Yet another beach vacation has come to an end.
With the exception of Jonathan being crazy whiny, this was actually one of our best years. The older boys are officially awesome. They travel without complaint. They take care of their own things. They pose for pictures happily. In about three more years, once Jonathan gets on board with this, my life is going to be crazy easy. Even he, though challenging, was cooperative in that he napped without complaint and slept all night long happily in the Pack and Play. He did, however, figure out how to climb out of it while we were there.... oy...
This year, Ben ventured out far enough in the ocean to ride the end of of few waves back to shore. He thought this was great fun and I could tell he was proud of himself. He laughed and laughed when he realized his pockets were filling with sand. Always a fun body surfing side effect.
Simon loved laying down in the surf and letting the water wash up over him. Also huge! Swimming lessons have seriously cut the water fear in our house by 99%. Worth every penny.
Jonathan loved every minute of the waves smacking him in the face. He was not as much a fan of dry sand and preferred to stay in his little wading pool or on the blanket. But if you took him down to the harder wet sand and the waves, he was gleeful.
Both Ben and Simon spent a lot of time collecting special rocks and shells on the beach, digging trenches and burying army men. Tip to moms who haven't yet had a boy or haven't yet taken one to the beach... little boys LOVE burying army men in the sand. A bagful from the dollar store will keep them happy for HOURS. This particular batch is still going strong from when I bought them about three trips ago, though I think we have probably lost a few to the burying game over the years.
Tom showed Ben how, if you dig deep enough, water appears. He thought that was AWESOME.
We also dug up our fair share of sand crabs and used them for our own entertainment. Jonathan would squeal with delight when he would see them swimming around in the bucket and then scoop them out and let them crawl all over his hand. Gave me the heebee jeebees. I hate those things! The big boys scooped them with shovels... much more speed. Ben had a whole sandcrab habitat in a bucket going at one point. ;)
Outside of the actual beach, we did lots of fun things. First off, it was Shark Week! When we arrived, Grandmom was waiting for us with shark cupcakes, shark sheets and shark plates and cups to set the scene!
On day three, we ventured into Rehoboth for Funland. Ben is getting ever so slightly braver and braver, enthusiastically opting for a round on the kiddie ferris wheel (I had to twist his arm to ride with me last year), swings and helicopters. Simon stuck to the things that stayed grounded, except for the army planes, which surprised me. :) He's so my kid.
Jonathan, on the other hand was instantly a ride junkie after his initiation on the kiddie boats. He WAILED when it was over and we made him get off, but quickly recovered when he realized there were more rides to be had. He desperately pulled out every applicable sign he could think of : "More", "Please", "one More time!" after every ride. I was shocked when he rode the swings without incident... he sat there, quietly, waiting for it to start while they loaded all the other kids on and then he rode the thing with no trepidation on his face whatsoever. (seriously, swings make me more than a little nervous... my palms are swearing right now just thinking about riding the big-kid version) He wanted SO badly to get on the helicopters with Ben, but we were out of tickets at that point. I turned him around to distract him and he ogled the frog hop for awhile and laughed every time it went up and dropped back down. Pretty sure he would have ridden it and loved it had he met the height requirement. Maybe next year?
We drove into Ocean City and did all of our little traditions -- photos in the big tire, pick out candy at Wockenfuss (licorice pieces for Ben, sour worms for Simon, Jelly Bellies for Tom, J and me) play on the wooden playgrounds, family photo in the Fun City photo booth, retreat before all the people who were drunk and stupid the night before wake up and invade.
The boys spent their vacation allowance by day two -- Ben bought himself a shark head. He found it early in the day but we made him wait until he had seen some other stores because it was ALL of his money. After the last store he declared that nope, he still wanted the shark head... so back we went. Simon bought some pretty rocks in a red velvet bag, a piece of amethyst and a piece of fools gold. Both were pleased with and proud their carefully thought out purchases. :)
My dad caught a sand shark on his last day there and the boys thought it was just the coolest thing EVER. (it kinda was) They got to touch it and examine it up close before dad threw it back. Gosh those things look evil!
Aunt Debbie arrived on Wednesday and shark week ramped up to a new level. They investigated shark teeth, had shark drinks, and played hours of shark attack.
Miss Joan made us fantastic chilean sea bass for dinner one night and Ben, being our fish fanatic right now, was over the moon. He ate and LOVED it. This makes fish number five or so that he has tried and liked recently.
Custard on the nearby boardwalk one night... YUM.
Crepes for breakfast on the boardwalk Thursday morning where a table of little old ladies just couldn't get enough of the boys, who were all on their most angelic and adorable behavior for some reason, happily eating their crepes and coloring pictures for the kids' drawing wall. They asked where we were from and where "that one got the beautiful curly hair", as everyone, everywhere we go ALWAYS does. Poor Simon. That hair of his is a blessing and a curse.
So that wraps up another year at Bethany. Happy to be home, though keep finding sand in things still and that makes me smile.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Tire Pics....
Our annual Ocean City Ripley's Tire Pics. I can never get back to the house fast enough to put the collages together! So neat to see how they've grown in a year! :)
Monday, June 25, 2012
Jonathan is 22 Months Old!
Dear Jonathan,
Today you are 22 months old!
Now, I can say it's official. You are absolutely, positively THE hardest toddler I have ever had and that even includes Ben, who used to unpredictably lose it for no particular reason in random public places.
You are independent and confident.
You are stubborn and fearless.
Apparently all these traits, which I'm sure will make you some kind of super successful CEO someday, create an equation the sum of which is HARDEST KID EVER.
I think it's the screeching that really puts it over the top. If you hit a roadblock in anything you are attempting to do, whether that be mommy saying no, or you lacking the skill/height/strength to accomplish something, or a brother/other child trying to take something from you, you let out the most ear-piercing screech I have ever heard. It turns heads in stores and makes us those parents who immediately jam a pacifier in your mouth to just. please. make. it. stop.
So, there's that.
On the positive end of things -- you are super affectionate. Hugs and kisses galore. You always pat and rub my back when I pick you up, the way I do yours and it's the sweetest thing ever. You wave and smile to anyone and everyone.
Your talking is coming along and you add new words every day. The problem is that you don't often repeat them often. Yesterday's new word was "shark". The list of consistent words we hear is growing though. Hello, No, Kitty, On, Off, umbrella, some colors (blue, green, yellow, red), a few animal sounds (for dog, cat, bird and cow) and a handful of letters and numbers (A, G, D, B and O). We continue to work with our speech teacher, and I mean that in the loosest sense of the word since you are not particularly cooperative for her. The sooner we can get out of speech, the better... so keep up the good work!
You are still my adventurous eater, so I'm hoping maybe you always will be. Anything and everything. We were astonished recently when you ate half of my Caesar Salad at a restaurant. You couldn't get enough!
You have an intense and passionate interest in music, in a similar way that your oldest brother did at your age. You sit in front of the stereo and just listen. You bop your head and clap your hands when you hear something you like and sometimes you pretend to strum a guitar. You shake your head when you don't like the song and want a new one and nod your head in approval when it's a good one. You also love to dance and be sung to always asking for "more" in sign language. You can't get enough! You also love to "sing" into a pretend microphone in Jonathanese, which is quite the sight to see.
You love the pool and you love water. You paddle around the pool without a care in the world as long as you have your little floaty on. The problem is that, at our pool, they have a radio set up near the pool office that blares music all day long and you are torn between swimming and standing in front of it and listening. Sometimes in between, you get distracted by the water slide and make a beeline for the deep-end, which means my day at the pool is spent constantly chasing you down and hauling you back into the pool. See mention of ear-piercing screams above....
Annnnyway.... so two months until the terrible twos and I am bracing myself. If the one-and-a-halfs are any indication of what's to come, we could be in for a wild ride. :)
Happy 22 months JJ, Johnny, BooBoo, Screechy McScreecherson!
Love,
Mommy :)
Today you are 22 months old!
Now, I can say it's official. You are absolutely, positively THE hardest toddler I have ever had and that even includes Ben, who used to unpredictably lose it for no particular reason in random public places.
You are independent and confident.
You are stubborn and fearless.
Apparently all these traits, which I'm sure will make you some kind of super successful CEO someday, create an equation the sum of which is HARDEST KID EVER.
I think it's the screeching that really puts it over the top. If you hit a roadblock in anything you are attempting to do, whether that be mommy saying no, or you lacking the skill/height/strength to accomplish something, or a brother/other child trying to take something from you, you let out the most ear-piercing screech I have ever heard. It turns heads in stores and makes us those parents who immediately jam a pacifier in your mouth to just. please. make. it. stop.
So, there's that.
On the positive end of things -- you are super affectionate. Hugs and kisses galore. You always pat and rub my back when I pick you up, the way I do yours and it's the sweetest thing ever. You wave and smile to anyone and everyone.
Your talking is coming along and you add new words every day. The problem is that you don't often repeat them often. Yesterday's new word was "shark". The list of consistent words we hear is growing though. Hello, No, Kitty, On, Off, umbrella, some colors (blue, green, yellow, red), a few animal sounds (for dog, cat, bird and cow) and a handful of letters and numbers (A, G, D, B and O). We continue to work with our speech teacher, and I mean that in the loosest sense of the word since you are not particularly cooperative for her. The sooner we can get out of speech, the better... so keep up the good work!
You are still my adventurous eater, so I'm hoping maybe you always will be. Anything and everything. We were astonished recently when you ate half of my Caesar Salad at a restaurant. You couldn't get enough!
You have an intense and passionate interest in music, in a similar way that your oldest brother did at your age. You sit in front of the stereo and just listen. You bop your head and clap your hands when you hear something you like and sometimes you pretend to strum a guitar. You shake your head when you don't like the song and want a new one and nod your head in approval when it's a good one. You also love to dance and be sung to always asking for "more" in sign language. You can't get enough! You also love to "sing" into a pretend microphone in Jonathanese, which is quite the sight to see.
You love the pool and you love water. You paddle around the pool without a care in the world as long as you have your little floaty on. The problem is that, at our pool, they have a radio set up near the pool office that blares music all day long and you are torn between swimming and standing in front of it and listening. Sometimes in between, you get distracted by the water slide and make a beeline for the deep-end, which means my day at the pool is spent constantly chasing you down and hauling you back into the pool. See mention of ear-piercing screams above....
Annnnyway.... so two months until the terrible twos and I am bracing myself. If the one-and-a-halfs are any indication of what's to come, we could be in for a wild ride. :)
Happy 22 months JJ, Johnny, BooBoo, Screechy McScreecherson!
Love,
Mommy :)
Beachy...
We made it!
Ahhh....
The older boys ventured down to the beach for a little while with grandmom late yesterday afternoon and Tom and I went down when Jonathan awoke from his much-needed nap.
We didn't think we'd be down there long so no one put on bathing suits. I guess you can predict the ending of THAT story. Everyone returned soaked and sandy... but oh so happy. :)
Ahhh....
The older boys ventured down to the beach for a little while with grandmom late yesterday afternoon and Tom and I went down when Jonathan awoke from his much-needed nap.
We didn't think we'd be down there long so no one put on bathing suits. I guess you can predict the ending of THAT story. Everyone returned soaked and sandy... but oh so happy. :)
Thursday, June 21, 2012
So Far, So Good, Random Stuff and Almost Beach Time!
This is the first year Ben has actually been into summer reading! I really think it's that the school librarian told them they had to do it and signed them up at school. In his mind, that makes it completely black and white, no question, done deal. AWESOME.
We have been back to the library once already for one of the four stickers and I think we'll be back before we leave for vacation for yet another one.
Bridge books are going well too. I took a clue from the above fact and told him the pages get turned into the third grade teachers. Voila. Compliance. And since Ben is into it, Simon LOVES them... he feels like such a big kid when he sits down to do his "homework." :)
In other news, Ben hit a HUGE milestone at swimming lessons yesterday and swam all the way across the pool!!!!! The teacher pushed him a little more each time. She kept looking over at me to make sure I had seen how far he got and I could tell she knew he could do it. So the third time, she just kept backing up and he just kept going!!! He was pretty proud of himself. :) I wish I had gotten a photo after, but I was busy chasing crazy monster baby.
We are headed to the beach this coming week for Shark Week 2012. Yep. Big surprise that is the theme this year. ;) Sometimes I feel guilty that Simon is just along for the ride with Ben's obsessions, but he doesn't seem to mind and gets as into it as Ben does for however long it takes to run its course. Yesterday, they played with the Playmobil boat stuff for THREE HOURS, meticulously setting it up all up Simon's bedroom floor and recreating pirate and shark attacks. It was SO sweet....
Anyway, stay tuned for the traditional beach pictures - Ripley's big tire, boys digging in sand, 156 pictures trying to get one of all thee boys in front of the dunes looking at me and smiling....
Can't wait! :)
We have been back to the library once already for one of the four stickers and I think we'll be back before we leave for vacation for yet another one.
Bridge books are going well too. I took a clue from the above fact and told him the pages get turned into the third grade teachers. Voila. Compliance. And since Ben is into it, Simon LOVES them... he feels like such a big kid when he sits down to do his "homework." :)
In other news, Ben hit a HUGE milestone at swimming lessons yesterday and swam all the way across the pool!!!!! The teacher pushed him a little more each time. She kept looking over at me to make sure I had seen how far he got and I could tell she knew he could do it. So the third time, she just kept backing up and he just kept going!!! He was pretty proud of himself. :) I wish I had gotten a photo after, but I was busy chasing crazy monster baby.
We are headed to the beach this coming week for Shark Week 2012. Yep. Big surprise that is the theme this year. ;) Sometimes I feel guilty that Simon is just along for the ride with Ben's obsessions, but he doesn't seem to mind and gets as into it as Ben does for however long it takes to run its course. Yesterday, they played with the Playmobil boat stuff for THREE HOURS, meticulously setting it up all up Simon's bedroom floor and recreating pirate and shark attacks. It was SO sweet....
Anyway, stay tuned for the traditional beach pictures - Ripley's big tire, boys digging in sand, 156 pictures trying to get one of all thee boys in front of the dunes looking at me and smiling....
Can't wait! :)
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Caught on Tape!
I caught one of J's words on tape by accident this morning!
I was actually filming him listening to music.He is SO much like Ben as a baby in so many ways and I have video of Ben doing this same thing. Sitting and just listening intently to music. He loves it! Their brains really seem to work very similarly and I have been trying to document some things along these lines --- which is actually very, very long post for another day.
At any rate, if you listen, you can hear him say "off!" when he turns it off. :) YAY!
I was actually filming him listening to music.He is SO much like Ben as a baby in so many ways and I have video of Ben doing this same thing. Sitting and just listening intently to music. He loves it! Their brains really seem to work very similarly and I have been trying to document some things along these lines --- which is actually very, very long post for another day.
Air Guitar x 3....
So, I was driving along yesterday. The boys were in the back and Kids Place Live was on the radio. It was one of our favorite songs, "On My Nerves", all about a kid whose sibling is getting on his nerves. GOSH, this some is awesome. Anyway...I happened to glance in the rear-view mirror and almost ran off the road laughing at what I saw. Thankfully, we had arrived at the grocery store, so I pulled into a spot, turned on the camera and waited for the chorus to come around again....
The kids, they did not disappoint...
The kids, they did not disappoint...
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Today's Word is....
"Teetee!!!" (kitty) He used to say "kitty" pretty clearly way early on... like 9-10 months. Then he forgot it. But now it's back and it's ALLLL about the kitty and his "tow" (tail).
Feel very sorry for our cat....
Feel very sorry for our cat....
5-year Well Visit....
Simon had his well visit yesterday. It was exceedingly uneventful, thankfully. NO shots at the 5-year. Whew.
All is well. He's super-healthy and Dr. B was impressed at the wide array of veggies Simon's rattled off that he loves. "Asparagus! Broccolli! Peas! Corn! Squash!" LOL. The kid made me look goooooood!
He weighed in at 46 pounds. (79th percentile!) and is 43-1/2 inch tall (56th). So still up there on the curve. I wonder where he'll top out height-wise when he's older? Is he going to be taller than Tom? I'm so curious!
Anyway... nothing else to report. Vision and hearing good. He was unfazed by the whole thing, which is good because I was busy keeping J from scaling the exam table and climbing in and out of the book drawer. Ben played DS while sitting in J's stroller and would occasionally interject into the conversation between Simon and the doctor things like, "I like to eat fish!" and "ewwww... broccoli!!"
OH! I do have to take S for a bloodtest for food allergies just to follow up on that shrimp episode from his birthday... the doctor didn't want to take any chances given my brother's shellfish allergy. Happy about that. NOT happy that I have hold him down for a bloodtest. Yikes.
Never a dull moment with the Graff three....
All is well. He's super-healthy and Dr. B was impressed at the wide array of veggies Simon's rattled off that he loves. "Asparagus! Broccolli! Peas! Corn! Squash!" LOL. The kid made me look goooooood!
He weighed in at 46 pounds. (79th percentile!) and is 43-1/2 inch tall (56th). So still up there on the curve. I wonder where he'll top out height-wise when he's older? Is he going to be taller than Tom? I'm so curious!
Anyway... nothing else to report. Vision and hearing good. He was unfazed by the whole thing, which is good because I was busy keeping J from scaling the exam table and climbing in and out of the book drawer. Ben played DS while sitting in J's stroller and would occasionally interject into the conversation between Simon and the doctor things like, "I like to eat fish!" and "ewwww... broccoli!!"
OH! I do have to take S for a bloodtest for food allergies just to follow up on that shrimp episode from his birthday... the doctor didn't want to take any chances given my brother's shellfish allergy. Happy about that. NOT happy that I have hold him down for a bloodtest. Yikes.
Never a dull moment with the Graff three....
Monday, June 18, 2012
New Additions....
Jonathan now says "aquarium". It's pretty clear too! He first said it in reference to the little musical one in his crib and I heard it a couple times over a few days. Then, yesterday, he was upstairs when I was setting up the aquarium in Simon's room. He pointed to it and said very matter-of-factly: "aquarium". Seriously WTH? He doesn't even call me "mama"yet. Little weirdo. ;) Of course, the moment immediately after he said it was like in movies when a toy talks for the first time and the person is all, "Wait did you just say that?" and the toy just sits there with a blank toy stare and makes the person think they are crazy.
Yeah. That happens a lot around here with Jonathan. LOL.
Yeah. That happens a lot around here with Jonathan. LOL.
Summer Vacation - The First Week....
A week into summer freedom and I think all is going well! :) We have been to the pool a few times, we've watched some movies, we've been creative, we've done some things we don't usually do,
There WAS one scuffle yesterday where I had to pry Simon off of Ben, but other than that, they are getting along.
Yesterday's "Summer Vacation Activity" was a bit of a stretch. We had gotten back from breakfast with my dad and were waiting for Tom to finish up golf. The boys watched A Goofy Movie and built block towers, and pretty awesome ones at that.
![]()
601333_10151836164570541_1025377568_n.jpg">
![]()
481372_10151836164485541_668330406_n.jpg">
The fight broke out when Simon knocked down his own tower and Ben giggled. (sigh)
Later, we went out to dinner, where both older boys at mass quantities of actual sushi (seriously? Who ARE these people?!?!) Ben tried and loved EEL.... gotta love the fish phase!
But now, here we are, Monday and another full week in front of us. What to do, what to do?
I promised them a trip to Chuck E. Cheese one day. (what was I thinking?)
I'm sure we'll do the pool a couple days and Ben wants to go get a sticker on his library thing for reading five books last week. I'm thinking maybe a trip to Petsmart to pick out some fish because we just set up our 10-gallon aquarium again.
I'd like to find a nice, time-consuming boy-friendly craft for them to do... anyone have any good suggestions?
There WAS one scuffle yesterday where I had to pry Simon off of Ben, but other than that, they are getting along.
Yesterday's "Summer Vacation Activity" was a bit of a stretch. We had gotten back from breakfast with my dad and were waiting for Tom to finish up golf. The boys watched A Goofy Movie and built block towers, and pretty awesome ones at that.
The fight broke out when Simon knocked down his own tower and Ben giggled. (sigh)
Later, we went out to dinner, where both older boys at mass quantities of actual sushi (seriously? Who ARE these people?!?!) Ben tried and loved EEL.... gotta love the fish phase!
But now, here we are, Monday and another full week in front of us. What to do, what to do?
I promised them a trip to Chuck E. Cheese one day. (what was I thinking?)
I'm sure we'll do the pool a couple days and Ben wants to go get a sticker on his library thing for reading five books last week. I'm thinking maybe a trip to Petsmart to pick out some fish because we just set up our 10-gallon aquarium again.
I'd like to find a nice, time-consuming boy-friendly craft for them to do... anyone have any good suggestions?
Saturday, June 16, 2012
A Berry Fun Time...
Tom, Simon and Jonathan were into it too. Ben took a while longer to come around, but eventually he got into the spirit of things with a rousing game of seeing who could get more into their bucket.
After blueberries, we wandered over and tried to get some raspberries. They were kind of picked over there and we only got a handful. Ben was amused how they dyed his hand red. ;)
We ended up picking 2-1/2 pounds of blueberries!!!
After we were finished with the picking, they gave the kids free ice cream! Then the boys had fun playing on the playset for a bit before we headed home. All in all a really fun, cheap summer outing!!!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Bridge Books...
These are all the rage, you know, these summer Bridge Books to keep the kiddies' brains all limber and non-atrophied and whatnot for school in the fall.
I have tried this once before between K and 1st grade with Ben. He hated every minute of it and we quit pretty early on.
A friend mentioned them the other day and I thought we would give them another try as part of the whole "summer structure" thing I am instituting.
I thought maybe having Simon to do it with this time around might make it more interesting. So I got the Pre-K - K one for Simon and the 2nd - 3rd and 3rd - 4th one for Ben, after reading the reviews that said the graded ones lag behind a little for some kids depending on differences in schools and classes. I flipped through them both and it looks like some of the language arts stuff in the 3rd-4th one is out of his league (types of sentences, sentence diagramming and such) but the reading comprehension and math in that one is what he was doing in 2nd grade this year, so we'll probably skip back and forth between both. The 2nd-3rd one has good vocabulary, spelling and cursive practice.
Dare I say Ben was kind of psyched about this? He pretended he wasn't, but I could tell he thought they were cool. And I think as long as Ben is into it, Simon will be too. His will be HUGELY good preparation if we get through the whole thing over the summer. It's full of letter writing, circling the rhyme, filling in missing letter sounds and all that good stuff they tackle in K.
SO these start Monday. And yes... I am even going to make them do them at the beach when we go. Is that cruel? Maybe... but not if they are into it. And we have a LOT of downtime at the beach trying to figure out what to do. So this will help fill some of that.... and the quiet time that is required during Jonathan's naps too!
I have tried this once before between K and 1st grade with Ben. He hated every minute of it and we quit pretty early on.
A friend mentioned them the other day and I thought we would give them another try as part of the whole "summer structure" thing I am instituting.
I thought maybe having Simon to do it with this time around might make it more interesting. So I got the Pre-K - K one for Simon and the 2nd - 3rd and 3rd - 4th one for Ben, after reading the reviews that said the graded ones lag behind a little for some kids depending on differences in schools and classes. I flipped through them both and it looks like some of the language arts stuff in the 3rd-4th one is out of his league (types of sentences, sentence diagramming and such) but the reading comprehension and math in that one is what he was doing in 2nd grade this year, so we'll probably skip back and forth between both. The 2nd-3rd one has good vocabulary, spelling and cursive practice.
Dare I say Ben was kind of psyched about this? He pretended he wasn't, but I could tell he thought they were cool. And I think as long as Ben is into it, Simon will be too. His will be HUGELY good preparation if we get through the whole thing over the summer. It's full of letter writing, circling the rhyme, filling in missing letter sounds and all that good stuff they tackle in K.
SO these start Monday. And yes... I am even going to make them do them at the beach when we go. Is that cruel? Maybe... but not if they are into it. And we have a LOT of downtime at the beach trying to figure out what to do. So this will help fill some of that.... and the quiet time that is required during Jonathan's naps too!
RIP Camaro Lightning....
8/12/10 - 6/15/12 (not a bad run for a Betafish!)
I discovered our dearly beloved Betafish , Mr. Camaro Lightning, deceased this morning in the fishtank in Simon's room. No one else has noticed yet that he is floating vertically near the bottom.
I'm not sure what got him. He looked healthy and has been eating and swimming normally lately.
Very sad. He has been around quite awhile, since Ben's LAST fish obsession phase, (which was preceeded by a Cars phase, hence the name)
Anyway, so, I guess we'll have funeral flush later. Ben has talked about wanting to set up our big aquarium again, so maybe this will be a good opportunity to do that. :)
Update: Oops. Ben noticed. "Mom!!! The fish in Simon's room is REALLY dead!"
I discovered our dearly beloved Betafish , Mr. Camaro Lightning, deceased this morning in the fishtank in Simon's room. No one else has noticed yet that he is floating vertically near the bottom.
I'm not sure what got him. He looked healthy and has been eating and swimming normally lately.
Very sad. He has been around quite awhile, since Ben's LAST fish obsession phase, (which was preceeded by a Cars phase, hence the name)
Anyway, so, I guess we'll have funeral flush later. Ben has talked about wanting to set up our big aquarium again, so maybe this will be a good opportunity to do that. :)
Update: Oops. Ben noticed. "Mom!!! The fish in Simon's room is REALLY dead!"
Marshmallow Shooters/Guns/Blasters/Blowers... Whatever Term you Find Least Offensive...
I've been eyeing up these marshmallow guns on Pinterest for months now. Yesterday, we finally set out to make them. The supplies are dirt cheap and the directions are easy. Leave it to me to screw them up though. I bought the wrong size fittings and had to hold the first attemps together with duct tape.
This morning, back to Home Depot we went to get the right size fittings and wow... yeah... these things are way easier to assemble that way. LOL.
Here's what I discovered though. While the marshmallow shooters were mildly entertaining for the boys, what they REALLY liked was playing with the pipes and fittings. They are still upstairs playing with the extras!
I seriously want to go back and just get all different size pipes and elbows and T's and whatnot and just throw them in a box. I'm fairly sure it will keep them busy for days, maybe even years.
But... that is a project for another day.
For now, we are proud of our marshmallow weapons. ;) (this is a photo of the first attempt... I haven't taken one of the pretty one yet.) ;)
This morning, back to Home Depot we went to get the right size fittings and wow... yeah... these things are way easier to assemble that way. LOL.
Here's what I discovered though. While the marshmallow shooters were mildly entertaining for the boys, what they REALLY liked was playing with the pipes and fittings. They are still upstairs playing with the extras!
I seriously want to go back and just get all different size pipes and elbows and T's and whatnot and just throw them in a box. I'm fairly sure it will keep them busy for days, maybe even years.
But... that is a project for another day.
For now, we are proud of our marshmallow weapons. ;) (this is a photo of the first attempt... I haven't taken one of the pretty one yet.) ;)
"No!"
The title says it all.
Jonathan has learned to actually verbalize the word, "no", and uses it liberally now. He doesn't actually say the "N" sound with it, so it's just "Ohhhhhhhhh", so it took me awhile to realize that's what it was supposed to be. But it's always said with the vehement head shake, as in, "Jonathan, do you want your speech teacher to come play?" "Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
And so it begins. (sigh)
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Playdate Gone Bad....
Yesterday was weird.
Backstory --
There is a little guy Simon is buddies with from preschool. I love the kid, I do. He's very sweet and he and Simon get along fantastically. They like the same things -- Legos, Skylanders, Star Wars, swordfights. They enjoy playing said things together and they never, ever fight (well, except for pretend fighting with swords)
Oh, and potty humor... they both appreciate a good dose of it. This is mostly David's influence, as we are NOT a potty humor family.... but, much to my chagrin, when David and his potty talk came into our lives, Simon realized the funny he had been missing out on. I cringe when they sing the "butt song" or the "poop and pee song" they made up and then have a talk with Simon when we are away from David about how we don't talk like that. He seems to get that it's only something he gets to do when he's around David so... for now, I take the good with the bad and hope they never end up at the same elementary school. Thankfully, David's affinity for SpongeBob hasn't rubbed off on Simon at all because I simply can not allow that awful character/show in my home. I have to draw the line somewhere!
Anyway, their friendship amuses me because at first glance they seem like an unlikely duo. Simon is this solid, blonde, curly-haired five-year-old, going on eight in many ways, both because he is tall and because of his older brother's influence. David is nearly Jonathan's size with shockingly orange hair, the tiniest, cutest thing you ever did see because he was a preemie, and he won't be five until fall.
Nevertheless, the two of them are peas in a pod. I liken it to Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwartzenager in the movie Twins.
ALL schoolyear long they have wanted to have a playdate at one of their houses and they have taken swimming lessons together for going on 24 weeks now. We had gone to playgrounds and whatnot... but the house playdate, that's the bigtime.
FINALLY, I caved. It was supposed to be nice, so I invited David, his mom and big sister over to play on the water slide... also I figured the more the merrier; so invited my niece and nephew, sister-in-law, good friend Beth and her two boys.
Then the weather started looking iffy and I had a panic attack about nine kids from 1-8 running rampant all over the house. I wasn't as worried about anyone else's kids... but something about having friends over flips the "lose your mind" switch on my own kids and they do things they would never think of doing... like throw things at the ceiling fan to see how far they will travel. Or fill up squirt toys and soak the bathroom. Or have the mother of all lightsaber battles that ultimately ends with someone getting injured. Oh and the dumping... what is it about having lots of kids over that causes them to seek out and dump toys, not to play with them, mind you... but just for the sheer thrill of dumping?
Yeah. So I nixed the giant playdate and instead just told David's mom I'd bring him home from swimming to play with Simon for a few hours and then bring him home.
Of COURSE it didn't rain. Figures. But that's beside the point now...
Ben and David's older sister, who is seven, ended up getting a last-minute swim session spot prior to the little boys', so I had to take everyone to lessons, which meant no extra car seat for David.
This meant David's mom had to drop David off at our house for the playdate instead of us bringing him home.
This meant David's sister came in and didn't want to leave.
Annnnd this is abou where things started to go awry.
First off, Ben totally highjacked the playdate. David, being four and having only a big sister who is nasty to him, thought Ben was the coolest and only wanted to play what Ben wanted to play. David's sister, who apparently at seven is already boy crazy, thought Ben was "So cute!!! He's SOooooo cute, mom!!!" so she played with them too.
Simon was left playing alone in his room. Very sad.
Also, see aforementioned tidbit about the "lose your mind" switch and my kids during playdates. Ben, who is generally my most well-behaved child, was caught throwing things at Simon's ceiling fan, jumping on furniture, throwing things from his bookshelf (?!?!) and initiating a sword fight that ended up making Simon cry not once, but three times.
Simon also attacked David's sister with a sword because she played with his castle.
After this, David's sister asked to watch Sponge Bob.
I pretended the tv didn't work.
Also? The Terminix guy showed up while they were there and told me we probably have termites in the garage.
The other kids' mom is sweet as she can be and we actually had a nice conversation. However, after an hour and a half of the insanity, and the crying, I really just needed them to leave. Thankfully, she said she had some errands to run and I said I actually had to hit the grocery store anyway so they were gone by the two-hour mark.
Simon was really disappointed David hadn't wanted to play Legos. Ben, on the other hand, thought the playdate was AWESOME.
Hrm... that was not how that was supposed to go.
Oh and where was Jonathan during all this? NOT napping. And where there are big kids, Jonathan needs to be RIGHT in the middle... which, of course, he couldn't because they were downstairs and outside and up and down and in and out. So, there was that.
Next time, for sure, I need to have a friend over for Ben or ship Ben out to a friend's house, probably the latter. I almost emailed one of his school friends. Should have listened to my gut instinct on that.
So that was our yesterday. I hope today is a little less exciting!!!
Backstory --
There is a little guy Simon is buddies with from preschool. I love the kid, I do. He's very sweet and he and Simon get along fantastically. They like the same things -- Legos, Skylanders, Star Wars, swordfights. They enjoy playing said things together and they never, ever fight (well, except for pretend fighting with swords)
Oh, and potty humor... they both appreciate a good dose of it. This is mostly David's influence, as we are NOT a potty humor family.... but, much to my chagrin, when David and his potty talk came into our lives, Simon realized the funny he had been missing out on. I cringe when they sing the "butt song" or the "poop and pee song" they made up and then have a talk with Simon when we are away from David about how we don't talk like that. He seems to get that it's only something he gets to do when he's around David so... for now, I take the good with the bad and hope they never end up at the same elementary school. Thankfully, David's affinity for SpongeBob hasn't rubbed off on Simon at all because I simply can not allow that awful character/show in my home. I have to draw the line somewhere!
Anyway, their friendship amuses me because at first glance they seem like an unlikely duo. Simon is this solid, blonde, curly-haired five-year-old, going on eight in many ways, both because he is tall and because of his older brother's influence. David is nearly Jonathan's size with shockingly orange hair, the tiniest, cutest thing you ever did see because he was a preemie, and he won't be five until fall.
Nevertheless, the two of them are peas in a pod. I liken it to Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwartzenager in the movie Twins.
ALL schoolyear long they have wanted to have a playdate at one of their houses and they have taken swimming lessons together for going on 24 weeks now. We had gone to playgrounds and whatnot... but the house playdate, that's the bigtime.
FINALLY, I caved. It was supposed to be nice, so I invited David, his mom and big sister over to play on the water slide... also I figured the more the merrier; so invited my niece and nephew, sister-in-law, good friend Beth and her two boys.
Then the weather started looking iffy and I had a panic attack about nine kids from 1-8 running rampant all over the house. I wasn't as worried about anyone else's kids... but something about having friends over flips the "lose your mind" switch on my own kids and they do things they would never think of doing... like throw things at the ceiling fan to see how far they will travel. Or fill up squirt toys and soak the bathroom. Or have the mother of all lightsaber battles that ultimately ends with someone getting injured. Oh and the dumping... what is it about having lots of kids over that causes them to seek out and dump toys, not to play with them, mind you... but just for the sheer thrill of dumping?
Yeah. So I nixed the giant playdate and instead just told David's mom I'd bring him home from swimming to play with Simon for a few hours and then bring him home.
Of COURSE it didn't rain. Figures. But that's beside the point now...
Ben and David's older sister, who is seven, ended up getting a last-minute swim session spot prior to the little boys', so I had to take everyone to lessons, which meant no extra car seat for David.
This meant David's mom had to drop David off at our house for the playdate instead of us bringing him home.
This meant David's sister came in and didn't want to leave.
Annnnd this is abou where things started to go awry.
First off, Ben totally highjacked the playdate. David, being four and having only a big sister who is nasty to him, thought Ben was the coolest and only wanted to play what Ben wanted to play. David's sister, who apparently at seven is already boy crazy, thought Ben was "So cute!!! He's SOooooo cute, mom!!!" so she played with them too.
Simon was left playing alone in his room. Very sad.
Also, see aforementioned tidbit about the "lose your mind" switch and my kids during playdates. Ben, who is generally my most well-behaved child, was caught throwing things at Simon's ceiling fan, jumping on furniture, throwing things from his bookshelf (?!?!) and initiating a sword fight that ended up making Simon cry not once, but three times.
Simon also attacked David's sister with a sword because she played with his castle.
After this, David's sister asked to watch Sponge Bob.
I pretended the tv didn't work.
Also? The Terminix guy showed up while they were there and told me we probably have termites in the garage.
The other kids' mom is sweet as she can be and we actually had a nice conversation. However, after an hour and a half of the insanity, and the crying, I really just needed them to leave. Thankfully, she said she had some errands to run and I said I actually had to hit the grocery store anyway so they were gone by the two-hour mark.
Simon was really disappointed David hadn't wanted to play Legos. Ben, on the other hand, thought the playdate was AWESOME.
Hrm... that was not how that was supposed to go.
Oh and where was Jonathan during all this? NOT napping. And where there are big kids, Jonathan needs to be RIGHT in the middle... which, of course, he couldn't because they were downstairs and outside and up and down and in and out. So, there was that.
Next time, for sure, I need to have a friend over for Ben or ship Ben out to a friend's house, probably the latter. I almost emailed one of his school friends. Should have listened to my gut instinct on that.
So that was our yesterday. I hope today is a little less exciting!!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
He's Unstoppable!!!
Apparently, during his period of relative muteness (is that a word?), Jonathan has been studying things quite a bit. This morning, while playing with his pounding bench, (you know, the thing with the hammer and the little colored pegs you hammer down) he pointed to a peg and said, "Blue!". (it was, indeed, blue). He also pointed to yellow and said "ewhoa" and green and said "geen". Yep. The chatty, it has definitely reached explosive territory, I tell you. I tested him five more times to see if it was just a fluke or I was hearing things and he said them all again and again. He does think purple is ALSO blue... but, we'll give him a pass on that! LOL!
Monday, June 11, 2012
First Official Day of NO SCHOOL!!!
Today is the first day of no school, no lunch packing, no having to be out the door by 8:54.... ahhhh....
However, it is not all freedom. I have decided that I need a plan for this summer.... not just a bucket list (still working on that, btw)... but an actual daily plan of activities and routines.
Yes, we can have some days where we just lay around and do nothing and watch movies and build Legos... but the kids need some structure and more importantly, so do I. I REALLY need it or I end up completely sluggish and unmotivated and trapped by the nap because of poor time management.
So I am giving us a week of flying by the seat of our pants to fully enjoy the first week of not having to be anywhere at any specific time. After that, there will be a daily schedule. We are going to have quiet/reading time, writing practice time, science time (ben has a really cool book of science experiments that Aunt K and Uncle M gave him for his bday that we've been having fun with), and outside time every day. (the pool counts)
Part of this is inspired by the list the third-grade teachers sent home. They recommend the kids keep a summer journal... just three lines a day, among other things. I think this is a fantastic idea. Simon will benefit from this too, even if he just sounds words out as best he can or just draws a picture to go along with what he has dictated to me.
As for my daily schedule.... there will be a specific list of chores to be done every day and something from the long-term list of "to-dos" that will get done. Also, while the kids are having their quiet time, I hope to get some of my own writing done. I was doing so well, but it fell by the wayside after February for various reasons. I will also have dinner planned and prepped every day, even if the big "plan" is just "go pick up a pizza", it will be planned in advance.
Hopefully this works well. Unfortunately, the third grade teachers told the kids that the list they gave them was not mandatory. Ben took this to heart and has already started arguing with me about having to do the things on it. I WISH they had said or even just inferred that it was mandatory... that would have helped a LOT. But, I will work with it....
OH, and the big boys are going to be trained on certain new chores too. I hope to have them sorting laundry, emptying small trashcans, dusting their own rooms and cleaning their shared bathroom by the end of the summer.
However, it is not all freedom. I have decided that I need a plan for this summer.... not just a bucket list (still working on that, btw)... but an actual daily plan of activities and routines.
Yes, we can have some days where we just lay around and do nothing and watch movies and build Legos... but the kids need some structure and more importantly, so do I. I REALLY need it or I end up completely sluggish and unmotivated and trapped by the nap because of poor time management.
So I am giving us a week of flying by the seat of our pants to fully enjoy the first week of not having to be anywhere at any specific time. After that, there will be a daily schedule. We are going to have quiet/reading time, writing practice time, science time (ben has a really cool book of science experiments that Aunt K and Uncle M gave him for his bday that we've been having fun with), and outside time every day. (the pool counts)
Part of this is inspired by the list the third-grade teachers sent home. They recommend the kids keep a summer journal... just three lines a day, among other things. I think this is a fantastic idea. Simon will benefit from this too, even if he just sounds words out as best he can or just draws a picture to go along with what he has dictated to me.
As for my daily schedule.... there will be a specific list of chores to be done every day and something from the long-term list of "to-dos" that will get done. Also, while the kids are having their quiet time, I hope to get some of my own writing done. I was doing so well, but it fell by the wayside after February for various reasons. I will also have dinner planned and prepped every day, even if the big "plan" is just "go pick up a pizza", it will be planned in advance.
Hopefully this works well. Unfortunately, the third grade teachers told the kids that the list they gave them was not mandatory. Ben took this to heart and has already started arguing with me about having to do the things on it. I WISH they had said or even just inferred that it was mandatory... that would have helped a LOT. But, I will work with it....
OH, and the big boys are going to be trained on certain new chores too. I hope to have them sorting laundry, emptying small trashcans, dusting their own rooms and cleaning their shared bathroom by the end of the summer.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
When it Rains (words) it Pours (words) ;)
Umbrella.
Filing this under list of words that are now completely consistent.
All weekend it's been "Umbrella!" "Hold umbrella!" "mmmmbella!!!" as J has carried around Simon's Star Wars umbrella everywhere he goes. He has also pointed out umbrellas at the pool, the umbrella on our deck and something that passed for an umbrella (but wasn't) at a restaurant the other day.
So, consistently (as in, heard just about every day at this point) we have:
* umbrella
* hello
* gum
* goodbye
* various iterations of "Hotel California"
* trumpet
Heard this week and currently waiting to hear again --
* guitar
* tuba
* comb
* tabasco ("co!)
* pop (for a popsicle)
* juice bag (ju bah)
I'm almost positive there are a couple more I just can't think of off the top of my head right now... but six is great because that means he meets the milestone listed in the 22nd month chapter of the What to Expect Toddlers book -- "uses six words" It's under the first-level "should be" milestones, meaning just about ALL babies this age can do it.. but we don't need to be all super-advanced... any verbal progress will do! I'll take it!
Filing this under list of words that are now completely consistent.
All weekend it's been "Umbrella!" "Hold umbrella!" "mmmmbella!!!" as J has carried around Simon's Star Wars umbrella everywhere he goes. He has also pointed out umbrellas at the pool, the umbrella on our deck and something that passed for an umbrella (but wasn't) at a restaurant the other day.
So, consistently (as in, heard just about every day at this point) we have:
* umbrella
* hello
* gum
* goodbye
* various iterations of "Hotel California"
* trumpet
Heard this week and currently waiting to hear again --
* guitar
* tuba
* comb
* tabasco ("co!)
* pop (for a popsicle)
* juice bag (ju bah)
I'm almost positive there are a couple more I just can't think of off the top of my head right now... but six is great because that means he meets the milestone listed in the 22nd month chapter of the What to Expect Toddlers book -- "uses six words" It's under the first-level "should be" milestones, meaning just about ALL babies this age can do it.. but we don't need to be all super-advanced... any verbal progress will do! I'll take it!
Friday, June 08, 2012
Another to File Under "Take That, Speech Lady!"
Today, on the way out the door to the pool, Jonathan pointed to the umbrellas on the top shelf in the mudroom and said, "Hold 'brella!" I've decided now that what he asks for with words, he gets... so we drove to the pool with an open umbrella over the carseat. ;)
Why can't I get this stuff on tape so she'll believe me?!?!
Why can't I get this stuff on tape so she'll believe me?!?!
Pool...
Yesterday was my first day flying solo at the pool. We stayed for two hours.
Soooooo yeah.... my summer is going to be rough.
The big boys were great, fantastic even. They require little supervision other than the occasional headcount. They still aren't confident enough swimmers to do anything crazy and they don't leave the shallow end where they can both touch the bottom.
Jonathan, on the other hand. Holy. Heck. I mean, I knew he would be a challenge, given his age and lack of fear... but I thought I could convince him to hang out on the steps and pour water with little cups or play with little fishy diving toys and whatnot... or even play with a bucket on the side of the pool.
Um. No.
At one point, I got him interested in bucket of water, which he promptly dumped and then attempted to go refill on his own, nearly toppling headfirst into the shallow end. (he's top-heavy, you know)
There were some witnesses to my harrowing two hours yesterday. They were amused and sympathetic. I also think neither of them will be having another child anytime soon.
J's favorite thing to do, by far, is to run at breakneck speed from one side of the length of the steps to the other... deciding at random points that he will jump onto the first step and continue all the way down. This led to a lot of me almost knocking over many other children to get to him in time.
His second favorite thing to do it to jump from the side and go under.... with virtually no warning.
His THIRD favorite thing do is to have me hold him while he pretends to swim like the big kids. FUN!
The lifejackets we have are anti-helpful as they they immediately flip him over facedown into the water.
Swimmies would probably be very useful, but our pool doesn't allow them. (What's with that, btw??? Our old pool didn't either!)
He did okay with a cheap little inflatable ring we had until I realized it had a hole in it. Even that though, he wouldn't stick with for long before he managed to get out of the pool and shimmy out of it, only to leap from the side unfettered by a floatation device once again.
Meanwhile, poor little Simon was asking me to help him jump every 45 seconds or watch him do this or that and I had to keep saying, "I can't. Jonathan!" By the time I got those three words out, Jonathan was usually halfway to drowning himself once again.
I am trying to train him that we swim for 15 minutes or so and then take breaks. He did okay with this when plied with gummy bears and goldfish. But I can't feed the kid candy and crackers all day long just to get a moment's peace.
Or can I?
How about the baby pool, you ask?
HAHAHAHAHAHA.... oh that's funny.
To make matters worse, there was a mom there with FOUR children under the age of 7 who was pregnant with twins. She was so very cool about it too. I just kept wanting to ask, "HOW?!?!?"
Soooooo yeah.... my summer is going to be rough.
The big boys were great, fantastic even. They require little supervision other than the occasional headcount. They still aren't confident enough swimmers to do anything crazy and they don't leave the shallow end where they can both touch the bottom.
Jonathan, on the other hand. Holy. Heck. I mean, I knew he would be a challenge, given his age and lack of fear... but I thought I could convince him to hang out on the steps and pour water with little cups or play with little fishy diving toys and whatnot... or even play with a bucket on the side of the pool.
Um. No.
At one point, I got him interested in bucket of water, which he promptly dumped and then attempted to go refill on his own, nearly toppling headfirst into the shallow end. (he's top-heavy, you know)
There were some witnesses to my harrowing two hours yesterday. They were amused and sympathetic. I also think neither of them will be having another child anytime soon.
J's favorite thing to do, by far, is to run at breakneck speed from one side of the length of the steps to the other... deciding at random points that he will jump onto the first step and continue all the way down. This led to a lot of me almost knocking over many other children to get to him in time.
His second favorite thing to do it to jump from the side and go under.... with virtually no warning.
His THIRD favorite thing do is to have me hold him while he pretends to swim like the big kids. FUN!
The lifejackets we have are anti-helpful as they they immediately flip him over facedown into the water.
Swimmies would probably be very useful, but our pool doesn't allow them. (What's with that, btw??? Our old pool didn't either!)
He did okay with a cheap little inflatable ring we had until I realized it had a hole in it. Even that though, he wouldn't stick with for long before he managed to get out of the pool and shimmy out of it, only to leap from the side unfettered by a floatation device once again.
Meanwhile, poor little Simon was asking me to help him jump every 45 seconds or watch him do this or that and I had to keep saying, "I can't. Jonathan!" By the time I got those three words out, Jonathan was usually halfway to drowning himself once again.
I am trying to train him that we swim for 15 minutes or so and then take breaks. He did okay with this when plied with gummy bears and goldfish. But I can't feed the kid candy and crackers all day long just to get a moment's peace.
Or can I?
How about the baby pool, you ask?
HAHAHAHAHAHA.... oh that's funny.
To make matters worse, there was a mom there with FOUR children under the age of 7 who was pregnant with twins. She was so very cool about it too. I just kept wanting to ask, "HOW?!?!?"
Thursday, June 07, 2012
On His Terms...
Part of what I have discovered with J and his talking (or lack thereof), is that he likes to talk... actually do EVERYTHING, really... on his own terms. Take yesterday for example. I was playing with him on the floor in the family room, working on some of the things the speech teacher does. We worked on a puzzle and played potatoheads and played with the puppet. He baby babbled the entire time.
Then, at one point, he noticed a lump under the rug. He did his little question sound with his hands out... "Ahhh???"and then motioned for me to lift the rug so he could see what was underneath.
Lifting the rug revealed a comb that ended up in the toy basket months ago for some reason.
"Oh! Jonathan! Look what was under there! What is that?" I asked.
"Comb!" he said, clear as day....
Wasn't expecting that... but okay... "Comb! Yes! Comb!"
He pulled it out and shoved a book under the rug. Lifted it up again.
"Book!" he exclaimed.
Uhhhh.... K?
We did this a few more times: "Comb", "Book" "Elephant".
Then he wandered off to the kitchen and returned with Simon's bubble gum wrapper. He handed it to me... "What do you want buddy?" I asked.
"Gum."
Seriously?
Then, at one point, he noticed a lump under the rug. He did his little question sound with his hands out... "Ahhh???"and then motioned for me to lift the rug so he could see what was underneath.
Lifting the rug revealed a comb that ended up in the toy basket months ago for some reason.
"Oh! Jonathan! Look what was under there! What is that?" I asked.
"Comb!" he said, clear as day....
Wasn't expecting that... but okay... "Comb! Yes! Comb!"
He pulled it out and shoved a book under the rug. Lifted it up again.
"Book!" he exclaimed.
Uhhhh.... K?
We did this a few more times: "Comb", "Book" "Elephant".
Then he wandered off to the kitchen and returned with Simon's bubble gum wrapper. He handed it to me... "What do you want buddy?" I asked.
"Gum."
Seriously?
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Pool Week Bust and an Update on Random Stuff....
I had been looking forward to this week because I wanted to spend it at the pool with Simon and Jonathan since Ben was still in school. The weather has been gorgeous, and I can't really complain except that it has been way too chilly to be at the pool... :( Not sure where the 80+ degree temps went...
So, as a result, we've done a whole lotta nothing this week. We've gone outside some... but Jonathan has been making that difficult because lately, ALL he wants to do is get in the car and play. Meanwhile, Simon just wants to stay in and build with his Legos. Ben, when he is home, wants to be pitched to.
UGH. I need more of me.
Also? My neighbor found a deer tick on his leg the other evening and then they found one on their daughter... and the people next door to THEM have a 9-year-old who is now being treated for Lyme after they found one on HER a week ago.
Ben has three more days of school... today is his last full day. So excited to just get our summer started. I'm hoping with some decent planning, we can avoid too many days stuck at home trying to figure out what to do, only to be trapped by Jonathan's nap.
OH! I have, this week, almost successfully permanently moved J's nap to later in the afternoon. He still starts yawning at 10, but I've been just taking him out somewhere around then and pushing him until about noon.... yesterday, he fell asleep at 12:15 about halfway through a 25-minute drive home -- a cracker still in his hand and poised at his mouth to bite it. So yeah... he's T-I-R-E-D. LOL. The best part about the nap movement is that the afternoon nap is now CRAZY long. Yesterday, he slept three hours. A beautiful thing, that is.
Speech is still coming along, though I am waiting to hear what the pediatrician says after he speaks with the speech teacher. Honestly, I think as long as I am seeing consistent progress in his speaking, which we have been, I will end this at the end of the summer. On Monday, she was talking about putting him in a special preschool class in the fall with four delayed kids and a typical child blah blah yada yada.... I was all, "Seriously lady, I got this preschool thing. It's all good...." She was skeptical. "But he'll be frustrated if the other children can talk a lot...." This SO annoys me. Having been through the 2s program at our preschool before with Simon, I can attest to the fact that the kids' verbal abilities in that age group range from hardly any words to those who can speak in complex sentences. The teacher is highly trained to handle them ALL and is fantastic.... I have full confidence he will handle a regular old 2s class just fine, thankyouverymuch. So yeah... when the end of summer comes, especially if she is still pushing the special preschool thing, I think I will be saying adios.
So that's what has been going on over here.... exciting, right? ;)
So, as a result, we've done a whole lotta nothing this week. We've gone outside some... but Jonathan has been making that difficult because lately, ALL he wants to do is get in the car and play. Meanwhile, Simon just wants to stay in and build with his Legos. Ben, when he is home, wants to be pitched to.
UGH. I need more of me.
Also? My neighbor found a deer tick on his leg the other evening and then they found one on their daughter... and the people next door to THEM have a 9-year-old who is now being treated for Lyme after they found one on HER a week ago.
Ben has three more days of school... today is his last full day. So excited to just get our summer started. I'm hoping with some decent planning, we can avoid too many days stuck at home trying to figure out what to do, only to be trapped by Jonathan's nap.
OH! I have, this week, almost successfully permanently moved J's nap to later in the afternoon. He still starts yawning at 10, but I've been just taking him out somewhere around then and pushing him until about noon.... yesterday, he fell asleep at 12:15 about halfway through a 25-minute drive home -- a cracker still in his hand and poised at his mouth to bite it. So yeah... he's T-I-R-E-D. LOL. The best part about the nap movement is that the afternoon nap is now CRAZY long. Yesterday, he slept three hours. A beautiful thing, that is.
Speech is still coming along, though I am waiting to hear what the pediatrician says after he speaks with the speech teacher. Honestly, I think as long as I am seeing consistent progress in his speaking, which we have been, I will end this at the end of the summer. On Monday, she was talking about putting him in a special preschool class in the fall with four delayed kids and a typical child blah blah yada yada.... I was all, "Seriously lady, I got this preschool thing. It's all good...." She was skeptical. "But he'll be frustrated if the other children can talk a lot...." This SO annoys me. Having been through the 2s program at our preschool before with Simon, I can attest to the fact that the kids' verbal abilities in that age group range from hardly any words to those who can speak in complex sentences. The teacher is highly trained to handle them ALL and is fantastic.... I have full confidence he will handle a regular old 2s class just fine, thankyouverymuch. So yeah... when the end of summer comes, especially if she is still pushing the special preschool thing, I think I will be saying adios.
So that's what has been going on over here.... exciting, right? ;)
Saturday, June 02, 2012
Second Grade Vernacular....
Things my kid says/does I can only assume are part of second grade culture this year....
* The happy birthday cha-cha-cha thing. Actually, this has persisted since Kindergarten and across two different schools... must be an elementary school thing.
* The word "Awkward". Everything is "awkward" these days.
* Saying the punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. For example, "Can we go to the pool, question mark?" Or.... "School was boring today, period." Or... "I'm going outside, exclamation point!"
* "Jinx, you owe me a soda." When I was in school, it was "You owe me a Coke". They've gone generic now.... ?
* The happy birthday cha-cha-cha thing. Actually, this has persisted since Kindergarten and across two different schools... must be an elementary school thing.
* The word "Awkward". Everything is "awkward" these days.
* Saying the punctuation mark at the end of a sentence. For example, "Can we go to the pool, question mark?" Or.... "School was boring today, period." Or... "I'm going outside, exclamation point!"
* "Jinx, you owe me a soda." When I was in school, it was "You owe me a Coke". They've gone generic now.... ?
Friday, June 01, 2012
Summer Bucket List....
I saw someone on another blog do this and thought it was a great idea! It's a running list of things I want to do with the kids before summer is over.... on the blog I stole the idea from, they wrote all the things on clothespins and clipped them to a bucket. As you do each item on the list, you unclip the clothespin and throw it in the bucket. :)
Still working on our list... but here's what we have so far. :o)
- join the Summer Reading Club at the library
- wash the car together
- go to Dutch Wonderland
- Visit the Treasure museum at the beach
- Make a huge sandcastle
- dig for hidden treasure
- use a metal detector on the beach
- Make cornstarch sidewalk paint and decorate the driveway
- tie-dye something
- play in the fountains at the Inner Harbor
- Visit the science center
- Visit the natural history museum in D.C.
Still working on our list... but here's what we have so far. :o)
- join the Summer Reading Club at the library
- wash the car together
- go to Dutch Wonderland
- Visit the Treasure museum at the beach
- Make a huge sandcastle
- dig for hidden treasure
- use a metal detector on the beach
- Make cornstarch sidewalk paint and decorate the driveway
- tie-dye something
- play in the fountains at the Inner Harbor
- Visit the science center
- Visit the natural history museum in D.C.