R-E-D Red R-E-D Red I can spell Red

Fire trucks are Red, Stop signs are Red too R-E-D R-E-D.

For the past week, R has been learning this song in preschool. Last week I emailed Ms. Stacy telling her that R was singing to himself during naptime. Today Ms. Stacy sent me a note telling me he sang it solo to the class. I can't believe that my shy sweet boy is really coming out of his shell. He is becoming so confident and grown up. I am so proud to be his Momma.

Brand new shoes- too tight?

R came home from school on the second day complaining that his shoes were too tight. After a second or two of worrying, I decided it must be because Sketchers tend to fit a little smaller and I should have R wear a pair of his E's socks (girl socks are thinner).

When he continued to complain on the third day I began to panic. Would we have to buy new shoes? Would he understand if I couldn't afford the same $50 ones that nanny bought? I decided to try and stretch them out by shoving baby brother's shoe inside. At the end of the night, I took J's shoe out, and thought I noticed a little stretching. Hopefully it would be enough. Before I put them away, I shook the sand out. Not sure if I had gotten all of it, I put my hand inside....No wonder his shoe felt too tight, there was a sock shoved way up in the toe.

Needless to say, no complaints at the end of the fourth day.

Day 2 (part 2)

Like Papa I try to change the world (at least my little portion of it) while laying in bed trying desperately to fall asleep. Last night I did just this. I realized that although I wanted R to be in a class with mostly 4 year olds, no nap was not going to cut it. I decided he needed to switch to the morning class. I immediately emailed Ms. Stacy asking her opinion. She agreed that morning might be best and thought the two boys would be fine in class together. I made all my phone calls to the preschool office and transportation and set it up. Now, not only will the boys be in the same class together, but all three of my children will be at school in the morning leaving me with three hours to myself. What will I do with myself?

Day 1 (the first day of school 09/10)

School started on Monday August 10th. Not only were the kids excited, but so was I. NO MORE FIGHTING- YAY. E was was so proud to be going to first grade. She had gotten the teacher she wanted and had a few friends in the class. R was low key as usual, but was thrilled to be riding the bus again and I was happy he had Ms. Stacy as a teacher. J... yeah, he really had no clue what he was in for (but I knew Ms. Stacy would take care of him). The first day he got right on the bus, but apparantly cried a few times at school. Now for the best part...

My sweet boy

R is not nearly as outgoing as big sister and little brother, nor is he very academic (his knowledge lies in other areas), but he is incredibly kind, sensitive and empathetic. Just yesterday the kids were playing at a park. R got in line for the slide. J walked up to go on the slide also. Immediately R put his arm around J, pulling him close and said "Pie Pie you go ahead of me". He constantly makes me proud of his sweet temperment. Many times since papa died, he will tell me he feels bad for nanny since she is alone now. He also asks how I'm feeling and wonders whether I miss papa. These things wouldn't be so significant if he was a much older child, but he is only 4. I adore this boys sweet heart and feel honored to be his mother.

I'm a wreck

My sweet R is off to preschool tomorrow. After being tested at 3 and 3 1/2, finally at 4 he qualified for speech services. I know he will do fine (at least I hope so since he is soooo sensitive and slow to warm up), but I will be a wreck. Fortunately for me, he is in afternoon preschool, so maybe J and I can take a nap so I don't have to worry the entire time he is gone.

Mommy are you going to die?

Earlier this week and I was sick and apparantly it was a little worrisome to R

R- "Mommy are you going to die?"
Me- "No, why?"
R- "Papa was sick and he died"
Me- "No, I just have a bug in my tummy, Papa's body was broken"


Then he hugged me and kissed me holding on a little longer than normal.

The park

Often Daddy will give me a break and take the kids to the park. They really enjoy the park and I think Daddy gets a kick out of watching them play. Just the other day, he took the kids as well as my new camera and snapped a few pictures for me.

My favorite friend

Tonight just before bath, R very seriously said to me "mommy- you're my favorite friend". Needless to say, my heart melted.

Goofy's Kitchen

A trip to Disneyland wouldn't be the same without breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen. Although it is a little pricey, the food is fairly good and the kids love seeing the characters.

Disneyland

Last week we went to Disneyland. It was the first time we have ever gone "during" the school year and believe me, it was a great time to go. No crowds at all. The kids had a blast, in fact our only disappointment was sending Nanny home on a plane the day after we got there because Papa was sick. Not surprisingly, R loved Autopia. He has been on it many times before and never seems to get bored with it. E made sure that we went on Autopia first thing each morning, but only after we went on her favorite- Buzz Lightyear. J seemed a little nervous on the first couple of rides, but lit up as soon as we did the Teacups and then the Carousel. He thought he was such a big boy riding his own horse.

Without another adult there, we had to forgo the "big kid" rides, but I didn't mind at all. In fact it was a nice change to have the focus just on the kids. Probably the best surprise was the new Toy Story ride. This quickly became a favorite, unfortunately everyone else at the park thought so too. Each time we rode it, we had to wait about 45 minutes- although it was well worth it. Enjoy the pictures.

How come you're my mommy?

R asks this at least once a day and about a month ago, I figured out an answer that suited him...

"because Dr. Kim (from ESWS), Marsha (from Dillon), your Birth Mother and God said I could be."

Now that we have the answer established, when he asks, I usually turn the question back on him. He doesn't get everybody, everytime, so I help him out, but at least it satisfies him and the sweet smile on his face when he says it is priceless.

R and J riding their bikes

While videotaping E learning to ride her bike with no training wheels, I got some pictures of the boys.

What a little goofball.

A really heavy load

I'm often chastised by family and friends for being too thin. Believe me, people can actually be just as mean about this than if I was heavy. I've been told way too many times how horrible I look or some other negativity in regards to my weight. The problem for me is having 3 very young children. I tell people they are sucking the life out of me (more specifically the weight). Tonight was the perfect example. We went to a Halloween carnival with Nanny. I had J in the Ergo and was actually wearing him in front for the warmth. As we were leaving R started to drag (it's tough being three in a six year old body). I asked Nanny to take my bag and then put R on my back. Needless to say, carrying 70 lbs. of kids on my 110 lb frame was tough, but we sure got to the car quicker than if R had been walking.

They're all different

Sure everyone says this about kids, but sometimes it's more obvious than others. No doubt E is brilliant and has always picked things up quickly, so unfortunately the boys are often compared to her. J takes longer, but is extremely determined and has learned quite a few things very early (ie. shapes by 23 months and letters by 27 months). R on the other hand has always done things at his own pace. He cannot be pushed or he literally turns into a brick wall. He has never memorized (to sing) nursery rhymes like other kids, didn't master his shapes until after 3 and had no interest in anything else academic. Lately though (with a little bit of pressure from baby brother), he has become more and more interested in the academic. He can verbally recall 22 letters of the alphabet and is able to point to the last 4 if laid out. Today we went to the mall and once in the elevator I asked him to push the number 1 which he found with no problem. When we needed to go back upstairs, he found the number 2 for me. Neither the letters nor the numbers would be that significant for a child who had attended pre school, or worked many hours with his Mama, but those things didn't happen, he has learned these early skills exclusively through play. Once again I am so proud of my sweet boy.

Peer pressure- Maybe

...maybe not. For the past two months, J has been obsessed with letters. Because of this, he is constantly playing with the fridge magnets, watching the Letter Factory and asking us to label the letters in his puzzle. R is always so busy with his cars, trains, trucks etc... that he has never had time for this "stuff", until lately. It started with him always identifying his "R", then his brothers "J", as well as asking "what sound does the ___ make". Along the way he must have picked more up because when J got out the letter train puzzle, R helped me find most of the letters. I was so proud of him. He could identify so many letters. Was this because of our constant praise of J (knowing 20/26 letters of the alphabet at only 26 months) or is he finally interested. Not sure, but I'll take it.

It was worth a try...

but after two weeks, we have determined that E and R are not capable of sharing a room. They both had been asking for so long, so when we unexpectedly had to get rid of R's paci (apparantly they are not made for 3 year olds who are the size of 6 year olds) and sleep became so difficult for him, we decided to let them try. R forgot his beloved paci when he got to have "nuna" in his room. Unfortunately E doesn't need anywhere near the amount of sleep that R does and she was keeping him up (ie. he became a whiny little mess). So... as of today we are back to each of them having their own room. Thankfully everyone went to sleep quickly and peacefully.

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

This book describes R and his recent aversion to shopping perfectly. Everytime we go lately he will whine and tell me over and over "I not wanna go shopping" "I not like it". I have actually started limiting my trips and errands because of his behavior. I figure, if I don't make him go as often, then maybe when we do have to shop, he won't complain as much. In any case, the book has a few lines that I just love-

Llama Llama starts to whine (said right after he complains about the other customers)
Llama Llama does not care (said right after Mama Llama asks his opinion on clothing for him)
Llama Llama mad at Mama (said right after complaining that he hasn't yet had his treat)

Obviously the author of this book has spent quite a lot of time shopping with a toddler (maybe she has even observed us)

By the way, it's a good thing I still have E to shop with, since more than likely J will soon have the same opinion as R.