The Stoeckers Tackle Medical School

 

This week..

— we fit some fun fall activities before three fourths of the family caught COVID.  The girls took their annual trip with friends to the pumpkin patch for a trunkful of festive decorations. T and I filled a trash can with fall cleanup - though you can’t tell from looking at our property. We went on a walk to see Halloween decorations (though our intended house didn’t have their blowups plugged in yet). Unfortunately, T’s birthday fell in the middle of him and the kids being sick. So instead of our previous plans, he was playing stay-at-home-dad with grumpy, snotty kids. We’ve made the best of it and thankfully they all seem to be on the uphill climb now.

— Cal cannot get enough of the outdoors. He doesn’t care that it isn’t far above freezing first thing in the morning and he confidently gestures to put on shoes and go outside. T has often let him roam the garage so they can have some shelter (and toddler containment). Cal loved to get a good laugh out of us. He’ll put his toes up to his nose, then scrunch up his face and wave his hand enthusiastically pretending to have “stinky feet!”. He tried to tumble like a gymnast and will repeat the same attempt of it gets a smile. He can also make a mess in record time. He destroyed my succulent planter in the middle of our dining table with one firm swipe when he tantrumed during a meal. However, he often enjoys putting away things like board games if he dumps them out.

— Elle is incredibly intelligent and stubborn. She and Dad can really try to test each other. If she has her mind made up she isn’t doing a chore/task/whatever - it can be very hard to convince her otherwise. She needed to sit in a steamy shower today to clear out her nose and it only happened when I offered eating an ice cream cone simultaneously. She’s convinced she isn’t going to perform in the Sunday school program in a couple weeks despite being obsessed with signing the songs. She frequently makes us smile- while wrestling with Dad she yelled “I know your tricks old man!”. She also told T this birthday for him was a “baaaadddd birthday. Bad bad birthday.” She is totally out of pull ups during the day though she’ll still try to test the limit and see if we hold strong in the morning. She’s a completely normal sibling - half of the time she’s taking bullets for him and half the time she’s calling him by his full name and trying to get one more jab in as we separate them.

xo,

Krista