Mama Likes to Jitterbug

The Comedian

One of my favorite things about Sean is his sense of humor.  The kid is hilarious and loves a good laugh.  He's recently discovered the Shel Silverstein book Where the Sidewalk Ends. He carries it back and forth to Isabelle's and makes us read it to him every night before bed.  Two of his favorites:  "Ridiculous Rose" (who ate with her her toes) and "The Planet of Mars" (for the super silly picture that goes with it).  I definitely plan to pick up some of Shel Silverstein's other works the next time I'm at the bookstore.  He's a huge hit in our house right now, especially with a certain little 3 year old boy I know.

 

The Choreographer

When Gracie isn't lining up her dollies and teaching them "la-nastics", she's sitting on top of our kitchen counter, choreographing routines and building pyramids with spice shakers.  She loves doing this. 

   

Preschool Thank You Cards

 

Dear Mr. Joe,

Thank you for taking me to Drumlin Farm and to the bouncy house to play.  Thank you for singing to me and reading me stories.

Love, Gracie

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Dear Ms. Cindi,

Thank you for being nice, giving me food, and for teaching me how to do crisscross applesauce.

Love, Gracie

Video: Gracie's Back Walkover

Here's another video we took on the Flip, and the first one I've ever edited on my own.  It's soooo easy!  Gracie has been working really hard to get her back walkover, so I'm incredibly proud of this clip.  And I love her self-esteem.  I just want to squeeze her when she says,  "I'm the best!  I always do the best things in the world."  Click on the image to view the video.

Video: Father's Day

For Father's Day, we got Steve a Flip Mino.  It's a handheld video camera that fits in your pocket and plugs right into your computer.  I was most impressed with how easy it is to edit videos and upload them to the internet.  Click on the image below to view the video we made and sent to Steve's dad.  I especially love when Sean says, "Happy Father's Day Papa.  Will you take me fishing?" 

 

  

Gym Show

Gracie had her end-of-year gymnastics show on Saturday.  The show lasted over three hours and was standing room only.  Gracie surprised me by sitting with her team through the entire thing and watching the other kids.  It was evident just how much she loves gymnastics.  And when it was her turn to go, she was absolutely beaming.  They put the medal around her neck, and I'm pretty sure she thought she won the Olympics. 

 

 

Nature vs. Nuture

If there’s one thing I can say since becoming a parent, particularly the mom of a boy and a girl who are about as close in age as you can get without being twins, it’s that I have a greater appreciation for the arguments of 'Team Nature' in the whole nature vs. nurture debate.  It’s interesting to me to see the different things that Gracie and Sean gravitate toward, even though there’s not necessarily a difference in the way we’re raising them. 

I’ve been thinking about the whole nature vs. nurture thing recently because of Sean’s newfound interest in guns.  I can’t think of any particularly violent shows that he watches, or even how he would have learned about them, but he loves to run around shooting things and pretending to “make them dead”.  After a little internet reading, I’ve come to the conclusion that most people seem to agree that it’s a normal, universal interest for a boy his age.  This was confirmed over the weekend when Sean had a friend over for a play date.  At first, it didn’t seem like the two of them were going to have much in common, but once Sean showed his friend his gun, they spent the remainder of the date running around shooting stuffed animals*.  I could tell that Gracie felt a little left out of the action, since she has no interest in guns, but she wasted no time pulling out her medical kit and nursing everyone back to health.

*  I did have to laugh at the fact that Sean would not let his friend shoot any of his favorite stuffed animals.  Only the ones that previously belonged Gracie.

Mail

Sean spent his weekend making pictures for friends and asking me to help him mail them.  It was adorable to see how genuinely interested he was in learning how to address the envelope, where to place the stamp, and how the whole process of getting it delivered worked.  While most of his letters ended up hidden in my pocketbook, I couldn't help but (pretend to) send at least one for him.  I loved seeing the look on his face Sunday morning when he ran outside to check the box and discovered that the letter was gone.  And a secret stop by Isabelle's early Monday morning was all it took to secure an equally excited reaction when he watched her open her mail that afternoon.  When I picked him up, he was so excited to tell me that it had worked.  "The mail worked!"  Love him!  And his adorable little handwriting, which he's getting so good at.

 

Emily's Birthday Party

Last weekend we went to a birthday party for Gracie and Sean's cousin, Emily.  I look forward to this party every year because it's with family, it's very laid back, and the weather is almost always beautiful.  On the way home, Steve and I were commenting that this year's party was particularly nice because, for the most part, we could just let the kids run around and enjoy themselves without much supervision.  They are FINALLY getting to that age where you don't have to watch them every single second.*  Loving that! 

Favorite memories from the day, according to Gracie and Sean:

1.  The outdoor gym set.  I'm amazed at how well Gracie knows how to pump herself into the air.  It's pretty much as high as the swing will go.  She likes getting to the point where her bum will actually lift off the seat.  It scares the bejesus out of me.  (And don't even get me going on her "circus tricks".)

2.  Purple sand.  I didn't even know such a thing existed, but the kids loved it. 

3.  The candy-filled pinata.  Sean TOTALLY scored!

4.  Sauce Pizza, which I'd never heard of before moving to New England.  It's also called "Cold Pizza".  The two names pretty much sum it up.  Cold sauce smeared on bread.  Gracie could eat an entire pie in one sitting.  And there are only two places in her world you can get it:  Emily's house and Nana's house. 

5.  The inflatable bouncer and water slide.  Gracie and Sean must have gone down this a hundred times.  And because my lawn chair was parked right at the end, I have about a hundred pictures to prove it.  But this one is my favorite.

* I swear that every time I say that my kids have finally reached the age where we don't have to (fill in the blank), they go and do something to make me eat my words.  Take this weekend, for example.  Sunday morning I was lying in bed trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep when I was awakened by Gracie's muffled voice yelling for Sean to come get her out.  Figuring she was probably just locked in the closet, but also figuring that I should check it out, I walked into Sean's room to find all of the clothes from his dresser dumped out onto the floor, Gracie sitting in the top drawer, and Sean standing in the bottom drawer.  They were "playing bunk beds".  I could have killed them, but apparently I'm not the only one looking forward to our vacation!

The Quiet Game (and other ways we use competitiveness to our advantage)

Sean has a wicked competitive streak.  He'll do almost anything if there is a winner declared or a prize at stake. Recently, Steve and I have found ways to use this competitiveness to champion our own causes, and I must say, I'm rather proud of our parental ingeniousness.  Take the Quiet Game, for example.  Sean would go days without speaking just to win that game.  He almost never loses.  Even when so much time has passed that I forget we're playing and slip up and talk, he'll remember and be sure to point out to everyone that I'm the "LOSER!"  (Obviously we're still working on the whole sportsmanship thing.)  But this game comes in incredibly handy when the kids are in the back seat of the car bickering.  We've also invented The Pajama Race, The Get in Bed Race, The Get Under the Covers Race, and The Sleeping Race.  As a result, there are no fights or tears at night, just one little boy who is incredibly efficient and happy about going to bed.