Annabel’s First Bike

We got Miss Independent her very first bicycle this week.  She loves it.  This is the first time she is peddling by herself.  She never liked the tricycle she had and that was a bummer.  She would just sit there and want us to do all the work for her.  Daniel, on the other hand, loves to ride his bike every day after dinner.  Hubbie and I really want to get some bikes again too.   I have visions of our little bike riding family cruising around the neighborhood. (And maybe even the beach!)  So I was really excited when Annabel jumped on this pink princess bike and pedaled away.

Our after dinner bike rides are so much more fun now.

Queen

I first met Ms. Earline Heath King when I was dating my husband back in 1998.  She was the best friend and life companion of my husband’s father.  So when we married in 2001, she was at the wedding.  And I know she was never technically my mother-in-law, but she always felt like one.  She passed away in her sleep yesterday.  She was 98 years old.

Earline, or “Queen” as we called her, was an extraordinary woman.  I was able to learn more about her life adventures during each family visit.  And she had such a big life.  She met a president.  She lived in Europe.  She earned an honorary doctorate degree.  She began to sculpt for the first time when she was 40 years old. But not only was sculpting her hobby, it became her life’s work and passion.  She had over 300 pieces commissioned including several popular public sculptures.  She was an icon in her small hometown of Winston-Salem, NC, a place she lived her entire life.

She was also a fun and glamorous lady.  She dressed impeccably and matched everything with beautiful costume jewelry.  She told funny stories and she loved a good martini.

My kids loved calling her Queen.  She was the sweetest lady and the name suited her well.

We will miss you, Queen.

 

Miss Independent

I enrolled Annabel in an art class this summer.  It was every day for one week from 1:45 PM to 3:00 PM.  The class was called “Clay for Tiny Hands” and I just kept thinking about that “tiny” part.

Annabel is my baby and I’m already freaked out about her starting preschool in the Fall.  She just seems too, well, tiny.  She’s only three years old.  To ease my fears about her starting school where she will be dropped off and left for the first time EVER, I decided the art class would be a good warm up. (Also because my son had a bit of separation anxiety when I first dropped him off alone.  I didn’t know whether that was personality driven or the fact that I’m a stay-at-home mom and they are with me all the time.)

Well, Annabel LOVED her clay class.  She also had no problem with me leaving her there for the full 75 minutes. She’s a thinker, like her brother, so I could see the thoughts whirling around in her head when she entered the studio for the first time.  She looked excited and overwhelmed and observant all at the same time.  But mostly, she looked confident.

It’s just so cool to learn something new about your kid.  It happens a lot at this age.  Every new opportunity is another opportunity for me to uncover another piece of the puzzle that makes up my daughter.

It may have been “Clay for Tiny Hands” but she really isn’t tiny anymore.  She is my big girl. My big girl who makes friends and asks a millions questions and walks into art class all by herself.  I’m a little sad and my heart is bursting.  But mostly, I’m just so proud.

Daniel’s First Movie: “Cars 2″

We took Daniel to his very first movie yesterday, Cars 2.  We waited until he was 4 years old because we wanted it to be a memorable first experience.  Something we ALL would remember.  Daniel LOVES the Disney movie Cars, so it worked out perfectly that his first movie in the theatre was Cars 2!

Okay, TECHNICALLY Daniel was at a movie theatre once before.  When he was 3 months old, I took him to see some really bad PG-13 movie and I don’t even remember the title.  It was part of a “Moms Morning Out” event.  They kept the theatre lights up the entire time so you could feed or play with your baby while you watched the movie.  But I was a first time Mama and I stressed out every time he cried.  So we left.  But I did manage to snap a photo of his first time at the movies.

This time went MUCH better.  There was no crying involved.  Just my cute little boy in his brand new Cars T-shirt with an excited smile on his face.  Daniel was in awe of the “ginormous” theatre.  We got our tickets from the Fandango machine and he walked right up and handed his ticket to the ticket taker. He loved all the movie posters and he loved that it had an arcade.  We let him play a racing game and then it was off to buy popcorn, candy, and lemonade.  Daniel got some kind of kiddie fruity Twizzler thingy, but then he snagged my Junior Mints after trying just one.  He now LOVES Junior Mints.  He has good concession stand taste.

I laugh at that photo of me with my purse and my big black tote bag.  I always bring a bag of sweaters and pashmina scarves with me to the movies so I can save seats. Plus, I’m always cold.  Bean actually wore his sweater and half way through he used my pashmina as a mini blanket.  It was a long movie. (It was just under two hours.) He enjoyed watching the cars on the big screen, but the movie left a lot to be desired.  We spent most of the time whispering to Daniel about what was going on because there was a complicated spy plot weaved in with oil companies versus environmentalists or something like that.  There was also a lot of shooting and killing (!) cars.  It was a let down. My husband explains it all much better and you can read his review of the movie here.

Daniel said his favorite parts of the movie were the boats, planes, and the London double-decker buses.  He didn’t mention any of the cars, which is so funny.  But we had a great time.  We had a new memory and a Junior Mint-stained little boy to take home.

Swimmingly

Daniel and Annabel are enrolled in summer swimming lessons and it’s been great.  They go twice a week for 8 sessions. This is the first year they have done a group lesson.  Daniel started the ISR (Infant Survival Classes) when he was only 18 months old. There was a lot of screaming and crying involved, but he did learn to float and swim to safety.  It was pretty amazing.

Annabel never “took” to the ISR lessons which really means I didn’t finish the entire program with her.  Daniel did a refresher course for a few weeks last summer, and since I had them both with me all day long, I just stopped her beginner lessons when Daniel stopped his refresher lessons.  She really should have completed the entire thing.  Bad Mama.

This year I decided on group lessons because I want them both to learn to SWIM. I want them to learn the strokes and the kicks and the breathing. I also still have the issue of keeping them together and finding a place to teach both their skill levels at the same time. (Believe me, I know ISR is an AMAZING course and I still would highly recommend it to anyone with younger kids.)

The group lessons take place in an indoor pool so there is no worry of weather issues and I don’t have to slather on sunscreen. First there was a rocky start with Annabel. She has diva moments when she gets pouty and grumpy.  (We are also in the stage of “nap” versus “no nap.”  And when “no nap” wins, she’s a bit of a mess at the pool. Sorry, patient swim teacher.)  But she is now starting to kick her legs and blow bubbles and float like a champ.  Daniel is swimming to the teacher and swimming back to the wall all by himself.  He is starting to learn some basic strokes and if we do another session this summer, I can see him really excelling.  He loves it so much that he smiles the entire lesson.  It’s a joy to see.

Plus, they have really cool bathing suits.  Thanks, Grandma.

Daniel’s Last Day of Preschool

Daniel’s final days of preschool were jam packed with activities.  Besides the graduation ceremony, there was an alphabet party, a water fun day, and an end of year party with the parents.  For the alphabet party, all the kids had to pick a letter.  They had to bring in a food item to share that started with that letter AND they had to come in costume as something starting with that letter. Daniel was a Fireman with a Fruit Salad.

The end of the year party was bittersweet.  It was so nice to see all the kids play together.  It was a “Summer Luau” theme with lots of games and crafts and sweet treats. Daniel was the final line leader – a job he loved so much.  The class really bonded and Daniel had some really awesome teachers.  I was blessed.  WE were blessed.

The VERY last day of school was hard. For me. Daniel was not phased.  He rolled up to that school like it was any other day, except he had some thank you cards for his teachers in his hand.  He had a great year, but he was ready to move on to summer adventures, to a new school.  I don’t even want to THINK about Annabel starting preschool in the Fall.  It all goes so fast.

Daniel’s Pre-K Graduation

It’s been a big week of milestones for our family.  Today, Daniel had his Pre-K graduation ceremony at school.  It was beyond cute.  First, all the kids performed some summer songs on the big stage.  The songs included the very popular “Florida Alphabet” and “If All of the Raindrops” – my personal favorite.  Daniel even wore a cap (no gown) for the graduation part.  He walked across the stage to greet his teacher, Ms. Michelle.  She gave him a bible and a graduation certificate.  He was so proud. We had to wade through the sea of parent paparazzi to get our video and photos.

We gave Daniel some new Richard Scarry books as a congratulations.  He was so excited.  My boy loves books.  And he loves Richard Scarry books.

We all went out for a family lunch at Chili’s.  It was Daniel’s pick.  Because they have the crazy blue blast drink there, of course.

Congrats to my super silly, super smart, super awesome little man.  I love you oh so much.

Proud

This is Annabel’s potty chart.  We She did it!

I’m so proud of my big girl.

Mother’s Day ’11

My Mother’s Day celebration started early.  I went to Daniel’s preschool for a special Mother’s Day luncheon on Friday.   Daniel gave me a homemade vase and the teacher read aloud questionnaires filled out by each child about his or her Mother.  When it was my turn, I learned that (according to Daniel):

I have silver/yellow hair. (Note to self: Book hair color appointment pronto.)

I am 40 years old. (Many kids said their Mom was 18 or 21.  I guess I should be glad he has a good memory, right?)

I like to vacuum. (At least everyone knows I’m not a Hoarder.)

My favorite color is pink. (I’ll take it.)

I don’t like to cook ALL of the time. (Understatement of the year, kid.)

But when I do cook, I cook fish sticks the worst.  Because I let them get black in the oven that one time. (???)

Okay.  I have NEVER cooked fish sticks.  Not once.  Hubbie cooks homemade tilapia fish sticks.  On the STOVE TOP.  And he has never burnt them. Not once. Daniel has an amazing imagination.  He loves to make up stories.  But, COME ON!  I would have rather he imagined me as a 25 year old who never, ever cooks.  That’s okay.  He made it up to me with the yummy lunch buffet and lots of hugs.

Speaking of cooking, Hubbie is the Top Chef of our family.  He made me an amazing Mother’s Day breakfast on Sunday.  I had french toast with bananas and fresh berries.

My gift was a morning at the spa for a 90 minute massage.  HEAVEN.  Then, I was back home for my yummy poached salmon lunch.

It was a day of eating and relaxing – my two favorite things.  I read magazines in bed.  I watched a lot of  television. We all went to the bookstore for coffee.  I got the best Mother’s Day cards from Hubbie and the kids.  I got this beautiful spring bouquet of flowers.

But the best gift of all was this:

A 15 minute window in the afternoon where both kiddies were getting along.  They were reading books together.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I hope your Mother’s Day was awesome too.  You deserve it.

PS:  I just realized today is the TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY of PopMommy.  Time flies! Thanks to everyone who continues to visit me here.  I appreciate it so much.

Life’s a Beach

or..not.

I’ve been telling Annabel lately that “you are lucky you are so cute.”  Which is true on two levels.  One, she is very, very cute and two, she is driving me CRAZY with this “3″ stuff.

That’s the excuse I will use for her erratic behavior.  She’s THREE.  That’s my hubbie’s diagnosis whenever I ask him, “What is going on with her?  Do you think she’s just overtired because she’s not napping that much?  Do you think I’m stressing her out with the potty training by asking her if she has to poop every 5 minutes?  Why does she whine so much?”

“She’s THREE.”

Right.  AND she’s potty training.

I don’t like to talk about potty training that much because I feel like I’m going to jinx everything and I also don’t like talking about that STUFF in general.  I love being a Mom with all my heart, but the poop and pee stuff is something I will never get used to. Never. And it changes from cute little baby butts to big toddler butts before you know it and..

Ahhhh!  I just don’t want to talk about it.

What I WILL say is that I had a plan with Daniel and it was awesome.  We waited until he was ready.  I read all about potty training in my favorite toddler bible.  We set him up with all the tools and all the information and when he was ready, that was it. No more diapers.  No pull ups.  Only underwear.  He was a potty star.  I set up Annabel for potty training the very same way and it’s just taking a longer time.  She’s also my second kid and she’s my princess diva daughter, so I let her wear pull ups instead of underwear because that’s what she wants.  And, let me be honest, I don’t have the time anymore (like I did with Daniel) to just sit around the house and let her potty train at her own leisure.  We now have school drop offs and soccer games and places to go and..

Yikes.  I’m still talking about it.

The other night, about three hours after she went to bed, she woke up SCREAMING. When I ran to the room she looked at me like she had no clue who I was.  She was sweating and screaming and pushing me away and kicking me and I could not comfort her at all.  I asked her if she had to go potty and she just covered her ears.  She finally calmed down and I left her room to Google “what the hell just happened with my kid because her head almost started to spin” and it turns out she had a night terror.  And if you keep Googling you find that night terrors are often associated with the stress from potty training.

Great.

So I’ve shut up about it and it turns out, everything is fine! EVERYTHING IS FINE.  It’s my new favorite saying because it really is so simple yet so darn TRUE. Everything IS fine.  Annabel is healthy.  She eats.  She sleeps.  She runs.  She plays.  She’s smart and funny.  She has her pink princess room which makes her happy.  She has a loving family and awesome friends.  Everything is fine.  And there is NO reason to worry or stress her out because she will PEE AND POOP ON THE POTTY WHEN SHE’S READY!

Oh, sorry, did it again.

 

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