Since we haven't settled on a name yet, occasionally I will ask Kiddo for recommendations. Often he will suggest the name of our usual babysitter, character names from the Cars movie, or the name of his friend's little sister. The other morning I asked him again what he thought we should name baby #2. Some notable suggestions were:
Poopsin
Parkin
Windowcarball
Foxcat
Fomp (a frequent suggestion)
And this is why our three-year old is not going to name his baby sister.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Walkabouts
A couple months ago, I was talking to a friend about what Kiddo and I would do for fun while in Sarajevo. Although we would sometimes visit the playgrounds, their less-than-ideal conditions made it hard to let Kiddo have free reign of the play equipment; things like 1 1/2 foot drops at the bottom of a metal slide aren't conducive to the safety of a two-year old. Besides that, many of the parks and public green spaces have been converted into graveyards of one kind or another, so it wasn't always appropriate to let Kiddo run around at will. Ex-pat play groups were about once a week, but we only went if they were within walking distance (because I never found the courage to take a taxi by myself), so that limited our ability to attend. So when my friend asked what we did instead of going to a park or playground or play group, it made me realize how many exploratory walks Kiddo and I used to go on. We often roamed the surrounding neighborhoods, the baščaršija, or walked back and forth on either side of the Miljacka river, alternating between watching the traffic and the ducks. Occasionally we would stop at one of the many bakeries and get a treat. But regardless of where we went, we were out seeing the city and having a good time.
Ever since I had that conversation with my friend, it made me realize that I have been limiting our outdoor activities to actual concrete activities. So Kiddo and I have started having walking adventures again. I let him decide the directions and we try and come home by a different route. Kiddo always makes up stories to go along with our walk; usually they have something to do with a troll bridge, a party or presents, Grizzlyville, the nutty forest, taking a bus or taxi, going to the airport, or something from whatever books we've been reading that week. He takes his backpack and I take the water bottle and we set out on an unknown course. My sole job is to make sure we don't walk so far away that we're too tired to walk back home again. Often, we walk down streets or neighborhoods we have never seen before. Usually Kiddo likes to find a bench and watch the traffic go by. Sometimes, despite my protests, we end up at the nearby mall because Kiddo wants to look at cars at the toy stores ("Mom, that was the whole point!"). And, if we're lucky, we find a park or green space we didn't know existed. It's not quite the same as being surrounded by hundreds of pigeons in the baščaršija or observing Austro-Hungarian architecture, but I don't think Kiddo misses that. In fact, I think he's more than happy to count the motorcycles he sees while we walk.
Ever since I had that conversation with my friend, it made me realize that I have been limiting our outdoor activities to actual concrete activities. So Kiddo and I have started having walking adventures again. I let him decide the directions and we try and come home by a different route. Kiddo always makes up stories to go along with our walk; usually they have something to do with a troll bridge, a party or presents, Grizzlyville, the nutty forest, taking a bus or taxi, going to the airport, or something from whatever books we've been reading that week. He takes his backpack and I take the water bottle and we set out on an unknown course. My sole job is to make sure we don't walk so far away that we're too tired to walk back home again. Often, we walk down streets or neighborhoods we have never seen before. Usually Kiddo likes to find a bench and watch the traffic go by. Sometimes, despite my protests, we end up at the nearby mall because Kiddo wants to look at cars at the toy stores ("Mom, that was the whole point!"). And, if we're lucky, we find a park or green space we didn't know existed. It's not quite the same as being surrounded by hundreds of pigeons in the baščaršija or observing Austro-Hungarian architecture, but I don't think Kiddo misses that. In fact, I think he's more than happy to count the motorcycles he sees while we walk.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Kiddo's First Kiss
While dropping Kiddo off at nursery during church yesterday, one of the nursery leaders told me an interesting tidbit. Apparently last week they were teaching a lesson about love. Kiddo turned to the girl he was sitting next to and gave her a kiss. Pretty smooth, don't you think?
On the drive home, Brandon set some new rules for Kiddo:
1) no kissing anyone except for parents and grandparents
2) no girlfriends until after he serves a mission.
How long do you think we can keep that up?
On the drive home, Brandon set some new rules for Kiddo:
1) no kissing anyone except for parents and grandparents
2) no girlfriends until after he serves a mission.
How long do you think we can keep that up?
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Daddy's Side of the Bed
I may not have made it apparent before, but Kiddo really, really loves his Daddy. It can sometimes cause major drama if I get up to read to Kiddo in the morning instead of Brandon. Or if I don't give Kiddo sufficient warning that Brandon won't be home in time to see him before bed.
Lately Kiddo has started sneaking into our room during nap or bed time to sleep on Dad's side of the bed. I have to admit that when I nap, I usually choose Brandon's side of the bed, too. I'm not sure if that's because I like sleeping in a different space or that I just don't want to get make-up on my own pillowcase. But there's definitely part of me that sleeps there because that's Brandon's spot; that's the space where he should be and I miss him when he's not around. Kiddo won't fall asleep if we're in bed with him, but for some reason he has no trouble falling asleep in our bed by himself. As long as he's on Daddy's side.
Lately Kiddo has started sneaking into our room during nap or bed time to sleep on Dad's side of the bed. I have to admit that when I nap, I usually choose Brandon's side of the bed, too. I'm not sure if that's because I like sleeping in a different space or that I just don't want to get make-up on my own pillowcase. But there's definitely part of me that sleeps there because that's Brandon's spot; that's the space where he should be and I miss him when he's not around. Kiddo won't fall asleep if we're in bed with him, but for some reason he has no trouble falling asleep in our bed by himself. As long as he's on Daddy's side.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
He Can "Read!"
Kiddo loves books. In fact, as I write this there is at least one book with him in bed while he is napping. Before we put a clock in Kiddo's room and told him he couldn't get up until 7 AM, he would often wake up, um, earlier than that. Brandon and I would usually alternate mornings of getting up early with Kiddo and reading to him for half an hour or until the other spouse woke up. In fact, it's become so ingrained in our routine that even though Kiddo now knows not to get us up until 7, he still insists on some reading time with Dad each morning.
We have some neighbors in our building that have become like surrogate grandparents to Kiddo, to the point where they bought a set of toys and books to have on hand in their apartment for when Kiddo came to visit. The other day, they decided to downsize their toy box and gave us some of the things Kiddo has loved to play with at their apartment. I didn't know what a big hit one of the books was until I discovered he could "read" it to me from memory. Pretty cute, if I do say so myself.
We have some neighbors in our building that have become like surrogate grandparents to Kiddo, to the point where they bought a set of toys and books to have on hand in their apartment for when Kiddo came to visit. The other day, they decided to downsize their toy box and gave us some of the things Kiddo has loved to play with at their apartment. I didn't know what a big hit one of the books was until I discovered he could "read" it to me from memory. Pretty cute, if I do say so myself.
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Adventure Weekend: Sunday/Monday
Sunday: Blueberry waffles for breakfast! Church! Corn on the cob, watermelon, salad, and baked beans for dinner! We're wild and crazy!
Monday: We somehow wrangled an invitation to our neighbor's parents' house on Breton Bay. Score! But no pics because we were on the water all day. Just use the 'ol imagination on this one.
Up first? Tubing behind the motor boat. Probably not the best idea to have Kiddo go tubing first thing, with a sixteen-year old driver who was eager to show us a good time, because it scared the pants off of him (no, not literally) and made getting Kiddo to try other water activities a little difficult.
After everyone got their turn tubing--and after I pried Kiddo's hands off of me--Brandon and I went canoeing. Kiddo didn't want to join us. But he was happy to have Brandon hold him in the the water and "swim" around the dock.
After lunch, we all got aboard the sailboat. Heaven! Neither Brandon nor I had ever been on a sailboat before and it was lovely--especially when Kiddo fell asleep on my lap and all I could do was hold him, enjoying the view while everyone else was busy with the main sail and the halyards and the jib.
It was a great way to end our Adventure Weekend!
Monday: We somehow wrangled an invitation to our neighbor's parents' house on Breton Bay. Score! But no pics because we were on the water all day. Just use the 'ol imagination on this one.
Up first? Tubing behind the motor boat. Probably not the best idea to have Kiddo go tubing first thing, with a sixteen-year old driver who was eager to show us a good time, because it scared the pants off of him (no, not literally) and made getting Kiddo to try other water activities a little difficult.
After everyone got their turn tubing--and after I pried Kiddo's hands off of me--Brandon and I went canoeing. Kiddo didn't want to join us. But he was happy to have Brandon hold him in the the water and "swim" around the dock.
After lunch, we all got aboard the sailboat. Heaven! Neither Brandon nor I had ever been on a sailboat before and it was lovely--especially when Kiddo fell asleep on my lap and all I could do was hold him, enjoying the view while everyone else was busy with the main sail and the halyards and the jib.
It was a great way to end our Adventure Weekend!
Monday, June 06, 2011
Adventure Weekend: Saturday!
We decided Memorial Day weekend needed to be epic because:
1) Brandon needed something to look forward to, and
2) Ok, mostly just because Brandon needed a break.
Saturday morning, Brandon and Kiddo went on a jog and happened upon the gathering place for Run for the Wall, a motorcycle club comprised of war vets who are allowed to ride to Arlington Cemetery this one weekend every year. There weren't many people there to welcome the riders off, and Kiddo was definitely the youngest fan, so he got his fair share of attention for the motorcycle moms/grandmas. And it was quite the sight to watch hundreds of motorcycles drive away.
After a pit stop home, we grabbed our trusty GPS and headed to a nearby nature reserve to spend the afternoon hiking on the trails. We had found the address online and didn't think it would be difficult to find, what with our GPS and all. After driving for an hour or so, we arrived at our "destination" only to find that we were in the middle of a country neighborhood. Trees? Yes. Forest? Yes? But surrounded by farms and houses. And no mention of a nature reserve anywhere. But, as is apt to happen, Kiddo was asleep so we decided to just keep going. Until we got to Delaware.
Once Kiddo woke up we stopped to get some ice cream in Milford and ate it while watching the geese swim down the river. Then we got back into the car and headed east to the beach. And it soon started to rain. And Brandon fearlessly stopped to save a turtle that was stopped in the middle of the road. And then we parked the car near the beach, waited out the worst of the storm, and then waded in the warm water while it continued to rain. Kiddo loved it.
Since we still had some time left in the day, we stopped on the way home to spend a few hours at Tuckahoe State Park. We played in their giant tire play ground, we hiked around on the trails, we played with a hissing turtle, we saw wild turkeys, and even caught a glimpse of a rainbow on our drive home.
A good start to our Adventure Weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)