Letting go

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Tessa

We’ve worked so hard at helping Lex grow out of his shy, quiet (in public) shell and into a strong, confident little boy. I’m very proud of us, though also a bit saddened at times. School and daycare drop-offs now involve little more than a fleeting “good bye mom” before he’s off playing with his friends. Some days I even have to ask for a hug! Gone are the tears, the long, drawn out goodbyes, the powerful bear hugs, all replaced with a quick kiss and a sweet smile before he’s off on his own. I’m very proud of him and proud of the boy he’s become. I’m also proud that Alan and I have handled him so well, through the tears and tantrums, to help him discover his confident self and help him begin his formal education with ease. That said, some days I miss my tiny baby boy :) Lucky for me he is still full of hugs and cuddles at home. I dread the day he becomes too cool to hug mom!

Snow day!

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Tessa

Yesterday afternoon Lex announced that he wanted to go outside. He doesn’t make this announcement often, so Eve and I jumped at it. It was almost 4pm and closing in on darkness, so we all scrambled to get dressed and head out. As we got ready he told me the process and order for putting on winter clothes. First you put on your snowpants, and then your boots, and then your coat (“if you have a coat, but I don’t have a coat because I have a snowsuit!). It’s fun to hear him repeat back what he learns at school. I can just imagine 11 little people all trying to dress for the outdoors and the helpful teachers reviewing the proper order.

A happy boy in the snow!

XI = jumping jacks

Mary, Mary quite contrary, what does your garden grow?
Eggplants and green beans, by chance?

What's in your winter garden? Every time Eve watches this video she laughs at the end, points to herself in the video and says 'she's a radish!'

Silly kids

Outside we played in the snow, sat in the garden (they were thrilled because I don’t normally let them sit in the garden), played on the swingset, and went for a walk to look at the holiday lights. By this time it was after 5:00 and after dark and I was COLD! So in we went for warm chocolate milk.

The snow started falling yesterday and today we have our first snow day of the year, and Lex’s first snow day of his school career. What do you think he said? I told him there was no school today because the roads aren’t safe for people and buses. He said, “but we can still go to school, right?” (we drive the car). He was sad when I said no, but happy again when I told him it was a daycare day. I LOVE that he likes daycare now. The whole family bundled and got in the car and as we headed to daycare I decided that working today was kind of silly, so we grabbed my work laptop from the office and headed home! Spent some time playing in the heavy snowfall, took the sled up the road and back, and then headed in for warm chocolate milk and sugar cookie making.

Sledding

This is a silly way to sled (and tough for the mommy doing the pulling!)

Eve drowns her cookies in sprinkles

Lex is a little more careful with the sprinkles.

So far everyone is enjoying winter (day two of snow… we’ll see come day 20!)

Calling Uncle Barney

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Tessa

Eve brought me the phone last night and told me she wanted to call Uncle Barney. So we did. I showed her how to dial and she asked for him and they chatted. I think everyone was happy.

A Christmasy weekend

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Tessa

We officially started our holiday this weekend. The weather agreed with us.

On Saturday we saw a live, puppet performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other Eric Carl stories. It’s pretty cool how they do it. We saw the same production company do Good Night Moon and The Runaway Bunny last summer. The kids liked it this time but were not as captivated as last time. Perhaps because of the time of day (naptime) or them or perhaps they sensed the snowfall beginning outside. Not sure, but it was fun anyway. I was planning on getting a tree after the show and we left the theater to discover a winter wonderland! Fat, heavy snowflakes falling everywhere! We stopped at a roadside place and picked out a tree, brought it home and put it up in all it’s snow covered glory. Then we let it dry :) It was almost torture for the kids (ok, for me too!) to have the tree in the living room but not be able to decorate it! Finally after dinner we had at it. Lex LOVES decorating the tree. We helped our neighbors do their trees last weekend and he was so excited and eager to do ours. He’s so sweet. Eve is still a bit young for hanging things, but she liked playing with the glittery Martha Stewart shatter-proof bulbs I so wisely bought last year :)

This morning we went outside into the bright, sunny, snowy day. Well, Eve and I did. Lex demonstrated his exhaustion by sitting on the kitchen floor and crying. I eventually left him inside and he played happily by himself while Eve and I played outside with the neighbors. Then we all came in for hot chocolate and indoor playtime. Lex even joined in, after awhile. Funny boy. This afternoon was slow and nice. A good recharge before the week starts again.

Here are a few pics…

The Very Hungry Caterpillar(s), after the show, when photography was allowed.

Look at this boy! I barely recognize him sometimes!

Lex decorating the Christmas tree

Eve playing with ornaments

Our tree (pre candy canes!)

They love this music box snow globe.

It's never too cold to swing! (until mommy says it is and takes down the swings)

While I made dinner, Alan carried the kids around in a bag :) I think he actually carried them one at a time and dragged them together. Not sure the bag would hold them both...

Two other things I wanted to mention. Eve is very much into babies lately and soft things and little things and anything she can hug and hold. All throughout the show yesterday she kept asking me if she could hug the caterpillar. When we got out the Christmas decorations she became fascinated with baby Jesus, whom she believes is a girl and calls Jesits :) Makes me think of a cross between Jesus and Cheez-Its. I’ve told them the story a bunch of times (and that Jesus is a boy) and we have two nativity scenes and Eve likes to carry one or both of the babies around with her and cuddle them, even though they are wood and porcelain and only about two inches big. Also, the snow globe in the picture above has a nativity scene in the globe and a ring of “characters” around the bottom that turns as the music plays. The kids love it and Lex likes to point out who is coming around. At dinner tonight he yelled, “Watch out Eve! Mary and Joseph are coming toward ya!”

Sunshine

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Tessa

As part of our bedtime routine I lay down with Eve each nap/night and sing her a few songs. My repertoire is limited, but she seems ok with what I’ve got. One of her favorites is “You are my sunshine” and tonight after I finished the song she said, “Lex is your sunshine.” I smiled and said, “Yes he is, and you are too.” She giggled and replied, “No mommy, I’m your daughter!”

December 1st

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Tessa

Happy December!

We started the day by tearing a ring off the count-down chains. Each year I have grand ideas for making an advent calendar, but then December rolls around and I haven’t made it past the idea stage, so I end up throwing something silly together instead. This year we made count-down chains with construction paper, glue, and crayons. Each day they tear off a ring. I like that it shows them the concept of time as the chains get shorter and shorter.

Count-down Chains (this year's advent calendar)

Naked walls

We then did school and playdates in the morning, then cleaning in the afternoon! Yay! It was actually a really nice afternoon. I took down all of the artwork (going back over 2 1/2 years!) from our walls and, with help from the kids, divvied it up into piles to be dealt with appropriately. I’m happy that Lex was very ok with the whole process :) Then the kids played so sweetly together while I did some cleaning and made dinner, with dance breaks in between. We’ve been listening to a lot of Christmas music the past few days and they LOVE it when I dance with them. By “dance with them” I mean hold them in my arms and bop around for an entire song. They laugh and laugh, which, of course, makes me laugh and laugh. :) This afternoon they played with babies together. Eve’s babies were sick, so Lex gave them some medicine (Lego meds) and then he made them a rattle (Lego rattle) and then he got a baby for himself and they proceeded to feed their babies and read to them and put them to sleep. At one point Lex came over and said, “Mom, I have everything I need to take care of a baby!” Ha! If only wooden pickles and watermelon, a Lego rattle and a few books were all it took! :) Then we had pancakes for dinner (I tried REALLY hard to just have salad but ended up finishing their leftover pancakes… sooooo yummy!) and bedtime. A very nice day to start this exciting month.

Playing with babies and puppies

‘Tis the season

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Tessa

Did you know that tomorrow is December 1st? Crazy! I had so many ideas and plans for the holidays and now I find myself scrambling, as usual. I’m in a bit of a cleaning frenzy because I have to have a clean, uncluttered house before I can get out box after box of Christmas decorations. Lex and I are negotiating on what to do with his artwork/wallpaper currently cluttering… er, I mean decorating the walls of the dining room. I haven’t even told the kids (or hubby for that matter!) my rearranging plans for the living room. Need to get a tree in there somewhere… not sure how it’s all going to fit. We may end up losing a toy shelf or recliner chair. No one will be happy! Just kidding… mostly… major furniture gets priority over a Christmas tree. I’m hoping to get the cleaning done this week and do some decorating this weekend. Lex loved decorating the neighbor’s trees. Not sure when we’ll get one of our own. I can’t believe we used to wait until Christmas Eve!!

Speaking of Christmas Eve… I started playing Christmas music the other day (and singing it and I love that the kids love to hear me sing!) and every time a song says “Christmas Eve” my little girl says “Christmas EVE?!!?! I’m not Christmas!” I tried to explain that “Eve” is her name and a word with another meaning, but she still giggles whenever she hears Christmas Eve. :) I love her!

Happy Thanksgiving (a few days late)

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Tessa

We were in Franklin for Thanksgiving and I was unmotivated to blog. If I were a serious blogger I would have had a post all lined up and scheduled to post on Thanksgiving day. Did you know you can schedule a post to go live some other time? I’ve never done it. I’m not a serious blogger :)

Anyhoo… we were in Franklin this year. We had fun. The kids love the country and I love that the kids love the country. It’s so nice to have a country home to go to. We took a long walk on Thanksgiving day and relaxed and played and Lex made placecards for dinner and we all ate and life is good. I had a much snazzier post written in my head, but it’s gone. Maybe some pics will help.