Connor's World

With all of the focus and attention (or most of it, anyway) on the little guys starting school this week, I'll share a bit of Connor's world. Tonight, as we do most nights, Connor and I read a few books before bed (filling up his reading sheet for preschool, of course). He even "read" one of them to me - Go, Dogs! Go - and was pretty accurate. After we were done reading, he shared a story of his own. It went something like this:

"I need a bike," he informed me.

"You do?" I asked, surprised because he's never shown much interest in even his Big Wheel bike.

"Yes, a big one. And I get two seats on it for the babies, up here," he said, pointing on top of his head.

"Really?" I asked, quite surprised. "The babies might hurt your head."

"Yes," he said seriously. "They ride here. We ride and ride and ride. But then they fall down. And then they cry." He seems a bit too pleased by this fact. "I not fall down though. I big boy, I hold on and ride. Babies cry."

"Oh, no."

"But then we keep going. And then the letters float up into the air and then we see all the animals and then we shoot them." (I think the letters floating reference has something to do with one of the kids favorite shows of late PBS's Word World, but I'm not sure).

"But that's not nice," I interrupt, displeased by the shooting.

"We shoot them," he says again. "Ka-pow! Ka-pow! Ka-pow!" We even get sound effects, apparently.

"We don't shoot things, that's not nice," I remind him again (for what feels like the thousandth time), tucking him in with his customary hug and kiss. He is, of course, stalling bed time with his long, drawn-out story. "That was a very good story, but it's time to go night-night now."

"Ka-pow! Ka-pow! Ka-pow!" he says again, pretending to hold a gun and knowing that Mommy does not approve. Perhaps he's picking a fight to keep me there a little bit longer.

"Connor," I say, wondering where he keeps getting this from and how to make it stop. "It's not nice to shoot anything."

"But they eat my apple. I no want them to eat my apple so I shoot them!" (I think the apple reference is from one of the books we just read - 10 Apples Up on Top - but I'm not sure.)

And with that he abruptly pulls the covers over his head and ends the conversation. That's one way to win a disagreement, I guess. What are we going to do with him? Love the imagination. Not so crazy about the shooting everything in sight, which has been a theme lately.

So, while just about everyone in the critical world is raving about Wall-E and how wonderfully it tells the story of waste and sustainability, I'm silently cursing the animated robot that has made shooting all the rage with my four-year old.

I keep reminding myself this is just a phase, much like his Thomas fascination that has faded (he still loves playing with the actual trains, just not so much on watching the show that drives adults a little crazy).

Sigh. This, too, shall pass . . .

First Day

Our cute little coat rack is looking a bit crowded these days. And you have no idea how hard it is to find backpacks for little kids in the middle of the school year - these were on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods, thank goodness, because they were the only ones I could find and they were hanging up with the very expensive backpacking gear). Connor's bag was provided by (and required to be used for) his preschool. His little Thomas the Tank one is in the closet, used for road trips and other adventures. We opted for something more practical for the little guys, as we hope they can use them for several years (and who knows how long Thomas will be in favor).



Here are the boys actually wearing the backpacks (look how big they are on them!) - not that they left them on for very long. They were shrugging them off as I tried to quickly snap the token picture.



Waiting in line at the carpool drop off. Xander is yawning and Sawyer is dazed, which is probably not a good sign. Of course, it could have been worse, there could have been tears and screams. The rain you see out the window probably helped us out. When the staff came out to get them, they didn't have much choice but to go if they wanted out of the rain, which they did. Xander kept trying to sit down on the wet ground, so he was carried by one staff member, and then Sawyer tried the same thing, so the staff member holding Xander then took one of his hands and another staff member joined her and took Sawyer's other hand, essentially carrying him since he refused to put his feet down and be led. But they made it inside with just a few screams (they were more mad than sad, so I didn't notice any tears).



And this is my view from the parking lot, where I waited for a little while to make sure the teachers didn't need any help. I was pretty sure they wouldn't, but brought along a few things to do in the truck just in case. Xander's room is the first set of windows on the left, and Sawyer's is the next set of windows. You can see the car pool lane in the far right of the photo, and it's blurry, but a staff member is actually walking another child in under an umbrella. They walk in through a little fenced in area where the preschool playground is located.

So we all survived the first day. I left to do a few things at the house and then to go pick up Connor from his preschool. We made today a special day and went to lunch at Chic-fil-a. He didn't eat much, which shouldn't surprise me, but he did have a few french fries and drink his Coke. And he really enjoyed playing on the indoor play area. Mommy is such a sucker. She told him he would have to eat first, but when it came down to it, I was just ready for a little peace. I took my Coke to a table just outside the play area and turned him loose with the others. He'll be hungry before dinner, but that will have to be when he learns his lesson today. He's going to get his reheated lunch that he didn't eat (or nothing). We have to learn to not be wasteful, right?

After a while, Mommy got bored (next time I'll take a book or something). We still had about 30 minutes before the little guys would be finished for the day, so we decided to stop by the store to pick up something we needed. Connor likes to go shopping, even though he didn't get to ride in the race car cart (we only needed one thing, and we didn't have a whole lot of time today). He was cute, talking to anyone within shouting distance. He gets lots of smiles that way.

And finally we headed back towards the little guys school and home. Connor was fascinated by their school (it's much bigger than his, since it's located in the back of one of the local middle schools). He was also fascinated, as usual, by the directions we were taking to get there. The boy loves to know where everything is when he's driving. It's like he's trying to put the whole world in context of where he is at that precise moment. "Where's GrammyPappy's house? Where's Grandma an' Grandpa at the lake? Where's the beach? Where's Grandma Jo's? Where's store? Where's Mommy's house? Where's my school?"

We went through it while we were driving and again while we waited just a few minutes in the carpool line, and then Xander's teacher and the speech therapist walked out holding the boys by the hand. They were quite excited to hear Mommy's voice, and I got some of the best hugs ever from both of them. You know, the "thank heavens you came back for me" kind. They told me that the boys did pretty well for their first day, very little screaming and no tears, and they were looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

I was a little worried about Sawyer on the way home. He sat back in his car seat with an extremely blank expression on his face and not making any of his usual noises. Though I knew he could simply be sleepy (he's had a few sleepless nights recently), I still wondered about that absent expression. It's one he gets when he's withdrawing from something he doesn't like or want to deal with. But, when we got home he snapped right out of it. He jumped right down from the truck into my arms, gave me the briefest of hugs, and went right inside the house. He's been happily playing ever since. I'm going to hope the car ride was just making him sleepy.

Xander seemed completely fine. He was jabbering and looking around like usual on the ride home. He jumped right down and went straight to the door to go inside the house, just like usual. He's been alternately watching a new Word World video and playing.

The only downside to our new school routine is something that Connor has already picked up on (smart little devil). When the teachers told the little guys "See you tomorrow," he instantly understood that they were going to have something he wasn't. He doesn't go back for two days, and he knows it. He wanted to know "How come babies go again tomorrow?" Mommy had to explain that their school was different, that they went every day and we would get to spend his other days (the ones he's not in school) doing fun stuff that was just for him and Mommy. That helped, but you could see he still didn't totally understand. And probably won't, at least not for a while, until he gets a chance to see how our new schedule is going to work. We're all going to have to figure that out.

All in all, the days seems to have gone well. Of course, we'll see how well it goes tomorrow now that they know what going to school means - being dropped off and left. Perhaps it will rain again!

Beautiful Day

How much are we loving the spring-like weather in our part of the world? Highs near 60 degrees and sunny. That is pretty near perfection, as far as Mommy is concerned. The boys and I have really enjoyed it and hope that it lasts, even if we did have to survive two weeks of snow and ice to get here!

We've spent lots of time out in the yard, playing on the swings and the slide (and playing rings with our big puppy). We've gone on stroller walks (also taking the puppy for his exercise), and even walks around the block (leaving the puppy at home while I have two and sometimes three toddlers roaming free, because how crazy do you really think I am?)



Look who's swinging all by himself (and quite proud about it, too)!



From one thing to the next, Sawyer comes off the slide and immediately heads for the swings.



Big boy swinging all by himself!



Bad puppy, eating dirt and tearing up the yard. He was banished for a little while, but Mommy eventually caved and let him back in the play area, too.

Who's Ready to Go to School?

Today our big (little) boys made their first visit to their new preschool. It went much better than I expected. There were no real tears and not much screaming (unless you count when it was time to put toys away to leave, which I don't).

Today was our trial run, of sorts. When I made the site visit last week, I talked with the teachers and others at the school about how best to transition them into this new phase of their life. I thought it would be best to start them on a Tuesday or Thursday, when I would already have Connor in school and could stay to help get them settled, if that became necessary. We also talked about bringing them in for a short visit during the actual class time, where I would stay with them and just let them look around and explore their new classrooms and the new people they would be seeing on a daily basis. That was today, and it went surprisingly well.

Of course, we almost didn't make it in time. Today was the day that Xander didn't wake up until after 10 a.m. - and only then because I went upstairs to wake him. Sawyer has been restless the last few nights, and has probably been keeping his brother (who likes his sleep) up a bit. So I woke him up, quickly got him some breakfast (since he'd missed dinner after falling asleep early last night), and got us ready to go. Pappy, who was nice enough to offer to help us out this morning, had picked up Connor a bit earlier for a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

So, we made it a few minutes later than we planned, but we made it. Sawyer was a bit hesitant coming out of the truck (which is normal for him), but he eventually came and then both boys walked on their own (holding Mommy's hand) into their new school. Mommy signed in, while Xander got busy exploring the hallway in general and Sawyer found a corner by the doorway, where a brightly colored piece of artwork was covering some glass, and he amused himself tracing the shapes and watching the light change - one of his favorite things in the world. That was probably a very good beginning.

Next, we were met by one of the therapists, the resource teacher, and the boys actual teachers. We came to Xander's classroom first, and Xander walked right in and started playing. Sawyer followed, even though this was not his room, and quickly made a beeline for the water table (empty, at this point). We stayed there for a few minutes, and then we had to drag Sawyer away into his classroom. He was not big on leaving the water table and the balls he'd found, but Mommy carried him into his classroom and we quickly got him entertained with some other toys. And there he stayed, pretty happy for the most part.

All in all, we were there about an hour. I was back and forth between the two classrooms, talking with the teachers and their assistants, the therapist and the others. If I'd had their things ready, I probably could have left them today. As it was, I still need to get them backpacks (big enough to hold all their things and not break their backs), and fill out the paperwork for their meal plans.

But neither was upset when I left their room to check on their brother. Neither was particularly ready to go when it was time (we were kind of disrupting the regular classroom). And that makes me hopeful.

Tomorrow we officially start. We will go at 10:35 to the car pool line, where I will unbuckle them from their seats and hand them off to the waiting staff to be ushered into their classes. I'm not sure how that abrupt transfer is going to go, considering we usually walk them into places, but we've decided to try to get them into the routine as quickly and as easily as possible. I will probably wait in the parking lot with my cell phone, just in case. But after today, I'm hopeful that it will not be necessary, that I will simply leave and come back at 1:35 to get them.

They will be in good hands, learning new things and being exposed to new environments. And, hopefully, they will be enjoying this new adventure.

Their journey, and ours, continues . . .

Tasty Treat(s)

This afternoon, Josh and I decided to run a few errands with the kids. That's pretty rare for us, because Josh is usually either working on the weekends or recovering from working 80 hours the rest of the week. But, he needed to look at some potential lots for someone wanting to build a house (I guess he was technically working, again). So, we loaded the kids up in my truck and off we went.

Our first stop was Dairy Queen, for some milkshakes. We actually meant to use a gift card we've had for a while, but totally forgot about it. Guess we'll have to have more ice cream again soon! Our next stop was Krisp Kreme. We had planned on picking up some doughnuts for this week's breakfast.

You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Our conversation in the drive thru went something like this:

"We'll take six of the glazed creme filled . . . " Josh began.

"We don't have any of those right now," the waitress interrupted.

"Oh, okay . . . we'll take six of the lemon filled . . ."

"We only have two of those left."

"Oh, okay . . . we'll take some of the chocolate iced cream filled . . ." For once, no interruptions. And we actually managed to find 12 we could live with after a few more misses. And then came time to use our coupon from the paper, where you get half off a regular glazed dozen (the only kind the boys like) after buying an assorted dozen.

"We don't have any glazed right now. There won't be any for at least an hour."

"Right."

What kind of business is this? Was there a run on doughnuts at 5 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon? Really? Because I don't understand how you can't have anything left. Early in the day, perhaps right after church, yes, I would believe that. But 5 p.m.? We sat there in stunned silence for a minute, and then told the lady thanks but no thanks and drove off.

Clearly when the "Hot Now" sign is off, it should simply read "Keep Driving."

But the rest of our errands ran more smoothly. We looked at the two lots, and then picked up some take out on the way home (McDonald's, of course, for the kids, and some pad thai for us, if you were wondering). Xander missed out, since he fell asleep before we ever even thought about getting the food. He's going to be really hungry come morning.

If only we could have gotten some doughnuts . . .