Tuesday, June 29, 2010

sleep over


Last week, Jack was over the moon excited to have his friend Lucas over for his first sleep over.

There was pizza (from Rocco's, of course). And chippies. With chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.

Lots and lots of legos. And some Mario on the Wii. Poptropica. And Lego videos on YouTube.

Lightsaber duels. Laughter. And staying up until 11. Sleeping in Jack's Clone Wars tent.

Pure happiness.

And, I knew the day would come when it would be Jack's turn to go. To spend the night at another home (that wasn't Nan and PapPap's). And can you ever be ready for your baby to grow?

Well, that moment caught me completely off guard yesterday morning. Lucas called and asked Jack to come over at 6ish for a sleepover.

And I gulped. And smiled. And told my sweet baby, Sure.

He packed and counted down the hours. That went by painfully slow in his seven year old world. A great opportunity to teach him how to tell time. If he wasn't dying to get out the door five minutes ago.

I went up to his bedroom to check what he had packed. Socks, underwear, clothes for tomorrow, and jammies. Legos, of course. And a squirt gun (for a water battle).

And there, on the bed sat his blue, green and Junior. And I caught my breath. Those are his buddies. The comforts he has slept with since birth. And I felt sick. My baby, growing. Confident. Ready to the world. And, I mean, that's a great thing. He should be ready. And confident.

So I asked him four different times if he had anything he needed. And he assured me he had everything. Including a head lamp for the darkness.

And the boy who cannot remember his library books for school. . .or his homework sheet on the dining room table. . .had thought of everything.

So I wrote down home and cell phone numbers and stuck them in his backpack. Assuring him he could call any time. And to call me to say goodnight. And to be a good boy. So that he could be invited back (do I really want that?).

And he promised he would be fine.

I'm going to miss you like crazy, I said as he loaded his bags into the vini man.

Oh Mama, he rolled his eyes. I'm only going to be gone one night.

I know. I can't help it.

I went back to packing diapers and lightning macqueen (for Luke). And keeping busy.

And as we loaded into the van, he looked at me and said, Mama, I'm going to miss you like crazy too.

And that made my heart smile.

We all missed him last night. Luke expecially. He said, There are only four of us. Our number five is not here. I miss Jack.

And at 1:55 am the phone rang.

Mama, I forgot the three important things I need to sleep.

I know. Can you sleep without them?

No.

OK, then I'll be there with your buddies.

And bleary eyed, I loaded into the vini man and drove over to Lucas'. Wondering if ghosts roam the streets at this time of night. And if they might want to hitch a ride when I drove past. [Your mind does terrible things in the middle of the night when you are awakened from dreaming.]

I arrived to find they hadn't slept yet. Still laughing. Playing Legos. Jack's bag full of important items all over the floor [he had been flinging his underwear Captain Underpants style].

Having a wonderful time.

And I got to hug him goodnight.

And returned home at 3am. Assured that he was safe and having a wonderful boy time.

And that maybe he wasn't growing so big after all.

Friday, June 25, 2010

trains. . . real trains. . .

Drawing train pictures. . . and railroad crossings. . . and roads. . . images from his ABC Trains book.

Mama, can we ride a real train?

Sure.

We need to get into the book. [pause]

Yeah, but I don't know how we can jump into this book. We need a magic wand to "ka-ploosh" me in there. I will go all by myself. But I need a magic wand.


Love that childhood magic. I had almost forgotten about Jack going through the same phase. Wanting to go into books. Trying to figure out the magic of getting there. Especially Peter Pan. He loved Peter Pan and wanted to fly with him most of all.

Love this.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

peas for brunch. . .

Mmmm.....

Peas.........

OK. The Baby Food Bible (aka Super Baby Foods. . . one of the books I clung to like a Mama Life Raft when Jack was a wee babe) advises that new foods be introduced during the first meal of the day. . . so that if the baby has an allergic reaction. . . or a gassy one. . . that it's not in the middle of the night, keeping him awake.

So..... It's worked for Jack and Luke (well, it really doesn't matter with Luke. . . he never slept anyway. . .). So, why change now?

Ethan's first meal of the day seems to fall sometime between 9 and 10 o'clock. Which doesn't really seem to be a problem when you're having bananas. . . and pears. . . peaches. . . maybe apples. . . But now, we're moving into veggie territory. Carrots. And now, for the last three days: peas.

And as I give him spoonful after spoonful of green mushy peas. . . Which he eagerly yums right down. . . I begin to think. . . Peas. . . For brunch? Really? And can you really call 9 am brunch? I mean, that's really pushing the breakfast boundary, isn't it?

Aunt Erin assures me that it's fine.

That giving him peas for breakfast can't really be causing him irreparable harm. . .

Until he's ten, that is, and telling me that instead of pancakes, he'd like so yummy peas for breakfast.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

dinner at cafe zeli. . .

Yesterday, Nan and PapPap brought us a new picnic table. . . big and wooden. . . and perfect for the backyard.

PapPap and Sam set it up close to the "playground" (Luke's words for our playset out back. . . his personal playground). And tonight, we had dinner outside. . .

Beautiful. Listening to the birds sing. And drinking in the sunshine.

Ethan in his baby seat beside us (on top of the table), smiling. . . giggling. . . watching Luke climb up and down and slide and run and swing. That big brother is such a source of entertainment.

Noodle soup (for Jack) and chicken and rice (for the bigs) never tasted better.

Popsicles from the ice cream man for dessert.

So relaxing.

And we stayed outside. Just watching the boys play. . . Well... Just watching the boys beat the tree leaves with sticks. And sing the "stinker song". . . a lovely variation of the humming of Tchaikovsky with intermittenly musical "stinkers" (you know the kind of noises that little boys can make, with lips and teeth and cheeks full of air). . . well-timed. . . in unison. . . and a source of endless little boy laughter. Dada laughed until he couldn't breathe.
And Mama. . . poor Mama. . .

Life with boys. . .

But, a beautiful evening. Perfect family moments.

Friday, June 11, 2010

peanut butter & jelly

Jack (or Jaxon, as he prefers now) likes one kind of food and will eat it into oblivion. . . Day after day after day. For his second year, he had jelly toast for breakfast every morning with a banana. We would say, Ding! Toooast! every time it was done in the little toaster oven. Then, we moved on to peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for lunch. Then ham and cheese. Mac and cheese. Noodle soup. And now, crackers and cheese.

But, for the past few months, he has been open to trying new things. Many new things. Makes me proud. And a bit sentimental, because my boy is growing.

I haven't been grocery shopping in over a week. And the stocks are getting low. Yesterday, it was ham and cheese on an old hamburger bun (that I tried to cut off the top and bottom and disguise the fact that it was an old hamburger bun, to no avail. . . he's too smart for me now). Today, I found some leftover Pepperidge farm cinnamon and raisin bread leftover from french toast last weekend. Mmmm, now that would make a gooood peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

And, as I was making it, I remembered that little three year old boy who wanted peanut butter and jelly every afternoon for lunch. And how he would complain if the jelly or peanut butter slopped over the sides onto the crust. "I can't eat this," he would say. "Why?" I would ask. "Because it is all dirty."

Good memories.

As for today's sandwich. He declared, "This rocks." Only to eat half a sandwich. Oh, well, at least he's still up to trying new things.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

I sent him to upstairs at 11:00. . .

after a beautiful evening under the stars. . .

Told him I'd be up in a moment so we could "brush teeth". . .

And here's were I found him. . .

first day of summer. . .

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

just a Tuesday night

Crowded together in the car. . .driving to see Miss Kriten for an all boys haircut night. . .making silly jokes about new hairstyles for Dada: A fauxhawk or half shaved or a puffy raccoon hat. . .

Fun times. . .

Love that we're so packed in. . . together. . . now that we have the "vinnie man", I cherish these moments of "so together-ness".