"A bowl of candy with candy juice."
That really was what he wanted. I think The Husband learned that if you ask Little Man an open ended question you never know how he's going to answer!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Little Manisms
On night recently The Husband asked Little Man (newly four) what he wanted to eat for dinner. Little Man thought a minute, looked at his daddy, and said,
That really was what he wanted. I think The Husband learned that if you ask Little Man an open ended question you never know how he's going to answer!
That really was what he wanted. I think The Husband learned that if you ask Little Man an open ended question you never know how he's going to answer!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
School Days..
Have I mentioned that I love Little Man and Baby Girl's school? I'm sure I have, but I'll say it again.
I LOVE their school!
Today is Little Man's third day of pre-k, and he's loving it! Yesterday I picked him up, all smiles, and he talked the entire way home. Then, once we were home, he bounced around the house, still all smiles, and told me about his day. They had a Spanish encore class yesterday, and while we were eating an after school snack, he looked at me and said, "Hola, amigos!" How fun it that!?
So this morning I took the kids to school, Baby Girl is in PDO today, and I ended up staying for nearly an hour! I walked Little Man into his classroom (last day to do that, next week it's drop him off in the carpool lane :(. ), saw where he puts his bag and where his chair is, and talked to the teacher, who gave a great report. :) I also offered my assistance in the classroom, I told the teacher I'll make copies, cut out crafts, I'll do anything. I just want to be involved in Little Man's school in some way. I really hope she'll take me up on my offer, I think it would be so much fun!
Then it was off to take Baby Girl to PDO, and I realized we were early. I mean 15 minutes early for Early Birds, which is a program that lets parents drop their children off 30 minutes early. So we found a little person playground and played for a bit, and then went on to the classroom. Once there, I tried to drop Baby Girl off and leave, really I did, but there was only one teacher in Early Birds, and she had four babies, all of whom were crying! Oh no! She was acting so calm, she said not to worry, that she "had it," but I saw the look on her face, and knew she was overwhelmed. So Baby Girl and I stayed, I grabbed a crying baby, and walked around the room with two little ones in my arms. Once one baby calmed down I grabbed another. I loved it. Soon enough a few more teachers came in and there was enough help to go around, but I still wasn't about to leave Baby Girl there with all those crying babies, and we had a few more minutes before regular hours started. So...we went to the directors office, she's really sweet and so easy to talk to. I told her what had happened and then I said, "Do you need any extra help? I'll be happy to help." What had gotten into me!? I would love to help, though. I love holding the babies, even the crying ones. I wasn't even going to put Baby Girl into Early Birds, I was planning on dropping Little Man off, then running and errand or two, then coming back and dropping Baby Girl off. However, I soon realized the ridiculousness of this plan, and decided to enroll her in Early Birds. Truly, though, except for the one day I'm planning to work, she doesn't have to be there, so it would be easy to help. Anyway, while I was in the office, several of the teachers trickled in, and many of them have taken care of Little Man at some point, and they all asked about him and how he liked pre-k. A few said they've seen him on the campus, and they reported that he looks like he's having a great time. According to them, he's smiling, playing, and behaving well. One teacher said, "The class was walking down the hall in a line, and he was actually standing in line." It was so sweet for them to tell me this, it made my heart feel so good. Finally, it was time to take Baby Girl to her regular classroom, so we made our way to it, and I dropped her off. She cried, but only for a minute. I waved to the other teachers as I left.
I think I've made friends for life in some of those teachers.
Oh, and I love this school!
I LOVE their school!
Today is Little Man's third day of pre-k, and he's loving it! Yesterday I picked him up, all smiles, and he talked the entire way home. Then, once we were home, he bounced around the house, still all smiles, and told me about his day. They had a Spanish encore class yesterday, and while we were eating an after school snack, he looked at me and said, "Hola, amigos!" How fun it that!?
So this morning I took the kids to school, Baby Girl is in PDO today, and I ended up staying for nearly an hour! I walked Little Man into his classroom (last day to do that, next week it's drop him off in the carpool lane :(. ), saw where he puts his bag and where his chair is, and talked to the teacher, who gave a great report. :) I also offered my assistance in the classroom, I told the teacher I'll make copies, cut out crafts, I'll do anything. I just want to be involved in Little Man's school in some way. I really hope she'll take me up on my offer, I think it would be so much fun!
Then it was off to take Baby Girl to PDO, and I realized we were early. I mean 15 minutes early for Early Birds, which is a program that lets parents drop their children off 30 minutes early. So we found a little person playground and played for a bit, and then went on to the classroom. Once there, I tried to drop Baby Girl off and leave, really I did, but there was only one teacher in Early Birds, and she had four babies, all of whom were crying! Oh no! She was acting so calm, she said not to worry, that she "had it," but I saw the look on her face, and knew she was overwhelmed. So Baby Girl and I stayed, I grabbed a crying baby, and walked around the room with two little ones in my arms. Once one baby calmed down I grabbed another. I loved it. Soon enough a few more teachers came in and there was enough help to go around, but I still wasn't about to leave Baby Girl there with all those crying babies, and we had a few more minutes before regular hours started. So...we went to the directors office, she's really sweet and so easy to talk to. I told her what had happened and then I said, "Do you need any extra help? I'll be happy to help." What had gotten into me!? I would love to help, though. I love holding the babies, even the crying ones. I wasn't even going to put Baby Girl into Early Birds, I was planning on dropping Little Man off, then running and errand or two, then coming back and dropping Baby Girl off. However, I soon realized the ridiculousness of this plan, and decided to enroll her in Early Birds. Truly, though, except for the one day I'm planning to work, she doesn't have to be there, so it would be easy to help. Anyway, while I was in the office, several of the teachers trickled in, and many of them have taken care of Little Man at some point, and they all asked about him and how he liked pre-k. A few said they've seen him on the campus, and they reported that he looks like he's having a great time. According to them, he's smiling, playing, and behaving well. One teacher said, "The class was walking down the hall in a line, and he was actually standing in line." It was so sweet for them to tell me this, it made my heart feel so good. Finally, it was time to take Baby Girl to her regular classroom, so we made our way to it, and I dropped her off. She cried, but only for a minute. I waved to the other teachers as I left.
I think I've made friends for life in some of those teachers.
Oh, and I love this school!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Better late than never
I am so behind on posting, which I really wouldn't care about, but so much has happened lately that I don't want to forget!
We had preschool orientation last week. It was just for parents. The Husband stayed home with the kids while I went up to the school. It felt like the first day of school for me, too. I was nervous. I actually dressed well [ ;) ], putting on a nice skirt and top instead of shorts and a t-shirt. I walked into the chapel, didn't see anyone I knew, so I just took a seat. Then the parents of one of Little Man's classmates from Parent's Day Out came and sat behind me. Whew! It was nice to see familiar faces. A few minutes later a woman patted the seat next to me and said, "Is this seat taken?" I said,"no," looked up, and saw - my neighbor! She didn't realize it was me when she sat down, too funny. Her son and Little Man are great friends, and he is one grade above Little Man, and it was great to see her. Instant relief! The headmaster spoke for a few minutes, he said he thought we were probably all relieved that school was about to start and glad that our preschoolers would be out of our hair. I was thinking, "Boy, you don't understand at all, nothing could be further from the truth." I was hoping the next speaker would be a little more inspirational, and wow she didn't disappoint. At first she had a few jokes, and she was truly funny. She started off by talking about the movie Forrest Gump, and how, many years before the movie was made, she coined a phrase similar to the movie's famous, "Life is like a box of chocolates." Her phrase is, "Life is like a box of crayons. " She talked about the evolution of the crayon box. It started out as a box of eight, then as more crayons were added, it became a box of 16, then 24. Now we have boxes of 64 crayons, even 124 crayons. She also talked about how nowadays the name of each color is printed in English, Spanish, and French, and how there is a Crayola Color Hall of Fame, where retired colors go. So crayons, like life, change, and we have to change with it. She took the analogy a bit further and said that a crayon box has but only one direction, printed next to the sharpener on the back of the box, and it reads, "tear off paper before sharpening." How many of us, as children, actually followed that one direction?" she asked. We usually just crammed that crayon on in and made a big mess, paper and all. Again, life is like a box of crayons. It was very funny, I wish I had actually written this last week when I could remember all the nuances of the speech. At the time I thought to myself, "I like this lady."
I can't even remember her name, or her position, but she is fairly new to the school, and she talked about how she decided to take her current job while attending last year's parent's orientation. She talked about how she had already been offered another job, and had her heart set on it, when she had the opportunity to interview at Little Man's school. She decided to see what this school was about, interviewed, and was open to but not set on taking the position. She asked if she could attend the orientation day to get a feel for the teachers and staff, and so she did. She started off by saying she watched the parents and orientation, which was good, then she attended a staff meeting, which was boring and not so good, but it was the event that occurred after the parents left and the meetings were over that she knew her heart belonged at this school. She said that, at this school, the teachers and staff have a dedication ceremony the afternoon of orientation. They come to the chapel and sing and pray. They hold hands, they build each other up spiritually, and they pray for our kids. Not as a group, but for each child individually. This person told us, how, before the ceremony, each teacher writes the name of each child in her class on a piece of paper, places the names up on the alter, and prays individually over each name. Oh wow, that kind of got me. A stranger praying for my son, praying for a happy school year. Praying (for my son as an individual) for learning to take place, for friendships to be forged, for personal growth to occur. I'm not ashamed to say I cried right then and there. I looked over at my neighbor and she was doing the same! I mean, how freaking sweet is that!? You won't find that at any old school. I was sold! Let the school year begin! I know my son will thrive in an environment such as this. Thank you, God, for pointing me in the direction of this school and making the road to it a smooth one.
We had preschool orientation last week. It was just for parents. The Husband stayed home with the kids while I went up to the school. It felt like the first day of school for me, too. I was nervous. I actually dressed well [ ;) ], putting on a nice skirt and top instead of shorts and a t-shirt. I walked into the chapel, didn't see anyone I knew, so I just took a seat. Then the parents of one of Little Man's classmates from Parent's Day Out came and sat behind me. Whew! It was nice to see familiar faces. A few minutes later a woman patted the seat next to me and said, "Is this seat taken?" I said,"no," looked up, and saw - my neighbor! She didn't realize it was me when she sat down, too funny. Her son and Little Man are great friends, and he is one grade above Little Man, and it was great to see her. Instant relief! The headmaster spoke for a few minutes, he said he thought we were probably all relieved that school was about to start and glad that our preschoolers would be out of our hair. I was thinking, "Boy, you don't understand at all, nothing could be further from the truth." I was hoping the next speaker would be a little more inspirational, and wow she didn't disappoint. At first she had a few jokes, and she was truly funny. She started off by talking about the movie Forrest Gump, and how, many years before the movie was made, she coined a phrase similar to the movie's famous, "Life is like a box of chocolates." Her phrase is, "Life is like a box of crayons. " She talked about the evolution of the crayon box. It started out as a box of eight, then as more crayons were added, it became a box of 16, then 24. Now we have boxes of 64 crayons, even 124 crayons. She also talked about how nowadays the name of each color is printed in English, Spanish, and French, and how there is a Crayola Color Hall of Fame, where retired colors go. So crayons, like life, change, and we have to change with it. She took the analogy a bit further and said that a crayon box has but only one direction, printed next to the sharpener on the back of the box, and it reads, "tear off paper before sharpening." How many of us, as children, actually followed that one direction?" she asked. We usually just crammed that crayon on in and made a big mess, paper and all. Again, life is like a box of crayons. It was very funny, I wish I had actually written this last week when I could remember all the nuances of the speech. At the time I thought to myself, "I like this lady."
I can't even remember her name, or her position, but she is fairly new to the school, and she talked about how she decided to take her current job while attending last year's parent's orientation. She talked about how she had already been offered another job, and had her heart set on it, when she had the opportunity to interview at Little Man's school. She decided to see what this school was about, interviewed, and was open to but not set on taking the position. She asked if she could attend the orientation day to get a feel for the teachers and staff, and so she did. She started off by saying she watched the parents and orientation, which was good, then she attended a staff meeting, which was boring and not so good, but it was the event that occurred after the parents left and the meetings were over that she knew her heart belonged at this school. She said that, at this school, the teachers and staff have a dedication ceremony the afternoon of orientation. They come to the chapel and sing and pray. They hold hands, they build each other up spiritually, and they pray for our kids. Not as a group, but for each child individually. This person told us, how, before the ceremony, each teacher writes the name of each child in her class on a piece of paper, places the names up on the alter, and prays individually over each name. Oh wow, that kind of got me. A stranger praying for my son, praying for a happy school year. Praying (for my son as an individual) for learning to take place, for friendships to be forged, for personal growth to occur. I'm not ashamed to say I cried right then and there. I looked over at my neighbor and she was doing the same! I mean, how freaking sweet is that!? You won't find that at any old school. I was sold! Let the school year begin! I know my son will thrive in an environment such as this. Thank you, God, for pointing me in the direction of this school and making the road to it a smooth one.
Little Man and preschool
Little Man's first day of pre-kindergarten is today. This morning Baby Girl and I got ready, drove to school, and walked Little Man to his first day of "big boy" school.
He was very excited.
He talked about it all weekend, practicing his teacher's name (it's hard to pronounce, with lots of consonants, it's Greek) and talked about his new classroom. The Husband and I talked a lot about it, too. We discussed his new routine, his teacher, and about the other little boys in his room - just by chance it's an all boys room! He was ready to go!
This morning, however, he was not so sure. He stayed up late last night, it just seemed he couldn't sleep, and 30 minutes before we had to leave I was having a hard time waking him up. Little Man is slow to get going in the morning, he likes to take his time with his breakfast and "chocky" milk, he likes to watch cartoons in his pjs, and maybe "later on" he'll get dressed. There wasn't any time for that this morning, unfortunately. Still, we made it on time, but Little Man didn't want me to leave.
Talk about breaking a momma's heart. He clung to my leg, when I pulled on arm off he wrapped the other around me. I was holding Baby Girl so I was pretty much ineffective at prying him off of me and I had to leave it to the teacher. Sad. I brought my camera hoping to take a picture of him in his new classroom, but I knew better than to linger. As soon as the teacher removed Little Man from my legs I said a quick goodbye and skedaddled out of there. Little Man was fussing, but not all out crying.
I know he'll be okay, he really does like school.
Like every momma says, today is bittersweet. My firstborn is in school! I am so excited for him, I can't wait to see what adventures await him, what friends he will make, what kind of little school boy he will become. A great big new door has opened for him, and for The Husband and I as parents. There will be three days a week where Little Man growing and learning, but he will be away from me. I'm a bit sad about this. Gone are the carefree days of babyhood and toddlerhood. When people tell you it goes by fast, they mean it! I am appreciating Baby Girl's time at home a little more today. I am even going to welcome those days when I'm stuck at home with two children, ready to pull my hair out because they're fighting and fussing, and nothing suits them, because at least they'll be home with me. I am beginning to realize how fleeting this time is. I'm sad to say I've taken Little Man's time at home for granted. He's my first, I just didn't know.
Last night he wanted me to linger at bedtime, he wanted some extra snuggles. I obliged. I literally felt the passage of time, him growing away from me, ever so slowly, but moving away still. I hugged him harder. When, at 10:00, he quietly crept downstairs to sleep in our bed, I let him. I snuggled up to my boy and held him, wrapped my body around his and mentally poured all my love into him. I hope he felt it. I hope it filled him up so he can feel safe and secure and enjoy and thrive this new chapter of his life.
I love you Little Man.
He was very excited.
He talked about it all weekend, practicing his teacher's name (it's hard to pronounce, with lots of consonants, it's Greek) and talked about his new classroom. The Husband and I talked a lot about it, too. We discussed his new routine, his teacher, and about the other little boys in his room - just by chance it's an all boys room! He was ready to go!
This morning, however, he was not so sure. He stayed up late last night, it just seemed he couldn't sleep, and 30 minutes before we had to leave I was having a hard time waking him up. Little Man is slow to get going in the morning, he likes to take his time with his breakfast and "chocky" milk, he likes to watch cartoons in his pjs, and maybe "later on" he'll get dressed. There wasn't any time for that this morning, unfortunately. Still, we made it on time, but Little Man didn't want me to leave.
Talk about breaking a momma's heart. He clung to my leg, when I pulled on arm off he wrapped the other around me. I was holding Baby Girl so I was pretty much ineffective at prying him off of me and I had to leave it to the teacher. Sad. I brought my camera hoping to take a picture of him in his new classroom, but I knew better than to linger. As soon as the teacher removed Little Man from my legs I said a quick goodbye and skedaddled out of there. Little Man was fussing, but not all out crying.
I know he'll be okay, he really does like school.
Like every momma says, today is bittersweet. My firstborn is in school! I am so excited for him, I can't wait to see what adventures await him, what friends he will make, what kind of little school boy he will become. A great big new door has opened for him, and for The Husband and I as parents. There will be three days a week where Little Man growing and learning, but he will be away from me. I'm a bit sad about this. Gone are the carefree days of babyhood and toddlerhood. When people tell you it goes by fast, they mean it! I am appreciating Baby Girl's time at home a little more today. I am even going to welcome those days when I'm stuck at home with two children, ready to pull my hair out because they're fighting and fussing, and nothing suits them, because at least they'll be home with me. I am beginning to realize how fleeting this time is. I'm sad to say I've taken Little Man's time at home for granted. He's my first, I just didn't know.
Last night he wanted me to linger at bedtime, he wanted some extra snuggles. I obliged. I literally felt the passage of time, him growing away from me, ever so slowly, but moving away still. I hugged him harder. When, at 10:00, he quietly crept downstairs to sleep in our bed, I let him. I snuggled up to my boy and held him, wrapped my body around his and mentally poured all my love into him. I hope he felt it. I hope it filled him up so he can feel safe and secure and enjoy and thrive this new chapter of his life.
I love you Little Man.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Monkey see, Monkey do
I love watching Baby Girl copy her big brother. Bubby, as she calls him. She literally worships him, and will endure torture, on those days when Little Man's acting not-so-nicely, just be be around him. Whatever he does, she does, or at least tries to do. For example:
When Bubby screams his head off at any attempt to wash his hair, so does she, even though she used to love having her hair washed.
When he fusses or whines, so does she, even if for no particular reason.
When he comes running up for a hug, or climbs into the chair with me for a snuggle, Baby Girl soon follows, even though she was otherwise happily occupied.
and my favorite,
Little Man has a special lovey. It's one of those miniture blankets with a bear head on top, made to look like the bear is hugging the little blanket. Whenever Little Man is feeling insecure, sick, or just tired he has to have lovey, and he holds it in a particular way, up next to his nose, occassionally rubbing his face in it and closing his eyes to soak it all in. It's absolutely adorable. Anyway, when I became pregnant with Baby Girl, Grandma decided that this baby needed a lovey just like Little Man's, so she bought one. Baby Girl likes it ok, she's not really attached like Little Man is, but whenever she holds it, she does it just like her Bubby. She burries her face in it, rubs her nose on the soft cloth, and closes her eyes. Adorable times two.
When Bubby screams his head off at any attempt to wash his hair, so does she, even though she used to love having her hair washed.
When he fusses or whines, so does she, even if for no particular reason.
When he comes running up for a hug, or climbs into the chair with me for a snuggle, Baby Girl soon follows, even though she was otherwise happily occupied.
and my favorite,
Little Man has a special lovey. It's one of those miniture blankets with a bear head on top, made to look like the bear is hugging the little blanket. Whenever Little Man is feeling insecure, sick, or just tired he has to have lovey, and he holds it in a particular way, up next to his nose, occassionally rubbing his face in it and closing his eyes to soak it all in. It's absolutely adorable. Anyway, when I became pregnant with Baby Girl, Grandma decided that this baby needed a lovey just like Little Man's, so she bought one. Baby Girl likes it ok, she's not really attached like Little Man is, but whenever she holds it, she does it just like her Bubby. She burries her face in it, rubs her nose on the soft cloth, and closes her eyes. Adorable times two.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Bye bye food, we'll see you again next time!
Little Man made a huge mess with his sister's play kitchen this morning. We have three big baskets full of play food and plates and things, and he dumped them out and scattered them about. Not really unusual behavior for my kids, but I get really tired of picking it all up. So...we've been working with the kids on their cleaning skills. This morning I asked Little Man to pick up all the kitchen food, put it in the baskets, and put the baskets inside the kitchen. So he started dumping all the food in a little slot in the back of the kitchen, and it ends up in a big mess behind the refrigerator door. I had to stop him and say, "No, put the food back in the baskets then put the baskets inside the kitchen." He obliged, for a few minutes, and then he must have gotten distracted, as you can see.
I couldn't say anything, though, because he was doing a great job cleaning up. He moved the kitchen away from the wall and picked up all the food behind it. He moved the kitchen a few feet forward to get to all the food under it. The kitchen sits next to a big, heavy armoire, and Little Man got on his belly and slithered under it to fish out even more food. Then he stuffed it all in the oven part, you can see it through the clear door. He put forth an excellent effort, and did a very thorough and thoughtful job. He made his momma proud.
I couldn't say anything, though, because he was doing a great job cleaning up. He moved the kitchen away from the wall and picked up all the food behind it. He moved the kitchen a few feet forward to get to all the food under it. The kitchen sits next to a big, heavy armoire, and Little Man got on his belly and slithered under it to fish out even more food. Then he stuffed it all in the oven part, you can see it through the clear door. He put forth an excellent effort, and did a very thorough and thoughtful job. He made his momma proud.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Birthday Boy :)
Little Man is four - FOUR! As I sit here and type I wonder where the years have gone? It literally seems like yesterday that I was big and pregnant, miserable in the July heat, just waiting for those first telltale signs of labor that would let me know I was about to become a mother. Wow. I just might cry.
Our little guy's birthday seemed to start on Thursday, when we received his information packet from his preschool in the mail. It contained a lot of this and that, but what I really seemed to fixate on was the carpool tag. Our packet contained a bright sheet of official looking laminated paper with our last name on it. For some reason I really felt that piece of paper. A car pool tag. I was about to be one of "those" moms, sitting in a carpool line, passing the time by reading a book, or talking on the phone, and with a big sticker sitting in my windshield. Seeing that made me feel old on an entirely new level. Not in a bad way, not at all, just in a new way.
Then on Friday we took the kids to their PDO and never let on to Little Man that there would be a surprise. Just before lunch, The Husband arrived to pick Little Man up, early! Little Man was so excited! Unfortunately, it was a piece of bad luck that Baby Girl's class happened to be in the hall, so Baby Girl caught sight of her Daddy. Baby Girl did not get to leave early, and I've been told it was not a pretty sight. Poor thing. Anyway, as if getting to leave early with Daddy wasn't great enough, Daddy drove to the movie theatre, where I was waiting with tickets to Little Man's first movie! We saw Despicable Me, and he absolutely loved it. He sat in a seat in between us, and on our laps some, he was so cute. I wish I could have taken a picture, but I'm sure the other patrons wouldn't have appreciated my blinding flash going off in the middle of the movie. He sat in his seat so intently, with a bag of skittles in one cup holder, a bag of popcorn in his lap, and a drink in the other cup holder. In other words, he was set. At one point Daddy left to go to the restroom, and when he came back, Little Man said (loudly), "Daddy, you missed a lot of parts." Later on he sat in my lap for a bit, with he legs resting on my legs, his head laying on my chest, all snuggly, and every on in a while he would reach back and hand me one of his cherished skittles. He really is such a thoughtful boy, it warms my heart. After the movie we went home, had an early dinner, then ate cake and opened presents. It was a good day!
The next big adventure of his birthday weekend was his party. For months preceding his big day, Little Man said he wanted a "digger dirt" party. Then, as we got closer and closer to his birthday, he said he wanted a firetruck party, then a Thomas the Train party, then a tractor party. Each day he wanted something new, there were just too many great choices! Finally, at the very last minute (invitations ended up getting mailed a week late so he could decide for sure), he decided on a tractor party. I found the cutest little invitations and cupcake toppers, as well as a tractor shirt with Little Man's name and the number "4" on it, and a tractor barrette for Baby Girl. All very cute, I'm so thankful for etsy! I made Little Man's cake, a round cake with green fondant, a dirt road made with crumbled graham crackers, hay bales made from rice krispies, and a fence, lake, and grass made from the best tasting butter cream. Oh yeah, I can't forget about the tractor, which sat on the dirt road. At the last minute Little Man asked if he could also have Thomas on his cake (yikes!), so we rigged up a little Thomas train on a circular track that went around the base of the cake. All of our family and many little friends were there. This year was a first for us, having a big friend party. Baby Girl and Little Man attend a Music for Aardvarks class, and their teacher came to the party and held a special birthday class. I am so glad he did that for us, the kids, even the bigger kids, had so much fun. Their teacher had a big parachute, a bubble machine, shakers, drums, you name it. We danced to "Groove is in the Heart!" Little Man and the rest of the kids, jumped, danced, twirled, and laughed for an hour straight. F-U-N!
Well, that concludes Little Man's fourth birthday, it's going to be hard to top next year! ;) I can't believe it's over, that the little baby who made me a mommy is already four. He is such a blessing, he has such a warm heart and a happy spirit. I am so glad to be his mom.
Our little guy's birthday seemed to start on Thursday, when we received his information packet from his preschool in the mail. It contained a lot of this and that, but what I really seemed to fixate on was the carpool tag. Our packet contained a bright sheet of official looking laminated paper with our last name on it. For some reason I really felt that piece of paper. A car pool tag. I was about to be one of "those" moms, sitting in a carpool line, passing the time by reading a book, or talking on the phone, and with a big sticker sitting in my windshield. Seeing that made me feel old on an entirely new level. Not in a bad way, not at all, just in a new way.
Then on Friday we took the kids to their PDO and never let on to Little Man that there would be a surprise. Just before lunch, The Husband arrived to pick Little Man up, early! Little Man was so excited! Unfortunately, it was a piece of bad luck that Baby Girl's class happened to be in the hall, so Baby Girl caught sight of her Daddy. Baby Girl did not get to leave early, and I've been told it was not a pretty sight. Poor thing. Anyway, as if getting to leave early with Daddy wasn't great enough, Daddy drove to the movie theatre, where I was waiting with tickets to Little Man's first movie! We saw Despicable Me, and he absolutely loved it. He sat in a seat in between us, and on our laps some, he was so cute. I wish I could have taken a picture, but I'm sure the other patrons wouldn't have appreciated my blinding flash going off in the middle of the movie. He sat in his seat so intently, with a bag of skittles in one cup holder, a bag of popcorn in his lap, and a drink in the other cup holder. In other words, he was set. At one point Daddy left to go to the restroom, and when he came back, Little Man said (loudly), "Daddy, you missed a lot of parts." Later on he sat in my lap for a bit, with he legs resting on my legs, his head laying on my chest, all snuggly, and every on in a while he would reach back and hand me one of his cherished skittles. He really is such a thoughtful boy, it warms my heart. After the movie we went home, had an early dinner, then ate cake and opened presents. It was a good day!
The next big adventure of his birthday weekend was his party. For months preceding his big day, Little Man said he wanted a "digger dirt" party. Then, as we got closer and closer to his birthday, he said he wanted a firetruck party, then a Thomas the Train party, then a tractor party. Each day he wanted something new, there were just too many great choices! Finally, at the very last minute (invitations ended up getting mailed a week late so he could decide for sure), he decided on a tractor party. I found the cutest little invitations and cupcake toppers, as well as a tractor shirt with Little Man's name and the number "4" on it, and a tractor barrette for Baby Girl. All very cute, I'm so thankful for etsy! I made Little Man's cake, a round cake with green fondant, a dirt road made with crumbled graham crackers, hay bales made from rice krispies, and a fence, lake, and grass made from the best tasting butter cream. Oh yeah, I can't forget about the tractor, which sat on the dirt road. At the last minute Little Man asked if he could also have Thomas on his cake (yikes!), so we rigged up a little Thomas train on a circular track that went around the base of the cake. All of our family and many little friends were there. This year was a first for us, having a big friend party. Baby Girl and Little Man attend a Music for Aardvarks class, and their teacher came to the party and held a special birthday class. I am so glad he did that for us, the kids, even the bigger kids, had so much fun. Their teacher had a big parachute, a bubble machine, shakers, drums, you name it. We danced to "Groove is in the Heart!" Little Man and the rest of the kids, jumped, danced, twirled, and laughed for an hour straight. F-U-N!
Well, that concludes Little Man's fourth birthday, it's going to be hard to top next year! ;) I can't believe it's over, that the little baby who made me a mommy is already four. He is such a blessing, he has such a warm heart and a happy spirit. I am so glad to be his mom.
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