Saturday, September 11, 2010
Birthday Party at the Farm
Today we went to a friend's birthday on a farm. Jack was talking about going on the pony ride all week. Every morning he would wake up and exclaim, "Going on a pony ride today!" Well, today was finally the day.
The very first thing he ran to - Poppy's tractor!
Checking out the llama
Everyone's gotta put in their fair share at the farm
Playing in the kitchen before the animal festivities
Feeding the ... donkey?
Holding the rope for the llama
And taking his job very seriously
Chickens!
The Big Finale!
Riding on the big boy swing
Playing in the treehouse
Singing Happy Birthday and getting kind of tired
Checking out his horse tattoo
"Pup-cake!"
Riding the toy horse
Hay ride! Sitting the "nest" as he called it
I promise you he had a good time
Woo!
Animal Kingdom
Surprise! Jack had his first visit to Disney World last weekend. Sorry it's taken a whole week to post this, but it's been a busy week.
My best friend of 17 years (am I really that old to have a BFF of 17 years?? I guess so) Desirae was taking her family to Disney for her daughter Gianna's 3rd birthday. Due to her amazing ability to b*tch-out any person she comes in contact with, she got an extra ticket. We were already visiting on Saturday to spend the day at Port Orleans Resort on Disney property so why not come back for an extra day? Eamon stayed home with Daddy because he's just a bit too young to handle all that fun. I was planning on taking Jack there for his 3rd birthday... maybe Eamon will go then. Any helpers want to volunteer to go with me?
These pictures were taken Saturday hanging out at the pool:
My best friend of 17 years (am I really that old to have a BFF of 17 years?? I guess so) Desirae was taking her family to Disney for her daughter Gianna's 3rd birthday. Due to her amazing ability to b*tch-out any person she comes in contact with, she got an extra ticket. We were already visiting on Saturday to spend the day at Port Orleans Resort on Disney property so why not come back for an extra day? Eamon stayed home with Daddy because he's just a bit too young to handle all that fun. I was planning on taking Jack there for his 3rd birthday... maybe Eamon will go then. Any helpers want to volunteer to go with me?
These pictures were taken Saturday hanging out at the pool:
ps - that's my new stroller called the Joovy Caboose. BEST STROLLER EVER!
Pizza and cookies - just how Disney likes kids.. all cracked out on carbs and sugar
Saturday morning 8:30 AM - Disney!!
Truly the bus ride was one of the most exciting parts for Jack. $80 ticket and he loves the free bus. Go figure
Diego, Jack and the birthday girl Gianna
At Dinoland
His first Disney ride - like the flying Dumbo ride but with dinosaurs. He loved it
This was the most surprising part of the trip.. he actually talked to/hugged the characters. I thought for sure he was going to be scared of them. I had to tell them who they were as he was meeting them for the first time. The photographer was looking at my funny - like How Dare my child not know these Disney characters!
oh.my.gosh. SO hot. Popsicle break
Flick from Bug's Life
Blurry but still cute. On the safari ride
Hmmm what animals do I see?
He got a little nervous because it was so bumpy
Hippos under the water
We were so close to the baby giraffe
Baby elephant!
This is Jack waiting for a train ride to see more animals
The Train! You can imagine his absolute joy
"Going on a train riiiiiiiiiiiide!"
Rifiki or as Jack said, "Ri-fuck-i" HAHAH
Petting the sheep
Me and Des, hotter than heck. Literally and figurativly
I found $20 so I bought him this fire truck. This is 5 minutes in the car on the way home. We had a great time. Thanks so much Titi Des!!!!!!!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A glimpse into Jack's world
I took some pictures at Lab School today to show everyone our morning at school. We love Lab School , but everything isn't roses and cupcakes. It's really hard for Jack to handle the many transitions. Following a semi-structured format is difficult. It's beyond imaginable to sit on a carpet square and sing songs. I said to Matt this morning after class, "I hope the way a child handles school at two and a half is NOT an indication of things to come in elementary school."
Yet I'm so glad we're enrolled. It gives me a lot of opportunity to practice my language with him. It gives us one-on-one time together where we're both learning and adapting. Yes, I had to step out of the room and compose myself a couple times today and yes, I also thought that I had the wildest and most unruly child the world has ever seen... but I know this is not the case forever. Our teacher is AMAZING at handling Jack and gave me some positive feedback today. She thought Jack handled music better today (I thought the opposite). But it's good to hear other people's point of view because when you're right in the thick of it, it's hard to see through the mud.
Yet I'm so glad we're enrolled. It gives me a lot of opportunity to practice my language with him. It gives us one-on-one time together where we're both learning and adapting. Yes, I had to step out of the room and compose myself a couple times today and yes, I also thought that I had the wildest and most unruly child the world has ever seen... but I know this is not the case forever. Our teacher is AMAZING at handling Jack and gave me some positive feedback today. She thought Jack handled music better today (I thought the opposite). But it's good to hear other people's point of view because when you're right in the thick of it, it's hard to see through the mud.
Things are pretty frantic when we first get there. I think Jack is overwhelmed by all the possible play opportunities. We have circle time where we sing our Hello Song and explain the art project for the day. This time is usually spent rolling on the floor, kicking and yelling, telling me to "Turn music off," and mostly just refusing to sit on a carpet square. From there we are the first ones out to the Fun Trail. Today we had hoops to hop, a wedge to roll down, a tunnel to crawl through (or a cave for a bear as Jack corrected me), and a trampoline! We finished the trail 3 times. I didn't get any pictures of this. It's a crazy time.
Sensory Table
Then we went inside where you have your choice of 4 rooms: the toy room (? I don't know what else to call it. It has mostly toys and they all have a specific learning purpose), the block room, the kitchen, and the art room. Today we spent most of our time in the art room and kitchen. First we stopped off at the sensory table. It's filled with things kids can touch and feel. Today was oatmeal. It has been rice, beans and water in our last class.
Art
Jack has never been one for art projects. Maybe he just wasn't developmentally ready because today he really loved it! We painted, glued things on a plate, and played with playdough.
I asked what he was painting and he said "red circles." I really see red circles!!
Cutting playdough
This is the Safe Chair.
When kids are upset or angry or just need a plain time-out (which is what it's SUPPOSED to be, a time out of the environment to regain composure NOT a punishment) they can come and sit in the bean bag chair. It has a blanket, pillows and lots of soft squishy stuff. There's also a poster right behind it that shows faces of all sorts of emotions. A mirror is available for the kids to look at their face, see what it is they're feeling and then name that emotion. We spent a lot of time here today.
The kitchen
We spent some time in the kitchen today. Jack loves to cut the fake vegetables and pretend feed the baby which is what he's doing here in this picture. He puts the baby in the highchair, gets a bowl and spoon, sits down in a chair right in front of it and feeds the baby. He's doing exactly what I do!
Snack
Before snack we clean up the rooms and then wash our hands. Another nuclear meltdown. Today's snack was crackers, cheese and peaches. The kids have their own cups and pour their own water from a small pitcher. It's so cute to see them concentrating so hard!
This is Jack during music time.
After snack we read books and go back into the circle room to sit on our carpet squares and sing songs. In all of the classes he's refused to sit and usually spends the time out of the room standing by the door. Today he decided to run up and down the hallway and play in this doohickie. Sometimes he does pop through the door and participate in the song and dance. Today we were playing with scarves and singing this adorable song and he did that for a while. Then he lost it again.
Outside
The last thing we do is go outside and play on the playground. Today Jack spent most of his time on the bike. He doesn't know how to push the pedals yet so I pushed him around the courtyard. Then the bike needed gas.
"Firefighter climbing the ladder to get the cat from the tree."
Finally, we sing the Goodbye Song and leave. Leaving isn't an issue. He's pretty much pooped by this time and ready for another snack and drink in the car. Last week he slept for 4.5 hours after lab school and I expect him to take a super long time today. I told Matt that after lab school my brain feels like it just took a 5 hour calculus test. I'm fried and so is my little boy. But we love it and it gets a little better each time we go. But, boy, Mommy needs a nap.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Baby Sean is here!
Sean Ryder James
Welcome little man! We're so glad to meet you. You are so stinking cute and I just love your double chiny chin chin. See some really sweet looking pics over at Leslie's blog Cherubic.
Back to Sean... Jack loves babies now. It's so cute. He talks about all the babies that he knows and asks what they're doing, what they're eating, how they're sleeping - "Have a good sleep Baby Sean?" Baby Luke, Baby Pheobe, Baby Eamon (not so baby anymore) he loves them all. I really didn't get to see this when Eamon was born because Jack was still a baby himself. At 19 months, the kids don't really get that there are other people in the world besides themselves.
These pictures were taken when Jack asked to hold Baby Sean. How adorable!!!!! ALMOST makes me wanna have another one.....
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