Raising a Girly Girl?

Everyone knows that fashion is not one of my top priorities.  Occasionally I try to "fix up," but it is not a rare event to spot me at the grocery store in sweat pants, an old t-shirt, ponytail and no make-up.  (Oh, if only the Miss NC judges could see me now!  Surely they would think I was Top 10 material!)  My number one consideration in my fashion choices is comfort followed closely by the question "can this be put in the washing machine and dryer and NOT need ironing?".  I choose my kids' clothes by the same criteria.

Did I say "choose my kids' clothes"?  Well, I buy the clothes (usually consignment) and they often get clothes as gifts from their grandparents (new and usually more fashionable).  But while I suggest clothes for them to wear, I am not opposed to them picking out their own clothes provided that they are weather appropriate.  Jackson has been spotted like this:

Selah is just now getting to the age that she occasionally has a preference in clothing.  And usually that preference is dresses.  Girly dresses.  This morning I chose this outfit for her to wear:

But she insisted on wearing this (headband included):

We looked like quite a pair since I was in jean shorts, a race t-shirt, pony tail, no make-up and covered in calamine lotion over poison ivy on my right arm and left leg!

Only time will only tell if I'm raising a true girly girl (just like her Grandma would want it) or her closet will have a wider spectrum of things like cheerleading skirts, barn boots, glittery crowns, and sports cleats like mine was.

Snaggle Tooth

Last October when Jackson had his first dentist visit the hygienist told me that one of his teeth was wiggling a little!  How exciting...his first loose tooth.  She said that she wouldn't be surprised if it was out (or very close to coming out) in the next six months.  Well, six months came and went and the tooth had barely loosened at all.  By the end of school, though, we were really starting to see some progress!  I told him that I thought he would lose it over the summer before school started back.  Well, he started back to school last Wednesday with all teeth in tact.  I was starting to think that the tooth would never come out!

Finally on Saturday night when he was brushing his teeth before bed he spit out his toothpaste and it was tinged with blood.  ??  I inspected his mouth to see what might be going on and found that his loose tooth had separated from the gum in the back and was suddenly much looser!  THE TIME HAD COME!  I was so excited.  Is that wrong?  It's just such a BIG moment!  I wasn't excited about the pain he was about to endure, and I'm not trying to wish his childhood away.  It helped that Jackson was excited, too.  Perhaps it was nervous-excitment.  Anyway, I was determined to get the tooth out myself, but it took me three tries.  After the first 2 tries Jackson was ready to leave the tooth for another day.  But it was just hanging there, and I told him that he might swallow it after biting into some...I don't know...AIR!  It was barely hanging on!  One more pull and it was out.

After we put pressure on the hole for a minute I had him swish with some warm salt water.  That's what my mom always made me do!  (Warm because it helps the salt dissolve and salt because it helps heal the gum.)   He immediately went to get a magnifying glass so he could inspect that tooth closer!  Then it was under the pillow for the Tooth Fairy.

OH...THE TOOTH FAIRY?  Jason and I NEVER have cash on us!  I started wondering if Jackson would think it was weird to wake up with a check from mom and dad under his pillow.  I knew I didn't have a dollar bill, but I thought fifty cents would be an appropriate payment for a baby tooth.  So, I began searching through my change purse to find two quarters.  Hmmm...nickels, dimes, and pennies.  And not too many of those.  But then, I saw it!  One beautiful, shiny gold dollar coin that I had gotten as change somewhere (maybe the Washington DC subway?) and saved because I thought it was cool.  Perfect!  Jason and I crept into our sleeping son's room and made the exchange.

The next morning he was so excited!  It was really cute.

So, what did I do with the tooth?  Well, it seems weird to throw it away, but it also seems weird to keep it.  So, I kept it in a box for now.  I'll probably end up throwing it away in a few more weeks when the "specialness" of the moment has worn off.  I can just imagine how creepy it would be for Jackson or Selah as teenagers or adults to be rummaging through my stuff trying to find something and then come across a box of teeth.  That would be too weird.

So, that's the story!  On a side note, the tooth right beside his new hole is getting pretty loose now too!  But who knows how long it will take it to come out!

Countdown to Kindergarten

The summer is winding down, and in just a few days, my first-born child will be a kindergartener.  Jackson is not very excited about starting back to school.  I keep trying to remind him of all the fun things at school like PE, the playground, and his friends, but it's not totally convincing him yet.  We went to open house yesterday which was not such a big deal since he'll be in the same class with the same teacher and many of the same friends as last year.  But we found out that his best friend from last year that he thought was going to a different school for kindergarten is in fact back in his class!  I was so excited.  I think Jackson will be excited, but he pretty much just looked stunned throughout open house.

I have mixed feelings about Jackson going back to school.  On one hand I'm looking forward to the routine of it all and being able to focus on getting stuff done while Selah is taking a nap.  But on the other hand, I have had so much fun this summer having both of them at home.  We have certainly made the most of our summer vacation.  In addition to our usual fun activities (children's museum, water park, library) Jackson got to take swimming lessons for a couple of weeks.  I was amazed at how much he improved with proper instruction!

Jackson continued with Tae Kwon Do and got his orange belt.

Earlier in the summer we planned some yard camping in my parents' yard with the cousins.  It ended up raining us out, so instead we set up the tent in their living room.  They still had a blast!

It has been a busy, but FUN summer!  We're sad to say good-bye to staying up late and sleeping in.  But we're looking forward to a great year!

Recipe for a Great Birthday Party

Take one happy 2-year-old birthday girl

throw in some homemade Backyardigans party decorations (made by brother)

add a mom, dad, and brother

2 aunts, 2 uncles, and 4 cousins

mix in 4 fantastic grandparents

stir together with hamburgers and hot dogs, strawberry cupcakes,

lots of playtime, and some cool presents

and you have yourself one GREAT birthday party.

Selah turned two on Thursday.  We celebrated with an afternoon at the Children's Museum, then Cici's Pizza and frozen yogurt at Feeney's.  Then Jackson and Selah were off to spend the night with grandma and grandaddy.  I had to work of Friday while they enjoyed some good quality grandparent time.  When we brought them home on Friday we gave Selah her birthday present from mom and dad.  I bought this amzaing Rose Petal Cottage from my neighbor's yard sale, and Selah fell in love with it!  We let them both stay up a little bit late because they were having so much fun playing with it.

It is unbelievable how fast the last two years have passed!  I'm amazed at how much she is talking now.  It is nothing unusual for her to walk up to me and spout out some complex sentence!  It makes me laugh every time.  Plus, she ends almost everything she tells me with "mom."  Not mommy...mom. "I need a waffle, mom."  "I'm changing baby's diaper, mom." I don't know where she got that.  She has become more assertive and stubborn now that she's old enough to know what she really wants.  She is not shy about making her wishes known!  True to two-year-old form she is trying some temper tantrums and crying to get her way when I initially deny her requests.  I am trying my best to not fall for these tricks, although I have to admit I have caught myself on auto-pilot a few times giving in to the crying.  I actually have to consciously think about not letting her win.  Here's the thought process: first she asks for something I don't think she should have.  For example asking for cottage cheese for snack when she had cottage cheese for lunch.  I deny the request.  She suddenly goes into a crying fit.  I think "wow, I didn't know you had such strong feelings about it.  And hey...it's not like cottage cheese is bad for you.  I mean it's certainly better than a cookie.  On second thought your request doesn't seem so bad."  And I start giving in.  Harmless, right?  Until I realize that I just reinforced her tendency to over-react to not getting her way.  This mom thing gets complicated sometimes.

She has also become more territorial recently.  I frequently have to diffuse arguments between Jackson and her that basically boil down to simple sharing issues.  Usually if I reassure her that Jackson is not trying to take her toys away from her and then suggest that she invite Jackson to play with her, she backs down and is willing to share.  I'm trying to teach Jackson how to act like a 5-year-old when Selah is acting like a 2-year-old.  So often he stoops to her level of arguing, I guess because it's the only way he thinks she will understand him.  Overall they get along great, so hopefully we'll just ease through this little sibling sharing problem.  After all, they can't get rid of each other.  =)

Selah, you are a sweet, happy, beautiful little girl!  I love your determination, and I think it will serve you well in life as long as you learn how to direct it in the right way.  You have the best big brother to help you along the way!  Happy 2nd Birthday, sweet girl!

Happy Birthday, Robot Roscoe

I love my kids' imaginations!  It still kind of surprises me when they make up elaborate pretend games, because I never had much of an imagination (just ask my sister...she loves to tell the story about how I was being assessed for the academically gifted program in elementary school and part of the test was about creativity.  When asked to list all the different ways to use a brick, all I could think of was "1. to build a house and 2.  as a doorstop".  Good thing Jason is more creative than me!)

Anyway, this morning Jackson wanted to make a surprise birthday party for his robot, Roscoe (idea for the robot came from a Backyardigans episode...the same one that inspired Selah's costume).  The robot's legs, as you will see, are made from Jackson's piano stand.  The body is invisible sitting on top of the legs.  Jackson took time to use my pots and pans to make homemade pizza and cake for the birthday party.  Here's the setup and the surprise.

Robot Selah

Inspired by a Backyardigans robot episode, Jackson decided on Sunday to make a robot costume.  We didn't have a box big enough to fit him, but he was happy enough to make Selah the beneficiary (or victim) of his design genius.  The outfit was complete with a control panel in the front and decorations all around for trend-setting robo-girl.  A convienient side entry was a last-minute modification after a preliminary fitting proved that while the original design was pretty easy to get on, it was not so easy to take off.  Selah was a willing enough participant for all of this, but she bounced back and forth between being excited that she was getting all the attention and being nervous about being able to get out of the box.  The final product:

Summer Playtime

When you have kids, even mundane chores (like watering the yard) can be fun.  The scorching hot temperatures combined with the lack of rain this summer has left our yard brown and crunchy.  What happened to all those flooding rains from the spring?  Well, Jackson and Selah certainly aren't complaining about the lack of rain.  They're just happy to get some sprinkler playtime!  Look at the joy on their faces!  Remember how much fun it was as a child to get soaking wet in your clothes and run around in the yard until grass and dirt are stuck all over your feet and legs?  Then come inside for a warm bath or shower, get into your pjs, and climb into bed totally exhausted?  Childhood is awesome!