Well, I started writing this blog back and January and as you can tell, was super successful finishing it. It’s time to change that!
Sophie just celebrated her half birthday, and Emmett is now 9 months and crawling!
Sweet Spots
- It's adorable watching Emmett and Sophie together. Big sister loves to cuddle with him, tickle him, give raspberries, twist him in the bouncer and so much more. I truly believe when Muggsy's mad, she can calm him down in a way Amanda and I can't. When they are making each other laugh, it’s perfection.
- Emmett first learned to roll over, and now he’s crawling! His teachers showed me he could prop himself up when on his tummy, and then a couple weeks later, he was rolling over. Just the last couple of weeks it was clear he was getting ready to crawl, and he started doing it a few days ago. He also enjoys standing while holding onto us. It doesn’t last long, but in the moment, he’s happy.
- Muggsy has been eating solid foods for about a month and a half or so. He really enjoys bamba, but hasn’t quite fallen in love with the purées. We’re staring to just give him regular food in super small bites.
- Sophie has some cute phrases like, "Oh my," "gisgusting," “fiiiine,” “you’re not listening to me,” “Eh-mehhht,” “Si vous plait,” “Agua and Leche,” “when you were an iddy biddy baby in my tummy,” “more kisses,” “maybe when I’m older I can do that."
- Emmett isn’t saying words, but he’s starting to babble a bit. I like to believe he’s saying “Dada” and “Mama,” but that’s probably a stretch
- Sophie went to her first basketball game, Mavs vs Rockets. She learned the Mavs are blue and Rockets are red, and we had a great time!
- We also went to our first daddy daughter dance. Sophie rocked the sock hop theme and danced the night away
The Travels We Used to Take
Thanksgiving break in Dallas was really nice! Emmett had some sweet potatoes, Amanda and I were able to go see “Dear Evan Hansen,” and overall we just had a good time with family.
In December, we went to Miami for Aaron’s Bar Mitzvah (he crushed it, did such a good job). It was our first trip there since David and the family moved. It was good seeing how happy they are there. I especially enjoyed getting to spend part of Channukah all together. It’s so rare to have all the brothers and their kids together, and I tried to soak it up as much as possible.
In January, both sets of grandparents came for visits which made for one really happy Loafie. We also got some great visits with Aunt Boopie, Jenna and David S. from D.C.
The kids and I went to Dallas for a weekend in late February, so I could visit Max, my childhood best friend. It was nice having family step in to help out with the kids and make it a smooth trip.
Zooming in the time of Coronavirus
We’re all in the same boat on this one. This is a time unlike any of us has been a part of.
Thankfully, we are in a good situation. I’ve been able to work remotely, and Amanda is off work temporarily. Of course, the kids don’t have school and this is the biggest challenge. Sophie is a social kid who loves to be around friends. She has started to come around, but it took a long time for her to be okay with not being able to do things because of all the yuckies.
Emmett still naps, and that is really helpful as it gives us a little break where we only have to take care of Sophie. It’s especially tough on Amanda, as she now is watching both of them for larger portions of the day. As she always does, she proves to be an incredible mother. Incredible.
On the positives, I’ve gotten to have dinner with my family every night and put the kids to bed. That is truly special.
The zoom ability has allowed us to have programs with our synagogue and preschool. It’s also been a setup for catchups between my Mizzou friends and my buddies from my time in Singapore. Of course, we’ve also video chatted with family
So, we are taking the bright in with the scary. I mean, how else would Amanda have taught Soph to sing "Wannabe" by Spice Girls as a hand washing song? Sophie is great at tell us what she wants, what she really, really wants!
This is our new reality for a little while and it will push us all in different ways, but so far, we’re doing well. Most of all, we are healthy and that is what is most important.
