The Wright Family: September 2012

“The time has come,” the Walrus said.

A couple of months ago, I mentioned that a “family issue” was occupying much of time / thoughts. In two weeks, my Dad will be hopping on a flight to head to the Middle East. He has accepted a job working another oil company (different from the one he works for now). My mother will be allowed to join him shortly after Christmas. I don't know exactly how long they will be living overseas - but suffice it to say, the better part of a decade (which is 'years' too long!).

As you may (or may not) know, I am very close to my family and this has come somewhat out of the blue. Even after having some time to really process and think about it all, it is still shocking. It is weird to think that my parents won’t be 5 mins away – and won’t be around for holidays and special occasions. I will see them only once, maybe twice a year, instead of on a regular / weekly basis.

I know that this was a really difficult decision for my parents – and I know that they didn’t make this decision lightly… but it has been made and it is happening.

I am sad that they will miss getting to watch Blair grow-up in person. I am sad that I won’t get to do my lunch dates with my Dad – or be able to call my Mom on my way home from work (like I still do every day!). I am terribly close to both of them and will miss them more than I could ever write on this blog.

This does mean that I will have to be more diligent on blogging, so they can check- in and know what is going on with Miss B. It’s funny, when I originally started this blog; it was for family and friends that lived out of town. I never imagined that it would be a tool used to keep my parents and I in touch.

I am so grateful for this opportunity for them and the new adventure they will soon embark on. Once again… life as Expats. After being back “State-side” for the last 17 – 18 years, I think they will fall right into place. Plus, they’ll always be close for when we want to do some serious traveling. Hmmm, I don’t know – maybe a trip back to Muscat? I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

Worst blogger ever? I will take that title for the month of August…

We spent the holiday weekend relaxing and playing. On Saturday, we went to Gymboree, had lunch with Uncle Chris, came home & napped, then headed to Gammy and GranDad’s house to grill out. Bug is so funny, every time she gets to their house, she takes off and finds all of her toys and gets into everything! She loves to play with the huge exercise ball in their gym and go up and down the stairs. Then back up – and down. And Blair loves to swing (what child doesn’t?). She is a spoiled little thing, but no one can help it. I probably spoil her worst – but I can’t help it. She’s my love bug!

On Sunday, we headed to Mimi and Pop’s house to swim. Travis had another bad headache, so I left him home to rest. We had lots of fun swimming and enjoying the last official weekend of the summer. Of course, Blair was busy in the pool, then out of the pool, in the pool, then out. Repeat. Ah, to have the energy of a toddler.

On Monday, we got up and made a big family breakfast together (and Miss Pea Pot didn’t touch a lick of it!) and did some “Fall” cleaning. It was time to box up the adorable 24 months and 2T clothes. Tear. And all of her itty bitty bows and headbands.

We broke down and gave Blair the pretend kitchen that sweet Reagan and Peyton gave to B. We were intending to save it for Christmas, but after we saw how much fun she had with the one that Gammy and GranDad got for her – we couldn’t resist. Besides, it was time to do a major overhaul in the playroom. I cleaned out about 3 garbage bags full of baby toys (cleaned out as in “saved”) which gave Little Miss more room to play. She woke up from her nap with a newly arranged play room and the awesome new kitchen. Lucky girl!

Lately…

Blair’s eating has been sub-par. Oh the frustrations of feeding a picky toddler! We have been introducing dipping sauces (ketchup or ranch) with some of her dinner with the hopes that it would entice her to eat better / more. No such luck. We are also offering all meals on a plate (either those super cute zoo ones from HEB or one of her washable plates) and either a spoon or fork to hold / eat with / rub in her hair. The last one was a joke, but we are trying everything to increase her interest in food. Luckily she still drinks milk and yogurt like a champ, so I haven’t seen a decrease in her weight. You can count on her to eat cheese, mini club crackers and Craisins. Everything else depends on the day / her mood.

Lately, bedtime is definitely more of a chore. Travis has been putting my sweet girl to bed because she does better with him. I guess that makes me the softy. Bed “time” is a bit of an open door in that the time depends on Blair. If we can tell she is tired (like on Mondays after a long day back at school), then she goes down after bath time. Sometimes she does better and stays up a little later (7 or 7:30pm). It is so nice when she actually stays up “late.” It allows me more time with the Bug – and that is always a good thing.

Although putting Blair down is difficult, she has been sleeping really well! She even slept to 8:30am on Sunday and Monday mornings! Yay!!!!

Blair has been continuing to pick-up more and more words and increasing her vocabulary. Long syllable words are still a bit of a challenge – but she is doing so well. She loves to sing (A,B,Cs, Row, Row, Row your Boat, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star) songs and I have recently introduced her to “Ring around the Rosies.” I forget how much more fun it is as a child. She absolutely loves it and is still working on the concept that more than two people can play.

Some of B’s favorite things are : playing with her basketball hoop, being carried by Mommy, helping with chores (she loves having a sense of purpose), reading, playing with her babies, being very silly, going bye-bye, running at full speed, her new sparkly shoes, and bows. She may not keep them in for more than 20 mins, but she likes to pick them out. Sometimes, she also picks out her clothes. Looks like I have a little diva in the making.

Tantrums. Hmmm…. I will say we haven’t had any tantrums in recent memory – though I can hardly remember what I had for dinner last night. Miss Priss definitely likes to do things her way – and watch out! Only if she comes to you and says “hep” are you allowed to help her. Something I have really noticed in the past couple of weeks – is her unwillingness to share her Momma. If Zoey even talks to me, she gets upset and frustrated and starts to fuss at me like, “why is she talking to you? Make her stop talking to you!” Poor child is in for a rude awakening when Baby #2 comes along (not anytime in the next 9 months ;))! I better start working on this now. On the upside, I have been obsessively “pinning” on Pinterest, and found some great articles and tips for raising a willful child, an article for raising a stubborn child, and another one for effective disciplines. LOL. I am obsessed with the site and now think I need to quit my job in order to make, do and become all of the things that I love. Ha.

Looking forward to fall…

I am so excited about Fall! I never really cared about this forgotten season – despite my love for football. About 2 years ago, I just became obsessed with it. The colors, the weather, the impending celebrations and traditions. It has become my favorite season, edging out Summer and Spring. Our Fall season starts around mid-September with our first cool spell usually in early October, then continues through the end of November or early December. I am so excited for the cooler weather and actually getting to play outside and go on walks! I have our Fall bucket list all prepared and plan to start scratching some items off soon. J

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks!