I went to school and had lunch with Josh today because it's his birthday. Having lunch with all those Kindergarteners sure was entertaining. They're so... wiggly! And happy! And talky!
And once again I was very impressed with the lunch ladies at Wea Ridge Elementary. They are so nice and helpful, and you can tell that they really care about the kids. They don't let the kids get away with anything, but they also provide lots of attention and help. They're great.
On the menu today was "Texas Straw Hats". Going in, I had no idea what these were or what to expect, but they turned out just to be something akin to nachos: tortilla chips, seasoned ground beef, and refried beans and a banana on the side. Looking down the long lunch table I noticed two things: all the kids get either chocolate milk or strawberry milk (not the boring "regular" milk), and none of the kids even touched their refried beans. None. Well, that's not true - the little hispanic boy who sat across from me took a few meager bites, but I suspect he's probably used to better at home. (What?! Not racist - just truth. Plus, I asked him. He said he "didn't like this [the school's] kind".)
My favorite part, though, came during a conversation with Josh about the recess that follows lunch. We were discussing what he usually does and what he had planned for that day. He was chattering on and then, out of the blue said:
"Well, first, at the beginning all the girls chase me around in circle. And I like it."
Oh Josh. My little six-year-old ladies' man!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
OId-Timey Jammies
We're at that time of year where it gets pretty cool at night and warm during the day. Layers are needed to be comfortable, but I always find it hard to get my kids to agree to dress in layers, so they're either too cold or too hot for part of the day. Oh well - it's hard to feel sorry for them when they show blatant disregard for my suggestions.
Anyway.
Tess is currently running low on jammies. This is because she's getting too big for her summer jammies but the winter jammies that she does fit into would be too hot right now. So I had a brilliant idea the other night as I gathered up some of the sleepers she had outgrown:
Yep. I just cut off the feet of the sleepers.
I was hesitant to do this at first, but then quickly got over it. Tess is definitely our last baby, and most of the toes in her sleepers were worn threw already.
At first I called them "homeless baby" jammies. But then Lance and I decided they look more like one of those old-timey swimming suits.
Oh, and ignore the poses from Tess. It was close to bedtime and she really wanted to be held - not pose for the camera. I'm pretty sure she doesn't really care what she wears to bed.
Anyway.
Tess is currently running low on jammies. This is because she's getting too big for her summer jammies but the winter jammies that she does fit into would be too hot right now. So I had a brilliant idea the other night as I gathered up some of the sleepers she had outgrown:
Yep. I just cut off the feet of the sleepers.
I was hesitant to do this at first, but then quickly got over it. Tess is definitely our last baby, and most of the toes in her sleepers were worn threw already.
At first I called them "homeless baby" jammies. But then Lance and I decided they look more like one of those old-timey swimming suits.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
First Hair Cut
Tess was looking like a shaggy dog, so last night I decided to trim her bangs. This was risky, as you never know how a baby's gonna react to a haircut.
I trimmed a good 1/2 to 1 inch off in some places. Not so bad, considering she did nothing but squirm and try to comb her hair!
She wouldn't smile for the camera, which I think is a little rude considering I just took care of the whole hair in the face and eyes problem she had going there.
I trimmed a good 1/2 to 1 inch off in some places. Not so bad, considering she did nothing but squirm and try to comb her hair!
She wouldn't smile for the camera, which I think is a little rude considering I just took care of the whole hair in the face and eyes problem she had going there.
Tess Workout
We have to wait a week or two to get the First Steps therapy sessions set up. But in the meantime I was told about several exercises we could have Tess do to help her increase her muscle tone.
One of them is to have her sit on this step stool and then have her bend down to pick things up. I have discovered that the only thing she will consistently bend down to pick up is fruit snacks. There are worse things she could demand, so I happily oblige.
Notice she has a fruit snack in each hand.
We also practice standing to sitting and sitting to standing. She doesn't like these exercises as much because they actually require work. She flopped away as soon as she could and Thing 3 quickly took her place. Geez, from this picture it looks like Thing 3 has a drinking problem.
We also have her stand with her back to the couch. If she stands with her tummy to the couch she knows she can easily flop down on her bum, but this way it's a face forward proposition - a bit scarier.
You want some of my fruit snacks, Cole? I don't think so!!
She'll stand here for a good long while, as long as I keep her distracted. But eventually she decides she's tired of standing and flops down and scoots away.
Not quite the Insanity workouts, but close! (In Tess's mind, at least!)
One of them is to have her sit on this step stool and then have her bend down to pick things up. I have discovered that the only thing she will consistently bend down to pick up is fruit snacks. There are worse things she could demand, so I happily oblige.
Notice she has a fruit snack in each hand.
We also practice standing to sitting and sitting to standing. She doesn't like these exercises as much because they actually require work. She flopped away as soon as she could and Thing 3 quickly took her place. Geez, from this picture it looks like Thing 3 has a drinking problem.
We also have her stand with her back to the couch. If she stands with her tummy to the couch she knows she can easily flop down on her bum, but this way it's a face forward proposition - a bit scarier.
You want some of my fruit snacks, Cole? I don't think so!!
She'll stand here for a good long while, as long as I keep her distracted. But eventually she decides she's tired of standing and flops down and scoots away.
Not quite the Insanity workouts, but close! (In Tess's mind, at least!)
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Cole and Preschool
When people ask about Cole's first day of preschool I always say the same thing: it could have been better, but it also could have been worse.
When I picked him up that day the teachers pulled me aside to let me know how Cole had done. He had cried for quite a while after I left. He eventually got over it, but would start crying again any time anyone brought attention to him. He wouldn't sit on his mat, but he did participate in all the activities. Unfortunately, he also tried to hit a couple of kids while on the mat.
Yes. I'm that mom. The mom of the hitter.
Oy.
He came home very happy about the whole experience, though, and talked and talked about it. Until he passed out in my bed, that is.
The child was exhausted.
Yesterday we walked to preschool. It's only about 1.2 miles from our house, so it was a pleasant - if rather muggy - walk. The whole way there Cole kept talking about preschool and cars and more preschool and such. In other words, he seemed quite excited to be going. He had his backpack and everything.
And then we got there and he freaked out again. His teacher had to pry him from me, because he was clinging to my legs like a little rhesus monkey.
Fortunately, he did better the second day. Not perfect, of course, but better. He even got a stamp on his hand, which means his caterpillar stayed in the "good zone". (That's their good behavior gauge/incentive.) He passed out for a couple hours again that afternoon. Maybe they do cardio for the 2 1/2 hours they're there?
I suspect that once Cole gets used to the routine he'll do fine in preschool. Hopefully. Maybe. Please? I have no illusions that he'll become the perfect pupil - that's just not his style. But if we can just socialize him enough to get a stamp on his hand 90% of the time, I'll be a happy momma.
The preschool asked the parents to create a scrapbook page for each child. I'm sure there will be grand and glorious hand-made pages. Me? I totally did mine on the computer. Because I don't have the time nor the inclination to do something like this by hand. So here's mine.
Cole liked it - "Hey, that's Mr. Cole!" - so that's good enough for me!
When I picked him up that day the teachers pulled me aside to let me know how Cole had done. He had cried for quite a while after I left. He eventually got over it, but would start crying again any time anyone brought attention to him. He wouldn't sit on his mat, but he did participate in all the activities. Unfortunately, he also tried to hit a couple of kids while on the mat.
Yes. I'm that mom. The mom of the hitter.
Oy.
He came home very happy about the whole experience, though, and talked and talked about it. Until he passed out in my bed, that is.
The child was exhausted.
Yesterday we walked to preschool. It's only about 1.2 miles from our house, so it was a pleasant - if rather muggy - walk. The whole way there Cole kept talking about preschool and cars and more preschool and such. In other words, he seemed quite excited to be going. He had his backpack and everything.
And then we got there and he freaked out again. His teacher had to pry him from me, because he was clinging to my legs like a little rhesus monkey.
Fortunately, he did better the second day. Not perfect, of course, but better. He even got a stamp on his hand, which means his caterpillar stayed in the "good zone". (That's their good behavior gauge/incentive.) He passed out for a couple hours again that afternoon. Maybe they do cardio for the 2 1/2 hours they're there?
I suspect that once Cole gets used to the routine he'll do fine in preschool. Hopefully. Maybe. Please? I have no illusions that he'll become the perfect pupil - that's just not his style. But if we can just socialize him enough to get a stamp on his hand 90% of the time, I'll be a happy momma.
The preschool asked the parents to create a scrapbook page for each child. I'm sure there will be grand and glorious hand-made pages. Me? I totally did mine on the computer. Because I don't have the time nor the inclination to do something like this by hand. So here's mine.
Cole liked it - "Hey, that's Mr. Cole!" - so that's good enough for me!
Heard At Our House This Morning
Me: COLE!!! We do NOT trap our baby sister under a laundry basket!!!
*I pull Cole off of the laundry basket and rescue a howling Tess.*
Tess: WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! NOOO! WAAAAAAHHH!!! THANK YOU!! WOOF WOOF!!
Apparently Tess isn't quite clear on what to say when you're distressed.
It's only 8:34am. Something tells me it's gonna be a long day.
*I pull Cole off of the laundry basket and rescue a howling Tess.*
Tess: WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! NOOO! WAAAAAAHHH!!! THANK YOU!! WOOF WOOF!!
Apparently Tess isn't quite clear on what to say when you're distressed.
It's only 8:34am. Something tells me it's gonna be a long day.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
First Steps!
Nope, Tess STILL is not walking. Which is why we have called in the good people from First Steps to help us out.
Tess had her evaluation today and the therapists decided that Tess has low muscle tone. And because of this she's super-duper-crazy flexible. And because of these two things, it's gonna be harder for her to learn to stand and walk than for other babies. (They couldn't say if this is why she scoots more than crawls. It might be that she decided to scoot because she had low muscle tone, but then again, she might have low muscle tone because she decided to scoot instead of crawl. Hardly matters at this point.)
So they have decided that Tess will have a therapist come and work with her until we have this girl moving. We joked before that Tess was just unmotivated and lazy, but she did things today that she never did with Lance and I! So we know that she's willing to work and try things - just not for mom and dad. This is actually fairly common in babies/toddlers. (Lance and I figured this before, but it's nice to have it confirmed by professionals.)
So, time to start workin', Tess! We're gonna work those muscles and get you strong and get you moving!
And in a few months, the next time I post about first steps it will be about Tess actually taking her first steps!
Tess had her evaluation today and the therapists decided that Tess has low muscle tone. And because of this she's super-duper-crazy flexible. And because of these two things, it's gonna be harder for her to learn to stand and walk than for other babies. (They couldn't say if this is why she scoots more than crawls. It might be that she decided to scoot because she had low muscle tone, but then again, she might have low muscle tone because she decided to scoot instead of crawl. Hardly matters at this point.)
So they have decided that Tess will have a therapist come and work with her until we have this girl moving. We joked before that Tess was just unmotivated and lazy, but she did things today that she never did with Lance and I! So we know that she's willing to work and try things - just not for mom and dad. This is actually fairly common in babies/toddlers. (Lance and I figured this before, but it's nice to have it confirmed by professionals.)
So, time to start workin', Tess! We're gonna work those muscles and get you strong and get you moving!
And in a few months, the next time I post about first steps it will be about Tess actually taking her first steps!
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