Good Kids / Good Books

After taking a multicultural children's literature class, I feel like I am better at analyzing and picking children's books that stretch Xavier's intellectual and cultural boundaries as well as my own. Does that sentence sound like I've been studying educational theories all morning? I have! Anyway, I am always on the lookout for interesting reads and I even think Joe might have been influenced by my class since he picked out some really great children's books from the library for bedtime. Some of recent favorites are:

*Tunjur! Tunjur! Tunjur! A Palestinian folktale about a little pot who gets what she deserves for stealing, even if she was doing it for her mama. I still have no idea how to pronounce the title correctly, which is supposed to mimic the sound of a rolling pot. Xavier loved this story and laughed and laughed at the "reward" the pot gets for stealing. (I'm not going to tell you, you'll just have to read it!) After a few reads, he would read it to himself or to me in his own words. So cute. I love this age!

*Hansel and Diesel & The Ugly Truckling by David Gordon--Two books that Xavier loved because they had to do with cars and trucks and I thought they were amusing versions of the original fairytales. Warning: Parents may get disturbed by these books and wonder about the meaning of the original stories. For example, I was shocked when the "wicked winch" in Hansel and Diesel tried to grind up the little trucks while they were sleeping. I mean, I guess the witch in the gingerbread house was going to cook and eat Hansel and Gretel but this seemed awful! Then again, Xavier thought the story was hilarious and wanted me to read it again and again.

And how does the Ugly Duckling story go again? How did a swan get born to a duck? Or, in the case of the The Ugly Truckling, how did a truck get born to a plane? Does that point to the indiscretion of Mama Duckling? It really had me thinking for a while there. And what mama wouldn't love her child even if he is different or would allow her other children to make fun of him? Or let her child go off with another family just because he looks more like them than the members of your own family? That's crazy! Obviously, the author doesn't understand the bonds between parents and their children. Still, I had fun reading them and there is at least one more twisted fairytale book out there by Gordon that I haven't read yet...

*What Mama Needs--This is a feel-good book about how a mom works with her child's imaginative play and dress-up fun, such as asking the "genie" for three wishes, including cleaning up her room. I think I like it better than Xavier but he does like all the fun costumes and he reads the ending with me and then always gives me a hug--just what this mama needs!


If you've been missing Xavi's pictures (or blogging) like I have, here are a few things to recap the time since I started my last semester in grad school:

Loving his cousin

Practicing the art of picture-taking

He likes to do close-ups of prints and patterns, including the piano bench here.

What great shots of unique perspectives!
This photographer is going places!

Imagination at work:
X & Z driving "cars" made of couch pillows and toilet paper roll wheels.

Easter egg hunt--this orange egg was one step into the dirt
and he didn't want to get dirty, so he's looking at me for help.

New outfit for Easter Sunday

And the aftermath of the run-in with the car door
on the way to church a few minutes later. Ouch!!!!
Okay, break time is up. Back to studying. I will hopefully surface from the books again soon. Love you all!

How lucky are we

Who could ask for a better blessing than having your good friend (and your child's best friend!) move to where you just moved? It is so much fun to just be able to call Amy up and do things together like go to the park, do crafts, or go bowling! We already know each other so we just relax and have fun! The other week, Amy saved the kids and I from the crazy lady who leaned on my car in the middle of a busy street and tried to open our door (and who later showed up at the park we were trying to go to) by letting me quickly change plans about the park and play in the safety of her parents' house instead. Just wanted to say thanks!

We also got together once and the kids had a blast trying out scissors! I would never had thought to let two or three-year-olds practice using scissors but they were naturals.

Amy also introduced me to the ramps that bowling alleys have on hand for kids to use--a wonderful contraption that kids think is fun and helps the game move along faster, too!




The kids got a bit tired as the game started to run into nap time. Bowling advice? Only do one game and let two kids bowl under the same "name" (waiting your turn isn't so hard that way and at our bowling alley it's cheaper, too!).

Terrific "T"

Our "T" pictures the kids helped me find:
toilet paper, teacup, toy, train, tree, table(s), turtle, tiny Dora, and toes!

P.S. If you try this at home, it helps to make a list of things they can find beforehand (not too long) and then ask the kids to find the items so you can take a picture of it for them. Afterward, print the pictures off and write in all the words and the letter you're focusing on, like Tt. It lasted almost 15 minutes for us and the best find was the turtle among all the bath toys!

California Adventures

A Happy Minnie Birthday to Z!

The birthday girl!

Joe and I finally bought our last year's anniversary, Christmas, and this year's Valentine's present--a new camera--just in time to try it out for Zelia's birthday at California Adventure.

The weather was great and the blossoms blooming!

Patiently waiting in line for Z's birthday ticket.

Handy Manny and his tools up close!

X did not want to leave this spot.

Waiting to meet Minnie Mouse...

The fun Playhouse Disney live performance!

(We also got to see Aladdin live which was very impressive.)

We met LOTS of characters throughout the day.

Just being funny for the picture!
I don't think he even saw the stick behind him...

X may have been confused on Wall-E, though, since it was only a cutout.

Showing his own character! He posed himself.

The Redwoods climbing area--X loved it, especially jumping in the water!

The Pixar parade--before we ran to catch one last ride all the way across the park.

Xavi made sure I got this shot of Buzz Lightyear on the camera!

Disney puzzles while waiting for our dinner at Denny's

And at the end of every day...the boy we love so much!

Vampire Kid

So the other day X and I were cuddling on the bed before his nap, he was rubbing my arm for comfort, when suddenly I felt a big pinch in my upper arm which turned out to be a bite from my sweet little X! OUCH! I was so shocked that he'd bitten me because it was such a calm time. I can only think that my juicy arm lying over his stomach was too much temptation for my little vampire and he wanted to see what it tasted like or at least how it felt to bite.

I immediately said "NO! We don't bite people" and kind of tapped his cheek before leaving the room to calm down. He knew he'd done something wrong and stayed quietly on the bed. I went downstairs to think of what to do and remembered something I'd read--give them alternative things to bite. So, I grabbed a towel and some Tylenol, in case he was teething or had pain from his cold he was getting over and went back upstairs. I gave him the Tylenol and then told him again that we don't bite people because it hurts but that if we need to bite we can bite a towel. He accepted that easily and even had fun practicing "biting" the towel I gave him.

Before bed, we were reviewing (with Joe present so that he'd know what happened), the fact that we don't bite. I knew X understood because he then rattled off a list of no-no's for us. "No pushing people. No bonking people. No biting people." Bonking refers to running into people with a toy, especially his shopping cart. This is also a problem we are working on. Does anybody else have little vampires or such in their families? What do you do? I feel like his aggressiveness reflects badly on our parenting or something so I want to find alternative ways to use his energy. Sometimes when he wants to throw things, I'll pull out the laundry basket and have him throw balls into it, or if he keeps knocking his cousin's things over I'll build a tower of blocks just for him to knock over or ram the little grocery cart into. Anything else?

A Quick Hello

Life is busy from the time we wake up until the time we drop into bed. Joe likes his job, even with his three to four hour commute everyday; I have started watching X's cousin, Z, during the days, so I'm figuring out how to be a mom/aunt/childcare provider/entertainer to two almost-three-year-olds. Xavier is pottytraining and also having to learn that it's not okay to push, bite, spit, bonk, throw things at, run over, or slap anyone, including parents, cousins, grandparents, and friends. Luckily, X & Z both like playing with each other most of the time and we've found some fun things to do outside the house, like playgroup, open play at a gymnastics studio, bowling, and the indoor playground at the mall. They also like to do arts and crafts in the mornings. Here are some pictures of what they've been up to during February:

"Bubble baths" using all sizes of balls

Stained glass (a.k.a. plastic) painting

Trains, vacuuming, cooking, puppets, etc.

Decorating gingerbread men

Making glittery heart crowns out of paper plates

Stringing candy necklaces (with lots of help). X ate most of his before it made it on the necklace. Thanks to the Dollar Tree, Michael's craft store sales, and especially Grandma's art supplies, the three of us do lots of creative activities together.

Bony Toes

So Joe and I met with our new bishop today and while we were surprised that we didn't get any callings yet (he just wanted to learn more about us), I was surprised to learn that I have bunions on both of my big toes. Talk about feeling OLD! I didn't know what bunions were until today but I've heard of them and it was not in reference to young people. (FYI: A bunion is bone that grows on top of your normal big toe joint if you have damaged your foot somehow, if you have arthritis, weird foot structure, etc). It might be hard to picture but I damaged my big toes on my mission because I was constantly putting my toe on the ground in my dress shoes to stop my bike and hold it up.


Anyway, if you're wondering how I learned that I had bunions during a bishop's interview, it's a good question. When the bishop introduced himself, he mentioned that he was a podiatrist, so at the end of the meeting when he asked if we had any questions, I asked if he might know why my feet hurt so much. And ta-DA! I learned that I have some arthritis in the toes, permanent bony growths on my toe joints, and will need new shoes. Not what I expected. For being the somewhat hypochondriac that I am, I'm surprised I hadn't thought to look up foot pain symptoms before now. I just figured it was due to exercising more diligently (no, not my New Year's resolution, I'm just loving that my in-laws have On Demand Exercise TV and I've been having fun with all the variety of exercises available!) Anyway, I thought it was a great blessing that just as my toes have started hurting to the point of extreme discomfort, I met someone who could tell me why! Now the question is: Do I buy the dorky orthopedic shoes or try to get around them with roomy running shoes?