Happy Birthday Joya Claire!

So today my precious little baby turned TWO! I am not sure how it happened so fast, one day she was a tiny infant in my arms and the next, it seems, she was running around copying her brother at every turn. Joya Claire is quite the amazing little girl now. She potty-trained herself(now if she would just wean herself)! She speaks amazing sentences, her own and she parrots everything Caleb says. She can climb up and down the ladder to Caleb's loft bed! She follows Caleb and walks along the curb balancing very well, she refuses to let me hold her hand while doing this! She can climb on most play equipment and slide down any slide that Caleb can, frequently she wants to do more than I will allow! She knows the ABC song and is well on her way to identifying all of the letters(thank you Fridge Phonics once again)! She can count to twenty. Joya Claire will now stay in nursery, all by herself, if Carrie Coleman takes her, bless you Carrie! Even though she is 32lbs. she will still sleep in the sling for an hour during her nap time if we are out and about!!! She will go for the day with Nana or auntie Robin and act perfectly angelic for them. She loves babies, real ones and dolls. She carries her favorite doll around in a sling I made for her. She loves books and will sit quietly for an hour before bedtime as long as I am reading! She is as much of a water-baby as Caleb was! She loves all animals and will cry tears to go and see my mother's dog! She wants to know about everything and asks tons of questions. She loves Caleb and always wants to be by his side, she will do anything he tells her and she laughs at all of his antics! She is beautiful and bright and she brings joy to us all!

Joya - Joy or in Spanish - jewel
Claire - French - clear or bright The given name of my maternal grandmother.

Childlike Love

So, I am still giggling even as I write this. The original conversation happened about two weeks ago at bedtime, but the follow up statements occur every few days or so, to both Cody and I.

Caleb - Mama, will there be lots of womens in our house when Joya and me grow up?

Me - Do you mean that you will have children of your own and there will then be a lot of girls here? (I can't remember the exact conversation preceding this, but somehow I knew this was what he was getting at.)

Caleb - Yes, and there will be a lot of girls.

Me - Are you going to live here with your wife and all your children and Joya Claire with her husband and all of her children?(I was beginning to wonder where he thought we would put everyone, but I didn't want to burst his bubble so I didn't ask. I was a child that never wanted to move out of my mother's house and it used to offend me when she would suggest that I would someday feel otherwise so I can identify with his thought process)

Caleb - Yes, no. No mama, I am going to be the husband and Joya is going to be the wife and we will have children.(girls apparently, since we are going to have a lot of women in our house)

Me - You can't marry Joya Claire because she is your sister.

Caleb - Yes, I can.

Me - Look, Caleb I am not going to argue with you. Go to sleep.

Caleb - (defiantly)I CAN marry Joya Claire

Me - No. Goodnight Caleb.

Caleb - (crying)I am going to be the husband and Joya is going to be the mudder!

Me - Fine, Caleb you can marry whoever you want just go to sleep.

Caleb - I am going to marry Joya Claire.

Cody did not believe me when I recounted the conversation for him until Caleb had a similar conversation with him the following day. Cody could barely contain himself and was laughing about it later on as he told me. Caleb has reminded me every few days or so things like "I am going to be the husband and Joya is going to be the mudder" (that is mother in Caleb-speak) or "when I grow up I am going to marry Joya Claire". I realize this is something he will grow out of naturally so I don't even argue with him I just smile and think I have got to get this recorded! I seriously cannot imagine a better blackmail for adolescence. I am thinking along the lines of "Caleb, you better get your room cleaned up before I show all your friends that DVD of you crying because you want to marry Joya Claire" It would probably work on both of them! Oh, the things I could accomplish! The endless amusement!

On a more serious note. I am so grateful that Caleb and Joya Claire love each other dearly. Hopefully as they grow older they will continue to get along and have such a wonderful friendship.

What Does Joya Claire Think?

Poor little Joya Claire! I feel so sad for her on the mornings that I take Caleb to school. She seems so forlorn without her best playmate, dearest friend, the laugher at all of her antics, ally and big brother, Caleb. The first couple times we all went together to drop him off, but she was so devastated that Caleb was staying behind without her that now I try to leave her with Cody in the mornings to avoid traumatizing her! When I get back from dropping him off she is happy to play with me for a while, then she starts looking around and calling "Caleb, Caleb, Caleb" so I tell her that Caleb is at school and that he will be back soon and her fervent response is "NO! NO! NO school Caleb", it is so heartbreaking. On Thursday I took her to a little play-group, thinking it would distract her but, she even asked for him while playing with the other kids at the park, "where Caleb?", "Joya Care school?"(she wants to go to school with him now). She sounds so pitiful you would think he had been gone for days, not hours!

When I pick Caleb up from school, Joya Claire is taking her nap so he comes home and runs up the stairs and says "Joya, I'm home" and she immediately wakes up ready to play with her favorite person in the whole world! I am trying to come up with creative things to do to keep her happy and distracted. Thursday is play-group so that leaves Tuesday and Wednesday that I have to try and fill the enormous void that Caleb leaves behind. And I thought she was going to love having me all to herself three days a week! Oh well, there is definitely no competing with Caleb!

Welcome to Waldorf School, Caleb!

Caleb started Kindergarten at Olympia Waldorf School. He absolutely loves it! His teacher is Patricia Cairns, she is amazing, well-educated, very experienced and most importantly she really loves the children and is gentle and patient with them! When she calls the children she sings their names, it is so sweet. The assistant teacher is Elf Nelson, she has won my heart because she already loves my active, little child and gently helps guide him along in his new environment. She is patient and kind and quite energetic herself! There are 16 students and three of them, including Caleb, attend for three days a week instead of five. A wonderful option for parents or children who are not quite ready for five hours away from home five days a week. Caleb would probably love five days, I just wasn't ready for that yet.

I wish I could give you a sense of the school and how thoughtful and child-centered everything is.
The campus is seven acres with woods and "blossoming gardens—a kindergarten garden, a class garden, and an abundance of flowers and herbs surrounding the buildings." Throughout the woods in natural thickets there are log benches, wooden play houses and many hidden wonders to delight children of all ages. In the Kinderyard there is a large fire-pit for chilly days, a great sand-pit for the kids to play in and enough dirt to keep Caleb happy. There is a grounded boat for the children to play in and wood planks to build with. Everything is beautiful and natural including the classrooms. There is a tree-house in Caleb's classroom! All of the toys are beautiful wood or cloth, made with young children in mind. There is a little area under the tree-house for dramatic play and there are dress-up clothes aplenty! There is definitely no NCLB here, thank goodness.

Every day a healthy snack and meal are prepared right in the Kinderhouse so the importance of eating healthy and trying new things are reinforced at school. Today they had lentil soup for lunch, mmm. Also the entire school has a NO media policy and as Kindergarten parents we are asked to limit our childrens' screen time to Saturdays. I love this because I feel I can safely send Caleb to school without the constant worry of what inappropiate things he might be exposed to. And as we still do not have a television in our home it makes it very easy for us to follow this suggestion.

The following is a description of Kindergarten from the OWS website. I think it is an absolutely lovely way to begin school and exactly what Caleb needs! I wish every child could be blessed with such gentle beginnings...

Young children learn primarily through imitation and creative play. They are most secure in a warm, home-like environment. The Waldorf kindergarten is warm and welcoming and utilizes a full range of creative activities appropriate to early childhood activities. These activities include creative play, rhythm and movement, finger plays, singing and circle games. A weekly rhythm is established in which the children experience bread baking, modeling with beeswax, watercolor painting, beeswax crayon drawing and seasonal crafts. Fairy tales and nature stories are told and are further enlivened through puppet plays and simple drama. In order to provide a solid foundation upon which subsequent academic learning can flourish, the kindergarten program addresses the development of a creative imagination, provides focused activity, and nourishes a sense of wonder and reverence for life. We have two kindergartens, Briar Rose and Spindlewood, offering mixed-age (ages four to six), three-day and five-day kindergarten programs.
The kindergarten is intended to be a home-like experience so that the young child feels secure and comfortable in their first step away from the family home. There is a restfulness and orderliness in the classroom and in the rhythms that the teacher establishes—the rhythms of the seasons, of the day, and rhythms of the breathing in and breathing out of the curriculum. These protective rhythms are essential to the well-being of the whole child.
Kindergarten children are phenomenal imitators. Therefore, the teacher must be a role model worthy of their imitation. The teacher works with a reverence for life, honoring the dough to be kneaded, wood to be sanded, table to be scrubbed. . . When the teacher is enthusiastic and purposeful while sweeping the floor, stirring the batter or planting the seeds, the children gladly join in.
The teacher provides the rhythm, ritual and reverence that live within the Waldorf kindergarten. The beautiful physical environment, the rhythm of the work of the day, the reverent presentation of the fairy tales all work within the young child to encourage healthy growth and a respect for life and each other. Even the mood of music which lives in the room draws forth the healthy imagination of the young child. When we embrace the young child with beauty and respect, those values are reflected back, and we encourage a foundation for the healthy development of the whole child.

Finally, I would like to give special thanks to my Mom and aunt Robin who have helped make this all possible for Caleb! Thank you, thank you and thank you again!

Doughnuts?!

Today we went grocery shopping, at the store that must not be named, with the kiddos. After we had completed most of our shopping and headed for checkout Caleb spotted a box of m&m encrusted brownies. Holding the box to his chest like a long lost love he asked if we could get them, I told him (and I took a serious chance here) we could only get them if he wanted to put back the raspberries he had chosen earlier he looked longingly at the brownies for a moment and then put them back!!! Hurray! Then he grabbed a bag of something and asked if we could get the doughnuts and yes, I did feel significant pangs of guilt as I looked at the bag of mini-bagels and told him we could get them. The whole time Joya Claire was singing “doughnuts, doughnuts, doughnuts”. He was so excited about the “doughnuts” that I began to worry about the realization of the truth in the not so distant future. Caleb has never had doughnuts, but apparently he knows they are supposed to be sweet and obviously the mini-bagels were not going to be sweet. Well we got home, made dinner, ate in relative peace and then the dreaded question from Caleb “May I have a doughnut now?” and Joya Claire “I want doughnut”. What could I do? So we got out the bag of mini-bagels and both of the kids chose one out and began happily eating. Never a word of complaint just quiet contented eating! After he finished one, Caleb asked for another “doughnut” and even wanted a third, but I told him we would need to save some for later! I am so lucky and I only wonder how much longer I will be able get away such things.

Misunderstood

Cody took both of the kids fishing the other day and there was evidently some confusion as to which fishing hole they were going to. Caleb had one place in mind and Cody had another and Caleb was getting quite upset that they were not heading to his favorite spot, so Cody patiently explained that Caleb had misunderstood about where they were going to fish. Caleb's response was classic, "I didn't misunderheard you, Daddy".

Hush Little Baby

Joya Claire likes to snuggle up in my lap when she is tired and say "ba bas, banket, song", so I snuggle her up in a blanket to nurse and ask her what song she would like me to sing. Her usual response is "hush baby" and when I start singing the line "mama's gonna buy you..." she will stop nursing and say "no, no, no Nana" because apparently my mother sang the song to her first and so she almost always wants it to be sung "Nana's gonna buy you..." which is admittedly pretty funny. Well yesterday she decided to be a little more creative with her favorite song and when I started singing the line in question she said "no, no, no Suki". For those of you who don't know Suki is my mother's Shi Tsu, that both of my children are in love with. So I had to sing Hush Little Baby in its entirety with the words "Suki's going to buy you..." and if I forgot she would stop nursing and repeat the instructions so then I would correct myself. Once she had me singing to her satisfaction she snuggled in, smiled and laughed all while continuing to nurse! It really was comical.