Imagination at play

Knights and babies. On one level, I could point out the similarities of boys and girls, because when they're playing with these toys of choice, the both are really just playing with dolls. Of course, that's a pretty simplified observation, because if you listen to the "conversations" the kids have while interacting with these toys, you realize just how different they are.

While AJ's imagination takes him to jousts and sword fights between knights and dragons, Sydney tries to comfort her baby who apparently doesn't want to take a nap. She first rocked the baby, then brought her to me for help. As she handed over her small charge, she cautioned, "be gentle."

I've said it before, but let me repeat: the best toys are the ones that somehow inspire their owners' imagination. This is especially true with AJ who would happily evolve into a couch potato if I let him. Every so often we stumble on a toy that apparently presents so much potential for fun that AJ, without realizing it, is happier seeing himself in the middle of that adventure, rather than seeing Sponge Bob in the middle of his latest mis-adventure.

Hooray, or rather, Hoozah!, for Playmobile and their knights.

Who's a big girl now?

Look up, Sydney. Way up. That's where you just climbed. Three times.

Call it a rite of passage. Sydney is now fearless enough to climb through the giant maze at McDonald's Playland and come down the big slide. Note that I did not say she was big enough. She still needed the help of her brother twice, and a stranger once, to climb over one of the hurdles needed to reach the opening to the slide. But it was a relief to see her come shooting out the bottom. (I confess, it was also a bit of a disappointment. I love going down that slide, and having to rescue your child is a perfectly acceptable excuse for an adult to share in the fun.)

Sydney suddenly seems to have developed into a phase that's post-toddler/pre-preschool. This weekend also marked her first party invitation that didn't involve one of her brother's friends. It was from a nice young gentleman named Carter, who turns two on Sunday. Apparently Carter talks about Sydney as much as AJ talks about his friend Hanna. When we walked in the door and were introduced to Carter's family, his grandma said, "Oh, so THIS is the Sydney we hear so much about."

I'm not sure I'm ready for this. Though, I am enjoying the perks. Carter's family had rented an inflatable bouncy cage-type thing for the party. And Sydney insisted I go in there with her. Which was almost as fun as the slide at McDonald's Playland.

Back seat driver

Do as I say, not as I do...

Why is it that the child who can't seem to hear my repeated requests for him to pick up his toys, has no problem listening to me when I'm saying something I shouldn't?

And then he's only too quick to point out the error of my ways.

While driving yesterday, I encountered an incredibly clueless driver. She was in the left lane of the freeway, I was in the right. I could see ahead a truck coming down the ramp trying to merge. I figured the easiest way to let the guy in, woul dbe to move over into the left lane. Wrong. This woman was in la-la land, and managed to perfectly adjust her speed to coincide with me. I sped up. She sped up. I slowed down. She slowed down.

A name came to mind and I uttered it frustration.

From the back seat came a reprimand. "Mom, you shouldn't call people a moron. That's not nice. You're acting like a toddler."

What could I say? "Yes, AJ, you are right."

Ironically, just as I'm typing this, AJ called from the other room, "Was I a good listener yesterday?"

"Yes, AJ" (a little too good.)

Bag o' legos

Here's my latest (and perhaps best) excuse to date for justifying my lack of organization. Being too neat and orderly can lead to obsessive compulsive traits in future generations.

Consider, for example, poor Sydney. The innocent child seems to think playing with Legos is all about picking them up and putting them in a bag. She has no desire to build with the tiny blocks, nor does she try to knock over towers that Mommy builds. Instead, she just wants to pick up the pieces and stuff them into sandwich bags.

She really had me confused for a while this morning. She came into the kitchen and repeatedly announced, "I big. I big."

"Yes, you are a big girl." I answered.

"No, Mommy. I beg."

"You're what?" I asked.

"I beg," she insisted. "I beg."

I gave up trying to translate and instead said, "Show me."

That's when she lead me to the cupboard and pointed to the top shelf where I store the plastic bags, tinfoil and other wraps. The lightbulb clicked on.

"You want a bag?" I asked.

Bingo! She clapped her hands, repeating "I bag." She then happily walked back into the living room and began stuffing the colorful little rectangles, along with other small toys, into this most prized possession - a Glad sandwich bag. (Yes, I gave my toddler a plastic bag for a toy.)

And why does Sydney think this is what you do with Legos? Because the first time she played with them, she saw Grandma Elouise sorting through the massive pile trying to find the pieces to a particular set, which she then put in a Ziploc bag. So of course Sydney, who already has an obsession with purses, loves this idea of a game.

By the way, before anyone comments on Sydney's extremely shaggy hairdo, please note she's getting a long overdue trim Friday morning. Just in time to have her long overdue 2-year pictures taken.

Maybe I should be a little more organized.

Say WHAT?

From morning 'til night, my kids came up with some of the darndest things today.

Sydney started it. She'd done a wonderful job sleeping through the night. And how did I show my thanks? By trying to wake her up before she was ready. Attempt number one involved rubbing her back. She ignored me. On my second try, she pulled her legs and arms into a tight fetal position. I finally opened the blinds, allowing bright sunlight to invade her cozy little cocoon of blankets, and then I shook her again.

Without so much as raising her head or opening her eyes, she protested, "Mommy, go 'way!"

I just can't wait until she's a teenager. She is definitely not a morning person.

Fast-forward to bedtime, and AJ gave me new reason to appreciate Aunt Sarah's tough job. We had popcorn for a bedtime treat, with the result being AJ got food stuck in his teeth for the very first time. He came to me, fingers in his mouth, and said, "Mom, I need some toothal floss."

And that's when I discovered that flossing someone else's teeth is much more difficult than flossing your own. Making things slightly easier was the fact that because AJ still has only baby teeth, it's just the molars that are close enough together for floss to be needed. Making things slightly tougher was the fact that it was AJ, so of course he couldn't stand still.

We finally loosened the offending piece of popcorn, so I told him he could finish the job by brushing his teeth.

And now a follow up to yesterday's blog. Because of Jeff's work schedule, I had to drive the kids to daycare this morning. On the way there, Sydney called from the back seat, "I want chay pie."

"Sorry, honey," I told her. "Mommy doesn't have that song in this car."

"Do you have 'We're not gonna take it'?" AJ asked.

"Nope. You're going to have to listen to what's on the radio."

"But we want wild music," AJ responded. "Wild, loud music."

So he already thinks I have lame musical tastes. I can't wait until he's a teenager.

As I tried to leave them at daycare, Sydney started to cry. Her teacher, hoping to make me feel better, noted that Sydney never cries when Jeff drops her off, and said, "It's always tough when you disrupt their routine."

Thinking of the non-wild music I'd just made them listen to, I nodded, "You don't know the half of it."

Monsters of rock

Funny... AJ doesn't look like the big hair, head-banger type.


And while Sydney seems to have perfected the hair toss move, and has been sporting a shaggier 'do, the latter is a temporary condition that Auntie Barbie should cure this Friday.


Hair length aside, turns out Daddy has been introducing these sweet little souls to his college-era music of choice: heavy metal. Who knew the six-minute drive to daycare was enough time to influence the musical tastes of these impressionable young minds?

Tonight, as we were driving to soccer practice, Sydney asked something I couldn't understand. She repeated herself several times before finally getting Jeff's attention. He knew right away what "Chay pie" meant. She wanted to hear a song from his "Best of the Big Hair Bands" CD.

Do you want to hear "Cherry Pie?" Jeff asked.

Sydney squealed with excitement that Daddy understood and was granting her request. And then AJ interrupted, "No, I want to hear 'We're not gonna take it'!"

Great! Twisted Sister is so much more appropriate than Warrant for the preschool set.

Trying to find a bright note, these kids certainly ought to end up with an appreciation for diverse musical genres. When it's me behind the wheel and in control of the car's CD player, we generally sing along with Sunday School songs. And this is good practice for me, I suppose. After this, their musical choices in, say, 10-15 years maybe won't seem quite so outrageous.

It's official: AJ's growing up

Our baby isn't just our baby anymore. All of a sudden he can claim a couple other titles from outside organizations, titles like "soccer player" and "preschooler."

Regarding soccer, I knew this day was coming. But the preschool news was a pleasant surprise. I'll get to that in a moment.

Tonight marked AJ's first soccer practice, and boy did he have fun. He got to wear his new shin guards, socks and special shoes. He got to wrestle with his buddy Gino, who he hadn't seen in over a month. He got a Transformer sticker. And, oh yeah, he even got to kick around a soccer ball.

I give the coach (one of Jeff's colleagues) a lot of credit. His expression in the photo below speaks volumes about how much patience is required to keep a group of 4-year-olds focused. They covered a lot of ground on their first night: Run. Kick the ball. Kick the ball back this way. Don't use your hands. And no tackling.

How much do you suppose they'll remember when they re-group tomorrow night?

Now, to the preschool news. AJ has been accepted into the school's early readiness program for fall. He'd been on a waiting list due to his mother's inability to pay attention to registration deadlines. But thankfully, I got a call today that a spot opened up, so we're in! It's not that I think AJ needs the program to prepare for kindergarten, but rather, all of his friends from daycare are going, so I don't want him left behind with only younger kids to play with.

It's kind of a weird sensation to commit to these outside groups. And especially both in one day. Up until now, our family's schedule has been based on Jeff's and my committments. Now, we're throwing committments of AJ's into the mix. I know this is just a small sampling of what's to come, but somehow I feel like we all grew up a little more today.