It's been a long while

I haven't been on here in months. I allowed myself to get scared away when I got a few scoffs about one of the posts I put up. That was forever ago and I'm done with it now. I feel liked we've really turned a corner here with Elijah. We go days sometimes without having to spank and what a breath of fresh air that is! He's been in speech therapy now for about 5 months and it has helped tremendously with his speech AND our frustration level with each other not being able to understand...each other. If he's slow and deliberate with his talking he can be understood for the most part, it's when he gets really excited about something that there's not a hope in the world of hearing individual words. I laugh at myself when I get frustrated with him in these times wondering how my husband feels when I get overly emotional and try to put my thoughts in to words. I have my doubts that I sound much different from my 3 1/2 year old. The biggest block we still have with the speech is his ability to put his complex thoughts in to words. I suppose that comes with age, though. He'll say, "mommy mommy" When I ask him, "yes, Elijah?", he'll say, "Ummmm,......oh nevermind!" It's funny when he says it but I can imagine it's frustrating to know exactly what needs to be said but not have the words to say it. He'll get there. He's a sweet sweet boy! The consistency we've practiced with him in our parenting has really paid off! I encourage those of you trudging through difficulties with you youngens to trudge on in pure consistency - it really does the trick in the long run. He's becoming much better at directing his aggressive nature to productivity. His fits of rage have nearly disappeared and when he feels the need to be crazy-go-nuts he goes outside and shouts to the tree tops about being batman, spiderman, "windman" (his own creation where he takes his fingers and points them straight forward while wiggling them and waving his arms back and forth...it's adorable), iceman, ironman, and really any kind of "man" that can have a some sort of word put in front of it to make it seem super hero-ish. He ADORES his little brother and kisses him at any chance he gets. He kisses his head, his feet, his belly, his hands, whatever is accessible. He tells Judah often that he "loves" him "so much!" Judah delights back. They are truly the best of friends! It's such a joy to watch their friendship grow as Judah communicates more and becomes more mobile. They get WAY crazy sometimes and need intervention, but I try to let things play out as much as I can help. It's hard for me to turn my mom-dar off, but Elijah NEEDS to learn Judah's limits and Judah NEEDS to learn how to toughen up when playing with his stronger and MUCH MUCH MUCH larger older brother. If Elijah were the scrawny one and Judah the girth-y one it may be a different story, but as they are it is an interesting match, for sure! Elijah has taken a new interest in music, particularly worship music. Nary a night or nap time goes by that he doesn't ask us to sing, "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus loves the little children." He always throw in at the last minute as we are shutting the door, "sing, You've got a friend in me", another of his favorites (from Toy Story). He sings to himself as he moseys through his day. There's been times we've told him too many times to be quiet in bed and we'll hear him and head to deal with the issue only to find him singing, "Jesus loves me" to himself. Then, of course, we listen for a few moments with peace and let him alone to worship in his own little way.

Judah is blossoming in every possible way (except walking - he'll get there). His personality is bursting from every part of him. He communicates with this adorable little high pitched "uhn?" and uses a few signs to differentiate the meaning of the "uhn". He knows "eat", "drink", "all done" and a few others sometimes and the rest of the time he says, "uhn" he's pointing with his skinny little pointer finger at an object, demanding to know what it is. He tries repeating the sound and sometimes come very close to the actual word. It will be very interesting to see how differently he develops from Elijah in the area of speech. Having an older brother who is rarely quiet is a huge plus when it comes to learning how to talk. They are constantly babbling back and forth. If Elijah leaves the room or Judah notices that he's not around he shouts at the top of his lungs, "I-uh?" It's adorable, of course. He LOVES to dance along with any type of music and sings his way through his day. He'll play, sometimes for a solid hour at a time, by himself just singing and dancing. His laugh is simply intoxicating and he has a smile that spreads the entire width of his face. He snuggly, affectionate (sort of the same thing, I know), and has a sense of humor about odd things beyond his level of understanding (or so it seems - perhaps he just loves to laugh). He has a temper that can stop a clock, however, and if fed too late is quite the tyrant to deal with! That boy knows how to throw a fit. Given time he calms down, but it's always on his own accord. He will not be distracted from his own fit of rage. :) I'm sure he will be a challenge in his own way as he ages, but we are just relishing in his adorable baby-ness right now.

I'm sure this has made up for my many frustrated blasts of words I've posted about my mothering and my children. They bless me and frustrate me all along at the same time, but ultimately I love both of them more than I know how to express.