To Fin on his First Day of School!

My Dearest Fin,

I can't believe you will go to school this week! SCHOOL! MY BABY! Where has the time gone!

We had our orientation this week and you were able to see your classroom, your cubby and coat hook, and meet your teachers and some of the other children who will be in your class. You'll be in the 3 year old class at St. Stephens from 9-12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Your teacher is Miss Annette and her assistant is Miss Shannon. They seem to be extremely kind as I suppose all preschool teachers must be. Your classroom is the blue room and it's so cute! They actually have a large space divided into three classrooms and after instruction time, they open it up so that you can play with the children in all three classes, not just your own. Speaking of your class, there are 13 children in it - 7 girls and 6 boys - and as I read over the list I wondered who you would choose to be your friends...I can't wait to see.

The school has a huge playground too with tons of stuff to do. As we looked around it, the teachers told us that they bring toys out too when you're having outside time. I'm worried that you're going to have so much fun that you may never want to come home! Our tour even included a peek at the bathroom facilities with their very special little potties. You were too excited to get out onto the playground, but I think you'll get a kick out of using a potty that is just your size. They have full time bathroom monitors too which made mommy feel better to know that there will always be someone nice nearby to help you if your pants get stuck. I'm so proud of your potty training efforts!

Mommy and Daddy got you a new backpack and lunchbox to take to school - since you so love construction equipment we went with that. You have the cutest brightly colored Crocodile Creek set with a dump truck on the front and all kinds of equipment dancing around the edges.

Well, I suppose I'll amend this note to let you know if you liked your first day! I was initially excited at the thought of getting a small break and perhaps a little alone time with Dash, but I hadn't realized how hard it would be to let you go or how much this forces me to face the fact that you're growing up so fast. I guess I'm trying to tell you not to be too surprised if my eyes get a little misty when I have to kiss you goodbye. I just love you that much.

All My Love,

Mom

Life Without TV

Anyone who knows us knows that we have a ridiculously large TV in our bedroom - and that we did so LONG before buying a nicer TV for our family room. We'd all much prefer to sit in bed and watch a movie or a show. We're just those people.

So it was kind of a big deal when said large TV began to go kablooie. Through the past three months, Supreme Purchase* has strung us along, misdiagnosing the problem, ordering the wrong part, only being available to service the TV at naptime, etc. Just long enough for the dang thing to whurr out a final death knell right after the warranty expired. Since the problem started long before the warranty ran out, one would assume that the replacement clause would be honored. Or not. We're currently at war with them.

The point is that our main source of entertainment is gone.

It took me a few days to realize that I never even turn ON the downstairs TV. I'd rather the boys just play when we're down there. Our key viewing periods were when the boys first woke up, at nap time and at bath and bedtime. Now we talk in the morning. I won't lie, naptimes are tough, but that is also probably because Fin is starting to resist the whole process. And a few days ago I got out my binder of old CD's (does anyone buy those anymore?) and we started listening to music. I had no idea dancing to the Cure and Bon Jovi with my kids would be so much fun! Today we went down for a nap listening to Sarah McLachlan. It was fantastic. Fin gets to choose our listening pleasure (this afternoon was an old Concrete Blonde CD because it was a pretty color orange).

Woob looked at me funny when I suggested turning off the cable and suggested I wait to make that decision AFTER the new fall shows start. He's probably right. But for now I'll just enjoy dancing with my kids. You should try it sometime.



*Pseudonym used

Changes Afoot

I had to do some closet cleaning this morning as the boys seem to be outgrowing their clothes faster than I can get them dressed. Going through Fin's closet, I found the box of shoes I had set aside for Dash as Fin outgrew them. Since space is at premium in Dash's room, I decided to stick them under his crib and as I was doing it I realized how fast they are growing. Fin is wearing his "big boy" underpants full time today and I realized changing Dash that we'll only need that changing table for another year or so. With Dash crawling and cruising at breakneck speed, it's only a matter of time until he's walking. I just wanted to document this in-between time. So here are the waiting shoes:

And at center, the shoes that Fin took his first steps in...

For Dash at 8 Months

My Dearest Dash,

I'm trying to keep up with these notes to you, but you boys keep me SO busy!!

You're sleeping through the night almost every night! Yay! Now if you could show your brother Fin how to do that...sigh. No more swaddles for you either - you're too big! You're still growing too fast and it's size three diapers for now. I had to take down your swing this weekend since you're too big for it and you'd rather crawl out of it than swing anyway :)

We're staying busy! We're watching Leila and Zach grow and I can't wait until the three of you are ready to play together. We just got back from your first Vacation - to North Carolina with Mommy's family. You LOVED the beach! Not so much a fan of the sand but put you in any body of water and you're totally relaxed. Speaking of which, we try and get to the pool a few times a week and I just pop you in your raft and you float around happily while I play with Fin. You're even more in your element in the tub and Fin is constantly yelling at you to stop splashing.

You're talking all the time - just mama and dada and other babbles, but it's so cute to hear. You're also quite the giggler lately. And waver too! All I have to do is ask for a wave and you're more than happy to oblige. You're also becoming more mobile by the day. You're crawling short distances (you have to be VERY motivated) and pulling up on anything you can get your hands on. The ability to get around, albeit a little bit, is really making you a much nicer little man. You love to sit and play, surrounded by toys.

You're still taking two naps a day and a few little snoozes (usually in the car). We all lay down for famliy nap time at 10:30 - I'm usually beyond ready by then for a little down time. You only really need an hour, so you and I sneak out and let Fin nap a little more. It's nice to get some alone time with just the two of us. We work on crawling and chatting. Then when Fin gets up you are SO excited to see him! I can't wait to watch the good friends you boys become.

So there you have it Dash, your life today in a nutshell. You're still teething like mad with NO teeth to show yet, and perfecting your speed crawl. Again, I'm asking you to please slow down my little one!

All My Love,
Mom

To Fin at 2.5

My Dearest Fin,

Time seems to be in fast forward with you boys these days - I can't believe you're two and a half. Before I know it, you'll be three!

Our morning routine is unchanged, you get up and come into our room and crawl into bed with Daddy and I and snuggle for a bit and watch some TV. You let Mommy and Daddy seep in a little more, but not too much, you really prefer for us to watch your shows with you :) Daddy goes and gets Mom's OJ and your milk and we chat a bit before Dash wakes up and wants his breakfast. Some days he sleeps until 8 and since you never sleep later than 6, we get some nice time in together.

You're retaining your title of greatest helper to mommy. You're quick to throw any clothes on the floor into the washer and help me get all the dirty diapers directly into the "diaper thing". The clothes part makes Daddy a little frustrated since he sometimes plans on rewearing (ew) stuff he puts on the floor. I think he's learning that clean clothes don't go there :)

Back to our routine. It's more fluid these days since Maya and Taylor became big sisters. Life is more difficult to coordinate with so many babies involved! We see your friends as often as we can and make sure we get to go on a few walks to the park and to the pool a few times a week. You still go to MyGym on Tuesdays and we just started a new preschool class on Thursdays. Your friends are all in it, and it's the first class you've done where Mommy can leave you. Although you wanted me to be visible in the waiting room during the first class so we'll see how that goes! On Fridays, we're back to having lunch with Mommy's friend Katie. You love her and you always beg her to come back to our house and play with you - and usually she does.

On the weekends we do walks with daddy and enjoy eating out. You're so funny with your pasta and burger diet, but I get plenty of fresh fruits into you during the day and you'll still eat baby food veggies so you do get some of those. We also do family movie night every Sunday. You love to sit in bed and watch movies with us and Mommy and Daddy LOVE that!

You're still a chatterbox. Some days I have to beg you to just give me a little quiet time. But you're so smart! You're also always listening so I have to remind everyone to watch what they say around you. We just returned from Topsail with your Uncles and I'm amazed that your vocabulairy didn't come back "enriched". You have total mastery of the alphabet - you can tell me any letter by sight and sound and vice versa. We're working on your writing and you're always asking me to help you write your name. Someday you'll appreciate the brevity of "Fin"! We're also working hard on recognizing your numbers, but you're not nearly as motivated with them as you are with the alphabet. Our potty training has stalled a bit, which is a bummer since James and Taylor are well on their way. But I know you'll let me know when you're ready - or at least I know you're very clear with me that you're NOT ready right now.

That's all for now my dear, I love you more than you know!

Mommy