Fun with Pumpkins and Hay

We've been getting into the fall spirit recently. We took a trip to a local harvest festival with some friends and last night we carved our pumpkins. The kids love the festival. They played in the nearby stream and climbed around on a mountain of hay. We picked out our pumpkins over the weekend and last night we carved them up. Erin had a lot of fun scooping out the guts and helping separate the seeds. My non-slimy man wasn't so sure about the guts, but did dig in at least once. Erin designed her pumpkin all on her own and helped mommy carve it. Jeffrey and daddy did his. Both wanted them to be spooky pumpkins -- I think we achieved that goal.

So here's some photos of the trip to the festival and pumpkin carving. I'll be back over the weekend with costume pictures.

Boys will be boys

That's how the saying goes. I've always really tried to refute it though, thinking "let's not pigeon-hole him." He's a loving, caring, sweet little boy. He adores his sister and his kitty (Mr. Drake) and spends at least 50% of the day within 2 feet of his beloved blankie. He gives the best hugs and kisses.

But there's just something in him that's not in Erin. This mischievous devilishness. The one who MUST dump out every toy in the play area and then decide it's time to watch a movie. He runs around and gets covered in mud in ways I never thought possible. Every toy can be turned into either a gun or a sword for "powing" or "poking" (I'm working on this, but I'm not getting through in the slightest). These past few days he's been verging on out of control. I never, ever remember Erin being like this. She had her moments certainly, but...

Boys will be boys I guess.


Erin has 2 fish in her room - Marlin and Teddy Bear. They are female betas and we keep them on her dresser in a little 1-gallon tank. Jeffrey loves to watch the fish. Yesterday afternoon he was fighting his nap in a way he generally doesn't fight it. He was up every 5 minutes for this or that. Pooped his pants. Ran downstairs to get a truck for his bed. Finally he quieted down. I was trying to get some work done in the basement, so I assumed he'd gone to sleep. Boy oh boy was I wrong.

When I went up to get him so we could go pick Erin up from the bus stop, I noticed his door was open and Erin's door was shut. Noise was coming from Erin's room. I peeked in there and he was cowering on her bed.

"What are you doing in here?"
"Ummmm...nothing?" Clearly stated as a question - What was I doing?

Mommy now noticing Erin's dresser is a mess looks more closely. The fish tank is totally disheveled. Lid all askew. Water everywhere. Little cave for fish lying on the floor. Fish water the color of....well sewage. Most disturbing, a little fishnet from the bathtub on the floor near the now mangled tank.

"Really. Nothing?"
"I was getting Erin's fishies in the bathtub net. See?"

(deep breath)(deep breath)(don't beat child)(not working)"Oh My God...what did you do?????" screamed certainly much too loudly.

"Got Erin's fishies see?"

Upon closer inspection I discovered 2 small fish hovering near the bottom of the tank, miraculously still alive.

Luckily for the boy, we had to head out to the bus stop to get Erin immediately and I had time to cool down. He did spend the rest of the afternoon in his room though after a long talk about NOT playing with Erin's fish because they are living things.

Fast Forward about 26 hours. Tom and I are cooking dinner and chatting. Erin is playing in the living room listening to Aaron Copeland music. I figure Jeffrey's playing her game with her. It suddenly dawns on me that Erin's not complaining enough for Jeff to be playing with her.

"Erin...where's your brother?"
"He's upstairs drinking water."
"Oh dear......(bad words here that Erin's sure to repeat in class on Monday) JEFFREY ANDERSON!!!!!!!"

Young boy is discovered not in the bathroom but in Erin's room....tube of toothpaste in hand. That's right. Toothpaste. He's squirting toothpaste into the fish tank. And then trying to rescue Marlin and Teddy Bear with the bathtub fish net. He's soaked. Dresser is soaked. Fish are completely traumatized.

After 2 swift slaps to his bottom (say what you want but clearly the lesson from 26 hours ago hadn't sunk in a bit) he's sent back to his room. Mommy's able to rescue Marlin and Teddy Bear. Fish tank is emptied and cleaned of all pasty pollutant. Fish are currently living in a small Tupperware on the kitchen counter and tank has been removed from Erin's room to the kitchen where it's slightly more Jeffrey proof.

I have no idea what got into him. What inspired him to torture the fish (with toothpaste even). There will be more discussions on treatment of living animals. More time outs. More slaps to the bottom (sad to say).

Boys will be boys I guess.

At Ye Olde Faire

We headed off to one of our favorite places this past weekend.....the Renaissance Fair. Tom and I have loved going to the Fair since we were dating and took the kids when we went 2 years ago. So this year we decided to make a big trip of it, drag along Noni, Grandpa and Uncle Jon (and it's not really dragging since they're the ones who discovered the one in MD).

Two years ago doesn't seem like such a long time, but Jeffrey was only 1 and barely aware of where we were. And Erin wasn't much more understanding about it either. This year was different. Both the kids were super excited about it. We talked about going to the fair for a week or so. On the drive to DC both kids kept talking about all the rides that would be there - I mean what's a fair without rides? So Tom and I tried explaining it to them, like they would be visiting a castle and see all kinds of cool shows and people dressed up. After the initial disappointment that no Roller Coasters would be involved in the trip they decided it might be fun after all.

This year everyone got all dressed up. Tom and I wore our costumes and Erin and Jeff had some as well. Jeffrey's got this cool knight costume and Erin has a sweet princess costume...but not a Disney princess. Think Lucy from Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (or really Prince Caspian). The both LOVED being in their costumes. Right after we got there, someone from the fair walked up to Jeffrey took a little plastic gem out of her bag and handed it to him, declaring him the most regal knight in the realm that day. Let's say that's now a very beloved piece of plastic. Erin got lots of comments on her dress as well.

Erin headed straight for the face painting station. She really wanted her face painted and we decided to do it early before the lines got too long and so she could show it off all day. She picked out a unicorn and sat wonderfully still for the Maiden to paint it on her cheek. It looked fantastic.

There was a cool knighting ceremony for the kids. They got to get in line, fill out a card and get their name announced along with their "good deed" for being knighted. Jeff's good deed is that he helps feed the cats. Erin decided she picks up her toys (which is true when under duress). Then they got their names called out and got to sit on a pillow while the Queen knighted them with a real-fake sword. Very cool. And they both got little certificates introducing Knight Jeffrey and Dame Erin.

We spent much of the day just wandering around. We caught a few of the shows - A magician, a comedian we all like and some of the musical groups (there was this awesome drumming corps with a bagpipe guy that was just FANTASTIC). The kids like the music as it was really easy to get up and dance to.

We did do the fun kiddie stuff. There's a big wooden slide (as close to a roller coaster as they were gonna get) that they loved, a play area with a big wooden pirate ship, and free pony rides. Uncle Jon got to introduce them both to his favorite honey vendor and the kids are now officially addicted to honey.

The highlight of the day was certainly the bubble blowing station. I remembered from last time we went that you had to have your own bubble wand to blow bubbles (and Noni is a sucker so Erin has one) so I made sure to pack it. Both Erin and Jeff we able to blow some bubbles with the bubble fairies. At the end of the day we made one last stop. The fairy working at the station was very playful and blowing suds and bubbles everywhere. Both the kids thought that this was just awesome and were giggling and laughing with her. Erin was actually able to get some really nice bubbles blown too.

It was a really fun day and I'm glad we could share it with the kids and with Noni, Grandpa and Uncle Jon. The fact that the kids imaginations are wild enough for them to believe in fairies and princesses and castles makes it all the better.

Kitchen Fun

Both Erin and Jeffrey have been spending a lot of time helping out in the kitchen these days. They LOVE to help measure/stir/knead and especially eat the end products. Mostly they help make bread with Daddy. Both kids will help measure the flour and other ingredients. Erin really loves to help knead. Jeff's not so into that as it makes his hands sticky. Erin can even tell you what are the ingredients that generally go into baking bread. She's been having so much fun in the kitchen that she decided instead of a butterfly, she's going to be a chef when she grows up.



Last week we spent a lot of time in the kitchen. We made peanut butter cookies one evening. They made bread a few times. Erin and I made some apple crisp with the fresh apples from Jeff's field trip. We all made applesauce together as well.



It's so great that they are learning that foods are cooked and not just unwrapped. Cookies have all these ingredients in them and don't just come out of a bag. Applesauce is really fun to make (what can be more fun than a food mill) and doesn't just come out of a jar. Bread can be made with just 4 ingredients and tastes AWESOME.



I've gotten a few pictures of our activities lately, and thought I'd share a few of them here so you can see how much fun we're all having in the kitchen.

Peanut Butter Cookie Fun

Measuring Carefully

Silly Bread Fun

Kneading the Dough

A New Mommy

It appears I've been replaced.

Jeffrey has announced to me that he has a New Mommy. Apparently a nicer mommy.

Yesterday morning was a day off from school - meaning optimal "sleep in" day. I think the kids didn't get the message. They were both still up at the first sound of Tom's shower running. Bounding into the big bed with me until daddy's shower was over. Then it was off to follow daddy around for the morning (or at least until he left the house at 6:45). BUT there was no school, no need to be up that early, no need to be waking Mommy up that early. I corralled them into the big bed after Tom left and let them watch Playhouse Disney until I was sufficiently awake (which happened to be after Rocket).

So when I went downstairs to find the living room and dining room look as if they'd been caught in the middle of a cyclone, I was noticeably frustrated with my early birds. After requesting that they put the cushions back ON the good couch and getting a defiant NO from Jeffrey he got 1 warning. After asking him again he responded by throwing the truck-in-hand across the room. This immediately leads to time out which elicits and even bigger fit. I decide it's not worth the fight and go hunting for coffee. Jeffrey calms himself down and wanders into the kitchen with a sad and pouty look about him.

"I have a new mommy. My new mommy says I don't have to go to time out."

And then walked back out of the kitchen to continue his general destruction of the living room. For the rest of the day any time I'd try to discipline or "talk" to him he'd remind me that his new mommy says he doesn't have to go to time out.

So clearly I've been replaced. There's a new and better mommy out there. I just hope she's willing to wipe his bum and cook his lunches too.

Meet Cindy Circle

This is Cindy Circle. We hear from her quite frequently. At home, in the car, at dinner, at church during the invocation..... I figured you'd all like to meet her too.

Cindy Circle Goes Around and Around

From the Sky to the Ground She Goes Around

She is On the Ferris Wheel

She's a Beachball For a Seal

Cindy Circle Goes Around and Around

Cindy Circle Goes Around and Around

You Can See Her On the Stoplight in the Town

She Can Bend From End to End

Roller Skating With a Friend

Cindy Circle Goes Around and Around

First Field Trip

Jeffrey had his first field trip this morning. His class went to an apple farm where they had a ton of things to do. Jeffrey has been pretty excited about the trip for a week or so as he LOVES apples.

The first thing they got to do was have a short lesson about the farm and the types of apples and animals they had there. They then talked about seeds and different varieties of seeds. They were given a bowl of seeds to sort according to color, shape, size. I was impressed to see Jeffrey paying attention to what was going on.

Next came the hay ride to the orchard. Given that there was a tractor involved, Jeff decided that this was the best part of the trip. We got a 5 minute ride into the orchard. It was a gorgeous morning up in the mountains. Almost all the varieties of apples were fruiting so we had lots of options for picking. Each person was given a bag and shown how to pick 5 apples each. Jeffrey wanted sweet ones so we picked red delicious. I wanted more tart ones and I think I ended up with Stayman (which he helped me pick too).

Then we got another hayride back down the hill to the apple shed. The kids got to see where the apples are stored (A GIANT refrigerator) and how they are sorted and stored and shipped. Again I was impressed at watching Jeffrey pay attention and really listen to what the guide was teaching about.

Finally we rode back to the shelter where we ate out picnic lunch. After that we got a chance to explore the animals and the hay activities (A hay mountain and maze). Jeffrey was really interested in the chickens for some reason so we went to the chicken house and saw a whole bunch of roosters. He also thought the bee house was cool. There were also some sheep, goats, cows, pigs and even peacocks. He got to pet a few of the goats...something I snickered at since I have this "goat issue."

Jeffrey had the most fun playing on the hay mountain and in the hay maze though. He climbed around. Got lost in the maze. Chased his friends. Jumped off the mountain. All the kind of things a hyper little boy loves.

So his first field trip was a super experience. I'm really glad that I got to go along and share his special morning.

The Day Has Come

Jeffrey has been LOVING preschool. He enjoys playing, apparently really likes circle time on the carpets, sings the Cindy Circle Song all the time. One of the things he's really been looking forward to is eating lunch at school. Yesterday was Lunch Bunch day at school and he finally got to pack up his Cars (would it be anything else) lunch box with his own lunch. Most importantly he got a juice box - generally reserved for Erin's snacks at school. He also chose several varieties of crackers, a can of mandarin oranges, 5 peanut butter cookies. I enforced my will slightly and re-arranged his choices. He ended up with 1 Fluffernutter sandwich, a Lightning McQueen yogurt (yes there's even Cars on the yogurt), one variety of crackers (goldfish) and ONE homemade peanut butter cookie. And yes, the juice box.

School runs an extra hour on Lunch Bunch days so pick-up was at 1 instead of 12. When I arrived the teacher was explaining to one mommy that her son was wearing shorts (it was a balmy 65 here in Central VA yesterday) because he had a very large poop accident at school. She called Jeffrey over to me. He had a t-shirt on that I certainly didn't recognize. Apparently Jeffrey had been playing in the sink and SOAKED his beloved Little Einsteins shirt. And then proceeded to pitch a fit when they made him take it off. One last mom showed up to pick up her son (this is all within about 2 minutes) and the teacher explained that he was in shorts because he. . . . fell into the potty. I couldn't help but break out laughing . . . and remarking that it appeared they had quite an exciting day at school.

She turned back to me and said "well Jeffrey had to sit in time out again today because he hit Will." Apparently not just swatted him but all out decked him. I had feared this day would come. And today was the day. I made sure that he had apologized and then brought Jeffrey to the car. I repeatedly asked him why he hit his friend and couldn't get a coherent response. Actually he wouldn't admit to hitting anyone at all.

After his nap, I tried again.

"Hey bud, can we talk about school today? Why did you hit your friend?"

"I had to sit in time-out."

"Well yes, because you made a bad choice and hit your friend. Do you know why you did that?"

"I had to sit in time-out."

Clearly this conversation was not going to go anywhere. After dinner I decided I really needed to know what had happened so I called his teacher. She informed me that Jeffrey actually spent most of the day fighting, hitting, stealing toys and being a potential juvenile delinquent. Apparently there are a few toys that he has decided are "HIS" and that no one else is allowed to play with. I had a hunch...."Might one of them be a dump truck?" "Yes, he's very possessive of the dump truck on the playground." The same type of truck that gets taken away at least once a week here at the house because it "runs into" Erin's/mommy's/daddy's leg/foot/back.

So the focus at home base for the next few weeks is sharing and taking turns- child No. 1 is not the best sharer either. Wish us luck. At least we're still welcome back at school.....at this point.

Star of the Week

Last week at school Erin was the "Star of the Week". They pick a student each week and make a little display for them. I sent in several pictures of her doing her favorite things and with some special family members. Then throughout the week the kids can ask her about her pictures and on Friday she gets sharing time where she gets to talk to the whole class about her pictures and what she answered on her questionaire - All about Me. She decided that:

her favorite color is blue

her favorite book is Brown Bear Brown Bear

her favorite TV show is sill Dora

her favorite thing in school are puzzles (haven't heard about puzzles in school before)

her best friend is Rylie (not sure if this is her cousin or someone from school)

she wants to be a chef when she grows up (quite a change from wanting to be a butterfly last spring)

She picked out a picture of her from soccer last spring, one of her at gymnastics, and a family picture from Hershey Park. I added one of she and Jeffrey and one of her kissing Jeffrey when he was newborn. She also brought in a picture of her and Oma. She had a hard time explaining who her Oma was as the concept of "great-grandma" doesn't really mean much. She also wanted to share a picture of Drake and Kleo.

She was very excited to share everything with her class. She still really loves school. Every night she brings home a reading "book" to read to us and has mastered writing out her numbers 1-10. I'm going to start volunteering once a month in the classroom so I can see what's going on and be able to help out too. Maybe then I'll learn who all these kids are that Erin comes home talking about.

Camping: Take 2

After our first disastrous, and very wet, attempt at camping in June we decided to give it another go. Friends of ours were going to a camping rally at a nearby campground and invited us to go along. They even had an extra tent we could borrow since we haven't sealed the leaky one yet.

We headed up a little after noon and got settled in. We met up with our friends and decided it might be nice to take a little hike. Their teenage daughter and son came along with us. We headed out and took a little nature trail that had several signs pointing out interesting things about the forest. The trail was nice and relatively flat so we could let Erin and Jeffrey just run ahead. They got very excited about the signs, but not so interested in what they said.

At the end of that trail was a waterfall spur. The hike to the waterfall was a little under a mile but relatively steep. Since there were 4 big people (5 actually) and 2 little people we decided it would be worth taking the hike to the waterfall. Jeffrey walked mostly with Mr. Jonathan and Erin headed off the trail a little ahead of everyone else. After a long week at school it was apparent that she really just needed some Erin space. We stopped part way down to splash a little in the stream. At the bottom of the hike we found a wonderful waterfall. The kids climbed around (holding hands) the rocks at the bottom of the falls. Jeffrey proceeded to get his bottom totally soaked but hey - he had an entire hike back up the mountain to dry out.



By the top of the hill both kids were being carried and hiking back the nature trail they were dragging pretty hard. Back at the campsite we insisted on some quiet rest time. Erin headed to her little pink tent with her kitty and my MP3 player. Jeffrey sacked out on the mattress in the bigger tent. Erin stayed quiet for about 30 minutes and Jeffrey eventually crashed. After Erin came out we played a game of Uno and then she and Tom went down to socialize and play with the other campers. I hung out at the campsite while Jeffrey rested.




By dinner time (they were having a pot luck) I had to wake Jeffrey up - always a bad idea. It took him almost 30 minutes to really wake up and stop being a grump. All he wanted was his Miss Kim (his babysitter) so he hung around with her for a while. Dinner was nice and everyone chatted together. During the middle of dinner 2 large bucks just wandered through the campground stopping at the site across from ours to graze around. It was amazing that they were just there in the middle of a large crowd of people not 10 feet away.


As it got darker everyone broke out glow sticks/necklaces etc.... The next hour was filled with little kiddos running around waving their glowing sticks, sword fighting, throwing them in the air. Erin and Jeffrey had a blast with this.

Tom had to drive me back home for church Sunday morning, so he brought me back late Saturday night. I did get some campfire time and lots of fun watching the kids play. They got to hang out and make Smores while Tom was out. By the time he got back they were definitely ready to crash. All 3 of them slept in the borrowed tent.

Sunday morning Tom and the kids made breakfast and hot chocolate -- and served them up for the whole campground. Then they went for another short hike before packing up and heading home.

Tom was so glad that both kids had such a great time. They spent most of Sunday catching up on sleep but it was worth it to see them having so much fun doing something that means so much to their daddy.

Nostalgia

I've been feeling nostalgic lately. Maybe it's part of watching my baby girl be so excited about heading off to school. Maybe I'm seeing more and more of me in her every day. Maybe it's because through the beauty of the Internet I recently caught up with my best friend from kindergarten - someone I haven't talked to in over 15 years. Anyway, I've been looking back at old pictures. Remembering silly things that happened in school. Hoping that my daughter can make as special a friend as I did in school. I also wanted to share this with everyone here.



Erin on her first day on kindergarten




Meghan's Kindergarten Pictures

Think she's her mommy's little girl?

He's Been Waiting a Year

Well Jeffrey's been waiting a year to go to pre-school and yesterday he finally got his wish. He had his first day at pre-school and was super excited. Ever since we started taking Erin to school last fall he's been wanting to stay there. He loved when I let him go to 'camp' over the summer. For the past 2 months he's been telling EVERYONE that "I'm going to pre-school". And when I say everyone, I mean everyone. Grandma over the phone. Noni. His friends at church. His "teachers" at mommy's gym. Strange women at the grocery store. To say he was a little excited would be the understatement of the century.

Back in August Jeffrey picked out a new backpack (Cars of course) for school. They had orientation last week where he met a few of his classmates. He's going to the same school Erin went to last year, so he was pretty comfortable with the atmosphere. He knew where all the cool toys are, where mats for circle time are kept. He had a bit of a foot up when he got there.

We had a nice morning breakfast together after dropping Erin off to the school bus. He wanted oatmeal and gobbled it down. He got dressed without a fight - something I'm truly grateful for. We had snack for the week and brought "bear cookies" (Teddy Grahams), Cheeze-its, a bag of mixed fruit, strawberries and some juice.

Once we got there I lost him right away. He ran off to find his cubbie, play with toys, find his name on the table etc... He just felt right at home - and that's exactly what I expected from him. When I left, he was finding a space on the carpet sitting calmly and waiting for circle time to start.

I picked him up and he was excited to tell me about the day. First important thing - snack of bear cookies. Second important thing - playground time. Third item - painting (something we don't do a lot of at home). The did a project with the kids' hand prints and a poem about his first day of school which has a proud home on the refrigerator. He was devastated to have to go home, very sad that he would miss all his friends. I'm sure he'll be super excited to get back tomorrow.

Now.....what am I going to do with all MY free time?????

Like Mother Like Daughter I Guess

I have an oddly vivid memory of helping a friend in kindergarten become more comfortable on stairs. Our playground was built into a hill and there was a big set of open stairs leading to it. I seem to remember that this friend lived in a one-story house and wasn't used to big open stairs. So I remember one recess walking up and down and up and down the stairs with my friend so she could get to the playground more easily. My mom will tell you that this was just the kind of thing that I did. I liked to help people, especially when they were scared of something.

Well, I sent a note to Erin's teacher yesterday with some random mundane questions (like "are there nut restrictions for snack" or "is there a gym/art/music schedule"). She quickly responded to my questions and added this little bit at the beginning of her note to me.

"Thanks for the note this morning. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, we had a busy, fun-filled day! Erin is such a delight to have in class! She is very smart and kind to all the students. She has really helped one student who has been very shy and hesitant to try new things, so I appreciate that."

I don't think I've ever openly stated to Erin - "You should help people who need it" or "Help kids who are shy." Maybe she sees it around the house. Maybe it's the Big Sister in her (she really does love her little brother, especially when he lets her help him with something). Maybe it's just some innate part of her that hurts when someone seems sad or afraid. I'm not sure.

Erin's never mentioned any of this to me. She talks about a few people in class but never says "Hey mom, I made ***** feel better today," or "I showed ***** how to play blocks". To her it's no big deal. But to mommy, knowing that she's a compassionate beautiful young girl it's a very big deal.

Growing Up

With "up" being the operative word. Poor Jeffrey was long, long overdue for an upgrade in beds. It was not a rare occurrence to walk into his bedroom for my ritual goodnight kiss (before I go to bed) and find him half on the floor, half in the bed. By last week when he was just getting into bed his feet were hanging off the end. So we took advantage of two events - the mattress sales with students moving back into town and the upcoming consignment shop where I can sell the toddler bed (ironically where I originally purchased it) - to give the kiddo a new "big boy" bed.

As I mentioned above, the students are all back in town this week and every store in town that could have a mattress sale....was having a mattress sale. I really assumed our best bet would be Sam's Club, but honestly I found better deals elsewhere. Jeffrey and I scoped out the sales while Erin was in school. At first he really disliked getting in and out of the car. Then one of the salespeople let him "try out" a bed. Well that opened up a whole new adventure. The game of "How many beds can I jump from without touching the ground." Thankfully the sales guy was a daddy himself and had witnessed his own son play the same game many a time.

So after getting some pricing ideas and talking things over with daddy we went out Sunday to purchase said "big boy" bed. We made a morning out of it by stopping first at our favorite playground. Then we headed to Target to pick out a new set of sheets (Lightning McQueen of course). Finally we headed to the mattress store.

I showed Tom the chosen mattress and he agreed that it looked good. Jeffrey quickly returned to his game of "jump on the mattresses". Erin, after a long week at school, was exhausted and whiny. While I was sitting down to fill out the paperwork Jeffrey did a full-on header off one of the beds, whacking himself pretty hard. That's what he gets for playing such a "fun" game. We purchased the mattress and box before we realized we had one more stop to make. The store nicely held the items while we made a quick run into Sam's for stuff for Tom's mead. When we returned to the store they had everything ready and the "mattress expert" was able to tie both the mattress and box to the top of the Intrepid.

We drove home with the "whap whap whap" of plastic in the wind the whole way but arrived with 2 intact items. And just in time as the rains were getting ready to open up. Jeffrey, of course, had passed out on the drive home and I gently moved him into our bedroom. Mommy and daddy easily got the mattress and box inside. While daddy un-earthed his old headboard and frame from the basement, mommy cleared some things out of Jeffrey's room and started taking apart his little toddler bed.

The whole process of setting the new room up took only about 30 minutes. Once Jeffrey awoke he was sequestered in sister's room to await his surprise. When we let him in, he was thrilled and super excited about his big boy McQueen bed. It's set in a corner to limit bed falling accidents but he's slept in a twin before so we're not so worried about it.

So far he's been sleeping like a champ. Loves, loves, loves his new bed and seems to really love how it makes him feel like a big boy.

Back in June

Sound Asleep in his new bed

My Big Kindergartener

Well today was the first official day of Kindergarten. Everyone was up pretty early and excited for the day. Noni got Erin a pretty dress to wear on her first day and she couldn't wait to put it on (I did make her wait until after breakfast though). She also let me pull her bangs back off her face so she could see for the rest of the day.

Erin was really excited about taking the bus to school. We headed out about 7:45 to wait for the bus (doesn't come to the house, we have to drive to the bus stop). We were told the bus would arrive between 7:45 and 8:00 AM. So, she threw her new blue/froggie backpack on her back and stood there like such a big girl waiting for the bus. As big as she could feel with mommy and little bro standing right next to her. We could see several other groups of kids standing along the street. When she first spotted the bus she got sooooo excited. That was pretty quickly squashed when it drove right by the stop. Our house is not far from the school so several buses from different routes passed the house, none of them stopping for Erin.

By 8:15 I decided that we'd either missed the bus or something had gone wrong. Rather than have her being late for school the first day, I tossed the kids in the car and drove the 3 extra minutes to the school. I got to the drop-off zone where a staff member was waiting to walk her into the school. She was so excited. She went right with him, gave a little wave over her shoulder and that was that. Mommy had to pull the car through the drop off and didn't even get to see her go inside.

While she was at school mommy got the bus issue worked out so she could ride the bus home. All reports are that she had a great first day. She apparently got a sticker for being a good listener. They read some stories, had calendar time, sang some songs, spent some free time exploring the room and even had "quiet rest time" with some books. She remembers a few names of people (mostly boys) that she interacted with in class. It looks at least from today that she's going to really enjoy school.

She did get to ride the bus home. Jeffrey and I were there to pick her up from the bus stop - and glad we did because she would have ridden right past it. I'll have to make sure she gets off for a few days I think. We're aiming to catch the bus tomorrow morning so the bus driver gets a little more acquainted with Erin, and she with the driver.

So we're all breathing a big sigh of relief that the day went as well as it did. I'm glad she's making some friends and starting such a new and exciting part of her life. Even if it does mean she's growing up too fast.

One More Day

Just one day left before Kindergarten. Erin's not worried one bit. She's super excited. Mommy, on the other hand, is super stressed. There's a lot to get organized for a kindergartner.

What bus does she ride? Where will it pick her up? When does it come? When does it drop her off?

Is her teacher nice? Organized? Willing to work "with" us?

How do school lunches work? Do we pay cash? Use a debit card? Use a personal random 6 digit code?

Will Erin feel alone? Will she make new friends? Will she be brave enough to introduce herself?


So much to worry about. We answered a few of the questions last night at Orientation. Found out when her bus picks her up and where. Her teacher seems quite nice and Erin took immediately to her. The classroom was bright with lots of activities.

I'm still not sure how lunch will work. There's some code that Erin will have to use to buy lunch when she wants to buy lunch. We do have a lunch calendar. Erin's decided that she wants me to make her lunch for tomorrow.

So tomorrow morning we'll venture out to catch the bus bright and early. I'm sure Erin will hop right on, and I'll stay and watch until I can't see the bus any longer. All summer I knew this day would come. I told myself that it's no big deal. Every little girl goes to school. They wave out the bus window at mommy and ride away. And I know she'll be fine. She'll have a great time and make some new friends. But I'll still be sad, and shed a tear or two as I watch my big girl climb up those big steps and disappear into the bright yellow of her awaited school bus.

Beach Week

We had a wonderful week at the beach with daddy's extended family last week. We got to see all our cousins (boy is Baby Will getting big), Aunts and Uncles and Grandma and Grandpa. Erin and Jeffrey LOVED being at the ocean. It's been a few years since either of them has spent time at the beach, but the both warmed up to it quite quickly. They had so much fun playing in the surf and the sand. The water temperature was unseasonably cold (ranged from 64 to about 68) but that didn't seem to bother them a bit. I was really hoping that the first wave to knock Jeffrey down would scare him enough to make him wary of the ocean. Nope! He got knocked down, stood right back up and went careening into the surf even farther. Erin was slightly more cautious, but not by much. I was amazed at how brave she was with the waves.

We spent a few hours every morning and afternoon at the beach and in the evenings we'd take a family (or mommy/daddy) walk. The kids really loved their special time with the family and are already asking when they will get to play with Cousin Rylie again and when we are going back to the beach.


So here are the Top 10 Fun Things to Do at the Beach (according to Erin and Jeffrey).

10: Go for morning or evening family walks and search for seashells.

9: Watch mommy and daddy build sand castles while waiting with bull dozer in hand ready to destroy them.

8: Jump waves with any adult Erin could convince to hold her hand.

7: Sprinkle people's feet with freezing ocean water in a watering can.

6: Get soaking wet, run into the sand, roll down the sand hills and back into the ocean - this was all Jeffrey.

5: Play paddle ball with anyone who would be patient enough.

4: Play catch in the waves with daddy, mommy, grandma or grandpa.

3: Take a morning off from the beach and go to the amusement park on the Boardwalk.

2: Help mommy and daddy dig a BIG hole then jump into it, over it, climb out of it, dig more out of it....

1: Use the ocean's surf as an automatic ball return by tossing a floating ball into the ocean and waiting for the waves to bring it right back to them.

So as you can see we had a wonderful time. We made up games. Played with family. Got wet and covered with sand. And totally tired ourselves out. But it was completely worth it. Thanks so much grandma and grandpa for this super fun time.

Swimming Lessons

This was finally the summer I decided that it was important to have the kids take some swimming lessons. Both Erin and Jeffrey LOVE the water (each in their own way). They are both really comfortable with their arm floaties on but I wanted them to really start getting comfortable without them. Jeffrey especially. This boy has no fear when it comes to water. He is a madman. Loves to jump in and splash. Goes under the water. It's nuts. I decided that it really was essential that we get him some lessons so if he ever is around a pool or lake without his floats and somehow ends up in the water he might just be able to "survive" (for the 3 seconds it would take for mommy to become superwoman and get to him).

So for 2 weeks we had morning swim lessons at the local pool. It's an awesome pool that I wish I had discovered before. It is all beach entry and has a huge area that only goes to 2' 9" deep. The kids are able to play safely on their own without my having to hold onto them.

Class went as well as could be expected. Jeffrey's still not really a "class" kind of guy. He had a lot of trouble focusing and really just wanted to do his own thing. The teacher was pretty good about reigning him in...and anyway he's only 3. Erin was just the opposite. She loves the water, but on her own terms. She wants to take her time getting wet. Doesn't like to feel cold. HATES getting her face wet. So Miss Grace would have to give her a little extra encouragement too. I have no idea how she handled the two of them (with 3 other kids) together.

They worked on several skills including blowing bubbles, getting their faces wet, floating on back and tummy (supported by the teacher) and jumping in or going under the water. Jeffrey mastered anything that had to do with going under or jumping in immediately. He really is a fish. Erin was more comfortable and able to relax with the floating than Jeffrey was. When they asked him to try and float he'd stick every appendage into the air and flail around until he rolled out of the teacher's arms, sank to the bottom of the pool and shot back up with a big smile on his face. He did get it a few times though.

Erin really had trouble with the jumping in. She did NOT want to get her face wet at all. I think she also thought she couldn't stand where they wanted her to jump (she could). For 2 days she wouldn't do it at all. Then they coaxed her to go in from sitting. Finally they got her to step off the edge holding hands. It was a big thing for her do to and I was sooo proud when she did.

We did spend a few afternoons at the pool after lessons. They had a little frog water slide that both kids loved. Jeffrey also loved the mushroom waterfall, but Erin wasn't too keen on it (got her face wet). One afternoon Erin did discover that she could jump off into the water from a certain point in the pool. She did it over and over and over again. Having so much fun. But of course next morning in class NO WAY was she going to do it for her teacher.

In the long run it was a great two weeks at the pool. Both kids are certainly more comfortable in the water than they were before lessons. Jeffrey passed "Guppies 1" (the level they were on) easily. Miss Grace thinks Erin needs to get more comfortable so she'll have to repeat it if she keeps on with swimming classes (I think gymnastics is more her thing). So it looks like the one who HATED anything to do with the pool as an infant is the one who is going to be the family swimmer and the water baby might just be focusing on her cartwheels and bridges in gymnastics class.