This Parenting Thing Just Got a Whole Lot More Fun!

A few nights ago, when Alexander was putting on his pajamas, he suddenly stopped and stood like this:
I laughed and called him a little model and he started striking more poses,

each one more ludicrous than the last.

We were all in hysterics, even Annabel, who didn't know what was going on except that we were all laughing so she should laugh too.

At that moment, I realized that I'm having a whole lot of fun with my kids. It may seem like an obvious statement, but I hadn't been feeling it for a while. I'd been caught up in the taking-care-of-baby mode. The lack of sleep was wearing on me. Alexander and I went through a few rough months where I really did not want to be staying home with him. Every day there was yelling, screaming, and multiple tantrums. Not all on his side.

But over the last month, things have lightened. We've both learned and grown, I suppose. On the day of the pajama fashion show I realized that for that entire day we hadn't had one meltdown, not one fit of crying, not one episode of mommy raising her voice. And we finished off that day with pure family fun. This is what I'm in it for, and I'm so glad we're having more of it lately.

Let the good times roll!

Snow Day!

There's about half an inch of snow on the ground and everything is shut down. At least, there's no school, so we all get to stay home! Hooray for Oregon!

Alexander was playing out in the backyard for a while with his snowplow, and by the time I got myself and Annabel all suited up, he was ready to come in. Figures. So, Annabel sat in the snow for a minute, looked up at me and started howling. We came inside, and that was the end of our snow adventure.

Maybe we'll make hot chocolate later.

Ooooh, it's snowing again right now. It's quite lovely.

"Why are you so funny looking?"

Yup. That's what my boy said to a person with dwarfism at the pool today. The man either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him.

Which may be for the best because it's easier for me to figure out how to handle these situations if I have a little time to think about it (refer to the how-does-the-baby-get-in-the-mommy's-belly post).

So, at dinner, Michiel and I talked to him about when people look different and what's okay to say and what might hurt someone's feelings.

I'm sure this will be a series of conversations.

The parenting excitement never stops!

First Sign

It is November 6th. Evening. We are eating a late dinner before bedtime. Alexander's having yogurt, and Annabel's eating butternut squash and playing with Cheerios in between spoonfuls. She keeps smashing her fingers together and looking at me triumphantly. I think she's messing around with the Cheerios.

Then I say, "You want some more?" as I hold up another spoonful, and suddenly I realize she's making the sign for "more." She's just made her first sign! She does it again and again just before each bite and looks more and more pleased with herself.

Of course, she continued to sign even after she was obviously done eating, so we still need to work on the finer points. But hey, it's a start!

Alexander's really taken to learning new signs. Already he knows: more, mama, papa, brother, help, done, eat, dog, nurse and a handful of others. Hooray for sign!

Getting THE QUESTION

Yup, he asked it. The question.

"How does the baby get in the mommy's belly?"

Really? Already? He's not supposed to ask that for another few years.

While Michiel discreetly walked away, I yammered something about how when a mommy and daddy love each other alot they decide to make a baby and then the baby grows in the mommy's belly.

Great, right? Quick thinking. Skip over the difficult bits.

Nothing doing. Alexander was not deterred. "No, what I mean is: How does the baby get IN the mommy's belly?"

So, what did I do? I panicked, of course. I laughed and promptly changed the subject.

The next day, he brought it up again at lunch, apropos of nothing. "But I was really wondering how the baby gets inside the mommy's belly."

I swear, there is no distracting this boy! But this time, I was better prepared. I told him about the egg and the sperm and the egg getting fertilized. I drew comparisons to the animal kingdom. All the while Alexander chewed and nodded thoughtfully. I hoped this would be enough for him, especially since he probably didn't understand all of it.

At the end he said, "Okay. Can I have a toetje (dessert) now?"

Halloween

Though the week leading up to Halloween this year was a bit hectic (sickness, too many things to accomplish), the day itself (or should I say, eve?) was lovely. Annabel kept her gnome hat on reasonably well, and Alexander's snail costume got lot's of compliments. He definitely stood out in the sea of store-bought costumes.

Michiel constructed the shell with cardboard and tape, and Alexander and I painted it. I, of course, had to supress my urge to make it look perfect and yield to the mother/son creative process.

We all went over to Mom and Dad's house and went trick-or-treating from there, since our neighborhood isn't the best for that sort of thing. Alexander was so cute walking/running around the neighborhood, as interested in looking at the Halloween decorations as in getting the candy. He always said, "thank you," after getting candy.

Annabel got a lot of attention for her outfit. The teenagers especially liked her. One punk kid saw her and said, "Oh, sweet, a garden gnome! Gimme knuckles, girl!"

When we got back to Mom and Dad's, Alexander barely had time to examine his loot before he had to answer the door and pass out candy. I'd say he liked that better than trick-or-treating himself. When he and Michiel went out for a second round, he hadn't even got to the door of the first house before he stopped in his tracks, turned, and ran back. Michiel says it was an epiphany. He realized he would miss out on handing out candy. So, back he came. And every time the doorbell rang, he bolted for the door.

I think my parents got around 300 trick-or-treaters this year. That's a lot of candy!