From the Mouths of Babes in September

Linus:  How about we get some things that you aren't supposed to eat all the time?

Linus: This (insert drink) is cool and refreshing.

Linus: Mommy can I be in the navy when I grow up?
Me: Sure.
Linus: I'm just gonna stay on board and do paperwork and answer phone calls.
Me: Like Grandpa?
Linus: Mm hmm.

Checking on Linus after a three hour nap:
Me:  Linus are you okay?
Linus: I'm trying to sleep all day. I'm nocturnal.  So good day! (rolls over)

Eileen: Hands self Linus!

Eileen: Linus be nice Eileen!

Eileen:  Ooh, look at Mama's pretty shoes!

Ancient Mummies

Linus has a very vivid imagination and a love of knowledge.  Sometimes he likes to combine the two.  Dave is a loving father.  Together, they have authored several books after Eileen goes to bed. Perhaps you have heard of the classic tale, The Story of Tamboo?  The other day Linus felt compelled to write a book for his friend, Ari.  Ari just got back from vacation and Linus is excited to present him with the book.  I thought it best to make a digital copy before it left our possession.

Guest blogging, I present to you the writings of Linus.

Linus' attempt at hieroglyphics

can you tell which art is by Linus and which is by Dave?

To answer your questions:
1.  No, Linus has not been to the King Tut exhibit.
2.  Yes, we plan to take him.
3.  No, he doesn't have any publishing deals in the works yet.
4.  Yes, we are open to working with an agent.

Growing Up Preschool Style

This week we finally hit our groove for fall.  AM Preschool for Linus on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Nurturing Pathways with Eileen on Wednesdays.  Lil' Kickers on Thursdays.  It feels good.  The kids and I both crave structure and predictability. 

As previously mentioned, Linus started a new preschool this year.  It's only been a few weeks, but I can tell we are getting our money's worth. 

1.  Long naps.  Yesterday's and today's nap was 3 hr 15 minutes.  He even nuzzled in during the story.  Upon waking, Linus uttered, "Preschool tires me out."

2.  The Catholic influence is already showing.  Linus now reminds me we need to pray before meals and insists on making the sign of the cross first.  He is learning a mealtime prayer and is annoyed with me that I don't know it.

3.  He has got the letter A down pat, both capital and lowercase.  Linus has also started identifying other letters and spelling his name.  I predict he will be reading by the end of the year.

4.  Today he asked me if we could start a system where he raises his hand to be excused from the table and he isn't allowed to raise his hand if he still has food in his mouth. 

5.  Linus is very proud that he stood in line at preschool and washed his own cup.

6.  After going to library class at school, Linus asked me about Mo Willem books, what my favorite was because he noticed they had them at the library.  We then proceeded to have a book discussion.

7.  Finally, Linus asked for chores.  I had already been thinking about it and noticed the great chore chart my sister-in-law does for each of her kids last time I was at her house.  Today we made one up.  He is taking it very seriously and understands there is no reward other than being part of the family.

I am hoping that preschool can help with Linus' lack of impulse control.  Do all little boys feel a constant need to be physically rough and have nonstop energy?  I know he doesn't have ADHD, but man is it exhausting.

My preschool scholar (with the baby lego bats he rescued and has now brought home to be our pets.  He has assured me they don't have rabies).

Doin' the Puyallup

You can do it at a trot.  You can do it at a gallup. You can do it real slow so your heart won't palpitate. Just don't be late. Do the Puyallup!

Who doesn't remember this jingle?  Growing up in Tacoma, the Puyallup fair was as much a part of September as the start of school.  It meant a free dress day at school and early dismissal so we could all go.  Even my 8th grade math teacher worked afternoons and weekends there.  When I think of the fair I immediately conjure up the smells of greasy food, the excitement of the possibility of going on a ride or two, the shows (and the boredom of the hours spent walking the exhibition halls without complaint in order to hopefully earn a scone and a ride).  

Moving away from Pierce County, I haven't been in years.  It just doesn't seem like as big a deal in Seattle.  After seeing how much fun my cousin and her kids had at the fair last year, I knew I needed to go.  I tried to plan ahead--don't go on a weekend, fewer crowds, bring an extra adult (or three), lots of cash, pack a lunch for the kids.  I enlisted both my parents and my brother to go with us while Dave was at work.

My dad was so excited to share the Puyallup Fair with the grandkids. I'm glad he was there because for some reason I just could not get my bearings.  He got us everywhere we wanted to go.  Our first stop was some of the farm exhibits.  Linus decided he didn't like barns due to the smell.  Due to lack of time/traveling with small ones, we only saw the cow and goat barns and the piglets.

milking Mabel

After watching Linus, Eileen got right in there

We went to the rainforest exhibit.  The kids LOVED it.  I felt a little bad for the animals.  Their cages were anything but natural habitats.

We had to drag Eileen out of the turtle shell two different times.

Of course we made it to the animal petting area.  A few changes have been made since the early 1980s.  They no longer let the kids hold the baby chicks and bunnies.  It's probably safer and the kids didn't seem to notice, but still...

petting goats

chasing sheep

Eileen could not get enough of the baby chicks. She was very gentle.

A surprise hit was visiting the RVs.  Linus had never been inside one before so I thought he might get a kick out it. I was pretty impressed by the one with a fireplace.  It was only $139,000.  Leaving the RVs was the only time Eileen threw a tantrum.

Sucking down my lemonade.  She refused to give it back.

Happy Birthday Uncle Tim!! What better way to spend the day then at the fair with little kids?

Uncle Tim went on the roller coast with Linus.  To my surprise, my mother volunteered to go on the ghost pirate ride.  My dad really wants to be the grandparent that gives the kids sugar, and introduces them to sweet treats.  Hence he sprung for cotton candy while I was in the bathroom.  I came out to find Linus jumping up and down with excitement.

Trying cotton candy for the first bite.  First bite--yummy.  Second bite--not so much.  Cotton candy is an acquired taste.

Linus was a good big brother and went on rides with Eileen.  Eileen had complete faith in her brother's flying ability.

in the air!

good old canoe ride.  many of the rides of my childhood are still there and have the wear to prove it.

 There weren't a whole lot of rides for Eileen, but when I saw the pony ride.  I knew we had to.  I think my dad was just as excited.  He scooped her up, ran her over there, held her waiting in line, and walked with her around the ring one time.  I have to give props for the pony ride.  It's 7 bucks, but the kids ride around the ring at least 6, maybe 10 times.  We definitely got our money's worth.

pure bliss

Having my family there was amazing.  If you had told me when I was eight, that I would one day voluntarily go to the fair with my parents as an adult, I would have thought you crazy.  I appreciated the help and enthusiasm.  The kids loved it too.  My parents and Tim both chipped in for rides, which was completely unexpected.  Eileen loved that Grandpa bought an elephant ear to share.

I don't usually buy overpriced junk toys when we go places, but since it was such a special occasion I thought I would make an exception.

from left to right, Spiderman, Linus, Diego

I will admit that there were challenging times.  Linus had a couple of tantrums.  He actually took off running and screaming at one point (which he has never done).  I was totally *that* parent, chasing their child.  I'm glad the place wasn't crowded.  Needless to say, he had a few timeouts at the fair.  Luckily, after the running away episode and eating some lunch, he pulled it together for the rest of the day. 

Despite a few episodes of screaming and crying, it was a magical day.  I ate two scones and a krusty pup.  I really wanted to try a deep fried twinkie but couldn't find one.  I wasn't brave enough to try deep fried butter.  We were at the fair for four hours and barely scratched the surface of the fair.  Next year, I'll let Linus try mutton busting and I'll plan better so we go on a day when they kids can do trout fishing.  I might even let Dave come.  There's definitely nothing like doing the Puyallup.

Soccer! (and fossils)

Today marked the start of another season of Lil' Kickers and sporting a jersey for the first time was Eileen. 

We knew she was ready.  She started commandeering Linus' soccer apparel.  Linus is still wearing the uniform he got when he was 20 months old.  It's a little shocking to see how much he has grown in two years.

Linus' first soccer class, 20 months old and rocking a binky.

Eileen, 21 months, in Linus' soccer clothes. I hope she doesn't mind that they no longer give out shorts with the jerseys.

We don't do soccer year round.  One, it's too expensive, and two, I don't want a preschool burnout.  I try to limit their extracurricular activities to one per season.  Day one was a success.  Linus worked hard and was dripping sweat by the end of class.  Eileen and I did the Bunnies class.  She was a little clingy at first, but warmed up by the end of things.  I think it helped that she had Coach Kat, who Linus has now had as a coach twice.  As we left for the car, Eileen said, "Soccer class had fun."

She pretty much refused to put down the water bottle and carried it for most of the class.

After soccer, we decided to have fun with one of Linus' new interests, fossils.  Linus recently started collecting and now has a special chest to hold them.  He currently only has three.  The coolest is a 15 million year old shark tooth given to him by my chiropractor.  We headed over to the Burke Museum at UW to see some fossils. It's first Thursday of the month, which means free admission to almost all the museums.

Please touch tables with fossils, native art, and pictures for coloring.

Dinosaur fun in the education area

Linus was so excited to see everything he ran through the museum.  I tried to get him to slow down a little and check out all the cool stuff in the education area--dinosaurs, puzzles, books, please touch fossils and rocks, you know, things he loves. Linus compromised and played for ten minutes before insisting on moving forward.  We only got to spend a little time downstairs with the People of the Pacific exhibit.  Eileen was getting melty so we had to head home.

It was a fun morning and I enjoyed the three hour nap Linus took as a result.  Good times.  My goal is to try to take advantage of the first Thursday of the month at least three times this year.  We'll see what happens.

First Day of School

Today was Linus' first day of preschool at his new school.  We loved his old preschool, but I knew that maybe he needed a little bit more academically.  I think it's too bad that they don't do uniforms in preschool.  Not only would it be cheaper, but I can't help but think how cute he would look.

Linus was very excited for school when he woke up this morning.  He was practically bouncing off the walls.  Eileen really wanted to go with him, but she got to spend the morning with Grandma.  The first day is more like an open house so I got to go too.

First, we had to take pictures.  I was a bit surprised when Eileen ran to be in the pictures.  That is until I remembered that Eileen wants to be a part of anything that Linus does.

After preschool, Linus and I picked up Grandma and Eileen, and we all went out for coffee on Ballard Avenue.  We then strolled through some of the boutiques.  Eileen has got strolling down pat.

I'm really excited for the start of the school year.  I wasn't able to put Eileen in a preschool program this year.  Instead I am hoping to do some "school" at home with Eileen one morning a week while Linus is at school.  She and I will also do Nurturing Pathways one day a week.  Hopefully, this will sustain her until next year. 

From the Mouths of Babes in August

Eileen:  Whoopsy Daisy!

Linus:  So here's what I'm thinking.  I will have all the power.

Eileen: Mmm. Beer.  (Eileen after trying root beer)

Linus:  My baby Lucy (a doll) is allergic to mama milk.  She likes regular milk, apple juice, and beer.

Eileen:  Scooby Doo! Scooby Doo! (translation: I want Linus' scuba gear!)

**Despite the way it may appear, Dave and I do not spend our days drinking tons of beer.**