adventures of growing a family...has become...the growing adventures of family
On this sunny (if chilly) winter day, the kiddo had a fun time practicing on his skateboard while daddy was taking down the Christmas lights.
Yes, I am that cute.
Balance...Balance...
Show off...looks like he's losing balance, but he was actually going all Karate Kid on his skateboard.
Getting in some razor time too...
Related: He gets his grace from Shannon.
We haven’t kept up with our VodPod widget (on left sidebar), so I’m going to post quick summaries of and links to videos past and present from our YouTube channel. I may even try to fill in the missing months with updates and photos now that it’s all organized on FB Timeline for us! So stay tuned…
A hands-on lesson in movie magic for parents. This was a really fun snowy Saturday project. We were trying to show our 4-year-old son how movies are made in order to help him fully understand that they are make-believe. Beginning to (almost the) end, he got to be involved.
1. The story: mama taped 2 Wii lightsaber controller covers together so the kiddo could pretend to be Darth Maul. He wanted to have a duel with Yoda.
2. The storyboard: The kiddo and I sat down and drew up a storyboard on 2 sheets of printer paper. We got practice drawing shapes, counting the number of scenes, coloring, and thinking through an imaginary storyline, etc.
3.Costumes: this was easy…the munchkin came up with the outfit the day before. Note the accuracy.
4. Production: I told him I was the director/camera man and he was the actor. We talked about these and other movie production jobs. We shot the whole thing on the phone in about 45 minutes. Thanks to the storyboard, we were able to practice and shoot each scene in a single take (with double takes on the death scene where he fell ON Yoda…this almost made it into the movie, but we wanted to follow the storyboard). Yoda was a prima donna and required multiple takes.
5. Post production: We watched the raw clips and talked about how we could edit them together to make it look like he was really fighting Yoda. We (aka, Dad) just did a quick edit on the iPhone using the Splice app. The music was from the Splice store…the movie exports from Splice to the photo albums, which has the option to upload to YouTube. Pretty easy. When it works.
Showing this to him, especially with the violent “death scene” is helping him to understand that people aren’t really hurting each other in movies.
Total time commitment, including editing, was about 4 hours. Worth every minute.
After ignoring this blog for more than a year and half, this holiday season provided some good fodder. I may just start posting again…
After much cajoling gentle redirection, the kiddo has finally taken an interest in Star Wars. He even asked Santa for a red lightsaber. Vader (or Darth Maul, or a Stormtrooper) is such an improvement over Puss in Boots that we even let him watch Episode 4 long before we had planned. Hey, don’t judge. If your kid spent EVERY.F-ING.SECOND. (over the past 6 months) dressed up like and acting out the movie behaviors — hairball scene included — of an annoying swashbuckling feline (or rather, taking his costume on and off EVERY.F-ING.SECOND. while watching Shrek 2, 3, 4, and every Puss in Boots movie trailer ever made), you’d embrace the dark side too (pun intended). In fact, the entire blu-ray collection is en route as I type…
Dan, on the other hand, was the recipient of some Lego sets because the kiddo wanted them as a thoughtful gift from the munchkin (who also received some Legos) and me. It turns out that Legos are pretty fun for grown-ups to build and the kid has a lot of fun playing with them. Win win. Needless to say, I expect much clinking in the vacuum canister in the coming days, especially since we’ve already been on two family expeditions looking for post-holiday Lego “deals.”
As for me, I started casually obsessively watching Dr. Who (2005) a couple of weeks before Christmas and I’m just starting Season 5. I’m not sure if I’m a huge fan now or just operating on a persistent lack of sleep, but Dan agreed to build a Tardis garden shed for our long-handled tools (which apparently is common enough in the UK that they have a Tardis category in shed design competitions). I’m really excited, although I’m sure the Bloggess with one-up me with a life-sized functional Dalek to keep Beyonce company.
I wanted to use this for our Christmas cards this year (and on a large, bright canvas in our house). But, first I went green. Then I got lazy. I might still do the canvas. I, did, however, cut out a few of these by hand for gifts.
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One part ice cream. 3 parts pure Joe. Thank you, Electric Company (and Disney) – ok, and mom too (yes, really) – for the beatbox lessons.
That’s the real title of the song, folks. At least, it is for the original Sly and the Family Stone version.It’s also Joe’s favorite, thanks in full to Shrek the Third. And he doesn’t hesitate to break out the vocals on a whim…even on a trip to Miller Farms for punkin’ pickin.
Joe loves to “rock out” whether or not he has an instrument in his hand. A walk around the lake when we visited Keystone sure didn’t stop him.
We went snowshoeing with the Gallegos shortly after Christmas. Z wasn’t having any of it, and ended up taking a snooze on his mom’s back for the majority of the trip. Joe thought it was old hat and decided to plow ahead of the rest of us. Maybe it was because we told him no more snack breaks until we finished the trail?
This has been the year that Joe was obsessed with tools. Dan built him his own mini workshop in the garage with a Joe-sized custom workbench and real tools. Not real tools for kids. But real tools, of the slightly petite variety. Dan even installed a small workbench clamp. Joe can clamp in a piece of scrap wood and hammer the heck out of it. He’s pretty good about getting the nails and screws in pretty straight, even if his Frankenprojects are a bit amusing. And when Dan is working on a project, you can bet your britches that Joe is close behind. It’s been a dream having some peace around here. But it’s also pretty amazing what a motivated 3-year old can do. We missed the opportunity to ruin press our hands in freshly poured concrete when we had our sidewalks and pathways done (we couldn’t anyhow, given that we had exposed aggregate), so Dan made some small “stepping stone” forms. And Joe did a good chunk of the work. See for yourself.
Christmas morning at our house has been a quiet, long affair. Last year, Joe slowly opened and played with each gift for 20-30 minutes. It took about 12 hours from beginning to end, with meals and naps thrown in. But this was the first year that Joe really started to “get” what Santa was all about. Still, he hadn’t quite put two and two together about the fact that it was Christmas morning. Before we started the camera rolling, he actually told us that it was not Christmas and he was content to watch his morning cartoons. And then reality hit…
Wow. Holy wow. This post following an adoptive family’s TV interview (this blog, in fact) really spoke to my heart on so many levels. I can’t say how many times I’ve wanted to say all of these things. And I couldn’t have said any of it any better. About adoption, the process, the system. About parenting, about children, about relationships. And how I feel about it all. Read it if you have a chance. This is one particular excerpt that really touched a chord in me.
I wanted to talk about race preference in adoption, and the fact that a minority status qualifies a child for “special needs” status in the US, regardless of age.
I wanted to talk about the discrimination Jafta has faced already. I wanted to talk about how transracial adoption has opened my eyes to the overt and covert racism that still exists in our country. I wanted to talk about how frustrating it is when I discuss Jafta’s experiences of racism and people dismiss me as being overly sensitive.
I wanted to talk about how, despite how much we long for it, we have had difficulty finding inclusion in the African-American community. I wanted to talk about how, after two years of going to the same barbershop, the elderly proprietor finally admitted to Mark that he was just now “cool with us”. I wanted to talk about the sting of wanting to immerse Jafta in his culture, while recognizing that having white parents may set him up for rejection.
I wanted to talk about the deficits that we will have as a white couple raising black children. I wanted to compare it to a single mom raising boys . . . how we will need help from others. I wanted to talk about how painful it can be as a parent to know that, while I can empathize, I will never fully understand my sons’ experiences as African Americans, or as transracial adoptees. I wanted to talk about how every adoptive parent needs to suck up their pride and admit that we can’t do it alone.
Even though I swore we weren't going to have a party for Joseph's birthday, we did. A few weeks ago I took him to his first roller skating class. It was a wildly successful experience (for us). He didn't skate the whole time, wanted to take a snack break before snack time, and rolled around on the carpet more than the rink. But, by the end, he didn't want to leave. He talked about it constantly. And he claimed he had fun. So, I booked a party there to celebrate his birthday.
Joe's friend, Miss Maggie Moo (sporting her pink glow necklace) is only a day younger than Joe, so we had a combined celebration with just a handful of friends.
Saturday was the big day and a dozen kids, mostly 3-year olds, were ready to roll with us. It was an open skate session and there were two other birthday parties sharing the space so it was, to say the least, chaotic. Joe had a rough morning and did not want to skate. In fact, he melted down and refused to go into the rink at all...even when they sang "Happy Birthday."
The birthday girl let her dad outfit her in skates. Maggie was willing, but terrified. She did end up out in the rink more than Joe though.
Like most of the newly initiated 3-year olds, some of the kids (including Z) weren't so sure about the idea of being on wheels.
LT seemed to get a kick out of his skates. Most of the little guys only made it around the rink once or twice. The parents were really good sports about it!
It was, as I expected, probably not a wildly successful "skating" party. The kids were too young for that (and at least half of the parents were a littly rusty), and we knew that going into it. Regardless, I think just about everyone had fun. Joe has been asking about skeeball at skate class, and he finally got the chance to play.
In fact, skeeball was a huge hit with all of the kids.
I made these little skating themed favors for the kids, full of stickers, glow bracelets, crazy straws, and punch balloons. We also had a glow-in-the-dark tattoos for kids to put on, coloring sheets and crayons (Donald Duck roller skating, of course), and helium balloons for the kids to take home.
The punch balloons were a favorite with the kids, although the staff at the rink weren't as thrilled and they confiscated at least one.
It wouldn't be a skate party without pizza! Of course, cake, ice cream, and singing Happy Birthday followed.
The birthday boy sort of blew out the (of course, red) candles on his side of the cake.
And the birthday girl tried to blow out the three on her side of the cake. (But, really, the parents did the extinguishing.)
Between cake, ice cream, and the quarter's worth of candy that Joe talked us into as we exited, he was quite the sugared-up birthday boy. There was no nap after the festivities, but he did sleep nearly 11 hours that night. And while his mama has come a long way in letting go, he WILL have a veggie-infused homemade cake on his actual birthday.
The birthday boy had a blast tearing around, carrying his balloons, and bopping into everyone along the way.
All in all, the party was a hit! Maybe next week at class, he'll actually skate!
Just shop through Joe’s Upromise Guest Shopping Link. You can shop at all of your regular online stores, use coupons and discounts as normal, and even earn the usual miles or points or cash back with your credit card or rewards programs. It won’t cost you a cent that you weren’t planning to spend (the link actually gives you access to some exclusive coupons, so you could save more), it’s easy, it’s safe, and it works! It’s the simplest way to help Joe earn some extra dough for college…just in case that football scholarship doesn’t pan out. Thanks folks!
Last night, we had a fantastic storm. Yesterday started out warm and sunny and temperatures reached about 65 degrees. By early afternoon, dark clouds rolled in with a great display of thunder, lightning, and rain. By early evening, the storm turned into a heavy, wet, and windy snowfall, dropping about 8″ of the wet, sticky stuff, so typical of spring. This sticky snow can weigh down trees and roofs and is more likely to cause damage than lighter, drier winter snow. But the sticky stuff is also fabulous for building snowmen, which you don’t see too often in Colorado. That’s what Dan and Joe did this morning, after shoveling the sidewalks.
Dan and Joe decided that it was a perfect day to make a real snowman. They were pretty serious about it.
When I ask Joe to say "cheese" for the camera, he turned suddendly and "shushed" me (his newest bad habit picked up from school) "SHHHHHHHH!"
Because licking an ice scraper tastes so good.
Joe wasn't quite sure about the carrot nose. For a kid who typically shuns carrots at the dinner table, he surprised us by trying to take a bit out of it. Granted, he skipped snack time for the snowman, but he shouldn't have been starving!
Joe was such a good helper, collecting little gems and sticks for Daddy to decorate the snowman.
Of course, we all know that this was really Dan's doing!
Our first "real" snowman, despite living in Colorado for almost 7 years, and our newest addition to the household. His name is "Thomas," according to Joe.
About a month ago, Joe started using random objects as bats and saying "I playing baseball!" So, we just got him a T-ball set. Dan has been teaching Joe how to hit the ball and I finally had my camera with me today to capture the moment.
Not bad form for a 2-year-old...
Joe gets such a kick out of baseball. Not that there was ever an iota of doubt that we had an athlete on our hands!
And he hits (...the entire T-ball setup). But, hey, he hit it!
We often attend family night on Wednesdays at Little Monkey Bizness, an indoor playground not far from our house. (In fact, we used to go so often, they routinely reserved a table for our group last summer.) The owners’ kids go to Joe’s school, so they opened up shop this past Tuesday just for Blessed Sacrament families and friends (and donated 20% of proceeds to the school). A big bunch of Joe’s friends joined us for this completely chaotic evening. I don’t have many photos from the night (and I hardly got to talk to anyone either), but you get the picture!
Daddy and Joe eating $1 pizza slices (brought up from Anthonys downstairs--yum!)
Joe was in a constant state of motion all evening long. He wanted everyone to chase him, including his classmates. (What you don't see is Emme's twin sister, who is in the lead. Don't get me started with that love triangle!)
Joe even got his buddy, Sid, to follow him around. Unfortunately, most kids have a tough time keeping up with our speed demon and give up after awhile.
Even baby Adler had a good time. He soooo wanted to play with the big boys!
Z was a little sulky because he wasn't allowed to play with his cars. There were too many kids for that. But, he got over it soon. Unfortunately I don't have the photo to prove it.
Maggie had a little post-nap crank going on too. I don't blame her, though. It was crowded and loud!
Joe, on the move again. Does this kid ever slow down? (The answer is "no.")
We finally migrated over to the other side of the playground and let Joe work out some energy in the crawling area (no crawlers were in there).
A few days ago, Joe helped me pick a recipe from my favorite bread machine recipe book so that we could make a coffee cake to share with Nonie Nuttall and Nani Deer during the first morning of their visit. We decided that the raspberry cream cheese almond cake would fit the bill.
Joe helped measure and pour in ingredients, then got his very own (and first ever) beater to lick. After we finished, he looked at me and said, "Mommy, this book tell a story about dinner... And dessert." How right he was!
Joe had some friends over for a make-your-own pizza party play date. They each got a floured mat, rolling pin, and pizza dough.
Isaac was serious about getting his dough nice and even.
Landon, on the other hand, thought that Frank the combine harvester made a much better rolling pin.
The kids had as much fun munching on the toppings as putting them on their pizzas. Ewan sneaks some cheese.
But he wasn't the only one!
Zack made a pretty fancy pizza with basil, tomatoes, and mushrooms. (He also loves sushi. Yes, I'm jealous that my kid refuses to eat this well.)
The pizzas looked pretty impressive for 2-year-old kid creations
Joe and Sadie were very anxious for the pizzas to cook
And Sadie thought it was pretty yummy!
Joe posed for the camera after his friends left. And, yes, I dressed up my kid for his pizza play date (but he didn't wear the hat until photo time). Don't judge me. As long as he's willing, my kid will be costumed every chance I get.
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