Christmas 2011 - Doha Style

We've had a busy month leading up to Christmas this year - Gavin had his fifth (and hopefully final!) febrile seizure, Grandma and Grandpa V came to visit for a week, we went to see Sesame Street Live with said grandparents for the boys first "theater" experience, the boys took a toddler art class at the Museum of Islamic Art, we baked our first cookies together, attempted to go to the National Day Parade, we hosted Christmas Eve dinner and had a potluck lunch for Christmas Day, set out cookies for Santa and all in all have been looking forward to a little break for some family time!

Gavin wears the "Star glasses" Grandma V brought! and yes, those are mittens he is wearing :)

Regarding Gavin's febrile seizure, he and his brothers had had the snots for several days, but no one had had any (noticeable) fever. We were playing outside in the back yard after dinner one evening and Gavin threw the soccer ball toward curt and then fell down on his back. Since he sometimes likes to throw himself on the ground and then say "i'm ok!" curt just said, "Gavin, what are you doing?!" thinking it was nothing. He then realizes that Gavin doesn't respond and his little body is shaking a bit. As he runs to him, I run inside to call the ambulance, get a wet towel and start the cooling process for him. While the ambulance got there somewhat quickly (certainly faster than the first time he had one), the next things that happened were ridiculous. This was by far his longest seizure - nearly 2 minutes long. It felt like an eternity, and now Brady and Aidan are old enough to "get" that something bad is happening. They were very good and tried to help/stay out of the way, but they had lots of questions as you can imagine. I guess it didn't scar them too much, as they were playing "seizure" at the park today (not kidding) where they would flop on the ground, kick their legs a little bit and say "I had a seizure, I need the ambulance". Their brother would then come and pull them up and they would run to the gazebo where they would lay down in the "ambulance" for a few minutes until they told us they had "healed". It's funny now, but when Gavin is having his seizure, it is just so awful. It also took him nearly an hour to be able to speak intelligibly this time. I'm not sure if it has always been like this since he wasn't talking as much or as clearly the last time he had one nearly a year ago. I was hoping he had outgrown them, but to have a full year between them is a blessing in and of itself.

When the EMTs got there, they were going to try to give him an IV while he was sitting on our floor, after his seizure had stopped. Curt basically says, "well, I don't think it's necessary, but if you do it, you are going to need to strap him down on the gurney, he will rip that thing out of his arm faster than you can tape it!" They basically wanted to do it in case he seized again so they could give him anti-seizure meds. I think they had had a slow week and were hoping to refresh their skills a bit. We didn't have an IV put in. Then while I'm riding in the ambulance with him, the EMT tells me "When you put the wet towel on the baby, you should put it under his arms and between his legs, not on his chest" I say, "Oh right, because of the pulse points, thanks." He says, "No, because you will give him bronchitis." FAIL. Fail #2 came when the ambulance is sitting at a stop light (they didn't run their lights or sirens, and people don't get out of the way when they see that here anyway) and I ask where we are since we had been sitting there for so long. I realize they took the LONG way, and we had to drive through a gas station, to a back road under construction in order to get to the hospital. This added a good 10 minutes to our trip, as there is an easier and MUCH faster way that we take every time. I share this with them and they say "well, the driver is new, he has only been driving a couple of weeks." It took everything in my body for me to not say "THEN GIVE HIM A MAP." idiots. Gavin's fever was 39.7C/103.5F at the hospital after having been cooled by us and in a diaper for nearly an hour by the time we got there. Within a half hour (and 2 suppositories and a cold water bath later) he is down to 38C/100.4F and they say we can go home and just treat his fever for at least 48 hours.  WHEW! Lots of thanks to the White's who came over to hang out at our house with the sleeping Aidan and Brady so that Curt could come and get us. Let's hope there is NOT a next time, but next time we are just going to drive him ourselves.

at the Sesame Street Live show (Top to bottom, left to right: Mom and G; GmaV and B, A and Gpa V)

Grandma and Grandpa V arrived the next night and the boys had lots of fun with both of them. Several times grandparents would take one or more boys outside to play and by the time i would make it out they all would have vanished on a walk. It was great! I love that the boys enjoyed their grandparents so much and that they are of an age where it is pretty easy (meaning, they usually listen) to take them for a walk or to the park even if you are on your own. Pretty much every morning they would wake up and be like "Where's grandpa? Where's grandma?" and be heading downstairs before we could get them dressed for the day.

Sesame Street Characters getting jiggy with it . . .

We had tickets to see Sesame Street Live here in Doha and all 7 of us went! It was quite fun, even if the boys weren't QUITE sure about it. It was a loud performance, and it seems all 3 of ours are pretty sensitive to loud noises they aren't making themselves. For instance, Aidan will now just turn off the wall switch for the iPod dock, if he feels like the music is too loud and he doesn't want to listen to it anymore. Brady has started saying things to his brothers like, "Be quiet honey, I'm trying to talk to mom."Gavin still gets pretty scared by really loud nosies (the fighter jets at National Day, the dudes cutting tile when we left a scary farm today) and just needs to cuddle when he feels like its too loud. They did talk a lot about their favorite characters, and considering it started nearly a half hour late, they were pretty darn good.

BAG with Grandma and Grandpa V - it took forever to get all 5 of them in the same shot.

I also got to see the boys perform for their classmates at school. On the last day of the semester, as I arrived, Aidan was beginning to sing the ABCs for his classmates (they were standing at the front of the class and everything). The teacher saw me come in and gave me a nod to try to stay out of sight and be quiet. Aidan did SUCH a great job singing the whole song nice and clear and was so earnest in his performance. It was adorable. Then, she had Brady stand up to sing. He began with the ABCs and then she asked him to sing Twinkle Twinkle, which he did perfectly. Just to see him smiling ear to ear while he performed was so touching for me. She then had Gavin stand up and he RACED through the ABCs (but was still clear as a bell!). I think he was interested in getting the stamp they all got for singing in front of the class. It was so cute as after each singer, the classmates clapped and then they would get a stamp for this performance. I can totally see how this will help them become comfortable speaking in front of others and performing for others in the future.

AGB at National Day on Corniche - check out Dhow boats behind them

National Day was quite fun - leading up to it there have been tons of flags on cars and buildings and every time Brady would see them, he would say "that car/building/family is celebrating its National Day!" While we got down to the corniche in time to have watched at least part of the parade, the police officer must not have understood that I was asking if the parade would come down as far as we were, b/c he said yes, when in fact the parade was 1) going the OPPOSITE direction on the Corniche and 2) started about a quarter mile from where we were. We did get to see some cool speed boat and fighter jet maneuvers, but I know curt was really hoping to see what all of the hype was about since it's our last year here. We did see some stuff on a big screen, and we did get to see the Emir within spitting distance as he was driven away from the parade route, but it wasn't quite the same.

ABG having a snack after the "parade" was over

Gavin just looked so muscular in this outfit - I made Curt take a picture of him :)

Watching stuff at the parade (GBA)

Crazy Qatari guy riding the front of an FJ Cruiser - hope they don't make any sudden stops . . .

Sweet Gavin and his glasses - who does he look like to you? :)

Gavin has begun wearing glasses for about 2 weeks now. It appears he has an astigmatism in both eyes, however he 1)  only has to wear his glasses "for computer work, watching TV, etc" - and more kid appropriate stuff like reading and coloring (I couldn't believe the Dr. gave those examples first!) and 2) he may outgrow the astigmatism. The Dr. says as he grows, the shape of his cornea will likely change as well, possibly rendering his need for glasses nonexistent. We have still been doing his eye exercises diligently to help with his right eye that wanders a little bit, but the Dr. thinks this will help that as well. He looks pretty darn cute in his glasses, and Aidan and Brady were quite upset they don't get a pair of "reading sunglasses" as they call them.

breathing treatment and glasses - he is ready to read!

Brady helps decorate

And finally, Christmas. This was the first year the boys really "got" Christmas - note to self, no need to go all out much before the age of 3 for holidays . . . It's been really great seeing them learn Christmas carols, and introducing them to the different holiday traditions of leaving Santa his snack, Rudolph and Frosty, etc. One thing that was a little strange for me was that a couple of people kept referring to Christmas day as "Jesus' birthday party". So a few times the boys and I would be asked by their kid if we were going to "Jesus' birthday party". It was a hard thing to answer because I know what my kids expect from birthday parties and we wouldn't all be at the same one, if you know what I mean. Luckily we did have some nice older books about Christmas we could use to talk with the boys about what Christmas was about and why we celebrated it, but it is a little hard to do it in a "faith vacuum" like I feel we have here. (In that, we don't have a church we attend here, and so it's not something that's been talked about as regularly as if we were attending one we liked in the US).

Aidan takes time to make careful placement of the ornament

Gavin was our most focused decorater

Like most three year olds, they would basically open one gift and if they really liked it, were not in the mood to open anything else. It was fun seeing them really jazzed about things we had thought they would like (whether from us or other people).

At one point, our previous vocabulary fail reared its ugly head again. Aidan and Brady were playing on the car mat they got from Grandma and Grandpa K and I hear Brady say to Aidan, "You can't say f*$@ing idiot'. You have to say 'crazy bad driver'." Curt made it clear to Aidan that Brady was correct and that we didn't say those words (anymore) while I had to turn my back because I was in such shock and had to control my embarrassed laughter. It was pretty funny. To Aidan's credit, he did seem to be "angry" with the other drivers when he was saying it, so at least he gets the context. The boys have started saying to me when they hear someone honk a horn when we are in the car "Who's being a jerk, mom?" because they want to know why the horn was being honked (i may or may not use the horn more here than i EVER had in my 15+ years of driving combined) . ..  And like all Christmas mornings, it wouldn't be complete without the threat of new toys being taken away when the boys were bickering over them. Luckily, it only happened once, and I'm pretty sure they took dad VERY seriously. :)

"You said these were stockings, right?" (A)

We had some fun at a Clay Babies Class the week before Christmas At the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). We went with a friend and while all of the other kids got their own piece of cardboard to work on, my three got to share ONE piece of cardboard for all three balls of clay. hmmmm . . .  ever tried to do that? doesn't really work. so the painting was more fun for them than the clay work was. thank goodness it was free, right?!

Brady rolls clay carefully

Aidan's bird he made (Johanna in the background)

Gavin preferred the painting

Oranges rock! (A)

Brady struggled to smile AND keep the orange in his mouth

GAvin struggled a little bit too . . .

Christmas Eve with the Carr/Lechner kids (Johanna, BAG and Alexandra)

Christmas Morning - Dinosaur Train characters! (B)

A and G focus on their new toys

Gavin can't believe his luck - TRAINS! . . 

. . .And cars he can race!  AWESOME!

Dad helps Brady with a new toy

Aidan's crazy smile as he figures out the Yahtzee game

Apples from our stockings are YUMMY! (GBA)

At Christmas lunch that day - Aidan went right for this toy at Sofie's house

Johanna was sharing her new lip gloss (G)

And the boys were loving it . . . (B)

All three boys really like to sing Christmas carols and will burst into song randomly. Gavin is probably the most creative and prolific with his knowledge of songs. Not only does he know ALL of the words to pretty much every Christmas song, he knows them well enough to sing parodies of them to himself. Certainly not long and involved ones, but he likes to change up the words and make new songs to the melodies. It's pretty cool.

I have to say this is the first year in awhile i'm really sad Christmas is over. It has really felt magical seeing it through the boys' eyes, even if we don't have all of the things that go along with it in the US (you know, family, various close friends, snow, cold weather, etc). We are incredibly thankful for Skype, and with the 9 hour time difference, we were able to talk with one set of grandparents when we first got up on christmas and the other set after our nap later that day. Just lovely. This is certainly a holiday that makes me feel like their childhood is slipping through my hands like grains of sand. Each one precious and perfect (even if sometimes annoying), and moving far too fast for me to be able to hold on to it. We got a new Christmas book from the Slabas' (Thank you again!) with a line in it that says "the real gift is YOU beneath my Christmas tree." - every time i read the thing, i get a huge lump in my throat and pretty much burst into tears (like I am now). It's just so true and makes me so thankful for how blessed we have been in our marriage and in our family with health and bounty and love. Words barely scratch the surface for me.

October/November 2011 . .. creative, I know.

FYI - this was started on 19 November ...  will write more for December posts!

Well, in the last month there has been so much going on, i feel like I haven't been able to organize my thoughts.  Every time I think about sitting down to write, i just get overwhelmed with all of the things i SHOULD write about that i end up finding something else to do.  no good for a consistent blog.

Brady - Cowboy, Gavin - Train Engineer, Aidan-Veterinarian

What's been happening? Well the boys had their first trick-or-treating experiences.  It only took about 3 houses for them to "get" what the point was and then they were DOWN with trick-or-treating for about another 3 houses before they kind of got worn out and were asking to go home. We went with a group of friends around the compound, and so while their candy bag just had one layer of candy on the bottom, it was more candy than they had EVER seen all in one place.  We still have the bags on the counter, and occasionally they will ask for a piece of it, but since they are getting lots of treat from POTTY TRAINING (well, two are) they aren't quite as focused on the halloween candy.  Brady was asking for about a week after Halloween if he could go trick or treating on Halloween again.  It was kind of funny to see the look on his face when we said, "Sure, in a year!".

Speaking of Potty Training - 2/3 of the boys are well on their way to being fully potty trained.  For the first saturday of the Eid break (now 2 and a half weeks) Curt took Brady and Gavin for a morning out and I did the Potty Party with Aidan (rec'd by friends).  The short version is we had pics of some favorite characters in the bathroom, some fun games/toys/treats as prizes, a doll he could "teach" to pee and poop (whom he named Baby Logan), new underwear and the Pullups Do The Potty Dance on YouTube until i can sing this song backwards.  He and Brady had been asking to pee in the potty for about 4 or 5 days before this, but he seemed to be the driest the most often in his diaper.  While I was getting a little sick of going to the bathroom every 10-15 minutes, it was really fun to have the one on one time with him.  I feel like I got to know him even better and understand him more.  By the time Brady and Gavin got home, Aidan was now in underwear and Brady freaked.  Then Brady saw he could get a Thomas Train if he pooped in the potty (something Aidan hadn't done yet) and determination took over.  He tried to poop at least 2 times before nap (even though he had already gone for the day while they were out) and finally nearly forced his lower intestines out after nap and was the first to get a Thomas Train before he was wearing underwear.  Amazing.  He was SOOOOO upset Aidan had a potty chart and stickers (read: attention) that Curt and I decided we needed to do another Potty Party for him the next day.  Now, we had never been around a newly potty trained kid (read: not ACTUALLY potty trained yet), so when we realized he hadn't pooped in nearly 48 hours, and had several wetting accidents that morning, we realized sending Curt out with Gavin and Aidan would have ben a death march for someone. So for Brady's potty party, we spent the ENTIRE MORNING in our bedroom.  While large, it was challenging at best.  Now, I know Curt had a hell of a time of it occupying the other two downstairs and working with Aidan and his new skill, but keeping the same level of enthusiasm and creativity in 1/8 of the space and no new scenery was TOUGH.  As with Aidan, it was quite fun to spend the time with Brady (he named the baby Baby Einstein) and get to know him even better as well.  I will say, after giving all of that one on one time, i do feel bad the boys don't get as much individual time as they deserve. HOWEVER, any time we do try to take just one any where, the other two throw a FIT and it ends up being a family trip, or no one goes.  anywho . . .. With the Potty Training, I"m happy to report that 2 and a half weeks in, we MOSTLY have days with NO accidents, and both Aidan and Brady are becoming more comfortable pooping right on the potty.  We still have treats and prizes, but they are dwindling.  We just got some bigger underwear for Gavin, but he still really isn't at the place A&B were when we decided to train them.  I think he will be soon, as his interest in just sitting on the potty has returned after an unfortunate poop on the floor incident before a bath one day.  He didn't get in trouble or anything, but I think he knew I wasn't overjoyed about it either. :)

Other things the boys have been up to - a few weeks ago when we were asked to play "Monster" for the umpteenth time, Aidan suddenly decides to be a monster himself.  He runs up to Brady, pulls up his shirt and gives him a super loud ZERBERT! (or raspberry)  He thinks he is just the funniest thing and begins doing it to Gavin, curt and I, eventually a waitress in a restaurant, etc.  And of course he loves his title of Zerbert-Monster.

Dad plays Monster with Gavin

The other day, when it was time to pick the boys up from school, they are helping clean up toys on a table.  A&B are happy to see me and pretty much quit cleaning things up once I arrive.  Gavin says hello, but goes back to his task.  His teacher, Mrs. Arife says "let me help you put these pegs away" and pushes a few through the peg board.  Gavin LOSES it.  We try to give him another peg board with more in it, to just get him to leave with me, to just let him put the remaining pegs away on his board - NOTHIN'.  I pick him up once and he literally peels himself off of me and crawls on the floor back to the table.  A&B have sunglasses and backpacks on and are READY to go, especially after Brady had tried to poop on the potty but wasn't successful.  Calculating this situation, and the 20 minute drive home, the possibility of a newly potty trained boy who may actually need to go #2, I put Gavin's little backpack on myself, pick him up and tell A&B to follow me and make a beeline for our car holding on to a crying, kicking, writhing 36lb+ child who is SCREAMING "STAY AT SCHOOL! I WANT TO STAY AT SCHOOL!  NO GO HOME!".  Gavin had to be wrestled into his car seat - twice.  the first time he crawled out of the car and onto the sidewalk and started walking back toward the entrance.  i finally buckled his legs in so he couldn't go anywhere and then was able to corral his arms.  A&B are in shock and pretty much sit there in silence watching the escapades.  Gavin screams and cries about wanting to go to school the entire 20 minute ride home.  Normally, you can't get a word in edgewise with Brady sharing about the day, but other than a few repeats of my "Gavin, school is closed now." he is silent.  we get home and I leave the car on and take A&B inside leaving Gavin a few minutes to cool off. I go back out to get him and while he is still crying, he has stopped screaming and kicking.  He is still saying he wants to go to school.  When we get inside, I just pick him up and he literally MELTS into my arms and goes completely quiet and still.  Ordinarily by this time, I would have the boys pottied, changed into pullups, Gavin's diaper changed and we would be reading a book before nap.  I decide not to fight it, plop on the couch with G stuck to me (which felt wonderful, even though his insanity was exhausting moments before) and we all watch a little cartoon about bumblebees for 10 minutes.  Everyone recovered and we had some REALLY good naps.  It's tiring experiencing a fit like that - for everyone!  It really was a difficult thing to not say "YOU ARE BEING RIDICULOUS!" because of course it's a WONDERFUL thing he likes school so much now, especially because i fear that this love of learning will be sucked out of him, like it is for some many of us, one day.

Sweet Gavin and his trains

I recently finished "Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys" and it raised so many things for me, especially as I was reading it after the Penn State scandal erupted.  It is amazing to think of how many messages we send to kids(and adults) about what's OK for men and boys to be, and how that can limit them in ways that really don't work in order for people to feel whole and accepted.  This book makes me hopeful that Curt and I can work towards helping them become well adjusted, happy, emotional adults; and fearful of what their middle and high school experiences will be like.  I think in many ways, if we can work to help them have good sibling relationships with one another, they will already be better off having brothers who will defend them and support them in the face of teasing and bullying, but of course, you just never know.

Brady told us he was a "One Man Band" - awesome.

Gavin races down the bridge (new favorite activity for our walks!)

Aidan rides Johanna's bike with Alexandra's helmet. Always prepared!

Curt and I have been having a few more date nights out what with the film festival, our anniversary, etc.  The boys asked us at dinner one night before we were going if they could go on a date with us "next time".  It was so cute.  So we have started calling our dinners out "Family Dates", and they have  begun using that terminology as well.  Brady asked the other day if we could have a date at the playground with the green and yellow slides (i.e. the indoor playground at the local Chili's).  Adorable, and when we said yes, it was like we had offered them a new car or train . . .

QB Aidan - "Are you ready for this?!"

Gavin rides Cecil the Camel

For Curt's birthday this year, I actually made him a cake (Red Velvet thank you very much.  but it was dry :( ) and he and i went camping at a local beach overnight with a couple of friends (without the boys). While I'm still interested in trying to take the boys camping, I also agree that it would be a MUCH more exhausting prospect.  To be honest, they had fun with Tess and Aryana and Curt and I had fun with some adult friends. It felt like we were gone the entire weekend instead of about 15 hours. Crazy how it works like that. We had a nice big fire and roasted hotdogs and had some adult beverages. We did have some neighbors that were having a dance party until after 2 AM, and then were up with Lady Gaga at 6 AM, but somehow felt as rested, if not more so, than we are after a night in our own lumpy bed. Hearing the waves (once the idiots quit riding their dune buggies up and down the beach and the guy turned off his generator for his RV) and seeing the nearly full moon and just sleeping in the fresh air just have been just what the dr. ordered.

They immediately grabbed our backpacks when we got home from camping (G&A)

We took the boys to the beach for another weekend in November.  Surprisingly, things had cooled off enough by mid-November that the water was a bit too chilly for us to really get in. Not a few weeks before it was PLENTY hot and the water was refreshing, but now it was basically a play in the sand day, which was also quite fun. I tell you what, though, if we thought this was cold water, we are going to have a ROUGH go of it when we move back next year . . .

Sandy Monkeys (GAB)

Me and my boys - AGB

We could barely keep them out of the hole we dug - Aidan liked being buried. (GBA)

Home again, home again, jiggity jig (GAB)

Aidan pretending to sleep

Brady likes to wear his glasses upside down

Gavin chillin' . . .

Pictures are worth 1000 words . . .

OK, OK, I promise I will write something on the blog in the next few days - but I wanted to get some pics up in the meantime . . .  It's been a busy and fun month!

Gavin finally likes his fez from Morocco, when it doesn't fit anymore!

Nothing like a little dress up to get the day going (A&G)

seriously - look at gavin's back muscles!

a little tickle fight does a body good . . . (A&B)

Boy band in the making - they love 311's "Amber" and Train's "Soul Sister" (A&B)

He LOVES his guitar (A)

Brady asked me to take a picture of his sad face. :)

Approximately 1 minute later.

Gavin wanted me to take a picture of HIS sad face.

Aidan digs the Y-bike

PIT STOP!  They were playing like Cars and coming in for pit stops.  too cute (AGB)

Brady decided to lick Gavin's shirt.  maybe it made him go faster?

Tea Partay! (BAG)

Aidan figured out how to sort of use the pedals on Alexandra's old bike.  He rode all over the park that night! (AB)

Brady kept asking me to take a picture of him crying (when he went to his Arabic class), but he couldn't keep a sad face

Aidan the carnivore

Aidan LOVES his stickers.

Oh my goodness, they are just beautiful (GBA)

No snow?  No problem! (G)

B & G swing!

G climbs - such a cutie!

Cardinals are #1!

Carving our first pumpkin! (GAB)

B&A sang songs from the wiggles, G wanted nothing to do with the mess

Our own "Night at the Roxbury" (B&A)

Brady wanted me to take a pic of him "Sleeping" - G looks on - on our way to B-day/Costume party!

Aidan was able to keep his eyes closed as he pretends to "sleep"

Our friendly pumpkin Jack! (BGA)

Aidan pushed his bed over to Brady's during nap one day.  How sweet  .. . (ABG)

School Daze

Well, after exactly 4 days of pre-school, i feel like i have no idea how the boys (save Aidan) really feel about school.  The first day, no one cried when i left, but they did look stunned and a little sad.  Day 2 - no one cried, but Gavin was like a Cling-on Monkey before I left and then gave his "sad face" look until i closed the door.  Day 3 - Aidan BAWLS as I am leaving (after staying an extra 10 minutes or so b/c he wants to sit on my lap during circle time). So much so that they called the nurse to check him for fever/illness because he was so (according to note) "not like himself" for the rest of the morning.  Day 4, began language class and while no tears, it was only after staying for the full language class (which i'm not so sure about) and their regular teacher  beginning circle time and songs that I was able to give kisses and promises to pick up after lunch and only got Gavin's sad face until he could no longer ignore the Wheels on the Bus song in progress. :)

Gavin spots me!

Well, this weekend, while making breakfast Aidan was in the kitchen with me - probably to get protection from his brother after getting whacked on the head with a car - Aidan says to me "Mom, I'm not happy at school."  I ask him to repeat it, and he does and then I ask him "Why aren't you happy at school?" and he says "Because I miss you."  well, I just about pulled him out of school then and there.  not really, but it was very sweet.  Especially b/c one day I know he will be MORTIFIED to admit he has a mother and will probably stop giving public hugs and kisses.  The thing is when I come and pick them up, they are usually yucking it up and appear to be having a ball at school.  While Brady is the reporter (no surprise there) with who was crying b/c they missed their mommy, who pooped on the floor and had to clean it up (true story - day 4), etc. Aidan and Gavin both talk about school and songs and teachers in a positive way as well.  Of course, depending on the day/time they have each asked if they can go to school on days when it isn't a school day.  The day school is to happen though, they are NOT down with it . .. so strange.

Day 3 of school (BAG)

I was told after the first day that Aidan was the best helper when it came to cleaning up.  I could have told her that, but I do think school has gotten the other two in gear quite a bit more.  Brady usually starts the song from class and Gavin will kind of sing along as you goad him into picking stuff up.  Aidan on the other hand has a PLAN for clean up and is already half-way through the toys when his brothers finally get around to picking up the first truck. I can't wait to see how these battles manifest themselves in the future.

This weekend, Curt went to Barcelona to see FCB play with FREE VIP TICKETS!  Now, of course it would have been SO MUCH FUN to go with him, but I'm not the one who needed a break.  Hands down, Curt does and I'm so glad he got to go.  IT's sunday night as I type this and he's due home in a couple of hours and I COULDN'T BE MORE READY, but I am still very glad he got to go.  Anyway, this weekend was the first time i have been able to get the boys to float without an adult touching them in the pool, EVER.  Jill and Justin kindly agreed to be my adults and with the aid of water wings and a noodle, everyone went hands free for long periods of time on Friday - AWESOME!  Gavin was probably the LEAST willing to let go of my hands to float and he spent the last half hour floating around int he deep end by himself just chilling and checking the world out (again, no surprise there).  Today when Tess came in, I took each of them individually to swim at the pool to reinforce this.  It was really great to get some one on one time and to see how each of them is SO different.

Aidan liked putting on my pants. 

Aidan pretty much jumped in and was IMMEDIATELY happy to be floating again.  He didn't even try to hang on to me and at one point, he was jumping from the top step of the ladder onto the noodle without me in front to catch him.  But he didn't really want to "go" any where.  Brady on the other hand immediately began trying to deflect and distract by talking me up as we were getting in the water.  This will be his MO.  When I FINALLY got him in (a time limit for us being there together worked) he would NOT let go of my hands(and he demanded the shallow end), so I drug him around the pool a bit and then took away one thumb for him to hold and then the other (even crossing into the deep end).  He immediately started laughing and then decided to kick his way ALL OVER the pool.  Literally, we probably did 4 laps all around the pool - the kid can kick.  (I think some of it are his feet - Aidan's are much smaller and more narrow).  Brady would NOT jump off of the ladder to his noodle, but he would sit on the ladder and hold the noodle pretty close and slide into the water.  baby steps. Gavin was willing to jump in to me but was like a MONKEY on my front.  I had to basically slip the noodle in between us and then remind him that my hand was holding his hand on the noodle for him to let go of my neck.  I did the same let go of one thumb, let go of the other, but he was still working to hold on to me as much as he could.  He finally relaxed and was happy tooling around the pool, but his kicks were getting him nowhere (really, have you seen his clodhoppers and his legs?!).  I mentioned how Aidan had jumped into his noodle from the top step of the ladder and Gavin was game for jumping in - FROM THE SIDE.  The kid does his FLYING LEAP into his noodle twice.  I think the sheer force of the jump and the subsequent quick dunk under water was enough for him, but he laughed the entire time.  I taught some doggy paddles with arms and we did some bubbles.  I"m really glad I could reinforce the stuff form the weekend.  Reason #437 to stay home (especially since we can't get them in swim lessons until January at the earliest! boo!)

Aidan asked me if I wanted to take a picture of them eating their popsicles.  too funny . . . (BAG)

While it was LOADS of fun to do this with them, it's pretty tiring for me (running back and forth to the house, getting people to stop crying b/c i'm leaving, the multiple showers, etc) and i was getting BAKED in the sun here.  I'm guessing this will be just once a week or so that I try to do this on my own with them.  Otherwise I will look like a leather handbag by the end of the season.  no thanks.