Taking out the Christmas stuff

Every year it is a little different. It's interesting to see what Trevor remembers and what he needs a little help remembering. And now that Gwen is a little more interactive, it's fun to see what she picks up on.

We don't have our tree yet, so it isn't all done yet, but we got out the things that Trevor really wants to see. Movies, books, stockings, and some other wall decorations is all we have. We do have our new LED outdoor icicle blue and white lights out. Last year it got too cold too fast, and we had too much going on to get them out there.

I'm a little surprised that Gwen isn't into the books yet. I suppose it could be just that she isn't into books in these last few days. She is into the nativity set, although she calls it the "night-night" (or phonetically - ni-ni). And she is also very good at understanding what we don't want her to play with and gravitating towards that in any way possible. Trevor and Russ were trying out the Mouse Trap game that he got for his birthday, and Gwen new that it wasn't for her, yet she climbed onto the back of the chair to get her chance to play with it. She played with it by herself, taking it apart and playing with the figures in the game for a good 15 or so minutes.

She also wants to play with the Mickey Mouse Advent Calendar that we have had for a few years now. Trevor is trying to peak at the Christmas ornaments that are in each of the boxes, so it is fun for him to look at it, but I know if Gwen got a hold of it, we wouldn't be able to find any of them when it came time to put it away.

And of course I was directly asked if Santa Claus is real while reading him the Twas the Night Before Christmas book this evening. I tried redirection, and talking about St. Nicholas, but basically I had to explain that St. Nicholas is real, and he can talk about it at Sunday School. Argh....Hopefully he won't ruin it for Gwen next year until I'm sure she asks about it....

So back to school for Trevor tomorrow, and me on Wednesday. I don't know how they are going to do the holiday break for us. I guess we'll have to see. Maybe I should start reading ahead in my Humanities book. Or maybe not.

Party over

Well, we are done with our three parties in a week's time. All I can say is WHEW. Although I don't consider myself a party pooper, I am definitely pooped by parties! Especially since we had to host all of them. Next year I'll have another day between Thanksgiving and Trevor's birthday and don't know what if anything we'll be doing for a birthday party with Trevor's friends.

Trevor had a great time on his birthday, and I'm glad he decided to skip his hockey practice. He was able to wrestle and run around with his uncles, aunts and grandparents. Which I know he REALLY enjoys. Today was supposed to be the day to get out the Christmas decorations, movies, and books, but Trevor is too into all his presents. Unfortunately, he has cleaned out his wish list, so now we have to figure out other things to get back on the list. He is such a lucky guy to have such a caring family.

Now for a few days of down time....oh and found out my grades came back for my two classes....Aced them both with a perfect score on my Accounting Final Exam. ;-) Yay for accounting!

6 years of living with Trevor

It is absolutely amazing that it has been 6 years already since we were making the calls to the grandparents and new aunts and uncles saying that Trevor had been born. I have learned so much about myself and how to be a better parent, and I am so thankful that I've been able to share it all with him. This past year has been the most difficult in terms of him coming into his own personality, and battling his parents. Although I can't say that he's going to be more difficult when he is going to be a teenager, I am glad that he has waited this long to be slightly sassy in his ways. He never was a temper tantrum kid. Thankfully, Gwen really isn't either. But if boys have the difficulty in their toddler/early kid years, we have been in for a real treat, compared to some. Now he is at the age where he can express what is going on, as long as he wants to.

Over the last year, we have really gotten into a good routine, even though we have gone through a lot of changes. Going from the end of preschool, to summer programs, to every-day Kindergarten has been a big change, and we have had to change our routine if things got too difficult for him (or me for that matter).

Trevor really has also had a lot of development with his feelings of fear, whether rational or not. It was pretty painful for the first part of the year, but gradually it has gotten much better.

Trevor lost his first tooth which was a pretty big deal for him, especially for him and being fearful. He has yet to lose his second tooth, but I'm hoping it won't be as big of a deal. I guess we'll see.

His strength and ability in sports with his confidence has really improved. We are still trying to figure out if he wants to throw a ball with his right or left hand.

He loves Joe Mauer and any Twins. He likes to ask people who they cheer for in sports, and is deciding that he can cheer for more than one team, unless those teams are playing each other.

He is also getting better at playing Wii games.

I am a little surprised that he has yet to ask for anything really. I'm not exactly going to pressure him into asking for anything, but for the most part, I have to initiate asking what he would like, or if he would like something. When we get the toy catalogs, he looks through them, but never really cares about trying to actually get anything.

Well Trevor, it has been a great year. Tough at times, yes, but I need to keep in mind it is only temporary, and hope to see you grow stronger and more kind in the years to come. I love you baby boy.

And the Thanks continues

Well I'm back from Black Friday shopping for the boys' presents. I have 20 more minutes left of a 5 year old, but I wanted to express my Thanks again for the wonderful day yesterday. For some reason the stars were aligned and everything turned out perfectly. I can never seem to get the timing of the Turkey to match up with everything else, but this year, it seemed to make a difference in the way it tasted....in a very good way. I had heard that if you are done with the turkey earlier, you keep the tenting on it and then place a bath towel on top to keep the heat and moisture. Also, we had turned the temperature down because I already knew it was going to get done too early. So if it was a combination of both or one or the other, we had a very delicious turkey this year. The rolls turned out, the pies turned out, the gravy and potatoes, the stuffing, the wine, the snacks, the green bean casserole....there wasn't anything that didn't work.

This morning I woke up to a completely spic and span kitchen. I'm still a little dragging due to my early shopping excursion, but perhaps I'll be able to take a nap. If my mind slows down.

So Thank You one last time to everyone that made the day perfect. It is wonderful to be able to share the day with anyone who can come. So bring on the birthday boy!

So much to be thankful for

What wonderful kids we have. While some days are more difficult than others, I am very thankful to have each and every one of them. Over the past month I have really taken the time to notice Trevor's maturing. Especially his understanding of things and the way he talks and discusses things with me. I treasure our short car rides and lunch times where I get to talk to him about school or whatever else is going on. The other day in the car while going back from swimming lessons, he really seemed like he wanted to talk with me about the movie I was going to go see. It helps that I have been to his classroom and know most of what goes on during an average day so I can talk with him about it.

His patience is greatly increasing, and that has helped a lot. He still has snap reactions when something is upsetting to him, but it isn't every time like it used to be. As always, it is helpful to him to know what to expect if he doesn't behave like he needs to. He can be pretty tough on himself, but I do try to talk to him about that as well, to make sure that I'm not falling into the "no news is good news" trap. I don't want him to think that the only thing I expect to hear about are the not-so-good things that happen when he is out and about.

I am a little surprised that his teacher has been gone a lot over the course of the year. Some of the time, she has her own meetings, but others she is sick. I really hope that she is doing well. Trevor's birthday celebration at school was yesterday, and she was sick that day as well. But I think Trevor did better than he usually does. I'll have to ask him about it next week.

It is amazing to think that we are fast approaching winter break. I am very thankful that the weather was at least tolerable this month. I'm also thankful for being able to get out a few times this winter. Which reminds me, I have to put a note into his school to make sure it isn't a surprise. Hopefully nothing too bad will come of it. I hope everyone of my friends and family know how thankful I am to have them in my life...even if at a distance. Have a great Thanksgiving all!

Well Trevor, you are almost 6

I was a little nervous, and probably too paranoid about the whole thing. Trevor had his surprise birthday party today. Because his birthday isn't until 6 more days, that was really the only thing he didn't really understand. And it's not like I could explain it to him. Even Sam tried...."Trevor, I didn't have my birthday party on my birthday either..." He quickly got over it, and the kids loved the "SURPRISE" part of the party. Mark this day down as well. It was warm enough for the kids to go outside and play for a little bit as well.

Trevor had hockey practice, so the kids could come over in advance, and I could decorate and clean a little bit. Gwen went down from her nap before the kids arrived as well. I had some balloons that the kids decided they wanted to throw up in the air when Trevor came in the house. And the first thing out of his mouth? "But it's not my birthday today." He had a very puzzled look on his face.

We played some party games...pinata, beanbag toss, pop-the-balloon, had some Phinneas and Ferb music playing (which Julie loved), played some games outside, had ice cream and cake, ate some candy...and ended with Disney DVD Bingo. Kind of funny seeing as how the moms of the kids that were over love to go out and play Bingo together when we can. And just like her mom, Julie could not get a bingo to save her life. Gwen woke up about halfway through the party, so she was able to play with the kids too. She and Abby played with the dolls and after she had gone home, Gwen kept asking about her playing with the dolls.

Thanks to hubby for helping wrangle the kids and all the moms for letting the kids come over and play! I don't think that Trevor really thinks it was a surprise party. I think Russ said he said he was ALMOST surprised. So maybe another year he'll just have to have another almost surprise party. We'll have to see if he suspects it......

And then he goes and does this....

So today was the big day. We asked Trevor to behave himself this week for the substitute teacher that we knew was going to be there. So he had a good day on Wednesday, a tough day on Thursday, and I was just hoping and praying that today would go better. As always, we go to school to meet him after class. We met him today with a big smile on his face. He was so proud to tell me today how great his day went. It was so heartwarming to see him and how proud he felt knowing that how he behaved was what we were looking for. He had gotten a cold overnight on Wednesday night, and last night wasn't good for his sleeping either. But I think his will was stronger than his cold or his tiredness.

He also did a great job on his homework for the weekend. Things that involve routine are generally good and easy for him to do. He knows what is expected and can get it done easily.

Add to that, that Gwen decided on her own that she wanted to wear her Cinderella dress today. She had to check herself out in the mirror and it is just so adorable.

It's been a good day for my heart. Now if I could get a few extra hours of sleep and more time to finish school and get ready for the other parties.....ah well, such is life. I'd much rather enjoy this heart warming feeling....

The goings on

Well, as usually happens with me, I post a gripe about something, and then it seems to turn around. According to my dad, Trevor did really well listening to him at the Gophers Basketball game. While we have an issue here or there, Trevor's attitude (at least to me) has greatly improved. We keep talking about all the ways he can be a great listener or helper and concentrate on that.

Also, we have finally put Trevor's mattress up on it's bed frame. Gwen just saw it today and wasn't very happy that she couldn't climb onto his bed by herself. And I think I heard Trevor fall (or jump) off of his bed during naptime, but overall I think it has emphasized that he's getting to be a bigger kid. He still wears a pull-up at nighttime, and has been asking about it recently. From what I know, it is not at all uncommon for his age, and his doctor says that there are things we can do if he asks it, but it is not something that should be worried about until he says so.

I have finished my last week of class, and this next week is our final exams that we have the entire week to complete. Then a week off before the next session starts. My accounting class was a nice review from over ten years ago. My law class was very interesting, I thought. I learned a lot and unless I flunk the final, I think I got a good grade.

Gwen has come down with a cold, so she is a bit out of sorts this week. Except for the fact that she feels a little weird, I think it would be a great time to get rid of her nuks. She can't breathe when she has them in because of her cold, and she does not need them to get to sleep. But I think I'd rather her teeth come in first. For sure I'd like to do it before she gets into a new bed. Unfortunately, I've heard bad things about both taking the nuks away, and moving into a big bed. A lot of people have said that one of the above leads their kid to get rid of their nap. Oh well. I guess we'll see. Maybe a New Year's Resolution for Gwen.

A few more days until Trevor's surprise birthday. I think I have a few fun games for the kids to play. Hopefully it will all run smoothly. I just realized we are going to have 3 parties in 7 days. So if I can survive next week it'll all be wonderful. Here come the holidays!

Ah Trevor, how you can frustrate me

I remember thinking that he was such an easy infant and toddler. He's such a smart kid that I think a lot of the frustration a lot of kids have at a young age, he didn't because he could communicate effectively. Gwen is the same way, however I think she gets more frustrated than Trevor did because she is not the only one that wants my attention.

Anyway, I have known that Trevor has been testing his limits both at home and at school, and I've heard that it is pretty bad for first born boys. That now is there more difficult time, whereas with girls, it is when they are teenagers. Anyway, I think he has slightly settled down with his regular kindergarten teacher, however he's now acting up whenever a substitute is in his class. This week was pretty difficult at home and at school, where he was pretty argumentative and doing things he "knows better" to not do. And it's always been a struggle to stay on top of what will motivate him to stop doing the bad behavior.

He's tried a lot of techniques as to explaining why he does things. And knows that when he answers a "Why?" question with "Because that is what I chose to do." He knows there isn't anything else we can really say. And really, this behavior, it could be much worse.

His childhood is one that has promoted his self-esteem and he has so much confidence in his ability that I think that is what is going to be hard to change his behavior, yet keep his useful confidence. His uncles, while being 20 years older than him (or so) play with him and have such a great time. I'm pretty sure he looks at them and thinks they are his friends. It is such a unique situation. He is a first born, boy, and first grandchild on both sides. So he is used to so much attention and so much praise, that it is hard to teach him that even if you know what you are doing, you need to respect other people.

From what I hear, he doesn't have any problems with his peers. He doesn't ever try to overpower them either physically or with mind games.

Arrgh....you know it's a frustrating time, when as a parent all you want your child to do is make the good decisions. But that while that might happen some of the time, it is not going to happen all of the time, and that it's hard to let go and not be a hovering parent. Just frustrating.

Vent over....hopefully soon this will be a distant memory.

Discovery of new things

So it's getting close to that time of year. Doubly close with Trevor's birthday thrown in there. We actually had our ECFE class discuss toddler toys and all the different inexpensive or free things you can do or make that your kids might like. Coincidentally, the day before Gwen had gotten out one of our lei's from Disney World. The way that she plays with it, she broke the string and all the flowers came off. They are silk...I think. Not the shiny kind, but the dull, soft kind. I didn't notice that she had broken the necklace, and was putting the dishes in the dishwasher when I heard her singing a song like London Bridges. Recently, we had been singing a song about falling leaves to the tune of London Bridges, and noticed when I watched her that she had thrown a lot of these flowers up in the air like we did with the silk leaves to sing the song. While I have since gotten all the unnecessary pieces of the necklace out of the way, she LOVES these "leaves". She will lay on the ground and want you to throw them up in the air and land on her. However, she gets too excited and can't stay on the ground. I had considered going to Michael's to get some leaves like at ECFE, and now I don't have to.

Then yesterday, with the great weather we had been having, we were outside playing after lunch. I had been looking for our box of chalk, and can't seem to find it. But I did find a few bunny shaped chalk that we could at least play around with a little bit. Gwen just wants to have the bunnies hop around and will draw a little bit with them. Trevor wasn't really interested in them a whole lot until I started using them to write words. Then Trevor realized that he could do the same thing. I wrote random words, not trying to write anything in particular. So that's what he did. He had such a good time, and we spent a good part of the time doing that, so I figured I would break out the window crayons for the porch area. That was a great hit with both kids. Trevor could draw and write words, and Gwen could pretend she was just like Trevor. If Trevor let her on the same window that he was on. I don't know how much longer it will work, because it already was a little chilly on the windows. But it was an inexpensive way to play with the kids for a while.

Last night we had our H1N1 vaccinations. They were out of the mist, so unfortunately, Trevor was a bit upset when he found out that he would have to get a shot. But we did take care of our seasonal flu shots for Trevor and I, and I think we are going to be done for the season. They may get more of the H1N1 for kids under 9, but with the fact that Trevor actually got the flu, and the vaccine, I am comfortable with him being adequately immunized. I'm not sure what they are going to do for next year. Now we go to the doctor soon for Trevor's well-check. And he has no reason to be nervous.

On a good note, the nurse that helped us with our shots, was very nice and complimentary for both kids. They recovered quick, and Gwen got freaked out when she saw me get a shot. But I think that helped Trevor realize (after the fact) that I didn't think the shot hurt. So Trevor is happy to say that he's done for another year. Perhaps there won't be any more shortages of the mist, and we'll be good for a long time. At least with Trevor. Gwen's got more shots in her future. We'll see how that goes.

First school conference

I guess technically Trevor has had two preschool conferences already, so this wasn't his first. However, this was the one I was nervous for. And now that it is done, I'm happy to say there wasn't anything I was surprised about. His teacher is very comfortable working with Trevor on his issues which mostly revolve around not retaliating and not arguing. In terms of academics, the only thing he needs practice with are his small motor skills. Something that I did know already. Meanwhile, Gwen is already holding her markers and crayons correctly, which is something Trevor wasn't doing as well until last year.

In another month, he can be tested at higher reading levels than grade 1 and a half. That's where he is at now. He seems to like doing both math and reading skills. He appropriately colors things in, however he pushes down on the crayons harder than is necessary, which she would like to discourage. According to Russ, it is something he got from him. He's also going to be getting more "homework" to do by the end of the month. He'll be doing a lot of reading comprehension books to read and be tested on, and some math skills to be tested on.

It was also nice to hear that there are two other kids in his class that are at or near Trevor's reading level, so the teacher mentioned that she can bring the three of them over to do some reading time and they can be taught together. It really makes me feel much more comfortable that he's learning what he needs to. Good first conference Trevor.

So much going on

It's the first week back to school after being out for almost a week. Gwen can go back to her activities, and Trevor goes back to school. He got a packet of homework that I got for him to do during the weekend, and a note from his teacher. He really enjoyed the note especially. It said that she, along with the class missed him and hoped he was feeling better soon. Immediately he wanted to write a note back to the class to tell them to remember the times he was there and that he would be back soon.

Gwen has been enjoying her playtime with her dolls, and coloring when Trevor is doing his homework. She has also always really taken to singing and dancing. They both really enjoy the first season of Phinneas and Ferb's songs. They did a show where viewers voted on their favorite songs and they played the top 10. Gwen loves to sing and dance to her favorite few. And she also tries to do the movements she sees on TV. Which is pretty funny considering that they are animated. She also likes to sing the part of the Thomas song that lists off all of the trains. Most of the rest of the show, she could care less about.

Trevor has also had his first swimming lesson since before summer. He was a little unsure about it because he swam at a friend's pool this summer, and at the lake but I don't know if he was sure he even remembered how to swim since last lesson time. He got lucky this session in that he is in class only with one other kid. Their max is 4 kids, so it isn't ever a busy class, but now he doesn't have to wait very long for his "turn" to do his lessons. I watch from up above, and he very easily does exactly what the teacher asks, but isn't putting it together as to the fact that by doing the front crawl, he motors around and is actually swimming on his own. He swims to a rope and back, no problem, although he needs to figure out when to breathe, and when he gets a few arm lengths away, he pops his head up and drops his feet down so he doesn't swim effectively anymore. The last time he was at lessons, he also was able to jump off the platform into the deep end and swim to the side without any floatation device. This time, he knew he could do it, but still has his teacher "catch" him when he's jumping. That is something I'm sure will develop in a week or so when he gains confidence. I have a feeling if we keep him in swimming lessons for the next few sessions he's really going to be swimming along well.

It is hard to believe that Gwen is now about a year out from her own swimming lessons. She has been going through a bit more separation anxiety, but nothing too crazy. I'm just happy she's still in her crib. Someday soon we'll have to get rid of her nuks. That's probably not going to be much fun.

Halloween 2009

I've never been too huge on Halloween. At least not that I can remember. We had a fun time at class parties, seeing what everyone was wearing that Halloween and such. And it was a fun social event if someone was going to have a party. But it was really nice this year to have a great Halloween, and know that Trevor was looking forward to it, and was thankfully healthy enough to enjoy the actual day.

We were invited to a party for a few hours before trick-or-treating, and it was nice to see everyone in their costumes. Gwen had to be woken up from her nap, so she was not in the mood to put on her dress. But after the party, she was very willing to put it on, and ride in the wagon while the kids and dad hit a few houses. It was pretty chilly outside, so it wasn't a long walk.

But when they came back inside, they both were so excited to "tell" about their adventures. And I think Russ wants to record an event from that night.

So Trevor and Russ went to a few houses, and Russ wanted to make sure that Trevor used his manners after getting the candy, so was often asking him to say, "Thank you." At one of the houses, they were generously giving out candy to the adults that were going around with the kids. Then, after that house, they went on, and Trevor was asked again by Russ, "Trevor, what do you say?" To which, Trevor says, "Can my dad have some?"

So it was a good night for all. We didn't get many trick-or-treaters, so we have plenty of candy if anyone wants some....