Making Me Smile

Some things that made me smile this weekend:

• A Friday night date with the girls to see a movie followed by dinner at Bread Co.  The movie was for a friend's birthday, but it was still nice to hang out with the girls for the evening.  I think my children are the only ones who could get scared at "A Dolphin's Tale Two".  Merrill was in my lap for half of the movie and Millie was curled up in a ball hiding her eyes and squealing during the most 'tense' part.  
• Saturday morning soccer for Merrill -- this was her first day of soccer and our first experience with soccer through our parks program.  I was really impressed with the organization of everything and the number of kids there -- 60 kindergarten children divided into 6 different teams!  AND we randomly lucked out as Merrill was placed on a team with a girl from her dance class and a little boy from her kindergarten class (as it turns out the little girl and boy are best friends from preschool).  Given we signed up without knowing anything about the program or if anyone we knew was also participating I felt very good about the whole thing.  There were actually quite a few little boys from Merrill's class there as well as a few children from her preschool.  I think she will enjoy the program. 
• Watching the girls play so happily and contentedly together all weekend.  At the end of the summer they seemed to be at each other arguing ALL the time; a case of too much of a good thing.  Now that they don't have so much time to play during the week, they seem to really be embracing the time they do have together. 

a self-portrait they created together on Saturday by tracing each other and then coloring themselves in (very accurately, I must say).  So much love :)

• Seeing Merrill independently start to process the things she is learning at school here at home.  She has been recreating activities that she does at school here at home, doing a lot of art and applying the principles she's learned in art class (today she told me that the tops of bushes and trees are 'scalloped' lines), writing books and showing pride in being able to find her sight words when we are reading together.  The transition to Kindergarten has not been an easy one for her, so it's nice to see that she is engaged enough at school to come home and replicate the things she is doing there. 

I have given up battling early mornings with Miss Merrill.  She generally comes into our room between 5 and 5:15 asking for help going back to sleep (it doesn't matter if she's gone to sleep before 7 or after 8, she still gets up around 5 every.morning.).  She almost NEVER goes back to sleep and after 20 minutes or so of her fidgeting in our bed I just get up with her (or Scott does, depends on the day).  Sometimes we are able to go through the routine without waking Teddy, sometimes we are not.  Sunday we were not.  Luckily they were both happy to come down for breakfast and do some coloring/work.

Merrill has been talking about making an alphabet book, so that is what we did Sunday morning (at 'too-early-to-be-up o'clock ;) )

That's Rapunzel up there in the multi-sheet picture along with a few other of Merrill's creations this weekend.  She has really gotten into drawing lately which has been a very happy surprise

• Going for a run this morning with Millie at the track.  We signed up for our first race in October -- a 5k for me and 1/4 mile for Millie.  It will be a walk/run for me as I'm not much of a runner (yet), but it will be a start.  We worked on strategy today (not running full out right from the start :) ), did some stretching and Millie insisted on ending our training session with 10 push-ups!
• Watching Teddy imitate all of Scott's mannerisms and habits (like making coffee).  It really cracks me up when he sits/lies like him when they are playing -- and he tells me to sit/lie the same way too :).

demonstrating where the water goes

• The coming of fall -- which is technically today!  We've enjoyed some really nice weekends weather-wise the past couple of weeks and it's been so very nice (though Sunday could have been a touch cooler and it would have been perfect).   I love fall.  I love cozy fall clothes, I love soups and stews and chili's for meals, I love pumpkin everything, I love the changing colors outside.  I think it's just the change of a season, the newness, the freshness (which is odd, because technically everything is dying, and not fresh...).  I'm hoping Mother Nature continues to give us a nice, cool, sunny fall (and doesn't amp up the temps to 90 or drop them to 40 ...), you never know around here though...

This weekend we had pumpkin pancakes for dinner Saturday night (and for Sunday and Monday breakfasts...), made pumpkin pie squares and pumpkin-spice white hot chocolate for book club and had Tuscan Pumpkin White bean soup for dinner on Sunday.  Yep, we are ready for fall flavors!

• Spending a lovely afternoon on the back patio with my girlfriends for book club.  It's amazing how long a month can feel sometimes.  It felt like a REALLY long time since we'd gotten together -- but it had only been a month (that same month goes by in a blink of an eye with respects to activities and events for the kids...like knowing the kids have been in school for over a month, how did that happen?!  Seems like they just started -- but it seems like it's been MONTHS since I last got to sit and chat with all the 'girls' in book club (in reality it was EXACTLY the same amount of time as we met the Sunday before my kids started school in August...).  

Now it's Monday morning.  The kids are dressed and ready for school and watching their morning show. Their folders have been emptied and readied for a new week, the week's calendar by my desk has been updated to reflect this week's schedule and 'specials' at school (beyond the regular dance classes and soccer practice, Merrill has a field trip to the fire station that Scott is chaperoning, I'm helping up at the school during recess on Thursday for the 'walker's club' and Thursday is school picture day).  I've got birthday invitations to make up for Millie and party panning to do, birthday gifts to buy/make for one of the girls' friends and a special little almost-one-year-old that we really love around here, workouts and meals to plan and do/make ... Just thinking of next weekend and the fun things on the calendar though -- I'm already smiling again.

Teddy at Two

Stats:  Height -- 32.2 inches

          Weight -- 21 pounds.

I'm going to skip the percentiles this time around, let's just say he's on the small side.  Though our pediatrician has never voiced any concern and he's growing and looks healthy to me, so...

• Talks up a storm 
• Sleeps well and, right now is our one child who likes to sleep.  He will often tell me he's ready for a nap or night-night and even when he does fight it, he can be pretty easily convinced that sleep is a good thing.
• Is still nursing -- some days and nights its a lot and some it's not that noticeable.  Some days I think he's never going to give it up and others I think we are close to weaning. We'll see :). 
• Naps and starts the night in his own bed but comes into our room usually between 10 and 11 at night (though that varies) -- see above

Favorite color: blue (maybe, could be pink) -- Mommy's answer: he really likes orange -- yesterday he was very determined to wear his orange socks, though right now he really doesn't discriminate too much between colors he likes and doesn't like

Favorite thing to eat: vegetables!  (well, he sure knows how to give a good answer, not sure how accurate it is :) ) Mommy's answer: noodles -- any kind will do, plain or with cheese, though we most often have brown rice/quinoa noodles plain at home, sun butter and chocolate chips, carrots, feta cheese, anything sweet, bananas and peanut butter, graham crackers (at Lainey's), berries and whipped cream (at Lainey's), Lara Bars.  He's not much of a bread or cereal kid, though he does like crackers.  

favorite toy: firetruck!  Mommy's answer: any truck or car, though he also really likes to play in the play kitchen and make 'tea' or cook dinner

What do you like to play?  Cars!

What do you like to do outside?  ride my bike (um, again, nice answer but not entirely accurate as he won't ride his bike yet...) Mommy's answer: play baseball, basketball, soccer (any kind of ball), swing, play in the playhouse, dig in the dirt

Our happy guy on his 2nd birthday enjoying a little leftover cookie cake and some birthday singing :)

Teddy demonstrating his current love for carrots.  He's also been known to challenge Scott to broccoli eating contests (eat your broccoli, daddy!).

Not all days are great eating days for Teddy though.  This is what the kitchen table looks like many afternoons.  Here you can see remnants of his breakfast (1/2 piece of toast and yogurt), lunch (carrots, beans and rice) and at least two snack attempts (banana and peanut butter, sun butter and chocolate chips) and some feta cheese thrown in there for good measure -- that could have been from any of those meals ...

Teddy is pretty sure he's as big as his sisters and loves to do all of the things they do

On this day he wanted to pack and wear his backpack.  He thought that meant he got to go to school with the girls.  I had to convince him that going to the gym was his school and let him take his backpack full of toys there.  Luckily the daycare workers were accommodating!

Loves having Rosie here for a playmate two days a week.  He does a good job sharing his toys with her -- they were looking at "Go Dog Go" on this day and he ran upstairs to his room to get his dog to show Rosie.

Showing her the ropes at the train table

Is starting to show interest in 'projects' -- this was his first gluing activity that he did while I was working on his thank you notes from his birthday party.  It kept him busy while I worked, though he still interrupted me approximately every 10 seconds for help :).

Will play with his doll (or the girls' dolls or princess figurines) and the kitchen set as much as with his cars and trains -- and will often incorporate them all into the same play session.

Some videos to show Teddy's personality these days.  Of course his personality shines brightest right before I turn on the camera ;).  (I also like the videos to have to be able to look back and hear his two-year-old language).  

being a helper

being silly

this one was actually a couple months before Teddy turned two -- if I remember right, he was randomly awake late at night and felt like going to the kitchen to have some noodles :).

Two is a fun age.  It's the age Millie wanted to stay at so long ago.  In some ways, I would love to keep them all at this age.  But I can't do that, can I.  So, I let them grow and do my best to enjoy the journey that we are on together, holding on to all the moments I can.

Fall Soccer Fun

Soccer practices started for Millie a few weeks ago and this past Saturday was her first game.  While she's playing through our church again this year, she's on a completely different team.  I think there is only one little girl who was on her team last year and none of the girls go to her elementary school.  That hasn't seemed to put a damper on things for her though.  She hasn't complained about practices yet and seemed to have fun at her game, despite the fact that the other team scored two goals and her team didn't get any.  The games look a bit more organized than last year and the girls are starting to 'get' soccer.  They are also playing on a much bigger field which means the ball isn't going out-of-bounds on every kick.  I think Millie will learn a lot this year and this will likely be the year she decides if this is something she wants to continue doing every fall or not.  Merrill starts a soccer program through the parks and recreation department in a couple of weeks.  Hers is a six week program and is more of an instructional camp than a 'team', which I think will be good for her.  She hasn't had any soccer experiences yet, so we'll see how she likes it.  For now, our Saturdays are going to be full of soccer fun!

Saying Goodbye to Summer

We finally were able to have a 'last days of summer' outing this past Sunday when we went to my parent's cabin to spend the day at the beach with them and my sister's family.  This was our third attempt ...  The original plan was to go to the zoo with my sister and her kids the Monday before school started back in August, unfortunately, Teddy had come down with a virus that weekend and wasn't up for an outing.

We tried AGAIN on the Sunday of Labor Day when we headed to the Botanical Gardens for the Japanese Festival.  We made it as far as the origami exhibit (which was the first exhibit inside the front doors...  well, I guess technically we also made it to the bathroom before that {right next door} and that is where we quickly figured out we were on a failed outing).  This time it was Millie coming down with a virus.  Merrill got to make a quick origami animal, then we headed to the gift shop to get the kids some Japanese fans and then it was time to go home.  (All Millie could say was how tired she was and she just wanted to go to sleep -- a clear sign she was coming down with something as she does NOT like sleep ...).  She was running a pretty high fever when we got home so I sent her up to bed while we got lunch ready for everyone else.  She did indeed fall asleep.  Luckily, it was a quick virus and she was feeling much better by Monday, but it still put a damper on any family outings for the weekend.

THIS weekend though?!  Everyone was healthy, the weather was beautiful (at least by Sunday) and everyone was up for a day out.  Yay!  So, thanks to my parents for inviting us out to the cabin and spending the afternoon on the beach with us!

 The cooler temps did not stop these two from running right into the water!

like father like son

Thoughts on School

After the long weekend at home and a very full day of free-play on Monday for the girls (they literally played together, happily and peacefully for at least 10 hours bouncing back and forth between the basement (and the little legos) and their room (and the dollhouse)), both girls expressed some dismay at going back to school at bedtime.  Merrill lamented that 'choice time' wasn't very long and they told her what to do anyway (and "what kind of a choice is that?!") and so school wasn't fun :(.  Millie also expressed not wanting to go to school and I tried to explain that she was lucky she got to go to school and that it was where she would learn to be a successful and productive adult.  She asked "why can't I just experience it on my own?"  Hmmm.  Her preschool Montessori teachers would be proud.

It was hard to refute either of their complaints -- Merrill's need for a little freedom and playtime is reasonable for a five-year-old experiencing all-day school for the first time, and she's right, choice time isn't much of a choice if the teacher chooses your activity for you ...  And Millie is such a hands-on, do-it-yourself, kind of gal that she probably would do really well in a home school type situation (though I'm not at all convinced I'm a home school kinda mom...).  I do really think Millie's teacher this year is a good fit for this (she maintains an excellent blog where she not only shows what they do in their class, but also gives very insightful and explicit reasons for WHY they do the things they do and how they support her well-thought out teaching philosophy).  I think part of the problem for Millie is that so far 1st grade has been a review of Kindergarten and she doesn't feel like she's learning anything new yet (whereas everything was new in Kindergarten right way) and she's a little bored, also, all of her best friends from last year are in a different class together.  (while I wish she had some of her friends with her, I'm glad she has her teacher and not theirs -- based only on what I've heard from the other girls).  I firmly believe the boredom factor will be changing very soon as her school is very dedicated to challenging children every step of the way.  So it will just take time.  It saddens me a bit to know they aren't loving school yet -- they like it okay, but aren't loving it.  Merrill isn't expressing the same kind of complete adoration for her teacher that Millie did last year and while I like her teacher I do have some concerns of my own and hope that it ends up being a good year.  We only have two weeks down so far and SO much ahead of us.  I have to believe they will both get their footing and really start enjoying themselves (and drop-offs with tears, like today's, will be long forgotten).  As a rational being, I know this.  As a sentimental mama, well, my heart hurts just a little bit for them today.