Graduations

Last day of preschool

The preschool year has come to an end.  Looking at the first day of school pictures versus the last he looks so much more like a boy and not a little kid.  Part of it is probably the new haircut from earlier that week, which he loves, but he just looks more confident somehow.  He is ready to head off to kindergarten in the fall!

First day of preschool

Before we get to preschool ending though, Gabriel loves tee ball and he loves having Daddy as one of the coaches for the team.  As much as it pained Taylor to but on a "Cubs" hat, they have both enjoyed it.  A good number of the practices and games have been cancelled due to rain (the weather the last couple of months has been odd), but he's still gotten to play plenty.  In their games they play 2 innings and everyone bats in every inning.  They occasionally get an out.  They mostly just hit, run the bases, dig in the dirt in the outfield, pick at the grass, and get excited for snack afterwards.  He's on a team with a couple kids from preschool and it's just been fun to see him excited about his games and putting on his jersey.

First game!

Corban has enjoyed climbing on bleachers and
running around outside while his brother plays

Salem Red Sox game (and it was Star Wars night. 
What could be more exciting than that?)

Ok, so preschool is done for Gabriel.  They had an end of the year performance, which was so cute.  They sang lots of songs and recited scripture.  Then they all left and got on their caps and gowns and marched back it.  Each child was called up to get a superlative and a little Bible (which Gabriel likes to bring to church.  He was telling me the other day how many chapters different books have in them).  His superlative was called the "word detective" award since he is the best reader in class. 

It was sweet to see him with his friends, some of which he's been sitting at a table with for the past 2 years.  He told me last week that he missed seeing his friends at school, which made me a little sad.  He loves playing with Corban but it's not the same of course.

He made an "end of the year book" with his handprint, footprint, and some information about himself.  Last year at the end of the year he said that when he grows up he wants to be a preacher.  He made a little career change and this year he said that he wants to be a scuba diver.  I informed him that scuba divers have to routinely get their ears wet, to which he replied "I'll train a lot at the pool and I can be a scuba diver who doesn't do that."  He's got goals.

These cool guys did an army marching song about preschool

Gabriel and one of his best buddies, Addy D

Gabriel and John Paul

Brody

Gabriel and Levi.  I have heard so much about this kid over the last 2 years.  I'm not sure if Gabriel considers him one of his best buddies or his worst enemy to be honest.  They play together a lot and get in trouble together, but they also make each other really mad from what I hear.  Gabriel, Levi, and Addy D have been sitting at the same table for the entire 2 years though so when you're around someone that much you really learn how to push their buttons.

Other things about Gabriel.  He loves reading, Star Wars, Kung Fu Panda (and being one of the Furious Five), and most recently Beatrix Potter.  We have gotten the audio book set from the library many times but this time it is all that he listens to.  He wants to play Samuel Whiskers, Tom Kitten, Jeremy Fisher, and Benjamin Bunny.  He gets Corban into it too and I am frequently asked to be Anna Maria and to roll Tom Kitten up into a dumpling.  It's fun that he wants to play something that doesn't involve a super hero or a lightsaber once in a while.  Also, on a totally random note, Gabriel still frequently calls "DVDs" "DVDVs".  I noticed this last week and found it really cute and funny.

Planting flowers on Mother's Day

As I think has been the case for many people this spring, Gabriel's seasonal allergies got really bad.  He's now taking prescription allergy medicine every day until things calm down a little.  He spent almost a month snotty and his sleep interrupted by coughing.  Adults have a hard time with bad sleep, so he had an even worse time behaviorally speaking.  He's always been very strong willed with a quick temper but last month was exceptionally rough.  We actually made him an "angry spot", something I've been meaning to do for some time, where he can go when he's really worked up.  He helped me make a list of things that he can do when he's mad and we posted it in the spot along with a box of the items that he needs (CDs, pillow, stuffed animal, squishy ball, the box sits next to a shelf of books).  It remains to be seen if it will help, but we realized that he's no longer really throwing "tantrums" and that we were not doing him a service any longer by just sending him to his room to "calm down."  He needs to learn some better ways to cope and we haven't been doing a good job of teaching those to him.

Just a couple superheros playing in a sensory
bin full of beans at the Children's Museum

These boys love to play together.  Lately, besides Beatrix Potter, it has been a lot of Kung Fu Panda.  They like to slow off their Ninja moves.  They actually have some pretty good ones.  The "Secrets of the Furious Five" DVD that goes with Kung Fu Panda has a whole section about the different kinds of kung fu.  It has a tutorial for the moves too.  Gabriel even found a Billy Blanks workout video in the a drawer the other day and decided that it was his training video.  Gabriel actually came up to me the other day and said "Mom!  Have you seen these bumps all over my body?  I'm getting so many of them!"  My mind immediately went to "Oh no, do you have a rash?"  Gabriel looks at me like I had lost my mind and said "No Mom!  I'm talking about all of these muscles that I'm getting!"

Corban wanted to "train" too.  That apparently entailed putting
on one mitten, a baseball cap, and taking off his shirt.  Sure.

Playing at Virginia Techniques with Addy

Random but funny thing that I realized the other day -- for all of the events that we do around here involving the "youth group" I don't that we've ever bothered to explain to them exactly what the "youth group" actually is.  We had a couple over here the other night that are 10 years older than most of the oldest youth group kids.  When the boys went to bed one of them asked "will those youth group kids still be here in when we get up?"  I think that to them "youth group" means hanging out with people from church or something.  Oops.

Daddy's workbench

Water table fun.  They were making soup and grasshoppers
with ladybird sauce (courtesy of Mr. Jeremy Fisher)

Gabriel was drawing a map of some kind that outlined the Incredibles plan to save Frozone

Glasses from Aunt Tiffany

Elephant at the Children's Museum

Corban is one busy kid too.  Busy playing.  And doing puzzles.  That is his new favorite thing.  He's always liked puzzles, but recently he can't get enough of them.  When he's concentrating on them really hard he sticks his little tongue out to the side.  Other things that Corban is into these days: PJ Masks, singing songs, dinosaurs, his water table, reading books, romp 'n roll (which we're not going to much anymore and he misses Ms. Diana!), "golden chocolate bars" (mini snickers with gold wrappers.  His potty training reward.  The pack before had purple wrappers and were called "purple chocolate bars"), and pretending anything.  I feel like anytime we read a book or watch a show he stops halfway through to set up the pretend roles for when we're done: "Ok Mommy.  When we finish this story you will be ____ and I will be ____."

Things that Corban is not so wild about these days: my hair being wet (it really bothers him), not getting his way (he's very dramatic, is getting really good at throwing tantrums, and copies the defiant things that Gabriel says when he gets in trouble), black olives, mashed potatoes, and poison oak.   He fell in some the other day and lets just say that the reaction on his arm was immediate and unpleasant.  As far as not liking things like mashed potatoes, he told me the other day that he will like them when he turns 5. He also doesn't like it when I pretend to be surprised and open my mouth in pretend shock.  He looks at me very seriously and says, "Mom!  Please close your mouth."

Corban "graduated" from Mother's Morning Out (MMO) a few weeks ago since he'll be starting preschool a couple mornings a week in the fall.  We honestly didn't go to Gabriel's MMO graduation because I didn't see the point, but I feel like Gabriel gets to do a lot of things and Corban sometimes gets left out.  I wanted him to have something that was just his.  Once we got there though he did not want to sit with the other kids or put the hat on.  I don't really blame him.  It was weird seeing a room usually full of kids and playing full of chairs and adults.  The woman in charge, Judy, told a little story to everyone about Corban that I thought was cute.  She said one day the room was quiet and everyone was playing.  They suddenly everyone heard Corban singing a hymn.  She said he sang all the verses from start to finish.  That kid loves to sing.  He tries to sing along in church and rarely knows the words.  He just makes stuff up.  Someone tried to hand him a bulletin a couple weeks ago and he said "No thank you.  I don't need that until I sing the songs in church."

Since Gabriel wants to be a scuba diver when he grows up I asked Corban what he would like to be.  He had two answers:

1 - I will learn to play the violin so I can play the ABCs

2 - I will be a shark with big teeth

Corban has a very sweet and gentle spirit.  I hurt my leg the other day and he brought me a towel and was insistent that I blow my nose.  What he really has a spot in his heart for though is cats.  Corban loves cats.  He wants to pretend to be one so much (I frequently have to remind him not to "meow" in church).  I've asked him what his cat name is and he is insisted that it's "baby kitty cat." Some friends were watching some kittens recently and holding one was quite a treat.  He was carrying around a stuffed cat at Barnes and Noble the other day and I was dreading telling him we had to leave it.  When it was time to go I said "Corban, I know it will be hard but we have to say goodbye to the kitty."  He said "that's ok.  One day soon you can buy me a real one."

Oh his love for "sack"

These boys are energetic, creative, warm, talkative, friendly, and exhausting.  That's all for now.

Easter and snow, snow, snow. . .

This winter has been weird (and apparently it's spring but the weather man here has not gotten the memo).  There have been days in the last 6 weeks that we've been in short sleeves and playing outside, and multiple "snow days" where things are shut down.  One afternoon/evening we got a foot of snow and many around us ended up with no power for days.  It's frustrating when things keeps getting cancelled (like preschool, mother's morning out, t-ball tryouts. . .) but not much can be done about it.  Now that we've had a taste of being outside we are ready for things to warm up for sure though.

Hot chocolate!

Nothing out of the ordinary going on.  Corban has had a realization though.  The past time I wrote on here he was saying "Mommy is the boss."  We, he informed me about a week and a half ago and "Mommy and Daddy are not the boss!  Corban is the boss!"  And he really believes it.  A switch flipped in his brain on Saturday March 24.  Taylor left for the afternoon and he came home and said "what happened to Corban?"  The change was that sudden and noticeable.  He yells "NO!" when he's asked to do things, hits Gabriel and takes his things, and yesterday he threw an all out tantrum in the grocery store.  He's 2 and a half and certainly acting like it.  It's understandable that he'd start being this way given his age, but I was of course hoping that he'd forget to go through this stage at all.  As he's always been, he's usually quite calm until you push one of his buttons and then life is quickly full of anger and rage.  He's still super sweet and says the kindest things too though.  He has a much more sensitive spirit than Gabriel did at his age.  When he's reprimanded or punished for something he frequently thinks about it for a good while afterwards and then, without prompting, will come and cry and apologize.  Being too harsh with him really seems to bother him more so I try hard to be gentle but firm.  Even Mommy loses her temper sometimes though.

When the Romp 'n Roll theme is dinosaurs you just have to have them all!

Corban still loves dinosaurs, Little Einsteins, Romp n Roll (and Ms Diana), swings, growling, pretending to be a "baby kitty cat", pretending to be Roo (Mommy is Kanga), looking at books, PJ Masks, Star Wars (mostly because Gabriel does), and making up random names for people in books that don't have names.  He also had made his own Star Wars character, "Chanda" the blue Jedi butterfly with pincher feet.

Swings!

 Corban (like most kids his age) says the oddest things.  Today he was getting so frustrated with me, but I have no idea what he was talking about.  He was going on and on about "that round orange thing with mayonnaise all over it that was reading a book in the backyard.  When you touch it it feels like a ladybug."  I listened and just nodded but he was getting so annoyed that I didn't know what he was talking about.  He finally said "Daddy knows what it is.  I'll ask him when he gets home."  Taylor didn't know either.

Monster feet

I was going into the spare room to get Corban up from his nap last week and I found him digging in a box with some candles in it.  The conversations went like this:

Me: What are you doing buddy?

Corban: I need a candle.  I need to spank the door.  I told it to make me oatmeal and it won't do it.

Me:  What?

Corban: I was going to do that, but then I realized the door can't do that.  It's not a person! 

"Take off my shoes mommy! I'll climb in the tree!"
This from the boy who flips out if his shoes get dirty
(although pooping in his underwear in no way bothers him)

Romp 'n Roll

2 1/2 year wellness visit for the boy who is still too
tall for the growth curve (and is wearing 4T shirts)

Corban suddenly has lots of "friends" that he wants in bed.  It used to just be cow and Rompy
(and of course "sack"), but that has suddenly changed into a whole crew. 
Cow, Rompy, Chick, Daniel Tiger, Triceratops, Brachiosaurus (who he has named Wall-E),
Rainbow bear, and owl (not pictured)

Gabriel reading Corban's baby book

And now Gabriel.  Not much drastically changes in a couple months.  He enjoys his same activities and outings.  Still loves to read and listen to stories.  He is getting more into reading to me which I think is fun.  He spent an entire car ride the other day reading me a Star Wars book.  He bounces back and forth in terms of what he likes to play, but the overall favorites are Star Wars (recently the Phantom Menace since we let him watch most of it) and Rescue Bots.  He still has close to two hours of quiet time in the afternoon, and judging from what's out in his room afterwards he spends it on Legos, books, and Playmobile while listening to CDs.  He is very excited to play T-ball this year and thankfully the tryout, which was postponed 3 times, actually happened tonight.

At the park with his best girl, Addy.  They have sat at the same table at preschool
the last two years and will play T-ball together too.  He is always so excited to
see her (and so is Corban.  He brought me my phone the other day and said
"Mommy, let's call Addy!")

Ready to play ball!

Corban got a picture with his stuffed animals and Gabriel wanted
a turn too (with his bear, Freddy, and his Toy Story pals)

Random thing.  I took Gabriel to his Ninja class last week.  He looked at me from halfway across the gym and yelled as loudly as he could "I LOVE YOU MOM!!"  I had to stop and appreciate that moment because before I know it he'll be embarrassed to be seen with me, while at this point he doesn't care if the whole gym knows that he loves his mom.

Picnic at the park with Daddy

"Carnival of Animals" at the Moss Arts Center

Besides snow, the other major thing the last couple months was Easter.  Gabriel's class had a party and egg hunt and he was saying for a month that he really wanted me to come and help with the party.  I could have gone to his parties in the past, but I honestly didn't because he never brought it up and Corban gets really hyper when we walk into Gabriel's classroom.  It was just easier to stay home with Corban.  We worked it out so that I could go this time and now I'm a little sad that I've missed all the past parties.  It was so fun to see him interacting with his classmates and being so excited to have me there.  I enjoyed participating in his music time, craft, snack, and egg hunt.  And I've known this the whole time he's gone there, but I love his preschool.  His teachers have the right mix of love and discipline and the order in the classroom of the kids demonstrates it.

Party food!

Listening to Ms Monica read an Easter book

Gabriel and Levi ready for the egg hung.  Batman and Spiderman. 
I have been hearing stories about Gabriel and Levi getting into mischief
for the past two years as they've sat next to each other.

Searching for eggs.  I was proud of him.  He didn't rush and try to grab as many as he could.  He took his time and inspected each egg.  Ms Lisa actually asked a couple kids to give him some of their eggs since he had so few.  He thought this was so neat.  He kept saying "Mom!  Did you see that?  John Paul shared one of his eggs with me!"

Grandma Cheryl came for an Easter visit and stayed in a hotel since there was lots going on for the weekend.  When we went to her room each boy claimed their own bed to hang out in.  That was a fun time

Blacksburg Egg Hunt

Carefully choosing eggs and then slowly picking any straw out of his bucket after each deposit

We went to the egg hunt put on by the town of Blacksburg.  Before it started they had someone dressed up like the Easter bunny.  I asked Corban if he wanted to say "hi", which he did.  When we got close though he was not having it.  After that he thought that "getting Easter eggs" meant seeing that bunny again.  He kept saying "I don't want to get the Easter bunny eggs!"  When the time came though he went it, got a few, and then said "that's enough."

I don't think Corban had ever pondered a hard boiled egg before.  It was fascinating

After the egg dying was done why not mix the colors all
together and make "honey nut tea", as Gabriel called it

Easter morning breakfast at church 

Easter morning with the bunnies that the neighbors gave them. 
Gabriel named his "Flopsy" and Corban named his "Knuffle Bunny"