Incredibly, the age of mobility began very early for Evie, which is probably the primary reason that I haven't updated this blog in so long. I have been too busy retrieving various bits of paper and carpet fuzz from E's mouth that she has so deftly pinched off of the floor. So yes, Evie was mobile (army crawl) by 6months, crawling at 7 months, and starting a few weeks ago (she turned 8months on 12/21) she can pull herself up to standing and 'cruise' around while hanging onto things. This has proven to be a sleeping nightmare since now she can stand up in her crib and jump up and down but can't get back down very gracefully. Sigh. We are still living in my parent's basement at this time (which has been a huge blessing). The renters that are in our house are supposed to move out today, but then we still have to do some work on the house before we can move back in, so hopefully by mid January Evie's bed will finally be farther away from my ears. Daniel is hoping to start his counseling classes at Covenant in the summer or fall (probably the fall) and is really enjoying working with Live at Peace Ministries.
I am working 2 nights (overnights) a week at a nearby Emergency Room and unfortunately have a long way to go before feeling comfortable and at home there. Never having worked in an emergency room before, I was totally unprepared for the social dynamics there. I really thought that all of those TV shows that were like glorified soap operas staged with people bleeding in the background were so overly exaggerated but I am starting to think that they may actually have been filmed at my job.
I was, and still am, incredibly astounded that work environments like this actually exist. I feel like I am back in high school, and since I thought that most of what went on there was immature then, I really think that what goes on at this job is beyond immature and extremely unprofessional. In short, I am being hazed.
Genoa, on the other hand, is doing great and loving being around all of these family members that she had up til now only seen occasionally. We are still working on trying to make her a little more flexible, she is a die hard creature of routine. For example, when going to bed at night, all lights must be off in the room (no nightlights allowed with this child), then all 7 of her stuffed animals must be inventoried to be sure that all of the correct animals are in the bed. All stowaways that don't belong are tossed out and any animal that is missing must be searched for and returned to its spot in the bed. Teeth must be brushed and juice drank (sp?) though not neccesarily in that order. Then prayers are said and the 'tucking in' process begins. This takes a while as there are several blankets that must go in a certain order. Then the door must be closed. It cannot be open even a crack. Falling asleep is a very private endeavour. Then about an hour or so of talking over the day with her animals occurs, during which time reenactments of various consequences or unique occurences of the day are played out in elaborate detail.
Genoa, on the other hand, is doing great and loving being around all of these family members that she had up til now only seen occasionally. We are still working on trying to make her a little more flexible, she is a die hard creature of routine. For example, when going to bed at night, all lights must be off in the room (no nightlights allowed with this child), then all 7 of her stuffed animals must be inventoried to be sure that all of the correct animals are in the bed. All stowaways that don't belong are tossed out and any animal that is missing must be searched for and returned to its spot in the bed. Teeth must be brushed and juice drank (sp?) though not neccesarily in that order. Then prayers are said and the 'tucking in' process begins. This takes a while as there are several blankets that must go in a certain order. Then the door must be closed. It cannot be open even a crack. Falling asleep is a very private endeavour. Then about an hour or so of talking over the day with her animals occurs, during which time reenactments of various consequences or unique occurences of the day are played out in elaborate detail.
For example: We went to Daniels uncle's house in Michigan for a few days after christmas. While we were there, Genoa had a bout of extreme constipation that involved a lot of 'prairie dogging' during the day that never actually produced any 'waste' results. Bedtime came along, which is a whole separate story since all four of us were sleeping in the same room (in light of above bedtime routine, this was a nightmare), and Genoa went to bed without ever producing the results of her digestive process.
3:30 am. Screams pierce the night. Buttock cheeks are clenched. Mama says, "just let it out!". "No, No, Gehwa not let it out!". Repeat conversation 10 times. At 1 bajillion decibels. Evie is thankfully dead to the world, though I can't say the same for the rest of the house full of people. A lot of desitin, a bathtub and much screaming later, half of the desired 'turd' was produced (pried rather). Genoa is so tired she is falling asleep in the bathtub. Back to bed we go.
6:30 am. Deja vu. Repeat above paragraph with the ending being, Mama and G in the shower. Finally, the 'Night of the Living Turd' is past, along with any sleep we were going to get that day. Ahh, did I mention that Evie did wake up 3 times in Genoa's breaks?
So anyway, these are the types of events that G reenacts in her bed at night with her animals. Last night, I heard her in there saying, "Bear, its okay. Push it out! Good Job! You got the turd out! Awww, Good Job, you did it, you got out a turd!" Of course, retelling of these events are not neccesarily limited to bedtime, they are also shared at other times of the day like dinnertime. She also like to change her animals diapers over and over, and would you know it, everytime that diaper comes off its, "Oh look, its a turd!".
Evie Lion
Genoa Smooches!
