 

Okay & you're cousins, Nana & Papa? 

And Makayla.  Yes! 

Well then how many people would that be let's count. 

10. 

So if tickets cost $1,000 how much money would we need for everyone to go? 

$10,000?

That's right.

Okay, is Daddy getting that tonight? 

I laughed.  No we're not going there this summer. Then he asked when we were going to get a little sister so Isaiah could play with her.  I said we would have to see - God controls all the babies. 

Then without a complaint he went to bed. 

So I guess you forget about all of the hard work after just a few moments like these.  Now I'm off to finish the dishes & laundry & maybe I'll get some real work done too.

Eating

We started with rice cereal the weekend of his sixth month milestone.  A lot of people told me to start earlier, but I read that a lot of other people recommend waiting until six months.  It was easier anyway, so we waited. 

When we started, He was immediately in love.  I wasn't surprised because he had been seriously eyeing us down for awhile whenever we were eating.  Also I had a feeling he wouldn't be a picky eater.  He grabbed the spoon & put it in his mouth, grabbed the bowl, tried to put that in his mouth.  He just loved it. 

Unintentionally we moved on to oatmeal cereal, which was a pleasant surprise.  He ate it much faster, and it wasn't nearly as messy as the rice cereal.  We started with Happy Bellies but now use Earth's Best because they sell it at Walmart.  Unfortunately we weren't as consistent as I wanted to be.  Our schedules were crazy, so when it was inconvenient we just went back to the old faithfuls.  (My boobs).  

But for Christmas my older sister got me the best present ever, the Beaba Babycook!  I had been wanting it since before Isaiah was even born.  My mom asked me at Christmas whether I had started to introduce any food other than cereal.  No, I said, I was waiting to see if I was going to get a present that would help with that.  She smiled really really big.  Cause she knew I was getting it!

As soon as I felt better after being sick FOREVER, I had Marcus buy us some potatoes.  I was going to start with squash, and now after further reading, I probably should have, but...  I didn't.  It was late at night (around 9pm), and Marcus was annoyed that I was feeding him so late, but I was tired of things getting in the way, so I used it.  And he ate potatoes.  And it was good.

That was Friday night, and I've been going back & forth between potatoes & oatmeal cereal, and of course he still gets lots of milk.

I thought I had read that homemade baby food needed to be prepared without any kind of seasoning, so that's how we started. 

But my intuition was telling me that that seemed silly.  So I read some more, and it turns out that recent studies are showing that the call for bland baby food isn't really based on any research.  In fact, it might encourage adventurous eating to spice it up & mix it up.  So we've started to add a little flavor to his potatoes, and he loves them more.  He's not eating them as fast as the cereal though. 

I am adament to wait awhile (not sure how long) before I give him fruit because I want him to love his veggies first.  But I might be out of luck because his dad sneaks in tastes of ice cream & who knows what else when I'm not around.

We'll see how he likes the next menu item - yellow squash!  This time I might cook for the both of us at the same time & then puree his. 

Anyway...  Here is the picture - Isaiah eating his potatoes.  His favorite part is trying to eat the spoon & the bowl when we get done.  Actually bowls & spoons probably are the top of his list of favorite toys ever.