a good day

Asher and "Charles Broccoli"

Nothing special happened today, but it was a nice day- a bare minimum of tantrums and whining, all 3 kids ate all 3 meals, 2 out of 3 kids had good naps.

We went to the Please Touch Museum with our friends in the morning.  The boys have been asking to go for weeks (since we last went), but the weather has been too nice to be inside, so I kept pushing it off so we could do other things.  Today it rained, so we went.  Asher was so excited, and both boys kept talking about what they wanted to do when we got there.

Boo in a shoe

At the museum, they were well-behaved, stayed close by me so I never panicked one of them had been kidnapped, and cooperated whenever I said it was time to move on to the next activity.  Usually, by the time I am loading the kids into the car, I am at the end of my rope and considering a one-way ticket to Bali if they don't take a nap that day.  But today, no exasperation.

Even the weather cooperated!  As we left the museum it was drizzling, then when we got in the car, it was pouring.  By the time we got home, it was sunny.

Asher went up to his bed and took a nap, and Charlotte had fallen asleep in the car on the way home.  I didn't need Benjamin to nap, because we had a doctor's appointment for him.  He was such a pleasure at the appointment.  He told the janitor in the elevator that he was born at this hospital.  Then, in the doctor's office, we had a long wait and he was getting impatient but not acting up.  So we walked up to the desk and he asked the receptionist "How long until my doctor ready to see me?"  I thought it was super-cute.

It was just a visit to the ENT- I had been worried about his hearing due to his mispronunciation of so many of his words, and the audiologist found fluid in his ears and referred us to an ENT.  The doctor today said the fluid was completely cleared in his left ear and 75% gone in his right, and that everything looks good. At the end of the appointment, Benjamin got to choose a toy from the treasure chest, and I told him he could pick out a treat at the cafe in the lobby.  He chose a humongous chocolate chip cookie, but wouldn't touch it, because he wanted to share it with Asher.

Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal to someone else, but it makes me want to cry- I must be doing something right if my son wants to share his special treat with his brother.

When we got home, Asher was still asleep, so Benjamin waited, and still didn't eat his cookie, even though we were having other snacks.  Finally, Asher got up, and the boys sat down at the kitchen table, broke the cookie in half, and shared.

Charlotte was her usual lovable, easy self- she crawls around and explores things.  She is taking a couple of steps at a time, so we are encouraging her walking.  She has taken to screaming if something hurts or surprises her- this may be a coping mechanism since she is so undemanding that we would be likely to ignore anything less than a blood-curdling screech.  She also had a mini-tantrum when Eric shut the door to the mud room in her face- she lay face-down on the floor and cried.

Asher helped me give Charlotte her bath, and she just loves having him there.  Asher has a new stuffed toy from Ikea: it's a head of broccoli with a face on it, and he called him "Charles Broccoli," which we think is hysterical.  He is carrying Charles everywhere with him.

The boys went to bed with a minimum of fuss and monkey business, and they picked a book I enjoy reading.  Things just went more smoothly than our average day has been going, so I hope this continues!