Snow 1/30/10

Katie says, "Mommy, the snow has come! Look out the window!"


Hours later we had her fed and persuaded her to put some clothes on so she could go out and play with the neighbors. This is the result:

Singing in the Car

Katie decided to sing a song in the car on the way to Chick-Fil-A for dinner tonight.  It went a little like this:

It started being a song about a robin...that has a nose...who eats (Katie)...named Rudolph...tu tu ta may me mo nu (I'm singing in Spanish Mommy), etc. 

If only I could strap a voice activated audio recorder to the back seat that would capture these moments.

500 in 2010 Update from School

So, since I challenged the staff of my school to do 220 miles before June 6th, I had to organize and track the miles.  I'm keeping it easy and reporting Monday-Sunday, just like we're doing on the bigger challenge.  That way, I don't have to record my miles in 2 different ways and I can pester everyone for their miles on Monday morning when we get to school.  I created a poster to put up on the wall and a way to post the miles so the students and the rest of the staff can follow us.  I put that up today.  I am not especially artistic but it does what it needs to.  Unfortunately for me, only three people have taken up the challenge with me and they are all runners (I can only walk because of a back issue).  2 are training for a half marathon in March.  One is also the track coach.  He's killing me.  I was (and still am!) PROUD of the 10.62 miles I did last week.  I just sigh when I look at the 19 miles he put in.  Ah well, at least I am beating the other two (for now). :)

I'm behind for this week (only 3.4 miles so far) but I still have 4 more days!  Here's to 500 miles.

Hmm, so do I sing the Proclaimers?

But I would walk 500 miles

And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walked 1000 miles
To fall down at your door

Or Peter, Paul and Mary?
 
Lord I'm one, Lord, I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four.
Lord I'm 500 miles from my home....

The Terrificly Terrible Threes

I am currently sitting downstairs on the couch listening to Jim give Katie her bath and put her to bed.  What I'm hearing: Jim bellowing the ABC song over Katie screaming incoherently as they battle for the position as the loudest.

Gotta love the threes.

500 Miles in 2010

Yes, you read that right.   A friend of mine posted a challenge on her blog.  Walk/run/or ellipse your way to 500 miles in 2010.  I have recently been able to return to exercising after having lots of back pain problems since July 2008 and then some additional health problems this past fall.  I need some motivation to find the time and energy to get moving again.  Since moving farther away from work, it has been harder to fit it in and it just hasn't happened since then.  This challenge was perfect and came at just the right time.

But, I was afraid that I would wimp out and not finish the challenge.  I don't know many people on the list who are participating so I was afraid I might just drop out without anyone paying much attention to me.  So I decided to go public.  I challenged the entire staff of my school to walk/run/swim/ellipse 220 miles by June 6th, 2010.  That is the last Sunday before school gets out for the summer so I'll be able to post the final tallies before the kids leave for the summer.  I'm even going to (gulp) post our weekly totals on the wall outside my classroom to get the kids in on the fun.

No backing out now!

Current totals: Monday 2.0 miles, Tuesday 1.5 miles, Thursday 2.0 miles, Friday 2.52 miles, Saturday 2.6 miles.  YTD: 10.62 miles  Woot!

Christmas...I don't want Santa to come to my house! (sob!)

I have to add to Jim's story of Christmas morning to give my two cents. I was so excited about Katie's first Christmas really being aware of Christmas and the presents. It was going to be awesome, I thought. The days leading up to Christmas should have warned me. She came down with a fever a few days prior to Christmas and had to get regular doses of Motrin to feel kind of normal.

The days leading up to Christmas and Christmas Eve we made a big deal about Santa coming to our house and bringing presents and filling our stockings. They gave her a bag of oats to sprinkle on the lawn to feed the reindeer (we actually forgot to do this because she was too sick to go to church on Christmas Eve and I was singing "O Holy Night" at the 7:30 service. Grandma talked to Katie about waking up in the morning and waiting until she saw light outside to wake up Mommy and Daddy. We thought we were prepared.

Christmas morning she came in to wake us up, not excited as we expected but sobbing and terrified (and feverish). Why was she sobbing on Christmas morning you say? "I don't want Santa to come to my house!" (sob, sob) "Why not, honey? It's fun to have Santa come to your house! He brings presents and fills your stocking with candy. Don't you want chocolate in your stocking?" "I don't want Santa to come to my house!" (sob) "Let's go downstairs and see what he brought you. Maybe he brought that dollhouse you asked for!" "NO!" (Hysterics ensue.)

After a little bit of this, we finally discerned that she didn't want to go downstairs and she didn't want Santa to come to her house because she thought Santa would still BE here. Alas, after lots of reassurance (and time for the Motrin to start working), she consented to let me carry her downstairs to see what Santa had brought her. Once she saw for herself that Santa was not here, she got down from my arms and got into the spirit of Christmas like I had hoped.

It ended up being a truly awesome Christmas, despite its inauspicious beginning.

Next up...present opening and picture overload!

Katie's first love

It's official, Katie's in love.  With TWO boys, no less.  When we moved to our new house, I was a little dispointed to find that all of the babysitter aged kids on our cul-de-sac were boys.  That was before I met them.  Or rather, Katie met them.  The boys who live down here are awesome and really great with little ones.  They happily let Katie play with them and patiently respond to her full volume hollering at them to play this or that (repeatedly).  When we, in a rare twist, made it home before dark this evening, and she saw a group of them playing outside (three middle school age boys and two littler ones), she reaaaally wanted to go play with "my friends."  So I let her go and she happily roughhoused on the neighbor's lawn with them for 45 minutes or so.

I found myself debating several parenting dilemmas.  Do I stay outside with her because she is three and she needs to have adult supervision?  Can I leave her outside with the boys who, while responsible, are not necessarily taking responsibility for her?  Would they think to send her inside if they have to go in? Does she know to get out of the street when a car comes yet?  We haven't practiced that much since our old house wasn't conducive to street play.  Do I intervene when she apparently has no idea how to play with others, despite being in daycare?  I pondered these questions as I huddled on the porch in the freezing cold this evening.  I did go inside for a little while when we first got home but I kept getting nervous and looking outside for her.  Fortunately, in a group of 5 boys, she was the only one wearing a bright pink coat.  I'm not used to there being an outside for to her play in quite yet, especially a front yard/flat cul-de-sac/flat driveway so I'm not yet sure how much freedom I can give her.  I also didn't know if I should intervene when she did stuff that I thought sure the boys were going to get frustrated with her about.  I finally gave up and went outside but limited myself to huddling on the front step while she was in the neighbors yard.  I cringed when she started repeatedly hollering at full volume, "ALEX, COME PUSH ME INTO THE POLE."  They were playing a pushing game.  (I decided to have a conversation about play/pretend pushing and real pushing this evening.  We will need it if she is going to hang out with the boys on our street a lot.)  Fortunately I heard, "No, I'm not pushing you into a pole Katie" in return.    She hasn't figured out things like listening to her friends and playing with others is still kind of iffy.  I really tried hard not to get involved so that she would have a chance to learn social skills without Mommy getting in the middle.  It was hard though.  Just one more thing I have to think about and get used to as she grows up to be a big kid.

First meeting with Santa

Two weeks before Christmas, Katie had her first encounter with Santa when Santa came for breakfast at our neighborhood clubhouse. I didn't take her to any of the mall Santa's when she was a baby. We never did that when I was a kid and I never liked the idea of standing in line for two hours for an expensive picture that might not be good. This was probably a good thing because Katie is really and truly terrified of anyone who doesn't look like a normal person.

This should be reassuring, perhaps she won't go with strangers? No, she hasn't met a stranger she didn't like in at least 3 years. She would happily run off with any old pedophile or murderer, especially if they give her candy, specifically chocolate. A person dressed in a costume? A person sized monkey? Her favorite Sesame Street characters live and in person? Run for the hills!!!

We really talked up Santa and meeting Santa and that she would be able to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas when she saw him. She had been talking about Santa at daycare and learning many good Christmas tunes (Rudolph, Dreidel Dreidel, Jingle Bells, and Frosty) for her preschool Christmas program so she had lots of preparation for the event. She remained excited until the moment we stepped into the building with Santa and she saw him through a window about 30 feet away.

Terror struck, she buried her head in our shoulders and refused to go any further. She would only go get some breakfast (in the same large room with Santa) by staying on the far side of me so I would block her from Santa's view. The we had to go eat breakfast in a conference room next to the room where Santa was because she couldn't be that near to him.

We tried everything. I tried walking in the room with her and talking to her, assuring her that Santa was safe. Hysterics. Didn't she want to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas? She wouldn't go within 20 feet of him without crying hysterically and burying her head in our shoulders. I tried talking to her about her friends going to see Santa (after we encountered a family from our church with their two girls). One of the girls even offered to go see Santa with her. Nothing doing...but then she said, "Okay!" and went with the girl...to about 15 feet from Santa. Hysterics again. But, we got close enough to sit on the couch in the same room with Santa, and remain 15 feet away. Didn't she want a candy cane? Well...maybe. Candy is a big motivator for my little sweet tooth. We stayed there for a little while and she watched some other kids get closer and sit on his lap. Finally, after much trial and testing and pulling back, she allowed me to carry her up to Santa and kneel beside him. She spoke to him from the security of my arms, told him she wanted a dollhouse for Christmas, and received her prized candy cane.

Despite Katie's fear of him. Santa decided to get her that dollhouse she wanted and it has been one of the best gifts. She will sit and play with it for quite awhile without adult intervention.

Thank you Santa.

Terrified Katie clinging to Mommy for dear life.

Brave Katie finally venturing over to see the big man in the red suit, from the safety of Mommy's arms of course.

Our first Christmas picture "with" Santa.

Katie has informed us (after a week or two distance from the trauma) that she is going to be brave and sit with Santa "next week." We'll see!

Typical bedtime

Katie is in bed. We think she'll be asleep soon. We sit in the living room while she "sleeps" upstairs in her room.

DAD: [on intercom] Katie, it's time to turn the light off and go to sleep.

K: [in room, through intercom] Ok.

D: Thank you. Good night.

K: Good night.

Five minutes transpires, with the light off.

K: [shouting through air from her room] MOM!!! I can't get my zipper down!

D: [to Mom] What zipper?

MOM: [to K, loud, through the air] What zipper?

K: On my backpack! I can't get my zipper down!

D: [loud] You don't need your backpack to go to sleep. Put the backpack down and go to sleep.

K: MOM, I can't get my zipper down!

D: Put the backpack down and go to sleep or I will take it away from you.

M: Put the backpack on the floor and go to sleep.

K: I think I got it!

K: I got the zipper down!

D: Good night.

Then we see her throwing it over her shoulder as if heading to school, then climbing in bed and trying to get comfortable with a backpack on her back. Alas, it must not have been comfortable.