I remember Bella and Ben and Sophie eating paper. I remember pulling bits of leaves out of their mouths. I remember once or twice finding rocks or bits of bark or whatever. But Anthony has taken putting dangerous bits and pieces in his mouth to a whole new level. I remove little chokey things from his mouth daily. Usually three or four or five times a day. On just one day last week it was clementine peel, toy truck wheel, and paper. I regularly find the girls’ hair rubber bands in there.
No matter how much I try to enlist the big kids in keeping the floor safe for Anthony, they just can’t seem to do it. Bella is just not good at noticing that kind of thing. She’s not a natural cleaner or tidier. Not like Ben is. Ben if he were older would probably be pretty good at it. But Ben’s main concern as far as Anthony goes is keeping Anthony from touching his trucks. He tackles Anthony several times a day, pushes him, hits him, screams No Anthony!. No, Ben is no help. And Sophie…. sometimes I feel like speaking to Sophie is like speaking to the wind.
So anyway, this morning I fished a piece of broken glass out of Anthony’s mouth. I can only surmise that yesterday’s kitchen floor cleaning dislodged a piece of glass that was hiding under the table or a shelf or something because we haven’t even broken anything in weeks. He was sitting by the broom when I noticed him mouthing something in that way he does. He wasn’t disturbed at all so I figured it was probably a bit of food one of the kids had dropped. Still, I stuck my finger in to check just to be sure. Boy was I shocked when this sharp chunk of glass came out. And then he got angry at me for taking it away! As I was changing his diaper a minute later he was blowing bloody raspberries, little flecks of blood on his lips and arm. I’m pretty sure that there can’t have been more than one bit of broken glass; but I’m keeping my eye on him.
Ay! This baby is giving me grey hairs. I plead daily with his guardian angel to keep him safe because between eating all sorts of tiny choking things and pulling ladders and furniture down on himself, it will be a minor miracle if he reaches his first birthday.
Thanks, MargoB. It’s always nice to know my writing is appreciated.
Melanie, I really enjoy reading your ‘blog! I miss living with a family and children, so enjoy hearing about a family, but more than that, the things you choose to write about and the way you write are very enjoyable, too. Thanks for this post about Bella’s family—I find children’s imaginations so intriguing, and marvel at their creativity when I see what they come up with. I also love how their hearts are so open to being themselves and being real. If they’re mad, sad, glad, whatever, they don’t [generally] hide it.
Thanks for writing!
Wow! Bella has quite a complex cadre of imaginary friends to keep her occupied! Madeline had three main imaginary friends (although sadly they’ve long since left the premises). Feezy was half-boy and half-lion. Ribbon Lassie (I have no idea where she got the name from, especially since she didn’t know about Lassie the dog when she introduced her to me) was an older girl and so was Kitty. I miss her friends.
Fortunately, her imagination remains very active. She’s always inventing games and writing stories. I love my children’s creativity. They continually inspire me.
Thanks for sharing these glimpses into your family’s life!
God bless.
Kate, I know what you mean. When Bella was younger Pooh and friends were her imaginary playmates and I kind of miss them. None of the other kids have been very into Pooh like Bella was. Though that might be in part because we so did it with Bella that I’m still a little burnt out. When Jane and Gina and the rest fade away I will miss them too. But I am sure that Bella’s imagination will keep busy with stories and pretends. I definitely feel privileged to be able to witness her creativity.