Silly Kids

There is nothing better than the spontaneous laughter of children! No reason required.

Something you never WANT to think about

This link is to an excellent post on introducing fire safety to toddlers and preschoolers. http://codenamemama.com/2010/06/03/fire-drills/ 

House fires are never something you want to think of, but I imagine this subject to be one of the most important you address with your kids.

We have been dangerously lax in this area of education. I plan to remedy that as soon as possible. Plus, the kids would totally get a kick out of touring a fire station!

Summer rain...storm!

Unexpected thunderstorms - awesome. Dashing around the house to close windows and clean up water - not so awesome.

We have had a string of days in the 80's, but we have been able to stick it out without turning on the air conditioner. We keep all the windows and doors open 24/7. Thanks to the forethought of the people we bought the house from our glass storm doors have screen inserts to replace the glass during warm weather.

The cooling effect of this storm is a blessing!  The kids and I are watching the rain and lightning while sitting on the stairs across from the front door, enjoying the cool breeze through the screen.

Summer diversions

It is amazing what kids find to occupy their time. Katherine picked up the broom of her own accord and insisted on sweeping!

Jack, of course, would rather dig the sand from between the pager stones.

School Pictures

Wow, school pictures sure have improved since I was in school! I did not expect to purchase more than the obligatory class picture for scrapbooking purposes, but these are actually pretty good.

I can't believe how grown up Katherine looks. I swear I am going to turn around and she is going to be posing for senior portraits!

Redecorating

Apparently Katherine has been adding her personal touch to our landscaping. The pink plastic barrettes are a nice touch.

The weather has been amazing so we are spending more time outside. The completed fence has been a blessing. The kids can be outside more with a little less supervision.

The playset has also been a good investment for our family - one we use quite a bit! We put an inexpensive yard sale kitchen into the clubhouse and the kids love serving food and drink on the picnic table (which also gives mommy somewhere to sit in relative shade).

Get Out And Vote

...even if you have to take your uncooperative 2yo with you. I would like to think that by including K in the process of voting is planting a seed on some level. Far too few people take advantage of our constitutional right to vote. With a father who majored in political science and a mother who is an attorney I hope that K will grow up with an appreciation for not only our right to vote, but also the importance of educating yourself and actually getting to the polls to vote.

Luckily our newest polling place is our church, so it is a place that she and I are both familiar with. As we drove to the church she asked, "Mommy, where are we going at." I explained that we are going to church so that I could vote - a concept completely lost on her, I realize. I do hope that adding the word vote to her vocabulary is at least a start. The conversation continued like this:
K: Going to vote?
Me: Yes, I have to vote.
K: I don't want you to go, I love you so much. (seriously, she says this at the cutest, most random times lately)
Me: I'm not leaving, you are coming with me.
K: I can come with you?
Me: Of course!

We parked, walked into the church, found the appropriate room, and were directed to the table where my precinct was checking in. Luckily our time in line (however brief) was made easier by running into a neighbor from across the street who was also there to vote. I showed my ID, signed the log book, and was directed to the end of the table to pick up my ballot. The very nice man at the end of the table first gave K a sticker, then passed one to me as well. She expertly took the backing off of the "I Voted" sticker and placed it on the front of her shirt (she was pretty excited about the sticker).

Of course at that point she began to wander. I did the best I could to keep her close by while listening to the man explain how to fill out my ballot (instructions I did not need, but listened to politely) and where to put it when I was finished. I was able to coax her over to one of the voting booths, but she was quickly frustrated that she couldn't see what was on the table or what I was doing. Frustration which she quickly voiced quite loudly while trying to climb up my leg (not an easy task since I am 8 months pregnant). By the time she was ready to bolt across the room, our neighbor was finished with his ballot so he scooped her up (despite her loud protests) while I completed the ballot.

...sidenote on the ballot...it is a primary election so of the 18 categories in which someone actually declared themselves for one party or the other, only one category included more than one name. So, this amounted to a frustrating session of color-in-the-box where only three of my choices (presidential candidate and two tax levy issues) actually matter since everyone else was unopposed within the party so I only had one choice of box to fill. Fun stuff. OK, end of rant...

Finally, K cried enough that our neighbor set her down beside me and she promised not to run away (thank goodness he has kids and understands). Then, we walked over to the machine where I inserted my ballot for it to be read electronically.

Whew, thus ended K's first experience at the polls! Our church has an indoor kids play area so we spent the next 45 minutes with K running around Kid City, introducing herself to complete strangers, and quickly calling them her friends. I love that she is so comfortable with herself that she has no qualms approaching and introducing herself to a kid she has never seen before or joining a group of kids running around, saying "hey guys, wait a me." SO cute. Luckily that overly-friendly nature doesn't extend to adult strangers (or sometimes even to adults she knows).

That friendly nature was curtailed a bit today when one of the little girls she was following around took to growling at K. She panicked and ran full-speed to where I was sitting, climbing into my lap, saying "I'm scared." I tried to convince her that the little girl was just being silly, but the girl continued to growl at her (I think she liked to see K's reaction) so she ran back to me every time it happened. I didn't think much of it until we were back in the car and K started talking to me in a grumpy, growly voice (almost sounding mad). My first thought was, great, a new trick. Hopefully this won't be a new addition to her habits. I guess I'll have to get used to her picking up habits from other kids.

The funny things kids say

It is amazing how K's personality is growing each day. Sometimes she says the most adult things! She is also picking up on our mannerisms and how we treat her. Example: this morning I found that the cat had gotten sick on the carpet. I proceeded to get the relevant cleaning supplies and clean it up. Not only did K enjoy being a spectator during this exercise, leaning against my leg saying "I want to see," but she also was quite the cheerleader. She kept saying, "good job cleaning Mommy." It was one of those moments you couldn't help but laugh through. "Good job" seems to be a common praise coming from her these days - usually associated with an action you wouldn't normally think about or notice.

K LOVES the Kids Club at church. We go to church on Thursday mornings so that I can do some volunteer work. While I am volunteering she hangs out with the kids of other volunteers in the provided childcare rooms. As soon as we round the curve and she can see where we turn into the church property, she yells from the backseat, "Kids Club, Yay!!!" It really is cute. When we leave the building afterward she runs to the car saying, "my car!" These have become the normal reactions to our Thursday adventure. This morning she added a dialogue with herself as we drove out of the parking lot. It went something like this: "Thank you lady, see you soon. See you soon Kids Club." I could hardly contain a giggle. She is just so darned cute!

She has also started modeling our comforting behavior with her stuffed animals. She will pick one up, cradle it in her arms, stroke it and say, "it's alright, I've got you." She really is a caring child. She kisses our "boo boos" and pats us on the arm in a comforting way. It is truly amazing how they grow and develop - I feel blessed to be on the ride!

K playing kickball with the family

Playing in the sand at the beach, still not a fan of the waves though!