Evan Sometimes

Sometimes he looks like my sister Brook.
Sometimes he stands on his head when he is bored.
Sometimes he laughs really loud like Scut Farkus (from A Christmas Story).
Sometimes he collapses in a heap of tears when his feelings are hurt.
Sometimes he jumps around till he can't hold it anymore then runs to the bathroom.
Sometimes he asks for more food thirty minutes after a meal.
Sometimes he squawks like a chicken in answer to a question.
Sometimes he brushes his hair so poufy it stands 4 inches off his head.
Sometimes he smells like sweat and dirt and fresh air when he cuddles up on me.
Sometimes I think I can't possibly love a little boy more than I do this one.

To the Zoo

Just a few shots of an outing this week....

Bits & Pieces :: September

*I have amazingly found a "cheetah outfit" for Chloe in size 4, 5 and now 6 :-)  How crazy, right??  It's been her favorite for all these years.  And, also if Evan wears his hat, Chloe insists on grabbing hers (which, incidentally, happens to be his old one).

*Monster trucks have become one of Chloe's favorite games to play with Evan. They shade them with these paper umbrellas and have them all ranked like the dog pack in the movie UP -- Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Dug and one they call The First Aid.  Their ranks change based on behavior, tricks, smarts and whether others like them. 

*I think all boys can be found draped on furniture like this. 

*These little cables provided an entire afternoon of play one day.  They called it "Chickens and Snakes."

*Evan wears his glasses pretty often but he doesn't like how the nose-pads get sweaty.  He seems to think that playing video games is part of getting his eyes strong, since Dr. Tracie said to make sure he wears them while playing.... makes sense.

*Oh, look who was at my house :-) 

*Dad's tools provide tons of entertainment -- these clamps that make the kids feel really strong.

*We recently had some drama with our kitties.  Ruby had a UTI and is better now, and little Roy has a fractured pelvis.  He basically just sleeps all day and the vet said that's all he needs. 

*Our third kitty is perfectly well ;-)

Swinging & Smiling

Purple Pants

It's fall and the weather is really shifting, so we did our fall clothes shopping recently.  It is always interesting to see what my girl decides is worthy of her wearing as she peruses the racks of clothes.

She has been through so many interesting clothing phases since she began deciding what she would and wouldn't wear (at the age of two) --  remember these?? 

*the Thomas t-shirt
*all red, all the time
*no pink, no white, no ruffles, no skirts....
*tie-dye
*layered socks
*the unicorn nightgown/dress
*animal prints
*bright colors and rainbows
*pant legs tucked into socks
*red velvet dresses for all occasions
*lots of dresses and skirts and twirly girly things
*glitter on everything


She sure has changed and evolved, and amazingly every season brings something new and more interesting.  Her current loves are:

*hearts on everything
*sparkly stars
*bow details (!!!)
*glitter shoes  -- still
*super soft fabrics  like velour or corduroy
*black shirts with sparkly designs  (black!!??!!)


And once again for Chloe, the bright colors prevail.  So when we were shopping this is the sort of clothing she was drawn to.  I shouldn't have been surprised at all by her choice of purple corduroy pants, but I was. 

I didn't really like them and didn't really believe she'd wear anything with a snap and zipper (she still hates jeans).  But, persuasive as she is, she convinced me she would wear them so we brought them home. 

She could not be more pleased and proud in those soft purple pants.  And, you know, they actually look really pretty on her.

This sort of thing is still hard for me.  Moms are supposed to pick the clothes and the kids are supposed to put them on and look adorable.  Alas, that is not how things are for me and Chloe.

I always have a bit of a struggle just letting go when it's shopping time.  (That's weird, I know and maybe I shouldn't share that here, but it goes with this whole story, so there it is.)  But, I have never been willing to fight over clothes, so we don't.  She picks.  I smile.

More than anything, I want my sweet girl to know that nothing like purple pants (or Thomas t-shirts or crazy orange knee socks with khaki shorts) will never be an issue between us.  I love her just the way she is, and that 'way' is quite often different from me.  I like that.  I can't let my pride or expectations get in the way of that.

I hope someday she knows that when I am supporting her (through things that are uncomfortable or even mildly embarrassing for me), I am expressing my unconditional mama guarantee:  I love her and I accept her, no matter what. 

Holding Chicks

At a local farmer's market/festival last weekend, we spent a great deal of time with these little friends.  Little chicks are about the cutest things you've ever seen, and their little peep-y noises are just adorable.  If only they could stay small and fluffy forever. 

(I feel that way about the kids sometimes too.)

Windy

Currently

He::

:: tells jokes, especially knock-knocks, all day long.  You'll find him reading joke books, memorizing them, trying them out on us; making up his own, laughing a lot, learning that the interrupting cow is always a good one.  Ask him next time you see him.

:: needs a hair cut, but is sort of liking the length enough to let it be.

:: is counting down the days till we can go to the Pumpkin Farm.  This countdown is super intense pretty much from Easter onward.  Less than a month to go!!

:: wanted to lay out on the deck at bedtime the other night as a family and "look up at the solar system."  So we did and are pretty sure we saw 2 planets, one satellite, 5 airplanes and a shooting star!!

:: is interested in skeletons and bones.  He got a cool raccoon skull from Grandpa which has led to his interest in collecting more. Now he makes me save chicken bones for him from dinner :-)

:: learned how to play Ghost in the Graveyard this summer while hanging out for late-nights with friends.  It's a rite-of-passage I think, and each time he is more brave and proud of himself.

:: says every day, "I need Jed" in reference to his favorite friend.  If only we didn't live quite so far from each other....

:: has decided that when he grows up he'd like to own an RC race track where people pay to use his space and play together.  He even made a map of our backyard to show what it will look like. 

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She::

:: calls Ruby "Mrs. Mow" (rhymes with cow).  She also runs to let her in and out of the door 85 times a day and loves to feed her breakfast.  She makes her "cat nests" and tunnels and beds all over the house.  Pampered cat.... for now.

:: has been the great moth-hunter this summer. She traps them and holds them until they fall apart, then sort of feels bad.  They really are fragile!

:: traded in all her skirts and dresses for shorts and pants again.  It was a short-lived phase and I enjoyed it, but she says they are too tickle-y.  Oh well.

:: taught herself to braid.  I find braided strands of grass everywhere.

:: is a parrot of Evan.  She says everything he says.  If I ask her a question, she looks at Evan for an answer first, then says what he does in the exact same way.  She is also his echo, repeating him constantly and looking at him for approval.  Luckily, he loves it :-)

:: can now make it through a day without a crying breakdown.  We've counted two this summer and expect to see even more....  She has cried every single day since August 15, 2006 so this is a big deal.

:: loves reading fairy tales and folk tales more than any other stories.  Right now she's into Anansi the Spider stories.

:: draws pictures (of horses) and gives them away to her friends constantly.  She just recently started giving some to me!

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They::

:: moved the stereo/cd player into their bedroom so they can listen to their Sandra Boynton silly music without driving us crazy.  They listen to Lonely Peas and Faraway Cookies on repeat so many times.....

:: play in their room with the door closed.... a lot.

:: have both deepened friendships this summer.  When we get together with families, they run off and play with their friends for the duration of a visit.... so different from how it was not so long ago...

:: really love watching "Lady and the Tramp"

:: spend a good portion of every day swinging from the ropes on our tree -- they can both swing with one arm holding on now (which is more difficult than it sounds).

:: stayed up later at night this summer then ever before.  We moved bedtime to 9pm with a shorter book/cuddle time (we usually started it at 7pm to be in bed by 8pm) so we could have late visits with friends and it was so worth it.

Evan and Chloe experienced some lovely moments together as a result of these more casual evenings -- catching fireflies after dark, watching a thunderstorm blow in, taking walks while it was raining, petting bumblebees when they are sluggish in the evening, sitting around campfires eating s'mores in the dark, realizing there are thousands of stars in the sky (not just the 20-30 we can see in the city), staring up at the full moon in all it's glory -- these are things you miss out on if you can't go outside after 7pm!!

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I haven't done many in depth posts since we have been out experiencing summer together, but now that it's cooling down again, I'll hopefully be back to the way I like it on here -- with lots of stories.

Bubbles

Not Solitaire

We like to play Solitaire together, so I guess that's a contradiction to the name of the game.  I taught Evan how to play last year and he's pretty good at it now, although it took him a long time to catch on.  Chloe just recently learned by watching us, and she picked up on it so quickly it boggles my mind.  She has a natural understanding of games and patterns and prefers games like this (and Chess) to simple board games involving zero skill (like Candyland, etc.).  That works out great for all of us!!

Writing

Chloe has never had a "sit down and learn your letters" lesson. 
She doesn't know the alphabet.  At all.
Until about a month ago she still had to ask me how to spell and make the letters in her name. 

So what's this?

Unschooling at work.

Writing has a purpose, and when you need to use it, you figure out how to do it.

You master it because you see how useful it is and want to be good at it.

Chloe now writes her name on everything she draws, and is wanting to spell others' names too.

Slow progress?  Maybe.  But who are we comparing to?  Nobody :-)