this morning

So, I'm sitting and reading while Three is playing Olympic Winter games on Wii. Correction: I'm playing too. In fact, I won ice hockey only looking up once, and shaking my hand around every once in a while. Talent, I know.

After a few games, he climbed into my lap and turned over the book I was reading to look at the cover:

He then looks up at me with a bright smile and shining eyes and says quietly, "It's Jesus!"

The kid might as well have just seen Santa. 

Apparently, long robe=Jesus, even if the face is a skeleton. 

Definitions

The word "stop", (wait), to adults means the following:

 /weɪt/ Show Spelled[weyt]

–verb (used without object)

1.

to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens (often followed by for, till, or until ): to wait for the bus to arrive.

To a child, it means this:

Keep walking, but slower.

So, the difference between Eight and Three is much longer legs, and much more "independence". The result? By the time I have gotten Three out of his car seat and closed the van, I can't even see Six and Eight anymore because they're already at the front door of the building. Yesterday, not only were they in the front door of the play room, they had kicked their shoes off (left them in the doorway) and were already in full play-mode by the time I get in. Great.

Then we have poor little Three. He just wants to be with his brothers (brudders). So whenever they walk ahead (which, lets be honest, is every time), poor little Three goes running after them with his little three year old legs shouting "BRUUUUDDERRRRRSSSS!!! WAIT FOR MEEEEE!!"

So, goal this summer: Teach Six and Eight that the word "wait" does not involve moving feet.

And then there were three

Since Tuesday, I have had my hands full with all three kiddos. Let's just say that both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I have been asleep before 10.





With all kids here, Three does not nap. There's much more running and screaming...how could you nap? We've been having a lot of fun though--trips to the pool, adventure land, the zoo...

Today we tried to go bowling, but that was a big fail, because it was so crowded that the "waiting list" was over an hour. So home we went, to watch a movie.

Interesting conversation I had with Eight:

Me: (while cleaning up popcorn off couch) Who was sitting here?
Eight: Me, but it wasn't my fault. I accidentally spilled it.
Me: Okay, so why am I cleaning it up?
Eight: Because you're the woman.

Now, I'm not usually offended by something like that, but I was shocked to hear a third grader say it! So I had to ask:

Me: Excuse me??
Eight: You're the woman! You're the Chosen One!

Alright, whatever.

Pool Time

Finally, it's pool weather!

And I get these great passes to like 6 different water parks to take the kiddos to. Three and I went the other day, and I could have stayed all afternoon.

While Three went down the same slide (into a foot of water) 600 times, I sat on the edge right where he was and enjoyed the sunshine while dipping my feet in the water.

In between watching him go down over and over again (after a dramatic "three, two, one, BLASTOFF!!!), I'd chat with some moms, and give the occasional cheer towards the victorious slide go-er.

And then, out of no where, a little girl in a pink bikini sits down right next to me on the ledge. She's Stella, age 4, and she is SO excited to be at the pool, she says. But she has to wait for her mom to get in the water. So we were chatting, talking some girl talk, when along comes a frustrated Three, wondering why I was no longer enthusiastically cheering on his sliding endeavors.

"Who is that? Why, why are you talking??" he demanded
"Three, this is Stella, she's four".
(They exchange hi's)
Three contemplates the situation for a few seconds, and then points at her with a stern finger and says:
"My brother could lift you".
And that was that. Back to sliding.

Just some insight to three year olds making friends.

Spanish grandparents and American grandparents

I've been living with these grandparents for about 3 weeks now, and the more I am here, the more I notice strange similarities between living with them and living with my host family in Spain.

Similarity one: The layout of my "space".

I get my own room, with my own bathroom. Interestingly enough, the bathroom floor here is as ice cold as it was in Spain.

Similarity two: Force feeding food

I gained 10 pounds in Spain because it was easier to eat all of Manuela's food than to explain, in Spanish, that if I ate all of the food they gave me, I would probably blow over.

Here: They offer me food all the time, which is very nice. But recently, from Grandma, I hear, "are you eating enough honey? what did you have for lunch?" and so on. Apparently I have been undernourished.

Similarity three: Small children

Instead of baby Paco, I often walk into a living room filled with two little girls and their play things. I retreat to my room, to take a nap, and wake up a half hour later to the sounds of whimpering, crying, wailing, coddling, and then finally a few gulps of air that are reduced to sniffles. So much for that nap.

Similarity four: TV watching

Manuela and Paco loved to watch TV, during breakfast lunch and dinner. So do Grandma and Grandpa. They have their spots on the couch (as did M and P), and enjoy very much sitting and watching together. They both sometimes hold hands while watching, too. Cute.

and then, this morning, came the dreaded question...what I thought I was safe from...

Grandpa: (watching me eat breakfast) ...how about some milk?

Conclusion: Grandparents, all over the world, just want you to eat.

Oh, to be Three...

Sometimes I think three year olds have the life.

Food on the table at your beck and call
Amazing endurance--running EVERYWHERE without getting tired.
Fitting into small spaces--no big deal.
Falling asleep (and staying) in the car is perfectly acceptable
Eat whatever you want, all day, and only "grow stronger"
Everyone smiles at you when you walk by them
And you can play, play play, all day long.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, a three year old's life is just that. Go to the park, play some Wii, play in the sandbox outside, play a game of "Go Fish" (aka give Three appropriate cards to win), play soccer, play kickball, nap, nap, nap, wake up, eat, and play some more. I could get used to it.

Pretty soon Six and Eight wiill be out of school though, and our routine will be much more fast paced. At least, that's what I'm expecting. I have until Monday afternoon of just me and Three, so I'll be sure to take advantage of the nap times and games of Go Fish.

This Morning

A quick story, possibly best of the week, and it's only 9:30 am:

Three: Mom, mom my peanuts (penis) is big. It got bigger mom, its big.
Mom: Eric, were you playing with it?
Three: Yeah
Mom: When you play with it, it gets big. Don't touch.

Lesson learned.