Oops, Mommy Forgot About Christmas Cards!

A few days ago, it occurred to me that we hadn't ordered our Christmas cards yet. Not a huge deal, really - it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet (though usually I have them almost ready to mail by then).

But then I realized that I didn't even have any recent photos of the boys. I had a few from our fall walk, but I didn't really get any of Alden's face in those. And any earlier than that seemed a little outdated. I wanted photos that show what they look like now.

So I had a little impromptu photo shoot the next day. I put the boys in their Christmas jammies (the ones that I was saving for Christmas Eve - oh well, they won't remember that they already tried them on once) and set them on our bed with some books. I kept it really simple, because I was expecting zero cooperation. I just wanted one picture of the two of them together. But they are movers and shakers who don't like to sit still, so I kept my expectations low.

Surprisingly, they both sat there looking at the Christmas books together for quite a while. Leland loved The Polar Express and The Night Before Christmas books. He "read" them to Alden who loved every second with his big brother.

I just stood back and snapped shot after shot, hoping for just one good one. There were so many of their sweet little selves that I loved, but my photography skills are somewhat lacking, so most wouldn't really work. I ended up with about 6 decent photos. Here are some of my favorites.

My favorite thing about these photos is not their matching jams (although they are pretty adorable), or whether or not their faces are looking at the camera. It's that I captured a few snapshots of my boys just being themselves. No fake smiles, no perfect poses, no directions from me at all. Just enjoying books together, which they do often. 

This is real life right now: two adorable, active boys who can't be stopped to pose perfectly for a picture. And yet, the pictures look pretty perfect to me.

Big Boy Bed

We finally did it. At one month shy of three years old, we put Leland in a big boy bed.

Dave decided a long time ago that he wanted to build Leland's bed, but he was waiting for me to decide when. Well, since Leland could climb in and out of his crib without a problem, and since all he wanted to do was jump in it all the time (and stress the springs underneath the mattress), I figured it was time.

We went back and forth about whether it should be toddler or twin size. Ultimately, we decided on a toddler size so that he has more room to play in his bedroom.

So a few weeks ago, Dave gathered the materials and built it, and then he spent a few days painting it, sanding it, repainting it, etc. And Wednesday night, he told me it was ready for Leland.

Leland was thrilled to say the least.

He kept saying things like, "I love my big boy bed!" and "Look at that bed Daddy made for me!" and "It's great!" He was ready to sleep in it right away.

Alden thought it was pretty cool too.

Although that could be because now that Leland has a big boy bed, Alden gets the crib. He has been using the pack 'n play. (We bought a special mattress for it over the summer when he first started using it, so it's softer than a regular pack 'n play mat, but still...he's been in a freaking pack 'n play all this time. Second kid problems.)

Both boys had a bit of a tough time falling asleep that night, but they slept decent (minus Leland falling out once), and have been fine in them since. It was just hard to get used to initially.

Dave said that the bed was really simple to make. It took him a couple of hours to cut the pieces and put them together. The time consuming part was painting. He didn't use a plan or anything, which baffles me because I can't do anything without instructions. He said the only difficult thing about it was building it in a small space. 

While it may be something simple and easy to him, I think it's pretty special that Leland's bed is made by his daddy. And Leland thinks that's pretty cool too.

Christmas Gifts 2014

Yesterday, I went Christmas shopping. I managed to get nearly all of the boys' Christmas gifts in one stop. Not incredibly difficult since we don't do a ton of gifts, but the last couple of years I have done all my shopping online, which usually meant multiple stores. Shopping in person is so much more fun though!

It wasn't hard to pick out gifts for my boys this year; it was hard to narrow it down to just a couple of things. Leland is into so many fun things right now (cars, trucks, tractors, blocks, etc.) and Alden just loves everything.

One of the things I thought about doing for the boys for Christmas was a mini trampoline. Leland loves to jump in his bed, and I wanted to give him a place where he actually could jump. When I mentioned it to my mother-in-law, she said she had the same idea, so she is getting one for them and for their cousins too.

Other than that, it looks like the boys are getting a lot of "things that go." I didn't realize that we were so heavy on those items until I started to wrap them. But, it's what they're into, so whatever.

(Sorry the photos were mostly taken with my phone, so they're pretty bad quality.)

For Leland:

Since he likes the movie Planes, he's getting this set of die cast characters.

Leland has been obsessed with semi trucks lately. He wants one SO BAD and asks for one every day. So he's getting this one that comes with four trucks. 

Leland is finally ready for a big boy cup instead of a sippy cup. He has a couple that he uses, but they're way cheap plastic and will likely break before Christmas. So he's getting a set of these cups. He will actually probably be way more excited about these than he should be. Dude cares about meal times.

For Alden:

Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Med Kit
I just thought he would have fun with it. It's something different.

A semi truck to hold the boys' wheelies cars.

A water bottle. Leland has one like this that is blue and red and Alden is always tying to take it.

They will each also get a book which I haven't picked out yet. And for Christmas Eve, they will get new matching PJs and a Christmas movie (Frosty the Snowman) for us all to watch together.

In their stockings, they are each getting:

Bath toys: flutes, books, markers, and bath dropz which I haven't bought yet

Alden is getting these Chuck Trucks in his stocking. He loves to play with Leland's so now he'll have his own.

Leland is getting Lightning McQueen and Mater.

I'm so excited for them to open their gifts on Christmas morning! Although, I think I need to get rid of some of the stuff we currently have cluttering up our house. Time to make room for more, especially since Leland's birthday is just a few days after Christmas. (I also did his birthday shopping yesterday and am almost done with that.)

So Leland will get his semi truck that he is dying for, and Alden will get some new exciting things to play with. What is on your child's wish list?

Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs

A classroom story for you...

Last week, I read a story to my reading group called Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairsby Tomie DePaola. If you've never read it before, it's about a young boy named Tommy who visit his grandmothers every Sunday. His great grandmother lives upstairs at his grandmother's house. He calls them Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs because one is usually upstairs and one is usually downstairs.

Side note: Tomie DePaola is one of my favorite authors of children's books. If you have a chance to read his stories, do it. They are most appropriate for school-age children.

In the story, Nana Upstairs passes away. This story always makes me teary - thinking about how much Tommy loves his great grandmother, and how sad he is when she dies. This time reading it was no different. I got to the part where Nana Upstairs dies, and I started to get a little teary. And then one of my students pipes up, saying...

Wait for it...

"Now she's really upstairs."

Oh my gosh, I could not stop laughing! I could barely make it through the rest of the story. Then I really had tears from laughing so hard.

And now I've probably ruined the story for you, so you can never read it with a straight face. Sorry about that.

Shaking It Off

Last week, Leland bit a friend at daycare. When I got the text from Julie, my heart sank. I was immediately so sad for the boy he bit and upset that my kid did it. Having worked in daycare and preschool, I know that this happens, but that doesn't make it any easier as the parent.

When we got home, we talked with Leland about it and he really seemed to feel bad for what he did. We took away his favorite tractors for a few days and we had him make a picture for the boy that he bit.

The boy's mom was furious, which I completely understand. It's awful to see another child hurt your child. She wanted Julie to send Leland home, but Julie said she thinks he's a little too young for that. I feel that way too. If Julie asked me to, I would have taken him home, but I don't think that would teach him anything. He's too young to see that as a negative consequence to his actions. Instead, Julie gave him a time out and he missed out on a fun activity because of it. That, coupled with our response at home, seems fair to me.

The other boy's mom was not okay with this. She told Julie that if Leland is allowed to continue coming to daycare, she may have to find a new daycare for her son. This is the second time Leland has bit her son (or anyone...he's only ever bit these two times). The first time was several months ago, but the mom sees Leland as a bully now. Julie told me she really doesn't want to lose either of the boys, but she doesn't feel that she needs to kick Leland out for this incident. It is a normal thing for toddlers to do, and he will grow out of it. Plus, she said that the two boys play together quite well most of the time. And the other boy was sad that Leland was in time out because he wanted to play with him.

Unfortunately, the other mom happens to work with me. And since she doesn't see this the same way Julie or I see it, she has brought it up to several of our co-workers and other daycare parents.

I am beyond furious that she's putting my son's business out there for everyone to judge, because she's not giving them all of the information. Like the fact that the biting was provoked (I'm not making excuses, because it's definitely not okay, but the other boy wasn't innocent). I think it's completely inappropriate for her to talk to other daycare parents and my co-workers about it. It's just not cool. If one of my classroom parents went around talking to and rallying other parents about an incident at school, I would not be okay with it. It's gossipy and I hate gossip. And it's also very one-sided.

Apparently, this mom told Julie that if it happens again, she will pull her son from the daycare immediately. I am hoping it doesn't happen again, because I don't want my child to hurt anyone. But I am kind of hoping she pulls her son. I think she's overreacting and being ridiculous about the whole thing. She's putting Julie in a terrible position and she's acting very childish.

My point in this post is simply to rant a little bit and get my thoughts out so I can move on. I could make a big facebook post, but I don't want to cause drama. She's my friend on facebook (though likely not for long...time to hit that unfriend button, I think) as are our co-workers. But I feel like I need to just put it all out there for my own personal satisfaction.

And now I will do a little dance while listening to some Taylor Swift. "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Shake it off, shake it off."

A Little Comparison

While we were out enjoying the snow last week and weekend, I snapped some pictures of the boys on my phone (surprise, surprise!), and with Alden wearing Leland's old snow suits, I couldn't help but remember some similar photos from two years ago. So, naturally, I searched through my files for them.

Enjoy a little comparison.

Leland - 2012 

(taken with my big girl camera)

Alden - 2014 

(taken with my phone)

Clearly, they both had a difficult time getting around in that snow suit. Here's another comparison in the one-piece snow suit.

 Leland

Alden

Not identical, but pretty similar. They have very similar features at comparable stages. I love comparison shots, even when they look different. 

Let It Snow

I am not a snow lover. Sure, it's pretty, and I'm glad I live in a place that has it for Christmas. But the fact that our winter lasts half the year makes me a little crazy. It gets old about mid-January.

But having kids has really helped me see snow differently. Leland LOVES the snow. Since it first snowed a few days ago, he has asked over and over to go out and play in it. Unfortunately, we didn't have all of his snow gear yet, so he had to wait to really play in it.

This week, with our extra time off, we were able to go out and enjoy it a little bit.

That's a lot of gear for two little ones.

Alden had a hard time walking around. The boots were a little heavy. Hopefully he gets the hang of it.

Don't worry, this is his "Ford Super Duty" truck, just like his daddy's. He has 4WD.

Sweet snow babes. Leland didn't like his mittens.

He ran away and hid behind a tree when I told him he needed to put his mittens back on. This could be a very long winter.

We went out again this weekend. My boys just can't get enough!

I got Leland's other snowsuit out to check the size. I thought it was a 12 month size so I didn't think it would fit Alden. But it's actually 24 months! I was so excited because this worked so much better than the two-piece snow suit with boots. It's a little big, which I prefer so it will fit him all winter (I hope).

Leland's favorite Christmas gift from last year - his shovel

For now, I'm enjoying seeing the snow the way my kids do. It really is kind of magical. I know I will feel differently in a few months (maybe even in a few weeks), but I love that having kids allows me to see things differently.

Being a mom is pretty awesome.

Whoop Whoop

This week, my school is closed due to whooping cough. So far, there have been 12 confirmed cases (out of 1200+), so it's not SUPER bad. But they decided to close so that students and staff could stay home, take antibiotics, and hopefully prevent it from spreading any further.

Not to make light of this illness, because from what I hear from those who have/had a bad case of it, it's pretty awful. Thankfully, most cases have been pretty mild. And for my family, since we're all healthy (thankfully), this means we're on Pertussis Holiday. Four days of hanging with my people, and we're not letting it go to waste.

Here's how we've spent our unexpected break.

We went to the library.

We played at the mall.

I took the boys to daycare for one day so I could get a pedi with one of my teaching partners and run some errands. (Whenever we have a school break, I try to take the kids to daycare one day so that I can get some things done and just have some "me" time. The rest of the time is kid time.

 I finally got around to opening savings accounts for the boys - no more keeping hundreds of dollars (my tips from the coffee shop) in envelopes in my bedroom.

We played in the snow.

We took a few naps.

And we had a play date with our friends Fischer and Otto.

We have had a pretty great Pertussis Holiday. Now, I hope that everyone at my school is healthy, or at least on their way to healthy. We have one week of school next week and then we're on Thanksgiving break for a week. My life is really rough these days.

No More Splash Park

Last night was our last swimming lesson. As I said in a previous post, we took them at the Great Wolf Lodge. We went twice a week for four weeks (well, actually, Leland miss one lesson for being a stinker). After each lesson, we stayed for about an hour so Leland could splash around the pool, stand under the big bucket, go down the water slides, and just enjoy the "splash park."

This week, since we don't have school (which is a whole other post to come), we were able to go a little earlier. We played for about 45 minutes before his lesson, and then stayed for about an hour after.

With our swim lessons, we got 10 guest vouchers. We haven't used them much over the course of our lessons, but for our last lesson, my sister and Dave's sister came with their families. So Leland had four of his cousins to play with at the splash park. He had a blast.

Since it was our last lesson, I decided to splurge on some fudge and doughnuts. There's a Dunkin Doughnuts inside the GWL, and every single week we have walked right by them without buying anything. This time we grabbed some doughnuts to have for breakfast the next day.

This morning, when Leland woke up, I reminded him that today was a stay-home day. He told me, "I don't wanna stay home today. I wanna go to splash park!" And every time he does any kind of pretend play, it involves the splash park. Dude loves that place.

I am so glad we were able to do these lessons at least once, because they will no longer be offering lessons at the GWL after this. From now on, they will be at the new YMCA. We may do lessons there sometime, but it will definitely be different to not have the whole water park to explore afterward.

Parenting Ain't for Punks

Wednesday night, I had to do something really difficult. Something that I didn't want to do. Something I really hated to do.

I made Leland skip swimming lessons.

Long story short, Leland is becoming the dreaded threenager. He has had some major attitude lately. I told him in the morning that I can't take a boy to swimming lessons who is being mean. I tried not to say it as a threat, but I wanted him to know that his behavior, if it continued, would have consequences. When I went to pick him up from daycare that day, he pushed Alden and tried to kick him, and I just couldn't reward that behavior with swimming. So I took Alden instead.

Leland was beyond upset. When I told him he wasn't going to swim, but Alden was, he started saying, "No, Alden not go splash park! Alden can't get all wet!" It was so hard for me to not take Leland.

I'm really not big on the whole "If you're good, you can have such-and-such" (in Choice Theory terms: rewarding to control) or bribing my child to be good. It is easy to fall into that trap, but in all the years I have seen teachers and parents do that kind of thing, I have yet to see it work the way they want it to. It's just not effective. But there is a difference between that and consequences. When it comes down to it, I just could not reward Leland's behavior.

So I didn't hold it over his head and say over and over that he had to be good or he would miss swimming. But I made sure he knew what would happen if his behavior continued. And as much as it sucked, I had to follow through.

Leland was upset, but when Alden and I got home, they played well together. And Leland has been nicer to Alden since then as well.

Sometimes parenting is means doing something you desperately don't want to do. It was just one night. It was just swimming lessons. But swim nights are my special time with Leland. I cherish that time with just us - when I can give him undivided attention and spend quality time together. While I know it was necessary to take it from Leland, and I enjoyed having that alone time with Alden, I'm hoping that I won't have to do that again. But if I have to, I will.

Because that's my job as a parent.

Matching Mama

When I was in fifth or sixth grade, I ran into someone during gym class and split my eyebrow. I had to get stitches (on picture day...I missed pictures because of it) and I now have a small scar on my right eyebrow, but you can barely see it because my eyebrow covers it.

This weekend, Alden did the same thing. He tripped in the living room and hit the coffee table. He started bleeding instantly. He was pretty upset, of course, but calmed down quickly as I nursed him. Thank goodness for nursing - this also helped me have a second to breathe, calm down, and inspect his wound. I waited while I nursed him to see if it would stop bleeding. It didn't, and once I got a good look, I could see that it was pretty deep.

So Alden and I headed off to Urgent Care. Funny anecdote: as we were leaving, Leland was crying because he wanted to go with us. He kept saying, "I need to go to da hospital too! I need my owie fixed up!" (He has a scrape on his knee and toe from swim lessons last week.

Thankfully he was all smiles the whole time!

I was hoping they could just glue it, because that seemed like an easier process with a toddler, but the doctor said that stitches would leave less scarring and the glue might not hold well in that area. So he got five stitches (he beat my measly three).

He was in a great mood the entire time, with the exception of the 10 minutes it took to actually get the stitches. It was so hard to sit there and see him scream, but I had to help hold him down. Once it was done, he was perfectly happy. We nursed again, and went home, where he continued to play and act as if nothing ever happened.

So thankful for his cheerful disposition, but I'm hoping he'll cool it with the falling and bleeding for a while. As a mom of two boys (and perhaps more in the future), I'm surprised this was our first Urgent Care trip. I'm sure it won't be the last.

Trick or Treating

This year, as with the last three years, our weather for Halloween was less than desirable for trick-or-treating. It was around 37 degrees with a mix of rain and snow. I was not about to send my sweet little monsters out in that mess, so we opted to trick-or-treat at the mall.

I'm not a huge fan of the mall for trick-or-treating because it is PACKED! Stores run out of candy within an hour. But it also just feels less festive.

We did have fun though. We got there a few minutes before trick-or-treating started and walked around to a few stores.

Leland completely bypassed every store that had a line. He had fun, but really just enjoyed walking around in his costume. Getting candy was exciting at the first few stores, but then he was kind of over it.

After about 10 stores, we went to the food court for dinner. There were free carousel rides, so I took the boys. Alden wasn't impressed with the carousel, so I held him while Leland rode the horse.

While we were eating dinner, my sister-in-law texted me to tell me they were there too. So we met up with them and the rest of Dave's siblings.

First pic with three of the four Nowak families. Notice my kid is actually looking.

After the fourth family showed up. Notice my kid is not looking. :/

But before we went trick-or-treating, we went to visit my Grandma. My mom was there, as well as my sister-in-law and nieces.

The best it gets these days. :)

They were Anna and Elsa. So with Mike and Sulley, we were a great Disney crew.

Another Halloween is in the books. What a fun night!