I think it's official

Ruby's a walker! Still a little shaky, and still will stop, drop and crawl, but she's walking more and more.

Is this really bloggable?

So last night, on my way home, I thought to myself, should I blog this? And my answer is, yes. I am going to call this, "a night in the life."

Left work after 4:30. Trucked it to the parking ramp to leave. Got to school to pick up Max. Had to sign a sheet and answer questions because of an "incident" in the morning. Peeked at his calendar to see that he had earned a sad face for the day. Take a look at Max and realize he has had a close call at somepoint in the day making it to the bathroom. We leave and head to pick up Cooper and Ruby. All seems well at this point. Get to the Y, and race to the front door (Max and I occasionally will race to the front door of the Y or his school) Max selects a "human body" book from the books they are selling and sits in the lobby of the childcare center to peruse. I go in to pick up Ruby. She walks to me!(very shaky but probably 15+ steps!) She seems tired. Get her in her jacket and ready to go. Walk down to pick up Cooper. Ben, one of the part-timer's tells me that Cooper had a great day. (Awesome, I think to myself!) But, then, he quickly turns. I do manage to get his coat and hat on, but he is very set on playing with the cash register in his classroom. I use all my "tricks" to try and get him moving along, but it's not going well. He comes into the hallway and instead of taking a left to leave, he took a right. So now I'm standing in front of Cooper's room with both boys at opposite ends of the hallway. Lovely. After a while of trying to talk through it, I went down towards Max and left Ruby with him--still both in my eyesight, walked down to Cooper and gave him the choice to walk or be carried. Carrying Cooper down the hallway I gave him one more opportunity to change his mind and walk (thank goodness he said yes. There have been times when I have carried them both out.) Now he is walking but also whining the whole way out to the car. we all get to the car. I get all three buckled in. Need gas. Make it to the gas station, Ruby fell asleep and Max wants to go in to the gas station to get something to eat. Sorry buddy, not tonight. "NO Fair!" Back in the car on our way home. Hop back on the highway and call Mommy to give her the lowdown. Hang up quickly because Cooper's having a loud meltdown (right next to sleeping child) about his seatbelt being too tight. Stop in the Famous Dave's parking lot. "Are we eating at a restonk?" asks Cooper. No, I just stopped to fix your seatbelt. As I'm fixing his buckle. Max, "I have to go potty really bad." I've learned, that when he says that, he means it. So, I try to hide the fact that my kid is going pee in the parking lot. We get back on the road and Cooper starts using his pen as a gun. Not in a nice way. I personally have really had enough of the gun phase, but realize that we're probably only beginning. . . I start talking about how guns hurt people or kill people and that Mommy and I really don't like guns. Good thing we've been reading lots of Thanksgiving books that talk about hunting for fish and food. Cooper piped in about them shot-ing the deer. So, that prompted a conversation about hunting. I told them that we know some people who hunt, and some that don't. I also described that when you hunt, you sit and wait, quietly, you can't talk or eat or move, and if a deer comes close enough, you get maybe one chance to shoot it, that you don't go there and shoot and shoot. Hopefully, it sobered them a little on the gun/hunting/killing. We also talked about Max's homework. He had to count how many doors we have in our house. We're now home and in the house. Eating dinner Max told Cooper he wasn't acting "appropriately." (secretly I was wowed that he used that word) After dinner we read 3-4 books and headed upstairs. Got pj's on, brushed teeth, and jumped on our bed for bedtime books. Then, Mommy came home. . . .ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I think I'll post a night in the life from time to time, just for posterity.

gifting. . .

We've decided to adopt a new gift-giving approach for our kids and are really looking forward to the discussions it will bring.

One tag we'll be adding to this will be "give."

And of course, provided they've been good, Santa might also stop by. . .

Fall/Halloween 2009

On being 1

Our beauty. . . little Ruby.

Just last weekend in church, we saw this little baby become a little toddler. All of a sudden, it's fun to play around with her brothers. Patting them on the back. Talking to them. Shrieking at them. And of course, following them around the house.

Growth: You've got 5 official teeth. 3 on top, 2 on bottom. Half of your top one year molars are through, and you have two other teeth that are itchin' to come out. You're not quite 30 inches and have just eeked over 20 lbs. We've decided that it's time for you to move on up to the next step in car seats. You seem to go into this car seat better than your bucket(for about the last 2 months you've been arching your back and seriously objecting to it.)

Development: You still only say a few recognizable words, best are MaMa and mo' (more), however you talk and sing a lot. You also screech. You like books. You like music--you dance and rock to music. Your favorite toy at school is a maraca. Seriously, you have laid claim to that toy.At home you like to play with the stacking cups, the musical instruments(you've been drumming with drumsticks for months), you also like balls. You can point to noses, but won't always do so on command. You have taken more steps on your own but I still would not consider you to be a "walker." You can drink from a sippy cup with ease, although sometimes you protest. You have your own opinion!!

Pictures taken on and around her birthday. . .

In tears. . . .

I know I have so much to catch up on, but this needs to be out there right away. At this moment, I couldn't be happier. Max has had a good day every day this week. This exerpt is part of a dialogue I had with his teacher today:

"
Yes, this has been his best week yet. I hope he can make it today with another smile too! I am so proud of him! Our occupational therapist says the "tackling" is done when a child is seeking sensory input. She suggested having him do some yoga poses, wall pushing, carrying "heavy things" etc. I got out a weighted vest out for him and he "loves" to wear it..... it seems to help him too. He knows several of the yoga poses that we have learned.....the seal, turtle, tree etc."

and then this:

"
I also am glad we have turned the corner with Max. I could see his good side before too but now it is even more obvious. He is really a very bright kid. The other day we went on a walking field trip to look at houses. Max was the child who noticed the the address numbers were close to each other or almost the same. Wow, no one has ever noticed that and I have done the walk for several years. We see him using manners, polite words etc and "teaching" other kids by telling kids how others will feel etc. if they do something wrong. Thanks to the two of you for helping me, help Max."

Wow.

Translation.

Ever since Max has started Kindergarten, we've been learning lots of new things.

Mostly it's been words and different languages. Cooper's even been getting into it.

Cooper: "Mee(ni) hao--what dat mean?"

Me:"Hello in Chinese."

Cooper:"Oh--Mee Hao"

At the dinner table:

Cooper: What dat in ine-aggage (sign language)?
Me: Yogurt? Hmm, I don't know, I'd have to look that one up.
Cooper: I tink it dis (making motions with his hands)

Ruby is Rosie

So it turns out Ruby did not have H1N1, she had/has Roseola. Our first big clue is the full body rash she's sportin' today.

Good news is she's fine and the rash will work it's way out of her system soon.

Flu Watch 2009

We are currently monitoring Ruby for symptoms of H1N1.

She's definitely been exposed. Cooper's entire classroom has gotten sick with the exception of Cooper and one of his teachers.

She's been spiking 103 fevers off and on, and just seems generally ill.

My poor sweet babe.

Empathy and unbelievable. . . .

Yesterday I got a hug from Max's teacher. Because he had a FANTASTIC day! --Unbelievable

Yesterday, Ruby had her 1 year check up. She weighed a whopping 20 lbs 6 ounces. Considering where she had been regarding her weight, this was cause for celebration. She once was not even on the growth charts and now is hovering in the 50th percentile! --Unbelievable

Yesterday, Ruby had some vaccinations. Max got teary-eyed. We then went for family flu shots. I went first. When we asked who should go next the boys both offered up Mommy. After that they were calling each others names to go next. Max was very brave and took his shot in the arm like a pro while Cooper tried to become one with the corner of the room. Cooper put up quite a protest, but what struck us even more, was how visibly upset it was making Max. "He doesn't want it. MaMa, Cooper is scared, he is frightened. He doesn't want it," etc. All with a strong sense of urgency. --Empathy

I know, I still owe you photos. . . .

O-yeah

Two things. . .

1. Last night Ruby took five wobbly steps to me unassisted!

2. Last week Wednesday, I was at school picking up Max. They were outside on the playground. There were other older kids there for an afterschool program. The PE teacher came up to me and introduced himself. Ahh, the infamous Mr. O. He then proceeded to shower praise and compliments about Max. "What a neat kid. He is so fun to watch! Last Wednesday I was here for the after school program playing Kickball. Max joined us, and wow, he really knew what he was doing. He was running the bases, knew how to round second, and when someone came after him with the ball, he slid back to second. I have second-graders who can't play this game. He is by far ahead of any benchmarks for a Kindergartener. He's going to be a mover!" He also talked about how well he does in PE, and that he was talking to Max and Max was telling him that he's learning about football right now. It was nice to hear such positive feedback.

(We can't take all the credit, but. . . .not bad for a couple of girls!!!)

The Party's Over. . .

We've finished up our First Birthday Extravaganza!!

Ruby turned one at 3:14 am Thursday am. Interestingly, I was awake at that time. Woke up at 3:07. What an incredible moment her birth was.

Thursday evening we had our "in town family" over for a celebration. Ruby was happy and full of shreiks(her current form of communication). She was passed around and was challenged to take some steps--she did eek out a few off-balance steps! (We still think it will be a couple of weeks before she'll officially be walking--and that is fine by us!) She enjoyed some pumpkin soup and banana before literally tearing into her cake (pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting). She needed no encouragement and dug right in. She LOVED it!

She did decided to party like a rockstar and stay up until after 2 in the am. I was dragging!

Next was a visit from Grandma and Grandpa. It was great to have them over for a sleepover.

On Saturday we had another Birthday gathering with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Susan, Uncle Mike, Jackson and Gina. She again had no problems polishing off a cupcake. On this day, Oct. 17th, Ruby stood up in the middle of a room without holding on to anything/anyone!

Yesterday we took her to the park to snap some 1 year old photos. Trying to capture the essence of Ruby. Her eyes, lashes, scrunched up nose, big "chicklet" teeth, happy, sweet, self that she is.

Pictures to come. . . .

Speaking of Tootle

I've always thought that Max is smart. This morning, he proved this again. Mr. Smart T. Pants.
So, we've got stop signs on virtually everything. Even the pumpkins and gord decorations in the dining room because--if it doesn't have a stop sign--it's fair game.

Who would have thought to put stop signs on chairs? This morning, he collected some kids chairs and formed them into a train. Instant entertainment. So--is this plan even going to work for us? He's just going to invent things to play with.

Pulling out all the stops

Max has been in school for six weeks. We are still encountering behavior issues. Not listening, disregarding classroom rules, being silly/goofy, etc. We've tried lots of different approaches. None have been successful enough to get him through just one day. (with the exception of my birthday. . . that was his best day in school!) He's had a really hard time with Eli. Sometimes he joins Eli, sometimes he is doing what Eli suggests to him, and some other times, I think he's trying to get Eli to laugh. Whatever the case may be, the honeymoon is over, and we all think it's time for Max to start developing what our good friend dubbed "the stop and think muscle." The thing is, we all know how smart Max is, and he knows that all of these choices he is making are not appropriate and not ok.

So, our house is full of stop signs. Max can earn back areas or toys by having good days as deemed by his teacher. The house kind of reminds me of the book Tootle and the "stopping for the red flag waving" scenario where they filled the field with red flags to get Tootle to stop playing with the buttercups. . .

It's going to be fun having everyone over for Ruby's birthday and having to explain all the stop signs around the house!

Blog silence

Sorry for the silence. Just wrapped up in life.

Max continues to struggle with erratic behavior. Actually, we're all struggling with it. Who took our child, and when will they bring him back?

Cooper is charming. He is even trying to help Max. "Maxth, Maxth, next time you see Eli. You just walk away. ok?" He is still loving to be a puppy. Either a fire station puppy, Biscut or Akiak. Akiak is a dog from a book that we read. The boys like me to read it to them because it makes me cry. He wakes in the morning barking like a dog.

Ruby is recovering. She was sick last week and since then, has been pretty selective about what she will eat. She will not eat highly textured foods. She has skipped many meals but her buddah belly will fool you to think she hasn't missed a single meal.

Denial

I think I'm in a state of denial that Ruby will be 1 on the 15th of October. How could it be? And yet, she is wowing us with her cruising and cupboard unloading skillz. She LOVES to unload.

It's fun to watch (only at red lights of course) the three of them in the back of the car on the way home. Oh, yes, it's mayhem most days, but there are moments of loveliness. When the boys are giggling at what Ruby's doing or vice versa. She's not one to keep quiet either, if the boys have done her wrong, we all know it. She also likes to shriek when wanting more of something. She can say more and sign it, but will often times resort to the shriek if not immediately serviced. . . .an impatient little one. . . .

Speaking of little, it seems to us that she is no longer little. With chubber cheeks and thick thighs she's packing it on. . . originally I was hoping that she would exceed 18 lbs. I'm not worried about that happening! We're officially in size 3 diapers now!

She still has 2 top and 2 bottom teeth, although based on our nights we are anticipating a couple to break through on top. Please. Soon.

What a joy you are Ruby.

End of the Innocence?

Conversation yesterday on the way home. . . .
(you all know that Eli is the less-than-stellar-classmate, right?)

Max: You know what Eli did today?

Me: What did he do?

Max: He kicked Matthew in the nucks.

Me: (after much self-chuckling) What are the nucks?

Max: You know, your penis and your butt. . . .

Swirling thoughts about the Kindergarten Transition

So, after my last post about Max having a great day--he had his worst day. Argh.

One of his choices even landed him in the principal's office.

Since this is a journal, I'm going to do my best to document things for, ahem, posterity's sake.

Since Max has started Kindergarten, we've begun to learn and understand more, and at the same time, wonder more about what makes Max tick.

We know that Max loves to learn. Whenever he is actively learning or engaged in something, he is at his best, and probably the happiest. He loves time in the LMC, PE class, Music, Art, as well as any learning time in the classroom. He also likes to spend time outside. So really, there are lots of times when Max is at his best.

The challenging times for Max are when he is left to observe and investigate others and their actions. Mostly imitating behaviors, and sometimes doing these things on his own. He is in command of the rules of the classroom, but does not always choose to follow them. However, we are thinking this isn't neccessarily intentional. We are noticing that when Max is engaged or focused on something--especially visually--it is hard to capture his attention.

So, here we are on day 13 of Kindergarten, hoping that this is the week when everything comes together for our sweet, innocent, brilliant little boy.

Speaking of innocence, do you know what he said on Saturday? We were riding in the Jeep and talking about costumes and Halloween items when he said, "Did you know that there's a red monster--that's kind of like a cat, but it has a long red tail with an arrow at the end?"
So on Sunday evening, I had him get out the book where he saw this and show it to me. We did our best to describe the devil to him. . . .challenge #856 in how to parent your kids.
Max kept on asking about the devil, "Can you tell me more? Like, what kinds of bad choices did the devil make?"

Max's Signs of Fall. . .

Above: Fall decorations for the den, Max's drawing of this year's Halloween costume--The Flash, and our list for the Farmer's Market--Squash, 2 Gords, Apples, and Raspberries

How's it going?

As of last night, better. Yesterday was the best day we've had since the start of school. AHHHHHHHH. It felt so good.



So to catch up on life, last weekend we traveled to the cities to celebrate our good friend Cole's 4th Birthday. What an adorable kid he is. Seeing him, and the kid he is, finally made something "click" for me and Max's superhero fascination. You see, Cole is into dress up. Serious dress-up. It's so cute, and fun, and loveable. Superheros? Not so loveable for me. But what I've finally realized is that it's not about me. It's not about what I like, it's about what Max likes. And right now, that's superheros. Remember when he was interested in animals? Well, that was great! We've got animals coming out of our ears. So, I've taken a step back, and thought, if this is what he is interested in, then go with it. Don't squash his enthusiasm. Let it be. Maybe once the thrill is gone, so might the interest. Guess what he want's to be for Halloween? The Flash.



Cooper has decided he wants to be a Firestation puppy (dalmation). He has been into having "pets."



Ruby, well she's growing and changing like you wouldn't believe. She is signing 'more'. She babbles and talks a bunch. Says MaMa and a few other words, but I'm not sure what they mean yet. She is into the "drop it" game. She knows what crayons are for and will draw. She likes music. Apparently, her favorite toy at school is a maraca.