The Small Family     

Another fairly quiet week in the Small household…well, quiet in terms of excitement, that is. Chris and I kept plenty busy with work until late into the night most nights (ugh!), and Theo kept himself busy with all his toddler pursuits. I had the best of intentions to start packing for our trip early but…intentions is as far as it got! Ah well, it will all get done.

Before I mention anything else, this week’s blog title is in reference to Theo’s latest saying, “Fank you much!” We’ve been working with him on “please” and “thank you” for a long time, and he’s really good about saying it with reminders (and occasionally without prompting). Lately, he has spontaneously added “much” to his “fank you,” so it’s “fank you much,” which I think is very cute!

Okay, on to the week’s adventures…. Theo and I had some midweek fun at a place called Wacky Tacky. It’s a huge indoor play area in Roseville. I had heard of it, but hadn’t gone yet. We had quite the heat wave this week (107 degrees of scorching heat, anyone??), so obviously it was too hot for much outside play. And so, on Tuesday Theo and I finally paid a visit to Wacky Tacky. And I have to say, although he really enjoyed it, I’m glad we didn’t go until now. He was on the young end of the kids there (most were probably age 2 1/2 to 4 or so, and he’s not quite 2 1/2), and I don’t think I would’ve been comfortable bringing him much before now. It’s a really fun place, but lots of chaos and opportunities for a wee one to get trampled in the shuffle.

That said, Theo did fine and seemed to enjoy himself once he got the lay of the land. The play area is two stories, and it’s all netted in so that there’s no way a child could fall. (Think a McDonald’s play structure, but with more safety features built in and much better kept.) And everything is made of soft foam, so really, it’s very safe. But when you’re standing on the ground looking at your two-year-old two stories above you…gulp!

They do have a small area for little kids (age 3 and under, though it’s really most appropriate for babies), but Theo had no interest at all in that--he wanted to climb to the highest point of the play structure! And so he did. And I stood on the ground thinking, “Okay…anytime you want to come down the slide and back onto solid ground, that’d be super!” He did come down the slide, but it was very fast, very tall, and steep, so I think it was a bit much for him. He didn’t cry, but he also didn’t want to go back on it again. The second time he climbed to the top, he stood up there and started crying because he couldn’t figure out how to get down. So after a minute or two of trying to encourage him from the ground, I climbed up and showed him how to get down.

And naturally, the monkey climbed to the very top a third time! But apparently he took carefully notes on time #2, because this time he climbed all the way back down on his own, no fuss no muss.

They also had a pretty neat ball pit, and Theo was entranced by the facility’s pet cockatiel. We had to leave after about an hour because I had a work call I had to be home for, and Theo was very sad to go. I’ll definitely take him back…but maybe in another couple months, when he’s just a wee bit bigger.

Speaking of Theo, he is very excited to go on the “air pain!” He talks about it multiple times a day (perhaps surpassing the hotel for dogs?!) and asks me about it. We made a little calendar to count down the days until he gets to go on the “air pain,” and he’s pretty excited about that.

The other excitement of the week (and I can’t even believe I’m calling this “excitement!”) is that Chris started his accounting class at Sierra College on Thursday night. Editing opportunities are pretty scant in this area, so he thought he’d try a couple of accounting classes and see whether that’s a career he might eventually want to transition into. (Not sure how many of you know that Chris has a bachelor’s degree in economics [along with his one in English], so this isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. He actually really enjoys math and numbers and data analysis and that sort of thing.) He’s pretty nervous about how he’s going to find nine hours a week to put into homework and study, in addition to the three-hour class on Thursday nights, but I have faith that he’ll find the time. :-)

Theo and I decided to have a “date” while Chris was at class--we went to the gym (Theo’s fav!) and then stopped for frozen yogurt afterward. Obviously Theo can’t have frozen yogurt itself, since he can’t tolerate dairy, but they have a non-dairy flavor as well. So I got him a bit of non-dairy pineapple and loaded it with toppings (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and a few chunks of pound cake), and he was happy as a clam. He actually didn’t eat much of the non-dairy yogurt, but he inhaled all the berries and pound cake with much gusto.

The yogurt shop didn’t have any high chairs, so I just had him sit at the table in a real chair, and he did great! He sat for 10 full minutes without climbing down, just happily eating his berries and such. As anyone who’s been around two-year-olds knows, this is quite a feat! They’re usually off and running in seconds. It was one of those “Wow, I have a little boy, not a baby” moments, for sure. Perhaps we shall make this a weekly date, since the yogurt shop is right around the corner from our house.

Saturday and Sunday, however, were quite eventful! Chris’s cousin Bill was running a half marathon in Santa Rosa on Sunday, so he, Sarah, and baby Liam made a weekend of their visit to the wine country. So on Saturday, Chris, Theo, and I drove down to spend some time with them. We stopped in Napa on the way, had lunch at our favorite Peruvian place, and had cupcakes from Kara’s for dessert (one S’mores and one Organic Strawberry Cream--our favorite of the two). We then checked out an awesome children’s discovery museum called Scientopia while we were in Napa. Theo had a ball! It was almost all very age-appropriate for him, and he loved exploring the two-story “house,” playing with the huge train table, playing with the musical instruments, digging in the “dirt” (made of recycled rubber bits), helping to build a playhouse out of what were essentially giant Lincoln Logs, and learning about how pulleys work. Very cool little place, and we will definitely return!

After that, Theo took a short nap while we drove the 20 minutes over to Sonoma to meet Sarah, Bill, and Liam at Sonoma Train Town--a small train-themed amusement park. Theo saw the merry-go-round and immediately said, “Carousel, please!!” We indulged him with a ride, and we also took him on a train ride around the park, which he really enjoyed. Other than carousels, we’ve never been able to get him on a ride--he hates waiting in line and would much prefer to just be running around. But it wasn’t very crowded, so we were able to let him play near where the train loads while we waited--and in fact, we ended up being the only six on the train, as it was the last ride of the day. And once the train started going, Theo LOVED it! He was wide-eyed, taking everything in and pointing out all the neat things he saw.

Afterwards, we all went to the Black Bear Diner for dinner, and Theo ate everything in sight. (I think he worked up an appetite!) My Dad would’ve approved of the Black Bear--I ordered breakfast, and my toast was well buttered and my hash browns were “hash browns--not hash whites!” All in all, yummy! (As for the reference to my Dad, I always think of him when I order breakfast because he had the most precise breakfast order I’ve ever heard, and it rarely ever changed [unless he decided he wanted a waffle that day]. It was always: “Two eggs, over medium. Whites cooked, yellows runny--is that over medium here? Whibbly bacon [translate: not well-done bacon]. Whole wheat toast with lots of butter. Hash browns, not hash whites.” Not the healthiest breakfast, but that’s how he liked it, and that’s how he ordered it for the 22 years I ate breakfast with him!)

Sunday morning, we decided to go to Woofstock. This is, as you might guess, a dog event. Lots of vendors of dog food and pet products, as well as lots of adoptable pets, rescue groups, and dog events. Most years it’s just too hot to want to wander around outside, but we had a weird week of weather, and this weekend turned out to be wonderfully cool (in stark contrast to 106 degrees on Tuesday and 107 degrees on Wednesday!). So, we took advantage of the cool morning and went to see the doggies. Theo rode yet another train and very much enjoyed it. Same issue as before: He didn’t like waiting for it, but once he was on and it started moving, he thought it was awesome.

The rest of the day was spent packing (me), going to the gym, and picking up our little visitor, Peekaboo, from my Mom. (Peeks is staying with Chris until Thursday, when he drops her and Luna off at the kennel. But our street is being sealed Monday, and we leave somewhat early Tuesday, so it made the most sense to pick her up on Sunday, when we had access to our garage and all that good stuff.)

Last but not least, guess what? No potty update this week!! Why? Because he’s doing terrific. Nothing to report. He uses the potty (small potty or full-sized toilet) as if he’s been doing it for years. Woohoo--yay, Theo! If he can keep it up while on vacation, I’m really going to think he’s a potty rock star.

So, speaking of vacation, Theo and I are leaving Tuesday, and we won’t be back until Monday, Sept 13. So no blog for a few weeks! I’ll try to post a write-up sometime the week we get back…but if not, there will surely be one on Sept 19th.

Until then, enjoy your September! And wish us luck on our journey….