Category Archives: preschooler

Sports and things to add to my list of parental “fails”

Did you know that in order to register for things like T-Ball you have to do so really early in the year?  Like February early?  I did not know that, so apparently we’ll need to find something else to sign Enzo up for and depending on his mood he’s either interested in everything or nothing at all.  We keep thinking that swimming would be good for both of them, but I really don’t want to spend a lot of money on lessons and have neither kid actually go in the water. The community center lessons are a lot cheaper, but they fill up quickly or there is never enough interest. So… back to the drawing board!

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In the meantime, the kids can still practice a bit at home. Enzo really does have a good arm and seems like a natural.  At the very least, maybe this year would be a good year to take the kids to their first ball game. They may not last the entire game, but we can always walk around and the food is good, so there’s also that.

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What is it about baseball?  I’m not a huge fan, but it’s one of the few sports I’m okay with watching and when I was younger I didn’t mind playing it either. I was awful at it, but it was still kind of fun nonetheless. Football just bores me and basketball is the same… plus the squeaky shoes. I can’t handle the squeaky shoes.

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Enzo has always enjoyed sports. One of the very first television programs he watched was the Olympics… diving, I believe. Then has he got older he’d stare at football games and be totally mesmerized. Neither Josh or I played organized sports in school – well, he did for a short period of time, and while I liked running and was told I’d be good at Track & Field, I never joined.

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We certainly won’t pressure our kids to join any sports or other extracurricular activities, but I think they might enjoy it.  Now if we could just get our acts together and remember that you need to do things like register… well in advance. Hmm, maybe we can still find swimming lessons for them or gymnastics classes. They both like tumbling… mostly off of couches, but still!

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Actually, Phoebe could probably use some balance assistance. The poor girl is not super graceful and is constantly tripping over her feet it seems. I have a feeling we’ll try and enroll her in a dance class considering how she loves to dance at home.  I’m really just rambling aren’t I?

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Okay, here’s hoping we can get these two involved in something or at the very least I guess I’d better start checking when I need to register for Winter programs since it seems like you need about 6 months notice. Add that to the list of things I never thought about before having kids.

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My own little mini-me.

What’s that quote?  A daughter is a little girl who grows up to be your best friend?  It’s funny to think about how worried I was when I found out we were having a girl. Can you imagine? While I have a special relationship with each of my children, Phoebe and are definitely in a stage where we’re besties, but that works because Enzo is best buds with Josh too.  We each have our own little mini-me and it’s kind of awesome.  Josh has a fishing buddy who loves video games as much as he does, and Phoebe is a natural born shopper.

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I usually try to shop alone, but if it’s a weekend I have to sneak out of the house or else Phoebe gets incredibly sad if she can’t go too.  She’s also a terrible influence on me and we never stick to our list, but she’s also just a big time browser. If we walk past the shoes, she wants to try most of them on. She doesn’t even really want to buy any; she just has to be sure. Same with toys. She might pick a toy out and play with it, but she rarely throws a fit when it’s time to put it back. She just shrugs and moves on to the next thing.

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Both kids are getting so fun as they get older. It’s amazing how you’ll look at them at times and suddenly get a glimpse of them several years from now. Sure, there are growing pains, but that’s inevitable. There are times when Josh and I forget that they’re still both pretty little even though they may seem so much older, so we have reign our excitement in and plan for later. I can’t wait until we can travel to more places that we can all enjoy as a family. While you can go anywhere with kids, it doesn’t mean you’ll all necessarily enjoy it.  I want to save a few things for when the kids can better appreciate it and remember it, but definitely before they get sucked into things like smart phones and typical teenage sulkiness. Ha ha.

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If nothing else, let’s show them as much awesome stuff as we can, so that way they never get too lost behind a screen and still think we’re sort of cool on some level.  Or we’ll just ban smart phones and tablets and force them to experience childhood the way we did on vacation. Okay, that’s not fair… we had Walkmans (still have mine) and portable CD players and Gameboys… as long as we brought enough batteries for the duration of the trip. We’ll just force them to road trip the 80’s/90’s kid way.

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Today you are 4.

And just like that, we have a 4 year old. Gone is my baby with the chipmunk cheeks, but he still has his blue eyes, a dimple, and a laugh that is just as infectious as ever.

Where to begin?  Our boy is growing up, which is terribly obvious, but sometimes is so easy to forget and admittedly to try and ignore. He’s becoming his own person more and more each day, which is probably why there won’t be as many pictures of him on the blog either. More often he has requested that I not take his picture, so I will respect that.  I still manage to take photos here and there, but if he specifically asks me not to, down goes the camera.  It’s actually a good reminder to be more present, which I sometimes forget to be.

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I am loving the independence of our 4 year old. For the most part he dresses himself and if he doesn’t like what clothes we’ve picked out, he’ll request a change.  I like seeing what he’s in the mood for and we’re going to go shoe shopping as he noticed his sister has a lot more shoes than he does and he would like more options as well. Fair enough!

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As far as interests go, he still loves books and is working on learning how to read. His favorite shows are Power Rangers (any incarnation), Paw Patrol, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Sonic the Hedgehog. As far as movies go, he loves Disney and right now his favorites seem to be Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast (he finds the ending when the household fights off the village to be hilarious).  He is really into Legos and anything he can build with.

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His imagination is fantastic and he has his own little worlds and stories that he acts out with his toys. While he really likes it when he has someone to play with, he also enjoys playing on his own just as much.  Much like his dad, he could spend endless amounts of time playing video games, but we’ve been limiting him.  His favorites are Disney Infinity and Skylanders on the TV, but he loves Angry Birds on his Kindle as well as some really great learning apps. Thanks to the warm weather, he’d rather be outside and has hardly picked up his Kindle at all lately.

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Most importantly, we have such fun with our Enzo. He has a wonderful sense of humor and picks up things so quickly. He is a caring older brother and always looks out for his sister. He has a dimple and a smile that go straight to my heart (and he absolutely knows it!!) which often causes me to cave and give into little requests like just one more book or one tiny piece of candy before breakfast.  We love you, Enzo!

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Things they say and do…

Oh, where to begin?  Enzo will be 4 in less than a month and Phoebe is well into the “Terrible” Twos. We’ve entered the land of crazy meltdowns, incapability to make decisions and stick with them, and straight up drama. Even Enzo has at times given me the look when Phoebe is having a moment and has sighed and slapped his head against his forehead.  They’re both finding their way, and it can be hard to remember that at times when we are up against things that seem to inconsequential and silly to us, but obviously means something more to them. Ah, perspective.

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Enzo:

  • Is so incredibly self-sufficient.  It’s incredibly helpful right now since Phoebe is in that volatile stage, so being able to ask Enzo to go pick out clothes and get dressed is awesome. He also really wants to help Phoebe, but… Two.

Enzo: I can get your water Phoebe, because I’m 3 and I’m big and strong.

Phoebe: No! Mommy do it. Mommy’s bigger and stronger!

  • He is always making us laugh whether it be randomly breaking out into songs he know will get stuck in everyone’s head or other out of the blue phrases and silliness.
  • Is navigating the difficult waters of having a toddler sister. He is my introvert and needs alone time, and she… doesn’t care.
  • Is just as ready for warm weather as I am. I picked him up at preschool and he had rolled up his pants to make his own shorts.

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  • Her vocabulary continues to grow and often it makes me laugh because her mannerisms are so like her brother. She looks up to him so much already, and I know that won’t change.
  • Where do I start with all the funny things she’s saying lately? She’s very much interested in everything, including the human body.  We went to Target and were in the bra section when she ran up to them yelling, “Boobies!” I corrected her and then she just wanted to wear the pink ones and said she wanted to get a bra for Enzo too. Ha ha!
  • She is my cuddle bug and I get no exercise in in the mornings any more because she wants to just snuggle as long as possible. Her latest thing is to say, “I no feel good. I lay down in Mommy’s bed and watch Mickey Mouse.” Little stinker. She’ll climb up and pat the bed next to her and say, “Sit down with me.”

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Some days it’s rough, but I do so love this parenting gig.

Let’s wrap it up!

Bring on the weekend!  We’re in for a busy one, but hopefully we’ll get some rest and relaxation in as well.  Tomorrow morning Enzo and I are going to his early childhood screening thing and then probably will do some grocery shopping since he has been chowing down on strawberries and we’re about out. Then on Sunday a friend is turning 4, so the kids are looking forward to that party as well.

I don’t expect to learn much at his screening simply because we know he’s on track… he’s smart and his eyesight and hearing seem to be good, so… I guess we’ll see. Day care thinks we need to mention how active he is and that his listening skills aren’t always the best, but at that age aren’t most kids that way?  Sure, his tantrums might be a little intense, but he’s just an emotional guy.  With age he’ll learn how to handle his emotions as long as we help him learn how, so if anything we need to learn how to do what’s best for him.

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We try not to spend too much time with video games and TV, but the kid has a knack for it. He learns quickly and really enjoys it.  Sometimes it surprises me just how quickly he picks some of this stuff up and I have to ask him how to do something. He’s also been working a lot on sounding out letters and learning how to read and all that good stuff. We do try to make sure he’s active too.  As for Phoebe… well…

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While Enzo might be more like me in personality, Phoebe is my spirit creature. We like to curl up and read or watch movies and too much TV doesn’t affect Phoebe the way it does Enzo.  Granted, she is entering the sassy twos right now,  and it’s sometimes hysterical to see how Enzo handles her random and ridiculous meltdowns. He already has the eye-roll and heavy sigh down.  Ha ha.  As they both get bigger I find myself trying to hang onto their “babyhood” as long as possible welcoming the snuggles whenever I can and probably letting them getting away with more than they should since I’m a sucker for dimples and toothy grins.  They know it too.

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