Funny looking pants

K sometimes likes to get himself dressed and doesn't want any help. Sometimes he wants help with just one item like socks or a shirt. The other day was one such day and he had put on everything but his shirt, so he asked "mama" for help. She helped him and thought something seemed a little off, but quickly let it slip from her mind. A few hours later, she heads off to church to play violin for the local bishop who is heading to Greece for a mission. With an upcoming race the following weekend, I had to go help prepare the race car and trailer so I couldn't leave the kids home alone and intended to take them with me.

Just prior to leaving the house, I had both kids go to the bathroom. T went first and finished quickly and proceeded to get into the car and K went to the bathroom. A few minutes passed and I hadn't heard from K, so I asked if he was pooping. He said "no" followed by "don't leave!" I assured him I would not leave without him. A few minutes later I called back to him and he responded in a more terrified voice "don't leave!!" I again assured him I wouldn't leave without him and asked if he needed help. He failed to respond, so I made my way back to the bathroom. When I get there, he is standing partially behind the toilet, half way bending down trying to pull up his pants, practically whimpering. I asked "what's wrong" and he responded "I can't!" as he gestured at pulling up his pants. I giggled and went to him to help, pulling him out from behind the toilet. I begin to pull up his underpants when I notice there is more than one pair. I asked "did you forget to change your underpants?" I noticed more than two. "How many are there? Lets take all this off and start over." So I removed his pants and the mass of underpants and proceeded to separate them. "One. Two. Three. Who got you dressed this morning? Four. Five. Didn't Mom help you get dressed this morning? Six!?! You have six pair of underwear!" At this point I just start laughing and then proceed to help him get dressed with just one pair of underwear and we finally make it to the car.

I told this story to Marie and she responded "I thought his pants looked funny".

A Long Day Ago

In the world of K everything that isn't now or in the future was "a long day ago." He finds such interesting ways to express himself. There's also nothing cuter than hearing a barely four-year-old use the word actually in a sentence.

Just one more

Lately at daycare and sometimes at bedtime, K has been reluctant to have us leave him there. So he will ask for "one more hug". And then again as soon as it's over. "And one more kiss," and on and on it goes. And sometimes it's "a BIG one." So we indulge him because it's just so cute and it probably won't last. Good times.

Dessert

K: I want dessert (assertive - he knows what he wants)
Me: How about some popcorn?
K: Popcorn NOT dessert. CHOCOLATE dessert! (all knowing - proper definition of dessert - clueless mom!)

Glimpses

A select handful of daily teacher notes on K ....

May 5, 2016
K placed two pieces of plastic watermelon on a plate. He was about to offer it to the teacher but stopped and said, "Wait. I need to cook it." The teacher said, "Where are you going to cook the watermelon?" K said, "In the oven," like it was a perfectly typical place to cook watermelon.

April 11, 2016
K threaded two popsicle sticks into the openings of the threading cars. He held it up and declared, "I make airplane car."

April 4, 2016
Outside this morning K and L watched a spider move up and down it's web. When other people came by he place both hands out and told them, "Don't touch."

April 1, 2016
When K was digging in the soil he discovered it was moving and said, "Look a snake!" The teacher corrected him and said it was an earthworm. K laid down with his head inches from the worm and watched it bury itself back into the soil.

March 10, 2016
K had an amazing day. All morning long he was using his language if he wanted a turn and listened when others ask him for a turn. He would check on peers that were unhappy. Was very polite with others today.

March 9, 2016
While walking to soccer K continually had a running dialog of the weather, "It's raining. It's raining. It's water. It's wet. It's raining," on the way to and from soccer.

March 3, 2016
While on a walk this morning, the class passed a truck with very large wheels. K stopped to examine the wheels. He looked at them and then at the tires of a car next to the truck and said, "That wheel is SO BIG!"

Wovey

K likes to come in and snuggle when he wakes up in the morning (and sometimes in the middle of the night). Last weekend he climbed into my bed with his lovey (wovey) and snuggled for a few minutes before getting up and leaving the room. He came back a minute later and handed me a lovey (not the same one - he has many) and said "Here go mama." He climbed back into the bed and said "Snuggle wovey, mama." He's such a delightful little boy.

Screwdriver

I love reading about the kids adventures at school. K's note for January 5, 2016 read:

Kieran took the toy flat head screwdriver and placed it over a real screw and lifted the screwdriver up and said, "It's stuck now" (Referring to what he was screwing into the floor).

Open Wide

K's current favorite song is "My Pigeon House" which he calls "Open Wide." He comes to me requesting it while trying to interlace his fingers. He's getting pretty good at it, but still sometimes needs reminders. He's very meticulous and wants to get the finger interlace just right. He also wants to get the thumb lock on the flying pigeon just right. When he isn't satisfied with his finger position he interrupts the song with "need help." As soon as we finish he says "'gain" and tries to get me to sing it over and over and over. I love that he's so excited the song and so determined to figure out the gestures. It must be so good for his fine motor skills and his little fingers are so cute! He also very much enjoys "Wheels on the Bus" and "Here's a Ball for Baby."

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.

Halloween 2015

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

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

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.