Yay! The wife came home on Friday. Although it doesn't change the level of burden I have, it's such a relief to just have her around. Since she's still recovering I am still doing everything around the house (having to force her to sit still and stop trying to be superwoman) and with the kids. She finally recognizes that she has to go slowly, so I'm running with the Smurfs, doing baths, household chores, etc. However, it helps that she can take them for rides and join us to help watch them while they play.
Smurf 3 is doing very well for being premature. He's now doing more oral intake of breast milk and will probably be started on a bottle by the end of the week. His bloodwork is great and he's responding to our voices. My wife spends more time with him because it's easier for her to visit him and me stay with the other two Smurfs, which works out well because i'm afraid to hold him at this time. He's small enough that I worry about applying too much pressure to his body, so i've decided to wait until he's able to bottlefeed to hold him. That way he should be bigger and stronger. I'll get to see him every evening, which will be nice. Hopefully he'll be home in 4 weeks or less.
Smurf 2 is just... Smurf 2. She's so into wearing dresses and having her hair put up in certain styles. What happened to my truck-playing, pants-wearing, daredevil little girl? And she's only 3! At least she's into spicy foods and has almost no qualms about trying new foods. It's funny to watch her eat chips and hot salsa at a restaurant. Her artwork is pretty good, and the patience she puts into her work is amazing. I like the stories that go along with her pictures, and she often will redraw a picture several times in order to make it perfect to her.
Smurf 1 is such a hyperactive kid. I think his mind works a lot like mine and he has a hard time dealing with his brain moving faster than his body. I've been showing him various coping methods for kids that seem to work. He's showing emerging reading skills because I was able to get him to sound out several short words. He was quite happy to be able to read a few words (dog, stop, bus, cat, school, exit, and camp), and he can definitely write any word we spell to him. His math skills are pretty good too, but could be better. He can add and subtract up to +2 in his head but cannot do it on paper.
So today while my wife visits Smurf 3, I will have the kids outside playing on a sprinkle mat similar to this. Also, i've got some water balloons, guns, and bubbles. I'm hoping to wear them out enough to take an early nap (early for them being before 4 p.m.). I need to finish some outdoor work, laundry, dishes, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms, etc. I've got to work it out with my wife on how to divide the chores again because i've learned that I can't sit still now and just relax; I see everything that needs to be done and get the urge to just go at it. If I sit still I start to fall asleep due to boredom, so it's back to taking care of things for me.
Misspoken Words of the Day
ratberry/rasblueberry.
Glad everything is going well for the little ones and your wife. Hang in there, daddy!
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