A Vacation without a Monkey

Daddy and I recently took a vacation to San Francisco, California. This was the first real vacation we have taken for just the two of us since before you were born!

Our family is lucky enough to have a Grampa (Mommy's dad) and Grammaw (Daddy's mom) who supported us financially and by taking care of you while we were gone.

Here is a little bit about what we did while we were in San Francisco. We had such a good time, and we really packed a lot into the few days we were there.

On Friday, we walked around China Town. There are paper lanterns hanging across the street and tons of shops to buy all kinds of knick-knacks. I think it would have been cool to eat somewhere in that area, but daddy wasn't so interested in that. We did walk into one of the grocery markets to see how different it was from the groceries we're used to.

I took a quick hop over to a yarn shop that day to get a souvenir for myself. I have a scarf project picked out for that yarn, so once I make it, I'll have a lovely reminder of this trip. :)

We met my friend Joe for dinner that night. He and I have worked together on and off for a dozen years or so. It was awesome to see him and chat for a while. He shared some insights about San Francisco with us.

On Saturday, we went over to Oakland for the Dragon Boat Festival. It wasn't huge, but there were food trucks, so I got some boba tea. :) In addition to boat races, they had some cultural performances like a Chinese acrobat, ribbon dancers, and some students from Cal who did the traditional lion dance with drumming by some elementary school kids.

The festival site was next to a large community garden that also had a special area for bonsai. I thought they were always (or at least usually) juniper trees, but they had so many different kinds of bonsai!

Then we went over to the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. We were able to do one of the planetarium shows, saw one of the penguin feedings, and spent a good while in the aquarium, but would have enjoyed more time to check out more exhibits. I liked the rainbow arrangement of mineral specimens. It's a shame that the rain forest area was closed for maintenance.

On our way out, we happened upon a peace and love fest (I can't remember what it was actually called) in the park. So, we walked around there for just a few minutes. We saw a lot of tie-dye and smelled some botanicals. -- Ask us when you're older what I mean by that ;)

We went to one of the piers for Oktoberfest that night. I thought they might have more vendors there, but the food was tasty and the beer was flowing along with the live German music and dancing. (Not that we were dancing...)

The highlight was Muir Woods. We went Sunday morning and hiked for about 3.5 hours. We really enjoyed being in the trees and feeling so far from the rest of the world. Daddy said he'd like to go back and do longer trails next time. I took a few pictures, but none of them quite capture the feeling of being in the woods among the enormous trees.

Later that day we walked across Golden Gate Bridge and then went down to Fort Point. The fort is under one end of the bridge. It was built to help defend the area around the city.

On Monday we did a tour of Alcatraz. Alcatraz island was also used to help defend the area, but then it later became a prison. Now it is a sort of museum that people can visit to learn about its history. When we went on the tour, we had headphones so we could listen to people tell us all about the prison and the people who were there.  I don't think the visit would have been as good without the audio tour. We found out that the prisoners did not wear stereotypical black and white uniforms, but later when we visited gift shops, we saw a lot of stuff that had the black and white stripes.

After Alcatraz, we spent some time around Fisherman's Wharf where we saw sea lions. There are also a lot of restaurants and shops around there. You had asked us to bring you back some toys, but I threatened that I would only bring you socks. You were NOT happy with that idea. We picked up several things for you on our trip, but I decided to buy you some socks, too. I picked out Mario brothers socks for you, and I'm pretty sure you actually like them.

We did a fairly quick walk through the Ferry Building and had a bit of down time/packing time back at the hotel before going to a very nice dinner at Morton's Steakhouse.

On Tuesday morning, we peeled ourselves out of bed and headed back to the airport. Unfortunately, we ended up with a 2.5 hour delay due to some computer issues with the plane we were supposed to fly on. But once we were on the second plane, it was an uneventful flight home. 

Grandpa picked you up from day care one last time since we were later than we had planned to be. It sounds like you had a great time with Grandpa and with Grammaw while we were on our trip, but we were so happy to make it back home and to see you.

Grumpy Clown Compendium

1 Year

2 Years

3 Years

4 Years

5 Years

6 Years

6 Year Letter

Dear Gabriel,

Just a couple of days ago, you turned 6 years old. SIX! You are so clearly a kid now…not a toddler, not a preschooler, but a real kid who has so many ideas and so much personality. Watching how much you’ve grown over the last year has been amazing for daddy and me.

I suppose I should actually write about the last two years since I somehow skipped writing your birthday letter last year. So, let’s see…there are definitely some themes that we can trace back to your earliest days.

You’ve developed your headstrong attitude further so that there are times when you are absolutely certain that you are right and that your idea of how things should go is indeed the only way they can go. The world seems to melt for you sometimes.

You’ve always had a tendency toward strong emotions when things aren’t going your way, but I finally recognized some of these melting moments as a need for food. You get hangry!! When you’ve completely lost all ability to reason, it’s almost always hunger or tiredness. Usually. Other times it’s just your need to have things work a certain way.

It seems like you’re always thinking about how things ought to work. You’ve always been very analytical and observant. You tend toward a lot of activities that involve problem-solving and spatial reasoning, like puzzles and LEGO kits. You love games, and we’ve played hours and hours of UNO over the past year. You like video games that involve critical thinking, too. There is a game called Flow where you have to connect several pairs of colored dots without crossing any of the paths. I was impressed with how easily you became really good at that one. You also like games that involve coding skills. It will be interesting to see whether this inclination leads to course and career choices later.

Academically, we’ve seen your reading skills suddenly take off this year. Before you turned 5, you could identify all the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. But we realized sometime in early 2016 that you needed glasses to correct for astigmatism and far-sightedness. After you got your glasses, we saw a difference in your ability to concentrate and make progress with reading. By the time you left preschool, you were reading the beginning BOB books pretty well.

When you began Kindergarten last fall, you entered the Dual Language program. At your school, they use a 90%-10% program which means that 90% of the instruction you receive in the core subjects is in Spanish. Dad and I were excited for you to have this opportunity to learn a second language, but we wondered what the focus on Spanish would do to your progress in reading English. We also wondered whether you would be frustrated by not being able to understand a lot of what your teacher was saying. But you have done SO well this year. We and your teachers are impressed with how much Spanish you are speaking and how well you are reading in both Spanish and English. We are so excited to see how you continue this in first grade next year.

You’re also developing great math skills. You can count way past 100…probably multiple hundreds if you wanted to. You’re reading 4- and 5-digit numbers, and you can figure out addition and subtraction situations involving 2-digit numbers in your head. Recently, you were figuring out proportional reasoning problems also. I don’t think you’re using standard algorithms yet, but I’m more excited about the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills you’re learning.

There are a few things we’re still working on…We try to get out and let you practice riding your bike, but it hasn’t happened as much as I would like. Living on a hill makes it a little hard to just pop right out the door for that. But you’re getting better and better with the training wheels on, and we’ll get to take them off one day. By the end of last summer, you were a lot more comfortable in the pool. You would come out into the middle of the pool with me just holding your hands, and we worked a bit on floating and using arms and legs to stroke and kick. Hopefully time in the pool this summer will get you closer to actual swimming.

You have been getting used to having water on more of your head by floating on your back in the bathtub, and you’ve become much less angry about water in your face during baths. But you still don’t really like it, and even splash days at daycare/camp are not your most favorite thing.

You may have gotten more comfortable with water being up around your head and ears because your second PE tube finally worked its way out. The first one fell out a long time ago, and I was wondering if your doctor would see it at this year’s well-check, but then we found it sitting in your ear a little while back. I am surprised it stayed in that long!

You lost your first tooth last summer, followed a couple months later by a second one. For the first one, we tied one end of some dental floss around your VERY loose tooth and the other end around a Nerf dart. You shot the Nerf gun and sent your tooth flying out of your mouth. I think it was fun for you and took some of the fear out of the situation. For the second one, we used dental floss again, but I just yanked it out. And now, nearly a year later, you’ve got two grown-up teeth almost completely moved in to take the place of those baby teeth.

There are so many signs that you are growing up, but there are other signs that you’re still small. You still love your monkey. He stays in your room 99% of the time now, but you look for him at bedtime. You fall asleep every night with your right index finger in your mouth and your left index finger rubbing monkey’s nose or eye. You also show up in our bed more frequently than daddy and I would like. You squirm and sidle up to us. I end up with your knees in my back and hands in my face. When you sleep in our bed, it’s not good sleep for anyone but you, but there is a part of me that secretly loves it. You are already so independent, and you’ve already cut down on the number of hugs and snuggles I get during the day…eventually you won’t want to curl up with me in the middle of the night, and I will both celebrate and grieve when that time comes.  

You’re in a phase where you prefer daddy anyway. Daddy gets all the hugs, and you’ve created your own routines together that I’m not really part of. It’s really fun to see your relationship deepen, but I wish it was easier for me to get a hug or a kiss these days.

Daddy and I look at each other all the time and say things like, “Remember when he could run under the table without coming close to hitting his head?” or “Remember when he used to say duppa-duppa-day and tummy-tum-town?” or “Remember when we were a little bit worried because he wasn’t talking yet?” Now you talk practically nonstop. Sometimes you’re explaining to us how the world works and arguing your position. Other times you’re singing little songs you make up to narrate what you’re doing. I don’t even think you realize you’re doing it, but it’s fun to hear what’s going on in your head. And sometimes you narrate in Spanish!

We can't wait to see what the next year brings. We're so excited to see all the things you do and all the things you learn. You're our favorite kid, little man.

Love,

Mommy (or Mama or Mom, depending on the day)

Chalk Festival 2016

Last weekend, G and I hung out at the Chalk Festival.

We started with the train.

We spent quite a bit of time hunting for chalk Pokemon. This was a big hit with everyone at the festival. Smart thinking, Cordovan Art School!



We got in a bit of air-conditioned LEGO building time.



We did our own chalk art.



We cheered on contestants in the donut-eating competition.



And we took pictures with some of the art that is around downtown.







Dad stayed home to watch the Longhorn game. We missed the game, but we did see a longhorn!



We also had a snow-cone with a friend from Sunrise Montessori and listened to some fun songs by Joe McDermott. We rounded it all out with some "real" Pokemon hunting and ice cream at Star Coffee. It was a fun day!

First Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Gabriel got his first visit from the Tooth Fairy this week!

After several weeks of wiggling his tooth around, it was finally loose enough that I declared it was time to pull it.

We tied one end of some dental floss to his tooth and the other end to a Nerf dart. G pulled the trigger himself and out came the tooth!

We put his tooth in the pocket of the tooth fairy pillow he helped pick out, hung it on the outside doorknob to his bedroom, and when he got up the next morning, his tooth had been replaced with a $2 bill!

We heard a rumor that the Tooth Fairy had a secret stash of $2 bills so she doesn't get caught off guard in the future. ;)

Gotta Catch Em All

Thank you, Target, for painting one of the concrete spheres like a Pokeball. G loves it. :)

Deep sleep; Deep thoughts

This one...

This one who drives me nuts because he's five and needs control and so do I...

I love him so much my heart just might explode.

First Week of Kindergarten

Gabriel started kindergarten this week.

The night before school started, as we settled in for bedtime, he asked me to tell him a story he hasn't heard before and wasn't about school.

Me: Once upon a time, there was a boy named Gabriel. He was about to start Kindergarten, so he got some good sleep and then he went to school in the morning and he had a great day. When Kindergarten ended, he rode the bus to daycare, and he had a great day there, too. Then mommy picked him up and they went to Gabriel's favorite restaurant, Jason's Deli, for dinner to celebrate the first day of school.

<Gabriel turned over to face me with the biggest light in his eyes and a huge smile.>

G: Let's bring that to life! Can we bring that to life?

(We did.)

He was pretty goofy when I tried to get a first day of school picture. He really didn't want to take one at all, so I'm glad we still got to capture his silly self.

J and I both walked him into school on the first day. We got to his classroom, and G said he was scared. Bit he walked in the room with both of us, hung up his backpack on the hook next to his name, and found some cars to play with. J and I  both managed to get a hug before we left, and everything was fine. :)

On the second day, I walked him in to the cafeteria where they gather before time to go to individual classrooms. G lined up with his class and followed them down the hall when it was time. J said he didn't even look back.

On the third day, parents aren't supposed to walk past a certain spot without getting a visitor's pass. We planned to drive in the car drop off line to show him what that would be like. At first G said he could get out and walk inside the school by himself, but J and I decided we'd both go in case a parent was needed to walk inside. Sure enough, G got anxious about getting out by himself, so I hopped out too and we walked in together. But when we got to the spot parents should stop at, G kept walking and didn't even look back. 

On the fourth day, I took him through the car line and he got out and walked in. Done.

We seem to be off to a pretty good start.

We're excited that he is in the dual language program. He will have about 90% of instruction in Spanish this year. We think it's going to be great for him, and it's fun to already see him apply what he's hearing.

We had this conversation after the first day of school:

G: Does "more bien" mean "good job"? 

Me: "Muy bien" means "very good."

G: I knew that because I did something good and my teacher said "more bien."

(He argues vehemently that it's "more bien," not "muy bien."

At bedtime on the second day of school:

G: Can we go to a different aqui?

Me: A different 'here'?

G: A different house. <points down>

Me: Well, we're planning to live in this house for a while.

G: ok

He told me on Friday that he can't understand everything his partner says, but he said that's ok. 

The first week of kindergarten was a success, it seems. We're sure the rest of the year holds great things.

Quite the Character

Gabriel has been at a different school/daycare for August. He's transitioned over there pretty well so far. 

I tend to ask him a lot of questions after picking him up. I guess he gets pretty annoyed some days. Like today.

He was telling me about some awesome stuff they did.

Me: What did you do today?

"Mom, first we had snack. Then we had cupcakes. Then we had snow cones and then we watched a movie!"

Me: Wow! That sounds like a lot of sugar.

"The man put the white stuff in the cup, and then the kids got to do the juice. The teachers didn't even do it. Most kids got mystery flavor, but I was afraid it wouldn't be my favorite, so I got watermelon."

Me: And you had cupcakes,too?

"Grayson got to pick which one he wanted, but other kids didn't get to pick because it was celebrating Grayson's last day at school. He got a blue one with no sprinkles."

Me: What color did you get?

"I had green with no sprinkles. And then we had snow cones, and then we watched a movie."

Me: What movie did you watch?

"Madagascar. Wait. It was the one with the zebra and the lion and the hippo and the giraffe. Is that Madagascar?"

Me: Yep. That's Madagascar.

"Yeah. That's what it was."

Me: That sounds like an awesome day. Is there anything that could possibly make today even better?

"If you would stop talking."

...

Y'all. He didn't even miss a beat when I asked him. Not even half a beat. 

Bedtime Struggles

Bedtime has been getting harder and harder around here lately. 

G went through a phase a few months ago where he got up every night around 1:30 and came to our room. One of us (usually me) would get up to put him back to bed or he would climb in bed with us. On the occasions when he climbed in with us, we often didn't notice it for a couple hours...and then, even though we don't want to encourage his sleeping in our bed, we were too tired to get up and force him out. 

The 1:30 am phase seems to be under control, possibly because we started giving him an herbal sleep aid and rubbing magnesium lotion on his legs and feet. I'd like to stop that at some point, but there are still so many sleep things going on that I'm wary about changing that part of the routine since it did seem to help with the middle-of-the-night waking. 

Still, more often than we like, he wakes us up because he's gotten another nose bleed. We've got a humidifier and allergy meds and this and that, but it still happens somewhat frequently. His pediatrician says it's likely caused by digital irritation. We don't know for sure, but I haven't figured out how to keep a 5 year old's finger out of his nose while he sleeps anyway. 

A couple of nights he's woken up crying but not really responsive to our questions. He doesn't remember it in the morning, so we're assuming bad dreams/night terrors. Luckily that has only been two or three times. 

Now just getting him into bed is hard most nights. He doesn't want to be left alone, and I don't want to stay because I am very likely to fall asleep in there and I really need some time to be an adult who isn't acting as an employee or a mom for a while. But his protests remind me so much of my own childhood, lying in my bed in the dark and hating it so much. I remember the feeling with such clarity that if that's what he's feeling now, I feel terrible for forcing it on him. And yet, it is bedtime. And he must be in bed. He must sleep. 

He complains that it's too dark, so we have several night lights. But that wasn't good enough, so sometimes we leave a lamp on for a bit. Some nights that just seems to encourage him to stay awake. We try flashlights sometimes, but that works out to a lot of batteries after a while!!

 

For the past couple of weeks, I've been building nests for him in his bed using multiple pillows and every stuffed animal in the house. I was hoping he would feel comforted by having soft things cuddling him on all sides. Maybe that would work as an adequate substitution for being curled up against me...

But many nights he gets out of bed multiple times to say that he just can't sleep or to complain that he's lonely and needs someone to stay with him or to tell us one last important thing that must be said right then lest it be forgotten by morning. 

Like on a recent night when he climbed out of his bed, creeped into my room, and said, "Mommy, I don't have a lot of things to tell you. I just have one thing to tell you. The thing I need to tell you is that I like it when I get a nose bleed at night because I can get out of bed and come get you. And sometimes we sit in the bathroom or in my bed until it stops. And sometimes I get a long nose bleed and we lay down on the couch. So I like it when I get a long nose bleed at night."

Which makes me wonder if the kid is sticking his finger up his nose on purpose? Great. 

Preschool Graduation

At Gabriel's preschool graduation, they called up each graduating student and announced what he or she wanted to be when they grew up. 

There were a number of princesses, some doctors, a couple of mommies, but only one dad. Gabriel said he wants to be a dad when he grows up. :)

Gabriel and his Primary class teacher, Ms. Karima. They started out as Fireflies and then changed their class name to Dandelions when they moved to building 2.

Gabriel and his Pre-Primary class teacher, Ms. Tracy. He started at Sunrise as a Doodlebug with Ms. Tracy. 

After the graduation ceremony, there was an all-school carnival. I didn't get pictures of the jumpy house, the balloon animal clowns, or the snow cones, but G got to ride a pony and he enjoyed the animals at the petting zoo. 

Gabriel and his buddy Grant Michael.

Oh, and today, about a month later, G told me "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a dad. Actually, I want to be my dad. I want to floss kids' teeth....Maybe I want to be a dentist."

Galveston Trip June 2016 in Pictures

Last month we spent a couple of days in Galveston with Jordan, Cory, and Will.

The first day we were there was kinda rainy, so we stayed inside and played games. Gabriel and Will practiced being Robot Turtle programmers. They were pretty good at it!

The next day we took a trip to Moody Gardens.

First we pretended to be frogs.

Then Gabriel fell into one of the ponds in the Rainforest Pyramid, but I didn't get any pictures of that. He was soaking wet from shorts down and panicked because he thought he had creatures all over him. It was both hilarious and terrible.

Then we sized ourselves up against penguins.

Then we saw a few films including a 3D-movie about sharks.

We spent that evening in downtown Galveston where we walked around, saw some "big boats" at the dock, and watched them make salt water taffy at the candy store.

The next day we went down to the beach and played in the water and the sand. Gabriel is still not a fan of water splashing in his face...and that's hard to control at the beach...so he spent most of his time on the sand and in water no higher than his calves. But he let mom or dad carry him out into slightly deeper water a couple of times to bounce up and down in the waves.

All that play at the beach made for a tired kid who found a way to get some rest. I think he was pretty comfy!

We had a lot of fun and hope we get to go back!