Well, it’s official! School has begun. Which means “Summer” is over, at least in my mind. I thought I would highlight my “Best Of” for my own memories and hopefully you will get a laugh or two as well. If you are looking for resources or other helpful tips….you will not find them this week. But, if you love kids – and you must if you are reading along – I think that you will enjoy.
High5: Best of Summer ’09
5. We have Water-lovers!
So the boys have always loved baths, but it wasn’t until this summer that I found out they were part fish. Though I can’t swim with them alone yet (I’m too out-numbered), I have seen the videos and heard the stories of achievement each Monday when I came back to work. Mom found “Puddle Jumpers” which are like life jackets that allow the boys to float on their backs. That is how it started…then swimming, heads under water, being thrown in the pool, until eventually all three were jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder in the deep end to repeat the feat. H was even doing his version of a dive. While I didn’t get to join them in the pool, we did have our own adventures. There is a lake close-by that we got to explore. Boy did they love to be in the water WITH the boats! The toddler water park was also endless fun. Purple lips and sagging diapers could not stop them! And, who doesn’t love the little plastic kiddie pools? Washing cars and choo-choos was fun. Hours of dumping, pouring, spraying. One day I got sprayed with the cold hose and I screamed so loud I’m sure the whole cul-de-sac of neighbors heard! I will not forget the summer of water.
4 . N and his Poo.
Yes, now you are reading aren’t you. Well let me first tell you about N… He is Baby C – sweet, musical, friendly, sneaky, easy-going and definitely the “baby” of the three. He can charm the hardest heart. Just ask ALL the adults in the waiting room at Children’s hospital last week. Back scratches all around, followed by grins and hugs. The boy can work it, and he knows it! We went through a couple week period where at nap time he’d say from his crib, “Ge-uh, Ge-uh… I wet” …. and repeat it 20 times! When that didn’t save him from nap time, he’d up the anti… “Ge-uh, I poopy!!” (repeat). Good effort N. Really, I was impressed! This had become the usual and I would let him go on with his “story-telling” until one day N says “I’m poopy!” accompanied with a fearful cry…. any good Nanny can tell. “Oh Crap!” I ran up the stairs and sure enough that is what I found.
N, pull-up off and two fists full of poo! This only solidified that I am not a fan of pull-ups! Poor guy, he’s freaked out and doesn’t know how to get out of this one. So, what can I do?I pick him up , carried him to the bathroom sink. I exchange the the mess from his hands to mine then in the toilet and flush [It’s amazing the things I can overcome – including a gag reflex!] Quick sink shower, change sheets, and back to bed. It could have been worse! ALOT WORSE. Someday I will teach him the Story of “The Boy that Cried Wolf!” Needless to say, he’s never cried “Poop” again!
Honorable mentions from N…
- “I Liiiiiike it, ice cream.” (after a UDF milkshake)
- “I Liiiiiike cawpee” (as we drive by Starbucks)
- “I liiiiike it, __________ “(fill in any food at any time)
- Mixing up his new teachers name – Mrs.” Krogers” (real name is Mrs. Grogan).
- “I want _______ please, Ge-uh” insert ANY & EVERY word. Broken record.
- N: “Where’d Doug go?” Me: He’s at work. N: “Bummer….. bummer….. bummer”.
- “A-marrow, A-marrow, I luv you, A-marrow…eh only a day away”.
3. T and his Sand
So you know the phrase “I ate ____ as a kid” (fill in whatever it was that ate)… well for T is it SAND. A little background on T. This boy is inTELLigent! Seriously. He is determined, careful, precise, particular. He is loving and has always been our “little man”. He has a “blankie” that will end the world if ever lost, loves his milk, and wants to touch every button on earth. His first phrase was “lights on. lights off”. Amazed by him we let him flip the switches as he would say the his phrase over and over. And he as NOT stopped since. He also likes his food crunchy. He will eat a chicken nugget all the way around the outside and hand me the middle, “all done”. Very often you will find him with both hands over his ears, not because he is trying to ignore you, but because he wants to hear the muffled echo of chewing or voices. So one day at our local park T comes walking to me with a confused and yet thoughtful face. As he gets closer I can see sand particles around his mouth. I ask him to open his mouth where I find about 2 tablespoons of sand. I do a few CPR finger sweep all the while giving my usual lecture of “we don’t eat anything that is NOT food”. (It clicks in my head – so that is what he was doing laying down in the sand). I clean his mouth with a wipe, swig of water…but it was pretty impossible to get it all out. I hear the horrible sound of gritting as he runs back to play. I think “well, that will teach him….he’ll never do that again.” But twice more over the course of the summer he went back again. The third time I saw it about to happen and gave a warning, followed by a timeout. It hasn’t happened since, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. T will explore his world. No buttons or crunchy things are safe.
T’s honorable mentions…
- T: C
oming up the steps talking to himself….”Hmm, let’s go see my Greta.”
- T: “Oh no! it was an accident. Sorreeeee!” after he violently THREW his chocolate milk at the wall.
- T: “I found Greta’s seatbelt” (as he points to my bra strap)
- T: “Bye Car wash! What’s next? Chick-fa-lake?”
- T: “I hold onto my Greta?”
- T:”1,2,3,4…….18,19,20″
- T:”a,b,c,d…….next time won’t you sing with me”. He even gets the LMNO! (*4 letters. Not 1. )
2. H and his Truck
[Warning. Cursing to follow.] H and his trucks. Ahhhh…. (exhale). It all started with the “mailman truck”. He would point out every one as we drove down busy streets. He loved them so much that I would drive the the back of the Post Office to show him where “they live”. This was important because earlier in the spring we had found where the school buses live. He never had a problem saying “mailman truck” correctly. But now, he replaces an “F” for the “Tr”. So yeah, you see where I am going….but, let me tell you about H. He is Baby A and he fits into the birth order hypothesis. Totally lives up to big brother, care-taker over his brothers. He was the first to walk, crawl, conquer steps, etc. He walked and fell and walked and fell….again with gusto. Everything he does is full on. He’s loud, really loud. Powerful. Confident. Driven. He is as sweet as can be and does have rare calm moments. Early Intervention (practical, occupational & speech therapists) nick-named him “Bruiser” before he was 9 months old! He is thick with muscle but has the heart of a teddy bear. OK, so take into account his personality when you read his common truck phrases: “Ooooh, BIG f*ck”…. “Dumpy f*ck”….”Big f*ck coming! Vroom”. As we drive down the highway he’ll plead with the trucks to honk, pumping his little arm. And usually they don’t. “Big f*ck no honk-honk….”. Then turning his eyes and head downward, he says,”I sad”. We are trying not to make a big deal of it, but respond to him with a crisp ” tr” in our “truck”. I’ll never forget the zoo class when we toured the animals talked about the sounds that they make. Lucky for us there was construction there that day… and H got to share with the class, proudly, the sounds the trucks made and what he calls them. I’m sure that he’ll grow out of it some day, Mom is hoping it’s before their Fire Truck Birthday Party – already booked at the Fire Museum.
H’s honorable mentions…
- H: in the cart at Krogers “I read list?” (now holding the grocery list) “Ummmmm, milk?”
- H: “Ga-uh, ME cawpee time? Juice? ME cawpee time?” (translation: he wanted to sit down and have coffee like I do, with his juice)
- H: “Bye Ga-uh, see ewe ater” Me: “Where am I going?” H: “Ga-uh to work (big grin). Me: “Where do I work?” H: “Krogers!” (as he laughs)
- H: “Where’d the moon go?” T: “In the clouds?” H: “It’s popped”.
- H: In a firm voice, “Ga- uh, sit down. 2 minutes. Numbers go beep, beep” (I guess I got a timeout and have to wait for the timer)
- H: While singing a jump in the air song H says “I no touch the house!?” (2 ft tall vs. 30 ft ceiling)
- H:”Ga-uh, water? Too Hot, BRRR. Too Hot.”
1. Big Boys and Big Toys
There are a lot of things I will remember about this summer, but I think the biggest is that the boys became kids. They have achieved and grown so much! I think I realized it first one day at our favorite park Lunken Playground. One our first trip back to this park since last summer, I was strategizing in my head how to keep them on the younger jungle jims because I knew they couldn’t handle the bigger ones yet. Until….we got there and they COULD. Oh and they more than handled them… they conquered the kid-sized jungle jims. Ladders, rock walls 3 times their size, and other things I don’t even know the name of! I think it knocked the wind out of me a little. THEY ARE NOT BABIES ANYMORE. From there, there were so many more things that we learned. Holding hands in the parking lot rather than bringing our Choo-choo wagon with us every time. (I created a method to hold each of the three boy’s hands. Can I get a patent? I think it’s genius!) Taking trips to my new house – which is NOT baby-proofed and has a huge, tempting TV just begging to be broken. Run, Jump, & Play (blow-up climbers) was also conquered and destroyed. Easy! Potty training (not yet completed). Boys are sharing, taking turns, and playing together and with other kids at the parks. And last but not least, while watching Super Why all 3 boys & I did our teamwork skill. “Put your arm in.” …..”Super readers to the rescue!” … and these are just my favorites.
[Footnote] My honorable mentions…
- The 3-in-1 triplet hand-hold. Patent in progress
- New record: 5 diapers in 15 minutes
- Saved N from being trampled by a group of preschoolers/lion cubs.
- Started a this blog.
- Taught HTN some killer disco moves.
- Coined the phrase: “Work hard. Play hard. Do both, be a Nanny”
