claire's first day of kindergarten is tomorrow.
jacob is obsessed with wearing shoes, especially ones that are 3 sizes too big.
david loves his new rollerblades, loves to tell people that his dad has some too.
am reading american wife right now. so very interesting.
have started collecting data for my dissertation. never thought i'd actually get to this part.
jon's latest fascination is with ripstiks.
have been dialoguing with friends about the book 40 good reasons not to have kids.
the kids and i picked 8 lbs of blueberries last week.
jon and i have found a new tv show to love and cherish. we miss the days of west wing, six feet under, and the wire. now, we've launched onto mad men. episode 3 and we're officially hooked.
jacob is a very loud kid.
i'm reading the lion, the witch and the wardrobe to claire and david. they are scared of the white witch. claire can't understand why aslan would die. they thought that the witch gave edmund "meat" (their interpretation of turkish...turkey delight). how i love that book.
claire is obsessed with bead art. you put tiny beads on molds and then iron them together. she does this for hours and hours. it's fun to see the patterns she comes up with.
claire's inventive practices also fascinate me. she got the idea of putting a broken crayon in a marker cap/lid so that it's easier to hold. it really does work.
david loves, absolutely loves playing soccer. if only he wouldn't fall down from laughing all the time.
jacob is 1 1/2 going on 5. he has to do everything the big kids are doing. this includes flossing his teeth and using mouthwash.
that's all for now.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I haven't been blogging lately...
...but I have been resonating with a book titled: Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace (Ayelet Waldman)
David and the roll of peppermints
I'm not sure if the third time is the charm but I managed to survive my third trip to my parents sans Jon.
I bribed. I overindulged my kids with candy. I bought them lots of timbits. I let them listen to the Robert Munsch storytelling CD seven times even though I was annoyed with it the first time. At one point in the trip when all three of them were either whining, crying or complaining, I put in a Natalie Merchant CD and turned up the music very loud.
But, all in all, it was another great experience.
Here are two David memories.
On the drive to Stouffville, I remember (as I think back on it) that he was very quiet for a two hour stretch. At the time I assumed he was just listening to the music. As I cleaned up the car after getting to my parents though, I realized just what was keeping him quiet. We had stopped at my grandparents' place in Sarnia and they had given us a roll of peppermints to take with us. Somehow that brand new roll of peppermints ended up in David's possession. As I discovered, he entertained himself during that two hour stretch by sampling every since peppermint in that roll. Some were dissolved in various stages - they were nicely placed in a semi-circle around his car seat. Others must have been consumed in their entirety.
On the drive home, I tried to limit his sugar intake. I gave a rather large bag of trail mix to David and had a long talk wit him about ratios, about how he needed to eat five nuts or raisins for every M&M and how he WASN"T allowed to eat all the M&Ms. Once again, as I recall, there was a stretch of our trip home when David was very quiet. At the time, I think I assumed he was busy counting. When I got home and discovered the bag of trail mix, I found out that dear David did not grasp the concept of ratios but that he had taken to heart my command to not eat all the M&Ms. There was one M&M left in the bag. The bag was still full.
I bribed. I overindulged my kids with candy. I bought them lots of timbits. I let them listen to the Robert Munsch storytelling CD seven times even though I was annoyed with it the first time. At one point in the trip when all three of them were either whining, crying or complaining, I put in a Natalie Merchant CD and turned up the music very loud.
But, all in all, it was another great experience.
Here are two David memories.
On the drive to Stouffville, I remember (as I think back on it) that he was very quiet for a two hour stretch. At the time I assumed he was just listening to the music. As I cleaned up the car after getting to my parents though, I realized just what was keeping him quiet. We had stopped at my grandparents' place in Sarnia and they had given us a roll of peppermints to take with us. Somehow that brand new roll of peppermints ended up in David's possession. As I discovered, he entertained himself during that two hour stretch by sampling every since peppermint in that roll. Some were dissolved in various stages - they were nicely placed in a semi-circle around his car seat. Others must have been consumed in their entirety.
On the drive home, I tried to limit his sugar intake. I gave a rather large bag of trail mix to David and had a long talk wit him about ratios, about how he needed to eat five nuts or raisins for every M&M and how he WASN"T allowed to eat all the M&Ms. Once again, as I recall, there was a stretch of our trip home when David was very quiet. At the time, I think I assumed he was busy counting. When I got home and discovered the bag of trail mix, I found out that dear David did not grasp the concept of ratios but that he had taken to heart my command to not eat all the M&Ms. There was one M&M left in the bag. The bag was still full.
"No!" he said shaking his finger at me
Because of David Shannon's book No David, we've associated that word with David. Lately though, it seems to be Jacob's credo.
When I tell him not to do something ("No Jacob - you can't put your hands in the toilet"), he's been imitating me and repeating "No, no, no". Pursed lips. Index finger wagging.
When David tripped and banged his head against the door, Jacob walked up to the door, bent down to where David's head hit it, and sternly wagged his finger. "No, no, no"
When he's in bed and finds his empty water cup off to the corner, he picks it up. "No, no, no" he says, shaking both his finger and the cup at the same time (no small feat).
When I tell him not to do something ("No Jacob - you can't put your hands in the toilet"), he's been imitating me and repeating "No, no, no". Pursed lips. Index finger wagging.
When David tripped and banged his head against the door, Jacob walked up to the door, bent down to where David's head hit it, and sternly wagged his finger. "No, no, no"
When he's in bed and finds his empty water cup off to the corner, he picks it up. "No, no, no" he says, shaking both his finger and the cup at the same time (no small feat).
Monday, May 25, 2009
How to Eat Fried Worms...
Claire, David and I are reading How to Eat Fried Worms.
Jon and I both remember reading it when we were younger.
It's not a terribly well written book but the concept is fascinating. We just read the part where the boy's mom is thinking about making Wormloaf or Wormballs and Spaghetti.
I bought the kids some gummy worms so they could act parts of the story out.
Claire has decided that she would eat 15 worms but only if she could have 10 days in between eating each one.
David says that he would eat all of them in one shot.
Jon and I both remember reading it when we were younger.
It's not a terribly well written book but the concept is fascinating. We just read the part where the boy's mom is thinking about making Wormloaf or Wormballs and Spaghetti.
I bought the kids some gummy worms so they could act parts of the story out.
Claire has decided that she would eat 15 worms but only if she could have 10 days in between eating each one.
David says that he would eat all of them in one shot.
He has two noses
Jon convinced David that Jacob now has two noses.
It's a long story.
Two weeks ago, we were talking with our backyard neighbours Trygve and Kristen. They have a dog named Whitby who loves our kids. Our kids love him right back.
Kristen threw a ball for Whitby and it landed right where Jacob was sitting on the grass. In trying to get the ball, Whitby ran right into Jacob, his head hitting Jacob's forehead. Jacob started screaming and so we all focused our attention on him. I picked him up, comforted him and noticed that he had a little bump on his forehead.
Meanwhile, Whitby fell to the ground. None of us noticed it at first but then Tryg and Kristen saw that he was having a seizure and couldn't get up. Scary stuff.
In short though, Jacob stopped crying, the bump on his head went away in a day or so. Whitby ended up being ok (they think he had a concussion...go figure...a dog four times the size of Jacob and Jacob ends up faring better than him!).
A week later, on our neighbor's trampoline, Jacob crashed into David's elbow. Same spot on the forehead as where Whitby hit him. Jacob didn't cry but a goose egg, a huge one, immediately formed on his forehead. There was some bruising on it but it really was so big that it did look like a second nose.
Now, almost a week after the fact, the goose egg is just a nasty looking bruise on his forehead (a conversation piece for anyone who sees Jacob). David, however, is still convinced that Jacob sprouted another nose.
It's a long story.
Two weeks ago, we were talking with our backyard neighbours Trygve and Kristen. They have a dog named Whitby who loves our kids. Our kids love him right back.
Kristen threw a ball for Whitby and it landed right where Jacob was sitting on the grass. In trying to get the ball, Whitby ran right into Jacob, his head hitting Jacob's forehead. Jacob started screaming and so we all focused our attention on him. I picked him up, comforted him and noticed that he had a little bump on his forehead.
Meanwhile, Whitby fell to the ground. None of us noticed it at first but then Tryg and Kristen saw that he was having a seizure and couldn't get up. Scary stuff.
In short though, Jacob stopped crying, the bump on his head went away in a day or so. Whitby ended up being ok (they think he had a concussion...go figure...a dog four times the size of Jacob and Jacob ends up faring better than him!).
A week later, on our neighbor's trampoline, Jacob crashed into David's elbow. Same spot on the forehead as where Whitby hit him. Jacob didn't cry but a goose egg, a huge one, immediately formed on his forehead. There was some bruising on it but it really was so big that it did look like a second nose.
Now, almost a week after the fact, the goose egg is just a nasty looking bruise on his forehead (a conversation piece for anyone who sees Jacob). David, however, is still convinced that Jacob sprouted another nose.
It's official...he's finally walking
Jacob has FINALLY decided to do more walking that crawling.
At 17 months, it's about time.
I've tried so hard to give him the space he needs to be himself. I've given myself pep talks for months now:
He'll walk when he wants to.
Let him decide when he wants to walk.
Kids don't need to fit into a standardized developmental schedule - they are all individuals.
It's easier and faster for him to crawl.
BUT, can I tell you how many pairs of his pants have the knees ripped on them? Can I tell you how frustrating it is when we're at a public restroom and I can't put him on the ground? Can I tell you how filthy he gets from crawling around on the dirt, grass, sand, cement in our backyard?
At 17 months, it's about time.
I've tried so hard to give him the space he needs to be himself. I've given myself pep talks for months now:
He'll walk when he wants to.
Let him decide when he wants to walk.
Kids don't need to fit into a standardized developmental schedule - they are all individuals.
It's easier and faster for him to crawl.
BUT, can I tell you how many pairs of his pants have the knees ripped on them? Can I tell you how frustrating it is when we're at a public restroom and I can't put him on the ground? Can I tell you how filthy he gets from crawling around on the dirt, grass, sand, cement in our backyard?
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