Posted on by cav3dad · 1 Comment

“May” the Force Be With Us

May has been a challenging month. There was a lot going on, with my brother’s birthday (May 9th) mine (May 11th), Mother’s Day and Angelique’s birthday (May 14th) all falling on this month. My father’s birthday falls on May 29th, and he would have been 74.

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A Happy Mother’s Day huge from Christopher to Mommy

The Kiddos

The kids have been keeping us busy. They sleep, they eat a ton, they grow, and grow, and grow some more. I’ve tried to get them out for bike rides and/or walks as much as I can, but they have still found plenty of opportunities to go crazy. Blame it on cabin fever, but as much as they love being outdoors, they are noticing that they have been unable to interact with other kids for quite some time now. It’s kind of weird. My kids love to say hi to folks, and it seems that a lot of parents have instructed their kids to say nothing back and run the other way. So now we’re not only seeing social defiance as people flood back into cities around the globe, but also anti-social distancing taking shape. Everyone is almost immediately skeptical of the other person and almost treats them like they’re infected. This new normal is going to be interesting!

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Up and back down the hill at the park…4 times in the heat!

They long for the day when “the world feels better”, as they like to say. Like me, they thrive on interactions with people, so this is starting to frustrate them being largely confined to their home.

They’ve all had a turn getting their first chiropractic adjustment, which has been great for them.

Grandma showed Michaela how to sew. They sure do love learning!

Kindergarten starts in August at the new school. It’s close enough to where if they cooperate in the morning, they can either walk or we can ride bikes to school with them – we’ll see. In TK, Christopher and Emma were in the same class. In Kindergarten, we were given a choice, and we decided to see how they do with each in their own class. Christopher does whatever his sisters tell him to, and Emma took advantage when they were in the same class, so we’re hoping that this helps them be even more independent of one another. We shall see how it goes.

Christopher was getting speech therapy at the other school before it was all closed down due to COVID, so we lost some momentum in that arena. However, I’ve partnered with my mother in law and we make Powerpoint presentations using our own voice and we have them all practice. I’ve made extra ones for him with words that he can improve on, and I expand upon it as I hear other words to add to the list. They love hearing familiar voices.

I tip my cap to all working parents trying to navigate this shelter in place order. Even with things opening back up, it is challenging as the days seem longer, and, at least in my household, the chaos seems magnified. I think I’ve got the new grey hairs to prove it 🙂

But there’s one constant no matter what: lots of LOVE

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Book sales have picked up in May and people are liking what they’re reading in the book. You can order your copy at http://tripleblessingbook.com

I’m still waiting for the first iPhone/iPad order to come in through the Apple Books app. It is a really fun experience reading the book on an iPad or iPhone through the books app. You can find it by searching for the words Triple Blessing Michael Cave. Be the first to order it through that path!

Cheers,

M.

Posted on by cav3dad

Independently Particular

Greetings,

The kids know what they want, when they want it and why. Now that they can better articulate what they want, it’s been a comical month are now their active little minds are forming becomes more apparent. Below are some examples mixed in with super cute photos.

Michaela

Fiercely independent. Fiercely Particular.

Will no longer let me help her undo her diaper when it’s time to sit on the potty or help her get on (unless it’s early in the morning and she not awake yet) or off. She pushes my hand away and says “No, I do it”.

Will devour an Uncrustable, but will still leave the outer portion, which already has no crust.

She likes to wear specific accessories with her many wardrobe changes throughout the day. Yes, that includes only certain shoes 👞🤷🏾‍♂️.

She prefers to drink the purple box of Costco apple grape juice. If available, no, it has to be the purple box, and she’s told me so a few time.

When she wants water, she say “Drink of water?” no, unless she asks specifically, she prefers it out of mommy’s big cup. Alrighty!

And let’s not forget, the milk must have the right amount of chocolate Ovaltine mixed in. If not, she will inspect in the light and give me back.

She likes to administer vitamins and medicine herself via the syringe.

When she and/or Emma are going potty and Christopher wanders in, she says “Privacy!” and he leaves. He’s just being nosy, as he’s not really too interested yet.

And in true girly girl fashion, she knows when she wants her finger nails and toe nails painted and which color.

Emma

Emma parades around most days with an enigmatic expression on her face. It’s like she knows something none of us no. We still catch her staring at us and then she will smile and those oddly space dimples high on her cheek will pop out. She is totally content doing her own thing away from the high energy play of Michaela and Christopher. That tends to be a moving danger zone – best to stay clear of that!

She likes her privacy, much like I did growing up. She also likes to hold on to small items. Her latest fascination is this little red plastic key. Now she asks for it specifically (“Where’s my key?”).

She likes, well loves, the new Amazon Echo. She is always wishing Alexa a good morning and asking her to tell a joke. She also likes for us to ask her to play the Trolls soundtrack so she can dance in the kitchen.

She loves vegetables such as green beans, black olives (sliced) and vanilla bean yogurt, which has to be in a bowl, apparently.

Emma can nod yes and no when she wants or doesn’t want something. Lots of nodding no lately to sitting on the potty. So we are in a bit of regression period with her. It happens after they are getting over being sick, and it’s not surprising. At least this cold only lasted a week.

Christopher

Cars. Cars. Cars. He is particular about his cars. He usually carries several around with him and lines them up and piles them in my lap as gift offerings. And he has a lot of them. Michaela has been known to grab one and chuck it behind the couch just to piss him off.

He also is into these troll water toys. He can usually be seen carrying Princess Poppy and Branch around. Guy Diamond is usually missing. I don’t know why he likes to lose that particular troll. He’s currently missing.

One day it is clear that I will be looking up to this little man as he will be tall. I will teach him the finer points of the game of basketball if he’s interested. He has a long torso. He’s got a swimmer’s build currently with the chub long gone. He might be left handed or ambidextrous like me. He’s been eating and throwing stuff with his left hand recently. I’m left handed but eat and write win my right. When I played baseball I threw with my left but batted right. Weird!

Anyway, on to the rest of the recent cute pics.

Lastly, none of them want help brushing their teeth.

The kids really enjoyed my mom’s visit. We all went to a real beach in Pacifica, their first beach experience. The drive is too long though. We will have to wait until they are older to venture that far again.

Hope you enjoyed the read!

M