Christmas Day 2008

Everyone gathered at our house this morning. It was 10:30 by the time everyone got there and we settled down to gift opening. It was wild for a while and, as usual, difficult to watch all the little ones open their gifts. They were so busy. I don't know how their parents kept up with their gifts! Gage was pretty calm, actually. He got some books and immediately settled down to read, oblivious to the bedlam going on around him.

We had decided to change the menu from the traditional (for our family) turkey & dressing and all the rest. So, this year we had prime rib that Wendy had seen in the Target flyer. This was a heat in the bag boneless product. We also had salad, fresh asparagus, a hashed brown potato casserole, rolls and pecan pie. It was all very good...and actually fairly easy. Carolyn and I would still like to dumb it down more, but Wendy is resisting. The prime rib was really good...very tender and a really nice flavor. Carolyn made horseradish sauce to go with it which was a big hit.

Here's a video and some photos from the day...

"I'm Getting Nothing for Christmas!"

The kindergarten classes at Myatt Elementary presented the Christmas program this year. They marched in, two classes at a time, and climbed up on the risers. They had seven groups in all. This video featured Gage's group. He's in the middle in front of the sleigh. The teacher was sitting in front of me, so that's why all the children are looking in that direction. I sat on the floor in front of the first row of parents...that's why I had an unobstructed view. I hope you enjoy the video of their song.

To be still or not to be still...

Robin is the merchandising/marketing manager at New ICM, a manufacturer of children's sleepwear, etc. At least, I think that's what her department is. At any rate, one of the things that she does there is get the catalog together to send to the retailers. This includes taking photos of kids modeling the products. Naturally, she thinks her nieces and nephews are pretty cute, so she has enlisted their help in getting pictures of some of the products. They are in the Spring/Summer 2009 catalog which can be found at newicm.com.

Last weekend, she brought some new plaid pajamas and gowns for the kids to model for the Fall/Winter 2009 catalog. So, I'm posting some of the photos that were taken with my camera. My camera is nice, but not nearly fast enough for this type of work. Very few of the photos capture all of the kids in focus. Somebody is always moving. They were wild. Robin decided toward the end that the best photos were the ones in which she just let the kids be themselves, rather than trying to make them pose.

Unfortunately, 18 month old Carlee was forced into a size 12 month gown. It was obviously too small...so, she'll probably end up on the cutting room floor! I haven't seen the photos Robin took. I'm hopeful that they are better than mine.

Arm Dangles

While I was writing the last post I was trying to remember another subject that Gage and I talked about on our way to his school last Friday. I thought of it while I was doing my Wii Fit exercises this morning...arm dangles. (For more on the Wii Fit, look at my Free Form blog...there's a link to it on the right.)

A while back the boys got out their little doctor kit and proceeded to give me and examination. Zane ran the thermometer across my forehead, pronounced me sick and gave me a shot (and put a band aid on it.) They listened to my heart and took my blood pressure. When he put the blood pressure cuff on my upper arm, Gage noticed my arm dangle and became quite fascinated. He put his finger under it and keep pushing it up until it grossed Wendy out enough that she told him to quit.

As we were driving to school on Friday, he was in a good position to notice my arms which were in the 10 o'clock-2 o'clock positions on the steering wheel. He said, "Cookie, is that your muscle hanging down on your arm?" I replied that it wasn't. He then wanted to know what it was. I told him it was my arm dangle. I further cautioned him that while I didn't mind if he asked me about my arm dangle, he shouldn't ask other ladies about that kind of thing. He wanted to know why not. I don't remember exactly what I told him, but the gist was that arm dangles happen when you get older and aren't as strong as you once were and that ladies aren't proud of them. He then informed me that they felt funny. Evidently he had remembered that from a couple of months ago.

Note to self: Keep my arms in the 4 o'clock-8 o'clock position when I drive the kids around.

Grandparent's Day Breakfast

I don't know where all the other grandparents were...enjoying their second cup of coffee, I guess. I saw very few people over 4 feet tall at the Myatt Elementary Cafeteria this morning. I got to the Garners' house by 7:10. Gage was tying his shoes. Then he had to put a belt on since his shorts had belt loops. He needed to show me how he threaded each loop, especially the ones in the back which he felt for with his fingers. Everything was done at a fairly leisurely pace. We finally got in the car, strapped in and on our way at 7:25. It was after 7:40 by the time we got to the school. I parked in the teacher's parking lot and we schlepped through the dewy grass to the front of the school, where I saw they had plenty of parking for visitors. Sign in and then a short walk to the cafeteria where Gage instructed me we had to stand on the "X's". Moving from one X to the next until we reached the food line. Gage picked up chocolate milk and the tray he received had cereal, toast, and grape juice. He picked up a dish of peaches, but had to put it back because he could only have 3 items in addition to the milk. He had already eaten breakfast at home, so I don't know why he needed any of it. I got chocolate milk and then was given a tray with a cinnamon roll and toast. We found a place to sit and I managed to get my legs under the table. By that time we had about 5 minutes left to eat before Gage had to get to class. I hate to tell you how much food got tossed, not only ours, but many of the children ate very little from their tray. What a waste!

After returning the trays, we joined a long line of little people marching, with arms crossed, toward the kindergarten wing. Teachers stood at each door, welcoming their little charges with pleasant "good mornings." Gage informed me that his room was the "last room on the right." His teacher, Mrs. English, shook his hand and said, "Good morning, Gage." And then instructed him to say, "Good morning, Mrs. English." Which he did. I introduced myself and that was that. Back down the hall to the front of the building. I saw Kristie David there and asked if she had reminded her mother about the breakfast. She said she had, but Jackson (her kinder kid) wanted to go to the doughnut place, so that's what they did. Who knew that was an option?

On the way to school, Gage told me that he wanted to be a dirt bike racer when he grew up. I asked him why he wanted to do that and he replied that he wanted to get a big trophy.

We talked about other things, too, but I can't remember what for the life of me. Should have made notes, I guess.

Labor Day

Wayne needed a little help getting in the last 20 or so acres of cotton, so Kelly was called into action. Since Kelly was going to be gone and Wendy needed to mow the yard, I was called into action.

When I got there, both boys were busy with activities in the kitchen. Gage was drawing the race cars from "Cars." He did a really good job of it. Zane was playing some type of electronic game. Gage was helping him when he needed help.

Wendy and I talked briefly and then she went out (in her field hand outfit) to cut the grass. I wish I had a photo of her in that getup. She saw herself in the mirror just before she went out and commented to me that she didn't know how I had kept a straight face.

Almost immediately after sitting down with my book, the boys finished their activities. Wendy had given permission for them to watch some television, so we put "Madagascar" into the DVD. Zane sat in my lap and we settled down to watch the movie. It really is a cute movie. After the movie was over, Gage danced to the catchy music while the credits rolled.

We played a Memory matching game and then Old Maid. Then we went to the playroom where they kept finding ways to toss, sling, or fire small items at me.

Kelly and Wendy got in about the same time...both covered with dirt from their afternoon activities. I tried to get Gage to talk more about kindergarten, but I guess he wasn't in the mood. I'm taking him to school on Friday and will have breakfast with him there. A Grandparent's Day thing, I think.

Flash cards

A week or so ago Wendy told me that she had gotten out the flash cards I gave Gage at Christmas last year. If I remember correctly, they were printed on Post-It notes. She started pulling them off and Gage would tell her what the word was. After a while, instead of just saying the word, he would make up a sentence with the word in it. And he did it quickly. I told her that I remembered when I was in school and had to make sentences using vocabulary words. It took me forever to do it...not that I didn't know what the words meant, but because I wanted to make a really good sentence, not just a simple one. What a colossal waste of time!

Gage goes out into the world

The big day finally arrived. Gage started kindergarten today. It was once discussed that he might ride the bus. Even though his mother rode the bus when she was six, I was taken aback that they would consider that for Gage. Who would he know? Would he be scared? Would he get off at the right school? Would someone be mean to him? Fortunately, they decided not to go that route, at least for the time being.

Wendy drove him to school. She reports that there were cars and people everywhere. There were parents and sometimes whole families taking their little ones into the school. But first, you have to park the car and then sign in and get a name tag announcing that you are a visitor to Myatt Elementary. Wendy drove up, let him out and watched him walk into the school. She had expected that there might be someone at the door (as at the childcare facility that he just left on Friday) to collect the children and make sure they got to wherever they were supposed to go. No such luck. In he walked, all by himself. She drove off and almost immediately freaked out worrying about him not finding his way to his room. This was the third time he was at the school, but only the second time to go to his classroom. And the first time was with his parents last week. So, this was his first time on his own. Wendy turned around, drove back, found a parking space (not easy,) signed in and walked to his classroom. And there he was...watching television, having found his way all by himself. According to him, someone did ask him if he knew where he was going and he said "yes." I guess he did. He has a good sense of direction...didn't get that from his mom.

Wendy picked him up at 3 and was treated to his first reactions. By the time I saw him a few hours later, he was tired of answering questions. Instead, he told me that there was a bathtub in the bathroom at school and he took off all his clothes and bathed himself. I'm pretty sure he was making it up, but he never backed off the story. I'm sure he enjoyed the cafeteria and being able to choose his lunch rather than having a plate set in front of him. He got the cheeseburger, some broccoli, something else, a peach, and strawberry milk.

Kelly took Zane to the daycare in Wharton. As they entered town, Zane started saying that he didn't want to go to school, he didn't want to play with his friends. He wouldn't get out of the truck...Kelly had to carry him in. It just didn't feel right that his brother wasn't there. When I left their house, Gage and Zane were running all around, laughing. All's right with the world.

Gage, Zane & spider

The boys decided they needed to pose with the large spider with the large egg sac. Zane kept trying to look at the spider, so Gage helped him look at the camera.

Making money

Recently, Gage told me that he wanted to be able to get any wish he wanted. I asked him what he would wish for and he replied that he would wish for "all the money in the world." I asked why he needed so much money and he explained that he wanted to be able to buy any toy he wanted. Having walked through a few toy aisles with him recently, I knew that he surely was going to need a good amount of money. He picked up almost everything he could reach and carefully looked over the product, pronouncing just about all of them, "Awesome!" We were in the aisles with the cars, trucks, Star Wars figures, medieval figures, etc.

A week or two later, while I was at their house, Wendy took me to her computer to show me some photos she had taken of a project that Gage had been busy with. I guess he figured wishes were for suckers and he was going to take a more pro-active approach to his money needs.





He did a pretty good job, I think. His mom and dad must have let him look at one of their $5000 bills so he could get it right!

Zane's 3rd Birthday

Zane is 3 years old! He celebrated by inviting family and friends to his house. The little ones played, ate cake and ice cream, opened gifts and whacked on a pinata. Zane liked all his gifts and had a really good time.

Since I'm writing about this more than a month after the occasion, I can't really remember what all happened.

I'm not sure if this was the day that Zane rode his big wheel out on the road. It might have been after everyone left...or it might have been on a different day. Anywhooo, whenever it was...he had been riding on the driveway as usual. He is supposed to turn around when he gets to the front side walk. The adults were talking and when they looked up, Zane was on the road in front of the house, just pedaling along. Kelly took off after him, yelling for Zane to stop. Zane ignored him. Kelly yelled to him that when he caught him he was going to get a spanking. At that, Zane started pedaling as fast as he could. Not fast enough, though. His daddy caught up with him and Zane had to suffer the consequences.

Zane's grasshopper and other things

One afternoon Zane caught a little green grasshopper and held onto it for about an hour. He held it while he played on the slide and in the sand. I asked him whether he thought the grasshopper liked being held like that. He replied, "He likes me!" He passed it off to Gage at one point and I think a grasshopper leg might have come detached at that point. Finally, it was sufficiently squished that he let go of it and went to wash his hands.

Zane and Gage practiced swimming in their little pool. Zane still doesn't like to get his face wet. Gage showed him how to blow bubbles. They both wore their water goggles. Zane didn't quite get how to wear them out of the water.

Gage needed to perform on the monkey bars, so here's a video of that.

Kelly's birthday

We celebrated Kelly's birthday at their house. Gage and Zane had carefully selected gifts that they felt he would enjoy...Star Wars characters, I think.

You can see in the video that Kelly was a very good sport...wearing the birthday boy crown and all!

Schlitterbahn!

We had another great trip to Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels. Our first annual trip was in 2003 when Gage was just 5 months old. We've been every year since then.

We've been pretty happy with the accommodations as a whole. In the past, we've had just one unit, with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. This year we had two units. Each one had a living room, a kitchen, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. They were side by side just across from the resort office. At the back of each unit was a screened-in porch. The two porches shared a patio that had a couple of picnic tables and a large built in barbecue grill. The only thing missing was a door between the units so we wouldn't have to go outside.

Kelly and Wendy and the boys were in the unit with Robin and Chad. Carolyn, Brent and the girls were in the unit with Wayne and I. Carlee (in a pack-n-play) got a bedroom that had 2 queen beds all to herself!

We ordered in pizza on Sunday night. On Monday night Chad grilled hamburgers. Then on Tuesday night I made spaghetti. We got there mid-afternoon on Sunday and left by late morning on Wednesday.

The weather was hot, just what you need if you're going to be in that cold water. Kelly and Gage did rides together both days. I never saw them, so I didn't get any photos of them doing that activity. Wendy and Zane stayed in the area designed for the younger kids, as did the Bubelas and Wayne and I. Wayne has a cousin who lives in Wharton but has also has a home in New Braunfels. The cousin, Bubby, came for us one morning to take us to his house. It's right across the river from the newer part of the resort.

Zane had a tough time getting used to water splashing in his face. He really didn't like it to get in his eyes. By the time we left he was more used to it, but we tried to make sure to be careful around him.

It always seems like the time goes so fast when we're there. Of course, it is only two full days. We've got the same two units booked for next year. Hope there aren't any sugar ants next year. They got into some of the brownies that Wendy had made, which didn't make any of us happy. But, all in all, it was another great trip!

The hammock

The boys tried relaxing in the hammock. It was hard for them to stay centered because of their light weight. Gage kept slipping to the edge and Zane slipped with him. Of course, we were within a foot of them and no injuries occurred, even when Zane flipped out when Gage got up. The hammock was only a few inches above the concrete.

Fishing photos

As I mentioned, the catfish were eager to be caught and the boys had a good time. Wendy always held the loop at the back of Zane's life jacket, so he sometimes looked as if he were leaning into the wind.

Just a reminder, clicking on the photos will enlarge them.