Vanessa's overnight with Mama Row

I'm copying/pasting the words of my Grandma Rowena who documented Vanessa's time with her last week.  Vanessa was ecstatic to be going somewhere on her own not surrounded by siblings!

My grandma writes:

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AN OVERNIGHT WITH MAMA ROW --JUNE 26, 2014

"Vanessa,  would you like to spend the night with Mama Row?" I asked on Wednesday morning.  She had turned four years old, and had not done the overnight that Violet and Calvin had experienced.  Vanessa had eagerly eyed the older two had each packed suitcases for the trip about 10 minutes away to leave their familiar and secure home and entrust their time for a brief vacation. 

The answer was an enthusiastic,  "Yes!"

So we loaded the car seat, plugged it into the back seat belt strap and set out for an overnight.  Arriving at my WesternHome townhouse, she found her bedroom, unpacked the clothes from suit case, providing the essential tooth brush, underclothes and dress for tomorrow. she identified her bed and pillow, and once comfortable with her overnight accommodations, we set out to fix supper. 

She enjoyed veggies and chicken and after the last bite.  Then, she explored the surprise and discovered it was a hollow egg to which she could do some zandangling designs with a colored pencil, creating a decorated egg.  This was amusing until she dropped the egg, and poor Humpty Dumpty broke! 

After a few stories, she decided it was bed time, and that was a ritual in itself:  tooth brushing, pajamas, songs, and prayers all put her to sleep in her new bed with night light turned on. 

The next morning, she woke me and we prepared for the day.  First getting dressed, then, prepared breakfast of OJ, oatmeal with craisins and cream.  We decided to take a walk, and immediately met the neighbors' dogs.  First there was Biscuit who has come with her owner from TX. She was friendly and Vanessa got to pet her.  Next was Maria, a neighbor's dog who lived across Thyme Road, who has white socks and especially liked little girls as well as the neighbors.  Then came Annie whose name came from the musical, an all white curly haired poodle.  Vanessa liked Maria best. 

We noted the new construction happening at the end of Shooting Star Street, where big cats were moving gravel to make the foundation of a new dwelling for patients who needed more care. Once put in place, the building was to be completed during winter months. 

We decided it was time to go home, and we piled packed suitcases in the car, I got my purse, and decided to call Mama Maria that we were on the way home - when I tried to enter the garage door to my home and grab the phone, it was LOCKED!!!  No way to enter my home with three doors - front, back, and garage all locked, and I was without a key, for I never lock the garage door!  Well!  What to do?  I decided to go to the office at WesternHome.  We drove there, I asked for the attendants to open my door.  Linda said she would call service to do so, for they were on campus somewhere.  I took Vanessa home, she was greeted with open arms by the family.  I told Maria of my situation, and she said,  "Welcome to my world!" 

I returned home, able to open my Garage door with the overhead button, and also the front door, for it had been opened by the attentive crew, and I got into my dwelling, and remembered the fun overnight we had at Vanessa's first night with Mama Row.  

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Eli at age 2

I haven't blogged about his birthday party yet - that's coming - but right now I want to take the time and write down things I remember about Eli at his current age - TWO.  Busy, busy, busy, and learning, learning, and learning.

He seems to have stretched out and gotten really tall in the last 6 months.  He's also heavy.  I don't know how much he weighs but close to 33 lbs would be my guess.  I wonder when he'll pass up Vanessa in weight.

As I type right now I'm sitting in the basement on the floor with the laptop on my...well...lap. :)  There are tornado and thunderstorm warnings for the next hour so the kids are happily entertained with Curious George and Eli is sitting next to me rolling a big wheel from a truck.  The truck is upside down.  He's just spinning the wheel with all his arm's might.

Earlier today I noticed Eli sitting in a kid sized lawn chair which was set up in the dining room against the wall.  It has a little cupholder.  I walked by him sitting in the chair and glanced at him and got a mental thought that all things seemed normal and he was fine so I kept walking to wherever I was going.  But then my gaze stayed on his activity and I noticed he was drinking something.  Both his hands were cupping something to drink out of.  He stood up with the drink in his hand, then slowly and carefully put it in the cupholder and walked away.

I walked up close to the little chair and saw a long stemmed wine glass full of water.

I'm just thankful the glass didn't break.  I took the wine glass with water in it and put it by the sink in the kitchen out of his reach....calming my mind and beginning to be thankful nothing broke and he wasn't hurt.  I started investigating how in the world he'd gotten this in his hands and Violet told me she'd taken a wine glass from the side of the sink where dirty dishes pile up (must have been from an adult the day or two before).  She rinsed it out and filled it with drinking water for HER to drink, but she must have set it down within Eli's reach, and he'd gotten a hold of it.  *sigh*

aaaaand there's the wine glass....

Another interesting story about Eli is the fact that he really prefers to sleep in one of the hanging chairs in his room.  We'll put him to bed IN HIS BED at night and for naptime, but he'll wait until we've left and gone downstairs to collect all the blankets he can find and climb into the little hanging chair (the lower of the two, the only one he can get in), curl up into a ball, and fall asleep.  Its so, so cute.  I'm at the stage in my "parenting" when I feel seasoned enough that this is just something that will pass and he'll outgrow it.  I remember fearing Vanessa would only sleep in a swing when she was a baby because from birth to about 6 months that's where she spent her naps/nights.  Eventually she outgrew it.  Eli made the switch from crib to twin earlier than the other three kids and I think it was a bit of a shock to him when the kid's room got re-decorated in March.  He's always the first one awake yelling and waking all the other kids up.

When he'll outgrow it, I don't know.  But for now I'm just going to think its super adorable and let it go.  I'm happy he's sleeping somewhere peacefully.  Sometimes we find him snuggled up to his blankets on the floor too, maybe he falls out, who knows...but Eli and his twin bed aren't really meshing yet.  I'm just thankful he seems flexible enough to find a cozy spot and sleep.

So here's some things I want to remember that he does consistently right now.  Because I know in a week or two, he'll have a new set of things he'll be doing and I'll have forgotten all this stuff I want to remember.

• He connects sweet treats with birthdays.  He knows the "happy birthday" song ends with "to you" because when he wants a treat, cake, or something sweet, he'll say "to you! to you!" reaching for it.  
• In the car if the kids are loud and yelling, he'll shout "Quiet!" but it sounds more like "Cwyyy-ett!" Making it a long two syllable word.
• He's not scared at thunder.  Its been a stormy summer and it seems normal to hear thunder lately.  But he gets a surprised look on his face when he hears it and says, "boom boom!"
• I brought my guitar to small group one Wednesday night a few weeks ago and played "happy birthday" for Julie Elmore.  Eli heard us playing.  A week after I got my guitar out to play and at first glance of it, he said, "happy to you!" remembering the song I played.
• He naps during the day...sometime.  Usually once.  Sometimes he's tired and ready to sleep by 10 am, sometimes he's ready later in the day.  
• He loves airplanes, choo-choos, and cars.  He still knaws things with his mouth.  I frequently find him with a squishy lego wheel in his mouth.  He'll never swallow anything but food, but he likes chewing/sucking on little squishy things.
• He'll happily sit on the toilet.  If I know he hasn't gone yet and has eaten a big breakfast, I sit him on the toilet right after he eats and he'll go poop on the toilet.
• I've given him about 4 haircuts.  I pull his hair straight up and cut it all to the same length, and the curls tighten up even tighter.  Every couple weeks or so it starts looking really fuzzy (like a dandelion ready to blow seeds) and I give his hair a little trim.  
• He loves the pool on the deck.  He copies the older kids.  He puts his arms up, yells "whoa whoa whoa!" and splashes his whole body in the water belly first.  He submerges himself and comes up laughing.  We sing, "Alligator crawl, alligator crawl, Eli's doing the alligator crawl!" and he immediately puts his hands on the bottom of the pool (which is only 18" deep or something like that) and moves his body along the pool.  
• He's pretty tolerant of the chaotic moments in the house.  He doesn't seem to get stressed out by fighting or not getting enough attention.  When he does throw fits its because he's trying to do something and it isn't working right.  
• He still needs the occasional mommy snuggle complete with blankets.  He says "bunk-ee" for blankie. 
• The first bite of every meal is a struggle.  He fights the first bite and refuses to eat anything.  I usually pry open his mouth, get the bite in with a lot of screaming/yelling.  Tell him not to spit it out.  He will chew, swallow, then usually want more bites with no fighting.  It really gets old fighting him all the time to take those first bites.  He's generally a good eater.  His favorites are oatmeal, nutrigrain bars, apple slices with no skin, pretzels, raisins, cheese slices, cooked carrot pieces, pancakes with peanut butter, PBJs, chicken nuggets (he's liking ranch lately), pizza, bagels, rice, corn, and noodles.

He struggles with normal things a 2 yr old does.  He speaks some words clearly ("wook at me mom!") but most of his speaking is mumble jumble.  His attention span for things is really, really short.  If he wants to read a book, he'll bring one to me, sit on my lap, we'll open up the first page, then the second, then he's done.  He shuts the book and hops off my lap.  Then gets another book, does the same thing, decides he's done after 2 seconds, then moves on to something else.

I forgot to mention this ~ if he's left alone and unattended for longer than...um...12 seconds...this is his "top 5":

1. Go to my bathroom, dig through my make up and smear it all over, or take out as many bobby pin from the pin bucket and spread them all over the floor.
2. Take the toothpaste from the upstairs kid's bathroom and squirt it in his mouth.
3. Open the little half drawers in front of the kitchen sink and take out my bottle scrubbers, scrubbing toothbrushes, and other little sink items and spread them around the kitchen floor.
4. Open the food cabinet and open the pretzel tub or the raisin container and start eating as much as possible.
5. Splash in toilet water.  His favorite is to take the toilet brush used for scrubbing the toilet and bang it in the toilet water.  The toilet water is flushed about half of the time this occurs.

(okay, there's more to add to it....I'm on a roll here)

6. Climb up onto a chair, lean over on to the table as far as possible, and grab a marker or a crayon that he knows he's not supposed to have, and start coloring on things he's not supposed to color on.  His favs are the floor and the wall.
7. Open the garage door, go into the garage, and wander around and play with things he's not supposed to be into.

8. Throw everything he can get his hands hands on into the pool. This includes swim towels, potted plants, swim suits, toys, etc. 

All these things occur when I'm legitimately doing something important.  I do not ignore my child.  His wear-abouts are my top concern and if I'm tied up doing something I really can't stop then he'll get mischievous.  I often order Violet or Calvin to go grab him and play with him.  They do a decent job most of the time.  Violet especially helps in the morning.  She takes him downstairs (if she asks permission and I say yes) and changes his diaper and feeds him cold cereal for breakfast.

Anyway...I write these things (not to complain) but to grasp reality with Eli.  He really is a joy to have in our family.  The older kids dote on him like he's such a little cutie pie (ok, the older two do, Vanessa just still lives to drive him crazy).  He's got a wild personality with lots of spunk.  He fits in here just like the last piece of the puzzle!

 

hangin' with the older kids watching Curious George

Eli's 2nd birthday party

I am a month and a half behind writing about stuff, agh!!  (publishing date set for June 5, his actual birthday is June 4.  I wrote this on 7-17)  Eli didn't really know we were celebrating his birthday, but we did anyway.  I'm so glad for pictures.  I can't really trust my memory anymore.  Hence...blog.  So it's written down and I don't have to remember.  Dad, thanks for making me take typing lessons from Mavis Beacon.  I can type about as fast as I can think.
Rachel and Mama Row came over.  I fixed up a yummy dinner (I got ambitious and made four from scratch Chicago-style pizzas, and Mama Row brought over a salad).  The evening started a little sour because Eli was really tired and probably didn't nape all that well on the day we celebrated.  When we sat down to eat he was crying and rubbing his eyes.  Rachel was also there.

As you can see he wasn't in the mood to have his picture taken.  Violet even felt bad for him and gave him a much wanted hug.  She's such a sweetie. 

 I don't think Eli ate much pizza, but when he saw the german chocolate cake Mama Row made for him with a #2 candle, he perked right up.  "Happy to you!" he says.

 Yup, he dug right in.

 Opening up presents was a fun experience for him.  Of course, all the kids are interested in the toys.  Eli got airplane books, toys, clothes, and a little play Percy train that he really loved.

 This is a scream of delight when the little train went on its own and made noises.

 happy boy.  :) 

Vanessa's 4th Birthday

Vanessa had a fabulous day yesterday!!  She woke up to pink streamers on the girl's room door.  The first time I saw her she was wearing her "birthday suit" - ha!  I brought her a new swimsuit to wear for the first day of swimming lessons.  It was slightly big so I sewed the straps a little tighter and now it fits perfect.
She jumped around most of the day and was so excited to be four.
She chose to eat Oatmeal Squares for breakfast.  Her fav!

I started making hashbrowns and eggs and the rest of the family ate that, but Vanessa had no interest and was perfectly happy with her cereal. :)

Violet and Calvin said something like, "We're so glad you're four now! Now you can build cool lego things like we do!"

Another BIG perk to turning FOUR! is getting to eat two gummy vitamins every day instead of one.  She's been anticipating this moment for a long time.

The we scooted all the kids off to swimming lessons at UNI.  They got settled in their classes and Vanessa only seemed a little hesitant to join her class.  She just told me she didn't want Andrew.  He was her instructor LAST YEAR.  She remembered the class and her instructor and just wanted someone different.  Well, she got what she wanted.  A very nice instructor named Meredith (who happened to teach Violet in level 2 two years ago) was Vanessa's teacher this year.  She joined 4 other little girls and really seemed to enjoy herself.

What else does Vanessa LOVE?  Frozen, of course!  After checking out the garden on the way home and noting all the little seedling plants popping up and watching a house being built across the street, we ate lunch at home and the kids all watched a matinee performance of Frozen.  

Eli napped and I took advantage of the time to make and decorate Vanessa's cake.  We played outside for awhile.  I pushed Vanessa in the swing for a long time, her favorite activity!  Dave tackled a project he's been wanting to do for awhile - sand down some doors in the house so they shut more smoothly.  I prepared chicken for grilling, and cleaned up the house a little for company.  Rachel came over to help decorate at 5:30 and Mama Row showed up at 6.  Vanessa smiled and posed for photos (that's rare) and loved opening up all her presents.  Rachel got her some mints, gum, and a pink dress.  Mama Row gave her a clip-on flashlight, Dave and I got her some little frozen figurines to play with (Elsa, Anna, and Olaf), Grandma Jo&Grandpa Jon mailed a sparkly bunny necklace (they said one more package is coming), and Grandma Martha mailed a package that had some Frozen tableware - plate, bowl and cup.  So fun!  She loved hearing us sing Happy Birthday, blowing out the big tall candles one by one, and eating PINK CAKE.