Saturday: relaxing day

The boys were gone most of the day, so Ben and I spent most of the day relaxing.  (Not all of it though.  Some work got done.)  We slept in, played computer games, and I quilted and napped.

When the boys got home Joshua was inconsolable for about five minutes because he wanted to stay at Grandma's house.  So apparently they had a good time. :)  We got a bunch of cute pictures throughout the day.  (And Joshua is smiling in all of them...I can never get him to smile that much for pictures.)

Friday: up late

Dad and Pat took the boys to the cottage with them for the night.  So I'm staying up as late as I want to, because I can sleep in tomorrow.

Thursday: twins!

Joshua didn't want his picture taken.

Notice Joshua's tongue; it's sticking out like a puppy's.

Wednsday: day 2

I dropped Isaac off at school again today.  This time I made him lead the way...he has to walk "the long way" so that I have an easier time getting home.  I even made him ask the adult when he couldn't remember where to stand.  He got in place and then said, with a great big smile, "Bye-bye!"

"Bye-bye" I replied.  "I love you!"
"I love you so much!  Bye-bye!"

It was a much better start than yesterday, although yesterday wasn't bad by any means.

Joshua and I went home and made date balls.  He figured out how to work the food processor.  I looked at the clock...8:30.  I've been a bit nervous about this first day with just Joshua and me as I am the only person to play with.  It turned out fine.  He played Legos and made me a surprise (a bridge).  I was able to get some school work done during that time, so by the time rest time was done I was finally feeling on top of everything.  There have been several extra meetings this week and it cut into my grading time.

Anyway, back to the day.  We biked to the library.  Isaac probably could have done this ride, but there is one busy street that doesn't have a great crossing on it.  Since I have to carefully hold my bike, I can't help Isaac if he needs it.  Joshua loves biking.  We read several books at the library and I realized that he really only recognizes a few letters.  I don't know if this is normal.  I looked back at Isaac's monthly milestones and the best I could get is that when Isaac was six months older than Joshua he had been able to recognize all the letters for a while.  That seems like a reasonable goal though.

Pick-up was still annoying.  I was sitting in a line for quite a while and then gave up.  Apparently the line was for the older kids and the parents of the younger kids just park, get out, and walk up.  This is completely ridiculous in my mind, but since I now know the actual expectations I can do it and get out in a reasonable amount of time.

Isaac's day went well.  I got some fun details out of him, but there still seem to be some large gaps.  He ate most of his lunch at least this time.  I also realized that I need to carefully ask my questions.  Whereas with an adult you would say, "Did you talk to anyone today?" if they were in a room full of strangers, with a kid I should say, "Did you play with anyone today?".  The latter gave me a better response.  It doesn't seem like he'll be a social butterfly, but at the same time it's only the second day.

Tuesday: first day of kindergarten

Today was Isaac's first day of kindergarten!

Joshua really wanted to be in the pictures too.  Even though it doesn't look that way.

We got there on time, but with no extra time.  I'm going to try and get us out the door five minutes earlier so that I don't have to keep saying hurry up.  We waited for about a minute before the doors opened.

I went inside after the class and Isaac looked overwhelmed.  He found his hook and hung his stuff up, but there were a lot of kids in a small space.  However, I think I would have felt that way too...but it still wasn't the best way to leave.  The first item of the day was a coloring page and I thought 'oh great.  A bit overwhelmed and then he has to do a coloring page.  He doesn't like to color.  This is a great start.'

Here's what we got out of him.  There were three recesses...medium, long, and medium/short.  He only remembered his sunglasses for the first one.  One of them had a game and he got out right away and it made him sad, but now he knows the rules.  They did two coloring pages.  He only ate about three grapes and one crunchy bean for lunch because he got distracted listening to someone talk. He talked to his teacher.  He did talk with one other person.  They read two books and a small book.  One rule was if the teacher goes clap, clap, clapclapclap the students repeat it.  Or if the adult says "one, two" the students say, "eyes on you!"  He was not sent to the principals office.  He did not get his name on the warning list.  He had chocolate milk for lunch.  He felt like it was a long day.  He seemed to like it though.

Car line pick up was a bit weird.  I had plenty of time to get there, which I was a bit worried about.  All the parents got out of their cars though.  I thought it was supposed to be a "stay in the car" thing.  It didn't help that there wasn't anyone directing traffic...for the first day it would have been nice.  I waited in a line for a little bit and then just decided to get out and go get Isaac.

Monday: truck parade and labor day

We went to see the truck parade again today.  We didn't plan to meet up with Betsy and her family, but they showed up at the normal place too!

It was great fun, as always.

The boys played Legos (alone) in the basement very well for about an hour this afternoon.  I thought I might have to intervine when Joshua started complaining that Isaac took all the chairs, but it resolved itself.  There were also a few times that I looked over at Ben and said, "what in the world are they talking about??"  But they were happy and content, so that's all that matters.

We went to Larry and Cheryl's for dinner.  They both ate well and then played in the basement for a while.  They haven't gotten to play down there for a while and it was the highlight of Isaac's day.

And now lunches are packed, last minute instructions have been given, and the kindergartner is asleep.  I'm nervous for tomorrow, but I can't tell if I'm nervous for Isaac or because I have a full day and will need to keep moving to get to my first meeting on time. :D  I'm also very excited for him - I think he'll do well.  And in a week or two it'll feel normal.

Sunday: Legos

Joshua got some small Lego sets for his birthday.  During rest time, he used the instructions and made the windmill.  All on his own!  I was so proud of him.

He then worked on the castle.  He got a little bit of help with that, but I think it is because people were around to ask.  He still did most of it on his own.

Isaac - 68 months

Isaac turned 68 months a few days ago.

Lately he's really been into making things.  Whether with Legos or paper or whatever; the medium doesn't really matter.  He still does lots of Legos and spends several hours a day with them.

He is feeling "medium" about going to kindergarten.  He's excited to learn, but not so excited about how much time will be spent at school.  (That's pretty much how I'm feeling about it too.)  He has been asking several questions, some of them completely off the wall, so I know he's thinking about it a bit.

He is still super silly.  Most of the time it makes everyone laugh, sometimes it's a bit over the top.  Joshua almost always laughs with him though.  They're still doing quite a bit together -  running around and bouncing and hitting each other with pillows.

Isaac is now able to bring the trash containers into the garage by himself.  He loves doing it, and it is a task I don't mind giving up.

Isaac has gotten much better at remembering the short Bible stories we read at night time.  It used to be like pulling teeth to get him to remember any details, but now he can give most of the story with very good details.

He is also enjoying the picture chapter books that we've been getting from the library.  He has a GoodReads account should you be interested in knowing what we're reading and what he thinks about them.

Isaac is quite helpful and usually listens well to instructions.  He is trustworthy.  I know that if I set a timer for screen time he will be done with screen time when it goes off, even if I'm not there.

Isaac loves his treats (of the candy variety) but understands that treats aren't good for you.  Sometimes he decides not to have his or will save it for later.

Isaac is a wonderful kid.

Friday: last day

Today was our last "no-Dad" day before school starts.  I let Isaac choose the activity and he wanted to go to a new playground.  So we went to the natural playground that I've been wanting to check out for a while.

It was pretty cool.  There were two ramps (shown above) that were a hit.  I think Joshua was just big enough to start enjoying it...there were a ton of things to climb on and he was a bit on the small side.  With a few lifts he was able to do most of it though.

Isaac liked the stump above because when he stood on it he was taller than I was.

Joshua like the heights too.

Isaac climbed into the tree, but wasn't super thrilled.

Then we found the teepee and sent quite a while here.  They found more sticks to add to it, although Isaac's plan was to close the original door and Joshua found the small sticks and threw them towards the teepee...maybe to make a wall?  I'm not really sure what he was doing, but that's fine.

Afterwards we went to the donut shop.  And that ended the celebration of the end of summer; the rest of the afternoon was pretty normal.  I'm a bit sad...the summer was good and I could have used a few more weeks.  However, Tuesday, when Isaac starts school, is shaping up to be quite busy so I might not have too much time to be melancholy.

Thursday: work

Isaac joined me at work for an hour or so before dropping him off with Aunt C.  We stopped by Dad's office to say hi and he finally got to see the robot wheel, after asking on and off for two months.

The day did go better than Tuesday.  It was still busier than (hopefully) normal but not quite so crazy.  Hmm, I feel like there was something of note that I was going to mention.  Oh well.  It was an exhausting day though and I'm glad for the weekend.

We were driving home and Joshua suddenly asked, "Why are there bathrooms on the train?" while Isaac was trying to concoct a plan that would give us a legitimate reason to stay at the hotel by Joshua's school.  Then Joshua saw the Ferris wheel at Dutch Village and switched to how he would keep Ben safe next time they go.

Wednesday: school visit

Today was the kindergarten class visitation.  We had a scavenger hunt in Isaac's classroom...find his cubby, find his desk, find the trash, etc.

The last one was to find his teacher.  Now, to be fair, we had met her for about one minute a half hour before.  I told him the item to find while standing right next to his teacher.  He turned around and went the other way, looking for her.  It was cute.

Isaac's favorite part of the day was playing on a new playground while the parents had the parent meeting.  He loves new playgrounds, but I'm running out of them.  It's what he wants to do on Friday too with the last normal day of summer, and I do have one more up my sleeve.  After that it might start to get a little harder.

Tuesday: first day of school

Joshua and I had our first days of school today; Isaac got to hang out with Cheryl all day.

Joshua was not excited about going to school.  He seemed especially nervous about nap time for some reason.  I didn't get a huge report when picking him up, but the teachers said he had a good day and Joshua seemed happy.

I knew I was going to have a busy day, but it ended up a bit crazier than expected.  One of my transitions had less time than I wanted so I felt a bit rushed.  Also, my second class was about fifteen minutes shorter than my first.  They're supposed to be the same...did I miss something important or was I just sick of talking by the fourth hour that I got rid of all the extra stuff?  Maybe I talked way too fast?  Who knows.  Beyond that though, the first day went pretty well.

Monday: Joshua - 37 months

Joshua is 37 months!

Growth: We had his three year well child check up this month and he's doing great.  He actually increased a bit in height and weight percentiles (to about 14% and 11%, respectively).  He is still in 2T clothes, which annoys me as I'm ready to move to the next set, but guess I'll just wait a bit longer.  All the other things the doctors checked out - motor function, talking, etc. - checked out fine.  The first thing Joshua said to the doctor was "No shots!"

On school: Joshua is not looking forward to the toddler room tomorrow.  There were tears at lunch time.  I'm hoping that once he gets there and understands that is the only option he'll be ok.

On the alphabet: He has J down!  He can recognize it in different contexts.  He might have I down too, but Isaac usually chimes in quickly for that one.  There might be a few more too, I haven't really checked lately.

On playing: He loves to play.  He especially loves to play with Isaac and will pretty much copy anything Isaac is doing.  He loves Legos and Duplos.  He likes bike rides and playing in the sand.  He like books.

On emotions: Oh, it's been a hard month with Joshua's emotions.  There are tears all the time, and sometimes I don't understand what's going on as the smallest things can set him off.

On sleeping: He is sleeping from 8pm-7am pretty well.  Some days he takes a nap and some days he doesn't.  I'm wondering if some of the emotional problems are due to not getting quite enough sleep, but it's just an awkward time.  He will sometimes put himself down for a nap during quiet time instead of playing.  (But sometimes we make him stay in the bed and sometimes I think the nap just happens where ever he is.)

On food: He's slowly starting to eat a little bit better, but still not a ton better.  He is starting to understand that in order to get a treat he needs to eat all his food, and so sometimes manages to do so.

On cuddles: He still is oh so cuddly, but really only when he wants to be.

Sunday: cleaning time

This afternoon was our house cleaner's last day, as she is off on new adventures next week.  However, the past...year and a half?...I loved having her come.  It gave us a time that was blocked off as cleaning time.  Most of the time the house looked incredibly better after she left.  (The times it didn't weren't her fault...it usually meant that something weird was going on that I needed to take care of.)  I also enjoyed not needing to do some of the monotonous chores all the time.  Anyway, it worked very well and so a new high schooler is starting next week.

During this time Isaac needs to clean his bedroom.  Hmm, I should rephrase that.  Isaac is strongly encouraged to clean his bedroom, as there are consequences if he doesn't.  (No screen time or playing with parents until it's clean.)  Joshua is starting to clean his room.  He still gets some help and a lot of guidance, but it's coming along.  Today the boys decided to play together instead.  I regularly reminded them of the consequences, which helped them clean for a few minutes, and then they starting playing together again.

It was almost dinnertime and they realized that they wouldn't get to watch Ben and I play our ten minutes of video games because they hadn't cleaned their rooms.  Needless to say, the rooms were clean within about fifteen minutes.  Oh!  Isaac got some new dressers.  I have a few plans for rearranging Joshua's room too, as his current set-up isn't working well for me.  Isaac's dressers are still mostly unfilled, as we haven't moved the stuff back into his room yet.

Saturday: Laura Ingalls Wilder

I've read the Little House on the Prairie series a dozen times or so.  I just finished Pioneer Girl, which was the original basis for most of the stories.  It is geared towards older readers and has more truth and less fiction.  It is also annotated, which was lovely.  The annotations gave glimpses of what really happened or just a little more information that modern readers wouldn't know.

It kind of makes me want someone to write up my life.  I've kept journals on and off from around eighth grade, when we were required to do it.  Readers wouldn't get everything that happens in my life or some of my deepest thoughts, but sometimes the most interesting things are what happens in a normal life.  So if you know of someone looking to write an endearing biography (semi-fictionalized or not) about a normal person, send them my way.

Friday: opening

Today was a day of openings.

Joshua opened the fridge by himself for the first time.  So I now have a separator in the bottom shelf, and they can both put their own drinks away.

Isaac opened the rear hatch of the car by himself.  (He got it all the way up, not just unlatched.)

Thursday: family

Nathan and his family came up for most of the day.  We started with some donuts.  Since it was cold and lightly raining, we had to rethink some of our plans.  We went to one church playground only to discover that they are closed during the summer.  So we went to the Nature Center, but then I remembered that there was another church playground across the street from it.  Happily, it was open.  Happily, it was perfect.  Not too big, not too busy, and the kids could run around.

At one point they were playing follow the leader.  (This was Isaac's favorite part of the day, by the way).  Later one only Isaac was playing follow the leader...he lead and didn't seem to care that no one was following him.

We picked up lunch and ate at home.  The kids played.  It was nice.

Wednesday: cuteness

Amanda: Isaac, you're cute.
Isaac: Well, when I look in the mirror...I don't think I'm cute.  But I'm glad you think so.

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We received a boxful of Legos yesterday and the boys really wanted to inventory it.  So that was their activity of choice several times today.  I figured if they did it then Ben and I didn't have to later.

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After lunch the boys decided to try and make the TV come alive.  They did a dance and a yell/chant.  It didn't work.  The TV remained inanimate.

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We cut down some tree branches.  I dragged them up to the driveway where Isaac cut them into smaller pieces.  Joshua pushed them to the other side of the driveway on his riding toy.  Since the branches were now on the opposite side of the yard waste bin, Isaac moved the yard waste bin so that pushing the branches to the other side made sense.

Tuesday: puppy dogs resting

...although not for very long.

At story time last Wednesday the leader asked if we had any dogs at home.  (Joshua said his name was Puppy Dog.)  Isaac said, "Two."  I almost smacked my forehead.

Sunday: Wild Chef

We went to Wild Chef for lunch for my birthday today.  It was fun.  The boys seemed to enjoy it too.

The fire was a bit scary, but they made it.