Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Sometimes Being "P.C." is full of "B.S."

Seren's preschool class celebrated the Thanksgiving feast today! Seren was so excited! She got to wear her costume! She got to see all of her friends (her class is mostly part time kids so it is very rare that all 18 are in one classroom). She was stoked!

She arrived home wearing a costume that was to symbolize traditional Native American dress. Her class learned all about traditional Native American symbols and selected symbols that meant a lot to them. I LOVE my preschool experience!

Dad picked up Seren from preschool and said "WOW! Look at you! You look great!"

"Thanks! I'm a princess!"

Dad: I see! That is wonderful! Let's see, it says you are Seren, Princess Sit Bull.

"NO!!!! It doesn't say that!!! No! It doesn't say that at all! Absolutely not!"

(Ok, little ray of sunshine!)

Dad: Well, that is what it says on your head-dress!

"No! It doesn't! It says I'm Princess Bull Sit!"

(Seriously? Princess Bull Sit!? We died laughing!)

We'll let you decide:



Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy time with your family and friends!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Soccer is Over

(Thank goodness)

We finished 10 weeks of soccer!
Ten LOOOONG weeks.

That would be ten weeks of Wednesday night soccer and ten weeks of Saturday games at 12! And when it got cold, we did soccer under the lights on Wednesday nights. Too much practice! Too much structure!

Insane!

She is 4.

She wore cleats.

Sometimes she ran. Mostly she hung back. She learned about the game. Kinda.

She had fun. Kinda. She liked meeting friends and running. Kinda.

She REALLY really liked snack.

We really liked that she TRIED it. And I was proud of her for WANTING to go even though it was a 'stretch' for her. And I'm glad we provided her with an opportunity to do something that was difficult for her.

If you ask Seren if she'd do if it was worth it, I'd bet you'd get an enthusastic YES. Ask Mom and Dad? You'd get a 'Kinda'.





Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Start of the Season

This weekend was busy! I am fully exhausted. Bone tired. Work has been insane and the weekend was busy and full. That being said, I had a blast!

Friday night, immediately after work, Sam and I took the kids to Peddlers Village which celebrating Christmas by lighting all of the holiday lights! They had Christmas carolers, marshmallows to roast, and hot cidar. Well, it was to be hot but it was freezing cold because they couldn't heat it fast enough!

We had a blast! The kids did too! Everytime he saw lights Wyeth would yell out 'oh!!'

This year is going to be best Christmas!

Saturday, Seren and I drove down to see a local production of the Nutcracker! Wow! I haven't seen that show in years! Seren was all dressed up in her dress coat, her dress shoes and her Christmas dress. Even her princess tiara! Mom purchased the tickets- it was a girls day out! The show was very, very good. It was also long. Seren got the wiggles at the 30 minute mark. Thank god for intermission! She loved it though. She liked the dancers and the music. And at one point, rubbed my mom's back and rubbed mine for her seat in between us. The seat which was swallowing her up if you didn't hold it down. Most days I think Seren is so mature and so much older than her brother. But seeing her so excited by the show, by the frenchfries to come and her smile, I realized (again) just how little she really is.

My dad met us after the show for lunch. Yummy lunch out! It was a very special day! They even watched Seren for an hour so I could have coffee with an old friend.

Seren went to bed last night at 8:15 and didn't wake up until 8:00am. She was just exhausted! Amazing how much excitement this weekend brought! Lights! The Nutcracker! Lunch!

Sunday we spent time as a family which was really fun. Raking leaves, playing outside, enjoying just NOT doing while trying to be productive! I am pretty overwhelmed by the prospects of the season. But being with my kids and hubby always makes me happy.

We got out the Christmas books and read the Polar Express tonight! Game on! Christmas here we come! And those books ROCK! Wyeth went NUTS over the choo-choo. Seren held the bell! [Are we the only ones who 'edit' that book to just take out any references to non-believers (in Santa)? We just skipped those words!]

So we are excited by the promises the holiday brings! But we are ahead of ourselves! We have a big trip home to Michigan this week and then Wyeth's 2nd birthday! Lots and lots to be excited about! Michigan is Wednesday!



Seren would have gone on stage if we let her!



Thanks Mom and Dad for a lovely time!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

(Not so) Lost in Translation

Around here we are still counting the words that Wyeth can say. But soon, I imagine, we'll be well past it. Once they 'get it', the words come. And it is so exciting!

But there are some things he says right now that just crack us up.

Nut= MILK
Boap= Boat

how did milk become nut?

Seren too still says a few choice words completely incorrectly.

For example. Animals is STILL aminals. And 'pacifier' is pacifower.

What about your kids? (if you have any). What do they say completely incorrectly? I don't even want to imagine the day when Seren actually turns to me and says, "Mom! We saw a ton of animals at the zoo!" It will kill me. It has always been aminals! :)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Snapshot of Life at 23 months: Choo-choos, Choices, Cheerios and Chaos

Next month Wyeth will turn two.

I can't get my mind around this concept. At all.

Wyeth is my love bug- my chance to be a confident parent. He brings me so much joy these days. The tantrums come and go like big storms on the horizon. Sometimes his frustration scares me as he doesn't have the words to tell us exactly what he wants.

Life these days is all about choo-choos, choices, cheerios and generalized chaos.

Wyeth is obsessed with trains! This boy thing is surprising the heck out of me! But as of two weeks ago he LOVES trains. ANd buses! And will shout from the back seat when he sees either one. It sounds like he is being goosed! Ahh! He just loves anything to do with trains. I feel like Thomas is my near future.

He remains a dedicated muncher on Cheerios. Every morning. For breakfast.

And Wyeth loves choices. So we give him lots of choices. Every day. Where do you want to change your diaper? Over here? Or over there? Which light do you want to turn off first? This one? Or That one? He will now pause and say 'hmm'. The cutest thing ever! HMMMM. Dat!

Choices are provided for pants, coats, etc. It takes forever to do anything but we feel that this avoids meltdowns and gives him a sense of independence. He is also totally into doing everything himself! From pouring the cheerios, to tapping the milk out of the milk gallon, to unzipping his pjs. Tonight he worked (hard) to pull down his pants on his own. My brother was known to say "I can do it myfelf". Wyeth too has this passionate independence streak.

We also had him evaluated last week for speech. But he doesn't qualify. We were pleased. His words were so slow to come that our pediatrician recommended it. It was an interesting experience watching your son be evaluated. NOthing like 5 adults and one kid to make him feel under a microscope. By the time the evaluation was scheduled, I wasn't as concerned as his words (while not consistent) are coming fast and furious. He also now NODS which is awesome! (note, we don't say 'yes' but we are nodding!) We are far from the 'no' which meant 'yes' and the 'no' which meant 'no'. Love it!


Seren for all of my posts in May about being a royal PITA has become a compassionate love to her brother. "Ok, Wyeth. Here is what we are going to do. You ok with the plan? You ok? Do you want to help me XXXX too? Ok, we'll do it together." Last night they 'painted' in the kitchen, the two of them sharing a stepstool. And last week when I vacuumed the living room (which Wyeth HATES), she held him close to her and he gripped her tightly, "It is ok, Wyeth. I gotca. It is just the vaccuum." It makes this momma heart melt.

So Wyeth is all about doing it his way, celebrating trash and choo-choos and loving his sister and family. We are one blessed bunch!

I just can't believe he'll be two. Wasn't Seren JUST turning two?

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Pumpkins 2010

The Halloween festivities started on Friday with our preschoolers' parade! What fun! I was totally excited by the day!

The class was to sing "Dem Bones". Seren sings this song at our house. And the teacher said that the kids SCREAMED it in the classroom.

But during the parade? When everyone had cameras? Not so much.



Still, our ghost had a blast.

Wyeth had his own parade on Thursday at his little weekly class. He rang bells in the parade.



I then joined the class for a small classroom party. Which was great! Wonderful to see the classroom so alive and so excited.

Then Sam, Seren and Wyeth went to a HUGE Halloween party at a classmates' house.

Saturday, after soccer and nap, we went down to my parents' home for a really fun Halloween parade Saturday night. I loved it! This parade was something I did every year growing up! They have changed the format a bit but it was great!

Again, our ghost and dragon had a blast! This time our ghost wore makeup! (Thanks Poppy!)








Sunday was the official big day. After a playdate with friends, our new friends came over for a quick pizza dinner. Their daughter is in Seren's preschool class. The two of them were like peas in a pod! The conversation that they had at dinner was classic. Seren and Paige held hands during trick or treating. Wyeth sprinted ahead for the first several houses but then came to a 'scary' house. And he was done. Toast. Back into my arms until we were well past 'that' house. Their little son was a big trooper as well.



It was the best yet. We got crappy pictures which really bummed me out. I wish I had a professional photographer that lived with me! But more importantly, everyone had such a good time and sharing it with friends made it that much better.

It truly was an amazing Halloween.

October 2010 was a good month!





For the Record

For the record, for the past 8 weeks, my children have been waking up around 7 or 7:15. This is unheard of in our household and very much welcomed.

I get up at 6, shower, dress, make coffee and check email. Everyone else is sound asleep. It is so lovely.

This is a far cry from the nearly 3 years of my life that I woke up at 5 or 5:30. Which is just wrong. There is no reason to get up that early.

And Seren used to just SCREAM at 6. "It is 6! I'm awake! I'm awake!" Before she figured out WHICH 6 she needed to pay attention to, we often heard the "It is 6" cry at 5:36. Now, she wakes up, stretches and usually starts playing with her toys or dolls. It is lovely. We come in a few minutes later.

This late wake up sometimes is problematic. I need to leave for work at 7:30 so there have been a few mornings (but just a few) where I don't see my little wy guy. Those days stink! I feel completely incomplete all day.

But Saturdays rock; we can "sleep in" until 7!

I'm only noting this here because Day Lights Saving is about to kick me in the ass.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Keeping Someone Safe

As a mom I spend a lot of time thinking about safety. What car seat to buy. Whether or not I should turn it around and when. What chemicals are in what foods, etc., etc. Several industries feed off parents' general paranoria on issues of 'safety'.

But every now and again I realize that the real job of a parent is keeping our kids emotionally safe. I take this job very seriously too. That job is often harder and will only get much harder as my children age. But for now, it is pretty easy. It is always nice to have a reminder that while we may not have the funds to buy a new Britax, I can do the important job of loving my kids and keeping them 'safe'.

Wyeth and I were playing around 6:30 on Saturday morning. Seren and Sam were still asleep. Wyeth was happily playing around his room; we were singing, pushing garbage trucks and reading books together. It was fun.

Then the heat clicked on in his room.

A simple 'click, click'. But for Wyeth, that was a new sound. Something strange coming from the corner of his room!

He wimpered in fear and threw himself at me, burrowing his head and his arms in my chest. He was so frightened.

And all I needed to do was hug him. And comfort him. And let him know that the heat noise was 'ok'. He was ok. Everything was ok. Mom was there to keep him safe.

And in a simple gesture, I made it all good.

Not all problems will be this easily solved. I know this.

So for now, I'll breathe in the scent of my son's freshly washed hair and appreciate the beauty of the moment. I could keep him safe; it was simply lovely.