Its been a while since I pontificated about motherhood or Elliott's development...and not just because I'm painfully behind in blogging in general. But the eve of Elliott's 3rd birthday is a perfect time to talk about 'where we are'.
First of all, we made it through the 'twos'! And we are all still standing, limbs intact ;) I kid, I kid! All in all the 'twos' weren't so terrible, as they say. I have been told the 'threes' are worse, but I'm still hoping the worst is behind us. There was definitely a period say around the 26-28 month range that was harsh. He was prone to the most random fits of anger. So without even knowing it, my parenting style shifted to one of managing. I began to see patterns in the freakouts and started to figure out how to minimize them from happening or reduce their devastation (on everyone). These freakouts usually stemmed from plans being interrupted. It was not always easy to see when a plan was in formulation, but sometimes you could see the wheels turning. This also meant picking battles. Sometimes you could avoid a freak out by letting something that doesn't really matter go, in exchange for keeping your foot down on other things (usually those that impacted safety or were otherwise fundamental rules of the house).
And then one day, I realized how pleasant Elliott was to be around. We would have evenings and days of the best fun. Lots of talking, lots of games, lots of learning together. That's when I knew the worst of it was over. We still get a random freak out, but it usually is derived from being too tired, too hungry or a misunderstanding. So as long as we keep up on those fronts, we have a very cool little boy to be around.
This brings me to Elliott. His communication has developed in leaps and bounds over the last year. He loves to tell you how things work and about all the cool things he sees. He still isn't one for telling you much about his day, but we are seeing more and more hints of his school days through the songs he sings and other little stories. It is also helpful that he can tell you what's wrong if he has a bad dream (another new thing this last year). He is very polite and almost always tells you 'thank you' and sometimes even 'thank you, bud' :) He speaks shockingly clear sometimes, but has still kept some of his cute mispronunciations (hoptopter = helicopter, nindow = window, annunner = another). I love being able to 'talk' to Elliott and I can't wait to learn more and more about him and how he thinks in the coming months.
He is also the best helper! He loves to help make coffee and dinner. He helps vacuum and sweep. And special projects? Oh my, you have never seen a more enthusiastic assistant. He will hand you tools and make sure you don't miss a thing. When he is especially excited about a project (Brad putting together our new tool box cart comes to mind), he will repeat and mimic the things the helpee is doing.
Another new thing this year is the transition from pretend play to imaginative play. I LOVE the things he comes up with. His green lego bin? Tip it on its side, its a computer! I didn't know that! I also didn't know that the green divider in the bottom of his toy bin is a guitar or my whisk is a remote control for the (invisible) TV on the kitchen wall. He is always surprising us with what he 'sees'.
As for the things he likes to play with, trains, cars and trucks are still huge. And he likes to play 'working man' - being a construction worker :) He also loves to read books, but generally at quiet times of the day. We've been making frequent trips to the library, so we keep plenty of books in rotation. He also likes to joke around. He likes things that are silly and when he finds something funny or thinks you will find something funny, he says 'that funny?' and laughs. Hee. Unfortunately, we've also come to recognize Elliott's 'giggle of doom'. If you hear that giggle, nothing good is going down and you better get in there quick!
I may add to this post as I think of things I've missed because I know there's a ton, but otherwise, I am so excited about where we've come from and where we are going. So here's to three!
Showing posts with label toddler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label toddler. Show all posts
Friday, February 3, 2012
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Preschool
One of the things that we knew this fall would bring is preschool. Prior to Brad being accepted at UCSD, we weren't sure what form preschool would take, but we knew it was time. We are very thankful that Brad's schooling has taken the form it has, when it has. Brad's schedule has been more flexible while at Mesa, so between him and my mom, we have been able to keep Elliott at home so far. This has been great for so many reasons, but it had also become more and more obvious in the last few months that it was time for Elliott to be around other kids on a regular basis as well as form bonds with adults other than his immediate family.
We also knew that UCSD meant an entirely different school commitment from Brad. So once we knew he was going, we started looking at preschools. We knew we had to choose a place that offered full-time days, but we were also hoping that we could find a place that was flexible in their schedule, so that Elliott could still be at home a couple days a week with my mom - both for her :) and for our wallet!
Let's just say, thinking about preschools was not something I enjoyed. There are so many different kinds out there. So many different philosophies. So many different methods. So many different formats. It was all very overwhelming. This is also an avenue where I don't really trust the internet. The last thing I wanted to do was take Elliott someplace I had found because I googled "san diego preschools'. I just don't trust what might pop up. We wanted referrals. Problem is, we don't really know anyone who can give us any for our area and situation.
So we started with some of the bigger corporate schools for the obvious reasons (well regulated, good security, flexibility, etc.) and went from there. Then we also got a great list from UCSD that included referrals to lots of the smaller preschools as well. There really is something for everyone out there. It was nice to see a few different kinds of schools because we quickly learned what we really wanted in a school...and what we didn't.
I had a picture of what I thought preschool for Elliott should be like in my head. And frankly after visiting the larger, corporate places, I knew it wasn't that. After our first school tour, I was really upset. I figured it was just because "I" was having a hard time with the idea of Elliott being left in someone else's care. That it was something "I" was going to have to get used to and get over. The school was nice (if not a bit sterile...and not in a bacterial way), the kids well-behaved and the staff was really nice. But the class seemed too large to me (twelve kids per teacher - the state maximum, by the way). That's a lot of 2 year olds for one teacher, especially when I feel they are still at an age where they need a lot of guidance.
I kept thinking about an incident that happened at Gymboree...a class where not only do we have a teacher, but every child also has their own person with them: The teacher was giving out high-fives to each child for helping to clean up the maracas. There were about 7 kids in the class that day. One little girl went to get her high-five, but was standing in the teacher's blind spot. So the teacher never saw her when she turned to put the maraca bin away. The little girl started to cry (high-fives are a really big deal if you didn't know! ;). But, her mom was there and explained to her what happened and that it was going to be okay. I kept thinking about her as we looked at schools. How can one teacher give 12, 2 year olds what they need? What would have happened if that same incident had happened in preschool...only no one was there to comfort the little girl because no one saw what happened? And how would the teacher treat someone crying, when they didn't know why and the child might not be able to explain why? It made me almost want to cry.
And that is how we knew when we found the right place. We visited a little private preschool affiliated with a local church. It was a small school and didn't have the lock-down procedures we saw at the corporate schools. But we also quickly realized why they weren't necessary...because the teachers knew you. There were 12 kids per class (one class each for 2, 3, 4, and 5 year olds)...but each class had two teachers! Each class had its own area, but they were all apart of the one large classroom, roughly divided by low standing cubbies and bookshelves. And the outside area was by far THE BEST one we saw. So many fun things to do! Things weren't perfectly band new, but it didn't matter.
When we went into the 2 year old class, they were in the middle of free-choice time. There were 4-5 kids at an art table with one teacher doing something with green glitter :) There were another couple kids at a different table putting puzzles together. And one laying on the floor looking at books. And this was the biggest difference to me, the kids looks SO happy. They didn't look 'managed'. They looked engaged. I instantly could see Elliott there, happy. When we had a chance to talk, both Brad and I turned to each other and said this is the place!
Now, I also want to take a moment to talk about money. This is mostly for me for my records, but for some of you who don't know how much childcare costs these days, you might find it interesting as well. We went into this knowing that while price will always be a consideration, we weren't going to make this choice purely on cost alone. We knew how much we could afford (and I use this term loosely...because frankly we can't afford it) based on what Brad was going to get for 'school expenses' and we didn't look at any of the places we knew would be out of our price range (...which worked out because those places tend to have much more complicated enrollment procedures and most deadlines had long since passed). Anyway, rough ballpark, it was going to cost us about $1000 per month for Elliott to go to school 3 days a week, full-time at the larger, corporate preschools. But our little school is going to cost about $640 :)
I think my favorite part about this whole process was Brad's comment after we had toured the inside of Elliott's preschool...We were outside looking around and I said - I LOVE it here. He was like, well don't get your hopes up yet, we don't know how much its going to cost. I said - I do! (I had printed out their price sheet ahead of time. I love the transparency about this place, too!) He said, how much more is it from the other place? To which I responded - its not! its cheaper! He was shocked :)
Elliott is set to start the second week of September. This will give Elliott a chance to get settled in school before Brad starts as well as give Brad the time to go to his orientation and get his other school-starting errands done (there's a lot to do when you start at a new university - sheesh!). I know there will be an adjustment period for Elliott and I am preparing myself for that. But I also know he is going to love school. He is so interested in other kids right now and he is starting to learn how to interact with them and wants to, too! I also love that he has already learned about teachers via Gymboree and knows to look to them for guidance, reassurance and feedback.
I am so excited for Elliott to start this chapter of his life. Both Brad and I know he is going to thrive in school :)
We also knew that UCSD meant an entirely different school commitment from Brad. So once we knew he was going, we started looking at preschools. We knew we had to choose a place that offered full-time days, but we were also hoping that we could find a place that was flexible in their schedule, so that Elliott could still be at home a couple days a week with my mom - both for her :) and for our wallet!
Let's just say, thinking about preschools was not something I enjoyed. There are so many different kinds out there. So many different philosophies. So many different methods. So many different formats. It was all very overwhelming. This is also an avenue where I don't really trust the internet. The last thing I wanted to do was take Elliott someplace I had found because I googled "san diego preschools'. I just don't trust what might pop up. We wanted referrals. Problem is, we don't really know anyone who can give us any for our area and situation.
So we started with some of the bigger corporate schools for the obvious reasons (well regulated, good security, flexibility, etc.) and went from there. Then we also got a great list from UCSD that included referrals to lots of the smaller preschools as well. There really is something for everyone out there. It was nice to see a few different kinds of schools because we quickly learned what we really wanted in a school...and what we didn't.
I had a picture of what I thought preschool for Elliott should be like in my head. And frankly after visiting the larger, corporate places, I knew it wasn't that. After our first school tour, I was really upset. I figured it was just because "I" was having a hard time with the idea of Elliott being left in someone else's care. That it was something "I" was going to have to get used to and get over. The school was nice (if not a bit sterile...and not in a bacterial way), the kids well-behaved and the staff was really nice. But the class seemed too large to me (twelve kids per teacher - the state maximum, by the way). That's a lot of 2 year olds for one teacher, especially when I feel they are still at an age where they need a lot of guidance.
I kept thinking about an incident that happened at Gymboree...a class where not only do we have a teacher, but every child also has their own person with them: The teacher was giving out high-fives to each child for helping to clean up the maracas. There were about 7 kids in the class that day. One little girl went to get her high-five, but was standing in the teacher's blind spot. So the teacher never saw her when she turned to put the maraca bin away. The little girl started to cry (high-fives are a really big deal if you didn't know! ;). But, her mom was there and explained to her what happened and that it was going to be okay. I kept thinking about her as we looked at schools. How can one teacher give 12, 2 year olds what they need? What would have happened if that same incident had happened in preschool...only no one was there to comfort the little girl because no one saw what happened? And how would the teacher treat someone crying, when they didn't know why and the child might not be able to explain why? It made me almost want to cry.
And that is how we knew when we found the right place. We visited a little private preschool affiliated with a local church. It was a small school and didn't have the lock-down procedures we saw at the corporate schools. But we also quickly realized why they weren't necessary...because the teachers knew you. There were 12 kids per class (one class each for 2, 3, 4, and 5 year olds)...but each class had two teachers! Each class had its own area, but they were all apart of the one large classroom, roughly divided by low standing cubbies and bookshelves. And the outside area was by far THE BEST one we saw. So many fun things to do! Things weren't perfectly band new, but it didn't matter.
When we went into the 2 year old class, they were in the middle of free-choice time. There were 4-5 kids at an art table with one teacher doing something with green glitter :) There were another couple kids at a different table putting puzzles together. And one laying on the floor looking at books. And this was the biggest difference to me, the kids looks SO happy. They didn't look 'managed'. They looked engaged. I instantly could see Elliott there, happy. When we had a chance to talk, both Brad and I turned to each other and said this is the place!
Now, I also want to take a moment to talk about money. This is mostly for me for my records, but for some of you who don't know how much childcare costs these days, you might find it interesting as well. We went into this knowing that while price will always be a consideration, we weren't going to make this choice purely on cost alone. We knew how much we could afford (and I use this term loosely...because frankly we can't afford it) based on what Brad was going to get for 'school expenses' and we didn't look at any of the places we knew would be out of our price range (...which worked out because those places tend to have much more complicated enrollment procedures and most deadlines had long since passed). Anyway, rough ballpark, it was going to cost us about $1000 per month for Elliott to go to school 3 days a week, full-time at the larger, corporate preschools. But our little school is going to cost about $640 :)
I think my favorite part about this whole process was Brad's comment after we had toured the inside of Elliott's preschool...We were outside looking around and I said - I LOVE it here. He was like, well don't get your hopes up yet, we don't know how much its going to cost. I said - I do! (I had printed out their price sheet ahead of time. I love the transparency about this place, too!) He said, how much more is it from the other place? To which I responded - its not! its cheaper! He was shocked :)
Elliott is set to start the second week of September. This will give Elliott a chance to get settled in school before Brad starts as well as give Brad the time to go to his orientation and get his other school-starting errands done (there's a lot to do when you start at a new university - sheesh!). I know there will be an adjustment period for Elliott and I am preparing myself for that. But I also know he is going to love school. He is so interested in other kids right now and he is starting to learn how to interact with them and wants to, too! I also love that he has already learned about teachers via Gymboree and knows to look to them for guidance, reassurance and feedback.
I am so excited for Elliott to start this chapter of his life. Both Brad and I know he is going to thrive in school :)
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
More from the Kitchen
I've been meaning to share this video for a while. Elliott was gifted this little kitchenette from our friends who saw it in a neighbor's garage sale and thought of him :) Needless to say, he's put it to a lot of good use. Pooh is usually very full. And everything takes "4 minutes"! This particular video also cracks me up, because he had to stop for a 'poop break'. heh.
Its also funny because this video was from June 13. I already see so many changes! He talks so much clearer now (and more, too!) and he looks so young! Hopefully this will teach me not to doddle too much in the future!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
First Family 'Vacation'
I had mentioned in a previous post that we were looking to take a little family vacation this summer. Well an opportunity came through one of those 'daily deal' emails for a two-night getaway to Oxnard. I didn't even know where that was, but the reference to 'Channel Islands' caught my attention. It ended up being about an hour outside of L.A. and close to the water so it fit the bill perfectly for what I was looking for: beachy, not too far away, and someplace we hadn't been before.
Overall the trip was really nice. We went up on a Sunday and met up with our friends in LA, which gave Elliott a chance to stretch his legs.
Our kids haven't been able to spend much time together (even less so since they've been old enough to interact with each other), so it was nice for them to have a chance to play. Lucy even let Elliott borrow her car...which I'm pretty sure has never been honked so much in its entire existance.
We also took the opportunity while we were in LA to visit one of Brad's favorite places to eat: Phillipe's. Shan had never been either so she joined us for dinner, too! It's one of those places, where I never want to go, but I'm always glad Brad makes me. It is so delicious! I just have to get my head around driving into downtown LA first :P
The harbor was beautiful - so many boats! And the beaches were really great. Tons of sand, sand dunes and no body around!! My kind of beach! We walked around the beach in the late morning, then headed to the wharf for lunch.
The wharf was actually really sad. There was pretty much just a couple places left besides the maritime museum. We ate fish and chips and looked at the crabs...so many crabs!
On our way out we walked through the maritime museum where they had the most amazing boat models I have ever seen. The detail was extraordinary. The man who built them all for the museum made them from the original plans and hand fabricated EVERYTHING. There was also a few things Elliott could touch and the host even let Elliott ring the bell :) (He was a funny, piratey old man, who surprisingly enough had heard of Elliott's namesake, and seemed to think Elliott was about 5 years old - he was always surprised when Elliott didn't laugh at his jokes.)
We then spent a little time at a really nice pirate-themed playground, then headed back to the beach for a little time in the sand.
It was pretty windy by this point, so we didn't get too close to the water. Elliott wanted to make 'castles' which he remembered from going to the beach with Aunt Karen, grandma and grandpa. I felt bad, because I knew nothing would hold its shape when we dumped over the bucket, but Elliott didn't seem to mind. He still exclaimed 'castle!!!" when we ended up with a lovely sand pile ;)
As for the practical aspects of out first family vacation, well, it was challenging to say the least. The hotel room was beyond anything Elliott could comprehend. It was full of new things to mess with and he pretty much ran around the room getting into anything and everything he could find. The first night was tough, too. He cried on and off pretty much all night and asked to go home :( (Needless to say, mama made have teared up a bit herself at this.) He ended up sleeping with us, so I was really glad we had that king size bed! Then being overtired, made for even more hyperness the next day. Unfortunately, we also had a neighbor downstairs the second night who didn't take kindly to toddler footsteps and actually started banging on the walls after Elliott made a couple passes around the room. He tried really hard to not run. He would make these exaggerated tip toe steps (ha!), but then something would catch his eye and he was off! Ugh. Note to self - request a downstairs room like the family checking-in in front of us did (and now I know why!).
Despite the above, I'm really glad we went. I loved that we were able to see so much in such a short amount of time. And I also love that I took another day off work after we got back (to celebrate out 14th anniversary!!), which meant we had plenty of time for normal errandy stuff before going back to work.
Overall the trip was really nice. We went up on a Sunday and met up with our friends in LA, which gave Elliott a chance to stretch his legs.
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| Motorcycle Riding |
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| Playing with Lucy |
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| Waiting for dinner at Phillipe's in L.A. The next day we took our time getting our bearings since we really had no idea what was in Oxnard other than the beach and a harbor that takes you to the Channel Islands. We would have gone out there if we had stayed one more day, but we didn't want to be super rushy or planny, so we skipped it this time around. |
The harbor was beautiful - so many boats! And the beaches were really great. Tons of sand, sand dunes and no body around!! My kind of beach! We walked around the beach in the late morning, then headed to the wharf for lunch.
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| Sand Tractors - these things were huge! |
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| Walking the dunes |
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| Elliott kept reaching under my sunglasses to use my eyes to hold on! |
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| Looking at the boats |
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| Resting |
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| "Sail Boat!" |
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| We saw a seal swimming in the inlet, so we had to take a picture to commemorate. |
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| At lunch, deep in conversation :) |
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| crabs - need I say more? |
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| This sign is for you, Auntie Meagan! |
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| One of the many extraordinary models at the maritime museum and E's 'only with your eyes' hands :) |
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| The sad state of affairs at the wharf. One of the many long-closed businesses. |
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| Playground fun! |
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| Building castles |
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| Fortunately mounds of sand satisfied his 'castle craving' - heh |
Despite the above, I'm really glad we went. I loved that we were able to see so much in such a short amount of time. And I also love that I took another day off work after we got back (to celebrate out 14th anniversary!!), which meant we had plenty of time for normal errandy stuff before going back to work.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A Day at the Zoo
Elliott and I had a wonderful opportunity to spend the day with our friends visiting from Montana. It was SO nice to see them again since we haven't seen them since our visit to Montana in November! They were in town visiting family, which also corresponded to an event their organization, Guide On was sponsoring at the zoo. (This is such a great group that they founded to help the children of our fallen military servicemen/women.)
The boys had a great time together. Elliott had so much fun with them and seems to have really bonded with Matthew (they even held hands :). We even were able to finish off our fun day with a yummy sushi dinner, which was perfect since Elliott's new favorite thing is sashimi! (He ate 7 pieces of salmon!) Here are some pictures from our day...(which I of course am sharing or else I may have a grandma mutiny on my hands soon!! Sorry its been so long between photos.)
The boys had a great time together. Elliott had so much fun with them and seems to have really bonded with Matthew (they even held hands :). We even were able to finish off our fun day with a yummy sushi dinner, which was perfect since Elliott's new favorite thing is sashimi! (He ate 7 pieces of salmon!) Here are some pictures from our day...(which I of course am sharing or else I may have a grandma mutiny on my hands soon!! Sorry its been so long between photos.)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Elliotisms
Here's a couple more "Elliott takes" on things he enjoys around our house:
Toy Story - "Buzz"
Sesame Street 1,2,3 Count with Me (Sesame Street DVD) - "1,2,3,5 Friends"
Move With Me (kids yoga DVDs) - "Poses"
Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss - "Walking Book"
corn kernels - "baby corns"
salad dressing - "salad sauce"
binoculars - "eyes"
paint - "colors"
Just wanted to record them for posterity!
Toy Story - "Buzz"
Sesame Street 1,2,3 Count with Me (Sesame Street DVD) - "1,2,3,5 Friends"
Move With Me (kids yoga DVDs) - "Poses"
Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss - "Walking Book"
corn kernels - "baby corns"
salad dressing - "salad sauce"
binoculars - "eyes"
paint - "colors"
Just wanted to record them for posterity!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Granpa's Helper
Elliott is a helper. I've talked about it in the past and its definitely one of the funnest aspects of having a two year old around the house. Unfortunately, there's only so many projects you can help with when you live is a fairly small rental condo. Fortunately, there's a place he can go to get his project helping fix.
When Elliott spends the day with my parents at their house, my dad plans little projects. Sometimes these are things that he specifically plans for Elliott to help with (constructing the garden windmill, for example) or they may be projects that were already on the agenda for the day (such as fixing the leak in the bathroom sink). Regardless, Elliott is invited to help.
In the past, I've only seen the finished product of the day's projects. But last weekend, I got to 'help out' as well. The main project for the day: installing a new water faucet in the lower garden. My dad had already tapped into the main water supply and had separately built up the pipe structure that would connect the water to a new garden faucet - all for the ultimate goal of having a water source at the bottom of the property.
And this is where I must talk about how great my dad is with Elliott. Throughout the day, he was continually sharing what he was doing with Elliott, explaining how things worked, and why he was doing what he was doing. And as these pictures show, this is not lost on Elliott. He is taking it all in, processing it and storing it for later use. In fact, just the other night when I was getting something out from under our bathroom sink, Elliott kneeled down and pointed to the pipes under the sink. He then proceeded to explain to me how the water went through the pipes and how you had to make sure they were very tight. :)
For a kid who wants to know how things work, I think its pretty safe to say he has a good time with grandpa. He loves to show off what he's accomplished for the day and still likes to make little 'tweaks' to the windmill when he gets ahold of a screw driver ;)
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| Ready for today's project! |
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| Inspecting plants for weeds |
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| Learning how everything lines up |
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| Making sure the facet knob works |
So the day's project was attaching the faucet structure to the water source. This was great fun because it involved digging a trench with a special trench shovel, connecting the pipes, leveling everything out and then testing the water.
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| Making sure everything's level |
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| Learning how to tell the difference between the plant and the weed |
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| Showing off 'his' weed |
Sunday, June 26, 2011
San Diego County Fair!!
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| Sisters |
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| Moo |
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| Creepy People Eyes |
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| Kids |
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| So Many Goats, So Little Time |
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| "Race Car!" |
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| Thinking: "What the Heck?" about the junior sling shot |
$6
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| "Oh, Wow! Ride it?" |
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| A Boy and His Dog |
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| Buzz, Buzz |
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| Fair Goers |
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| Requirement Fulfilled: Smoked Turkey Leg |
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| Plum Tuckered |
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