I Love Our Backyard

Lately Leah has had a more consistent nap schedule. This is great for planning, but has its ripple effects. One of her naps is in the afternoon, which interferes with our afternoon pool visits. When this happens we turn to the backyard for water fun.

The backyard faces east and we get afternoon shade from the house. That means Avery and Zachary can play with the water table and the sprinklers and I don't need to apply sunblock. Today they were content for more than 45 minutes, the baby got an awesome nap, and I got to relax on the lounger with a magazine.

New Parenting Skills

Eli bought a book recently called "The Kazdin Method for Parenting the Defiant Child". Among other things it stresses how, in the long term, punishment is an ineffective tool for changing a child's behavior.

This book argues that the most effective way to mold kids' behavior is to praise them when they behave the way you want. For example, if your kids fight all the time, you need to make an effort to point it out when they are sharing, cooperating, playing quietly. And that doesn't mean saying "Why can't you play nicely all the time?!", it means saying something like, "Wow I really love it when you guys play so nicely!"

So we have been trying to be positive and praise the kids when they are being good. Eli has noticed that Avery gets a huge proud grin on his face when we tell him how well he is behaving (for example: when they get dressed in the morning and put their clothes in the hamper).

It may be the placebo effect, but I feel like it is paying off. It seems like we are yelling at the boys less, and they are behaving better. And really, the worst that could come of it is that we pay closer attention to our children.

Bathing the Babes

When Avery and Zach take a bath I usually start it out with just an inch or two of water. I put Leah in and let her splash around a couple of minutes. Then I wash her, take her out, and fill up the tub for Avery and Zachary.

Leah loves bath time like you wouldn't believe. Any water at all, in fact. Yesterday I was washing some stains off the back porch. Leah was sitting nearby and when I poured the water onto the porch she crawled over and went nuts splashing it around. She got soaked of course, but she had so much fun I couldn't stop her.

Mojitos, Pesto, Blueberry Juice, and Grilled Endive

This year we are trying a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. It's like a farm share or a food co-op. Each week we will pick up a big bag of vegetables, herbs, and a bundle of flowers. It should interesting coming up with ways to use ingredients that are outside our vegetable "comfort zone".

This Wednesday we received our first share. We got a huge bundle of mint, so Eli figured out how to muddle it and made Mojitos for the 4th of July. They were really good, though it was easy to end up with bits of mint all over your teeth. We also got a big bundle of basil so I made yummy pesto.

Last night we tried to cook curly endive, which is quite bitter. Eli tried brushing it with oil and grilling-- that had mixed results Some parts were crispy and delicious, but others just tasted burned. I sauteed some with sweet yellow onion and garlic and thought it was quite good.

On Friday morning we had Swiss chard and endive omelets. We still have some yellow squash, garlic scapes, cabbage, and more endive. So far I've enjoyed the variety and had fun finding different things to make. Tomorrow we're going to try sweet and sour cabbage soup with flank steak.

One last note: berry season is in full swing at Costco. After coming home with 4 lbs of berries we had blueberry milk, smoothies, and I boiled half of them down to a syrup to add to various dishes. This was a technique from a cookbook I've been trying on how to sneak healthy ingredients into food that kids will actually enjoy eating.

Leah Starts Crawling

Leah started crawling for 100%-no-fooling-real yesterday. She moves in a straight line and log rolls to redirect herself where she wants to go. She isn't fast yet, but it's enough that I now have to be concerned about what is on the floor in the room all around her. We will have to start on the boys about the importance of picking up their small toys and Legos.

Avery and Zachary Fly Up

In Golden Pond School parlance, "Fly Up" is pretty much the same as "graduate". I think they use the alternate term because it can be easily explained to the children. The boys each got a cap and a pin during a short ceremony, followed by refreshments and goodbye hugs with the teachers.

I had mixed emotions about the boys being out of school. I'm really happy that I don't have to drive them back and forth twice a day, but sad that I won't have alternating alone time with each of them. So far we have been busy and tired; summer is great for going to the park and meeting up with friends, and I have managed to go to the grocery store a few times with all three kids.

In the morning we usually hang out at home so Leah can nap and I can work on the never-ending piles of laundry, clean up after breakfast, and occasionally write on the blog. After lunch we go to the pool or to the park. Home for dinner and to meet Eli, then back to the pool or out for a walk or to play in the driveway. Tiring, but far preferable to being cooped up with Avery and Zachary bickering all day.

Leah Hits Seven Months

At seven months, Leah is still working on trying to crawl. She pushes up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, sometimes getting a few inches forward but just as often moving backward. She doesn't get far, which is good for me because I can leave her in the family room while I cook and clean up in the kitchen.

She is also working on pulling up. She hasn't quite made it all the way, but if we stand her up, especially against a toy or the sofa with toys on it, she will stay up playing for a minute or two. The excitement of watching her brothers hasn't worn off either. Now she tries to get their attention by screaming at them. For every time the two of them are annoying, there is another time where they help out by keeping Leah entertained.

Food-wise, Leah is eating more solids. She loves Cheerios and still isn't a big fan of bananas, but I put some on her tray most mornings because they keep her occupied (easy to push around, hard to pick up). I love that she can feed herself now because it is very time consuming to feed Leah, feed myself, and feed the boys. It is not uncommon for the boys to eat separately for breakfast and lunch, though we nearly always make it a point to sit down together for dinner.