Surprises

On the day before my birthday in early April, we received over 6 inches of snow.

On the day after Katie's birthday late in May, we had a downpour of rain followed by puffy flakes of snow.  In May.  The last week of May.

The house is quiet right now.  Ian is at a photo assignment with his dad.  Isaac is napping soundly on the couch.  Sophie and Katie are playing on our new trampoline.

Isaac was a very calm baby.  He was docile and quiet for the first twelve months of his life.  One week after he turned one, we moved to China.  On our second day there, I took the kids on a walk to a park near our new home.  A group of Chinese women gathered around to stare at us and talk in Chinese about the strange foreign woman with her huge family of three kids (I had yet to learn this would happen everywhere we went).   I was a stranger in a foreign land and I hadn't even recovered from jet lag or learned to say "hello" properly.  Suddenly, Isaac didn't get his way about something and, to my shock and surprise, he laid right down on the ground and started kicking his feet, pounding his fists and screaming (he's really cute when he screams by the way).  

It took a few minutes for me to register what was going on.  Before that moment, none of my kids had ever thrown a tantrum quite like this.  Especially not my quiet baby Isaac.

The Chinese ladies were all staring at me to see what I would do.  I had no idea how tantrums were viewed in their culture.  Was it a poor reflection on my mothering?  In America I would have probably just made a joke about it, muttered something about determination or naptime and smiled, but here, I didn't even speak the language.

I scooped him up, corralled my 5 and 3 year-year-olds, and headed home.  It would prove to be the first of many screaming spectacles that continue to happen today.

Now my baby girl is one.

Already she has shown some traits of that curious older brother of hers.  Her calm nature as a baby.  Her bright blue eyes.  The way she cannot be restrained by the high chair, grocery carts or the kitchen table booster.  A tremendous love for being outdoors.  A knack for making everyone laugh with her antics.  

Oh!  Just this second as I was typing, Sophie brought her inside and she is screaming in protest and casting accusatory looks at her sister (she's really cute when she screams by the way).  No kicking and screaming.  Not yet.

Now the house is no longer quiet.

Ian and Brian are coming home soon.

Isaac is waking up from his nap.

Sophie and Katie are inside playing with some noisy new birthday toys.  Katie has found a piece of pineapple to make her happy and she is making me laugh with her antics (shaking her head "yes" and "no" with a mischievous look on her face and rocking out to a musical toy).

I hope we're ready for whatever surprises life has in store for us.