Baby Soren is not so happy today. He’s been crying and screaming for no apparent reason, which is not like him. He’s snuggled up on my lap asleep right now, and I’m hoping a good nap is going to reset his usual cheerfulness.

I wish he’d stop throwing up. I feel bad complaining about it, because really he’s such a lovely baby in every other way. He sleeps and smiles and snuggles…it seems wrong that I just want more! But the constant stream of spit up is really getting to me. I hate that he’s always damp and sticky, he has a permanent rough, raw rash under his chin where it always runs down, if he doesn’t get baths daily he gets a horrid smell in the rolls of chub on his neck, I have to change his clothes at least three times a day, he’s always splattering puke on the floor or down my shirt when I have him in the carrier…it’s a bit frustrating. I just wish I could pick him up without having him respond with a little dribble/projectile fountain of sick. I wish I could feed him without having to swathe the two of us in blankets to protect our clothes and the couch.

It could be worse, I know that. He’s not distressed by this endless leaking of milk, and at his last health centre check he’d packed on the weight, so it’s obviously not doing him any real harm. It’s just gross though, and I’m fed up with it!

The others were like this too, and there’s not anything much to be done until he grows out of it. You’re not supposed to start solids til six months, but I’m getting very tempted to give him some cereal and see if that helps at all, because I know that it sometimes does. I don’t know…at least he’s getting good wear out of his clothes, wearing three outfits a day. On the other hand my washing machine might soon collapse from overuse, but whatever.

The other night I was playing with Soren, and Jericho asked me what I was doing. I told him I was giving Soren a kiss, and when he asked why (as he does about EVERYTHING these days) I said because I loved him. Jericho shook his head and said, “No, you not love Soren.” I asked him why I didn’t love Soren, and he just looked very shifty and said slowly, “Because…he’s a naughty baby.”

I oiled Soren’s head for the cradle cap tonight, and then shampooed it, and somehow those two things have combined in some way that has made his head smell exactly like a teabag. How very odd.

Jericho is going pretty well with the toilet training. He’s not very good about taking himself off to the toilet, he’ll usually leave it too late, but he goes when I tell him too and holds it in between. And he’s only had one poo accident in his undies, so I don’t really care if I have to remind him to use the toilet for the next year so long as I don’t have to clean up crap from his butt! I think he’ll be dry at night really soon too. He’s woken up dry for the past four days, so that’s a bonus.

I think Jericho likes wearing undies because they have Lightning McQueen on the front, and because he now has access to his penis. He certainly seems pleased with it. Although yesterday he was shouting out to me that “there’s something wrong with my peeeeeeenis!”, and when I looked it had just got hard. He was a bit disturbed by this and kept telling me about it, “My penis has got big, and it won’t point down!” I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help it. Boys are funny.

Emma read to her teacher today, and she’s been skipped along four reading levels. I’m so proud of her. Troy and I always thought she’d do well at school, and she has been trying so hard. It’s good for her to have evidence of her progress and success too, because I know she compares herself to Nicholai and has a tendency to think she’s not that smart, but she really is very bright.

We’ve started a pocket money scheme with Nicholai and Emma. I’ve written up and printed out a chore chart for them, so they can tick off their chores as they do them, and then on Fridays, assuming most of the jobs are ticked, they’ll each get two dollars. Which I know is such a piddly amount! But it will give them enough to buy some scrapbooking things, or a book, after a month or so. It also gives us room to increase the money and increase the chores, since at the moment Nicholai’s jobs are- put washing away, put lunchbox up on the bench, keep computer desk and chair tidy, and have a bath without making a fuss. Emma has to put her washing away, put her lunchbox up on the bench and go to bed without making a fuss. So they’re hardly being overtaxed!

Emma is funny though. When we first raised this idea she was really excited, but then later she said to me, “Does pocket money have to go in your pocket? Because these pants don’t have pockets…maybe I could use my money box instead.”