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Kindergarten and Second Grade...Whoa

My head is buzzing.  How is their day going?  Are they making friends?  Do they like their teachers?  Do they miss me as much as I miss them (well, that's a no)? Where did the time go?  When can I go pick them up?

Today, Tomas started second grade and Gabriella started Kindergarten. 

I am so proud of them both.  Tomas, as usual, wants nothing to do with a haircut, so he looks a bit disheveled...we'll take him soon to get that mop chopped. :) He was so ready to go.  I didn't even have to walk him all the way to the door.  My little buddy did have time to blow me a few kisses though...melt!

Some facts about Tomas on his first day:
He is 7 years old.
He wears size 6 or 7 clothes and size 1 shoes.
He can ride his bike without training wheels.
He loves Chemistry (he is now Nitrogen).
Every time someone gives him a kiss, he must give one back.
He loves Skylanders.
His best friends are Austin M., Owen B., and Ben T.
He has come a long way in swimming and is now a Guppy.
His teacher for second grade is Mrs. Wolfe.

Gabriella is going to Kindergarten in the afternoon.  She helped me see Tomas off to school and then came back home to hang out with Kasey and me.  Gabriella, as usual, worked on something crafty and creative this morning but it is a work in progress so pictures will have to come another day.  At Meet-n-Greet she got a little bag of items with a poem on it.  One of those things was Smarties (because they will learn so much this year)...she made the wrapper into a bow for her first day.  Just before she got to school she made me take it out of her hair.  I was a tad disappointed but I think the nerves just hit her suddenly.

Gabriella is totally ready for school.  She knows one of the girls in her class from Pre-K last year and I think that helps a lot. Her teacher this year is Mrs. Bolser, who asked her when they first met, "Do you shake hands or do you hug?"  Love this.  Hugs it was...


A few facts about Gabi:
She is 5 years old.
She wears a size 6 or 7 in clothes and a size 11 shoe.
She refuses to have the training wheels on her bike anymore but is frighteningly wobbly...she will get there.
She is constantly singing or humming and creates our family background noise all the time.
She is very creative and loves to craft.  Everything she touches becomes an idea for a project (many of these are never completed or even started but the brainstorming is amazing).
Gabi is also a little fish and became a Ray over the summer.
She wears her emotions on her sleeve for all to see.
She doesn't understand why five year olds can't wear makeup.
She can't wait to be 7 so she can pierce her ears.

Spring is Coming!

Bada visited last Friday and helped the kids to start getting their garden ready. Gabriella is so excited to have a fairy garden and to have lots of vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

When I first met you, I...

A year ago I wrote that I had set up email addresses for the kids. I have been sending pictures to the kids occasionally and I hope that someday Tomas, Gabriella, and Kasey will be able to access these accounts and see it as a really neat compilation (hopefully!). On that note, if you have a moment, please write a quick note to one or all of them that completes this sentence, "When I first met you, I..."

Or, as I said before, you can just send them a little note of  "introduction" so to speak.  Thanks for your help!!


Email Tomas

Email Gabi

Email Kasey

Hanging Out

It doesn't get much better than this...the munchkins snuggling in the pillow fort reading a book.  Tomas does the best voices!!

Sweet Siblings!

I love these two to pieces.  Kasey is enjoying himself so much he doesn't want to eat lunch.  Gabi is teaching him words on every page.

Gabi Rock Climbing

Watch "Gabi the rock climber" on YouTube
While Tomas was at Lego class Saturday, we went to a Round Lake business expo. Gabi tried rock climbing and did great! She stopped when she realized the next step up would take her out of the instructor's reach.

Sweet sweet Tomas

Watch "Tomas reading" on YouTube
This morning Tomas heard Kasey crying in his room.  He came in to my room to tell me about it and that he was going to get a book and some blankets so he could snuggle with and read to Kasey.  This is what I found. 
A cute side note, Kasey is acutely aware of cameras.  Note how when he notices that I am video taping he immediately turns on for the camera

Camera Fun By Gabriella

Gabi had a blast taking self portraits.  I love her silliness!

Electronic Time Capsules

Dearest Family and Friends,
 Liefste Familie en Vrienden
Tonight (as I should very much be sleeping), I decided to create something new.  I created email accounts for each of our amazing little munchkins.  Why, you ask, would a 5, 3, and 1 year old need to check or write emails.  You're right, they don't!  However, with a little age manipulation (Google thinks they are all exactly the same age as me), I created these accounts. Ik weet dat ik echt zou moeten slapen, maar toch zit ik hier te bloggen...te gek?!  Ik wou iets nieuws proberen.  Ik heb email adressen opgezet for mijn kinderen.  Waarom hebben kleintjes van 5, 3, en 1 een email adres nodig?  Dat hebben zij inderdaad niet nodig, maar toch...

The idea is this:  If I (or you...this is really the idea here) are thinking about any one of them, have something to say, a picture to share, whatever, send an email to Tomas, or Gabriella, or Kasey.  The idea is that these emails will hang out there for a long time, like a wonderful electronic time capsule.  (I got this idea from some commercial, by the way, it is not entirely my own).  Dit is het idee: Als jij aan ons of een van ons denkt, als jij een foto wilt deelen of een herrinering/verhaal, stuur alstublieft een email aan Tomas, Gabriella, of Kasey (of alle drie).  Ik hoop dat die emails lekker lang ongeleesd blijven "liggen," en dat in een aantal jaren, zij door de kinderen worden geleest. (Ik heb dit idee van een reklame op tv, en het is daaruit tot deze blog gegroeit)

I could go on an on about what I hope this will become, but I think in doing so, I might limit its possibilities, so instead, I will simply ask you to start sending emails to the following addresses:  Ik hoop dat jij naar de volgende adressen wat stuurt:

tomas.a.pedraza@gmail.com

gabriella.a.pedraza@gmail.com

kasey.r.pedraza@gmail.com

I will be checking the inboxes periodically to organize the emails.  I do not intend to read the emails...they are not for me.  However, I want to maintain some order in the chaos, so I will probably create yearly folders (or people/topic folders...that will become clearer as this progresses).  Also, I realize that this is a lot to ask for those less creative souls, so I will also periodically send out "prompts" for possible emails to my loves.  Zo nu en dan ga ik kijken wat er in deze "inboxen" ligt, zodat ik het allemaal een beetje georganizeerd kan houden.  Ik ben niet van plan de emails te lezen, dat laat ik over een aantal jaar aan de kinderen over.  Ik weet dat dit wat veel is...zo nu en dan ben ik ook van plan "prompts/ideetjes" te bloggen en emailen met ideetjes voor wat voor emails jij mischien kan sturen.

So, that said, if you would like, please send an introductory email to the aforementioned addresses.  Introduce yourself (you are writing to teenage/adult individuals here...I have yet to determine when I will give the kids access to these time capsules...suggestions are super welcome).  Stuur alsjeblieft een introductie email naar de email adressen die ik hier boven heb aangegeven.  Het idee is dat je deze gedachtes aan een tiener of volwassen iemand schrijft (ik weet nog niet zeker waneer ik de kinderen dezen adressen zal "geven"...suggesties zijn welkom).

Head Slappingly Astounding

That about sums up Gabriella and our adventures with her. I just had to take a moment today to describe what has been happening with Gabi in her quest to figure out socially acceptable behavior. There is nothing simple about this process with her. It has been frequently mortifiying and frustrtating...story time!

It all begins back around Thanksgiving time when Renee and Maria were staying with us and we decided to enjoy a nice breakfast at Wildberry (which, by the way is hands down my favorite place to eat breakfast). Anyway, Wildberry is...wildly...popular. If you get there on a Sunday after church you are pretty much guaranteed a healthy wait time. We were busy hanging out; the kids were taking turns holding the buzzer and waiting for it to go off so we could enjoy breakfast. We were quite cozy in the entrance, snuggled close with various other individuals also waiting for thier tables. In walked a large woman in an even larger Urlacher jersey, also headed on her way to enjoy beyond delicious berakfast fare. Just as everyone wass quietly and patiently waiting, Gabi points and exclaims, "She's FAT!!" ...MORTIFIED!!! Pete yanked Gabi toward him, hissing, "Gabi don't say that," through tightly clenched teeth. Gabi burst into tears, deeply confused as to what is going on here.

To avoid a grander debacle and to help Gabriella understand just what had everyone so worked up, I headed outside with her to discuss this with her. I hugged Gabi and explained that we simply do not talk about others. Through tears of confusion Gabi reiterated, "But she WAS fat, Mommy." Gabi genuinely did not understand how stating a fact was a problem, much less that such facts are extremely sensitive and can be devastating to our friends' and strangers' feelings. After some more tears and discussion, Gabriella seemed to understand that we don't talk about others, whether about being fat, skinny, pretty, tall, short, you name it. She definitely dones not want to hurt anyone's feelings. That much she made clear.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, on a wintry January Monday evening at dance class. Gabriella had just finished various fun activities with Miss Amy and was in the midst of getting dressed to head back outdoors. Out of nowhere, she whips around, points her finger and exclaims, "I'm not apposed [Gabi for supposed] to say that!" You see, she was pointing at an overweight woman sitting in the waiting room with us. I was closest to her, mortified once again and mystified. Haven't we been over this already?!?! Alright, in Gabi's mind, she was perfectly in the right...she did NOT use the word fat, so she thought she was doing no harm. So this time the parking lot discussion involved that we simply NEVER point at others and say anything at all about them. We do not want to hurt anyone's feelings!!! Sigh...

Because approaching the limits of embarassment simply isn't enough, Gabriella had (please let this be the last time) one more trick up her sleeve last night at dance class. She was sitting on the ground putting on her ballet shoes when she scooted up close to me, pointed surreptitiously and whispered (about a little girl) "She ate too much fat." Positive: she did not yell anything or cause any others embarassment...this time. Gabi seems to understand that this is a sensitive subject and is making attempts, in her three year old way, to behave appropriately. However, she is still struggling with understanding what being overweight is.

Where is my parenting lesson in all this? Gabriella is clearly a boundaries tester and question asker...anyone that has met her has experienced her ability to ask "Why?" ad nauseum. Maybe I just really need to discuss things with her more extensively and set clear, defined boundaries, and I probably need to be ready for some moments of extreme mortification well into my future. Any ideas for helping her understand and be more sensitive are deeply appreciated!!!

A weekend at Oma and Bada's Home

In November, I went to the Marine corps Ball in NY with Kasey, and Gabi and Tomas stayed with Oma and Bada. Oma wrote this about their weekend...

When Annemarie asked us a while ago if we would be willing to have
Tomas and Gabi stay at our home, while she and Kasey would be in New
York for the weekend, there was no hesitation from our side. We were
super excited with the prospect of spending an entire weekend with
them and started planning right away.
We were anticipating a little anxiety from Tomas and Gabi because they
never spent time away from mommy, but we should not have worried. They
were elated to be with us and loved every minute of it.
On Saturday we went to the Planetarium, where we had lunch, and then
walked over to the Aquarium where we spent hours by the big fish tank
in the main hall. We also saw the jelly fish exhibition and the
dolphins. The big favorite was the Dora and Diego 3D Rain Forest
adventure. Bada and oma also loved it.
On Sunday after a slow and relaxing start of the day we went to the
Museum of Science and Industry and visited all their favorite
displays. It was great fun. Tomas is clearly drawn to everything that
involves building and construction. He will be an engineer like Bada.
Gabi basically loves everything. After the museum closed we walked
across L.S.D. to the beach and found tons of beach glass. The kids
loved it. McDonalds Happy Meals brought a perfect ending to the day.
What Kees and I particularly liked is to have time alone with them
They were sweet, silly and so very happy. Kudos to Annemarie for
raising them so well. They know their parameters and behave perfectly.
We loved every minute of it. They were a little disappointed that they
were going home Sunday night after we picked up mommy and Kasey from
the airport. Tomas remarked: "Oma I really love my family but my home
is so boring." I explained that if they would be with oma and bada
throughout the week it would not be that exciting either because
museum visits would not be a daily occurrance. Oh well... though he
found his own home a little boring, my sweet, sensitive little boy
started his sentence with the remark that he loved his family. That
must make his mommy and daddy very happy.
We certainly loved having them. Annemarie and Peter can leave them
with us any time.
Kees and Ali.

Sweetness

Love that face.

Fun with Gabi...it's all about the little things

So fun...this is our laughing face with our "Christmas presents".... In other words gabi drags out a giant gift bag filled with toys from the playroom and presents them to me as gifts.  Today I take a step back to appreciate the little things.  She is such a fun creative soul and truly a gift in our lives.  She recently had a Uti and when we went to the doctor he decided to be thorough and order an ultrasound because he didn't like someone so young having had multiple Utis. The ultrasound results came back yesterday and there is an abnormality in the upper part of her left kidney.  The doctor thinks it is most likely just a simple cyst, nothing to be worried about but he wants to be sure so he ordered a ct scan which will involve full sedation and contrast.  He thinks no reason for alarm but it still makes you stop to think and appreciate...

Similes by Gabi

"It's cold outside, like a monster's fuzz in winter."

Such a Trooper!

Gabriella came down with what was clearly a Uti so I made N appointment for her to go to the doctor.  She was awesome!  She told the doctor what was wrong all on her own, described her level of pain and went through all the measuring and checking like a champ.  "Doctor my bum hurts when I pee.". When did she get so big?!

Dancing Threes

Watch "Dance" on YouTube
Gabriella is doing a new dance class and she absolutely loves it.  This is from a makeup class but gives an idea.  This dance is going to be performed Dec. 11 with the girls wrapped as presents.  Who's coming?

Tomas and Gabi Performing

Just after Gabi's third birthday, Tomas and Gabi used GAbi's piano stool as a performance stage. This may be the reason the stool did not last long at all....

Blackbird (from March)

Gabriella singing a Beatles classic to Kasey

Halloween Fun

Trick or Treating in Round Lake was in the middle of the day on Sunday. I'm still pretty unsure how I feel about that whole idea, but we had a blast anyway! If fact, Halloween was multiple days of fun around here. On Friday evening, we joined Emily, a high school friend of mine, at the Church of Latter Day Saints for Halloween festivities. It was a blast. They had a ton of fun games set up and then had a parade and a quick round of trick-or-treating. The kids loved the chance to really try out there costumes for the first time. Tomas was in love with the Harry Potter Quidditch game they had set up, but Gabriella was not interested in trying it because Professor Snape made her much too nervous.
Saturday, we went trick-or-treating in downtown Grayslake. I'm so glad we checked this out, despite the insane throng of people that were there, making it a bit difficult to manage all three kids by myself (one scary moment of missing Tomas was all my nerves could handle). Grayslake is a very cute little town and I even picked up some delicious-looking mushrooms and pasta sauce at the farmer's market!
Sunday was trick or treating. As you can see, Marcie, Edie, and Oma and Bada joined us for the fun. As usual, the kids lasted pretty much once around the block and were done for the day. They had a blast handing out candy though, and got in lots of fun before the crazy rain hit. Everywhere we went, people loved our Harry Potter theme

Trick-or-Treating in Grayslake

Trick-or-Treating in Round Lake