You Know You're a Parent When...

1. You have woken up with Spiderman stickers in your hair.
2. You have yelled "Backpack!" at the TV.
3. You have pulled an action figure out of your shoe.
4. You know all the words to She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain.
5. Half of your dishes could be thrown against the wall and be no worse for the wear.
6. You've had to peel stickers off of your floors.
7. You've had to Windex fingerprints off the part of your mirrors that is 6 inches off of the ground.
8. You know what Spaghetti-Os smell like.
9. You know who lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea.
10. Your office walls are covered in drawings of octopuses.

Love Letters - Ryker

Dear Ryker,

You, at 19 months, are the cuddliest little kid I have ever know. You give the most fantastic hugs! And you love giving kisses (which makes me nervous for your teenage years). I generally hate getting up in the morning, but walking into your room and getting my Ryker Hug makes it all better. Your teachers say that you are like that for them too, brightening their days and doling out hugs and kisses to your classmates.

You are sweet and hilarious and intent. You love to make people laugh and will go to great lengths to please. You are learning so much and are so proud when you say a new word, or when we finally understand the words you've been saying to us! You are fearless and will try anything, especially if Jack is doing it first.

And you LOVE Jack. The bond you two share is adorable. Daddy and I often sit back and watch you two, and we can't stop grinning. You want to hug him. You want to play with him. You follow him around. When he's in a timeout, you grab my hand and lead me to the door, babble-demanding that I release him immediately. When he went to the neighbor's house without you, you stood in the driveway pointing at their house for 5 straight minutes.

I cannot imagine our lives without you. We are all better people for having you in our family. We love you.

Love Letters - Jack

My friend Nicki writes love letters to various people on her blog. I like it, so I thought I'd write some to the kids. This one is for Jack.

Dear Jack,

You are my sweet boy. You have such a kind heart and an amazingly keen sense of justice. You are giving - always wanting to bring stickers to friends, cookies to your teachers, art projects to Mommy and Daddy. And you expect nothing in return.

You have been inquisitive since birth. I love seeing the world through your eyes, even if it means answering 300 questions about the lady getting off of the bus. I love watching you learn to read and write, even if it means being in a constant state of Spelling-Bee-ness. ("Momma, how do you spell Scooby?" "S-C-O-O-B-Y. Scooby.") You are working so hard at it, and showing so much pride in your accomplishments. And this is just the beginning. You are so talented at so many things already - I can't wait to see what captures your heart and turns into your passion.

I love how good you are to Ryker. I love how you want to help him. You want to feed him and give him things and teach him how to say words. You hug him when he's crying and speak for him when he can't express himself.

You are a phenomenal little boy and we love you so much.

The Zoo

Chuck stayed home with the kids today, and took them to the Zoo, along with every other family that had Presidents' Day off.

Here is Jack's rundown of the outing:

Jack: "Momma, today we went to the Zoo! And we saw the dolphins! But they are old. They can't do their twicks anymore, so there aren't any more dolphin shows. But there are still dolphins. But they are old and can't do twicks. When I went with Richfield Monnnesssori in the spring they DID do a show! But not anymore."

Me: "Wow Bud - that sounds like so much fun! Did you see other animals too?"

J: "Yes! We saw fwamingos!...and dolphins. Momma, they are old and can't do twicks no more."

Me: "Yes, you mentioned the dolphins. Sounds like you had a great day. What was your favorite animal?'

J: "The canines."

Undie Bundies Part 2

Jack's been potty trained for quite awhile, but still was wearing pull-ups to bed. Mostly that was because we just didn't feel like dealing with night-time accidents. But he's been asking to wear underwear to bed, so we let him last night. And he did great! Hooray for Jack! He was really proud of himself - and came to tell me so at 6am.

That is another of the last bastions of little-kid-dom for him. Each of these tugs at my umbilical cord a bit more. When I would get to thinking that he was growing up so fast, I could always point to things like diapers or things he couldn't do by himself, and that would make me feel a little better. But those things are getting conquered one by one.

Good thing Ryker is still a little guy, and I have friends with babies.

Butterfly Effect

I think a lot about the butterfly effect. "What If" is one of my favorite games. I love reflecting on the little things that have come together to make me who I am today. And it's really a chain effect - so it's sort of a fun walk down memory lane.

My life would be the MOST different if I hadn't met Chuck. To not have met Chuck I would have to not have been, ummm, dancing where I was dancing at that party. And I wouldn't have been there if I hadn't played basketball and been there with my teammates. And I wouldn't have played basketball in college (I believe) if I hadn't been mentored by Gary in St. Louis. And that's where I stop that version of the game because I can't actually remember how or when I met him.

OR

I wouldn't have met Chuck if I hadn't gone to Carleton. And I wouldn't have gone to Carleton if someone in that financial aid office hadn't decided to help me out. And I wouldn't have even applied to Carleton, and had that aid officer make that choice, if I hadn't met Madeline. And I wouldn't have met Madeline if I hadn't gone to Strength and Speed Camp (at least I got SOMETHING out of that - because Lord knows it didn't make me strong or fast!).

I think I'm thinking about this because Chuck and I were reflecting back to when we both applied for grad school. Our master plan when I was a senior was to both apply for masters degree programs at the same couple of schools. We applied and were really bummed when we didn't get into the same ones. But we made the choice to stay here and have Chuck go to the U. If we hadn't made that choice, I would have ended up with a Masters in Education. And that would have been a mistake because, as I figured out WITHOUT going through a program, it turns out that I do NOT want to be a teacher. And then I wouldn't have ended up working at the museum, and learning as much as I've learned there.

I love playing this game. I love it because it reminds me to be open to experiences that come my way, because you never know how important a role that might play in my future.

Yelling at Polar Bears

This is what happened this morning when a show about polar bears came on the TV.

Dead Presidents

I've mentioned all along that Jack has an obsession with justice, right and wrong, good people and bad people. He just can't stop talking about it. Case in point - they've been talking about Presidents this month, obviously. I imagine, and maybe I'm wrong here, that many of the kids go home and talk to their parents about the various little tid-bits they learned about the presidents. George Washington had wooden teeth, Abe Lincoln wore a top-hat, Roosevelt was in a wheelchair, etc.

My child? He comes home and leads with the following statement:

"There was that one man and he was riding in a car and doing this (waving) and then a man shot him and he diedid. Where was that man that shot him?"

To which I responded: "Ummm, well I guess it depends who you talk to. Either a building or a grassy knoll."

But that didn't make him stop.

"There was that other man - Abrabram Lincoln - and he was watching TV and then someone came in and shot him."

Me: "Well, not really, he wasn't watching TV...."

I'm trying to be honest and answer his questions, but I kinda don't want to be talking to my 4 year old about death all the time. It's a wee bit creepy.