Kicking Back

Gabriel has taken to resting wherever and whenever he pleases. The baseball diamond during Maddie's soccer game, fine. While we are walking to school in the middle of the sidewalk, not fine.

Happy Halloween!

The force was with us this year! Nathan immersed the boys into Star Wars. I've stood firm and not allowed them to watch the movies yet. But, it is a relentless pursuit to make me change my mind. Maddie refused Princess Lea and opted for a Native American.

It was a busy day of classroom Halloween parties. The kindergartners were thrilled to see us and so good! We had story time, freeze dance, snack and then four stations of crafts and games. They loved it! 

I wore my purple hair and hat. And the kids were just not sure if it was real or what. There was a lot of talk about a magic wand and special hair on Halloween. Of course, I'd conveniently forgotten my magic wand at home. I loved their confusion and innocence. Four days later, the kids are still coming up to me wondering about my hair! 

Now the 3rd graders, on the other hand, hardly gave me a glance. Maddie's in a class with 14 boys! It's, to say the least, intense. I feel for the teacher. We had one craft and an outdoor scavenger hunt for bones. Enthusiasm just not the unbridled joy of the five/six year olds. Sniff. (Can you believe the snow on the ground?)

Party time continued at the Woolberts for chili and fun before trick or treating. It was a fantastic way to end the day. Bijan and Theo were both Darth Vader, Maddie and Avery were Native Americans. And Maddie steeled herself to walk through the haunted house (the one where the man in the gorilla suit chased her down the street when she was in kindergarten). She was so proud to make it this year! We spent time trick or treating on their side of Beacon before getting a police escort across Beacon (by chance) to our side. The kids were thrilled - lights, sirens, the whole shebang!

Theo wasn't pleased that Gabriel put his arm around Davis. He said, "That's not his brother."

The candy tally

The Sanders' Pumps

(Maddie, Theo, Erin, Gabriel and Nathan)

Can you see the "code" in Nathan's pumpkin? 

Hint: There is an E, M, T and G

Hmmm, does he look like me? 

Happy Halloween!

(I was quite exhausted on November 1!)

Brings Tears to My Eyes

My sweet Theo performing a song he wrote - both the words and the music.

Success!

With grapes in cheeks, acting like a chipmunk

To say Gabriel has had a challenging time adjusting to preschool is an understatement. The tears, the monkey hold on me, the hands entwined in my hair, the teacher peeling him off of me as he sobs and I turn my back and leave the classroom. Not. Fun. In fact, quite awful.

I was very impressed with his ability to articulate what he was feeling. We refer to it as 3 year old cussing. As we'd walk up to the red doors, he'd say under his breath: "Stupid school, I hate this. Poop" And yes, I realize a three year old with command of the words stupid and hate says quite a bit, I can only say he is the third and try as I might, those words come out of certain childrens' mouths (poop is popular no matter the birth order)

I had a bit of solace when I'd pick him up and he would be happily playing on the playground (though he always spotted my car and by the time I walked up the hill, he'd be waiting at the gate for me). He'd even admit that he had fun. But, on his days off, he behaved like a perfect angel and often said how he just wants to be with me - sigh.

I realized that he had developed a habit at drop off of tensing up and getting upset. The reports from the teachers and friends said that he's engaged and happy during school.  So last week at coffee with some old friends from Bowen, Denise, who is always quite creative and positive in her solutions suggested bribery. But, in a positive way mixed with role playing. And by golly, it worked. Maddie and I role played and discussed how a smooth drop off would go over the weekend. I mentioned that there might be a special treat if he transitioned to school seamlessly. And voila, he staunchly marched into class not looking back (brave boy). I picked him up and he was so proud of his success. He said, "I didn't cwry, Mama." We jumped up and down, and he slyly grinned and said, "I get a tweat." I told him to chose ice cream, donuts or cookies and he chose donuts. I thought he'd want a large frosted sprinkled one but he decided he wanted the little balls. So I ordered four munchkins and we sat at the bar stools to celebrate. He popped one out of the bag and offered me one as well. We did cheers with our munchkins and enjoyed Gabriel's victory.

Goodbye to Ms. Bunny

We entered phase one of orthodontia today. Maddie has a very small palate and no room for any permanent teeth. She's already had 8 baby teeth pulled (she loves to tell people she's only "lost" 2 teeth!). The two teeth on either side of her top front teeth came in behind her baby teeth and were affecting her bite. So enter phase one of braces!

The pre-smile

One last look at the bunny teeth (Theo thinks they are hysterical!).

I really like Dr. Sonis, the orthodontist. He's funny and kind. We had to pick out Maddie's back to school outfit before her appointment so she could chose the bands that would match - pink and silver. She actually has all of her bands picked out through December! What a fun treat at each appointment. They didn't have that option when I was in braces.

Hooray! She made it. She was so very brave.

She had a lot of pain the first two days. And no wonder...

Look at how her teeth were before braces.

And two days later - the movement of the side and front teeth!

He's Our Underwear Guy!

It's such a big deal to say goodbye to diapers. After five successful days, we decided to have an special party for Gabriel. How lucky to celebrate this milestone with Nana. Gabriel was very tickled to be the center of attention.

A few thoughts -

• I cannot believe we are at this stage already. Though when I think about 8 1/2 years of diapers, I can believe it.
• Gabriel has done an amazing job with potty training - very few accidents. Of course, one was about an hour after his party...
• He just loves all of his special underwear and is so good at running to the potty or giving me a bit of notice when he needs to go. Hooray!!!

International Cliff Divers

Nana's here and it means adventure. Aside from the usual museum, shopping and beach trip (even a date with Nathan!), we took advantage of the International Cliff Diving event and headed into Boston, where there are no cliffs.

It was a spectacular day! And if you know me, you understand that I was a bit concerned about the crowds - how to get into town, find parking, deal with all the people, etc. But, our adventure went off without a hitch. Parking - check, crowds - manageable, cliff diving - amazing.

The "cliff" was a platform extended off the top of the Institute of Contemporary Art. So the divers plummeted into Boston Harbor. It was truly amazing. We had a great view and oohed and ahed at these athletes. Nathan and I had seen cliff divers on our honeymoon in Acapulco (how sad that we wouldn't even consider going to Acapulco today with the crime in Mexico). Interestingly, diving off of this building was more difficult for the divers than a cliff because they use the contours of the cliff to judge the distance to the water (the building juts out over the harbor so you lose your visual about 1/3 of the way down).

We loved our Nana time and wish it were more frequent!