My little Dashy is going to be smart! He has been stuck for months at the top of the stairs when I am downstairs. But today, he decided to change all of that. We watched as he climbed the bottom stair, then would turn around and climb down. He did it about 6 times. Then he went up the two bottom stairs. When he got to the top, he turned around and climbed back down again. After doing that for a while, he went up more. Micah ran to get the video camera, because it was the cutest and smartest thing I have ever seen. But then B intervened to show him that crawling down each stair very uneasily — and face first — was not the best technique. So she and I worked with him a few minutes on how to get down the stairs safely and easily. We’ll pick up tomorrow where we left off.
See — isn’t he smart!?!
“Starts with nnn, nnn, nnn and she has earrings.”
“Nonnie?”
“Yes….good job!”
When I tried to snap a shot of Navy in timeout, she was trying to be mad, but look at that little smile creeping up her face.
I love Sunday afternoons. I love the quiet, the family time, the meals together and the Sunday activities.
Tonight’s meal ended with Nonnie’s famous chocolate cake with rum frosting.
Look at Scout’s clean hand and face at the end.
And then there is Icka.
What a pig.
(And Dash is proving to be more like her than Scout in the cleanliness department.)
But nothing a bath can’t clean up pretty easily.
And just in time for our new favorite past time with our kids.
Games.
I love that Scout loves games easily as much as I do.
And Icka looks like she does also.
And for selfish reasons, I am glad that they seem to be pretty good at games.
Because a girl needs some stiffer competition around these parts!
It happened last year, this year, and I expect that it will happen every year until all of my kids are 18. The first few weeks of school are a nightmare. The kids are beyond tired. They think they are both hot shots and are the biggest teases. They are naughty beyond belief.
So lately, I have come down really hard on them. I am keeping them on a tight leash. And because they know my lack of patience on the matter, there has been a lot of negotiating going on.
There is a lot of “please don’t tell” and “if you tell, I am going to tell on you”.
Just the other day I heard Scout say, “Please, please, please….I’ll give you all my money if you don’t tell.” And as she kept walking, he yelled, “Icka, I’ll give you a million dollars!”
Icka usually doesn’t go for it, and enjoys getting her brother in trouble. Whereas Scout falls for her antics hook line and sinker. She teased/hit/took something away above. And as soon as he got upset (because he usually follows the rules of no retaliating), guess who came as the caretaker. All I have to say is that because I witnessed the event, she was in big trouble. Because if I hadn’t been there, he probably would have accepted her pseudo apology and moved on.
-
And in all honesty, I like that way of being. But until Navy doesn’t think she can get away with stunts like that, I still have to stay on top of it. This girl is still in training. And I don’t see an end in sight. But maybe one day. Hopefully one day.
Scout has the Kindergarten vibe. I can see outside influences in his talk, and I think it is funny and scary all at the same time. Here was our conversation tonight at dinner:
S: “Mom, I was playing Ka in tic tac toe. And like, she put an X on the bottom. And dude, I put one on the top. And you know how Papa plays where he tricks you. I told her, like, ‘you little scoundrel, you are going to like win if you put an X anywhere!’ And like, she put her X on the bottom, and then I said, ‘HAH! YOU LOSE!’ And like, I put my three in a row, and BAM….I won!”
L: “Wow Scout, pretty good. You are funny. But who is the valley girl at your school?”
S: “Huh?”
This is Sc out’s first official year of real deal soccer. He is a “Breaker”, and has a few buddies on the team. Last week was his first game, and I forgot my camera, and the game was kind of a bust. I had high expectations, and poor Scout just seemed timid on the field. Quite honestly, he has always been one to observe first, and then jump into the mix, so this should have been expected. (But from the time he was little, we would go to a playground, and he would observe everyone and what they were doing for a while, and then he would join in.)
So our lesson throughout the week was all about being aggressive. And I gave him the incentive of 31 Flavors (anything he wanted including a triple scoop) if he made a goal. I really wanted him to get his first goal to build his confidence.
So in ridiculous heat, we made it out to game two.
There was a mini practice beforehand. Notice Icka walking directly through the path of least resistance. That is, until a ball hits her.
After practice, he was boiling hot and sweaty. So we doused him with water, and I gave him an icy rag to cool down with. (Thanks for the tip B.)
From the beginning, there was a major improvement from the previous week.
Look at him going for the high ball.
Hallelujah!
By the time he was in for a water break, he was so wiped. Look at him — it looks like he is in la la land.
In the meantime, Navy was babysitting Dash with goldfish. I’ll admit, she did a fine job.
The game was coming to a close, and I kept reminding Scout of 31 Flavors. I told him that all he had to do was get the ball in the goal. And then with about 30 seconds left, he was with a group of kids, then he got the ball, and took a kick and….
GOAL!
I was right there snapping pictures. As soon as he shot the goal, he looked at me and I grabbed his little cheeks and yelled, “You did it! You made a goal!” Then I smacked a big kiss right on his lips. He was SO excited, and then said…”Remember 31 Flavors?”
I said I did, and we were going to go that night.
And the game ended.
I know he is five, but I was beyond excited. Not because I cared if he made a goal, but I knew that a goal would give him propelling confidence. And what more could a mother want for her son?
So it was snack time, then a BBQ at Grandma’s house, and then we were off to Yogurtland. His pick as an alternative treat that was closer to where we were. And a $6.00 yogurt later, it was worth it for everyone!
I learned early on that I didn’t need to spend a dime baby proofing my house with Scout. I just needed gasp and to say “No No”, and he caught on. Originally I thought Scout was just really smart and good, but when Navy came along — it worked well with her also. And now Dash is at that age, and my gasping and “No No” is working like a charm. Not one Lladro or expensive little knick knack has ever been harmed by one of these three. (Minus the huge vase that Navy tried to climb and crushed to pieces — but I didn’t see her to tell her not to.)
Here’s Dash at the top of the stairs crying for me. I was down fixing lunches, and he already knows not to go down, so he just sits up top and waits and cries.
Baby gate — no need.
Look at his little hurt feelings when I told him “No No” another time.
Like I said — a charm.
You should just hear this boy rip off counting to ten in Mandarin!
It is priceless.
And he loves to do it because it gets the cousins to laugh every time!
Can you get over the hand in the pocket?!
It is Friday, so he isn’t forgetting his bottles and cans to turn in.
And the most important thing he remembers each morning — the “brother kiss”.
So the second day of school, Scout left without kissing Icka goodbye, and she was devastated. So when he heard the story, he felt bad. So each morning, he finds her to give her a “brother kiss”. Well, too bad for Scout that this girl has a sour personality at times, and decided that she didn’t really want a brother kiss this morning. And the sweet Scout is trying to convince her that she does.
That about sums my two kids up!
Sweet and Sour.
Some morning I go in to find all three kids of mine in Dash’s crib. Most of the time, I’m into the sibling love. But there are days when I wonder how much longer Dash would have slept if he didn’t have the tweedles waking him up.
| DESIGN BY