Several times a day I reflect on how different I am with my fourth child than I was with my first child. A friend of mine just posted a video of her firstborn — a two-year-old — drinking out of a normal cup for the first time. David didn’t drink out of a lid-less, straw-less
NOTE: I wrote this a few days ago — a glib post about running during the quarantine. I wrote it before running was added to the list of things that are dangerous to do while black. I’ve been running since I was 14 years old. That’s 23 years of running on country roads, in the city, suburbs,
After Anna’s speech therapy evaluation, the therapist told us that she would probably have a “language explosion” in the next few months. That was a little more than a month ago, and while I think we’re still waiting on the explosion, she’s definitely had a speech…spark. Her pronunciation is still her weakest area, but she’s
We had a weekend with back-to-back-to-back activities with our kids. We had a basketball game, an awards reception, a playdate. But the marquee event, the one we were all waiting for, was the Father Daughter Dance. You might remember the Father Daughter Dance from years past. Mary has gone several times (2016, 2017, 2019, and
I’m not sure why, but I’m suddenly really aware of Thomas and Anna’s friendship. All of my kids have individual relationships, but each one has to be forged. Maybe I’m noticing their friendship because it’s just now really emerging. Anna is finally old enough to really play and be a part of Thomas’s shenanigans (which she
Anna calls David “DayDay.” She calls Mary “MayMay.” She calls Brigham “Ma,” and she knows the names of several neighborhood dogs. In an ultimate little sister power move, she doesn’t even attempt to say Thomas’s name. There are actually a lot of words Anna doesn’t attempt. She has a decent vocabulary, but she’s almost impossible
A huge part of the life of a toddler is just evolving methods for getting attention. Anna’s newest strategy is to just yell: “MOM! MOM! MOOOOOOM!” Not Mommy, not Mama. Mom. It’s such a funny thing because she’s not crying, and it’s not shrill or whiny like typical toddler fussing. It’s top-of-the-lungs shouting: MOOOOOOM! It’s
The Krieger family started 2020 with a bang. That bang came in the form of a stomach bug that hit most of us, one by one, in the span of 12 hours. Our house was the scene of a gastroenteritis horror movie — the kind that haunts the dreams of caregivers of small children. We
One morning Anna’s pajamas were half-on. (Ok, so sometimes/all the time after a diaper change we don’t bother to wrestle Anna back into her clothes. Whatever, we get the important part taken care of.) Somehow this transformed into a game where Thomas was holding the legs of her pajamas and pretending she was a dog
Most families don’t talk about this, but there is usually one family member that takes up most of the energy and patience. Sometimes it’s the oldest, sometimes it’s the toddler, sometimes it’s the mom. For the past month, it’s been the almost-two-year-old. It happened out of nowhere. One day I was talking with Tom’s mom