The Small Family     

Back to our regularly scheduled program…

‘Twas back to the grind in the Small household this week. I had a ton of work to catch up on, and Chris had work and the first day of his latest accounting class: managerial accounting. I’m pleased to report that despite griping over the $100 price tag on his textbook (and that was the used price!), he seems to have a good first impression of the class. He really likes the teacher based on the first night, so I think it’ll be a good semester for him.

And speaking of good semesters, the big news this week is that we’ve decided to increase Theo’s preschool to three days a week. We had originally planned to keep him at two days per week (three hours Tues and Thurs), but he loves it so much that we decided, what the heck? We’ll let him go a third day. So now it’ll be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.

I sort of had mixed feelings about this at first. I mean, he’s my little boy, and I get so little time with him before he’s off to school full-time, you know? On the other hand, he loves preschool. In fact, I don’t think “love” is actually a strong enough word. More like he lives for preschool. He knows when it’s a preschool day, and he wakes up early, bouncing off the walls and saying, “It’s preschool day! It’s preschool day!” He has never once shed a tear or even so much as looked troubled to be dropped off--on the contrary, while some of the other kids are sniffling sadly, he is positively gleeful to be there. And he's the last one to leave when the session is over--he insists on staying to the very end. And on days when preschool is closed or we’re traveling, he is quite upset about not getting to go!

And perhaps even more importantly, we’re seeing some wonderful things develop from preschool for him. On preschool days, he is generally a very happy, easygoing, compliant little boy. I ask him to get his shoes on, and he does it immediately. I tell him to go potty before we leave, and he does it without dawdling. He climbs happily in the car without any sort of fuss or dawdling. And when he comes home, he’s usually in a good mood and pleasant for the rest of the day. On non-preschool days, it’s much more hit or miss. There’s a lot of dawdling and whining, even when I try to keep the days fun with little activities, like trips to the park or to visit friends. There are a lot more tantrums and battles of wills on non-preschool days. To be honest, I think he’s bored when he doesn’t have preschool. No matter how much I try to keep the days interesting for both of us, the truth is that I’m no match for a school setting with lots of other kids around--he just seems to really thrive.

So, away I send my little man, for three mornings a week. But the time we do have together is much more fun for both of us, I’m finding. He’s happy and content, and I’m happy and content because he's so easy to get along with--and we enjoy our time together. Really, I think it’s a good thing for both of us. And for Chris, too, since Chris spends a lot of times with Theo in the evenings and thus gets to see the same sort of positive behaviors I’m seeing.

And, let’s be honest: When the baby comes in February, that extra free morning a week is probably going to be invaluable “down time” (read: time with only one kiddo to tend to!) for me, as I adjust to parenting two small children!

Before I forget, I have a movie recommendation for you all: The Help. My Mom and I went to see it on Sunday, and we both loved it! We both read and loved the book, and I didn’t expect the movie to be nearly as good--but it actually was. It was different--there were several plot points changed--but I think it was actually nearly as good (or maybe even as good) as the book. I think I cried about four times, but it was also really funny in parts, too. What a great movie and book--I’m really glad I saw and read it, and it was very eye-opening about just how recently things were still very divided, particularly in the South. I definitely recommend both the book and the movie--whichever you prefer, or both.

Our other fun from this week was a visit to Scientopia in Napa. It so happens that we finally have a children’s museum in Sacramento--but it just opened a few days ago, so we figured it would be packed this weekend. We’ll check it out soon, but for this past weekend, we just skipped over to Napa to visit Scientopia. (Not that we minded--Napa was a lovely 80 degrees or so, compared to the high 90s in Sacramento!) We had a great time, too--we got a slightly later start than usual, so instead of playing at the museum and then getting lunch, we swapped our order. And actually, it worked out very well. With full tummies (Peruvian food and cupcakes for Chris and me, blueberries and whole-grain pretzels for Mr. I-Only-Eat-Fruit-Veggies-and-Crackers lately), we spent almost 2 ½ hours at the museum, instead of our usual one hour. We might’ve even stayed later, but they were closing. Theo mostly had the place to himself, and he had a wonderful time.

In this week’s pictures, you’ll see something that made me laugh so hard I nearly cried--thought the pictures don’t do it justice. Theo was playing with a stuffed rabbit puppet, and he suddenly charged across the room. We asked where he was going, and he said, “Feo need to get the bunny some food.” He returned carrying the bunny and four plastic carrots. And as I was tearing up and saying, “Oh, what a sweet boy! He thought to get the bunny some food that he would like!” he plopped the rabbit on the couch and started to feed it. Here I was expecting him to sweetly offer the bunny a nibble of a carrot, but in typical Theo fashion, he went whole-hog about it and attempted to shove an entire giant carrot down the stuffed bunny's throat. It looked so much like a Mafia torture tactic that we burst out laughing, and I laughed so hard I nearly cried! You would’ve had to see how earnest he was about feeding the bunny--but how typically little-boy-brutal he was about giving it the carrot! Needless to say, he will not be feeding the baby. ;-)

Speaking of Chickpea, I’m now officially out of my first trimester and into the second. Chickpea is now the size of a large navel orange--about 4 ½ inches long--and weighs about two ounces. He/she is now breathing, sucking, and swallowing, as well as moving a lot (although it’s still too early to feel it). I wish I could say I feel great, but I don’t--however, I do feel quite a bit better. I only have morning sickness every few days now, and it only lasts for a few hours at a time. So that’s a major improvement. But I’m still bone-tired all the time, and much of the time I just want to lie down and nap! Not possible with a three-year-old and a job, but oh, it sounds so lovely! I make up for it by going to bed early--though I wake up every hour or two to visit the bathroom. Methinks it may be a long six months--but it will be so worth it in the end!

By the way, can’t remember whether I shared this on the blog, but we find out Chickepea’s gender on October 6^th--if he/she cooperates during the ultrasound. Can’t wait! I’m convinced she’s a girl--but for no reason other than that this pregnancy is very, very different from Theo’s. But of course every pregnancy is different, so my suspicion is really completely unfounded. Whatever the baby is, we will be delighted!

Speaking of the baby, and because I don’t have a lot to blog about this week, let me share a fun little story. Coincidences always interest me, and Chris’s family is full of them. But here’s a relevant, fun one. Years ago, Chris’s Grandma Norma had three daughters and then a son: Linda, Kathy (Chris’s mom), Carol, and Dave. All three girls got married (Dave is younger and so didn’t marry/start a family until later), and eventually all three started families. It’s my understanding that some had better luck with this than others; at least one of the three girls had to wait a long time to conceive--and I think two of them might have. So it was a very strange coincidence that in the end, all three daughters ended up getting pregnant at the same time: with three boys who ended up being born in a span of two months. These boys are Billy, Jeremy, and Chris.

Some years later, Kathy and Carol both got pregnant again, and they ended up having Tanya (Chris’s sister) and Kayla very close together.

Some more years later, Chris, Billy, and Jeremy all met their future wives within a span of about a year. I had been with Chris a year at Tanya’s wedding, when the family met Sarah (Bill’s future wife) and Monica (Jeremy’s future wife). All three boys eventually got married.

Shortly thereafter, both Tanya and I ended up pregnant at the same time--both with boys, who were actually due six days apart. Yet another coincidence--though not so much as with the three boys, since Tanya and I were both lucky enough to get pregnant pretty quickly, and we just happened to end up trying to start our families at roughly the same time. So Grandma Norma got her first two great-grandsons born a month apart. (She also has an older great-granddaughter, Sierra.) And Billy followed less than two years later with yet a third great-grandson, Liam.

Fast-forward a couple of years, and Grandma Norma now has four great-grandchildren due in a six-month span! Kayla just had her second daughter, a beautiful baby girl named Ava Gayle, and Chris, Jeremy, and Billy are all expecting second children with their spouses.

So we’re pretty sure Grandma Norma is putting something in the water: First to get her three grandsons, way back in the 1970s. Then to get her two granddaughters a few years later. Then to get her first two great-grandsons in 2008, and now to get four more great-grandkids this year/next! Fun coincidence, eh? There are going to be a lot of kids at family gatherings now--oh, imagine the chaos!

For the record, Ava was born a couple of days ago (the 25^th, I think). I believe Jeremy and Monica’s baby is due next--it’s a little boy, name as yet undetermined (last I heard). Bill and Sarah’s baby is due after that--another boy, to be named Logan. And then our little Chickpea--whatever he or she is, and whatever he or she will be named!

I’ll wrap this up with a couple of funny Theo stories from this week. First concerns lunch. Lately, Theo hasn’t been interested in eating meals--he snacks a lot throughout the day and then really won’t sit at the table for a meal. So, I thought, “Well, maybe he’s bored with the same old, same old--we’ll try something new.” Given how much he likes letters and words, I decided we’d try alphabet soup. I expected him to get a real kick out of the letter-shaped noodles. Um, no. Instead, he picked out all the carrots, peas, and green beans (which he informed me were asparagus), ate all those, then announced, “I see a W. W start like wuh.” I said, “That’s right! Wuh like the word ‘whale!’ What other letters do you see?” He replied, “Feo want numbers instead.” I started laughing and said, “Well, they don’t make number soup--only letter soup,” to which he replied, “Feo’s all done,” and calmly left the table. Ha ha--finicky boy! If it’d been number soup, maybe he would’ve eaten the whole thing! Ah well, at least he ate the veggies….

The second story involves my expanding gut. Recently, Theo told me my workout pants were “very, very too tight.” So, I figured it was time to break down and buy some maternity workout clothes. I did, and when I put them on Sunday morning to go to the gym, Theo ran into our room and said in horror, “No, no, no--those are pajamas!!” Ah, my very own little three-year-old fashionista…

Enjoy your week, all! We have no preschool this week, due to an end-of-summer break, so I’m sure I’ll have tales to tell next week…. ;-)