Conor is double digits

My apologies to all involved for how long it has taken me to post. Time has become a strange beast over the past month+ (but I'll save that for another post). In the mean time, let's focus on something upbeat and celebratory...

On March 28th, our sweet boy turned 10-years-old. The night before, Eric asked me, "Tomorrow, we won't have any kids who are single digits in age. Do you feel old, yet?" (Yeah, I love you, too, Honey!) 😄

Even though Conor's birthday was spent during a pandemic/quarantine, we did our best to make it as fun as possible. We (aka Eric, because he's taller!) put up the Happy Birthday banner to mark the day. Conor requested food from the Mr. Gyro food truck for dinner (thank goodness some of the food trucks are still open!!) and grasshopper pie for dessert. We spent the day playing games, relaxing, and just being together. All-in-all, a fairly good way to spend a birthday!

One of the highlights from the day was when Conors' BFF (Theo) and his mom drove by our house to deliver a (socially distanced) birthday greeting. Conor stood on the sidewalk and Theo stayed in the car, but they still giggled and had fun catching up for a few minutes.

Conor opening a present

Modeling the shirt I made for him

Happy boy! He got a Pokemon video game

Obligatory birthday photo

His glowing grasshopper pie

Conor's Birthday Interview

Age: 10 years

What is your favorite thing to do? Play board games, dice games, and card games

What do you want to be when you grow up? An engineer

What is your favorite food? Either gyro or carbonara

What is your favorite color? Seafoam green

What is your favorite toy? Spot 1

What makes you laugh? Dad

What is your favorite song? Allstar by Smash Mouth

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Cookie dough

What do you like to do with your family? Everything

What is your favorite TV show? Atomic Puppet

What is your favorite book? Warriors

What do you do really well? Growing

If you have $1000 to spend, how would you spend it? Pokemon, Pokemon, Pokemon

What do you want to do before your next birthday? I want to go to Hawaii

What was your favorite thing done as a 9-year-old? We got our dog Huckleberry

Annika is officially double digits

Last night, Annika went to bed as a 9-year-old. This morning, she awoke as a 10-year-old. Double digits, baby!!

Today she is 10... a decade of life under her belt. That also means Eric and I have been parents for a decade... three weeks earlier than we expected. (She has kept us on our toes ever since!) As we left the hospital with our newborn baby girl, I couldn't help but look over my shoulder and think "They're just letting us leave with her and we have NO CLUE what we're doing!"

Over the past 10 years, there have been countless bouts of laughter and tears, moments of "What the hell are we doing??" and "Wow! We haven't screwed them up too much ... yet." It has been quite a journey and one we are incredibly grateful for. As we watch the kids take one each day, we often stare in wonder at all they have learned, how much they've grown, and how much they've changed since they were born. 

This girl amazes us in so many ways. She is witty, compassionate, wickedly smart, funny, daring, and loving. She is tough and isn't afraid to stand up for herself or someone else being wronged. She is a protective big sister who will go to the ends of the earth for Conor, and will be the first in line to complain about something he has recently done. She instantly falls in love with any baby or animal that is in her line of sight. Life will not run over this girl... she will do well for herself, we are sure of it. She loves to art and science, and is often occupying herself with one (or both) of these things. She is our girl and we are so proud of who she is and can't wait to see who she develops into. Happy birthday, sweet girl!  

We are having a fairly low-key day today, which considering our summer's hectic pace, is a welcome change. As I write this post, Annika and Eric are playing a game and Conor is relaxing with his Pokemon stuff. I hear chatter and giggles ... and am loving every minute of it. Annika and I started off the day by going 8:30 mass; she signed up to be an alter server this year and wanted to make mental notes about all of the things she will need to do. After while, she opened presents, which included a digital watch, a "Officially 10" t-shirt, a point-and-shoot digital camera, a night gown, and a book about drawing animals. In a bit, we'll head to the pool for her weekly diving lesson and then we'll have Swedish meatballs as her chosen birthday dinner. 

Annika's 10-Year Birthday Interview

What is your favorite color? Red and pink

What is your favorite toy? Bunny 1

What is your favorite food? Swedish Meatballs

What do you do really well? Diving

What new skill do you want to learn? Ride a unicycle

What is your favorite book? Captain Underpants

What makes you laugh? Daddy

What is your favorite game? Tickle Spider (Daddy/Annika silly game)

What makes you happy? Family

What do you want to be when you grow up? Engineer who builds robots

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What is your favorite song? True Colors

If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it? Put some in bank account and give the rest to a charity that helps the homeless and poor.

What do you look forward to now that you are 10? Getting to do more grown up things

Last Day of School 2017

Yesterday, the kids bid adieu to 1st and 3rd grade.

They'd been counting down to it for the past two weeks with great anticipation. This week was filled with "wrapping it up" activities, including cleaning out their desks at school, bringing home piles of art projects and graded homework, field day, field trips, and a board game party (for Annika's class).

As soon as the last bell rang, the kids came flooding out... and that is when the reality of change hit Conor and he decided he wasn't quite ready for 1st grade to end. The proclaimed that he would really like to have another week or two of school. We talked about how change can be a bit unsettling and that's OK. We also talked up 2nd grade and how much Annika liked having her as a teacher. He seemed a bit more at ease, but also might have just been humoring his crazy old parents.

After school, we zipped home to reveal the surprise we had in store: a family outing to the newly-released Captain Underpants movie followed by lunch at Five Guys. The kids were beyond thrilled!! Not a bad way to start their summer vacation, if you ask them. :)

As I write this post, I can't help but be a bit amazed by how much the kids changed over the school year. Annika has grown almost 3 inches in height and is very close to her goal of growing out her bangs. Conor started out 1st grade without his two front teeth and is now about 2 inches taller than when he started the school year.

  

Conor's Year-end Interview

My favorite thing to play is: Hula-hoop tag

My favorite color is: Chartreuse

My favorite book: The Book with No Pictures

My favorite TV show: Pokemon XYZ

My favorite food: Suckers

When I grow up, I want to: Be a famous soccer player

My favorite thing about 1st grade was: Getting to play Ga-Ga Ball

Something cool I learned this year was: How to tell time

Something I want to learn in 2nd grade is: Multiplication

Something I want to do over the summer is: Go to the Dollar Store

Annika's Year-end Interview

My favorite thing to play is: Kitties

My favorite color is: A glowing red pink

My favorite book: Captain Underpants

My favorite TV show: How to Train Your Dragon

My favorite food: Swedish Meatballs

When I grow up, I want to: Take a vacation to Hawaii

My favorite thing about 3rd grade was: Having a very nice teacher

Something cool I learned this year was: That a right angle is a point of a square or rectangle

Something I want to learn in 4th grade is: Grammar

Something I want to do over the summer is: Go to the pool

Annika's 9th Tooth

During dinner last night, Annika mentioned that her tooth was feeling quite loose. We talked about how it would be neat for it to come out on the first day of school next month. Well, that little tooth had other ideas!

Annika and Eric decided to try pulling it while I was at a meeting at the kids' school. Eric slipped a loop of floss over the tooth, only to have the floss pop right off. Annika used a paper towel to dry her tooth. He re-looped the floss... and off it popped again. Annika used a paper towel to dry her tooth AGAIN ... only to have the tooth pop out while she was drying it off!!

How appropriate that she is nine and just lost her ninth tooth!

We did have to go on a bit of a hunt for her tooth pillow, but that didn't take too long (thank goodness!). This morning, she very excitedly showed me the $1 coin and note left for her by the Tooth Fairy. Life doesn't get much better than that when you're 9! :)

Conor's 3rd Tooth

Well, it looks like the Tooth Fairy will make another stop at our house tonight! When he woke up this morning, Conor had 5 loose teeth.... now it is down to 4 wiggly ones and 1 new hole!

Once Conor announced that he wanted to see if the tooth would come out, the kids and I jumped into gear. Conor grabbed about 2 inches of dental floss, which Annika quickly deemed too short (she was right!), so I snagged a much longer length and whipped up a tooth lasso. Annika grabbed a paper towel, and Conor popped over to the freezer for some post-pulling ice. Thankfully, I thought to take a quick "before" picture prior to giving the tooth a tug.

To be honest, I wasn't 100% sure if the tooth was ready to come out, but he wanted to give it a try. Good thing we did! It practically popped out on its own. More than anything, I think the floss lasso kept the tooth from flying out of his mouth!

One step closer to being a big kid!

Before

After

He was so excited that he even wanted to send a video announcing the lost tooth to Eric, who had already left for work. Big news, Daddy! :)

Conor Lost His First Tooth

Every so often (ok, practically daily), our kids remind us in some way that they are growing up and are no longer our wee little babies. Well, yesterday, Conor proved that he is constantly eeking toward adulthood by losing his first tooth!

He'd asked for an apple as a snack (no problem!) and a short bit later, returned asking for it to be cut up because biting into the apple was hurting his loose tooth (lower, right). Eric took a peek into Conor's mouth and said that the tooth was probably ready to come out. Once he said that, Conor started to debate whether he (not the tooth) was ready, and Annika ran to the freezer to fill a cup of ice to prepare for the big event.

It didn't take Conor long to agree to having his tooth pulled out. Annika was a marvelous coach and told him how it wouldn't hurt and she knew he was brave. (It was really sweet!)

Before I had time to grab my camera, Eric already had the floss around Conor's tooth and he was ready to pull it. I actually had to hold him off for a second while I got my camera settings where they needed to be (I'm so persnickety!).

With one good tug, out popped the tooth!! It didn't just pop out ... that sucker went FLYING! All four of us were looking for it on the ground. Fortunately, Annika spotted it near Conor's foot ... whew!

We quickly got ice in a paper towel for his mouth. All the while, Annika kept proclaiming how proud she was of Conor and singing his bravery praises. "I'm so proud of you, Brother! You were SO BRAVE! You did SUCH A GOOD JOB!" (Future life coach?)

Later in the evening, I whipped up a quick tooth pillow for Conor to use at bedtime. Which he promptly misplaced before bedtime (whoops!). Annika loaned him her tooth container so he could leave his tooth for the Tooth Fairy, who left him a lovely note and a $1 gold coin.

His lower left tooth is fairly wiggly, too, so I have a feeling we'll be doing this all over again in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

Goodbye little tooth

Holey smile

 

Conor and his tooth losing life coach

Big kid!

Annika's last day of kindergarten

Today, I dropped off the kids at school. I do that most mornings, so what's the big deal and why does this merit a blog post? Well, the big deal is today is Annika's last day in kindergarten.

About 9 months ago, we set her off on a new academic adventure called kindergarten. Over the school year, she got 2 adult teeth, lost 3 more of her baby teeth, developed a love of math, started learning how to read and write, started to learn how to speak and understand Spanish, took a jump roping class, went on fun field trips to places like a pumpkin patch and Greenlake (to test out the sea worthiness of the wooden boats they made), and so, so, so much more!

We feel so blessed to have had Mrs. Galvan and Mrs. Silva teach Annika this year. They are incredibly gifted (read: intelligent, patient, humorous, creative, etc) women and true assets to our school.

This has been a wonderful year. We are sad to know it has come to an end, but are consoled to know that so many more adventures are on the horizon.

Next stop: 1st grade!

The Tooth Fairy Cometh... Again

After waking up yesterday morning, I was greeted by Annika covering her mouth and her eyes sparkling. That could only mean one thing ... she lost her very wiggly upper-left tooth. (For those of you who have lost count, this brings her grand total up to 4 lost teeth.)

Apparently while I slept, Eric wiggled her tooth and realized it was time for the tooth to come out. He suggested they pull it while I was still asleep and then I could be surprised. Annika was ALL for it! And, I was definitely surprised!!

Throughout the evening, Annika kept telling us how excited she was for the Tooth Fairy to visit her AGAIN!! She even drew a picture for the Tooth Fairy and left her a snack of three baby carrots (flying around collecting teeth does built up one's appetite, you know!) The Tooth Fairy was concerned that Annika was going to be so excited, that her visit would have to be delayed until the middle of the night (like last time), but fortunately, Annika was tuckered out from the busy weekend and swim lessons, so was asleep by 8:30. (whew!!)

This morning, Annika was thrilled to announce that the Tooth Fairy did, in fact visit AGAIN, AND left her a note, AND gave her a coin dollar in exchange for the tooth. Life is so good for our little girl. :)

Look, Ma! No teeth!

Toothless in Seattle

Annika's picture of  (and for) the Tooth Fairy
It reads: "Wack me wen yoe get her"
(Translation: "Wake me when you get here")

Annika's First Missing Tooth

On Tuesday (July 16, 2013), Annika reached a childhood milestone: she lost her first tooth.

To be exact, she didn't truly lose it, but it is no longer in her mouth. After dinner, she came up to Eric and me and said that she felt a cavity. Quite perplexed, I asked her to show me. Instead of seeing a hole in her tooth, I saw her demonstrated the ability to basically pull so far back on her loose tooth that we could see its underside. Yeah.... definitely time for it to come out.

As soon as we told her it was time for the tooth to come out, she freaked. The idea of it completely set the poor girl into mountains of fear and anxiety. We tried to calm her down, but no to avail. Eventually, though. with the help of many deep breathing sessions and the promise to let her have music playing through her headphones during the procedure, she agreed to let Eric pull her tooth.

It took a try or three for Eric to get a good grip on that wee little tooth, but one he did, it popped right out. Once it was out, Annika became the most excited girl history has ever seen. She was beaming and bounding ... proclaiming that she's such a big girl now. We were amazed by how she reacted to her lost tooth.... especially considering we were doing some serious breathing exercises just a few minutes before.

Needless to say, Annika rushed to put her tooth in the tooth pillow we'd made. About an hour later, it was time for bed. She was still buzzing with excitement, but did get herself to sleep ... I'm sure it was quite a feat for her to even close her eyes.

The next morning, she was greeted with a golden dollar and a note from the Tooth Fairy. We were greeted with the same excitement, energy, and enthusiasm we'd witnessed the night before. Conor was feeling a bit left out by this point, so he began announcing that his teeth were loose, too.  (Nice try, little man.)

We explained to her that a dollar is worth 100 pennies; after arriving at school, she showed one of her teachers the hold her tooth left behind and proclaimed "the Tooth Fairly gave me 100 dollars!!" I quickly jumped on that and corrected her that she, in fact, got a dollar that was worth 100 pennies. (The Tooth Fairy would be broke by the time our kids baby teeth were all gone if that was the case... OY!)

Annika has another loose tooth and, now that the first tooth is gone and she realizes it isn't traumatic to loose a tooth, she can hardly wait for it to come out. I think we have a few more weeks, though.

I'd like to note that while the idea of our baby girl being old enough to lose her teeth did stab me in the gut a bit, I was able to control myself and not cry about it. (Mom win!!)

Toothless in Seattle

Childhood Evolution

It is amazing how much little kids learn ... and how fast they learn it. I thought I'd share a few signs of our children's verbal evolution... if not for you, then for me so I can remember how they sounded when I'm old and gray. (OK.... older and grayer)

We have a dog. His name is Buca. A few months ago, Conor called him "Bupta" and now he calls him "Buta". Gettin' closer, my wee one!

Annika used to say "uppy down", which evolved into "eyeside down" and now she says "upside down". (Evolution complete!

We have a cat. His name is Smudge. Conor used to call him "Cat!" and now he calls him "'Mudge" (The "s" sounds still eludes Conor.)

Annika used to sing "Oh, the Lord is Good to me and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rainy apple seed. The Lord is good to me. AMEN!" Now, "rainy apple seed" has been replaced with "rain and the apple seed." (Evolution complete)

When we tell Conor to be careful, he responds "I DO!"

When Annika was younger and wanted to try doing something on her own, she would proclaim "B'self!!"

Conor used to call himself "Nanu", which has evolved into "Taner. That said, he still thinks his real name is "Nanu." Recently, I asked him if he knows his name. "YES!" he proclaimed. I asked what his first name is. "Taner". I asked what his last name is. "Oson!" (close enough!). I asked if he knew his middle name. "YES!" he proclaimed again. I asked what it was, and he said "Nanu!"

Annika used to call herself "Ankuh" and that eveolved into "Ateetah".

What does this mean? Our kids are going and learning at lightning speed and while I dread the days they'll be on their own and not in our home, I also look forward to seeing the people they blossom into and the things they'll learn along the way.

(Excuse me while I wipe a few tears away from my cheek now.)