My Funny Valentines

Dexter was excited to go to school today for his Valentine's Day party.  Did he actually create valentine's for his classmates?  No.  No he did not.  But he is excited to receive.

Erin is tired and grumpy.  She had a tummy bug and was throwing up all Wednesday evening.  She had a fever all day Thursday.  This morning she was her normal self for about an hour after breakfast, and then whined her way over to the couch looking for a snuggle.  She just wanted to "sleep in my hands."  She is currently napping.  At 10AM.

Crossing my fingers that 1) Nobody else gets sick and 2) Erin feels better soon

Oh - Dex was looking for red pants, too, but they were in the laundry basket.  So he settled for blue with an orange stripe.  Because "you just add yellow to red and you get orange.  So orange is almost red."  Any attempt I had at telling him that red and orange really don't match fell on deaf ears.  So he is what he is.  Red.  And almost red.

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Six

Dear Dexter,

You turned six last week.  SIX!  It's hard for me to believe I have been a mom for that long.

You and Daddy visited the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport the day before your birthday to fuel your ongoing love of space and rocket ships.  The real space shuttle Discovery is there, along with many rockets and other space-related things.  I was not at all expecting that your very favorite thing in the museum would be the Black Bird airplane.  The SR-71, a military plane used for spying and surveillance for many years, holds the record for the fastest flight from Los Angeles to New York City.  One hour and four minutes.  I learned this on Friday when you told me all about your trip.  It sounded like you also enjoyed the shuttle, and the I-Max movie about space.  But maybe not so much the flight simulator.  It was too loud.

The Norman family visited for the weekend and enjoyed a very yummy rocket ship cake, plus a dinner of hot dogs and mac and cheese.  They took you out for dinner at Applebees on Saturday, where you ordered your favorite meal (Kraft mac and cheese) and inhaled it, along with everyone else's french fries and also a hot fudge sundae.  We had a little Super Bowl party with Nonna and Grandpa on Sunday night, watching the Patriots play the Seahawks.  You and Erin giggled hysterically at a Mt Dew commercial where dogs, chairs, pictures, and coats started dancing.  Fortunately we have a DVR so we could watch it again.  And again.  And again.  And again.

You like building things.  Snap Circuits are your favorite right now, along with huge huge LEGO kits.  You have an entire LEGO city on your desk in your room right now, with a hospital and a police station and lots of cars and trucks and a huge helicopter.  You also got a kick out of a magnet kit we got you for your birthday, and you built some fun stuff with Kinnex.  When you are not building, you are reading.  Books about space.  Chapter books.  And it warms my heart that you enjoy the very same Shel Silversteen books that I read as a kid.  A Light in the Attic.  Where the Sidewalk Ends.  The Growing Tree.

Your very favorite thing right now is ROCKET SHIPS.  We made a space shuttle cake for your birthday, and a rocket ship cake the following week.  We read lots of books about space and planets and books that astronauts wrote about being in space.  You told me the other day that when you grow up you want to be a person who works at Mission Control for rocket launches.  I think that would be a pretty cool thing.  Aunt Jeanne got you some bungee cord-launched rocket ships to play with in the back yard.  Best.  Present.  Ever.  We were all thankful it was warm enough yesterday and today to go out to play with them.

You continue to love gymnastics, and it's fun to watch you get stronger and more brave.  You are the fastest fish in the pool during swim lessons, too, and I am glad that your love of the slide has overcome your fear of the sun spots.

At school you get pulled out almost every day for Social Skills, Friendship Group, and Speech Therapy.  Normal kid's parents might be concerned that you miss class time.  We have no such concerns.  Academically you are far ahead of your class mates.  I loved hearing you describe the game "Beat You to 15 Cents" to me today, and hearing you work out how many cents you would have if you had a nickle and two pennies.  You brought home a list of Sight Words that you are supposed to know by the end of the year.  Parents were supposed to look at the words that their kid didn't know yet, so they could work on those words at home.  We've got nothing to work on.  You know it all.  You're reading this blog post, at age six and one week.  We are not concerned that you miss class time.  We want you to learn the things that are hard for you.  How to approach kids your age.  How to have a two-sided conversation.  How to keep calm even when things make you angry.  You've made HUGE strides in these thing in the last year, and I know these things are difficult.  I'm proud of you for how hard you work at keeping yourself "in the green."

Your sister adores you and everything you do.  She loves to repeat everything you say.  She loves to mimic every weird hand gesture you do.  She loves to jump on you in bed.  She loves to demand a kiss from you every night before bed, and then run away giggling with her hand over her butt as you chase her, trying to kiss that very same butt.  She loves to demand a hug from you before school, and she loves to ask you your favorite thing about school when you get home.  When she is sad in the car she often cries that she wants Dexter.  She wants her sister.  (She can never remember that you are her BROTHER).

Happy Birthday, Dexter!  Here's hoping your seventh year is your best one yet.  I love you to the moon and back.  And yes, I know.  You love me more.

My Nose Smells Like Pizza

Erin wandered downstairs after green light the other day and said "Mama, my nose smells like pizza!".  What she was smelling was actually a burrito casserole that both kids hated.  But she cracked me up, describing what she was smelling.

It's loud in our house.  Loud, loud, LOUD.  One would think that two kids is double the noise, but that's totally incorrect.  Two kids is at least four times the noise as one kid, as each kid tries their hardest to out-talk the other, and yell at the other for some tiny injustice.

"Mama, Erin's isn't talking nicely!"
"Dexter!  Noo night, Dexter.  Give me a kiss!"  (runs away cackling with one hand over her butt as Dexter runs after her, trying to kiss her butt)
"Hey look!  I see Christmas lights!"
"Tick tock yellow!  Pooh!  Blankie!  I want Mama!"
"Dexter!  Hands on the table!"

And my personal favorite, which we had to endure for over an hour driving from Geneva to Lansing a couple days after Christmas:

"No!  No Dexter!  NOT look out mine window!"

This child.  She is smart.  She is sassy.  She is stubborn as all get-out.  I watched her the other day at the new Child Watch area at the Y: try to climb a stair, fall down, try again, fall down again, and then finally succeed.  She did it again with the next stair, with fierce determination.  And then proceeded to cry when she bumped her head.  Yesterday at one of two (!) birthday parties she attended, she was fearless and tireless in a bounce house, climbing in and sliding out face first at least 8 billion times.  And then after that she cried during the Happy Birthday song.  When she feels like it, she'll talk anyone's ear off.  When she doesn't want to talk to you, there's no making her talk.  This afternoon she happily talked to Aunt Jeanne about all kinds of things, but refused to say good-bye to her because she didn't want to talk to her.

She is sweet.  Dexter jammed his elbow in to John's abdomen this afternoon.  Erin looked sweetly at John and said "Daddy, do you want me to kiss it?"

She is dramatic.  She will spill a toy and immediately break out in tears.

She is sensitive.  She's had a cold this week.  She has often said "I am sad.  I am sick."

And, man, sometimes I really wish she didn't talk so much...

Brave

Dexter mostly holds himself together at school.  He has a TSS there helping him, and a lovely teacher and special ed teacher, and lots of supports in place for him.  He has a quiet spot under his teacher's desk, a pair of headphones to block out noise when things get too overwhelming, and a break card he can hand his teacher any time he just needs to get away.  His TSS takes him for walks in the hallway to jump and push the wall.  When things are the same at school, he does fine.

But when things change, life gets a little bit harder.  When his teacher is sick, things fall apart a bit.  And when the last day of school before the winter break calls for a whole school holiday sing-along, pajama wearing all day, and a movie in the classroom...  well, that takes a bit of preparation.

We had a plan.  You don't have to go to the sing-along.  Or you can go and sit close to the door and wear your headphones and leave whenever you want.  You don't have to stay in your class to watch the Polar Express movie.  I know you've seen it before and it scares you.  You can go to the special ed room.

I got updates throughout the morning from his TSS.  He went to the sing-along!  He would not go anywhere near the classroom when the movie was playing.  He cried a little bit because the movie was so very long and he wanted to go back, but the movie was still playing.  He excitedly showed his teacher his pajamas stashed neatly in his backpack.  But no, he did not want to put them on.

All in all, his day was a success.  The movie thing was a battle just not worth having.  Pajamas?  Meh, no big deal.  Going to the sing-along?  So proud of you, big guy.  So, so proud.

I don't really know what it's like to live in Dexter's head.  To see the world through his eyes.  But from the little glimpses I get inside every now and then, I know that kid is super brave.  It's not easy being him, and the world can be a big scary place.  Brave.

Go forth and be awesome, Dex.  Keep being brave.

ROAR

Kid-Decorated Trees

The only problem with kid-decorated trees is that the ornaments tend to be placed in one centralized location.  At the bottom front of the tree.  In Erin's case, all ornaments needed to be placed "next to Pooh."  And also on the same branch as every other ornament.  Which is why we have ended up with a tree that only has red balls on the bottom half, and has three red balls on one branch.  Next to Pooh, of course.  I adore the fact that they were excited about decorating, so I have not moved any ornaments.  Except for one red ball, today, that was hanging on to its branch by one single needle.  And when I moved it, Dexter asked me "Why are you moving that ball, Mama?"

Behold, some photos of tree decorating:

Dex got things rolling with his ornament from Grandma

And Erin added hers to the same branch

Kids' ornaments from Grandma

Erin was more excited about decorating than Dex.  But she was also healthy, while Dex was sick and pretty content to sit on the couch and watch the train go around the tree.

Yep, this spot next to Pooh looks perfect

Where shall I put this one?  I know!  Next to Pooh!

Dex is a little better at spreading the wealth

The snowman dudes had to go away for a while, as the children were using them as flashlights

Check out Erin, branching out.  Ha.  See what I did there?

Yeah.  We REALLY need a pony.

Did I tell you about the fire truck?  It was at the MOMS holiday party.  The kids cared not at all about Santa (Erin only cared about not looking at him), but they were happy to sit in the truck.

The Polar Express. Times Two.

Dexter was home sick from school on Wednesday and Thursday last week.  Which actually kind of worked out ok, because we got our Christmas tree on Tuesday and he was VERY VERY excited to get the big Polar Express train set up.  So I shipped him off to an extra long rest time on Wednesday, put a billion lights on the tree (but not enough.  There's never enough lights), and when he came down we put together the train around the tree.  Both kids were delighted to play with the train all afternoon, as well as most of the day on Thursday.

When Dexter is not around, a derailed train remains derailed.  He's the pro.

Erin mostly uses the remote as a phone.  To call Santa.

Rare moment of kid-harmony

She was delighted.  This is her "I'm delighted" pose.  No idea why.

Then I remember (because Grandma reminded me) there was a present that was meant to be opened before Christmas.  And that is how we now have TWO Polar Express trains gracing the living room floor.  Let's hope nobody needs to walk through that room any time soon.

This is Erin's "Hooray, train!" pose

Dex came home from our MOMS Club holiday party and went directly to the new train

More kid-harmony.  This one may well have taken some threatening to achieve.

Erin showing off her pretty Christmas dress.

Santa!

Santa made his annual trek from the North Pole to John's work this morning, and the kids, along with Nonna and Grandpa, went down to have some breakfast with him.  Erin talked a big game the day before, about how much she loved Santa and how she was going to ask Santa to bring her a present.  But fear got the best of her, and she was grumpy and shy from the instant her feet hit the parking lot at Daddy's work.  She was NOT impressed to see the Big Guy.  Dexter, however, was calm and collected, hopped right on Santa's lap and had a very nice conversation with him, checked out his snow globes, and came over to try to encourage his sister to say hi to Santa as well.  It was a lovely morning, and as long as Erin could not see Santa, she was cool.  She happily ate candy canes and Hershey kisses and peeled the backs off eighty seven billion stickers.  Dexter was delighted to visit Daddy's office twice and the bathroom once.  I saw some old friends I only see at Santa and Easter Bunny breakfasts, and drank a cup of coffee.  It was a lovely morning.