A few minutes after Simon tries to go outside by himself, Matthew gets ready to go outside and approaches him...

"No jacket! I don't want to play outside anymore. I'm playing the guitar."

Posted by kagledom at 01:26 PM | Permalink

...this school. In the other preschool all the children were well mannered, uniformed, quiet, and deep into their scholastic work. The place was immaculate with little wooden chairs and little wooden tables. They read at 3. They win Nobel prizes by 10. But what was particularly frightening is that, every morning, they pair up and walk the little path around the little yard. Ummmmm, NO. So we chose the school where art projects are half finished, sand is all over everything, and children are running in and out - behaving like children. Unfortunately, the classes are all full FOR FALL. So we put ourselves on the wait list to get into Calvin's class - two afternoons a week. By signing up for afternoons we have a better chance at eventually getting into mornings and, who knows, EIGHT MONTHS from now he may not nap. In the mean time, we'll be looking for a regular sitter.

Also of note, our car and Hava are officially Californians. Hava had to take the driving test and get a new picture. Matthew went last week and they just gave him back his old license. And this, hopefully, concludes Hava's "ALRIGHT ALREADY I MADE A MISTAKE" Illinois punishment.

Posted by kagledom at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

We really wanted to make a big deal of rewarding Simon for all the wonderful hours of uninterrupted sleep this past week. Unfortunately, in the beginning of the week Simon became disinterested in putting stickers on the chart. And worse, after reaching his allotment of stickers, Simon was not eager to get to the ice cream shop. That isn't to say the chart wasn't working. No, Simon wanted that sundae and would tell us how he was going to get it but when it came time to get in the car he found things like his guitar and our bed a lot more enticing...

When he wouldn't nap we thought we might as well drive him to the ice cream store. Since he still wouldn't leave without his guitar we brought it along. Only he fell asleep (still playing the guitar) before we arrived at our destination.

Finally, this evening, after eating our Sunday meal* we put him in his PJs and took him out on the town.

*Every Sunday we've been having the same meal. We enjoy this meal a great deal not because it tastes particularly good but because Simon always refuses to eat the fish and the broccoli but he chows down on the pasta - even eating a second helping for lunch on Monday. What he doesn't know is that his pasta sauce is made up of fresh broccoli and salmon, marinara and olive oil puree. And we (privately) say "HA!"

Posted by kagledom at 12:43 AM | Permalink

Simon had good and bad days this week. Bad days are usually the result of being overwhelmingly tired. Being tired is the result of not napping or waking up at 6 am instead of 7 or 8. How does Simon behave on a bad day? He becomes stubborn - one day happily spending 45 minutes in the time out chair rather than saying he was sorry. He becomes destructive - enjoying nothing more than throwing toys everywhere and banging hard toys on others that might break. He thinks doing things to make us mad is really really funny - like waiting until we are watching before slowly dropping and handful of food onto the floor or climbing shelves and furniture while yelling "I'M CLIMBING!!" He is also much less likely to eat anything that is good for him - spitting half masticated food onto his lap and declaring "I'm not eating anymore." We hope for good days.

As you may recall, Matthew and Simon signed up for many community sponsored toddler classes as soon as we arrived. Monday was the final art class. For the most part, the class was a bust. Matthew convinced Simon to paint a little but, otherwise, Simon was disinterested in all artistic options. Wednesday Simon's "Child Chef" class was canceled for the week which was a shame because cooking interests Simon a lot more than art. So far they've made pretzels and fresh orange juice. Last Thursday Matthew and Simon started a free preschool class at the Mountain View Public Library. Simon was uncharacteristically interested and attentive for the entire class - so far it seems to be his favorite. Fridays Matthew and Simon take gymnastics. Simon participates to some extent but not enough for us to want to sign him up again. Our warm indoor pool opens again next week. It has been closed since mid-December for repairs. Simon is really looking forward to swimming again.

We've been looking into preschools and have appointments to tour two this week. Our hope is to find some place that is relaxed about authority while having a lot of different options for music, learning, and play. We also don't want to send him any more than a few hours three days a week (many preschools want the children to attend all five days) but definitely more than two hours two days a week (some preschools have only four hours a week options for children his age). Also, Simon naps between 1 and 5 pm so we need a morning program. Combine those requirements with finding a non-religious based school and there suddenly seems to be a lack of options. We remain hopeful about these two.

Also this week...

Intense focus on the potty begins and touring new neighborhoods with our real estate agent.

Posted by kagledom at 01:30 PM | Permalink

Simon: "You be Totoro."
Matthew: "No, YOU be Totoro."
Simon: "(Laughing) OK I'm Totoro, you be Satsuki."
Matthew: "OK, I'm Satsuki and you're Totoro. Who is Mei?"
Hava: "I'll be Mei."
Simon: "Hi Satsuki. Hi Mei."
Matthew and Hava: "Hi Totoro!"
Simon: "You OK Mei?"
Hava: "I'm OK."
Simon: "Satsuki, come here!"
...

Posted by kagledom at 11:55 AM | Permalink

Once upon a time there was a boy named Simon.

He liked to play outside. Sometimes he played in the playground of our apartment complex.

Sometimes he liked to play inside like here, in gymnastics. But, mostly, he liked to play outside. Shortly after this photo was taken Matthew looked around and Simon was nowhere to be found (Simon thinks running into traffic, running in parking lots, and running away from his parents is HYSTERICAL). He was later found outside next to a parking lot not wearing any shoes. (We understand the whole leash-your-child phenomenon a lot better these days.)

He may run into traffic now and then but at least he is sleeping.

Last weekend Simon had a very large ice cream sundae. He also spent time with our friends Sheila, Yannick, and little Lucie. Look how much fun we had!

We discussed how to get more French people and their families to move to our area. In particular, we would like our Chicago friends Marcellina, Eric, Amelie and Laura to migrate west (come on, it's SO much fun to move that we did it twice, in the same year!).

We know they would like it here because the people are very relaxed. It's because we are warm. After that last picture was taken we all had to remove our sweaters.

Oh, California, we will never forsake you again.

Posted by kagledom at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We call this "California Hair." Unfortunately, Hava is experiencing the same problem only she doesn't pull it off quite as well.

Posted by kagledom at 12:52 PM | Permalink

Simon playing "pool" at the Palo Alto Junior Museum

Simon interested in a bucket of water in art class (and not the art)

Simon in cooking class this afternoon (paying for his groceries)

Simon watching My Neighbor Totoro

Simon and Calvin jumping for joy

He slept again last night which brings us one day closer to ice cream.

Posted by kagledom at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Our house in Chicago closed this afternoon. Having spent only a year in the house, we were not deeply attached to it but it was sad to sell it to people in such a painful manner - people who want to take apart the beautiful kitchen and replace the well thought out cabinetry, people who insisted over and over and over that we prove that the roof DOESN'T leak (think about that, it is akin to proving that the sky isn't a deep shade of green). The roof never leaked while we were there and the house is perfect (PREFECT, DO YOU HEAR ME BUYERS? P E R F E C T!!!) but there is a part of us that hopes an unnaturally egregious infestation takes place starting tomorrow. Of course we also still fear we will be sued for problems we know nothing about. Next time we sell a house (hopefully a very long time from now) we may first ask the occupation of the buyers. Real estate attorneys need not apply.

In other cheerful news, on the third night of being re-Ferberized (last night), Simon woke up twice but went back to sleep on his own. The first time he only moaned a bit and the second time he cried for 20 minutes. We created a sleep chart for him this morning with stickers which he seemed to understand and enjoy. After four more nights of not needing parental intervention to get him through the night, he gets an ice cream sundae. Five nights after that he gets another ice cream sundae. After sleeping through the night for ten nights, the chart will, instead, become an incentive to use the toilet. When he is toilet trained we'll celebrate by taking him on a Disney Cruise (of course, we'll take him anyway).

Other cute Simon bites from this morning:

Matthew made Simon toast for breakfast and let him eat away from the table. Each time Simon was done with a slice he found Matthew, said "hold this" and handed him the crust.

Simon went into our bathroom to defecate this morning (in his diaper). He spent an unnaturally long time in the bathroom so Matthew checked on his several times. Each time Simon told him to "go away" before he shut the door in Matthew's face.

Posted by kagledom at 11:22 PM | Permalink

If we ever had to publish a book, that would be the title.

NOTE: The Internet Gods are set to bestow DSL upon our household tomorrow which will allow us to update this site more frequently and include pictures. We will also be checking and responding to email on a regular basis. Mountain View is set up with Free WiFi via Google but it is free and behaves as if it is free and so we will pay.

Since the Night of Blood, Simon hasn't slept for more than a few hours at a stretch. He is ALWAYS up between 1 am and 3 or 4 or 5 am screaming, shouting, begging, or pleading to be released from his room. We've tried sleeping next to him (he couldn't sleep), sleeping somewhere near him (he wanted to be next to us and then he couldn't sleep), and letting him sleep in our bed. That last disaster led him to run out of our room in the middle of the night into the kitchen where we heard *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* giggles... when we ran out and asked what he was doing he said "Jumping and laughing!" Our downstairs neighbors must love us. We came up with and implemented a plan two nights ago that we hope will eventually solve the problem. Remember Ferberizing? We're Ferberizing our toddler: 30 minutes of crying, 15 minutes of soothing over and over and over again. And so we sit in the wee hours of the morning waiting to soothe, listening to the sounds of the torture chamber that is Simon's room.

During the day Simon really likes his room and he thinks his bed is SO COOL so we're perplexed. In the wee hours of the morning we have a strong desire to shout at the top of our lungs, "WHAT IS HIS PROBLEM!?!" He has never been good at sleeping outside his crib so we imagine this all had to happen sooner or later. We wish it had been sooner because, right now, we could really use some sleep. And come our dream vacation in June, we'd really like him to spend the wee hours of the morning snoring instead of turning us all into the living dead.

Luckily, Simon has had no more bloody noses (thanks to the tip provided by Grandmother Jill of rubbing the inside of his nose with Vaseline before bedtime) and, besides fluctuating between lethargic and hyperactive due to lack of sleep, he has had a great week.

He took his first art class in which he created a collage and a painting, he started his first gymnastics class in which he enjoyed swinging by the rings, he went out to eat without Mommy or Daddy for the first time (with Grandparents Kagle) which we imagine made him feel like such a big boy, he ate breakfast with Calvin and met baby Finn, he had two play dates with all of his long lost play date buddies, and he created his own imaginary friend (just today) named "K" or "Kay" or "Kei" (we're not yet sure how K.. spells his name and he is hard to find to ask the question).

As of now, if we could just get him to sleep regularly, deeply, and without interruption, we might just claim that Simon is perfect. But without sleep this whole experiment in child rearing is seeming like it wasn’t totally thought through.

Posted by kagledom at 05:15 PM | Permalink

So yesterday we were putting Simon in the car just after picking up our mail. Simon wanted to hold the mail so Hava handed him a course catalog to keep him occupied while Matthew strapped him into the car seat. Within a few seconds, Simon had torn off the front page of the catalog and started to sing and strum...

(We both took out our phones and took pictures. Hava's phone is cooler than Matthew's phone so Hava's picture wins. Neener neener.)

*UPDATE*

Matthew has a VGA RAZR. Hava has a MegaPixel RAZR. Just in case you care, this is Matthew's photo (pointing out the reason to buy a new phone every now and then):

Posted by kagledom at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

NOTE: Simon is fine. Cranky from lack of sleep but totally fine. His bedding? Not so fine. We are currently lamenting the lack of an easily accessible washer/dryer combo.

There are few things more disturbing than waking up to find your child completely covered in blood.

Simon went to sleep in his fort last night around 7:45 and woke up crying sometime after 1 am. When Hava went in to soothe him, all she could see by the light of the princess light was the shadow of Simon sitting in his room and his light colored hair. He was wearing dark footy pajamas but the absence of being able to see his face and hands was odd so Hava turned on the light. Simon's face, arms, and hands were completely covered in blood and Simon was crying and trying to wipe blood out of his eyes. A few shouts for Matthew and we had some towels. After cleaning him up we discovered the source: a bloody nose that must have been bleeding for a very long time.

Simon started to fall asleep which made us nervous. Matthew went in the fort to check for blood loss and it was a pretty gruesome site. His pillows, all of his blankets, his sheets, stuffed animals and multiple places on the carpet were red. Simon pointed at his pillow and simply said "blood."

We decided to keep him up and get some sweets and liquids into him so we turned on a favorite movie we currently have from NetFlix: Totoro. (Simon likes it because it is "Jap'nese!") He giggled often and was completely cheerful and energetic while we watched. He wouldn't drink for a while so we "forced" him to eat gelato from the freezer and his favorite cereal. By the time the movie ended his nose had dried (he needed the distraction of the movie to keep from rubbing it).

Sleep after that point? Not so much.

Posted by kagledom at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Friday night, after the side of the crib fell off for the three-hundred-millionth time, we decided it might be time to leave it off. We reasoned that being in a crib without walls would help adjust Simon to the concept of sleeping in a real bed and move him closer to sleeping in his new loft bed.

We should mention that the side of this particular crib is not supposed to come off. Simon has spent a lot of time jumping in the crib in the past two years which has caused either the metal springs or the wood to bow leaving the side too narrow to connect properly with the ends.

So Friday night we read Simon some stories, sang him a song, and placed him in the crib without walls. A few minutes later, Simon was in our room. We put him back. A few seconds later, Simon was in our room. We sat with him while he relaxed. We left. A few seconds later he was in our room. This cycle continued for a very long very maddening two hours. During the third hour we decided to replace the side of the crib. Simon was in our room in a matter of minutes only this time he brought the broom from the kitchen. We realized, in horror, that we had enticed our very own sweet child to crawl out of the crib - something he had never before attempted. During the fourth hour Matthew put Simon on the loft bed and attempted to sleep with him. During the seventh hour, Hava went to sleep on the loft bed with Simon where they remained until morning.

Nap time on Saturday just didn't happen. We tried to drive him to sleep, rock him to sleep, and run him ragged but he was over tired and there was no way he was going to sleep in his room alone (although we did spend the majority of the afternoon trying).

By Saturday evening we felt like complete parental failures so we came up with a plan. Because we assumed part of the problem was that he was scared to be alone in the dark in a new place we made a couple of purchases. First, we purchased a "TV" (according to Simon) which has three channels: slow music, slow lights and slow music, or slow lights and slow music and plastic fish swimming around very very slowly. We also bought him his very own Disney princess tap light (just what every boy needs). We devised a plan to put a child gate in his doorway so he couldn't escape, turn on the night light, show him how to work the aquarium and let him work things out for himself in the three-sided crib.

The plan failed.

A few minutes after we put Simon down for the night he was in our room laughing hysterically. We put him back behind the gate and watched as he hopped right over the side. Baby gates don't work for tall toddlers. After hours of attempting to get Simon to stay in his room he finally passed out in the crib. A few hours later he rolled onto the floor and woke us with his cries. Hava decided to "sleep" next to him on the floor but he refused to be placed back on the mattress. Eventually Simon fell back asleep and Hava left the room. Simon woke up an hour later. Hava again tried to sleep with him on the floor. Once he fell asleep, she left. A few hours later Simon woke up scared and crying (and the night light was off) so Hava went back in and placed him on the crib mattress. She watched and pushed him back for an hour as he moved closer and closer to the edge. Finally, Simon fell from the mattress on to his Hava (below). They spent the rest of the night in the loft bed together where Simon proved that not only does he fall from the edge of beds but he also stands up and sits down and falls over in his sleep making the loft bed a great place to play but a dangerous place to rest alone.

Sunday afternoon we came up with a new plan. Matthew reversed the locking door knob on Simon's door, Simon helped to take apart his crib and carry it into the "junk room" and Simon helped put his mattress, blankets, stuffed animals, pillows, and "TV" under the loft bed in the tented fort. Although it felt bad, we locked him in his room for two hours at nap time. He was pretty good humored about the whole thing and yelled things at us under the door to entice us to let him out. Unfortunately, he removed his diaper during this time and when we heard "uh oh!" we are now certain that he urinated somewhere on the carpet. After two hours we took him to the park and let him run, run, run until dinner. He nearly passed out while eating mac and cheese at a restaurant but still wouldn't fall asleep in the car on the journey home.

Last night was rough but not nearly as bad as we expected. Simon cried for five minutes a few times during the night. We went in two or three times to check on him and try to get him to relax and cover himself with a blanket. He did eventually sleep under the tent with his head on his pillow. And this afternoon? After checking the door once to make sure it was locked and he couldn't escape, he napped.

Posted by kagledom at 05:23 PM | Permalink

Simon has slept through the night two of the past three nights and finally appears to feel comfortable and happy in our new abode. Winslow thinks this is the best home we've had since way back in those long ago Foster City days. We are close to a main thoroughfare which causes two very different reactions in our boys. Winslow is delighted and rules the roost night and day as he watches the fast cars go to and fro. Simon insists that there are airplanes and helicopters outside his room (and sometimes they wake him up or it might be that his room is impossible to keep warm).

Besides spending time with friends Calvin and Patrick and visiting with Grandparents Kagle (giving us time to see our first movie out in a very long time), Simon has been spending his time eating LARGE quantities of food. When he asked for a third bowl of cereal yesterday morning we thought something might be up but that was nothing compared to his adult sized meal from last night including his first veggie burger (which he enjoyed a great deal). He continues to eat real food at all of our favorite restaurants instead of requiring grilled cheese or macaroni and cheese which we find SO REFRESHING.

As is a Kagle tradition, Grandparents Kagle bought Simon his first WAY COOL big boy bed and we think we might be getting closer to Simon actually sleeping in it. (Not only did they buy it but they waited in our empty apartment for it to be delivered for longer than it took some of us to make it across the country.) Simon is still very attached to his crib but we're anxious to get him out of it because it is literally falling apart. Last night Simon said he wanted to sleep in the big boy bed but he was too tired to make rational life-altering decisions. When he slid down the slide before Hava could turn out the light, she just placed him back in the crib. We're fairly certain that a night-light toy (not attached to an outlet) will make him more comfortable and we will be looking for just such an item this weekend.

Hava has enjoyed her week with the Kagle boys and is sad to be returning to work on Monday. She has, however, made sure that Matthew and Simon will be kept busy by signing them up for several classes at the Sunnyvale Recreation Department: Toddler Art, Cooking, and Gymnastics. Matthew hopes to sign Simon up for the next session of story time at our library. All together, the classes will fill an hour of their morning schedule almost every day for the next month or two.

Posted by kagledom at 07:34 PM | Permalink

Our apartment is finally starting to look more like a home than a storage unit (although one entire room will remain full of boxes until we move again). Simon still isn't sleeping through the night (so no, we didn't do anything for the New Year but go to bed early) but we think we may have figured out the correct combination of dark and light and heat and cold so we don't have to fumble through the dark on the way to his room in the wee hours tomorrow morning. Last night Matthew bruised his foot rescuing a screaming Simon, the night before Hava walked into the closet instead of the hallway - smack into a wardrobe box.

This afternoon we played outside at the complex playground and this evening we walked over to Shoreline Park with "hot coffee" in hand in time to run around in the cool air with many other families. This time we felt luckier than usual. It is really nice to be warm and outside in the evening.

We watched the sunset over the lake. Simon begged Matthew to bring him the moon. Matthew tried to explain why that wasn't possible. Simon thinks Daddy is just making excuses.

Posted by kagledom at 09:47 PM | Permalink