Cute Baby Saturday - Who Is Sick?

You'd never know he was feeling sick by looking at this.

You'd never know by looking at it how grumpy he was either.

You would know he is a cutie, though. :)

Another Tooth on the Looth!

Tonight was a momentous occasion...

Shawn lost his first tooth! Woohoo!

Shawn's two bottom teeth have been loose for ages. We'd wiggle them whenever we could, but to be honest, I was beginning to wonder if those teeth would ever fall out. Today, however, I had Shawn sitting with me on the couch. I wiggled his teeth for a bit and asked him if we should try to pull them out. Like usual, he told me no.

I hadn't yet tried to pull them out and now was the time.

I yelled at Isaac to bring me a Kleenex so I could grip Shawn's tooth.

I pinched.

And I just about fell over when I realized his tooth was between my fingers and no longer in his mouth! Because it took several attempts before I was able to get Jason's two bottom teeth out, I figured it was going to be the same for Shawn. Oh boy was I wrong. lol

I lost my tooth. Right there!

Shawn was so excited to finally get the chance to make a box for his tooth! I asked him what he wanted to do to decorate it. He jumped at the chance to paint it.

Start with a little green...

Choices, choices...which color next?

It needs red, of course!

I told him not to paint his hair.
This is the look I got. lol

Now for a little purple...

Here's his masterpiece all painted!

After his paint dried a bit, Shawn added a few stickers and his name. He thought it was pretty cool! :)

Shawn's box and tooth.

His box is now sitting on the dresser next to his bed. I can't wait for him to see what the Tooth Fairy left!

Can you see the big tooth already growing in?
Sigh. These boys are bound and determined to keep
me from enjoying the cute little toothless grins.

 

Throwback Thursday - August 29, 2008

This has been a week, and mama's tired. Getting back into the school year is officially kicking my rear end. That means it's time to take another look back on the dynamic duo's early days. This one was originally posted five years ago today. Oh boy have they grown!

~~~

Someone is figuring out how to use a spoon!


Someone else? Well, ...


is not.



Or is he? Hm.

Gracie likes it, though!

~~~

Is the sick finally on its way out? Let's hope so. Both boys went to school and had a good day. Jack no longer has a river running from his nose. Yea!

Conversations With 5 Year Olds

Mom, my skin is dry. I need some lotion. Stat!

Stat?

(while looking at me like I am an idiot) Yes. Stat. It means "really fast," mom. I thought you'd know that.


**Can you believe this kid? Jeez.

~~~

Both boys went to school today, and both stayed the entire day without issue. Yea!

Jack still sick, but he's sleeping better, which in turn will mean that we sleep better. Double yea!

Conversations With 5 Year Olds

J: Mom, what's wrong with Jack?

Me: He's doesn't feel well.

J: (with a knowing head shake) Did Shawn give Jack his germs?

Me: No, Jay. I think you gave Shawn and Jack your germs.

J: Hm. That wasn't nice of me...but you said you like me to share.

~~~

The sick is still torturing us. Shawn went to school today, but he told them he didn't feel well about 2/3 of the way through the class. They called us to come pick him up. When Isaac got there, he found a kid that was happy as a clam...and just fine. Sigh. Barring some new development, Shawn's going back to school tomorrow.

Fingers crossed that Jason has turned the corner. He's still congested, but the fever is gone. He's quite concerned that the class will get to the 100th paper clip on the calendar while he's out, and he will miss what has been dubbed to be the kindergarten 100th day party of the century.

Jack is snotty, feverish, and just plain miserable.

Fun times all around.

American Ninja Toddler

The sick continues to hold us in its clutches. As of this evening, the third boy is down. You know it's only a matter of time before it captures us all. (It doesn't help that they keep going out of their way to share their germs with us. Boys. We do not care for snot all over us. Seriously. It's okay to keep that kind of stuff to yourselves. Thanks for the offer, though...I guess.)

~~~

 

No obstacle is too tough for American Ninja Toddler.

 

He's been training for this event for the past year. The trick is to do it so quickly and cutely so as to not be told "No!" by a parent before he can complete the obstacle.

He looks like he's caught up on this obstacle once again!  I guess this is where you separate the men from the boys.

 

Will he make it?!

Wow! He's taking a moment to gather himself AND the blinds!  This is one determined Toddler.

You have to admire his style and can-do attitude!

He's done it!

 

He will advance to the next round.

 

Tune in next time when American Ninja Toddler leaves the comfort of your living room as these tiny tots go half way around the house to face.....stuff on a kitchen table.

Shopping, a Text, and Their First School Cold

Well, the boys are in school, and tomorrow I will be too. Summer is officially over. Boo. I guess I'll just have to console myself with the knowledge that Team Lopez had a great summer filled with fun and adventure!

This weekend was spent doing the final preparations for my return to work. The most important thing to do was set up my mom's car with car seats, as she'll be the one to do daily pick-ups from school now. After some researching, I came up with a seat scenario which would allow us to get all three boys across her only back seat. I called up my mom, and we were off  to hopefully find all of the seats for my plan.

While we were out, I got the following series of texts from Isaac:

 

~~~

 

"FYI, Jason refunded his bananas.  On the rug. Twice.  And while he freaked out, Jack was running all over and trying to step in it.

 

Wait, there's more.

 

So I am trying to console the now wailing Jason and find something to keep Jack from running over both spots.  Mind you, I had caught most of Jason's first refund in my hand and was still holding it at this time.

And guess what?

For a moment there, I almost forgot that we actually have 3 children.

Not to be outdone, Shawn was in the hallway at the bathroom door.  As I walked past with paper towels in hand to clean up Jason, who I now had on the linoleum part of the floor, I noticed that Shawn was running his hand and upper arm left to right on floor while saying, "Clean up, clean up," over and over again.

Yeah, he decided to evacuate his bladder in his pajamas and all over the floor. (To clarify, Shawn is potty trained, but he can't get himself onto the potty without our help, and the poor boy can only hold it for so long.) To his credit, he was at the bathroom door and may have even attempted to get my attention, but he wasn't even yelling or crying.

Which I politely told him that I appreciated.

So, how to prioritize?

 

Well, first I attempted to simplify the equation and make sure Jason was OK. I told Shawn to hang tight, and then took Jack and put him to bed, being sure to remove his slightly moist socks from who knows which source.  Don't worry. Whatever it was was wiped up and removed.

Then, I did another quick check on Jason, who, to HIS credit, managed to keep his pjs clean and dry.

 

Now, the Shawn situation took a lot of paper towels and Clorox wipes.  So I stripped him, rinsed him in the bath, dried and pajama'ed him, and put him to bed.

By this time, Jason had actually fallen asleep leaning forward on his knees.  So I picked him up and comforted him and took him to bed.  As he drifted off, barely able to mutter a word, he managed to say those words that make it all worth it in the end.....

 

'Dad?'

 

'Yeah buddy,' I said.

'I want mommy.'"

~~~

Can you believe it only took them three days of school before one got sick? I was hoping that we'd miss this part of going to school, but I know how bad school germs are. Considering that the boys have gone down hill from yesterday and still had fevers as of tonight, it looks like going to school on Monday is not going to happen.

Fingers crossed that they feel better tomorrow so they won't have to miss even more days.

The good news is that both of them are sad they can't go. "Mom, we're going to miss too much work. I won't know what they're doing on Tuesday!" and "I want to go to Kindergarten!" are nice things to hear after Friday's tear fest. lol

Cute Big Boy Saturday - Plane Take 2

Today Shawn and daddy went to Lowe's to participate in another one of their Build and Grow activities. They created the wooden airplane, El Chupacabra, one of the characters from the Disney movie Planes.

It was pretty crowded today, and there was a lot of hammering, mostly by adults. It was LOUD. So daddy and Shawn went off to the side and found a quiet place to work.

Step 1: Dump everything out and see what we've got.

 

"Dad, we need a hammer, a wrench and a screwdriver.  And don't forget the saw!"  

"A saw? What for?"

"To cut the wood!"

 

Cheese!

 

This is hard work!

 

Shawn had a great time. When they got home, he told me that we needed to go find a hammer because he had some work to do! lol. Too funny!

Kinder Day 3 (End of Week 1)

Oh boy, this parenting stuff is not for sissies.

"Please, mama. Please. Let me just stay home! Please!"

Sigh. This morning started with tearful pleas to stay home.

My heart shattered.

The end.

Fine. No, that wasn't the end.

My heart still shattered. There's not much worse than listening to your sad little boy plead to not do something. But as much as I wanted to tell him he could stay home, I instead got him dressed while telling him how much fun he was going to have. Daddy combed his hair while telling him how much fun he was going to have. He sat down for breakfast while we both told him how great the day was going to be.

And then the other one started to tear up. He didn't want to go to school either.

Ack!

We got them both calmed down before Isaac took them to school. (They start at 8:35, so I won't get to do drop off this year. Sniff.) They both were fine when he left them. We crossed our fingers that the day would turn out better than it started.

~~~

At pick-up time, the class aide told me that Shawn cried off and on today. He want to go home and see his mama. :( But as I started to lead him away to go home, he surprised the aide and me by starting to cry because he now wanted to stay at school. Fickle boy!

When I asked him how school went, Jason declared he "had a very bad day" because he didn't get to color his grass and tree the way he wanted to color them. This, my friends, was quite upsetting for the boy. (He may have inherited his parents' perfectionistic tendencies. Ahem.)

I still get very little information about what they've done during the day. They don't remember unless I ask a very pointed question, and then I still only get a vague answer. They still don't know any other names except the other boy in the class named Jason. They can't remember the songs they sang, but they do know they sang something. The same goes for the stories they've read. 

Don't they understand I need some details here?! lol.

Sigh.

The first week is now behind us. Whew. We've all survived. I'm calling it a success just because of that alone!

Here's to a few days of relaxation to regroup before we all get back to the grind of the school and work on Monday!

Kinder Day 2

We officially have two days of kinder under our belts. Yea!

The not so good news is the boys are BEAT when they come home and drag themselves through the rest of the day. Poor guys. I haven't let them nap afterward, which I know Shawn at the very least would have no problem doing, but I think tomorrow we'll try letting them rest if they want and see if that has any benefit for them.

We also got our first "Why do we have to keep going back to school?" this afternoon, while tonight brought a "I don't want to go to school tomorrow. I'm too tired." To top it off, Jason fully expects school to stop at the end of August. Um...I decided now probably wasn't the best time to clear up that misconception. I think there'd be a revolution on my hands if I do.

The good news is that according to the class aide, school went smoother for the boys today. She did say that Shawn missed his mommy for a little bit, but he recovered fairly quickly. (To that I say "awe" and "yeah" in that order.) I was happy that they both said they had fun when I picked them up (still very limited details from them on what they did while there were there).

Fingers crossed that we continue on this trend and tomorrow is even better than today.

It's Official

We have TWO KINDERGARTENERS in the house!

Today the boys had their first day of school today. They were so excited.

Before we left, I gave the boys a little pocket hearts. I told them that the hearts were made especially for them and were filled with love and hugs from mommy and daddy. We put them in their pockets and their backpacks. Any time they missed us, they could touch the hearts in their pockets and get some extra love. :)

 

After that, we got in the car and headed to school.

Hurry up, mom. We've got to hurry!

Waiting in line to talk to his teacher.

They might have been a tiny bit anxious, too.

Jason went right off to talk to his teacher
and stand in line with the other kids.
He hardly looked back.

Shawn and daddy hung out talking to a teacher.

As much as I wanted to get that perfect first day of school shot, it just didn't happen. They were too excited to pose, and well, how could I blame them for that? I decided we'll start the revolutionary "first week of school" picture. My goal is to get a good shot of them before the end of the week. I think I can make that happen. lol

Hanging out with daddy while everyone checked in at the gate.

Everyone standing in the class line waiting to enter the school.

The school set it up that parents were to drop of their kids at the gate. None of them got to go into the classroom to see their kids. Except daddy, that is. He's got connections. (Or maybe he just shook his money maker again. lol)

Everyone on the mat listening to story time.
Shawn is the one with the name tag on his back.
Jason is in the upper left hand corner.

Sitting in their seats.
Oh how this shot makes my eyes tear. So proud!

Overall, things went well. The boys were worn out, so much so that they asked for quiet time. They both said they had a good day at school, but neither were very forthcoming with the details. They played with play-doh. They heard some stories. Jason went down the slide all by himself. Shawn peed on the potty. That's about all I got out of them.

Tonight we had pizza and some red velvet cake to celebrate their first day of school.

Then we sat down and did their first homework assignment. They had to trace and cut out their handprints, write their names on the back, and have mommy kiss them. The hand prints went along with a story they read today. Apparently the hands are going on the wall.

Jason's on the left; Shawn's on the right.
Jason cut it out all on his own. Mommy helped Shawn some.

Their names

 It was a good day, but I had to laugh when Jason asked why they had to keep going back every day in August. "Are they trying to make us learn a million things or something?" He is going to be in a world of shock when he realizes that school doesn't end in August!

Disney Part 3

Because I am a glutton for photos, every time I'd see the camera people standing around, I'd try to talk everyone into taking a picture. Surprisingly, they indulged me and we got some really cute shots. I finally got the images in the mail today. :)

The only one of the four! in which we
were all looking forward. Success! lol

Shawn and Mickey

Kids? What kids?
They didn't want to take a picture,
so we did without them!

In Cars Land at the end of the first night

Two of the three with Mater.

Jack and Sophia

Flirting, like always.

Jason and Sophia

Such a ladies man!

Shawn and Pluto

~~~

The boys got to go meet their teacher today. They really like her and are excited to go back for the real deal tomorrow!