Two Words

In heaven...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to one and all!

The Crash Site

Like a slow motion crash scene...
Only, the crashes aren't entirely real. It is a favorite thing for Owen - pretending to crash. He has it down to a science, where he can pedal his tricycle around and cut the wheel sharp enough that he will fall, with enough speed to fall but not enough to do real damage. And then he can pose himself under his bike and say "Crash!" He was kind enough to pose for pictures as well. He does very well on the 2-wheeler with training wheels now too, including the braking part that was so elusive at first. But he still loves to go too fast, and the other day he went flying over the handlebars for real after going too fast and cutting the wheel. Didn't phase him a bit. He rather enjoyed it, I think. Future mountain biker here.

The last picture is just me bragging about the homemade treats I took in for Owen's preschool exchange this year. Russian tea cakes. And they were good! OK, Natalie got Scotch shortbread cookies out of a bag for her treat exchange. Come on people, I only have so much homemade in me! And if I'm honest, it was most definitely wasted on the 2 yr old class... The tag had an adorable Russian doll on the other side. World Market had the best Russian gift wrap stuff this year!

A New Winter Sport?

If I can't be on the ice, at least I can get my exercise skate running!

Despite many misgivings about how the trip would turn out, we took all 3 of the kids skating the other day, and it was a success! We had not taken anyone skating in years...probably about 3 years, to be exact. It was such a brutal process when Jim had aspirations of hockey for Liam, and Liam was just not into the skating part. Natalie was too young the last time, and just screamed for Mommy (and Jim is the only real skater in the family - I am more of a threat to the kids on the ice than a help).

This time, Liam tentatively held onto the side for a lap or two (but it was significant that he went out completely on his own and plugged away at it without giving up), and then Jim switched him from hockey to figure skates and it helped tremendously. By the end, he had let go of the side and could go around on his own. After about 5 minutes, Natalie didn't want to hold our hands or the side, and she did a great job of getting around on her own as well. More of a walk than a glide, but it was VERY exciting that she didn't cry or whine, even when she fell. Woo-hoo!! Both of them have asked when we can go again. Maybe they are half Canadian after all!

Even I managed to get around the rink a few times, although I know I look like I'm doing a crab walk. I think I keep my left leg totally still and I just push off a bit with my right leg like I'm rowing a boat or something. Totally elegant and graceful, you can imagine. But I didn't fall. And more importantly, I didn't drag any of the kids down with me.

Owen...well, let's just say that his skating ambitions might exceed his physical ability right now. He seemed to want to run (go figure) and so he had a very hard time standing upright. But he didn't cry. And he got a lot of practice running in skates in the waiting area. One teenage boy saw him and told me so very earnestly "That's the next Ovechkin! Really! That is so great! I wish my parents had started me skating that young!" ha ha Funny that he picked Ovechkin...

He Sees You When You're Sleeping...

Is it just me or is this one Christmas picture that is totally creepy? Natalie was playing around with glitter and glue the other day while I was in the kitchen, and she asked me how to spell "watching." When she was done, this is what I found. It's a glitter Christmas tree with a big googly eye glued to the top of it (and other eyes around it), saying "I'm watching."

No wonder none of my kids want to sit on the Big Guys lap! Creeeeepy. It's all very Orwellian. "I'm waaaaatching you...I see eeeverything...." I think the only thing that made the hairs on my neck stand up more was the time Liam told me that his principal "knows everything." When I asked how she knew everything he said in a semi-whisper "You know...the cameras.." and pointed to the ceiling. I just got a shiver thinking of it again...

The Garlic Is Hung

Natalie has very sweetly confused "garlic" with "garland." She kept asking to hang the garlic on the tree, and now it's amazing how many times she has needed to mention the "garlic" on the tree. I know I'm bad, but I just cannot bring myself to correct her because it's so darn cute. I figure next year she'll probably know better on her own.

Owen has developed a love for singing lately, and has been belting out "Tinkerbells! Tinkerbells! Tinker all the way!" Not sure if he is thinking that Jingle Bells was written about the fairy, but it's likely, since we all know the fairies and princesses around here. And then when he gets talking about Baby Jesus (and yes, he DOES get to talking about Baby Jesus, at random times like when he and Jim were at the grocery together and Owen was shouting out loud to strangers about Baby Jesus) I have realized that it sounds suspiciously like Baby Cheeze-Its...I wonder...what he's really saying. I am surprised that he didn't tell the door-to-door magazine sales girls about Baby Cheeze-Its the other day. Instead, when I opened the door, not realizing who was there, he ran right out and grabbed both of their hands (2 girls, so he grabbed a hand from each one at the same time) and said "It's nice to meet you!!" It wasn't what I had planned on doing, to be honest...but perhaps it was more fitting with the Christmas spirit. One of the girls said, "Dang! I'm 2 months pregnant, and I think I'll just be dropping that baby off in a basket on YOUR porch - you're kids are so sweet." Uh, thanks...but uh, no thanks. I'm just sticking with Baby Cheeze-Its this year.

Random

Here is a first. Natalie and Owen were fighting the other day. No, that's not the "first" by a long shot. But this time they were fighting over...who got to play in the dust motes that were flying in the air when the sun was streaming in from the window. Good news: the sun was shining. Bad news: they were nearly coming to blows over who could play in the dust. If only they realized that there is so much of it to go around. Really, kids, pop on into my bedroom there and swipe your finger across my dresser and Go.To.Town. Really. Please.

In other news, the cat is out of luck when looking for an ally to keep him in the family. The other day while watching a show about dogs Natalie piped up, "I don't like cats." When I said "Awwww poor Tigger!" she stated matter-of-factly, "I think he could live in someone else's house. I want a dog." Watch your back, Tigger, watch.your.back!!

And a small note from the maturing eldest, while I was putting him to bed: "Mom, isn't it weird how you have babies when you're married. And you don't have them when you're not. It's the Mystery of Life! It's like there is a sensor that tells when you are married and then you have babies. Isnt' that weird?!" And I hesitated for a second or two, tossing things over in my mind, thinking of his age, thinking of my long-winded explanations, and I murmured, "Yes, that IS weird."

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet baby! Time sure does fly, especially when our time together got a late start. I just cannot believe Owen is 3.

He was super excited about his day, and his cake. He had his eye on that Lightning McQueen cake in Target for a long, long time. In the morning he had a bounce house outing with some friends from preschool that just happened to fall on his birthday. He was fairly well behaved, and by the time that he started to lose control it was time to rush off and pick Natalie up from school anyway, so crisis averted. We had dinner at IHOP, and he picked the Smiley Face Pancakes, but I ordered pancakes and scrambled eggs for myself because I knew he would like the eggs better. Sure enough, he ate all the eggs off my plate. I know my boy.

Then home for cake, candle blowing (he talked about this a lot - the boy was looking forward to blowing those candles), and presents. The new boots were a hit for the little cowboy. He even sang himself Happy Birthday. He had been practicing. His version is slightly different and can go off track a bit, but he definitely belts out "Happy Birthday to OOOOWEN!" or sometimes, like tonight, it was "Happy Birthday to Regular Owen!" I have no idea what "regular" means to him, but he has been using it a lot. As in, "Mommy, there regular playground!" as we pass a familiar playground. Lots of familiar things are "regular." Not sure why he thinks of himself as "regular Owen" but I'm hoping it's a good thing?

I can see the changes in him every day, growing into a boy instead of a baby. He wants to do so many things himself (not in the toileting department, unfortunately). "I do it! I do it!" And has very definite ideas about what he wants to do or how things should be. He can still charm the socks off a good percentage of strangers, although the girls (and boys) at preschool may sometimes be frightened by his exuberant affection. In the past week, Liam has made various comments about what he thinks Owen will be like when he grows up, and they included, "I think it will be easy for him to find a girlfriend" and "I think he will be one of those motorcycle guys who rides on the dirt tracks." I think Liam is probably right.

Owen loves motorcycles, hockey, sports, sports, sports, talking and interacting with people, playing with cars, and having celebrations. He is not so thrilled with potty training, bugs and small critters (though Tigger has begrudgingly been accepted as tolerable), and being told it is time for bed.

My life wouldn't be the same without him - I love you regular Owen!

Giving Thanks

Giving thanks for an unusual holiday that involved NO turkey, no pie, no stuffing. I don't think I would do it every year, but it ended up a nice, small, family outing that included wild (OK, maybe not so wild) birds and putting greens. I think I can safely say that the kids will remember the birds. The one that they held was named Harry, because he likes to go to the highest point...which on a person is, of course, in their hair. Natalie was in love with Harry. Liam thought Harry was hysterical. Owen...at first pulled his coat over his head and said, "No bird on head!" but then decided that he wanted to hold Harry. When Harry started flapping his way to his "favorite spot" on a person, Owen let out a shriek that could break glass. Too bad I don't have the video to go with that picture. The picture makes it look a bit like Owen is being attacked by a crazed bird, but I swear that it ended well. I calmly removed the bird and Owen laughed and pointed at his head and asked for "Bird on head, Mommy." In the interest of bird safety, we passed him on to other kids.

We missed seeing extended family, and yes, I may have even missed the turkey and trimmings a little bit. But I'm giving thanks for the goodness that can come from unusual holidays too.

B is for Boo-Boo, C is for Crazy Cat

OK, I may have to get a cute picture of Owen with a soccer ball or baseball instead of the Boo-Boo shot for the letter B. It's just too sad. And no, I don't think he was really hurt. He accidentally pulled a heavy barstool down almost on top of himself, but I think it scared him more than anything. Still, he was willing to hold "Boo-Boo Kitty" on his head for a photo. If you can pose for a picture you probably aren't too hurt. Stop with the sad eyes - I can't take it! When he cries lately he will get more upset about the tears than whatever he was crying about. He'll say "My eyes leaking! Me leaking!" We were in line at a store the other day and a toddler in line in front of us was melting down big time (ahhhh, for once it was not us and I could just smile sympathetically) and Owen said in a very sad voice "Awwwww...baby's leaking." Cuteness.

And have you ever tried getting a picture of a cat who won't stop following you around, meowing? Much harder to get a cat to pose than it is a kid.

A is for Apple

I am just too darned tired to get my blog thoughts down on screen. So I'll just post the first page of the Alphabet Book I am contemplating making for Owen. Starring a familiar model. Good thing he likes to pose.

Celebrations

The birthday celebration at the gymnastics party, complete with princess cake and rope swinging.

And Liam (with Gatorade beard and mustache) and his tiny (not) trophy for his baseball team's win. Pre-season, regular season, post-season playoff winners! They must have a good coach. What a great season he (and his Coach) had. Very proud of my boys!

Happy 5th Birthday Natalie (OK a few days late...)

Happy Birthday to my Halloween baby!

And a little summary of the lady herself:

LOVES:

Pre-K (the teachers, her friends, the dancing, the playground- everything).

Any toy ever shown on a commercial geared towards children, although if I let her watch Home Shopping Network she'd probably like all that junk too. Especially any toy made to somewhat resemble an animal and make noise, life-like or otherwise. Zhu Zhu pets are heaven.

Drawing and painting.

Pure sugar in any form (except for Kool Aid - go figure). Gummy treats, fruit chews, suckers, Smarties. Sugar, sugar, sugar.

Edamame (soy beans). Hallalujah - a break from sugar.

Her soccer team. Her coach, her team mates, and of course the snack at the end.

Girly, glittery glamour, and getting "fancy".

Her brothers. Almost always.

Seeing her Daddy on the Skype camera when he's away on business. Or perhaps she is looking at the video of herself in the smaller box...in any case, she enjoys it.

DISLIKES:

Talking to strangers. Heaven forbid a Target employee should offer her a free sample of food. Me, I'm all over that. Natalie will make a huge circle so as to not come within five feet of them, and turn her head all the way around to avoid eye contact. Even if they have sugar.

Tags in her clothes. They itch. Especially when she is 1) tired or 2) annoyed by her little brother.

Holes. Lost a t-ball in a water drainage hole last Spring and was traumatized for months. Tonight while trying to use her new birthday scooter she became so upset that Liam was scootering within four feet of a water drainage hole that she refused to scooter and would only lie flat on the grass crying that she was scared and wanted to go home. For the record, Liam is cautious enough to never come close to falling down that hole. He was teasing her by being daring enough to scooter within 4 feet of it. Owen on the other hand...might go flinging down one someday. But she wasn't as concerned about that possibility.

Being rushed in the morning. Or morning itself. Or both.

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I love my girl! Every wise-cracking, dramatic, affectionate, singing, dancing, drawing, laughing piece of her.

Where Does The Time Go

Wow, has it really been so long since the last post? Somehow it seems that I have been living in real life only, and not so much in blogland. It wasn't intentional, but just happened without me noticing. Maybe that's a good thing?

Unfortunately, it's been so long that I don't even know what to write about now. We've been busy, obviously. Lots of sports - soccer, baseball, gymnastics. Grandparent visit. Halloween. Natalie turned 5! I will have to try and pick apart a story or two from all of that sometime soon. Meanwhile, to sum it up: All three kids are enjoying their sports (yay!), all three loved having the visiting Grandparents, and all three had a lovely Halloween. Natalie's birthday was good too, but I'll leave that for a special birthday girl post.

One of my favorite Fall traditions - the pumpkin carving - was a little rushed this year. And as usual, my three helpers were not a lot of help. A little poke with a spoon here, a shriek as a finger touched some gooey pumpkin guts there. Much dramatic face squinching in disgust, and then off to something more interesting while I am left to carve. But I'm not really complaining. Less time with small children around knives the better, if you know what I mean. Thanks to Mimi and Grandpa for helping pick out the very tall pumpkin that was the favorite. Liam decided we should go for a traditional face instead of a fancy design for that one and it turned out to be the one the trick-or-treaters loved. For Owen's pumpkin we did a Potato Head kit, so we just had to poke the face parts into the pumpkin instead of carving (as I said before...less time around knives the better), but I don't think I got a good picture of that one. Happy Halloween! Happy Fall! The year is going too quickly!

Dance Night

My date for the Mother/Son dance was handsome. And a little solemn or grumpy - not sure which. It may have been residual from a baseball game in which some errors were made...or maybe he was just a little tired from a long day (I did notice circles under his eyes). The timing was unfortunate because we literally ran home from the baseball game and threw on clothes and left in about 5 minutes so that we could get in at least an hour of the dance. It was one of the first times ever that I got several pictures of Liam looking like he was wishing he was somewhere else. Please tell me that he's not "over" going to a dance with his mother already at the tender age of 7.

He tells me he had a good time. I know I did. We were both awkward dancers again, and that was okay. I enjoyed watching his dance moves. I think he enjoyed most going to McDonald's afterward to get a chocolate dipped ice cream cone.

Oh yes, and my date had a very distracting dangler. A tooth, that is. It's just hanging out there by a thread, and is all I can see right now when I look at him. We took some funny, albeit disturbing, close-up pictures of the tooth on my phone while we were at McDonald's and he laughed so hard. He wouldn't let me pull it, and I figured if he was nice enough to go out with me I shouldn't pull off any of his parts. Not good date etiquette.

It is funny how quickly the kids notice when something is different about me. Owen spotted the earrings and additional ring instantly. He asked me to take the earrings off for some reason. I never wear jewelry, so I think he just didn't know what to think. Natalie just kept smiling at me and telling me how pretty I looked because I was wearing lipstick. If that's all it takes, I guess I should wear it more often. Owen was disappointed he couldn't go, but I was home in time to put him to bed and I told him that someday I would take him to a dance too. He pumped his fists in the air and yelled "Yessss!" The smaller they are, the better they are for your ego I suppose. Still, I loved spending some time with my big boy.

Chatterbox

Have I mentioned how much the little man talks?
And talks, and talks, and talks, and talks.
He never.stops.talking. Ever.

So much so, in fact, that I finally took to Googling "repeating words or sentences" to see if this could be an issue. And well, yes, there are some cases where repeating things can be a sign of something else...ADHD or sensory issues, perhaps. But it does appear that right around this age is when repeating can peak in general. I'm thinking that he is just doing it with a little more...er...intensity, than some kids. And intense is his style, so that makes sense. I will try to have more patience next time we are rocking before bed and he can't stop talking and I try to say "shhhhhh hushhhh quiet", and he gets quiet for about...10 seconds...and then he starts in with "Quiet? No talk? Quiet? Stop talk? Stop talk Mom? Stop talk Mom? Stop talk Mom?" And when I ignore it by modeling quietness it just means that he continues on because he doesn't get validation from me that what he is saying is correct...

On the other hand, he does make for a great cheerleader. Or auctioneer. Or soccer announcer.
Just tonight, Jim was replacing several lightbulbs that were high, high, high up in the family room and he had to use a very long pole with a suction cup on the end. Owen stood at the bottom with a non-stop string of praise that went something like this:
"Ooooh cool! Great job Dad! Go, go, go Dad! (clapping hands for effect) Good job! Wow! Cool! Go, go, go! bup bup bup bup (making a noise to indicate the pole going up up up) Up!! Good job!"
The entire.time.Jim.worked. I think perhaps I'll buy him some pom-poms soon.
I wish I had video of the repeating. I will have to try to capture some soon.

Overheard

A Natalie-ism that I may have to enter into my own dictionary:

Destructions. Instead of toys coming with "instructions" she calls them "destructions." Usually quite appropriate when I am the one putting something together.
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And from Liam, when we were having some one-on-one time this weekend. We did play a board game as well, so don't bash me for encouraging video games. But after the board game I asked if he wanted me to play Lego Star Wars with him since I rarely ever play video games, and generally can't stand to watch them even when he relentlessly says "hey, watch this" or "Mom you have to see this part". So I figured playing a game with him was a special treat.

Me: So it won't frustrate you that I'm so bad at playing this, will it?

Liam: No, no, no. That's okay. I don't mind. If you don't play much and aren't any good, that doesn't make me mad at all. pause Now...if you play a lot and you still aren't any good....then I might be a little upset.

I think I'd better end my gaming career here, because I really don't see myself getting any better. I can never even keep track of which character is mine. Oh and then there is the part of the game where he tells me "in this section the Up arrow makes you go down, and the Down arrow makes you go up. I'm not sure why, but just remember that." I am so NOT coordinated enough for that.

New

New haircut.

New smile (one less tooth on top - the first that didn't have to be pulled by the dentist! After months of dangling it just dropped out, thank God. I was tired of watching it dangle.)

New pace. (Liam has always had a funny kind of run for baseball. At home playing with siblings he can run fast, but running the bases he would seem to be running under a wet blanket. Recently he has been running hard. Woo-hoo, run Liam run!)

New attitude...well, maybe a little bit. I think my boy is getting older. boo No, his attitude isn't terrible, but I have heard a little snarkiness here and there. And then I have to fix him with the evil eye and say "I know you aren't giving me attitude." and he will sigh and try unsuccessfully to hold onto the attitude. It must be hard being the "sweet one" who can't shake that image. But no way am I going to let him stop being sweet. Some days that is all that keeps me going.

Random Things

Oh, what a sweet face that is!
In the second photo Owen is playing hide and seek with his shirt. I think that game has a special place in his heart. It was something they played at the orphanage, and instead of saying Peek A Boo like we would, they would say Coo-Coo. He stills says Coo-Coo, and it still can make him laugh so hard. I remember right after he came home I took him to the lab to get soooooo many vials of blood drawn to check his vaccinations and everything else under the sun. There were so many tests that the lab lady couldn't believe the orders were all for him. He cried a bit, but since it was so early on he didn't cry much (still in the "no reason to cry when something hurts because I don't realize I might be comforted stage). Still, he wasn't happy. But Liam and Natalie were with me and they hid around the exam room door and would pop their heads around the side of the door frame with their hands over their eyes and then say Coo-Coo and open their hands. Every single time it made him laugh. For like, 20 minutes of blood being drawn. He laughed every single time. He could not help himself. It was almost a hysterical laughter at that point in time. Cry, cry, cry, COO-COO, HA HA HA, cry, cry, cry. He still thinks it's funny, even when I'm sitting right across from him at the table. He'll cover his own eyes and yell "Where's Owen? Coo-coo!! Here he is!" like it is grand humor. Love it.

On another note, preschool seems to be going well. I've only talked to his teacher once, but I'll try to follow up with her again this week just for a check-in. No notes in the folder is a good thing though. I am praying that any lack of impulse control around other kids can be managed. And maybe, just maybe, that adorable little face will soften the teacher's heart and she can see the sweet boy that I see. He really isn't all that aggressive. But he doesn't shy away from getting into a tussle over toys or anything he considers to be his property, which can be anything he's touched. :-) Typical 2 yr old stuff, yes, probably.

In other ways, maybe not entirely typical. We've been having issues with hitting at home, especially Owen hitting me when I try to pick him up to take him to nap or get him to stop something he's doing. I think sudden transitions are hard. And sometimes I don't have the patience for long transitions... Also, I know I need to work on my "patient, calm and happy" demeanor, because if he senses anger or impatience I think it stirs in him a fear that can manifest itself in aggression. Looking back over his time with us, I think I can say pretty definitely that his first reaction to fear is fight mode (you know how they talk about the flight or fight instinct- well he is mostly a fighter). One example being the fact that he hunted the cat down with anything hard or club-like for about 3 months after coming home. If I'm afraid of you, I will beat you before you hurt me, cat...

Still, we have been having our share of sweet moments, especially as he is talking more and more, and in something more akin to sentences. He loves to pretend to be things right now (today alone, he told me at various times that he was Spiderman, a monkey, and a puppy), and acts them out quite well. No matter what he is, he will call it a "baby" and me the Mommy. Like tonight he told me he was a Puppy Baby and I am the Puppy Mommy. I always play along, and the Puppy Mommy or Monkey Mommy or yes, even the Spidey Mommy is always taking care of the baby. He does love that. And I love hearing him call out as I close his bedroom door, "Goodnight Monkey Mommy!"