Grumpelstiltskin

Behold, the grumpy baby at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Memorial Day.  There is pretty much nothing festive or celebratory about the child, save for her very cool flag shirt and shorts.  This, mind you, is the look on Erin's face while being held.  BY ME.  With NOBODY ELSE CLOSE TO HER OR LOOKING AT HER.  Heaven help us if Mama was not holding her, or someone tried to come close to her or look at her while she was eating or (GASP!) touch her.

Now, mind you, it was not entirely her fault.  She had been sick since Thursday night.  A nasty virus that gave her a whopper of a fever that finally broke in the wee hours of Monday morning.  So while she had some moments of chipper, and a few minutes of petting the kitty and playing with Grandpa, mostly she was just a grumpy pain in the ass all weekend who took lots of naps and woke up multiple times each night.  It was great fun.

Especially fun because Memorial Day weekend was the weekend of two weddings.  One was Aunt Jeanne's wedding, which both kids went to.  Erin left right after pictures, and John dropped her butt in bed before reception festivities began.  The other was a friend's wedding on Lake Ontario.  The kids were not invited, but it was supposed to be a fun night for John and I, and the kids were going to spend the night with Grandma.  Poor John, Super Dad, didn't end up going to that wedding.  He spent his Sunday doing some more of this:

We did our best to muddle through.  John was great.  Maria came to help after Jeanne's wedding.  Jeanne and Dom let me off the hook on helping with some things, and braved the cooties living in their house (so far not one other person has gotten sick.  Knock on wood.)  Grandma and Grandpa cooked for us and kept Dex entertained and held the kitty for Erin to pet and kept her entertained in her bouts of happiness with lots of fun toys.  So we survived.  But we all were awfully happy to make it home on Monday night and put the kids down in their own beds.  Erin seems to be on the mend - she had more moments of cheerfulness today, and she made a trip to the pediatrician who declared her totally fine, and after a shower tonight she happily ran naked and screaming around the house.  It was a good sight to see.

Pre-wedding grumpiness

More pre-wedding grumpiness

Not to be outdone, Dex displays his own grumpiness.  He declared Aunt Jeanne's wedding "too long."  Dude.  It was TEN MINUTES.  Your READ A BOOK through the whole thing.

Unhappy

Happy!  Jumping stones with her brother.

Erin survived some photos.

But not all photos.

And Dex made it through the night with several breaks to go outside, jump on rocks, and dance.

It also helped to not have to have ALL the photos be perfect.

Congrats, Jeanne and Dom!  Thanks for sharing your special weekend with us and all our germs.

The Graduate

This morning Dexter's new school had an end of the year celebration and graduation for the kids moving on to Kindergarten.  Just thinking about it brought me to tears last night when I was driving in the car.  My baby boy is old enough to go to Kindergarten?  Surely he can't be old enough.  Surely he's not ready.  Surely I am not ready.

I wasn't sure how he would handle the graduation thing today.  Classes singing, on a stage, with all the parents there watching and taking pictures.  When his teacher told me, the first thing out of my mouth was "You realize there's no way he's going to do that."  She said her expectations were low, and there was no pressure.

And that's why this school has been so great for him.  His teachers are wonderful.  Dex started off sitting next to his school friends.  And then changed his mind and decided he needed to sit next to Ms Natalie for a little support and reassurance.  And then the music started and we all laughed until we cried.  Behold:

Dexter's Graduation Video (click to play)

Erin was entertained by all the singing.  She was looking for her brother the entire time, and when he walked in and sat down at the stage, she immediately ran over and sat down right next to him.  She sat there the entire time, just watching.  She adores him.  She beats the crap out of him.  She doesn't want him to touch her.  But she adores him.

Happy Graduation, Dexter.  I'm so proud of how awesome you were today, and how awesome you are every day.

A Big Day

Yesterday was a big day in the Norman house.  A big, big day.  Behold:

1)  Dexter lost his first tooth!  It has had a little wiggle to it for a couple months.  The dentist first pointed it out a couple months ago at his check-up.  Dr. Tom discussed with Dexter his finger sucking, and how he'd need to stop when he got big kid teeth, and that he had a wiggly tooth and he would have big kid teeth soon.  Lo and behold, didn't the kid stop sucking his fingers, cold turkey, that same night.  All thanks to the power of Dr. Tom.  I adore Dr. Tom.  Dexter's tooth had been very very wiggly the past 2 weeks - John was cutting his apples up in to smaller pieces so he could take bites more easily.  And then John saw his permanent tooth, already broken through and pushed up, pretty far, behind his baby tooth.  A quick Google search showed Dex had what is called "Shark Teeth", which would need to be addressed if his baby tooth didn't fall out on its own soon.  Fortunately, a little jumping on his bed yesterday morning did the trick - his tooth came out on its own and no trip to the dentist was needed.  Now Dex looks like this:

The tooth next door is wiggly as well, and starting to look crooked.  So that one might pop out soon, too.

Dex put his tooth in a pink Easter egg that was in his room, and put that under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy.  This morning he dashed upstairs after breakfast - he had forgotten about his tooth, and wanted to go check.  He came downstairs with a report that the Tooth Fairy had left him three quarters.  Which he already deposited in to his piggy bank.

An hour or so later, on our way out the door to get a cookie cake for Daddy at the grocery store (today is John's birthday), Dex came downstairs with his piggy bank.  "Mama," he said, "if a cake only costs cents, can I buy Daddy's cake with the money in my piggy bank?"  Oh, baby boy.  My sweet little man.  How you make your mama cry, with the kind things you think of.  That is very kind of you, Angel, but you go put your piggy bank away.  Mama's got this one covered.

2)  Dexter went to elementary school to get registered for Kindergarten, holy crap Mama is hyperventilating already.  They took him away to do a little testing - sing your ABC's (he told me "I didn't say the last part."  What last part?  I said.  Where did you stop?  At B, he says.  Alas, he was only kidding.  He just didn't sing the "now I know my ABC's part.); count to 20 (they told me to count to 20, and I counted to 100, he said.  Smart, yes.  Good listener?  Not so much.); cut some stuff with scissors, build a tower with blocks, hop on one foot.  Dex said, when we were walking out "It wasn't as cool as I thought it would be."  What do you mean?  "I thought I was going to go in to a classroom today, and not just a theater."  So I guess he is ready to go.  He's looking forward to riding the school bus.  I, personally, am petrified.

3)  It was our wedding anniversary.  Nine years ago this incredibly smart, incredibly kind man decided to marry me.  We're still not sure why.  I often forget to tell him, but I so appreciate having him with me every day.  Happy Anniversary, hon.  I love you.

I also still very much miss my fuzzy little CoCo

4)  Both children got hair cuts.  Erin's is barely discernible, although if you look closely you can see her eyeballs now.  Dexter's, as you can see in the photo above, is super short.  He is not a fan.  When he was washing his hands last night he told me "Mama, I am not going to look in the mirror any more."  I'm sorry, kiddo.  I know.  Give it a couple weeks.  It'll grow back.

Buddy also got a hair cut last week.  He is now three dog sizes smaller.  And also, cold.

5)  I had Book Club last night.  So, ya know - Happy Anniversary, honey.  Here, eat these here chocolates you got for me while I go to my friend's house and drink beer and chat about girl stuff.

Big day yesterday.  Big big day.

Speaking of BIG DAYS, today is John's 41st birthday.  We got him a cookie cake.  When we got home Dex asked if we should call Daddy at work while we were eating his cookie cake.  He was a bit disappointed when I told him we were gonna have to wait for Daddy to, you know, COME HOME before we ate his cake.  Bummer.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

18 Months

Dear Erin,

You turned 18 months old a few weeks ago, right in the heart of egg hunting season.  Which may well be your very favorite season as it is 1)  outside, 2) involves candy, and 3) involves putting things in to containers.

You are walking, running, and climbing up and down stairs just holding on to someone's hand.  You tend to think you can go up and down stairs all by yourself, no assistance needed.  And then you fall on your face.

You are a daredevil, and you think you can do everything your brother can do.  You love to spin, go upside down, and go down the slide by yourself.  You love running down hills and getting pushed in a crazy fashion in the shopping cart.  You shriek with delight when Buddy or Dexter suddenly appear from around the corner to chase you.

You are a Mama's girl.  Oh, you do love your Daddy.  But don't even let him look at your first thing in the morning.  You will grunt your disapproval and look the other direction.  Strange people shall not look at you without you hiding from them.

You love your brother, but only under your own terms.  You don't want him touching you, and heaven forbid he touches your mama.  But you adore hugging him and kissing him good night (both of which he despises).

It is nearly impossible to get a picture of the two of you together, as you 1) will not sit still and 2) are not super psyched about sitting next to your brother.

I dunno why.  It's not like he's ever mean to you...  Actually, Dexter is a doll with you.  He hits other kids, but not his baby sister.  He considers it his job to teach you stuff, and he takes that job very seriously.  You hit him often, and every time he runs off giggling and yelling "Hands are NOT for HITTING!"

You love all things loud and with a motor.  You point out every airplane in the sky.  You yell "bus!" about 4,377 times on the way to pick up Dexter from school.  You love to watch the motorcycles at the corner ice cream store.

Signing "airplane"

You love animals.  You often ask me to call Buddy for you.  Which goes something like this:  "Mama?  Phhhhhhhh."  And that is how you say, hey, Mama.  How about you go ahead and whistle for Buddy so I can pet him and hug him or maybe just run away from him, screaming.  If Buddy is lying on the floor, you like to take a book and go sit right up against him.  You look out the window for the horses and you ask for Donny and T by name (they are the horses most often in the field behind our house).  You would have pet Grandma's kitty all day long if the cat would allow it, and you chase Maggie mercilessly.  She's easy to chase, as she walks really slow.

You like babies and stuffed animals - stuffed dogs and horses and bears are in your current rotation, as is an evolving list of favorite baby dolls.  I love watching you pick up a doll or a stuffed animal and hold it up to your shoulder.  You snuggle it and pat it on the back.  You are a good mama.

You talk non-stop and we can usually make out what you are saying.  It took you about 3.2 seconds to learn how to say "Nonna" this past weekend.  Although you still do a sign for Grandma.  And when Aunt Maria was here you called her "Mama, Daddy, sign for Grandma."  Eh, whatever.  We can usually figure it out.

You love shoes (you call them oosh) and you like to put your socks on your hands.  You like zippers and making them go up and down.  One time after your nap I walked in and saw your sleep sack on the floor.  You pointed down to it and said "Mama?  Uh-oh."  Yes.  Uh-oh, indeed.  You now sleep with your sleep sack inside out so you cannot get to the zipper.  If you are sleeping with a sleep sack with foot holes, you often have your socks off your feet and either on your hands or on the floor when I go in to get you.

You like to get your own way and you don't like to be told no.  Oh, how you can scream.  And cry.  And hit.  And kick.  And also snuggle, and hug, and pat my back, and giggle.

Also, holy crap, child.  You need a hair cut.