Field Trip

Today John's class went on a field trip to the Paper Moon Theater in Atlantic Highlands.  I signed up to be a chaperon.  It was my first time chaperoning a field trip, so I was a little excited.  John was super excited.  Not only did he get to go on a school bus, but Mommy was going with him too. 

I dropped the kids off later than usual today so that I was there a little before the bus arrived.  My group was John, Rashub and Remy.  We all piled into the bus and took the bumpy trip to the theater.  The Paper Moon is a small theater and the kids got to sit on the floor while all the adults had chairs.     

The show we saw was The Wizard of Oz.  John has never seen the movie, so I wasn't really worried.  I thought that a puppet show would not be too scary.  Well I was wrong.  A few minutes into the show, John came running to my seat and said "I'm scared."  I'm not sure what was so scary about Dorothy and Toto, but he didn't want to watch.  After a little convincing, I was able to move to the floor and have him sit on my lap.  But there were still parts that he was afraid to watch.  He did not like the wicked witch of the west or the wizard.  I thought the show was adorable.  I think it may have just been my presence at the show.  Because at the end when all the kids could meet the puppets and see how the puppeteers worked, he was much happier.  And wasn't afraid to ask questions or touch the puppets. 
 

Shaking

Gillian loves to play with her baby dolls. She frequently brings me a baby and says "baby cryin." She will hand me the doll and ask me to help stop the baby from crying. I always play along and rock the baby and give baby kisses. The other day, Gillian gave Daddy a crying baby. Daddy took the baby and rocked her for a minute. Then he shook the baby saying "stop crying baby!" Gillian laughed at Daddy, which made Daddy continue to shake the baby. Finally she said "Not nice Daddy! No shakin baby!"

Now anytime baby is crying Daddy offers to help Gillian. Gillian says "No Daddy! No shakin baby!"

Birthday Girl

I woke John up this morning and told John it was Gillian's birthday today. He said "Can I wake her up by saying Happy Birthday?" So we let him going running into her room. He was so excited to be the first person to wish her a happy birthday. When I went into Gillian's room she was telling everyone "Two!" During breakfast this morning she was singing "happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you."

I brought cupcakes to school along with goodie bags for Gillian's class. We also ordered pizza for her friends too. I asked Gillian how was her pizza party and she said "eat cake!" I guess the cupcakes were more exciting than the pizza.

Un-Fair

Daddy and I planned to go to the Monmouth County Fair tonight. Daddy picked up the kids and I met them at home. We picked up food for dinner and ate in the car. We drove all the way to Freehold and there was a big sign saying that the fair was closed due to the weather. Yes. We knew there was a storm coming but it wasn't due to rain until 8 so we figured we would get a hour or so before the rain started.

Daddy and I had to come up with a quick plan to entertain the kids. Luckily we didn't tell them we were going to the fair. All we said was that we were going somewhere fun. We stopped at Dorbrook park and the kids got to run around and play. They played for awhile and then we stopped to get Italian ice. Daddy decided it was a good idea to get Gillian her own Italian ice. Gillian made a mess. She was covered in Italian ice.

Smiling

I picked up the kids from school today and Miss Chris, Gillian's teacher, told me that Gillian had a bad day. In the car I asked John how was his day. He proudly reported "I was in the green all day." I looked at Gillian and said I know you didn't have a good day. She immediately burst into tears. She knew she was bad. I told her that I was very disappointed in her and that she needed to be a better girl. And she just whined. I fear the terrible twos are here.

Tonight at dinner John was refusing to eat his cheeseburger. "But my tummy hurts." His tummy didn't hurt. He was his giving me a hard time. So I said John stop fooling around, it's time for you to eat dinner. John looked at me and said "I'm not kidding. If I'm smiling, I'm kidding. If I'm not smiling, I'm not kidding."

Bert's Visit

I picked the kids up from school today. As we were walking to the door I told John that we were going to Grandma's house. He said "Really? We're going to Grandma's? Yes!" And he went running down the hallway and out the front door. He ran past a family and stopped at the end of the path right before the parking lot. The other family got closer to John and he told them "I'm going to my Grandma's house tonight!" We got in the car and I told John that we were going to see Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Betty, Uncle Bob, Aunt Katie and Bert. "Who's Bert?" I explained to John that Bert is his oldest cousin and that he and Aunt Katie live far away. I told him that we don't get to see him all the time and that we were all going to have dinner at Grandma's house.

John was very excited in the car on the way to Grandma's. However, once we got there he was very shy and did not want to get out of the car. Aunt Betty met us at the car and helped to get Gillian out of her seat. John was still a little shy, but that all changed when he saw Bert. They hit it off right away and before we knew it they were running outside. John had a sword and Bert had a Nerf gun. The next time we saw John he had the sword down the back of his shirt. That's one way to carry a sword.

We had a wonderful family dinner and afterward the kids played again. We had to leave because it is a school night. On the way home John said "I had a lot of fun. But Mommy can I have M&M's when we get home?"

Cupcakes

We had a barbecue today to celebrate the kids birthdays. I made cupcakes for the celebration, a dozen pink and a dozen chocolate. Gillian had a pink cupcake. She loved it. She ate all the icing off the top. And then she ate the cake too. She finished the entire cupcake and leaned across the table toward the plate of cupcakes. Of course she wanted another cupcake. She decided to have a chocolate one next. That was our mistake. She was covered in chocolate. She had it everywhere and she made it worse my deciding to take a walk while her hands were covered in icing. We got her cleaned up and moved onto opening presents.

After everyone left, the kids were playing outside. I joined them and eat a cupcake while I watched them play. Gillian went into the house and came out with a chocolate cupcake. It was her party if she wanted another cupcake she could have one. Big mistake Mommy. She make a huge mess. Not only did she have icing all over her hands but she took those hands and pushed back her hair. I took her immediately upstairs and put her in the bath. As I was changing her after the bath I found icing on my elbow. It's a good thing she's so cute.

Blustery

I had to run a bunch of errands today. Daddy was working today so it was just me and the kids. I piled them into the car around 9 so that we could get to Costco when they opened. It was a gorgeous morning and the kids wanted their windows down. As we are driving along, John says "Do you know what blustery means?" I love moments like this. He explained "It's when it gets really windy. Like right now. Mommy it's blustery now!" And with that comment we rolled the windows up.

I'm older

John loves to be a big brother. Tonight he was helping Daddy and he said "I can help because I'm the big brother." Daddy said well, I think Duncan, our boxer, is your big brother. John quickly replied "Duncan is older than me, but I'm bigger. I'm taller than him. Because I'm people. So I'm the big brother."

Attention to detail

Part of John's room makeover was two new posters. One is a Marvel heroes poster and the other is Marvel villains. We received the posters today in the mail. Daddy was hanging them up and John said "Daddy, you should put them right next to each other. This guys fingers are on that picture." And John was right. If you look closely at the two posters you can see where they overlap. He convinced Daddy to move the posters closer together. Smart boy.

The Carwash

Today was water day at TLC. John got to go to school in his bathing suit, water shirt and water shoes. He was very excited. He was also a little disappointed that Gillian did not get to wear her bathing suit to school. But don't worry, Gillian got to participate in water day. It was easier for her teachers to bring the bathing suit to school.

According to John there was a car wash at school. From what he described it was a giant inflatable car wash that sprayed water. We asked him how he went through the car wash. He said "like this!" Then he put his hands in the air by his shoulders and made circles in the air all while running in place saying "swish swish swish!" Then he said "and sometimes I would go through and say 'I'm king of the rain!'"

We asked Gillian if she liked the carwash. Sometimes she nodded other times she shook her head. According to the note in her bag, she loved the carwash.

My silly Bean

Gillian is a silly girl. Tonight she found a pair of sneakers. These sneakers were in a bag of hand-me-down shoes given to John by Aunt Trish. Another thing to note, these sneakers were the only ones in the bag that light up. Also they were a size 11 and Gillian is a 6. Gillian loved them. She put them on and didn't take them off until bath time.

She played before dinner with her baby doll. She walked her around the kitchen in her stroller. She so sweetly covered baby with a blanket. The blanket was one of my dish towels. No wonder why I never seem to have a dish towel. She decided baby needed to lay on the floor. Then she said "baby cryin!" And she did her best to try to stop the baby crying. She rubbed baby's belly. When that didn't work, she laid down on the floor next to baby. What a sweet mommy.

Jenk's visit

Jenkinson's Aquarium visited the Lincroft Learning Center today. John told me about it on our way home from school. "Three things came to school today: a starfish, a horseshoe crab and a snail. But I only touched the starfish. I was a little afraid of the horseshoe crab." I, of course, had to see if he knew a lot about the horseshoe crab and said it's because you were afraid of the pinchers. "No Mommy! They don't have pinchers. They have a hard shell. And you know what? They swim on their back. You know why? So they can look for food." After he told me a about the horseshoe crab, I asked him to tell me about the starfish. "You know that they have five legs. And their belly is right in the middle. Do you know where their mouth is? It's in the middle. And they have a leg right on their head. And they have suction cups!" I love that he is excited about learning and I learned a little something too today.

Italian Festival

Last night we took the kids to the Italian Festival at Freehold Raceway. There were rides and food and fireworks.  John was very excited about going on the rides.  The first one he went on Gillian was able to go with him.  She was a little unsure at first going by herself, but after the ride started she was so happy.

Gillian loved her first ride and was very disappointed that she couldn't go on the next ride with John.  John flew the airplanes solo.  The airplane ride was one where the kids could control if they went up or down.  John spent most of the ride up in the air.  John and Daddy went on the spinning monkey ride. 

After the spinning monkey ride, John got to go on another one solo.  It was a bouncing car ride.  John jumped into the number one car and was on his way.



The next ride was the Flintstones ride.  Gillian was big enough to go on it, but accompanied by an adult.  I got to ride with the kids.  John drove while Gillian and I hung out in the back of the car.  John is really funny on the rides.  He kept telling Gillian, "If you push the buttons, then you will fly out of the car.  You can't use the steering wheel, cause I'm driving!"

Gillian was too small for the next ride, and John actually had to have an adult accompany him.  So I got to ride the hang gliders with John.  Of course he wanted to get a green hang glider, the first one we got to was broken.  He was so disappointed.  But luckily we were one of the first people in line, so we were able to get a green glider.  He has been on a ride like this before, but this one was a little bit bigger and went higher than before.  He was really calm and cool while we were waiting for the ride to start.  He told me where to put my hands and that it would go up high in the air.  As soon as we were up high in the air he said "I am not doing this again.  Never ever again!!"

Our next ride, Gillian was able to go with us.  John, Gillian and I got to ride on the dogs.  On this ride, the dogs go up and down. Gillian and I rode together and John rode with another little girl in the car behind us.  As we were flying up and down, I could hear behind me "Mommy, Gilly!  Push the button, you can hear the music!"  Daddy and John got to go on the next ride together.  It was a barn that went up in the air and twisted around. After the barn, we all went on the ferris wheel together.  John was really scared to go on the ferris wheel.  He didn't like the height, but by the end of the ride he loved it. He admitted "It was fun!"

We met up with one of Daddy's colleagues and walked thru the rest of the festival with him and his wife.  John got his arm painted and no trip to a festival is complete without some cotton candy.  We used up the rest of our ride tickets and by then it was 8:30.  The kids were pretty exhausted, so we decided to leave instead of staying for the fireworks.  I think that was a good decision, considering John slept until 9 am this morning.  He never sleeps in that late!

Clouds and karate

At dinner tonight, John turns to us and says "You know today it was parkly cloudy." You know Daddy and I had him repeat himself. When he repeated "It was parkly cloudy. Do you know what parkly cloudy means? That means there are some clouds but some sun."

While John was teaching Daddy an I about the weather, Gillian was eating her dinner. She was taking her fork and stabbing her pizza. When she stabbed the pizza she would scream "Hiyah!" She would eat the bite of pizza and then repeat "Hiyah!"

Lightning Bugs

The kids were up a little late (8:15) and I suggested that we go outside to catch lightning bugs. John is a little afraid of bugs so I was surprised when he ran outside to catch lightning bugs. Daddy showed him how to catch the bugs and John went running into the yard.

I was holding Gillian and showing her the bugs I caught. She did not like them. She did not want to touch them. Again I was surprised. Gillian will sit and watch an ant for hours. I guess she will watch and not touch.

Anyway we caught a few and released them after we watched them fly around and light up. As I tucked John into bed, I asked him if he had fun catching lightning bugs. He said "Mommy they are light bugs. Because they LIGHT up."

Early alarm

The past two mornings John has woken up early and come into our room. This morning it was 5:30 and he walked in saying "My back hurts." We just let him climb into the bed and snuggle with us. Which basically means that he is kicking and rolling around while Daddy and I are disturbed. I tried to fall back asleep before my alarm went off, but that didn't happen. I jumped into the shower. I was almost done and I could hear John talking. I poked my head out and he says "Mommy, I'm happy that you are my mommy." And in that instant he was forgiven.

Dinner standoff

We had an interesting dinner. I made hamburgers, hot dogs, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. John decided he wanted a hot dog. I gave him a piece of carrot and broccoli along with a scoop of potatoes. He ate half the hot dog and about half the potatoes. He then asked to be excused. I told him that he needed to eat everything on his plate. He just looked at me and he said "but I don't like the broccoli. I just want the carrot." Again I said you need to eat everything on your plate. You are not allowed to leave the table without eating everything on your plate. He tried to argue with me. I repeated, you are not allowed to leave the table until you eat everything on your plate. "But I want to leave the table." Again I said you are not allowed to leave the table until you eat everything on your plate. Every time I said those words I had flashbacks to when I was younger. I know I spent a few nights at the dinner table when everyone else was playing.

Eventually I started to clear the table and empty the dishwasher. I could see him stare at his plate. Slowly he ate the mashed potatoes. A few minutes later he says "Mommy do you see something missing?" And to my surprise, he ate the broccoli! That was all it took. He eventually ate the rest of his dinner. I just wish I didn't have to threaten him.

From Gillian's mouth

John needs to ask to be excused when he wants to get up from the dinner table. A few weeks ago after dinner, Gillian says "Cuse!" I didn't know what she was saying and I had her repeat it. She was trying to say excuse me. It's so cute. She even asks to be excused after breakfast.

Gillian knows all the animal sounds. If you ask her what a piggie says she snorts. And my personal favorite. If you ask her what a skunk says. She says "Pee-Ew!"

A couple of posts ago, I told you that the kids love the song "Call me Maybe." Gillian calls the song "crazy." Today Gillian was saying crazy to Daddy. Daddy asked her who was crazy. Gillian replied "Mommy crazy!"

Sharing

John was on his way to his swimming lesson and I was trying to put Gillian down for a nap. Gillian didn't want to take a nap and John let her take Travis the turtle. I asked him if he was sure. He said "She can have him as long as she wants." I am so proud of my boy.

Gillian took her nap with Travis, Kermit and her bear. Before I tucked Gillian into bed tonight, I sent told her to return Travis to John. She ran him into John's room and came back to her bed. I tucked her in and went into John's room for kisses. I told him that I was so proud of him. He said "I wanted her to have Travis for as many minutes as she wanted." I told him that she only napped with him. He was very disappointed. "Why?" I guess he wanted Gillian and Travis to have a fabulous adventure today. Maybe next time.

Grumpster Dumpster

When John is cranky at school one of his teachers calls him a Grumpster Dumpster. Today John was a Grumpster Dumpster. He was practically in tears when I told him he couldn't have milk with dinner. I told him that he could have soda instead of milk. Any other kid would be ecstatic to hear they could have soda with dinner. No. Not John. "But I want milk!" I explained to him that if they had milk with dinner we would not be able to have milk with breakfast. "But I don't want milk with breakfast." He always has to argue. Finally we got him to go and get a can of soda. Then it got worse. Daddy told him that he needed to share with Gillian. John stomped his foot and burst into tears. I sent him to timeout. He was there for an extra minute because he stomped on his way to timeout. He came back to the table. And once again was in tears. Daddy teased him and only put 3 noodles into his bowl. That's all it took. Normally John wouldn't put up with Daddy's jokes but not tonight. Such a Grumpster Dumpster.

Singing Songs

My kids are much like any other kids.  They find a song or two that they love and they only want to hear that song.  I think everyone can guess what is John's favorite song.  If you guessed "The Moves Like Jagger," then clearly you read my blog.  Anyway, another one of John's favorites is the "Gummy Bear Song."  One of the teachers at school found this song and played it for the kids a couple of times.  The first time he was telling us about the video, I thought he was crazy.  I was trying to figure out what movie or TV show he was talking about.  I finally just put gummy bear in the search on YouTube and I found it. 

I really don't understand the allure of watching a green bear dance around in his underwear, but the kids love it.  And both of them know the words.  Well, Gilly just says "gummy, gummy, gummy."  And then she will pop like the song.   

My current guilty pleasure song right now is "Call Me Maybe."  Driving around yesterday, we heard John singing along with the radio.  I thought I heard him say "Hey I just met you, and this is crazy.  So call me lazy."  So I corrected him.  Now if he sings it, he says "Hey I just met you, and this is crazy.  So call me Mazy."  Close enough.  Gillian on the other hand, when she calls the song "crazy!"  So if she wants to hear the song, she just says "crazy."   

 

Awesomer room

"Gillian's room is awesomer than my room!" John complained to me one day. I was really shocked to hear him say that. Gillian is in the nursery. We have only made one change to her room since John was in there. John's room, on the other hand, was decorated for him. It has a six foot Woody on the wall. It has super hero posters and stickers. It's a boy room.

Daddy and I had decided for John's birthday that we would update his room. Daddy decided on Captain America blue for the walls. And on his one big wall Daddy painted Captain America's shield. John loves his new room.

The Birthday Boy

John woke up this morning and came running into our room. "It's my birthday! I can open my present now!" We saw Mimi yesterday and she gave John his birthday present to open on his birthday. As you can tell he was very excited about opening his present.

Daddy and I decided to have a pizza party at school for John today. Daddy picked up the pizza and I met him at school. The kids were already eating. "John's mommy! This pizza's really good!" The kids had plenty to eat. Then it was time for cupcakes. I made cupcakes with green icing and dinosaur decorations. John got to pick his cupcake and then everyone sang to him. After cupcakes it was time for a piñata. Sticking with the dinosaur theme, we had a dinosaur piñata with ribbon pull strings. John got to pull the first ribbon and pick a friend to go next. Then that friend got to pick the next and so on. One little girl actually got a good ribbon that almost broke the piñata, but that was short lived. All the kids got a chance and John got to go one extra time. Unfortunately the kids were not able to break the piñata open, but Miss Mary is strong and she opened it up. John then got to hand out all his goodie bags. He was so proud and excited.

John decided to have Mac & Cheese for dinner tonight. While I was boiling water he got to open some more gifts. He opened the present from Grandma and Grandpa. He shouted "Yes! A marshmallow shooter!" Then he opened up Aunt Betty's present. "Poppers Penguins! I love that movie!" He also opened a present from Mommy, Daddy and Gillian. After opening all the presents he said "Can I open my marshmallow shooter?" At the same time, Daddy said no and I said yes. It's his birthday how can you say no?

The best part of the day, John did you have a good day? "I had an awesome day!"

The water slide

We had a barbecue at Mimi and Poppy's house today. When we arrived there was a big water slide in their backyard. Tied to the slide was three balloons. John was so excited! He saw this slide in the newspaper and desperately wanted it.

We said our hellos and went inside to change into our bathing suits. John got dressed first and ran out of the room. Apparently he made a snarky comment when I called him back into the room to put suntan lotion on. After the kids were ready to go onto the slide. John quickly jumped in and climbed up the ladder. Gillian was a little hesitant. She was only happy once I joined them in the water. John loved going down the slide. Poppy kept trying to get him to go down the slide on his belly. John responded every time "Never!"

We played with the water slide until Uncle T, Aunt Missy and Chucky arrived. After John showed everyone the slide we went next door to go swimming in the Pittenger's pool. We did not have swimmies or tubes for the kids. John did awesome. He used some pool noodles to balance occasionally and he also kept his head above the water. He is tall enough now to keep his head above water by standing on his tippy toes. I'm very proud of my little guy. He really tried to use his new swimming skills. Gillian is such a water baby. She loved being in the pool. She wasn't afraid of anything. She actually jumped off the steps without looking.

Here are some pictures of their adventure today: