We will be ringing in 2012 with at least one puking child. Who's next? The suspense is killing me. Stay tuned!
(my bets are on ME since Simon and shared an ice cream last night... joy!)
Update: He's completely fine. Nothing else every happened and he was totally normal after the one incident. Very weird. And then Tom remembered that he drank two FULL (and I do mean full...) cups of chocolate whole milk at dinner the night before. We're pretty certain it was that because Tom realized he feels the same way if he drinks whole milk and for a similar amount of time. (we all drink skim around here)
Hoping we're right, but all signs point to yes. He never got a fever. Never got sick again and played normally the rest of the day. So very strange.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Sheesh.
This is the most stubborn ear infection I've EVER seen. Ben's ear STILL hurts when the medicine wears off. Our pediatrician warned me that it was going to take 48 hours for him to feel better but I kind of thought he was just being conservative. Apparently not.
Poor Ben. :(
Poor Ben. :(
Friday, December 30, 2011
It's Official...
Jonathan's first word is officially on the books as KITTY. He's been "kitty!"ing all over the house all afternoon... chasing Davey hither and yon. Poor Davey. The older boys never gave our other cats the time of day. Jonathan is always up up in Davey's business... I actually shouldn't be surprised that it's his first word and yet, I sort of am! I have to say, I sort of thought it would be one of his brother's names.... but nope... it's the cat.
LOL!
LOL!
Dear Makers of "Milk Chocolate Scented Lip Balm"...
... I ask you, was it really necessary to make this stuff brown???
Should Have Listened to My Gut...
Wednesday night, Ben mentioned, kind of in passing that his ear "maybe hurt a little." I gave him some Motrin and waited to see what Thursday morning brought. I was all set to run him to the doctor for the inevitable ear infection diagnosis though because he has had a cold and truly, for the last six years, save for the years in there where he had functioning ear tubes, every single time he has gotten a cold, he has gotten an ear infection.
However, much to my surprise, In the morning, he said it was completely fine and didn't hurt at all.
I put down the phone, on which I had the pediatrician's sick-hour number already keyed in and decided that maybe we were past ear infection territory with the oldest one, finally! Hurray!
A little voice inside needled me ALL day though... I should just take him in, have it checked... would hate to deal with a middle of the night ear infection.
Buuuut, I ignored it because I thought it was paranoid. We went about our day and Ben never mentioned another thing about his ear.
And, 'round about 11p.m. last night, I woke from a sound sleep. At first I couldn't figure out why and then I realized I heard crying that was NOT coming from the baby monitor. Down the hall I went... Ben's room.... sure enough... "My ear really hurts!!!!"
(sigh)
We got it under control quickly with the whole 3 hour Motrin/Tylenol routine (we're pros at this at this point) and he slept soundly all night. But today, I'll be at the total mercy of the pediatrician's office as to when they can see us. I don't even think our regular pediatrician isn't in on Fridays if I remember correctly, which means we'll get the on-call pediatrician who will squeeze us in and we'll have no choice but to take whatever time they give us. This most likely means messed up naps for Jonathan which is never a good thing. If ONLY I had just done it yesterday....
Kicking myself.
Always listen to the little mommy voice, people. ALWAYS. Sheesh.
However, much to my surprise, In the morning, he said it was completely fine and didn't hurt at all.
I put down the phone, on which I had the pediatrician's sick-hour number already keyed in and decided that maybe we were past ear infection territory with the oldest one, finally! Hurray!
A little voice inside needled me ALL day though... I should just take him in, have it checked... would hate to deal with a middle of the night ear infection.
Buuuut, I ignored it because I thought it was paranoid. We went about our day and Ben never mentioned another thing about his ear.
And, 'round about 11p.m. last night, I woke from a sound sleep. At first I couldn't figure out why and then I realized I heard crying that was NOT coming from the baby monitor. Down the hall I went... Ben's room.... sure enough... "My ear really hurts!!!!"
(sigh)
We got it under control quickly with the whole 3 hour Motrin/Tylenol routine (we're pros at this at this point) and he slept soundly all night. But today, I'll be at the total mercy of the pediatrician's office as to when they can see us. I don't even think our regular pediatrician isn't in on Fridays if I remember correctly, which means we'll get the on-call pediatrician who will squeeze us in and we'll have no choice but to take whatever time they give us. This most likely means messed up naps for Jonathan which is never a good thing. If ONLY I had just done it yesterday....
Kicking myself.
Always listen to the little mommy voice, people. ALWAYS. Sheesh.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Kitty Evolution....
For months now, Jonathan has screeched "eeeeeee eeeee!!!" when pointing at the cat, cuddling with the cat, chasing the cat, "petting" the cat, etc. I've never counted it as a word because he says "eeee!!! eee!!!" when he points to a lot things. Usually things are one of three sounds: "ee ee!" "eh eh eh" or "ooooooooooo oooooo". Not exactly a verbal child at this point.
So yeah...
Anyway, today... TODAY, my friends... he said "Dih-TEE!!!" The first time I chalked it up to a fluke (because over the last seven months I've heard him say everything from "kitty cat" to "marshmallow" once but then never again.) But 15 minutes later, there was another clear, "DIh-TEEEE!!!!"
I'm going to to create a 'third time's the charm' rule. We'll see if he says it again this afternoon or if it goes the way of all the other sounds I thought were words.
Truly, who needs to talk when you have two older brothers who never STOP talking? Interestingly, he actually DOES babble and experiment with sounds more when they are not here, which they happen to not be this afternoon... so there really must be something to that!
I actually have an appointment with Baltimore County Infants and Toddlers to come out and do an evaluation on him in a couple weeks. I'm not particularly concerned there is anything wrong because he's so communicative otherwise. I think he's on Ben's verbal timetable PLUS the older sibling thing added in on top of that. All I know is that we'd all be a LOT less frustrated if we could get him moving on some real words in the near future here. So hopefully they'll be able to give me some tips to get things moving!
So yeah...
Anyway, today... TODAY, my friends... he said "Dih-TEE!!!" The first time I chalked it up to a fluke (because over the last seven months I've heard him say everything from "kitty cat" to "marshmallow" once but then never again.) But 15 minutes later, there was another clear, "DIh-TEEEE!!!!"
I'm going to to create a 'third time's the charm' rule. We'll see if he says it again this afternoon or if it goes the way of all the other sounds I thought were words.
Truly, who needs to talk when you have two older brothers who never STOP talking? Interestingly, he actually DOES babble and experiment with sounds more when they are not here, which they happen to not be this afternoon... so there really must be something to that!
I actually have an appointment with Baltimore County Infants and Toddlers to come out and do an evaluation on him in a couple weeks. I'm not particularly concerned there is anything wrong because he's so communicative otherwise. I think he's on Ben's verbal timetable PLUS the older sibling thing added in on top of that. All I know is that we'd all be a LOT less frustrated if we could get him moving on some real words in the near future here. So hopefully they'll be able to give me some tips to get things moving!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
It's only 8:30?
Jonathan was up an hour earlier than usual this morning thanks to his Laugh and Learn puppy a certain family member left in his crib. Said puppy suddenly awoke and became became possessed around 6:30, belting out a neverending loop of Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, interspersed with relentless exclamations of "That tickles!!" Jonathan understandably freaked out, as I would have if that had woken me out of a sound sleep.
Anyway, so the day started early... I didn't even get to finish my first cup of coffee. This never bodes well.
Then the other two arrived on the scene. But Ben wasn't actually ready to be up yet... I woke him up, apparently, when I ran the dustbuster. So he ate breakfast and went back to bed. Simon commenced dragging Legos up to the first floor for me to step on.
Oh and Ben and Jonathan both have colds... and I know it's a different cold than what came through here a couple weeks ago because Jonathan got it, which means I'll probably get this one too. GR! Stupid winter and its stupid germs. Anyway, so both of the sickies are a little off their game today. Ben's just more subdued than usual. Jonathan, on the other hand, just whines the entire time he is awake.
So that's our day thusfar... it can only get better from here, right?
Anyway, so the day started early... I didn't even get to finish my first cup of coffee. This never bodes well.
Then the other two arrived on the scene. But Ben wasn't actually ready to be up yet... I woke him up, apparently, when I ran the dustbuster. So he ate breakfast and went back to bed. Simon commenced dragging Legos up to the first floor for me to step on.
Oh and Ben and Jonathan both have colds... and I know it's a different cold than what came through here a couple weeks ago because Jonathan got it, which means I'll probably get this one too. GR! Stupid winter and its stupid germs. Anyway, so both of the sickies are a little off their game today. Ben's just more subdued than usual. Jonathan, on the other hand, just whines the entire time he is awake.
So that's our day thusfar... it can only get better from here, right?
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Slide of Doom
This thing is scary fast... especially for a toddler. And yet... he wants more more more!!!
Gift Winners and Gift Losers....
This year's biggest winners and losers from Santa....
So, Lego watches I got for the boys, which were a last minute stocking purchase, turned out to be a TOTAL flop... probably the biggest flop of Christmas entirely.
Simon's response? "But I already have a watch and it has a lizard on it."
"But Simon, this one is made of LEGOS."
"Thank you for the watch but I like my other watch."
Okay then.
Ben? He didn't even take it out of the box.
I put Ben's in the bag to donate to Elf Shop at the preschool for next year. Simon's, which was opened by Uncle Brandon, will probably end up in our box of Legos downstairs.
So sad! I thought they were so neat!
Biggest winner? (and kind of a shock for me but apparently not for Tom) Ben's set of all the football teams' miniature helmets. He spent four hours on Christmas day playing fantasy football games with those things on his bed and talking to himself.
Simon's favorite from us was his Ultimate FX light saber. He won't even let us throw the box away. I have tried in vain three times to move it to the recycling pile in the garage. UGH. His favorite overall was his pirate world setup from Grandmom, Poppy and Aunt Debbie. That's where HE spent four hours on Christmas day. Biggest loser for him was the tutu he decided to wanted at the last minute... you know, so the girls would kiss him. Instead we put it on the cat and now it lives in our costume closet waiting for Anastasia to come over and play. ;)
Jonathan loves his little sliding board. We finally had to move it downstairs because he was going to kill himself landing on the hardwood floor upstairs. It's a much speedier slide than I imagined it would be, which is really quite all right with my Evil Knievil 16-month-old. Scares the living daylights out of me though every time he flies off the end of that thing, often getting thrown forward onto his face.
Another biggest loser was the coffee mug, travel cup and t-shirt I made for Tom with the ticker symbol of the mutual fund he launched this year on them. I thought he'd think they were so cool but instead, he thought they were ridiculously dorky. LOL. Didn't see that one coming. He is so proud of that darn mutual fund and I thought the ticker thing was really subtle. But apparently everyone he works with is well aware of it and he'll just look like a huge nerd taking those things to work. Oh well.. live and learn.
And thus, another Christmas bites the dust. Onward to New Years!
So, Lego watches I got for the boys, which were a last minute stocking purchase, turned out to be a TOTAL flop... probably the biggest flop of Christmas entirely.
Simon's response? "But I already have a watch and it has a lizard on it."
"But Simon, this one is made of LEGOS."
"Thank you for the watch but I like my other watch."
Okay then.
Ben? He didn't even take it out of the box.
I put Ben's in the bag to donate to Elf Shop at the preschool for next year. Simon's, which was opened by Uncle Brandon, will probably end up in our box of Legos downstairs.
So sad! I thought they were so neat!
Biggest winner? (and kind of a shock for me but apparently not for Tom) Ben's set of all the football teams' miniature helmets. He spent four hours on Christmas day playing fantasy football games with those things on his bed and talking to himself.
Simon's favorite from us was his Ultimate FX light saber. He won't even let us throw the box away. I have tried in vain three times to move it to the recycling pile in the garage. UGH. His favorite overall was his pirate world setup from Grandmom, Poppy and Aunt Debbie. That's where HE spent four hours on Christmas day. Biggest loser for him was the tutu he decided to wanted at the last minute... you know, so the girls would kiss him. Instead we put it on the cat and now it lives in our costume closet waiting for Anastasia to come over and play. ;)
Jonathan loves his little sliding board. We finally had to move it downstairs because he was going to kill himself landing on the hardwood floor upstairs. It's a much speedier slide than I imagined it would be, which is really quite all right with my Evil Knievil 16-month-old. Scares the living daylights out of me though every time he flies off the end of that thing, often getting thrown forward onto his face.
Another biggest loser was the coffee mug, travel cup and t-shirt I made for Tom with the ticker symbol of the mutual fund he launched this year on them. I thought he'd think they were so cool but instead, he thought they were ridiculously dorky. LOL. Didn't see that one coming. He is so proud of that darn mutual fund and I thought the ticker thing was really subtle. But apparently everyone he works with is well aware of it and he'll just look like a huge nerd taking those things to work. Oh well.. live and learn.
And thus, another Christmas bites the dust. Onward to New Years!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas... a Saga in Five Parts....
Part One... Christmas Eve at Babby and Grandad's House...
We met up with all the Graff cousins, aunts and uncles at the kids' great grandparents' house on Christmas Eve afternoon. Presents were opened, people were hugged, babies bounced off of each other. Aunt Sarah got these pics documenting our visit...
Here's Uncle Taylor with the littlest boys... too cute!
This is a fantastic portrait of my husband and his two brothers. SO funny...
This one cracks us all up. It's quite literally a snapshot of their personalities... not sure why Simon was scowling, but why is he EVER scowling? We rarely know...
Jonathan post "Christmas-outfit-drenching-diaper incident" Alek's backup outfit to the rescue, thank goodness! Playing happily on the floor with Audim and his new toy from Babby. :)
Part II... Christmas Eve Magic Stuff
Sprinkling the reindeer food on the driveway
Planting the magic seeds our Elf left...
Santa's arrival after the boys went to bed...
Part III - Christmas Morning at our House
Boys coming down the stairs... every year, a blurry shot... every. single. year.
Ben's absolute favorite gift this year. A set of miniature football helmets. He hasn't put them down!
B says Buh. B says Buh! Every letter makes a sound and this song will never leave your head....
Simon's favorite gift this year. The Ultimate FX Light Saber. Because you know, we definitely had a light saber shortage in this house. Thanks, Santa.
Christmas? What? Who cares! I've got my brother's Leapster!
Look what our magic seeds grew into overnight!
We added about 800 Pokemon cards to our collection yesterday... the boys were OVER THE MOON about this. Me? Not so much. ;) Mommy would like a Pokemon storage container for their birthdays please.
My dad tuning up Simon's other favorite gift... his violin. ;)
Oh and so then we ventured down to see Grandmom, Poppy and Aunt Debbie's gift... Pirate World. O.M.G. It occupies an entire corner in our basement bedroom. (which wasn't really in use, so made the perfect place to hide the magic!)
"oh wow!!"
Aftermath...
I call this one, "Cat in Tutu"
I call this one, "Brother in Tutu"
Part IV - Christmas Morning at NaNee and Pap's...
Babies bounced off of each other and eventually settled down on the floor and played happily together for awhile
Mulan arrived!
Mulan Fett
My nephew cracks me up. Every time I put the camera to my face, he did this.
or this...
Such a ham!
You know, a headlamp.. for when a princess needs to go spelunking..
Some kind of Lego thing...
The brothers Fett
Part V - Dinner at Grandmom and Poppy's...
I don't have pictures yet because they are on my mom's camera... but suffice to day, more fun was had and the boys quickly fell into Christmas comas last night. ;)
We met up with all the Graff cousins, aunts and uncles at the kids' great grandparents' house on Christmas Eve afternoon. Presents were opened, people were hugged, babies bounced off of each other. Aunt Sarah got these pics documenting our visit...
Here's Uncle Taylor with the littlest boys... too cute!
This is a fantastic portrait of my husband and his two brothers. SO funny...
This one cracks us all up. It's quite literally a snapshot of their personalities... not sure why Simon was scowling, but why is he EVER scowling? We rarely know...
Jonathan post "Christmas-outfit-drenching-diaper incident" Alek's backup outfit to the rescue, thank goodness! Playing happily on the floor with Audim and his new toy from Babby. :)
Part II... Christmas Eve Magic Stuff
Sprinkling the reindeer food on the driveway
Planting the magic seeds our Elf left...
Santa's arrival after the boys went to bed...
Part III - Christmas Morning at our House
Boys coming down the stairs... every year, a blurry shot... every. single. year.
Ben's absolute favorite gift this year. A set of miniature football helmets. He hasn't put them down!
B says Buh. B says Buh! Every letter makes a sound and this song will never leave your head....
Simon's favorite gift this year. The Ultimate FX Light Saber. Because you know, we definitely had a light saber shortage in this house. Thanks, Santa.
Christmas? What? Who cares! I've got my brother's Leapster!
Look what our magic seeds grew into overnight!
We added about 800 Pokemon cards to our collection yesterday... the boys were OVER THE MOON about this. Me? Not so much. ;) Mommy would like a Pokemon storage container for their birthdays please.
My dad tuning up Simon's other favorite gift... his violin. ;)
Oh and so then we ventured down to see Grandmom, Poppy and Aunt Debbie's gift... Pirate World. O.M.G. It occupies an entire corner in our basement bedroom. (which wasn't really in use, so made the perfect place to hide the magic!)
"oh wow!!"
Aftermath...
I call this one, "Cat in Tutu"
I call this one, "Brother in Tutu"
Part IV - Christmas Morning at NaNee and Pap's...
Babies bounced off of each other and eventually settled down on the floor and played happily together for awhile
Mulan arrived!
Mulan Fett
My nephew cracks me up. Every time I put the camera to my face, he did this.
or this...
Such a ham!You know, a headlamp.. for when a princess needs to go spelunking..
Some kind of Lego thing...
The brothers Fett
Part V - Dinner at Grandmom and Poppy's...
I don't have pictures yet because they are on my mom's camera... but suffice to day, more fun was had and the boys quickly fell into Christmas comas last night. ;)
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Jonathan is 16 Months Old!
Dear Jonathan,
Today you are 16 months old. I'm actually writing this a day after the fact since this one month day has this pesky way of always being on Christmas.
This month has been a whirlwind, with Thanksgiving and Christmas. You've been a trooper through it all and, I have to give credit where credit is due here, you never ONCE tried to attack the Christmas tree.
You are still a tiny tornado... running back and forth here and there. You've already mastered the slide you got for Christmas, which is super speedy and dumps you out at the bottom with a "WHOOSH" and fairly hard "thump!" that you love and you squeal, continually going back for more more more! Oh, and you would REALLY like to go down it headfirst. You really are a truly fearless daredevil and it continues to amaze and fascinate me. If you make it to age four with all your teeth intact, I'll, quite frankly, be astounded.
Zippo happening on the words front, though you definitely make your needs and wants known without problem. It'd be nice to hear "mama" though...
Sleeping continues to be wonderful and the days of the bad sleeping are starting to fade from my memory. This put you on Santa's nice list.
That's really it for this month... good eater, good sleeper, happy little guy most of the time. What else can I say?
Oh, you still haven't gotten a (much needed) haircut. I can actually pull your hair up on top of your head into a little spout, which annoys daddy to no end. I hope to cross off the haircut milestone this coming month... or maybe we'll just keep growing it in keeping with our third-born mentality of "Eh. Whatever." ;)
I love you Jelly Belly Boo!
Love,
Mommy :)
Today you are 16 months old. I'm actually writing this a day after the fact since this one month day has this pesky way of always being on Christmas.
This month has been a whirlwind, with Thanksgiving and Christmas. You've been a trooper through it all and, I have to give credit where credit is due here, you never ONCE tried to attack the Christmas tree.
You are still a tiny tornado... running back and forth here and there. You've already mastered the slide you got for Christmas, which is super speedy and dumps you out at the bottom with a "WHOOSH" and fairly hard "thump!" that you love and you squeal, continually going back for more more more! Oh, and you would REALLY like to go down it headfirst. You really are a truly fearless daredevil and it continues to amaze and fascinate me. If you make it to age four with all your teeth intact, I'll, quite frankly, be astounded.
Zippo happening on the words front, though you definitely make your needs and wants known without problem. It'd be nice to hear "mama" though...
Sleeping continues to be wonderful and the days of the bad sleeping are starting to fade from my memory. This put you on Santa's nice list.
That's really it for this month... good eater, good sleeper, happy little guy most of the time. What else can I say?
Oh, you still haven't gotten a (much needed) haircut. I can actually pull your hair up on top of your head into a little spout, which annoys daddy to no end. I hope to cross off the haircut milestone this coming month... or maybe we'll just keep growing it in keeping with our third-born mentality of "Eh. Whatever." ;)
I love you Jelly Belly Boo!
Love,
Mommy :)
Merry Christmas! :)
Oodles of pictures to come at some break in the day. :) Right now? I'm sitting here waiting for the boys to wake up and see that Santa came!! :)
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Gr...
Dear Relentless Sinus Infection,
It's Christmas Eve. You are not welcome here. I am ignoring you and will continue to slam you with amoxicillin every eight hours. YOU are on my naughty list.
Love,
Erin
It's Christmas Eve. You are not welcome here. I am ignoring you and will continue to slam you with amoxicillin every eight hours. YOU are on my naughty list.
Love,
Erin
Ben is 7 and 3/4! ;)
I can't believe in three months I'll have an 8-year-old. I am already starting to get tiny glimpses of the pre-teen years and it is frightening me just a little.
Ben is such a neat kid.
These days, he is into a handful of things... namely:
-Pokemon
-Devouring books ... 39 Clues, Animorphs, Calvin and Hobbes, Magic Treehouse and Big Nate are just a few of his favorites lately.
-football (following it, talking about it and creating teams in his head and playing fantasy games)
He is super sensitive, more so than he lets on. He takes a lot of things personally that he probably shouldn't... but also doesn't always pick up on when other kids aren't being so nice. This concerns me a little, but take comfort in the fact that he is surrounded by really, really genuinely NICE kids in his class this year. It's when he ventures out of his class and onto the playground that we sometimes run into trouble. He thinks everyone is his friend and tends to gets his feelings hurt easily by kids who are just plain mean and see him as a target. It makes me sad for him... but I guess socializing is a live and learn process, easier for some than others.
He doesn't talk about his feelings a whole lot, unless you visit him at bedtime. Then he'll talk your ear off and tell you all of his problems. He tends to save everything up and it all comes out at once, often tearfully. We most recently had a long talk about how someone made fun of his work in art class and that he thinks he's not a very good artist. He was heartened and amused when I shared that his daddy and I are not so great at drawing either. I showed him my very best drawing of a person (I draw at approximately a first-grade level) and he laughed and laughed and laughed. I'd like to think I made him feel better. He also writes and writes and writes in his journals and makes drawings with captions that give me a peek inside his head where there is clearly quite a bit rolling around. I hope he always talks to me... though I suspect that's kind of a pipe dream. We'll keep at it though until he shuts down for the teen years and even then I probably won't let it go.
He's still very sensitive about his size and growing more so... I know some kids at school have called him small and there is a child who repeatedly tells Ben he looks like a kindergartener. There is absolutely NO denying that he is tiny next to the majority of his classmates and there is nothing I can do to change that for him. We just tell him over and over again to just ignore that kind of talking and that he may be small, but his brain is big... just keep working hard and doing well in school and that eventually, the size thing will even out. I guess he's listening because I found this propped up on his nightstand this morning.
He still loves basketball and practices ALL the time. It's probably the most passionate he has eve been about anything that requires practice and skill.
He's still a math whiz and, as a total NON math whiz, I just love watching him figure things out.
He's also creative, but in a very methodical, logical way, if that makes sense. He builds amazing Lego creations that I could never even begin to envision, much less build myself.
I just can't wait to see what he becomes!
Ben is such a neat kid.
These days, he is into a handful of things... namely:
-Pokemon
-Devouring books ... 39 Clues, Animorphs, Calvin and Hobbes, Magic Treehouse and Big Nate are just a few of his favorites lately.
-football (following it, talking about it and creating teams in his head and playing fantasy games)
He is super sensitive, more so than he lets on. He takes a lot of things personally that he probably shouldn't... but also doesn't always pick up on when other kids aren't being so nice. This concerns me a little, but take comfort in the fact that he is surrounded by really, really genuinely NICE kids in his class this year. It's when he ventures out of his class and onto the playground that we sometimes run into trouble. He thinks everyone is his friend and tends to gets his feelings hurt easily by kids who are just plain mean and see him as a target. It makes me sad for him... but I guess socializing is a live and learn process, easier for some than others.
He doesn't talk about his feelings a whole lot, unless you visit him at bedtime. Then he'll talk your ear off and tell you all of his problems. He tends to save everything up and it all comes out at once, often tearfully. We most recently had a long talk about how someone made fun of his work in art class and that he thinks he's not a very good artist. He was heartened and amused when I shared that his daddy and I are not so great at drawing either. I showed him my very best drawing of a person (I draw at approximately a first-grade level) and he laughed and laughed and laughed. I'd like to think I made him feel better. He also writes and writes and writes in his journals and makes drawings with captions that give me a peek inside his head where there is clearly quite a bit rolling around. I hope he always talks to me... though I suspect that's kind of a pipe dream. We'll keep at it though until he shuts down for the teen years and even then I probably won't let it go.
He's still very sensitive about his size and growing more so... I know some kids at school have called him small and there is a child who repeatedly tells Ben he looks like a kindergartener. There is absolutely NO denying that he is tiny next to the majority of his classmates and there is nothing I can do to change that for him. We just tell him over and over again to just ignore that kind of talking and that he may be small, but his brain is big... just keep working hard and doing well in school and that eventually, the size thing will even out. I guess he's listening because I found this propped up on his nightstand this morning.
He still loves basketball and practices ALL the time. It's probably the most passionate he has eve been about anything that requires practice and skill.
He's still a math whiz and, as a total NON math whiz, I just love watching him figure things out.
He's also creative, but in a very methodical, logical way, if that makes sense. He builds amazing Lego creations that I could never even begin to envision, much less build myself.
I just can't wait to see what he becomes!
Friday, December 23, 2011
FUNNY!
Went to pick Ben up today, as usual. The principal got on the loud speaker and said it was time for her annual holiday tradition... that she has upheld for the past 11 years. There was a minute of nothing, during which time my friend Beth and I looked at each other waiting to see what would happen. Suddenly, Crabs for Christmas came blaring over the loud speaker and the ENTIRE school broke into song... including the principal, who belted it out in the main hallway. It. Was. HILARIOUS! Hard to hear on the video... but seriously, so funny. They played it twice and all the kids sang as they walked out to their busses. Such a fun little tradition!!!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Oddest Christmas Request Yet...
So, moving on from the flame thrower...
The middle one, he says he wants a tutu for Christmas. Why, you may ask? Because they look like what princesses wear and girls like princesses and he thinks it may get him kissed. Also? Kissing wakes people up, so he will wear it and find people who are sleeping and kiss them.
My kids are so weird! ;)
The middle one, he says he wants a tutu for Christmas. Why, you may ask? Because they look like what princesses wear and girls like princesses and he thinks it may get him kissed. Also? Kissing wakes people up, so he will wear it and find people who are sleeping and kiss them.
My kids are so weird! ;)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Pageant Day!
Edited to add: Video! The very end cracks me up. ;)
Simon's preschool Christmas pageant was Thursday. After four of these, we have the drill down now and scored front row seats for the third year in a row, thanks to Aunt Debbie's 7:30 arrival at the church. (it started at 9:15) LOL!
Simon was SO excited. He was going to be a king... for the second year in a row. Ben was also a king, although thinking back, he may have been a shiny star his first year. But the king thing seems to be a Graff family tradition. When Jonathan goes through, I'm going to try to convince him to pick the Joseph costume. All the Marys and Josephs get to process in first and stand up there alone for a full song and are up in front the ENTIRE pageant (making for lots of great photo and video ops!). The kings? They come in last and so you really only get to see them sing one or two songs on stage before the whole thing is over and they all walk back out again.
Anyway, so king he was. And he was AWESOME. ;) He sang and danced and smiled. That boy loves the stage and i just so entertaining to watch up there.
This was before everything started. I said, "Simon, go stand on the stage so I can take your picture!" He leapt from his seat... "Okay!!!" Gotta love how different my kids are....
Being a king
During parent paparazzi time after the singing
Classroom party after the pageant
Bad picture.. but here he is with his little gift for me. It was a heart-shaped box, glued shut because it was "full of kisses" he had put there. (cry!) He also made the same little burlap handprint wreath decoration that Ben did when he was four. I have matching ones now!! (although Ben's needs a repair job so I can rehang it... ) Simon takes SUCH pride in his little craft projects. I love it!
No Christmas pageant next year, since Jonathan will only be a 2 and the 2s don't participate. But then the following year, the tradition is back! :) YAY!
Simon's preschool Christmas pageant was Thursday. After four of these, we have the drill down now and scored front row seats for the third year in a row, thanks to Aunt Debbie's 7:30 arrival at the church. (it started at 9:15) LOL!
Simon was SO excited. He was going to be a king... for the second year in a row. Ben was also a king, although thinking back, he may have been a shiny star his first year. But the king thing seems to be a Graff family tradition. When Jonathan goes through, I'm going to try to convince him to pick the Joseph costume. All the Marys and Josephs get to process in first and stand up there alone for a full song and are up in front the ENTIRE pageant (making for lots of great photo and video ops!). The kings? They come in last and so you really only get to see them sing one or two songs on stage before the whole thing is over and they all walk back out again.
Anyway, so king he was. And he was AWESOME. ;) He sang and danced and smiled. That boy loves the stage and i just so entertaining to watch up there.
This was before everything started. I said, "Simon, go stand on the stage so I can take your picture!" He leapt from his seat... "Okay!!!" Gotta love how different my kids are....
Being a king
During parent paparazzi time after the singing
Classroom party after the pageant
Bad picture.. but here he is with his little gift for me. It was a heart-shaped box, glued shut because it was "full of kisses" he had put there. (cry!) He also made the same little burlap handprint wreath decoration that Ben did when he was four. I have matching ones now!! (although Ben's needs a repair job so I can rehang it... ) Simon takes SUCH pride in his little craft projects. I love it!
No Christmas pageant next year, since Jonathan will only be a 2 and the 2s don't participate. But then the following year, the tradition is back! :) YAY!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Babies and Christmas Trees....
I have a photo of Ben and Simon from each of their first Christmases looking at the lights on the Christmas tree. I LOVE these pictures and I get them out every Christmas and put them in the frames on my side table. (which now lives upstairs in the hallway between their bedrooms and has messed up my WHOLE Christmas decorating THING, but whatever) Actually, I try to take photos of them with the lit tree every year (either looking closely at it or decorating it) though I haven't always been consistent. Even though some of them are blurry, there is still something sort of magical about them. :)
I didn't get a picture of Jonathan looking at the tree last year. He was only four months old and still slept a ton. It seemed like he was always in bed or getting tired when it was dark enough to take Christmas tree light pictures. (sigh) Seriously, having a child with a birthday later in the year threw off several of my photo traditions. And not just that, it has thrown off his age in my head too... I seriously keep forgetting that this is actually his SECOND Christmas, not his first. Weird.
Anyway....
I FINALLY got his picture this year. :o)
He LOVES our little Fisher Price barn ornament. It moos when you open the door and he giggles every. darn. time. Cracks me up. :)
Here are the tree pics of the other two boys. :)
Closest one I could get of Simon in '09
I didn't get a picture of Jonathan looking at the tree last year. He was only four months old and still slept a ton. It seemed like he was always in bed or getting tired when it was dark enough to take Christmas tree light pictures. (sigh) Seriously, having a child with a birthday later in the year threw off several of my photo traditions. And not just that, it has thrown off his age in my head too... I seriously keep forgetting that this is actually his SECOND Christmas, not his first. Weird.
Anyway....
I FINALLY got his picture this year. :o)
He LOVES our little Fisher Price barn ornament. It moos when you open the door and he giggles every. darn. time. Cracks me up. :)
Here are the tree pics of the other two boys. :)
Closest one I could get of Simon in '09