A.B. Kagledom

Sweet, safety conscious, little Adlai has taken on some new interests. These interests seem to stem from his overwhelming desire to be a big kid and have and do what everyone else has or does. First, he climbs. He climbs the chairs and crawls on to the kitchen table. He climbs the play structure in the backyard - even those parts that are not for climbing. More than once over the past few days we've found him happily jumping alone on Simon's loft bed - having scaled the slide with his bare feet. Yesterday he was found sitting on the kitchen table trying to open a bottle of child-proof pills.

It's pretty much impossible to stop this climbing so we've instituted the sock rule, making the climbing more difficult, and we tuck in chairs so he can't pull them out quite as easy. And so he gets stuck - his little body squished flat on a chair with the table directly above him or he crawls half way up the slide before toppling over.

We close doors to the bathrooms so he won't play with the toilet water or toilet paper and close the door to our bedroom so he will stop going after electric cables for our laptops. Anything on a blanket or a placemat or paper will be grabbed and pulled - everything sitting on top of that item comes crashing down to the floor below. If Simon is eating at the table and Adlai isn't in his high chair Adlai will always run over and try to grab Simon's cup - spilling the contents over everything. We've gated off the kitchen but he slips around the gate or gets stuck trying. Last week he grabbed a dirty diaper out of the diaper pail and ran it over to me proudly proclaiming "STINKY!"

He's at an age when he must be watched at all times. Constant vigilance! It's exhausting and we are considering hiring some occasional babysitter relief.

Posted by kagledom at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our dear little Adlai is quite the shy one. When around unfamiliar people he often hides behinds the legs of a parent clutching on for comfort or insists he needs to be picked up. When strangers talk and smile at him he greets them with a blank stare - until they look away. We have been told, however, that when we're not around, he is just fine - never cries, never seems uncomfortable - even with unfamiliar sitters.

Grammy arrived yesterday for a visit and Adlai immediately showed her his favorite books and his shoes (Adlai really likes shoes and books) and sat on her lap so she could help him put the shoes on his feet and read the books. He chattered away and was completely comfortable. So, maybe shyness is not part of Adlai's future after all.

Posted by kagledom at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So as most of you probably know, I've taken a job over at Dell. It's, pretty much, exactly the same job - just a new group and a new salary and we couldn't be more thrilled. I start June 15 (Simon's birthday) but I'll have the week before that off to relax. The new job is super close to the old job so no real change there.

The last week has seen a number of enhancements in our Dear Adlai B. He has become super opinionated (that was there, he's just even more!). He likes firetrucks, airplanes, cats, and dogs. He would very much prefer to wear/hold/read about/eat on/drink with these three things at all times. He has taken to snuggling and carting around Simon's favorite cat, Balcony, during sleep and all other times. Luckily, we have him using Balcony 2 (or maybe it is Balcony 3?) the secret switching look-a-likes that didn't fool Simon for a second.

Adlai can say his name "Add-bee" and is trying very very hard to behave as a five-year-old. This last part causes much frustration. He is a pro with a fork but is still working on his spoon technique. (So, of course, he only wants cereal with milk or yogurt in a bowl for breakfast.) He insists on eating only things with flavor (unlike Simon who prefers food bland). He has learned to use "NO!" appropriately - like when someone tries to remove his toothbrush from his clenched fist because he insists that he can brush his teeth ALL BY HIMSELF (only he can't).

He has also been a lot of fun as of late. He likes to sing (Dayenu, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle are among his favorites). He likes to point out animals in books and make their sounds. He likes to climb and slide and play t-ball (and he is, amazingly, co-ordinated). He likes to be really loud (except, of course, when he is being shy). Tonight Simon played a song on the computer and Adlai attempted a dance routine that he has been perfecting...

Here is T-ball and swinging last Friday...

Here is Adlai "reading" some time last week...

Adlai's very snugly and loving and remarkably interested in going to sleep. I think we'll keep him.

Posted by kagledom at 07:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week was an amazing week and Thursday was a pretty darn good day. A historically good day. More news later. For now, I am pleased to report that Simon made it into Bullis Charter School which means Adlai will automatically make it into the school as well. Sometime soon, the school will move from K-6 to K-8 so the boys won't have to switch schools again until high school. Being a charter school, they are not required to stick to the government mandated curriculum. It is a small school with small class sizes and there is a heavy focus on science and the arts (which we know Simon will love since those are his very favorite things). Each fifth grade class travels to Washington DC and each sixth grade class travels to Costa Rica. The students are divided into "houses" across grades so students from kindergarten will work with first graders on up. And did we mention the electives? There are tons - each one sounding more interesting than the last. It's the top scoring charter school in California and among the top 1% of schools in California.

Getting into Bullis makes our enormous mortgage worth it! In fact, since we refinanced into a better deal last week, we intend to stay in our house at least until the boys are off to college. Hooray for better interest rates!

Last weekend we started Matthew's birthday celebrations by spending Saturday with our friends, Mike and Cindi and sampling a variety of cakes. Simon opted out of the cake in favor of a large "I love my Mom" cookie. Adlai napped. It was all good.

Sunday, we drove to San Francisco to see Star Trek with Grandfather while Grandmother watched the boys. After we returned from the movie, we trekked over to Pier 39 to see Grammy and Grandpa and Aunt Judy and Uncle Dave who were arriving at the end of a long cruise. We didn't have much time and the Pier was as crowded as I've ever seen so we ended up back at The Feefadders place for a while before getting stuck in an hour-long traffic jam instead of dinner. We eventually made it to dinner, before which Adlai was given his first cookie (peanut butter - made by Simon and Grandmother). He was starving and there were no other options in the car.

For Mother's Day Simon made me two cards and I was given chocolates and Matthew framed a family portrait we had taken a while back. I cried. It was a good day - if slightly hectic.

New things for Adlai: He ran up to me a few days ago with the diaper cream and a diaper and, in fact, he needed a change. He is in love with shirts that have Elmo, cars, firetrucks, and dogs. Simon never cared about his attire. Adlai INSISTS we put on a certain shirt RIGHT NOW if he sees something he likes sitting in a pile of laundry. In general, he continues to amaze us with how much he understands. He likes to call out "NO NO NO NO NOOOOOO!" so we will counter with "YES YES YES YES YESSSSSSS!" We occasionally sit him in a booster seat at the table and he is very proud to be sitting with us like a big boy. Adlai REALLY wants to be a big boy. I think that pretty much defines him as a person at this point.

Posted by kagledom at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the problems with working where I do is that there isn't much time. The work day starts at 7 am and "ends" at 4 which often bleeds into 5 or 6 or 7. In order to see the kids and occasionally exercise and relax, something must give. Unfortunately, what has been pushed aside is this blog. I'm working on a remedy but it's going to take a while.

The boys attend my morning meeting - watching the screen share and listening to the conference call (on mute!)

Where to begin! Two weekends ago was a double five-year-old party weekend. Simon's beloved friend, Calvin, celebrated five with a Star Wars themed party and one of the best cakes I've ever seen - a 3-dimensional R2D2. The next day Simon bounced and ate pizza and had a visit from a Mountain View police officer at the party of a friend from preschool. Adlai stayed home with Matthew and, I'm sure, did many manly things.

Smile!

Cushion fun - a nearly every day activity.

Last weekend we intended to take a trip to Santa Cruz but didn't want to get caught in the rain so we stayed around the house. We've been doing a lot of Spring cleaning and gardening in our spare time. The boys are very fond of gardening. OK, they are mostly fond of getting incredibly wet. Adlai is even more a fan of soaking himself than Simon...

Soaked. He even pours water right onto his face.

Dandelion head.

Really, is there anything more fun than a hose?

Other things that have been going on...
-We've finally refinanced which has been a mental time sink over the past year.
-Simon went to his kindergarten evaluation and LOVED it
-We've moved up the list to our preferred kindergarten by at least 2 - to number 3!
-Adlai understands pretty much everything. Ask him to bring you something - even a book by name - and he'll run off to get the correct object.
-Adlai is getting his third molar and is COMPLETELY OBSESSED with pacifiers
-Adlai, as it turns out, loves cole slaw and will eat it by the handful
-Simon is very excited to be celebrating his birthday next month (since we agreed that no one will sing or clap after he blows out the candles)

Posted by kagledom at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)