Our Little Beastie Blog: Spring-ing Forward

This spring really lives up to the whole "new beginnings" vibe. There's the biggest, most obvious example of Itsy Bitsy Beastie and her impending debut, but there have been lots of other things in bloom.

Abby Alger Photography - March 25, 2021

Imogen Starts Preschool

No surprise, she's doing great.

Preschooler - March 31, 2021

Return to Playgrounds

With the warmer weather, more vaccinated adults, and case rates still low, we've ventured out to more playgrounds and more masked-up outdoor play dates. As vaccination rates increase, we'll continue evaluating whether we need to be outdoors, masked up, and distanced, but for now we're continuing all the things.

Playground with friends - April 10, 2021

That said, it has been SO NICE to chat outside with friends and watch the kids play. They do amazingly well keeping their masks on, even when it's a bit warm.

Germ Time

Everett and Imogen have both had more and more questions about the coronavirus and viruses in general. We got a book that goes into pretty good detail, and having a biochem major for a father certainly helps with all the questions!

Looking up real virus pictures while reading about them - April 9, 2021

Chris and Elizabeth are both fully vaccinated. While both had some side effects (Chris's significantly worse), we'd trade it again for the immunity any day. Everett is eagerly awaiting his turn as well. In his own words, he wants the antibodies even though he is a little scared of the poke.

Itsy Bitsy Beastie

It's been a long time coming, but we are almost there. The anxiety for Elizabeth has been very intense at times. On the plus side, Itsy Bitsy is an "aggressive" baby with her movements. We'd like to point out that this adjective was used by a physician, not us. On the flip, when she isn't moving so often or forcefully, the fear creeps in quickly. We are lucky to have a very attentive care team to help us through both the physical symptoms and questions of pregnancy and the mental / emotional ones.

L'il & Bitty Beastie

Everett and Imogen have both had some emotional struggles lately, and it's hard to be sure whether it's typical growth and development or if our anxiety (or all the other changes!) are rubbing off on them. Imogen is solidly a "threenager" with boundary testing and the emergence of her alter-ego, the sass monster.

Preschool drop-off photo - April 1, 2021

She seems to be tapping into familiar manipulation tactics far earlier than Everett did. One example is when Mommy told her it was a preschool day, and she calmly turned to Daddy after Mommy left the room to ask him if it was a preschool day. Both of our eyes got wide... already?

Everett isn't pushing boundaries, but he is melting down from more minor things. He definitely feels the impact of our day care provider moving away and not being able to see them. We're sure that's part of why he becomes a puddle of sadness when Imogen refuses to share a toy. It's hilarious to us because Imogen is a classic, "no, I won't share this with you" to get a reaction and as soon as you aren't crying about it, she hands it over. Not her best trait.

Pirate party! - April 18, 2021

He also has a very difficult time staying on task. Imogen is super entertaining and he'll get distracted by her, by some random toy, by a cat, by his own thoughts... and we keep trying to bring him back to the task at hand (usually getting dressed, cleaning up, or clearing his dishes).

For her, out strategy for now is ignoring and some tough love (consequences). Oh, I asked you not to step on that toy and you defiantly did it? That is an immediate time out. Oh, you won't respond to me asking you to pick out clothes? You can sit in the nursery until you are ready to help. We're trying our best to be consistent and not get visibly emotional and frustrated... easier said than done.

For him, it's a lot of, "would a hug help?" The answer is almost always yes. We talk through options and strategies and try to breathe through the more intense emotions. It'll be interesting to see how Everett does once Itsy Bitsy is here. Will he flourish as a helper? He often enjoys that. Or will he deeply feel the decreased 1:1 attention? It's a distinct possibility and we'll have to be mindful.