parenting
Metcha Tres
6Anniversaries are a way to remember, relive, reflect upon, and fully appreciate again important experiences and events in our lives. And today marks one of those major milestones for us. Words fail to paint the significance of that day, but it was life-altering to say the very least…
On our second day in Moscow, Russia, 3 years ago today, Monday, December 3rd, 2007, Dede & I met Liam for the first time!
We weren’t allowed to post or email photos of him until the adoption was finalized several weeks later, but of course we took lots of pictures on that special day. This is the first time we saw our son, being brought to see us by his kind caretaker, on that frosty morning in Podolsk:
Big congrats to Melissa & Nathan who’re experiencing their own “Metcha Day” today!
Savoring Stone Soup
4We ate lunch with Liam’s Pre-k class today. His class helped prepare stone soup and all of the parents were invited to come eat. Our little guy was very excited that we were joining him for lunch and that he got to help cook the meal. All of the kids were very proud of their contributions to the soup.
If you don’t know the old folk tale of this communal meal, here’s a short summary from Wikipedia:
Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. The travelers fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire in the village square. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they’re making “stone soup,” which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with just a little bit of carrot to help them out, so it gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.
Liam’s teacher informed us that they really did put a rock in soup but assured us that it had been washed and scrubbed thoroughly beforehand. Being the germiphobe that I am, this wasn’t the best news of the day but I survived and the soup was quite tasty! See for yourself…
I love this time of the year when there are so many activities going on and this year is extra special because with my new job I’ll be off more days through the holidays to spend with my family.
Texas Pride
3To our surprise, Liam sang this new song as we were wrapping up our bedtime routine tonight. I guess they’ve been teaching Texas Pride in Pre-K. Not even Willie could’ve done it better! 
The Crust of the Matter
12Ever heard of Smucker’s Uncrustables for kids? These frozen peanut butter sandwiches (of dubious nutritional caliber) come in a variety of flavors, are made from whole wheat or white crustless bread, and are thawed out an hour or two before lunch or snacktime.
I bring this up because earlier this week I read a brief post over at Bargain Briana about a kitchen tool that lets you make your own Uncrustables-style sealed pocket sandwiches. I read the article and promptly left a comment hoping to generate a little discussion on the broader topic of cutting crusts. Frankly, I’m kinda miffed that Briana apparently not only opted to toss out my comment, but didn’t even email me. Okay, fair enough—her blog, her prerogative. Perhaps she just didn’t want to get mired down in the dicey, controversial waters of crust-cutting. So, I thought I’d broach the topic here:
Let’s not mince words: I’m opposed to the idea of cutting crusts off of sandwiches for kids on a number of levels:
- Babies don’t come out of the chute with an inbred hatred of bread crusts; parents implant that notion. Why foster the idea that crusts are bad?
- Crust-cutting not only creates more work for harried parents, but unnecessary waste as well. Why instill the expectation that someone will always gladly take the time to needlessly trim off and discard an otherwise good portion of a sandwich?
- The crust is the most nutritious part of bread, containing 8 times more antioxidants and more dietary fiber, which helps prevent colon cancer! Why wouldn’t you want your kid(s) to have the full benefit of the foods you’ve chosen (and paid hard-earned money) for them to eat?
- And lastly, in support of my pro-crust position, I offer the following:
If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars [and] heavens.
—English poet, Robert Browning (1812-1889)
But maybe I’m missing something here. Is there a valid reason for crust-cutting that simply eludes me? Am I some kinda retrograde Luddite or just being downright negligent by not trimming the nefarious crusts off of Liam’s otherwise delicious sammiches?
So, what do you think? Do you cut the crusts off of your kids’ bread?
Mr. Motormouth
2We’ve mentioned a few times (most recently on our Labor Day trip to Round Rock) how thankful we are that Liam is such a great traveler and generally loves riding in the car. Even on long rides, he doesn’t usually sleep much, but instead just occupies himself with a book, his doodlepad, a toy or just looking out the window. But regardless of whatever else is going on, he’s always talking.
Don’t get me wrong, Dede & I love how communicative our son is and we’re often outright floored by the very mature way he converses with us. (Dede would probably say that he’s inherited his Dad’s propensity for “big words.”) But y’know, while Liam’s very articulate speech is usually fun & impressive, there is a downside: he almost never stops yakking!
So, so many times, I’ve flashed back to the old Bugs Bunny cartoon where the loose-lipped rabbit is mistakenly kidnapped by gangsters and ends up driving them batty with his incessant chatter. Sure, we’ve doled out more than a few “hushes!” but more than once I’ve wanted oh so badly to be able to instead just say this (without the gun, of course):
(Naturally, Liam clams up tight when we really want him to say something clever or cute on cue. Oh yeah, then he’s a regular Michigan J. Frog.)
So, what about your kids—are they chatterboxes or as quiet as church mice?
Green Fleas
1
Last night Liam was belting out “Mary Had a Little Lamb” all through his bath time. And his version had a lot more to it than I remember the song having. (In fact, according to Wikipedia, the song has 4 verses!) After his bath, we had a long discussion about Mary’s lamb and it turns out that she had 4 of them named Maryolia, Elmolia, Hugolia & Oscarolia.
Oscarolia has green “fleas” because he likes to drink pickle juice. There’s nothing like the mind of a 4 year old!
A Week of Milestones
6Seems like we’re always discovering new turning points that mark Liam’s progression and this week was kind of a biggie since we hit not just one, not two, but three milestones!
The first big event was Liam starting swim classes. He’s had 2 lessons so far and is progressing well. Although it doesn’t always seem like he’s listening to his to swim teacher, it’s obvious that he is hearing her because we’ve noticed changes in the way he swims outside of class. He’s kicking and using his arms much more when he swims.
The second big event was that Liam graduated out of his carseat to a booster seat today. He had outgrown his old carseat in every direction, so we decided it was time to move up. I’m finding some challenges with this already though—we had to have a talk today about not unbuckling the seat belt just because the car stopped.
The third big event is that Liam got a library card and checked out his first 2 books at our county library!
This has just been too many milestones in one week for me. I feel like my little boy is growing up way too fast!
Liam’s First Theatrical Experience
4Liam had his first movie theater experience this week! We’d been holding out for the release of Toy Story 3 and for Nanny Karen to get here to join us for the big event.
Liam was so psyched about being in the big theater he could barely contain himself through the previews. After each of the previews, he’d ask me if it was time for Buzz now. All was going well once the movie started until the toys found themselves in peril. I won’t spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it yet, but some of the content was quite intense for a 4 year old. Liam climbed into my lap and told me he wanted to go. Eventually Rob had to take him, with big tears streaming down his little face, out to the safety and calm of the theater lobby. They returned once the toys were out of danger for the final 10-15 minutes of the movie.
He finished watching the movie and the experience ended on a positive note, so I’m sure he will be wanting to go to another movie soon. Even days later, he still brings up some of the scenes where the toys faced “peril” when he’s playing with his Buzz & Woody plushies, so unfortunately, I think that kind of stuck with him. I wish the movie would’ve been more like the other ones and not had been so intense and at times frightening for him.
I’m curious to know what you thought of it. Please post a comment and let me know how your little one(s) did with the movie!
Mother’s Day #3
1Today I celebrated my 3rd Mother’s Day and I received this special card that Liam made me for me at his daycare last week.
What a great day and have I mentioned how much I love being a Mom?
I hope all you other Moms out there had a great day too!
First Christmas Concert
6I’m a little late getting this posted but Liam performed at his first Christmas program last week. He sang with all of the 3 year old’s at his daycare in front of their families. After the program was over, the children joined their parents for lunch.
(For those of you reading this who’re still working on your adoption paperwork or are in the waiting stage, don’t give up, these sort of payoffs are countless!)
Needless to say, our little songbird was thrilled to see us in the audience and kept waving and saying "Hi Momma!" during the concert and my heart just melted seeing him up there so happy. Check out his performance in the video below (he’s on the front row, on the far right in the blue vest):
