California, here we came and went

Just back last Monday from a 10-day trip to California - me, Logan and Shay - to visit Baba. The trip was stressful but uneventful, as long as you don't count occasional whining (Shay) and complaints of being bored (Logan) and desperate pleas for patience (me). The flights were on time and I actually purchased a backpack with a harness for Shay so I could keep track of her at the very busy Minneapolis airport for our flight connection. Logan was a trooper, carrying his own backpack and lugging his suitcase when needed. He was impatient to reach our destination (every fifteen minutes: "Are we in California yet?") but thanks to the portable DVD player, at least 20 DVDs and a bunch of snacks, both kids held up quite well.

I'd planned a full itinerary, mostly because I knew we had to keep busy or else the kids would end up watching more videos than they should and I would still be cranky. Although happy to see us all, Baba, of course, was shell-shocked at the arrival of two highly active and energetic preschoolers who ran around the house in circles giggling and shouting, "No, little Dadu, no little Dadu" - for reasons that elude us still.

He'd procured all our favorite foods in advance - including cottage cheese, Ciabatta bread, a treat of Irish butter, tons of fruit and cheese, and Petit Ecolier dark chocolate cookies.

So we went to the San Jose Children's Museum the next day, where both kids went bonkers over the water play area which involved various streams and contraptions and floating balls and tornadoes. Shay refused to wear one of the provided water-proof smocks and ended up soaking wet, but since she didn't seem to mind, neither did I. Logan was especially thrilled with a machine that shot a line of balls into the air when you yank on a rope. Shay was captivated by a wheel that controlled the flow of a little fountain, and she refused to relinquish it even to kids who tried to nudge her out of the way.

The museum also has a big firetruck and fire-fighter costumes, which drew Logan like a bee to honey, and a bunch of other exhibits involving bubbles and spinning things and various things that were both fun and probably educational in some way, though things got too frenetic to figure out that part of it. But the kids had fun, and we left just as it was starting to get too crowded.

Then Friday night we went to hear Kedar play bass with the Blues Ambassadors at the Poorhouse Bistro in downtown San Jose. Fun, but wow, very loud. Thankfully they played at 6:00pm, so we could go and have dinner. Logan and Shay lasted over an hour before it got too much and we headed home.

The weather was great our entire trip - mid-70s and a slight breeze. Several days during the trip it got hot enough that in the late afternoon, after a much-needed "quiet time", the kids played in the sprinklers or tossed around water balloons (or just threw them on the ground to watch them burst).

Friday morning we headed off to Happy Hollow park and zoo, which I used to visit when I was a kid. A great, preschool-aged amusement park with rides, animals, and lots of play structures. We discovered (or remembered) the fact that Logan is a thrill-seeker as he wanted to go on the roller-coaster over and over. Shay went once before declaring that it was "really really fast" and "really really scary" and she would not be subjecting herself to such excitement again. She did enjoy the more sedate rides like the firetrucks and bugs that go around in calm circles.

Saturday June 26th we went hiking at Castle Rock state park because Logan asked to see some redwood trees. I remember hiking there with Mom, Baba and Kedar when I was a kid, taking picnic lunches and eating near a small lake or creek. Logan and Shay made it all the way to the actual "Castle Rock", a huge structure of stones overlooking a valley. Logan found a "walking stick" (just like I used to do) and was the leader of the expedition. Shay needed to be carried on the way down, but overall she was a worthy pre-Girl Scout. We went for ice cream in Saratoga Village after that, which was especially exciting because the lady at the counter first said she was out of cones, so she gave us our ice cream in bowls. Then as we were leaving, she had started to make fresh waffle cones and gave both Logan and Shay one WITH a scoop of ice cream. Ice cream in bowls AND cones - that was lunch!

Moving Along

So! Logan is five and a half. Shay is two and a half. Life continues to be busy, fun and sometimes frustrating. Logan is finishing his second second year in the Preschool of the Arts Copper Room, and has been a much better year for him than last year, when he was the youngest boy in the mixed-age classroom and had to contend with older boys who weren't necessarily a "good fit" as they politely say. He did fine last year, learned a lot, I'm sure, but this year he's really come into his own as a leader and a friend.

His best friend, Alec, joined the Copper Room this year and the two have become as thick as thieves over the course of the year. Alec is a very good kid, always smiling, and we've had several successful playdates outside of preschool. In school, they do a lot of fire-fighting along with the younger boys, building, digging, and spend huge amounts of time making things out of paper, markers, tape and glue -- including police uniforms and maps.

Speaking of which, Logan has developed an immense interest in directional objects these past few months -- maps, compasses, binoculars and telescopes in particular. I bought him a real compass and we went to the hardware store to get a chain that he could use to attach it to his belt. Very proud. He sits in the car telling me where to drive -- "Mom, go northeast south, then left, then around the mountain, then west by west. That's how you get to the park." Got it.

The map thing is neat too -- he's learning how to read them, and his favorite puzzle of late is a map of the U.S. He's doing a great job learning the different states and rarely misses the opportunity to inform us that Rhode Island is the smallest state.

He's also developed an interest in Mount Rushmore (not to mention Mount Everest - speaking of which, we have played mountain climbers at least a dozen times, complete with ropes to haul each other to the summit). He's starting to learn about the Mount Rushmore presidents (including "Eddie Roosevelt"), so next on the list at the library are books about the making of the mountain!

After Logan was born and we sent out birth annoucements, our good friend Russ said that the name Logan Roy-Lewis sounded like that of a great explorer. Maybe fate will have it's way!

A story by Shay

"Once upon a time there was a lovely girl. And a bear ate her."

(Dictated by Shay. Transcribed by Mom.)

Day

On the way home from preschool:

ME: Logan, how was your day?

LOGAN: I had a perfect day.

ME: Really? A perfect day?

LOGAN: No. I had an absolutely perfect, glorious, great, fantastic day.

Nice!

Shay comments

Recent sayings, courtesy of Shay:

"I'm firefighter Jay. Don't worry about me."

"Just a minute now."

"Please, oh PLEASE?" (this obviously follows a request for something and is, quite frankly, rather hard to resist)

To our everlasting amusement, she still inserts an "ie" in place of "r" -- water = waddie, diaper = diapie, sure = suie, Mr. Palmer = Mr. Palmie (that's one of Logan's karate instructors).

More on her soon. She's a firecracker.

Viewpoint

Logan, the other morning:

"Two thumbs up for breakfast, Mom! But two thumbs down for bad guys."

March 21, 2008

Found this old blog post, which for some reason I wrote but never actually posted. From March 2008.

-------------

Logan has always had some interesting words that he uses consistently even if he knows how to say the words the correct way. Case in point, for the longest time he said "puty" instead of "please" and "bye-ai" or "straw bye-ai" instead of "strawberry." Now he says "please" and "strawberry," but instead of "because" he says "cuzzin" (usually accompanied by a total non sequitor – as in, "I can't play my guitar cuzzin I like turkey sandwiches.")

He also repeats "some of", as in, "Mommy, can I have some of some of your tea?" or "Mommy, would you like some of some of my Play-Doh?" He also says things that make little to no sense – "noa koa cheesa" being one of them. We think it might have something to do with a preschool song, but we have yet to unravel the mystery. He used to randomly say, "Hass hamna," which had Will thinking he was speaking some form of ancient Arabic.

His responses and sense of logic are often very amusing. Today he said, "Mommy, I'm not feeling well." I said, "Why aren't you feeling well?" He said, "Cuzzin that's just how I am."

It was apparent to me a long time ago that my son is a morning person. He is cheerful in the morning. Like, CHEERful. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, he bounds out of bed with a smile on his lips and a song in his heart. Or the other way around. Whatever.

Now that Logan is actually sleeping through the night on a regular basis, Will gets up with him around six (actually, more like Logan runs in and wakes Will up) and they "hang out" before starting breakfast. I usually stagger out of the bedroom between six-thirty and seven, and Logan yells, "Hi, Mommy! Good morning, Mommy! You wanna come play wif me? You wanna do Play-Doh wif me? You wanna come get on the airplane wif me? I have two suitcases!" My response falls between a bleary-eyed grunt and a muttered, "Why don't I smell coffee yet?" Needless to say—and call me Mommie Dearest, if you must—no, my beloved son, I really don't want to play. I could care less about Play-Doh. I don't want to get on an airplane. I want a shower and breakfast, and I want it now.

Given Logan's and my wildly divergent strains of thought where morning is concerned, I was rather dreading Will attending a conference these past few days because it meant I was on morning duty. My nights with Shay are still not great and involve a lot of waking up, so while I feel pretty good, I'm not exactly getting eight hours of soul-soothing sleep here. So I went to bed kind of dreading what was to come. And sure enough, right at six, in comes Mr. Sunshine, tugging at the bedcovers and loudly announcing, "Mommy, it's time to get up! It's turning into daytime! You gotta wake up! It's turning into daytime!" My hasty, "Shh!!" went totally ignored, so I had to haul myself out of bed while trying to keep Shay asleep since trying to "get on an airplane" with the two of them at six AM is not my idea of a good time.

The good news is, and I'll say it again because it's been VERY big around here, Logan is actually sleeping through the night (not waking up ONCE), which is really a blessing all around. If you can get past the six AM Play-Doh and airplanes.

we're still here

So, uh, hi. A life well-lived since November, no doubt.

Logan is shining in preschool, especially now that he's one of the Copper Room's older boys. He's made pals with several of the younger boys who have introduced him to Spiderman (that was a big hit over Christmas as Santa delivered on several promised Spiderman gifts, including a ball and loves). Logan is also good friends with Alec, another 5-year old who teaches him things like "chest bumping" thanks to his 11-year old brother.

The Copper Room is a bright place with great teachers, Paula and Joyce, who let the kids lead the way in many cases as to what the room's "theme" will be. Last year, horses were the theme, as the kids did a lot of horse drawings and sculptures, and even visited a horse farm. This year, wood sculptures have been all the rage, as parents brought in different sized wood scraps which the kids then used to create sculptures (Logan made a microscope). The art teacher is having them draw the sculptures and create smaller cardboard sculptures, helping them learn about concepts like positive and negative space.

In the past few months, Logan has expressed more self-confidence and self-awareness than he ever has before. His teachers notice it in the classroom, and we notice it at home. One of his teachers commented that his writing skills have improved dramatically in the past couple of months, and today the art teacher Amy told me that she's never before seen Logan so verbal -- he talks endlessly about the sculptures and the things he's making (and she's been his art teacher for three years).

Logan also started karate last December, which coincides with his increased confidence. He raises his hand ALL THE TIME in karate when the instructor asks questions, and he does the same in preschool (even if he doesn't know the answer!). He's earned his orange belt in karate and will compete in his first tournament next weekend.

His latest joy is making things out of paper--cutting up pieces of paper, making holes in the paper, attaching strings, coloring on them. He's made police uniforms, kites, fishing rods, fish, millions of little notes, maps (road, treasure and planetary), spiderwebs, Spiderman costumes, and badges. He fills his school mailbox with all his work and brings them home in big bags. The space beside his chair at the dinner table is covered with his paper creations.

He's a big kid. 43 inches, 50 pounds. He continues to be both a good eater and a good athlete - getting outside to play is one of his favorite things to do. He still loves the monkey bars, which he worked so hard to master last summer, climbing the jungle gym, and anything that allows him to run, run and run some more. He wants to join a baseball league with Alec this summer.

He's learning to read, sounding out words and figuring out how to spell them. Books remain a big part of his life, as they have always been -- a particular new favorite is The Adventures of Riley series about a 9-year old boy who goes traveling around the world with his scientist-uncle and learns about tigers, penguins, dolphins and polar bears. He also continues to be intrigued by numbers, especially distances and time ("How many miles have we gone?" is a constant refrain in the car these days, and whenever he gets ahold of a tape measure, you can be sure everything within range will be subject to measurement scrutiny).

He starts kindergarten in September. Wow.

Care

Conversation on the way to Logan's new karate class:

LOGAN: Mom, I care about fire trucks, Spiderman, and you. That's all. I don't care about anything else.

ME: What about Shay?

LOGAN: Oh, yeah! I care about Shay and Dad. But I don't care about anything else.

ME: What about karate?

LOGAN: Oh, yeah! I care about karate too. And preschool. But I don't care about anything else.

ME: What about chocolate?

LOGAN: Oh, yeah! I care about chocolate too. But nothing else.

ME: What about books?

LOGAN: Mom, you're making me care about too many things.

Fall fun

So much going on around here! We went to California to see my dad at the end of August -- a trip that included much activity and excitement between the circus, the Discovery Museum, the beach, water balloons, sprinklers, a park with a fire truck AND an airplane, and more mac and cheese than Logan and Shay have eaten in a whole year.

Fall is one of my favorite times of year and even though it's been raining quite a bit, we've been busy. The local fire departments have a lot of activities for Fire Safety Week, including a fire truck parade down State Street, after which the trucks all park around the Capitol and the kids can meet the firefighters and sit in the trucks. Then the Fitchburg fire department had an open house that included actual RIDES on fire trucks (big excitement) and a safety demonstration where we had to crawl through a smoke-filled corridor (the same one the firefighters use during training).

Not to mention the massive police motorcycle, which thrilled Logan, and the free barbequed pork sandwiches, which thrilled Will.

We've gone on a field trip to a pumpkin patch farm with the Copper Room, baked lots of muffins and various breads, and I'm trying to get my book finally finished and sent off to my agent. About time, too.

Shay and Logan continue to amaze us every day. She is bright and lustrous, he has a mind that does not stop wondering and questioning everything ("Why do birds stay in the air if they're not flapping their wings?"). His love for firefighting knows no bounds - and his reaction to receiving a "real" firefighter costume for Halloween was peppered with many very sincere "thank yous" and "I love yous".

He is very into imaginative play, like putting blocks in a wooden box and announcing "Pudding for sale!", playing "Preschool Firefighter" where he is a firefighter coming to talk to his class about his job and gear. We play store quite a bit, not to mention games based on his books -- eg, tiger safari. He eats well, sleeps well, can whine like nobody's business when he wants to, but isn't prone to big temper tantrums and can usually be reasoned with.

Shay is more dramatic and loud when it comes to expressing her displeasure, but she is surprisingly good about channeling some inner zen when I tell her in a firm voice to "Be calm." She is still sparkly, inquisitive, social, and she doesn't hesitate to express her opinion about things. And she still PINCHES me when she's either trying to soothe herself or when she's getting excited about something. It's so weird, she did it as an infant when she would nurse -- pinching and clawing at my neck something fierce (so much so that I ended up wearing turtlenecks at night so she couldn't grab my skin) -- and she does it still.

Today we are busy -- after a morning running errands, we are going to the park after quiet time because it is a beautiful, sunny fall day. Then we're going to make chocolate-dipped pretzels with sprinkles for Logan's preschool Halloween party on Thursday. It's just me, Logan and Shay this week because Will is at a conference, and so far, so good with the trio teamwork!