Santa

All Zander wanted for Christmas was a drum set. That is all we have heard for months. So, low and behold when he woke up this morning, Santa had brought a shiny new red drum set. Zander was so excited. He loves it. He sat down and drummed like he had been a drummer all of his life. I think the drum set will be going into his room. He also got a workbench and the Ratatouille movie. At Cici and PaPa's, he got a fire truck. His Christmas would be complete now, but we will also be going to meet with the rest of the family after lunch today for more presents. Oh yes, Aunt Jennifer sent his a Thomas Aqua Doodle which he loves!! I like it also because he can make a mess with it.

Christmas Play

Last week we went to Zander's first Christmas play. It was really cute. All of the children sang Zander's favorite song. It is a Swaheli song called "Funga". The two year olds sang a couple of songs and then it was Zander's classes turn. The little girls had on tutus and snowflakes on their heads. They sang a snowflake song and then it was the boys turn. They had on reindeer suits and performed the reindeer hokey pokey. It was really cute. Zander couldn't decide if he wanted to do anything or not. This is not the cutest part of the video but I couldn't get it to upload.

911

Zander's new passion in life is anything related to a fireman. This is very interesting to me because it is also the one thing that terrifies him. He has always been afraid of fire drills and smoke detectors. He counts smoke detectors when we go in any new building. When the firemen came to school a few weeks ago he had a melt down when they put on their masks. Ever since then at home he has pretended to be fireman Scott and fireman Steve. I can only assume that was the names of the firemen that came to school.
Cousin Marty is a volunteer fireman and he brought his gear to Granny's last Sunday. Zander could not have been more excited. They put all of the gear on him and brought him into the house. Mom stood him up and he fell over. The gear weighed about 40 pounds. That is more than he weighs! He looked so cute. Mom held him up long enough for me to snap a couple of pictures. Isn't he cute?
Oh yeah, 911. Zander has known how to call 911 for a long time and he pretends on his cell phone all of the time. I never worried about it because I have not shown him how to push the talk button first and then dial a number to really make a call. The other day I asked him to bring me the phone so I could call CiCi and I heard him push a couple of buttons. I told him again to bring me the phone. When he got to me he handed it up to me with a strange look on his face and I heard someone talking. I knew immediately who was on the other line. The lady said "911, What is your emergency". Well, I started apologizing profusely and she cancelled the call. Thank goodness she didn't send anyone out. We have had the talk about what is a real emergency now.

Artichokes, please??

Mom, can I please have some artichokes? You don't hear that often from your child. It hear it quite frequently at our house. Summers and Zander love artichokes. We buy the new Ziplock Steamer Bags and cook them in the microwave. Then they melt some butter and dip the leaves into the butter. After all of the leaves have been eaten, they remove the stuff that looks like hair and eat the heart of the artichoke. They are very expensive and I only get 3 each week. Zander has actually cried in the store and said, plese can I have more artichokes, mom? People in the store usually find it very funny.

Relaxing

I am very lucky to have a flexible, kid friendly work environment. Zander gets out of school every Friday at 3:00. I have to pick him up and take him back to my office with me. Last week, most people were out of the office for the holiday, so I brought along "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and made his a special spot in the cube beside of my desk. He had a snack and snuggled up with his favorite work toys, pillow and roly poly bag. I couldn't resist snapping a picture. The only problem was that this was the first time that he had used head phones and when he talked he was very loud because he couldn't hear himself. I guess it was a good thing that there were only a couple of people in the office.

Out of Zander's mouth

Zander and I went to a couple of parades this weekend. We had a great time.This picture is from the first parade that we attended. We always sit with the Brady bunch.
I know that you have all seen the email about the little boy that is in the bathroom with his mom and starts asking all kinds of questions. Zander has done that to me many times, but I always forget to write it down.
Yesterday at the parade, there were many people there and we had waited a long time. There was a man about my age and his 3 year old son beside of us. We had talked and the kids had played while we waited. Right before time for the parade to start, Zander said, ", do those two have penises?" Well, at that same moment I saw someone on the other side of the street that I knew so I was only paying half attention. I said, "What?" So he did what every child does that is frustrated that they are not being heard, he said, " I SAID, Do those two have PENISES?" Well, that time I assure you that I heard him loud and clear and so did everyone on our side of the street. I said, " I guess so, they are boys." That satisfied him and the parade soon started.
The second thing in the parade were the dancers from the local highschool. They had on little tiny skirts with their panties showing. Zander quickly asked if their privates were under there, and why could we see their panties? Don't you just love that? Three year olds know that panties aren't supposed to show. We went to Granny's afterwards and ate supper with her and PeeWee. Zander and PeeWee were talking about firemen and Zander proceeded to tell him that he needed to take care of Granny because she is very, enormous old. She was smiling so I guess she wasn't offended. That just goes to show that you never know what is going to come out their mouths. I wonder what he tells them at school? I don't think I want to know.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Last weekend, the Brady bunch invited us over to help eat left over Thanksgiving food. We had a great time as usual. The grown ups and Brady played Rook. That is a card game that I remember my parents playing with family and friends when I was a child.
Alana had just put up her Christmas decorations and all of the kids were getting in the Christmas spirit. Around bedtime, all of the little kids had on footy PJ's and Zander was running around with a Santa hat on. They were all so cute that I had to take some pictures. Have you ever tried to get 3 kids to stand still in front of the Christmas tree while you take a picture? Easier said than done. Anyway, they are cute pictures.

Thanksgiving

I am very thankful for a day to spend with my family. As I get older, I realize just how lucky I am to have had another year with all of my family still here. Mom and Dad are in Texas so we had Thanksgiving at Granny's. At lunch it was Granny, PeeWee and my family. We stayed all day and Zander enjoyed playing with his toys and talking to Granny. Around 3:00 Vickie, Rosie, Tracy and Savannah came over. They stayed for awhile and then the rest of Vicki's family came over along with Steve's family.
I spent the afternoon typing Granny's recipes and talking with her. That was really special. I will share the recipes when I get them finished.
There were alot of people in the house and lots of children! PeeWee and Marty also came for dinner. Marty brought his girlfriend who had her 3 year old with her as well. There were children running everywhere. Were we that loud when we were little? I don't think so. I realized today that I didn't even take any pictures. I was too busy. We tried to do as much as Granny would let us do, so she could rest. This is the first time that Granny has cooked and had us over in months. All of the children obviously have missed it and enjoyed it.
The only thing missing was Mom and Dad and Jenn's family. It also would have been nice if Summer's family could have been with us as well. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Roller skating

On Sunday, we were invited to Tyler's birthday party. It was at the local skating rink. This is the same skating rink that Jenn and I learned how to skate and spent every Saturday morning. I have so many fond memories there. For some reason when I walked in the door, I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich and a pickle.
I got Zander a pair of skates and we proceeded to try to help him skate. It was not working. He just kept rolling and couldn't figure out how to help. I finally realized that the other small children had on training skates. They still roll but they have a little support in the back and they don't roll as fast. He could do it by himself on the carpet and tried to do it by himself on the rink floor until he fell on his skate and hurt his leg.
It was really cute and I really enjoyed watching him.
Here is a link to more pictures and videos. I turned the camera sideways to take the video because I thought I could rotate them, apparently that is not the case. Sorry.

skating

Lil Dribblers

Basketball for 3 year olds? I heard about this basketball program and had to see it. It was supposed to be a class for 3 and 4 year olds to learn basketball skills. They play with their parents and learn basic basketball skills. However, enough children signed up that they decided to make 2 teams and let the children play games. We had our first practice last week. They were so cute.
I didn't think that Zander was going to go out there at all. We went to see a friend's child play upwards basketball at a local church last year and as the children entered the court they ran through smoke. Well, as you all know, Zander is terrified of smoke and fire. He is also scared of the speaker system in the gym. He had it in his mind, that there was going to be smoke. It took me about 20 minutes to convince him before practice that there wouldn't be any smoke. We arrived first and met Coach Kevin. He was great with the kids. The next two boys that came in were brothers and there dad was obviously a basketball coach. They had played alot of basketball. Then a little girl came in. The coach was able to get Zander to go out onto the court finally. He game them all a ball with their name on it. The kids started warming up and the coach came back over to the bench and he was laughing. I said, "What did he say?" because I just knew that he had said something. Coach Kevin said ,"Your son just asked me if he could cut the nets down." That is not surprising I said.
He called all of the kids to the center of the court and they sat down and learned each others names. Then he stood them all up and did some stretching exercises. That was the cutes part. Then they did dribbling, catching, passing and shooting. With about 10 minutes left in the practice, I saw Zander go over to the side of the court to get his ball. When I looked back up, he was crying and trembling all over. I had just looked away for a couple of seconds and there was no one around him. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. When I got to him, he was crying so hard that I couldn't understand him at first. Then he said something about a machine and smoke. It took me a couple of days to figure it out, but I think Coach Kevin said something like, you guys are little basketball machines. Well, that sounds innocent enough, but somehow in Zander's mind, he heard machine and that meant there was going to be smoke. That was it. We couldn't get him to go back out there or do anything else. Summers was finally able to get him to sit with the team at the end to get their jerseys. We will try agian tomorrow. I hope that he can pull it together and have fun.

Halloween

Halloween was a fun day. It is one of my favorite days of the year. Zander's school does not celebrate Halloween, so they had a fall festival. CiCi and I went to play with Zander. He had a great time. They had a jump house and he loved that. I didn't think we would ever get him out.

After the fall festival Zander and I went trunk or treating. We saw Uncle Steve and Aunt Tracy and Ms. Vicki and Ms. Alana and the whole Brady bunch. The first activity was the costume contest. Zander does not like to stand up in front of people and I didn't think he would do it. We watched the 0-2 group go first and then it was his turn. Rosie and Riley were also in his group so I finally got him up there. His lip was quivering and tears were welling up in his eyes. I hated it for him because he had practice his Shere Kahn growl and showing his sharp claws for a week. The judges deliberated and what do you know, he was the winner. He got a prize and 6 cupcakes. Yeah, more sugar. Then we went trunk or treating. It was alot of fun. Every one dresses up and decorates their cars. Some of them were a little scary this year. It was a lot of fun.
We went trick or treating at everyone else's house on Saturday night because I knew that we wouldn't have time tonight. Enjoy the pictures. Happy Halloween~
Fall Festival WSSU 2007">Halloween 2007">

Touch a truck

Touch a Truck

What a cool idea. Zander and I went to the first annual Children's Museum's Touch a Truck event. They had the streets blocked of around the museum and brought in every kind of truck you could think of for the kids to sit in and pretend to drive. There was a fire truck, ambulance, crane, tractor, helicopter, garbage truck, sheriff van, moving truck, dumptruck and Zander's favorite, a bulldozer. He had a ball.
However, this was the first annual touch a truck event and they had not quite thought everything through. While Zander was up in the garbage truck pushing every button he could get his hands on, I wondered what was he supposed to push and what shouldn't he push. There wasn't anyone standing with the trucks to watch what the kids were doing. He got out and we went to the sheriff van next. After he sat in it we walked in between the garbage truck and sheriff van and the sheriff gave Zander some stickers and stuff. We thanked her and started walking across the street. About that time I heard something and turned around to see that a child had knocked the truck out of gear and it had smashed into the sheriff van right where we had been standing. Thank goodness there wasn't any one standing there and the sheriff had stepped around the van. It just sent chills all over me think about what could have just happened. Everyone sort of cringed for a few minutes and they decided not to let anyone else get in it, but they still didn't put any blocks under the tires of any of the trucks.
We went inside the museum and had alot of fun as usual.

Halloween Hayride

Every year about this time, a farm nearby has a spook trail. It is really scary at night, but they have one afternoon that is just for the kids. They get to dress up and ride on a hayride. They go to various stations and the not so scary spooks give out candy. Zander wore his Shere Kahn costume and went trick or treating. It was really hot that day, but he didn't complain. I know he had to be burning up in that costume. We had a lot of fun and he got some candy.

Halloween Hayride 07

Enjoy the rest of the pictures.

Happy Birthday Granny

The whole family got together a week after Granny's birthday for a surprise party. I think she really was surprised. Jennifer flew in from Texas and Don and Bonnie were able to attend. We hadn't seen them in a long time. All of the kids had a great time. We have really been blessed to still have our Grandmother. Happy Birthday Granny and I hope that you have many more.

Granny's 85th

Here is a link to all of the pictures.

Worker man truck

We went to Toys R Us to get Zach a birthday present. While we were there, we decided that we would get a battery and a charger for Zander's old four wheeler. It was a hand me down and the battery was the wrong size, so it didn't work well. We discovered that a battery and charger were going to be almost as much as a new riding toy. We decided to go ahead and get him one. He really wanted the firetruck, but it was $400. Who can afford that? Not us! We settled on the Arctic Cat and he loves it. I think he has ridden it everyday. We took it over to Granny's and he rode it down to the old house and in the field. Then we rode over to the Brady Bunch compound and they all rode there cars and trucks. Much fun was had by all.

We went to Zachary's birthday party on Sunday, the 11th. It was at Chucky Cheese. This is the first time that Zander really had a good time there. The other times that we have been there, he rode 3 or 4 rides and didn't even notice that there were games there. This time he followed the other kids around and saw the video games. There was a fireman game where you use a hose and put out fires. He loved it! I didn't think we would ever get him away from there.
All of the kids had a great time. When we got home, he took off his shirt as he always does and he looked in his treat bag and found pink dracula teeth. He thought they were the coolest thing he had ever seen. He put them in and rode around and around on his tricycle. He couldn't figure out how to swallow his saliva, so every few minutes, he would start drooling. He would get off, wipe his mouth on a towel and then get right back on and ride some more. He even wore them in the bathtub that evening. I guess you never know what will hold a kid's attention.
Here is a slide show of the pictures from Zach's party.

Mom and Dad's Birthday Meal

Zander thinks when it is someone's birthday, that you always go to the Mexican Restaurant. We went for Mom and Dad's birthdays. When we went in, he went and told the manager, that we have two birthdays at our table and we need the mariacay band to sing happy birthday. They always pick at him and he has a great time.
We had a great meal as usual and then it was time for the sombrero! Check out the pics in the slideshow. Mom and Dad are styling. A great time was had by all. Happy Birthday guys!

Halloween shopping

I love Halloween and I think Zander does too. We went costume shopping on Saturday and he wanted to try on every scary mask that was in the store. He wasn't interested at all in the children's costumes. For about a month now, I have been asking him what he wanted to be and he kept going back and forth between a fireman and a bit rat (Remy from Ratatoiulle). When it came down to actully buying on of the costumes, he didn't want either one of them.
For everyone that knows Zander, you know that his favorite thing in the whole world it the Jungle Book movie. I preordered the 40th anniversary edition months ago and it was time to pick it up this week. Guess what was at the store - the 40th anniversary Shere Khan costume. I am glad that I waited to get something. You should have seen his face when I showed it to him. He didn't want to take it off. I think that was the perfect costume. Expect to see Zander's sharp claws!

bowling with three year olds?

Whose idea was it to take 2,3 and 4 year olds bowling? Granted, now they have this metal contraption that you can put the ball up on and the kid can push it so it actually goes all the way down to the pins, but they are not very good at having to sit and wait for their turn. It was quite an adventure but I don't think we will be going back anytime soon.

Happy Birthday Charlotte

Zander's Grandma Sandi recently returned from the rainforest in Indonesia. One of the many things that she sent to Zander was a drum. He puts this big heavy drum on and walks around the house playing forever! It is really heavy and it makes a big red mark on his neck, but he doesn't care and he won't let me put anything there to keep it from hurting his neck.
This week was cousin Charlotte's 4th birthday. Zander, of course wanted to go to Texas for her party, but I told him he would have to just sing happy birthday. So, here is his song to you Charlotte. Happy Birthday!!!
PS. Thanks for the drum Grandma!

Can he fix it? Yes he can!

What a great idea! We went by Lowes Home Improvement one Saturday morning to pick up something, and they were having make it take it projects for the kids. Zander got an apron and safety goggles to take home. He made a wooden calendar for Mom's desk at work. He had a lot of fun and looked so cute. They have the projects the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month.

So Big

 

Where did my baby go? It seems like only yesterday that I was playing "How big is Zander? So Big". Now his is so big. He is such a funny little guy. He is constantly saying the funniest things. The other morning when I woke him up, before he even opened his eyes, he said "put me back in the tool box, I am a screwdriver."
I always mean to write them down, but I am usually doing something and forget.
He seems to be adjusting well at school. They say that he is talking alot. That is a real shocker. They are trying to teach him that the teachers can't always talk to him, so they have told him to go and talk to a friend and if the friend doesn't want to talk he has stuffed animals to talk to. I guess we have to work on taking turns in conversation. He has been the center of our world and he is going to have to learn that there are other people in the world too.

Collector's Item

 
 
Who would have ever thought that an old dirty big wheel was worth any money? On Saturday, we had a yard sale at CiCi's house. Along with all of Zander's clothes and baby toys, we put our some items from Mom's basement. There were two big wheels that Jenn and I rode to death when we were little. Zander had a blast riding them and all of the kids that came to the yard sale also rode them. I decided to look them up on Ebay to see if they were worth any money. Apparently, they are a hot collector's item right now. They do not make them anymore but you can still get new ones on Ebay. They had several that looked liked ours, dirty, stickers missing, no tread on the tires. They were going for over $50. I was surprised. Well, we saved one for the kids to ride and let the other one go to Goodwill. I guess I won't be getting rich off of Ebay anytime soon giving items away. At least I did ask money for most of my items that day, right Cici?!

Labor Day Weekend

This was a big weekend for our family. It has been 8 years this weekend that Summers and I have made a home together. I am so glad that we are still together and have a family. On Friday evening we all just relaxed, it seemed to be an especially taxing week for us all. Zander had his first full week of school. He is adjusting well and learning alot.
This is a very stressful time of the year for me. I found out that my classes had been dropped while I was away in Chapel Hill last week. I have spent every free minute this week dealing with that and at this point, I am still not in. The classes are a requirement for my job so this is very frustrating. It is also the time of the year that all of the centers in the county apply and our chosen for our programs. I have 4 centers that I am totally resposible for over the next 9 months. There are over seventy classrooms. We are in the process of doing Environmental Rating Scales on all of these classes. It is a very tedious process. I am also doing alot of night training. I have recently become a Be Active Kids Trainer. I am also doing training on Conscious Discipline. It is a social emotional discipline program that teaches you to resond instead of react and teaches children self discipline.
On Saturday, Vicki came and very graciously helped me with my new computer and router. The Time Warner cable guy messed up some settings and nothing was working. Being the wonderful programmer that she is, she had no trouble figuring out the problem and in no time it was working. I know this is silly, but I was just talking on the phone and on the internet at the same time. I have never been able to do that. And to top that off, I was sitting on the couch. I love technology. I may never get off of the couch.
Vicki brought Rosie and Riley with her and they played with Zander while we worked. He had a difficult time sharing his toys. I got to thinking about it and the only time in his life that another child had been to our house was over a year ago when myh sister and her children were visiting at Christmas. We don't have anyone that we hang out with except for Vicki and Alana and we just realized that we never have visitors at the house. We have to fix that. Zander needs to have play dates. We invited Rosie and Riley to come back and spend the night. Rosie was very excitied, but Riley wanted no part of it. She came back in the evening and they had alot of fun. Rosie didn't sleep well being in an unfamiliar place.
On Sunday, we went to Moms' for lunch and then Zander spent the night. He had a great time. Summers and I went to Evan Almighy and went to dinner at Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse. We felt so guilty being there without Zander. It is his favorite place in the world and on top of that we got his favorite Chef. It was a fun night.
Today, we went to the park to play and we are getting ready to go to dinner with Mom, Dad, Steve, Tracy and Zach. It will be good to see them. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday weekend as well.

First Day of New School

Zander started his new school this week. He is attending a University Labschool and Child Development School. So far, it is the school of my dreams. All of the teachers have birth to kindergarten degrees and have been wonderful in helping Zander make the transition. He has not slept well, and has been really crying in the mornings.


Each classroom has an observation room, so I can stay as long as I want and watch to make sure that he is OK. Each day, the crying has lasted a shorter amount of time. I am very excited about the upcoming school year and I hope that he will be too soon.

Wet N Wild Emerald Point

Sunday our family went to Emerald Point. Summers new company paid for us to go and provided lunch. It was very nice. We had a fabulous time. We swam in the wave pool, let Zander play at splash island and our favorite thing was the wild rafting rapids. It was a raft with three holes in it so we could all ride together. You went down a huge slide and built up alot of speed. There was a big splash at the bottom. Zander was scared but loved it. We also rode the lazy river. The picture is from the lazy river. That is where Zander took his nap. I think we went around 6 times before he woke up. It was a wonderful day.

Bible School

This has been a long week for Zander. Sunday was the first night of Bible School. He was nervous about going. Rosie and Riley were going to be in his class, but he didn't know anyone else there. I had "an episode" and ended up in the hospital. Vicki and Alana took him the first night, Cici took him and stayed with him the second night, I took him and stayed with him the 3rd night and Cici went the fourth night. Here are pictures from the program on the last night. http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/BibleSchool?authkey=qo1IsKzy6Q8
He did go stand up there with everyone, which I didn't think he would do, but he just stood there. He didn't sing or dance. He told me that he would do that later. I enjoyed watching him have fun this week and it was nice to see all of the kids that I went to bible school with. They are now there with their children. I must be getting old.

Beach

We had a great beach trip. The ocean continued to be really rough until Friday and Saturday. But those days were perfect. You could walk way out and just sit on the sand and watch the kids play. We saw jelly fish, crabs and a porteuguese man o' war. A man on the beach caught a small shark and Zander got to touch it and look at it really close. We also visited the aquarium which all of the kids loved. Zander's favorite thing was the Sand Tiger Shark. He also like the Morey Eel. He brought a stuffed one home with him.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/AquariumVisit2007?authkey=6f_YZF8ymzk



We took all of the kids to play putt-putt. They got to ride the train and played 18 holes of golf. That was enough for us all. It was really hot and sticky. Zander and I rode the go carts. He loved it. They had a two seater, so he thought he was driving.
http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/MinatureGolfGoCartRide?authkey=H7ZiNceUfXo


My favorite part was our trip over to the waterfront. Zander and I went for a boat ride. We got to see all of the wild horses on the islands. It was alot of fun. Zander liked going fast
http://picasaweb.google.com/bohenstiel/BoatRide?authkey=Dy2trDAURcg

travel day

We went to breakfast on Sunday morning and gave Daddy kisses and then headed for the beach. It was quite uneventful. Zander did great. He watched The Jungle Book and then the Lion King. We stopped for lunch and before you know it we were at the beach. Believe it or not, our room was ready. Zander did not understand that we had to unpack our things and eat dinner. He thought we were going in the ocean. After all of that it was time to go to bed.



On Monday morning, we woke up and met Jenn and the kids for breakfast. After that we came back and went to the beach. It was fun but, it was really rough. We had to stand right with the kids or they would wash away. They have pumped sand up onto the beach and it was really deep right at the edge. They had a great time, except for the babies. Eliza wanted no part of it, so they went in for a nap. After lunch and naps we went to the pool. Chalotte and Rehm have learned to swim, Zander did great with his life vest on and the babies want to swim. Mom got in the water with us for the first time in maybe 20 years or more. It was a great 1st day at the beach.

July 4th Water Park Fun

We had a great July 4th (Independence Day) holiday. Unfortunately, Daddy had to work, so it was a Zander and Mommy day. We had breakfast at home and nap time and then we went to the water park for the first time this year. What a difference a year makes. Last year, if Zander fell down on his bottom in the pool, his head was completely underwater. This year, most of the time he could get up by himself. After we had been there for about 45 minutes, he asked to put on his swim vest. That was much easier. He could float on his back and swim with out help from Mom.
Since it was a holiday, they were giving away prizes every 15 minutes. We didn't win anything. We had a great time. I think that the swimming lessons at the YMCA helped Zander to not be as scared of the water. He should do fine at the beach next week.

Croc Expedition

Crocs? What is the big deal? They really are not cute shoes and they don't look good on anyone. On Sunday, Mom, Zander and I went on a Croc Expedition for the beach. We were searching for the Cleo style that looks more like a sandal. Poor mom, she has been already and they didn't have her size. Today they did! When we got to another store and were going to put on our Crocs, we realized that hers had a tear and they had mixed 2 sizes. They were not going to fit after all. They would have to be returned. I hope that she has better luck today finding a pair. I looked at the website today http://www.crocs.com and they have alot of different styles.

Zander wanted a pair too. They did not have his size at the store we were at. We went to several other stores and finally settled for a pair of Aqua Ducks. He doesn't know the difference and thinks they are Crocs. He loves them. I haven't seen him this excited about anything in a long time.

I have mine on today and so far, they feel really good. I will see around lunch time if my knees and back hurt, so far, so good. We are all looking forward to the beach next week. Now I just have to find time around the remodeling of the house to pack!

Dentist Visit

I'm Ready!

When Zander was 18 months old, I made his first appointment with a Pediatric dentist that came very highly recommended. When I called to make the appointment, they made me feel like the worst parent in the world because he had not already been to see the dentist. He only had a few teeth at this point. I should have known then, that this was not going to be a pleasant experience.

We arrived at the dentist office. It was totally kid friendly. Several TV's were placed around the room with cartoons, there were video games for the older kids and toys for the younger kids. When the called us back we went into a room that was set up with about 6 or 8 chairs beside of each other. They literally ripped Zander from my arms to do Xrays. Was that necessary? They assured me that it was. There was a child in the chair beside of us that was being held down and having major work down. He was screaming and crying. Zander always get unnerved when another child is crying. He was already unsure about this whole process and now he is sure that he does not want to do this. To make matters worse, just 2 weeks before this, we were in the ER with rotavirus and they had to hold him down for 1 hr 1/2 to get an IV in his arm. Now they start to hold him down to clean his teeth and you can imagine how he reacted. After they are finished, the dentist looks at his teeth and decides that he needs sealant put on his teeth. Now they put this big metal thing in his mouth to hold it open, and his is crying so hard that his lips begin to bleed. Needless to say, I am done with the Pediatric dentist.

At my next dentist appointment, I told my dentist about this appointment. They couldn't believe it. They said that it was unnecessary for a child to see a dentist until they are three unless there is a problem. Sealants are not recommended until 6. They told me to bring him with me to my next appointment and let him watch me get my teeth cleaned. That is what I did. Mom with with me and he played and watched. Today, it was his first appointment. He wanted me to go first. Then it was his turn. He did great! The last picture is him holding his mouth open waiting for her to start. He was very funny. No cavities. He got a new tooth brush and his very own dental floss which he was very excited about. I don't think the next appointment will be a problem. Thank you Dr. Porter and staff!

Ugly Words

Boy, 3 year olds are a challenge. Where did my sweet child go? He has only been 3 for 2 weeks and he has already changed. He is really experimenting with the power of words. He knows which words are nice and which are not. So, the rule is, you can stay in here with us and use nice words or you can go in your room and say the ugly hurtful words.

Until this weekend, he had not taken me up on that. Saturday, he felt the need to tell me to shut up. I reminded him of the rule. He went and sat right inside his room. I started hearing, "shut up, shut up". Well, the shut ups continued to get louder and when I didn't respond, I heard, "stupid, gosh, God, Oh my gosh, stupid". He waited a few seconds and then he said, "I'm finished" and he came out. It was hard not to laugh. You could just imagine what he was thinking.

We had a nice weekend. Summers is out of work for those of you that don't know. He has a second interview today with a company that actually has benefits. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Memorial Day Weekend

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, Zander had alot of fun. The fun started with a play date at the Richardson-Vogler compound. I took my camera with me, but was too busy and forgot to take pictures. They had planned a camp out for their children and Zachary. Zander was invited also, but I decided that since he had been sick earlier in the week that probably was not a good idea. The kids played and played until dark. After dark, Ms. Alana got out the glow sticks and the kids wrapped as many as they could around them and just ran all over the yard. It was fun to watch. Zander took his home and we hung them from the ceiling fan for him to watch while he fell asleep.

The next day, we filled up Zander's new pool and turned on the sprinkler for him to play in. Those of some of my most fond memories from my childhood. Jenn and I always had a pool and we would stay out there for hours. I am so glad that he has Rosie and Riley to play with, because it is just not as much fun with one.

On Monday, we did errands in the morning and then went back to the Richardson-Vogler compound for the evening. They had their little pool set up to play in. Then they hooked up the water hose to the slide and made a water slide. That was great fun for all. We set up the big pool and started filling it. It should be ready for the kids to swim in by next weekend. That ought to be interesting.

After that, we went to CiCi and PaPa's to eat supper. PaPa grilled hamburgers and CiCi made all kinds of good eats to go along with them. We had a great weekend. After chasing Zander for 3 days, I will be ready to go back to work on Tuesday.

Swim Lessons

Learning to kick

Zander swimming - not happy about it.

Zander started swimming lessons this month. I took pictures the first day, but of course I have not had them developed yet. I was very apprehensive about these lessons. They take 12 children out of his class and 2 teachers walk them over to the pool where they meet the swim teacher. Now, anyone that knows Zander, knows that his attention span is about 1 second long. If he sees something interesting, he is going to go do it, regardless of what he is supposed to be doing. That would include getting into the water. So I was really nervous about this. I decided that I would watch the first lesson. The water is 36" deep.

The first lesson went really well. He had a very sweet teacher, the kids listened very well and the two teachers from his school were right there (although not in the water and did not have on suits, which I did not understand) in case they were needed. I decided that I was overreacting and went on to work.

Last week, I decided that I would go back and take some pictures. He had a new teacher. He had been sick with a high fever for 5 days and this was his first day back to school. He did OK for a few minutes and then he started yawning. Once he started yawning, he then started crying. Once he gets to this point, he needs to go to sleep. I decided to let him stay in and see if the teacher could get his attention back. She proceeded to look at him, with me standing there, and said, " I don't do crying, whining little kids!" and then she jerked him in the pool by the arm. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Of course, this did not help the crying any at all, he is now scared of her and didn't want to do anything else that she said. I knew that was not the time to make a scene in front of the children, so I waited to see what would happen.

If you look at the last picture, you can see that she had the kids just hanging from the side. She is back about 10 feet with another child. This was even making the life guard nervous. He came over and sat beside of me and eventually took Zander and sat him on the side. Even with the blue belt on, he could hardly hold on to the side. Another child got off of the wall and started coming toward her and she pushed his head away from her and he went completely under the water. That was the last straw for me. I took Zander out of the water. The teacher went over to her after I left and said, "You do know that was his mother, don't you?" She replied, " I don't do crying kids." Needless to say the Aquatics Director and I had a rather long talk later that day. He watched the next lesson and even the teachers said that she was a different person and did a great job. I never know what to do in that situation. It has been my experience, if you say something, they take it out on your child when you are not around. Any one else have any advice on how I should have handled this?

I took Zander to his room and he went to lie down in the book center and went to sleep. All he needed was a nap.