Look Who's Growing Up!

In the past few weeks, we have had a lot of changes. I already wrote about how Shawn transitioned from a toddler bed to a full sized big boy bed. Since then, he has also dropped his nap in exchange for having a much, much earlier bedtime. It’s been wonderful - instead of going to bed at 11:30 pm, he's not going to bed closer to 8:30 pm! The whole family is happier with his more reasonable bedtime!


We also got to put on his new bed sheets with cars, trucks, and roads on them. They go really well with the mural on his walls!

Plus, Shawn has figured out how to put his own shoes on. He and Raj went to Meijer and got new Toy Story shoes with characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear on them. These new sneakers even flash when he walks. Sometimes I catch him stomping just to see them flicker! He is very excited about putting them on by himself. Thank goodness for Velcro!


Every once in a while, Shawn wants to wear underwear instead of diapers / pull-ups. Potty training is proving to be a very, very slow process. But, he's getting better at it.  He understands that babies wear diapers and big kids wear underwear, that kids in diapers don’t get to do as many fun things as big kids in underwear do (like preschool, the kids’ land at Ikea, etc.). He’s staying dry a lot longer in between changes is asking to wear underwear more often. Now, that it's not every day, but it's happening more often than it used to. Sure wish he was one of the ‘trained in a weekend’ types, but everyone reminds me that this isn’t something that can be rushed… sigh.


Shawn has even had his first activity without me involved! He and Abby went to a ‘Dora and Diego's Super Scavenger Hunt’ Spanish class at Language Stars. (The class description was, "Oh no! A group of baby animals is lost in the jungle, and they need help! Can you help Dora and Diego find them? Come join the super scavenger hunt to make a super rescue!") It was a Kids Only class for 3-5 year olds. (Technically, he didn't qualify for the class because he’s too young, but because he knows the center, the routines, many of the teachers, and has been attending classes for so long, the director invited him in anyway. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Abby was going to be there, too.)

When they arrived, the students each got a name tag and drawstring backpack. Inside the backpack was a pair of binoculars, a map, and vocabulary page to bring home.

 

They got to draw on their backpacks with crayons. I think their favorite part was wearing the binoculars as they searched the center for hidden animals. Very cute!

 

They had so much fun at this special Spring Break class that we've agreed to sign them up for the Kids Only class this summer. Another bonus about the summer class is that they take the children outside to a park - not to have recess outside, but to have an outdoor classroom. This allows the students to learn new vocabulary about the world around them and extend the lessons beyond the confines of the classroom. The Kids Only classes are also a longer time. They've been used to having classes last about an hour, while their new classes will be 85 minutes. Many exciting changes! However, I'm torn about moving them up to the next level because I'm certainly going to miss my Spanish lessons in the Parent and Tots classes… but I guess it's not reeeeeeeally my class. Shawn and Abby are doing very well and are ready to do some things on their and learn some independence. I'll just have to figure out another way to learn a few extra words here and there!


So we've had many changes in the last few weeks! It's been very exciting. Shawn is making it very obvious to me that he's not my little baby anymore.

…I’m not sure if I’m ready for that!

Project: Conversion - Part 2

Today we had a mission! Mattress. Bedspring. Linens. Anything else was secondary! (Not entirely true – I had put off going to Costco and Meijer for a long time and our list was getting ridiculous.)

After a long day on yesterday, we took advantage of the morning and slept in. (After not a completely restful night, we needed it!) However, once we were awake and ready to go, we headed right out to finish Shawn’s bed. Raj and Shawn went in one car while I drove the van with the back seats flattened in hopes of bringing a mattress and box spring home with us.


Without too much hassle, we picked a full size mattress and bunkie board (a 2 inch box spring to keep the overall bed height low) from Back to Bed. We were able to bring the mattress home with us, but the bunkie board wasn’t in stock. So, we’ll have to pick that up on Tuesday. The salesman assured us that since Shawn is light, he’d be fine sleeping on the mattress without the bunkie board for a few days without the risk of caving the mattress into the support beams.


Next, we drove down the street to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to get linens. We found a great set that would’ve been perfect for his room – green spread with roads, street signs, cars, trucks, etc.

Kas Kids Raceway from
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=129861

"A colorful raceway gears your child up for a great night's sleep. The bed ensemble has a sham and comforter that reverses from a raceway to a black and white checkered pattern that matches the toss pillow, while the blue printed sheets and solid bed skirt complete the look..."

But of course, it was out of stock and discontinued. They just hadn’t taken the display of it down yet. Grr…


Instead, we found another set that’s just as fun. Though it doesn’t really go with his room, it doesn’t clash either and he does have a budding interest, so it’s fine. (We should have more than one set on hand anyway, so we’ll look for another car/truck themed one in the meantime. At least we have something for now.)

Kas Kids Dino from
http://calgary.flyerland.ca/products/bed-bath-and-beyond-kas-kids-dino-complete-product-7655293

"A land of colorful, playful dinosaurs comes to life with this exciting bed ensemble. Shades of navy, vibrant green, soft blue, purple and white adorn the sham and comforter in a prehistoric scene that reverses to a modern plaid. A plaid bed skirt and toss..."

On the way home, Shawn fell asleep in the car. While he napped, I went to Meijer and Costco (and picked up dinner while I shopped). When I got home, I threw the new bedding into the laundry and after putting away the goods, we had chicken salad on crescents a la Costco for dinner.


The new bedding took a little longer to dry than I had anticipated, so while there was a mattress to sleep on, Shawn still really had no place to sleep that night… so he joined us… again.

...We probably could’ve planned this better!

…Again.

Project: Conversion - Part 1

Shawn did a fantastic job at swimming class.  We got in the water about 15 minutes before class started, so he had a chance to warm up (and wake up).  I let him start with a float-belt with 3 floats on it, which he loves because his head stays above the water, but he does have to work a little, yet he has the freedom to ‘swim’ on his own.  Once class started, we traded the float-belt for a noodle.  (They do about the same thing, but the noodle is easier to use and not use it between activities.)  Shawn’s getting good at blowing bubbles, voluntarily putting each ear into the water, kicking is now second nature, and he’s starting to get the hang of doing arm circles while kicking.  He can easily use his arms or legs, but using them all together is a bit tricky – it’s a lot to keep track of!


The older kids in the class after ours were participating in a water safety exercise, which the teachers always hold on the second to last class of each session.  The teachers don’t actually get into the water at all, instead they coach from the deck.  The students put on life vests, learned how to jump into the water wearing one, how to swim on their fronts and backs wearing one, how to get into a canoe-type boat and maneuver it around the water.  Shawn was in awe.  Though we had been in the water for almost two hours, he didn’t want to leave!  He was amazed at what was going on in the other side of the pool – especially when the boat was involved.  Once I got him out of the pool, we of course had to warm up in the showers.  Apparently, it took a while for Shawn to thaw out because he didn’t want to get out of the shower either!  It appears that he’s either turning into a fish… or a human raisin!


We came home just long enough to pick up Baron for his grooming appointment.  While he was getting beautified, Shawn and I visited the library.  When we pulled into the parking lot, Shawn asked, “Is there a concert?” I think he was disappointed that we at the library just to get books this time.  He enjoys pulling books off shelves, occasionally reading a few, and putting others into our check-out basket, so he got over his regret pretty quickly.  The librarian helped us find a small stack of rebus books so Shawn can help read the stories.  He was very excited about them, which got her all a flutter!


On the way home, Yuppie Puppie called to say that Baron was ready to be picked up.  By the time we made it home, Raj was done with work.  It was a busy morning and I fell asleep with Shawn during his nap time.  Though sleeping in a rocking chair isn’t the best place for a nap, it was absolutely worth it (and cuddling made it an easy thing to do)!


Later in the evening, Raj started converting Shawn’s toddler bed to the next stage.  We couldn’t find anywhere on the boxes or papers what size bed the next level was.  So, we didn’t know if we needed a new mattress or what size it needed to be.  Not the best planning or design for the bed company!  The only thing we could do was – put the thing together and find out!


After a badly pinched finger (Raj’s) and an awfully bruised shin (mine), we discovered that Shawn’s new bed is… a full!  Not a twin!  The little man is going to get lost in the monstrosity!  The enormous converted bed not only required a mattress and bedspring (and linens), but we had to move other furniture around to get it to fit in his shrinking room.  Amazingly enough, we only had to move two bookshelves to a different wall and all his furniture is still in his room. However, since there was no mattress or bedspring, Shawn had no place to sleep that night… so he joined us again.

...We probably could’ve planned this better!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In the wee hours this morning, Shawn woke up and joined Raj and me in bed. Luckily, he went right back to sleep and there was minimal tossing, turning, or kicking involved (at least that I’m aware of)! Recently, Shawn’s been waking up and wanting to come into our bed or not wanting to go to sleep in his bed at all. We haven’t made a big deal about it, but we don’t exactly welcome him in either. Since this didn’t used to be an issue and, in the last week or so, it’s been a frequent request, I wanted to talk to Shawn about what was going on.

So, later in the morning, when Shawn was fully awake, I asked him why he didn’t want to sleep in his own bed ‘last night’ (since it was still dark out). “Because my bed’s too small!” he explained, “I need a bigger bed!” Huh – well, then! That sounds simple enough! I’ll make sure he tells Raj himself tonight! Meanwhile, I have no idea how he got this idea or even knew a bigger bed was a possibility. We’ve never talked about it. There really is still plenty of room in the toddler bed for him – it’s not like he’s bumping his head and feet on the ends. As far as he knows, all kids have beds like his (cribs converted with a toddler railing)! Weird. When I told the teachers at Gymboree this afternoon, Ms. Mary Beth suggested maybe tying a ‘big boy’ bed to potty training… hmmmm...

We attended Art Class this afternoon and I felt like we got a little more ‘bang for our buck’ today. After a few minutes of free paint, the kids colored a cut-out heart with chunky shaped red crayons, glued it to a larger piece of construction paper, and then added glittery foam hearts to it. Shawn was engrossed with the new crayons that were about the size of his whole hand and shaped as hearts, bowls, and simply over-sized crayons. On the other hand, after a few seconds of scratching them across his paper, he lost interest in the actual project. I got him to glue the large heart to his construction paper when I showed him that he could pour the glue from his dixie cup and then spread it around, rather than neatly apply the glue with Q-tips, like the rest of the class. The foam hearts were lost on him entirely. In contrast, Abby went to town! She colored all over her heart cut-out, used her Q-tip to carefully cover the back with glue, and then did the same to add the foam hearts. All. Completely. Independently.

Abby's

Shawn's (sort of)

Once the Valentines were made, we returned to the ‘Circus’ theme that we’ve been doing for a few weeks. The next project was more fun (even to me). The kids covered the back of a paper plate with yellow, brown, and orange paint using a sponge brush. Then, they glued on eyes, a nose, a mouth (a piece of foam that looked like a packing peanut - ??), and a yarn mane to create a lion. Shawn didn’t care for the painting (so I did that part), but he really got into it when we started added the other features. Again, Abby needed little to no help. She did a great job thoroughly covering the plate with paint, leaving barely any white showing even around the edges. She added facial features on her own, but needed a little help with the mane because the yarn stuck more to her fingers than it did to the plate! I think the final products are among my favorites of all their art projects so far!

Abby's

Shawn's

Then, Ms. LouAnn gave the grownups a choice of either doing a third art project, which she explained may be more challenging than our typical projects, or having more time to play with the toys in the sand/water table. Almost unanimously, we opted for the third project. (I’ve never really understood why there’s so much time at the end of class for play time – we could easily do more projects, or better projects, with that time!) The kids were to use colored foam peanuts to make an elephant on black construction paper. (What? How?) Ms. LouAnn handed out sea sponges and explained that if the peanuts got a little damp, they’d get sticky. (Ooookay…? Still, not understanding what we’re supposed to do.) She also gave us glue. (Alrighty, not sure about this one, but he we go!) Shawn was completely lost, so while he played with the peanuts, I worked with Abby. We arranged the peanuts on her paper trying to shape the body of an elephant, but we weren’t being very successful. Instead, we started over and focused on just an elephant head. We made a long trunk (highlighted with a strip of aluminum foil), big ears, and hopefully, the rest of the head would just emerge as we went. As Ms. LouAnn explained, “The important thing is that the children know it’s an elephant and can tell you about it.” Then, it’s perfect! She knew exactly what it was and could tell me where the ears, nose, eyes, mouth, etc. were. Great job, Kiddo – better than what I would’ve done on my own! It turned out that Ms. LouAnn took the opportunity to help Shawn make his elephant… though the few times I glanced over, it looked like she was doing most of the work. (That made me feel better, since sometimes I wonder if I’m doing too much of the project for him, leading to his disinterest. But, it looked like he was already aloof about it and she just didn’t want him to go home empty handed!)

Abby's

Shawn's

There was still time for Ms. LouAnn to read See the Circus, by M. A. Rey, while the kids had a snack. Rather than our typical Winnie the Pooh cookies, one of the other children brought in Valentine’s Day cookies for everyone. The kids even still had time to play in the toys in the sand/water table, which just turned out to be red air bean bags that they pretended were “Valentines” to exchange with each other…  Glad we did the third project!

Raj and I agreed that we weren’t going to exchange Valentine’s gifts this year. However, I knew he’d still bring something, so I made a present for him – without spending a penny. I took a verse from ‘our’ song (Wonderful Tonight, by Eric Clapton), printed it on velum, layered with some fancy scrapbooking papers, and framed it. I’m glad I did it – it was fun to watch him realize what the verse was.

Raj brought me a lovely bouquet of roses and a very sweet card. He also had a Mylar heart balloon and a box of chocolate turtles, but Shawn claimed them for himself right away. I gave Shawn new toys for the bath tub: a basketball hoop with squirting balls, a motorboat, and a waterproof bath book about opposites. Then, we went out to an incredible dinner at Redstone American Grill (courtesy of a gift card from the team at Artistic Smiles). YUM!  However, as cliche as it may sound, the best part was spending the evening with two of my favorite men.  Cupid's arrows have struck me hard!  (Wish I had captured my two incredibly handsome Valentines on camera, but it didn't occur to me until it was too late!)

I did have Shawn tell Raj what he thought about his bed and why he didn’t want to sleep in it lately. Though a little surprised, Raj agreed that if it’s something Shawn thought he was ready for, then we may as well go for it! Looks like we have a project for this weekend…

Morning?

Raj woke me up to say goodbye on his way to work this morning, as he does every Saturday (I’m awake before him during the week). A few minutes after I drifted back to sleep, he woke me up again. He asked, “Do you mind skipping swimming class this morning so I can borrow your car to go to work? It snowed last night and I don’t have my snow tires on yet.” Ugh. It’s supposed to be our last class of this session, when we get Shawn’s report card. I know it’s going to say the same thing as all the other report cards have, something along the lines of, “Move up to Pike if possible, otherwise Pike with Parent.” But, I don’t like missing class. When we overslept and missed class two weeks ago, even Shawn showed disappointment. Maybe playing in the snow today will distract him and make up for missing class. Hopefully.


Anyway, the opportunity to sleep in presented itself and who am I to turn that down? A late night last night pretty well guaranteed that Shawn would not be waking before 9:00 am. Sleeping in could easily distract me and make up for missing class this morning! And yet, I laid awake. Frustrated. I tried to go back to sleep. Couldn’t.


So, at 7:30 am, about the same time I wake up during the week with an alarm clock desperately trying to coax me out of bed, I conceded defeat and gave in to productivity. Laundry started. Bills paid. Toys put away. Not how I planned to spend a Saturday morning! At least I'll get some blogging done…

Team Work

It was a very wet and gray Chicago fall day today. Thank goodness we could burn off some energy at Gymboree! I was so anxious to get the kids going that I got my times mixed up. I thought our art class started at 9. So, we were running late and I bustled Shawn and Abby out the door. We got there well after start time, so the Ms. Kim (at the front desk) and Ms. Mary Beth (teaching a Play & Learn Level 4 class) asked me which class we were attending. I explained that we were running late this morning and were supposed to be in the art class that was well underway. After a few giggles, they both looked at me and said, “I don’t think so!” It turns out, the class that was going on at that time was a Level 1 Art class for 18-24 month olds (though no one actually showed up for it). Our class, Level 2 Art, didn’t start for another hour! Ooops!! Luckily, they are very accommodating and invited us to join Ms. Mary Beth’s Play & Learn Level 4 group, even though the other children were 16-22 months old. Then, we even got to participate in half of a Level 5 until our real class was ready to begin. Oy! I know everyone makes mistakes, but it’s not the first time I’ve done this! It’s been about a year since the last time, so it’s not like it’s a frequent occurrence, but… still! Get it together, woman!

While we spent all morning at Gymboree, Shawn and Abby did a great job playing with the younger kids. I think they had a good time doing some of the activities that they don’t get to do in the older levels anymore (like playing the Freeze game on the air log, a lap ride to The Noble Duke of York, etc.) 

Shawn's a work horse pulling a wagon.

Playing with the Rainbow Rope (bungie)

Two horses going over a big hill.

Giddyup!

Abby shaking her horse tail

Shawn with running with his horse tail

It was fun to watch them interact with the little ones too. Shawn definitely recognizes that there’s something about the children younger than he is. He is very gentle and careful when he’s around them, especially babies. Other people that notice this make sure to point out, “It looks like Shawn’s ready to be a big brother!” Yup, I totally agree he’ll make a great big brother…

In Art class, Ms. Kim subbed for Ms. LouAnn, who was out of town for the holiday. We did a review unit combing all the shapes that we’ve worked with over the past few weeks. After free painting for a few minutes, we started our projects. The first involved stamping various shaped blocks into paint. Ms. Kim encouraged the kids to combine their shapes into new things, like stamp a triangle over a square to make a house or a triangle over a circle to be a face wearing a hat, but the kids (not just Shawn and Abby) were more interested in covering their papers with randomly stamped shapes. The grownups tried to point out their accidental creations like, “That line of circles looks like a caterpillar!” but after a while, the kids just stamped freely. The second project was a simple collage of paper triangles, felt circles, tissue paper rectangles, and circle smiley-face stickers. (Neither project were very creative or original – and, unfortunately, I don’t think it had anything to do with Ms. LouAnn having a sub today! I sure hope they pick up the slack in the next unit… or I may just have to start suggested some resources for new ideas!)

When we got home from Gymboree today, Shawn and Abby played while I got lunch ready. Abby was the first one eager to sit down to eat, but lately she’s convinced herself that she can’t get into her chair by herself - even though she’s done it hundreds of times before! As the problem solver that she is, today she got Shawn involved. Here’s how it unfolded…

What a team!

Yawn

*Yawn*

Shawn woke up around 6:30 am this morning.  This is extremely out of character, as I normally have to drag him out of bed between 8:00 - 8:30 am during the week.  I was really looking forward to sleeping in today too, of course.  So much for that dream! 

*Yawn*

He woke up once earlier in the night, but he went back to sleep pretty easily.  This time, he was wide awake and I couldn’t even talk him into snuggling for very long!  He was ready to play, wanted to get Baron from the kitchen, and resisted the notion of anything deviating from his plan.

*Yawn*

The catch – he’s definitely got a cold.  In spite of the medicine I gave him (which he loves), he spent the majority of the morning sneezing, coughing, sniffing, and dribbling all over everything.  (My efforts to teach him to cover his mouth have obviously failed tremendously.)  I made him a cub of chicken broth in a fun apple-shaped cup with a squeezie spout (like a sports bottle), to encourage him to drink plenty of fluids.  My scheme worked initially, but you can lead a toddler to a sippy, but you can’t make him drink! 

*Yawn*

Shawn played, asked “Let’s get out of here!” and “What are we going to do today?” as if he was in tip-top shape.  Yet, when I sat him on my bed to read a story (after much cajoling to get him to actually sit and not stand), the next thing I realized, he was fast asleep and snoring softly.  It was only 11:00 am.  (His normal naptime is around 1:30 or 2:00 pm.)

But, now I’m awake!