Puzzle Power

P received a couple puzzles for the holidays, which he Loves. One even came with moveable dinosaur stickers - sheer bliss for the four year old!

3-D

P's Polar Express DVD included a 3-D version. The child had never seen anything like it before and was Amazed :) Needless to say, the glasses themselves have provided plenty of play. When P first saw his monster he squealed "BB!! Your PURPLE!!!"

The Haircut

P's hair has been bugging him for months. But it went a step further last week when the humidity dropped here and the static skyrocketed. Every shirt, balloon, hat or wrestling match would static cling his mop in some uncomfortable position. His top-tail trick wasn't suiting him anymore and he was Frustrated. So finally, finally, he was willing to set for a cut. I told him I'd cut it Very Short, so it wouldn't need it again for a long time. Ok, he said, make it like Grandpapa's.

After I lopped it all off I showed him the mirror. He was slightly stymied, it wasn't the same color as Grandpapa's :)

The new and improved Bean Bin

P's new table (a few old boards from a previous tenant atop a couple of ammo boxes) needed an upgrade to properly hold beans. The boy is just too big for his old bean bin and he was quite resolute that beans were the perfect companions to his new diggers. So sweet E, lacking the tool filled work-shop of our past life, sawed through some cast off two by fours with an inappropriate saw and a lot of determination. P was head designer, requesting a one foot space remain open for BB to drive through or for P to climb through. I was head decorator, in charge of making two by fours less unsightly :) Once assembled, the table held a dizzying number of beans under which P buried "treasure" (his fab rock collection). Its a pretty soothing game to play with the little guy, reminding me of those zen sand rakes...

The Gingerbread House

In an attempt to ward off winter boredom (for me;) we're doing more projects. P is fascinated by all things holiday-ish this year, so I figured a gingerbread house was in order. I had no idea...

Fortunately we planned on being home for the entire day :) It was a lovely time, the stirring, the baking, the icing making. Most instructions said to wait a while after assembling to decorate, but the four year old thought this sounded Ridiculous, so we soldiered ahead to no ill effect. P also made some gingerbread people to live in the house, and then promptly ate one, taunting it the whole time! He ended up keeping two, plus a little cookie I made him with a pink heart (which he swears he'll Never eat or throw away ;) The boy and the woman live in the house, along with the witch (imaginary) from Hansel and Gretel (a story P sorta likes and is sorta scared of, but he befriended her so that she could live with us :) Due to the kitchen being a DISASTER when E returned from work that evening, we went out to eat. Along with the witch. I received more than a few sidelong glances for my cackling and strange behavior, but the little man noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

I should take a picture of the house as it is today, a week later, in shambles. I had always assumed these things were virtually inedible, setting about for long periods covered in excess sugar. Turns out, they are quite tasty :) The boy, the invisible witch and the heart covered cookie, however, are still in mint condition.

BB's Holidays

In addition to getting the deeds to P's new Construction-land, the little man felt it necessary for the monster to have a holiday tree too. So as we cut into a pineapple Solstice morning, P squealed with excitement, "Mama!!! Mama, can I have the top for BB's tree?"

He then placed it in the itty-bitty monster's chateau, decorated it with mini candy canes and surrounded it with tiny packages. He even cut a piece of felt for a stocking (despite our stocking-free abode). Needless to say, the monster was Thrilled. Over and over and over and over....

The Santa Story...

P's excitement for Solstice and Santa this year was unprecedented. We do nothing to "build up" the season. We don't chat incessantly about gift possibilities or wish lists, listen to holiday music or read "The night before Xmas" before bed each evening. We're not Scroogish Grinches, we're just very, well, Relaxed about it all.

The difference this year was the presence of Xmas propaganda in our lives. P watched "The Polar Express" with my mom one evening in Kansas. It seemed a small price to pay for a date with E (I don't remember the last time we had one - not that mom doesn't offer! (Thanks mom!!!) P just isn't very interested in us skipping out without him ;) So Grams and P had a lovely evening, and E and I had a lovely evening with Micki and Blaine, and all was well.

Then started the Santa questions. We talked about story-world and the spirit of giving and I assumed simplicity would reign once again. Ha. Hahaha. Despite my honest answers to his direct questions (Santa is a lovely story, parents like to play Santa for kids to keep that magic alive yadiyadiyadi) P Wanted to believe. As soon as I realized this I changed directions. If asked a question I'd no longer answer it, I'd just turn it back to him. After all, he knew the answers he wanted to hear....

Soon he'd watched the show a number of times and fell for the story more with each viewing. He'd ask BB if BB thought Santa would leave anything under our tree. He'd ask me if Santa was real ("What do you think, P?" To which he'd whisper in a smiling little voice "I think, maybe, mama!") And then he got wise.

While on the phone to Grams he asked her if anyone lives at the North Pole. My mother (who has sweetly tried to hide her dismay at the lack of Mr. Clause in our life thus far and who created the most wonderful Christmas cheer for me as a kid), joyously replied "Of course! Santa does!" P's smile could have lit up the Rockefeller tree. He shoved the phone at me and ordered me to ask her, in order that I might hear her fabulous answer. Then, buoyed by Gram's gusto, he fixed me with his baby blues and asked me the same, exact question. "Mama, does anyone live at the North Pole?" Being the beacon for all things true while supporting a child's belief in magic is a tough line for me to walk. I'm afraid I falter to the side of reality and honesty a wee bit too much. Determined not to crush the magic he obviously wanted to conjure into his life, but unable to stomach a fresh faced lie right then, I jumped ship. "Well, P, I've never been to the North Pole, so I don't really know...."

And so it went for the last two weeks. He'd lob questions and I'd play dodgeball. It was enough to get us through the season with his hopes high and my ethics unsullied. But as D-day neared I realized this wasn't quite the same as slyly supporting stories of fairies. Its one thing to playfully imagine talking monsters or hunt for fairy dancing rings. Its quite another to provide definitive Proof. And that's what P wanted most of all, a package of proof, preferably with pretty paper.

I fully planned to let him dream his dreams while I sat out on the sidelines vicariously enjoying the childhood magic. And then it hit me, what happens when he wakes up and finds no fat man present under the tree? Will he be crushed? A quick survey of those who know him well all voted, unanimously, yes. He'd be pancaked. Whether he'd worry Santa forgot him or, perhaps worse, start buying into the twisted "only for good boys and girls" bullshit, he would ponder it to be sure.

Then, as we Tried to go to sleep Christmas Eve, P tossed and turned and bounced and babbled. I still had to unbox and then wrap everything sent by P's dedicated Grandparents and Uncles (it was all stashed in another apartment as the little man couldn't stand to be near it all without opening it, yet wanted them saved for the special day) and it was getting really late. I finally informed him that if we couldn't get to sleep soon, I'd be too tired to have everything under the tree for morning time and we'd have to wait until the afternoon. Would he rather sleep, or do presents later in the day. P was quiet for a minute and then told me. "That's ok, mama. That's ok if you don't put presents under the tree. Santa will." D'oh. Then he decided he Did want to go to sleep, requesting as he nodded off that I put the family presents somewhere other than under the tree. He wanted that space purposefully left open...

So I carefully wrapped his tiny would-be New Year's present and placed it with a chocolate santa and a box of candy canes under the tree. Then I wrapped his Christmas gifts and sat them on the other side of the room.

P, like all children worth their salt, got up unusually early. I prepped him that his family gifts were not under the tree, but by the door per his request. Not that he had any expectation of a huge pile, nor did he receive a huge pile, I just didn't want him crushed at first glance by the small, singular package under the tree.

He was not. The same slow dance from Solstice took place, lots of hemming and hawing before any unwrapping. But this time it was highlighted by curious banter. Who could have left that box under the tree if you put the presents by the door? If the family presents are There, who's gift is There. And every iteration of that question you can imagine. Each query left unanswered with a quick "Hmmm, what do you think P?" His excitement was hilarious. He purposefully avoided opening Santa's present (for that was the conclusion he came to) until the end. Having not pre-planned for an impressive red suited delivery, the tiny last minute substitute could have been a massive disappointment. But no, the kid was just so happy Santa came that it never crossed his mind to wish for more. I love that about this age!

P, shocked to the floor upon seeing something stashed under his tree...



P, excessively anxious that someone help him get the Tape Off!!! ;)


The Santa issue finally solved in his mind, P relaxed into Christmas day, playing heartily. He vroomed tractors and mini-jackhammers (BB was given the deeds to the additional construction trucks, mayhem ensued again ;) and clanged bells (oh, the chimes! I knew he'd like them but I had No Idea. After much dinging he announced that the two C's were his favorites.



And so it went, him marching through the house, shaking them loudly while E and I marched behind with various chords. He would play that game, I truly believe, for hours...) He raced his P-powered jeep and finally, when he had no more run left in him, settled into his new swing and listened to one of his absolute favorites, newly minted on a CD, Frog and Toad.



Energized by his spinning he was ready to tackle his P-powered flashlight. Almost through his second read of Hugo Cabret (about a boy that is a whiz with gears and clocks) P was pretty inspired by the small gears required to make the flashlight work and quite impressed they were able to create light.

Papa helps with the gears


After a day of fun his highlights arrived: Uncle Seth and Bric and Aunt Alicia. They came bearing gifts and delicious food (thanks Alicia;) and, of course, themselves.

P requested they swing him and they sweetly complied. If you aren't familiar with the Schultz's talent for constant noisemaking, you can get a general idea from this video, featuring Seth's numerous swinging sounds ;)



For a holiday we had hoped to make more about family and less about consumption, this post probably sounds the opposite ;) And while the idea of getting gifts was god to P that day, at the end of his day it was, like all others, about family. But the days leading up to it were certainly also about Santa :)

Solstice

Spoiled by the Grandparents and Uncles this year, we gave some of their gifts on Solstice (spread out the fun!), providing P with an impressively ringed tree Sunday morning. He was timid, just as on his birthday, and wouldn't enter the room until BB was by his side.


After wandering around the room making overwhelmed noises and faces he finally settled under the tree to paw over his presents. The kid really savors it all, no thankless rushing here. He had to look at them all wrapped and talk about how pretty they looked. Then he started to open, very, very carefully, trying to preserve the paper. Eventually, overcome by his excitement, he turned to rougher removal and enjoyed the ripping sounds and falling shreds.



He spent the day happily doing experiments (yay yeast and germs!)



and demolishing i- beam towers with his new crane. The construction set really required a table for proper skyscraper building so E and I tossed one together from the old castle parts and P was in heaven. (Not to be left out, BB received presents for Solstice too. P gave him a tiny candy cane and a tiny box and told him it was the deed to the construction site. BB was now the proud owner of a crane and skyscraper parts. BB said he couldn't possibly take P's new toy, but P insisted. Unfortunately, the construction workers were uninformed and mayhem ensued requiring a pirate ship that shoots canon balls to settle the argument. All ended well - well, until BB was "accidentally" left in the demolition site... see video below.)


He also received an amazing people-powered, fully recycled exploration vehicle that thrilled him to No End. He must have burnt a zillion calories that day pushing the damn thing around to get it to talk :) Of course, little BB fit in it perfectly and joined the headlamp wearing explorers as they perused the Amazon in search of jaguars (of which BB is petrified.) We went to sleep that night with the bedroom gently lit by the jeep's headlight, charged by P's enormous energy, and surrounded by his satisfaction. New toys and a full day of play with both Mama and Papa - who can beat that?

Here's a video of the demolition. The little thing that flies off the side mid-video is BB. P thinks BB is trying to escape and sticks him back Into the falling building. Love, true love.... :)

Snoring

P woke me many, many times last night. A rarity for him these days. (I'm guessing its due to the 5 feathered dinosaur tattoos that litter his little body right now. They are basically a nicotine patch of food coloring :) Just one doesn't usually do too much to him, but five (including a really cute one on his forehead) led to a night of bedwetting and sleep talking/crawling ;)

One of the times he woke me with a "Psst. Psst! Mama! Mama, why is Papa sleeping so loud like that?"

Hehe, E rarely snores, so P isn't familiar with the sound. And then, P is always asleep when E is asleep.

Then P promptly rolled over and passed back out. I, however, was up for a bit. Laughing that hard in the middle of the night tends to do that to me :)

Holiday Trains and Marriage

P was mesmerized by the Citigroup train show last year, so we certainly weren't going to miss it this year! Our trek this time felt much more manageable sans stroller on the subway and minus the complexity of planning an outing around naptime. Four rocks :)

We went early enough in the week to miss the big crowds and slipped right into the free exhibit without a wait in line. P stood still, completely transfixed, at the start of the show.



The steady stream of viewers passed us by for a while until he realized there was so much more to see and began his forward momentum. But once we started moving amongst the other kids he felt too crowded. Then a friend of his found us and wanted to set right by P on the railing. For someone who has no sense of other's personal boundaries, the child has an Enormous need for personal space. So he skipped right past the rest of the exhibit, hurrying to the Very End where he planted himself beside the final wall of the snowy scape. For an Hour.

Our view...for an Hour:


He felt safe there and could let his imagination roam without worrying about people bumping into him or the pressure to "keep the line moving," mid-imagine. So he squished against the wall, pulled me to his other side, effectively blockading himself in, and just melted into the train world.

Imaginary BB (who does more and more these days) would be forced onto various trains that would then travel out of our sight to different parts of the exhibit. P would laugh maliciously as BB worried he'd never make it back to us. P eventually picked his favorite train (the biggest one) and decided to hop on it. The first time it rode away from our squat he requested I ride too. The next time he was ok with just BB going along and by the time we left he was riding (granted, in his mind alone) the silver bullet train all by himself.

Except that there was a problem. He noticed that "his" train's pattern became irregular. This vexed him greatly. My mind, working much differently than his, thought such chaos was probably normal;) He insured me it was not and preceded to stress about the situation (as he was supposedly on the train that had disappeared and not yet returned as steadily as he planned.) Eventually, the train came - but then sat still at the green light in front of us for Forever. Then it went around - but ran a red light. All of this was Very Important to P :)

So it was with great relief that one of the "conductors" came past us with a flashlight, inspecting the tiny track. P insisted I ask the man if all was well with the silver bullet line. Apparently, irregularity amongst train shows is Not normal ;) and there was a short on P's fave track.

Reassured that he wasn't crazy, P relaxed that his train would reappear when ready and enjoyed BB's imaginary ride on another train line. Once the silver bullet made a final loop past us his buddy coaxed him away from the show with toy trains he had brought in his bag, creating an unusually smooth transition for us.

After a picnic lunch in Barnes and Noble we surfed the crowds on scooter to Rockefeller Center. I had hoped it was early enough to miss the masses, but no such luck. By the time we rounded the corner to the tree, P was growling at the crowds, pissed to all hell that there were so many people In His Way :) Had it been a block further the little man may not have held up, but all of the shiny lights and immensity of the tree melted his angry little heart and left him gawking alongside the irritating tourists :) But as we neared the tree you could see his need to Get Away rise quickly. There were just too many people for him, so we squeezed up a flight of stairs to some fresh air and he enjoyed the tree from his (more) solitary vantage point. His little friend, however, wanted to sit right beside him, possibly even hug, and I thought P might fling the poor child down the stairway when the eager youth saddled up next to a pushy P.

I suggested we peer into the skating rink to avoid a scuffle and P jumped at the idea. As we watched a group of skaters leave the ice to make way for the next onslaught of freezing, teetering tourists, one guy got down on his knee, in the middle of the rink, and pulled out a ring. The cumulative "aww" from the crowd cued P that something special was happening and he studied the skaters closely. It was surprisingly touching (and voyeuristic) to view, and provided P with plenty of questions. But the questions, for the most part, would have to wait until that night. A zamboni entered the ice and stole the show for the preschool set. Its slow, serpentine path of smoothness left P hopping, yet speechless.



As we brushed our teeth that night P asked when we could go to the train show again. Then he asked when we could go ice skating. Then he asked if that was how Papa and I got married. Then he asked again when we could go ice skating. Then he asked if I thought it was nice, someone asking someone to marry them while ice skating. Oh, sure, what did he think? He said yes, he liked it a lot. Then he told me when we go ice skating, that's how he's going to ask me to marry him :)

Ridiculous

Every month or so P gets a new word that we secretly hope he'll never learn how to properly pronounce because of the
unbelievable adorability when mis-pronounced. E's running fave for a long time has been "restaurant." We're careful to only wax poetic After P's asleep since he's sooo sensitive to external judgements, but I can catch E grin each time its said :)

My new favorite is "ridiculous." P apparently Loves this word, as he uses it numerous times a day, adorably chewing it out each time. It seems like such a chore to say that I occasionally wonder if he will choke on the damn word... and then the second part pops out :) Typing it will butcher it more than the four year old's mouth, but for the sake of posterity.... it goes something like "That's Reee- DIC-Qwui-Wus!"

Holiday Cookies and Beets

We've been making holiday cookies for friends and family (that includes ourselves, of course :) P loves the sifting and measuring part and due to his numerous baking adventures casually tosses fractions into most of his conversations lately. "We'll go to 22 and a 1/2. Ok mama?" Or "That's Nine, fourty-four and a third please." Not a lot of comprehension yet, but some osmosis nonetheless...

So he decided that adding crushed candy canes to the cookies would be Fabulous, peppermint addict that he is. I don't know if he's enjoyed the flavor of the cookies or the massive amounts of hammering they require more :) But after crunching up a bunch of canes for cookies he turned to me and asked if the peppermint sticks were healthy or not.
Me: Well, um... they aren't "bad" for you, really. Unless you think sugar is bad for you, which some people do and some people don't.... But they aren't really growing food, like peas or carrots, either.
P: Mama. But Mama. They Are!! They are good for you!
Me: Oh!
P: Yes. Beets are good growing food and the red coloring is beet juice, so they have beet juice - they're growing food!

Well, how can you argue with that logic?! Thankfully he alternates between roasted beets and candy canes pretty naturally...

Sub rider

Just a quickie for tonight (I'm still making up for last month's hiatus...) We had a great adventure yesterday (alas, another post, I must sleep!) and en route I snapped a pic of P waiting for the F. It just hit me then that there's no pictorial evidence of P and his normal mode of transport (other than the scooter:).

He simultaneously adores and detests the subway. He's Very (Very!!!) nervous lately that we will get separated boarding the train (the detests part) but greatly enjoys my lap (vs the car seat) and reading books/picnic-ing together (the adores part:). But his favorite part is... the smell. I kid you not. As we walk down the entrance stairs at our stop and the first whiff of musty underground reaches his schoz he always sighs and says "I luuuuv the smell of the subway. Mama, don't you love it?"

Oh Christmas Tree

After hearing some Christmas stories while in Kansas, P decided that this whole tree, presents, North Pole bit sounded pretty cool. And so while I wiled the day away with my mother during her northern visit, P and Papa bought themselves a tree. P picked out tinsel, candy canes and colored balls to decorate it. Then they brought it home, decorated it and randomly stuck it on an upside down box for height. Beside the wall.

Have you read my dollhouse post yet? The one where I mention feng shui and dizziness? Well, you can imagine what plastic tinsel and an upside down box did to me :) The sheer joy in my child's eyes was the only thing that saved this visual disturbance that day :) But my mother, sweetly intuiting my silly hang-up helped me out.

Phoenix has learned that Grams is his go-to-girl. If he really wants something, Gramsie-grams is his man. So he gave her his list of what his tree still needed and my mother did her best to honor P's desires and mine all in one fell swoop. When she got back to Kansas she boxed up her crystal garland (knowing P's love of bling would trump his need for tinsel any day), some silver bells (ala Polar Express) and glass dew drops. Ahhh, the shininess of it all beckoned to P just as the monochromatic simpleness of it calmed my twisting nerves. The candy canes gradually fell off and broke, the tinsel was traded for the lovely "diamonds" and we moved the tree to a new, non-box perch where it could reflect in the window. P climbed his ladder to finish adding his bling and, just like that, everyone was happy.

Once his tree was in place, P whispered to me (signaling this an Important Idea), "Mama, do you think there will be a present under it Christmas morning?" And just as I felt myself grow for the better when I bought that damn roll of wrapping paper for his birthday (I did simultaneously hear the Earth groan though..) I was actually able to be excited for him when I whispered back "Oh, I think so P, what do you think?"

Snow!

P and I were busy in the kitchen the other day when something moving out the window caught my eye. Being on the third floor, not much moves outside our windows, so I looked over and saw.... Snow!!! P was so excited (is any phrase spoken more often on this blog?) he jumped down and immediately ran out the door yelling, "Let's go, Mama!"

I was sick and had planned to hunker inside all day, but sheesh! You just can't miss the first snow of the year! We bundled on our way downstairs and P thrust BB outside, proudly introducing him to the wannabe winterwonderland. "Snow, BB, snow!!!"

Our brief foray on the stoop soon became a walk to the woods, then a skip to the playground... and then an hour of fabulous fun amidst the white stuff. Poor BB didn't fare so well though. Having nothing else to collect snow with (natural collector that P is, just seeing something isn't enough, he has to bring part of it home each time) he started piling it on BB's tummy till the poor little doll was a soppy, yet frozen, mess. I had to set BB down to push P on the swings (ya know, the things he never goes on cuz there's usually other kids there? Well, it was completely Vacant due to the nasty weather, so, understandably, P wanted to spend the rest of the day there!) and the sight of that poor little doll, ignored under balls of snow, growing more covered every minute, just about broke my heart. And then it hit me, P's attachment is really rubbing off on me :)

So P enjoyed the swings and the ground and the sky and then realized the slides were there too. He zoomed down all of them, stacking snow on the ends and blasting through it into my arms. Until, that is, his butt was Frozen. It was just warm enough out that the snow was still melt-ish against a warm tush, making it seriously soaked. As we walked home, adding bits of snow to BB's tummy as we went, P desperately tried to figure out how we could get BB's snow up the stairs and into our house without any of it melting...

Play doh Puff

P and I made a new batch of peppermint play-doh this week and it is Divine. Its a recipe from a friend and it is Amazing, really. (Just in case you are in the market for some new squishy, here's the link:http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/PEP/playdo.htm

It was like butter (but in a good way:) and P was jazzed to realize his specific goals: a snowman and a santa. But he soon decided the green doh really should be a Puff, and thus it became. Then, of course, little BB had to have a ride. Then a party with Puff, the iron fairy, the snowman and some creepy worms.

This was days ago and he has since played with it a number of times. Making pies, cakes and most of all cutting it with every possibility our leatherman has to offer :) As for Puff, well, he is Still drying on our radiator so that BB will have a(nother) permanent friend.

BB's vacation home

My prized possession when I was a kid was my doll house. My brothers wired it with working lights, my mom recovered walls and furniture to suit my needs and I redecorated the thing on a daily basis. Even to this day, if I can't sleep, I either write in my head or... rearrange furniture. I know, it sounds fabulously trite, but its my personal version of mental Tetris, visualizing each object in a room and trying them in new spaces until the feng shui is Just Right. My house, already fallen victim to my ridiculously sensitive eye (ill arranged houses Literally make me dizzy. I do not kid you. Physically Dizzy. Yes, I understand I have issues:) so chances are I've rearranged yours (no matter how fabulously done it is, its a compulsion, really) on some long, insomniac-laden night....

So it was with great fanfare that P and I discovered hidden levels to my old treasure in the basement this visit. He squealed with joy as we carried it upstairs, along with a box of furniture dying to train another child's spatial preferences. He requested I do a room or two and I was happy to comply while he finished off the house. He is four, and male, and I almost laughed out loud when I looked at his decorative choices. All of the pieces were lined up right at the entry edges of each room. Why reach all the way back into the house when the chairs can sit right here, easy-peasy? So what if they block doorways, cut off traffic flow or make no spacial sense? All of the red chairs were together, the bathroom stuff together, the kitchen stuff together. They were categorized and therefore logically placed :) Then, with immense drama, BB was driven to his New Home. There was such delight in P's voice, showing BB what he had for him. Each day I think the kid couldn't love that monster any more and then he goes and sets him up with a vacation home in the south. Awwwww.

Grown Up

We had our coop shift this afternoon (NOT the little man's favorite thing. We've talked and talked about it, the options (babysitter, papa, a different shift), all of the variables, and he insists on coming with me and not liking it :) He did his usual
ignoring of all peers for the entire shift. Then, about 15 minutes before our departure a 7 year old boy arrived. P's attention immediately became divided between the book we were reading and the activities of the boy. One of the younger kids could have choked to death and he wouldn't have looked up from his book, but now, well, now things were different. I offered to take a reading break. "No thanks mama." So we read for another page while he watched and then I cleverly excused myself to tidy the nursery :) He circled the boy. Handed him cars. And finally asked the kid if he'd like to race. So off they set, running, then frog hopping, then clam climbing and then car riding. He was laughing and whooping and looked at me and yelled "this is FUN!" This trend is so steady for P. So my new goal is to find him an older playmate that will somehow enjoy a much younger companion.

On the way home he chatted about what "seven" means, with lots of age related questions. As we slowed the scooter for a light he looked up and whispered (as all Very Important Communications are communicated lately) "But Mama, I already FEEl like a grown-up.... I do."

Schultz Extravaganza

So, the Schultz family, once assembled, does not let loose of one another easily:) Thanksgiving is so much more than piled plates. They go to movies en masse, have late night poker matches and even have annual volleyball and bowling matches against a rival family. Its a hoot and my mother often quips she wished they'd adopt her:)

We'll wait on the R rated movies and midnight poker for P, but he was game to watch the volleyball this year. Mimi got out some great gym toys and P merrily rolled along. Jace, the ever awesome Uncle got in on the fun.



E played alongside his siblings and P quickly clapped when he saw me cheer. It was pretty cute. I sidled up beside E after the game and expressed my awe at his dives - he'd really sacrificed himself for the game! P was skipping along, seemingly paying no attention yet 3 weeks later when we were playing catch and he dramatically dove for the ball he came up grinning "I sacrificed myself for that catch!" Oh those supersonic bat ears!!!

The crew moves onto bowling after the gym. This was P's first time and he was pretty psyched. These lanes had a kid's section complete with electronically raised bumpers, effectively allowing him to beat me... It was really cute to watch him bowl. He'd toss his ball with all his might and then stand and watch it move down the lane. I tend to roll and run, heaven forbid I watch my horribleness :) Then I realized that he too started walking away after his ball left his hands. D'oh! Could have been he was becoming bored with the game... or Mama better mentor better!



After the game his Aunt gave him some love filled tickles. The face she is making is so Schultz - the ecstasy of the friendly torture :) I imagine Chris and Jordan were pretending not to know us :)




He is so focused in the video below. His little Tevye dance when someone whoops for him kills me :)

The violinist

P's dream came true this Thanksgiving... he got the tiny Schultz violin that all of the Schultz kids played when they were just tots. He listened carefully to some pointers and set to serenading. Papa got his out too and then P changed his tune. He told me Papa's was "gooder." I told him I thought both he And Papa played beautifully. "No, Mama. Papa's sounds gooder, mine only squeaks." And really, nobody could argue with the kid, the tiny violin's sound just couldn't compete with the full sized version:) Ever the perfectionist, and wanting his to sound Amazing from the get go, he later bowed on Papa's as E created songs.

He did happily squeak on his for the rest of our trip though, mostly when no one was listening. My mom, however, had a real treat. She said he stood on her bed, singing Puff the Magic Dragon while happily bowing in rhythm. That's a performance I would have paid any price to see!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving day, holidays in general really, can be a bit overwhelming for P. Or those that love him :) His want for constant interaction teamed with family member's excitement to finally play with the little guy combine into a swirling frenzy for P. He gets so amped up by the attention and tossing that he couldn't possibly think of Ever Stopping. Unreachable by the logic that usually keeps his energy in check he gets a bit punchy ;)

So this year we planned on putting the play off for a bit for the sake of everyone's stamina. A dinosaur dig kit was the perfect distraction, giving him something to bang on and the skeleton he has long desired. Some say Grandpapa enjoyed it even more than P...

After he finished his focused play he was ready to rumble and Grandpapa complied with fervor.



P worked his way through everyone's energy, ending with the two youngest, Jace and Ian. They have an amazing capacity to keep up with the kid! Jace was the villain with the pillow eating shark, Ian the hero who saved P.




P could have stayed there all evening, but we still had one more family dinner to go! But the child was spent, seriously stretched beyond reason and merely bounced off of the walls at my folk's house. Ah, well, a child can only take so much fun in one day!


P commands Grandpapa to torture him:

The Chisolm Trail

The return drive from Lawrence goes through the beautiful Flint HIlls, a brief break from the state's characteristic flatness. Its really lovely. And P grew really excited, saying he just Knew we were going back to Colorado.
Me: Yeah? Would you like it if we were heading to Colorado?
P: Mama! No. Mama. We ARE heading to Colorado, I just know it. We Are.
Me: You want to go back to Colorado sometime?
P: Mama! We're going right now! I think I saw the mountains in the distance. We're really going! We are! .... are we really going to Colorado, Mama?
Me: What do you want to do when we get there?
P: Hike!!! Are we really going to Colorado, Mama?

(This is typical P conversation. If I say something he doesn't agree with he tells me the way he wants it to be. I validate that he wants something. He tells me it just IS, he doesn't Want it, it really IS! Then, after reassuring me of the real truth, me nodding all the while along with his reality, he asks me if his reality is really true, or not :)

The kid has been talking about our time in Colorado regularly since last summer. Hike this, hike that. E and I've even talked about moving somewhere more rural to have more hiking (anyone know of somewhere rural with subways that has a NYC vibe? :) So the following weekend we hit the Chisolm trail in Wichita for some hiking. P was in heaven, skipping down paths, wanting to explore every deer trail he saw. As we finally headed to the car he spied an old combine, rusting in the fields.



Oooo, could there be anything cooler on earth? It had been enough of a challenge heading to the trailhead before, now, with the combine, well, forgettaboutit. He climbed and poked and pulled and asked a zillion questions. As the closing time neared we employed one of P's new favorite games to exit peacefully: kissing races. We pick a point and the first person to it gets a kiss. Having required carrying for the end of our hike, P had a sudden burst of new energy and happily skipped ahead to secure his kisses :)