A Tough Topic

How do you explain death to a five year old?  Some people think they're too young to be exposed to such a horrific topic, but death is a part of life, and I don't believe in sheltering my children from it.  When my friend passed away last month, M and I debated on whether we should bring the kids to the funeral.  It turns out the funeral was held on a Monday, so M had to work and the kids had school anyway.  We did however, attend the viewing on Sunday night.  Without the luxury of having babysitters on standby, the kids ended up going to the viewing with us.  Baby M was too young to understand anything, but I did tell big sister K that Auntie I was very sick, and she couldn't get better, so she died and is now in heaven with God.  I don't know how much that really sinked in, but both kids were surprisingly well-behaved at the viewing.  They eventually got antsy and wanted to leave, but we managed to stay for at least an hour.

A few days ago, we drove by the funeral home.  Out of the blue, big sister K said to me, "That's where Auntie I lives... she was sick and she died, so now she lives over there."  I explained to her that Auntie I doesn't live there... she was only there for a short period of time after she died so people can go and pay their last respects.  I told big sister K we went to the cemetery the next day while she was at school and buried Auntie I in the ground.  Then I tried comparing it to when we were in California and had visited my grandmother's grave.  Big sister K got confused and asked, "So now Auntie I is in California??"  I told her she's in another cemetery near where we live, not in California, but I don't think she quite understood it.  That night, she asked to pray for Auntie I.  I said that Auntie I is already in heaven with God, that we didn't need to pray for her anymore.  Instead, I told her she can pray for Uncle P and K & M (their two kids), so that's what we did.

Sibling Scuffles

M came home tonight complaining about the drive to school/daycare with the kids this morning.  He said I wouldn't believe what the kids were arguing about in the car... baby M told big sister K she couldn't look out his window, to which big sister K responded yes she can, and the bantering went back and forth until M couldn't take it anymore and told them both to be quiet.

Here's the kicker: his total drive time to drop off the kids is only ~5 minutes (okay, it could go up to seven minutes if he has to wait for the lights).  I just laughed and said, "Welcome to my world.  Now you know what it was like for me for two and a half years."  Or rather, he's only getting a little taste of it, considering my commute with both kids was at least half an hour long each way, sometimes 45 minutes if we got stuck in traffic.

Kids... there's never a dull moment with them around.

Big Boy Bed

After months of procrastination, we finally upgraded baby M from a crib to a twin-size bed.  We assembled the bed over Labor Day weekend and his mattress was delivered last Tuesday.  I worked from home that day to wait for the delivery, and once it came, I couldn't wait to cover it with the Thomas the train bed sheets that I had gotten a while back.  It was only afterwards that I realized I was supposed to let the mattress "air out," so I removed all the beddings, threw them into the wash to get the new mattress smell out, and remade his bed again a few hours later.  I had to take big sister K to her ballet lesson that evening, so I was a little disappointed I couldn't be there when M showed baby M his new bed.  When I got home that night, baby M asked me, "Mommy, did you make my Thomas bed?"  I told him I did, and asked if he liked it.  He answered yes, though the big smile on his face already said it all.

Needless to say, we didn't have any issues getting baby M to sleep in his new bed (conversely, we had trouble getting him out of it!).  The good thing about the transition is that now he can get into and out of his bed on his own; he no longer has to call for us to get him out of his crib.  The bad part is, he's still waking up every night and climbing into our bed with us, and now he brings with him his gigantic Thomas pillow and whatever else he can carry (toys, stuffed animals, sometimes his blanket).

Our conversation the other night:
Me: Baby M, you have your own big boy bed now.  Why are you still climbing into mommy and daddy's bed?
Baby M: Because I want to.
Me: But you should be sleeping in your own bed.  What if mommy sleeps with you?  Would you stay in your Thomas bed then?
Baby M: No, I want to sleep in your bed.
Me: But if you sleep in mommy and daddy's bed, then there's no use for your Thomas bed.  Does that mean we can throw Thomas away?
Baby M: No.  I want to sleep in my Thomas bed AND mommy and daddy's bed.

How do I argue with that one?  Personally, I don't mind it too much because I know there will come a day when he won't want to snuggle next to us, so while he still wants to, I am willing to oblige.  They are only this young once, and I am trying to savor every moment.

First night in his new bed:

First Day of Preschool

After months and months of searching, I finally bit the bullet and changed daycares for baby M.  He started his new school today. I've been prepping him for it and we even visited last week to meet his new teacher.  I am praying baby M will have a positive experience at this new place.  It is close to big sister K's elementary school, so the drop-off and pick-up will be easier with one person taking care of both kids.

A brief video from this morning:

Cheese?

Conversation in the car with baby M this morning:

Baby M: Mommy, we're hiding in the cheese.
Me: We're hiding in the cheese?
Baby M: No, we're hiding in the cheese!
Me: In the cheese??
Baby M: No, in the CHEESE!
Me: In the trees?
Baby M: Yes, in the cheese!

First Day of School

My little girl is all grown up and starting first grade at public school!  

 Big sister K's second day of school:

A Day At the Beach

Baby M has been asking to go to the beach for weeks now, so this past Saturday, we finally gave in.  This was the last free weekend we will have for the next few months; if we didn't go now, it'd be another year before we'd get a chance again. And if that were to happen, I'd have to suffer the endless nagging in the car by my stubborn 2-year old.

The last time we went to the beach was about four years ago (you can read about it here... oh the memories!).  This time around, our trip to Point Pleasant beach was much more enjoyable (we managed to stay longer than five minutes).  Big sister K loved putting her feet in the water and watching the waves rush in and getting herself wet.  Baby M had fun playing in the sand, messing up whatever structure daddy was building, and plopping himself in the hole that M had dug up.  We spent about two hours at the beach before heading over to Jenkinson Boardwalk.  We bought a booklet of 60 tickets for the kids to go on rides, and they were gone in no time.

Baby M wanted to be buried in the sand.  We were more than happy to oblige, but then he changed his mind after getting waist-deep into the sand (those on Facebook would've seen a brief video).

 

Food = happy boy

Picture taken by big sister K... it's a little crooked, but hey, she tried.

The kids enjoying the rides at Jenkinson Boardwalk:

Selfie with my baby:

My Boy

Sometimes the words that come out of baby M's mouth just cracks me up, or shocks me, or both.  He's talking so much now that the days when we were concerned about his speech seem almost non-existent.  He's been in the "why?" stage, always questioning everything he sees in car rides, and is a lot more persistent than big sister K ever was, so unless you give him an answer he likes to distract him (usually something that involves vehicles), the "but why mommy?" game could go on forever.

Baby M's favorite color is blue.  Combine that with a cupcake, and he is one happy boy.

Excerpts of conversations with baby M:

Big sister K: That's cool, right dude?
Baby M: Who's dude?

[I made the mistake of bringing baby M to McDonald's for ice cream last week, and he's been asking to go every single day when I pick him up from school...]

Baby M: Can we go to Old McDonald for ice cream?

Me: It's not called Old McDonald.

Baby M: Can we go to Ronald McDonald for ice cream?

Me: It's not called Ronald McDonald.

Baby M: I don't know... I can't say it.

Me: It's called MCDonald's.

Baby M: Can we go to MCDonald's for ice cream?

Me: No.

[How is it that he knows Ronald McDonald, but he can't remember McDonald's??]

Me: Baby M, say cheeseburger.

Baby M: Cheeseburger.

Me: Say hamburger.
Baby M: Hamburburger.

[He can say cheeseburger, but he can't say hamburger... I don't get it!]

M and I were talking in the car yesterday and I was explaining the different route I took to pick up big sister K from camp last week (kids were in the back keeping themselves occupied).  All of a sudden, baby M goes, "I saw a helicopter there!"  I looked at M in awe and was speechless.  Baby M did see a helicopter!  We passed by the center of town where there was a helicopter on display and I had pointed it out to baby M at the time.  How did he know what we were talking about??  I didn't even think he was paying attention!  That boy never ceases to amaze me.

In case you're wondering, below is a picture of the helicopter we saw (pretty obvious why it's left a lasting impression on baby M's mind).  I did a bit of research and found out it is an AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter that was used by the United States Army.