Smiley Face

The boys got good reports from their preschool teachers today, and they brought home another art project!

At bedtime tonight, Matthew informed me that he wanted to read a book to his brown bear. He got the book, and then told me, "Bear want to hold it." And then he pointed things out to the bear: "Brown bear, look at the bubbles!" Very cute. :)

Naming

I thought it was just fine the that boys' stuffed animals had the following names:

Red Bear
Other Red Bear
Blue Bear
Brown Bear
Blue Dog
Big Blue Dog

But Mike disagreed. He thought the "aminals" should have actual names. Mattie and Jamesie were not forthcoming with suggestions, so Mike took matters into his own hands. Three of their teddy bears are actually NASCAR bears, so the boys now have Kasey, Elliot, and Ryan, named after the drivers. (You can imagine me shaking my head here.)  The boys are quite delighted with the new names.  Mattie is pictured here with Kasey (his favorite) and Elliot.

Elementary

On J & Y's recommendation, we took the boys to the playground at their future elementary school. It's really cool! It reminded us a little of the super-great playground near Daniel's house. (Apparently Mattie made the same association, because he was asking for the water fountain, one of his favorite things to play with at that other playground. Alas, there is no drinking fountain at this one -- at least as far as we could tell!)

As usual, James was a little more adventurous in trying the new features!  Hopefully he'll still have some left to explore when he's actually going to school there.  :)

Saturday Firsts

The boys went in their first (I think) bouncy castle this afternoon -- there was a little festival at one of the local shopping centers. They didn't stay in long; it was a little big for them, especially with larger kids jumping around. But I think Mattie at least had a little fun with it.

Jamesie went pee on the potty for the first time -- yay, James!

And we got to see Little Miss E (who is not so little any more -- she now outweighs James) walking for the first time! She's been walking for a little while, but this was the first time we've gotten to see her cruising around like a pro. :)

Friday Photos

Just the usual. :)

Artistic License

James brought home his first art project from preschool (pasta art which they did on Tuesday).  Unfortunately, however, the pasta medium is not designed to stand up to travel in a toddler backpack, so what arrived home was this paper plate with the spaghetti still stuck to it, and the colored penne floating around the bottom of the backpack.  So, I am sorry to say, James's artistic vision has been severely compromised.  The photo shown here is only an amateur reconstruction of the original masterpiece.

Better Day

So, when Matthew started crying last night at bedtime when he was taking about going to preschool, I was not optimistic about how the day would go. Oddly, though, he was crying when he was talking about the parts of preschool he liked (ride in the cart, see the white bear, mommy pick me up), and then was saying "go to preschool", not stay home.

He also woke up in the middle of the night kind of crying about preschool (not for long, fortunately), and wouldn't eat breakfast because he was fussy.  When we arrived at preschool, he didn't want to stop at the drinking fountain or even hang up his backpack, he just went right in the door.  He right away went and picked up his white bear, and then threw himself down on the pillows in the corner of the classroom.  His teacher tried to entice him into playing with the water table, but he was having none of it.

(James, meanwhile, was happily playing with the sandbox.)

I had asked the preschool director for an info sheet that we hadn't gotten, and she took the opportunity to give me a pep talk about sticking with it and how Matthew would be fine. When we walked back maybe 15 minutes later, we peeked in the window and Mattie was still lying on the pillows, but he was quiet.  (She couldn't go in the classroom because her granddaughter is in the class, and she's still adjusting too -- seeing Grandma come and go would make her cry!)


So, it was a very pleasant surprise when we picked him up and the teacher reported that he'd had a great day!  She said he cried for a little while, but that he had also played and talked and laughed for a lot of the day.  He and James both ate snack (string cheese and granola bar).  Hooray!! 


I expect he's not completely adjusted yet, but it was great to hear that he's feeling better there. (Because honestly, if it was stressing him out enough to disrupt his sleep, that was about the last straw for me!)  I think maybe he was just working through all the emotions of this new experience.  We'll see.  It's too bad there's so many days between now and the next time he goes -- it would be nice to be able to build on this positive trend. 

On the Charts

We had some good news from the doctor's appointment today: James is on the growth chart for height! (3rd percentile or so, but we'll take it!) Yay, James!  (He also got to see one of our favorite nurses from his NICU days at the appointment-- he doesn't seem to remember her, but it was a nice treat for Mike!)

Unfortunately, he is still not catching up as much as they would like in weight, so the plan is to restart some overnight feedings with the pump (so we'll have to go through all the rigamarole of getting a pump again). I'm not happy about this, but if it helps him do some catch-up growth, then it will be worth it. Still, ugh.

Jamesie was perfectly happy to go to preschool this morning.  He's sooo adorable with his little backpack.  Tonight Mike asked James what he did today, and James said, "Preschool!"  Mike asked what he did there, and James said, "Clean up!"  What else? "Playdoh!"  What else?  "Song!"  (It's hard to get much of a report on their day out of these guys yet, so this was quite good!)

Mattie, on the other hand, started fussing about 20 minutes before we even left the house.  Apparently he was not a happy camper until they went on their walk (which I fear was pretty late in the morning).  But he was fine when we picked him up, so I suppose that's some progress.  (Tonight he told me, "My bears miss me when I'm at preschool."  Aww....)

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Happy birthday, Grandma!  We love you and hope you have a wonderful day!!

Lucky

Recently Matthew hasn't wanted to use the potty seat -- instead, he wants me to hold him up while he sits on the big seat. Here was this evening's conversation:

Matthew: "Mommy hold me and I fall in again!"
Me: "You've never fallen into the potty!"
Matthew: "I be lucky!"

Rock and Roll

We took the boys to their first concert today -- an outdoor show with several kid-friendly performers (a benefit for another local preschool).  They had a good time (although in hindsight it might have been better if we could have actually gotten them to nap, and arrived a little later).

It was a fun show, and the boys enjoyed exploring the outdoor ampitheater. James especially was just on the go -- after the first little while, he did not want to sit still!

Our friends J and C were there as well, but we didn't see too much of them -- C was up with the other kids right by the stage for most of the show, and we didn't think being that close would be the best thing for James with his hearing aids on (too loud!).  Also, we don't yet trust the boys to be more than arm's length away from us in a crowded public place.  :)   

Along with lots of other kids, we took them onto the stage during the headliner performance (Southern Culture on the Skids, a big favorite around here). As far as they were concerned, the most exciting part about that was that the stage was like a big sandbox.

[P.S., we don't know who that kid in the green shirt is in the picture with Matthew and James in the window; he just happened to be there too.]
     

Chilly

It was a cold, wet fall day today -- we turned on the heater for the first time last night!

The boys got their flu shots this morning, and after lunch they both took naps -- a rare treat on a weekend!  We braved the yucky weather to go to the playground this evening, and the boys had fun splashing in the puddles and walking on the "balance beam" equivalent (the railing around the play area).  

According to our home scale, James is back on track with his weight (22 lbs, 3 oz).  Mattie wanted to be weighed, too, but he already had his shirt and diaper on -- with that, he was 27 lbs, 11 oz, which probably means he's really around 27 and a half pounds, which is a jump up for him.  (He's been hovering just under 27 for a while.) 

It's so funny all the phrases Mattie is picking up.  Today when I was getting his milk, he set his bear down because "I need both hands."  :)  And when he was wearing his Bob the Builder shoes, he said, "It's my favorite show."  (But, actually, I think he's only seen it once or twice, so I doubt that's true -- his real favorite right now is Caillou, an animated show about a four year old and his family.) 

Reader

Mattie said, "I want to read Chicka Boom Boom to my bear, in my room." And so he did. :)

(No, of course he's not actually reading yet. But he does have some chunks of it memorized!)

A Natural

Jamesie got his leg up on the bar like this all by himself! Wow!  (I'm just glad he didn't let go!)

(And Mattie was doing a great job walking along the balance beam -- he was practicing last weekend on the railings along the path at the botanical gardens.)

More Preschool

Today was our first time as "parent of the day" for preschool. The duties include bringing the snack and hanging out for the second half of the morning.

Mattie did not want to wake up when it was time to wake up, and he didn't want to go to preschool ("go to preschool tomorrow"; "stay here with Mommy!"), so I knew it was going to be a rough morning for him. On the bright side, the teacher told us that he didn't cry the whole time -- she told him that he couldn't cry and eat snack, because he might choke on his food, so he stopped crying to eat. And then she told him he couldn't cry while she was reading a book to him, because he wouldn't be able to hear, so he stopped crying then, too. (The teacher mentioned that one of the little girls in the class doesn't really like loud noises, and she told him, "Matthew, too loud!" That made me laugh!)

He was still pretty upset and clingy when we were there, but fairly soon after we arrived it was time to go on a walk in these nifty carts, so Mattie enjoyed that. They were cutting down an enormous oak tree that had died, so the kids got to see several of the huge branches falling down.

James, on the other hand, was delightful all day, as far as we could tell. When it was time for musical instruments, he was playing with the tamborines right there with his classmates; when it was time for playdough, he happily sat down and started playing with the playdough, no problem. I think he likes preschool!

Boo Hoo

Mattie did not cry when I dropped him off at preschool, but according the teacher, he cried the entire rest of the day. He didn't play with the water or the sandbox and he didn't eat his snack. Poor baby!! (She said when he wasn't crying, he was talking and pointing out things -- she has nicknamed him "chatty Mattie.")

Thursday is our turn as "parent of the day", which is good in that presumably he won't be crying while we're there, and bad because I expect it will be very hard to explain why we won't be there all the time.

I'm kind of surprised about the persistent crying. I know my kiddo can be stubborn, but he can usually be distracted out of his crying, so I wonder how hard they're trying. :) (Mike, meanwhile, is like, "it's fine, he'll get over it, they know what they're doing.") Fortunately, though, Mattie doesn't actually seem to have any problem with going to preschool (that is, he doesn't say anything bad when we ask him about it).

On the bright side, we were putting his backpack in his cubby when we arrived, and they have them labeled with little owl stickers with the names on them. There are four little owls in each cubby. I pointed to his and said, "This says Matthew." He pointed to the one next to it and said, "This says James!" He was right! It could have been coincidence, but I don't think so -- I think he recognizes his brother's name. (Interestingly, that James refers to a little boy in the Monday/Wednesday class, not our James.)

 Jamesie was in good spirits today but still not drinking much.

[Photo is from this weekend.]

Good While It Lasted

Poor little Jamesie is a bit under the weather. He had a fever last night and has been having diarrhea, and had some unhappy stretches today. The advice nurse at our doctor's office says there's a GI bug going around, so her guess is that it's a virus. Hopefully he'll be able to shake it off soon!

We were VERY disappointed to see that he seems to have lost a pound (!!!!!) in the course of all of this. Maybe he'll be able to pack it back on once he's feeling better.

So he'll have to miss preschool tomorrow. I don't know how it's going to go having Mattie there without him -- keep your fingers crossed!

On the bright side, he did say one of his first five-word sentences last week: "I found the Pooh overalls."  (He really likes those Pooh overalls.  Too bad they're on the verge of being too small!)

[Photo is from last week.]

Boy and his Bear

There's nothing sweeter than a boy and his bear! :)  (Technically it's James's bear, but Mattie has adopted it.  Fortunately James was not all that attached to it.)

The boys have figured out that certain toys and books are for the car ride. Mattie requested "the white dog" (a Little People figure that fits in a toy car) and "the fuel" (a little toy gas station) this time around.