Category: Shep
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Vacation: Day 6, The Pool
Oh, how these children love the pool. If they had their way, they’d never go to the beach. None of them can really get past the salty part, and they’re too small to really grasp the awesomeness of boogie boarding. Only Ellery loves it, as she is content to hang out in the world’s largest sandbox, mixing and stirring and building.
So we’re spending a lot of time in the pool.
Clearly, the best investment we’ve made so far is the killer whale pool toy, which has Neko beside herself with excitement. She’s been dreaming of a killer whale she can really ride, and before our eyes she has transformed the pool into our own private Shamu show.
Shep? He’s hiding from the camera this trip. But I swear he was here.
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Shep discovers Pac Man
My camera was still defogging for the day when I shot this, but I couldn’t miss the moment.
D has Pac Man on her iPad. When Shep discovered this, he gave it a try. And then he became a little obsessed.
While waiting for us to allow them in the pool (no pool before 9am…aren’t we unreasonable?), he built this Pac Man replica with his Bakugan ball as Pac Man and his GoGos as dots. It’s like we’re back in the 80’s around here, with all the dot eating sounds in the background.
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Vacation: Day 1, Asheville
With a massive drive to make to get to the beach, we decided it might be wise to break it into two chunks. So we stopped to see an old friend along the way. She has two kids, so it was perfect for us all to hook up.
One of the features of the place Julie took us to was a working farm. Where, out of all there was to do, Neko found a huge pen of chickens, and reached nirvana. I love that we travel so far to see new things, and she seeks out the comforts of home.
It was fantastic to see Julie and the kids, and we were overwhelmed by her hospitality. Exhausted, everyone climbed into bed far too late, trying to catch a few hours of sleep before we continued our journey.
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Field Trip: 7/8
I had seen Peter and his drum group perform around town. They always had these great drums made out of gourds and other fantastic things. I noticed they always invited kids to come try out their instruments, and it occurred to me that he might be a great field trip in the making.
He happily obliged, and invited the kids to a small class at his drum barn. The kids were kept busy for an hour, drumming and tapping and banging out beats. Peter was fantastic with the kids, and they all got a chance to play nearly every instrument, learning the differences between wood, metal, and hide.
A fabulous field trip.
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Independence Day Parade
One of the things that happens when you live in a small town is that the phone could ring on Tuesday and be someone trying to sell you something or it could be your friend who works at the library and would like your kids to dress up as book characters and march in the Independence Day Parade.
Of course, I said “yes” and then promptly pushed it out of my head until Friday, at which time Neko decided to be the girl from The Red Book and Shep decided to be Harry Potter, neither of which we had any of the costume pieces for as of Friday night. I had this really great idea for someone to be the pigeon from the Mo Willems books, holding a big sign that said, “LET ME DRIVE THE FLOAT!” But none of the kids seemed to think my idea was as funny as I did, which I sense is a recurring theme in parenthood.
So Tom sewed a cloak and then he and Shep went shopping for glasses and a scarf. Then I furiously knitted my first hat, crossing my fingers that I would finish in time for the parade. (I did!) Kudos to Neko for wearing a hat and scarf in 90° weather.
Then off we went. Ellery graciously understood that she was too little to participate, bless her, and became more concerned about finding the nearest bathroom.
Despite apprehension, the kids had a great time, and delighted in the goodie bags they received for participating. And people, if you do not smile at Shep dressed as Harry Potter, your heart is made of stone. He was making folks smile up and down the block.
Then it was back home to watch fireworks with friends and family from our very own yard. Nothing like fireworks in your pajamas, folks…nothing quite like it.
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Sleepover x 3
Ever since Neko got her new trundle bed, it’s been quite popular. Tonight Shep and Neko convinced me a sleepover was in order. Even Daisy joined in on the fun.
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Gathering
After a week of crazy, we ended up taking a spontaneous trip to the Big City to hang out with a nice guy we met at the Letterpress workshop and his family and friends. Super-nice folks all around.
Good food, good folks, popsicles and water fun. Really, how can you go wrong?
In that last photo, Shep is sharing his new tooth, which is coming in quickly!
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Shep’s first lost tooth
After being wiggly for weeks, Shep finally lost his first tooth. The grown-up tooth is already halfway in. This is way ahead of when Neko lost her first tooth, which goes to show you that second children buzz right in and blow the whole schedule to bits.
In what seems to be a tradition for our family, Shep has opted to keep his teeth. And ask for $5 instead of the going rate in this house, which is $1. I have a feeling the tooth fairy isn’t going to change her rates any time soon.
Of course, I forgot to take a photo of the tooth itself. Photo to follow…
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Self-sufficiency
As of late, we’ve been trying to let the kids to do more things on their own. They get dressed on their own, get their own drinks and forks, and help set the table. Neko has recently mastered scrambled eggs, which is good on all fronts, because I’m doing less work and everyone is eating more protein.
This is rather excruciating for someone with my personality, who really likes to see a job done right. Who stays up at all hours making sure things are just so. Who has an innate impulse to jump in and help out and sometimes commandeer a project.
This morning Shep wanted to help make muffins. Actually, that’s not true, he wanted to make the muffins all by himself. With no help. Pouring and mixing and putting batter into the pan. It wasn’t how I would do it, but he did a bang-up job for a five-year-old.
And there it is. The hardest thing I’ll do in parenting—letting them do it themselves, in their own way, and tucking their own accomplishments or failures under their belts. The hardest thing, but, clearly, one of the most important.