Farm Animals

Erin and I took Linus and Grace to see the farm animals that were visiting the Children's Museum. It was a beautiful fall day after several days of rain. It was nice to get the kids outside. (Not that I mind rainy days.) Linus pet a duck, hen, rabbit, goat, and sheep. He also got to sit on the pony. He liked watching Grace try to put the rabbit's ear in her mouth. She tries to put everything in her mouth. He laughed when I told him about the time he put a duck's bill in his mouth.

We watched Grace for a few hours today and she gave us hugs for the first time. We were there when she woke up from her nap and she was so excited to see us come into her room to get her. I got her out and we were playing with her on the floor when she crawled up my leg to lean into me and snuggled close. Then she reached over to Linus and did the same thing. He was in heaven! He really loves Grace. On our way home he was sad to leave her. He told me that they could both sleep together in her crib.

Linus has been asking me, "Do you love me when I'm in pajamas? Do you love me in the bath tub?" etc. After I tell him yes, he says, "I love you when you are in pajamas," etc. He missed Matthew a lot last week. Matthew has had to work a lot lately and after a few days of this Linus gets mopey about it.

On Friday at preschool they got to paint with cars. He said it was fun to see their tracks. He likes to tell me how they say, "One, two, three; that's enough for me!" when they pour their own water. He says it is hard to say it and pour at the same time, but they are supposed to say it so they don't pour too much.

Loving Life

Linus is having fun nearly every minute of every day. He really enjoys attending preschool and getting to do fun, new activities. He told me he wishes he could go every day. Last Friday the kids got to make rainbow toast as part of a color lesson. They painted bread with dyed milk. After it was toasted, they got to sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar and snack on it. He also likes to play house and dress-up. (One of the perks of being in charge of organizing the photos for the teacher is that I get pictures of Linus doing things at school. Here he is with Heather.) It is clear to me that he listens to his teacher because of things he tells me to do. For example, on his second day of school he firmly instructed me to walk up the stairs on the right side and when coming down to use the other side. One day I asked if he played with Oscar. He said, "No. He didn't know the rules and I know the rules. We were having circle time and he wanted to play, instead."

After one day of preschool, he started calling me mom instead of mama. What makes this strange is that he says it in nearly every sentence to me. "Read me this book, mom," and "I'm playing dinosaur, mom." I guess he is just trying it out. I was sad about it for a few days, but now I'm over it. I guess I thought I'd be his mama for longer.

I bought him some Playmobil toys off of eBay and he is in heaven with them. "It has binoculars (pronounced bi-noc-ee-yars)! He has a suitcase!" He had a butterfly flying around the plastic trees to all of the flowers and was calling out, "He's pollinating the flowers! Even the cute, little flowers! He's pollinating every flower!" The thing about those toys is that I have a ton of fun with them.

I also got him his first set of Legos to see if he could handle them. Ever since he hung out with his older cousin, Brandon, Linus has asked us several times if he is old enough for Legos. I got him a beginner set of Freestyle Legos and he was bursting with excitement when they came in the mail. Getting them was a very important moment in his life, which became apparent to me when he said, in a reverential tone, "It's my first Legos." Matthew and I both enjoy building with him.

As one can see from his quotes, much of what he says is an exclamation. What an amazing time this is for him and for us to witness.

1st Day of Preschool

Linus enjoyed preschool, but he hasn't talked about it very much. On our way there he kept running ahead and then running back to me. He said, "I'm running because I'm so excited to go to preschool!" I allowed just the right amount of time to get there. Even with a stop to open acorns under an oak tree, we got there in time to take a picture and get him up to class. He was definitely nervous with all of the parents and kids waiting outside the classroom door. I tried to occupy him with finding his cubby and Chase's as well. Only half the class had Wednesday as their first day and Chase wasn't starting until Friday. I underestimated how much that mattered to him. Heidi and Laura had the kids sit on carpet squares to start the day. When Heidi asked if everyone was there, Linus called out, "Chase isn't here!" He seem troubled by this. I told him that Chase was starting on Friday and then class started and I left.

The house was so very quiet without him there. I didn't get much of anything done because I was thinking about him growing up so fast. I felt a bit competitive about sharing him with his teacher. He's mine, mine, mine! But I knew he was having fun. On a whim I stopped by a bakery and picked up a little cake to surprise him with after dinner. We celebrated with him and watched Obama give his health care speech to Congress.

When Matthew asked him about preschool he said, " "We made marbles. We did red, blue, and pink. We had strawberries and fish crackers. We ran around. And Heidi said we were the best cleaners!"

Pending Preschool

We baked cut out cookies this week. We haven't done that in many months and Linus has gotten quite good with the rolling pin and cutters. He chose to make lobsters, fish, ducks, and two styles of hearts. I focused on making Shakespeare cookies with this cool, wood cookie mold.


Linus starts preschool on Wednesday. We haven't had to hype him up for it because to him it is normal and a given. This is yet another milestone that he glides right into with no trouble. We'll see if that is still the case after a few days of the program. I've also been fully prepared. A couple of weeks ago we attended his class lemonade and I got to meet a number of his classmates' parents. The experience felt like one of those speed dating events where one spends five minutes with each person. While the parents chatted, the kids ran around the play ground and had tons of fun. Many of us had to haul our kids off crying to head home for the evening. None of them wanted to leave.

Heidi, his teacher, visited each child in their home for about a half hour. The point of the visit was for the child and teacher to get to know one another. After we let her in the door and Linus led her off to his room, I went into the kitchen to put away dishes and eavesdrop on their conversation. She talked to him about painting and asked if he likes to make a mess. He said, "No. Sometimes I do and then mama has to clean up after me and Matthew." Ha!

Before having children she was a first-grade teacher in the area. After her children attended preschool at Montview, she liked it so much she decided to teach there. I like her a lot. She and her assistant, Laura, have beautiful smiles and I think all of the kids will love them.

I also attended the Parent Orientation. Here we learned about our helping days, the kinds of snacks to bring, labeling clothes, the day-to-day routine in the classroom, and were warned that the kids will have runny noses from October to March. I got a bit emotional when I saw his cubby.

My third meeting was to learn about my specific parent job, which is being a Curriculum Parent. Another parent and I will do things to lighten the workload that Heidi has to take home, like cutting out things for projects, making play dough and gak, gathering materials for projects, etc. Heidi pulled me aside and asked if I could organize the pictures for her two classes this year. The pictures will be used for posting on a bulletin board so parents can see what the kids have been up to. At the end of the year each kid will receive a book with photos of their time in the class. I was relieved to receive this job and to not have to be on the fundraising committee. I have skills that could be useful on any of the committees, but I'll have the most fun with this one.

Frolicking at the Beach

Ocean

While we were out east for a family wedding, the three of us drove up to Maine and had a chance to take Linus to the ocean for the first time. He was most taken by the sea gulls. He became giddy watching them. He thought the waves were interesting, but he didn't trust them and got freaked out by them a few times. He thoroughly enjoyed a tidal pool, though. The water was warmer and the size of it was more manageable for him. He got coated in sand. I think the pictures from this visit tell the story better than my words can.