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Little Brothers

Yesterday, while at his sitter’s house, Ben got a time out for playing in the toilet … right after Tabby had peed. Yea, lovely, I know. So while serving his time out he got a little bored … and hungry, apparently.

Lucky for him, sissy had done an art project at school where she used fruit loops to make her initials on a paper plate. I might add that she GLUED these (apparently stale) fruit loops on the plate.

School glue, however, is no match for Ben. He made short work of Tabby’s art project.YUM.

Tabby was pretty kind about it, actually. I think, though she wouldn’t admit it, that she thought it was as funny as the rest of us did. She said what she always does when Ben does something like this, in her best exasperated voice, “Little brothers!”

 

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This is What it Has Come To

A friend sent me a text (at 9:30 PM, no less) last night, wanting to see if I want to run a 10mile race with her on Sept 5 (i.e. less than two weeks from now). And of course, I said yes. I’m probably slightly mental and a bit sleep deprived, or maybe bolstered by the excellent run I had yesterday (4 mi). Or perhaps I was drunk on the chocolate frosting I nicked out of the bowl while making b’day cupcakes for my dad. Take your pick.

Anyhow. The kids started gymnastics last night. The class officially started last week, but we went to a going-away party for my cousin instead. Tabby is probably the oldest kid in the class. I put her in level 1 so I could just take them to one class. There’s not a LOT of difference, but there’s some. Mostly in how the kids behave. Ben is one of the youngest. He just runs around in circles and makes excellent use of the bouncy floor. And spring board. And anything to climb on. He genuinely seems to WANT to listen and “be good” but the urge to MOVE is great in this one. And even if Tabby is a bit advanced for the rest of the class, she’s having a great time being with her brother and advising anyone who will stand still long enough to listen.

I have been reading a lot. I am working my way slowly through JD Robb (Nora Roberts)’s “In Death” series. They are nice kind of fun reads, but formulaic enough that they don’t really stand out in my mind. The two most awesome books I’ve read recently are Nurture Shock and Bossypants.

Nurtureshock is about all the findings over the last 20 yrs or so about how kids learn and grow and develop. It is incredibly interesting and useful information and I highly recommend it to ALL parents and caregivers. We also learned that the curriculum our public schools use for the preschoolers and kindergartners is a really really well respected curriculum with amazing results and bragging rights. It’s called Tools of the Mind (check out the website, it’s got great info) and I’ve started implementing some of the ideas it uses with Tabby when we’re at home, including play plans (where the kids write out what they’re going to do during playtime) and buddy-reading (we read a book to Tabby and then she “reads” it back to us).

Bossypants on the other hand is its own kind of great information. It’s Tina Fey’s extremely funny book. Sort of part biography, part show-biz anecdotes and part life lessons (many learned from Lorne Michaels). It’s short, sweet and made me laugh out loud at least 10x as I read it. Excellent photos as well.

I have about 6 actual paper books in my queue right now, one on running, two dealing with nutrition and kicking the sugar habit (see reference to chocolate frosting drunkenness above), one about two society girls who came to the CO frontier to teach around the turn of the century, and a couple of new cookbooks plus about 10 magazines I haven’t cracked yet. I plan to drag them with me this weekend and see if I can make a dent.

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A Long Strange Trip

So a funny thing happened on the way to the airport. Well I guess technically it was the days leading up to our flight. Matt’s stepmom mentioned something about our flight being at 10AM. I knew it was a morning flight and this seemed about right to me, though I thought it was a smidge earlier. But when we checked in online and printed our boarding passes the night before both Matt and I looked at our flight times and sure enough … right there it said 10:49am.

Upon arriving at the airport, we tried to log in and check our bags and got errors. The clerk informed us after some back-and-forth that our flight was actually at 9 AM and we had just missed (by minutes, I swear!!) our cutoff for putting our luggage on the flight, and ourselves as well it seems. No amount of cajoling, crying, etc. mattered. We could NOT get on that flight. Since we’d already checked in and it was just a matter of our bags, it was pretty irritating, especially since, as I noted later, they’re happy for your bags to be on a different flight if it suits them, but if you make the mistake, you are screwed.

Quadrupling our mistake was the fact that we were 1) a family of four 2) flying on a holiday weekend. Standby was not much of an option since they predicted they could get us on basically one at a time, maybe two. And the idea of hanging out in the airport all weekend to see who stupidly missed their flight (like us) with two little kids already at the end of their vacation rope was not much appealing. We could also pay fare-difference and fly as a family on Monday for around $600, but as we were already packed up and ready to go, heading back to Matt’s parents’ house, unpacking, etc. etc. was pretty depressing, especially since we’d miss the whole weekend and all the time we needed to get ready to go back to work.

We checked out other airlines which were either entirely unavailable or ridiculous (thousands for us to fly on such short notice, one-way). So we hit on a slightly crazy idea … rent a car and drive back. For around $400 (though I think once all fees, etc. were paid, it was closer to $500) we could rent a car, drive back and be home the next day. It wasn’t a cheaper option, but it was in many ways a more palatable option. We’ve done the trip many times before and it’s all easy-interstate. Everything was packed and we could just go from the airport and head out.

So … we did. We did a long stop-over in Paducah, KY for lunch at a Chick-fil-A with a play center and a stop at Walmart for various other provisions. $90 netted us a portable DVD player with two screens and that plus the $10 copy of Scooby Doo, Where are You?? we picked up, plus some various other bribes, kept the kids happy for MANY hours. We grabbed some road-trip food and an insulated bag so we had snacks. We made stops here and there for traffic and gas and … POTTY/diaper breaks.

We made our best time after rush hour and when the kids were sleeping, so we pushed through to Hays, KS and stayed at the dubious Days Inn, home of the worst shower I’ve ever had. The next day after our continental breakfast and another 5 hours in the car, we finally made it to the Denver International Airport and returned our car.

Matt and I are both still FLOORED at how amazing the kids were. Of course possibly watching mommy lose her sh*t in the Nashville Airport impressed upon them the gravity of the situation. Or maybe they were so engrossed in Scooby Doo they just didn’t care. But they were amazingly good. The road trip overall was kind of fun in a weird way. It felt sort of like we were back in college again and someone had dropped two unsuspecting children into our back seat.

Of course it’s much easier to be Zen about all this now, but we definitely made some lemonade and dealt with the situation pretty well. As we kept saying, it could have been much worse. We decided there were four people on standby who needed to get to Denver for whatever reason much more urgently than us. And we’ve got 4 flight credits on Frontier for our next trip. That said, not something I’m keen to do again in a big hurry.

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Ben at 26 Months

I love this kid. He is so … fun! Crazy! Loud! Granted it’s not all sunshine and roses. He can throw hellacious fits. He is stubborn beyond all reason and those lungs … they are impressive. But just a couple months into his third year, he is still very happy to snuggle while he drinks some milk or gets around to waking up. He will make a little nest in the middle of the floor with his “wees” (blankets, in Benjeese – short, we’ve discovered, for “lovie”) and cuddle up in it.

But in between, he is on the go. He currently sports scabs from head to toe. He has several bug bites all around his face that have been scratched. He has a cut on his lip from a fall and twin scrapes on his arms from the same fall as well as one on his knee from this fall plus several more from other falls. There are a host of other scratches I have no idea from what. Most of the time he doesn’t cry about his little mishaps or indicate in any way that he is hurt and so I have no idea.

He is talking a blue streak and we are understanding more and more of it. He is not super articulate yet, but he definitely gets his point across. To get our attention at dinner the other night, he would scream, at the top of his lungs, “GUYS!” until everyone turned to look at him. When bouncing on the bed and doing his tricks, he would say, “Mommy, this! Nana, this! Gaga, this!” which meant he wanted us to “watch this!” He and Tabby have been playing a sing-along game in the car. She sings a bit from a song and then allows him to fill in a word here or there. He does remarkably well and seems to know just about every song his beloved “Sissy!” sings. The two of them doing this is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. He has also figured out that all of his people have other names they respond to, so he will repeatedly say, “Mommy, Jess! Daddy, Matt!” and when prompted, “Sissy, Tabby” except that his “Tabby” doesn’t really sound much like Tabby but more like “Cappie!”

He loves to play with cars and anything he can pound together, including his Buzz and Woody action figures. “Buzz fly!!” is one of his favorite things to say. Buzz does indeed fly. And crashes a lot. He loves to get out blocks or legos, but doesn’t always build much with them. He seems to prefer spilling them out and sending them to the far reaching corners of the room. He will pick them up when asked, however. Story time is a huge thing for him and if he’s having trouble going to sleep, we can often get him to settle down by leaning into his crib and reading him a short book. He loves Daddy Hugs, Hippos Go Berzerk and anything Curious George.

He is still in his crib. Despite the fact that I’m sure he could climb out, he’s shown no interest in doing so. I am really glad since I’m sure he’ll be harder to contain when he’s not in the crib. He genuinely seems to like his crib, like it’s his little den. He’s got all manner of blankets and critters in there and when we remove some, he puts them back in. So peeking down on him sleeping is a bit like a nursery school version of Where’s Waldo … you have to find Ben amidst the blankies and animals. Whereas Tabby kicks off all of her covers, Ben cuddles up under his blankies, sometimes covering his head with just his little nose and mouth peeking out.

He is so much fun and I am really enjoying this stage of him. He’s an amazing joy and blessing.

 

Weight: 31 lbs
Height: would have to measure the mark on the kitchen wall, but he’s grown about 5 inches in the past 7 months and gained no weight … he’s currently about 4 inches shorter than big sis
Clothes: wears size 2T mostly and whereas last summer I thought he was about to outgrow them, I now have to cinch them in or they fall down! Diapers are a 4-5
Favorite book: Daddy Hugs wins out
Favorite movie: Buzz!! (Toy Story 1, 2 or 3)
Favorite food: cantelope
Favorite toy: Buzz and Woody

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That’s My BOY!

I’ve said many times over that one of the best things about having more than one kid is comparing and contrasting them. I don’t mean this in a “your sister would never do that!” sort of way. I mean in an it’s fascinating to see how they’re different sort of way. Obviously they both share the same two people’s DNA and they’re raised by the same two people, but nonetheless, they’re amazingly dissimilar. In some ways it makes me want to have another just to see another interesting and amazing permutation.

I honestly used to think that all differences between boys and girls were the result of socialization. I still believe that certain things are but there is absolutely no denying the BOYNESS of my boy. At 9 months old, he was saying “vrooooom!” as he raced a car, a block, nearly anything across the floor. He has had incredible aim when throwing since about 10 months old. He walked at 10 months and ran shortly after. He conquered the water slide a full two years before his cautious sister. He climbs EVERYTHING and turns our living room into an obstacle course. He loves to be dirty. He learned to slide out the back end of his plasma car while going top speed in my dad’s garage. I expect him any day to run out back and fire up the grill.

After all, he has a penchant for cooking as well. Check this out:

Continue reading “That’s My BOY!”

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Val-deri, Val-dera!

It was a busy weekend (duh – aren’t they all?). One thing we did was spend our Saturday morning in the mountains (foothills). We went on one of our favorite local hikes, Corwina Park.

I am particularly fond of this hike because it’s beautiful and very shady. There’s a lovely little stream running by the side of the trail for the first half of the trek and then when you get to the top, you get a beautiful view. As an added bonus, the parking lot has access to a river, so we can toss Loki in and get him clean(er).

Tabby and Ben both love to hike. Ben got so excited when Matt pulled out the backpack I thought he’d explode before we could get him in the car. Tabby hikes all on her own now and is an incredibly good hiker for the most part. The rest can be coaxed along with a snack here and there. I packed the applesauce in the tube I got from Costco this go-around and that was a major hit.

A couple of Tabby’s comments from hiking today:

“I wish Ben was big enough to walk and I could ride in the backpack.”

“I think Loki might go feral!” (We had just had a lengthy discussion on the difference between “wild” and “feral.”)

As as an added incentive/reward for good hiking, Matt purchased her her very own CamelBak.

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Two Cute

It’s official! My baby is TWO. How did this happen so quickly?? I blinked and here we are. Well enough waxing nostalgic, here’s the skinny on Ben’s birthday.

For one of only TWO TIMES likely to occur in his lifetime, Ben’s birthday fell on Easter. The next time this is supposed to happen isn’t until 2095 on his 86th birthday. He woke up early and got to check out his Easter basket. He was happy with the books, but THRILLED with the teeny trains. He also got to open a new book from Grandma Dorothy, Goodnight Train.

After that, we packed everyone off to my parents’ house. The kids got to hang out with Grammy and Papa while Matt and Kelly and I went for a run. I have run on both of Ben’s birthdays, but last year it was my first half marathon. Weird. This time it was just 6 miles at a nice clip.

After showers, etc. we went to Gigi’s house to meet up with the entire extended family. Breakfast was delayed and so while he waited, Ben got to open a gift from my parents and Kelly, a play set for cars with tons of ramps. He was something of a fan.

[flickr float=”right” size=”small”]5653693660[/flickr]After breakfast, we did our annual Easter Egg hunt. It took Ben a few to get the hang of things, then he was an avid egg-hunter within minutes. He even took to grabbing pine cones (one of his favorite projectiles) off the ground and stashing them in his basket. It was a super great game for him. But his favorite thing of all were the cascarones my Aunt Peggy always makes. They are blown out eggs filled with confetti and Ben was THRILLED to see them being smashed on others’ heads or on his own, cheering and reveling in the confetti downpour.

Because clearly we hadn’t had enough sweets, following the egg hunt (and some other misc. time elapsing activities), we brought out the cupcakes. I made angel food decked out with cool whip and strawberries since berries are on of Ben’s favorite foods. They turned out well if a little more done on the bottom than normal.

After some more playing, we headed for home. Ben got to hang around and watch a new DVD, eat some more berries, and play with Sissy before taking a Skype call with his grandparents in Nashville. After his evening bottle of milk he went to sleep pretty easily … a happy, darling little guy.

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Big Birthday Bash Recap

Saturday was THE DAY – the kid’s big birthday bash. It was incredibly fun, terribly exhausting and also probably way too expensive, but as I have promised myself, we do not (WILL NOT) do this every year. And it was a great time and overall SO WORTH IT.

I will do a recap Tonia style here …

The Good

  • The AMAZING HELP Our family was so instrumental in getting all of this done you can’t even imagine. My mom hung with me all day Friday buying food and then prepping it and my sister joined in on that action as well and BOTH helped out at the party (my mom hardly left the kitchen). My dad did balloon and ice pickup and helped with the whole party. Our best friends, M&H and their boys were there for the long haul and helped out hugely from setup to cleanup. And my aunt and uncle did tons in the way of help during and afterward. We seriously could not have pulled it off without everyone’s help!
  • The Photo Booth The photo booth Matt and I built was awesome. EVERYONE loved it. It performed just as it should and everyone got some really great souvenirs from the party. It was a huge hit and folks want to rent it from us! Ha! Here’s the jist of it: we built a surround out of standard 1×1 boards for frame and thin sanded plywood in between – including a bench which my mom and sister upholstered and a shelf on the opposite side. We put a laptop running Sparkbooth inside and a printer printing the results outside. We used a couple of gooseneck lamps for light and had a curtain (stolen from Ben’s room) on the outside to keep out interference. We went through some ink and paper, but otherwise, it ran so smoothly and we barely did anything.
  • Costumes As I mentioned before, the theme was pirates and mermaids. Both kids had costumes that I just loved. Tabby’s came from a local costume shop and was around $35 (she wanted it badly and she has promised she’ll want it for Halloween too). Ben’s came from Amazon and cost me under $7. Hehe. I really loved it and he wore it all day after a pack of fruit snack bribery. Quite a few of the kids came in costume too which was SO MUCH FUN.
  • The WeatherIt was a beautiful day and so the porch on the back of the space was much utilized and loved. My brilliant sister even took the kids outside to eat their cupcakes (probably singlehandedly saving our cleaning deposit). We also got to do the treasure hunt game out there.
  • Treasure Hunt We filled a small (3′) kiddie pool with sand and hid stuff in there (pirate spy glasses, pirate finger puppets, candy, pirate girl bracelets) and then lined up the kids and let them hunt for 3 things each. We probably could have done five.
  • The Food (type) We did KID food for the party: cheese & crackers, fruit, M&Ms, Pirate Booty, hummus & veggie and of course … Pigs in a Blanket. We cut hotdogs into fourths and made 8 trays of mini pigs-in-a-blanket. They went over quite well.
  • The Venue I loved using the HOA common space. It was close and so easy to run back and grab candles (which we forgot/lost) and it was large (including the kitchen) and felt homey and comfortable. It was also really priced well at $40/hour.
  • Presents We made the decision to request no presents for a variety of reasons, but besides the obvious,  the number of people we wanted to invite would have made presents fill up the playroom and also we invited a lot of common friends but then a bunch of friends from Tabby’s school who are solely hers and I didn’t want them in the position of feeling like they needed to bring Ben a gift as well to keep things fair. Mostly, people honored our request and those that didn’t were very low key and respectful about it. The kids received mostly cards and a few gift cards (they LOVED $5 giftcards to the ice cream shop in our neighborhood) and one of Tabby’s classmates brought her an especially pretty balloon with his card. They also got just a few toys, plenty to make them feel like they had a birthday.

The Bad

  • Food (quantity) I am LOUSY at guessing food quantities for something like this and Matt is worse. ;)We had WAY too much except for the pigs-in-a-blanket. We will be noshing on leftover party food all week.
  • The Cucpakes I made a chocolate version of the strawberry milk cupcakes and they were good, just not GREAT in the same way the strawberry milk cupcakes were. But everyone liked them well enough. I also didn’t have to decorate them … just stuck some little plastic guys on top.
  • Crafts I had quite a few crafty things for the kids to do … picture frames ($2.50/doz @ Oriental Trading), necklaces, art station, etc. and they hardly got used. Some kids towards the end when they’d expended most of their energy did do some, but overall it was kind of wasted. As my mom pointed out though, if the weather had been crappy it might have been a different story.
  • Decorations This is just not my thing. I would always rather spend $$ on food and fun than decorations that don’t last. The room is also so large that any decorations kind of get lost in it. We did balloons and a huge pirate flag over the fireplace. They were fun but didn’t really change the character of the room.

The Ugly

  • Photos I was terrible about photos!! I didn’t even get a picture of the completed photo booth (I can’t believe it!!). I did OK with a few snippets here and there, but overall awful. I’m still quite mad at myself about this.
  • Cost I will not go into what everything cost, but I know we spent a bundle. It could have been way worse, but it was bad enough. Still, we can afford it and I wouldn’t change it. It was worth it.

Yesterday was 90% about relaxing and we definitely needed it. Tabby’s birthday is officially over. Ben will be our Easter Birthday Boy this weekend. Then, I think, we really are done.