Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. But the little guy is becoming a very good skier. Last weekend we signed him up for two, full-day skiing lessons and what a difference it has made. He can now turn and stop and get to the bottom of the hill on his own.
We plan to put him in some more lessons this winter to hone his skills. By next season I think he'll be ready to accompany us on some of the easier runs. I can't wait!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
A room of his own
The little guy has officially moved out of our bedroom! Yay!
For the last couple of years he's been sleeping in a "big boy bed," pushed up against our bed. We really never intended for him to bunk with us for this long but we really dragged our feet when it came to renovating his bedroom. Up until recently, his room was a dumping ground due to the fact that our condo has no basement and completely inadequate storage space.
After much de-cluttering, bookshelf and drawer building and general organizing we finally finished his room a few months ago. We told him that when he was ready he could move into his room. His response to this idea was lukewarm at best.
In order to make him feel more at home with the space, we moved all of his toys into his bedroom. Admittedly I had more selfish motives for moving the toys up there (like reclaiming our living room!). For a long time the room became more of a play room than a bedroom. I was beginning to think that he was never going to move out when a few weeks ago, out of the blue, he said, "Mom, I want to move my bed into my room."
The words were barely out of his mouth before hubby and I had hauled the bed down the hall. (We also did a little happy dance and some high fives when he wasn't looking).
The little guy was thrilled with the new set up!...errr....at least until bed time arrived. I guess he hadn't thought about the fact that he would be sleeping all alone in the dark.
"Mom, put my bed back!" he begged.
No way, I thought.
I told him that if he was really scared he could sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor next to our bed. So he did.
Since then we've been letting him fall asleep on our bed and then carrying him to his own bed. Usually he sleeps through the night no problem. Occasionally he wanders down the hall in the middle of the night to join us. But hey, it's progress! Our next step is to establish a bedtime routine in his own room. Wish us luck!
For the last couple of years he's been sleeping in a "big boy bed," pushed up against our bed. We really never intended for him to bunk with us for this long but we really dragged our feet when it came to renovating his bedroom. Up until recently, his room was a dumping ground due to the fact that our condo has no basement and completely inadequate storage space.
After much de-cluttering, bookshelf and drawer building and general organizing we finally finished his room a few months ago. We told him that when he was ready he could move into his room. His response to this idea was lukewarm at best.
In order to make him feel more at home with the space, we moved all of his toys into his bedroom. Admittedly I had more selfish motives for moving the toys up there (like reclaiming our living room!). For a long time the room became more of a play room than a bedroom. I was beginning to think that he was never going to move out when a few weeks ago, out of the blue, he said, "Mom, I want to move my bed into my room."
The words were barely out of his mouth before hubby and I had hauled the bed down the hall. (We also did a little happy dance and some high fives when he wasn't looking).
The little guy was thrilled with the new set up!...errr....at least until bed time arrived. I guess he hadn't thought about the fact that he would be sleeping all alone in the dark.
"Mom, put my bed back!" he begged.
No way, I thought.
I told him that if he was really scared he could sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor next to our bed. So he did.
Since then we've been letting him fall asleep on our bed and then carrying him to his own bed. Usually he sleeps through the night no problem. Occasionally he wanders down the hall in the middle of the night to join us. But hey, it's progress! Our next step is to establish a bedtime routine in his own room. Wish us luck!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tomorrow
It never fails. Every single time I talk about what's coming up tomorrow, the little guy says, "That's the day after today" or "Do you mean the day after today?"
It cracks me up.
*****************
He's been begging us for a Spiderman lunch box for months. All of the kids at school have lunch boxes so he feels really left out. We told him that he would have to earn one by practicing his French words. At first he protested loudly (he has an aversion to all things French for some reason) but then he realized that we weren't going to cave in.
This week he started enthusiastically using all sorts of French words, much to our delight! While he was taking ski lessons today I happened to wander into a store that had the perfect Spiderman lunch box. As a reward for his French speaking accomplishments and for his skiing bravery this weekend, I decided to get him one as a surprise. At first he was thrilled! Overjoyed, actually. But after spending some time examining the lunch box in the car on the way home, his tone seemed to change a bit.
From the back seat he said, "Mom, Spiderman has angry white eyes..."
I tried to explain that Spiderman was a good guy and that he was just wearing a mask. Underneath he is just a person, I told him.
"No Mom," he replied. "His eyes are really angry and white."
It's funny he should say that because I was more than a little freaked out by Spiderman when I was a kid too. I vividly remember being scared to go down the basement because I thought that Spiderman lived under the stares and would pop out and start chasing me. There is something very creepy about that mask....
Hopefully those angry looking eyes won't stop him from bringing his lunch box to school!
It cracks me up.
*****************
He's been begging us for a Spiderman lunch box for months. All of the kids at school have lunch boxes so he feels really left out. We told him that he would have to earn one by practicing his French words. At first he protested loudly (he has an aversion to all things French for some reason) but then he realized that we weren't going to cave in.
This week he started enthusiastically using all sorts of French words, much to our delight! While he was taking ski lessons today I happened to wander into a store that had the perfect Spiderman lunch box. As a reward for his French speaking accomplishments and for his skiing bravery this weekend, I decided to get him one as a surprise. At first he was thrilled! Overjoyed, actually. But after spending some time examining the lunch box in the car on the way home, his tone seemed to change a bit.
From the back seat he said, "Mom, Spiderman has angry white eyes..."
I tried to explain that Spiderman was a good guy and that he was just wearing a mask. Underneath he is just a person, I told him.
"No Mom," he replied. "His eyes are really angry and white."
It's funny he should say that because I was more than a little freaked out by Spiderman when I was a kid too. I vividly remember being scared to go down the basement because I thought that Spiderman lived under the stares and would pop out and start chasing me. There is something very creepy about that mask....
Hopefully those angry looking eyes won't stop him from bringing his lunch box to school!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A tribute to Goldie
Sadly, our Siamese fighting fish died while we were on vacation last week. Our friend and house sitter did everything she could to try to nurse him back to health but, alas, poor Goldie was on his last fins.
Trying to explain death to a 4-year old is not an easy thing. He really doesn't get that Goldie isn't coming back. I'm hearing a lot of, "Mom, when Goldie comes back can we get him a present?" and "Mom, what's Goldie going to do now that he went down the toilet?" I've been trying to explain as best as I can, but it's really tough!
To help with the fish grieving process our friend gave the little guy a book called "The Tenth Good Thing About Barney," a story about the loss of a family cat. I started bawling on the first page. It made me remember the day we had to put down my beloved dog, Fred. Although sad, the book provided me with some good ideas about how to talk about death.
So, without further adieu, here are the 10 good things about Goldie. May he rest in peace.
1. Goldie was a beautiful, dark shade of red
2. When we would walk in the door he would always swim over to greet us at the edge of his bowl
3. Goldie could blow bubbles like nobody's business!
4. He could do tricks -- like puffing out his cheeks when you flashed a mirror at him
5. Goldie was as quiet as a mouse
6. It was always fun to watch him swim inside his cave and do laps around his plant
7. At exactly the same time every day, Goldie would stare at us to remind us it was dinner time
8. He never once tried to jump out of his bowl (unlike other fish I've owned in the past)
9. Goldie seemed to genuinely like us and always seemed happy when we were in the room
10. The tenth good thing about Goldie is that, now that he's been flushed down the toilet, he'll go back into the environment (just like Barney in the book) and help the flowers to grow.
We've promised the little guy a new fish, which is definitely helping with the grieving process!
Trying to explain death to a 4-year old is not an easy thing. He really doesn't get that Goldie isn't coming back. I'm hearing a lot of, "Mom, when Goldie comes back can we get him a present?" and "Mom, what's Goldie going to do now that he went down the toilet?" I've been trying to explain as best as I can, but it's really tough!
To help with the fish grieving process our friend gave the little guy a book called "The Tenth Good Thing About Barney," a story about the loss of a family cat. I started bawling on the first page. It made me remember the day we had to put down my beloved dog, Fred. Although sad, the book provided me with some good ideas about how to talk about death.
So, without further adieu, here are the 10 good things about Goldie. May he rest in peace.
1. Goldie was a beautiful, dark shade of red
2. When we would walk in the door he would always swim over to greet us at the edge of his bowl
3. Goldie could blow bubbles like nobody's business!
4. He could do tricks -- like puffing out his cheeks when you flashed a mirror at him
5. Goldie was as quiet as a mouse
6. It was always fun to watch him swim inside his cave and do laps around his plant
7. At exactly the same time every day, Goldie would stare at us to remind us it was dinner time
8. He never once tried to jump out of his bowl (unlike other fish I've owned in the past)
9. Goldie seemed to genuinely like us and always seemed happy when we were in the room
10. The tenth good thing about Goldie is that, now that he's been flushed down the toilet, he'll go back into the environment (just like Barney in the book) and help the flowers to grow.
We've promised the little guy a new fish, which is definitely helping with the grieving process!
Saturday, January 09, 2010
The snowman invasion
There are snowmen everywhere I look, littering every surface. Every last scrap of paper in the house has a snowman drawn on it. This morning the little guy said, "Look Mom, a Frosty snowstorm" as he kicked a large pile of of his artwork across the room.
I think I'm going to need a shovel to clean up this mess. Don't get me wrong -- I love getting artwork. But we are all a bit Frostied out, if you know what I mean. :)
I think I'm going to need a shovel to clean up this mess. Don't get me wrong -- I love getting artwork. But we are all a bit Frostied out, if you know what I mean. :)
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Dinner conversation
After a horrid two-hours of driving in rush hour traffic (long story!), we decided to eat out tonight. Neither of us had the energy to cook.
The little guy kicked off the dinner conversation.
"I'm getting to be a big boy," he said.
"Yep, you're getting big," Hubby replied. "Pretty soon you'll be a man. A big, tall man."
The little guy thought about this for a moment. His face brightened and he turned to hubby and said, "Yah, and then I'll get to drink beer!"
The little guy kicked off the dinner conversation.
"I'm getting to be a big boy," he said.
"Yep, you're getting big," Hubby replied. "Pretty soon you'll be a man. A big, tall man."
The little guy thought about this for a moment. His face brightened and he turned to hubby and said, "Yah, and then I'll get to drink beer!"
Monday, January 04, 2010
The little guy's worst fear
Monsters under the bed? Waking up to find all of the toys gone? Going to the doctor and the dentist the same day? No. The thing that the little guy fears the most in this world is missing the school bus. The very idea makes him get all panicky. We've never actually missed the bus, but we've had a couple of really close calls. Both times he was so relieved the driver waited for us. I'm not sure what he thinks will happen to him if the bus left without him but, whatever it is, it can't be good.
I'm using this fear to my advantage. I've discovered that uttering the words "hurry up or your going to miss the bus" helps to get him moving in the morning. If he won't sit down to eat his cereal I utter these words, and he literally leaps towards his bowl and says, "I won't miss it now?"
The same strategy works for getting him dressed and out the door.
For the record, if he did miss the bus, hubby would drive him to school.
I'm using this fear to my advantage. I've discovered that uttering the words "hurry up or your going to miss the bus" helps to get him moving in the morning. If he won't sit down to eat his cereal I utter these words, and he literally leaps towards his bowl and says, "I won't miss it now?"
The same strategy works for getting him dressed and out the door.
For the record, if he did miss the bus, hubby would drive him to school.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Happy New Year!
Wow, it has been ages since I've updated my blog. I'm in a real slump right now. Which sucks, because virtually every day the little guy says or does something that is blog-worthy. My resolution is to update my blog more regularly (even if they are only short entries). I think that by writing more often I'll eventually get my groove back. So to ring in the New Year, I thought I'd start with remembering some of the highlights of late 2009, from about the time that I stopped updating my blog.
- He got his first report card for JK. The teacher thinks he is doing very well despite our concerns about him being one of the youngest in the class. The only "Needs Improvements" he got were in asking other kids to play (something he's never had to do before) and painting. Yes, that's right, painting. Since September the teacher has been encouraging him to paint but he refuses. Last year, we ran into this at nursery school too. We'd tell him it was time to go and he'd say, "Okay, but I'm not going to paint."
Miraculously, a couple of weeks after he got his report card the little guy turned over a new leaf. Suddenly he wants to paint all the time!
The teacher says he's made amazing progress at putting on shoes, jackets etc....At the beginning of the school year he struggled and was always one of the last ones to be ready and out the door. Now, he's usually first and proud of it!
The teacher observed something we've always known: that he's extremely cautious. Instead of just going with the flow, he likes to hang back and observe. He'll only try something new once he feels confident and comfortable. In gym class the teacher tries to match him up with a buddy to get him trying things, which is working really well. Also, he's starting raising his hand to answer or ask questions in class, to his teacher's (and our) delight.
- The little guy still can't keep a secret. At the giant garage sale at his school (all new, donated items) the kids all got to purchase Christmas gifts for their parents for 50 cents a piece. What a great idea! When the little guy got home he announced, "I got you a candle mom! I got daddy a candle too!"
- In the last few weeks he's become a budding artist. Instead of scribbling, he's drawing snowmen, treasure maps, fire trucks, forests, roads etc... Some of his artwork is really good for a 4 year old. I think he may be taking after his dad in that department because he certainly doesn't get it from me!
- Last year he hated snow. This year he loves it. The other day he told me he wished it was winter all the time. I hope his wish doesn't come true.
That's it for now. I'll give you a Christmas update soon!
- He got his first report card for JK. The teacher thinks he is doing very well despite our concerns about him being one of the youngest in the class. The only "Needs Improvements" he got were in asking other kids to play (something he's never had to do before) and painting. Yes, that's right, painting. Since September the teacher has been encouraging him to paint but he refuses. Last year, we ran into this at nursery school too. We'd tell him it was time to go and he'd say, "Okay, but I'm not going to paint."
Miraculously, a couple of weeks after he got his report card the little guy turned over a new leaf. Suddenly he wants to paint all the time!
The teacher says he's made amazing progress at putting on shoes, jackets etc....At the beginning of the school year he struggled and was always one of the last ones to be ready and out the door. Now, he's usually first and proud of it!
The teacher observed something we've always known: that he's extremely cautious. Instead of just going with the flow, he likes to hang back and observe. He'll only try something new once he feels confident and comfortable. In gym class the teacher tries to match him up with a buddy to get him trying things, which is working really well. Also, he's starting raising his hand to answer or ask questions in class, to his teacher's (and our) delight.
- The little guy still can't keep a secret. At the giant garage sale at his school (all new, donated items) the kids all got to purchase Christmas gifts for their parents for 50 cents a piece. What a great idea! When the little guy got home he announced, "I got you a candle mom! I got daddy a candle too!"
- In the last few weeks he's become a budding artist. Instead of scribbling, he's drawing snowmen, treasure maps, fire trucks, forests, roads etc... Some of his artwork is really good for a 4 year old. I think he may be taking after his dad in that department because he certainly doesn't get it from me!
- Last year he hated snow. This year he loves it. The other day he told me he wished it was winter all the time. I hope his wish doesn't come true.
That's it for now. I'll give you a Christmas update soon!
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