Cool Stuff

I'm seeing a lot of the beginnings of memories for Eli and Maddux. They both have amazing memories already: the kinds that help you remember things, that is. Like when we go to an event we've only been to once before, and it was a year or more prior...they often tell me insignificant TINY details about it. Crazy.

But that's not the type of memory I'm talking about. I'm starting to see some fun memories created in our family that the kids will remember for years. We do fun stuff; everyone does. But in the last month I've started to see the kids interact and have little 'brother sister' moments that I am NO part of. I saw a few interactions the other night when they were around a bunch of other kids that just shocked me. Usually when other friends are around, Eli drops Maddux like a bad habit. However on this occasion, I saw him hanging out with her a few times, their heads close together as they were talking. LOVE it.

My favorite was yesterday. We somehow got talking about what Eli and Maddux wanted to do when they get older. Eli said, "I want to go to work like Daddy. And I want to play drums as good as Daddy." So sweet. Even sweeter? Maddux says, "I wanna go to daddy's work with Eli."

Body Numbers

Eli learned some fun 'physical' expressions of his numerals at school last week, and he was so excited to show me on Friday afternoon. He had Maddux and I get on the ground and do them with him, and he was sure to tell us how to do it correctly. This continued all weekend, so i grabbed the camera last night to catch him in action. As usual, when I put Eli on the spot, he froze a little and forgot the positions a few times, but it all turned out OK. AND you can see the backdrop is our lovely downstairs, coming along nicely.

2010 10 Body Numbers from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

An Official Bike Rider

Eli has been dabbling in the area of riding a bike without his gyro-wheel for some time, but he'd skip so much time in between 'practice sessions' that it would be like starting over each time. However, it is just in the last week that he's really taken the bull by the horns and gone for it. Usually he'll ask Lehr or I for a push and then, unsteadily, pedals for a few feet before putting a foot down or turning intentionally into the grass. Last weekend he finally started going longer distances. And he really enjoyed it! But he was still asking for help pushing off.

So this week we had a friend over one day to ride bikes and scooters. Eli mounted his two-wheeler and asked me for a push. I told him I'd push him from the street into the neighbor's (FLAT!!) driveway, and then he could push himself from the garage back to me. So I push him and expect some issues, but a few minutes later, he came riding towards me, shrieking, "MOMMY...LOOK!!!" I couldn't believe it. He had stopped, turned himself around and started again, all on his own. Eli repeated the solo start several times before we ended the day, and then showed Lehr when he got home from work. I think we've finally turned a corner on this!

Field Trip

Eli's class took their first field trip of the year last week. While he took two with his Pre-K class, this one was much bigger, as the whole Kindergarten was in attendance. The classes took a bus up to a Boy Scout property and went on a hay ride, learned about some outdoor-sy stuff, and then got to pick out a small pumpkin from a pumpkin patch. Eli had an absolute BLAST! I would have loved to chaperone, but it fell on a Thursday when Mad Dog was home with me, so I had to skip it this time. Eli told me all about the bus ride there, the fun hay ride, and then he said that he fell asleep on the bus ride home, next to a friend. How sweet is that! I believe it too; what a fun and exhausting day.

Report Cards

I had a conference with Eli's teacher this week, at which I received his report card. Since I'm in the classroom once a week helping out, I've been pretty up-to-speed with any goings-ons regarding Eli's behavior. But I was looking forward to the conference so that I could check in with his academics. While he seemed to be doing fine to me, I had no idea how he may be comparing to the 'standard' or to other kids in his class. It turns out that he is doing great! He's meeting all requirements with two exceptions, and even those were barely missed. We've since discussed those topics at home, and he had it down after our first conversation. Eli's behavior is still a work in progress, but it's much improved since his initial days in the classroom. His teacher has been able to observe him during the absence of a buddy (aka 'partner in crime), and she has come to realize that he has the tendency to just follow someone else's lead. Not that it takes him off of the hook for controlling his own behavior, but it's good to know that if he's separated from certain kids, he is a different Eli. All in all, it was a great conference and Eli is making the right kind of progress!

A Day In The Life...

This is so our life right now. Maddux is loud, Eli watches her perform, and Neil Diamond is sometimes the theme music....

2010 10 Kids Sing from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.

So Far, So Cool

Eli has come so far in just a few weeks. Pretty much since the first day of school we've been struggling with some less-than-preferred-by-the-teacher behaviors. A few calls, some notes home, a conference, conversations with the counselor and a few sessions of Mommy in the classroom later, I think we're on the right track. The short of it is that there was some sort of breakdown between Eli and his main authority figure at school; they were on two different pages. We seem to have met in the middle and are moving along rather nicely now. I know this will not be the end of it for Eli, as he is a very happy-and-he-knows-it child, but we've had more good than bad in the last two weeks, so we're celebrating!

In addition to that, Eli is progressing very well with his handwriting and recognition of sight words. I've made little flash cards of each sight word he's working on and we keep them down in our 'kitchen' (read: laundry room) so that he can review them with Lehr each morning over breakfast. Eli's pointing them out to me when we see them on errands now, which is cool. And his recitation of the lesson of the day is oh so cool. Monday he came home and recited a whole poem about Christopher Columbus to me. Since I was in the class just a few short hours earlier when his teacher taught it, I knew for a fact that they had learned that poem just that day. So cool.

Punky Bruester

Mad Dog likes to mix and match, and I love to foster that. Even on days when she doesn't choose her socks and shoes (currently the part of her outfit I allow her to select most days), I find fun, funky stuff for her to wear. At this time, we are enjoying some lovely fall weather most mornings, so leg warmers are a part of many outfits, especially if she's wearing a skirt. And most days those leg warmers are actually 'Baby Legs', which date back to her days as a 4-8month old. Love that they still fit and she can use them with almost any outfit. Here is a small sampling of the outfits she's been rocking as of late.

Escapee

Holy Moly! I've already told this story to most friends and family, but it's the most 'book-worthy' of any post I have about the kids, so here we go.....

This morning was a crazy one. We had car battery issues, and lack of gas issues, and schedule issues. So all of the stars lined up causing Lehr to be at the gas station with my car, the garage door up, me in the shower, and Maddux waking up at the exact same time. For the last month, Maddie has been climbing out of her crib and coming into my bathroom as soon as she wakes up. 99% of the time I'm still in the shower, so she hangs out and talks to me until I'm done. Today, however, she did NOT come into my room. Instead she ignored the loud water noise that should have tipped her off to the fact that I was bathing, and she instead went downstairs, against everything she normally would have done. She decided to open the door to the garage (where an alarm would normally have sounded, but we in still in construction mode, so no such alarm exists). At this point she sees that my car is gone. And instead of noticing that Daddy's car was still there (and, oh yeah, that SHOWER sound), she gets scared that she's home all alone and leaves the house.

Here is where she gets smart. Instead of wandering through the streets, or walking all of the way up to the bus stop, she goes right across the cul-de-sac to our good friends' house. Their garage door and house door was open in prep for an exit of their own, so she just walked right in and asked, "Where's Mommy?"

As frustrated as I am with the circumstances leading to her exit from our house, I am overjoyed that she went to a house we know well and trust, and I'm ever grateful that they were home to welcome her with open arms and reassure her. All day I struggled with reminding her that we NEVER leave the house without permission and complimenting her on smart thinking about where she should go if she were in trouble. Gray hairs? Check.

Compassion

My girl has it. In every fiber of her being. Even when she is distracted by toys. Even when she is distracted by friends. Even when she is distracted by her own injury or pain. Maddux has more compassion for others in her little finger than I probably have in my whole body.

She has always been the first kid to ask 'what's wrong' when she hears someone crying, but lately Maddux has really stepped it up, even for her. I consistently get reports from school that she is amazing with her classmates, taking care of them when they are sad that their mommy left, or comforting them when they crying because they don't get to play with a toy. Today I picked her up in the car pool line and her teacher said, "GREAT day!" She then went on to tell me that Maddux is so sympathetic to the other children. Specifically that day, Maddux rushed to the teachers when a girl from another class was 'stuck' on a playground apparatus. Apparently Maddux tried to help her when she called out, but couldn't, so she ran for help. They love her for her 'gift', and I love them for that!

This week I took the kids downtown after Eli got home from school. As he often does at that time of day, Eli started snoring just ten minutes into our drive. Maddux wiggled and wiggled in the backseat until she could reach over to stroke his head while he slept, just like I do to both of them when they're sleepy. She was so focused on reaching over to him...amazing. She's also done the same thing to me a few times when I've nodded off on the couch with her before Eli comes home. I wake up to her fingers in my hair. Love it!

Beach Trip

Sorry it's taken me so long to post...we came home to busy schedules and for the first time ever I didn't blog a little bit in my email drafts while we were at the beach, so this is all from scratch and from memory.

We drove down to the beach with a FULL car. Some friends drove with us, maxing us out at four adults and three kids. With luggage (very limited luggage), we barely fit. A few DVDs and a stop at Cracker Barrel later, we were at the beach. Just in time for a quick trip to the shore and pool before dinner. Eli and Maddux had a blast, playing with our friend, Bryce, who came with us for a few days. The three of them ran in the waves, jumping and laughing the whole time. The boys took turns on Eli's boogie board, catching waves here and there.

The next day the kids woke up before the sun (really....REALLY), so we were at the beach well before 9. Lehr rented Eli a bike with training wheels, so he no longer rode in the trailer. It was very odd to have him be in charge of his own transportation...the first time we brought him to the beach he could barely crawl! Both boys had boogie boards, so they 'surfed' together until we went up to the pool. Given how early we were up, an early lunch at the house was in order, so everyone could catch a few winks. We did more pooling, more biking, and then back to the house to make homemade pizzas. The kids loved stretching their own dough and deciding what to put on top.

Friday found us with just two kids, and another early morning. This time, just the four of us went down to the beach to start. Eli spent much time finding waves again, while Maddux perfected her sand castle skills. She did run up and down the shore with me though. This year found her a little more skiddish of the waves, but I showed her how she could stay in water that never got above her knees and jump over the waves. She loved it. When we hit the pool on this day, both kids were already visibly tired. I never had a hard time getting them to sleep on this trip! Eli napped hard, but woke up before Maddux, so he took a bike ride with D and Daddy. On the way back, it started to rain, which made D and Eli work together to bike faster, which resulted in a crash. It was bad enough to scrape up Eli's elbow and a little bit of his knee (and put a HUGE dent in his helmet), but it didn't break his spirit. As soon as Maddux got up, Eli and I went for another ride. Since it was still raining, we played some corn hold on the deck and then made dinner. Seafood was on the menu for the night, and I made some mac-n-cheese to add to the kids' plates as well. (Side note: It felt SO GOOD to use a stove again!)

After dinner we took the kids on a bike ride to get ice cream. It was really dark, and the ice cream store was a little farther away, so we convinced Eli to ride in the trailer with Maddux. They both loved the ice cream (gelato). We got them a cone with two flavors: Eli got blueberry pomegranate and blood orange, and Maddux got lemon and raspberry. Delish! When we got home we took quick showers outside and went to bed.

Saturday. The last day before we left. We woke up to overcast skies, but the four of us went to the beach right away. We took a little bit of an extended bike ride on our way and stumbled across several white chairs set up on one of the many pristine grassy areas, seemingly for a wedding later in the day. I shot a few pictures as the kids sat in each row, and Lehr showed Maddux how to walk down the aisle. Somehow I doubt he'll be as willing in about 20 years....

This day was probably the most fun. The four of us had such a good time just hanging out before the rest of the world woke up and joined us. We had a huge section of the beach all to ourselves and we used ALL of it. Eli boogie boarded and Maddux ran up and down the shore. We notice that to our right was a small 'dark spot' in the water; we assumed it was just a deeper drop off from the beach. Maddux found out just how deep. She was running along, minding her own business while Eli and I were working on sand castles and POOF: she was gone. She swam really good, treading water until Lehr got to her, but the depth of the first area she entered was 3-4 feet. Right next to ankle-deep water that she was running in. So crazy! So now it became known as the 'pool', per Eli. For the next twenty minutes, Eli and Lehr ran up to the spot and did cannonballs and can openers into the deep section. What a blast!

We tried for the frog pool again, but the rain chased us back to the house for lunch. More corn hole after naps, and then a trip back to the beach for pizza dinner and sunset. We did this last year and loved it, so it will now be something we do each trip. Eli and Maddux had a great time messing around in the sand and getting washed over by the waves. They each scarfed down a few pieces of pizza before it got too dark and we called it a night.

We would normally spend a few last-ditch-effort hours at the beach before heading out of town, but when we woke up on Sunday it was pouring with no chance of a reprieve. The kids are already asking when we can go back. For more pictures, click here.

Expectations

Eli Wants To Help You

That's what Eli wanted to write on his sign.

After Eli felt the urge to help, and we talked more about our 'plan' Monday night, Eli told Lehr that he really wanted to hold a sign letting people know he had water for them, so they could come get it if they were thirsty. He also started sorting his coins....all of his coins. He wanted to give people money too so they could buy other food and drink, if they didn't like his. It was all I could do to not smother that kid with kisses and hugs. His heart is so big! While I loved the idea of giving money, handing someone a quarter, a dime and a nickle (Eli's donation of choice) may come off as a bit patronizing, so Lehr and I talked about how he could borrow some paper money from us and think about other ways to use his coins. I did help him make a sign though. We went back and forth over what it shoudl say: I think Eli's first draft was "Come-get-some-water-and-a-bar-cuz-I-brought-it-for-you-cuz-I-knew-you'd-be-thirsty". We scaled it back a bit, had Eli write the words himself, and taped the final product to one of Eli's drumsticks, so he could carry it. He really wanted to have another sheet of paper and a pen so that people could write their names down and he could pray for them. I loved loved that idea, but we forgot to bring a pen, so it never happened. (Next time!)

Yesterday after breakfast, chasing a squirrel around our temporary kitchen, and some house issues, the kids and I drove down to Piedmont Park with 35 bottles of water, 45 granola bars, the double BOB stroller (to carry it all), and some paper money in Eli's pocket. Of course Maddie wanted to ride in the stroller from the beginning; she barely walked across the street before she hopped in. Eli walked a bunch more, but got discouraged after a while. We covered a LOT of ground and didn't run into anyone that was in any obvious need of Eli's 'help'. We did see one man, but Eli got a bit shy, so Maddux brought him a granola bar. About an hour passed and still no more than the one, so we stopped by the playground before heading back to the car. Even though we went a different way, we still ended up taking all 35 water bottles back home with us. Hopefully we can hand them out the next time Eli has a day off from school.

Doctor, Doctor!

Lesson learned today: Do not allow more than one doctor appointment to be scheduled in the same day, especially not back-to-back! Totally by chance, both the kids' pediatrician well-visits were this afternoon, followed very closely (almost-causing-us-to-be-late closely) by Eli's orthopedist appointment. Ouch.

The well-visits went 'well'. Eli is growing right along, but he's dropped to the 30th percentile for height, and similar for weight (he's usually a 50th percentile kid). Maddux is 33 pounds and well into the 75 percentile for both height and weight. Eli had to take a vision test, which he passed perfectly, and he was due for one vaccination. The poor kid got a little nervous, but didn't fight the nurse. In fact, they always ask us to hold them down (which I try to disguise as a hug), but Eli didn't even flinch. That nurse was GOOD!!

From there we raced to Eli's ortho....made it just in time to fill out five pages of paperwork 'updates'. We were seen by an up-and-coming doc first, who gave us a good report, followed by Eli's regular ortho, Dr. Schrader. He had Eli do a variety of things from jumping, to hopping on one foot, to touching his toes, etc. At the end of it he said that Eli has done very well with wearing his shoes and he saw no reason for him to continue to do so at night. In fact, unless we see a sign of relapse (which is unlikely), we don't even have to return for another 2-3 years!!

Even though it's what we hoped and prayed for, the enormity of this visit didn't hit me until I put Eli to bed tonight. For a while now we've been allowing him to sleep without the shoes on Friday nights, and here and there for special circumstances (babysitters, etc.). But the fact that I never again have to put them on my little boy.... the fact that he can now get himself out of bed in the middle of the night to use the bathroom... the fact that he can curl up in any position he wants EVERY night... This is big. Really big. And it's five years in the making. Those shoes have been such a huge part of our lives for as long as Eli's been a part of who we are. Wow...this week just keeps coming at us in these crazy ways....

Emotional

That could sum up my month. And I am NOT an overly emotional person. People give me a hard time for that all of the time; i didn't even cry when Eli was born. Just not who I usually am. However, it's been a struggle of a month for us surrounding various things with our little guy, none of which I'm ready to get into publicly yet. The only reason I bring that up is to point to the fact that I have shed many tears and been that girl that 'cries at the drop of a hat'.

Today I got emotional for an entirely different reason. And a very very good one. I hesitate to share it because it is so great to me that I fear it may come across as boastful. But it is also so amazing to me that I can't not share it because I know how much hope it gives me to read about such conversations other parents have with their kids, so share I will.

We've had a rough month, and last week we had a rough week, so today I planned as much fun, quality time with both kids as we could all handle. After playing this morning, bowling, and lunch at our favorite spot, we drove home from downtown. Rewind to thirty minutes prior to our drive, we were seated next to the sidewalk at the restaurant. Eli immediately saw a homeless man ten feet from him and noted that he was getting a drink from the trash. i tried to discourage further conversation about it at the moment because I didn't know how to properly discuss while this man was standing right there. Once we were in the car I brought it up again though.

I knew Eli was a little confused by someone drinking something he'd found in the trash. "Disgusting" is the word he used to describe the bottle of water. And why wouldn't he.....if (when) Maddux picks up a random bottle or spoon or anything off of the ground, or near the trash, that's what we tell her it is, and Eli hears all of that. I asked Eli to tell me what he saw, and he sorta nervously giggled as he told me he saw a guy pulling water out of the trash to drink. I told Eli that it was something very serious that he saw. We both know that is 'disgusting', but that man has fallen on some hard times and doesn't have enough money to buy water for himself from Costco, but he's thirsty. Thirstier than Eli has ever been during baseball practice. Eli had a serious look on his face by this point; he was totally listening.

I then went on to tell him that we are VERY lucky that Daddy has a job and that we have a house to live in, a car to drive, and food and water to eat and drink. I did my best to explain that some people get sick or hurt and can't afford to pay for a car anymore, which means they usually can't have a job anymore. And without a job, they don't have money for a house or food and water. I tried to use the example of our wreck this summer; I told Eli that if Daddy didn't have a job, we would not have been able to get a replacement car at that point. So on and so on....trying to explain that some of the people they see that don't have food or water or clean clothes have fallen on bad luck.

So THEN we move to what we can do for them. I reminded Eli that he can always pray for them...that is one of the best things he can do. But then I reminded him that it's not fair that we have money and those people don't; we are no different or better than them. Eli responded with, "Well I have a LOT of money." Pause. (I was starting to get nervous here...) "So I could give monies to ALL of the people in Atlanta that don't have enough money." Tears started to well. They almost spilled over because my little man went on to tell me that he wanted to bring bottled water to those people too, because we have some at home. Then he said, "I could give them some newspapers so they could find some coupons."

I'm not sure if there has been a time when I've felt more 'called upon'. Here we are talking about all of the things we should do, and why can't we do them now??! Given Maddux's state, we did need to go home to give her some down time. However, we have no plans for the morning, so I told Eli right then and there that if he wanted, we could get water and go down to Piedmont Park tomorrow to hand out water. He and Maddux were extremely excited to help out. I am proud of my amazing kids. And now I'm totally emotionally exhausted from such an amazing conversation.

Perfect Day

Today was the first day of fall break. Just me and the kids and no plans. I decided to have a 'date day' with them which included bowling, lunch, and anywhere else the day took us. Eli and Maddux were SO excited. Especially Eli. I think he's missing the day-to-day fun we had all summer.

We arrived at the bowling ally to find it next to empty. The kids had a blast playing a full game....they both did really well (even though the bumpers helped). Maddux didn't bowl in any lanes other than ours, and Eli only stepped over the foul line six times. They were both a little sad when we left, but I let them split my last frame and that seemed to make things all better. Maddux was acting a little sleepy, but nothing major. Eli suggested the Biscuit for lunch, and even though it is all of the way downtown, I totally obliged. It is date day, after all.

We were seated next to the huge open windows right away. The kids happily colored while I ordered. In the meantime Lehr texted us and walked over from his office. Maddux put her head on the table as soon as the food arrived. She felt fine (temp-wise), but was complaining about being sleepy. She never ate a thing, though Eli cleared his plate and cut his chicken sausage very well by himself. Lehr showed up just as we payed the check. He sat and hung with the kids for a minute before Maddux laid her head back down on my lap. We started to leave and then Maddux started to cry. She grabbed her stomach and wailed in pain. I suspected what was to come next so I tried to lift her onto the street quickly. I only half made it before she threw up. Several times. Luckily most of it went outside of the restaurant, but still not something you want to have happen. We cleaned her up as best we could (the wait staff was so nice), but she had to be stripped down to her shorts. By this time she was fine, and even giggling when I was wiping her down, due to ticklish spots. A bigger tip later, we walked back to the car. We quickly dropped Lehr off to work and headed home to bathe Maddie and put her down for a nap.

Eli was being so cooperative and obedient that I didn't even suggest some room time during naps today. He is right now sitting next to me working on a picture he started drawing at the restaurant. Every few minutes we'll engage in conversation and then we'll each go back to our respective work. My heart is overflowing today.

Perfect

Maddie's Posse

As the second child, and the second child to a brother who already had a big group of friends born around the same time as he was, most days find Mad Dog in social circles she's part of by happenstance. Today was all about her. The room mom for Maddux's preschool class invited everyone to meet at the park on a day we didn't have school, so we made a date out of it. Come to find out, this mom's daughter is one that Maddux seems to have really connected with. The girls recognized each other from across the parking lot...the fun began right away.

A few other kids showed up, including one little girl who was wearing the exact same outfit as Maddux. (Gotta love Target!) Two boys showed up; I'm pretty sure there are only two boys in the whole class.... After playing on the swings and apparatus for an hour, most of us walked down to the bridge so the kids could throw leaves and sticks off of the side and watch them float down the creek. It's amazing how long that entertained them all! When it came time to leave, much hugging and high-fiving took place. Everyone knows Maddux and she is quite comfortable around her 'peeps'. It makes me sad that this was probably the first time I've done a play date just for that little girl, but I'm so glad to know it has not affected her social skills in the slightest.

Almost a Year.....

Dancin' Queen - NEW video

Mad Dog is definitely that. She LOVES to cut a rug. The opening bars of most any song barely start before she's shaking her hips or raising her shoulders up and down. Here is a quick video I shot last week when the kids and I were playing around in our one-room entertainment center.

202010 09 Maddux Dance from Nicole Eliason on Vimeo.