Birthday, the sequel

Because one day of birthday goodies and presents isn't enough, we celebrated Will's 5th birthday a second time last weekend, but this time it was with all of his friends. And because a 5 year old can't choose just one theme, we had a Lego Star Wars bowling party. Phew! It makes my head spin just thinking about all that chaos! But it was a great party. Grandma Gigi was visiting and made the very creative and colorful Lego Star Wars Cake. Lucky for us Grandma's visits usually coincide with Will's birthday; my attempts at a birthday cake don't quite fit the bill! Will invited all of his buddies to his party (turned out only boys could make it, an added bonus for a 5 year old) and they rolled away for a few hours. Archer even got in on the bowling fun (check out those tiny bowling shoes) and would yell "go ball go!" every time it was his turn.

We had the party at the bowling alley on base and they took Will's picture and put it on the big screen during the games. I'm pretty sure no one broke any bowling records but they did have a good time; plus everyone went home with a blow-up light saber and some glow-in-the dark goo. Now that says boy birthday party! Oh and last week Will's teacher asked if they could celebrate his birthday in school since they only missed it by a few weeks. Um, okay. What's one more celebration?! Will is now officially 5 and we're done celebrating until next year. I hope.

Archer, on the other hand, is still 2. Of the terrible variety. The kid is so cute but a total tantrum throwing terror at times (like when we're trying to eat at In 'n Out...clearly he doesn't get the importance of such an occasion!) The transition to big boy bed hasn't gone as planned and usually results in an hour or so of wailing followed by sleep in some random corner of the bedroom (rarely in the actual bed). Oh Archer. He loves telling people that he's 2, while showing 1 or 3 fingers. Never two fingers. Hahaha. He also loves to tell Will no. But his "Will" sounds like "Whoa" so we get a lot of "No, Whoa!" I wonder where he gets that? However, if anyone tells Archer no or gives him a dirty look, he acts wounded and cries about his "ouchie". Apparently his feelings get hurt, literally, by discipline. His new thing is getting attention by becoming "stuck" on everything and anything. He'll get tired going down the stairs and will call out "I'm stuck!" until someone carries him the rest of the way. He also gets stuck while cleaning up toys, going to bed, during nap, during dinner, etc. The kid gets stuck more than anyone else I know. He's a manipulative little guy, that's for sure. But he's still so sweet (when he's not hitting and throwing things, that is). Pretty soon he too will be off to school so I'm trying to enjoy the time we have together. I've also learned to stuff cotton balls in my ears and deflect Legos that are aimed for my head. Survival skills of moms.

Transitioning to Kindergarten

Thursday was Will's first day of (Transitional) Kindergarten. He's officially a Cowpoke. His teacher has the room decorated in Western style and plans to conclude the school year with a big rodeo in the spring. Mrs. Schneider is sweet. I think she'll be very nurturing and loving to the kids. Will said his first day went great; I believe he even called it "the best day ever" so that seems like a positive. So far they have learned to keep their hands and feet to themselves at all times and to keep their materials safe. Seems like some good life lessons there. Several of Will's friends from his preschool are also in his class so that works out well. I'm looking forward to seeing where this school year takes them! **I had to come back and add that on the first day of school, I asked Will what he wants to be when he grows up and he said a Jedi. Of course! I'd like to think that I'll remember to ask again next year, and every subsequent year through high school or college, but that probably won't happen (my kids don't even have baby books so...) But for now, a Jedi Knight. Awesome.

BBB & TK

Lots of exciting(?) changes on this end in the past week. The best of which is that Archer is now in a BBB...no, not Bed Bath & Beyond (although sometimes I wish they'd take him) but a Big Boy Bed. Oh boy! Last weekend we were trying a new babysitter so Keith and I could go to a work function (for him, not me...everything is a work function for me!) and as I lay a kicking and screaming Archer into his crib for nap, he promptly throws his leg over the ledge and vaults himself out. Hmmmmm. (That may not be exactly what went through my mind but I'll keep it mild here.) So Keith changed his crib into a toddler bed and we gave the babysitter the rundown on the sure-to-come antics. (She only looked scared for a few minutes!) So far, he's done okay with it. He's slept on the floor in the corner of the room, on the floor next to his bed, in Will's bed, etc. The first night Will complained that he couldn't sleep because Archer was up all night reading books, rocking himself in the rocking chair, just generally enjoying his newfound freedom. I'm hoping the newness wears off quickly and he learns to stay in his bed and not pester Will, especially since Will starts school this Thursday...

which brings me to the TK. So anyone who has talked to me in the past 3 years knows how much I have struggled with the Kindergarten dilemma that befalls parents of late summer/fall kids. Will is within the school district's Kindergarten cut-off so he could technically go to K this year. But he's just SO young! He just turned 5! And although he is pretty with-it and did well on the Kindergarten placement test, we ultimately decided to enroll him in the new Transitional Kindergarten program (TK) that Coronado schools are offering. I think it's going to be the perfect match. It will be kids born in the late summer through late fall and uses the same curriculum as regular K but in a modified way. Essentially the kids get more time to wiggle. Then next year he'll go on to regular K and possibly be placed in a K/1 split class, depending. So that's that! Nothing like making a final decision literally one week before school begins. Luckily the Kindergarten teachers are very nice here and were willing to listen to my debates (for both sides) and help me make a decision. Check back soon for first-day-of-school pictures!

5 and a surprise!

Well we celebrated Will's birthday in grand style this year. I can't believe he turned 5. All of a sudden he seems so grown up! And he got a special treat this year, as Keith returned from his summer deployment on Will's birthday (he left on mine, returned on Will's...probably can't do that twice!). I kept it a secret from the boys so they wouldn't be disappointed if/when it changed. Keith's detachment was actually supposed to come back on August 10th but they got here a few days early. Yippee! I got Will up, wished him a happy birthday and told him that Dad was coming home that day too. He just kind of stood there and didn't say anything. I think he was processing the info. Finally I got an excited "Really?!" and then the craziness began.

We got to the squadron in time to watch the 2 CODs fly in and greet dad. We brought our homemade "Aloha Det 3" sign and the boys wore Hawaiian shirts in honor of Det 3's incredibly rough summer in Hawaii (ahem!) Both boys were SO excited to see their dad. Even though this was a short deployment, 2 months is a long time to little kids. I joked how if this trip had been before kids, I probably wouldn't have even taken the day off of work for a 2 monther. :) My how things have changed.

We went home for birthday cake and presents. Will got lots of good stuff, including plenty of Star Wars gifts. That's his current favorite and we'll be having a Lego Star Wars bowling party at the end of the month. On his actual birthday, we ate dinner with Aunt Jill and Uncle Matt at the Corvette Diner. We all had milk shakes and fries and played games in the arcade before calling it a day. I'd say it was a pretty eventful 5th birthday.

Now school is just around the corner! Will goes in for Kindergarten testing this week and starts school next week already. Time flies. I was/am still a tad unsure about putting him in Kindergarten but he certainly seems ready. We'll see what the testing say this week. I have a feeling he'll be joining his new Kindergarten class on the 23rd.

May the force be with you

Well it's already August and I've let too many weeks to by without posting. Again! The boys and I have had a busy summer, as I've been trying to keep us entertained until Keith returns. So far it's worked. We had some rough days in the beginning but I finally feel like I got the hang of 2 kids and deployment. Just in time for Keith to return. Isn't that the way it always works?!

What have we been doing, you ask? (or even if you didn't...) Well the highlight for Will has to be Star Wars camp. It was offered through the City of Coronado's Rec Dept and they did a fantastic job. For a week, he was trained in Jedi skills and smarts. He took it very seriously and at the end of the week he was promoted from Padawan (beginner) to Jedi. He actually told me, "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a real Jedi Knight!" I guess Archer now becomes the Padawan and Will can pass on all of his Jedi Master knowledge. And because Star Wars is so popular, Will has decided to have a Lego Star Wars birthday party. (Legos are a close second to Star Wars so why not combine them?) We'll be celebrating in late August when Grandma Gigi is visiting. We wanted to make sure Keith would be home too!

In the meantime, Will's been doing the summer program at school. Today they read a book about pancakes and made pancakes as well. He thought that was pretty fun. He's also been taking swim lessons and is really showing improvement. We practiced at a friends' pool last week and he could swim quite a ways on his own. I was impressed! And today some kid threw up in the kiddie pool (delicious!) so they got to go to the big pool and jump off the diving board. Later Will told me it was "scary and fun". :)

As for Archer, he's mostly just stuck with me. But he manages to find fun wherever he goes. He is suddenly speaking a lot; he's getting his colors down and is saying longer sentences. ("I want milk please.") He continues to be fascinated by trains but is also really in to firetrucks, construction trucks, and airplanes. Will got a new Lego Star Wars backpack for Kindergarten so Archer got a train lunchbox. Unfortunately he thinks it's also a backpack and gets wildly upset when he can't wear it on his back. *Sigh* We have all been watching the Olympics and learning about the different sports. At any given moment, one of those sports is being creatively recreated in our living room.

And as for Keith, he should be returning soon. Rumor has it they may fly in on Will's birthday, which would be a very special surprise. Fingers crossed that happens! We are ready to be a family of 4 again and enjoy a few weeks of summer together. Pictures to follow!

Choo Choo! Archer turns Two Two!

Well Wednesday is the day...Archer turns two. Two, as in "The Terrible Twos". Aaahhh! But I'm optimistic and am hoping for more of a terrific two stage. We shall see how it plays out. We celebrated his birthday this weekend with a train party (or "choo choo" party as Archer calls it.) Choo choos are the in thing in this house for sure so nothing else would work for this birthday boy.

We invited a handful of friends to join us at Balboa Park in San Diego. We played on the playground, ate train-shaped sandwiches, and even rode the Miniature Railroad. Aunt Jill and Uncle Matt joined us, along with the Mitzner family, the Washington family, and the Wackerman family. It was a fun group! The kids all got engineer's hats and train whistles, which I'm pretty sure their parents all planned to "lose" between the park and home.

It was all great but the train was definitely the highlight. Archer cried and cried when our ride was over; he wanted "more choo choo". It's tough to be (almost) two. Below he's checking out his birthday brownies, complete with a miniature train, which quickly became the "it" toy.

He didn't like it when we sang Happy Birthday to him. He cried and said "all done, all done!" hahaha! I guess he doesn't like to be the center of attention.

Below are a few more shots from our day. It was so much fun; the only thing that could have made it better was if Dad was home to party with us! I can't believe Archer's already two. It's been quite a couple of years. Here's hoping he goes easy on me for the next two (or more!)

Firecrackers

The boys and I had a good, if low key, 4th of July in Coronado. I had grand plans for a day full of activities but the weather was a bit dreary and naps ran long so we only got a little celebrating in. But that's okay by me! I'm less tired today because of it. The highlight was the Coronado 4th of July parade, which runs all the way down Orange Ave, the main drag in Coronado. Aunt Jill and Uncle Matt joined us, which was nice. The parade is a big deal in Coronado; this is a patriotic town! Jill and I actually got up before 5am to go stake out a spot on the parade route. Good thing we did or we never would have seen a thing, although some bold people felt that they could encroach on our spot once the parade started. Grrr! The parade was good but long! We actually cut out early but still got to see lots of military displays, firetrucks and police cars, and the highlight of the parade for Will...the San Diego Star Wars Society. It was pretty cool to see Will's face light up when the Storm Troopers came by. Nothing quite says "Independence Day" like Star Wars. :)

We didn't make it to see the fireworks last night. 9pm is a little late for these monkeys...and it's not like they'd sleep in the next day to make up for it! But I could see the fireworks over Glorietta Bay from our balcony so it wasn't a total loss. We were definitely missing Dad all day yesterdays; holidays and birthdays are the worst during deployments (Keith will miss all of our bdays this summer too...boo!) But we managed to make the most of it! We've got a big celebration coming up this weekend too. We'll be celebrating Archer's birthday with a train party. Check back for pics from his Choo Choo, I'm Two Two Birthday!