Preschool fun

We went to preschool today at a friend's house to see how Rychen would like it. It went really well! We're excited to do this cooperative with other moms in the ward next fall. What they did today was show and tell, storytime, handwriting, craft, painting, and snack (all under the "animals" theme). Periodically I asked Rychen if he was ready to go home, but he was really intent on staying! It was fun for me to compare his mentality to that of the preschool age children (attention span, finger dexterity, etc.). He doesn't sit still for storytime but he did pretty well at staying focused on the crafts. We've never painted before, but he really took to it, mixing all the colors of course, and using the paintbrush like a crayon! He socialized a little bit (being chatty) but didn't quite understand all the girls, and why they were so loud!

Here is a picture of his crafts - Moose antlers, a painted Lion canvas, and a page of stickers.

Lots of fun! So Kelli and Jocelyn, what do you say for next fall? :)

p.s. These green shorts in the photo are affectionately termed his "daisy dukes" which he calls them as well! He loves these shorts, probably because they are green, his favorite color. They are actually part of a PJ set... oh well.

What? Why? But I want to!!

Here are some things I wrote to my brother (on a mission) today:

We are doing the same stuff. Today Rychen P. and I went to Goodwill for fun. He loves that store because he always finds random things and chooses something to buy (maybe). Last time he got a game with keys and puzzle peices. This time he picked a stool. Funny huh, but he's been wanting a stool for a long time. He likes to be taller and reach things. Everytime we go to somebody's house who has a step stool in the bathroom he gets all excited and wants to wash his hands. And lately at home he's started doing this, he always asks to wash his hands with soap. He loves it! So now he has a stool to stand up to the sink and wash his hands.

He's also learning a lot of things, mostly by accident. He just picks it up and I am surprised by how much he knows. Like he knows counting and he's even started using some math - don't ask me where he got this from, but he says "Five and Five make ten." and when we say "5 more minutes" a couple minutes later he'll say, we used this many (shows me 3 fingers), now we have this many (shows 2 fingers)." It is really cool for me to see this because kids really do learn on their own, it's natural, they are curious, and they love it! You don't need to "teach" them anything!! They just pick it up!

He can also write reasonably well now and writes some easy letters and numbers. He can count pretty well and has memorized the alphabet song (we only recently taught it to him). Now if only his emotional skills were this advanced......

He also has a sense of humor and surprises me with how mature he can be. He makes jokes all the time, he loves being silly (so much that sometimes I need to say "It was funny the first time but now stop it!") like calling us the wrong names, making up nicknames for himself, saying the wrong answers on purpose and laughing, etc... everything he can do to drive me crazy! Some things he does are just annoying like when he wants to lick my face (pretending to be a dog). If I tell him not to do something he says "But I want to!" in a whiny voice. Also, he asks "Why" ALL the time. Even when it makes no sense. Like he'll ask if he can do something and I say "Okay," and then he says "why?" or sometimes I've already said why--I say "Be careful so you don't fall." "Why?" If I am irritable that day, this is REALLY annoying. But he's just curious and wanting to talk, talk, talk, as always. Another thing is he always says "What?" like he can't hear us, but he says it OVER and OVER.

He has a favorite song on Courtney's CD that he insists we put on EVERY time we get in the car. If I sing along, he says "No, let Courtney sing!" ha, ha. He's a little Hitler. Other than that, we love him.

Mickey Mouse, new house, and more

Rychen P. is obsessed with Mickey Mouse. Besides watching the cartoon, he has begun to ask about Mickey Mouse as a person--where he lives, if he can come visit, etc. So a couple days ago we decided to make some mail for him and send it, and wait to see if he writes back. And he did! But Rychen has yet to open the envelope. (Maybe the fact of getting mail was enough? Really, who can explain this kid...) And as luck would have it, we found a Mickey Mouse hand-puppet at the library, which you can actually check-out, so guess who is sleeping with Rychen P. these days, and following us everywhere around the house, and watching himself on TV?

Speaking of sleeping, we decided to make the push toward independence in order to get ready to move (getting his own room) and having a baby soon. So this week we had a talk, provided a daily bribe, and now Rychen P. sleeps all night long in his own bed (he still wakes up at 6:30, so I'm not quite sighing with relief). The deal is that we can cuddle for naps together, and cuddle in the big bed for 5 minutes before bedtime. During the night he cuddles with a stuffed animal. And as soon as Dad gets up in the morning, he can come into bed with me.

Call me slow but here's what we figured out, and this is the best part! In order to help nighttime sleep, Rychen gets a later bedtime, which means he needs a daily nap. We used to skip naps and go to bed early (6 or 7 pm) but now we are taking an afternoon nap and staying up til 8 or 8:30. And Oh my gosh - my kid has a totally different personality!! Who knew that a simple change of sleep schedule--same number of hours, just different distribution--would put an end to the whiny, clingy 2 year old who drove me crazy?? This week he's been pure delight! Which only adds to the situation because the happier our days are, the better we tend to sleep at night. Naps are a pain to me, but I guess it's worth it. It means more hours with Dad, a happier boy, sleeping all night, and when the baby is born we can all cuddle together in the big bed :)

So yes, next month we're moving to a real house, same neighborhood but in a flat area, big grassy yard, 3 bedrooms, big garage, down the street from a school playground/yard, for just $75 more per month. Hooray! Rychen P. will finally have his own room, so we'll work on sleeping there. I know I am just silly because most kids have their own room from the time they're teeny, but I am a little nervous to have him sleep so far from us. Whenever he wakes up with a nightmare or something, I am so glad to be so close to calm him down, whereas in a separate room he'd have to wake up fully and cry for a few minutes before I even wake up. It is so nice having our sleep rhythms lined up so I am always awake when he stirs, and I know he is safe right by me. But, alas, time to grow up a bit. I don't want two babies! So let's give this a go!

Another big thing we're into lately is riding busses. And I mean lots. It takes 3 busses just to go anywhere over the bridge. So on days we feel adventurous, we buy a day pass and head out to see where we end up. We have done grocery shopping and other quick errands, as well as spontaneous trips with no destination. It's relaxing for me and fun for him! Maybe this will be a fun thing to do with a baby in a sling, going out for some sight-seeing?

With the weather being so off and on, we have to be spontaneous. So on dark days, we either ride the bus or play at home. But on sunny days we can't keep ourselves indoors! We take long walks, go to the park, visit with friends, etc. A few times, Rychen has taken Rychen P. to play tennis while I get some exercise on the trails. I am so excited for the weather to change. With every sunny day, the outdoors calls to me, and I just love going out in the fresh air! It will be so much fun this summer to do sports in the park, picnics, and visit local farms. Hooray for nice weather!

So remember how Rychen P. is "Mickey Rubber Ducky boy"? He likes to give us all nick-names. Grandma Gremlich taught him to call her Grossmutti and I am Mutti. After watching The Testaments, Rychen P. was intrigued that they call their father Papanwa so it was his own idea to use that for his own Dad! So sometimes during the day he'll ask me, "Where is Papanwa?"

Billions of ducks

This was a couple weeks ago, at Mill Creek where all the dirty nasty ducks mill around the parking lot. It was kind of fun to see once, but Rychen P. was too nervous to get close, and we had a huge clean-up job on our shoes and pant legs, so maybe we won't be going back too frequently! But I was impressed at some HUGE geese (Rychen P. got bit by swans before so he is really cautious around all those birds).