What has my Father done?

It's always those funny little stories that make you laugh the most.

Long story short in the journey of potty training, Veronica peed in her carseat. So I was washing the lining and I needed her other carseat (we have two). I go to get it from the garage and find Bryan has mounted it up high on a hook. I get the stool and still can't get it and I exclaim, "Oh Veronica, what has your Father done?".

Fast forward a day or two to our trip to Wahpeton. I'm buckling V into the seat I originally couldn't get down and she starts saying to her friend Tatum who is sitting next to her (in her quiet high pitched voice), "Oh my father Tatum, what did my father do? My father can't do that, can't put it up high. Why my father do that Tatum?". When Veronica says 'father' it comes out 'fodder' making it even cuter:). It was so darn funny and that ever needed reminder of the little ears that are always always always listening:)

1st Day of the Masters Program:)

Isabella started her final year of preschool at Riverside Christian School on Wednesday with great anticipation! When we told Isabella it was time to go back to school she was VERY EXCITED to go back and see Mrs. Voeller and her friends!

I was so happy walking into Isabella's classroom! It is wonderful to bring your child somewhere where you feel them so wrapped in love and God's care. Mrs. Voeller is such an amazing teacher...what a gift she is!

There are 3 other girls in Isabella's class that she has been with the last two years, they are all summer birthdays. Than there are 11 other new friends to play with! Boy oh boy was Isabella excited about that! "Mom, there are so many new friends" she exclaimed when I picked her up! When asked what her favorite part of the was her response was, "All the new friends". She told me all about how they wrote their names with glitter, how she painted a picture of God's creation, how they read a book about friends, how she had cheese crackers and two glasses of milk at snack, how they played puppies at the playground!

We stayed for quite a bit with the other parents. Veronica had a grand old time playing with the big kids and her buddy, Jocey. She even wore a backpack and seemed to think she was going to school too! When we left, sigh, I suppose this will never end...even though Isabella was so excited to be there, even though I delight in my one on one time with Veronica, and even though it is much easier to do the grocery shopping with one child...I just felt a part of my heart missing without my Isabella with us:) I suppose this is how life shall be!

I had to chuckle because Wednesday and Thursday were gorgeous days last week...in the 80's! Isabella was done with preschool at 11:30 on Wed and we headed to a friend's house for swimming and some fun in the sun. I joked with Debbie that if we had decided on kindergarten, I probably would have pulled Isabella out when I saw the 80 degree weather...hee hee:)

So here it is, our final year of preschool! Oh my! I never envisioned I would be such a weepy mother over matters such as this! It is all very exciting though! This is how it is to be! These little ones are supposed to grow and spread their wings and soon my little bird will be ready to fly high!

You Gotta Have Friends!!!

If I could give one piece of advice to people who are about to have babies, I would tell them to surround themselves with a strong support system/village of fellow parents. Bryan and I have been beyond blessed to share in this parenting journey with so many wonderful friends - some we've been friends with since our teenage or college years, some our kids became the bridge that linked and built our friendship. Bryan and I have been blessed, but as you can see by these photos, our kids have been blessed at all! They are growing up with some very special buddies in their lives! I envision all of us being at their weddings many years down the road!

Veronica Smiles on a Rainy Day

Veronica pooped on the potty this morning! More on that later, but it is huge,especailly as she came and told me she had to go!

Veronica while coloring begins a conversation with two crayons holding them next to each other, "Oh I'm higher, no I'm higher, no I'm higher than you"

Veronica while eating two carrots at lunch, "Oh Daddy carrot, I lick you, yep Mommy carrot".

Major Rockstar

If you've seen Alvin and the Chipmunks you'll get this one. The girls watched it the other morning with Daddy. A short time later, Veronica is playing around the house and she says to me, "Mom...wahdoaheaodf" in this funny voice, something I can't understand. I ask her again and again and I finally get it! She's saying, "Mom, I'm a MAAAAJOR Rockstar", just like Alvin says it in the movie in this funny low voice...HILARIOUS!!!!

Routine Reader and Elephant Prayers

If there is one area in life where Veronica must stick to routine...it is reading. Veronica usually reads the same book or two for 3 months at a time. We try to suggest other books or sneak them in, but she generally always goes back to the same book. This entire winter, every time we read bedtime and naptime books, Veronica picked two books - My Best Friend is a Princess...a book with stories starring Cinderella, Ariel, and Jasmine, a birthday gift for Veronica from Auntie Mindy, Uncle Deej, and crew or a mini book of the Little Mermaid story. I have to say that for the first part of the summer she mixed it up and would pick different books, but now we're back on the routine. For the last 3 weeks, Veronica has wanted to read nothing but her llama books - Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Llama Llama Misses Momma. Veronica also enjoys reading these books on her own as she has memorized several parts. She mimics the tone and voice inflections I use at certain parts perfectly! She also enjoys reenacting the llama stories while at play with Baries or her Doras...for example, she had her Barbie say to another Barbie, "What a tizzy, sometimes Momma's busy". There is a video on this post of her reading the llama books...it's a big long, but entertaining to watch:) Veronica is starting to make prayer requests of her own. Our family bedtime prayer is the Lord's Prayer. Since the end of May, Veronica has started saying the prayer along with us and I think she almost has it memorized. It's precious to hear your baby pray...I imagine it to be like the singing of an angels. After the Lords Prayer we usually pray blessings on family members and than Bryan, Isabella, and I will do individual prayers. Veronica has just started doing this...tonight her pray was, "Thank you God for the elephants, the elephants on my blankie and please heal my elephant, cause see, see Mommy (sitting up and pointing to the elephant on her blanket) my elephant has an owie right there. And God heal the owie on my finger, I got my owie with the soap, the soap at Target, see my owie is better, it's not there anymore, amen". I LOVE IT:)

A Veronica Update

In a month and a half, Veronica will 3 and in so many ways seems nowhere near 3 to me! I honestly think of her as on the young end of 2! Ah my baby!

The little peanut has been growing though! Those who see her regularly, have been commenting recently on how she has really stretched out lately. But for people who don't see her often or meet her for the first time comment on how little she is:) Despite her latest growth spurt, she does seem to me just like a teeny tiny ballerina:) She's got the same little legs and arms like her sister, but she has the tiniest little buddah belly:) One day a week ago she said, "Mommy Daddy, look at me" and we turned back to see her pushing her gut out similar to how someone does when they're really full after eating or if they're pretending they are pregnant:)

Veronica talks a lot and I can understand her 75% of the time:) Her go to phrase as of late is, "Oh my gosh guys, oh my gosh". The tone and sound of her voice contains a cute factor that seems to make everything she says adorable and funny and entertaining. She tries to talk like the big girls, but in little two year old voice. When she is being sympathetic to someone or if she is excited or proud of them (or herself) her voice takes on this quieter, high pitched tone. This happens for instance if her big sissy has an owie or if she accomplishes something on her own like putting her clothes on, buckling her seat, etc...When she is being bossy or demanding in her communication it takes on this lower, huskier tone...it cracks me up.
The thing Veronica seems to communicate with the most though is her eyes and her facial expressions! I swear if I had no conscience I could go to Hollywood and make a million bucks off that kiddo. What she does, what she says with her eyes is something...it is remarkable!!! She is one expressive little girl, be it happy or MAD MAD MAD!

Veronica seems to love organization and repitition in play as of the last couple of months. She loves to read books so much...the same books over and over. She will sit in her room for almost an hour and read books on her own...she has them memorized since she has read them OVER and OVER and OVER:)
She than loves to line her books up on the floor in her room.
Veronica also loves playing with her wipes, be it taking a wipe and laying one on top of each book that she has lined up on her floor or cleaning her babies with wipes.
When playing with things like Doras or Barbies or Polly Pockets, her method of play seems to be placing them all next to one another in a line:)
Line 'em up! She loves it!

Veronica also seems to be carrying on the family tradition of song, dance, and drama! Living in this house is like living in a never ending Broadway Musical at times:) There is nothing Veronica loves than putting on a dance outfit and performing for us.

Veronica still seems to have a bit more of a cautious side. Or truthfully, it just takes her a bit longer to warm up to things. For example dogs - no problem with them if they are in cages at the pet store...LOVES THEM! But otherwise, she tends to go into a high pitched scream if they come near here. But give her 30 minutes to get used to being around them, get to know them, and than she is good to go!
In our bigger pool at the house, even though she could stand in it, it took her a good week of being held and having Momma's help to swim before she was ready to stand and play on her own in it.
At the Mall of America, she is TERRIFIED of the headed characters, like Dora or the Backyardigans...I am talking TERRIFIED, to the point of a blood curdling scream if she just sees one. But say we are at the MOA two days in a row, at the start of day two she'll say things like, "No Dora here, Dora stay at her house, I don't want to see that Dora", but by the end of day two she is interested and wants to go up and see them. It just takes her a little bit longer to get comfortable with things:)

Veronica has gotten more comfortable on playground equipment and wants to climb up all the different kinds of ladder and try the monkey bars and swing on bars and slide down poles.

Veronica continues to have a real baby side to her, which I attribute equally to her own temperment/demeanor and than to being the second born/baby of the family. She wants to be held (A LOT), she cries still (A LOT), she sucks on her two fingers still and seems to want to snuggle far more than Isabella did at this age.

And Veronica still has quite the temper...a rather large temper I must say. And she is one of the sassiest most blatantly defiant little girls I have ever encountered. She is fiesty, stubborn, and persistent. We have epic battles weekly over clothes, buckling her carseat, putting toothpaste on her toothbrush, and on and on and on. I do find that when I have her one on one, these battles are far less frequent.
We try to balance between deciding which battles are really worth fighting and trying to make this very strong-willed little girl understand that she is not in charge. I'm not sure we're getting a passing grade on it, but we're trying:) But truth be told, I think we spend most days feeling like she is totally out of control. We are dealing with a super duper cute little love her and she seems to have most people wrapped around her little finger. People are much quicker to excuse her behavior than they ever were of Isabella at this age, it's fascinating to me to watch. She can bat her eyelashes or talk in a cute little voice and she's gotten them to forget all about her mischevious actions.
I'm really interested to see how things play out in the next 3 years or so. To see if the temper is something that diminishes with age or if it is a characteristic that we will continually have to work on. Either way it doesn't matter:) I think she is one of the funniest little loves I've ever met and I love spending my days with her!

So my baby is almost 3...sigh...I'm in total denial:) Veronica is just...well she's my little baby...so much younger than her 3 years to me. Oh how I love that little girl. Last weekend she hurt her finger at the park, ripped some skin off of it. I decided the injury was worthy of her napping in Momma's bed with Momma. She had ripped the skin off one of the fingers that she normally sucks on and I watched fascinated by this beautiful being as she kept attempting to put her go to fingers in her mouth, but would stop knowing the one was hurt. Than she just swiftly fell of to sleep and I got to watch her nap for nearly 2 hours, holding that hand close to her face like a little security blanket. She is magnificently beautiful when she is sleeping. Her little cheeks her all filled out, her brown hair, little strands framing her face, her full little lips parted in anticipation of her fingers...it took my breath away. And to think I get to be her mother...Forever...God is so good!

Confessions of an UNDERachiever:)

Please note my sarcasm with this blog title:) A lot of people have been inquiring if Isabella will be starting kindergarten in a few weeks. Isabella did turn 5 in June. A summer birthday gave us the luxury (or burden:) of choice. It was a debate of epic proportions in our home, one I think may have only been settled because my Dad passed away and Bryan just wanted to make life easier for me:) But the final decision...drum roll...Isabella is going to pre-school this year (her 3rd year, she's getting her masters) and will start kindergarten in the fall of 2010!!!

A lot of thought, debate, conversation went into this decision. My ultimate advice to everyone would be to have your children born in the fall, maybe the winter, but never the spring or summer (again, note my sarcasm:).

The ultimate, main reason behind this choice is simply that I really love my children and my time with them and if I can have the gift of some extra time with them, I'll do it. Our kids are only young for so long and nowadays, kindergarten is all day (yuck yuck yuck - do not agree with this at all). When you start kindergarten, that's it, no turning back:) So you bet, I am going to take an extra year with my girl, an extra year to go on our adventures as we please, enjoy our playdates, stay in bed and watch a movie in bed on a lazy morning, read American Girl books for an hour at a time, etc, etc, etc...I chose to be a stay at home mom and have continually cut down my work hours for a reason...I love being with my kids.

(Quick interjection...sorry if I get defensive sounding at all, I just got some real heck for this decision at times that hurt me).

But I'll be honest, there were other reasons, other factors, concerns. And as we mulled over them, I thought how so often this blog is filled with 'awards and accolades' of my girls (PROUD MOMMA:), but I have always believed fiercely in being honest and not sugar coating the parenting experience. It's almost a right of passage for all parents to at some point (gasp) brag about our children, widely share the ways in which they are advanced, and to think they are gifted. Guilty, I've done all of that:)

Very early on, there was NO DOUBT IN OUR MIND that we would start Isabella in kindergarten at age 5. She had always seemed older, her vocabulary and ability to communicate out of this world. She knew colors and shapes before most kids her age. My child...drum roll please...was gifted:) I just knew it.

It was when she was 3 1/2 or so that something caught me or started to nag at the back of my head. Isabella was not taking to letters. For instance a lot of her peers were writing their name or had an interest in letters or could identify many of them. This was not happening. Her teacher had advised us to work on them if she was interested but to not push it. So I would casually try and interject things, flashcard identification, her ABC puzzles, trying to encourage/help her write her name on pictures, etc...
More often than not I was met with resistance, boredom, distraction, frustration. AS I saw more and more kids her age or younger writing their name on their own I started to have that old familiar feeling of parental failure...what was I doing wrong.
I talked with her teacher at her spring conference (spring 08) and she agreed that Isabella at this time really had very little interest in letters, writing, learning her name. We talked quite a bit about it and she encouraged us again to not push things, but to look for opportunities of interest. She said that if a year from now if we were in the same boat, we would want to look at the fact that she might have to have concentrated, focused activities/learning time to help.

So I just decided to chill out. I didn't push it. Tried to work on things here and there. I got Isabella to regularly put an 'I' on the pictures she colored. Here and there I could convince her to take the time and focus to put her whole name on the paper, with assistance. Again, there was often frustration, resistance.
We decided to have Bryan become 'The Letter Man' to see if she responded better to him and she did a bit.

I also began consulting with every person I knew in the education field about their opinions on kids with summer birthdays and kindergarten, along with parents I knew who had children with summer birthdays. Out of over 20 teachers I talked with, one felt it simply depended on the child, the rest overwhelmingly urged us to wait until she was older to start her in kindergarten. I heard over and over again the struggles that children with summer birthdays have in school, struggles at various points - 1st grade, 4th grade, middle school...struggles academically and wath maturity. I had a friend who's cousin with a spring birthday (so on the younger end of her kindergarten class) was having to do extra homework and reading every night to catch her up to the rest of the class. I communicated with Isabella's teacher over the summer about our concerns and our debate about when we should start kindergarten. We agreed to be in communication about it over the summer and throughout the school year.

The fall of 2008 and the start of another pre-school year began and Isabella was at a point where she was writing her name more often, not always correctly or with letters in the right order, but it was a step in the right direction.

At Isabella's fall conference in November, her teacher was very honest with us which I so appreciated. Isabella was at the top of the class socially, but at the bottom academically. This was not a surprise to us. Mrs. Voeller commented again how Isabella just seemed to have no interest:) More so than that, Mrs. Voeller noted how she really struggled with the symbol recognition for both letters and numbers.

For those of you who know Isabella closely, this will not necessarily surprise you, you know that she would prefere to spend most days in an imaginary world of stories, and singing and dancing and making up her little games. She is much more interested in being a puppy, kitty, rockstar, or playing in a 20 minute dialogue between a goldfish cracker and a plastic puppy from the Happy Joe's prize counter. It is amazing, I have watched that girl do a pretend conversation between a sucker stick and a strap on her booster seat for 15 minutes. The imagination on this child is fascinating. Learning her letters was just not nearly as interesting to her:)

So the kindergarten debate, Mom's desire for more time with her little lady, along with her struggles with letters, phonics, and symbol recognition weighed heavy on our minds. Really honestly, I guess it didn't weigh heavy on our minds, moreso our different takes weighed heavy on our minds:) I, the nurturer, who dreams only of my children being good people, was 100% convinced that we choose to have her on the older end of her class and wait for kindergarten. Bryan, the overachiever, was convinced we needed to push her and that she should start kindergarten. I worried about her struggling if we started her early, Bryan worried about her getting bored if we waited.

We started to consider everything...things like the age she would be when she started college, her height, the grade difference between her and Veronica, if she would be the first or last of her friends to turn 21 and on an on an on. When you are given the option it is the blessing and the curse to consider each one of these factors.

Reactions as people heard our debate varied. Many couldn't believe that Isabella could be at the bottom of her class. But this is where people have to be careful. Having a child who is verbally advanced or recognized shapes early does not mean that they should learn everything else as quickly or is not an indicator of them being brilliant. It was very hurtful when people would look at me as though I had done something wrong, afterall, Isabella could speak well, the fact that she wasn't getting her letters must be my fault. I again stress, it is dangerous to make assumptions based on things like that. It led me to some of my lowest points as a Mom, times where I cried and cried and cried because people made me feel like I had failed my daughter. Being a mom is the most important thing in the world to me...it sucks to feel like you srewed up. But than there was my Bryan and my 'mom squad' of support back home who picked me up and got me to realize that I am a good mom.

There was part of me folks that was like, who cares, big deal, so letters and phonics don't come naturally to her...oh no, life is over! I mean seriously. But this is also why I am thankful to have Bryan...we are the definition of ying yang. I do absolutely want the girls to value their education and try their best, sometimes I just feel a little overwhelmed by our obcession with being overachievers and how that makes us important. Bryan would say we need to be able to compete with China, I would say, well I probably shouldn't write what I would say:) I guess I just want my girls to get an education so they can help people and follow God's call for them and their gifts, not so they can compete with someone.

As spring rolled around we registered her for preschool with the option to change our minds. By spring we made the decision to do preschool again and have her be on the older end of her kindergarten class in the fall of 2010. Bryan said that ultimately I was more passionate about having more time with her at home, that it mattered more to me to have her wait, than it did to him to have her start. But I do say with an air of humor and seriousness, I think my Bryan just really felt sad for me that my Dad died:) But I really appreciated him deferring to my instinct. We had this conversation where I told Bryan one time, I am with her all day, I see her around other kids her age, some younger, some older, I've observed her amongst her classmates and I just have this feeling and I need you to trust my instinct.

If you ask Isabella she will tell you that she is doing 'pre-k, one more year before I go to kindergarten':) And as a side note, her phonics and letters have really started to click, all in her own time, on her own accord. It might sound silly, but I'm proud of myself, I respected my daughter and where she was at. I let her come into her own and it was beautiful. The reason I'm proud is because I can't tell you how many times as I watched other kids so easily write their name, as I got comments from others, etc...that I wanted to set up Alphabet Bootcamp and be like, child you will learn this because people are thinking I'm a bad mom:) And yes, I do know that she will need to be pushed, etc...in the future, but she was 3 and 4, a baby, a child. I wanted her to be a child and be a cat, even though it drives me crazy, not to worry about competing with China:)

If Isabella was starting kindergarten in two weeks, I would be a wreck...well, I'll still probably be a wreck next year. But I LOVE being a mom, I love my days with my girls, I love going on adventures, I love watching them put on dance shows, I love coloring, I love playing Barbies, I love praying with them and finding ways to teach them about God and serving others, I LOVE IT! I am SO THANKFUL to have just one more year with my sweet precious girl before we enter 'the real world':)

So someday when Isabella asks why we decided to have her be on the older end of her class, I will tell her it was simply because I loved her so much that I just wanted some more time with her...now is that so bad?

On a sidenote...to the many friends who spent many many many many hours mulling this over with me and for all of your support and for encouraging me to stick to my guns and to not feel bad for wanting more time with my daughter...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

Now I just have to go and deal with my sadness that preschool is starting in less than two weeks...grrrr:)