Grad Class 2014

i think i used to be one of those people who skoffed at things like preschool and kindergarten graduations (like really, what have kids accomplished at 4 and 5 years of age???).  but now i'm a mom of a kindergarten graduate, and there is a lot to celebrate!  like being brave and trying new things, making connections with kids (gabe had his first marriage proposal a few weeks ago...he turned her down), learning actions & consequences, having compassion for other kids, getting to sit in the bean-bag chair on your special helper day, and just overall, HAVE FUN at school!

because of the rocky end to the school year, everything just felt incomplete.  for me and for gabe.  a week before the full strike the kids had just brought home their graduation invitations for us and were planning activities for the celebration. i had just borrowed 18 books from the library for the kids to read in class since their library field trip had been cancelled. and then all of a sudden there was only 2 days of school left and everything was over. gabe reminds me daily that he misses his friends.  he missed them on the saturday after school ended...i was like, you just saw them yesterday!

it wasn't just us having this empty feeling...it was felt by most of the class.  so, since then, we have had several class playdates at the park as well as a couple birthday parties. a couple moms even planned kindergarten graduation for the class.  we had a potluck/pizza party in one of the family's common rooms, and the ENTIRE class attended, including the teacher (whose son happens to be in the class). the teacher started it like a normal school day, starting with attendance, and then talked to the kids about their successes in kindergarten and that they were all ready to move onto grade 1.  after that, they lined up to receive their graduation certificates and shook the teacher's hand. it was ADORABLE! i was definitely a proud mama, taking video and pictures simultaneously, and not wanting to miss a single second of anything.

fortunately the rain held off and the kids were able to run around outside and have fun, one last time as division 12.  in late spring, they lost a couple of classmates who moved onto other cities with their families, and we already know a couple more who won't be returning in the fall.  i think it's hard on us parents knowing that our kids won't necessarily be in the same class in september...not only do our kids get along great, but we've made our own adult connections and have our chit-chats in the parking lot or at the playground after school.  i think the fact that we organized our own grad is a testament to that connection, as the other kindergarten class didn't have a celebration planned :(

i also realize that next year will be very different for me as well.  i'll be back at work and won't have the flexibility i have now.  fortunately my hours will still allow me to be home mid-afternoon, and be available for after-school playdates/activities.  but i'll definitely miss the summer freedom i'm currently enjoying :(

6 months!

i started J on solid food about 3 weeks ago. i keep comparing this time to last time, and again...so different.  gabriel was a good eater...mouth open, food in, swallow food, repeat. jeremy isn't quite as neat...there's a variety of fist-shoving, sleeve-eating, bib-playing, and floor-admiring with open mouth while eating. it could be because i started food earlier than with gabe, or he's just going to be a messier eater.  i find myself very lazy this time...scrounging around for a new food item to start.  however, (so far) i have been pretty diligent with my note-taking so i remember how many times he's eaten a new food item before starting something new.  so far we've done rice cereal, mixed grains, bananas, apples and yams. i just visited the market today, so i've got sweet potatoes, avocado, and pears lined up. also, i will be trying a congee recipe in my slow cooker tomorrow.

we have a roller.  and by roller, i mean he will roll everywhere. even leaving him on gabe's bed while i throw out diapers and wash my hands...i've caught him with his feet dangling over the edge giggling away.  and on the floor, he will roll and wiggle himself all over the mats.  thank goodness for the exersaucer...there's no escaping that one!

sleeping habits have deteriorated.  i've been really tired at night, so jeremy usually ends up in my bed for his night-feed and then we both fall asleep together. but his morning naps at home have been pretty consistent at 2 hours. i fear everything is about to fall apart now that summer break has arrived 2 weeks early (and summer session is in limbo). we were also planning on transitioning J to gabriel's room this summer...we'll see how that goes :P

J's first 2 teeth should arrive any day now.  we've been feeling around for awhile, and the bottom ones are definitely trying to emerge...the outline of the teeth is visible, just not quite through the gums yet.  i think his top 2 teeth will follow shortly after that.  so quick!

and i completely forgot to mention our new car in last month's post! after some deliberation, we bit the bullet and bought a minivan!  at the car show this year, the frontrunner (because of rising gas prices) we were thinking of buying a diesel VW.  and then as we were leaving the carshow, we looked at the dodge caravan, and then visions of automatic power sliding doors, dvd players, and being a volunteer driver for field trips kind of took over, and the minivan trumped everything.  we were going to wait until the fall and buy the 30th anniversary dodge caravan (with some extra modifications), but then we were told about the chrysler town & country - basically the same as the dodge but it has more standard features and a nicer console (with a higher starting price tag).  so chris started scoping 2013 T & C's, and we ended up finding one that met our criteria (including super-low mileage!) at coquitlam chrysler.  we've had it for a couple months now, and while it does require a lot of gas, i do love it. it also marked the turning point for gabe - he's out of his convertible britax, and in his clek booster.

MMA - Kindergarten-style

back in april, the kindergarten class did a session on mixed martial arts. sensei scott came to class twice a week for gym-time, and taught the kids some karate and jiu jitsu. anytime gabe learns something at school i always ask him if he wants to continue doing it. so this time it actually stuck to him, so i signed him up at scott's dojo. for $49, the 1 month trial was a no-brainer since it included the "gi". it also helped that 3 of his peers are also in the classes.  after watching him attend a karate class and a jiu jitsu class, i figured that karate would be more his speed, since it's no-contact. but i was wrong. he's really into the "wrestling" aspect of jiu jitsu.  such a boy :-) 


we're halfway through the trial, and i already think we'll take the summer off.  we've got summer session (fingers crossed!), kamp kaleidoscope, and swim lessons coming up, and i want to keep time for him to spend at the waterpark/playground/grandma & grandpa's house.  so we'll re-visit martial arts in the fall and determine if we'll stick with this big commitment.

5 months!

at his 4 month check-up, baby J weighed 16 lbs, 12 oz.  definitely a big boy in the 90th percentile ;-)

the past few weeks have been interesting.  baby J isn't sleeping nearly as well as he used to.  he's still in my room and he's in the pack & play, but with his ability to roll around (since we don't wrap him up anymore), he just doesn't settle down.  sometimes i have to nurse him to sleep in my bed and then transfer him when he's fast asleep. he's also been happier sleeping on his stomach, which i don't remember gabe doing when he this age. once i find our old sleep sacks, maybe he'll be a back sleeper again.

i also wondered if baby J was getting hungrier (he will stare at us when we eat at the table - it's very uncomfortable) or if my milk supply was decreasing.  so we started him on rice cereal.  he's still very awkward in the high chair since he can't sit on his own yet, but he seemed interested in the food. since he's still pretty young, we'll do it once or twice a day and slowly add to his menu over the next 3 weeks.

J has graduated out of the bumbo seat and happily bounces around in the exersaucer...one of the upsides of him being in the 90th percentile :-) it's so funny how baby gear is used differently the 2nd time around.  the bouncy chair was used for the first couple months, and now we use it as a "shelf" for toys; the playmat once had toys hanging on it for J to stare at, but now he rips them off and the toys are on the bouncy chair "shelf"; the bumbo chair - see bouncy chair use.  i think it's time to de-clutter :P