october art

every week at preschool samuel has the opportunity to create a painting and an art project. here is a sampling of this month's creative endeavors.the witch hat has gotten a lot of use over the past couple of weeks.pumpkin painting with leaf. yes, that is what the green thing is.

is there a theme emerging here?boo!the plate came home with us today. i get the impression that it will be used for every meal for the next very long time.

fish heads, fish heads, rolly, poly fish heads

fish heads, fish heads, eat em up, yum.

samuel eats some headless sardinesand then explains how he pulls the bones out, as you can hear him crunching on them...

glasses

i went to get a new pair of glasses this week, and samuel perused the selection

pumpkins, trains and turkeys, oh my!

We met Joe and Dhea for a picnic at Ardenwood Farm this weekend. In addition to the farm stuff (which included a working blacksmith!) we visited their pumpkin patch and had some fun on the train.

As soon as Samuel saw the pumpkin patch, he ran straight up to this pumpkin, told Steve that we needed to buy it, and refused to leave its side. He tried to pick it up, as we debated whether it was appropriate to instill the "you can get any pumpkin you want as long as you can carry it to the check out stand" rule. We decided it was a bit too early for that rule, mainly due to Samuel's strong attachment to this particular pumpkin. He valiantly tried to pick it up and carry it, but it just wasn't going to happen.
Driving the train
Hanging with the turkeys. Samuel and I walked right up to these turkeys - they were huge - bigger than Samuel, but then Steve became convinced that they were going to attack Samuel or me, so we had to back off.

the aquarium, sort of

i had to get fingerprinted AGAIN today.

thankfully livescan is much better than the old days of ink. results are faster and you don't walk around looking like you just left central booking.

the upside to our afternoon at the fingerprinting office was that we actually passed through downtown during hours that the "aquarium" was open.

it has been at least six months since we have stopped in for a visit, and probably closer to a year. samuel talked about the fish and really took an interest in a way that he hasn't in the past. we'll definitely need to add this back to our list of free diversions in a pinch.

shira snoozed through the pescateria

swings

after our visit to the Y this morning, we decided to hit the park.

impressively, samuel made the cross country trek from the parking lot to the playground on his own while shira and utilized the paved path.

shira enjoyed her first experience on the swing.

and she survived samuel taking a turn pushing her as well.

i'm flying!

today's preschool adventures

samuel all decked out for school. backpack on, cheese toast with avocado in hand.

today we had the "parent meeting" for the first time at preschool.

this is significant because it means that all but a couple of moms go off to a separate room to discuss parenting topics while the kids stay and play. the story during snack time was all about the impending "separation".

i'd say it was a big day, but samuel took it in stride. i think his recent trips to the YMCA daycare while I exercise were to thank for the easy transition. samuel gave me a concerned look, and said "mommy go to meeting?" and that was it. he was happily playing with orange playdough when i returned.
sweeping up leaves from the recent storm. it was pretty adorable to see a bunch of two year olds with rakes and brooms hard at work.
"this is the first time i have seen samuel really play "house". he saw a high chair, looked around for a doll, and began feeding her. then of course he wanted to feed himself and shira as well.

samuel discovers how super cool tire swings are

harvest celebration

for a family that lives in a pretty urban area, i feel like we spend an inordinate amount of time on the farm.

this weekend we visited one of our csa farms for their harvest celebration.

i'm pretty sure these goats eat better than most people i know:
i was actually really tempted to pick up one of these carrots and eat it. i probably would have if there were any that weren't already partially chewed. you would understand why i felt that way if you have ever eaten a fresh chantenay carrot from our csa box. you'd never eat a "baby" "carrot" from supermarket ever again. but don't get me started.
samuel was a bit disappointed that he couldn't convince one of the goats to eat the head of cabbage whole. another sign these were the most well fed goats on the planet - they actually turned down food. i've never seen a goat do that before.
strawberry picking galore. we picked almost a half flat. only one basket managed to get to the checkout (we had help from some boys who seemed raised by wolves, but i won't get into that odd story). and that one basket didn't make it home. yum.
steve did a remarkable job picking strawberries, carrying the half flat, and toting shira.
samuel double fisting the strawberries.

it was fun to take a hayride with our friends and fellow csa'ers, kristen, eric and lillian the hayride was definitely the highlight for me. it was my first.
our very own farmer drove the tractor for the hayride and gave us a tour of the farm along the way. can't wait for the blueberries that he just planted this year. we should see those in two years. but we'll start seeing apples next year.


samuel and i on the hayride - he sure has learned that posed smile.
samuel chose to get a sun painted on his face. he was a little hesitant when he realized someone else was going to paint his face. he thought it would be like the children's museum where he paints his own face.


we also had the opportunity to do some crafts while we were there. in the picture above steve is holding samuel's art project where he glued beans to paper to create an oh so fabulous design. he of course enjoyed the glue part of the activity the most. i'm sure we were using heirloom beans that cost like $10 a pound. in addition, we made a farm style chia pet using an eggshell. if it grows (which i doubt, steve will probably kill it), i'll post a picture later...

do we have a thumbsucker?

the jury is still out.

part of me thinks, hey, if you sleep through the night, you can suck on anything you want.

the other part of me says, this could get ugly. or be really annoying.

well, as my dad would probably tell me, it's not my choice.

first rainy day of the season

we were at Goodwill the other day and got lucky finding these rain boots - perfect fit! the raincoat i bought for samuel at REI when he was 9 months old, i can't believe he can still wear it. i think it wins hands down as the longest lived item of clothing that samuel owns. and the umbrella is one of bubbie's yard sale finds.

no jumping in puddles today. it was simply too ugly outside for me to be willing to join samuel. but he certainly had a lot of fun going out on the porch and into the backyard. i missed getting a picture of samuel realizing that the kiddie pool was filled with rainwater. he jumped in in full rain gear, then told me he wanted to put his swimsuit on.

video:

Why?

I thought I had more time before the why? stage began. I was wrong.

A sample from today's shopping trip:

"Why nutmeg, Mommy?"
"We need nutmeg to make pumpkin bread."
"Why?"
"Because that is what the recipe calls for."
"Why?"
"Because it makes it taste good."
"Why?"

One aisle later:

"Buy nutmeg Mommy?"
"No they didn't have any Samuel."
"Why?"
"Because it ran out."
"Why?"
"Why no nutmeg Mommy?"
"Mommy, Nutmeg?
"Mommy, why not buy nutmeg?"
"Mommy, where nutmeg?"
"Nutmeg."
"Mommy, mommy"
"Yes, Samuel."
"Why nutmeg?"
"Samuel, if you ask about the nutmeg one more time I'm going to scream."
"Why nutmeg, Mommy?"

At the checkout:

"Mommy no buy pretzels."
"I have to Samuel."
"Why?"
"Well, if you want to eat them, I have to buy them."
"Why?"
"Because if I don't buy them and we leave the store the police will come get me."
"Why?"
"Because those are the rules. If you leave the store with something without paying for it, the police will come arrest you."
"Why?"
"Because those are the rules. You have to buy things if you want them."
"Why?"
"That is our societal construct."
Pause.
"Mommy no buy pretzels." ...

Is it still preschool when...

you go with your kid, you're supposed to observe them the whole time, and it's only one day a week? My answer is: who cares? It sure is fun. And cheap. And it fulfills the two requirements necessary to qualify as a school according to Samuel: he gets to play soccer, and Mommy stays.

I was a little nervous when I learned that Samuel believed that soccer was the main thing that one did when one went to school, but our new preschool did not let us down. The morning that we walked in, there were a number of soccer balls strewn over the oh so green lawn, and Samuel managed to quickly locate the goal and drag it over.

Soccer, basketball, painting, water play, play kitchen, gas station, cars, lawn mowers, baby doll strollers, play dough, play structure, story time, snack time, singing circle time... Samuel asked me why we had to go home. I wonder if we will ever get to all of it. Samuel of course has played every sport provided so far, but we have yet to even approach the play structure and slides - there is just so much to do.

Playing soccer with Steve, our second day at preschool


Starting his second canvas - Samuel makes quick work of his painting. Especially once he realizes that there is soapy water with which to wash his hands. He soon switches from putting paint on the brush and then the paper, to dipping his hands in so that he can go wash them once again.
Double fisted painting
While Samuel plays, I have homework. I spend the day making notes about how he interacts with the activities and other kids, as well as filling out questionnaires. Today I recorded Samuel's personality qualities, behavior that I find most challenging, and his likes and dislikes. Perhaps I'll post some of the items here. I imagine it will be very interesting to look back on these lists to see how things have changed months from now.

The only thing I could think of for dislikes: tomatoes. Or as Samuel would say temos.

P.S. Breakfast this morning?
"Mommy, I want a sandwich. "
In my head: Really? I've never made you a sandwich.
"Ok, Samuel, do you want it on toast?"
"Yes."
"What do you want on it?"
"Cado." (Avocado)
"And Mommy, no temo"

I love that he felt the need to tell me not to put tomato on his sandwich. He will pick tomato off of any item handed to him, even if it is just a tiny little tomato seed left over from a slice that I have already removed for him. Did he really think I would suggest putting tomato on his sandwich? Ye of so little faith...

Cousins

While Steve was out of town for the past two days, Samuel, Shira and I dropped in on his cousins so I could be sure to wear Samuel out before bedtime and I would have the opportunity to speak with someone over the age of two.

Brendan and Shane are the best things since peanut butter. Shira and Grant also had a good time staring at each other.

I thought that I had another 13 years or so before I had to worry about what Samuel would be like behind the wheel. Clearly I was mistaken.

These video clips say it all: (fb users go to www.mysunmoonandstars.blogspot.com to see the video)



Samuel and Shane try to rob the ATM
Dinner time with the Boys
When we got home at the end of the day, Samuel told me that Brendan and Shane (aka Big Shane and Little Shane) should live at our house.