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puzzle master

If your kid needs help learning how to do puzzles, Matthew is an excellent coach.

2 comments November 6th, 2011

I signed Asher up for Art Class on Friday mornings because I usually have him on Fridays and I like having somewhere to go in the AM. He loved the class we took (twice) last year, and this year we had more options since he is 2+

‘Creature Creations’ worked well with our schedule and sounded fun enough:
Each class will begin with the introduction of a different small animal. We’ll examine and observe them, and talk about what we see. Inspired by these creatures, we’ll make 2-D and 3-D works, bringing science and art together.

I am not really sure how I missed this but “the introduction of a different small animal” meant a LIVE ANIMAL. The first class she brought out a newt and 3 of the 6 parents were like “WHA????” So it wasn’t just me.

It is so freakin cool! Asher really loves it. The teacher, Amy, is really just the best at keeping them interested. After the 1st activity we do to get settled she brings out a box and starts to give hints. The class is a mixed 2-4 age group so the older kids are really cute with the guessing. Asher just kind of stands there jumping up and down yelling about opening the box already.

She has this awesome way of incorporating the animal into the artwork. Honestly, she’s some kind of children’s art teacher genius. There should be an award.

This week we started free play with some carpet swatches and rocks (I know, I know)

Then we moved on to the animal. Snails.

You are encouraged to hold the animals while you study them and luckily we always sit by Shaylem.

Asher won’t touch any of the animals. Every week he keeps them trapped under his lens so they can’t slooooowly walk any closer to him. He loves looking at them and talking about them but he had no interest in touching them. Last week we did worms and he kept asking me to move them around for him. No thanks!

We watched the snails creep along the table and leave a slime trail then we made…

drum roll…

Slime trails.

After putting away the snails Amy starts explaining the related artwork and Asher goes running over. We normally sit on the opposite end of the table but since they day we met Amy he has been all up in her business.

Even the way she pours glue is fun.

She explains what we are going to do and goes around to each person to help and interact. On worm day we painted glue onto paper and pressed yarn (worms) onto it. Matthew went the week before that and they learned about fish and then used rubber fish as stamps.

This week we mixed some stuff together in a bowl till it was slimy and then played with it for a while then gooped it onto a piece of board.

The class runs a few more weeks and due to scheduling conflicts we can’t take another for a while. I’m gonna miss it and I bet he is too.

2 comments November 4th, 2011

first time trick-or-treating

Since we had the Halloween party as sort of a rehearsal Asher was totally into the idea of more Halloween action. I washed his “lion costume” and put it back on him before we went out on Monday afternoon.

Matthew was working in the studio and was able to come home a little early. He and Asher were set on making a jack-o-lantern before we ventured out but after 5 minutes of watching Matthew, Asher decided to make his own face on his already-decorated-at-preschool pumpkin and completely lost interest in the real thing.

“I do my-sayelf”

Around here many people trick-or treat on the main strip of stores. They kind of go all out, some even had tents and tables out front! Some were giving out ACTUAL FOOD. It was totally insane though and not so great for a 2 year old. Think Times Square.

If you want to stick to a quieter place and do some regular old TOTing there are Halloween blocks, and not halloween blocks. We don’t live on a Halloween block so ventured down to one nearby, which happens to be where Caroline from preschool lives. On the way we passed by a bakery, the one we call the Cookie Store and Matthew showed Asher the trick-or-treating ropes. He was pretty shy most of the time because guess what, our usually outgoing lad doesn’t like to talk to strangers on the street. Small favors.

He did eventually warm up because ya know, candy. The funniest thing about it is that he has never ever had candy, and had probably never seen it before this weekend. He DOES know what a lolly is so every time someone came over with a big bowl he rooted around for one. I’m standing there shouting “Pick the orange one!” but no dice. We ended up with 2 measly reeses, 3 random fun size bars, a nasty NASTY hershey’s cookies and creme thing (WHY) and 19 lollipops that were promptly thrown away.

We gave him some chocolate at Caroline’s and the 2 of them sat on her steps quiet as can be lest their good luck turn at a moments notice.

After we finished up on Caroline’s street we were 3 short blocks and 1hr 15 minutes from the parade so we stopped for pizza and wine and warmth. Stubborn lion wouldn’t wear his jacket but don’t let that fool you, it was cold out there!

After dinner we made our way back up to our street to have a quick exit after the parade and it was totally nuts. Think Times Square on NYE.

It was our first time going and it was awesome! They have some big puppets and scary people on roller skates and I would have taken more pics but I was mostly hiding behind Matthew. There are some schools and organizations that march and cops and ambulances and someone built a ghost ship but other than that its just neighborhood people and kids that join the end of the parade. That King Kong is Julian from moms group/preschool who spotted Asher 2 seconds after this pic was taken and called out to us.

So fun! Everything was pretty much wrapped up by 7ish so we walked home candied, fed and entertained.

Asher got some quality time with the jack-o-lantern* and we called it a night. Success!

*No, seriously, he was hugging it and talking to it and made us put it in his room for the night. I think it looks like a Mr-Potato-o-lantern but that’s just me.

3 comments November 2nd, 2011

a halloween party

Its NOVEMBLAAAAAAGH! The threequal. I have been gearing up to post every day for the past couple of weeks and I’m really excited. Lucky for me (and you) I have a few more weeks before I start work and the posts become a little less…enthusiastic.

For now I have Halloween

Asher was a lion. It took a while for us to come to some sort of costume agreement. I tried to get him to tell me what he wanted but he had no idea what I was talking about. One day he was pretending to be different animals and I said “Hey, maybe for Halloween you can be a lion” and he said “Yeah!” so I got someone to make him a hat and there you go. He had the shirt and pants already so if he decided he didn’t want to dress up it wasn’t a big deal. Jackie was all “ooh! we should make him a tail” but I was all “ooh! maybe next year.”

This past Sunday was our annual Halloween party with the babyfriends. The same family hosted and it was so much fun to see everyone. The second we walked in I noticed that 75% of the kids were in animal costumes.

A bee, a cat, 2 ladybugs, A LION, a butterfly, 2 tigers, another (crappier) lion, a chicken, a owl and a bat. That’s just off the top of my head.

Then of course a few tv friends, a robot, 2 lady pirates and a zombie construction worker. WAITWHAT? Yeah. It was awesome.

oh and snow. Who brought the snow?

Add comment November 1st, 2011

day at the beach

Another highlight of our Florida vacation earlier this month was taking Asher to the beach for the 1st time. Its like the 5th time he’s been to Florida, and we technically live 15 minutes from the beach but we’re not “beach people” cause eew with the sand and the heat and the sandy sand sand sand.

He loved it. Of course he did. He was jumping up and down in the sand screaming:

“I LOVE THE BEACH! THANK YOU MOMMY! THANK YOU DADDY! I LOVE THE BEACH!”

I know what you’re saying. ‘For reals, Bar? He is over 2 years old. What took you so long?’ but the idea of putting a baby down in the sand didn’t really appeal to me. Plus if we had taken him earlier, we would never have gotten that enthusiastic of a reaction! So there’s your lesson in rushing things because your child might enjoy themselves. I assume he’ll have a similar freak out when we eventually head to Disney, maybe on his 17th birthday (Disney World is 2 hrs from my parents house)

(We aren’t “Disney people” and I’m not an “amusement park person” or a “big crowd of rednecks person” or a “heat person” or a “spend a ton of money on crap food” person. I’m more of a “lets take a walk around town person” and a “dining al fresco person” and definitely more of a “plenty for kids to do in Paris” person)

He does love a good sandbox though, so we figured we’d tough it out.

5 comments October 27th, 2011

3 dates

This afternoon during Jackie time I organized the freezer because things were falling out every time it opened or please, it wouldn’t be 1st on the list of tasks I need to attend to upon my return. I also did 3 loads of laundry that still needs to be put away. I started going through the bathroom closet and reorganizing it for literally the 5th time since we moved in but it’s not done either. Hoping that this one is the winner…Things are moving sloooowly because I’m easily distracted but its been really nice to have time at home.

I have to pace myself because after being away for so many weeks it’s going to take quite a few afternoons of Jackie time to get things back in order, or at least to a point where I don’t feel behind.

One of the things I miss the most when I’m gone is hanging with my mom friends during the week. Between working (lame) and then traveling (super lame) it can be a few weeks or even months between playdates and its not just me that feels out of the loop. Asher misses his buds too!

I gave myself the rest of last week to just hang out and not worry about what I need to do. Instead of rescheduling that dentist appointment I cancelled because I had a conference call, or working on all the filing I never did while I was traveling or even schlepping between getting things from storage then returning it all to switch our clothes out for the fall I made 3 playdates in 3 days and we had a blast.

Wednesday morning is our standing playdate with Otto. We meet him and his mom Sarah around 9 for coffee and snacks then we head over to music class. When that’s done we walk a block to the farmers market and roam around the park for an hour. We usually get home by 12 for lunch and nap then Jackie comes over for the afternoon. We have been doing this for ages, a year at least, and even when I’m working I try to work around it. I didn’t take any pics this week but I have literally hundreds so here is a random one after a storm this summer:

Thursday morning he has preschool so I did drop off, then organized some of my work files and picked Asher up at noon. In the afternoon we were supposed to take a field trip to the park carousel but it was raining and 2 buddies dropped out for various reasons so we ended up at Eva’s house instead. Her mom works 3 days a week so even if I’m only working part time it could be hard to see them, depending on our schedules. The kids always play really nicely together and even had a full on conversation at one point. The highlight was when her mom Sarah (or “Big Eva” as Asher used to call her) taught him how to use a drill.

(attn family: that toy is now #1 item on his chrismukkah list)

Friday morning we have art class which is better than ever this year, and that afternoon we went to Sydney’s house. Her little sister was born Aug 3 and this is the 1st time I’ve made it the 4 blocks to their house since her arrival. Crazy. Sydney’s friend Penelope came over too and it turned into quite a rager.

Everyone on the baby’s play mat!

SO happy to have a few weeks off work to catch up with friends and housework. Mostly friends.

2 comments October 18th, 2011

caterpillar book

All of a sudden Asher is all about trains all the time. We have to keep his tracks out, he will only watch Thomas and will only read Thomas books. He probably plays with his trains for 3 hours a day give or take, and talks about them the rest of the time.

A: “Mommy, what your favorite train?”
B: “uh…Emily”

A: “Mommy, what Asher favorite train?”
B: “Thomas!”
A: “What that train name?”
B: “Percy?’
A: “Noooooooooo ‘e not Percy, ‘e Gordon!”

Mommy is so silly. Mommy is studying up.

Here he is watching Thomas the other day. While clutching a train with his train books at his side.

Besides his guitar (more on that later) the only non-train related item he will tolerate these days is the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and we read it every night.

His favorite part is this page, and he likes to read it to us himself…sometimes 5 or 6 times in a row. Sometimes 10x in a row. I finally got it on video. I love the way he says “One slice of salami” like “one sli-salami”

“On Saturday, he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon

That night he had a stomach ache.”
― Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

4 comments September 15th, 2011

preschool

Asher started preschool today. He’s going 2 mornings a week and he’s very excited. I’m out of town (again) so Matthew took the day off to go with him.

They are doing a phase in schedule so only half the class was there today, then by next week they’ll all be there together. He went to camp a few times with the same teachers so he knew what to expect going in. In addition to that his lovely teacher Lindsay came over for a home visit last month. We were able to talk to her 1 on 1 and she got to know him a little better.

He loved it. After a few minutes of hesitation hiding behind Matthews leg he found the playdoh table and was right at home.

(I don’t know how they are gonna tell these 2 apart)

5 comments September 8th, 2011

saturday with ollie

I met my friend Allison when her daughter Olive and Asher were a few weeks old. They moved to New Jersey last year so even though Allison and I talk all the time, Asher and Ollie don’t get to hang all that much. They had a party in the neighborhood on Saturday and stopped by afterwards for a little playdate and takeout. What a fun bunch of cuties they are.