Farmyard Fun

During the school holiday a few weeks ago, the boys and I were delighted to discover farm animals hanging out at our local shopping centre.

Eliot had a great time brushing the sheep and would sprinkle straw across their backs so as to have more brushing to do.

This was about as far away from me as Peter was willing to go.  I couldn't really blame him.  Most of the sheep and goats were eye level with him and some of them were pretty brazen, looking for anything edible.

It took a little while for Eliot to get the hang of feeding the animals.  It tickled his hand so he kept pulling back and spilling the food.

Once he figured it out, though, he was determined to keep them all well-fed.

Why is Eliot asleep on the floor?

A.  Because Peter dared him.
B.  Because, being recently inspired by the lives of Franciscan monks, he has decided to avoid as many creature comforts as possible.
C.  Because that's where mountain lions sleep.

The correct answer is C.  Last week Eliot was Mr Mountain Lion.  He became so wrapped up in his new persona that he decided to sleep on the floor because, as he explained it to me, that is where mountain lions sleep.  I tried to convince him that his own bed was a nice comfortable mountain lion bed, that mountain lions are actually quite fond of comfortable beds.  But to no avail.  He was absolutely determined to sleep on the floor.  I was able, at least, to get him to sleep on a fluffy lamb fleece.  But as you can see in the picture he shifted around and ended up on the hard floor.  We moved him back into his own bed after he'd fallen asleep.  For several nights Eliot went to sleep on the floor.  I went along with it and tried to make the floor as snug as possible.  He seems to have moved on now and goes to sleep in his own bed.  I really can't complain.  As a child I was notorious for pretending to be some animal or other.  My parents always humoured me.  At least, I don't have any memories of them not humouring me.  It's fun to see Eliot's imagination expanding and taking up the world around him.  Even if it means having to move him to his bed after he's fallen asleep.

Speaking Peter

If you want to learn to speak fluent Peter here are a few pointers that you may find helpful.

First, it's important to begin by focusing on your B's, D's, and G's.  You'll use them a lot.  Here are a few examples:

Peter:  Deter
Milk:  Gek  (still his favourite drink)
Truck:  Guk  (he loves watching for trucks out of the window, especially the garbage truck)

Bump:  Bup

Uh-oh:  Bu-po

Raisins:  Dai-sehs

Computer:  Dooter
Dessert:  Dert
Please:  Ease
Thank-you:  Dee-doo
La-dee-doo (a word adopted from Noni meaning any kind of physical mis-hap, as in "climb down from that table before you do a la-dee-doo"):  A-dee-doo

Always use the person's name when thanking them, i.e. Dee-Doo Daddy, Dee-Doo Mommy, and (my personal favourite) Dee-Doo Ed-et.

Sentences are short, to the point, and sometimes repeated with a slight variation on a single theme:  Wheh Daddy, Mommy?  Wheh Ed-et, Mommy?  Wheh Me, Mommy? 

When the lines of communication break down, quickly resort to an ear-splitting scream or obnoxious yell.  This will not restore communication, but you might find it somewhat cathartic.  Unless it gets you some alone time in another room, which it may.

And, above all, you must be prepared to adapt to changes in this rapidly evolving dialect.

Good luck.

How's he liking school?

This is a question I find myself answering a lot lately.  With Eliot's first term of Kindy at an end, friends and relations are curious to know how he's settling in.

Eliot was eager to display the artwork that he brought home with at the end of the term.

It delighted him that he would be able to see his art while lying in bed.

Eliot never wants to go to school.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning we're sure to hear the words "I don't want to go to school today" though the force with which they're said can vary.  I've only ever had one occasion when I had to get him into the car and drive him because he refused to walk to school.  Recently when dropping him off, he hasn't wanted me to leave right away.  So Peter and I hang around for a few minutes until he settles into an activity.

I'm not worried.  When I pick him up from school he's smiling, though always happy to see us.  He's making little friends and he'll wave goodbye to them as we leave.  He seems to carry himself with more confidence after a day at school.  We recently had a little play date with one of his school friends and they had a great time, though I could see Peter falling into the role of Pesky Little Brother.

They have started their Jolly Phonics program and each week they focus on a new letter.  They get a little worksheet to practice at home which Eliot enjoys very much.

The other day it was no different than the rest.  He didn't want to go to school.  He didn't want it to be a whole day, he only wanted it to be a half day.  He walked to school without any problem.  He put his fruit in the big fruit bowl and wrote his name on the attendance sheet.  He noticed the letter they'd be working on that week and ran up to me, "We're learning the letter T this week!  T like in 'cat'!"  Then he noticed a couple of his little friends seated at one of the tables working on a letter T worksheet.  The teacher invited him to join them and he happily climbed into a chair.  I said a quick goodbye, wondering if he'd ask me to stay again but hoping I could slip out of the door.  He turned to me and said "Bye!  Love ya!"  I'm sure he still reserves the right to an off day here or there, but school is going really well.

He's very impressed with his growing independence.  This outfit was chosen and put on by himself.  Aside from a little help with the socks he did it all himself, including the zipper.

Peter is also taking advantage of his one-on-one time with me.  We read the books that he wants to read, he plays quietly with his cars without fear of interruption, and on Tuesday mornings I've started taking him swimming.  It's great for him to have a little time in the pool with all of the attention on him.  They're both progressing nicely.

Random stuff that has me chuckling lately

Sometimes you just have to laugh at the stuff that life dishes out.  Just now a random thought came to me and it made me laugh.  In one of my recent posts I mentioned the "northern shores of Antarctica."  What, like opposed to Antarctica's southern shores?  I'm still laughing.

Then there was Easter Sunday when Spencer walked into our bedroom and happened upon the following scene:  Eliot had tucked Yellow Bear into our bed and was kneeling beside him, glue stick in one hand, yellow Easter Basket straw in the other.  He was just getting ready to bestow a full head of hair on Yellow Bear when Spencer intervened.  I didn't see it myself, but the mental image still has me laughing.

And finally something from Peter.  Most of you know that Peter loves to play with our cordless phone.  I let him punch around on its buttons the other day while changing his diaper and somehow he managed to change our voice mail greeting.  Now those who miss us are met with a stretch of fuzzy silence and beeping, followed by Peter saying " 'Low! 'Low! 'Low!"  I don't think we could have come up with a better April Fool's gag if we'd sat down and thought it out.  The joke's on us, though, because with the display no longer functioning (also the work of Peter) we can't figure out how to change it back.  Nonetheless, it has me in stitches.

Happy Easter!

"Mum-mum, Easter is so much fun!"  That's what Eliot told me the other day.  Last week we went to the Primary's Easter party where he and Peter hunted for chocolate eggs and sailed paper boats.  The party-planners had intended for the children to race the boats down the little stream, but the current wasn't very strong and most of the children lost interest.  Not Eliot.  He sailed at least four boats that I folded with him and he probably would have sailed more except that we had to go home and have lunch.  He and Peter had a wonderful time hunting for chocolate eggs and when they felt they'd found enough they plopped down in the shade to sample their loot.

On Easter Sunday Eliot and Peter woke up at 6:00 am, as usual, and were ready to go.  We had our oatmeal first, then came the scavenger hunt.  Both boys got involved this year and they hunted here and there for each plastic egg that held the next clue until finally uncovering the stash of chocolate and other treats.  Their blood sugar was unusually high going in to church, but in spite of that they behaved very well and enjoyed listening to all of the music.

Enjoying their treats.  I love the crossed ankles.

Playing with their new stickers.  Can you see the road that Eliot drew for his car stickers?  Peter quickly got the hang of peeling off his Thomas stickers and enjoyed decorating his paper with them.

That evening we finished off the day with a supper of roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and carrots, and hot cross buns.  For dessert we ate the ears off of a large chocolate bunny.  The boys had no problem going to sleep that night.

Eliot and I tried our hands at making lemon macarons for Easter.  He helped mix, sift, pour, and sample.  It was a drawn out process, but fun to make something special for the day.  

I've heard it said that without Easter there'd be no Christmas.  That without the life, death, and resurrection that we commemorate at Easter, the babe in Bethlehem would have just been another baby like so many others.  I'm thankful that he was not just another baby like so many others.  And I'm thankful for the promise of hope and renewal that Easter brings.   

We hope you all had a very Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday Peter!

Peter turned two this past Saturday.  Spencer was in Melbourne on a work trip so the celebration was a bit delayed.  However, the boys and I stopped off at McDonald's for an ice cream cone to mark the actual day.

It was the first time Peter ate an entire ice cream cone without it disintegrating into a pile of mush in his hand. He's getting to be such a big boy!

Spencer returned home Sunday afternoon, at which time the celebration began with a brand new tricycle.  Now Peter can peddle along with Eliot.

Peter loves cars and has recently developed an interest in traffic lights, so we went with a car-themed cake.

The little car atop the cake didn't stay there for long.

After supper it was time to open presents.  Peter required very little assistance.  He's getting pretty good at this.

Pausing to peruse a new book. 

Enjoying his cake.

We love our happy Little Peter Man!