We stopped by the lake the other night. It has become a favorite thing to do lately in the evenings. The kids get some wiggles out, and we get the peacefulness of watching the sun set. The moon was crescent-shaped, which was interesting to Sylas. He knows all about that already. He truly has an abundance of knowledge, at not even six years young. He is growing up into a big boy, every day is something new. He had a big growth spurt this summer, all of his pants from the spring that I had just bought him last Christmas, already high-waters. He needed an all new wardrobe for school this fall, and I didn’t notice the pants until recently when it started getting cool enough to wear them. He is officially shopping in the boys section at the store now. He could probably still get away with wearing some 5t things, but I have decided to start buying his clothes in the big kids spot. I think he really enjoys school, which makes me so happy. I am not sure who his friends are, because he can never tell me their names but he says that he plays with everyone at recess. Lately I’ve noticed that he almost never has his listening ears on. I think that some of it is his need to unwind at the end of the school day – to which I can totally relate – but sometimes I think that he is really trying to test his limits. He is usually super good at helping around the house though. He is still at an age where it is fun for him to vacuum. He and Ivan have been playing really well together lately too, which is so much easier for me. Usually they have one little spat in the evening but it is nothing compared to before.

Ivan is absolutely flourishing socially. He talks so much now and has turned into a social butterfly. He talks to everyone at the store that passes by. Being able to talk to him and know that we both understand each other is amazing. He loves to copy his brother and is really excited for school next fall. He pretends to go to school with his little backpack and tells me he’s going to Mrs X’s class now. He remembers Sylas’ preschool teacher’s name – who will be Ivan’s teacher next year. Ivan is going through a slightly picky phase. He’s not near as picky as Sylas was – and still is – but he doesn’t usually finish his dinner, but somehow has room for desert. He will eat meat unlike his brother which is wonderful. He loves meatballs. I’m pretty sure his favorite food is pizza because he asks for it all the time. He also loves hard boiled eggs, ham sandwiches, and pancakes. He loves to read books with me and he loves to draw and paint. Play-doh and slime are his favorite activities, and he is really into Sonic the Hedgehog. We have lots of mini-figures of the characters now. Ivan is pretty quiet and he isn’t as mischievous as he used to be. He has mellowed out so much these last few months. He can still get himself into trouble, but he doesn’t do near the same amount of naughty things anymore. It kind of makes me sad, but he is also so much fun at his age. I am beginning to think that Amalia has taken Ivan’s place as my wild child.

She is rambunctious and so busy lately. She has an ornery streak too. Amalia has also started having all-out tantrums as of late – hitting and screaming in dissatisfaction when she doesn’t get her way. Ugh, we tell her no a lot because she gets into things she shouldn’t – ie, plays in the toilet, dumps my kitchen towel drawer, tries to go up upstairs when the gate is left open etc – so she has plenty of tantrums. She takes off running if you set her down on the ground, determined to run as far away as she can get. I think she sees it as a game, but its not a fun game to play at the grocery store. She is mellow sometimes too. She loves to play with her dollies, putting them to bed and covering them with blankets, kissing them night-night. Its adorable. She’s going through a little bit of a picky phase, she hardly eats actual food – she prefers to snack on grapes and crackers and cheese and yogurt. I’m hoping that it will be a short-lived phase. Amalia has started a sleep regression phase too. She suddenly hates the swing at night, bawling at the sight of it at bedtime. I think she is starting to phase out her second nap. Oh how I will miss that second nap! That’s usually when I tidy up the house and start making dinner. She still can’t go without it for more than a couple days. She has a crash day and takes really long naps to play catch-up. I was kind-of hoping that we wouldn’t phase out until closer to 18 months, but it is what it is.

Its so funny how the kids are changing. Ivan and Amalia especially are becoming polar opposites of their baby selves. Ivan was my hard baby, but hes a pretty mellow toddler. Amalia was a perfect baby but she is a handful now. Sylas is somewhat steady I think.

Later this week, we are planning an overnight trip. My mom is training at a new job so that she can work from home. The company bought her a hotel for the week, and since Sylas doesn’t have school this Friday, we thought we would go up and get a room too. One last hoorah before Javier has to go back to work. I think they’re hoping to be open by Monday and he will be super busy for the first few weeks, working lots of overtime. I’m glad that we’ve had this chance to be together as a family and been able to go do things. I’ll sure miss him being home with us. Winter will be here before we know it and we will be cooped up inside for a while, so we are  going to make the most of it now.