Teaming up
As Lukas has gotten older, the two of them are doing a lot more together -- chasing each other around the house (laughing like maniacs until the inevitable crash ‘n cry from one or both of them), playing with blocks (until Annika gets mad at him for not following the pattern and/or knocking her work down), improvising ball games, rustling around in the “hideout” (blankets over the living room furniture), etc. And she’ll go into his room when he wakes up in the morning (first checking him out on the “mometer,” heh) to read to him and give him toys to play with in his crib until we go to get him up -- that has been awesome and so, so sweet. But there’s also the other side of things -- like when Annika, mad at me for not giving her something or whatever, said to Lukas, “Mommy is the meanest mommy in the entire world!” and Lukas agrees: “Yeah!” [facepalm]
Mother’s Day event at school
Annika’s school class had a little presentation the week before Mother’s Day for all the moms, with skits (she had two lines, and did great with them!) and songs, and little presents for the moms, and a lunch after that we did not have to make ourselves (whaaaat!). Very cute & sweet.
Daddy’s birthday and Grandma & Grandpa’s visit
An event months in the planning, Grandma and Grandpa came to stay with us for a couple of weeks around R.’s 40th birthday. It was greatness on so many levels -- the kids were in heaven, with their grandparents to play with; I was able to get my long training runs in without having to rise at the crack of dawn; we had a nice Mother’s Day as a family; and R. and I went to San Francisco for the weekend. Well, first we had a family party on Thursday night, complete with Carvel cake and a whole bunch of presents. Then on Friday, his actual birthday, R. took the day off and we prepped for the trip, leaving in the late afternoon after Annika’s dance class was over. It was the first time we’d ever left the two of them overnight -- much less over two nights! -- so we were all kinds of nervous at first. But they both behaved beautifully, and we got to have two fabulous adults-only meals, sleep in (no 6:15 a.m. wakeup book to the face!), and see an actual movie in a theater (Star Trek: Into Darkness), so it worked perfectly. A good time was had by all.
Lukas’s 18-month doc appointment
The little guy was a champ for the one shot he had to get (he cried, but forgot about it after about 30 seconds), and behaved very well; the doc said he was “thriving” (although I thought it was weird that he’s in the 28th percentile on weight and height right now -- I don’t get those percentiles, man). All good for the kid!
Annika’s Kindergarten assessment
We got a letter from the elementary school requesting our presence at an assessment (basically so the teachers will know what they’ve got to work with this fall). We went, and it happened to be at the same time that her friend Niamh had hers (and we also saw a kid we know from the tumbling classes, yay!). Before the appointment, R. and I and the grandparents had been running through stuff like days of the week, letters & colors, single-digit addition & subtraction, months, continents -- and then the assessment was super-baby stuff. Annika came bouncing out, and on the way to the car, I asked her how she did; she said, “I killed it!” Ha! I bet she did.
Annika’s first swimming ribbon
The place where she’s taking swim lessons gives ribbons for each level you achieve, and about five lessons in, she earned her first one -- she was, as it says on the ribbon, an “O-fish-al” Jellyfish! Yay! She was super, super proud; I had to send a picture out to the family, and she could not stop looking at it and talking about it and wouldn’t put it down. It was the first of many, we’re all sure. :-)
Lukas the sports enthusiast
So, building on the general “ball” love, Lukas now distinguishes kinds of ball (fuh-ball, ba-ball, bay-ball). And while Grandpa was here, he developed a keen appreciation for baseball on TV, which means he would point to the TV first thing in the morning -- before breakfast, even -- and demand, “BALL!” He’d point to the remote: “BALL!” And he knew who to hit up for it, too -- good old Grandpa was always happy to oblige. Lukas really does watch it -- he’s not interested in commercials, and while the game is on, he makes motions with his hands (throwing, swinging a bat -- in fact, all sticklike things from drinking straws to pool noodles are now bats), going into a catcher’s squat, mimicking pitching and fielding motions, even running and falling down, which seems to be his version of sliding.
Annika graduates!
At the end of May, Annika and her class had their pre-K graduation -- every bit as adorable and hilarious as you’d imagine, and quite a bit more sun-burny and long-winded than we’d anticipated. The teachers gave a little speech about each of the 24 graduates; Annika was described as “a very smart, chatty girl who is excited to learn and is ready for Kindergarten,” among other things. Heh. We got some video, and some excellent pictures, of course -- and since we decided to withdraw from the school at the end of May, that was it for ol’ AppleSeed school -- we’ve got the summer off, a nice break before we engage with the real school system this fall.
Little House in Northern California
A couple of months ago, we started reading the Little House on the Prairie books, a chapter or two at a time, to Annika at bedtime (and in the morning in our bed, and whenever we needed a quiet, calming something to do in the afternoons). She has really enjoyed them, and though we do still edit out some of the things as we go, it’s been a great experience. She can read the earlier ones herself -- so that tells you how good her reading has gotten. And it’s led to some interesting side activities, like her wanting to learn to sew and me teaching her the pitiful little I know about that, and her wanting a cow (which she swears we can put in a stable on the bit of lawn by the pool and she will milk it every day). Lukas is more into board books -- your Freight Train, your Goodnight Moon, your Boyntons ... :-)
