One month

By Published On: June 30th, 2016

Well, after a long month, we are finally welcoming Anaïs […]

Well, after a long month, we are finally welcoming Anaïs back home—our new home—in a couple of days! In fact, by the time you read this post, we will most likely be in the car heading home, and she will, no doubt, be full of tales from her summer adventure in Florida. Since she’s been gone, we’ve done a lot here in Atlanta that, honestly, would have been much more difficult had she been around. That’s not to say that she’s a handful or that she’s difficult. It’s just much easier to handle one kid while transitioning from one space to another than it is to have two (or more). And now that we’re in our new spot, I can breathe a little easier knowing she’s coming home to a little less chaos than when she left.
IMG_9959Also, despite all of the big changes that have been happening around us, Akira has been a real trooper and has adjusted to things pretty wonderfully, considering. In my last post, I mentioned that he had been sleeping in his pack n play. Jesse put together his crib in his room at our house, and after nursing him down for bed, I laid him in there and watched him melt into his mattress. It was the sweetest and funniest thing to watch him fall into an even deeper sleep at the sheer touch of his own bed.
We met a few of our neighbors last weekend and mentioned that we also had a 4-year old daughter who was currently in Florida with the grandparents. It was pretty awesome to hear them all unanimously say that it’s such a great and growing experience for her, that it teaches her independence and the most interesting comment I found that was repeated was, “Plus, it gives you guys a lot of one-on-one time with Akira.” It never really occurred to me, but that’s one advantage that the firstborn always has—more time with the parents. I looked back at old photos of when it was just the three of us and how we did everything together. There are so many memories locked in time, and they felt so precious in hindsight. It tugged at me to know that Akira really hasn’t had that much solo time with us. So, hearing from older, more experienced parents that we had done something right felt very validating.
Akira has learned so much in a month, and it’s becoming more and more obvious that time is flying by with him. He comprehends so much of what we say now and can actually communicate a few things to us. He’s taken an interest in ceiling fans, so whenever he looks up and sees one, he waves his hand in the air and makes a “vvvvv…” sound as if mimicking the sound of a whooshing fan! He also pats his belly when you ask him where his tummy is and sticks his tongue out when asked to show it. He’s taken an interest in feeding himself—no matter how messy it gets! As long as he has food in front of him, he’s really happy. He claps every time he hears any music and will now hold himself up and dance to the sound of a beat. His personality is really starting to shine, and I have to admit, I’ve got some pretty incredible kids. I can’t wait to have our fearless foursome back together again!