Friday, February 29, 2008

Pudding, Vikings

Will and Guillermo conquer the living room. 

Maya breaks out of her pillow jail. 

We played guard and astronaut most of the week. And puzzles, Maya loves puzzles, especially the wooden ones with little knobs she can hold. 

We also painted with pudding. I was pretty excited for this one. I have vague memories of doing this when I was little. Guillermo and Maya sort of ruined it for me, though. They didn't want to get dirty. Instead of sticking their freshly washed hands in bowls full of chocolate and lemon pudding, they instead chose a cleaner route. They painted with popsicle sticks. I didn't even have to clean Maya's hands when she finished the project. Guillermo was a little messier, but not much. The pictures aren't even worth sharing.

Last night we played viking. Guillermo was the viking, Will was the dragon, I was the chief, and Maya was the bad princess. The game went like this: I sat on a chair and told Guillermo the mission. Then, Guillermo attacked the princess (gently) and Maya fell down on the ground. She would get up, run to couch, where she would pound her hands on the pillows until Will the dragon picked her up, turned her upside down, tickled her and put her in the pillow jail. Guillermo would cover her up with more pillows and then she would break free. The game went on and on and on and they never tired of it. 

Feel free to stop by anytime. We'll definitely find a role for you. 
 


Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Maya's crush

Maybe she'll win him over with her T-Rex feet.

Maya with papa, one of her other favorite boys. 

Maya has a crush. Well, maybe it's not a crush since she is just 20 months, but she is fond of Guillermo's friend, Lazlo. 

Ask her who her friend is and she says "Lazlo."
She forgets about Lazlo's sister, who is closer in age to Maya and spends more time playing with Maya than Lazlo. And, she forgets about her friend Sophia, even though they see each other regularly and are the same age. No, she likes Lazlo, 4-year-old Lazlo. 

He is a great kid, funny, full of energy and very nice to Maya. Plus, he has a great name and she is working to master it. When she says it now, it sounds like "Lathlow." 
The other night, as I was cuddling with her while she drank her milk before bed, I asked her who she loves. I was expecting her to look up and smile at me. Instead, she sat up, took her sippy cup out of her mouth, and said "Lazlo." 
Whoaa. 
"Lazlo's your friend, isn't he," I said to Maya. But on the inside, I was screaming, "Lazlo? What about me?"

Yesterday, a friend was over and collected the jacket her son left at our house the other day. "Lazlo," Maya said, pointing to the blue coat. In fact, it wasn't Lazlo's coat, but it did look very similar. 
On the path to the park the other day, Maya stopped before we could see who was playing on the playscape. "Lazlo." Maya said, with a smile. The last time we were at the park, Lazlo was there. Unfortunately for Maya, he wasn't at the park on Monday. 
Lucky for him, today he was. She smiled and gave him a hug, then went about her business. 
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised with Maya's interest in Lazlo. A while ago, Guillermo told me that when he grows up he is going to be the daddy and Michelle, meaning Lazlo's mother, is going to be the mommy. There's something about that family .... 

Monday, February 25, 2008

Gun hole

Guillermo, in his "Army Vehicle"
Guillermo, looking out of his "gun hole"

Today I brought a big cardboard box into our house and told Guillermo we could make shields out of it. I thought he would like the idea (which came from a friend) because he loves playing guard. 
Instead, he wanted to turn the box into an "Army vehicle." "Great," I said, even though I knew that meant I was going to have push him around the living room in the box and I wasn't looking forward to that. You can see how our box turned out from the pictures above. We cut a door and then Guillermo decided he wanted some windows. But once he saw the first one, he had a new idea. The window instead would be a gun hole.
"A gun hole? What's a gun hole?" I asked.
"It's where put your guns," he answered. 
I should have known.
I continued on with my work and when I was done, he got inside with his stick horse, which he used as the gun, with the horse head at the bottom of the box and the stick sticking out of the hole.  Indeed, he had a gun hole. The good news, I only had to push him twice around the living room before the neighbor I was babysitting woke up from a nap.  When I came back with the baby, Guillermo had moved onto a new game.  

Thursday, February 21, 2008

New name

Maya and Guillermo, October 2006

I've already changed the name of my blog. I thought it better represented what I'll be talking about most, my kids. This is why I picked it:

When Maya was born we had lots of wonderful visits from our family. Everyone was incredibly helpful with my kids and with me. But, of course they couldn't stay forever and eventually it was just the four of us, and on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., it was just the three of us. My first week alone with my new baby and my quick-footed, loud-talking toddler son caused me to panic. "What am I supposed to do now? Was taking a year-long maternity leave really a good idea? Can I go back to work early... really early? Are there any other jobs out there I'd be good at?" I remember checking the Chapel Hill/Carrboro school district Web site to find out when Guillermo could go to kindergarten. He was two at the time and I cringed when I saw the date 2009. It seemed so far away.

I'm not sure how I managed to get through the first few days alone. My mind is foggy on that, and maybe that's a good thing. But eventually we settled into the routine of going to the park every morning Guillermo didn't have school. I'd push Maya in the stroller and he'd come armed with trucks for the sandbox. Usually, I'd have one stowed underneath the stroller, too. It's always best to have an extra truck or two to share with future friends. We'd play at the park, come home for lunch (or picnic, or eat in the car), then Guillermo would nap and we'd fill our afternoons with other activities. 

I have wonderful memories of those days. Hopefully my new blog name will  help remind me why I chose to stay home with my kids (even though it's a decision I constantly struggle with) and the fun times I've had (and will have) with my babies. It goes without saying that not every day is like a day at the park, but I've found that when things are getting rough at home, a large slide and monkey bars can cure Guillermo's grumpiness and a swing can bring a smile to Maya's face.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Eclipsed

Trying out her new boots in the mud behind our house on Monday.


Maya trying out the downward-facing dog on Sunday.


I know I shouldn't feel guilty. It's 9:45 p.m. and all 4-year-olds should be asleep at this hour, but the view of the lunar eclipse is amazing right now and Guillermo is in bed, sawing logs. 
He loves space and the moon. Several times a week, he drags out his encyclopedia-type space guide to try to determine the phase of the moon. He looks up at the sky and down to his book. He can't quite remember all of the names (but who besides astronomers actually remembers Gibbous), but he is pretty good at matching the pictures. His favorite is the full  moon. I prefer the crescent. 

I stood on my neighbor's porch and looked. Our cul-de-sac was lively. At least one person was out at every home. My neighbor knows Guillermo's obsession with the moon and questioned why I didn't bring him out. He wouldn't really know what he's looking at, I said. She said that if he looked through the binoculars, he would know the moon is different than on most nights. Maybe so, I said, but I'm glad he's asleep.

He would have had a great time and watching the moon with him would have been more fun, I know that. He would have been  full of questions and really proud to have been outside with the adults so late at night. But getting him into bed after such excitement would have been hard and I don't need a struggle at 10 p.m.  And besides, when the next lunar eclipse comes around, he'll be nearly seven and he'll enjoy it even more. 

Friday, February 15, 2008

Did you sleep naked?

My niece and nephew, in June. 


My sister is my greatest friend and she provides me with some of the funniest stories about kids (mainly her daughter) I've ever heard. Yesterday, on Valentine's Day, she and her 4-year-old daughter and 20-month-old son caught a flight to Peoria, Ill., to visit my parents for the long weekend. 
Here's the seating chart on the flight: My sister, with my nephew on her lap, my niece in the middle seat, and a San Antonio Rampage (hockey) player on the other side.
"Mommy, is this the same plane you took on your business trip yesterday?" my niece asked.
"No, sweetie. Mommy drove her car."
"Where did you sleep, mommy?"
"In a hotel."
"In a hotel?" my niece asked, her eyes brightening and her voice getting louder. 
"Did you sleep naked, mommy?"
My sister turned a hundred shades of red as now the everyone within earshot on the airplane was picturing her naked.

For the record, my sister insists she never sleeps in the nude.  

Later on the flight, my nephew seemed to be getting sleepy. 
"What are you doing, baby?" my sister asked. 
He turned to her and answered, again not so quietly: "Poo Poo."

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day, here is a viking helmet




Love is in the air at our house. Will and I love this election season. Maya loves her mama, and Guillermo is going through a castle phase and loves anything with swords, battle axes, and loud, mean voices. Finding a Valentine's Day gift for him was easy: A viking helmet. He moves the horns up when he does something good and moves them down when he does something bad, at least that's what he says he's going to do. We gave Maya a crown. Now, don't go calling me sexist. She wore that crown all around the store the other day and it's the only hat that really fits on her head. I'm sure soon enough she'll have a viking hat and Guillermo will have a king's crown. Guillermo's fondness for violent characters, such as knights, pirates, and mean guys in general bothers me a bit, but I do love listening to him playing in his room with his Playmobil castle. I never knew how loud knights spoke. He sends them on wild missions to find buried treasure, capture pirates and Power Rangers, and save the princess.  Oh, I just read that original viking helmets did not have horns attached to them. Oh well. If it weren't for the horns, Guillermo would have chosen the knight's helmet and would still be begging for the sword. Maybe next Valentine's Day, love.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Migraines, rain and Jesus

I had my second migraine of the week today, and it's only Wednesday. I started seeing spots, migraine spots, during my workout class this morning. It was a low-grade migraine, but I still felt pretty awful. I did manage, however, to take Guillermo to chapel with his preschool class and take them both to play at the toy store, before we retired to the couch for way too much TV this afternoon. It was wonderful though. Rain was falling outside, Maya was snuggled up, asleep in my arms, I was dozing on and off, and Guillermo was glued to Curious George on TV and not getting into trouble.

Guillermo is fascinated with Bible stories and God these days. Guillermo attends a preschool at a Methodist Church and one day after I picked him up, he took me to the sitting room next to the chapel at his school. "This is Jesus' bedroom," he told me. "Really?" I asked. "Yeah," Guillermo said, pointing to some couches. "I think he sleeps there." Made me laugh so hard, luckily not in front of him. At his school, the students attend chapel for 20 minutes with Pastor David on Wednesdays. Guillermo doesn't normally go to school those days, but I took him today so he could go with his class. As we were waiting for his class to meet us outside the chapel, the 2-year-old class came by. Pastor David was strolling into the church at the same time. One of the 2-year-old students pointed to him and said "There's Jesus."  

Guillermo's thoughts, observations, comments, questions for today:
"Astronauts like to play with their food, you know."
"Skunks want a smelly valentine." 

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Hello, Bienvenidos




This is the start of my blog, Natalie Gott Game. A friend once said "if only you had married a guy with the last name Game." That would have been a great byline and now it's my blog name. Will suggested a long time ago that I keep a blog as a way to show off our kids to our family and friends far away. So, here goes. I've enjoyed reading so many of my friends' blogs, and I hope you enjoy mine.