Scrimmage
14 years ago
Franny has never wanted us to sing to her or put candles on her cake. So, it was rather exciting to be able to turn down the lights and bring Cole’s cake to him while singing ‘Happy Birthday’—especially since it was so clear that he loved it. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that I topped his cake with relighting birthday candles. But, Cole didn’t mind. In fact, I think he really got a kick out of them! I just hope his wish comes true!
For Cole, turning three was a very big deal. There is something special about the third birthday, especially when you are the younger brother always looking on to the exciting life of the older sibling. At two, Cole did have an awareness that it was his day and getting presents was pretty neat. But, at three, it was very different for him. Maybe it was witnessing countless birthday parties over the last year, especially Franny’s just past; maybe it was an inner desire of wanting to be older and bigger and be able to do more fun things he sees Franny doing; maybe it was the need of a big brother/little brother to have the complete spotlight for just one day. Whatever it was, the look on his face all day made it extremely clear that it was very big, exciting, and wonderful. And, for me to see that was very big, exciting, and wonderful. He is such an incredible, special little boy, and I was so thrilled his day was everything he had anticipated, and then some. Happy birthday Cole!
Franny loves her days of the week socks. They are, hands down, her first choice nearly every day; I kknow I have frantically dug through the dryer on school day mornings too many times to count. We bought a set several months ago, but they slowly dwindled down to just a few pairs. When half of Friday was lost while we were on vacation, she was down to just a Monday and Tuesday pair. So, yesterday, we picked up a replacement set. I’ll keep the singles that are in good shape—their mates were lost very early on. It’s funny how much she enjoys these socks. She doesn’t even have to be wearing the correct day—it is usually preferred, but she really has no problem wearing other days, and sometimes will wear more than one pair on a given day. I’m not sure why I chose to take on this challenge for yet a second time, as I do realize it is a losing battle. We’ll see how long these pairs last—I’m really just hoping they make it through the summer!
The last few weeks, one of the ways I have attempted to get a balanced meal together is to do a lot of the prep and some assembly during the kids’ quiet/nap time. Cole has been napping for the last two weeks, so it has given me the opportunity for some additional one-on-one time with Franny. She really is a funny assistant. She loves to do as much as she can and she also loves to taste everything—she will taste just about anything in a cooking setting, although she will rarely try anything in an eating setting. She will also rarely want to eat what she has made. Today, we made a yummy salad—chicken, whole wheat cous cous, cucumber, red bell peppers, cilantro, and a cumin dressing to top it off. She sampled every part of the salad—and liked all of it—but had absolutely no interest in eating it all assembled. Someday, I suppose it will come together for Franny, in the meantime, however, we’re just having a good time.
This is the proud smile of a girl who took her first steps, today. Just four small steps, but such huge strides for the little sister trying to keep up with the big kids! Good job, Delaney!
I’ve posted a lot of pictures of Delaney with food on her face, lately. It’s less the messy face that I find endearing, but the joy and enthusiasm that led to that messy face. We had some much pressure to have Cole gain weight, that we never really gave him the chance to just eat what he wanted and have fun with it at his own pace. Even though Delaney is just as lean, I have tried not to repeat that mistake with her journey of food discovery. And, she really is a great eater—she eats a lot of protein, vegetables, and fruit, and she is good about trying new foods. Today’s sample at Trader Joe’s was blackberries, which she ate so quickly, we took some home for lunch, as well. At lunch, she had a great deal of fun eating more and squishing them between her fingers. It was quite a process, but amazingly, all that was left over was what was on her—every other little piece was eaten. I like having a lot of different fruits in the rotation, and it’s nice to be able to add one more. Given how much she liked these, I think she’s going to love Oregon blackberries this summer!
Franny’s elephant and Cole’s dinosaur. Both were thoughtfully constructed with great care and proudly displayed for most of the day. Sometimes great things come from rainy weekend mornings!
For Franny and Cole, the only thing better than eating brownies is making them. During a fun afternoon with Auntie Noelle, each had their own bowl and ingredients that they combined into one pan for a big double batch of brownies. The had a great time, but in the end, neither of them ate their brownies. Delaney, on the other hand, had enough for both of them.
Sweet Delaney—we love that you enjoy your ice cream, but it really would be less messy if it was eaten from the top-down, rather than the bottom-up.
Well, that concludes our vacation blogs. We made wonderful family memories, but we are all so glad to be home. The kids spent the remainder of the weekend playing in the front yard—their absolute favorite place to play. We have other vacations already planned for this summer, but for now I am going to just focus on being home and how wonderful that feels. And, I think the kids feel the very same way!
Unquestionably, we all had a wonderful vacation. Cole, however, did struggle a bit. It was clear on our first day at the beach that he was not himself. I think he lost the battle with a combination of both a cold and fatigue, not to mention some unusual relationship challenges with Franny. Whatever it was, it had a significant impact on his personality. His usually sparkle, sense of humor, wit, and fun-loving attitude amounted to just a shadow of his usual self. It was hard to watch him struggle to fit in with playing with his cousins, listen to him struggle to articulate himself, and see the exhausted, glazed look in his eyes. On a normal day, none of these things would have been as exaggerated as they were, and I felt so bad for him. Since we’ve been home, however, he has rebounded quite a bit. He is still taking long afternoon naps (very unusual) but every day brings a little more sparkle to his eyes and personality.
Throughout the extent of our vacation, a bright spot for Cole on several different days was calling Grandma and Grandpa and telling them about his day. These are extremely special relationships to Cole, and I think he found being able to talk to them comforting and a reassuring bit of home away from home. As a little kid, it’s hard enough to feel bad, but to feel bad away from home is just downright difficult. I was so glad when his phone conversations seemed to perk him up a bit. Cole will be back to himself, soon. But, the entire experience reminded me once again how thankful I am for our family and how everyone shapes and impacts the lives of Franny, Cole, and Delaney in their own way.
For the most part, Franny dominated the autograph book. But, on one special occasion, while Franny was occupied at Soarin’ Over California, Cole was able to personally hand the book to Aviator Goofy, and get one autograph on his own. He loved it!
This year, one of the new things we did at Disneyland was collecting autographs of all the characters the kids met. Franny and Cole love the characters, and will run up to them and give them hugs; Delaney, however, was very disturbed by all of them. They managed to completely fill up their book with the cast of characters, and doubled up some on some pages. To top it off, on our last day, they were able to spend a lot of time with a number of them at Goofy’s Kitchen. We didn’t get pictures with all of the ones we met, but we got most of them. These characters definitely enhance the magic of Disneyland. To see the anticipation, excitement, and awe in the kids’ faces is absolutely priceless.
Maybe next year Delaney will have a greater love for the cast of characters. This year, however, she would have been just fine without them!
We spend the second part of our vacation in Disneyland. We all really love the time we spend here. This time, we visited many old favorites and then took in some new experiences, as well. Franny and I went on a number of different roller coasters, but her favorite was clearly the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which we went on numerous times over the course of our days there. She told me she likes the speed—apparently Splash Mountain was ‘too slow’, even though the dips were much more extreme. Cole did like a lot of the rides, as well, but also really enjoyed the Disney Playhouse show we took in. Afterward, we took a snack break and Handy Manny came up to him, and I think that made his day! He also loved the Disneyland Celebrate! parade. Delaney also loved the parades, but also clearly enjoyed a number of the rides. All in all, it was a wonderful time and we all can’t wait until we return!
Family is so important for so many reasons. Franny, Cole, and Delaney are very fortunate to have very special relationships with their cousins, and I hope they always do. Last week, they shared some great times and the memories will be held in their hearts for a long time to come.
We wanted to keep our time in San Diego laid back and easy, focusing on spending time with family. They treated us to a wonderful afternoon in Coronado—the beach was beautiful and everyone had a great time. Even Delaney enjoyed a relaxing walk on the beach!
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After spending some time on the beautiful beaches of Coronado, the kids enjoyed a yummy treat of ‘Silly Vanilla’ ice cream at The Del. Even Cole, the lover of ‘just cones’ joined in on the fun, and Franny—of course—had sprinkles on hers.
Like Franny and Cole, Delaney thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon at the beach with her cousins. Watching them all play and run around having fun has definitely had an impact on her, as her walking skills have dramatically improved over just a few short days, and she now shows no hesitation to express emphatically—and loudly—her desire to be on two feet and moving toward whatever peaks her interest. I think it’s only a matter of time until she is up and running on her own.
This was Cole's third trip to the beautiful Southern California coast, but it was the first time that he really enjoyed running around in the waves.
Cole at the beach from T on Vimeo.
Every day, from the moment he wakes up to the time he goes to bed, Cole makes me smile. I love his sweet smile and silly sense of humor, but it is usually the things he says and does inadvertently that keep me smiling the longest and laughing the hardest. Without question, he is a character. But, he is also an incredibly wonderful little boy who enhances every day of my life.
last week, Franny had her final Mandarin class. She has really enjoyed it; the hour class was divided into 20 minutes each of speaking, singing/dancing, and writing. Her teacher, Mrs. Zhao, has been teaching Franny for two years, now. Besides this after school class, she has also been her teacher for the regular school Mandarin class, as well. She has always been very complimentary of Franny and her abilities, saying she has excellent pronunciation, is very confident, and is also very nice and helpful in the class. It seems to really have been a great experience for Franny, and I am sorry to see it come to an end. Hopefully, she will have the opportunity to continued her Mandarin in the future. Until then, we’ll just have to say zai jian!
For a number of weeks now, two little girls (twins) have joined Franny's ballet class. They all get along almost too well--they giggle and laugh and even goof off together. Amazingly, they even live just a few blocks away. Unfortunately, although they are the same age, they won't be attending kindergarten with Franny, but I have a feeling they will be good friends, just the same. It's fun to see how these new friendships develop and then see the joy they bring. After ballet tonight, Franny probably asked no less than ten times when she could get together with them for a play date. For some reason, 'soon' is just not a satisfying answer for a five year old. In this video, you can hear them all giggling as they practice their leaps. Although depending on the group mentality, classes are either really great (they usually are) or the occasional disaster, I'm so glad she's having so much fun!
Leaps with smiles from T on Vimeo.
For her birthday, Franny received a gift card for Build-A-Bear Workshop, and this evening, we all went with her to redeem it. It’s a fun experience, but all the choices are a little overwhelming for a five-year-old. She changed her mind several times before she finally settled on this Hello Kitty. She picked out a ballet outfit for it, as well as a little purse, and left with a huge smile on her face. At bedtime, Miss Kitty had the privilege of sharing top-bunk sleeping, which until now, has only been shared with her twins. For Franny, this must be a special one, indeed.
Believe it or not, this is exactly how I found Cole just minutes after he went to bed—sound asleep and most likely dreaming of Danny Dozer and the gang. Right now, there just are few things that interest Cole more.
