We're in Denver now. It's nice to be in a different place. The plane ride was rather uneventful, which is good. Owen did beautifully and was really excited to see Gramma when we finally got here.
The weather here is H-O-T. Mom, Owen, and I did pictures at a garden yesterday. Owen did pretty well, until he got hot and tired. We had lots of water for him, but he was done. Today we went to the house of a couple of people I went to high school with. They have a little boy about 5 weeks older than Owen. It was very interesting to observe the differences between the two boys. Owen is bigger (but since when is that news?), more aggressive (not a good thing - he pushed Benjamin down a couple of times because he wanted the ball Benjamin was playing with. He got removed from the play time each time he pushed), and is more outgoing. Benjamin, on the other hand, has many more words than Owen and is even starting to use sentences. These things are not really for comparison, more just observations.
We met with my godmother last night for dinner. It was the first time she's met Owen. We went out for pizza, and Owen didn't touch his. We brought it home for him and he had it for lunch today. At least it got eaten. :-P
Tomorrow will be a first for all three of us. It will be the first time any of us have been to Nebraska. This will mark Owen's 8th state, Mom's 32nd, and Dad's 20th. My sister is so excited to see Owen. We're very excited to see her as well. She's been in Omaha for three years now and we've never managed to get out there to see her. She keeps saying she's going to teach Owen how to play in the steet. Yeah, right!
6.23.2007
6.20.2007
School's Out for Summer!
And it's about danged time, too! Today was the final day teachers had to be there. My room is completely clean, shelves covered up with butcher paper to help minimize the amount of dust that will undoubtedly settle over the summer. Many of my colleagues asked me if my room was moving for next year. I told them, not to my knowledge. They couldn't believe how clean and orderly it was. Made me feel really good! I'm not the tidiest person around....
Today a group of us, the three specialists (music, library, PE), plus teachers from each age level at my school, got a good start on the master schedule for next year. It is looking like I'll have middle school kids twice a week from 8-8:45. I'm really excited about this! (Something I NEVER would have dreamed of five years ago.) I think I'm finally to the point in my career that I'll be more than just an effective middle school teacher. This year I've gotten to spend some time with the middle schoolers and get to know them, not only on a personal level, but I'm also getting to know the beast. I've learned that their senses of humor are pretty well formed, and they can be loads of fun. The other thing that will help is that I've basically raised these kids from babies. Next year's 6th graders were in 1st grade when I started at my current school. That means the 8th graders were in 3rd when I started there. I've known quite a few of them for the entire time I've been at my school. It's been fun to watch them grow and turn into young adults.
Since music will be an elective, the kids I get will want to be there and hopefully that will help stem some of the potential for behavior issues. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do next year, with major points I want to touch on. I think I should talk with the middle school teachers over the summer and see what the appropriate form and level for questions and assignments should be. I want to know that I'm not setting the bar too high for them.
I want to do a reverse music history/music appreciation class with the middlers. We will start in present day and talk about the music that is out there currently. Then we will go back and see what led into popular music being what it is. Eventually we'll get to the Beatles, then musical theater, vaudville, and jazz before heading into the classical music periods and study composers like Brahms, Wagner, Beethoven, Bach, and Vivaldi. We'll look at why their work was significant and also how their works are indicitive of the style of their time period. This year will definately be one with lots of tweaking and possibly changing canoes mid-stream if things aren't working
We leave for our vacation tomorrow. Two glorious weeks in Denver and Omaha. It will be Owen's first plane trip. Thank goodness for the tubes - they'll help with the pressurization of the cabin bit not affecting his ears and being painful. He and I are pretty well packed and ready to go. Jeff still needs to pack, but he's finishing up some stuff outside while there is still daylight. I put a small load in the washer tonight so everything will be ready to go for tomorrow. We head to Denver tomorrow, then to Omaha on Sunday to spend that week with my sister. We've never been to Omaha so it will be quite the adventure for all of us. We drive back to Denver on the 30th and then are back home on the 6th. We have plans to see friends of mine from high school, several teachers, some from h.s., some from m.s., plus other people in Denver. After the school year I've had, the break is definately needed. When we get back, Jeffy will start as a full-time real (instead of temp) employee at the job he's been at since July of last year.
Today a group of us, the three specialists (music, library, PE), plus teachers from each age level at my school, got a good start on the master schedule for next year. It is looking like I'll have middle school kids twice a week from 8-8:45. I'm really excited about this! (Something I NEVER would have dreamed of five years ago.) I think I'm finally to the point in my career that I'll be more than just an effective middle school teacher. This year I've gotten to spend some time with the middle schoolers and get to know them, not only on a personal level, but I'm also getting to know the beast. I've learned that their senses of humor are pretty well formed, and they can be loads of fun. The other thing that will help is that I've basically raised these kids from babies. Next year's 6th graders were in 1st grade when I started at my current school. That means the 8th graders were in 3rd when I started there. I've known quite a few of them for the entire time I've been at my school. It's been fun to watch them grow and turn into young adults.
Since music will be an elective, the kids I get will want to be there and hopefully that will help stem some of the potential for behavior issues. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do next year, with major points I want to touch on. I think I should talk with the middle school teachers over the summer and see what the appropriate form and level for questions and assignments should be. I want to know that I'm not setting the bar too high for them.
I want to do a reverse music history/music appreciation class with the middlers. We will start in present day and talk about the music that is out there currently. Then we will go back and see what led into popular music being what it is. Eventually we'll get to the Beatles, then musical theater, vaudville, and jazz before heading into the classical music periods and study composers like Brahms, Wagner, Beethoven, Bach, and Vivaldi. We'll look at why their work was significant and also how their works are indicitive of the style of their time period. This year will definately be one with lots of tweaking and possibly changing canoes mid-stream if things aren't working
We leave for our vacation tomorrow. Two glorious weeks in Denver and Omaha. It will be Owen's first plane trip. Thank goodness for the tubes - they'll help with the pressurization of the cabin bit not affecting his ears and being painful. He and I are pretty well packed and ready to go. Jeff still needs to pack, but he's finishing up some stuff outside while there is still daylight. I put a small load in the washer tonight so everything will be ready to go for tomorrow. We head to Denver tomorrow, then to Omaha on Sunday to spend that week with my sister. We've never been to Omaha so it will be quite the adventure for all of us. We drive back to Denver on the 30th and then are back home on the 6th. We have plans to see friends of mine from high school, several teachers, some from h.s., some from m.s., plus other people in Denver. After the school year I've had, the break is definately needed. When we get back, Jeffy will start as a full-time real (instead of temp) employee at the job he's been at since July of last year.
6.16.2007
now he's a parrot!
owen has started trying to copy things that we say. yesterday it was "isabella", who is his newest cousin - born on thursday night, weighing 7 lbs., 8 oz. she's beautiful! i got to hold her for a while yesterday - and even burp her!!!! owen says, "ee-ahh-lalalalala" close enough. his second new word in as many days is "ma-muh" (the 'a' here sounds as in 'apple'), it means "gramma". again, close enough!
when we were at the hospital yesterday, he got in eeahlala's face to say "hi", several times. he also got jealous of hte attention she was getting from me and tried to push his way in. sweet boy! he had more fun running around the room, though. isabella is the first girl in our family in seven years. think she's going to be spoiled?
we had a school night at the rainier's game last night for my school and we went. we left in the 8th inning - it went 12! yikes! owen had a great time playing with a few people around us. when we got home, the dog that was visiting next door was barking at us. owen started barking back. too funny!
oh, great news on the food front: owen ate school lunch every day this week! the lunch i took on monday sat in the fridge at school all week long! i'm not even taking his lunchbox next week. don't think i need to. :-) way to go, little man!
when we were at the hospital yesterday, he got in eeahlala's face to say "hi", several times. he also got jealous of hte attention she was getting from me and tried to push his way in. sweet boy! he had more fun running around the room, though. isabella is the first girl in our family in seven years. think she's going to be spoiled?
we had a school night at the rainier's game last night for my school and we went. we left in the 8th inning - it went 12! yikes! owen had a great time playing with a few people around us. when we got home, the dog that was visiting next door was barking at us. owen started barking back. too funny!
oh, great news on the food front: owen ate school lunch every day this week! the lunch i took on monday sat in the fridge at school all week long! i'm not even taking his lunchbox next week. don't think i need to. :-) way to go, little man!
6.13.2007
tricky parents!
twice this week we've given owen a quesadilla with meat of some sort in it. on sunday it was a chicken quesadilla at target, tonight, there was diced ham in his quesadilla. he ate it all down, no complaints. not even with the spices on sunday. very cool! he must be going through a growth spurt because he seems to be eating everything in sight. he's also eaten lunch at school three days this week (and his lunch that i brought on monday has been sitting there in the fridge since monday. too bad! NOT!!!!! maybe he's finally willing to start eating normal foods. he even had some of jeffy's chicken at dinner the other night while we were celebrating my getting the school district scholarship for doing my National Boards next year. (see my other blog, http://shemustbecrazy.blogspot.com for all of those juicy details.)
yesterday was my spring program. it was more stressful than most due to circumstances beyond my control, including the teachers whose kids were involved throwing in an extra thing that took nearly 20 minutes to do. add that to a 35 minute program with children who are 3-6 years old and it's not a good thing. what hacks me is that parents were complaining about the length of the afternoon program (close to an hour...) and some didn't bring their kids back at night because of it, not realizing that the evening program wasn't going to have the added part and was going to be significantly shorter. then, one of the teachers didn't show up and put a note on her door for her kids to go to my room before the concert. i was getting another group ready to sing at the same time and that change in what i was expecting to have to do sent me nearly into tears in front of close to 40 kids, that was in lieu of a panic attack, which did start, but i was able to keep things under control due to a couple of wonderful parents who stepped in and kept track of the little ones while i dealt with the bigger kids in my choir. the program itself was amazing. the kids did beautifully, as always. and also as always, there are a few parents who need to be normalized to appropriate school concert etiquette. these one or two parents kept calling out, sometimes in the middle of songs, "you go, ______!" i ignored it, even when they were doing it while their kids weren't even singing. sheesh! i understand being proud of your kid and all, but know the limits, people! these kids have worked hard for this program and calling out like that is disruptive to everyone there.
eight more sleeps until we head out of town to visit family and friends in denver and omaha. seven more sleeps until i'm done with school for the year. good news is that closing down my room is much easier this year than it has been in the past. i have a couple of areas i still need to tackle and go through stuff, but that should be done by tuesday of next week, easily. my goal is to have it done by the end of this week so i can go have lunch with the upper el kids (4th and 5th graders) at one of their teacher's houses on monday.
we may be welcoming a new family member to the extended family tomorrow. jeffy's sister is being induced tomorrow. i'll stop by after my meeting to see how she's progressing and maybe even hold that precious little one. everyone but the baby's dad knows what the baby is. i don't think he reads this blog, but just in case, i'm not going to give anything away.
yesterday was my spring program. it was more stressful than most due to circumstances beyond my control, including the teachers whose kids were involved throwing in an extra thing that took nearly 20 minutes to do. add that to a 35 minute program with children who are 3-6 years old and it's not a good thing. what hacks me is that parents were complaining about the length of the afternoon program (close to an hour...) and some didn't bring their kids back at night because of it, not realizing that the evening program wasn't going to have the added part and was going to be significantly shorter. then, one of the teachers didn't show up and put a note on her door for her kids to go to my room before the concert. i was getting another group ready to sing at the same time and that change in what i was expecting to have to do sent me nearly into tears in front of close to 40 kids, that was in lieu of a panic attack, which did start, but i was able to keep things under control due to a couple of wonderful parents who stepped in and kept track of the little ones while i dealt with the bigger kids in my choir. the program itself was amazing. the kids did beautifully, as always. and also as always, there are a few parents who need to be normalized to appropriate school concert etiquette. these one or two parents kept calling out, sometimes in the middle of songs, "you go, ______!" i ignored it, even when they were doing it while their kids weren't even singing. sheesh! i understand being proud of your kid and all, but know the limits, people! these kids have worked hard for this program and calling out like that is disruptive to everyone there.
eight more sleeps until we head out of town to visit family and friends in denver and omaha. seven more sleeps until i'm done with school for the year. good news is that closing down my room is much easier this year than it has been in the past. i have a couple of areas i still need to tackle and go through stuff, but that should be done by tuesday of next week, easily. my goal is to have it done by the end of this week so i can go have lunch with the upper el kids (4th and 5th graders) at one of their teacher's houses on monday.
we may be welcoming a new family member to the extended family tomorrow. jeffy's sister is being induced tomorrow. i'll stop by after my meeting to see how she's progressing and maybe even hold that precious little one. everyone but the baby's dad knows what the baby is. i don't think he reads this blog, but just in case, i'm not going to give anything away.
6.07.2007
i sing, you sing...
owen sings! we had a sing-along in the car this morning. i started with abc's, then owen requested twinkle twinkle (up-up-up-up), then after twinkle, he requested old macdonald (e-i-e-i-ooooooo) he even will sing along sometimes, or at least sing his part.
another thing he has started doing in the last couple of days is sticking by me when we're out walking around. he's done that several times recently. it's a nice change from him running away from us all the time.
right now he is carrying around one of daddy's shoes...that's a size 13 if you're interested.
another change in owen's routine is sleeping with a teddy and blanket now. he started the teddy on monday night and added the blanket two nights ago. it was pretty cute! i should have taken a picture of him right after i laid him down last night. one arm wrapped around teddy, and the blanket clutched in the other arm. very cute. he made it through last night. too bad i can't say the same for two nights ago. i was up with him for two hours. that wasn't fun.
i'm in my final countdown at school. i have five more teaching days left: two more fridays, one more each of monday, tuesday, and thursday. wednesday of next week is field day so that doesn't count for me. next friday is my last teaching day of the year. we go through the 19th with kids and then just teachers for an inservice day (making up from all of hte weather we had in december and january) on the 20th. the only bad thing is that i have my least favorite class on thursdays and fridays. that makes three more sessions with them instead of one or two like the rest of my classes. today i showed my upper el classes (that's 4th and 5th graders) a program video from when they were in 1st and 2nd grade. it was a hoot!
next week i also have my program, which was originally supposed to be today. it's now on tuesday. my littles (PreK-Ks) and choir. my favorite concert of the year. just fun songs.
another thing he has started doing in the last couple of days is sticking by me when we're out walking around. he's done that several times recently. it's a nice change from him running away from us all the time.
right now he is carrying around one of daddy's shoes...that's a size 13 if you're interested.
another change in owen's routine is sleeping with a teddy and blanket now. he started the teddy on monday night and added the blanket two nights ago. it was pretty cute! i should have taken a picture of him right after i laid him down last night. one arm wrapped around teddy, and the blanket clutched in the other arm. very cute. he made it through last night. too bad i can't say the same for two nights ago. i was up with him for two hours. that wasn't fun.
i'm in my final countdown at school. i have five more teaching days left: two more fridays, one more each of monday, tuesday, and thursday. wednesday of next week is field day so that doesn't count for me. next friday is my last teaching day of the year. we go through the 19th with kids and then just teachers for an inservice day (making up from all of hte weather we had in december and january) on the 20th. the only bad thing is that i have my least favorite class on thursdays and fridays. that makes three more sessions with them instead of one or two like the rest of my classes. today i showed my upper el classes (that's 4th and 5th graders) a program video from when they were in 1st and 2nd grade. it was a hoot!
next week i also have my program, which was originally supposed to be today. it's now on tuesday. my littles (PreK-Ks) and choir. my favorite concert of the year. just fun songs.
6.01.2007
No! More!
that's what owen said to me tonight after two stories and my mention of it being time for him to go to bed. needless to say, it was a battle i didn't feel like fighting (he was lunging after a nightly favorite - kiss goodnight) so he won. i just marvel at his acquisition of language. i think this is the first time he has put two words together verbally (as opposed to signing) to express a want without repeating each word several times (moh moh moh bee bee bee - who wants to translate that? it's not too hard!)
we had our annual school block party tonight. my principal saw owen and was absolutely taken aback at how big and grown up he is. actually, most people who haven't seen him in several months (or longer) have that same reaction. i had that same reaction with a (not so) baby brother of one of my students who is two now (the brother, obviously, not the student). owen had cheetos with his pbj and nana tonight. big mess, but it was a special treat being the block party. he didn't eat the hot dog i got for him, but at least we didn't waste any money on it - the bbq was free. :-) we like that!
we had our annual school block party tonight. my principal saw owen and was absolutely taken aback at how big and grown up he is. actually, most people who haven't seen him in several months (or longer) have that same reaction. i had that same reaction with a (not so) baby brother of one of my students who is two now (the brother, obviously, not the student). owen had cheetos with his pbj and nana tonight. big mess, but it was a special treat being the block party. he didn't eat the hot dog i got for him, but at least we didn't waste any money on it - the bbq was free. :-) we like that!
5.31.2007
good helper
owen is down for the night. he got a bath tonight (it's been in the 80s-low 90s here the last couple of days...he's been a hot and sweaty boy from playing outside at school, etc.) and as i was getting his ear plugs ready, he presented me with one of his ears so i could get the plug in that ear, then he turned his head and presented me with the other ear so i could get the plug in that ear. it wasn't too long ago that it was a fight just to get them in. now, he actually helps me with the task! way cool, owen!
a funny thing tonight was on our way to bed, i picked him up (he would have rather stayed up playing) and as we were walking toward his room, he kept saying "no no no no no!" i told him, "yes. it's past time for bed."
time for mommy to see if she's smarter than a fifth grader (mine were very trying today. told my mom i needed a drink this afternoon. their teacher was gone as was their para. just a sub in the classroom. several owe me time on the wall tomorrow at recess.
a funny thing tonight was on our way to bed, i picked him up (he would have rather stayed up playing) and as we were walking toward his room, he kept saying "no no no no no!" i told him, "yes. it's past time for bed."
time for mommy to see if she's smarter than a fifth grader (mine were very trying today. told my mom i needed a drink this afternoon. their teacher was gone as was their para. just a sub in the classroom. several owe me time on the wall tomorrow at recess.
dissed!
i went to pick up at daycare today and got totally dissed by him! they were coming outside to go play as i got there. i picked him up, (lifted him off the ground) and he wanted nothing to do with me! he wanted to go play. so i let him (i still needed to sign him out and talk with the director about plans for the summer) and went to get him after i did that. he was more willing to go with me at that point, but still wasn't 100% for it.
last night we were singing "twinkle, twinkle" and he started singing along. his words were "up-up-up-up!" he also opens and closes his hands while mommy sings. then, at the end of the song, he claps once or twice as if to say, "yay!" he'll sing along with the abc's a little bit too. :-) very cool for the music teacher mom!
i taught a violin lesson once we got home today (my student came home with us - she's a student at my school so it was convenient for all.) and mr. owen did a wonderful job of keeping himself occupied while i was teaching. he got fussy about five minutes before the lesson ended. he's growing up! yay! it's so fun to watch.
i'm going out of town this weekend and leaving my boys here. i fly out on saturday morning and come back on monday afternoon. i'm so excited to be going, not to be leaving my boys so much (though the break will me nice), but really excited about where and why i'm going.
last night we were singing "twinkle, twinkle" and he started singing along. his words were "up-up-up-up!" he also opens and closes his hands while mommy sings. then, at the end of the song, he claps once or twice as if to say, "yay!" he'll sing along with the abc's a little bit too. :-) very cool for the music teacher mom!
i taught a violin lesson once we got home today (my student came home with us - she's a student at my school so it was convenient for all.) and mr. owen did a wonderful job of keeping himself occupied while i was teaching. he got fussy about five minutes before the lesson ended. he's growing up! yay! it's so fun to watch.
i'm going out of town this weekend and leaving my boys here. i fly out on saturday morning and come back on monday afternoon. i'm so excited to be going, not to be leaving my boys so much (though the break will me nice), but really excited about where and why i'm going.
5.25.2007
sinuses
wow, reading over my last post, i sounded sorta defeatest, didn't i? part of that was the fact that i felt horrible. i had this horrendous pain and pressure in my left frontal sinus. medication wasn't working (otc stuff - sudafed and tylenol) so i went online and found a site that had an accupressure diagram. i figured that it couldn't hurt (and it wasn't going to cost me anything) so i tried it. almost immediately i had some relief (enough that i could eat dinner and enjoy it!). i did it a couple of more times before i went to bed and, not only did i sleep clear through the night (thanks in part to owen not waking up and fussing like he tends to do), but when i woke up this morning, 99% of the pressure was gone. that last 1% is still there, but mostly when i'm bending over. it's totally managable, though. i have a dr appt this afternoon that i'm still going to, just in case. but in the grand scheme of things, i feel amazing. i'm a true believer in accupressure as part of helping my body get better from things.
5.24.2007
They Work!!!
so i'm just getting a class started today when my cell phone rings. my kids hear it and inform me, i hear it and ignore it and tell them i'll let it go to voicemail. once i get them going on their lesson (color by number activity while listening to "Carnival of the Animals"), i go look at my phone to see who called. it was daycare. i call them back and find out that his ear is oozing and they're afraid that he's ruptured an ear drum. i calmly inform them (maybe slightly excitedly, actually) that he has tubes and they're doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. i told them i'd call the doctor to make sure we didn't need to take him in and then i'd call them back. as long as they aren't getting clogged and he doesn't get a fever or seem to be in pain with his ear, we don't need to go in. i'm so glad we went for the tubes. i couldn't have dealt with yet another thing with him.
i, on the other hand,think i have a sinus infection. it's incredibly painful. i've barely eaten all day today. just at breakfast. that was really tough, unless i took really small bites. wonder what i'll do for dinner tonight as far as eating.
owen is consistently going through the night, and when he wakes up, he may fuss, but he gets himself back to sleep with relative ease. how nice to be back to that! yay!
i, on the other hand,think i have a sinus infection. it's incredibly painful. i've barely eaten all day today. just at breakfast. that was really tough, unless i took really small bites. wonder what i'll do for dinner tonight as far as eating.
owen is consistently going through the night, and when he wakes up, he may fuss, but he gets himself back to sleep with relative ease. how nice to be back to that! yay!
5.21.2007
Sucess with a mascot!
This picture was taken yesterday at the Mariner's Game. Owen wasn't too sure (ok, he was flipping out) about the Mariner Moose to begin with, but once Mommy gave the moose a high five, Owen decided that it was ok for him to do it too. This all happened before this picture was taken. We had trouble getting Owen to look at the camera instead of the moose. He even gave a high five as we were leaving, too!
The game was fun, albeit wet. At least Safeco Field has a retractable roof. It was closed. We took the train again, and just like last week, Owen fell asleep. He tried so hard to stay awake in his seat, looking out the window. It didn't last. He slept for about 45 minutes on me. That was it for the day. Needless to say, he was really tired last night and made it through the night again.
He and I are home today, me with the starts of a cold, him with pink eye. I can call the pediatrician in about 20 minutes. We'll be ready to go as soon as they can get us in. I want to get in soon so he can start on his antibiotics and be ok for school tomorrow. (He needs to be on antibiotics for 24 hours before they'll let him in. I'm hoping to get him going by 10 and that that will be close enough for day care. If not, Jeffy will be staying home tomorrow.)
Owen is in his high chair right now watching Little Einsteins on TV.
Here's a thought to ponder. It came to me while we were on the train yesterday and we were being pushed from behind instead of being pulled: Does a train that goes backward go chugga-chugga-choo-choo or does it go ugguch-ugguch-ooch-ooch? Inquiring minds want to know.
5.19.2007
what a silly boy!
owen's favorite thing to do these days is vocalize while moving his tongue around in his mouth. it makes the most wonderful sound, and it makes mommy laugh to boot!
we went to a family fun night at my school yesterday and we stopped by taco bell for dinner since it was quick and close to school. for starters, they only charged us $.35 for owen's dinner (yes, that decimal is in the correct place). he had a small quesadilla - we payed for a side of cheddar cheese and a side of flour tortilla. they didn't have any high chairs, but they did have a booster so owen sat in that, a first at a restaurant for our family. he did beautifully! the manager was extremely appologetic for the lack of a high chair. our service last night was amazing, especially for a fast food place.
here's a picture of owen, taken just now. he said, "cheese!" for the picture! that's a first for him! isn't he just too cute!?
we went to the tacoma rainiers game on thursday night with jeff's brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews. owen had his first encounter with a mascot. he was ok as long as the mascot (a reindeer) didn't try to touch him. the mascot tried to give owen a high five and owen flipped out. after that, though, he was looking at rhubarb (the reindeer - don't ask, i don't know...) with a very studius look on his face, as if he was trying to figure out what in the heck that thing was.
we go to another m's game tomorrow. wonder if the moose will happen by. i know i won't make owen touch the moose. we'll only get as close as owen is comfortable.
5.14.2007
M's vs. NYY
just a note, owen is now 19 months old. where has the time gone? he's more of a little boy than a baby now. it's amazing.
i'm waiting on pictures from my friend katie so i'll post those when i get them, but we went to see the seattle mariners beat the yankees in an amazing game. the score was 2-1, and it was one of the funnest professional baseball games i've ever been to. we were sitting in the left field bleachers, which were a lot more comfy that i thought they would be. owen tried two new foods yesterday - garlic fries, and cracker jack. i was eating both and he just helped himself. he was pretty proud of himself, too. at one point, he said, "i did it!" with a mouth full of crackerjack.
katie and rob have a little boy named peter who is just a few weeks older than owen. it was a blast watching peter and owen playing together. katie hasn't seen owen for several months (since december, i think) and was commenting on how much his talking and vocabulary has changed since we had the tubes in.
another first for owen was riding the train to seattle and back for the game. we managed to get up top on the way up, but didn't quite make it back to the train quick enough to get up top for the ride back. owen fell asleep with less than 30 minutes to go on the way up. he slept through the night last night, which was good. fussed twice a little after 5:00 this morning, and then woke up around 6:30 and was playing in his crib. so fun to listen to while i'm getting up and ready.
he's down, for now. let's hope he makes it through the night again. we like it when owen sleeps through.
i'm waiting on pictures from my friend katie so i'll post those when i get them, but we went to see the seattle mariners beat the yankees in an amazing game. the score was 2-1, and it was one of the funnest professional baseball games i've ever been to. we were sitting in the left field bleachers, which were a lot more comfy that i thought they would be. owen tried two new foods yesterday - garlic fries, and cracker jack. i was eating both and he just helped himself. he was pretty proud of himself, too. at one point, he said, "i did it!" with a mouth full of crackerjack.
katie and rob have a little boy named peter who is just a few weeks older than owen. it was a blast watching peter and owen playing together. katie hasn't seen owen for several months (since december, i think) and was commenting on how much his talking and vocabulary has changed since we had the tubes in.
another first for owen was riding the train to seattle and back for the game. we managed to get up top on the way up, but didn't quite make it back to the train quick enough to get up top for the ride back. owen fell asleep with less than 30 minutes to go on the way up. he slept through the night last night, which was good. fussed twice a little after 5:00 this morning, and then woke up around 6:30 and was playing in his crib. so fun to listen to while i'm getting up and ready.
he's down, for now. let's hope he makes it through the night again. we like it when owen sleeps through.
5.12.2007
5.11.2007
"nana!"
ah, expanding vocabulary! that's one of owen's latest words. he'll go into the kitchen, point to the counter, and say, "Nana!" we don't call him monkey-boy for nothing! lol he's also turning into the little drummer boy. he is also starting to copy what we are saying. i swear he says, "two" when we are counting steps. he also says, "blue, green," and tries "yellow" when we are looking at colors and mommy says one. he is also mimicking things that we do. very cool! right on schedule, too.
we've been going on walks most evenings after dinner. it's very enjoyable. owen chatters up a storm telling us how it is in his world. he also monopolized the dinnertime conversation. what i love most about our walks is that owen often will take my hand (he initiates it!) and will hold my hand and look at me while he is talking. i really wish i understood owenese! i'd love to know what he is thinking and saying.
we're going to the mariners/yankees game on sunday with some friends and their little boy. peter is about 6 weeks older than owen. his mom and i met at mommy group at the hospital last summer.
this was teacher appreciation week at school. our parents are absolutely AMAZING! we as a staff have been completely spoiled this week, ending today with a dessert bar (four words: "who needs real food?") in the staff room, presents, and massages. however, none of these things even come close to a note i got today at the bottom of a permission slip for something later in the year. in the note, the girl's mother thanked me for all i do and mentioned that her daughter has really grown and she contributes a lot of that growth to music. this might sound conceited, but i agree with the mom. i've noticed the same thing and it's wonderful to know that i have helped her with this growth. this girl has pushed herself beyond her comfort level quite a few times in doing things in my class. she shocked all when she got up in front of the school and did a speaking part a couple of years ago. not only did she do it, she has a wonderful speaking voice. she's in my choir and learns the songs quicker than most of the other kids do, plus she sings her heart out (not always in tune, but that's not the point. my choir is non-auditioned. anyone can join, they don't have to be able to carry a tune.) and she comes in at recess every week for recorders. she is always telling me while she's working on a new song that she can't do it and it's too hard (usually accompanied by tears), and i work through it with her. she always feels so proud when she achieves the next level in recorders. i know that she struggles with confidence and frustrations, but when she wants something bad enough, she works till she gets it. my job, as i see it, is to give her the encouragement, support, and nudges she needs to push through and persevere. it is for her dedication and hard work that she will be named my "outstanding music student of the year" in june. i know that as a teacher i'm not supposed to have favorite students, but she is definitely one of my favorites. she is always quick with a hug and a smile for me.
we've been going on walks most evenings after dinner. it's very enjoyable. owen chatters up a storm telling us how it is in his world. he also monopolized the dinnertime conversation. what i love most about our walks is that owen often will take my hand (he initiates it!) and will hold my hand and look at me while he is talking. i really wish i understood owenese! i'd love to know what he is thinking and saying.
we're going to the mariners/yankees game on sunday with some friends and their little boy. peter is about 6 weeks older than owen. his mom and i met at mommy group at the hospital last summer.
this was teacher appreciation week at school. our parents are absolutely AMAZING! we as a staff have been completely spoiled this week, ending today with a dessert bar (four words: "who needs real food?") in the staff room, presents, and massages. however, none of these things even come close to a note i got today at the bottom of a permission slip for something later in the year. in the note, the girl's mother thanked me for all i do and mentioned that her daughter has really grown and she contributes a lot of that growth to music. this might sound conceited, but i agree with the mom. i've noticed the same thing and it's wonderful to know that i have helped her with this growth. this girl has pushed herself beyond her comfort level quite a few times in doing things in my class. she shocked all when she got up in front of the school and did a speaking part a couple of years ago. not only did she do it, she has a wonderful speaking voice. she's in my choir and learns the songs quicker than most of the other kids do, plus she sings her heart out (not always in tune, but that's not the point. my choir is non-auditioned. anyone can join, they don't have to be able to carry a tune.) and she comes in at recess every week for recorders. she is always telling me while she's working on a new song that she can't do it and it's too hard (usually accompanied by tears), and i work through it with her. she always feels so proud when she achieves the next level in recorders. i know that she struggles with confidence and frustrations, but when she wants something bad enough, she works till she gets it. my job, as i see it, is to give her the encouragement, support, and nudges she needs to push through and persevere. it is for her dedication and hard work that she will be named my "outstanding music student of the year" in june. i know that as a teacher i'm not supposed to have favorite students, but she is definitely one of my favorites. she is always quick with a hug and a smile for me.
5.04.2007
a sharing family!
but not in the good way. all three of us are on antibiotics for strep. jeffy was diagnosed yesterday and the PA wanted to see me today since i've hada sore throat for about the last week. she's not sure if i have (or recently had) strep, but she's treating me as such since i have a very red throat and the voice of someone with strep (it's a quality to the voice, i /gue?SS"
)[']=[='['].) owen went to his doctor today just for a precaution and he is in the beginning stages so he as well is going onto meds.
pardon the wierd stuff up there, owen was helping mommy type.
the week at school was pretty good. apparently i got one kid suspended. he was refusing to follow very simple directions - please get in line, please sit up - and was actually firmly telling me, "No" with the "i don't have to listen to you" tone/attitude. he also wasn't about to talk with me about it until i had the referral in my hand, this after i gave him several chances to talk with me. finally i told him he could either talk with me or talk with the principal about it and counted to three. he stood absouletly silently. that was his answer as far as i was concerned. as i walked back across the room with the referral, he decided he wanted to talk with me, but i told him it was too late. he had already made his choice. i later heard him on the phone with home blaming me. in another class, which has been a thorn in my side for the majority of the year, has had what friends of mine might call a "coming to God." they've been horrid all over the school. lots of bickering and pestering and teasing and harrassing during class. we've all had enough so the riot act has been read to them, several times in fact, and things are slowly changing. yesterday afternoon several key players were gone and class was wonderful! today they were back and it was a lot better than it has been. i've started marking on a transparency sheet that i magnet to my white board both positive and negative behaviors. for example, i put a + every time a student does something that helps contribute to the class discussion or lesson (if they are verbally adding to class, they must be called on to earn the +). i am also marking negative behaviors which take away from class. they start the day with 10 points and need to keep an average of 8 to be able to do mallet madness when that starts next week. they can only lose points and if there are negative behavior marks, but they were still participating and mostly involved with class, they'll get a 9, but not a 10. it's helping me also discover what kind of contributers there are in class. i'm doing this with a couple of classes and there is one student in each class who i'm discovering doesn't like to contribute verbally, but if asked to perform a task, will gladly do it. it also ensures that i call on people equally and don't focus just on a handfull of kids.
that's all for now. we've had two wonderfully solid nights of sleep around here (well, at least as far as owen is concerned) so i'm hoping that trend continues tonight. it's nice to not have to get up and rock him back to sleep, which then means that i don't get to sleep for at least an hour or more after he is back down. that severely cuts into my sleep quota for the night. i was really crabby at jeffy the other night. he was snoring pretty loudly and constantly and i couldn't get to sleep. at 10:30 i lost it and stormed to the couch. as far as i was concerned, i was going to be facing a 12 hour day the next day on about 3 hours of sleep due to the assumption that owen was going to be getting up in the middle of the night. not a fun prospect. once i got to sleep (and was able to stay asleep thanks to owen), i was in a much better mood in the morning and even wrote jeffy an apology note for the night before.
ok. NOW that's all. i mean it this time. have a wonderful weekend!
)[']=[='['].) owen went to his doctor today just for a precaution and he is in the beginning stages so he as well is going onto meds.
pardon the wierd stuff up there, owen was helping mommy type.
the week at school was pretty good. apparently i got one kid suspended. he was refusing to follow very simple directions - please get in line, please sit up - and was actually firmly telling me, "No" with the "i don't have to listen to you" tone/attitude. he also wasn't about to talk with me about it until i had the referral in my hand, this after i gave him several chances to talk with me. finally i told him he could either talk with me or talk with the principal about it and counted to three. he stood absouletly silently. that was his answer as far as i was concerned. as i walked back across the room with the referral, he decided he wanted to talk with me, but i told him it was too late. he had already made his choice. i later heard him on the phone with home blaming me. in another class, which has been a thorn in my side for the majority of the year, has had what friends of mine might call a "coming to God." they've been horrid all over the school. lots of bickering and pestering and teasing and harrassing during class. we've all had enough so the riot act has been read to them, several times in fact, and things are slowly changing. yesterday afternoon several key players were gone and class was wonderful! today they were back and it was a lot better than it has been. i've started marking on a transparency sheet that i magnet to my white board both positive and negative behaviors. for example, i put a + every time a student does something that helps contribute to the class discussion or lesson (if they are verbally adding to class, they must be called on to earn the +). i am also marking negative behaviors which take away from class. they start the day with 10 points and need to keep an average of 8 to be able to do mallet madness when that starts next week. they can only lose points and if there are negative behavior marks, but they were still participating and mostly involved with class, they'll get a 9, but not a 10. it's helping me also discover what kind of contributers there are in class. i'm doing this with a couple of classes and there is one student in each class who i'm discovering doesn't like to contribute verbally, but if asked to perform a task, will gladly do it. it also ensures that i call on people equally and don't focus just on a handfull of kids.
that's all for now. we've had two wonderfully solid nights of sleep around here (well, at least as far as owen is concerned) so i'm hoping that trend continues tonight. it's nice to not have to get up and rock him back to sleep, which then means that i don't get to sleep for at least an hour or more after he is back down. that severely cuts into my sleep quota for the night. i was really crabby at jeffy the other night. he was snoring pretty loudly and constantly and i couldn't get to sleep. at 10:30 i lost it and stormed to the couch. as far as i was concerned, i was going to be facing a 12 hour day the next day on about 3 hours of sleep due to the assumption that owen was going to be getting up in the middle of the night. not a fun prospect. once i got to sleep (and was able to stay asleep thanks to owen), i was in a much better mood in the morning and even wrote jeffy an apology note for the night before.
ok. NOW that's all. i mean it this time. have a wonderful weekend!
5.01.2007
A blend!!!!
during dinner tonight, owen made his first blend in a real word! i asked him if he wanted more quesadilla and he said, "plea!" yay little man!
we are a wreck at our house. i was sick in bed on sunday with a slight fever, a sore throat, and a headache. yesterday i had a killer headache all day long and came home and crashed on the couch (sore through still going) after work. i still have my sore throat (it's been around since about friday, but has been changing daily. i think it's getting better so i'm not too worried. i'm still swollen in the neck, but not nearly to the extent as i was yesterday so that's good. jeff stayed home today sick again. sore throat, temp - as high as 103 this afternoon, but it's going down - and general lethargy. glad i'm feeling better so that i can take care of owen. oh, and i missed my sister-in-law's baby shower on sunday when i was laid up in bed.
at school we are smack in the middle of WASL testing. that's our state's standardized test for those of you not in washington. it is two weeks in april (but stretching into may this year, i think because of all of those crazy weather days we had off earlier in the year. the kids are getting tired of it and are getting really restless. they only test in the mornings and only four days a week, but still. it's a long time to test. i've been teaching some classes as normal, others with two classes of first and second graders (since our classes are multi-age...), and some on a changed schedule. i may be crazy but i might be seeing my worst class last thing on friday. i hope they finish testing by 11:15 on friday so i can see them then instead of later in the day.
I had to post this picture, taken about two weeks ago. no, he's not resting, he's sleeping. hands behind his head, looking like he's just chilling. too funny!
4.28.2007
Clean Bill
We had both of our check-ups since my last post. The surgeon said that everything looks great with his ear drums and they are healing up nicely. the pediatrician said his eardrum look better than she can ever remember seeing them. sounds like we made the right decision.
owen has a favorite word: "hi!" he says it probably 50+ times a day (or maybe that is just in the morning...) hi to the kitty, to mommy, to daddy, to people at day care, to... two cute things with this in the past week are in the mornings when we are getting out the door, he'll go onto the porch and wait for me while i lock up. he'll open the screen door, poke his head in and say "hi" several times. on thursday, jeffy was sitting at the desk and owen comes over carrying his toy phone by the receiver, but holding the receiver out, and was saying "hi. hi. hi. hi." all the way to daddy. it's so much fun to listen to him grow and change.
a bonus since our 18 month check on monday, he's been getting himself back to sleep in the middle of the night. yay! oh, and his stats from monday: 25 lbs, 8 oz, and 34" tall. two more inches and we're a full-on three feet tall! that's tall enough to climb out of the crib, in theory. i'm not sure he knows that's a possibility just yet. let's see what we can do about keeping it that way, shall we?
it's a beautiful day here, but we're stuck as my car is getting work done (mainly an oil change, but also a follow-up on the tranny...) no stroller, can't find my key to the shed to get the wagon out, no car seat so even if someone came to pick us up, we couldn't go anywhere. oh, and jeffy's out doing yard work at the tree lot and at his parent's house. loads of fun here. the good news is that i have a baby shower to go to tomorrow for one of my sisters-in-law. she's due in june! yay! more babies!
owen has a favorite word: "hi!" he says it probably 50+ times a day (or maybe that is just in the morning...) hi to the kitty, to mommy, to daddy, to people at day care, to... two cute things with this in the past week are in the mornings when we are getting out the door, he'll go onto the porch and wait for me while i lock up. he'll open the screen door, poke his head in and say "hi" several times. on thursday, jeffy was sitting at the desk and owen comes over carrying his toy phone by the receiver, but holding the receiver out, and was saying "hi. hi. hi. hi." all the way to daddy. it's so much fun to listen to him grow and change.
a bonus since our 18 month check on monday, he's been getting himself back to sleep in the middle of the night. yay! oh, and his stats from monday: 25 lbs, 8 oz, and 34" tall. two more inches and we're a full-on three feet tall! that's tall enough to climb out of the crib, in theory. i'm not sure he knows that's a possibility just yet. let's see what we can do about keeping it that way, shall we?
it's a beautiful day here, but we're stuck as my car is getting work done (mainly an oil change, but also a follow-up on the tranny...) no stroller, can't find my key to the shed to get the wagon out, no car seat so even if someone came to pick us up, we couldn't go anywhere. oh, and jeffy's out doing yard work at the tree lot and at his parent's house. loads of fun here. the good news is that i have a baby shower to go to tomorrow for one of my sisters-in-law. she's due in june! yay! more babies!
4.17.2007
bedtime stories
last night, as we were doing bedtime stories, mr. "i can do it myself" decided that that attitude extended to reading as well. he would not let me do the reading. he insisted on doing it. at first i was resistant, but then realized it was a great opportunity for him to read to me, even if i couldn't understand him. he was (and is) able to orient the books correctly, and even help tell the story in some places, either through signing or actions. one thing he knows, is that wind blows and he'll blow when the wind blows in one of the two books we read every night.
as for his language, he's saying "please" more than he's signing it these days. it sounds more like, "bee", but in owenese, that's "please". he also had some grilled cheese for dinner tonight. :-) good boy! he's still up at 4ish in the morning, but what can we do? (seriously, folks! what CAN we do?!?!)
as for his language, he's saying "please" more than he's signing it these days. it sounds more like, "bee", but in owenese, that's "please". he also had some grilled cheese for dinner tonight. :-) good boy! he's still up at 4ish in the morning, but what can we do? (seriously, folks! what CAN we do?!?!)
4.16.2007
sleepless in tacoma with the terrible twos
i hate teething! poor owen is still miserable at night. he'll wake up and whine at least once in the middle of the night. some of it is hunger, some is the discomfort of those nasty molars trying to cut through. a little food usually works pretty well and he'll usually sleep for the rest of the night.
last night, while i was reading a favorite book he copied me and said, "pigeon". It came out more like "pih", but that's close enough. Yesterday, also, he asked specifically for peaches. he got pears because that's what we had open in the fridge. no real complaints, so that's good. i just wish he'd go back to eating something. now he's not even eating grilled cheese or hamburgers or quesadillas. it's pretty much pbj for lunch and dinner. good thing he still likes his fruit.
we have two doctor's appointments in the next week. on wednesday of this week, we go back to the doctor who did his tubes for our two-week follow-up. on monday of next week, we have our 18-month check-up with the pediatrician. our favorite nurse there is pregnant and i can't wait to see how she's growing. i'll let you all know how things go.
tantrums are becoming the way of life around here. the terrible twos have really set in. mommy's phrase when a CFD D C CXN (<--Owen's work) tantrum is under way is, "it's a sad, sad world." i make sure he doesn't hurt himself, and let him throw the tantrum.
last night, while i was reading a favorite book he copied me and said, "pigeon". It came out more like "pih", but that's close enough. Yesterday, also, he asked specifically for peaches. he got pears because that's what we had open in the fridge. no real complaints, so that's good. i just wish he'd go back to eating something. now he's not even eating grilled cheese or hamburgers or quesadillas. it's pretty much pbj for lunch and dinner. good thing he still likes his fruit.
we have two doctor's appointments in the next week. on wednesday of this week, we go back to the doctor who did his tubes for our two-week follow-up. on monday of next week, we have our 18-month check-up with the pediatrician. our favorite nurse there is pregnant and i can't wait to see how she's growing. i'll let you all know how things go.
tantrums are becoming the way of life around here. the terrible twos have really set in. mommy's phrase when a CFD D C CXN (<--Owen's work) tantrum is under way is, "it's a sad, sad world." i make sure he doesn't hurt himself, and let him throw the tantrum.
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