Picture of the Day

The kids, sacked out after a long day at the pool and beach.  I think this was the only night we were able to get all three of them to sleep together.  It was a double bed, so it was a little stretch.

The Chair

This post is way past due, but I want to get it down before I forget and years from now I don't remember it.  There are so many things from when Andy and Sarah were little that I thought I would remember forever and now couldn't even remember it if you asked me detailed questions about it.  I don't want that to continue happening.  I don't want to tell the same five stories over and over again when my grandchildren ask me about their parents.  I want to have this reminder of it all.

End rant.  Anywho...

A few months ago we went to the girls' school for their teacher conferences.  We sat with Amanda's teacher and she told us how well she was doing.  Her understanding of Spanish was growing daily, she got along really well with all the kids, and she was getting so good at going to the bathroom.  Wonderful.  Her only issue, that the teacher kind of mentioned in passing at the end of the conference, was her attachment to her chair.  That's right, her chair.

Apparently she insisted on sitting on the chair at the end of the table.  There are two tables in the room, but it had to be the table on the right.  She would not sit anywhere else.  If someone was in her chair, she would get visibly upset and they would have to move the other child so she could sit there.

I had never noticed this before.  Probably because when I dropped her off she was crying uncontrollably for me and wasn't even near the table.  I didn't want them to baby her and give her everything she wanted (like I try not to do but constantly fail) and told them not to give in and make her sit somewhere else.  Nope, they weren't going to do that.  I guess that was the one battle they weren't going to fight with her.  She wanted that chair.

I'm not sure where it came from.  The only thing I could think of was she sits at the end of the table at home when we eat, so maybe she equated the end of the table as her spot no matter where she was.  As the weeks passed, I started to pay attention.  Sure enough, she always went for that chair.  By this time the other kids didn't even need to be told to move, when they saw her coming they would get up and find another chair on their own without being asked.  Everyone in that class knew that was her chair.  They weren't upset about it and they didn't fight, it's just how it was.

About a month ago Amanda stopped crying when I dropped her off at school.  Yes, it really took that long.  Around that time I also noticed that when she came into the classroom in the morning she would sit in any chair that was open.  She didn't need the end chair anymore.  Of course that one is still the one she prefers, but she doesn't get upset if it's taken.  She just looks around and finds an empty one.

My little girl is growing up.  Maturing, if you can say that for a two-year-old.  Learning that the world isn't going to fall apart if she doesn't get what she wants and it's okay to share.  It should make me sad, at least a little, because she's not really a baby anymore, but it really doesn't.  I'm so excited to see who she's going to be and for her to grow her personality and transform from a baby to a kid.

She is just so amazing right now, it's only going to get better.  Of course in another six months when she starts to talk back I'm going to eat those words, but let me live in my fantasy for a little while longer.

Picture of the Day

Amanda and Charlie near the bottom of the water slide after hours and hours (and hours) of sliding.

Kid Quote of the Day

Amanda:  Mommy, I love you.

Me:  I love you too, baby.

Amanda:  I love you again.

Picture of the Day

More pictures from Hawaii.  This is Amanda, Sarah, my niece Ella, and Andy.  My sister and brother-in-law and Ella were continuing their trip that night, but we were on our way to a luau.  The kids had a blast and the other attendees got a kick out of seeing the girls in their grass skirts.

The Big Island

The view from our room

We went to Hawaii, to Kona, for Spring Break.  With the kids.  We thought it was going to be torture flying all those hours with three kids and a five hour time difference.  Instead we had one of the best family vacations we've had in a long time.  Yes, I was surprised too.

It had a lot to do with the fact that we did not bring a stroller and Amanda is now potty trained.  We didn't have to pack diapers or carry diapers or worry about when and where we were going to change the diapers.  One less worry.  We didn't have to lug the stroller or check the stroller or find space in our room to store the stroller or listen to the girls, and occasionally Andy, fight over the stroller.  Yes, I wish we would have had it during the 1.5 hours we were at the Kona airport and Amanda was so asleep that I had to carry her through checking the bags, waiting for the flight, security and then on the plane.  My body still hurts from that.  No other time during the entire trip did I wish for that stroller and for the kids it was out of sight out of mind.

We honestly didn't do that much.  We left the resort the first day to get breakfast and find a grocery store, and the second day to go to the beach.  We would venture out for dinner and a second trip to the grocery store, but otherwise we just hung out at the hotel.  We had a small dorm fridge in our room so the kids had yogurt and cereal in the room for breakfast and I made PB&J for lunch at the pool.  We didn't do any touristy stuff, we just played.  For six days straight.

The weather was fantastic.  A few overcast afternoons which were probably more of a blessing than a hindrance because it prevented us from staying out too long in the sun and frying the kids, but otherwise fantastic weather and no rain.  We slept through the sunrise but saw a few beautiful sunsets.

Our biggest fear beforehand was the flights.  We flew four hours to L.A. and then another 5-6 to Kona.  We were convinced it was going to be a nightmare, but the kids were awesome.  There was one point on the trip to L.A. where Amanda was overtired and extremely cranky for about 30 minutes and that was it.  The rest of the time there and back they were really well behaved.  Better than I could even ask.

The hotel had several pools and water slides and a cool lagoon with a beach but no waves.  The only downside was that the pools weren't heated, but when the sun was out it wasn't that big of an issues for Charlie and me and it never stopped the kids from swimming.  At the end of each day they were exhausted from playing so long and hard and barely made it through dinner (Amanda didn't even get that far a few nights).  Some of that had to do with the time change as well, but we aren't complaining.  What more could we ask for?

There was also a Dolphin Quest at the hotel.  I would have loved to do it but it wasn't in the budget and the kids were still too young.  Too young for our standards, the hotel would have gladly had them.  For something like that we want them to be older and make sure that they really remember such an amazing experience.  We told Sarah when she is around 10 we can reevaluate.  Even though we didn't participate you could still get really close to the area where the kept the dolphins and we got to spend a lot of time watching them.  The trainers were also right there so you could ask questions, it was very cool.

The adjustment after we got home was a little more difficult, but we jumped right back into school and activities and our big, crazy life and haven't had much time to look back.  The time together and relaxation was exactly what we needed.

We're already starting to think about where we want to go next year!

But Where's the Candy?

Amanda made this adorable puppy hand puppet at school this week.  It even made it home without her ripping it's eyes off, which is a huge improvement.  However, Amanda refused to use the puppet the way it was intended.  Apparently the last two times she has made anything out of a paper bag was for Valentine's Day and the Fall Festival at school.  In both cases they decorated the bag and in the end it was filled with prizes and candy.

The first thing she asked me when I picked her up was for some candy to put in her bag.  I tried to explain that the only thing she was supposed to put in this bag was her hand, but she insisted on candy and refused to hear any other explanation of what you could do with the bag.  So, caving as I always do, when we got home I put two pieces of candy, some fruit snacks and a fruit by the foot in her bag.  She was completely pacified and satisfied.  Of course I had to give Sarah candy too.

This puppy is just a symbol of the lack of control I have over that girl.  Don't be surprised if he mysteriously disappears within the next few days.

Kid Quote of the Day

"Mommy, you are my best friend in the whole world."

-Amanda, my sweet, cuddly baby girl.

Cursive

Andy was doing his homework today and all was going fine until he got to his last and most difficult subject.  Cursive.  You heard me right, cursive.  He feels about cursive the way many kids feel about math.  It's hard, it's unimportant, it's useless, it's stupid, it's not necessary, it's a waste of time.  Did I mention hard?

We've finally figured out that when Andy balks at doing something it's because he's not good at it and he thinks it's hard.  There aren't that many things that he isn't good at, and that really, really bothers him.  Cursive is one of them.  Invariably when he does his weekly cursive homework, before he is finished with the assignment he has cried, yelled, kicked, screamed and cried some more.  He hates it and thinks it's so hard and just doesn't understand why they have to learn it.

The sad part is, I don't have a good answer for him.  I get why he has to learn it, but nobody really uses it anymore.  I never write in cursive because I can actually print faster and I hate the way my handwriting looks in cursive.  Most people type or text or email, but few hand write anything anymore.  Nonetheless, he has to learn it.

I keep telling him his option is to either do the assignment or not.  He can face the punishment at school if he decides it's just too much for him to finish it.  It's his choice.  Of course this usually calms him down and he finishes it grudgingly but without complaining, just as he mom would do.  In this way I see so much of myself in him.  Complain about something ad nauseam but still do it because that's what you have to do.  He would never not do an assignment just because he didn't like it, as I wouldn't have done either.  His father may be another story.

I actually got out my camera phone and started videoing him crying on the floor, but he got really mad at me and when he asked me to delete it I complied.  Bummer, it was good.  It shows I still need to work on my tolerance for my children's irrational behavior.  I did feel bad for him, but if cursive is his biggest problem in life he doesn't really have anything to worry about right now.

Hopefully this will remain his biggest academic issue for the next few years.  I like the fact that he doesn't need a lot of help, because the next one is going to give us a run for our money.  Of course I have no doubts that she is going to be excellent at cursive.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Amanda made this hat last week at school.  She looked so stinking cute in it with her uniform when I went to pick her up.  I had a hard time getting her to put it back on, but since she is 1/8 Irish (I think that's right, I'm 1/4) I thought it was only fitting.  See our cool new blue chair that she's sitting on?  There will be more about that in the distant future.

SSS

Sometimes I think Amanda is going to need speech therapy.  I can only understand half of what she says, and then only if it’s in context.  If she starts talking about a totally new subject I’m completely lost.  Of course Sarah understands everything Amanda says, but she is getting tired of me asking her to translate all the time.  She keeps telling me I need to figure it out or I won’t be able to talk to Amanda when Sarah isn’t around.  Yes, I’m aware that is a major problem for us.  Usually I just do my best and then give up when we both get overly frustrated.

When Andy was her age I understood everything he said.  I thought he could talk perfectly, but then I always had to tell other adults what he was saying, so he probably talked just like Amanda does now, I was just way more in tune with it.  I’m sure in the next six month it will get a ton better, I just need to be patient (except I’m not very good at that).

In the meantime, one of the biggest miscommunications we have is with the two simple words “yes” and “no”.  Okay, that’s not exactly correct.  When she says “NO” most times it’s very clear.  It’s when she says “yes” that I’m not always sure she’s really saying it.  She still says her Ys as Ns, so yes often comes out as “nah”, which could be confused with “no” if not said clearly.  To make sure I understand  I ask her, “Are you saying ‘Yessss’ or ‘No’?”  At that point she nods her head and says “Yessss!”

Slowly she’s figured out that if she really wants something she needs to make sure I hear that sss.  But she wants to get right to the point so she leaves off the rest of the word and just says “sss”.  This works for “yes” and for “please”, but there are other words that don’t even end with s sound that she will just add it to.  She can’t reach her cup of water?  She’ll say “cup sss”.  The more she does it, the more she wants whatever she’s asking for.  Sometimes she’ll just walk around the house going “sss sss sss”.

It’s strange, it’s annoying, but at least she’s trying to communicate.  I’m sure years from now the only way I’m even going to remember that she does this is from reading this post, which is one of the reasons I write, because I’ve already forgotten half of the crazy stuff that Andy and Sarah did at this age.  In the meantime, we’ll muddle through.

And if she does need speech therapy at some point, that’s okay too.

Hair

I love Andy's hair when it's cut short, but unfortunately that's not the style.  I'm not sure when he became interested in doing what everybody else is doing with their hair, but he's in it full force.  We were bugging him about it quite a bit until we decided we just needed to lay off.  Charlie told Andy to just let him know when he needed a haircut and truly hasn't said anything since.  I'm not as good.  I try really hard not to say anything, but every couple of days I let some snide comment out about how awful it looks.  Which probably makes him want to grow it even longer.

Eventually he'll figure out that his hair really can't "do" long.  There are too many cowlicks and swirls and other crazy things going on up there that it just doesn't work.  There's even one spot on his head, which you can't see in the picture, where his hair comes together from four directions.

You have no idea how much I love this child to let him do this.  If he ever got a piercing or tattoo it would put me over the edge, at least this is just temporary.  I like the whole "let your child be independent" thing, but I'd like to hold onto the scenario where I get to take him to the kiddie haircut place, have it cut however I want, give him a lollipop and have him walk out happy.

You think it's going to get easier as they get older.  In some ways it does, but in others it just gets harder.  I know this already and I haven't even gotten to the really tough stuff yet.  I hope I'm up to the challenge.

Death Valley

Charlie and Andy went to Death Valley over the weekend and left me alone with the girls, again.  Not that I don't love to be with the girls, but I'm with them a lot.  Hmm, I guess that's why they call it parenthood.  Anywho, we gave Andy the option of a birthday party or a trip and he chose a trip for I think the third time in a row.  I say I think because last year I know he and Charlie went to Washington D.C. for his birthday trip, but I cannot for the life of me remember what we did the year before.  We probably went on a family vacation and passed it off for a birthday trip, which would have worked when he was in first grade but not now that he is in third.  He chose Death Valley because he recently did a report on it in school.  It makes me really proud that he picked a place that was kind of academic instead of an amusement park, but in some ways I wish he had just picked the amusement park.

So, they left on Friday after school and didn't come home until late last night.  I hung out with the girls in the yuck and rain all weekend.  Okay, it was only yucky and rainy on Saturday, Sunday actually turned out to be pretty nice.  We went shopping for my friend, Claire, who just broke her leg and had to have surgery today (hope all went well, Claire) and then we went to Chick-Fil-A.  For two hours.  The girls could have stayed much longer, but I was getting bored.  Okay, Sarah could have stayed longer.  Amanda was getting a bit bored herself because she isn't big enough to climb up into the tunnels and such on the top and had to stay at the bottom doing nothing in the one thing she could reach.  But she never complained.  The good thing about all the playing is the girls were super tired when we got home and went to bed reasonably early.

Sunday we got up and went to swim lessons and then spent most of the day buying some new chairs for the formal living room.  We have great plans for this room, at least I do, but that will have to wait for a future post. The great thing is both mornings Sarah got up with Amanda and entertained her for an hour or so, so that I could sleep a little bit longer.  They could come get me if they needed anything, but joyfully they didn't.  I really like this trend, I hope it continues.

So, you thought this post was about Death Valley.  Well, it's not, because I wasn't there.  I will say that they drove a lot and they went down a 500 foot crater that took five minutes to go down and about forty minutes to climb back up.  I could have told them that from a horrible sand dunes experience I had years ago.  Let's just say fun going down and think you're going to die going up.  Andy did learn a few new facts about Death Valley that he is looking forward to telling his teacher.  I'll leave you with a picture so you don't feel cheated, but it's the desert so there isn't a lot to see.

Kid Quote of the Day

Andy:  Sarah, no toys at the table (while we are eating, family rule)!

Amanda:  You no Mommy, you Andy.


See, even Amanda knows that Andy is always overstepping his bounds and trying to parent.  Either she's really smart or he does it all.the.time.

Baby Lotso

I had to go to the mall on Wednesday so while we were there we stopped at the Disney Store to buy a Baby Lotso for Amanda.  With her money of course, she's got way more money than the average two-year-old should have.  She loves him!  Now she has a Mommy Lotso and a Baby Lotso.  Double the evil teddy bears in our house, but she doesn't care.  The baby one is more manageable and easier to take places and the perfect size for her.  Sarah and I tried again to explain to her that Lotso was mean to other toys, but she didn't care.  She likes him and she doesn't care what everybody else thinks.  In some ways, this is a very good quality to have.  You know, if it weren't for the fact that she's siding with the nasty guy.

Now I'm in Trouble

Amanda figured out how to open the refrigerator door the other day.  I walked into the kitchen and she was standing in front of the fridge with the door wide open, nobody else around.  When I asked if she opened the door herself, she said yes as if she's been able to do it forever.

That's it, that's the whole story.  She can open the fridge.  I'm only telling you this because I'm sure there will be lots and lots of stories in the future based on this new information.  Just be patient.

Kid Quote of the Day

Me:  Andy, how would you like to go to a school that did PAT (his Gifted and Talented Program) all day long?

Andy:  It's not a school without dumb kids.

Picture of the Day

Amanda, giving the Elmo balloon a big kiss at the show, hours before she murdered him.

The Elmo Massacre

When Andy was Amanda's age, he was obsessed with Elmo.  A lot like she was, but possibly more.  We got a flyer in the mail about Sesame Street Live coming to the area right around his second birthday.  My parents were planning on being here then, because my mom has this thing about coming for all the grandkids' birthdays, so we got tickets for all four of us to go to the show.  We ended up having a great time.  Andy loved it and, in the amazing way that Sesame draws in adults as well,  my parents and I a very enjoyable time too.  We bought the soundtrack to the show and listened it for months after that.  It was simply fabulous.

The next year I took him again, but after that he moved on and became obsessed with something else, probably the Wiggles, and we didn't go to Sesame Street Live again.  When Sarah was two I took her, but it wasn't the same.  She didn't have the awe that Andy had and didn't even seem to enjoy the show that much.  It makes sense because she still to this day can't sit through anything longer than about 30 minutes.  Plus the show was good but not as good as that first one we went to.  She did not get a repeat visit.

When we got the flyer this year announcing the show I knew this was the year to take Amanda.  She still loves Elmo and we would have fun just the two of us.  I talked it up all week and she was so ready to see Elmo this morning.  We showed up early and saw Ernie, Bert and Zoe dancing in the lobby and took a few pictures in the interactive backdrops they had set up (This was before my camera died.  It never fails that I bring a camera to something like this and forget to check if the battery needs charging.  It did.) before we got a few snacks and headed to our seats.

She sat in my lap for the first half of the show happily eating her cookie and popcorn, singing and dancing along.  At the intermission we bought a huge mylar balloon of Elmo's head with the eyes bulging out.  Every time I have taken one of my kids to this show I have seen these balloons, but I have never bought one.  They are ridiculously expensive and it's just a balloon.  However, I have had friends tell me that have had mylar balloons last for months in their house to their amazement, so over the course of time the cost isn't that great.  I figured if it lasted for two months it would be worth it.  Two months was a long shot, two weeks would have been great.  At this point I would have been happy with two days.  But this is where our happy tale takes a wicked turn.

I took the girls up to bed and noticed the string to the balloon was on the floor, but the balloon was nowhere to be seen.  When I inquired where it was, they told me it was in my bathroom in the garbage can.  How could that be?  First, it was huge.  It wouldn't fit in my garbage can.  Second, it was full of helium.  Duh!  Or was it?  Apparently Amanda had gone into Charlie drawer and gotten the scissors to the manicure set.  These are the most harmless scissors ever.  No more than four inches long total with a one inch blade.  But they can cut.

The girls told me that Amanda had cut the Elmo balloon and all the air had come out.  Huh?  What?  When I went to investigate, she hadn't just made a tiny slit in the side of the balloon.  No.  She had basically blinded the poor little monster and cut straight through his eyes.  There was no taping the little hole that she made, she maimed him beyond repair.

When we asked her why she had cut Elmo she responded, "Because Elmo is mean, mean, mean."  And Lotso is so, so nice?  It seems that my last post was incorrect.  She isn't just a crazy two-year-old, she's evil.

Needless to say, the scissors have been put out of reach and she will not be getting any souvenirs for many years to come.  I'm not sure Elmo, or I, will ever be able to forgive her.

Kid Quote of the Day

"I'M BEING VERY QUIET.  SHHH.  SHHH.  SHHH."

-Amanda, who thought she was being quite, but really wasn't at all.

Lotso

Amanda has gotten into this habit of finding a stuffed animal and then taking it everywhere with her for the next few days.  In some ways it's good because she isn't focused on only one toy, and if something goes missing she just finds a different one.  But watch out if you try to mess with the doll or animal that is currently her favorite.

While I was in New Jersey she carried a stuffed Perry the Platypus around for the entire weekend.  She wouldn't let it out of her sight.  Today she found the Lotso from Toy Story 3 that we bought at Disney World.  She insisted in bringing it with her in the car.

As we were driving along with Lotso happily sitting with her in her carseat, Sarah starting asking if Amanda would give her the Lotso and she would buy Amanda a new Lotso.  I'm not sure of the exact conversation, because I wasn't that interested and I tend to tune the kids out when I'm driving.  You know, concentrating on the road.

After Sarah finished trying to negotiate having Lotso move to the back seat with her, Amanda said, "Yes, I want two Lotsos.  A mama Lotso and a baby Lotso."  I started to laugh.  When Andy asked me why I was laughing I explained how appalled April from New Jersey (and now that I think of it, April from Orlando as well) would be to hear this statement, since she has watched Toy Story 3 at least 100 times and fully believes that Lotso is evil.  At hearing this Amanda said, "Lotso's not evil.  He is so, so nice."

Amanda's response could mean one of three things.  First, she is a crazy and contrary two-year-old and no matter how much we try to tell her that Lotso is bad (we showed her the movie and she was so focused on telling him "Look Lotso, there you are!" that she missed the entire evil bear message) she is going to do and believe the opposite of what we say.  Second, seeing is believing and since he's always been nice to her she doesn't see how he could be mean to someone else.  Third, she is pure evil herself and she doesn't see anything he has done or said as wrong at all, that's just how they roll.

I'm pretty sure it's the first one, but you never know.  Of course not knowing anything about him, he is pretty cute and does smell like strawberries.  That's got to be good for something.