The Desk that Never Was

Oh, boy... did I make a big parenting goof today!

Danny has a train table that needs a few repairs. I called the company last week and asked for a part, and they were so nice to send us a whole side of the table for free. Danny's birthday is coming up, and he has been very excited. A few relatives have asked what he wants for his birthday, and Randy and I have been hoping that we could get him a small desk for downstairs. This last weekend we went to a friend's house, and their six-year-old son had a desk. When I was talking to Danny later, he said that he really liked the boy's desk. I smiled to myself, thinking that it was great that he was going to like what he would get for his birthday.

At about 11 o'clock this morning, the kids and I were playing downstairs when we heard the doorbell ring. We came upstairs and there was a large package at our front door. It was a really cool desk! I looked at the box with the picture of the desk and chairs and thought, wow... this is a really nice desk! Danny of course was jumping up and down with excitement. Heck, I was excited, too! The picture was in black and white, so we decided to go online and look at the desk and read about its features. Danny and I talked about what he could do on the desk, which bench he would sit on, what he would store in the green storage bin. He asked if I could assemble it, and I said that we should wait for Daddy. Out of curiosity, I called Randy and asked him if he knew who sent the desk. He said no, but it could have been a birthday surprise. There was no label on the box or anything.

When Randy got home, Danny convinced him to set up the desk. They hauled the box downstairs and opened it up. Guess what? It was the side of the train table. Randy tried to recover quickly and say how great it was going to be to have the train table working again and blah, blah, blah, but Danny would have none of it. He was visibly disappointed. I feel totally stupid... I was the one who called requesting the part! Then I talked it up with him so much, that his hopes were completely dashed when it wasn't the desk.

All evening Danny has been asking us when his desk will be here. Don't get me wrong, he is excited to have his train table fixed, but the whole desk thing was just a tease. Randy thought that maybe it is a plan that KidKraft has to get people to buy more merchandise. We are amused because one way or another Danny will be getting a desk for his birthday, but maybe we can make it a better surprise!

Big D and Miss A

Randy and I have become accustomed to calling the kids Big D and Miss A. Don't know where these things come from, but we think it is fun. Here are a few pictures of the kids:

The one picture cracks me up because Danny is looking quite lovingly at his "gorilla" bar! I don't know too many kids who like their food as much as Danny! I also had to get a picture of Danny in this shirt. He insisted on wearing this birthday gift from the Culvers over to a colleague's house for dinner. Once the shirt was on he said, "I look like Grant!"

Annelise caught Randy and I watching Arrested Development on DVD in the late evening (hey, we need some silly reminders of the Orange County we left!). She thought it would be a great time to play with us without her big brother being around. We know we "should" have put her back to bed, but who can resist that smile (and drool!)?

Laughter

Annelise was just cracking us up last night. After dinner we took a short trip to the store and she was just laughing in the back seat. I think the infant mirror started it, but then she was laughing at Danny. She would get this hysterical giggle, then Danny, Randy and I would start laughing, and she would stop. Then once we quieted down, she would start laughing again. The cycle continued and it just brought joy to my heart! There is nothing like baby laughter!









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30th Birthday

I am now one day into my 30s. A new decade. Randy and the kids let me take the lead as to what we should do yesterday, and it was a wonderfully relaxing day. They did surprise me with a few things, like breakfast in bed (including a mimosa... what a treat to usher in a new year!) and an ice cream cake after dinner. In the morning we took a drive to an area that has beautiful farms. There was a park that Danny could play at. We went out to a nice lunch. Then we hung out at home in the afternoon. Thank you to all the friends and family who sent notes and called yesterday, it was wonderful!

Last Night

Well, as I was talking to Randy during dinner tonight, I had a big realization. Tonight is the last night of my 20's. Then I thought, hmmm...What should I do? My greatest desire right now is to get a good night sleep. How boring...

Fun with the Kids

Here Annelise is showing off her "looking around" skills. She doesn't like to miss anything! Danny and I are playing in his tent in the basement.

Mmm...Mmm...Good

Annelise has now been introduced to solid food. After weeks of eyeing whatever we put to our mouths, she finally got a taste of real food (bland and boring, but real!). She dribbled of course and didn't know what to do with her tongue, but some rice cereal made it in there. At one point Annelise yawned like, "I don't know what all the fuss is about." And what first feeding wouldn't be complete with a wipe-down from your two-year-old brother!

Thoughts

So many things are going on right now...

Randy went to work for a full day today, which meant I was left to my own devices with the kids. A top priority was that Annelise could get two good naps in her bed. She did, which was great... although Danny got a little bit bored playing games and reading with mommy. We did get to go to the local library for story time. Our library is small, but has a lot of story times for newborns up through pre-schoolers. Danny was intrigued by the other kids (all very used to the story-time routine) and Annelise just laughed and laughed while the kids sang and danced.

Annelise has been regularly sleeping through the night (Yea!), so now it is time to get her to put herself to sleep. I know some of my friends would never let their children cry it out, but it worked so well for Danny at this age. Once again (like with Danny), Randy has the technique to get Annelise to sleep starting from a fully awake little girl. I just don't have the right bounce, I guess (but I do have the breasts...the source of all comfort!). This last Saturday (August 12th), Annelise started rolling from her stomach to her back. Now she is sleeping on her stomach. I feel relief that at least she can roll both ways, so SIDS isn't as much of a risk. She is also lifting her butt in the air and trying to scoot her knees. If she doesn't get frustrated, she can move herself around on her elbows and knees by scooting. Usually she just collapses and cries! She got sick for the first time on Sunday morning. She threw up all over the place, but had no fever. I had a little bug on Thursday and Friday, so I'm pretty sure it was passed to her.

Danny has been lots of fun. With Randy gone to work, I can see how great pre-school will be for us. Frankly, Danny just gets bored. Even with an outing this morning and an outing late in the afternoon, he was seeming a little lost. He definitely misses all his playbuddies in California (letters are on their way!). Today he said he wishes they could all be here in Maryland with him. So sweet. Danny continues to say other interesting things. Last week he tried to convince me that Annelise was so cute we should sell her at a garage sale.

I'm doing well. Our place is showing signs of order. I have internet... finally! I am doing research on local playgroups and activities so that I can have some opportunities to meet people. We're making the adjustment!

We Give Up

There is a reason the experts (and friends!) say don't do it... it adds a lot of stress! We decided the Montessori school could have their little potty-trained boys and girls. Danny will not be among them. We are going to go with the co-op nursery school we had researched before we left California. It does mean about 30 minutes of driving (total) for me, but Danny doesn't have to be potty-trained! To be totally candid, the peeing is going great...it's the other stuff. Just too much risk sending him to a school that requires him to be "fully" potty-trained. I'll let you know!

Randy turns 31!

On Sunday, August 6th, Randy celebrated a birthday! We went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. It was finally a little bit cooler, so we could enjoy ourselves a little bit more. Randy got to view a few exhibits before the museum closes this fall for 2 years. Randy and Danny rode the carousel on the Mall. We had a nice dinner at a good local Mexican restaurant (El Cholo and Taco Mesa...how we miss thee!). A great family day!

Sleeping, Pooping and Unpacking

(Written on August 5th)

Yes, yes… it has come to this. The books say don’t do it, our friends tell us don’t do it, and even our common sense says we are crazy. We are potty-training Danny, trying to get Annelise to sleep through the night (consistently) and still unpacking, all at the same time. The experts (and friends and our common sense) say not to expect great things (like pooping in the potty and sleeping the whole night) in the midst of a change (like moving). Unfortunately, there are many practical reasons for doing this right now. You see, Randy isn’t working yet, so there is an extra set of hands to rush Danny to the potty, or help Annelise back to sleep (without a feeding) in the middle of the night. We’ve looked into local pre-schools and the majority of them require a three-year-old to be potty trained. School starts September 5^th, so we have these few weeks. Randy starts his job on August 23^rd, so we would like to be getting good night’s sleep at that time. And unpacking is getting there…that will probably be the first task accomplished, and hopefully this week. Annelise is getting better and better each night (she doesn’t even eat in the middle of the night anymore), and Danny is finding some success (with occasional setbacks). I can’t wait for the day when wet training pants aren’t hanging from our shower curtain rod, and I don’t wake up with huge bags under my eyes. Maybe in September? I’ll let you know…

King Darius and the story of Daniel

Maybe because of our proximity to the capital city, or maybe just because he is a geeky kid, Danny has become obsessed by the law. He asks why he needs to stay in his car seat with it buckled, and we explain because it is the law. Then the questions begin… why is it the law? Who makes the law? Why do they get to make a law that is for me? Where do they make the laws? Where is the law? And so on and so forth. One night last week, I was reading Danny the story of Daniel from the Bible. I am explaining that King Darius makes a law that no one can pray to anyone but the king, or else they will get thrown in the lion’s den. As I finish that explanation, Danny so astutely asks, “Does Kind Darius work at the capitol building?” Oh Danny, if only you understood time and space!

Annelise at Four Months

Annelise turned four months on the 23^rd of July. She continues to be very happy, although because of the heat and physical endeavors, sleeping has been difficult. She began rolling over on Friday, July 28^th, which becomes her middle of the night agenda. At 3 months and 2 weeks, she had her 4 month appointment (before we left CA). She weighed 16 lbs 6 oz and was over 25 inches long. Annelise loves peek-a-boo and always laughs during “This Little Piggy.” When I sing to her, she often tries to sing along. Randy assembled the exersaucer, and Annelise loves to push the buttons and chew the little doggy!

A Boy, His Whistle and a Stepladder

Last week in the heat of July, Randy and I were finishing dinner and Danny was trying to occupy himself in the kitchen. He took his shirt off and pulled out the stepladder. He opened the ladder and climbed to the top step, sat down and began talking. We couldn’t hear what he was saying and he was too embarrassed to explain himself. Finally Danny said, “I’m telling them the pool is closed.” Puzzled, Randy asked him to repeat himself. “I’m telling them that the pool is closed.” Then it struck me that Danny was pretending to be a lifeguard. We told him to go find his whistle, and then he would really look like a lifeguard. Danny found his whistle and sat on the ladder watching over his “pool.”