This last week has almost broken me. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep. Your asthma flared up for some reason. I was up every work night for at least 30 minutes and usually around 2am giving you a breathing treatment. I was ok until Friday when all the missing sleep and no REM sleep finally caught up with me. I was a walking zombie. I haven't been that tired since you were a newborn. I didn't have your dad get up with you because it was easier for me. I am fairly even tempered when tired, your daddy, not so much. I am so thankful that the Lord blessed you with good sleep last night. I got some good sleep, too. Plus, we both got good naps today! I am hoping to feel normal by tomorrow. Being so tired, wore down my immune system, and I started to contract a cold, too. That is unusual for me, but I am thankful that you are finally feeling better.
We've been also going through a rough time with learning how to tell you no and sticking to it. I realized how inconsistent we were with you. I wondered how it happened for awhile. Then, I was reminded of how sick you have been for the last year or 2. It is really hard to reinforce rules when you go through weeks without sleeping well and just feel rotten all the time. Now, I've just realized that we have to be consistent and teach you that even though you may feel bad, you still have to behave normally and work through it.
You are so precious on most days, though. About a week after school started back, and we got back into a routine, you began to come around. You don't really need routine as your older brother does, but it still does help keep you calm when you are sick. You have the sweetest smile. Your laughter sets the room on fire (in a good way). You say things that are so incredibly cute. You are like your mom and dad in the fact that you are stubborn (and don't give up easily) and always like to be right, even if we point out that you are wrong.
Lately, you have been talking about wanting a baby. Now would be a good time for you to have a little brother or sister, but your mom and dad are not ready just yet. You know you are the baby and have your daddy wrapped around your little finger (sounds a lot like a mom and grandpa I know quite well ;) You need to be broken of "being the baby" stuff. Mom and Dad are hoping to try for a baby in about a year. I can't have horrible weeks like this with you being so sick AND have a newborn. I think you will make a good big brother like Malachi is to you, but you need some more time to grow and get better.
We enjoy our family of 4. You bring a lot more joy and laughter to the house. I'm looking forward to seeing you turn 3 and grow even more. I am so thankful that you were potty trained much earlier than Malachi. I don't think I could have taken much more of diapers. It is nice just to have to buy pull-ups for night. Saving money is good! Your personality is 10 times bigger than your size. You are resilient and do handle pain well. I am continuing to pray that the Lord heals you of your asthma. It is not fair that you should have such a hard time breathing.
I love you, Ezekiel Luke! You are everybody's baby, and that is ok, for now. God has blessed us so much by giving us you. You were quite the unexpected blessing. I wouldn't want to have life without you. God knew just what we needed when he loaned you to us. You are a wonderful son! Keep singing and dancing to the tune God plays for your life.
-Momma
A few Ezekiel-isms for the road...
- "My legs is skinny." - My legs are dry (I don't get that one)
- "bur-tay" - birthday
- "zee-kee-ole" - Ezekiel
- "say-same" - same (still one of my favorites)
- "week" - Wii
- "Passer Ranny" - Pastor Randy
- "Miss Ronica" - Mrs. Veronica
We enjoyed a wonderful day at Disney's Hollywood Studios today. My birthday being Wednesday and schools being off today for MLK, Jr. Day, we decided to take the day and explore another park. There was barely any wait time and very few people (compared to Christmas). We walked right back and sat down to watch the Playhouse Disney show. Mickey, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins, and Tigger & Pooh wowed our boys and captured their attention. As we were leaving the show, Malachi saw the life-sized Handy Manny. He RAN over to where he was walking and waved furiously. That boy was excited!
We took the backlot tour. Malachi enjoyed watching the stunt show with rain, fire and a "flood." Lunch was decent. It was worth the money for the boys' kids' meals, not so much for the adults. I think their favorite part would be the "Lights, Motors, Action!" which was an awesome display of stunt effects and awesome driving in a little space. The boys kept talking about it.
There was a "block party" parade that the boys refused to participate in, but Ezekiel thought it would be fun to dance to the music AFTER the parade left. We bought them Pirate Mickey fork, spoon, and bowl from one of the shops. It was nice to get a discount from our passes.
I would unanimously say that Indiana Jones was NOT the boys' favorite. They were without nap and getting tired, but Daniel enjoyed it.
There was very little whining. Ezekiel walked a lot, so did Malachi. There was only fearful tears from Malachi when we first arrived. We're working on his fear of everything new. He's getting better. It was an awesome day for us to spend as a family! We really wanted to ride the Tower of Terror but swapping kids to ride alone was not my idea of fun. We'll go some other time when we can have some other adults with us.
I'm glad I could "celebrate" my birthday early with my family! I love them all so much!
You are growing up quickly. I don't know how well I am handling it. About 2 weeks ago, you told me, "I hate you." I know you didn't mean it, but it made me sad. I hadn't done anything to truly upset you to make you say that. It took some time for me to realize that you had learned that from someone at daycare who is usually acting bad and is probably no properly punished for it. We have had a discussion or 2 about that, as well as other behaviors, and you seem to understand. We need to work more with you and teach you how to handle your feelings better---something I wish I could do with every child who is not properly cared for at home.
It also made me think about how much I want to be able to stay home with you. I've had that desire for the past 2 years when I realized that other people were not teaching and guiding you the way I wanted. It is not that anyone is failing, but I like to be in control of the situation. The only other person that I trust to raise you right is your father. I love you so much and want you to grow up to be a respectful young man with a desire to serve the Lord. I feel we are doing all right, but I just want to know what goes in your ear and what you see, all the time.
In November, you brought home a paper with your name written by you, for the first time. It is still on the fridge. I will probably keep that forever. You are so smart and catch on to so much. You can count to twenty now and are excellent with your letters and numbers, as a whole. The VPK program at daycare has been wonderful and just what you needed to "catch up" academically. I have no doubt you will be ready for Kindergarten next year. You LOVE structure and consistency, which, I believe, will make you extremely successful in school. You love to learn. I hope we can keep this learning ingrained in you.
I love the way you run to meet me when I get home and throw your arms around me. Sometimes I don't like when you ask so many questions that don't always make sense to me, or talk to hear yourself talk; but I am so thankful that you can talk normally and have absolutely no speech problems from being tongue-tied and having your tongue clipped. I love to hear your sing, especially worship songs. You love church and learning your verse each week. It makes me so proud. I know we have a LOOOOOOOOONG way to go until we are out of the woods, and you know exactly who you are in Christ, but I am so grateful.
I love you, Malachi James! You are becoming a wonderful young man.
-Momma
Last night we picked up some "fireworks" from Publix along with some "bubbly" (sparkling cider and grape juice). Daniel set off the few on the ground one. Ezekiel loved the sparklers. Malachi refused to come outside most of the time until the end. Then, he still wouldn't hold one, but at least he came outside. We had spent about 2 1/2 hours at Outback to use our gift card and have a nice dinner that we didn't have to cook or clean up. We enjoyed it but had to wait WAAAAAAAAY too long. We enjoyed our lazy day of rest.
