Silence

I miss the days when peace and quiet meant I could relax. Now, it means, crap.. hurry up and find the kids!

Today's peace and quiet resulted in this:



Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Makena and Kessler (trying to down some conditioner) in our shower!

America!

The Koala Bears are studying America this month! Yesterday, when I dropped Makena off, I heard one of the teachers talking to the kids about the California Redwoods and New York skyscrapers! How exciting!!

When I arrived at Makena's class to pick her up, after getting a big, wonderful hug, I asked her what she did in class. She told me that she made a "Merigo" flag (American Flag). I asked her if she could show me but we were diverted by one of her classmates. He mumbled something unintelligible and pointed up. Before I had a chance to sort out what he was saying one of the teachers grabbed a water bottle from atop the bookcase. It had Makena's name on it and it was filled with sand and dirty water. As she handed it to me she said, "Makena's Ocean." Makena beamed and said, "yeah, my ocean." They made an ocean! How clever is that!!?

I was and still am impressed by the ocean! Anyway, I read the whiteboard to see what else they did. Among other things, it was written that they were shown photos of Mt. Rushmore. And, they were taught all about monuments.

So, in the car I asked her about monuments. She didn't have much to say. I asked her if she learned about Mt. Rushmore. She said she did. I asked her, "What is Mt. Rushmore?" She said, "It's a mommy-mint."

What's wrong with this photo?

Catching you up

I'm falling behind in my posts (again). So, I'm going to try to get caught up. Grab a cup of coffee and a snack. This could take a while!

Here we go, in no particular order:

Potty Training

It's going really well. We tried big girl pants for the first time last night and she made it all the way through!! We are soo proud of her.

School

Makena moved up from the "Little Bears" to the "Koala Bears". I'm a bit bummed because I love the LB teachers. They were so great with Makena. I think she feels the same way. Over the last two weeks they have been having visits to the KB class for all the kids that were moving up. When I'd pick up from school, she'd tell me that she didn't like the "Big bears".

This past Tuesday was her first full day. When we headed to the KB classroom she wasn't happy at all. She started crying nearly right away. We had a chat about it and I took her to see the LB teachers really quickly so she knew they were still close by. It worked a little, but she kept telling me "I'm not a Koala Bear.. I'm a Little Bear." It was very tough to see my happy little girl so sad! She did finally settle when one of the KB teachers told her she would take her to visit the LB classroom later for a little bit. Makena looked to me and said, "Mommy, I'll go to the Little Bears.. just for a little bit, okay?", as she stressed "just for a little bit" with her tiny index finger and thumb held up nearly touching one another.

I called to check on her later and they said she was fine. That appears to be the case; when I picked her up she was her usual happy self when she told me that she liked the Koala Bears.

What Makena learned in Texas

The video speaks for itself. Thanks Husband.






Ellie

This is just a sweet little story about Makena's best buddy, Ellie. Ellie is a member of the family. She joined us when Makena was just a few weeks old. I think she really became a fixture because of Mark's and my encouragement, but it worked; Makena loves her. We think it's a healthy attachment. She really only wants her when she sleeps. Even then, if she needs to be washed overnight or something, she's always been fine with it. And, only by accident does she end up going out of the house with us. The one bad thing is she tends to stink. Makena used to suck on her nose all the time, but she seems to be past that now and Ellie's nose hygeine is better for it.

Anyway, I always try to remind Makena to put Ellie on her bed on Tuesdays, when the house cleaners come. It seems when she doesn't do this Ellie ends up in the dirty clothes hamper, the clean clothes hamper.. or in a drawer somewhere. So, a couple of Tuesdays ago I watched Makena put Ellie in her bed. Later that night she couldn't find her. Knowing she would turn up I didn't worry too much. But, Makena kept asking, "what did the house cleaners do with her?" Mark searched in all the obvious places. Anyway, several days went by and Makena kept asking about her. "Where's Ellie?" "Keep looking." "What did the house cleaners do with her?" The following week when the house cleaners came back I asked if they had seen her. They felt awful, but couldn't remember. After they left, Makena asked if they had found her. She never cried and she was always accepting of our answers. But, this was breaking Mark's heart and starting to get to me as well, so to ebay Mark went. Thirty five dollars later we had a new Ellie on her way. The day she was to arrive, Mark found the real Ellie in one of the bins in Makena's room. I have no idea how we didn't look there; it was the most obvious places. That day Mark took the kids to the zoo while I was at the dentist. Makena kept Ellie with her the whole time. You'll notice her in some photos later in this post. She's so happy to have her buddy back.

The other day Makena was sitting on the floor with old Ellie, just outside of Mark's closet when she said, "What's that right there?" pointing up. "What's what?" "That" she points. I look up and mumur a relatively inaudible, "Oh shit! Nothing." You see, I, underestimating my daughter, hid Ellie way up high in Mark's closet. Apparently Makena doesn't just wander around through life gazing at eye level. Because of this, when she looked up amongst Mark's blue, brown and otherwise dark clothing, the bright pink and green Ellie imposter stood out like dog's nuts (as Mark would say). "Is that.. Ellie?" she says with a bit a excitement laced with confusion. "No, no, no, it's not. Let's go get some ice cream." And with that, a major catastrophy was avoided. I am just barely smarter than my 3 year old.


Helmet

Kessler been wearing his helmet some the last four weeks, mostly just at night. On Monday we went for our last appointment! His head did improve a little more:

We are so glad to be done with it! His head always smelled awful from the sweat. It was also quit painful when he'd drop his head into my chest (normally a sweet jesture) only to have his helmet crack me in the jaw. It's nice that it's just a memory now!



Teething

I believe Kessler's 9th tooth is coming in. He has a really tough time with the whole teething thing. We've spent the last 7 weeks or so waking up many times through the night. He has been doing really well the last few nights, thank goodness. We've needed the extra sleep.

Professional Photos
Here are some photos from the second session of "Kessler's first year." He's only changed a little since then.


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Poop

While I am quite sick of having poop stories to tell, they are nevertheless still funny. A few days ago we took the kids to the pool at our gym. I took Makena to the ladies locker room and Mark took Kess to the men's. Only, Mark had no swimsuit for Kessler. So, I met Mark at the pool where he proceeded to undress Kessler. Upon removing the diaper, a big, nasty pile of poop fell into Mark's lap. Of course, this was abso-freakin-lutely hilarious to me. Despite this, I tried to show some semblance of a good wife/mother by grabbing Kessler and standing him on the table. Then, of course, I resumed my reveling of Mark's predicament. In the midst of fumbling around for something to use to grab the poop, Mark instinctively looks up at me. I suspect it was to glare, but within a split second, he's smiling.

He can't possibly see the humor in this yet, I think to myself.. just a second before I feel my abdomen get warm. Then I feel the same warmth streaming down my thighs to my feet. I look over in the direction of my handsome little boy, beaming and pissing away... at me.

Today

This is why I was able to make such a long post today. This, of course, has never happened before. He fell asleep in between spoonfuls.




Recent Photos

And finally, here are some photos from Santa Cruz and the zoo.




Some older photos

...from a few weeks ago.

Grandma and Grandpa are coming!

fancygens.com

The countdown started ages ago, but I'll make it official by posting it on our blog!! We can't wait to see you Grandma and Grandpa!!

Scapegoat

Yesterday, Mark was getting Makena ready for swim class when she noticed that her underwear was a little wet.

Makena: Oh no.
Mark: What's wrong?
Makena: My underwear is wet.
Mark: Oh no, what happened?
Makena: I don't know.... Kessler did it.

No Way

Last night we made our way to Nordstrom for a preview of the big sale they are having this weekend. It's a great sale--40% off and Mark needs a suit. And here, the story begins. Mark parks the car and we walk the mile to the store entrance. You see, I am not one to stalk those returning to their car, but I do attempt to reduce the kid schlepping distance whenever possible, not Mark. He makes no effort whatsoever to park closer to the entrance, no matter how easy it is.

So, after arriving at the Nordstrom entrance, we wander up to the 3rd floor. We walk all the way over to the men's section. At this point Makena issues the alert, "I need to go to the potty." As if everyone's life depends on it, I sweep her up and race back down the stairs to the 1st floor and scurry into the first available stall--in record time, I'm certain. With the adrenalin still rushing through my veins, we stand looking at the toilet and she says, "You first"... "Me first?.. um, I don't have to go Makena." "No, you first." "Really, I'm good." After a bit of back and forth she agrees to hop on the potty. We wait and wait and talk about her new underwear. Then she says, "My pee pee is sleeping. I can't wake it up." "Hmmm. Really?" "Yes, it's ni-ni." "Hmmm.. are you sure?" "Yes." So, off the potty she comes and back to the third floor we go.

There we find Mark looking at four suits the salesperson has laid out for him. Makena explains what happened at the potty; the salesperson is thrilled. Just as Mark was asking me what I thought, I hear, "Mommy, I have to go to the potty." "Are you sure?" "Yes." And off across the store and down the stairs we go. This time however, her poopies was asleep. But, she was able to wake it. Excellent!! Shew, back to daddy we go with a full report on the happenings at the potty.

Okay, now, where were we.... "I think I like tha-" "Moooommy, I have to go poopy again." "What?" "Yeah!" I'm exhausted by this point. Mark galliantly offers to go this time as the salesperson stands in disbelief. He walks the fourteen steps to the men's restroom and returns minutes later, "Yep, she had to go." Apparently she only woke up part of her poopies the last time.

SURELY, we are done with the potty now, right? Hmmm, then, what's that smell? Kessler decides not to be outdone (much like his daddy) and... we had no wipes. So, we make the command decision to just hurry and change him when we are done. Did we forget that we were picking out a suit, that would need to be sized.. and that we hadn't narrowed it down from the original four? Yes, we did forget each of those facts. Realizing that continuing to keep Kessler in his soiled diaper was cruel to anyone within 50 feet, including Kessler, we decided to pretend like we are good parents. Mark remembered that the restrooms had diaper/wipe dispensers so he asks the salesperson (who absolutely loves us by now) to give him change for a dollar. Once again I go off to the women's restroom. "Out of order" the sign that is affixed to the diaper/wipes dispenser says. You have to f&*(#%$ be kidding me, I say. Back to the men's section. Mark once again leaves the salesperson stranded while he goes to purchase wipes from the men's restroom. He returns, proud of his resourcefulness. "Mark, I think this is only a diaper." "No, it said it had wipes." "No, it's only a diaper." "Nooo, it has wipes." I open the box; show him it's empty and hold up the only thing that came from the box--a diaper. In the meantime, we pick the suit, the perfect suit mind you, but he still needs to be fitted and to pay for it.

Really, the only responsible thing to do is take Kessler to the car and change him. So, off I go, across the store, down the stairs, back across the store, to the last parking space in the lot. I change Kessler and head back to the men's section relieved that it must be over soon. I arrive at the counter; Mark turns with a look of pure despair, "The suit is not on sale." We leave tearful and suitless.

Potty Training

Jeez, I love my kids.

Mark and I have been trying to get Makena to consistently use the potty. We started by trying to convert her to pull-ups but they really are no different than a diaper as far as she's concerned. So for several months now she has been doing some of her business on the potty and the rest in her diaper/pull-ups.

Yesterday I decided to try big girl underwear. We've had them for months and let her try them on a few times. But, for some damn reason we kept expecting her to say to us, "Okay, I'm ready now. Whether you put me in pull-ups or underwear, I shall no longer urinate or defecate in them. Yes, dear parents, from this point forward I will beckon you hither to assist me whenever I ever-so-much-as get the slightest inclination to potty." Fancy that not happening. Instead, after the mere suggestion yesterday morning, she happily put on her big girl underwear. Shortly after, she peed in them. But, then we knew what happens when you pee in big girl underwear. Interestingly enough, the same thing happens when you pee in them while lying in your bed. Lesson learned. The rest of the day when I asked if she needed to go to the potty, she said yes if she did and no if she didn't. I put a diaper on her when we went to the gym as to not make going to the gym as traumatic for her as it is for me (for different reasons). When we came home her diaper was dry.

Well, I'll be damned.

So this morning, feeling very confident, like someone about to win the Parent of the Year award, I donned Makena in her best Elmo underwear. I packed two spares of everything and drove her to school--promising to buy her play-doh when I get the news that she went pee-pee/poopy in the potty at school (something she's never done).

Guess what she was wearing when I arrived to pick her up. The same thing she was wearing when I dropped her off!! She raced over to let me know that she did, in fact, go pee-pee in the potty!!

I'll be double-damned.

Tomorrow I'm going shopping for the biggest pack of play-doh I can find!!

Parent of the Year

Unbeknownst to me, Mark has been competing for the Parent of the Year award. His first submission entailed allowing Kessler to entangle himself with a table located in our foyer. Apparenly Mark heard some grunting and grumbling, similar to someone who might be quite frustrated. The ensuing investigation uncovered the following:




For perspective, this is the table without the adornment of my child:




Pretty good, but fearing he would be outdone, Mark decided to up his game. Yesterday, I had an appointment so he took the kids to the park for a BBQ. Kessler was crawling around under the picnic table when suddenly, he started to gag and cough. Being the ever so attentive father, Mark swept him up into his arms. At which point Kessler spat out something similar to the following:



..unfortunately, this was not a fresh piece of gum that Kessler was gnawing on nor was it Mark's.