Our Little Beastie Blog: Settling In, Bitsy by Bitsy

This month had both steps towards "normal" (Elizabeth is back to work... in the office!) and also a big, rare luxury (help with the kiddos!).

Grandma Fiorani was here almost every day of September, watching Adelaide while Elizabeth went back to work. The beasties have been spoiled with all the Grandma love and attention and it's been a special time.

Adelaide

Bitsy beastie has adjusted well to Mommy's hours away. She loves Grandma, is fine with bottles, and has started taking some naps in the crib! Oh, and can sit unassisted and has started much more purposefully scooting and grabbing. And eating. Eating ALL THE THINGS.

Two of Addy's favorite things - sitting and eating! - September 25, 2021

Her giggle is infectious, her smiles plentiful, and her curiosity insatiable. We can't wait to see more of her personality emerge and we hope the transition to day care in October goes smoothly.

Imogen

Big sister is taking her role very seriously, and has really taken to playing with baby dolls as well as impersonating other people (Mommy, her cousins, a baby). Her commitment to the role is reminiscent of Everett's months as Bolt the dog, and her realistic interpretation is scary. As an example, she won't just switch roles in your presence, she will invent a whole backstory (e.g. "Gordon has been playing with Grandma all day.") and then switch places ("I'll go inside and get Gordon."). It is wild.

Imogen was also the first of us to be directly impacted by a COVID exposure. Don't worry, she's negative! Her preschool class had to close for a week, though, so she got some extra time at home with Grandma and little sister. We were notified of the closure the day Elizabeth returned to the office, so that first week didn't go quite as planned!

Ring slingin' with Grandma - September 8, 2021

Everett

Still loving school, after care, and literally any activity we do. All the excitement is taking a bit of a toll on his emotional management. We're doing our best to validate and be supportive, while also trying to solve simple issues and encourage talking it out. Especially when the thing that triggered the meltdown was we didn't have enough time in the morning before school to do a brand new craft.

Kiwi Crate claw - September 4, 2021

He has gotten to do so many fun things at school - Super Scientist (he got to announce the lesson and bring in a related item to share), crayfishing, music class, fitness Fridays, sight word certificates - we could go on and on (and so could he!). We are so proud of how he throws himself into the activities at school and home. Here's hoping the bumps this school year are minor and easily overcome.

As A Family

It's going well. We're trying to instill some traditions like movie night Saturday and game night Sunday, and it's been a blast. Maybe we should start reviewing the games here on the Beastie Blog?

Ticket to Ride Jr.

Kids on Stage

Backyard Bugs

September also included a trip to Happy Hollow (with rides open!) and an outdoor birthday party for one of Imogen's new schoolmates. More so than last year, it feels like things are trending back to "normal." Still holding out for those vaccines before we drop the precautions, but the light is totally there.