DeLancey's Disney Dress-Up

RJ's friend Maddie celebrated her 4th Birthday with an adorable Princess Birthday Party, which invited its guests to come as their favorite characters.  While I could've gone the easy route and let the boys wear one of their animal costumes (we seem to have been animals for Halloween nearly every year - Dronkey (okay fine, it's not a REAL animal), Po the Panda, RJ the Racoon and Private the Penguin, and Simba the Lion/Lion Keeper), but I was looking to expand their dress up options and I happen to enjoy sewing.  So...some reconnaissance at Hannah's Birthday Party revealed that Maddie's favorite princess was Aurora (Hannah is Maddie's little sister and yes, reconnaissance is a stretch - I just asked Maddie and she readily informed me.)  After a google images search and our Sleeping Beauty DVD cover helped me discover who Princess Aurora's prince was and that his costume (which had to be the one he was wearing when she was in the preschool-girl-favorite pink dress) wouldn't be too tricky, RJ agreed to be Prince Phillip.

Logan was a no-brainer.  He was going as MY favorite Disney prince, Aladdin.  There was no way I could resist putting his little belly in that belly-baring little vest.

You have NO idea how difficult it is to find patterns for these particular costumes.  There are multiple authentic and non-authentic versions of the princesses, but princes?  None.  So, I bought this pattern for a knight and when making the tunic, added my own pattern for the striped poof sleeves and the collar.  I made the cape pattern myself (that wasn't hard - it's a trapezoid that's almost a rectangle with straps).  The pants are just basic pants but since I didn't have a real pants pattern in his size I actually just modified the pattern that I used for Logan's pants to not be poofy.  Add the Velvet belt with the fake pillow buckle and voila!  RJ is Prince Phillip.

Add the crown and sword that were favors from the party and he was even more "authentic".  He even tried to slay batman (before he had a sword) for Princess Aurora.







Logan's costume was easier.  I made the vest pattern myself and bought a girl's genie costume pattern for the pants and made the waistband straight rather than V-shaped.

The only problem was that this kept happening:
Silly baby kept taking his vest off!

Too bad Princess Jasmine was not in attendance at the party.


We had a great time at the party and the costumes keep making return appearances in the kid's play, so it was definitely worth the work!

Here, a month after the party is RJ reprising his role as Prince Phillip with his buddy Ashlan playing the part of Princess Aurora.

See more pictures from the party here.

DeLancey's Visit the Oakland Zoo

We went to the zoo since RJ has been interested in zoo animals lately and Lance has never been to the Oakland Zoo.  We decided that a membership was a good idea too.  I really like having the membership because the kids and I can go during the week whenever we want (as I'm writing this over a month after the fact, we've already been back once and have another possible trip planned in the next week or so). It also means that we never feel anxious to see everything in one visit because we know we will be back.   This is important because children want to play on the play structures they pass rather than move on to the next animal as quickly as possible. This makes the trips a lot more enjoyable because the kids can set the pace - like when Logan wanted to push the stroller.

During this particular trip we saw the alligators being fed (which involved dead rodents being slung around, but other than that, wasn't nearly as gross as I would've thought),






lemurs around feeding time,

and most notable, the lions doing something other than sleeping!  They actually got up and walked around!  Then the male lion rolled around in the grass!  Here is a video of some animal action (which unfortunately did not capture the male lion rolling around - for that you will have to live with our still shot).




We all had a great time and finished up the day with some Sushi at Yellowtail Japanese Bistro.  Unfortunately, Logan was not a well-behaved dinner guest.  His teeth chose dinner time to start pushing against his gums and he was miserable, being that he was hungry, but refusing to eat because his mouth hurt.  Here is the first attempt of the kick-ass waitstaff to cheer him up after the origami animals didn't keep his attention long enough:

When that didn't work, they brought out the big guns.  Ice Cream.  That soothed his gums and his hungry tummy simultaneously.  The best part?  This was all free of charge (well, unless you count the nice tip they earned).

More pictures from the zoo are here.

RJ's Swim Lessons

We signed RJ up for swimming lessons this year, but this time it was not a parent/child class.  We thought he would be less whiny for a teacher than he would be for us.  We also chose a session that was 9 classes in a row - So M-F on Week 1 and M-R on Week 2, this way he could quickly build on his skills every day.

The class started off great, as he participated and had a great time for the first two days.

Then he was completely cranky and refused to get into the "cold" water on the nearly 100 degree afternoon for the next two days.  Have I mentioned how sensitive RJ is to temperature?  It's the same thing in the bathtub, the water is either too hot or too cold!  I was so frustrated with him on those two days.  I tried appealing to his apparent lack of adventure, I tried encouraging and appealing to his feelings, I tried logic (yeah, I know he's 4), I tried being *that* parent that tells him to buck up and get in the damned pool.  He was obstinate and would barely take his turns and was clearly not trying.  I was pissed.

Friday was "Pirate Day" at swim lessons and on the way there we talked about how much fun it would.  His classmates seemed to have skipped town for the weekend, so he had the instructor (who was also a sub that day) all to himself.  He LOVED this and swam with a noodle all by himself.  He was still not too keen on going under at all, but he was at least trying and having fun.  Whew.

We lucked out on Monday and his classmates were still MIA, so he had his regular instructor all to himself too.  I was beginning to think it was the other kids (who could actually swim a little bit, and where thus WAY more advanced than him) that were the issue.  They however came back on Tuesday, and he still had a great time in class.  Especially when they did the boat safety lesson!  Maybe it wasn't the other kids.  Maybe he was just cranky those days.

He even jumped in!

Then, on the last day, he played the part of a barely wet limp noodle, again (in his defense, he was most certainly cranky because we had taken Lance to the airport for a 7am flight that morning and he wouldn't nap before class).

I guess 6/9 classes isn't horrible?

Here is a video of some of his good days:

James N Morris 1923-2011

Obituary
James N. Morris, 88, of Verona, died on Tuesday, August 9, 2011. Beloved husband for 63 and a half years of Mary Louise Morris; dear father of Donna J. DeLancey and James E. (Helen M.) Morris; grandfather of Jayson (Cheryl) DeLancey, William and Christopher Pollitt; great- grandfather of Reed and Logan DeLancey, Casey, Chelsea, Greyson and Adrian Pollitt; brother of Alice (the late William) Patterson. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by two brothers. Mr. Morris served in the Marines as a Corporal during WWII, was a member of the Verona Eagles and enjoyed bowling.

Eulogy
I haven't been to many funerals but based on what I've seen in movies and on tv my objective is to make *you* cry while trying to keep myself composed enough to finish. I was trying to remember whether or not the last time I heard a eulogy to use as a reference was when my father passed away when I was only 10. This is not that much different an experience for me because my grandfather played as large of an impact in my world especially in the 20 years since I was that little boy.

There was a reason I tried to make it a habit to call my grandparents every week to talk to them. Even though I could and probably did read all the articles online about the Steelers, it didn't matter -- I heard it from him so that he could make sure I was fully informed before we decided on what the point spread would be and if we were betting 25 cents or going double-or-nothing.

Gambling on sports or playing cards was not the only thing you could depend on with my grandfather, you could depend on him. He made sure he was on time and that I would find my way to karate, swimming, baseball, hockey, kung fu on time and patiently wait in the car until I was done or grandma was finished in the store. If I was unsatisfied with dinner, I could depend on him knocking on the door to deliver some kraft macaroni and cheese.

He was a stoic figure, he wouldn't complain about whatever non sensible choice of music I may have put on the radio or when I smashed his car up (both sides). The only thing that ever seemed to upset him was when grandma thought he was driving too fast and all the other cars thought he was driving too slow.

We spent a lot of time together over the years -- trying to teach me to ride a bike in the back alley, going up to the baseball field to catch and hit, shaving, learning to drive, picking grandma up after work from sears, stopping at the bank on the way to the nursing home to visit his mother, the bowling alley, the shoe shop, and going to the barbershop every four weeks for a haircut -- a practice I have not kept up as I learned yesterday I'm getting light on top AND still need a haircut.

My wife and I sat down with our kids to try and explain to them what happened and what it all means. Even if we want to defy the gravity of what happens in life and avoid the topic of death ourselves, we felt it was important to be open and honest and celebrate the lifetime and memory of a great man and to appreciate the time we spent with him and the time we still can with others.

One of RJ's first questions (he's 4) was "who will do the tricks" which we found out to be his memory of playing "little piggies" or "steal your nose", and other little games they would play together when we visited for the holidays and on various trips back here to Pittsburgh. When I have been thinking about my grandfather the past few days and his life's work, I have come to recognize that some of the things I like most about who I am as a person are qualities that I learned from him and he was the role-model for every day. I just hope that as time goes on that I am capable of continuing his legacy and teaching my children RJ and Logan all of their great-grandfather's "tricks"... and when they're old enough maybe some of his jokes too.

July in Pictures

Between the Beaches, Hikes, and Amusement Parks, we also managed to find some time to go fruit picking, where we got some peaches and plums from The Farmer's Daughter U-pick in Brentwood (it's one of the very few pesticide-free places in Brentwood - organic just isn't available there from what we could find.).  RJ loved picking the fruit. 

Logan loved picking up the spoiled fruit off the ground and trying to throw it in our bucket, and running away from us in the orchard.

My big accomplishment of the month was finally getting on a regular exercise schedule.  It's not ideal, but I get about a mile jog in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  I take Logan in the stroller, right after dropping RJ at preschool, before it gets too hot.  I jog the mile, which leads us to a park in the next neighborhood over.  This park also has a fitness course, so I stop at the stations leading up to the playground and get some stretching and sit-ups in.  Then Logan gets out and does his up the stairs, down the slide repetitions, while I drink my water and do a little more stretching while he's at the safe parts of his circuit.  When he's had enough and is getting hungry for snack, he goes back in the stroller with his snack and I finish the fitness course and do some sprints/walking on the way home.
I've tried to do this with RJ on his Skuut bike too and he loves the fitness stations, but I don't get a good cardio workout that way.  At least it's a way to get a little more active more often.  The kids do really like that park.

Also, I finally got my bike fixed (the handlebars were on backwards somehow), and hooked up the bike trailer to it, so that me and the boys could explore some playgrounds a little further afield while I sneak in a little more exercise.  They like the bike trailer and the variety in playgrounds and I like getting more active.

We ended the month with Hannah's First Birthday Party (where RJ wouldn't go inside the giant bubble, but his friend Madeline did).

This same birthday party inspired me to finally take our smoker out of its box (after getting it 6 years ago and moving it twice).  So we've been smoking meat the last few weekends!

For more candid pictures of the kids, click here

Logan is 18 months

Physical Stats:

Height:33.25" (80th percentile)

Weight: 24 lbs. 4 oz. (35th percentile)

Teeth: 12: 4 top front, 4 bottom front, 4 molars. 4 Canines are en route.

Sizes: Currently wearing 18 mos., 24 mos. and 2T sizes.  18 months are getting small gradually

Sleep:  ~9pm-6:30am (though we make him stay in the crib until 7), ~2-3 hour afternoon nap around 1pm

Favorites

Favorite Food: Bananas, Cheese, Strawberries, Anything with chocolate in it

Favorite Drink: Orange Juice, Milk, Breastmilk

Dislikes: It's hard to tell - he will mostly try anything.  He only tends to spit out food when he can't chew it well or he's full.

Favorite Book: Any of our many, many truck books or picture books

Favorite Toy: Cars, Trucks, Balls

Favorite Color: Maybe Orange - he has a thing for RJ's orange cars.

Favorite Outdoor Activity: Climbing stairs and going down the slide, trying to run into the street, pushing carts, lawn mowers, shoveling sand from the sand table to the ground.

Favorite Indoor Activity: Playing with whatever RJ is playing with or stealing art supplies and painting/drawing wherever he can, taking toys for a ride in one of the ride-on toys and restocking them in various locations throughout the house.

Eating
Logan generally eats anything, however, he has started rejecting food, mostly due to texture when his teeth are hurting him, sometimes because he's a toddler and that's what they do.  It's our job to offer healthy food, and his job to eat it.  I generally don't worry much when he doesn't eat much because he's normally a great eater.  Now that he has molars, we've let him enjoy some of RJ's favorite snacks like fruit rope and yogurt raisins, which he loves.  Within the last two weeks he cut down from nursing twice a day to once a day, so he still nurses at bedtime.  RJ quit nursing on his own at 21 months, so I'm curious to see how the next few months go.  Our policy is generally don't offer, don't refuse at this stage, so it's on him how long he takes the nursing relationship.


Sleep
Logan FINALLY started sleeping through the night when he was about 16 months.  He will occasionally wake up if he's in pain (teething), but it's the exception rather than the rule now.  He goes to sleep easily - we read Sandra Boynton's "The Going to Bed Book" to him (RJ actually recites it too), and then he nurses during RJ's book choice and RJ's made-up story.  Then he gives hugs and kisses, we put him into the crib with his ocean waves sound machine, and he goes to sleep.  He likes to have his two frogs and a light blanket now.  For the last few nights, he insisted on putting his head down on the firetruck paperback book.  Up until last week, he had been nursing whenever he woke up, provided it was at least after 5am.  However, we stopped bringing him into bed with us when he wakes up, and so he doesn't ask to nurse in the morning anymore.  Now one of us goes to his room and lays on the floor until 7 if he wakes up earlier.  His super early wakings have toned down a lot in the past week.  He is also really easy to put down for a nap most of the time, and is quite flexible in terms of the time he goes down as well.  Some days I put him down by 12:30 so that we can get to RJ's gymnastics class at 3; other days, he might not get down until 2:30 or 3 if we're out at a long play date or something.  He normally naps from about 1/1:30 - 3:30/4; 2-3 hours.  On days he wakes up early in the morning, he sometimes falls asleep in the morning, particularly during my morning runs or most amusing, in the jumperoo when I'm showering after the run.  I will let him rest for 20-30 minutes, and it usually won't affect his afternoon nap.

Potty Training
RJ was potty trained early (he started at 22 mos.), so we might be looking at Logan through that lens, looking for the signs of early readiness.  Even though RJ hasn't used the potty seats in at least a year, we never put them away since we didn't really have a storage place for them, and occasionally had younger kids visiting us, so they've always been around for Logan to sit on, which he tends to when someone else is using the potty.  He has actually peed on the potty 3 times, all just before bath, which isn't a bad start at all.  We are not forcing him to do this at all, but if he follows one of us into the bathroom, I ask him if he wants to sit on the potty and sometimes he will sit on it naked (he sometimes says "diaper", indicating that he wants it off), and sometimes he'll just sit on it in his clothes.  He also seems aware of what he's doing since he wants his diaper changed right after pooping and if he makes a puddle (or worse) when he's running around naked, he lets me know.

Fine Motor Development

Logan has shown interest in scribbling and painting in the last couple of months. He makes a huge mess, but it's important for him to get opportunities to make his own creations on paper (or on RJ once when I was making dinner).  He can hold and control the crayons, markers, and paintbrushes well in the appropriate gripped fist and loves seeing what marks he can make.  He can also use a spoon and a fork when eating, but often gets frustrated when the food goes overboard instead of onto his spoon/fork.  Then he reverts back to using his pincer grip to pick up food and shove it into his mouth.  He is also getting better at turning the pages in his books (particularly board books).
One of Logan's favorite things to do in the bathtub is to pour water out of various cups, pitchers, and bowls, where he experiments with their flow. For a little while bath was horrendous because he would get the entire area (and the parent charged with bath duty) soaked thanks to not keeping the water in the bathtub, but he has finally figured out that it's fun to pour the water back into the bathtub too!  In our kitchen, Logan regularly ransacks my pantry cupboard and stacks canned goods. I think his record is 3 objects right now.  He is right on target, if not a little advanced for fine motor developing, which makes sense since his hands are NEVER still!

Gross Motor Development
We have a climber.  Both kids are climbers, but Logan seems much more insistent on being dangerous places than RJ was at this age.  I blink and he's dancing on  or trying to jump on the kids' table.  I found him on the kitchen table once when I was trying to get something ready for dinner, and he regularly scales the couch to stand on the window sill to look outside.  The baby gates at the top and bottom of our stairs are my best friends, since he will scale the stairs the minute the gate is open and he would fearlessly attempt to go down the stairs (on his feet now, not crawling) if the top gate was open.  We do let him go up and down the stairs when we're there with him, so he gets practice.  In the same vein, our playground trips are filled with circuits of up-the-stairs, down-the-slide, repeat.  Or, like today, he followed RJ up the big kid angled ladder.  Yeah, this child has NO FEAR AT ALL.  And he's crazy strong.  He loves hanging from his arms off of bars and seeks out bar-like things to do this on.  His current favorite hanging spot is a little handrail next to the drinking fountains at RJ's swim lessons.  Logan has also hit all the major milestones in Gross Motor Development for an 18 month old.  He runs, he throws (nearly everything), he kicks balls, and he jumps (although he lands on his ass still, which he discovered was a super fun time when he climbed onto our bed and started trying to jump like RJ).  

Cognitive Development

Logan is a busy little guy, and he's continually trying new things and problem solving.  Usually his problem solving involves trying to get into something we've barricaded (by practicing various ways to destroy the barricade, but this is an important skill nonetheless!  Logan has also been imitating a lot lately, which is related to early pretend play.  He especially loves the cars and the dinosaurs, frequently doing what RJ does with them, and taking them for rides in his ride on truck around the house, often hiding them so that it's virtually impossible to keep all the toys organized!  He doesn't get the concept of clean-up time, but does enjoy helping put things in bins, so he can help if given direction.  He understands most of the language directed at him and will follow short, simple, commands.  He can also match objects, as he does with some of our wooden puzzles that have pictures in the appropriate spots.  For example, he can put the cat piece over the cat, even wiggling it a little to get it in its spot.  He also knows a majority of his body parts and will point to each upon request.  RJ even taught him to say "penis" in the bathtub, and it's clear he knows the referent for that particular word!  Most of his cognitive growth at this stage is in the area of Language Development as his vocabulary production and receptive language both increase.  He is remarkably aware of what is going on around him and understands more and more each day. 

Language Arts: 

Logan has some words now, which is very exciting.  I can usually understand him, despite his non-traditional pronounciations, but we're not yet where anyone else not familiar could understand him.  Here are the words and "words" I've documented.

booze = boobs, meaning "I want to nurse"
dahr = car
dah = dog
dat = cat
momma
dada/daddy
ah - dey = "RJ"
doh = window
dohr = door
dass = grass
bah = ball
dup = cup
duice = juice, meaning milk or juice
nat = snack
bah = bar, meaning breakfast bar or generically, snack
bassss = glasses
bass = glass, repeated after I told him he couldn't throw a glass bottle
dutsh = truck
baby
bot = box
dehn = train
di-door = dinosaur
dose = nose
yeahr = ear
deet = teeth and feet
dighs = eyes

djah = arm
peisss = penis
bus
dat-doh = motorcycle
bibane = airplane
dot-dee = helicopter
bite = boat
bop = book
dorse = horse
fah = frog
baff = giraffe
bop-bay = elephant
dut = duck
boo = bird
di-biss = octopus
diss = fish
dah-puh = diaper
duse = shoes

There are more, but since he's picking up speed with vocabulary, I probably will stop documenting like I did with RJ.

Emotional/Behavioral

Logan is mostly a sweet little toddler who is very easy going and often hilarious.  However, he has developed some limited intentionality as well as having expectations about things, both of which often leave him frustrated, but without the words to explain what's going on.  Toddlerhood can be a bitch sometimes!  So Logan has resorted to shrieking, occasionally tantruming, and most recently hitting when things don't go his way.  Up until the last few months, he's been happy with whatever toys were RJ's cast offs.  He was perfectly happy playing with Sally and Flo while RJ played with Lightning and Mater (all characters from Pixar's Cars if you for some reason don't know what I'm talking about).  Not any more.  Now he goes after the favorites and throws a fit if you try to swap it out with another car.  Luckily, we have 6 different Lightning McQueens and he does not yet know the difference between Dirt Racer Lightning, Regular Lightning, Wet Lightning, Dragon Lightning, etc. But clearly there are sharing issues (for both kids, since RJ is still working on his sharing skills).
Logan is still a little shy around strangers, but generally enjoys the company of people, both familiar and not. Logan was recently invited to join RJ's Thursday co-op and has handled the separation from me without a fuss at all.  In fact the first time I left him there, I had to chase him around trying to give him a hug because (I think) he thought I was going to take him back home with me and he was having fun with the big kids!  I do wonder if he would've been as easy to separate from if he was unfamiliar with our friend's houses or if RJ wasn't there too.  

DeLancey's In Santa Cruz

The weekend of July 16-17, we spent in Santa Cruz, staying the night with our friends Laura and Jesse.

RJ and Logan showed them exactly what kids will get into during an adult-oriented BBQ while Lance and I took turns at some adult conversation.  

Most people marveled at their non-stop energy!






We spent a good amount of time exploring the beach by their house, which had a partially exposed reef in the morning at low tide.

We then drove up to Davenport Beach and walked along the bluffs and down to the beach, which had a really neat looking cave carved out by the tides.

More pictures of us in Santa Cruz are here.

Sunol Regional Wilderness

As part of our busy July, we took the kids for a short hike in the Sunol Regional Wilderness, where there is a creek to splash around in.

Logan looks at a hawk from inside the ergo.

Boys at the Creek

The creek was full of tadpoles swimming around!  RJ loved them!

Excitement was had when a coyote or mountain lion
(couldn't tell which) ran across the trail and feasted
on something, thankfully not us.

We let Logan walk the last little bit of the trail.  We're lucky that he will still tolerate being in the Ergo for quite a while so we can hike to RJ's max rather than his.  We're hopefully going to get out more with him than we did with RJ so that he will be able to go longer distances sooner.  

More pictures here.

RJ's First Dentist Appointment

RJ had his first dentist appointment.  He was not a happy camper about going and it took a little while to get him in the chair (mommy was rejected, daddy, of course, worked like a charm), but he did calm down and then was pretty proud of himself after his cleaning.

This was immediately followed by a walk in the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve,

Lunch with Daddy at DreamWorks,

A trip to the Bay Area Discovery Museum,

AND dinner and ice cream with Daddy in Redwood City.

RJ is 4

I realize that you might get a general idea of the kids' development from anecdotes on Facebook/Google+ (and if you're not on Google+, you SHOULD be), but I feel that an update on RJ's general development is in order as well.

Physical Stats:
Height: 43" (95th percentile)
Weight: 37.5 lbs.  (65th percentile I believe. I can't remember but I knew it was between the 50th and 75th)
Teeth: 20, counted at the dentist, no cavities!
Sight: 20/20
Hearing: Normal
Sizes: Currently wearing 4T clothes, 5T pajamas, some shirts are 4-6 or 5T, and we're stocking up on bigger sizes with sales, or second hand opportunities!
Sleep:  ~9pm-7am, no naps at home but ~1hr nap at preschool

Favorites
Favorite Food: Sugary Sticky Crap (which I don't buy, but he seems to always manage to acquire!), Shrimp, Sushi, French Fries, Chocolate Milk, Ice Cream, Carrots, Broccoli, Chocolate, Spaghetti with Meatballs
Favorite Drink: Horchata, Hot Chocolate
Dislikes: Cheese, Orange Mac & Cheese, lettuce
Favorite Book: Whichever one is the newest usually.  Currently "Peaceful Piggies Meditation"  Also, Magic School Bus series, Berenstein Bears, Beatrix Potter books
Favorite Toy: Dinosaurs, Sea Creatures
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Outdoor Activity: Riding his Skuut Bike
Favorite Indoor Activity: Playing with Dinosaurs
Favorite Sport: Football ("Go Steelers")
Possible Future Occupations: Paleontologist, Chef, Daddy
Favorite TV Shows/Movies: Dinosaur Train, Caillou, Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About That, The Magic School Bus, The Land Before Time movies

Fine Motor Development
RJ can write most of his letters in their capital form, and some in their lowercase form.  His drawings become increasingly complex by the day and since it clicked that he could draw faces and draw things that he could cut out and use as toys (stingrays, sharks), his drawing output has increased exponentially. He is getting better at buttoning and unbuttoning clothing and working snaps and zippers, but often still gets frustrated and asks for help.

Gross Motor Development

I am really impressed by RJ's balance on his Skuut Bike.  He picks up his feet and zooms along for longer and longer distances every day.  He's even more advanced than he was when I filmed him in late June and early July!  He can stay upright on his rollerblade trainer skates too.  He is also taking his gymnastics class, where he has mastered the forward roll and walking along the beam, working on his bar skills and backward roll.  He is constantly in motion and we are working on his body awareness in space because he is seemingly oblivious to where his body is at any given moment, which frequently results in Daddy being kneed in the groin or me getting elbowed in the boob.  He can pump his legs when swinging and can climb almost anything on the playground now.  We are working on ball skills, mostly because we just haven't pushed him playing with balls all that much. RJ will be taking a session of swim lessons next week and already likes to blow bubbles in the water.  We might try soccer in the fall after his session of gymnastics ends.

Cognitive Development
RJ fully engrosses himself in thematic study and while I have been selecting our themes for the past year (transportation, dinosaurs, ocean), he is now taking the reigns and asking to learn about things that interest him.  He is now learning about bees since he was interested in the bees that pollinate our "bee tree".  We go to the library and pick out books on his topic, and read them and he asks me to look up answers to questions that I don't know the answer to, such as "What do baby bees look like?", on the computer.  His curiosity is intense and he asks questions pretty much non-stop through the day.  He seems to have a preference for learning about animals, even though just a year ago, it seemed that all he would ever love was transportation!  I really enjoy teaching RJ because he retains the information so easily and because he loves demonstrations and experiments (such as when we cut up grass in the back yard, put it in water and then poured it over a sponge, so he could see how baleen whales eat!).

Language Arts:  It is clear that RJ's mind is always working.  As he plays, the animals or cars or whatever have intricate conversations and elaborate story lines, which often come out in made-up songs!  At bedtime, we read a book and then RJ makes up a story jointly with one of us (usually Daddy).  His stories are often off the wall imaginative, but do have a beginning, a middle, and an end, a structure which has impressed his teachers at school when he managed to get his whole class telling stories during circle time!

RJ is highly motivated in language arts skills, as he speaks mostly like an adult with a few occasional pronoun or grammatical quirks, and is constantly rhyming real and nonsense words, telling us when something rhymes, what letters start a word, or making up his own words (mostly as silly names for characters in his play).  He never stops talking and/or singing songs, which is not ideal when we want to try and encourage Logan to use words, but we are working on teaching him to talk to Logan rather than talk around him, which helps.  On the plus side, RJ has taken interest in independently "reading" picture books to Logan, where he does a good job of teaching Logan how to name things.  In terms of his pre-reading skills, he recognizes all his letters in capital form and many in lowercase form, and with help can sound out some words.  He has an uncanny ability to decode what Lance and I try to spell over his head too.  Our days of spelling to each other are numbered.  Perhaps we need to start speaking French or Spanish, until RJ picks that up too.  He does occasionally ask me how to say something in other languages, and when we visited Quebec, we taught him a few key phrases, which he has since forgotten most of them.

Classification: RJ has been naturally classifying objects for a while.  He knows the basic shapes - circle, square, triangle and generally understands bigger/smaller.  He typically separates his dinosaurs not only by type, but also by what they eat and lines them up from biggest to smallest on occasion, making nuclear families out of the various sized sets.

Math:  RJ can count to 100 with help remembering the tens.  He can count to 20 independently, and can count objects with a one-to-one correspondence.  He has spontaneously added small numbers of things together (e.g., "1 ball and 1 ball is 2 balls).  Additionally, he is starting to understand the concept of "half" thanks to sharing toys of a certain variety with Logan and cooking activities (which he LOVES).

Sequencing:  He knows the days of the week and knows which days are preschool days. He also knows that his birthday is in June, but his concept of how long a month or a year is is limited at best. He only understands time in terms of the sequence of the day, not at all by hours/minutes/seconds.

Spacial:  RJ is still not very interested in puzzles.  I can occasionally get him to work on one with me, but he just doesn't have the desire to do it.

Emotional/Behavioral
RJ is an intense kid and still working on how to interact with people when he's frustrated or angry, despite his ability to express himself verbally.  His emotions are intense and we still deal with him hitting other people when he's angry or frustrated or not getting his own way, although lately I've found that he says mean things instead in some cases, which is a change of pace.

He also tends to have an oppositional approach to new things, which is frustrating when we are trying to introduce him to something fun and he pitches a fit only to absolutely LOVE the activity afterward.  He is best behaved at preschool, most likely due to the consistent routine.  We follow a routine at home too, because we all thrive on routine, but of course, things always come up.  His behavior is worst when he is out of his normal habitat, but the more I can prepare him ahead of time, the easier things go.  We try not to bribe him to behave, but we do try to encourage him when he is acting appropriately.  In terms of discipline, we are against corporal punishment of any kind, and still using the most natural consequences possible for infractions (e.g., if he takes a toy from Logan, then he can't play with that kind of toy for a little bit; if he doesn't help during clean up time, any toys left go into a basket and he can't play with them the next few days).  We use a cool off time for him to calm down, but we don't typically use time out as a punishment.

Despite his intensity with negative emotions, RJ can also be quite a joy to have around when he's being nice!  His teachers love how kind he is and how well he plays with the other kids.  He also loves Logan very much and likes to kiss and squeeze him, which, while overzealous and not always appreciated, is well-intentioned.

He's growing up fast.  I can't believe he will start Kindergarten next year!