May birthday celebrations, Silberman style

Maybe this choice and responsibility thing really works

Last weekend we went to a birthday party where there was a pinata filled with candy. When the pinata broke open all the kids scurried about gathering up candy. Samuel, more than any other child, went about picking up every last piece of candy he could find. He didn't want to leave until he was sure he had as many pieces as he could get.

As soon as we arrived home, Samuel informed me that he would be eating one piece of candy each day. No prompting from me. Then he asked that we put the candy away in the pantry. For the next 5 days Samuel asked for us to get the candy down after breakfast and he picked one piece.

Yesterday I took the candy down for Samuel, he picked out his piece and ate it, and then told me to put all the candy in the bag for him. I told him that it was his job to put the candy in the bag. It lay on the floor for an hour or so, at which point Samuel walked into the kitchen, said that he didn't want anymore of the candy because he had eaten all the pieces that he liked, and then he threw all of the remaining candy in the garbage can.

Can I just turn all the parenting over to Samuel now?

The demolition of our front yard, aka...

...we are no longer the biggest eyesore on our block.

Grandma and Grandpa visit for Samuel's 4th Birthday

Although it wasn't anybody's birthday yet, the first thing that had to be done, was open the birthday presents. I'm not sure who was more excited, Grandma and Grandpa, or Shira and Samuel.

Do you think Shira likes her John Deere dump truck?

Samuel and Grandma had a very good time putting his first set of Playmobile together. Every night for about 3 weeks after receiving them, Samuel spent all of the time between dinner time and bedtime playing in his room with these figures, creating scenarios for the pirates. He also, for the first time in his life, would wake up in the morning and play with them in his room for a significant amount of time, before coming to crawl into bed with us.

Gotta have storytime with Grandpa. Shira has taken to wearing shades recently. Apparently life is just too bright for her. Or she's just too cool to be in this family.

Mmm, Grandma's breakfast always tastes better than their own.

Preparing the plane pinata for its date with destruction.

The 108 cupcake scones I made, and the rest of the set up for what was supposed to be the park birthday...

...but turned into the birthday in which it HAILED in CALIFORNIA in mid MAY for 10 solid minutes an hour before we were going to leave for the park. These Minnesotan relatives seem to bring crazy weather with them.

Samuel, with encouragement from Grandma and Grandpa, braved the hailstorm to save that ice pelting from the sky in the freezer. Remember this day, buddy. You're a California boy.

Leaps and Bounds

Both Samuel and Shira have made so many developmental leaps and bounds in the last couple of months, it is impossible to keep up and remember all of them.

They both amaze, charm and delight Steve and I on a daily basis.

Shira has entered that stage where she doesn't walk, but runs, almost everywhere.

Samuel has become quite the builder. His most used toys are Legos, tinker toys and Legos. No, that wasn't a typo. Legos deserve an extra mention nowadays. At bedtime Steve has to remind Samuel on a nightly basis that if he doesn't stop building Legos and come to bed, then he's eating into his story time.

Shira is very attached to her "babies", picking a new doll or stuffed animal to carry around every few days. Lotta, her "red baby" and gift from Grandma Susan, still plays a prominent part, but recently Shira has been quite taken with a random stuffed mouse that she found in the toy bin last week. She also enjoys the "blue baby" that Auntie Suzette originally made for Samuel, and the dollie that Steve's English aunt and uncle sent us. She insists on sleeping with some combination (or all) of the fore mentioned dolls.

Shira, like Samuel, has become an avid fan of books. She is picking up language constantly, and has acquired some of Samuel's favorite phrases. She is wont to pick up a book, follow Steve around the house and yell, "Read! Read! Read!" over and over again. Charming the first time, not so much the 50th (especially if she is sitting in your lap and you are actually in the middle of reading to her, as happened to Steve yesterday.) Current favorite books include Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Bark George, Red Hat Green Hat and Moo, Baa, La La La. Sandra Boynton continues to play a strong role in the household.

Bikes are also high on the list of favorites for both kids. A couple of weeks ago Shira managed to do a bit of "riding" on the balance bike, which she was quite pleased about, but she loves to ride on the front of my bike in the Ibert even more. We have begun to ride to the Farmer's Market on Sundays in order to make the trip a little less exhausting and time consuming than walking, which thrills both of the kids. Samuel loves to ride on his trail-a-bike behind Steve, and as soon as I mention that we are going to ride bikes, Shira sprints for the door yelling "ride bike!" repeatedly.

I don't think I have mentioned yet, Samuel has started receiving an allowance. It has been a great experience for all involved. He gets ten cents a night at bedtime after he clears the table and helps Steve load the dishwasher. What I love about it, is that now when Samuel asks to buy something, I just say, "Do you have enough allowance for that?" It takes all the control issues away. Awesome. So if he wants to buy himself to yogurt covered pretzels out of the bulk bin at WF, it is totally up to him. If he wants to get a bouncy ball out of the little toy machines, go for it. I think he's learning a little about money, he definitely knows what a quarter and a dime are, now. The whole saving up for a big thing later on, though, is too tough.

Shira turned into a little girl last week. What with the brushing her hair, putting barrettes in, and getting the 2T clothes out, a number of moms commented on how grown up she has gotten. Not such a little baby anymore.

I am happy to report that we seem to be winning the war against the pink princess menace that seems to have befallen all of the girls that we know. We definitely have a leg up with the big brother action in the household. Every morning when it is time to get dressed, Shira asks for "cars" or "balls". She is referring to the designs she wants her underwear. No pink princess or cupcake undies for this girl.

Crazy thing Samuel did today. We were riding up to the house, Shira in the Ibert, Samuel on the Trail a Bike behind me, and Steve was walking down the driveway to meet us, as he had just gotten home from work. Steve points behind me, and says, "Did you know he did that?" And I turn around to see Samuel standing on top of his bike seat, while the bike is still in motion. He then leapt off the bike and ran for the garage door (which Steve had just pressed the button to open so I could put the bikes away.) Samuel jumped up, caught the garage door handle, and held on as the garage door continued to open, feet dangling in the air as he rode the door upward. After momentary shock, Steve and I yelled for him to let go before he got stuck in garage, he finally dropped to the ground and walked over to us grinning. I must say, it did look like fun. Did seem rather out of character, though. Steve says it must have been his super hero cape that made him do it.

Mother's Day at Preschool

Today was our Mother's Day Tea at preschool. I love my newspaper hat. Very "Ladies who Lunch". Notice the hand painted silk scarves - those were our Mother's Day gifts. Also note, mine is mostly blue.

Amazing we got all the kids into a picture, and most can actually be seen. The phrase "herding cats" comes to mind...

The Mother's Day Celebration coincided with Teacher Appreciation Week.

Camera Fixed, Half of Thesis Submitted

So I picked up our camera from the camera fixer guy today. And yesterday I submitted the first three chapters of my thesis to the Universe, so here is a much needed catch up blog post.

The first eagerly awaited CSA truck of the season arrived in early March.

We celebrated with a playdate with our CSA friends, and some Fabiola popsicles. (Apparently Samuel has forgotten that I know how to make popsicles, and he eagerly awaits Monday and Wednesday mornings, yelling out, "It's Monday! Fabiola is coming!!! We are going to make popsicles!!!" And on Wednesdays, "It's Wednesday! Fabiola is coming!!! The fish store is open today! We are going to get a gumball there!!!!! We're going to make popsicles!" It's nice to know that they like their babysitter...)

Random Thursday with Penelope on the trampoline.

Best Dad Ever.

Also, note Shira is wearing barrettes. Another Mom came to preschool with her two daughters, one Samuel's age, the other Shira's, in matching hairstyles. Cue light bulb for Lisa, "Oh, maybe I should start brushing Shira's hair, and you know, put something in it to keep it from total disaster on a daily basis." Do I get to blame it on being a mother of a boy first, or is it just my poor hygiene? How did my Southern California, make-up obsessed, high heel wearing mother create me?

Love my fava bean shellers. And those fava beans were yum.

Legos!!! It is so awesome to watch Samuel engrossed in Legos. Nothing has ever captivated him like this. We love to watch him create things from his imagination.