The Human Kids are Also Here

So most of the pictures on my phone are of our animals, but thanks to a 3 month backlog I was able to unearth a few of the human children!

First up, the teenager.

Landon, now 13, is a gangly delight.

He is obsessed with our cat, whom he has dubbed "Da Dubba Tiny Moose", a name he sings in the most unique and absurd voice- a voice that absolutely forces you to crack up each and every one of the 100 times a day that he does it.

He carries Moose around the house, sings Moose original songs, and has Moose sleep under the covers with him every night. Claire still loves having a cat, but Landon was a closet Crazy Cat Gentleman and none of us - including him - saw it coming. (I was typing this paragraph at 9:08 p.m. last night and Landon just walked through the living room holding Tiny Moose up against his chest, singing him a bedtime song, as he takes him to their room.)

He went back to school in person in late September. It's a little weird, of course, but he's glad to be there. About half the students in his classes seem to be in person and half are at home. Everyone is super spread out and of course masks are worn all day and it seems to be working? Lunches are a little sad- they're SUPER spread out, as they need to be, so there's no socialization and everyone stares at their phones, except he doesn't have one so he brings his Chromebook and plays a typing game. Thirteen years of raising kids without electronics at meals or restaurants and here we are [insert shrug]. He rides his bike to and from school, so I often forget he's still here after we've gotten the girls off and he'll surprise me by popping in my bedroom office to chat around 8 a.m. which is the best.

He's funny and smart and can run very fast for a very long time. Still into climbing things he shouldn't, and now also jumps to and over all the things all the time.

His sisters think he is the most hilarious human on the planet, which only encourages him, and so much of dinner is spent laughing and then trying to get everyone to stop laughing so they'll eat something.

He does all the dishes every night (by far the best big kid benefit so far; it has been life-changing to sit and chat with James at the table after dinner while the dishes are done), wipes the counters, does all his laundry, and takes out the recycling.

Frankly, teenage Landon is a delightful Landon and we enjoy him so very much.

Next up, our 10-year-old!

Claire has grown 2 inches in the last 6 months, wears a women size 7 shoe, finally changed sizes (she was a girls medium for like 15 years) and LOVES her new clothes and booties.

Of our three, she has probably enjoyed all our extra time together the very most. Claire LOVES school and loves her friends and loves her activities, but she also really really just loves all being in the same room together at the same time. A Claire under a stay-at-home-order is a happy Claire.

She was actually the last to go back to in-person school (our district did a staggered start based on grades) and though I think she really enjoyed her last two weeks as an virtual learning only child, she was quite ready when it was her turn. As with Landon I think it's going as well as it can!

The teachers are incredible, the students are far more tolerant of their all day masks than the average adult seems to be, and all the protcols are being followed. Our school is Title I and majority low economic status and I'm so glad they've found a way for the kids to be safe, fed, and educated in the building.

She's an enthuastic crafter who rarely finishes her projects, a hugger, a planner, and a singer who always has a song in her heart and playing on our speakers. She wipes the table after dinner, empties the dishwasher each morning, cleans the litterbox each night, does her laundry, and takes out the trash.

We walk the girls to school every morning. We started it went Cora went back in October and have continued any morning it's not raining or below 40 degrees. Maggie loves it and now knows when it's supposed to be time to walk to school for drop-off and pick-up. It's also great for me to get out of the house and move a little and I love walking the girls to the corner of the property, where they mask up and march in for their temp checks, and then walking back with just James, holding hands and chatting about whatever pops in our heads.

Cora, our enthusiastic and independent little 7-year-old actually went back to school first and oh was she EXCITED about it.

Cora is very strong, a super fast runner, and still wants to pet every dog who passes by our house.

She wears her bunny mask every day and loves every minute of being a first grader. She loves to write stories, illustrate them in GREAT and painstaking detail, and will read books for hours.

She is the only kid in our house I will let paint in the dining room unattended and know that nary a drip of paint will fall anywhere she doesn't want it to go.

Her favorite color is purple, she loves gymnastics and dancing to her own rhythm. She often disappears during the day to go work on some project or other task that just popped into her head and requires no help or interaction of any kind. She's busy and focused, yet easily distracted. Confident and compotent and capable of losing thirty minutes playing with her hair in the mirror. She is currently putting on a performance in our living room without an audience or music. Her chores are clearing the table at night, taking larger individual items out to the recycle bin, picking up Maggie's poop, and folding and putting away all her clothes.

We've been able to take our pack on a few socially distanced adventures. We rented a cabin in Utopia, Texas in October and hiked at two state parks (Garner and Lost Maples; both beautiful!).

We've done the Arboretum Children's Garden and lots and lots of neighborhood walks.

And of course, lots of playing in the house and yard. They started having sleepovers in the girls' room early in the pandemic and they still do on most Friday and Saturday nights. Landon still loves playing- tag, games, forts, anything involving imagination- he's just here for playing with his sisters in a way I was completely over by 13 and I love it so much. (I believe they were Santa's sleigh below?) I continue to love our three-pack and am so grateful for how much joy the give each other and us every day.

And that's the update on the human children! Everyone is good and healthy and whole and anytime I feel overwhelmed it helps so much to zoom out and remind myself of exactly that. It's been a weird year, but a good one in many ways and I feel like we've learned so much more about each kid in this strange, extra time we've had together.

Though I am not opposed to spending less time with each of them at some point in 2021...