Sleepover Success

I wanted to come and blog about this before I forgot.  On Friday, December 6 we had Caroline's 10th sleepover birthday party at our house.  I was very nervous about it leading up to it given that I didn't know 4 out of 6 of the girls who were coming.  It's one thing to have a kid over to your house for a play date that you don't know but it's another to have 4 of them and have them spending the night!  We sent out the invitations in early November and on the invitations where I didn't know the girls' parents, I wrote a separate little note on the back that they were free to call/email me if they had any questions or wanted to meet me.  Of the 4 girls, I didn't know, only one of the parents seemed a little nervous about the prospect of having their daughter spend the night somewhere with people they'd never met.  I was actually kind of relieved when the mom wanted to meet and it was so nice meeting her and her husband a few weeks before the sleepover.  (We'd now be more than happy to let Caroline go to their house too so the feeling is mutual.)

Anyway, the other 3 girls I didn't know all had their moms drop them off and stayed for a few minutes.  I took all of their cell phone numbers down just in case and assured them they'd be supervised and safe.  I was so happy they had come whereas I think the parents were happy to have their daughter out of the house for a night.  I guess it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

As for the party, the girls were wonderful!  Seven 9/10 year old girls was a perfect amount and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Well maybe not right away but I wouldn't be the least bit nervous to have any of these girls over to my house again.  It was really fun!  They were all so well behaved and fun.  They didn't all know each other but they quickly bonded and dissolved into giggles and squeals.

They started the night making rainbow loom bracelets (they all brought their stuff) and after everyone arrived, I served some snacks and they hung out in the basement.  After I got cleaned up, I set up a craft activity for them where they each painted their wooden first initial.

Then we did an ice cream sundae bar and brownies (instead of a cake, per Caroline's request) and Caroline opened her gifts.  Then came the part that Caroline was SOOOO excited for....makeup!  I bought a cheap set on Amazon that had like 48 eye shadows, blushes and lipsticks and told the girls to go to town:

They had a blast!  The girls were just so fun together and I loved that they included Piper for part of the night.  (Bryce went to my mom's, thank goodness!!)  Here's Piper with the girl who did her makeup - she was so happy to be included:

Thankfully, I had stocked up on makeup remover wipes!  But they cleaned up the bathroom when they were done and got out their sleeping bags and sat around talking and laughing.  Around midnight I told them that it was quiet time and they were already watching a movie. (This was the point where I had to drag Piper upstairs to her bed kicking and screaming!) I didn't hear another thing all night!  Caroline said they were up until about 1:30.  This is where having a finished basement made all the difference.  We were a full 2 floors away and they had their own space and own bathroom - it really was ideal.  

The next morning I was up around 7:30 and made pancakes and bacon and they all meandered upstairs ready to eat.  Once again they were as pleasant as could be and then talked and rainbow loomed until their parents came to get them.  

Caroline had the time of her life and I am so glad we were able to do this for her 10th birthday.  I had my first sleepover at 10 years old and remember it fondly as I think she will too.  Quite honestly, this was actually her first birthday party too.  At her old school, there just weren't really any kids that were her friends and so we'd just do things with the girl down the street.  Not that she was in any way deprived but I think this party made up for it and it made me very happy that we were able to do that for her.

I was really nervous about how the evening would play out and if they would be bored or get into trouble but I think their ages are really good ones in that they aren't all into boys yet and they just could enjoy being together.  I was also glad to have met so many other parents and now have more options for girls to come to the house to play.  So glad I kept my anxiety in check and did it.  She really is growing up and was totally ready for this.  She has really sweet friends and I'm happy she's feeling connected at her new school. Whew!

Pierced Piper

On Sunday we had an impromptu mall trip with my two neighbor friends.  We decided to make it a girls only day since the men wanted to watch football so I took my girls along with Bella, Piper's BFF.  We took baby Bradley along too but he's only 4 months old and doesn't "count" as a kid yet.

While we were there, I had a though - why not get Piper's ears pierced?  She has been asking off and on for a while now and this was the perfect opportunity since Bella was with us (and she has hers pierced which was one of the reasons that Piper has recently started asking).  When I asked her she started jumping up and down - she was so excited.  

We headed over to Piercing Pagoda since that is where Caroline had hers pierced and I liked it.  However, in four years, they had greatly increased their prices and my hope of getting Piper the same earrings (with her birthstone) were dashed when I saw the $55 price tag.  Um, what.  I was just about to pull back and head up to Claire's when I saw these pink, crystal starts for a much more reasonable price.  Caroline and I easily persuaded Piper to pick those - she really did like them - and we were set.  

Piper climbed into the chair and was all smiles.  I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best because THIS was where Caroline's piercing went downhill.  

But, she continued doing great!  She sat very still while the woman marked her ears.

She seemed fine as she waited for them to get set to pierce them both at the same time but I could tell by the look on her face she was very nervous.  She didn't say a thing but sat there quietly looking nervous but didn't once say a word.  The two women did the piercing at the same time and in a flash, it was done.  I thought she would want to look at her ears right away, but she didn't.  She got out of the chair really fast and came right over to me where I was kneeling down and she buried her head into my shoulder and we just hugged.  I rubbed her back and told her how proud I was and that she was so brave.  Caroline and the other two moms thought she was crying but it just looked that way.  I whispered to her, "Do you want to see your ears?"  At first she said no but then it kind of registered and she quickly put her head up and looked right in the mirror!  A huge smile spread across her face and she was fine although I could tell she was still processing it all.  She wasn't that interested in the stickers or lollipop like her sister hadn't been either.

We got home a little later and she was so excited to show everyone.  She showed Jason and all of our neighbors and then called my mom to tell her.  She was so proud!  Then later she asked me to take her photo again with her sticker:

So now we're in the cleaning and turning phase of the ear piercing.  I reminded Piper not to be touching her ears since her fingers are probably dirty and we don't want them to get infected.  So on Monday, I got home from work and she runs up to me and says, "Mommy, a whole bunch of kids at school were touching my ears!"  I didn't really believe her because who touches ears, but I also know that when my sister was in pre-K she broke her arm and the teacher made a point to tell the kids not to push her and then they all did.  (Famous Chrissa story!)  I didn't think much more about it until last night when she was getting out of the tub and said, "Hey mommy, remember how I told you all those kids were touching my ears?  Well, you know who those kids were?  ME!!"  I guess she had been touching her ears a lot (which you would understand/expect) and felt guilty about it so she made up a story.  Not quite the truth but it did make me laugh to know she felt guilty about touching her ears.

Thankfully, they look great so far and I'm looking forward to seeing her get some earrings for Christmas this year.  I know she can't wait until Thanksgiving to be able to change them!

Pre-K Piper

Piper is officially a pre-k girl!  She'll be going three mornings a week to the rec council's pre-k program since she doesn't qualify for the public school pre-k program.  I'm glad though because I think pre-k three days a week is a little easier on her since she's never really been in daycare like her older siblings were.  Plus, she's my baby and it's hard enough that she's old enough to go to school.  I needed to get her into something since I don't think it would have gone very well if she'd skipped pre-k and went to kindergarten - she needs to learn classroom social norms and how to behave in a classroom setting and this exactly the kinds of things they focus on in her pre-k.  And crafts and fun stuff!  She was excited to have "homework."  

Of course Bryce is being difficult about it and keeps saying things like, "Finally, you're going to school!" Or, "You'll find out how BORING school is now.  Ha ha ha!"  And then when I told him her school didn't start until 9:30, he says, "That's ridiculous!!"  I gave him a good talking to and told him to lay off.  She's just turned four for Pete's sake!  

Anyway, she was so excited this morning (yay!).  She was ready an hour beforehand and kept "practicing" putting on her backpack and carrying her snack bag.  (She was the one who remembered to wear her jersey for the Ravens today - heavens knows it wasn't me!)  The backpack was Caroline's in kindergarten and first grade and since it's an LLBean, it is in great shape.  But without thinking I had it monogrammed not realizing Piper would use it.  Duh.  But a seam ripper (and a half hour of my time) got it all the way out - you can barely tell!  

Because Caroline held that silly penguin in her photos, Piper had to hold something too and she opted for Flora.

Then my mom made her mad by picking her up and trying to stand her by the flowers for a photo.  This was her reaction:  (pitiful)

But, I got her smiling again.

 And in her classroom right before I left:

In this pre-k they ask that parents help out twice a month - since I'm working my mom and MIL have agreed to each do a day a month.  My mom signed up for the first day so I was VERY grateful that I didn't have to leave Piper alone her first day although I hope she'll be okay when my MIL drops her off on Wednesday.  My mom said she did well and I think it's just a matter of time before she gets comfortable with the way things go. Although the teacher is laid back and isn't pushing any parent out the door in a set amount of time so hopefully Piper will follow the other kids' lead and be okay.  My mom said only one kid was truly upset this morning.

Cyber Caroline

Well, it's official: Caroline has her first email address!  I'd been thinking about setting her up for a while now because she loves being online, she's great at reading and writing and I know how much she enjoys communicating with other people she knows.  Then an online friend told me about Zoobuh.com.  For $12 a YEAR, your kid has an email address and you can completely control it.  I have hers set up so that she can only send and receive emails from the contact that I specify in my parent account.  Right now it's all family members but if any of my blog readers have a kid that might want an email "pen pal", let me know! (Or if you want to email with Caroline yourself.)

She absolutely LOVES it.  She writes the silliest emails and I just love getting emails from her while I am at work.  She's been writing to everyone on her contact list - aunts/uncles, grandparents, Lydia.  I don't think any of her friends have email addresses yet so that's the next step, I'm sure.

Aside from having control of her contacts, I can also read all of her emails (if needed) and change other settings.  At the age of 8, I feel like this is totally age appropriate and a great baby step in letting her play online.  It's also great practice in typing and writing emails.  At some point, obviously we'll let her have a real email and (gasp) a social network presence, but that's still several years in the future, but at the age of 9, that's not as far off as it seems.

I think the good thing is that Jason and I are very well connected and internet savvy people.  We understand the importance of your profile and online reputation so when the time comes where she wants her own internet profile, we'll be right there monitoring it.  I know that when she's a teenager she'll be interacting with her friends online and it is our job to monitor it and help her set things up so she's not publicizing every detail of her life online.  Just like it's our job to help her in real life, her online life will need our constant supervision too.  I have friends with teenagers and it's nice seeing that they are "friends" with them on Facebook and monitor what they're doing.  Being ignorant about all the things going on online is a definite way to not know what's going on with your kids now.  It's not just what they're doing with their friends when they're physically together anymore.  And I realize that there will be even more technology in coming days that we'll have to learn to keep up but I will not be the parent sitting back without a clue.

Bryce wants an email account too but I think we're going to hold off since he's just in the beginning phases of reading and can't really spell yet so setting him up would be a lot of "fun" for Jason and me.  I think I will use it as an incentive this school year to get him reading more and if he's progressing well and really trying, we'll set one up for him.  Caroline's email address makes me laugh so I wonder what Bryce will come up with.

Toothless Bryce

Bryce won the tooth race!  Both he and Caroline had very loose teeth and we joked it was a race to see which one would fall out first.  I had a feeling it was going to be Bryce because Caroline won't let us touch hers and Bryce does.  In fact, up through last week Caroline's was more loose.  After trying to pull it last week and coming up empty handed (and making it bleed a little), Bryce showed me how wiggly it had gotten last night.  He could bend it all the way back and I could see it was hanging by the last remnant of a root on one side.  He laid back on his pillow, I got a hanky, and gave one little tug and OUT it came.  It bled a little but he was so happy it was out he didn't care.  Triumphant!

We finally got him settled down and into bed. Of course that was after writing a message to the Tooth Fairy not to take his tooth (Caroline's influence) and to leave him money.  He was jubilant upon finding two golden dollars this morning in his tooth pillow this morning.

What was funny was that much like Caroline had, Bryce carried his tooth and money all around the house with him. I found him sitting on the couch playing with it.  What is it with kids and their teeth?  Do they feel a deep connection to them or are they just fascinated by looking at it?  Maybe a combination of both.  Caroline gave him one of her spare tooth boxes she got when she lost a tooth at school so we'll see how well he manages to keep from losing it but I did tell him that it was not to go to school.  He could take the hole in his mouth but not the tooth and that suited him just fine.  I could tell he was very excited to report his big news to his classmates.

He was also pretty excited last night to hear that he lost his first tooth before Caroline lost her first one, but then, I expected that since he got his first tooth at 4 months and she didn't get her's until 9 months.  Piper was almost 11 months so we've got quite a while before she'll be asking the Tooth Fairy for some dough.

A New Life Skill

Eek!  Caroline has learned to text!  My kids LOVE to play on our phones and while we severely limit how often they get to play with them, when we go to my mom's it's common request.  So this weekend they spent the night at their house on Saturday (we had a wedding), and in that time they figured out how to use my mom's phone to take photos and videos.  That was just the beginning because on Sunday when I took Bryce and Piper to our CSA's farm day, I got a text from Caroline that said, "I.love.you.love.Caroline."  I figured that my mom had helped her do it and didn't respond right away.  Then when I finally got around to responding, I wrote back that I loved her too and my mom responded, "Um, I didn't help her send that, she figured it out herself."

And then the floodgates opened and all she wanted to do was text people.  When we got back to my mom's, she was texting my brother like crazy and then when he had to get in the car and drive over to my mom's, she started texting my sister who was at the football game.  She was all giggles when my sister sent her a photo of her and Will at the game making faces.  And then she started texting me again.  I could NOT get over the way she was typing and phrasing things.  Who knew an almost 8 year old had such skillz?  Frankly, it freaked me out a little.  (She texted me "duh" at one point.  OMG.) 

Clearly at this point her texting habit can be kept in check since she really has no one to text and she won't be getting any kind of phone for a good many years, but wow.  I can already see where we'll be in high school.  As we were talking about this new found skill, my SIL, Kelly, who is a high school teacher was telling me about how different cell phone rules are now.  Remember back in our days, if you got caught with a pager you got suspended!  But now, cell phones are allowed and you can text them between classes and during lunch, but never during class or the teacher takes it and your parents have to come and get it.  She also said that they are allowed to use them in class if they have permission to look something up.  Things have reallllllly changed, but I like that they are trying to embrace the use of them rather than fighting it.  And Kelly said it's pretty darn easy to figure out someone is texting and most kids don't want to lose their phone so they'll abide by it although there are a few kids that have figured out how to text in their pocket.  Ha!

So we'll see where we are in 5 years - clearly another thing we'll be navigating and figuring out anew since this wasn't something our parents had to deal with. 

Soccer Game

Bryce had his first soccer game tonight.  He's been practicing for about a month now but this was his first game.  My parents and Jason's parents all came to witness the occasion.  Bryce is doing the 4-6 year old clinic so it's a lot of watching kids run around after the ball, but they're learning and having a good time and that's all that matters.  Here he is warming up: (not many kids had gotten there yet)

All charged up and ready to go:

Bryce throwing the ball in - Jason was so proud of how well he did -they'd never really practiced it:

At some point in the 2nd half, Bryce got put in as the goalie.  This is Bryce's dream come true - to be just like Jason!  He actually did pretty well and had several saves!  Here he is as the team/ball/crowd of kids is approaching.  Don't you love the pose?

Ready to receive the ball - Jason told him later it was okay for him to come out a little and get it:

His team ended up winning 5-0.  Jason said he was surprised how well the team played given what he's seen in practice.  Clearly the game got them in a different mindset.  Bryce kept remarking that his team had "5 scores!"  Goals, Brycey, goals.

Sleepover Lessons

On Saturday evening, Caroline had her first official friend over for a sleepover - our neighbor, Sophia.  Caroline has been to Sophia's twice to spend the night (once with just her and another time with Sophia's cousin and one other girl).  Caroline ADORES Sophia.  Adores her.  She is a really nice little girl who is fairly quiet and very polite. No problems there!  We also know her parents pretty well and also like them a lot so there is a lot of trust there and no worries as far as things going on at one another's homes. 

It kind of happened spur of the moment and I'm glad it did because instead of Caroline knowing in advance and freaking out ahead of time (in a happy, super excited way), she only freaked out for 30 minutes.  To say she was excited is a huge understatement. 

All in all, it all worked out fine.  The problems I anticipated happened but Sophia wasn't to blame - it was the nature of having another child over for one kid and the siblings not knowing how to handle it.  Bryce and Piper both love Sophia too but understanding that Sophia was there to play with Caroline was tough.  The girls did include Piper some, but Bryce was clearly the odd man out.  Sophia didn't come over until after 8pm so we didn't have too many issues at bedtime.  I had to get Piper to sleep first and then Bryce and THEN the girls.  It was like 10:30 before all 4 of them were asleep.  And then I had a hard time sleeping just waiting for someone to wake up and then wake up everyone else.  They were all up at 7am, as were we.

That's when the main problems started.  Caroline and Sophia wanted alone time but Bryce didn't understand why he wasn't included. (He insists when he has his first sleepover he will let Caroline in - I told him I doubted Caroline would be the least bit interested.)   So it was up to Jason and I to try and keep him occupied so he wasn't bugging them and causing problems.  Piper was included in some of their play, thankfully, but because she was tired, she was a bit grumpy.  However, Caroline and Sophia ended up going up to Sophia's house to play for a bit so that gave me a little break in terms of keeping Bryce and Piper out of their business. 

Caroline is still learning about the nuances of having friends over - not to leave them at the table while the friend is still eating.  Not just assuming they can do anything she wants to do.  Just general things you learn as you grow up when you are entertaining your guests.  I guess the only real problem we had was that Caroline asked Sophia to bring her Nintendo DS with her.  My kids don't have a DS so Sophia's is a real treat for them and I had to remind Caroline that she invited Sophia over and NOT her DS.  (That's a whole other post...)

I don't plan on making this a regular thing even though Caroline said she wishes she and Sophia could have sleepovers every weekend.  Ha! 

Yellow

Ms. R won't start her official behavior plan for kindergarten until Monday (where she reports it home daily) but last Friday and this week she's been practicing with the kids.  I wasn't exactly shocked though when Bryce told me that he'd been moved down to yellow twice already.  The kicker is that he doesn't remember why or so he says.  When you ask him about it he acts all surprised and confused as to why he'd be moved down to yellow. And much like last year, he'd tell us that it wasn't his fault.  Clearly, we know Bryce better than he knows himself. 

So I sent Ms. R an email and she responded very thoughtfully.  She explained that Bryce has had some trouble keeping his hands to himself in a playful way.  Shocker.  Bryce is my child that is constantly touching someone.  All.the.time.  He's just a touchy-feely kid.  So clearly something we need to continue working on at home and reinforcing.  Ms. R also said that she'd talked to Bryce clearly about keeping his hands to himself. 

Last night when I told him that I'd talked to Ms. R and she told us what happened, he got a little defensive and offered a little more of an explanation (without prompting) which tells me that he DOES remember what happened.   Ugh! Bryce!  Now we're working on talking about hands to yourself and about telling the full truth.  We don't jump all over him when he gets a yellow, we talk about what he could do differently.

I don't expect him to be perfect, by any means, and I fully expect that kindergarten will have its mix of yellows and maybe even a red.  Caroline had them too.  She learned and so will he.  I just need to make sure I understand what he did in order to be able to help him.  Hopefully, he will get better at conveying that to us.

Typical Bryce, he's a talker but clams up when it comes to telling us the things that really matter.  In fact his teacher's aid, Ms. B asked my MIL if Bryce talked a lot at home because he'd done a lot of talking that day.  Bryce a talker?  You think?

First Days of School

Well, thanks to Hurricane Irene, Caroline and Bryce's district didn't open for the first day of school until Wednesday.  But because of the gradual kindergarten entry schedule, that meant Bryce didn't have school until Thursday.  So, we got Caroline all ready for school on Tuesday night once we heard they were opening and she was set.   She was all excited to wear the new outfit I'd gotten her - a plaid tunic top and, gag, jeggings. (I don't hate the actual jeggings, I just HATE that they're called "jeggings.")  She even set her alarm extra early so she would be up in time for me to braid her hair before I left.

I usually take her to school on the first day myself but because I'd missed 2 days of work due to the power being out and I had an important meeting that day, I needed to get to work on time.  But my MIL delivered her without issue - in fact, Caroline was counting the seconds until she could leave.  She had a great first day and seems to like her class and her teacher.

Then on Thursday we did it all again for Bryce.  It was only a half day but still a real day in that he went in at the normal time but only half the class would be there.  They also asked parents to stay the first half hour or so to get the kids acclimated and fill out some more paperwork.  Bryce, I could tell, was a little anxious but mostly okay.

We dropped Caroline off at her class and then went down to Ms. R's room.  I could tell Bryce was a little tentative as he was quiet and just observing everything.  We sat down at his seat and I filled out paperwork while he just sat there since he chose not to have any of the breakfast goodies they had for the kids.  I finished up and Ms. R had all the kids go and sit on the rug. She said the parents could leave and I gave him a hug - again he was okay, just a little quiet.  At this point I wanted to cry, that's my baby boy!  I knew he'd be fine, it was just bittersweet.

I talked to him as soon as he got home and he'd had a great first day.  The next day, his first whole day was Friday and he did fine for that too.  He liked having lunch and having specials, just like Caroline.  In fact, dinner conversation on Friday night was dominated by Caroline and Bryce talking about all things at their school - teachers, kids, lunch, etc.  It's kind of funny now that they're both at the same school they have so much more in common.  These past 2 years, Bryce has been listening to all of Caroline's stories and finding out how things worked in elementary school and now he's a part of it.

Of course Bryce did get his pin moved down to yellow at one point on Friday and had to spend 5 minutes on the wall during recess.  He didn't seem the least bit bothered by it and when we asked him why he was moved down to yellow he had NO clue.  As usual!  We've quizzed him multiple times and he never seems to know.  But this isn't a surprise because it was the same way last year too when he'd tell us he was put in time out.  I'll be sure to let Ms. R know that he has an issue with this so that maybe she'll be sure to make it very clear to him why he's being moved off of the green circle.  Sigh.  Typical Bryce - the first time Caroline got moved down to yellow, I kind of freaked but now that I've been there, done that, it's easier to take it in stride and know that being moved down to yellow from time to time is to be expect.  He's got to learn the kindergarten ropes.

Clean Little Secret

So, I've got a little secret to share. My 7 year old cleans one of my bathrooms, loves doing it, and does a pretty good job! And, she only charges $1 (at least that is the rate I set). When I was around Caroline's age or so, my mom started me on cleaning the powder room so I'd already had it in my mind that eventually, Caroline would take over that task.  Any time that I clean bathrooms when the kids are awake, they are falling over themselves to help, so I knew this wasn't going to be tough to convince her.  Plus, the powder room is a snap to clean.  All you have to really worry about is the toilet and the sink, so I figured it was a good jumping off point.

Several weeks ago, I told her that it was going to become her job and I showed her how I clean it.  (This is a big deal to me as I have a fairly high standard for bathroom cleanliness but don't come over and check out my kids' bathroom unannounced - I clean it one day and the next day it's been decimated.)  We only use Method cleaners so I wasn't worried about her using dangerous chemicals or mistakenly bleaching something.  She helped me, asked a lot of questions, and noticed certain things that I did.  Then the next week, we cleaned it together but with her taking the lead in the tasks.  Then the next week, I figured that I would just sit in there with her and watch, but she didn't want me in there, so I let her fly solo.  After she was done, I went in to check out her work and was very impressed.  The only critique I had was that she doesn't fully dry all the surfaces after she's done, but everything was clean.  She even managed to wipe the mirror, even though I told her I would do that.  She remembered how when I'm done I use a Clorox wipe to wipe off all handles, knobs, etc to make sure that the things most hands touch are disinfected as well.  She remembers to replace the towel with a fresh one and then does a little artistic arrangement of the candles on the back of the toilet, something I don't do.

But do you know what one of the greatest bonuses to all this is (aside from a bathroom I don't have to clean)?  I occupies her for a good 30-45 minutes!  That's time free of boredom and sibling pestering.  Winning!

I still need to make sure she's wiping up really good all around the base of the toilet (yes, we live with a somewhat sloppy 5 year old boy) and periodically wiping the woodwork too (although until Jason finishes the bathroom floor and repainting of the woodwork, it's not as pressing).  Bryce is actually kind of jealous though.  His biggest job right now is helping with trash night but he wants to be cleaning a bathroom too.  Not sure he'll be doing that any time soon since I have a feeling he'll be starting more yard work in the years to come.  My plan is that when Bryce or Piper is old enough to clean the powder room, that Caroline will transition to cleaning the kid bathroom and then the only bathroom I'll be cleaning is the master.

Now I'm trying to figure out soon they can start vacuuming and washing up the kitchen floor.  They're getting progressively better at Dustbusting after a crumby meal, but I don't think any of them are even close to being ready to control the Dyson or a big old bucket of water and mop.

The Day After the Fall Out

Caroline woke up with a charge this morning - to see if the Tooth Fairy granted her requests!  I heard her squeal from my room upon finding both of her teeth, the money, and the TF writing on her letter.  She just could NOT get over the fact that the TF had brought back her old tooth.  "She must have a separate pile of teeth for every child in the world."  She looked at the old tooth and remarked that she just KNEW that it was her's and that it hadn't been mixed up with another child's.  And then she had to show me where the TF had written "Yes" to agree to the things she'd asked for.  I really must scan this letter/drawing because it's adorable. 

As soon as we went downstairs she had to call Jason right away to fill him in on all the news.  She told him that she knew it was her tooth because it still fit - she tried it.  Ha!  She also told him she wanted to collect all of her teeth so that she could look at them when she was a teenager.  Of course, all I could think of was she'll keep them in a little jar and put them on her desk the day she moves into college and have her new roommate think she's a freak.  (Katie, I'm glad you didn't have all your baby teeth in a jar freshman year!) 

With her not even losing the first tooth until a few weeks ago, I'd venture to say that her tooth loss process will probably take her into her early teens - or at the very least past the age of belief in the TF.  So this is all quite fun while it lasts.  Bryce is already preparing himself for his first lost tooth and I'll admit how sad that thought makes me because he has the MOST perfect little teeth I've ever seen - and perfectly spaced.  Caroline's top teeth were a little weird looking so I'll be glad for her to get her new ones especially considering how much her teeth have spaced out recently in preparing for the adult teeth to emerge. 

I had to make Caroline promise me that she would not take her (fallen out) teeth to school today but thought she might want to take the note.  Losing that tooth in school was probably the most exciting thing she's had happen to her in a while.  She got to go to the nurse and be the center of attention all afternoon.  I'd say it was a good day for her.  And because she was so happy about the happenings of the day, she was in a super good mood and behaving like a saint.   I really couldn't have asked for more.  Thanks, Tooth Fairy!

Gone!

She finally lost that wobbly, front, top tooth. It had been looking mighty weird for a while and we wanted to yank it. But we waited and it fell out in Art. The weirdest thing is that for being loosened a little prematurely, the new tooth is already peeking through. A little girl's smile no more.


ETA: She's written the TF a note asking her to leave the new tooth, bring back the one from before, and leave her money.  Man, since when did kids start making tooth fairy demands?  She also wants the TF to sign something.  Grrrrreat.  Guess what I'm about to do....

Curious though, how much do you/will you all leave for teeth?  I gave her a dollar bill and a golden dollar coin for her first one but I'm only leaving her a buck tonight.

Toothless

Well, it was a BIG night last night at our house....and a big morning.  Caroline has lost her first tooth!  I know 7 1/4 is fairly old for a first tooth (and Caroline knows it too) so it's a much celebrated event around here.  I was so excited that it was the bottom tooth, the one that got loose naturally rather than the one that got loose at the mercy of Bryce's head.  She's been wiggling both of them for a while and we were just waiting to find out which would be first.  I thought the bottom one was looser and I was right!  She was still having some anxiety about it though and we had to be careful what we said to make sure she didn't freak out.

We were upstairs getting ready for bed and Caroline randomly started asking me tooth loss questions.  Apparently, at that moment it had gotten REALLY loose and she wasn't telling us.    I then went into Bryce's room to read to him and all of a sudden Caroline started jumping around and I yelled in that she better get changed and brush her teeth.  She didn't say a word and complied.  Then she went back into her room where Jason was waiting for her and I hear him exclaim something that told me something was going on.  And in rushes Caroline, I lost my tooth!!!!

I guess all that jumping around she did was the moment she lost her tooth and because she was kind of taking it all in, she didn't say anything.  Turns out, it barely bled (thank goodness) and just came out on its own.  She was GIDDY with excitement and I think most of it was a result of her anxiety being gone - loosing it wasn't a big deal!  (As we'd told her!)  So of course, she got all prepped for the tooth fairy and even wrote her a note: "Dear Tooth Fairy, I just lost my first tooth.  Please take good care of it.  Love, Caroline H.  P.S. It's not messy."  Of course, that's been saved too.

The Tooth Fairy brought her 2 bucks - a regular dollar and a shiny golden dollar special for it being her first tooth.  I think the TF will stick with the $1 for the rest of them, I'm not breaking the bank with it.  She was THRILLED this morning and it's all I've heard the 3 kids talking about - definitely a big deal.

Now I'm ready for that top one to fall out.  You can see from the photo how weird and crooked it is.  That's the one that will really change her smile.  She's growing up.  There's nothing I can do.

Before & After

This morning:

This evening:

My baby:

She was actually smiling right before I took this and right after but she was halfway under the covers and wouldn't let me get a better shot with her face showing.  She was VERY excited to come home to her new bed.  Jason and I set it up while the kids visited with my parents this afternoon.  We took the crib apart first which was weird because I remember setting it up together almost 8 years ago.  So very odd.  Time goes too fast, people.  8 years gone!!

So Piper was very excited about her bed and went to sleep without a peep.  Definitely a novelty so I know this is not how it's always going to be.  However, the most tear jerking moment came as I sat in the rocker in her room rocking her before tucking her in.  She looked up at me and said, "Where my bib?"(aka crib).  I told her it was down in the basement all taken apart.  She said, "Oh" but it was a very sad "oh."  I asked her if that was okay and she said, "No."  I asked her if she missed it and she said yes.  She asked me where her crib was one more time and I told her where it was and that her old crib wasn't safe anymore and that now she had a big kid bed like Bryce and Caroline and that made her smile.  Then I asked her if she was ready for bed and she practically ran to get into it.  She usually goes to bed pretty easily so this wasn't totally out of character for her but I could tell she wanted to try it out.  Thankfully, because it's the same mattress, the bed will feel the same to her so hopefully she'll get her usual night of sleep.  But, the "mom-meeeeee" coming from her bedroom early in the morning will be no longer.  Sniff.  Instead, she'll just come out when she's ready like she did this morning.

Incidently, I looked up our crib and found out it was basically labeled as a death trap a year ago.  Apparently the company (Childesigns) went out of business 5 years ago and all their cribs were recalled a year ago.  I know that drop side cribs are no longer being made and are being cross the board recalled as a result,  but I didn't pay much attention since I know the problem with them is mostly that idiots either don't assemble them correctly OR they continue using them after they break - neither of which we did or would do.  However, after reading the recall notice specific to the maker of our crib, it wasn't just the drop side but a concern about the bottom falling out.  Clearly, I don't think I'll be passing this crib onto anyone even though we never had one bit of a problem with it and I'd dare say we loved it dearly.  

As for the bed, the biggest hurdle with it (other then keeping Piper in it a sleep times) will be keeping Caroline and Bryce off it and Piper from jumping on it.  It says 50 lbs is the limit and I don't want to test it.  My goal is to get a good year or so out of it before we make the next move to getting Piper a big bed.  The reason I hesitated was getting her a full sized twin would mean a complete rearranging of her room and when we do that, I'll want to repaint and get a new dresser and remove the rocker too.  Plus, the toddler bed was a quick fix to our new problem - we can take our time with the new furniture/bed/room issue.   We've also never done the toddler bed before since we needed the mattress for the next baby.  Thankfully, we won't have to worry about that even though I'm having a hard time with my baby growing up so fast.

Jail Break

Piper knows how to get out of the crib.  With ease.  Did it at nap time yesterday and when she woke up this morning (she went to sleep in my arms at bedtime because she was so tired from no nap b/c of said jail break).  Trying to decide if we want to just get an inexpensive toddler bed for the short term or go right for the big girl bed.  Easy nap and bedtimes are now behind us.  Sigh.

ETA:  Found a cute toddler bed at Target I'll be going to purchase today.  I guess last night was the last night in the crib.  I'm glad I didn't know.  I'm kind of sad.

Tooth Drama

So Caroline is 7 years old and has all her baby teeth and no loose ones.  Well, at least until this morning.  She and Bryce were fighting (and chasing) like cats and dogs this morning.  I told them continuously to knock it off but they were determined to continue to agitate one another.  Bryce did something and took off, Caroline took off after him and behind my back a collision occurred.  Caroline's mouth into Bryce's head.  She, of course, started whining about how badly she was hurt and Bryce kind of brushed it off.  Then I turned around and saw a drop of blood on her chin.  Sweet.

I took her into the kitchen and sat her up on the counter and took a look.  Light bleeding from around the base of the top right front tooth and quite loose.  Sigh.  She was VERY upset about it.  Especially when I mentioned that this might be the first tooth she loses.  She hadn't eaten anything yet and now is refusing to eat.  Should be a fun day.

I guess I'm a little more upset about it than I should be.  I don't like the notion of my kids losing teeth mostly because it means they are growing up and their little kid look is being left behind.  But I had prepared myself for those first 2 teeth falling out because the bottom ones don't change much.  It's those top front that are the game changers.  Plus, I also wonder how long she'll be without this tooth since it will likely be falling out prematurely.  I highly doubt it will tighten back up, but, as Bryce says, you never know.

So today (and all the days it remains loose in her mouth) will be a bit dramatic.  Caroline has always been my dramatic child and it doesn't surprise me that something as common as a loose tooth could be a source of drama for her.  Even though every kid in her class has lost a tooth, it still is a lot for her to handle.  Better go find that gold dollar the tooth fairy is planning on doling out.

And the germs begin...

Woke up last night near midnight to one of my children barking.  A terrible barking cough.  Figured out quickly it was coming from the other end of the hall, so not Piper and upon getting closer, it wasn't Caroline.  Poor Bryce!  But, because it was Bryce, the first thing that came to my mind upon hearing what sounded like breathing troubles was that he was having an asthma attack.  (Had it been one of the girls, I would have come to the correct conclusion faster.)  We had the house opened up and I know that early fall allergies are bad right now with a lot of people, but Bryce has seemed okay except for a stuffy nose the day before.  Jason and I managed to get him to take his inhaler (by force, unfortunately) but as I sat there waking up, I realized that Bryce's cough sounded less weezy and more like a bark - croup.  None of my kids have had croup before, so I'm new to this game but I've known plenty of people whose children have had it.  Jason laid down with him for a minute so I could run downstairs and consult Dr. Google about my croup suspicion.  Only reading for a minute confirmed it and I went back upstairs to get the cool mist humidifier going.  By that point, Bryce had calmed down and was trying to go back to sleep.  Jason and I went back to bed knowing sleep might not be the easiest thing to get back into.  We laid there for a bit and then Jason got back up to go and check on his little buddy.  We heard him cough a few more times but for the most part he was okay.  I ducked out of my 5:30am workout and slept a little longer and then called his school when they opened to tell them he'd be out today.  I let my mom know too that she'd have an extra kid today.

Bryce actually slept until 7:30 which is an hour later than usual, which tells me his little body needed more rest.  When he woke up, he said he still felt sick but when I asked him what felt sick, he said nothing.  But I asked him if his throat hurt (pointing to my neck area) and he said, yeah, that was bothering him.  No fever but you could tell just by looking at him, he wasn't 100%.  He was going to be off tomorrow anyway since we decided that Bryce will only go to school on Caroline's schedule since if he had been at the pre-k at the elementary school he would be off tomorrow too for primary election day.  Hopefully 2 days of rest will do him well.

Piper has a stuffy nose too so I think it's just something viral.  Apparently croup isn't an actual virus, just the way your throat is affected by a cold type virus and it affect some kids that way and not others.  Adults generally don't get it as it has to do with the shape of your larynx that changes as you age and the common age is 2-5 years old, so I guess Bryce is getting in on the tail end.  Figures, one week back at school and he's sick already.  I hope this isn't the beginning of a long germ season....

First Day of School - Bryce

Bryce's first day of his new Pre-K was yesterday and he did great!  I still wish he was going to the pre-k at Caroline's elementary school but I realize that was a hoop dream.  He is going to a daycare center that's not too far from our house that runs a pre-k program for kids his age.  Basically, he leaves right after lunch/before nap time so he's only going a half day and gets to spend the rest of the day with his grandparents, which is really nice!

I was pretty nervous for him considering it's a completely new center from what he was used to the past 2 years and I still have sad memories of his first few days at Cheery Day in 2008.  (When we suddenly lost our daycare provider and we had to put him into the center that Caroline had just started at a few weeks prior.  He had a very rough couple of days to start and I'm still a little scarred from it.)  But his drop off on his first day went well - his teacher showed us where to put his lunch, where his cubbie was, and his hook.  I took him into the room where all the kids congregate/play before learning time begins later and I could tell he was taking it all in as he held my hand the whole time.  I gave him a big hug and he gave me a huge kiss and I told him to go ahead and play.  I told him good bye and he went right over to a little girl and said hello. I took that moment to go ahead and leave, especially as I could feel some tears coming.  Once I was back in the car, I was okay and when I got to work I phoned my MIL to tell her it went well and to have Bryce call me as soon as he got home.  I watched the clock all morning.  And finally just before 1pm, my phone rang and there was a happy Bryce.  He had a good day and told me a few funny things other kids did.  He wasn't the least bit worried about going back again today and I was thrilled to get his daily report from his teacher this morning telling me all that he'd done yesterday and about his good behavior.  I was further relieved to see that he didn't hesitate in the least to join the kids again, which is always a good sign since sometimes the second day can be harder than the first since you know what to expect.

Now the hard part is getting each child to quiet down so the other kid can tell us about their day at school over dinner.  Last night we let Bryce go first since Caroline had been telling us all about her days last week.  When it got to Caroline's turn, Bryce would NOT keep quiet and when we finally got him to hush, Piper started.  Caroline ended up getting fed up with being interrupted and retreated to her room after she cleared her place.   Jason and I had to take an individual moment with her later on to get the run down on her day - which was another good one.  First grade suits her well!

Diving Devils

On Sunday, we headed up to Jason's Aunt Sharon's house in Cecil County to spend the day with Jason's extended family. His aunt has an awesome pool and the kids were excited for more swimming. I was a little wary given that the temp was in the low 70's and how much fun is swimming when it's cold? But since the last time we had visited, Jay's aunt and uncle had done a LOT to their backyard oasis. Aside from adding an awesome screened in gazebo, they had also put solar panels on the roof of their house where the pool water is pumped through so it's heated. The water was over 80 degrees and felt great!! We held the kids off from swimming until everyone had gotten there and we could eat. They had a blast running all around the backyard and in/out of the 2 doors of the gazebo. But finally, swim time was upon us and the diving board beckoned. Caroline had gone off the board a few years ago so I knew it was a given that my little mermaid would be going off and I had a feeling Bryce would do it too knowing how much his swimming has progressed this summer. And then, well, Piper, I knew if her siblings did it, we were in for a show! We were not disappointed.

Caroline was first one off - she spent the better part of the afternoon perfecting her cannonballs and trying to dive:

Bryce was next up and swam to the ladder super fast.  Everyone (except me) was surprised at how well he did.  He'd tell us to watch and that he was going to do a new jump, but every single one ended up with his calves tucked under him - so cute!

And last but certainly not least, Miss Piper.  That little girl didn't even hesitate.  We asked her if she wanted to go off the board and she took off for it.  She walked to the end, waited for someone to be nearby, and jumped!  The first time she did it, she jumped to my SIL, Kelly (so I could take the first photo) and Kelly was caught a little off guard by how deep she went under the water and kind of went after her to bring her to the surface.  But I assured her that Piper always seems to surface (she's holding her breath and kicks like crazy) so just to give her a second.  After that I took over and was sure not to be too close to the board so Piper wouldn't jump on me and then I would just help her get her first breath and then push her to the ladder.  I'm still amazed how far she can swim and hold her breath.

We had a great day and the kids were in terrific moods and on their best behavior.  Jason's aunt couldn't get over how well all 3 of the kids swim without any official lessons but I guess when both your parents are retired lifeguards, it's in your blood.  I really need to make sure I have my own video of Piper swimming.  I just realized I don't have one.  My mom is keeping her pool open a few more weeks and I need to make sure I capture it since next summer, Piper will be older and while I'll still be proud, a swimming 3 year old isn't as amazing as a swimming 2 year old.  I don't even want to think about how much she will have changed by then!