Between parent teacher conferences, well check-ups, and a few other things going on lately around these parts, I thought it might be good to write a little update on the family.
At parent teacher conferences a couple weeks ago I learned that Garrett, while performing academically right about where I expected him to be (pretty average all around, with the exception of his love of reading and his lack of organization skills), is highly sensitive at school (translation: he cries easily). He's kind of an emotional roller coaster at home these days, too, with moods that swing wildly and quickly from belly laughter to high pitched screams of despair, so I guess learning this wasn't too unexpected, although it was a little disappointing to find out that it carries over at school. I'm wondering if this new personality quirk has more to do with his genetic coding, or the fact that 7-year-olds have a tendency to be emotional basket cases in general. Either way, I'm hoping it's something he grows out of sooner rather than later. He's a very bright boy, and I'm grateful for this sensitive side of his, but he needs to learn how to reign it in.
The report from Caleb's teacher, on the other hand, proved that he behaves much better at school than he does at home. At school he is kind and hard working, while at home he tends more to be a button-pusher with a few anger management problems. I have a feeling a lot of his behavior problems stem from middle child syndrome and an inability to handle things well when he's on sensory overload. He seems to be enjoying kindergarten, though it's usually a struggle to get him there willingly. He blames this on the fact that he strongly dislikes the lunch period (it's too noisy which stresses him out). But he's been memorizing sight words and learning to read, which has been incredibly empowering for him. He knows the routine for homework after school and will tackle it himself. If nothing else, Caleb takes his learning surprisingly seriously.
As briefly mentioned in a previous post, Matthew recently qualified to receive speech therapy through the Early Intervention program. His twice weekly sessions started up last week. His therapist his a sweet older Hispanic lady named Miss Betty. I was a little concerned at first over how thick her accent was -- both because of my inability to sometimes understand what she was saying, as well as what it meant for Matthew's speech development -- but so far it's worked out just fine. He's still working on warming up to her when she's actually sitting in our living room, but he eagerly anticipates her visits. Between the time that I started the process with EI to get him services and now, his speech has actually improved quite a lot -- he's saying more words and fairly clearly -- so with Miss Betty's help, we can only go up. As for me, I have thoroughly enjoyed the time I get to spend with Matthew when his big brothers are at school. His current favorite things include ducks, penguins, "Old Street" (i.e. classic episodes of Sesame Street), and fingerplays and singing songs with hand actions, which I in part owe a huge thanks for to his nursery teachers.
Daniel recently went in for his 6 month well check-up. He's growing right along his established curve (weight: 17 lbs 6 oz, length: 26 inches), and has officially (and finally) stopped wheezing. He's a happy baby and recently stopped waking up to eat during the night. He still needs me to come in and soothe him back to sleep occasionally, but it's hard for me to count getting up for two minutes once or twice a night when he'll otherwise give me 10-12 hours of solid sleep. This weekend he cut his first tooth, which explained some unusual fussiness last week, and the world is his oyster now that he's undeniably mobile. This kid, while not technically crawling, is scooting, pivoting, planking, and butterfly lunging just about anywhere he wants to go.
At the end of October we went in for our annual family visit to the optometrist, and this year Blake and I got to pick out new glasses. Even though his new semi-rimless frames are a stark contrast to the dark plastic ones he's been wearing for years, only a tiny handful of people have noticed, and no one has seemed to have noticed mine. Granted, mine don't look all that different from what I had before, but still. We're deciding to take this apparent lack of notice as the fact that our new eyes fit us remarkably well. ;)
Showing posts with label school days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school days. Show all posts
Monday, November 24, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
the first day of school
Alternately titled, "I Survived Their Summer Vacation."
As I climbed into bed on Wednesday night, my relief was actually audible with the knowledge that I had survived the boys' summer vacation. But as the early hours of the first day of school rolled around on Thursday morning, I remembered just how exhausting those first days of school can be, what with the pre-dawn wake-up alarms, my urge to make that traditional batch of chocolate chip cookies for an after school snack, and the forms -- oh, the mountain of forms requiring my contact information, permission, and signature!
These last two days have been a whirlwind, and I've occasionally had to remind myself that I've been looking forward to this all summer. But now that Caleb the Kindergartner has been eased in to elementary school life (which required later drop offs and earlier pick ups than the rest of the student body, including his older brother, that ultimately translated to extra drop offs and pick ups for me), and the majority of the forms have been filled out and are ready to be returned, I think a more calm routine will be established.
Garrett is in 2nd grade this year, and thrilled to be there. He quickly eased right back into our pre-summer way of doing things. He's been moving up with pretty much the same group of kids, so not only is he well-seasoned in the routines of the school, but he gets to be there with all his friends. I don't know much about his teachers (I only just learned their names today), but I've already gathered from a few non-verbal clues from them at pick-up that, for good or bad, Garrett has already made himself known in the classroom.
As mentioned above, this year Caleb joins his brother at PS 185. He has so far been acclimating better than I expected he would. For weeks he's been assuring us that he was excited to start kindergarten, but when the first day came and he, along with the rest of the school's newest students, were gathered in the auditorium to be divvied out to their respective classes, he became more and more frozen with fear. Being in the first class numerically, and the first student alphabetically, his was the first name called up to go join his teacher. I thought in that moment of sudden panic that he would lose his breakfast. But he didn't. His teacher comes highly regarded (and from what I've seen of her so far, she seems to be an excellent fit for Caleb), and she welcomed him right over. When I saw him again a few hours later he announced that he'd had a great day and was looking forward to going back again. His first full day of school will be Monday, and I'm sure that will require some getting used to on his part, but the fact that these first days have gone so well reassures me that he'll continue to be just fine.
Next week my days with only Matthew and Daniel at home will begin. I'm anticipating a little more quiet around the house, but at the same time I'm prepared to be disappointed in that regard. After all, infants and 2-year-olds come with their own kinds of...fun. I'm also a little wary of the bigger boys' 2:00 pick up time, which most days falls right in the middle of nap time, but hopefully we'll find some way to adjust. Either way, I'm looking forward to more one-on-one time with my two littles (and maybe also a little more time to tackle my quilting projects).
So here's to a new school year! With any luck, we'll all come out on top and get an education in the process.
As I climbed into bed on Wednesday night, my relief was actually audible with the knowledge that I had survived the boys' summer vacation. But as the early hours of the first day of school rolled around on Thursday morning, I remembered just how exhausting those first days of school can be, what with the pre-dawn wake-up alarms, my urge to make that traditional batch of chocolate chip cookies for an after school snack, and the forms -- oh, the mountain of forms requiring my contact information, permission, and signature!
These last two days have been a whirlwind, and I've occasionally had to remind myself that I've been looking forward to this all summer. But now that Caleb the Kindergartner has been eased in to elementary school life (which required later drop offs and earlier pick ups than the rest of the student body, including his older brother, that ultimately translated to extra drop offs and pick ups for me), and the majority of the forms have been filled out and are ready to be returned, I think a more calm routine will be established.
The second grader!
Garrett is in 2nd grade this year, and thrilled to be there. He quickly eased right back into our pre-summer way of doing things. He's been moving up with pretty much the same group of kids, so not only is he well-seasoned in the routines of the school, but he gets to be there with all his friends. I don't know much about his teachers (I only just learned their names today), but I've already gathered from a few non-verbal clues from them at pick-up that, for good or bad, Garrett has already made himself known in the classroom.
The kindergartener!
As mentioned above, this year Caleb joins his brother at PS 185. He has so far been acclimating better than I expected he would. For weeks he's been assuring us that he was excited to start kindergarten, but when the first day came and he, along with the rest of the school's newest students, were gathered in the auditorium to be divvied out to their respective classes, he became more and more frozen with fear. Being in the first class numerically, and the first student alphabetically, his was the first name called up to go join his teacher. I thought in that moment of sudden panic that he would lose his breakfast. But he didn't. His teacher comes highly regarded (and from what I've seen of her so far, she seems to be an excellent fit for Caleb), and she welcomed him right over. When I saw him again a few hours later he announced that he'd had a great day and was looking forward to going back again. His first full day of school will be Monday, and I'm sure that will require some getting used to on his part, but the fact that these first days have gone so well reassures me that he'll continue to be just fine.
The wannabe!
Oh, you called?
Next week my days with only Matthew and Daniel at home will begin. I'm anticipating a little more quiet around the house, but at the same time I'm prepared to be disappointed in that regard. After all, infants and 2-year-olds come with their own kinds of...fun. I'm also a little wary of the bigger boys' 2:00 pick up time, which most days falls right in the middle of nap time, but hopefully we'll find some way to adjust. Either way, I'm looking forward to more one-on-one time with my two littles (and maybe also a little more time to tackle my quilting projects).
So here's to a new school year! With any luck, we'll all come out on top and get an education in the process.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
wrapping up the school year
Well, it's official: school is out and summer has started. Part of me is glad for a change of pace. This last school year has been a difficult one for me, what with two separate school pick ups, OT and speech therapy appointments to get back and forth from, and a pregnancy, in addition to all the other aspects of life during a school year. I'm a little worn out.
The rest of me, though, is a little terrified at the prospect of having all four of them home all day every day where it's hot and swelteringly humid outside and cramped and crowded inside. I have a rough plan of how we'll survive, which entails regular morning park visits, followed by lunch and early afternoon quiet/nap time, and a little bit of homework/reading time when it's too hot to be outside.
But enough about summer. It will happen whether I'm ready or not. Onto the pomp and circumstance!
Two days ago, Caleb wrapped up his pre-kindergarten year. He went to a small nearby school called the Tiny Tots Playhouse, which he seemed to quite enjoy. Late last week his teachers held a simple Stepping Up ceremony that I attended.
As we walked home from Tiny Tots for the last time he said, "It's happy and sad, right?" I couldn't have summed it up better myself. He made a lot of great friends, absorbed the awesomeness of Magna-Tiles nearly every day during centers time, and learned a lot about how a school works. Now onto kindergarten!
In addition to pre-k, Caleb also this week wrapped up his OT and speech therapy sessions. He'll resume them again in the fall, only this time they'll take place at school so I, happily, won't have to cart him to and from them. I've been kind of "meh" about his OT experience and am actually relieved that it's over. Speech with Miss Zarina, on the other hand.... She was wonderful (and she came to our home for his sessions, which greatly added to my love for her). We will both really miss her.
Today was Garrett's last day of 1st grade at P.S. 185. He had a fantastic year with amazing teachers. I attribute his marked improvement and intense love for reading almost entirely on Mrs. Caramanico, who also encouraged his love of science. She, along with the other classroom teachers, Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Blake, were the best things that could have happened to Garrett this year, and we will both miss them. But he's as excited as ever to be a second grader in the fall!
The rest of me, though, is a little terrified at the prospect of having all four of them home all day every day where it's hot and swelteringly humid outside and cramped and crowded inside. I have a rough plan of how we'll survive, which entails regular morning park visits, followed by lunch and early afternoon quiet/nap time, and a little bit of homework/reading time when it's too hot to be outside.
But enough about summer. It will happen whether I'm ready or not. Onto the pomp and circumstance!
Two days ago, Caleb wrapped up his pre-kindergarten year. He went to a small nearby school called the Tiny Tots Playhouse, which he seemed to quite enjoy. Late last week his teachers held a simple Stepping Up ceremony that I attended.
The pre-k graduates.
The face Caleb pulled while the rest of his classmates smiled and sang a few songs. I'm still trying to decide if he was happy to be there.
With his two friends, Lola and Mia.
With his friend, Sabil.
With one of his teachers, Ms. Adele.
And with Mom (and Daniel).
Ready for kindergarten!
As we walked home from Tiny Tots for the last time he said, "It's happy and sad, right?" I couldn't have summed it up better myself. He made a lot of great friends, absorbed the awesomeness of Magna-Tiles nearly every day during centers time, and learned a lot about how a school works. Now onto kindergarten!
In addition to pre-k, Caleb also this week wrapped up his OT and speech therapy sessions. He'll resume them again in the fall, only this time they'll take place at school so I, happily, won't have to cart him to and from them. I've been kind of "meh" about his OT experience and am actually relieved that it's over. Speech with Miss Zarina, on the other hand.... She was wonderful (and she came to our home for his sessions, which greatly added to my love for her). We will both really miss her.
Miss Zarina
Today was Garrett's last day of 1st grade at P.S. 185. He had a fantastic year with amazing teachers. I attribute his marked improvement and intense love for reading almost entirely on Mrs. Caramanico, who also encouraged his love of science. She, along with the other classroom teachers, Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Blake, were the best things that could have happened to Garrett this year, and we will both miss them. But he's as excited as ever to be a second grader in the fall!
With Mrs. Caramanico.
Look! He's reading chapter books! He kept his nose buried in Mr. Popper's Penguins and finished it last night after starting it only a week ago.
Garrett's 1st grade year was also generously sprinkled with wonderful friends. Here he is with his best girl friend, Ava. These two were apparently partners in crime, especially when they were assigned to sit at the same table. (Isn't she adorable?!)
Making silly faces with his best boy friends, Ben and Abel.
This afternoon, to celebrate their last days of school, I took them to get Slurpees at 7-Eleven. In the process we unfortunately managed to ruin a lot of clothes, both from cherry-red Slurpee drippings and heat-induced dye transfers (from my shirt onto Daniel's while I was wearing him in the Ergo). Hopefully the rest of my attempts at fun this summer don't turn out as disastrous because, as exhausting as I know it will be, I really would like to make our days as memorable as possible, given our circumstances. So send your prayers and best wishes this way because I think I'm gonna need them.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
the last two weeks
Well, hello there. Did anybody miss me and my crew? (I've become such a sporadic poster in recent months, I'll understand if you didn't.)
You know, some people spend the month of November trying to post daily on their blogs while I, on the other hand, appear to do my best to do the opposite. Actually, the last two (plus!) weeks have been very busy. Halloween happened, Grandma Nancy came and went, and life 'round these parts didn't slow down for a second. I think I'm gonna just throw all of the fun we've had into one giant post, so bear with me while I share the highlights.
Let's get this party started, shall we?
Halloween
I know I've mentioned it in year's past, but never do I love my Brooklyn neighborhood more than on Halloween. The trick-or-treating at the storefronts alongside all of your neighbors somehow fills the air with this inspiring sense of community. Plus, the kids can make a haul in just a few blocks. This year Garrett dressed as a killer "Shampoo" whale, Caleb as a dinosaur, and Matthew as a railroad conductor.
Grandma Nancy Arrives & We Go to the Met
Some kids look forward to Halloween because of the trick-or-treat candy. This year mine were excited for Halloween because two days after, Grandma Nancy came to visit. (And, okay, also the candy.) She flew in on a red-eye, and after she recovered some lost sleep, we drove into Manhattan (as opposed to taking the subway; a first for us) to visit the Met.
NYC Marathon
I finally did it. After years of whining as I wended my horribly rerouted way to church on the first Sunday of every November, I finally found a way to both watch the NYC Marathon as runners made their way through our neighborhood AND get to church. We set up camp on our street, one block away from our building, at mile-marker 3. And oh, it was worth it! I should have been doing this every year. Those who think that only the runners get the adrenalin rush are so very wrong. We only stuck around for the first wave of runners, but it was enough. (And in case you missed it, here's some video footage I got.)
Stake Temple Day; Fishs Eddy, Trip 1; and An Incident En Route to the Voting Booth
The NYC public schools were closed on Election Day, so we used that day to adventure into the city. It was also our stake's temple day, so our first stop was to the Manhattan Temple. My mom watched the kids in the chapel a few floors below while I went into the temple to redeem a handful of my kindred dead. It was a neat experience, particularly because my aunt, who was working in the temple that day, was able to participate with me.
Afterwards, we made our way to Fishs Eddy for our first visit. I don't think I'd been in since my mom's last visit in the spring, and it was good to be back. I came away with some lovely finds: a set of 9 white, scalloped dessert plates, plus a Lotta Jansdotter creamer -- all for only $11.
We made it to a few other favorite stores in that part of the city before everyone pooped out and it was time to head back. But before we went home, we stopped in at the school so I could vote (for, it turned out, almost every candidate who did not end up getting elected; the only exception was our local incumbent city council member, who has impressed me greatly since we've lived here, so I'm glad we get to keep him around at least). As we neared the school, Garrett, who was excitedly talking about something and not paying attention to where he was going, per his norm, suddenly went down. A loud gong echoed into the street from his unexpected run-in with a lamppost, and you could almost see the little cartoon birds flying in circles over his head. It took all of us a moment to realize what exactly had just happened, and a little bit longer to recover. But after a few minutes, even Garrett was laughing at how silly it was. (And, several days later, I'm still laughing about it. It was seriously so funny!)
Recovery
We couldn't keep up this kind of pace forever, especially not with school and special ed services factored in, so we had several days of "recovery." We visited all of our favorite neighborhood haunts, ran errands to Costco and Target, and made a stop in to see the new Brooklyn Uni Qlo (where I invested in an awesome new Ultra Light Down winter coat -- I picked the navy blue).
One particularly cold late afternoon, we took the boys out to the stoop so they could go "scootering," Garrett on his new-to-him Razor scooter from Aunt Chelsea, and both of them sporting new, much-needed helmets.
Matthew Goes to the Doctor
Matthew's growth patterns have apparently shifted, according to the measurements taken at his 18 month well check-up. He's now starting to grow more up than out, which concerned the doctor slightly, but not me so much seeing as he's still very much a sturdily built kid. Here are his latest stats:
Height: 32.5 inches
Weight: 24 lbs 5 oz
To my surprise, he didn't even ask about his walking skillz, so I guess all my worrying about it really was for nothing. But he did want to know about his vocabulary. Not just how many words he says, but what they were. Here's what I was able to list that he says on at least a fairly regular basis: mama/mommy, dad/daddy, help, ow, uh-oh, whoa (with an adorable accompanying look of surprise), book, night-night, and no (of course).
The Last Day of Soccer
The fall season ended on a bitterly cold Saturday morning. The boys played like usual, but their drills and scrimmages were followed by a small trophy ceremony. They were both so excited to get those trophies, even though Caleb's was misspelled, making him a Celeb. (They're going to fix it for him, but in the mean time, he's a celeb to us.)
The Cloisters
On the second Saturday of Grandma's visit, we drove (since now we were more comfortable with Manhattan roads) to the Cloisters where we met up with Uncle Joel and Aunt Colleen, as well as Emily. The highlight of the visit, aside from being able to see my favorite people in New Jersey, was the sound installation exhibit called The Forty Part Motet. Oh, just remembering it sends chills down my spine! It was set up in the Fuentidueña Chapel and consisted of 40 strategically placed speakers, each representing a voice. When the music, Spem in alium, by the Tudor composer Thomas Tallis, began, you as the listener were surrounded by the most angelic voices echoing through the chapel. Everyone who listened absolutely froze where they stood, and I caught most people, myself included, wiping tears from their eyes. Seriously, if you have the chance to go before the exhibit closes in early December, do it. It was kind of life-changing.
Canstruction
The boys were out of school on Veterans Day, and we desperately needed to find something to keep them busy, preferably indoors where it was warm. Luckily for us, the annual Canstruction exhibit was going on at the World Financial Center, so we headed up there.
Fishs Eddy, Trip 2
Of course we had to go back. We always have to back. This time they'd made some major holiday preparations, including a restocking of their clearance section. I found a charming squat milk bottle, a tiny tray designed to look like a vintage recipe card, and a teeny tiny rolling pin to replace the normal sized one that has never been very usable on my tiny counterspace.
In Between
Grandma Nancy was an immense help while she was here, particularly in the after-school hours when I start to fall apart. She worked intensely with Garrett during homework time to improve his lazy penmanship, and she helped him memorize our phone number. She taught Caleb how to spell his name, and introduced Matthew to his new friend, a stuffed monkey. As for me, it was lovely to have her companionship, and perhaps just a little bit lovelier to not have to cart my entire crew around to various appointments and school pick-ups. She has been very much missed since she had to return home.
Parent Teacher Conferences
The day after Grandma left was as busy as ever, mostly because of Garrett's parent teacher conferences. I'll admit I was a little surprised by how glowing their report of him was. They told me he was the fastest progressing reader in the class, and that he is now just about reading at grade level (level E-F) after starting the year at below level A (and it's only November!). They are also pleased with his level of participation in the classroom and his ability to follow rules (if I could just translate that one to the homefront....). And they are charmed by his "relationship" with Ava, a cute little red-haired girl that he's gone to school with since his first year of preschool. His teachers told me that they like to hug, and Garrett has announced to me on several occasions recently that he plans to marry her.
Not only am I impressed by Garrett's report, but I'm so very pleased with his two teachers. One of them is reportedly (according to the other parents I mingle with at pick-up) the best in the school, and I have no doubt that the rumor is true. They are both kind and patient and it's clear that they have the best interests of their students at heart.
Where's Waldo
Meanwhile, I had to make a costume for Caleb's "dress up as your favorite literary character" day at school. He desperately wanted to go as Waldo, so I tracked down a white turtleneck, a white hat, red duct tape, and an old pair of "minion goggles" from his birthday party, which I then assembled into the iconic Waldo outfit. It turned out pretty well, if I may say so. And now I have one Halloween costume ready to go for next year.
And, well, that pretty much sums up the last two weeks. As much fun as we've had, I really do hope that the next several weeks are a little calmer. (But, of course, the holiday season is upon us, so that might be an impossible dream.) At any rate, let's hope that I'm at least able to pause and catch my breath more frequently in order to post a little more often.
You know, some people spend the month of November trying to post daily on their blogs while I, on the other hand, appear to do my best to do the opposite. Actually, the last two (plus!) weeks have been very busy. Halloween happened, Grandma Nancy came and went, and life 'round these parts didn't slow down for a second. I think I'm gonna just throw all of the fun we've had into one giant post, so bear with me while I share the highlights.
Let's get this party started, shall we?
Halloween
I know I've mentioned it in year's past, but never do I love my Brooklyn neighborhood more than on Halloween. The trick-or-treating at the storefronts alongside all of your neighbors somehow fills the air with this inspiring sense of community. Plus, the kids can make a haul in just a few blocks. This year Garrett dressed as a killer "Shampoo" whale, Caleb as a dinosaur, and Matthew as a railroad conductor.
The boys were so excited to see Sister Re, who is the music leader in Primary.
Catching up with a group of friends from the ward.
Grandma Nancy Arrives & We Go to the Met
Some kids look forward to Halloween because of the trick-or-treat candy. This year mine were excited for Halloween because two days after, Grandma Nancy came to visit. (And, okay, also the candy.) She flew in on a red-eye, and after she recovered some lost sleep, we drove into Manhattan (as opposed to taking the subway; a first for us) to visit the Met.
In the Egyptian collection.
Grandma gave the boys pennies to throw into the moat with the instructions to make a wish. They both wished fervently for a baby sister.
This lovely piece is called Charity. I, too, often find myself with three little ones hanging on me, but I also find that when they do that, I don't feel very much of the sculpture's titled virtue or look as graceful.
The hall that little boy's dreams are made of.
NYC Marathon
I finally did it. After years of whining as I wended my horribly rerouted way to church on the first Sunday of every November, I finally found a way to both watch the NYC Marathon as runners made their way through our neighborhood AND get to church. We set up camp on our street, one block away from our building, at mile-marker 3. And oh, it was worth it! I should have been doing this every year. Those who think that only the runners get the adrenalin rush are so very wrong. We only stuck around for the first wave of runners, but it was enough. (And in case you missed it, here's some video footage I got.)
Waiting for the runners to pass.
Cheering them on.
High five!
The crowd thickens.
Only 23 more miles to go.
Stake Temple Day; Fishs Eddy, Trip 1; and An Incident En Route to the Voting Booth
The NYC public schools were closed on Election Day, so we used that day to adventure into the city. It was also our stake's temple day, so our first stop was to the Manhattan Temple. My mom watched the kids in the chapel a few floors below while I went into the temple to redeem a handful of my kindred dead. It was a neat experience, particularly because my aunt, who was working in the temple that day, was able to participate with me.
Afterwards, we made our way to Fishs Eddy for our first visit. I don't think I'd been in since my mom's last visit in the spring, and it was good to be back. I came away with some lovely finds: a set of 9 white, scalloped dessert plates, plus a Lotta Jansdotter creamer -- all for only $11.
We made it to a few other favorite stores in that part of the city before everyone pooped out and it was time to head back. But before we went home, we stopped in at the school so I could vote (for, it turned out, almost every candidate who did not end up getting elected; the only exception was our local incumbent city council member, who has impressed me greatly since we've lived here, so I'm glad we get to keep him around at least). As we neared the school, Garrett, who was excitedly talking about something and not paying attention to where he was going, per his norm, suddenly went down. A loud gong echoed into the street from his unexpected run-in with a lamppost, and you could almost see the little cartoon birds flying in circles over his head. It took all of us a moment to realize what exactly had just happened, and a little bit longer to recover. But after a few minutes, even Garrett was laughing at how silly it was. (And, several days later, I'm still laughing about it. It was seriously so funny!)
Recovery
We couldn't keep up this kind of pace forever, especially not with school and special ed services factored in, so we had several days of "recovery." We visited all of our favorite neighborhood haunts, ran errands to Costco and Target, and made a stop in to see the new Brooklyn Uni Qlo (where I invested in an awesome new Ultra Light Down winter coat -- I picked the navy blue).
One particularly cold late afternoon, we took the boys out to the stoop so they could go "scootering," Garrett on his new-to-him Razor scooter from Aunt Chelsea, and both of them sporting new, much-needed helmets.
Zipping down the sidewalk.
Matthew really wished his push wagon was actually a scooter.
Matthew Goes to the Doctor
Matthew's growth patterns have apparently shifted, according to the measurements taken at his 18 month well check-up. He's now starting to grow more up than out, which concerned the doctor slightly, but not me so much seeing as he's still very much a sturdily built kid. Here are his latest stats:
Height: 32.5 inches
Weight: 24 lbs 5 oz
To my surprise, he didn't even ask about his walking skillz, so I guess all my worrying about it really was for nothing. But he did want to know about his vocabulary. Not just how many words he says, but what they were. Here's what I was able to list that he says on at least a fairly regular basis: mama/mommy, dad/daddy, help, ow, uh-oh, whoa (with an adorable accompanying look of surprise), book, night-night, and no (of course).
The Last Day of Soccer
The fall season ended on a bitterly cold Saturday morning. The boys played like usual, but their drills and scrimmages were followed by a small trophy ceremony. They were both so excited to get those trophies, even though Caleb's was misspelled, making him a Celeb. (They're going to fix it for him, but in the mean time, he's a celeb to us.)
The Cloisters
On the second Saturday of Grandma's visit, we drove (since now we were more comfortable with Manhattan roads) to the Cloisters where we met up with Uncle Joel and Aunt Colleen, as well as Emily. The highlight of the visit, aside from being able to see my favorite people in New Jersey, was the sound installation exhibit called The Forty Part Motet. Oh, just remembering it sends chills down my spine! It was set up in the Fuentidueña Chapel and consisted of 40 strategically placed speakers, each representing a voice. When the music, Spem in alium, by the Tudor composer Thomas Tallis, began, you as the listener were surrounded by the most angelic voices echoing through the chapel. Everyone who listened absolutely froze where they stood, and I caught most people, myself included, wiping tears from their eyes. Seriously, if you have the chance to go before the exhibit closes in early December, do it. It was kind of life-changing.
This sample hardly does it justice.
Entrance to the Cloisters.
The museum sits above the Hudson and offers a breathtaking view.
The Bonnefont Cloister garden.
I will forever love this espaliered pear tree.
Meanwhile, Garrett and Caleb were fascinated by poisonous plants in the Bonnefont Cloister garden.
Canstruction
The boys were out of school on Veterans Day, and we desperately needed to find something to keep them busy, preferably indoors where it was warm. Luckily for us, the annual Canstruction exhibit was going on at the World Financial Center, so we headed up there.
We walked right under the new Freedom Tower on our way to the World Financial Center. It's not hard to believe it's now officially the tallest building in the U.S.
The minions were our favorite.
Staten Island Ferry.
Lady and the Tramp.
Art of the Brick replica done in sardine cans.
Simultaneously eery and awesome.
Fishs Eddy, Trip 2
Of course we had to go back. We always have to back. This time they'd made some major holiday preparations, including a restocking of their clearance section. I found a charming squat milk bottle, a tiny tray designed to look like a vintage recipe card, and a teeny tiny rolling pin to replace the normal sized one that has never been very usable on my tiny counterspace.
In Between
Grandma Nancy was an immense help while she was here, particularly in the after-school hours when I start to fall apart. She worked intensely with Garrett during homework time to improve his lazy penmanship, and she helped him memorize our phone number. She taught Caleb how to spell his name, and introduced Matthew to his new friend, a stuffed monkey. As for me, it was lovely to have her companionship, and perhaps just a little bit lovelier to not have to cart my entire crew around to various appointments and school pick-ups. She has been very much missed since she had to return home.
Matthew and his monkey.
We love Grandma Nancy!
The day after Grandma left was as busy as ever, mostly because of Garrett's parent teacher conferences. I'll admit I was a little surprised by how glowing their report of him was. They told me he was the fastest progressing reader in the class, and that he is now just about reading at grade level (level E-F) after starting the year at below level A (and it's only November!). They are also pleased with his level of participation in the classroom and his ability to follow rules (if I could just translate that one to the homefront....). And they are charmed by his "relationship" with Ava, a cute little red-haired girl that he's gone to school with since his first year of preschool. His teachers told me that they like to hug, and Garrett has announced to me on several occasions recently that he plans to marry her.
Not only am I impressed by Garrett's report, but I'm so very pleased with his two teachers. One of them is reportedly (according to the other parents I mingle with at pick-up) the best in the school, and I have no doubt that the rumor is true. They are both kind and patient and it's clear that they have the best interests of their students at heart.
Where's Waldo
Meanwhile, I had to make a costume for Caleb's "dress up as your favorite literary character" day at school. He desperately wanted to go as Waldo, so I tracked down a white turtleneck, a white hat, red duct tape, and an old pair of "minion goggles" from his birthday party, which I then assembled into the iconic Waldo outfit. It turned out pretty well, if I may say so. And now I have one Halloween costume ready to go for next year.
And, well, that pretty much sums up the last two weeks. As much fun as we've had, I really do hope that the next several weeks are a little calmer. (But, of course, the holiday season is upon us, so that might be an impossible dream.) At any rate, let's hope that I'm at least able to pause and catch my breath more frequently in order to post a little more often.
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