Saturday, February 21, 2009

Date Day

After the show
Maya and Will, before the show
Today was date day, for the whole family.

Will took Maya to see Dora Live at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium and she had so much fun. She didn't say much about the show when she came home, but at bedtime she opened up a little bit when I asked if she sang and danced at the show.

"Did you see me twirl?" she asked me when I was tucking her in tonight. 
"Did papa twirl with you?" I asked her back. 
"No. He wasn't wearing a dancing dress either," she said. 

Will said she was so happy today, and so quiet, "just holding my hand." After the show, they went out for pizza. 

While they were at the show, Guillermo and I had a full day, too. We started at Morehead Planetarium and saw Sol & Company. Then, we went to Fosters Market for lunch. Next, we went to the library and read about Merlin, King Arthur and Atlantis. It was so nice being at the library with just him. He and Maya pick such different books when we all go together that it's hard to find a book I can read to both of them while we are still there. Today, we just took our time, the way you should be able to every time you go to the library. 

After that, we went to Wilson Park and played Star Wars (I was Rex, he alternated between Cody and Mace Windu) and when he finally grew tired of that, we built castles in the sand. He was chattering nonstop the whole time, a sign that he is happy. Finally, we went to the grocery store. 

Tonight, Will and I have a date, watching Like Water for Chocolate. 

Friday, February 20, 2009

The Weaker Sixes

He is not of the weaker six.

Guillermo got to pick a prize out of the prize box today at school. He choose an neon orange action figure thing that he calls Torch because it looks like a superhero named Torch. 

He was so excited to show off Torch to me when I picked him up from school and he chatted nonstop all the way to the car. As I was strapping him into his car seat, I heard him say something about the fact that there were more men superheroes than girl superheroes because girls aren't as tough.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I'm tough." 

"Girls are just a weaker six," he replied.

"Who told you that?" I demanded, with a smile on my face (I mean, how can you not smile at "weaker sixes?") 
"Never mind," he answered. "Whatever." 

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Pass the Meat

I was talking to my mother on the telephone as I pulled into driveway tonight. Guillermo and Maya were in the backseat. 

I told her that we were having one of Will's students and his wife over for dinner and mentioned that I made a mediterranean lasagna because the wife was a vegetarian. 

From the backseat, Guillermo called: "Can you just make some meat for me?"

Monday, February 16, 2009

Laugh, but Not a Song

The other night I was snuggling with Maya before she went to bed. 

"I like your laugh," she said. 
"So sweet," I thought to myself.

"I don't like your song, either," she added.

What?

"You don't like my laugh or my songs?"

"I like your laugh," she said. "I don't like your songs, either."

Oh, well. Now we have that cleared up.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Creative or A Little Creepy?




Guillermo loves Legos. Loves them. And I love them too because he can play with them for hours. Well, not for hours, but for a long time, by himself. It's been fun watching his creations evolve, too, although some are a bit disturbing, like the one above. Will says it's no big deal, the "lab" scene with the heads on the ground, no need to worry. Robots always need more heads. Hmmm. I'm not so sure I agree with him...

Saturday, February 7, 2009

On the Potty

We were nearly out of diapers so I took Maya to Target yesterday so she could pick out a package of Dora underwear. It's potty training time at our house. 

When she woke up today I took off her diaper and let her pick out one of the six pairs of Dora the Explorer underwear I laid out on her bed. She was so happy and she did so well all day. 

The plan is to not allow her to wear diapers during the day at all again. She can wear them at bedtime, but I'll replace them with underwear first thing in the morning.  She says she's game for the plan. "Mama says no more diapers," she told me several times today. 

This morning I gave her a lot to drink and repeatedly asked her if she needed to go to the bathroom. She obliged and each time she went, she was so happy. By the afternoon I was a little more slack, but she did great. We ended the day with only one pair of clean Dora underwear, but she really only had two big accidents. 

My girl rocks. 

Friday, February 6, 2009

An Extra Day of School


Guillermo has been going to preschool two full days a week for a few years now and today he adds an extra day to his schedule. 

He was so excited that when he came to my room this morning at 7 a.m. he was already dressed. Usually, Maya is the family's alarm clock, and sometimes Guillermo won't wake for another 30 minutes after she's awake. 

He's excited because not only does he get to go to school and play with his friends an extra day, but he also gets to go on Show-And-Tell day.  For weeks he's been excited about taking his Gustafter Yellowgold stuffed animal to show. Guillermo never remembers Gustafer's full name though, so we've saved the tag that came on Gustafer and Guillermo will take it to school so his teachers can help him if he gets stuck. 

I wish I could go! Instead, Maya and I will be making a giant chocolate chip cookie for a potluck tonight. We're decorating it with the number 100 in frosting in honor of the public school's 100th day of school today (Who knew this was such a big deal at schools these days?).

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Another Reason Why I Love Her


I had a bad day today. Nothing awful, just some bad news at Guillermo's dentist appointment, and then the kids were bratty and fighting all day. By the end of the day, I was tired, and well, a little teary, at the dinner table of course.  Maya saw me crying.

"I do this to you?" she asked, raising her arm.
"What?" I asked. 
"This."
"Come show me," I said.

She walked over in her black and white polka dot dress and white and black polka dot tights, held her arm up to my face and then wiped my tears on her sleeve. 
"Ok?" she said.
"OK," I said and pulled her in for a good hug.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Preschool, Here We Come

Turns out, I didn't need to be that worried about my tardiness in signing Maya up for preschool (even though I don't think I was that tardy). One of the (FOUR) preschools I signed her up for called today to say she has a slot for the fall. Perfect. 

I'm not sure if the school is our top choice, but it has an added bonus that the others will not have. My good friend who lives just a mile away plans to send her daughter to the same preschool so I will have someone to carpool with each Tuesday and Thursday when we take our daughters to school.

I am so relieved. While many mothers struggle with going back to work and leaving their children at daycare (like I did with Guillermo), I used to feel a bit bad for Maya that she wasn't in preschool sooner. I got over that, but I had settled on 3 as the right age for Maya to start school. I'm so glad she'll get to go.