Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in sgathen's LiveJournal:

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Thursday, September 4th, 2008
9:28 am	Erin R. Gathen, First Grader Wow!  Our little girl is a First Grader!  She has changed so much in just this last month.  First off, as you will notice, she has lost two more teeth.  Our own little jack o lantern.  The new hair style she received at the "hair salon" looks just fabulous on her too.  She has essentially taught herself to swim in the last week.  She can do the back stroke, the side stroke and her version of the the front crawl.  Her favorite way to swim is totally underwater.  She started out putting her face in the water and after about a week, she was swimming underwater, jumping into the pool and even going down the 4-story super slide at the gym pool.  It was, and she is, simply amazing.  We have had a busy summer, especially this last week leading up to school.  We had to squeeze in all the fun things we had planned to do into our last days before school started plus attend all the school-related events.  Erin had her first soccer practice on the same night of the school's open house.  We met her teacher, Miss Melvin, and did an I SPY game to get oriented with the classroom.  Miss Melvin had a goodie bag and lots of information for each child and their parents.  Then we rushed off to soccer practice which proved to be lots of fun. Erin got a new purple bike without training wheels.  As a precursor to learning to ride her bike, Bill taught her to ride her scooter.  This helps with learning how to balance.  It was wonderful to watch her progress.  Within a day, she was coasting down the street on her scooter with a big smile on her face.  I will keep you posted on her progress on her bike, but now that she has confidence on her scooter, it won't be long before she is riding her bike around the neighborhood.  First grade was a big step for me.  She took it all in stride - right up until bedtime Monday night.  She didn't seem upset or nervous, just a little excited, I think.  She didn't fall asleep until nearly 11 PM.  Thankfully, that didn't stop her from getting up before 7 AM and getting ready for school.   She was thrilled to see her friends at the bus stop.  None of them are in her class this year, but she was able to see them on the playground and have fun with them then.   She told us her first day was okay.  She "mostly learned the rules again".  Her favorite part of the day was lunch.  She had a chef salad - without ranch dressing because she couldn't find any.  (The next day she asked someone and was able to have her salad with dressing.  She said it was much better that way.)   Recess was also fun.  She said, "We had recess for a long time.  I got all sweaty playing with my friends".  It was about 95 degrees - I'm almost surprised they went outside at all.  I certainly was reminded of sending her to school in SC with those temps.  After school, she had a big snack and said she just wanted to rest for a while.  She watched a PBS show, we had an early dinner and then we were off to another soccer practice.  This was was much different than the first.  The poor girls were wilting in the heat and they were already exhausted from their first day of school.  Things went pretty well for the first 30 minutes, but after that it was a struggle to keep all of them going.  Needless to say, she got all sweaty again.   After a nice bath, she had no problem sleeping that night!  So far, school is going well.  She has been a little more tired, but that is to be expected.  She seems to like a snack and some down time right after school and I expect she will continue to need this time for a while.   She will be busy most evenings with violin practice twice a week, soccer practice and then girl scouts every other week.  She wanted to do dance and swim lessons but we had to limit her activities.  Maybe once soccer is over and she has adjusted to being in school all day, we can check into another activity.  If I'm not too tired.  :^) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 27th, 2007
9:45 pm	Real Live Ballerinas! Howdy! This is Bill, guest blogging about our trip to the Barnes & Noble on 28th street to see Real Live Ballerinas! Suzette had yoga tonight, but she found out about a "special performance" some of the dancers from the Grand Rapids Ballet would be doing at the bookstore to support their performance of the Nutcracker. Four young dancers were there: Kendall and Taylor Neimer who are freshmen at Jenison High School (Kendall was dressed as a snowflake and Taylor was a flower, but they're both snowflakes in the show), and German Rodriguez and Jack Lennon, who were younger and both "party boys and mice" in the show. The mouse costume scared Griff and he sat there with his hands over his ears until I told him he could go play with the trains. :-( Erin was entranced, of course. The story lady read The Nutcracker Ballet, about a little girl who gets to dance in the Nutcracker. When she finished, the dancers answered questions. I asked them how long they'd been dancing: they all started when they were about Erin's age. Then they played a game all the kids loved: the kids took turns pulling slips of paper with ballet moves written on them out of a bag, the ballerinas demonstrated and the kids got to try. I didn't hear the name of the one Erin got, but it involved pointing one leg then swinging it very high in front of you. Her attempt seemed to impress both of the girls. Then they had a drawing for four tickets to the actual performance, and ERIN WON! I put each of our names on slips in the hat (they were actually drawing out of the head of the mouse's costume :-) and they only drew one slip, but it had her name on it. (We had to win: Suzette told us to before we left ;-) Erin went up and got the tickets, then all the kids took turns getting their pictures taken with the dancers. Erin got a Polaroid to keep, but the one above is the one I took with the digital. I asked the dancers what their favorite moves were. The girls said jumps and running across the stage. The boys liked turns and one of them demonstrated a great jump turn where he spun 360 degrees. Pretty impressive. The girls walked on pointe a bit, which was pretty cool, too. When we went back out front, Erin picked out a copy of Angelina Ballerina's The Nutcracker and all the dancers autographed it. Kendall and Taylor are identical twins who've been dancing for 9 years. They were both very nice to Erin. Taylor told Erin that Angelina is "the best!" :-) Our little girl was in heaven. - Bill (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 18th, 2007
6:12 pm	The Incredibles Get Candy Erin and Griffin were the Incredibles - Violet and Dash for Halloween. You may have seen some of the pictures from their school parties. We got our wear out of those costumes. Friday afternoon before Halloween, we did trick or treating at GFS, where Bill is working. We met with Bill at 3 PM and spent an hour walking around the huge building collecting treats. Some of the departments went all out with their decorations. Griffin got scared at one doorway that had just put out some dry ice and the "fog" scared him. He had to ride around on Bill's shoulders the rest of the time. Erin politely collected candy for him, explaining he was too scared. Monday night we did a trick or treat story time at the library. The librarian told scary stories and we did two crafts and then collected treats at the reference and check out desks. It was fun to see all the different costumes - even some of the parents dressed up. Tuesday was Griffin's school party. The class went on a parade through the school - which took longer than anyone thought as we ended up tracking down older siblings in other classes until we had seen them all. I think the kids walked around for almost 45 minutes. Then they had their party - after all the kids had changed into regular clothes. No one wanted to ruin Halloween costumes before Halloween. Griffin came home with a surprising amount of candy - especially considering some of the Moms sent treats for their snack time/party instead of candy to take home. I was astounded by the number of princesses represented. I don't think I realized until then just how many girls are in Griffin's class. There are 13 girls out of 18 kids. Nice ratio for the guys. :^) Erin's party was a little more elaborate - with a planning session for the Moms over Margaritas at a local mexican restaurant. They also did a parade through the school and then had a snack and played various games. The kids all had a great time. Erin's class had fewer princesses (only 6 of the 12 girls). The other girls were super heroes (Violet and Super Girl), witches, a fairy, and Minnie Mouse. We actually had a relaxed dinner Halloween night - spooky pasta with "blood" sauce. :^) Then there was a frenzy of activity to get everyone ready and they were off. Bill and the kids walked around the sub with some of our neighbors. After the first block they had picked up a couple other families. It started to lightly rain around 6:30 and Griff tired out well before 7 pm. Bill ended up carrying him from one driveway to another and then Griff would walk up to the house on his own. Erin did great, aside from an emergency stop at home to go potty. She was super fast (and I thought Dash was the fast one) and only missed two houses. Griffin ended up staying with me to watch a video after they came to our house. He was happy to get out of his damp clothes and into some warm PJs. Erin was still raring to go. :^) For some reason - and I swear they were only allowed 1 piece of candy after trick or treating - they were both really wound up and neither one of them fell asleep before 9:30 pm. Even after a warm bath, a story, etc. Bill and I could hear them talking and singing and bouncing around until well after their bedtimes. No doubt reliving some of the excitement of Halloween. -S (Comment on this)
Monday, November 12th, 2007
10:00 pm	Oh, the things they say Super-heroes have been very popular around here lately - and not just The Incredibles. We rented a video from the library about the (new) Justice League. It's not the same one we grew up with and to be honest, I don't think it was as good - and really violent. At first the kids didn't like it and we though that was fine. But now they are acting out parts of the shows. Recently Green Arrow (Erin) and Hawk (Griffin) were fighting the Fire Robot (not his real name). Griffin yelled to me "Mama! Look out the Fire Robot is coming right at you". I screamed "AHHHHH" - as I have been scripted for many months. Then Erin (sounding all exasperated says "Mama! You're Wonder Woman. You have super powers! Fight it!" Oh! (I felt like saying "My lines, my lines" but I didn't think she would get it. ) We were still on the subject of super powers later that day when Erin said to Bill, "I think Murray's super power is to run faster than a stool that is falling." Personally, I think this is a skill that has developed over the last few months out of necessity. :^) Recently Ms. Mulder (Erin's teacher who retired from the GR Symphony last year) arranged for a quintet to play for all the students. I happened to be at the school the day Erin's class attended a performance. Erin was SO excited when I picked her up from class. She asked me if she could have a violin: this is by no means the first time she has expressed interest in one. I said I would talk to Bill about it. But I explained she would have to take lessons to learn to play it. This only made her more excited. Later that day - well pretty much as soon as Bill walked in the door - she pounced on him about the violin. She said, "Daddy, can I have a violin of my very own?" He said "I don't know baby. I know you can take lessons to play the violin." (He meant children her age could take lessons) She said "YEAH. I can play violin." He asked "Do you want to play the violin?" and she answered "Daddy, I have wanted to play violin my whole life." So, we are looking into the possible violin lessons. Ms Mulder has given us some leads on a Suzuki school (she plays violin too). Today, Erin was lamenting that she can run fast - but not as fast as the boys. Well, she can run faster than Ryan (who is about 6 inches shorter than she is), but not the other boys. She said she runs faster than all the girls but not the boys. She was very upset about this. We told her that with some practice she would get better and maybe be able to run as fast as the boys - or faster. We had been talking about walking with me as part of her activity to earn her Shape Up badge for Girl Scouts. But since Bill - her favorite parent as I'm told almost daily - doesn't walk but runs, she would rather run. Now she thinks she needs to get up at 6 AM 3 times a week to run with Bill. I told her maybe walking with me during the week and running with Daddy on the weekends would be good. Anyway, we both encouraged her to do her best. Then Bill said "The more you practice doing your best, the better your best gets." "That's PERFECT!" she says. Then she starts muttering some master plan about being on the purple side and getting to go first and then something I couldn't make out. It was really funny. Last weekend we were visiting Nana and Pop-pop. We came home from breakfast and as Patty was hanging up her coat, Erin saw one of her furs. Patty let Erin try on a waist length swing-type fur coat. Griffin immediately laughed and said "You look like a gorilla!" I'm sorry to say I don't have more funny comments from him: I just can't remember them right now. He is so funny. He also just loves to sing. We even catch him singing the jingles from between shows on Noggin. He's really quick to pick up on songs too - he just hears them 2-3 times and he has it. Today we checked out a local health food store and Griff rode around on Bill's shoulders for 15-20 minutes and sang at the top of his lungs almost the whole time: the alphabet song, the numbers 1 to 10, over and over. Bill thinks he must like to hear how well his voice echoes from so high up. Oh, Nov 1st the kids started going to day care. I know... it's the first time someone other than grandparents have watched them. We happened upon the place through a referral from one of our neighbors: Kara's parents. In fact, Kara (Erin's best friend in the neighborhood) and her younger sister go to the day care the same days Erin and Griffin do. Our kids only go for the afternoon - while I'm at work. I drop them off after they get out of school and Bill picks them up on his way home. They are only there about 4-4.5 hours and they get lunch, have quiet time, play outside, do arts and crafts, etc. It wipes Griff out, especially on Thursday when he's already had school. Erin loves to go to the Happy Elephant: he goes right in, finds her lunch table and settles in. Griffin - well, let's just say I have to get him settled and get out as fast as I can. Last Friday they said he had a hard day and was very emotional, but I'm hoping that was just because he was feeling a little under the weather. He was crabby on and off through the weekend too and I think he was fighting a cold. I'm hoping being at the Happy Elephant will socialize him more and hopefully make going to school and day care easier. One of the care providers told Bill when he picked them up that they were both very polite and respectful kids. Isn't that nice to hear? -S (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
6:29 pm	Drug Awareness Week Erin has been enjoying playing with her friends in the neighborhood. They ride bikes, play in each other's yards, etc. I can't tell you how weird it is to have her gone for 1, 2 sometimes 3 hours and only get a glimpse of her riding her bike or playing across the street once in a while. Last Thursday, Griffin and I went for a walk to find Erin so she could come home and eat dinner. I had noticed Greg - one of our neighbors - poking his head out the door from time to time. It turns out Erin was at his house and the girls were playing inside. He figured I wasn't aware of this and kept checking to make sure he didn't miss me when I started looking for her. :^) Too bad Griff and I walked all around the neighborhood first - we could have just walked across the empty lot. She obviously likes being with Kara. She was over there again Sunday - after several hours of riding bikes, playing on the swings/slide and digging in the sandbox. When she finally came home (It was Bill's turn to find her), I asked if she had anything to eat while she was gone. She said no, but she did have some apple juice at Kara's. I asked how it was and she said "It was good. Just like ours, but juicier." This week is Drug Awareness week at school. Tuesday the teachers discussed alcohol and drugs. We had the following discussion on our way home from school... How was school today? "Good. Ms Mulder told us about drugs. Drugs are bad. I have to say NO! to drugs. Except ones that make you better when you are sick. I can't say no to those drugs." You're right... Some drugs are medicine to make you better. Taking drugs when you aren't sick is a bad idea. "Alcohol is bad too. (Here she gets all defensive, leaning forward in her seat) But Pop-pop uses alcohol." Uh, no I don't think he does. "He does so! For his blood. Before he takes his shot." Oh, you mean he swipes with alcohol before he does his shot. "Yeah" Okay. That is not the same kind of alcohol. That alcohol is a medicine that cleans skin and things. He doesn't drink it. It's not the same kind of alcohol Ms Mulder was talking about. "Oh. Good. It's not the same." Then Griffin speaks up - evidently they talked about it in his class too. "Alcohol stinks!" Today they discussed smoking. I asked Erin on the drive home if Ms. Mulder talked about alcohol again. "No. She talked about smoking." Smoking? "Yeah, kids shouldn't smoke. Only adults can smoke". Well, smoking isn't good for adults either. No one should smoke. "Yeah. First you smoke, then you cough and then you DIE!". Yeah, it goes something like that. :^) Griffin's manipulation of me continues - well, I'm on to him now. For the last two weeks, he's been all sad and mopey when I drop him off at school. He hasn't tried crying yet - but it's a near thing. And after school he tells me he cried. When they had a day focusing on squares, they made Sponge Bob Square Pants and Griff told me his Sponge Bob was sad (he sort of frowns) because his Mommy left him. So, last Thursday as I was prying him off my leg, I asked one of teachers if he moped all through class. She looked surprised at his behavior and said "No, he is SO outgoing in class. He sings and plays and has such fun with us." The little beastie! Even knowing he is fine in class, it is still hard to leave him when looks so pathetic. But I have to harden my heart to his little games. This too shall pass. -S (Comment on this)
6:29 pm	Pumpkin Patch Last weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch to get our Halloween pumpkins. There are about 17 in the Grand Rapids area. Thankfully, the county has a website to help pick one that is what you are looking for and nearby. We lucked out by arriving just as a Credit Union group was finishing up. There were leftover donuts, cider and apples (free) for us to snack on before we started. The farm had an apple orchard as well as a pumpkin patch, corn stalk maze, various animals to view, a cute little gift shop/snack bar. We also got a free hay ride around the farm and walked through a garden story. Griffin ate 2 donuts in about 10 minutes and drank 2 cups of cider. (Since he liked it so much - and I love it, I bought some at the store later in the week. He won't touch it! Figures.) Erin ate very little: she was complaining of being cold. It was a bit nippy - cooler than it had been but she was dressed pretty well and I was surprised since she is never cold. We walked around and viewed the animals. They have a albino deer named Belle, several (smelly) goats, many roosters and chickens that kind of grossed me out because all their feathers were pulled out on their backs. They also had bunnies, turkeys, peacocks and 2 very cute sheep. They actually sold the wool from their sheep in the gift shop and several items they made from the wool. The bunnies had a really neat set up. They had created an underground maze of tunnels for them using PVC pipes. Some of the bunnies were sleeping half in and half out of the pipe - all we could see was the little bunny tails. The garden story was very cute - they set up about 10 scenes from a story about a witch that wanted to make a pumpkin pie for Halloween but couldn't get the pumpkin from her garden to move. A vampire, mummy, ghost and bat all tried to help her. In the end they worked together to move the pumpkin, make the pie and had a Halloween party. The witch has so much fun, she planted another pumpkin seed the very next day. The kids thought the garden story was so neat, we walked through 3 times. The hay ride was fun - although crowded. The farmer thought himself something of a comic and tried to tell funny/scary stories at interval stops during the ride. We heard about the wolves that lived in the 5 acre wooded area across the stream, the 9 deer that also live around his farm - and come eat his pumpkins. One of the deer has had triplets each year for the last 3 years. We heard about the salmon that usually are jumping the stream at the back of his farm - years past his kids used to use the pitch fork to bring in dinner. He was most concerned that the salmon were missing and that the doe and her many fawns were going to eat all his farming profits. There was, of course some pumpkin picking. Most of the pumpkins were already picked from the patch and arranged by size on pallets. Not our favorite way to pick a pumpkin - but I guess it is more efficient. We ended up with 3 pumpkins and a bag of Jonagold apples that will probably make a good pie this week. We all had fun and it was a good day to be out on the farm. -S (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 14th, 2007
5:42 pm	All About Erin Erin is enjoying school and making new friends - well, best friends. She has several "best friends" theses days. There is Nicole, her "best friend I ride the bus to school with". Nicole is 6 and in first grade, so Erin doesn't see her except riding to school and then after about 4 PM. Then there is Camoria (Cam-uh-ree-uh), her "best friend who has the doll house in her room." Cammy is in Erin's kindergarten class and lives just down the street from us. She gets a ride to school in the morning but rides the bus home after school. Erin's "best boyfriend" is Kyle. He is also in her class and they got to go do a special art project together recently. Kyle also rides the bus home and Erin sometimes sits with him. Other friends that are on and off "best" somethings are Ellie and Anna (sisters, Anna is in the another kindergarten class and Ellie is in 2nd grade), Katelyn and Josh are sister and brother that live behind us. Kara and Sammy are younger girls (3 and 1) that come over to play from time to time. It is something else to see the pack of blonde, haired-blue eyed girls riding their bikes around the neighborhood. Some have training wheels like Erin and others have just learned to ride on 2 wheels. All are sporting pink or purple bike helmets. We recently were Boo'd from one of our neighbors - we think it was Anna and Ellie. They gave us a basket full of Halloween treats/decorations, etc and challenged us to Boo two other friends in the neighborhood. We had a great time shopping for Halloween items and it was even more fun helping Erin decide which of her friends we wanted to Boo. Probably even funnier was sneaking around the neighborhood in the dark (it was about 8 PM) and watching Erin put the basket on the doorstep, ring the doorbell and run away. I think everyone knew it was us. :^) School isn't all social. Erin came home a few weeks ago, pulled a little book out of her backpack and declared "Mama, I can READ!" She then promptly read her book to me, Griffin and then to Bill once he got home. The book is a Scholastic coloring book that is essentially 3 pages of paper folded in half and stapled together. The first book she read to us was about school. One the front cover was a school - which she colored. The second page was a picture of school desks - again colored. At the bottom of the page were the words "I see desks." Each page continued that way with I see... Ms. Mulder had them underline "I" and "see" on each page. They could tell what the new word was by looking at the picture they had colored. Some were books, crayons, paint, etc. Erin has a great time reading these books. She has 3 others that have come home and we decorated a shoe box to keep our books in - part of our homework assignment. We are having fun doing math homework, too. Bill and Erin sat down the other night to do story problems. The first was about bears riding the school bus. Erin had to color the bus and the bears then cut them out. Then she had to act out the story problem of bears getting on and off the bus as Bill read it and tell Bill how many bears were on the bus each time. They has so much fun they did the next assignment too - bears on the playground. The thing I think is really cool is that after she does the story problem, she gets to tell a story and Bill acts it out with the bears. :^) So far, I have to say, I'm really impressed with the lessons Ms. Mulder provides. They all involve some type of creativity like coloring, cutting, etc. - things Erin loves - but they are also teaching concepts that I don't think I was introduced to until much later in school. -S (Comment on this)
5:40 pm	Griffin Gathen - Superstar Last Thursday was Griffin's Superstar Day at preschool. This was his special day to be the Line Leader, start Show and Tell, bring in a snack/juice and play the special Clean Up Drum. He also got to be the teacher's special helper. It was star shape day too, so he wore his star socks. He wanted to bring Erin for Show and Tell. When I explained that wasn't going to work, he didn't want to take anything. "I don't want to bring my toys. Those friends will touch it. I don't like those friends." I had spent 2 days hyping his Superstar status and on the day of, he didn't want to go to school at all. After I dropped him off and talked to the teacher - who still thinks he is very shy - I realized he didn't want to be the center of attention. We still think it's ironic that he acts shy at school. He has been so looking forward to going. I wonder sometimes if he is just not interested - they do a ton of arts and crafts and he doesn't have the interest in that like Erin does. He will sit and color for a few minutes, but he would rather do puzzles, etc. In fact, when we get to the classroom, they have the tables set up with different activities. If Griffin sees his nameplate at a coloring table, he always points to a table with puzzles and asks if he can sit there. He has been playing so much more with his cars - acting out the Cars movie and quoting lines word for word - just like his Daddy. He is also singing more - sometimes he sings along with the TV while watching his shows, he sings along to CDs too (especially the Cars soundtrack) and he has just started singing songs he has learned at school. It is so funny to sit and listen to him. Bill and I have shared many a chuckle listening from the other room. Two new interests are Bob the Builder and Strawberry Shortcake. I'll explain. We have been getting DVD's from the library recently. I picked out Bob the Builder a few weeks ago and he was a big hit. Griff would rather watch that than some of his usual shows on TV. I picked out "Meet Strawberry Shortcake" for Erin. Griffin loves two characters in the show - Pupcake and Huck (Huckleberry Pie). He really doesn't pay much attention to the other characters, but as soon as the dog or Huck are on - he can't look away. He probably asks to watch Strawberry Shortcake just as much as Bob the Builder. :^) -S (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
5:49 pm	Griffin's First Day of Preschool Griffin was obviously excited about going to school. He got up early this morning, declined any breakfast and continued to ask me if it was "time yet?" He was barely patient enough to let me take a few snapshots before we went into the school. I explained we had to wait until his teacher opened the door anyway, but he was anxious to get in there. Once she opened the door, we had to find his name tag and then find his place at a table. (They had name plates at each seat and after this week, they will be using the children's photo to help the kids identify their seats). We found his seat and he was excited to see the same puzzle he so enjoyed when we visited last week. Imagine that! Griffin sat next to Lucas, a little boy we met last week during our visit to Miss Heidi. Lucas was not real happy about being there today and I was a little nervous about how this would affect Griffin, but he was fine. The little girl across from him was talking up a storm and apparently distracting enough. After a few minutes, I said Okay, I'm going to go now and he said "Why?" and I told him this was his class, and it wasn't for Mommies and Daddies. He kind of turned toward me with a whine but I reminded him how excited he was to be at school and that we always took Erin to school and then came back to get her. Somehow that worked and he went back to his puzzle. I peeked in one of the windows on my way to the car. He saw me and kind of smiled and waved but was quickly distracted by someone at his table. When I went to pick him up, he was all smiles. Miss Heidi said he did really well and had a great day. He would have done fine staying for the entire class. (To ease the children and the parents new situation, they only went for half the class time this first day. Thursday will be the first full day of class.) She said he was very good and listened well and he really enjoyed playing with the peg boards. (I'll have to find out what that is.) The class had circle time and they all introduced themselves (can you just picture 20 3-year olds introducing themselves?). They had a tour of the classroom and the activity centers and they sang songs. Oh, and they had a snack. Griff informed me had had the best goldfish crackers and apple juice ever. His juice was in a blue cup - his favorite color. I asked him how he liked school and he shouted "It was good!" What did you do? "I don't know. It was good!" At pick up time Lucas's Mom and I arranged to exchange contact information and set up a play date for the boys. She also has two older girls, ages 8 and 9. The girls go to the same gymnastics place Erin goes to. So we may be seeing a lot of them. We discussed play dates for the boys when the girls are at gymnastics. We actually saw Erin - and she saw us - as we were leaving. She waved and shouted Hi! to Griffin and announced to her friends that he was her brother and it was his first day of school. :^) I was mildly surprised and pleased that she didn't run over to see us. I guess she is liking school too. :^) So, it was a great day. He had a wonderful time at preschool and is looking forward to going back. Plus we may have new friends to boot! -S (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
8:52 pm	He's a Big Boy Now Griffin had his 3 year old check up today. This was only the second time Dr. Clark has seen him. She was suitably impressed. He was 39 3/4 inches tall (90th percentile) and 35 lbs (75th percentile). These are both marked increases from last year. His height increased from 35.5 inches and the 75th-80th percentile and his weight made a huge increase from 28.5 lbs and the 50th percentile. Good growing! How he does it is still a mystery as he doesn't eat much. He surprised me this past week by eating hot dogs. I continue to ask and/or put food on his plate in hope that one day he will eat vegetables and meat again and it worked. I had asked Erin if she wanted a hot dog on the grill and then happened to ask Griffin too. He shocked me by saying yes and shocked me further by eating two! Now he eats two protein sources - I have trouble calling chicken tenders and hot dogs meat. :^) He is still the carbohydrate king preferring pancakes, french toast, plain bagels, crackers, plain cookies (vanilla wafters or grahams), pretzels, etc. I add extra eggs to the french toast and the pancakes get an extra egg and evaporated milk to give them a boost, but I can't do much with the rest yet. I do try, any cheese he gets with crackers ends up in the belly of a dog. We have tried using peanut butter as a dip but that only works very occasionally. His milk intake is way down - probably less than 12 oz per day. He still eats yogurt but not daily like he used to. Anyway, the doctor encouraged me to continue what we were doing and as Erin did, he will eventually get out of this phase. She directed most of her questions to Griffin and while at first shy and reserved, he warmed up to her. He explained that the exam table was he pretend bathtub and his clothes were in the pretend dryer - as were mine because I had gotten splashed too much. He then squirted her with his pretend rubber duck. They talked while she was examining him and he often anticipated her needs by opening his mouth before she asked him to and taking deep breaths before she was done listening to his heart. By the way she didn't hear the murmur at all today. His next appt with the cardiologist is next year and she said they may give him a sedative then and do an extensive echo to confirm that the stenosis is completely gone. He was too shy with the nurse to even attempt the eye exam but he was very keen on peeing into the cup. We may have to keep an eye on him ... Overall, the appointment was great. She said developmentally he was doing great and his language skills were amazing. Yep, that's our boy. -S (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 4th, 2007
10:06 pm	Kindergarten RULES!! Today was Erin's first day of Kindergarten. She has been looking forward to this day since early May - right after we attended the Kindergarten Open House and met Mrs. Mulder for the first time. Last week we met one on one with Mrs. Mulder - well Erin did, Griff and I hung out in the lobby. I don't know what they did, as Erin's only response was "played games". After that meeting, school could not start soon enough. Erin was a mixture of excited and cautious at the bus stop. Bill, Griff and I walked her down to the corner for her big send off. She showed no fear at all about riding the bus to school. I admit I had a moment of panic when I realized she would have to CROSS THE STREET at the bus drivers signal. We had one false start, the local christian school bus has the same bus stop at about the same time. Thankfully, one of the other parents pointed this out to us - otherwise Erin would have ended up at the wrong school. We now know to check the bus number before allowing her on the bus. :^) When bus number 634 arrived, we said our good-byes again and she got right on the bus and sat down with an unknown little boy near the back of the bus. And off she went...I teared up a little, but I didn't cry. I have to admit it was somewhat anti-climactic after the false start. Bill went off to work and Griffin and I drove over to the school - not to check on Erin, though we did get to see her. We went to the Annual Coffee Hour that the PTA sponsors. It seems they get a few parents hanging around the first day to see if their children got into the right class, etc. So a few years ago they decided to corral them and introduce them to the PTA. Griffin enjoyed the oatmeal raisin cookies they provided (as a sample of the cookie dough we will be selling next week). During the meeting, we got to see Erin and her class walking down the hall on their way to gym class. She didn't notice us and that was probably for the best. We got back home before 10 and Griffin settled in for a movie of his own choosing - no negotiating with Erin today! After the movie, we drove down to the bus stop (we needed to go pick up the dogs from the groomers by 12 PM). And we waited, and waited. I started getting a little nervous. We were the 1st stop from the school and they said they would be running late for the first week or so, but she was supposed to be dropped off at 11:41. The other parents and I started talking about how late they were. I met two women from our neighborhood and got tips on several babysitters too! At 11:56 the bus arrived. I noticed that Erin was looking for me, then she spotted me and got off the bus. We discovered the other two of the three other kids getting off the bus were in her class and lived in our neighborhood. I asked Erin how kindergarten was and she told me it was fine. I asked what her favorite part was and she said "The bus ride home". Oh. I asked what she did at school and she said "Rules". Rules? "Yeah". Oh. How was your snack? "Good, I ate some of my pretzel fish, some of my apples and and all of my string cheese" Did you share with anyone? "No, we can't share our snacks. It's a rule" That's probably a good rule. Did you do anything fun? "We learned the rules". At this point she realized she had forgotten her lunch box at school (they have to bring their own snack). She wanted me to go back and get it right then. I explained that Mrs. Mulder was probably having lunch and then she had another class. Erin thought she left her lunch box in her cubby, so I told her it would still be there tomorrow. Once the dogs were back home, the kids and I went to meet Bill for lunch. He had a very funny conversation with Erin about school. So, how was school? "Good" Mama said you had gym. What did you do in gym? "We learned the rules" The rules. Did you practice anything? "We practiced one rule. We made a line against the wall. You make a line against the wall before class and at the end. That's the rule". Did you have recess? "Yeah" Did you swing? "No" Did you climb the slide? "No, that's against the rules" The slide is against the rules? "Well, you can go down the slide but you can't climb up the slide. It's a rule". Did you make any friends today? "Yeah, two friends." What were their names? "I don't know." Hey, how did you know when to get off the bus? "I saw Mama." All in all, a good day. We sent our girl to school and she came back. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 7th, 2006
9:41 pm	Oh, how they grow... We had our well baby visits today - although they are not exactly babies anymore. I guess I better start saying our check-ups. Erin: She weighed in at 47 pounds, which surprised me and I really think her weight is closer to 45.5 pounds. We weighed both kids - with clothes - at home 2 days before their appt and she weighed 45.5 pounds. Bill and I were talking about how tall she was last night. I said something about how much she has grown and he didn't think she had grown very much this year. He asked how tall she was last year at her 3 yr appt - 41.5 inches. I said I bet she is about 44 inches now. No way, he said, she isn't even supposed to be growing very much during these years. She measured in at 44.5 inches. Again, well off the growth charts. She is continuing to grow along her same growth curve. Developmentally, she is progressing normally and then some in some areas. Bill went with Erin for her eye and ear exams. (I stayed with Griff who was trying to pad his weight at the last minute with a dirty diaper). Everything was okay - her eyesight was a little off (20/30 in one eye and 20/40 in the other) but Dr. Geurkink said this eye exam is mainly to get a baseline of sorts and to expose the kids to the test. Bill said he thought she was doing the test mainly from memory rather than actually looking at the pictures. Dr. G said that was common. We will monitor her in school next fall and if her teacher has any comments, then we will go back and follow up. Erin's skin looks really good - only one small patch of eczma on her calf - it's no where near as bad as it used to be. All in all, she is doing great. The poor baby had to get 4 shots today though. She was very brave, she cried a little after the 2nd shot (intramuscular) and continued through the next two. Her arms looked too small to handle 2 shots each! She also had her hemoglobin checked today - a very healthy 13.3 (better than Mama's). So, she left with 5 bandages and was a sight to behold. Griffin: He weighed in at 28.5 pounds (his weight at home had been 29 pounds with clothes - he was only wearing a (clean) diaper at the MD office - so that validated my hunch that Erin's wt was off). His wt puts him on his same growth curve at the 50th percentile. He wiggled and fought while we tried to lay him down for a length - he recognizes that pose from the shots. He measured 35.5 inches and I think that is fairly accurate. It puts him again between the 75th and 80th percentile for height. He is was about the same percentages last visit (18 month). Dr. G said he looks great. He fought her a bit when she tried to check out his teeth - she recommended we take him next time Erin goes to the dentist so he can just watch. (He may be just like his Mama and not like people poking around in his mouth). No word on the heart murmur - we don't go back to the cardiologist until he is 4 yrs old - but she didn't mention whether she heard it or not. We talked a little about his new bedtime routine and she offered several suggestions. We also discussed his decreased intake and she basically reinforced what we have been doing. She did recommend Carnation Instant Breakfast - which I tried at dinner and he took one sip, made a face and gave the cup back to me. :^) So much for that. Bill said to try the chocolate. We will see. He also had his Hemoglobin checked and it came back a healthy 12.8 (amazing for someone who doesn't eat much meat). Again, developmentally, he is doing great - well advanced in language skills (although he said very little at in the presence of the MD). Griff wasn't scheduled for any shots today but we elected to get the new Hepatitis A vaccine, so he did have the prick for the hemoglobin and one poke in the thigh for the shot. He didn't really cry at all. He was more mad after she pricked his finger and she had given the shot before he really recovered from that. He ripped his band aids off within minutes. "Mama, this off finger" You want to take the band aid off? "Yes" I started it and then he just ripped it off, tossed it on the exam table and ripped the other one off as well. Good thing he clots fast. So, that's that for another year. Both kids are doing well and growing at amazing rates. :^) -S (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 30th, 2006
11:00 pm	I'm TWO! Last night before he went to sleep, I asked Griffin how old he was going to be - he shouted "I'm Two!" and held out his hand showing all five fingers. He hasn't gotten that part down quite yet. Today was somehow busy and subdued at the same time. Much to my disappointment, the grocery store was out of helium, so Griffin couldn't start out his day with a balloon the way Erin did. We made an emergency run to the party store later, they even had the perfect balloon. It has a dump truck on one side and a bulldozer on the other. Knowing that Griff gets up at the crack of dawn, I had done my shopping the night before. For breakfast, he had a cupcake with lots of frosting on it. Bill and I sang Happy Birthday to him (quietly as others were still sleeping) and then he ate the icing off the cupcake and wanted to go outside. Boys! We took the kids to have their pictures taken. I'll be amazed if she was able to catch any good shots of Griffin - he never stopped moving. Sometimes, running across the lawn in the opposite direction. Erin did a great job posing and smiling - until her tummy started to bother her then she started to fidget and get weird looks on her face. Thankfully, our photographer is really fast and we were on our way home in no time. The kids played in the sprinkler before lunch - Griffin got to choose lunch today. As Happy Meals were on the menu, the adults opted to eat leftovers from the fridge. Before we knew it we were rushing around, picking up balloons, cake, pizza, soda, etc and heading over to the Puppet Playhouse for Griffin's party. Erin and I had baked little fire truck cookies for Griffin's party. Grandma Sandi helped me decorate them last night and they really turned out cute. Griff's love of fire trucks led us to a fire truck cake as well. I think Griffin and Erin had the most fun at the party. We were there early and they got to color and use ink stamps. When Griffin walked into the theater area and looked at the stage he said "It's so beautiful!" We started off with the pizza, trying to corral the children and keep them out of the play area until it was time. The puppet show started as soon as we were done eating. Griff was a little hesitant at first, but after the first song or two, he really got into it. At one point, Erin, Carlyn, Griffin and Joe were all dancing in the aisles. The puppets did several songs/acts and then sang a Happy Birthday song to Griffin. One of the puppets even had a gift for him (a small hand puppet of a purple bird). We had pictures taken with the puppets after the show. The kids were then allowed into the play area. They had a bouncy castle there and a space tunnel to crawl through. There were several game areas and a toy kitchen area too. They also had several basketball games. Erin walked up to one of them, picked up a ball and shot. Nothing but NET! Then she wandered off like it was no big deal. I didn't see it but several others did. In all the rush to get to the party, I forgot to bring a sippy cup for Griffin. The party included kids drinks - a blue Hawaiian punch drink - I instead gave him a tiny amount of Sprite in a paper cup. He did ok with it. When it was time for cake, there were already cups at each place - full of blue punch. I was amazed at how well Griffin did with the cup - he only dribbled a tiny bit on his shirt as the was finishing the drink. What a big boy!. He enjoyed the cake, blowing out the candles and sitting at the head of the table. He really got into opening his presents too (first time for that, we usually have to open them ourselves). It may have been that the other boys were trying to "help" him. I had saved a couple small gifts for him to open on his birthday and Grandma Sandi, concerned that poor Griffin would have nothing to open, bought two small trucks at the last minute. (He opened his other gifts from them with Erin on Saturday). Once we got home, he played with all his new things. Grandpa Dale showed him how to push his wheelbarrow and he paraded all around the living room with it (still full of sandbox toys). He turned his red storage box over, sat on it and watched his Curious George Fire Truck bump off the walls and circle around in the hallway. He played with his new wooden fire truck, lining the ladder up with the edge of the train table and making the dog climb up the ladder. Erin and Daddy put on a wildly funny puppet show of their own with the new puppet stage and finger puppets, while Griff drove his new trucks around on the floor. It's hard for me to believe he is two already. My baby, eating cake with a fork, drinking from a regular cup ... what's next? -S (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 28th, 2006
11:00 pm	The Princess and Her Tea Party Erin's 4th Birthday - I was out of bed early and off to the store for a birthday surprise for breakfast, when I got back she was standing in the kitchen..."Mama, what are you doing with that balloon?" Here I had a plan to bring her breakfast in bed, a balloon and flower and she goes and gets up an hour earlier than usual. :^) She loved the Cinderella balloon and she helped me make her scrambled eggs and she really loved the mini cupcake I let her have with her breakfast. I let her decide what we were going to do that day. She chose the zoo, which we enjoyed more than usual as we rode the carousel (twice) and discovered a playground. I think they played on the slides, etc for at least 30 minutes. I was lovely - in a quiet shady area - as I was pushing them around in the 90+ degree heat, I think enjoyed the shade and rest almost as much as they enjoyed the play area. The animals at the zoo were another story. The giraffes were no where to be found, the elephants pooped right in front of us (the kids thought it was very funny), the gorilla vomited - twice, the penguins pooped too ("Mama, the penguins poopied in the water", again this was very entertaining) and the lions, tigers and bears were hiding in their caves and only showing a paw here or there. The hippo wouldn't come up for air and the giant turtle stayed in his shell - despite the kids calling to him :^). On the way back to the truck, Erin said "Mama, I'm sort of hungry. Is it time for lunch yet?" It was in fact 12:05. I asked the birthday girl what her lunch wishes were. Clearly unused to this power, she couldn't make up her mind what she wanted to do. Eventually, fate led us to the mall (of all places, she wanted to eat in the food court and ride the carousel). On the way in, I noticed a display with cookies cutters - cookie cutters of tiaras and shoes (read GLASS SLIPPERS). We made a detour and picked those up for our Princess Tea Party. Gran did the baking for the party and the cookies turned out great. Erin and I had already baked cookies for our guests to take as party favors (She chose flowers, hearts and stars for those cookies). After lunch, it was back home for quiet time - yes, even 4 year olds still need quiet time (at least their mothers do). When Daddy got home from work we opened presents and had our own little pizza party. She was excited about her gifts but she wanted Griff to open gifts too, so we let him open all his presents then too. It actually worked out pretty well. The big gifts were a bike for Erin and a little car for Griff. After about 5 minutes, they wanted to ride each others new thing! Erin wanted a dress-up Princess Tea Party for her birthday. We made a variety of little sandwiches, had a fruit tray, a veggie tray, a cheese tray and several desserts (Gran's cookies, mini brownies with cherry mousse on top and of course the Princess Cake). The kids and the adults couldn't stay away from the cookies and the brownies. Grandma Sandi was in charge of decorations while I prepared the food and drink. I had decided to have everyone outside - the weather up until that day had been fairly mild for SC. Of course Saturday was a scorcher, not that the kids cared at all. The parents were melting in the heat. The porch, deck and yard were all decked out in streamers and balloons. We found a large castle backdrop which photographer Bill used for a photo studio. He took pictures of all the kids with Erin and we sent a copy out with the thank you notes. The girls all dressed in their princess duds - complete with heels. It was funny to see them running around, kicking a soccer ball, etc in the heels. All the guys were decked out in their Sunday best. We started the party with everyone decorating a crown. The little guys had lots of help. Everyone was adorable in their crowns. Bill did his photo shoot while I got the food out and then we ate, the kids played for a bit, we did the cake thing, played for a while longer and came inside to open the gifts. Before we knew it, it was 2 PM and our guest were heading home for nap time. Our kids crashed too and so did the dogs. I have to mention, the dogs were fabulous. Murray had one of the twins holding his hind leg, while Erin was holding his head in her hands and leaning in to kiss his snoot. He gave a mild growl (which caught my attention) but did nothing else (I rescued him quickly). Annie was actually pinned in a corner by the twins and only grunted a few times to get someone's attention. I wasn't really watching the dogs/kids too much because my kids don't interact with them too much and the twins and Carlyn usually avoid them altogether as they are scared of them (apparently not anymore). But, they were great and very tired once it was over. Later that evening, we went out to dinner. We told the waitress we were celebrating two birthdays and asked if they could sing for the kids. We declined the free dessert - to much stuff left at home. They came out with little cups of whipped cream and one candle in each. They sang to each of them and then we helped blow out the candles. Griff loved the whipped cream and almost inhaled his. Later that night, as Bill was putting Erin to bed, Erin said the singing had been the best part of her day! Gift-wise, the big hits were Groovy Girl dolls (she now has 5), clothes for the Groovy Girls (she has more dolls than outfits), Groovy Girl accessories (scooter, bed, vaniety) and a Polly Pocket doll and car. This she loves - the doll is tiny and comes with about 10,000 tiny little accessories for makeup and hair. She plays with it endlessly. Believe it or not she is still looking forward to more parties while we are in Michigan. She keeps saying "I wonder who will be invited to my party in Michigan?" At church, she announced to the congregation during the Pastors' time with the children, "I'm four now!" That she is... -S (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 21st, 2006
11:27 am	Griffin's Big Boy Bed While we were playing in the sand and eating chips and salsa, Daddy was back home, hard at work. He took down the crib, painted Griffin's room blue and put together a twin bed with a trundle. We got home shortly before Bill did on Monday and had to wait so he could show us Griffin's room. It was a hit. The blue paint we chose looks great on the walls and the red accents (blankets and Griff's chair) add punch. I don't know who was more excited, Griffin or Erin. She enjoyed showing Griffin his room and his bed. The first couple nights Griffin did wonderful sleeping in his big boy bed. He continues to nap well each afternoon, be we now have some nights that he gets up and comes out of his room to see what we are doing. We are working on getting him to at least stay in his room and play or read. On the nights he does this, he usually plays for 20 minutes and then climbs into bed and falls asleep with the light on. (He can turn the light on and off on his own now). We have noticed some issues for him since the change to the twin bed. He often complains that it's too dark - even though we have the same night light in his room. He will turn on his overhead light and then go to sleep. Climbing out of bed seems to be somewhat of a game at times. He thinks it's really funny to come out into the hallway - he generally laughs all the way back to bed. This has been a problem because it takes us about an hour from lights out until he is finally asleep. He has been staying up much too late recently and waking up early. He has taken to crawling into bed with one of us at 6:45 AM (if anyone is still there). I remember Erin doing the same thing. It's so nice to cuddle with them for a little while each morning. Soon enough, he will be getting out of bed and bypassing our room to play with his toys instead. -S (Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
11:07 pm	Gran's Condo To celebrate the end of the school year (yes, already) and Mother's Day. Erin, Griffin, my Mom (aka Gran) and I went to the condo in Myrtle Beach. The kids call it Gran's condo -even though Grandpa Jim owns it too. :^) Erin had a great time in preschool this year and we are so grateful to Miss Paula and Miss Pam for all they did. Erin hasn't quite comprehended that school is over nor that when she does go back (mid-August) she will not be going back to Miss Paula's class. Whenever Erin says something about "I'll have to tell Miss Pam that when I go back to school" or "I'll tell Miss Paula all about going to the beach with my new shovel and pail", we gently remind her that school is done for the summer and she will be in a new class when she returns to school. She generally looks at us with a "we will see about that" look on her face. I'm fairly sure the break will make it easier to switch classes. But we may have some problems that first week of school. Saturday morning we left for the beach! The kids were really excited. Friday, Erin helped me pack and after that she was ready to go. She told me "I want to go in the night and be at the beach tomorrow". I convinced her we should wait until morning for the drive over. They watched a video on the way and of course we had to stop at their favorite restaurant - Cracker Barrel. Erin had that all figured out before we even left..."Maybe we could go to Gran's condo and stop to eat at the Cracker place after we drive for a long time first". So, we left early with just a baggie of O's and sippy cups of milk and then stopped for breakfast on the way. They love those rocking chairs almost as much as the pancakes! Once we arrived in Myrtle Beach we unloaded the truck and hit the beach right away. Again, Erin's plan. They had a great time playing in the sand. Erin had to be encouraged to go into the water at first and Griffin didn't do much more than sit down at the edge and let the waves cover his feet - a couple might have gotten his lap wet. Erin made "snow angels" in the sand and then wanted me to help her make a "snowman" out of sand. We also had a minor sandball fight. I dug a deep hole in the sand and we took turns filling it with water. Griffin called it his pool. We built several sand castles around our pool and Griffin and Erin enjoyed destroying them almost as fast as I could build them. Thinking we had tired them out, we headed back to the condo for a snack and naps. HA! After 2 hours of trying to get them to quiet down and snooze, we finally gave up and decided to drive down to our favorite mexican place - El Burro Loco. Erin called it the "laughing donkey" . It is about 30-40 minutes away, so we thought they would crash on the drive, we could have an early dinner and then visit Broadway on the Beach for a while before driving back and putting them to bed. Dinner was GREAT. Erin and Gran were the Salsa Twins. We actually had to ask for more salsa because Gran and Erin each ate a small bowl of salsa on their own. Erin was wolfing down the chips and salsa: she wasn't dipping her chips - she was scooping salsa up just like Gran. Incidentally, they both had salsa on their shirts before the meal was over. Erin also discovered she liked refried beans (and I'm happy to report has continued to eat them). She requested pizza for her entree and ate almost the entire thing on her own. Griff, in contrast, ate almost nothing. I've come to realize he eats very little while vacationing - which may pose a problem with our upcoming 2 wk vacation. At Broadway on the Beach we found a wonderful toy store and the kids played there for about an hour. They had the largest selection of Groovy Girls I have ever seen. Erin played with the play kitchen, a little people airplane, a doll house and mini horse stable. Griffin wandered a bit more - until he found the train table then he didn't move more than 2 feet away from it. I had to physically remove him from the store - with him shouting "Mama, NO! I need trains." This lasted the entire 30 seconds it took me to get him outside. Then he saw the fountain in the courtyard and said "See the water". After viewing the fountain, we played for a while with two large dinosaurs and the we headed back to the condo with two tired kids. Over the next two days, Erin asked several times to go back to that toy store. They were supposed to have a sister store at Barefoot Landing but we never found it. Much to her disappointment. Speaking of Barefoot Landing - one of our favorite spots at the beach - it was absolutely crowded with bikers. Yes, Mother's Day weekend is the first weekend of BIKE WEEK. Griffin was in heaven. Even Erin got into it - "Mama, there's a purple motorcycle". Griffin was constantly saying "Mama, there motocycle. Mama, there nother motocycle" "Vroom, Vroom". It got really funny when packs of them would pull up next to us at a light. He would literally say "there a motocycle" for each one he saw. After Erin started pointing out the purple ones, Griffin started naming all the colors he saw - except he said brown for all the dark blue or black ones. Sunday was kind of a rainy day, so we drove down to Pawley's Island and then hit some of the outlets on the way back. The kids love the outlets, not for the shopping - for the silly rides. Would you believe these things cost 75 cents a pop? Sunday evening we ate dinner at Sante Fe Station, a restaurant that looks like two train cars. It has a train layout inside - which can be run for 25 cents. Both kids liked watching the train go over the huge trestle bridge and through the tunnels as it made its way through the restaurant. Fortunately, we ate early and the place was almost empty. The kids were able to walk around and follow the train a little bit. We tried the beach once more before we left, but the tide was still high and it was really windy. Erin said it was too scary to be at the beach and I could see her point. I was more concerned with them being too cold, as it hadn't warmed up yet and it was really windy. The kids love going to the condo and especially the beach. They are all primed for our trip to MI and 2 weeks of playing in the water and sand. -S (Comment on this)
Friday, May 5th, 2006
9:11 pm	Now We are Six As some of you know by now, we have rescued another Westie. His name is Murray and we have had him a week today. Not that you would ever guess it's only been a week, he fits in so well. The day before we picked him up, I asked Erin if she was excited about getting a new dog. "But I like Nana!" We aren't getting rid of Annie. We are getting another dog. "So we will have TWO?" Yes. "I don't want to have two." We used to have two dogs. "Before Poohba went to Heaven?" Yes. And Annie wants someone to play with. "You play with Nana". She wants someone her size to play with. How would you like it if you didn't have Griffin to play with and you always had to play by yourself? "You mean like in quiet time?" Yes, only it we be all the time? "No, that would not be good". So, you think we should get Annie someone to play with? "Yes, can we get him today?" Griffin took right to him - and Murray did likewise. While we were introducing the dogs and kids at the park, Griffin went up to Jennifer (Murray's former Mom) and said "I hoed him" and reached out for the leash. She gave it to him and he was delighted. (I was less so, envisioning all kinds of things). Every morning and after every nap, Griff asks "Where Murway?" Murray is usually right behind us, his curiosity needing to know what everyone is doing. "Mama, there Murway!" Erin especially enjoys watching Annie and Murray play in the evenings. They seem to be feistiest around the kids bath/bed time and entertain us all for about 10 minutes with their antics. Erin was amazed that Murray can jump onto her bed from the floor. He is a bit taller and leaner than Annie and obviously quite used to jumping. The second night he was with us, Erin asked if he could sleep on her bed some night. Murray has done great with the kids. He isn't as nervous about them being so close to him as Annie gets - and with good reason. She has been stepped on, fallen on, hit with balls, books, etc for years now. She takes it all in stride but she does get a little nervous when they get interested in her. They are now getting - especially Erin - curious about petting her and I have to be the "middle man" and oversee and instruct on the petting protocol. :^) Murray even lets Griffin charge him (no contact, he just runs up to/into whatever Murray is laying on) and pet him. He is clearly a boy's dog. :^) This afternoon, I sat in the recliner with Annie on the right arm of the chair, Murray on the right side of my lap next to her, Griffin on the left side of my lap - petting Murray and Erin on the left arm of the chair. We sat like that for about 15-20 minutes (watching Sesame Street) and everyone got along great. Okay, I was a bit uncomfortable. Erin has had a pretty awful week. She has the most recent virus going around at school. A nice bacterial virus that causes pink eye and ear infections. Wednesday morning she woke up and came to us. "Mama, this eye is still sleeping. It can't wake up." It was matted shut with yuck. We used a warm compress and gentle wipes to get it open again and seeing her eye confirmed what I already suspected. I said No school for you today, little girl. "But why?" Because your eye is sick. Wednesday was the day Annie and Murray were scheduled to go to her class as part of Pet Week. She was not pleased to miss out on this. While I was at school with the dogs, Bill contacted the pediatrician and got some medication called into the pharmacy. By the time I got home from work, her eye looked much better and there was no longer any drainage. We decided to drive down to the library. On the way there, Erin mentioned her ear "tickled". When we got to the library she said it hurt. By the time Bill came back to the car, she had been crying and screaming in pain for about 5 minutes. We rushed home and I gave her some Motrin and the numbing ear drops the pediatrician gave us last time. She was much calmer after about 5 minutes. We got her into her pj's and I read to her for a while (3-4 books), got Emily and Bitty changed into their pj's, and then put them to bed for her. Then she was ready to sleep. She amazingly slept through the night. The next morning the eye looked okay. She insisted Bill do the eye drops for her, so he did before he left for work. I made an appt with the pediatrician. On the way there, Erin asked "Where are we going?" To see Dr. Geurkink. "Why?" To find out what is in your ear that made it hurt last night. "I think it's a giraffe. It is stretching out my ear and making it hurt." I relayed this info to the pediatrician. She confirmed that indeed Erin had a "BIG giraffe in her left ear and a baby giraffe in her right ear". She explained to me about the latest virus. We also talked about allergy season and how Erin had been faring. We decided to start her on Zyrtec and we will see if she feels any better. We were in and out in 25 minutes. Erin is always amazed when we leave there and she doesn't get a shot. :^) Shhh next visit she will get one for sure - probably more than one. She has her 4 yr check up on the 7th of June and she will get her "school age shots". The giraffe in the ear is especially funny because the concept came from Dr. Geurkink herself. She is always telling the kids what she sees in their ear - infection or no. Even at well baby visits you can expect to see an animal or a fire truck in there. Erin has picked up on this. Last week, Bill walked in on Erin and Griffin playing doctor in the kitchen. Griff was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs and Erin was looking in his ear with her orange scope from the doctor kit. "There a monkey in there, Griff." Bill said There's a monkey in his ear? "Yeah, there's gooses in the other one". -S (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 4th, 2006
11:31 pm	Guess What We are constantly amazed at Griffin's language skills. I was at a school function with him a couple weeks ago and he was talking up a storm - asking questions, telling me he needed more cake, etc. A woman across from us had a little boy who basically sat in her lap the entire time and said nothing. One of the women at our table asked Griffin how old he was - I'm sure expecting that he 1) actually knew (he doesn't) 2) could tell her (he could if he knew) and 3) he would answer at least 2 (as in yrs). I was away from the table but did hear the question (I was fetching more cake for the boy - apparently sharing a piece with me was not acceptable). When I returned, I told her he didn't really know how to answer that and that he would turn two in about 6 wks. Conversation at the table stopped - they were amazed. The woman with the little boy said "He's not even 2 yet?" I told them that we were also surprised by how talkative he was but that he did have an older sister. The other woman said that her son had two older siblings and that he didn't really speak at all and he was 2 1/2. We ended up talking about how all the kids are different, etc but it really drove home to me how advanced his speech is compared to his peers. As I noted in an earlier blog, Griffin loves to mimic Erin. It has been fun to watch. He has started "cooking" for us in the play kitchen. Where Erin's meals have always been very creative combinations, Griffin is a more everyday cook. You can count on him for cookies and milk and that kind of thing. A few weeks ago, we were in the FROG and Griffin was bringing us drinks. He gave me a cup of milk and one to Bill as well. I sipped mine and told him how good it was. Bill loudly gulped his down with a great deal of drama. Griffin laughed and said "Daddy silly drinkin da milk". Another way Griffin has been copying Erin is by "dressing up". Erin has a habit of taking all her fancy dresses (some dress up and some church dresses, Christmas dress, etc) out of her closet during quiet time and trying them on. Then she may dress up some of her friends and have a tea party. You go in there late in the afternoon and there are dresses everywhere. One evening, I went into her room and found Griffin trying to get into one of Erin's long dress up gowns. He was getting really mad because it was so long he couldn't really move. I helped him out of it and found a shorter dress - the black and white plaid one Erin wore for their pictures last year. He looked so cute! Then Erin came in and helped him into her Cinderella slippers (clear plastic heels). Bill got the camera and here he is ...Princess Griffin. I found a book about race cars recently that I thought Grandma Sandi would really wanted Griffin to have. I have been reading it several times a day ever since. He really likes it and points to the race cars and asks questions about them. He is still fascinated by fire trucks and dump trucks/bulldozers, etc. His favorite color might just be changing to red rather than blue too - now that I finally have him convinced fire trucks are generally red. :^) We have been telling lots of jokes around here lately. Erin gets a big kick telling us jokes. She doesn't know them really well, but we always laugh more for the telling than for the content. Her favorite right now is "Mama, guess what!" What? "Daddy, guess what!" What? "Griffin, guess what!" Waat? "CHICKEN BUTT!" Then she will tell it all over again and start making things up like "doodle butt", "nana butt", etc. Each and every time Griffin says "Ewww, dats tewwible". The other day though, he said "Mama" what? "chicken butt". :^) Bill and I cracked up. Knock Knock jokes have been fun too - but Bill and I only knew two to teach her. She likes them just the same. Griffin did one last week - "Mama, knock, knock" who's there? "Griffin!" Erin, Griffin and I met our friends Joe, James and Miss Amy for lunch at the Chick-Fil-A last week. After we had a lunch of "chicken and french fries and ranch dressing", we were off to the play area. Erin and Joe took off to the top and played one adventure after another. Griffin was content to play on the lower levels - at first. Some of you may remember that I have had to rescue my children from the highest level of these tunnel things in the past. I was keeping a close eye on him. Erin came running up to me and told me - with great excitement - that Joe had asked her to marry him. I asked her what she told him. "No." They later decided to just go to the ball together. :^) During my conversation with Erin, Griffin climbed to the top of the structure. Literally, one second he was within reach and the next he was at the top. I sent Erin up to guide him around a little. He seemed fine. There was a bridge that went from one tower to the other - the first 3rd of it was a net like fabric, then there was a solid area followed by more net for the last 3rd. Griffin's first attempt to cross resulted in a quick retreat as his foot went right through a hole in the net. He let several kids cross then he tried again. Eventually he scooted across (which I thought was brilliant) and got safely to the other side and was able to slide down the circular tube slide. He ran over to me and said "Mama! I did it!" I showered him with praise (I was so relieved - my heart was in my throat the entire time he was up there). Then he said "Again". I tried to show him he could climb up on the same side as the slide and not have to go over the bridge, but I guess once they learn it one way, they need to do it like that for a while. He played on that thing for about 35 minutes. I did have to send Erin and Joe on a mission to find his socks - he left them up there at some point, but otherwise it was a trouble free play time. The "Mama, look at me"s have started. I hear it from Erin when she is doing yoga moves or dancing. I have started hearing things from Griffin like "Mama, look at me. I'm running. Fast." Dancing is big here lately too. Erin likes to dance a ballet/ballroom combo most of the time. Griffin is into more of a twirl/jump/run kind of dance. The other day they were dancing to songs from the Leapfrog barn animals (match up) thing on the fridge. Griffin especially liked O Susanna. He would play it again and again -skipping though the other songs to get there. When the song ended he would thrust his fisted hands into the air and yell "Rock and Roll!" Annie rides with us to school most days to take Erin and to pick her up. One day as we were driving over Erin says "Mama, make Annie talk to me like you do." Okay "Annie" (in Annie's voice) Yes Erin "Look out your window" I don't like water "Do you see the boats?" Yes, I see three boats "What is your favorite song?" We were listening to Jimmy Buffett's Beaches CD from the Greatest Hits box set - Rag Top Day was playing at the time (Annie replied) I like Rag Top Day, but Cheeseburger is my favorite "I like Juicy Fruit and Mama likes Brown Eyed Girl and Griffin likes Cheeseburger too!" This went on all the way to school. We have been - okay - I have been having some difficulty getting her to school lately. When the time comes to get dressed, she starts in with "I don't want to go to school today" But you love school "I know" Why don't you want to go? "Because Bella Grace is not my friend" - this she almost growls. Well, there are other kids in your class that can be your friends. (I name the other kids) "Bella Grace says Carlyn is not my friend" Erin, you know Carlyn is your friend. We go to dinner and lunch with Carlyn and her family. You go play at Carlyn's house. Bella Grace doesn't know what you do when your not at school. She is wrong. Carlyn is your friend. This goes on and on as I dress her (she won't do it herself when she is like this), do her hair (always a tearful event when she is in this state) and hustle her downstairs and into the truck. The drama almost always results in us being a little late. By the time we get to school though, she is so excited to be there. She did play hooky last week though. I couldn 't convince her to go. They were having a Cowboy day and were to dress up like cowboys and cowgirls. I had an outfit all set out and we were to bring the Chuck Wagon Lunch's dessert. She refused to wear the outfit (denim shorts, white tee, red bandana and a cowboy hat). She had been feeling kind of sick recently - allergies - and she did sound a bit clogged up. I figured she hadn't slept well and was still a bit tired - that's where all the attitude was coming from. I explained we still needed to go to school because I had to drop off the dessert. I also told her I had some errands to run - so she could stay and I could come back for her early. She refused. I insisted that she get dressed - I wasn't about to drive around with her in her PJs. Once we got to school (and she dressed herself in the cowboy outfit BTW - just without the bandana and hat), she ran in and hugged her teachers and said HI to some of the kids. I talked to the teachers for a minute and thought I would grab Griffin and we could leave. She picked up on the fact that I was leaving and said goodbye to her teachers. I really though she would stay, but she didn't want to. We ran our errands, had lunch and played for a little while. Then (and here I knew she was really not feeling well) she took a nap! She can be something else when she is tired. One afternoon before quiet time (and this day she also took a long nap) I sent her to go potty. I put Griff down for his nap and then checked in on her. I said Thank you for going straight to the potty (sometimes we procrastinate for a long time because she knows she going into quiet time). "I don't want you to say Thank you". Oh, I'm sorry. How are you doing? "I DON'T want you to talk to ME" Hmm I don't want you to act like this or talk to me like this, but what can we do? Here she makes a truly horrible face and rolls her eyes. I could not contain my laughter - a few seconds later, she laughed too. But most of the time she is a sweet, sweet girl. Last weekend I really cleaned her room - removed some of the old toys and stuffed animals. Put all the pieces of games/puzzles/etc back where they belong, etc. I rearranged her furniture a little too and cleaned out her closet. She was so happy and I got several big hugs. She has kept her room cleaner since then too. Last night I went in to get her PJ's etc all set up and I noticed she had hung up several of the doll outfits. She took hangers out of her closet and hung up the doll clothes on a quilt rod under one of her shelves. It looked so cute with 4 little outfits hanging there. I told her I really liked how she did that and she said "Emily and Bitty want their clothes to be nice too". She now calls it "Emily and Bitty's closet". (Comment on this)
Monday, April 17th, 2006
9:49 pm	Disney Adventures These were the highlights of our Disney Adventure... We drove down to see Grandma Sandi and Grandpa Dale first. They had wonderful gifts waiting for the kids. Griffin got 3 Match Box cars - one being a Fire Truck. He was over the moon about it. Every where we went, he had to have the "Fire Truck". Erin's gift was a beauty kit - fake finger nails, nail polish, lipstick (which she calls mascara), and eye shadow. Grandma Sandi also restrung Erin's favorite necklace for her. Plus the kids each received a beach towel - and thank goodness, their mother certainly didn't remember to pack any! But better than any gift, there were TRAINS! Both of them love the trains at Grandpa Dale's house. Griffin even figured out how to crawl through the cat door to get out onto the screened porch where the trains were set up. (When the trains were not running we locked the sliding glass door to keep him inside with us - it didn't take him long to find another way in). He was also fascinated by Kitty Max - but both were very well behaved and there were no altercations. Erin was treated to helping Grandma Sandi set up for a Red Hat Meeting. All the area Queen Mothers were coming over for a meeting on Saturday afternoon. Erin helped Grandma Sandi select a centerpiece for the table, pick out what she would wear, etc. She was so excited by all the "fancy" clothes she saw when they started to arrive - especially since purple is her favorite color. From Red Hats to Mouse Ears - we arrived in Orlando Saturday afternoon. Neither of the kids slept much on the drive over - so we were thinking an early night might be a good idea - little did we know. We eventually met Uncle Jeff, Aunt Jenn, Ashley and Kendall at their hotel - after getting lost several times on Disney property. We took a shuttle to Downtown Disney, found a restaurant and had a wonderful dinner. Then we wandered around a little bit - before we knew it, it was after 11PM! By the time we got back to our hotel, it was after midnight. The kids both conked out in the car on the way to the hotel. We managed to rouse Erin and make her go potty - she was out before her head hit the pillow again. Griff never even stirred during his diaper change and getting PJs on. They slept together on the sofa bed - this was the first time it has ever worked that way - usually they are so wiggly and talkative they keep each other up and we have to separate them. The next day, the Flannery Clan took a break from the parks - they had been there since Thursday - and they came over for a day of swimming. Our hotel and the surrounding complex (where Gran and Mimi stayed in a gorgeous condo right by a pool) had 4 pools, mini golf and a water feature. We spent quite a while in the pool - it was a "zero entry" pool, so one end was essentially a ramp and it only got about 4 feet deep. Erin loved wading and splashing in the very shallow end until she got brave enough to go deeper. She had her swim wings on and by the end of our stay, she was swimming off on her own. The girls all had a great time at the pool and the "water feature" (a collection of waterfalls and sprayers the kids can control and drench each other with). The pool won out - you can only be squirted and splashed with water so many times. We took a break for lunch then the girls, Gran, Bill, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Jenn went back to the pool. Mimi stayed in to relax and do Sudoku puzzles while I tried to get Griff to take a snooze on their bed. "Mama, where Enen?" She went downstairs (I was afraid to say pool). "Mama, where Daddy?" He went downstairs with Erin. "Where Gran?" She went downstairs too. "Where Ummmmmm" Kendall? "Yes! Where Kendool?" She is downstairs. "Mama, where Ummmmm" Ashley? "Yes, where Ashowy?" She went downstairs too. "Where Grawnpa?" Grandpa Jim is doing puzzles. "Pwuzzles?!" - here he sits up and tries to get off the bed - "Pway pwuzzles with Grawndpa". No, buddy. Grandpa's puzzles are hard. Let's take a nap. "Mama?" Yes "Enen pwaying at dapool?" Yes, Erin is playing at the pool. After about 100 more questions - we both fell asleep. :^) Erin and Griff both loved the girls. Erin couldn't get enough of Kendall at first, then she discovered Ashley was just as much fun and she spent most of her time with an arm around one of them. After watching this go on for a day, even Griffin would charge at the girls for a hug. He seemed to especially like Kendall - he kept pushing her whenever he got the chance. The girls are the ones that talked Erin into going to see Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom. We had planned to go to Sea World again - that is all she talked about the entire drive down to Grandma Sandi's and on the way to Orlando. Sea World, Sea World, Sea World. Griffin even learned to say it. But the opportunity to see Cinderella's Castle AND be with Kendall and Ashley, well, it couldn't be denied. I have to say I was surprised at how much fun Erin did seem to have - it really was more than Griff was ready for. He had fun being with us but this was really all for Erin. She can't wait to go back. She was only disappointed that we didn't go INTO Cinderella's castle. She had fun on the few rides we went on - It's A Small World, The Mad Tea Party (we had to RUN to get a Purple cup and saucer), Cinderella's Merry Go Round and the Blue Line something (an elevated tram). Erin got a princess hat (pink baseball cap with Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty on it) and she also started a pin collection. Kendall and Ashley are into the pin collections - Ashley only collects Stitch pins (her favorite Disney character) while Kendall is more into the trading of pins. We got Erin started with a couple Cinderella pins and a Nemo pin. Uncle Jeff then bought her another Cinderella pin and a Mickey pin - for trading. Unfortunately, Mickey got lost somewhere in the Hundred Acre Wood. I'm still hoping some little foot didn't step on it. Ouch! We eventually got Erin another one and Kendall helped our little girl conduct her first trade! The Disney employee was very sweet to both girls and allowed them both to choose their favorite pin from her collection. Erin was so excited. Erin was also able to create her own magic wand - of course we followed the Cinderella example. She picked out a little dress-up set that she really wanted too. It has a mini Cinderella and all of the outfits - complete with little choking hazard shoes - that Cinderella wears during the movie. There are also some props - the mice, the mop, etc. It's all made of some rubber like material that stretches so - in theory - little hand can dress and undress the doll. I'm totally amazed we made it home with all the little pieces. Griff got a small stuffed Simba the Lion King - mostly due to the guilt. The small stuffed Squirt (the baby turtle from Nemo) was for Bill. Upon unpacking Squirt from the suitcase, Griffin promptly went and tossed him in the toilet! Bill and I had spent about 5 minutes trying to talk Griff into getting Squirt because we thought he was so much cuter than Simba - plus Griff has actually seen Nemo and none of us have seen the Lion King - well, Bill and I may have seen some of it. The girls certainly watched it enough when we lived in MI. Anyway, Griff kept saying "No, Lion!" so, we bought the lion for him and the turtle for Bill. He must have really been serious about not wanting the turtle! We had a wonderful time with all the family we visited and some really good meals too. I was amazed at how much older and mature Erin seemed when she was with Kendall and Ashley. She even pulled a independent stunt on me while we were at the Magic Kingdom (of all places). She would not allow me to go into the bathroom stall WITH her. Kendall went in one by herself and therefore, Erin should as well. She actually said "No, Mama. You go in that room by yourself and I will go in here ALONE" For a moment I thought about just standing outside the door while she went but then I realized that both girls would be standing around waiting for me. SO, I did as I was told and finished as fast as I ever have before. I managed to get back outside her door before she came out. But I was a nervous wreck the entire 2 minutes :^) It was pretty difficult to let her wander around with Kendall and/or Ashley. Not that they were ever out of our sight but, for someone who is used to actually having a hand on her child almost every moment... it was weird. They were both so good during our trip - even despite our late hours, missed naps, infrequent meals and potty breaks. They were amazing and we all had a great time as a result. -S (Comment on this)
Friday, March 31st, 2006
12:04 am	Trains, Planes and Fire Trucks! I can't believe it's been an entire month since I blogged. I really have no excuse and they have been so cute lately. We'll start with Griffin - as he has changed the most. His interaction with Erin has increased - not only is he keeping up with her in play but he is now initiating play with her. The other day he came into the kitchen with a harmonica and a recorder (Erin's favorite). He held out the recorder to Erin and said "Here Enin". Then he turn around, said "C'mon Enin, pwade" and started marching down the hall, playing the harmonica. He wanted to have a parade. Erin joined right in and followed him around, playing as loud as she could. Yes, he calls her "En-en" and it is so cute, I could honestly change her name. I've had to catch myself from doing it too! They play Hide and Seek too. Well, Erin and I actually play Hide and Seek but Griffin wants to join in and Erin loves for him to take part. He is still a little confused on the rules. He usually covers his eyes with his hands and counts to 10 - all while he is hiding behind a chair. Sometimes, he hides under the sofa pillows - his feet are usually sticking out. He really likes to hide under our bedroom pillows. He has a great time when he finds us "I foun you!" As Erin has more or less taken over the tent, Griff has been left out in the cold. I noticed he was going under the crib and crawling behind the crib too. One night he crawled under the crib and laid on his back. He told me he was "ina tent, Mama". The next day, I pulled the crib out from the corner on one side and created a "hide out" for Griff. We put several big pillows on the floor, Big Pooh, and some toys - plus his telephone. He thought it was great. It was also another place to "hide". Before I created the "hide out", he was laying under the crib and talking. We have been reading an ABC book (it's so me - the letters are created with food. Three asparagus spears make an A, many blueberries make a B, etc). He really likes it. The two pages have the entire alphabet laid out in smaller pictures. When we get to these pages I sing the alphabet song. I was surprised one night to hear part of the song coming from under the crib "a, b, c, d, e, f, g, u, x, y, z". Over the past week, he has picked up much more of it. Erin has been singing it more - it's something they do together now. His most recent attempt went as follows "a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, u, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z." He also enjoys counting to 10 - still missing the two. We have been focusing on 1, 2, 3, GO! He recently heard, Ready, Set, GO! and took to that right away. He is really getting into talking on the phone now too. Wednesday, the two of us were out running errands and I decided we could use a break before we went to get Erin at school. We stopped at a coffee shop and got a large muffin - he picked it out. I had set my cell phone on the table because I was expecting a call back. He picked it up and had his own little conversation with Bill. "Hellwo Daddy! I hava tweet. Big cup-a-cakie. Bye Daddy". It was too sweet. He must have "called" Bill three times. When my phone actually rang - well it was on vibrate - he startled a little and asked "Mama wha dat? Wha dat Mama". The boy has really discovered trucks now. When he plays with them, they are complete with the Vrooommm sound. Dump trucks were his favorite for the last two weeks. Recently he has taken a shine to Fire trucks. We went to the library on Monday and on the way he kept repeating "Fire trucks". I told him we could get a book on fire trucks. When we arrived in the children's area - smartly located in the basement - one of the librarians greeted us and asked if there was anything he could help us find. Before I could finish saying hello, Griffin had shouted "fire trucks". I was impressed, within 2 minutes I had about 6 books on Griff's new favorite subject. Griffin is still learning the colors - he is actually doing well, except Blue is by far his favorite color and therefore, everything he likes is blue. While reading fire truck books, I ask what color the truck is "blue". No, it's red. No, Mama, blue. No, sweetie, it's red. Mama, BLUE. We can even have this conversation without the books now. He laughs all the while, maybe he knows it's not blue but just likes the game of it. Boy Danger has gone into high gear these last 3 wks. He has jumped out of the crib - only once - that was more than enough for all of us. He has taken to trying to jump out of your arms or push off of you when you are holding him - no falls yet but it has been close. He climbs over the back of the sofa - often tumbling right of the front of it. And my personal favorite - he climbs up on the ottoman, counts "1,3, GO!" and jumps into a chair - or better yet, right onto me! He has turned into quite the little copy cat now. He copies almost everything Erin does. If she is tapping her fork on the table, so does he. If she takes a drink, so does he. It is so funny to watch. Erin has been having a grand time pretending. One evening this week, we were all outside after dinner. Erin told us we were on the farm. We watched as she tossed sand around - feeding the chickens. With occasional suggestions from us, she proceeded to - her words "do her chores" and slopped the pigs (she picked up all the shovels, rakes, etc and put them in a large pail - the she dumped it into the sand box - or rather the pig pen), she milked the cow - which was housed in the barn (AKA playhouse), she collected the eggs (from the chicken coop (AKA playhouse), fed the horse (your truly) and brushed her (my fleece jacket just SHINES - it might be sand). One afternoon, when she pre-empted quite time and came downstairs as I was preparing to mop the kitchen, she saw the chairs lined up in the hall and immediately created a train. She arranged the chair and brought down several of her friends, when the seating was to her liking, I quietly gave each passenger a "ticket" and then reminded her the conductor of the train must collect the tickets. She pretended to be the engineer for a while - the she was moving the chairs side by side and suddenly we had an airplane. She explained to all the passengers they needed to fasten their seat belts. I reminded her about trays in up right positions. I got to be the control tower and the pilot (she wanted someone to talk to the passengers). She must have been the flight attendant, she passed out 1 goldfish cracker to each passenger. She has also been into dancing and jumping recently. She often will balance on one foot and shout to us to watch her. After reviewing our address with her several times, she learned it and she can report our full names too. I'm working with her to learn Daddy's cell number. The day we went to the library, she asked if Emily (her doll) could come with us. I said sure and told her to run up and get her - reminding her Emily needed to be clothed. I gathered up Griff and his bag and got him into the truck. Bill was trying to hurry Erin along but she was quite upset. She couldn't find Emily. She told me, "I couldn't find her, so can I bring Bitty instead?" I agreed and we were off. About 5 miles down the road Erin says "Mama, if I looked and I can not find Emily, maybe she died." We assured her that Emily was not dead and that she was at home - just hiding. How true it was - I found Emily in Griffin's hide out! The writing gene seems to have been passed along too. The other day, Erin was at the kitchen table with paper and markers and she was just scribbling away. I asked what she was doing. "I'm writing a article". Ah. What is it about? "Cinderella story". I continue cooking dinner. A few minutes later..."This article is taking TOO LONG. I'm stuck." I encouraged her to relax for a minute. She did for about 3 seconds - then her writer's block was gone. -S (1 Comment |Comment on this)