Church

Jared has never been a big fan of Sunday school. There were some unfortunate incidences in the nursery that has made him reluctant to embrace Sunday school. So, until recently Jared sat with us in the Sanctuary, a.k.a. "The big room." He now stays with us until the children's message and then goes to Sunday school. He LOVES the "thing around their neck guys." Today Jared demonstrated he knew all about it. He sang the hymn. Mark and I aren't sure what he was singing, but he was singing. Then he joined in for the prayer of confession. When it was time to "pass the peace" Jared promptly turned around and shook the hand of the guy behind us and told the guy "good morning."
As with everything we do, when we got home Jared wanted to play church. Luckily we have 4 "thing around their necks" to make our service complete. Jared wore a blanket so he could be the minster. He asked us to repeat him for the prayer. The first prayer said something about daughters and grandmothers, but we couldn't figure out the rest. Then it was time for another prayer, "Dear Jesus, thank you for our food...but we can't eat it in the big room anyway. Amen." Indeed.

Lies

As all parents do, we talk to Jared about telling the truth. There have been some obvious slips along the way. Take for example when the jumperoo was moved. Jared was positive Colton moved it. Today I heard Jared in the bathroom longer than necessary. I ask what he is doing, "nofin." He comes out of the bathroom, and I quickly assess his face...no makeup. However, his hair is crazy. So, I ask him what is in your hair? "Nofin." What did yo do to your hair? "Nofin." I don't point out to him I can see something in his hair and he smells like sweat pea. Not to mention the suds in his hair. I guess the hand soap was too appealing.
I decided not to mention the obvious lie. The itching the occurred when it dried seemed to be punishment enough.

The Adventures of Super Frog

I spend most of my days on Colton's shelf, silently making sure everything runs smoothly.


Today Jared decided I need to no longer soil myself, and he put me in a diaper. When he was all done, I was no longer just a frog, I was Super Frog.



I know I has special powers because mom found me in the crib. I must have flown there.



This is me flying


I sported my cape all day--even at the dance party.

So, how well do some punishments work?

Several weeks ago I reported on Jared's art project on the walls, toilet, and furniture. Overall I felt the punishment fit the crime, and lesson was learned. There have been a few gray areas that Jared has exploited. I walked into him gluing paper on the wall so he could write on it. It was, after all, following the rules of only writing on paper. When the topic allowed, Jared was reminded we only use paper for writing and coloring projects.

I wish this was a success story. It is not. Today Jared was playing "worker guy" fixing the dryer. He was busy with his tools. He reported there was lots of dust from all of his sawing. I mistakenly assumed he was just "fixing" the dryer. My work bag was on top of the dryer. It has Sharpies....

Kid's shoes

Shoe choices for kids today are as varied as all other choices. The variety is sure to appease everyone. Only about 1% are actual traditional "sneakers" with laces.
Up until November, Jared had no preference for shoes. So, I have always gotten a nice understated brown or blue shoe. Then he spotted firetruck shoes that lit up. His eyes lit up just as much. There was no chance we were leaving without these fire truck shoes. When he got home he spent the day hugging his fire truck shoes. They weren't the nice subtle shoes I was hoping for, but they brought him so much happiness.



Well, it was time for the fire truck shoes to drive off to the shoe graveyard. Back we go to the shoe store. Jared is very excited. He now knows the excitement of new shoes. It doesn't take long before Jared and I spot the shoe at the same time. He is so excited he an hardly contain himself. It take all my energy to pretend I am equally excited, all the while mentally cringing. I instantly know this will be the shoe we leave with:



So long to understated shoes.

What are they thinking?

This evening I noticed Jared had decided his stool was just not high enough. So, he made this




He was busy working on moving the clingers around. Yes, I realize the many consequences that could have happened as he stood on this contraption, but he was playing happily by himself. So, I did what any sane parent would do, let him be.

Well, the next thing I know I see him sitting on this contraption. However, something is not quite right. He had his pants and underwear down as if this were a toilet. What?#*! I ask him what he is doing, he replies he doesn't know. How do you not know what you are doing? Keep in mind, this is all as pictured. So he is sitting against the window at the front door. I know you are thinking i am overreacting, and that no one actually got mooned. True. But less than a minute after I discovered him, the pizza for dinner showed up.

What will he think up next?

My special Valentine

A bit of history about Jared: he hates cake. We have tried, he wants nothing to do with it.


Today was the big Valentine's party at daycare. Jared was all prepared and had signed/traced his name on his Valentine's. I personally am disappointed that Valentine's no longer have those cheapo white envelopes that you can hardly get the Valentine into. He had his treat, fruit snack. He was excited, although, he wasn't sure why.

At the end of the day Jared teacher stops me to tell me a story.

They had cupcakes. The teacher notices Jared's cupcake is gone. She knows he doesn't like it, but she also knows he always wants one like everyone else. So, she inquires, "Jared, did you throw away your cupcake?" He replies, "I gave it to Kelsey, she is my special Valentine."

Jared really became the master charmer. Give a gift, that is greatly appreciated, earns you points, and was of no sacrifice to you. Genius.

Band aids

Today Colton got his first band aid. No clue what caused it, but had a cut on his finger. I tried to hold a tissue to the cut to get it to stop bleeding, but that was about as possible as a Boilermaker winning a basketball game. Colton would squirm, twist, and fast crawl away from the tissue. I finally got him pinned down, and he used his free hand to shred the tissue. To hell with it, I got a band aid, slapped it on, and we were good to go.
If you ever want to confuse a baby, put a band aid on his finger. Colton had no idea what to do. He pulled at it, stared at it, inspected it, and then would crawl along. About a minute later he was back to his inspection. This process repeated until the band aid came off and Colton breathed a sigh of relief.

But I love you just the same

This is for all the parents out there who never got to hold their children.

But I love you just the same

 

I never got to hold you in my arms and kiss you good night

But I love you just the same

I never got to watch you swim or have a snowball fight

But I love you just the same

I never got to hear your laugh or wipe tears from your cheek

But I love you just the same

I never got to read you a story or play a game of hide and seek

But I love you just the same

I never got to see you ride a bike or taught you how to catch a ball

But I love you just the same

I never got to hold your hand or comfort you when you fall

But I love you just the same

I never got to see you write your name or recite your ABC’s

But I love you just the same

I never got to watch you stamp your foot or give a hug to me

But I love you just the same

 

God decided your time on Earth was not meant to be

And now you are my guardian angel watching down over me.

 

Written by: Your Aunt Nini

Dentist

I have always had a dislike for dentist. I suppose it has something to do with falling down the stairs as an infant and always having "painted" front teeth. Despite my strong feelings, I have always had enthusiasm for the dentist when Jared is around.

Today we tried the dentist again. We went a year ago, because our pediatrician insisted 2 year olds need to go. Last year the dentist asked if Jared wanted to open wide. Jared said "no," and we were sent home.
This time we tried a different dentist who was a pediatric dentist. Two words: epic failure. Jared was eager to go. The dentist that came to daycare a month ago did an outstanding job convincing Jared this would be an awesome experience. Once Jared was in his seat, he could no longer be fooled. Since Jared had seemed ok, I had Colton out of his car seat. They put the bib on, and the crying starts. Crying would be an understatement. An all out scream fest transpired. Jared is begging to sit on my lap. Not going to happen. Wants to hold my hand. Ok. Then, he wants me closer. So, here I am straddling the vacuum suction machine, squatting down with a 9 month old on one hip and holding Jared's hand with my free hand, all the while trying to calm down Jared and praying I don't fall over. Through the crying Jared was politely asking, "Can I please get up? Please stop."

I have always had a dislike for the dentist.

"When I grow up"

At dinner tonight Jared announced what he was going to be when he grows up.
This was not the first time he has much a declaration. In the past he has told us he wants to be a firefighter, lawyer, teacher, and minister.
Today he announced he wanted to be one of the most respected jobs in all the world. It is a job with a lot of vacation time, but when it is time to work, it is definitely busy season. It's a job that would make him happy, and I'm sure would make others happy. Luckily, college tuition should be affordable. Best of all, I can guarantee that this is a job he can have, and I know he will love it. I should know, for it is a job I have done, and eagerly fill the job requirements.

Jared: When I grow up, I want to be Santa Claus.

Opinionated observation

Warning: This entry is negative and highly judgmental of others.


Today I took Jared to his 3 year old sport class. He has been going for a month now. It was his last class, and I had yet to go. Mark warned me. I spent 30 minutes in disbelief.

First of all, Jared did great and had lots of fun.

On to my judgement....

The sound of helicopters was deafening as we got to the gym. These parents were hovering.
Kids were told to slow down because mom or dad couldn't keep up with them. There weren't enough balls for the kids, because parents had them. Jared couldn't see the teacher for red light green light because a dad was in the way. Of the 12 kids in the class, 5 parents never left their child's side for a second. These kids had no chance to play independently, or more importantly interact with their peers.

Perhaps these kids had struggled with playing by themselves at previous classes. But these parents did not try to leave their kids side. If you think your kids will fail, then guess what? They will fail.
Since it was the last class, 25 minutes was unstructured play. For 5 minutes in the middle they played red light green light. About 90 seconds into the game one boy told his mom he was done with this. At which point they went and played something else. Seriously? You can't handle 5 minutes of structure? And you give in?

As a teacher this all drives me crazy. I hope I am wrong, but chances are these kids are going to have problems in school. They will be the one who can't sit and listen. The one who attempts to get away with everything, because they know their parents will call. They will be the ones afraid to take risks, and afraid to be wrong.

Today I played many hours with Jared, but am thankful I got to enjoy watching him play sports from my chair on the sideline.