First Day of School

Today was the first day of the new school year at preschool. Rex started in his new classroom, and Sean had his first day in his new class as well. Until this point, Sean hung out in the office with me. It was a little weird walking down the hall today without him on my hip. It was kind of sad. But I think he will really enjoy being with other kids. He is the youngest in his class, and he cried all morning long (luckily I only work from 9-1), but I am hopeful that this will turn out to be a very good thing for him. He is so attached to me- it is good for him to learn to trust other people as well. But it breaks my heart to see him so sad. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Rex had a good first day, although he misses his old teachers. I think he will like his new teacher once he gets to know her (she is new to the school), but it takes him a while to warm up to new people. He is in a room with 19 other three year olds. That's 19 kids to play with- but also 19 kids he has to share and take turns with. Should be interesting. His new teacher is from Peru, so I am hoping she will teach him lots of Spanish. I've tried- but all I have accomplished is Rex's new ability to make up words. I try to incorporate Spanish into our everyday routine. ("We call this milk, but in Spanish it is called leche.") Now Rex thinks he can just string a few different syllables together and he has a new word for something. In reality- he is speaking pure jibberish. Today he asked me if I wanted some jobberflocky. Yesterday, he told me his schnagerplaster was broken. He is quite proud of himself. I have no idea what the hell he is talking about. It is very frustrating at times, but at other times I just have to sniggle. I mean laugh.

Rex's Waterski Video

I hope this works! (This may take a long time to download- I'm not sure!) This video cracks me up! Rex had recently been on a boat ride where he was watching his Uncle Paul waterski. I guess it left an impression, because Rex then decided to "waterski" (i.e. run from side to side as if a boat is pulling him) on his slip and slide. I did not get his first attempt on video (during which time he fell down and announced- "Mommy- I was waterskiing and I fell down just like Uncle Paul did!"). But his second attempt was pretty good as well. What a ham!

Something's Got To Give

Okay, so we have been home from vacation for a few weeks now. Rex still complains every day about having "no friends to play with". Sean just isn't quite playmate material yet, so I am still the number one (and only) choice when it comes to finding someone to play with at home. It has been especially hard this week since preschool is closed for summer maintenance and we have the whole week off (and thus no friends to play with at school, either). I feel bad for the kid, but to give you an idea of what I have been through, just today alone I was a pretend truck driver, a race car driver, a police officer, a construction worker, a doctor, and a sick patient. And that was all before lunch. After lunch, I convinced Rex to play with his shadow. That amused him for almost twenty minutes, and then his shadow wouldn't share with him, so that was the end of that. Then I became a helicopter pilot. I love playing with children- I truly do- that's why I love working in preschool, and I generally spend a lot of time playing with the kids each day anyway, but Rex used to be able to amuse himself for an hour or so each day during which time (if Sean is napping) I could do some dishes, or start some laundry, or (gasp) check some email. He has completely lost the ability to do that. And to top things off- he's been really grumpy lately, so he's not even a fun playmate most of the time! I'm never taking him on vacation with other children again! (N0- not really- I'm just being melodramatic- he had so much fun!). But Aunt Mindi just might be getting a 3'6", 35 lb package from UPS soon. Did I mention that Daddy has been busy obsessing, I mean working on, the plans for the addition we're adding to our house in a few weeks? (Honestly- better him than me!) That means that in addition to playtime, I still have to cook dinner, feed two children, bathe two children, read stories to two children, and put two children to bed. Luckily, the neighbor girls are spending the afternoon here tomorrow, so I get a day off from playtime. (I'm free!! I'm free!!) And I have a date with the Robert Andrews Day Spa on Saturday for a mani, pedi, and massage. I CAN'T WAIT!

Sean, on the other hand, has been wonderful lately. He had surgery on Monday to have tubes put in his ears. He is recovering very well. It's such a quick procedure. His appointment was for 7:10 am, and I had him back home by 8:3o am. The doctor said they removed a lot of fluid from his ears, so he should be able to hear better now. (I didn't say he would listen, just that he can hear). He is also starting to toddle around a little bit. He took his first steps at the beach, and practices around the house sometimes, but still prefers crawling for a faster mode of transportation. As you can see in the picture, he has lots of fun rocking on the little bike Aunt Deb and Uncle Harry got him for his birthday! He really gets that thing rocking!! His new favorite pastime is splashing in the miniature swimming pool we have in the kitchen (also known as the dog's water bowl). I have to keep putting it out of reach (poor Kaleigh gets neglected again), and he still goes after it! I love the look of "What?" on his face. He's something. All of his hard work just wears him out. They're all angels when they're sleeping, aren't they?

Ocean City 2007

No we have not dropped off the face of the earth, we have simply been on vacation. We spent a wonderful week in O.C., MD soaking up the sun and splashing in the waves. I would have loved to have posted these pictures days ago, but after having live-in playmates for an entire week, Rex has forgotten how to entertain himself, so I have become his new favorite play-date. And Sean loved always having someone to hold him, read to him, and just plain dote all over him. He has now become permanently attached to my side, and sobs hysterically if I dare move out of sight. I have also been unpacking- and anyone who saw how completely side-to-side and top-to-bottom jam packed my Expedition was (I never thought an Expedition would be too small) can imagine what unpacking it is like. It's been three days, and I'm still not done. (If I'm not done unpacking, I'm technically still on vacation, right?) But I somehow managed to carve a few minutes of time out to post these pictures and tell everyone about our week. It was fantastic. We were part of a group of 30 people (21 adults, 9 children) of family and extended family. We stayed in two connected townhouses on 90th st. right on the beach. Each morning began by feeding Sean his milk on the deck outside while listening to the waves crash and watching for dolphins. What a great way to start the day. We spent a lot of time on the beach, of course, but we also made time for a Girl's Lunch out at Macky's, a Couple's Night out at Seacrets (while the grandparents babysat-thanks!), a boat ride on the Sea Rocket, a trip to the Rehoboth Boardwalk (home of FunLand- great for kids), and lots of happy hours on the deck. We had a great time. But as it goes, all good things must end, and it was time to come back home. It was so nice to see and spend time with everyone. We miss you all! And every time I find sand in some obscure place, (like my make-up bag) I will think of you!