Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Family Pictures
We haven't had the best Christmas Break, but as I don't really want to talk about it now I thought I would share a few of our family pictures. My friend from high school takes pictures, and does an amazing job. For a year or more I have been wanting her to take some family pictures, but we never seem to be in Henderson at the same time. This year on Christmas Day we had our pictures taken, and I love them. Also, thank you Mare for letting us use your house. Here are a few:
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sorry and Girls
Why is it that a child knows the gravity of the word sorry before they can even speak? Luke refuses to say sorry. A couple months ago when we started prompting him to say or sign it when he hurt Thomas or us he refused. We thought it was just that he couldn't talk so we let it slide with a reminder to him that he needed to say sorry when he made someone sad or hurt them. We tried teaching him the sign and again he refused to even lift his hand. Maybe he just didn't understand or maybe he didn't like being forced to try to speak. However, we noticed and had been noticing something from the very beginning, he understood sorry was in someway admitting a defeat or acknowledging you were wrong because he would turn down his eyes or turn his head away. When we would give up he would get this smile on his face that said-- I won. I would put Luke in timeout if he refused to say sorry and he would scream and cry and throw a fit, but still refuse to say sorry. I would leave him in there for a couple rounds of timeout just to show him that saying sorry is important, but still he refused. A couple times he has even said no when we tell him to say sorry. We tried modifying it to just give a hug and kiss. He would not even do this. He would however, find a nearby toy and kiss or hug that. Pete asked Luke to show Thomas how to say sorry and Luke signed it-- but on Thomas-this way Luke was still not saying it. He had thrown a toy at Pete but refused to say sorry to Pete but he did pick up the toy, after quite a few minutes, and sign sorry on the toy. When he broke Pete's coffee pot yesterday we told him to say sorry and all we got was the eyes turned down look. The child is stubborn. He might beat us yet.
Jack is discovering that girls are different. Jack got his class pictures taken last month and in the package was a picture of the entire class. Right away he started carrying it around everywhere. He was naming off everyone in the picture, but seemed to be focusing a lot on the girls. Then he started asking which girl I thought was the prettiest. At first I thought that he had a favorite and was intrigued to find out where this was going so I didn't discourage it right away. Then he began listing them in order from prettiest to least. I could see that things were going down hill fast. He asked me to do the same. I tried to say that just because a girl is pretty doesn't mean that she is nice so liking girls just because they are pretty isn't the best thing to do. He informed me that all the girls were nice so would I tell him which was the prettiest? I was not handling this in the best way. Then I found out from the group of girls themselves that he had been calling them names. These girls were not pleased because they had asked him to stop and he wouldn't. These names were things like Buttons and Zip-Zap. I tried to explain that girls don't think these things are funny, they don't like it, and it could hurt their feelings and it wasn't our job to make people feel bad. Pete has also had some talks with him. I really can't tell if we are making headway. I do know that he saw some college cheerleaders on tv over the weekend and said--'Look Mom, Girls.'
Jack is discovering that girls are different. Jack got his class pictures taken last month and in the package was a picture of the entire class. Right away he started carrying it around everywhere. He was naming off everyone in the picture, but seemed to be focusing a lot on the girls. Then he started asking which girl I thought was the prettiest. At first I thought that he had a favorite and was intrigued to find out where this was going so I didn't discourage it right away. Then he began listing them in order from prettiest to least. I could see that things were going down hill fast. He asked me to do the same. I tried to say that just because a girl is pretty doesn't mean that she is nice so liking girls just because they are pretty isn't the best thing to do. He informed me that all the girls were nice so would I tell him which was the prettiest? I was not handling this in the best way. Then I found out from the group of girls themselves that he had been calling them names. These girls were not pleased because they had asked him to stop and he wouldn't. These names were things like Buttons and Zip-Zap. I tried to explain that girls don't think these things are funny, they don't like it, and it could hurt their feelings and it wasn't our job to make people feel bad. Pete has also had some talks with him. I really can't tell if we are making headway. I do know that he saw some college cheerleaders on tv over the weekend and said--'Look Mom, Girls.'
Friday, December 9, 2011
Oh my...
Did you know that the mere sound of crying is enough to make a person exhausted? If you doubt it, please move in with us so I can prove it to you. Thomas only wants to be held lately, and while yes, these moments don't last forever, they sometimes feel like forever. He was able to roll from tummy to back awhile ago, but it was only done occasionally. Now every time he is on his stomach he rolls to his back and it freaks him out. He sleeps on his stomach so last night was not pleasant, every couple hours you would hear frantic screaming and crying. Note to Thomas-- Child, you have to learn to roll back the other way.
This morning while I was preparing our crockpot dinner, with a crying baby strapped to my chest, Jack got out his light saber and began to taunt our dog. Poor Tigran, every few minutes I would see him run into the kitchen and through to the bathroom only to be followed by Jack and his light saber. It took me a couple times of this happening to fully register it. As a mother of boys I get the privilege of saying things like-- Jack, stop chasing the dog with your light saber! I did end up taking it away, only to have him get the other one out.
Luke is also going through a stage. It is a huge pain in the butt stage, and I really am not 100% sure what to do. He acts like he wants to be potty trained-- he isn't 2 yet. He takes off his clothes and diaper all the time, he goes into the bathroom and is constantly sitting on the potty seat because he wants to. I haven't seen him use he potty yet, but he has done it a handful of times with other people. At nap time or when I go to get him out of bed in the morning I find him stark naked. At first he was just peeing in his bed, but now he is also pooping in his bed! This means lots of laundry and baths. It also means trying to figure out what to do about this situation. We blame ourselves because prior to this he wasn't telling us at all when he had pooped so sometimes he would go a couple hours before we realized it, and the result would be a severe diaper rash. I think he got tired of having to wait for his parents to change his diaper. He hates wearing a diaper now. He throws a huge fit when I go to put one on him, and is usually sans diaper within the hour. I got out Jack's old underwear and put those on him and he was so excited, but he just peed in them and demanded another pair. I keep putting him on the potty since he keeps asking, but he just sits there and then gets up and goes to pee in Jack's room or someplace else. It is a huge headache. I don't want to potty train him, I don't think he is really ready, but he hates wearing his diaper and keeps taking it off to pee around the house, and apparently he has no issues with pooping in his bed.
Luke and Jack played a game last night called, throw all of the memory cards in the Christmas tree. I found a least 30 in the tree. They were also playing next to each other when Jack started to punch Luke's back, he didn't realize I was watching, then Luke got mad so he pushed Jack then grabbed the lid to the memory game and started hitting Jack in the head with it. Jack began to tattle on Luke only to have me tell him he started it and if Luke wants to defend himself he has every right. Jack was none to pleased.
Today in the car, Jack was telling me how some of the kids were throwing snowballs, and he got hit in the face. I asked if he threw snowballs back - he said, "Mom, revenge isn't allowed at school."
This morning while I was preparing our crockpot dinner, with a crying baby strapped to my chest, Jack got out his light saber and began to taunt our dog. Poor Tigran, every few minutes I would see him run into the kitchen and through to the bathroom only to be followed by Jack and his light saber. It took me a couple times of this happening to fully register it. As a mother of boys I get the privilege of saying things like-- Jack, stop chasing the dog with your light saber! I did end up taking it away, only to have him get the other one out.
Luke is also going through a stage. It is a huge pain in the butt stage, and I really am not 100% sure what to do. He acts like he wants to be potty trained-- he isn't 2 yet. He takes off his clothes and diaper all the time, he goes into the bathroom and is constantly sitting on the potty seat because he wants to. I haven't seen him use he potty yet, but he has done it a handful of times with other people. At nap time or when I go to get him out of bed in the morning I find him stark naked. At first he was just peeing in his bed, but now he is also pooping in his bed! This means lots of laundry and baths. It also means trying to figure out what to do about this situation. We blame ourselves because prior to this he wasn't telling us at all when he had pooped so sometimes he would go a couple hours before we realized it, and the result would be a severe diaper rash. I think he got tired of having to wait for his parents to change his diaper. He hates wearing a diaper now. He throws a huge fit when I go to put one on him, and is usually sans diaper within the hour. I got out Jack's old underwear and put those on him and he was so excited, but he just peed in them and demanded another pair. I keep putting him on the potty since he keeps asking, but he just sits there and then gets up and goes to pee in Jack's room or someplace else. It is a huge headache. I don't want to potty train him, I don't think he is really ready, but he hates wearing his diaper and keeps taking it off to pee around the house, and apparently he has no issues with pooping in his bed.
Luke and Jack played a game last night called, throw all of the memory cards in the Christmas tree. I found a least 30 in the tree. They were also playing next to each other when Jack started to punch Luke's back, he didn't realize I was watching, then Luke got mad so he pushed Jack then grabbed the lid to the memory game and started hitting Jack in the head with it. Jack began to tattle on Luke only to have me tell him he started it and if Luke wants to defend himself he has every right. Jack was none to pleased.
Today in the car, Jack was telling me how some of the kids were throwing snowballs, and he got hit in the face. I asked if he threw snowballs back - he said, "Mom, revenge isn't allowed at school."
Friday, December 2, 2011
Ornaments, Hair, and Passports
I forgot about kids and ornaments- Luke thinks the round ones are actual balls and he throws them down the hall. He took one off the tree, and while the front door was open, he threw it hard onto the porch-of course it broke. We have since moved all ornaments up so the top half is quite full of ornaments and the bottom is bare- it looks pretty funny.
Jack and Luke were playing with our Little People Nativity set while I was nursing Thomas in the other room, and I hear, "Mom, Luke is smacking those wise men's camels!" It made me laugh. We had to put up the baby Jesus figure from the Nativity set because he kept being launched, and I felt a little weird about condoning the launching of Jesus into the manger in order to explode it.
At aerobics the instructor has added a few Christmas songs to the mix, and when Last Christmas came on Jack said, "Oh Mom, this is my favorite song!" He started singing along, and the instructor looked at me and laughed pretty hard.
I changed my hair color-I haven't adjusted yet- I don't think I like it. Pete keeps telling me I am the only person who even notices the color is that different. I changed it because I don't have the time or the means to keep up blonde hair and end up with 2 inches of darker hair at the top before I have it fixed. Plus, I knew when we moved I probably wouldn't have the nerve to make a hair appointment for awhile so I had them match the color to my roots so it will be close to my natural hair color ( a color I haven't seen since high school). Pete believes this is a more sensible look for a 30-year-old mother of 3 with little time to sit in a stylist's chair for two hours- maybe he's right, but right now I miss my blonde hair-even if I am the only one who notices the difference.
We got our passports a couple weeks ago. It was very exciting actually. After not getting anywhere with my emails to the consulate I finally got a a few responses on the same day- they told us not to get a visa before we move because Americans can live in Germany for 90 days before they need a visa. This will give us time to find housing and get the university to help us. We are looking for housing now and so far everything is quite small and quite expensive, and we may have to live just outside the city. I have looked at plane tickets and we know when we are leaving so that makes it more real. After Christmas break we are going to start doing things like talking to the bank about international banking, talk to the cell phone company about turning off service, getting medical records, making sure the kids have gone to the doctor and we get their records, and loads more. The next few months are going to go by fast.
Jack and Luke were playing with our Little People Nativity set while I was nursing Thomas in the other room, and I hear, "Mom, Luke is smacking those wise men's camels!" It made me laugh. We had to put up the baby Jesus figure from the Nativity set because he kept being launched, and I felt a little weird about condoning the launching of Jesus into the manger in order to explode it.
At aerobics the instructor has added a few Christmas songs to the mix, and when Last Christmas came on Jack said, "Oh Mom, this is my favorite song!" He started singing along, and the instructor looked at me and laughed pretty hard.
I changed my hair color-I haven't adjusted yet- I don't think I like it. Pete keeps telling me I am the only person who even notices the color is that different. I changed it because I don't have the time or the means to keep up blonde hair and end up with 2 inches of darker hair at the top before I have it fixed. Plus, I knew when we moved I probably wouldn't have the nerve to make a hair appointment for awhile so I had them match the color to my roots so it will be close to my natural hair color ( a color I haven't seen since high school). Pete believes this is a more sensible look for a 30-year-old mother of 3 with little time to sit in a stylist's chair for two hours- maybe he's right, but right now I miss my blonde hair-even if I am the only one who notices the difference.
We got our passports a couple weeks ago. It was very exciting actually. After not getting anywhere with my emails to the consulate I finally got a a few responses on the same day- they told us not to get a visa before we move because Americans can live in Germany for 90 days before they need a visa. This will give us time to find housing and get the university to help us. We are looking for housing now and so far everything is quite small and quite expensive, and we may have to live just outside the city. I have looked at plane tickets and we know when we are leaving so that makes it more real. After Christmas break we are going to start doing things like talking to the bank about international banking, talk to the cell phone company about turning off service, getting medical records, making sure the kids have gone to the doctor and we get their records, and loads more. The next few months are going to go by fast.
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