Amelia: mmmmm! I love this corn! I'm super hungry! Can I have more corn?
Mom: you need to eat some more of your other food.
Amelia: okay.
Mom: Amelia do you want some more chicken?
Amelia: NO!
Mom: No.....what? (Teaching politeness appears to be a years long grueling marathon of epic length).
Amelia: NO WAY!
Mom: (not at all what I'm going for here!)
Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, August 8, 2013
William v.6.5
William turned 6 and a half on July 26th in the midst of our crazy travel until you drop month. I didn't get an update then, but I did want to spend a few minutes talking about our big guy.
William:
-still loves to read. Currently loving the Magic Tree House chapter books, Magic School Bus Chapter Books, Geronimo Stilton Chapter books and any book on dinosaurs he can get his hands on. Although he is capable of reading the books on his own, he still loves (and prefers) to be read to. I find him up many nights reading by the hall light at the end of his bed until 9:30. This will have to come to an end when school starts, but until then I turn a blind eye.
-He is Amelia's best friend and she is his. Or worst enemies. There isn't any inbetween. Most days after breakfast, these two will disappear into their rooms and play (almost) happily until lunchtime. Until I go in and demand they put clothes on (remind me to tell you sometime about my pajama hypothesis). Somehow after they are dressed, everything becomes more difficult. Although they still play and play and play. I think both of them have enjoyed reconnecting after the busy school year and having down time to set up their elaborate play schemes.
-He adores Gemma. He is kind and gentle. He tells complete strangers at the park proudly that she is his baby sister and she is CUTE. Even strangers who clearly do not want to talk to a 6 year old about how cute his baby sister is. William was so helpful with Gemma while John was in Korea. Without his help, life would have been much more difficult.
-He adores dinosaurs. Everything dinosaur. He has long since left me in the dust (fine by me and I will say that I'm not trying very hard at this particular subject) with his breadth and depth of knowledge on the subject.
- We've become much more interested in trying new foods. Maybe just a bite or two. Even last year this was so difficult for him. Now he enjoys trying something new. He might not eat more than a bite, but at least he is trying some new things.
-Much of the time he is so easy going, it takes me by surprise when he digs his heels in about something. He wears whatever clothes I put out, no arguing. He eats what is on his plate with little to no interference from me. Time to go to the library? Sure mom. Hand me some wipes? Sure, do you need anything else mom?
He sure isn't perfect, but we do love him lots and lots. This summer has been wonderful and I have enjoyed spending more time with his as company. I've enjoyed listening to his ideas, thoughts and questions rather than being exhausted by the constant stream of thought that used to come from him. We're currently working hard on learning that some words have big meaning and can lead you to big trouble. Like a lot of kids, he talks first and thinks about the words much, much later. And that mouth has been a source of trouble for him, but we're working on in!
William:
-still loves to read. Currently loving the Magic Tree House chapter books, Magic School Bus Chapter Books, Geronimo Stilton Chapter books and any book on dinosaurs he can get his hands on. Although he is capable of reading the books on his own, he still loves (and prefers) to be read to. I find him up many nights reading by the hall light at the end of his bed until 9:30. This will have to come to an end when school starts, but until then I turn a blind eye.
-He is Amelia's best friend and she is his. Or worst enemies. There isn't any inbetween. Most days after breakfast, these two will disappear into their rooms and play (almost) happily until lunchtime. Until I go in and demand they put clothes on (remind me to tell you sometime about my pajama hypothesis). Somehow after they are dressed, everything becomes more difficult. Although they still play and play and play. I think both of them have enjoyed reconnecting after the busy school year and having down time to set up their elaborate play schemes.
-He adores Gemma. He is kind and gentle. He tells complete strangers at the park proudly that she is his baby sister and she is CUTE. Even strangers who clearly do not want to talk to a 6 year old about how cute his baby sister is. William was so helpful with Gemma while John was in Korea. Without his help, life would have been much more difficult.
-He adores dinosaurs. Everything dinosaur. He has long since left me in the dust (fine by me and I will say that I'm not trying very hard at this particular subject) with his breadth and depth of knowledge on the subject.
- We've become much more interested in trying new foods. Maybe just a bite or two. Even last year this was so difficult for him. Now he enjoys trying something new. He might not eat more than a bite, but at least he is trying some new things.
-Much of the time he is so easy going, it takes me by surprise when he digs his heels in about something. He wears whatever clothes I put out, no arguing. He eats what is on his plate with little to no interference from me. Time to go to the library? Sure mom. Hand me some wipes? Sure, do you need anything else mom?
He sure isn't perfect, but we do love him lots and lots. This summer has been wonderful and I have enjoyed spending more time with his as company. I've enjoyed listening to his ideas, thoughts and questions rather than being exhausted by the constant stream of thought that used to come from him. We're currently working hard on learning that some words have big meaning and can lead you to big trouble. Like a lot of kids, he talks first and thinks about the words much, much later. And that mouth has been a source of trouble for him, but we're working on in!
Giggles
Almost every day something happens that I think "I need to write this down". Then life gets busy and when I have a moment to breathe, I a) don't feel like writing it down and wrestling with octopus Gemma over the phone/computer or b) I can't remember what was so funny.
I have a few memories llllooooooonnnng overdue and I perhaps have even written about them here before. However, in the last few days they keep resurfacing over and over. And every time I think about them I giggle. So, here is a post about things that make me giggle.
#1 - William was maybe 3? We were struggling with some problem behaviors and our method of dealing was time outs. William would sit in the assigned Time Out Chair for 3 minutes when he was not exhibiting the behavior we expected. Because I tend to not pay attention to time AT ALL, I always set the oven timer to remind myself when the time out was supposed to be over. Left to my own timing skills, it could be anywhere from 4 hours to 2 days before I noticed my child was still in time out (still true, x3).
One particularly difficult day, William served many time outs in his Time Out Chair. Later in the evening, we were making something in the oven (likely a frozen pizza. we are super gourmet that way), and the oven timer went off. William's head whipped up and with wide, wide eyes asked "Who is in time out now?"
I was laughing so hard I could hardly answer. "No one," I finally replied.
"But....the timer....." he trailed off.
And then we had to explain that the oven timer wasn't only for his time outs. It had other uses as well....
#2
In June, we were at the Lake of the Ozarks for my work conference. The resort had a lovely pool and our room was conveniently located adjacent to the pool. Only it turns out to be very difficult to swim for enjoyment when you have 3 kids at the following levels:
1) child believes he can swim. Has no fear and is not worried. Totally confident in his own skills. Reality: He cannot swim for distances greater than 3 feet. While we have made great stride, we still aren't there. In this pool, he cannot quite touch the bottom, which means he needs to be holding on to someone/something any time he is in the pool AND be closely supervised due to his overconfidence in his own skills.
2) Cannot swim and knows it. Has a healthy fear of the water and has to be convinced every time to get in. Cannot touch the bottom and must hang on to someone/something the entire time while in the pool.
3) Cannot swim and doesn't care. Love to splash/kick/wiggle at random times. Slippery when wet plus the wiggly component plus the no fear attitude means extreme caution must be used. Whoever is in charge of this child much be very vigilant.
After discussing with coworkers, one wondered why I didn't bring floaties for the kids so it wouldn't be so stressful. My mouth gaped like a fish as I asked myself "Why? Why? Why didn't that occur to me?"
Floaties were promptly acquired and inflated for pool use the following day. William loved the arm floaties in particular. He paddled around with them on and tormented his sister by considering letting her have a try.....but, no.
What happened next could have been a different story, but since it turned out okay it has now become funny. Hilarious in my mind even.
All 5 of us are paddling around in the pool. John and I are holding Gemma and Amelia. We switch as needed by request or to assist the other child (ie: I took Amelia to the bathroom). William was paddling between John and I, taking the time to torment and tease his sister through both splashing and offers to share the floaties.
When I looked up next, I noticed William hanging onto the edge, removing the arm floaties, and putting them on the edge of the pool. I looked away to check briefly on the girls and when I looked back, William was struggling to put the floaties back on. He was putting them back on his legs. His legs are so slender that the floaties slid alllllll the way on up to his thighs.
One beat later, the floaties did exactly what they were designed to do. They floated. They floated to the surface of the water with William's skinny chicken legs still firmly attached.
William was totally not prepared and was swept off his feet. The look on his face was total disbelief and confusion. His head came close to going under and I reached out to grab him. Baby under 1 arm, big kid under the other.
The look of shock, confusion, disbelief and outrage STILL sends me into a fit of giggles. We then went on to chat about why that wasn't a good idea and how the floaties needed to stay on his arms, etc.
Less than 10 minutes later, I looked over and he was again removing the floaties from his arm and putting it on his leg. Although it was funny the first time, now it was serious and get got out of the pool. Out we went and back to our room.
I have a few memories llllooooooonnnng overdue and I perhaps have even written about them here before. However, in the last few days they keep resurfacing over and over. And every time I think about them I giggle. So, here is a post about things that make me giggle.
#1 - William was maybe 3? We were struggling with some problem behaviors and our method of dealing was time outs. William would sit in the assigned Time Out Chair for 3 minutes when he was not exhibiting the behavior we expected. Because I tend to not pay attention to time AT ALL, I always set the oven timer to remind myself when the time out was supposed to be over. Left to my own timing skills, it could be anywhere from 4 hours to 2 days before I noticed my child was still in time out (still true, x3).
One particularly difficult day, William served many time outs in his Time Out Chair. Later in the evening, we were making something in the oven (likely a frozen pizza. we are super gourmet that way), and the oven timer went off. William's head whipped up and with wide, wide eyes asked "Who is in time out now?"
I was laughing so hard I could hardly answer. "No one," I finally replied.
"But....the timer....." he trailed off.
And then we had to explain that the oven timer wasn't only for his time outs. It had other uses as well....
#2
In June, we were at the Lake of the Ozarks for my work conference. The resort had a lovely pool and our room was conveniently located adjacent to the pool. Only it turns out to be very difficult to swim for enjoyment when you have 3 kids at the following levels:
1) child believes he can swim. Has no fear and is not worried. Totally confident in his own skills. Reality: He cannot swim for distances greater than 3 feet. While we have made great stride, we still aren't there. In this pool, he cannot quite touch the bottom, which means he needs to be holding on to someone/something any time he is in the pool AND be closely supervised due to his overconfidence in his own skills.
2) Cannot swim and knows it. Has a healthy fear of the water and has to be convinced every time to get in. Cannot touch the bottom and must hang on to someone/something the entire time while in the pool.
3) Cannot swim and doesn't care. Love to splash/kick/wiggle at random times. Slippery when wet plus the wiggly component plus the no fear attitude means extreme caution must be used. Whoever is in charge of this child much be very vigilant.
After discussing with coworkers, one wondered why I didn't bring floaties for the kids so it wouldn't be so stressful. My mouth gaped like a fish as I asked myself "Why? Why? Why didn't that occur to me?"
Floaties were promptly acquired and inflated for pool use the following day. William loved the arm floaties in particular. He paddled around with them on and tormented his sister by considering letting her have a try.....but, no.
What happened next could have been a different story, but since it turned out okay it has now become funny. Hilarious in my mind even.
All 5 of us are paddling around in the pool. John and I are holding Gemma and Amelia. We switch as needed by request or to assist the other child (ie: I took Amelia to the bathroom). William was paddling between John and I, taking the time to torment and tease his sister through both splashing and offers to share the floaties.
When I looked up next, I noticed William hanging onto the edge, removing the arm floaties, and putting them on the edge of the pool. I looked away to check briefly on the girls and when I looked back, William was struggling to put the floaties back on. He was putting them back on his legs. His legs are so slender that the floaties slid alllllll the way on up to his thighs.
One beat later, the floaties did exactly what they were designed to do. They floated. They floated to the surface of the water with William's skinny chicken legs still firmly attached.
William was totally not prepared and was swept off his feet. The look on his face was total disbelief and confusion. His head came close to going under and I reached out to grab him. Baby under 1 arm, big kid under the other.
The look of shock, confusion, disbelief and outrage STILL sends me into a fit of giggles. We then went on to chat about why that wasn't a good idea and how the floaties needed to stay on his arms, etc.
Less than 10 minutes later, I looked over and he was again removing the floaties from his arm and putting it on his leg. Although it was funny the first time, now it was serious and get got out of the pool. Out we went and back to our room.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
How to make a baby tired
Ps. I love these pictures because somewhere we have a picture of William and Amelia in about the same way - Amelia is pushing William on this very toy at grandpa and grandma's house.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
A timeline
It's been a crazy busy summer for us. I wanted to just jot down my notes for a record for my memory. Maybe just to document how crazy I really am?
June 19-21 Kelly work conference at Lake of the Ozarks (3 hours away)
June 28- John flies to South Korea for work (close to 24 hours of travel time)
June 28 (afternoon)- my dad offers to meet me at the halfway point with my mom and drive me the rest of the way to MN. I agree. Frenzied packing and list making happens as I pack 3 kids for 8 days at grandpa and grandma's house.
June 29 - Drive myself and 3 kids to Iowa city (3.5 hours away) and meet up with my parents. We divide kids and drive the remaining 3ish hours to their house. W&A ride with grandpa. Gemma and grandma ride in the backseat while I drive.
June 30- We are able to attend my niece's (Z) first birthday party in Minneapolis. On my way to the party, I decide it is a good idea to swing by IKEA and pick up a bookshelf I have had my eye on. Shipping it to our house was going to cost $785. Over the next 2 weeks I curse myself over and over as it is now next to impossible to get in and out of the van. The boxes are super heavy and require the seats to be folded down which blocks the exit/entrance to the vehicle. Super duper bonus points go to Amelia for monkeying her way around the boxes to get to her carseat in the back row for every single car trip.
-various friends and family meet ups occur. Our friends and family do such a great job arranging their lives around our travel plans. It is awesome to see someone different every day!
July 7- drive with Grandpa and Grandma to Mount Pleasant (3.5 hours away). I get all the kids back in my van +bookshelf and we drive the rest of the way home (3 hours). We make it home in time to take the big kids to soccer practice.
-we have various activities this week: soccer, swimming, a library story time, etc. Something to keep us busy every day. It is still a LONG haul chasing 3 kids by myself.
July 12- John arrives home from South Korea (close to 24 hours of travel time)
July 17/18- We get a phone call that my Grandpa's health continues to fail. We have been getting updates on his health at least on a weekly basis for the last several months. We have a trip scheduled for the next week to North Dakota. After much discussion, we decide we need to make the trip.
July 18- drive to Rochester, MN (7ish hours)
July 19- Drive to Grand Forks, ND (6ish hours) I am able to spend some precious time visiting with my Grandpa. We also get to see my brother, sister, my aunt/uncle along with my grandparents. It is good to be surrounded by family.
July 20 - Drive back to Rochester, MN (6hours)
July 21- Drive back home so John can be at work and William can attend the one camp we signed him up for this summer. (7 hours)
July 23- Grandpa Tom passes away. So thankful for our trip the previous weekend.
July 26 - I fly solo with Gemma to Grand Forks, ND. The trip is good and uneventful with the exception of the time Gemma shoved her finger painfully up my nose. As a reflex, I jerked my head away from her prying, sharp fingers. When I did that, I managed to smash into the head of the poor woman sleeping next to me. Oops.
*John picks William up from his Inventor's Camp and drives to Rochester, MN (7 hours)
July 27- Gemma and I attend Grandpa's funeral. While sad, it is wonderful to be surrounded by family. Family I haven't seen in years is there. It was wonderful. Also, stressful when Gemma wasn't interested in sitting. At all. A huge thank you to my new sister in law (Jenny) for taking Gemma on a nice walk. Another thank you to my aunt Kaye for chauffeuring me and Gemma around town and to my mom for picking us up at the airport.
*John drives with the 2 big kids from Rochester, MN to Grand Forks, ND. They miss the funeral (it is likely they would not have attended anyway). They DO get to visit with all the cousins, aunts, uncles there including a few they hadn't met before.
July 30 - We drive to Medora, ND for our previously planned family vacation. We started talking about visiting the badlands of ND this past winter and scheduled it weeks ago. We briefly discussed cancelling, but then decided to forge ahead.
Along the way, we stopped to visit the gravesite of John's mom/Grandma Heidt. Our girls have not been there before and we thought it was important to have them visit. I forgot what a peaceful, quiet and scenic place this is.
We then made a stop at Fort Lincoln State Park outside of Bismarck, ND. John has many fond memories of visiting this location from when he was growing up. We thought this might help break up the car trip for the kids as well (okay, for the grown ups too).
Total driving time- 7 hours.
*Time spent at Teddy Roosevelt National Park including A SCENIC DRIVE! (3 hours+)
August 1- drive back to Grand Forks, ND. We stop at a dinosaur museum along the way. Total drive time 6ish hours.
August 2- Drive back to Rochester, MN (6 hours)
August 4- drive back home (7ish hours)
Is it any wonder that when I went to put Gemma in her carseat on Monday, she arched her back and screamed?
Area we crazy? Probably. But, it was fun AND I am thankful for the time we had together. I'm also thankful John talked me out of driving another 6 hours one way to see Glacier National Park. Maybe next summer?
June 19-21 Kelly work conference at Lake of the Ozarks (3 hours away)
June 28- John flies to South Korea for work (close to 24 hours of travel time)
June 28 (afternoon)- my dad offers to meet me at the halfway point with my mom and drive me the rest of the way to MN. I agree. Frenzied packing and list making happens as I pack 3 kids for 8 days at grandpa and grandma's house.
June 29 - Drive myself and 3 kids to Iowa city (3.5 hours away) and meet up with my parents. We divide kids and drive the remaining 3ish hours to their house. W&A ride with grandpa. Gemma and grandma ride in the backseat while I drive.
June 30- We are able to attend my niece's (Z) first birthday party in Minneapolis. On my way to the party, I decide it is a good idea to swing by IKEA and pick up a bookshelf I have had my eye on. Shipping it to our house was going to cost $785. Over the next 2 weeks I curse myself over and over as it is now next to impossible to get in and out of the van. The boxes are super heavy and require the seats to be folded down which blocks the exit/entrance to the vehicle. Super duper bonus points go to Amelia for monkeying her way around the boxes to get to her carseat in the back row for every single car trip.
-various friends and family meet ups occur. Our friends and family do such a great job arranging their lives around our travel plans. It is awesome to see someone different every day!
July 7- drive with Grandpa and Grandma to Mount Pleasant (3.5 hours away). I get all the kids back in my van +bookshelf and we drive the rest of the way home (3 hours). We make it home in time to take the big kids to soccer practice.
-we have various activities this week: soccer, swimming, a library story time, etc. Something to keep us busy every day. It is still a LONG haul chasing 3 kids by myself.
July 12- John arrives home from South Korea (close to 24 hours of travel time)
July 17/18- We get a phone call that my Grandpa's health continues to fail. We have been getting updates on his health at least on a weekly basis for the last several months. We have a trip scheduled for the next week to North Dakota. After much discussion, we decide we need to make the trip.
July 18- drive to Rochester, MN (7ish hours)
July 19- Drive to Grand Forks, ND (6ish hours) I am able to spend some precious time visiting with my Grandpa. We also get to see my brother, sister, my aunt/uncle along with my grandparents. It is good to be surrounded by family.
July 20 - Drive back to Rochester, MN (6hours)
July 21- Drive back home so John can be at work and William can attend the one camp we signed him up for this summer. (7 hours)
July 23- Grandpa Tom passes away. So thankful for our trip the previous weekend.
July 26 - I fly solo with Gemma to Grand Forks, ND. The trip is good and uneventful with the exception of the time Gemma shoved her finger painfully up my nose. As a reflex, I jerked my head away from her prying, sharp fingers. When I did that, I managed to smash into the head of the poor woman sleeping next to me. Oops.
*John picks William up from his Inventor's Camp and drives to Rochester, MN (7 hours)
July 27- Gemma and I attend Grandpa's funeral. While sad, it is wonderful to be surrounded by family. Family I haven't seen in years is there. It was wonderful. Also, stressful when Gemma wasn't interested in sitting. At all. A huge thank you to my new sister in law (Jenny) for taking Gemma on a nice walk. Another thank you to my aunt Kaye for chauffeuring me and Gemma around town and to my mom for picking us up at the airport.
*John drives with the 2 big kids from Rochester, MN to Grand Forks, ND. They miss the funeral (it is likely they would not have attended anyway). They DO get to visit with all the cousins, aunts, uncles there including a few they hadn't met before.
July 30 - We drive to Medora, ND for our previously planned family vacation. We started talking about visiting the badlands of ND this past winter and scheduled it weeks ago. We briefly discussed cancelling, but then decided to forge ahead.
Along the way, we stopped to visit the gravesite of John's mom/Grandma Heidt. Our girls have not been there before and we thought it was important to have them visit. I forgot what a peaceful, quiet and scenic place this is.
We then made a stop at Fort Lincoln State Park outside of Bismarck, ND. John has many fond memories of visiting this location from when he was growing up. We thought this might help break up the car trip for the kids as well (okay, for the grown ups too).
Total driving time- 7 hours.
*Time spent at Teddy Roosevelt National Park including A SCENIC DRIVE! (3 hours+)
August 1- drive back to Grand Forks, ND. We stop at a dinosaur museum along the way. Total drive time 6ish hours.
August 2- Drive back to Rochester, MN (6 hours)
August 4- drive back home (7ish hours)
Is it any wonder that when I went to put Gemma in her carseat on Monday, she arched her back and screamed?
Area we crazy? Probably. But, it was fun AND I am thankful for the time we had together. I'm also thankful John talked me out of driving another 6 hours one way to see Glacier National Park. Maybe next summer?
Little one
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