Sprinkler Time

It took him a while, but Kiddle finally crossed that line into realizing it's actually FUN to get sprayed with cold water. His very first friend Max is in town from Tokyo for a few weeks and they had a great time this afternoon getting as wet as they possibly could.

And summer begins ...

It's June 28th. Summer would be practically over where I grew up, but around here it's just getting started. School didn't get out until this week and the town pool only opened on Father Day's weekend. Of course, no need for the pool when it's barely gotten out of the 70s so far and it's rained 25 out of 27 days so far this month. That's right ... IT'S RAINED ALMOST EVERY SINGLE GODDAMNED DAY IN JUNE. Seriously. Let me put it this way — I haven't switched my closet over to summer clothes yet.

Finally, FINALLY, we had our dear friends and neighbors over for a cookout last night. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I love, love, love having neighbors who are also friends. Kiddle, Jack and LK are the cutest little trio of three-year-olds. And I love relaxing under the soothing canopy of the 100-year-old dogwood tree with the adults, as the kids terrorize our backyard.

However... if I'd did this trek to the backyard once, I did it 50 times:

Over the years we've lived here, I've tried to make the set-up and execution of my backyard entertaining more efficient, but I simply can't avoid going in and out, up and down, down and up, out and in ... to the point of total exhaustion. MY NEXT HOUSE WILL HAVE A BACK DOOR RIGHT OFF THE KITCHEN! NO STAIRS PLEASE! Oh, and while I'm making requests, a fenced-in backyard to keep the kiddos contained without screaming, "Turn around! Back up the driveway RIGHT NOW!! Stay in the back!" over and over again. I want my outdoor entertaining to be as effortless as possible. Too much to ask?

Soccer For Tots

Or, as it should be called, Soccer For Parents and (Sort Of) Their Tots.

Kiddle went to his first soccer session today with his buds LK and Jack. His class is all three-year-olds and, as I'm sure you can imagine, it was totally chaotic and adorable. Their "field" was an entangled mass of kids and parents: "Hey, let's go listen to Coach Matt." "No, no, stay in the grid, please." "You've already got a ball; you don't need Emmett's too." As expected, super natural athlete Jack rocked it and LK was one of the best at actually listening to Coach Matt and following directions. As for Kiddle ...

He hasn't quite figured out you DON'T use your hands:



Or that you DO use your feet:



But when you get to BUILD A ROCKET SHIP and kick the ball? Suddenly, he's focused and into it:

Heartbroken

This morning I heard the devastating news that a friend's three-month-old baby boy died this weekend.

I guess it's not entirely accurate to say that Shana is a friend since we've never met. But after finding her blog in a roundabout way, I've followed along and feel oddly connected to her. You see, as we figured out through a string of emails, not only are we both from Oklahoma City and pregnant at the "advanced maternal age" of 39, we graduated from neighboring high schools the same year and both had a long-term boyfriend from the same group of guys (although at slightly different times so we're not sure if we ever actually crossed paths). The wild wide web is a small little world, isn't it?

Thalon was born at the end of December, destined to be the hapless younger brother of two wildly opinionated older sisters. I checked in on her site this morning and was shocked to see that Thalon was in the hospital and seemingly not expected to make it. I frantically scanned through all the comments of support and prayer, sobbing uncontrollably and trying to glean any info I could on his condition, when I realized he had died. I don't know the details of what happened, although I think I can guess. Whatever happened, it's every parent's worst nightmare. Three months old. Goddamn it.

This is the second friend of mine who's lost a new baby in the last year. The first had serious heart issues, so while the news was devastating, it wasn't totally unexpected. This one was totally out of the blue and, at eight months pregnant, has left me reeling. So many things can go wrong so quickly with these fragile little bodies and souls given to our care. I don't want to be that crazy parent hovering over my child 24 hours a day — and I still won't be, it's just not in my nature — yet that precious life can be snatched from you in a split second. It simply isn't fair.

I've been a basket case all day. And stressing out poor Kiddle as well. While he was eating lunch, I saw Shana's post confirming that Thalon had died and returned to the table with tears streaming down my face. He looked at me and said, "Mama crying? Whas de matter, Mommy?" I said, "Mommy's sad but I'm ok. Don't worry. I'm ok." He climbed up in my lap and stared at me with the saddest little frown on his face and touched my face. Then two fat tears rolled down his cheeks which, of course, made me cry even harder. What a sweet little soul.

As for me, I'd been feeling really odd all day. Just kind of off. My joints felt tight and I could feel my blood pounding in my ears and throughout my body. I couldn't separate what I was feeling physically from my anxiety and upset about Thalon, and since we're keeping an eye out for preeclampsia with this pregnancy, I was worried my blood pressure was spiking — and I knew I was probably making it worse by stressing out over it. I finally gave in and headed up to my doctor's office to get checked out (I know ... that's so unlike me). They were lovely and wonderful as always, and ended up doing the full exam that I was scheduled for on Thursday. It turns out my blood pressure was up a bit, but once I heard it wasn't terrible, I calmed down and it had dropped back down to normal before I left. I'm so glad I went against my basic I'm-sure-it's-fine nature though. I would have really worked myself up into a tizzy and not slept a wink tonight. Now I can worry about Shana, Kiddle and this kid-to-be with a little more peace of mind.

I'm off to make sure Kiddle is still breathing. Please keep Shana and her family in your thoughts.

At the arboretum

Last night was the start of Passover ... so no preschool today (and no preschool next week ... oy vey.) What does this synagogue think I am? Jewish?

To fill our morning, LK's mom and I took the kiddos to an absolutely gorgeous arboretum near our town. It was a glorious spring day — one of those days that gives you hope for the future. And the kids had a fantastic time. The grounds are those of an old, historic home and have been lovingly cultivated into formal gardens, open fields, a wildflower trail, a woodlands trail and an amazing field of daffodils. We'll definitely be heading back there soon.

And an extra bonus for the day ... he took an actual nap, in an actual bed, for TWO AND A HALF HOURS for the first time in weeks. Hooray!

Happy Birthday Kiddle!

Three years old today! It's hard to believe. (And, yes, I know I said that last year and will continue to say it every year of his life. As my mom still does about me!)

We had a birthday party for him at the house yesterday. I admit it was somewhat last minute, because eons ago I thought we might be moving before his birthday, so I had pretty much put party planning out of my head. I finally realized a few weeks before that it might be a good idea to do some celebrating, especially considering that the imminent arrival of a major life disruption is looming.

But, despite my procrastination, it all came together quite well. The theme was Old McDonald's Farm since he's still obsessed with animals. The kiddos wore cowboy hats, decorated farm-animal-shaped cookies (made from scratch by me, thankyouverymuch), sang a spirited version of "Old McDonald" complete with cow, horse, pig and duck visors, and, of course, had the staples of three-year-old birthday parties — pizza and cupcakes. I kept the guest list tiny — just LK, Jack, Mabel and Liam, plus Grandpa, Grandma and all the parents — mostly to keep the cookie decorating manageable. Kiddle had a fantastic time and really seems to be grasping the "birthday" concept.

Today has been pretty low-key. We spread out the gift opening by tying a helium balloon to a gift every couple of hours and sending him off to look for it. He got lots of puzzles, books, a giant John Deere tractor and wagon, a new backpack, a kid-size wheelbarrow and a BIKE. (Well, one of the pedal-less ones so he can learn to balance.)

So, it's been a pretty successful birthday weekend so far with still more to come: a celebration at preschool on Tuesday, then one last chance to blow out the candles with Mr. P's family at Easter dinner next weekend.

Happy birthday, my little one! I love you more than words can describe.

The birthday party circuit.

Three parties, three weekends in a row. Although I know I shouldn't even slightly sound like I'm complaining, because I do know it will just get worse. After all, he only has nine kids in his preschool class (including two sets of twins) and one of those parties is his own.

Last weekend was LK's party at Kidz Village. This week we had Mabel and Liam's at MyGym. Kiddle had a great time at both, but it was a bit of an eye-opening experience for me in light of a recent conversation I had with his preschool teachers about his development. They're a little worried about him because he has a hard time focusing in a group setting, so it was interesting to see him in action during the structured vs. unstructured sections of the parties.

Unstructured ... he's fantastic. He has a blast running around, climbing and chasing his friends. Structured ... not so much. At Kelly's party, Mr. P and I had to sit by the door of the party room to keep him from heading back to the play area and he could not be bothered to join the dance party. At Mabel and Liam's party, again, he had no interest in going along with the group songs and activities. Except, of course, when they sang "Old McDonald." He was all over that, but the second the song ended? Outta there!

Spring is in the air.

Well, a little bit anyway.

I wish I could say it was a glorious day, but I can't. Overcast and a bit damp, in fact, but it was close to 50 and a nice day to stretch our legs at the park. We've been off and on over the winter when the weather has allowed, but today was the first day we actually encountered the usual group of kids.

Joseph, Juliana, Gwen, and LK were all there. And we met a couple of fresh-on-their-feet walkers who were too little to be noticed last summer. The kids had a fantastic time chasing each other all over the place and making woodchip cakes. Banana cake, chocolate cake, birthday cake, PAN-cakes (they thought that one was hysterical). So many flavors.

This park has become my lifeline to burn some energy out of my busy little kid. The winter has been long, long, long and I can't wait to get back to our nightly park outings. I think I was giddier than the kids today!

Ahoy Matey!

Well, this afternoon was much better than the morning. Here's Kiddle and Little K dressed up as a pirate and Super Bunny. Guess who's the pirate?

Friends and Neighbors

I've never really had neighbors that were also friends. Well, except for the time a friend lived in the apartment across the hall from my roommate and me, but that was totally a Melrose Place phase of our life (oh, how I miss those days!).

Anyway, I've already written about our neighbors with the two-year-old daughter (I'll call her Little K from now on). I haven't mentioned that next door to them is another family with a two-year-old as well (he'll be known as Jack). The kids all just turned two within eight weeks of each other. Technically both families live around the corner from us, but we can see into each others' backyards. Little K's backyard is fenced and they have a big swingset/slide so we spend most of our outdoor time in their yard.

On Friday we had our first neighbors' cookout at Jack's house. The kids played in the kiddie pool until they were blue. And the adults ate lots of yummy barbeque and had some drinks. I love having these kids so close in age; they're adorable together. And I love having other moms/friends so close by. It was relaxing and fun and I can't wait to do it again.

Baltimore and beyond ...

For our family, a road trip most often means driving to the airport.

However, this weekend I needed to head to the D.C. area for a friend's baby shower, so we decided to make a family trip out of it. We packed up the car and hit the road at 12:15 -- perfectly coordinated with Kiddle's nap time. Or so we thought. Three hours later, a mere hour before we arrived in Baltimore, he finally fell asleep. Fortunately the yelling and crying during those three hours were minimal.

We stayed with Mr. P's college roommate. He's got a serious bachelor pad near the Inner Harbor. Now, I don't feel like I've done a ton of child-proofing, but I must have kept future children in mind as I furnished our house, because I was caught off guard a bit by how truly un-child-proof this place was. Nothing horribly dangerous, just sooo much stuff for Kiddle to get his grubby little hands on. And did I mention the full bar's worth of liquor bottles on glass shelves in the living room? That was a horror show waiting to happen. We just tried to stay out of the house as much as possible.

Friday night we went down to the east side of the Inner Harbor for dinner. We ate at a wonderful restaurant called Lebanese Taverna which is owned by friends of Mr. P's old roommate. Very beneficial because they at least acted like our whirling dervish of a child was charming, not annoying.

On Saturday we headed to Virginia. Mr. P and Kiddle dropped me off at the baby shower (at a lovely restaurant right on the river) and went to visit another friend from college who recently moved with his family to Arlington from Connecticut. They have a three-year-old boy, a six-month-old girl, and all the toys that go along with that, so Kiddle had a fantastic time. So much so that we went back to their house for dinner after they picked me up from the shower.

Sleep was definitely the challenge of the trip. Friday night we finally got him down at 11:00. Saturday night was an improvement ... 10:15. He was utterly exhausted both nights, but just couldn't give in to go to sleep in his pack-n-play. Which, by the way, he was about two seconds away from climbing out of. If only I had a picture of him balanced across the corner! He just couldn't figure out where to put his hands so he could swing his legs down without tumbling out. I'm really hoping he doesn't apply those skills to his crib. I can't imagine how many hundreds of times a night he'd get out of bed if we were forced to take the side off now.

Anyway, our plan for Sunday was to take Kiddle to the Baltimore Aquarium (he loves aquariums), have lunch with our friend, then hit the road in time for Kiddle's nap. But life with a two-year-old doesn't always (ever?) go as planned. We made it to the aquarium, but he was so tuckered out from the previous two days that he completely lost interest after the first couple of tanks. All he wanted to do was leave. I doubt anyone has ever gone through that aquarium as quickly as we did. It was like speed dating for tourists. We did at least get a couple of EEEE-EEEEs out of him when he saw the dolphins right at the end.

Note the dark circles under his lifeless eyes and the pacifier gripped tightly between his lips. Such enthusiasm for this wonderful family outing.

We finally got out of there, threw our stuff in the car and hit the road. Lunch was the drive-thru at Taco Bell. He fell asleep before we got out of Baltimore. As they say, the best laid plans ...

Note to self: plan the toddler-focused activities earlier in the trip. But no complaints. Really. It was a great weekend. I can't wait to go back and do all the fun Washington D.C. things ... when he's a bit older.