It's a Miracle!

I have waited a few days to post because I thought it may just be too good to be true. But it has been a few days now, so I guess I can announce now....Alex is sleeping in his own bed, in his own room!!! What did you think I was announcing something else? Nah, this news, for us, is some of the best yet!! Joe and I decided to finally put it plain and simple to Alex - his bed is for sleeping in and not a jungle gym for playing on, so if he wasn't going to start sleeping in his room, then we were going to sell his bed set. Along with that, we asked Alex if he thought he was ready to sleep in the top bunk. He said yes. We didn't believe it. I mean, this is a boy who has slept in between Joe and I for a majority of his life. He slept with us from the time he was born until about six months old. Then he was in and out of our bed from 6 months until 22 months old, when we moved him up to his "big boy bed." At that time, I started to sleep with him in his bed until Jenna was born. Then Joe started to sleep with Alex in his bed until at the age of 2 1/2 years, we said enough and brought Alex back into our bed full-time. Now, just shy of his 5th birthday, Alex has gone from securely sleeping between us to sleeping on his own on the top bunk. And...he loves it!! His first night was Friday May 25th. On Sunday we bought him "army dude" bed sheets and now, there is no getting the boy out of his bed!! He spends his quiet time during the day up there and every night sleeping soundly. We have not once had to get up in the middle of the night for him. Jenna, idolizing her brother the way she does, has moved from her bed to Alex's lower bunk. The last couple of nights have been a bit trying on my nerves. Getting them to settle down and get to sleep has been a challenge, but every night it gets a bit easier. Jenna is even napping in there now, while Alex has his quiet time on the top bunk. This is the first day trying this out. I explained to Alex that while he may not need to nap, Jenna does and so he must be very quiet or else he will have to go to another room. So far, not a sound has come out of the room. One very early morning, at about 3 am, Jenna called out for me and asked to sleep with us. And for the first time since she was 6 months old, I carried her from her bed to sleep snugly between Joe and I. We were so happy to finally have the chance to have her sleeping sweetly between us. And Alex, he was fine in his room alone. Joe says he misses Alex at night. Hmm, I said, while I dearly love Alex, I do not miss him hogging the bed at night, constantly pulling my hair, and yelling at us to move over because we are squishing him!! I'll save my cuddling time with him for the day! Let's just hope this lasts!

Last Day of Preschool

Today was Alex's last day of preschool at Washington Park. Although he still has another year of preschool, we still called it his "graduation" day. As you can see from the picture, Alex got a medal and a certificate. The kids sang a cute song about their love for their families, then they were called up to receive their certificate and pose for a picture and then we had our picnic lunch. It was pretty crazy, but loads of fun! Afterwards, I took the kids to the park and we played much longer than we normally do. On our way home we stopped for some ice-cream to top off Alex's special day. Alex also found a surprise on his booster seat - a Star Wars bag filled with Star Wars goodies! After all, in Alex's own words "Today is my special day. Kind of like a wedding. Like when you had a wedding and married Daddy." I guess in Alex's world, today was pretty big!!

Yucko Mucko

"Yucko Mucko!!" This is my new favorite saying of the kids. It's not only the sheer cuteness of the words, but the intonation they use when saying it. Jenna applies this saying when she is cleaning her "dirty toes." She is in a zone with her toes and they must be free of every spec of dirt. Call it an obsession. I know it is only a phase. Jenna has also accomplished something last night that Alex has never done before. She fell asleep, on her own, and slept by herself, all night, in Alex's bed. She had an extreme scare three nights ago in her room. At 3am I was awakened to hysterical screams from Jenna because of a flying bug in her room. That night we slept together in Alex's bed because she did not want to stay in her room. The next night she said she wanted to sleep in Alex's bed again. I got her all set up, told her she had to go to sleep by herself, but that when it was time for me to go to bed, I would sleep with her. And that's how it went. Last night, again, she wanted to sleep in Alex's bed. When I started to sing songs, she looked at me and said "Mommy, I big girl. I no need you. I fall asleep my own." I asked her if she wanted to me to sleep with her later and she replied "Nah, I big girl. I do it my own." And with that she surpassed her brother, who, yes, still sleeps with Joe and I. My Mother's Day was great. We went for a nature walk at Lincoln Memorial Gardens and then out for lunch, which included an ice-cream dessert - yum!! We spent a quite afternoon playing in the back yard and then had a small dinner. The kids and Joe had made me my favorite healthy chocolate cake, so we enjoyed that afterwards. My presents were a day late, but they were worth the wait. I received two beautiful necklaces, one from the kids and one from Joe. I love them and love the look on the kids faces even more when they see me wearing their necklace. Alex has two days left of preschool. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. I remember so clearly how hard it was to drop him off on that first day. How I cried the minute I left the building. How I could not bring myself to leave the park. How that 2 1/2 hours dragged on. How I kept imagining the worst. But I was greeted by a happy, smiling face. I was greeted by a little boy, beaming, saying that he knew he was going to have fun and he did, and he still does. Alex is excited that school is ending. That he has the summer off. But I have a feeling that after a week or two he will miss it. He will have a little "graduation" ceremony on Monday, and then the whole family will have a picnic lunch at his school. I know it will be a great time.

Clue #3

There is now no mistaking that I picked the right piece of paper to track. Clue #3 is "She likes to scrapbook." It is such good feeling that I know Alex so well, and he knows me so well, also. I am very excited to see his drawing of me! I wonder if he will try to make it look like me or if it will be one of his "people" drawings - two eyes, nose, mouth, head, body, arms, legs - but no defining characteristics like curly hair, glasses, brown eyes. I'm looking forward to Friday to see his work of art! Alex's school sent home a really cute project today. The theme for today was "I'm a Big Kid." Back in September Alex was weighed, measured, and asked a few questions. On September 13, 2006, Alex weighed 44 lbs and was 42 inches tall. His favorite color was black, he liked to eat apples and he liked to play trains. Today, May 9, 2007, Alex weighs 46 lbs and is 44 inches tall. His favorite color is green, he still likes to eat apples, and he likes to play Star Wars. I love these kinds of projects that his school does. I love seeing how he changes and how is interests change accordingly. Though, I am quite certain we are in a Star Wars rut for awhile. I will miss this pre-school very much. The teachers are wonderful. I'm sure Alex's next pre-school will be just as good, but if it doesn't quite measure up, Jenna will be going back to Washington Park for her pre-school days. Alex's pre-school next year is a co-op, so I will have a job that I hold all year long and will also work in the classroom one to two days a month. It will be nice to see how he is inside a classroom setting and how he interacts with the other kids. This will also be my first glimpse into how my decision to hold Alex back a year will turn out, as he will be one of the oldest, instead of the youngest in his class. I am solid in my decision and know that I will have absolutely no regrets. It is the best decision for Alex and for our family.

Clue #2 and Harry Potter

OK, so I have not changed my hunch on which Mommy I am. Clue #2 is "I like cuddling with her...I love her." I am a huge cuddle bum and have passed this onto my kids. And since Alex sleeps with us, he gets lots of cuddles at night when I come to bed. So, I'm still sticking with my gut instinct. Clue # 3 on Wednesday - check back. If you have noticed my list of books that I have read this year, you have certainly noticed that I am into Harry Potter at the moment. Yes, several years behind the times, but I am so glad that I finally decided to read them. They are some of the best books I have ever read and highly addictive. The only problem...my timing. I have now finished the sixth book and have to wait 2 1/2 months for the final book to come out. Joe has already pre-ordered it for me and it will be delivered to my door. I'm not sure how Jenna picked up her pronunciation of "Harry Potter", but it is the funniest ever. She has captured a perfect English accent. She has even caused heads to turn at Barnes and Noble when she says it. We find it highly entertaining and she knows it, so she turns it on.

Clue #1

When I dropped Alex off at preschool today there was a new display on the wall. There was a piece of construction paper for each child with a big question mark on the paper and a list of clues under the question mark. No names were on the paper. It is a game for the moms to guess who they are. Clue number one was listed today. Monday there will be a new clue, with another listed on Wednesday. The clues are given by our kids about us. Finally, our pictures, as drawn by our kids will replace the question mark and we will know which mom is which - all in time for Mother's Day. I have a feeling I already know which one is me. I think I know because the color of the construction paper is green, which is Alex's favorite color, and the first clue is "She likes to go to workout class." I started going to a class, two times a week, about three weeks ago, so it is a big deal around here that our night time routine has been slightly altered. I'll let you know if my hunch is right and continue to share the clues. My friend made me laugh because she said she didn't know which one was her because none of them said "She yells at me" or "She never plays with me." Don't we all feel at some point that this must be the way our kids feel about us?

Ray of Hope

Last night Jenna gave me a new ray of hope in our battle of wills over potty training. After getting out of the bath, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I pee on potty." I quickly dried her off, put the little potty seat on the big potty, and sat her down. A few seconds later we both laughed and cheered and celebrated at the sound of pee hitting the water!! When she was done, we did the happy dance and quickly ran to tell Daddy and Alex her good news!! And of course, as she reminded me the whole time, Jenna got her two M&M's for peeing in the potty. It is a move in the right path. This morning she told me she didn't want to wear diapers anymore (I was elated!). We went to the potty again, she sat, but something happened in those few moments. Was the seat too cold? Did I say something wrong? Did I look at her wrong? Who knows, but in those few moments, she looked at me and said, "no, I don't have to go." We then went back to her room to get her dressed. I had the pull-up ready. She looked at it and said, "no, I want diapers" and lay down for me to put one on. Oh well. A small moment of victory for me. It gives me hope that our days of diapers are soon coming to an end. Until then, I will patiently wait for her to make her next move.