Update on the Kids

It has been a while since I've provided an update on the fun and cool things the kids are up to these days.  Let's start with young Anders.

Anders is a cut up.  This little boy laughed for the first time -- a big, throaty adult laugh -- when he was just a few days old.  Now he is trying to make people laugh.  Tonight, we were reading "No No, Yes Yes," and he started joking around. The premise is that each page shows a "no no," like writing on the walls, and a corresponding "yes yes," like drawing on paper. When we got to the picture of a kid eating dog food and then eating a banana while the dog eats dog food, Anders announced than eating the dog food was a "yes yes." Ok, cute joke but not all that creative, though it cracked him up.  Then we got to the "no no" page where the baby was playing with toys in the toilet and then a "yes yes" picture with the baby sitting on the potty.  I decided to change things up and asked Anders what was going on in the each picture. He accurately identified the "no no" and then said that the "yes yes" picture was the baby tinkling on his toys. This sent him into bails of laughter (and, I admit, me too).

Recently we were at a friend's house telling where the mom was telling "crazy daddy" stories to her kids. "Did you know that Daddy is so crazy, when he washes his hair, he uses spaghetti sauce for shampoo." Ellis and Anders liked this and have started doing the same.  Tonight, Anders was telling crazy Anders stories about himself, including that crazy Anders puts macaroni and cheese in mommy's shoes. Ellis called Anders uber-crazy.

Some Anders highlights:

• he loves boxes and will find a way to play with a box of any size, fitting himself into surprisingly small ones.
• some of his favorite phrases are "and me" in response to something that someone else is doing that he'd like to do to, and "I want it for my birthday" or "I want that on my wish list" when is sees anything he wants (which is everything he sees).
• he has the funniest excited giggle when he sees something he thinks is really neat or exciting -- kind of a "huh huh ho!"
• he is getting easier to understand, but has some interesting ways of communicating: 1) instead of saying "would you" do something for me, he asks "may you..."; 2) he mixes up "do" and "are," saying "are you want to play?"; and 3) struggles with r and l but also turns t, ch and j into ts. 

• Anders is very focused on expectation and routine -- he quickly spirals downward when things go in an unexpected direction.
• he already knows how to kiss butt, telling me "you're pretty" and "I love you" just for the reactions.
• he is very snugly with mom.
• this kid is a total chatterbox, from the time he wakes up.  When we go to the pool, he will ride on my back while I swim and talks nonstop.  When I explained that I could not hear him or respond, he told me he was just talking to himself.
• when he does tell stories, he tells them out of order and in a circular way and mixes up causality. You actually have to know the story already to put it together.  What Anders says (with massive emotion and facial expressions): "Tony yelled, 'No, don't do that.' He was cranky so he won't play with me because he was cranky because Sulama said he yelled when he didn't nap. So he wouldn't play with me and he yelled."  The actual story is "Tony got cranky because he didn't map and told me he didn't want to play."
• he loved taking soccer lessons, did a great job following directions and loves the coaches.  There is a game where he is supposed to avoid being hit by the ball that the coach is kicking.  But he is so excited for the attention, he chases the coach and then realized (too late) that the ball is coming his way.
• the kid is obsessed with dragons and loves face paint. There were massive tears of sadness when we washed this off...

Now for Ellis...

This summer, Ellis went to the YMCA camp.  One of the things they do is a talent show.  She won the chapter by singing "Castle on a Cloud" then went on to compete against all the chapters in the region, in front of all of the campers. Apparently, she was the only kid that performed alone and they messed up her accompaniment.  So she got up by herself and sang a capella on a stage in front of 4000 kids.  She did not win and that totally pissed her off.  She said, "Mommy, I was the only kid who performed alone and the only one they messed up the music for. And the judge didn't even pay attention. He talked all the way through, which is unprofessional. I should have gotten an award." When I asked if she had fun, she said yes.

Other Ellis highlights:

• we get our hair cut together and she gets lots of attention at the salon.  She announced that she wanted a blue streak in her hair and got this temporary splash of color....

• she is taking piano lessons and is extremely disciplined about practicing. But she also likes to experiment, playing with chords and accompaniment. She does not like instruction or help from me.
• Mike and Ellis were invited to play soccer with a group of 8 year old boys and their dads and really held her own. She played a full 90-minute game and played hard. Now she is playing in a league with kids her own age.
• she can be so mature, you can forget that she is just 6 years old. Then she acts her age and it is surprising. We have to remind ourselves that acting like a 6 year old is appropriate for her.

• Anders was eating a Popsicle, dropped the last piece and started crying. So Ellis gave him the rest of hers.
• she has gotten much better at swimming and was allowed to swim in the deep end at YMCA camp.
• when she met her new teacher during the home visit that our school does each year, Ellis got her an apples -- all her idea.
• she told me today that I shouldn't hug her at school because it makes her look like a kid and she will get teased.