He Be Nimble, He Be Quick

Max got to be in his first school play today: an all-kindergarten rockband tribute to Mother Goose. I loved watching him let his little light shine as he poured himself into the nimble and quick character. I could see him react to the audience's cheers and delight in the joy of performance. Given how much he loved the whole experience, I have a feeling that we'll be watching this boy on stage for a long time.





Ka-Chow Max!

Rainbow Connections

I've missed posting some really important moments of the past six months on this blog. I've finally resolved a highly irritating issue that I was having with photo organization on my computer, and going back and re-dating/sorting everything is just way too boring and overwhelming for someone who has no Virgo compulsion for order, nor uninterrupted time for such detail-oriented tasks.

So instead of linear/chronological order, here's a reflection of the absent months of 2009-2010 in Rainbow Order (ROYGBIV).

Today I'm seeing life through rose [red] colored glasses:


Like the reddish curls of Sam's hair.
These curls continually melt my heart and bring smiles to my crankiest days. They are as much an expression of Sam's buoyant personality as his light-up-the-sky smile, twinkling eyes, and precocious vocabulary. It's just that we get to admire this feature quietly, from behind his face; making him pretty much 360 degrees of precious, 365 days a year.

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"Look at me! My flying!"
Little red airplane at Train Town in Sonoma, CA
February 2010

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Spokane International Airport, September 2009

If anyone ever asked me to summarize my two children in one photo, I would probably reference this shot. I snapped it while while I was talking on my phone as we were waiting for some friends to pick us up at the airport. Tired of sitting still, Max cleverly set up an obstacle course out of car seats and luggage. Max is giving his body what it needed - movement - without running away or complaining (believe me, he's done both of those things plenty of times, too). But here he jumped, swerved, spun and ran about a mile, all within about a 10 foot radius. Sam, who was also tired of traveling and was well, just tired in general, joined right in on Max's action and appointed himself as supervisor/cheerleader. Like most of us watching, Sam enjoyed and admired Max's unique energy and entertainment style.

My Mom bought that little red suitcase for Max when he was about 10 months old. She thought it would be perfect for him on overnight trips to visit the grandparents. Okay, so she gave it to me, but I think we both knew for whom is was really intended. And she was right, he loves traveling with it all over the country, but especially going to visit Bubbi and Grandpa.

Sunday Night Bath

Who ever knew the poetry of bath time could be so sweet?

Happy Earth Day

My blogging has been dormant for the Winter, but with Spring in full swing, I intend to get some more posts of my little seedlings sprouting.

The boys are growing, blossoming, digging in roots and stretching their boundaries. Spring will always remind me of the beautiful season of their births, and how much richer my life is with their presence.

Bursting from the slow, dark days of Winter, we are a flurry of activity around here. Everything seems to get crammed into this time of year - sports, birthdays, school plays, science fairs, bike-a-thons and other endless requests for our limited free time. This morning we enjoyed acknowledging Spring and Earth Day with the simple act of planting seeds together.

Jack Be Little pumpkins, Marigolds, Sunflowers, green gourds, and summer squash made a new perch behind our kitchen sink. I'm also pretty sure that Sam planted a few errant globules of oatmeal left on the table from his breakfast. He's hoping for a bumper crop this summer.

What A Difference A Bus Ride Makes

Max on his first day of Kindergarten, feeling a wee bit nervous and silly.

At the bus stop, the boys and I had a little snuggle before Max climbed onto the bus and bravely waved goodbye.

But here he is, all grins and accomplishment after he got off the bus at the end of a long and memorable day. And look! He remembered his sweatshirt! So proud!

Ready Or Not..Here We Come!

Max will soon be waking and getting himself ready for his first day of Kindergarten. He's excited, anxious, and very ready for this new transition.

I tucked the very getsited Max into bed last night and his little body was a mess of wiggly dinosaur fleece and story-time anticipation. I snuggled up next to him on his bed and we listened to music in the dark and tried to find stillness.

I thought of all the attributes of Max's that I love and strive to bring more of into my own life: his sense of humor, his enormous heart and compassion, and his irrepressible curiosity and wonder. He will love school and the joys that are ahead.

I'm just a little sad that the apron strings are being loosened a bit today. This new joyful adventure will be one that he discovers without me giving him the high-fives, good-job-hugs and laughter that we both find so satisfying throughout the day. I will miss his giggles and wonder and curiosity, and especially his enormous hugs and smiles.

Now it will be Max's chance to filter out his day and share the highs and lows with us with the benefit of past-tense. High-fives and hugs will be delayed until the tail lights on the bus blink and we trudge back up the dirt road together.

He is ready for this. He will shine.

One Stitch, Two Stitch, Red Fish, Blue Fish

I'll admit that I've been enjoying sewing recently, but I really wasn't a big fan of yesterday's new stitch.

On the back of Max's head.

Thankfully, Grandpa Tom was able to take us to Urgent Care where he gave us some moral support and even some bonus commentary on Le Tour de France.

He also snapped a photo while we waited for the analgesic to take effect.

Nothing like a little bump in the road (or head) to make me realize how fast it can all go downhill, and how grateful I am for my pit crew. Thanks Mom and Dad.

Now, where did we put that helmet?

Real Live Nephew of Uncle Sam

Happy Fourth of July!

Max, age 3 months
What a firecracker!

Metamorphosis

On Max's last day of preschool, his teacher led the class out to the school's Friendship Garden to release little butterflies that had transformed in the weeks before the school year ended. It was magical to witness the little insects fly for the first time after being caged in net. The children and parents had followed their amazing transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly inside of a classroom full of screaming and curious banshees.

Max was mesmerized and quiet during the entire process, and in this rare opportunity for stillness, one even landed on his red shirt. He stayed very calm until it flew off, and then he cheered that little butterfly's journey as if it's soaring arches were powered by the sheer getsitement of Max's jumps.

No One Wants To Be Defeated

While there is no illuminated staircase and I doubt that Max could defeat an entire street gang in this particular get-up, I hope you still enjoy this little video. It's dedicated with great admiration for the King of Pop and all that his music meant to me in 1983 when I wore out my "Thriller" tape on my Sony Walkman. Sigh.

The 3 minutes of blank screen at the end are due either to (a) my ineptitude at movie editing or (b) a moment of silence as we remember the musical genius that was Michael Jackson. Feel free to acknowledge and move on. Maybe do a little moon walk while you're at it.

Mom - if you have trouble playing the video, try quitting your web browser and then re-opening it and returning to the website. Love you!

Atta Boy

Milestones, Progression and Sunshine have been the themes of our week.

On Wednesday, Max and I went to Kindergarten Orientation to meet his upcoming teachers and schoolmates. The highlight, of course, was that Max rode a school bus for the first time. A big, yellow, "real" school bus from which he might see deer sometime and on which he has to sit on his bottom the WHOLE time.

Clearly, the perspective of viewing the world from the inside of a yellow bus has changed things for Max in ways that I can't really comprehend. I have bittersweet feelings about seeing his little head bopping up the aisle and grabbing a seat, pulling his backpack off and inspecting his lunch before the bus even eases back into motion, driving him down the road and into a world that is his own. I lose my breath for a minute trying to imagine how this can be happening when I remember the tender days in which he'd gleefully scream "SCHOOBUS!" "GAR-BAAAAGE TRUCK!" BACKHOE LOADER!" from his tiny car seat. It never, ever occurred to me that on those buses were someone else's babies who'd been unable to say "Firetruck" without making it sound obscene. Now, it will be our little one taking this new journey.

Max also started swimming lessons this week from the Jedi Swim-Whisperer Magic Swim Coach who has molded the spastic and distracted Max into a focused and hard-working "Super Scooper" in just four short hours. Although we've tried lessons in the past and he has loved them, he never really got the hang of swimming on his own and was terrified to jump into a pool.

This swimming gig has boosted his confidence exponentially and we're delighting in seeing its manifestations throughout the day. He's cooperative, eager and secure; and that makes for a kid whose ready to dive into anything.

Including Kindergarten. Even if he needs a friendly push now and then. Watch how he keeps plugging on...I think he'll make it just fine wherever he needs to go.

Doesn't Miss A Thing

Preparing for departure to his T-Ball game this weekend, Max looked out the window and calmy stated, "I think we're taking the truck today."

"Oh", I replied "Is Daddy taking the truck?" while quickly running a car seat location /calculation formula in my head.

"No, he didn't say that. But when Daddy wears his brown pants with the paint dots on them and his gray shirt, that usually means we'll be driving in the truck."

It's good to be predictable.

For the record, Mr. Wonderful changed his clothes and they drove in the car. He's crazy like that.

Happy Birthday, Jellie Bean

Don't look now, but I think someone's got his eye on you :-)

Wisdom Beyond Years

"I already know what a funeral is.." Max softly told me this morning when I shared sad news with him.

"..it's where you look at someone's picture and you know that they'll always be with you."

Grandma LaVonne
December 16, 1916 - May 6, 2009

Out On A Limb

I predict that Max (and eventually, Sam) will go lots of fun places in this tree. On any given day, it's either a horse, or an airplane or rocket. I stay pretty close to him while he's on these journeys; weeding the endless abundance that is sprouting around our yard. I just love to hear where he's going and how fond he is of this special, quiet space.

Seem's Like Just Yesterday...

Happy 5th Birthday, Max. Thanks for the laughs, the smiles and all the hugs. You make me very getsited to be your mama.

Prepared For Emergency Landing

Much to our collective delight, we're enjoying a spontaneous visit from one our favorite people this weekend. The boys and I loaded up for a late night airport pick-up last night; dragging blankets, dollies, sippy cups, books, bathrobes, etc. As we sleepily stumbled into the car well after 9 pm, Max scurried back to the house to get his shoes.

"Oh, sweetie, you don't need to bring shoes..we won't be getting out of the car," I explained.

"I'm bringing them just in case..." he offered, sounding just like his emergency-contingency plan father, who would be so proud. And then he completed his sentence,

"...we want to stop for an ice cream cone."

My sweet-tooth DNA overpowers the always-be-prepared chromosomes. Yes!

Time Marches On

Oh, thank goodness it's March already! I had been fearing that February would last forever. It's not even the end of the first week of the month and we've already jumped some big hurdles that were hampering us last month.

On Monday, Max got to spend some time at the hospital getting tubes in his ears to help ward off the transient synovitus that rendered him unable to walk twice during February. He's happy, healthy and selectively tuning out my requests for him to wash his hands while simultaneously jumping off the furniture. Never again will I take his bionic hearing/jumping achievements for granted! Additionally, both of our cars were returned (finally!) from the collision repair shop where they each had multiple visits due to our "his and hers" car accidents of February. I will forever fear the little red corvette (baby, you were much too fast) and won't ever again curse a safety restraint after both boys escaped unscathed from their first vehicular bang up. No one has fallen down the steps yet in March, and the sun is shining in all her Springtime glory. So far, March is singing a pretty pleasant tune.

And today, I registered my baby for kindergarten. I'm not sure how it is that I was able to unstrap him from his infant carrier and watch him bound into the gymnasium of an elementary school, because I swear he just spit up all over my nursing bra. Gaaahhhh! Where is the damn pause button on these kids????

Our tour of the elementary school went exceptionally well and I was delighted to see how eager and curious Max was about all the new places to discover at school. His favorite was the library where he found books on diggers, dinos and whales faster than you can say dewey decimal. I think he'll do just fine.

To celebrate his foray into academia, we went out for a warm cocoa in the sunshine. We talked about all the neat things we'd seen at the school, what he was getsited about, and then gulped down the whipped cream while contemplating the sweetness of life.

While sipping my coffee and smiling at my big kid smeared with cocoa and cream, I looked out the window of the cafe at a group of moms who were gathering with strollers and tiny tots with fists full of cheerios and sippy cups and blankies tucked warmly around their pudgy red cheeks. Some of the babies were nodding off, others were fighting the restraint, and the moms all had a familiar look. Distracted, eager and exhausted. Ready for some exercise after being up for seven hours already and desperate for the fellowship of a kindred soul who was sleep deprived but still making a go of it.

I watched them gather, hug, and coo; recognizing myself in each of them. And I suddenly ached. I ached for the stroller that I no longer push. Lumps formed in my throat as I tried desperately to swallow my coffee; struggling with balancing the passage of time and a hot caffeinated beverage. The next thing I knew, all the patrons of the coffee shop joined in singing the chorus of "Sunrise, Sunset" while I watched my former self out the window and saw the reflection of my current self tearing up.

That was when it hit me. Max is totally ready for kindergarten, and I am so confident in his ability to thrive and shine and learn and discover and wonder. He will be fine.

He will be fine without me pushing him along, handing him Cheerios and cheering for the garbage trucks, airplanes and doggies. He's no longer a tot in a stroller with floppy hat tied underneath his three chins. He's a running, jumping, getsited big guy who is ready to learn and discover and begin a new voyage.

All aboard? I guess so...


3 days old, which was really just last week. I swear it was.

February: So Short, Yet Soooo Loooong

Dark, gloomy and cold February has never been one of my favorite months. She's bleak and boring and seems to drag on forever, despite her fewer than normal days on the calendar.

I'm guessing even the Romans were a bit tired of February's drearyness and figured that by shortening it up to a tiny little 28 days (with the bonus "leap!" every four years), we'd be able to move on with Spring so much faster. Oh, if only we could just hit the "fast foreman" button, as our kids like to call it, on the entire month of February and start the revival of Spring and her beauty of new growth and rebirth that comes in March.

Poor Max is really not digging this particular February. We just returned from urgent care where they confirmed his second ear infection of the month and he is now on his third round of antibiotics with a prescription date beginning in month 2/2009. He's a fevery, whiny and cranky little guy who needs lots of cuddles and loves and assurances. Right now he is snuggled up on our bed napping. Yes, you read that correctly. Max is NAPPING! Napping! For the second day in a row, the child who never ever would nap as a baby without a Barnum and Bailey type production involving the entire four-book volume set of Curious George stories, a giant burrito wrap to house his flailing arms and legs, and 6 disc concert medley of lullabies and yoga music, has gently fallen asleep on his own.

Maybe those hibernating bears are onto something. Next year I might recommend just sleeping through the 28 days.

Mine?

The boys worked very hard this week to show the Valentine love to their friends at preschool.


Max carefully cut out nearly 35 hearts for both his class and his brother's class.


What Sam lacks in fine motor skills, he more than makes up for in enthusiasm for his brother's mad skizzor skillz.



"Give me a 'V'!"



It would not surprise me in the least if I were to discover 34 new gray hairs this week. The fact that 34 happens to be exactly the same number of Valentine's cards that needed to leave the house this week may or may not be coincidental.