Compliment

This morning T told me, "Mom, you're not so bad at making egg sandwiches" - This was his way of complimenting my cooking skills. He really liked the egg sandwich (and so did K who complimented me by eating it).

Not hot

Another note from K's teachers at daycare today:
"K was eating his mac and cheese at lunch, when the child next to him said, 'Too hot. Don't want.' K informed the child, 'Not hot. Just warm. Eat. Good. Mac and cheese' as he placed a spoonful in his mouth."

Where 'W' go?

K's teachers at school always write a little note about something he did during the day. On November 24, 2015 we got:
K was putting the alphabet puzzle together and could not locate the letter 'W'. He went to every child and asked, "Where 'W' go?" Finally he located it on the floor.

Grape the Great

The following dialogue occurred at the dinner table a few weeks ago (I quickly scribbled it on a post it and only just found it again).
T to The Scoot: "You're the pizza."
T to Me: "You're the waffle and I'm the grape."
Me: "Does the waffle eat the grape?"
T: "No, the grape rides the waffle and the grape eats the pizza.

Halloween 2015

Thriller

T's Class perform to "Thriller" at the class Halloween Party on October 30, 2015. I had the hugest grin on my face throughout the whole performance.

Itchy Knee

T's class counts to 10 in Japanese at the class Halloween Party on October 30, 2015. The hand gestures are actions to help the kids remember the Japanese numbers.

Pajama Riders

We had just finished getting ready for bed, when the boys noticed that they neighbors were playing outside. The days were getting shorter, but the weather was surisingly warm an pleasant for riding in the cul-de-sac.

September 10, 2015

mine mine mine

September 10, 2015

Story Time

Guess what we've been reading at bed time.

October 25, 2015

Dirty Laundry

I was nearly done in the shower on Sunday morning when I heard a small someone carrying on in the bedroom. When I came out of the bathroom I didn't see anyone right away, but as I rounded the corner of the bed, I found all the laundry scattered on the floor and this in my laundry basket.

September 27, 2015

Sneaky

K was in the pantry trying to get some treats. I told him he couldn’t have any and closed the door. A moment later he grabbed my hand and led me down the hall into the bedroom. After releasing my hand, he left the room and went back down the hall. I waited a moment until I heard the pantry door open and then walked out to the kitchen only to find him trying to reach the treats again.

He has done this sort of thing a few times now, leading me away so he can do whatever it is he thinks I shouldn't see. Sneaky little kid.

Dueday

August 9, 2015
K enjoys a special Birthday card from his aunt and uncle.

And ... a few pictures from his Birthday (or Dueday as he calls it) party

One Stop Shopping

July 26, 2015

Parking

I joined T on his Dolphin class field trip to the park. It was supposed to be a berry picking trip, but the berries were mostly gone for the season, probably due to how incredibly and uncharacteristically hot it's been.

July 24, 2015

Cape Lookout

Camping at Cape Lookout, OR July 17-18 2015

Lazer Doe

It's been over a month and I'm only now making the time to document K's accident on the blog. On June 15, 2015 K fell 7-8 feet from a ladder onto concrete onto his head. There was no blood - just a skid mark on the side of his forehead. I didn't see the fall, but was told he hit the rungs of the ladder on the way down, which likely slowed his fall. He did have "rung rash" on the inside of one elbow suggesting he hooked an arm over a rung at some point. We rushed him to the Urgent Care about 1/2 mile from our house where they immediately called an ambulance after asking "What possessed you to bring him to the Urgent Care" (instead of the ER) ... Well, the Urgent care was closer. I learned that a fall of more than twice one's height (on to the head at least) is considered a trauma and K and I were sent by ambulance to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Downtown Portland while The Scoot got T situated at his cousins house. I spent the ambulance ride trying to keep K from falling asleep and thinking he'd be thrilled to be riding in an ambulance under less painful circumstances (given his typical little boy fixation on emergency and construction vehicles). The ambulance medics were very calm, kind, and professional and let me know what to expect before we arrived at the hospital - basically a very busy room full of about 12 people ready to take care of K and ask me questions.
Being somewhat preoccupied with K, I never did count, but 12 sounds about right. They were very efficient, but also took care to make space for me to be close to K who just wanted to be held (but couldn't be until after the CT scan). They made sure I was able to hold his hand or have some other skin to skin contact with him throughout all the proceedings. I sang to him as they bustled about and inserted and IV (after three attempts to find his poor tiny veins) and a couple of the staff members even sang "You are my Sunshine" with me. The IV drama forced K from his attempts at sleeping and there were many cries for "Mama" which broke my heart, but I was grateful for his responsiveness. I think his responsiveness more than anything (even though he was drowsy) helped me hope/believe that everything would be alright.
They draped me with a lead apron and let me keep a hand on K's tummy during the CT scan. I continued to sing to him as well and the IV wasn't needed in the end. It was placed in case they needed to sedate him to keep him still for the CT scan, but he was very still and fell asleep about half way through the scan. He was a good little patient and after the scan, I was able to hold him as he slept.
Not long after that The Scoot arrived at the hospital and we received good news. He had a fracture, but there was no offset or depression so he wouldn't require surgery and there was no brain swelling. They offered to let us stay overnight for monitoring, but also said they felt comfortable sending us home, so we opted to go home. K slept well, and only awoke once appearing to be uncomfortable, and then went right back to sleep. He woke the next morning in a fantastic mood as though nothing had ever happened. We hadn't planned to take him to daycare because we figured he'd be uncomfortable and cranky, but given his mood we took him in. The Scoot worked from home (just over a mile from daycare) in case he required early pick up, but one of his teachers commented that he'd had a fantastic day - even better than most.
The Legacy Emanuel staff was so efficient, kind, and non-judgmental. One women even voiced the opinion that we can't protect them from everything and they need a chance to be who they are - which is what K was being - his own little monkey self and a happy one at that. The same woman also complemented me on my calmness through the whole thing and said it really makes a difference when the parents are calm. I'm surprised that I never had to make a conscious effort to be calm. It's possible that the reality of the situation just hadn't sunk in and that I was too focused on the experience to think about the possible outcomes ... that and I just felt like it would be all right. I'm so glad that feeling didn't turn out to be a delusion.
Although I didn't blog right away, I did post a couple of things on facebook:
June 16, 2015
"If I never take another ride in an ambulance it will be too soon (yes, the lights and sirens were on). I can say that the Ambulance medics and trauma staff at Legacy Emanuel are awesome. K fell 7-8 feet onto concrete last night and landed on his head. He has a skull fracture (right side of his forehead) and some abrasions, but his brain looked good on the CT scan with no internal bleeding or swelling. They offered to let us stay overnight for monitoring, but also said they were comfortable sending us home, so we opted to go home. He slept well last night and woke up in a great mood as his own little busy self. He was quite excited, oohing over all his little band aids where the staff had tried to insert the IV which luckily didn't get used since he fell asleep during the CT scan (it was bed time). He's such a trooper.
I also learned that the trauma unit gives patients nick names when they're en-route so they can start charting and planning before they have the patients real name. Last night K was Laser Doe for a couple of hours."
and June 18, 2015
"It's hard to believe there's a crack in that little skull. It certainly doesn't seem to be slowing him down."

Our primary care doctor wanted to see K the next day and The Scoot took him in. I talked to her a couple of weeks ago when I took T in for the croup and she commented on how surprised she was to see him acting like his normal, little, active self especially after reading the accident report.
I love this little boy! I suspect this won't be our last trip to the ER, but I hope all our future accidents are met with the same staunch resilience.

Hidden Cracker

K: "Cracker? Cracker?"
I give him two rice rusks.
A few minutes later ...
K: "Cracker? Cracker?"
I give him another 2 rice rusks
A minute or so later ...
K: "Cracker? Cracker?" (he's still holding one)
Me: "But you still have one."
K quickly hides the cracker behind his back
I try to peek behind him and he turns his body to keep the cracker hidden and then pulls it to the front to continue hiding it as he senses I've seen the cracker. He's not even two yet. How did he get so clever? K feels like he always needs one of whatever he's eating for each hand, lol.

The Cheese Stands Alone

Monday night T was playing nursery rhyme songs on Starfall ... "The Farmer in the Dell," "Georgy Porgey," and others, but those are the two I kept hearing. I looked over at him and noticed he had a sad little face and tears in his eyes. I asked what was wrong, which made him sniff and nearly break down into tears. Then I went to the couch and put my arm around him and asked him why he was so sad, to which he responded "The Cheese is all alone." He's such a tender little soul.

Interview with a 4.5-year-old

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you
2. What makes mom happy? Doing what she asks you to
3. What makes mom sad? Seeing the cats die
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Doing the goo goo ga ga *T does the sunflower dance* and saying Mr. Snoopypants
5. What was your mom like as a child? Laughing
6. How old is your mom? I don't know
7. How tall is your mom? HUGE
8. What is her favorite thing to do? play with her child
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? work
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? to give her son a hug
11. What is your mom really good at? sewing
12. What is your mom not very good at? making her son get away from her when she's going potty
13. What does your mom do for a job? hug her child again
14. What is your mom's favorite food? chives (really?)
15. What makes you proud of your mom? my mom giving me a heart colored in what isn't scribbled
16. If your mom were a character, who would she be? Han Solo
17. What do you and your mom do together? give hearts to each other at valentines day and Mother's Day and Father's day and having hugs and having kisses
18. How are you and your mom the same? there skin is the same 'cause your skin is light and my skin is light but there's the difference of our hair. Your hair is black and my hair is gold. Do you know the difference of our ears? Your's have earrings and mine don't.
19. How are you and your mom different? My hair is gold and your hair is black (it's really dark blond)
20. How do you know your mom loves you? giving me hugs and kisses and hearts
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? giving him hearts
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? The Lego world. The Lego world is where all the live Legos are. Have you ever been to the Lego world? I have (This story went on a bit longer, but I couldn't type fast enough)
23. How old was your Mom when you were born? 5? 4 or 3 or 1 or 2

Dancing, Falling, and Rolling

May 26, 2015

Munchkin on the Move

May 25, 2015

Dramatic Magnets

T decided to play a little prank yesterday and won himself an X-ray at the ER. He walked up to his teacher and said he's swallowed some magnets (spherical gumball sized magnets). Then he laughed and said he was just kidding and showed the teacher the magnets in his hand. This is pretty typical for T and wouldn't have been a big deal if a couple of his friends hadn't claimed that they saw him swallow magnets. The magnets in his hand were the typical metallic color and his friends claimed he swallowed the "colored" ones. At this point it was T's word against his friends and T maintained his stance that he didn't swallow them. I talked to him on the phone and was 99.9% sure he didn't swallow them. However, after talking to my supervisor who also has little kids I took her advice and called our pediatrician. She recommended that since no with impeccable credibility could vouch that he hadn't swallowed the magnets that he should to go the ER and have and X-ray to be sure because magnets can cause very severe damage. The Scoot took him to the ER, and as expected the X-ray was clear. We had a little chat about how one always needs to tell the truth in order to always be believed. I feel that I can usually extract the truth when something is important like this and I so wanted to believe him, but in this case we just had to be sure. Poor kiddo. Hopefully this object lesson in truthfulness will help set him on the path to a truthful existence. I should also point out that he's a ridiculously good kid and that is probably less devious than many 4-year-olds, but he does like to play jokes.

T

May 17, 2015

Owshide (Outside)

May 17, 2015

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

For the most part "Sea Life" in Berlin wasn't all that interesting. The very best part was Kieran in the Mirror Maze at the end. He thought it was hysterical.

October 1, 2014

Zip Line

Parks in Germany are soooo much cooler than parks in the US! You only get to see the zip line here, but there was a big castle structure with a suspension bridge and everything. So much fun! This park was in Berlin about half a block from our hotel.

October 1, 2014

Enter the Stepstool

Check out this innovative little man. We didn't catch it on video but K is really good at climbing up on this stool on the bed and balancing on it. He constantly astounds me with his tiny athleticism.

May 3, 2015 - Row Row / Fall Down

May 3, 2015 - Jump / Fall Down / Tunnel

May 3, 2015 - Fall down

Little Tramping

This little someone usually sits in the middle of the trampoline laughing and trying to get to his feet while older children circle and jump around him. He's quite the independent little boy. After dinner on Saturday night he found his way outside and onto the trampoline all by himself. I looked out the window to see this little man gleefully running about the tramp like a crazy thing in his little Seuss worthy "Thing" romper. He accidentally dumped water on himself and dinner and this was the backup outfit stored in the car months before for just such an occasion. Of course he changed his tactics as soon as he saw me recording, but at least I caught a few moments of the awesome toddler tramp run.

May 16, 2015

Sunday Walk

Out for a Sunday walk, March 22, 2015

Temporary Chicken

Me: We are going to stop at Trader Joe's on the way home to buy some Tempura Chicken for dinner.
K (very excited): I love Temporary Chicken!!!

Little Man with a Plan

Me: Do you want to go night night (nap) or play outside for a few minutes (it's a beautiful day)
K: Night night, night night, night night, night night ... (while running to his bedroom)

This is one little boy who knows what he wants ... see above ... and below ... K LOVES his fire truck and car/truck shirts. He loves them so much he wants to wear them both at the same time. Getting ready for bed at night has become a bit of an ordeal when one of these shirts is in play.