Cast off!

Jimmy got his cast off this week! Life is certainly easier for him with it off. For one, he does not need to wrap his arm in bubble wrap for soccer practices and games anymore. And he can bathe himself again. Mostly, I think he enjoys being free to move his arm as he pleases.

Amelia's birthday

"YIPEE! I'M FOUR!" Amelia shouted as she barrelled down the stairs on the morning of her birthday. She looks forward to learning to read more words now that she is four.

Kidwell Farm

Earlier this week, I took the kids to Kidwell Farm in nearby Fairfax County. We met up with friends and had a lovely (but chilly) time looking at all the new babies that were born this spring. There were twin sheep that were one week old (one black and one white,) piglets (black and white striped) and a baby goat that was hiding behind the woodwork and couldn't been seen. The kids were most fascinated with the month old sheep. They were very active. A worker went into their pen and picked one of the lambs up for the kids to pat. Jonathan got very excited. "Doggy!" He exclaimed. "No," I explained. "That's a sheep." Upon hearing my reply, he eagerly began to growl and roar at the sheep!

Tidewater Fun

Last week during Jimmy's spring break, we took a trip to Virginia's Tidewater region. We visited the National Maritime Center , which is in Norfolk. But first, we spent two days in Colonial Williamsburg, which is in (get ready) Williamsburg.

Colonial Williamsburg is a mostly rebuilt rendition of what Williamsburg was like when it was the colonial capital, and original state capital, of Virginia. Jamestown, where the British first landed in 1607, and Yorktown, where the Americans won a decisive battle, are right down the road. Yorktown, Jamestown, and Williamsburg make up America's Historic Triangle. There are big highway signs to that effect. I was just glad to be in America's Historic Triangle and not Bermuda's.

Williamsburg is important mainly because of who all was there together in the House of Burgesses at the same time: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry, to name a few. They, along with the Adamses in Massachusetts, more or less started the American Revolution.

The surrounding city of Williamsburg is quite modern and touristy, but the historic area is old-fashioned and touristy. Like the Novell campus, Colonial Williamsburg (CW) is preserved and staffed by a non-profit corporation. But unlike the Novell campus, CW is very quainte.

Upon arrival, the kids were convicted of disturbing the peace and got the pillory:




After being released, they got to work in a colonial corn field with hoes:


We visited the very regal Governor's Palace, home of the crown-appointed and colonist-reviled governor of Virginia:


The palace was dull for the kids, but then there was a girl's bedroom, which Amelia enjoyed seeing (you can't read it in this photo, but Amelia's free badge says "I Am Under 6"):


Jonathan had a great time too, despite this photo:


Each afternoon at Williamsburg, they hold a regularly scheduled revolution for a couple of hours. You stand in the street and see authentic characters talk about the British abuses, the war, etc. This photo shows Tracy enjoying the revolution (the boy in the orange is Jimmy; the girl in the stripes is *not* Amelia):


At the end of the revolution on our second Williamsburg day, they invited able-bodied men to join the march to the courthouse before moving on to battle at Yorktown. How could I refuse? (That's me in the green colonial shorts and white colonial baseball hat.)


Civilians, including children, were invited to march behind, but they had to provide their own weaponry if desired. Luckily, Jimmy had chosen out an authentic Pirate Rifle the day before from the colonial gift shoppe (that's him in the yellow shirt; his glow-in-the-dark cast is hiding behind the more authentic soldier):


At the end of the day, we stopped for one last picture before heading back to the colonial parking lot:


The next day, after our last night at the posh Travelodge Williamsburg, we headed to Norfolk. The proper southern way to say "Norfolk" sounds quite impolite; as a squeamish Western prude, I incorrectly say it like it looks: "Nor-Folk." Whatever its pronunciation, Norfolk has several mermaid statues:


It also has a great place called the National Maritime Center, which includes Nauticus, a wonderful museum about all things related to boating, and the Hampton Roads Naval Museum, a free U.S. Navy museum that includes the U.S.S. Wisconsin. I didn't realize the place would hold our attention for the entire day, but it did.

We got to tour the outside of the U.S.S. Wisconsin battleship:

It has been suggested that the kid to our left, your right, needs some manners pertaining to photo-taking in public places. Our kids do it too. What can you do? All we can do is photoshop him right out of there:

The Wisconsin is part of the Navy's Inactive Fleet, which means she could be activated and used at any time. She took part in WWII, the Korean War, and the First Gulf War. It was fascinating to be on a ship so large and with such a long and rich history.

Here is the type of shell that the Wisconsin's big 16-inch guns fire:


Jimmy said he learned a great lesson on this trip: "Guns are important!"

He's right. What else is important? Bunk beds:


Underwater exploration pods with claws:


And of course, families are important. We really enjoyed this little vacation. If you ever come visit us in Virginia, there will be plenty to do!

Wake up time

Last night, as we were going to sleep, Gary wondered how the kids would wake us up in the morning. Sometimes they knock. Sometimes they make a lot of noise. When Jimmy was small, he used to stand by the bed, waking us up as quietly as possible.
This morning, Jimmy and Jonny came into our room, crawled into bed and started to sing "There were 5 in the bed and the little one said 'I'm crowded, roll over!"

Ninja Turtles

Jimmy went to see the new Ninja Turtle movie last night with a friend, Mikito. He came home and told us all about it. It sounds really exciting, full of adventure. There are a few scary parts though. Rafael and Leonardo (2 of the Ninja Turtles) get in an argument and one of their weapons is broken. This was too much for Mikito. He ran screaming from the theater!
(We have since cleared a path in our living room, just in case something scary comes on our tv and he needs a quick exit!)

Boo Bah!

Last week, Jonathan chose a Boo Bah movie at the library. We brought it home and he watched it with Amelia. He watched it but didn't seem so captivated. When it was done, he turned off the tv. Amelia was upset. "Jonny turned the movie off before it was done!" I explained that the movie was all done and it was right to turn it off. Amelia looked really confused. "But movies are supposed to have a beginning, a middle, and an end," she protested.

Angry Eyes

There is a silly part in Toy Story 2 where Mr. Potatohead is packing for a trip and Mrs. Potatohead is helping him. She opens his back and says something like "I'm packing your angry eyes, just in case."
I like to wiggle my eyebrows at the kids, to see them try to wiggle back. Jonathan ususally laughs and tries to grab my eyebrows. Today, he spent the parts of the day with his eyebrows down, looking very dark and angry. But he wasn't acting particularly angry. Then I figured it out. He was trying to figure out how to wiggle his eyebrows at me, but could only manage the down part.

Jimmy's Cast

Last weekend, Jimmy and Gary went ice skating for the school skate night. Jimmy took a big fall on his elbow and cried pretty hard. When he got home, he told me "My arm hurts pretty bad so I'm not going to move it for 8 days." He didn't complain anymore, but he didn't really use his arm. So yesterday I figured there might be something wrong and got an appointment at the doctor today. Ta da! After 2 appointments and x-rays, he has a lovely new red cast, to be worn for the next 6 weeks. His arm is fractured at the base of his upper arm bone. He already feels better from it, as his arm is protected against jostling and banging now. But now I feel like a terrible parents leaving it so long!

3 babies!

Here are the kids happily swaddled in their new blankets! Thanks to Nana and Pop for the Valentine blanket surprise.

A Special Announcement

Please stand by for the following special announcement, exclusive to kiddodiddo blog readers:

The next kiddodiddo.

The due date is September 15. More details to come soon!

UPDATE: he's here! He's here!

Photography

Here is what our new house looks like:



If you follow the walkway in the foreground straight back, you see two doors. Ours is the door on the left. Unfortunately we do not have a garage with handsome barn door like you see in the photo, but at least we have assigned spaces for our car and van:



And here's a photo of cute Jonathan:



I showed him this photo and he said "baby!" It is brightened for better visibility. As I was playing around with the contrast, I bumped it up to 100 and it looked like this:



Jonathan's reaction was, "Uh-oh!"

Facial recognition

Tonight I needed to distract Jonathan for a few minutes. I thought it would be fun to show him a picture on the computer. So I used Google to search for images, hoping to find a picture of, I don't know, Mickey Mouse. I thought maybe I could explain who Mickey was and what his purpose is in our lives.

But no explanation was necessary.

I was on the search results page when I heard Jonathan get very excited and say, "Mick!" Apparently he already knows. :-) (FYI Jonathan is nearly 17 months old.)

Cans! Num Num Num!

Last time I got out the crayons, Jonathan got very excited and shouted "CANS! Num num num!" (translation: crayons! yummy!) He is my only child who enjoys art time, if for the wrong reasons (he eats the supplies, in case you were wondering.) Jimmy and Amelia hate drawing, writing, and coloring. Does anyone have tips on how to encourage these activities or make them fun for kids?

Jonny's post

Jonny has been very chatty lately, speaking one word sentences and especially the word "MA!" which now means everything (help, more, Mom, and anything else urgent.) Yesterday he said his first sentence. I was trying unsucessfully to buckle him into his carseat and he was sucessfully fighting me off. "DONE!" he shouted over and over, meaning that he was done being in the car and wanted to get out. Finally in shear desparation, he shouted in his angriest 1 year old voice "I AM ALL DONE!" It was very clear. I was surprised.
Today he put a few words together again. "Bye, Jimmy" he said as the school bus drove away this morning.

Amelia's Post

Amelia has joined the primary this year and is very happy to be a Sunbeam. She loves the singing time and brings a lot of energy to the class.

She wants me to type a song she made up it is called "the room of thee"

I will be kind today and i will be all that i can be my earthly home unto thee for sins for forgiveness I will weakness I will sin and obey and then obey holy spirit father of for the kind you say to me thee to parents kind and dear help us find the way oh when all that he must do for living child of gray juice.

*This is not as easy to remember as one Jimmy made up one day that he had the "urp disease"
"this is the throw up place, the United States- bock bock bock!"

Jimmy's Post

Jimmy has been unusually helpful lately. In fact, his school teacher called to tell me what a "good citizen" he has been.
Monday was a school holiday- the floating holiday reserved for snow days that don't come. I didn't set any alarms hoping that the kids and I could sleep in. At 8:15, I heard the vacuum cleaner going. (I was surprised to sleep in that late!) I went upstairs to find Jimmy and Amelia vacuuming up yogurt. Jimmy decided I needed a break that day and so he gave everyone a breakfast of yogurt and bread. Jonny took off running with his yogurt and got it all over the carpet and the slide in the living room. I had to keep from laughing at the mess and their attempt to clean it up. Sometimes it really is the thought that counts.

A Little Lesson in Farming

Yesterday, Amelia and I were out and about together. While we were walking and talking, she taught me a little about farming.

"Mom, milk comes from cows. Carrots come from bunnies!"

The Mitten

Jimmy made a cute little mitten at school and he tells a cute little story with it.
There was a little boy named Nicky who had snow white mittens. His grandma made them and he loved them. One day he went climbing in a tree and one fell off. He could not find it because it was snow white and there was snow on the ground. Along came a mole and climbed inside (he has animal cut outs that fit inside.) It went in backward so it could see if any creditors were coming. (I think he meant preditors) A badger, fox, mouse, and owl follow the mole into the mitten. Then a bear climbs into the mitten. It sneezes "ACHOO!" (he dumps out all of the animals) and out come all of the animals.

Something Strange in the Neighborhood!

Something strange has been going on after bedtime at our house. A few nights ago, Gary and I went to check on the kids after they were asleep and we found them in bed, wearing outgrown winter hats and mittens. I must admit that it is not unusual to find Jimmy sleeping in one glove (a black one, ala Luke Skywalker) but to see him sleeping in a hat that barely covered his hair with mittens on both hands was unusual. To find Amelia sleeping in like manner was downright strange. I wondered what they had been up to. The next night, we found Jimmy sleeping on the closet floor, wearing hat, mittens, and a padded vest. We do not have a cold house. We keep the thermostat at about 70. The third night, after bath, Jimmy raided the old winter clothes yet again, making reference to space travel. A clue! Space travel...