First Days and Nine Months

 Back to school has come and gone, and now school is routine, but I still wanted to share our pictures.  LMM is THRILLED to go this year, unlike last year where he cried and clung to my leg for, oh, the first 6 months.  No longer!  I barely get a "goodbye".

 There are tears though, I assure you.  Instead of LMM clinging to me sobbing that he wants to go home...I have Rosebud clinging to the art table or whatever furniture she can get her sticky-from-breakfast hands on screaming that she wants to stay.  She'd give up something pink and sparkly to be at school.  She has the back-to-school-bug bad.

 MMMM.  I could eat this one up.  She is a mama's girl for sure, and I am loving it.  I'll admit most days it is hard to have her wanting me ALL THE TIME, but as she gets older...I'm learning to cherish it.  Her baby days are numbered.  Everything is new and exciting and she loves to explore anything she can get her hands on.

 And then she eats it.  Cause that's what you do at nine months.

 I have zero new growth to report this month.  She is not even registered on the charts for weight (14 lbs 9 oz...still not as big as Rosebud was at 6 months) and is in the 10th % for length (26.5").  http://www.babycenter.com/baby-child-growth-percentile-calculator

However...she is developing GREAT!  She is taking steps along the furniture, exploring standing unassisted, learning to open/get into/crawl around everything in her way.  She feeds herself gluten free cereal, nurses often and well (finally sleeps 4 hours at a time most nights and is transitioning to her crib more than cosleeping) and eats baby food.  While she'll eat my homemade rice cereal and advacado, she has a bad gag reflex with homemade pureed veggies and fruits.  She is doing better on jar first foods, so I have been buying 2-3 of those a week as well.  Three jars doesn't kill anything but my pride.

 Snug Snug Snug.  I can't believe my preemie is in first grade.  He is not as excited about school this year as last.  I second guess my decision to put him in school daily.  I am trusting I did the right thing, but it has been hard.

He's already had his taste of bullying, but his teacher handled it well.  Not ready to tell that story yet, but I may in the future.  It for sure upped my opinion of the teacher though.  He is a little bored as the work comes easily to him, but new things should be introduced soon.  He also started swim lessons yesterday.  We found really reasonably priced ones at the YMCA a short distance from us.  He loves the water and we hope this opportunity will not only teach him swimming skills, but also boost his self-confidence (something he has very little of at school despite knowing all the required work) and social skills.

I have so much I want to/need to post and am working it into my daily schedule.  Er...weekly schedule.  After my last post I really missed blogging and need to make more time for it.

As it is September 11th I have a story to share.

A few weeks ago our family added a new activity (cause really we have nothing to do, totally bored).  We started Letterboxing.  I read about it in Parent's Magazine (or was it Family Fun?).  We've only done it a few times, but MAN is it fun, and has proved to be educational for the boys and a great way to get some exercise and spend time together as a family.

We went to our local 9-11 memorial for our very first try (we either failed, or the box was missing).  While there we took the time to examine the monument which is constructed from some of the Twin Towers building material  .  We talked a little bit with the boys about why it was there.  We kept it very basic.

Fast forward two weeks to this past weekend.  We're at #1's softball tournament (where his team did FABULOUS, knocking out the #1 ranked East Coast team in Police Softball shocking everyone including themselves).  LMM and I are watching the other team warm up and he asked if "thems is cops".  I told him yes, everyone here is a cop...it is Police League Softball!  Then he said they were bad cops.

More than concerned, I asked why on EARTH he would say a thing like that.  He proceeded to tell me that they were bad because they flew airplanes into buildings.  Heavens.  I don't think he got one thing right about 9-11.  I patiently tried to re-tell him and correct what he was way off base on.

I also informed him that his daddy is a cop (which he doesn't believe anymore now that #1 is a detective and doesn't wear traditional uniform...my boys think that is quite the disappointment these days!) and he knows daddy helps people at work.  He had to think on that for awhile, but I HOPE he understands at least the part that the police officers (and firefighters and all first responders) were the GOOD GUYS in history.

Have you told your kids about 9-11?  Any tips?