Stitches and Dresses

Sammy fell down to this afternoon, and had to get seven stitches in his forehead. Poor guy. But I heard he braved it well. He held still like the doctor told him, but he didn't like that he was being sewn up.

On the flip side, I have to find a wedding dress. I'm getting married in just over SIX weeks. Can we say off the rack and inexpensive ;)  I'm hoping to find a tea length, lace dress in my price range, which really isn't a range just a series of SMALL numbers. Wish me luck.

Bye Bye Blankie? Not quite yet...

On a whim I bought Sammy a Stars Wars Clone Wars throw blanket today...because he LOVES Star Wars. (I'll post a video of him singing the Imperial March below.)

Tonight he announced that the Star Wars blanket was his new blankie, and his old blue blankie (which I bought him when he was born and he HAS to sleep with every night or the world will end) was now Monkey's blankie. He wrapped Monkey up in the blue blankie, and then crawled under the Star Wars blanket.

(He has a stuffed pink monkey with long arms and legs that he plays with...granted, Monkey dies a lot when they're playing [he keeps getting shot for some reason], but he's brought back to life by the doctor.) Of course Monkey sleeps right beside him, so his tried and true blankie is within reach, but it seems to be a good first step (made on his own) to gradually outgrowing the need for a comfort item.

Chess

Sammy found a magnetic travel chess game and begged and begged me to teach him how to play. He promised he wouldn't get "flusterated" with all the rules. I showed him how each of the pieces moved. Of course he didn't remember...he's four. The biggest questions he had were why the rook wasn't called a castle and the knight a horsey.

Once we got the basics out of the way, Sammy opened the game with his first ever chess move...he moved the pawn to the refrigerator...where else are magnets supposed to go? After playing with it on the refrigerator for a minute, he moved it back to the board. I spent the next few turns showing him how to kill (capture) my players. His attention span lasted a total of nine moves. Not a bad first lesson.

posted from Bloggeroid

There's more to buying a bike than pointing and saying, "I'll take that one"

I decided to get Sammy a bike for his birthday (he's turning four next Saturday). Little did I know it would take a whole hour to pick out just the right one.

I went looking at bikes a couple days to see what was out there. I discovered there are more girl bikes than boy bikes, at least at the three stores I went to. I also acquainted myself with the different sizes and shapes. I figured a 16" bike is what I was looking for, giving him a some room to grow into. Now all I had to do was find a color, and voila, I'd be done.

WRONG. I took Sammy bike shopping tonight, and let me tell you, buying a bike is a lot different than buying a hot wheels (his current cool ride). The first thing I found out was that 16" was too small. It just fit him, and as tall as he is and as fast as he's growing, a 16" would not do. His knees came to just under the handle bars when his pedal was at the top of the rotation. We looked at 16" wheels with a longer frame, but that stretched him out too far.

So we moved up to an 18" wheel. There were several that we tried, but they just didn't fit him right. Some were too hard to pedal, on one the training wheels weren't even, others were too big, etc, etc. And then we found GOLDIE. It was the right shape frame and right size wheel, and Sammy loved it. When the salesman from Toys R Us pulled it off the rack, Sammy's eyes got big, and he said, "Wow! That's a COOL bike."  Heaven help me. He wanted a gold bike. If I could talk him into another bike, I would try my hardest. But honestly, this bike really was perfect in every way (except color). It was small enough to fit him but big enough for him to grow into. The frame was the correct length, and it was easy to pedal. The orange 16" bike that cramped his knees that he HAD to have 5 minutes ago was forgotten. This was it.

I was talking myself into actually buying him a $100 gold bike when the salesman said, "I don't know why we don't have more boys bikes out on the floor. Let me go see if we have anything similar to this in the back." :D  <---This is me grinning and begging the salesman to PLEASE go look. If I had to buy him a flashy, blingy gold bike I would, but in the end, I didn't have to. He came back out with a green bike in the same style made by the same company. And it was only $75 (score!). And it was on sale for one more day for $20 off (double score!). This bike was mine. I even paid the extra $10 to have them assemble it (which made my brother happy).

Here's a pic of Sammy on the gold bike. Now imagine the bike as a light (but masculine) grass green. Yep, this is gonna be one good birthday.

Sammy the Water Gun

If it helps him enjoy brushing his teeth every night, I've got no problem with it.

We had to change his shirt before he went to bed. It was a little wet :)

How to use nunchucks

Sammy teaches how to properly use nunchucks. More importantly, we learn their correct pronunciation...it's nunchuckles.

(The nunchucks are homemade from two soft blocks and a rubber band.)

R2D2, Darth Vader, and a monkey walk out of a store

Sammy and I played Candyland this morning. The bad thing is that we've lost most of the cards. The good thing is that it ends quickly because 3 of 10 cards left are shortcut cards :) But I realized I didn't have any more games to play that were on in his level.  So we took a trip to the store where we picked up R2D2 in Trouble and Chutes & Ladders (the superhero version).

After *looking* at the Lego aisle (he LOVES legos, but it's amazing how expensive they are and he has TONS), we were walking past the stuffed animals when he said, "Oh! What's this?" And he went straight for...a pink monkey. I kid you not. A PINK monkey. It has long arms that velcro so it can hug you and a button to press in his chest that makes monkey sounds. And he wanted it. He wanted it bad. I diverted his attention to other stuffed animals. No go. I suggested we leave it on the shelf, and he said, "I'll just carry it around with me and take care of it."

We looked at the trucks (not interested), the guns (he has too many), and other toys, all with a pink monkey wrapped around his neck. He was getting impatient. "We need to go check out now!" Before we went to the register, I told him he could only get two things, so he had to chose between the R2D2 game (he also loves Star Wars...the PS3 game and star wars Legos...not really interested in the movies.), the super hero game, and the monkey.

(Aside) When we were looking at some of the board games, he wanted to get ones that were too complicated for him. He gets frustrated easily when he can't do something. You can guess what I said to him multiple times in the toy store by his response to choosing which toy to not buy. (Aside over) "I think I need to get the super hero game later, when I'm older so I'll know how to play it." Yep. He chose R2D2 and the pink monkey. The Chutes and Ladders game (which is well within his age range) was tossed aside.

As we walked up the register, they had bags with Barbie and Sponge Bob and other assorted characters, and he wanted one. I initially told him no (even though they were only $2), but then I saw a Lego Darth Vader one...so I bought him that too.

Here's Sammy with his prize monkey. He played with it all the way home. Ran into the house to show his dad. We've played hide and seek with it and they've jumped on the bed with it. It's his buddy. When we had to go somewhere in the afternoon, the monkey came too, along with the Darth Vader bag filled with his Ninja Turtles. Hey, whatever makes him happy, right?

My New Year's date

Sammy was less than enthused about getting a New Year's kiss and posing for a pic. It was all I could do to keep from laughing.

Like Daddy

Sammy got a Spiderman watch for Christmas. Before Christmas, he would put a rubber band or string around is wrist and say, "I need to see what time is." Once when I asked for the time, he looked at his rubber band and said, "it's 27."  We knew the watch would be a big a hit.

Sammy is right handed. Typically, right handed people wear their watches on their left hand. But not Sammy. Why? Because Sammy's daddy is left handed and wears his watch on his right hand. The first time I put the watch on, I started to put it on his left arm. "No, Annie, it goes on this hand [patting his right hand], like Daddy's." Whoops. So I switched to his right arm and fastened it up. The band was still a little big, so I moved it up his arm a little so it would fit properly. "No, Annie. It has to go right here [over the wrist]. This is where Daddy wears it."

Kids notice everything. Here's hoping we never forget that we influence their actions and thoughts, big and small.

Has this snow scrooge's heart grown?

Technically it's a day-after Christmas snow, but it's close enough to Christmas to call it a Christmas snow, right? It hasn't snowed this close to Christmas here in eastern North Carolina in a long time. And it's a beautiful snow too. Sometimes, our snows are more sleet and ice, but today was a real snow.

I'm an admitted snow scrooge. It doesn't snow much in this part of the state. We usually only get one snow per year, typically in January. So far this winter, we've had three, thanks to the jet stream dipping lower. I'm not fond of snows because my clothes get cold and wet. It melts during the day and freezes over night, causing lots of ice on the roads and driveways and sidewalks and porch steps. People here get stupid during the snow. We're just not used to it.

But we don't have to worry about the ice until tomorrow. Today, we have fun.

Sammy really loves playing in the snow

Say "cheese"

He ran all around the side yard

He made a snow angel and kept falling down in the snow because it was so much fun.

There's nothing like hot chocolate and warm pajamas after a fun time playing in the snow.

Thwarted

It was 35 degrees at lunch when I went home to pick up my mother, brother, and nephew. When we got into the car, Sammy rolled down the window, but before we started, I asked him to roll it back up. Whhhhyyyyyy? (he's going through a why phase). Once he rolled it up, I locked all the windows.

At a stop light a little later on, he said, "uh oh, my bad guy hand is going to roll down the window." Knowing full well that he wasn't supposed to, he pressed the button. And pressed. And pressed. Then he looked up, and in the rear view mirror I could see a very annoyed look on his face. "Annie! Did you LOCK MY WINDOW?!! You need to unlock it RIGHT NOW!" (He's going through a demanding phase too.)

The joys of being 3-1/2. All of your evil plans are thwarted by adults.

Adler Turns FIVE

Adler, the youngest son of my brother Stephan, celebrated his 5th birthday in style, complete with a bouncy house, two cakes (one was a cookie cake), a piñata, and the BIG gift.

Adler & Sammy

Sammy waiting for Adler to join him in the bouncy house

Proof that I'm taller than Holden...by a hair

He's cheating here, but soon he really will be taller than me.

This piñata didn't stand a chance.

Can you tell Adler's a baseball player? Look at that line! Baam!

The BIG gift!

Of course, Sammy had to try out the new bike.

The ping pong game OF THE CENTURY! Sam serves...

...Stephan returns. It was close but there can only be one winner.

My brother's family: Adler, Dara, Stephan, Holden

Sammy Helps Make Grandma's Cake

   

The H-D-A-Y melted on top of the mini oven. "Happy Birt" Mom!

Wordless Wednesday (Sometimes I don't know what he's thinking)

For Halloween, Sammy Reads A Scary Monster Book

Bedtime Stories

Tonight's bedtime stories were brought to you by:

We just barely made it through GREEN EGGS & HAM. It was a bit too long for a 3 year old with a short attention span. I'll keep trying, though. We've got to read the classics :)

THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK was a favorite tonight. I reread the whole book three times, and the first 3-5 pages I reread a kajillion times (yes, that's an actual number...because I say so.) 

   

When we got to pages 2-3, Sammy would put his finger to his lips and say "Shhhhhhhhhh", then I'd whisper Grover's part. He'd turn the page. I'd exaggerate Grover's reaction, and he'd cackle with laughter. After making "a terrible mess" on a few pages, Sammy'd lean in to Grover and say, "I'm sorry" very sincerely, but then he'd turn the page :)  My favorite words tonight: "Can we read that again."

Another favorite. When I first started reading WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE to him, I'd act out "they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws." Now I have to do that whenever I read it, but Sammy joins in too. It's so funny to see him gnashing his teeth and rolling his eyes.

Yet another favorite. THE POLAR EXPRESS is almost always the first book I'm requested to read at night, and tonight it was also the last. Sammy was into the "polar choo choo" movie big time last Christmas. He know's it inside and out, and tonight he kept asking, "Where's the girl?" (who's in the movie but not the book). But he still loves the book.

We also read THE GIANT JAM SANDWICH, a book I liked as a kid. I think he likes it because when I'm reading, my hand turns into a bee that flies around him. He grabs my hand and says, "I've got your bumble bee". He also points to different people on a page and asks, "What's they saying?" and I have to make up something in a funny voice.

WOW, that's a lot of reading in one night.

The Lesser of Two Evils

We're trying to teach Sammy to clean up his toys. He's 3 years old. He's old enough to clean up after himself, but he's also at the age where he doesn't have the will power to do it by himself. So we offer to clean up with him. That works sometimes. And then there are times like tonight.

Sammy made a HUGE mess in his playroom today. After refusing to pick up his toys, he was given the option to clean up or go to bed early. He chose to go to bed early. When he realized he really was going to have to go to bed, he started crying. It's a tactic he uses to get out of doing something he doesn't want to do. It didn't work.

My brother (Sam) let's Sammy watch TV as he's going to sleep. After the crying ended, Sammy hopped into bed and asked to watch Avatar the Air Bender. BUT Sammy's punishment didn't end with going to bed 30 minutes early. Instead of putting on a cartoon, Sam turned on his "Adobe Photoshop Tutorial" video. Sammy was again given an option: help clean up his toys or watch the video while going to bed. He chose the lesser of two evils. He chose to watch the Adobe tutorial.

Yep, he's going to be a tough nut to crack. Wish us luck.

Hammock Time

In my side yard, there's a hammock hidden by azalea bushes. At least there used to be. Today, my brother took down all of the bushes that had grown up around the hammock and even dug up the roots of the largest bushes so they wouldn't grow back again. He then put up a new-to-us hammock. It was a wonderful surprise to come home to.

An even better surprise though was seeing Sammy. He'd been gone since Friday visiting his Grandparents, but when I got home from work, he was home!!! I walked over to the hammock to check out what had been done, and Sammy followed. He wanted to get up in the hammock, so in we climbed.

For the first few minutes, he was snuggled up against me. Every time we slowed down, he'd ask to go higher and faster. One time I said, "I can't go any higher. I'm on my tippy toes." And that became the new standard. Every time we slowed down, it was time to go tippy-toe high. I'd hold him against the hammock until we were almost vertical. Every time he'd ask "Are you on your tippy toes, Annie?" I'd answer yes, but he'd lean over my arm and look, checking to make sure. Then on the count of three we'd fall back against the hammock and swing as high as we could.

Later, he turned side ways and laid with his head on my stomach. We looked up into the trees, talking about being monkeys swinging from the branches. Sammy decided he would be a medium sized orange monkey with a long tail.

It was a simple time spent reconnecting. We talked about nothing special. We just talked. Three year olds love to talk and ask questions. We covered monkeys, why trees grew, and how high airplanes fly. It was 30 minutes of laughing, giggling, and fun. I'm so glad he's home.

 

Sammy's after bath ritual

Every night, after we've drained his bath water and put away his toys, Sammy likes to lay down in the empty tub and pretend to change into his favorite good guys. Then he shows off his pretend suit. Then he repeats. Many times. The night this was recorded, he started out by changing into Wolverine. This is an audio recording of one of the times he changed into Iron Man.

Today, We Finger Paint

Sammy found the finger paints a couple days ago, and has been asking to "paint with my hands" ever since.  Today, we finger painted.

This is the result of his labor:

This is the aftermath: I didn't get a picture of his hands and arms, but they were covered with paint

   

Update - 8:30pm  (Sam took a couple pics of Sammy's hands on his phone and I snagged them. What can I say? He's all boy, and he loves making messes)