Disney on Ice!!!

Remember this picture? We have the most Disney-obsessed child in the world. So when I heard that Disney on Ice was coming to Atlanta, I thought that I could win Mom of the Year (from Kamu at least) by finding a way to get him there. They're doing their "Celebrations" show and we cannot wait to go see it.

Even better, Mom Central has a coupon code for the show! The coupon code is simply the word MOM and is entered in on Ticketmaster when purchasing tickets. It is good for 4 tickets for $44 for Monday-Friday matinee shows, and $4 off all weekend tickets.

Because we're bad parents, we're taking the kids on opening night. I know it's a Wednesday and I know they have school the next day and I know it doesn't start until evening. But it's DISNEY! ON ICE! And just remembering how Kamu floated out of Mickey's house after that picture...I know this will mean the world to him.

If anyone else goes that night, let me know. We would love to see you there!

They grow up so quickly

Cliched or not, it is definitely true. These two kids have had a big week!

Kamu, who was already a star at potty training, is no longer wearing a diaper at night! He's been dry every single night for the last week (although I have now jinxed it and will find myself washing sheets in the morning).

We also had another spate of reactive airway disorder. It had been so long since he'd had any trouble breathing that I had actually packed away the nebulizer on a Saturday. Monday, he woke up wheezy and by that afternoon he was needing treatments every 3 hours and was put back on steroids. Thankfully it cleared up with those medications and we didn't end up in the hospital again. It was especially scary since I have absolutely NO idea what triggered it.

He also started back at daycare and has the same teacher, though he has moved up to the older 2's room. His teacher gushed over how happy she is to hear his little voice and said he is talking up a storm at school! He's also ridiculously tall and has been mistaken for a 4-year old several times recently. (Look at the arms and legs on this kid!)

And Patrick...well, Patrick started kindergarten! Here he is with his teacher on the first day of school. When he came home from school and I asked him how his day was, he said "I had TOO good a time, Mama!" I've been dropping him off in the mornings (next week we'll start carpooling with our neighbors and switching weeks for drop-offs) and he takes the bus home in the afternoons. He LOVES riding the bus and is always happy and bouncy about what they did at school.

Jason's been home to get him at the bus stop but today I got home early enough to be there also. I can't even begin to tell you how surreal it was to watch my baby hop off the bus. I thought it was strange to drop him off at school, since I pull up to the curb and he walks himself into his classroom, with his Superman backpack and Scooby Doo lunchbox. But watching him get off the bus was so bizarre. I remember seeing kids get off the bus at the stop across the street while I was pregnant with him; now he's the kid who hops off first when the bus stops at the corner.

My babies are so big and wonderful and amazing. They continually astound me with how much they do. I am the luckiest of mamas.

The kids actually do fight sometimes

Everyone always asks how Patrick and Melkamu get along, and I invariably say that they get along wonderfully. I've even been known to say that I'm still waiting for the honeymoon period to end.

It really hasn't, though we're now 18 months into having two children. The kids do get along really, really well. They play together, read together, share a room WAY better than Siobhan and I ever did, and nothing makes me happier than the sound of them giggling together (although it's hard to balance the love of that sound with the need for them to go to sleep when it happens after bedtime).

Sure, they have their disagreements. Invariably, Melkamu wants a toy that Patrick is playing with, or Kamu puts something down for a second that Patrick immediately snatches up. They like to wrestle but Kamu hasn't got the self-control to not fall with all of his (considerable) weight when he tackles Patrick. And Kamu, being 2, is still learning that hitting isn't acceptable. It's sometimes hard for Patrick to deal with Melkamu's complete and utter devotion when Patrick has a friend over. 5-year-olds prefer not to have a 2 1/2 year old tagging along constantly. Kamu doesn't quite understand that he's not 5 and therefore cannot do everything that Patrick does. But yesterday, they took it to a new level...

I came home from work to find both children in time-out. Jason told me that they'd gotten into a fistfight! I was shocked, especially since Jason said it was a very "typical Patrick" way of fighting. He took me out of the kids' earshot and explained why: Patrick is a very, VERY logical kid. Extremely creative, but everything always has a logical explanation--he's just good at thinking outside the box.

Anyway, apparently Kamu hit him for some reason and Jason heard Patrick say "Ow Kamu, don't hit me!" Jason was on his way up to intervene when he heard Patrick say "OW! If you hit me like that, I'm going to hit you the same way!" And sure enough, Jason got there in time to see them hitting each other--if Kamu hit Patrick, Patrick hit Kamu back exactly the same way. When Patrick finished his hit, then Melkamu would hit again.

Patrick could totally have taken advantage of being older and having a longer reach, but he didn't. Kamu could totally have hit Patrick while Patrick was hitting him, but he didn't. They've clearly been well indoctrinated to take turns and be fair ;-)

I'm sure that there are more fights in their future but I love that two minutes after they were done with time-out, they were laughing hysterically at each other again.

Sea World

I'm FINALLY posting pictures of our last day in Florida. Finally. It was at the beginning of June. Then I can FINALLY post pictures of our trip to Costa Rica.

We were all a little burned out of the excitement of amusement parks by the third day. Sea World was enough of a change to help, but we were all tired by then and made it a pretty short day.

We enjoyed the dolphin show...

...and then visited the dolphins from below and close up. The kids were both fascinated by seeing them so close!

Patrick LOVED the stingrays, and has forgiven me for dropping his sunglasses into their tank (we couldn't get them out).

We all enjoyed the alligators/crocodiles/whichever they were. I am not a marine biologist.

I particularly like penguins. They're so cute and waddle-y.

But no one enjoyed anything as much as Jason enjoyed the sharks. He has a lot of professional respect for them. (And as an aside, hearing Melkamu say "Shark! Yikes!" is adorable.)

The sea dragons were pretty cool, I have to admit.

And the kids enjoyed the other dangerous fish in the exhibit.

Kamu made it until we were sitting down for the Shamu show before he conked out. He slept through the entire thing. I was so glad I had the carrier with us for afterwards, so that I could just pop him on my back instead of trying to get my grumpy guy to walk.

The show was fantastic! Actually, all the shows were really good. Jason and I were impressed with how much choreography they've done compared to the shows we remember from our visits when we were little. They really kept the kids' attention and excitement!

Shamu is freaking huge, even compared to the other orcas they had in the show.

It was a really great trip. We were so glad that we had the time to go this summer!

I wonder if Blogger will let me post this one

I was told that I needed to update my blog. This may not be what said people intended as the update (Sea World and Costa Rica pictures coming soon, I promise) but I feel the absolute need to record it here for posterity.

Kamu has recently become fascinated with his...male appendage. I had forgotten that the lifelong obsession starts at such a young age.

He has started noticing the genders of others as well, and will frequently ask whether the person has a penis or not. Earlier today, Kamu and I were in the bathroom at a restaurant. Below, you will find a reasonable transcription of our conversation (I'll let you guess which one of us was saying which line ;-) )

"Kamu penis?"

"Yes, Kamu has a penis."

"Mama penis?"

"No, Mama doesn't have a penis. Mama is a girl."

"Oh," stated with the most pitying look imaginable. "Daddy penis?"

"Yes, Daddy has a penis."

"Patick (not a misspelling) penis?"

"Yes, Patrick has a penis."

"YAY PENIS!" This was stated repeatedly and as joyfully as possible, with accompanying dancing.

I wonder what the woman in the other stall was thinking...

Nervy

While at the grocery store with the boys yesterday, I encountered a woman. Melkamu was in the seat of the grocery cart and Patrick was in the cart itself, as they often are. Both children were in a good mood. Neither one was yelling or crying; in fact, I was talking with both of them when this happened (conversation with Patrick interspersed with quick explanations to Melkamu upon hearing "What's that?" repeatedly). I smiled at the woman as we started to walk by. The woman commented that "Oh, they're too big to be in there!" I smiled and replied that it seems to work for us and it's easier to have them in one place.

"My mom always made sure we were well behaved so that we wouldn't go running off."

Umm, thanks, my children ARE well behaved. But one of them is 2 1/2, and even a good 2 1/2 year old is still...2 1/2. And Patrick thinks it is funny to have his legs buried in the groceries.

"But if they get out, they can help Mommy!" she replied.

I gave a small laugh and replied that then I would probably end up with a lot of things that I didn't really need.

"That's when Mommy needs to learn to say no to them!"

I smiled, albeit a little tightly, and said they hear 'no' plenty. And then I walked away.

Did this perfect stranger in the grocery store really just infer that a) she knows my children better than I do, b) my children are poorly behaved, c) it's my fault that they are poorly behaved, and d) that I don't know how to say no to my children? Really? I thought people like that were a myth!

I shudder to think what else she might have said if we hadn't left the aisle at that time.

Disney redux

Day 2 at Disney followed pretty much the same pattern as Day 1. Get up, eat waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse for breakfast (for the kids, anyway), and go to the Magic Kingdom. Have a fantastic time, go back to hotel for naps and dinner, go back to park until they throw us out. Blah, blah, blah ;-)


It was really too bad that Patrick was so upset to go back on Day 2.



Melkamu also. What awful parents we were to make them go again.

We dragged them onto the race cars...

...and then Dumbo...

...and then onto the tea cups.

Don't they look sad about it?

Well, this just goes without saying...

Then, just to be nice about it, we took them to see Mickey. I think I'll let those pictures speak for themselves.


Kamu floated out of there, I swear it. He was as giddy as any child has ever been.

Unfortunately, he was also a little worn out and needed a bit of a nap.

Then we hit the park again for the night!

Before Philhar-Magic. During and after would have featured Melkamu crying because he was worried about Donald Duck.

Patrick loved getting to walk through Cinderella's Castle as the last thing we did at Disney.

Our final view of the park.