First Day of School

This is Peter's first year of preschool. He is joining Allison's Montessori school but is in a different classroom. Last year there were quite a few tears from Allison as we dropped her off. Of course once we were gone she was fine.

This year was very different. Both kids were very excited. I think Peter was a bit nervous but with big sis to guide him he never let on. And I know it went well because when I dropped them off this morning we walked in the door and they both immediately took off for the playground. One of the teachers saw me without the kids and asked where they were. I answered that I had no idea and that clearly there were no issues with separation anxiety in our family.

I like that Peter has his own class. The Montessori philosophy combines age groups. So in our particular school students in class can range from 2.5 - 6. But they try to keep siblings apart so they can have their own experiences. I think this is fantastic because for so long he's taken on the role of side-kick. I'm excited for him to develop his own friends and interests that he can then share with Allison.

Now, what you really want... the photos:

In front of the school

At home:

Dad ready for work

Mom ready for a job interview (!)

And for good measure.... baby Jonathan

The current obsession in our house is with Rapunzel. Disney's new animated princess movie Tangled is really cute and we've probably watched it somewhere near 100 times so far. (no, really not exaggerating!)

As a result, Rapunzel is the favorite princess in our house these days. And it's not just limited to Allison. EVERYONE has to get in on the act. Allison is, of course, Rapunzel. And Peter gets to be her unlikely common-criminal-turned-true-love Flynn Ryder. Mr. Brown gets to be a second Flynn Ryder. And baby Jonathan alternates between the 3rd string Flynn and the chameleon Pascal.
What about me? Well, I tried auditioning for the part of the silent but beautiful and kind Queen. Instead I have been cast as Mother Gothel. Upon my protests I was told that I "could be a nice Mother Gothel." Well that makes it better. Although I personally can't imagine a universe where a woman who is several hundred years old as a result of hording a magical flower and subsequently kidnapping and imprisoning an innocent baby princess could be considered "nice." But, hey, what do I know?

So every day we pretend we are the Rapunzels and Flynn Ryders of the world. To complete the picture Allison uses two scarves tucked into the back of her dress to act as her long hair.

I have to admit there are several advantages to this pretend scenario.
1. the kids play together nicely. There are very few arguments between the lost princess and her friends.
2. the role of Mother Gothel allows me to make requests of Rapunzel such as picking up toys or clearing dishes that actually get done because it's all just part of the game.
3. it's nice to see them playing together rather just making a big mess

This stage of pretend play is very fun to watch.

Cinderella, Cinderella

Cinderelly, Cinderelly
Night and day it's Cinderelly
Make the fire, fix the breakfast
Wash the dishes, do the mopping

And the sweeping and the dusting
They always keep her hopping

She goes around in circles
Till she's very, very dizzy
Still they holler

Keep a-busy Cinderelly!

Allison has been on a dress-up kick lately. Actually, it's not so much dress-up as it is a "wear my Cinderella (Halloween costume) dress as often as possible." I suppose she loves that it is long and has sparkles on it.  She's worn it everywhere: to the pediatrician's office, to the grocery store, daycare, and just about everywhere else's we've gone in the last few months.

Yesterday I needed to vacuum (happens a lot with 3 kids) and she begged to help. So she had her first crack at pushing the vacuum unassisted. She actually did pretty well considering the vacuum is still taller than she is.  But the pictures of her cleaning the floor in her Cinderella dress cracked me up and just had to be captured. I swear I didn't make her vacuum.

Adventures in Potty Training

Peter has been working on potty training himself for the past few months.  He's doing quite well and I think this weekend will be the one where we buckle down and just get it done.  But in the meantime, he's been using the potty several times a day (mostly to earn himself 3 m&ms!)

His regular routine is to go before bed.  He normally does really well by himself, putting the little seat topper on and getting himself settled.  Mr. Brown & I were a few minutes behind in joining him in the bathroom. 

All of a sudden we hear crying-type screaming from the bathroom. Worried, we head in there. Peter is shouting "I can't get out! I can't get out!"

What do we find upon our arrival, bottom down in the water of the toilet! He had not put the little seat topper on and doesn't yet know how to position/hold himself up so he'd fallen in. And he couldn't pull himself back out! It took all that I had not to laugh out loud while helping him out and getting the little seat on for him. He was so so upset but it was so darn funny. Mr. Brown and I just looked at each other, both ready to burst out laughing.

Just call him chompers

This guy:

is now the proud owner of his very first tooth!  I suspected it was coming, the drooling, crankiness, and red cheeks were clues the last few weeks.  But I was still surprised when he grabbed my finger to bite on last night (not uncommon) and I got the tiniest little poke from the corner of a tooth.  Hooray.  I'm not sure who was more excited, me or Allison.  She had to come feel it for herself.  And she's been talking about it ever since... even had to feel it again this morning. 

Seriously, this kid is the most loved baby brother I've ever seen.  His brother and sister think he's the bees knees.

In Defense of Motherhood

My friend Katie over at Tutus and Tantrums wrote an awesome blog post called The Guiltless Bottle.

It's such a great read.  Whether you formula feed or breastfeed... it doesn't matter.  We moms are each just trying to find our way through these murky waters, doing what we are able and what we think is best for our children and ourselves.  So for every mother who has:

• become pregnant unexpectedly
• become pregnant on purpose
• become pregnant with medical assistance
• given birth with an epi
• given birth without pain meds
• given birth via cesarean section
• become a mother through adoption
• become a mother through a surrogate
• formula fed
• breastfed
• co-slept
• put their baby in a crib on night #1
• let baby sleep in a carseat/swing/bassinet so that she could get a few precious hours of rest
• made their own baby food
• bought non-organic baby food at the store
• worn their baby
• used a stroller
• worked outside the home
• worked at home
• quit their job to be home with their children
• taken her baby to music/art/dance/gymnastics/swim class
• not signed her baby up for a single organized activity
• got her baby's ears pierced
• set a rule that no ears would be pierced until the teen years
• devoted herself to one child
• devoted herself to a gaggle of children
• sent their kids to daycare
• hired a nanny to care for her kids
• sent her kids to public school
• sent her kids to private school
• homeschooled her kids
• let her kids walk to school
• sent her kids on a schoolbus
• made her kids share a room
• gave each kid their own room
• raised a child in a family with mom & dad together
• raised a child in a family with mom & dad apart
• raised a child by herself
• raised a child with two moms
• feeds her kids only organic farm-fresh food
• feeds her kids food she cooks
• feeds her kids food she buys prepared
• got stretch marks from her babies
• got grey hairs from her kids
• got worry lines and laugh lines from her teens
• carried an extra 20lbs from her pregnancy
• suffered from lack of sleep
• told her children she loved them (knowing they would never understand how much)

...I give you my respect and admiration.

You are a rockstar!  Motherhood is a crazy journey and we all need to be kind to each other through the process.

Food Fight!

Okay, there was no fighting involved.  Actually, there wasn't even much fussing involved.

But last night Jonathan got his very first taste of real food! 

First food: avocado.  Yep, avocado.  Not rice cereal.  Not oatmeal.
I mashed the avocado and mixed with a LOT of formula so it was soupy.  Over the next week I'll make it a bit thicker each day.  But I wanted to start with it pretty liquidy.

How did he like it?  Not too bad. 

Getting ready for that first bite.  A bit unsure.

"Um, what on earth is THIS?"

"Okay, seriously, what IS this?"

"Let me just play with this in my mouth a bit."

"Let's do that AGAIN!"

Pretty much every bite went like this: Interest, yucky face, followed by smacking it a bit and swallowing happily.

Classic

Why avocado, you might ask?  Well, I know the standard is to use cereal of some kind.  But I have this theory that by making carbohydrates the first food for our children we set them up for a life of carb loving.  I have no basis of this belief but I figure it can't hurt to start with a fruit/veg.  I chose avocado because it's full of healthy fats, fairly mild in flavor, and can be mashed into baby food without any cooking or added water.  Each of the other kids started with avocado as well.  In fact, last night I was thinking that between the other two kids I probably didn't finish an entire box of rice cereal total.  I only ever gave Allison a few servings of just cereal.  Mostly I just used to to beef up the Stage 1 purees and make them heartier after they had them act of eating them down. And since we've waiting until 5 1/2+ months to start solids with our kids, I felt more comfortable going with something more "real."



it just gets funnier!

I swear that Allison gets more and more funny each day!

Last night at bedtime she asked daddy why his hair is always "like that."  Here's how it went:

Allison: "Daddy, why is your hair always like that?" (said as she touches his hair)
Mr Brown: "Like what?"
Allison: "Like this!" (as you pushes all of her hair over the top of her head to the other side)
Me: "I'm pretty sure she's saying you have a comb-over!"
Allison: "Yeah, comb-over"
Me: laughing hysterically.

Seriously, I can't remember the last time I heard something funnier than a 3 year old saying the phrase "comb over"

The funniest part of it is that Mr. Brown doesn't have anything close to a comb over.  I'm pretty sure she was trying to make her hair stand up on top like his does.  But it really looked like she was simulating a comb-over!

Overheard

The conversations at our house get more and more funny as the kids get older.

This morning the conversation went like this:
Allison - I want to see the big guy
Mr Brown - Is Jonathan the big guy?
Allison - yep!
Mr. Brown - Are you the big guy?
Allison - NO!  I'm Allison Brown!
Me - Is Peter the big guy?
Allison - No.  He's Baby Peter (a game we've been playing where we rock the kids like babies)
Me - Is daddy the big guy?
Allison - Noooo.
Me - Yep.  Daddy's a man.
Allison (to daddy) - You're not a MAN!
Me - What is he? 
Allison - He's a Daddy!

Apparently man & daddy are mutually exclusive.

Where have I been?

I've been neglecting you friends & family.  I'm sorry about that.  But I promise I have a good reason!

With each passing day I am more convinced that my current career path is not the right one for me.  And so I've begun an adventure to create a life for myself based on something I actually love doing - organizing.  It's all still in its infancy but I'm working hard to grow it.  I've been keeping up my other blog. And I added a Facebook fan page for it. And I'm tweeting about it.

So I'm still out there in cyberspace but my personal blog (aka this one) has taken a back burner as I try to build my site and my reputation.  I'm working with my awesome friend Deanna on creating a new look and feel for my other blog (which will soon be an actual website).  I'm raising funds to pay my way through the classes I want to take through NAPO.  And I'm just generally obsessed with it right now.

So keep checking back here.  I'll try to not completely drop off the map.  But I can't promise daily posts or anything.

In the meantime... if you want to be my organizing guinea pig... I'm taking volunteers.  I'd like to work with a few people locally and I can do a few long-distance consults.  Email me or comment here with your email if you want to be a pilot project for me!

And don't forget to follow me at any or all of the places above!

Well, that's a stumper

Allison's inquisitiveness is growing by the day.  Lately I am asked to spell at least a dozen words for her every day.  And dinner time has become a time for her to ask how things are made.

Pretzels?  no problem
Bananas?  easy

But tonight was a bit more tough.  First she asked how you make water.  Hmmm... do I go with the scientifically correct 2 Hydrogens + 1 Oxygen?  Or the simpler, it comes from rain?  I went with rain, collected in a reservoir and piped to our faucet.

And then the really tough one.

Mommy, how to you make people?

{{insert long pause}}

Well, people grow in the tummys of their mommies and then the doctors help them come out.  That seemed to appease her enough for now.  Oh boy do we have a long road ahead.

Cinderella & the prince