Magic Kingdom

Sleeping Beauty and Sam

Cinderella's castle

Tinkerbell and Sam

Seth, Sam, and I on "It's a Small World"

Sam and The Beast

Sam got the best Valentine's Day gift ever, a trip to Disney World. We stopped at Disney on our way to visit my father. Our week long trip was lots of work, and we were all under the weather, but seeing our family and friends made all the driving and hellacious moments worth it. Our status at departure was as follows: I had just recovered from a cold, while Joseph had just developed my cold. Sam was in the middle of her cold, as was Seth. Sam stopped coughing mid-week, and Seth remained snotty-nosed and incredibly fussy throughout the entire trip. Day 1: drive... Night 1: stayed in Jax, FL, with friends. Received less than 5 hours of sleep. Day 2: Magic Kingdom. Somehow we remained vertical and enjoyed every moment of Samantha's special day. Night 2: Arrived at my dad's at 10PM with two screaming kids. I thought we'd be able to catch up on sleep once we got to my dad's, but it just got worse. My dad's wife, Karen, supplied us with liquid gel Tylenol daily, which seemed to subdue the intense headaches and various other aches and pains. Luckily, Sam was on the rebound and was "easy" all week..... Fast forward to Night 6: I had a meltdown in the car after listening to Seth scream for over an hour. He finally fell asleep after Joseph pulled into a sketchy gas station. Our hotel room that night was far from perfect, but at least we had beds to rest our backs on for a while. Day 7: After six more hours of driving we made it home!

Sam loved Magic Kingdom!!! She met Princess Belle, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, as well as Tinkerbell. She danced with Mickey, Minnie, and all their friends, drove a car, rode a horse, went for a boat ride, and flew on magic carpets. Let's just say we got our moneys worth. Even Seth flew through the air on magic carpets and travelled the world by boat! My favorite rides was the Peter Pan in-flight ride and It's a Small World. Magic Kingdom is absolutely what it claims, a place where dreams come true!

Preschool is more than ABCs and 123s

Below is an email written by a friend of mine who is a proponent for quality preschool. If any of you have doubts about preschool this will open your eyes to all of the benefits your child could receive, should you choose to send him/her. It's so well written and soooo worth your time.

To Ashley:

Preschool is more than ABCs and 123s. At least the good ones are. In a quality program...

Preschool is a place to build social skills. While in a preschool setting, children learn how to interact with their peers. They learn about sharing and turn-taking in a way that is different from having to share what is their special thing with a younger sibling or sharing toys once in awhile for a playdate. And, in fact, can actually make sharing at home that much easier. Children learn how to empathize with others and help each other out. They develop their language skills through experiences with thematic topics, new books and songs, engaging in real-life activities, and the natural give-and-take of conversation with both other children and teachers/adults. Children have the added experiences of other adults saying the same things their parents say ("Use your words and tell me what you need." "We don't hit." "It's not safe to stand on tables.") and knowing some sorts of rules are universal makes them easier to follow.

Preschool is a place to develop independence. So many times we do things for our children in an effort to get them out the door more quickly. At preschool, children are encouraged and expected to help take care of themselves. They learn to put on their own coats and shoes, take themselves potty. They learn about setting the table and helping clean up. They do by themselves for themselves and their spirit grows and they bring those skills home. Preschool is also a place for children to develop their own identities away from their parents and siblings. A place for them to have experiences they can come home and tell you about at the dinner table. A place where they can go and do the things they want to do and not be jealous of any time Mom spends with other siblings at home or feel left out or whatever. Because they are only thinking of the fun they are having and not what is going on back home. Preschool can be a real confidence-booster, and encourages independence in both action and thought.

Preschool is a place to learn about school. Teachers of kindergarteners will tell you they can spot a kid who has been to school before. They understand that there are separate rules for school and home and quickly learn the new rules of the new classroom. They already come to school ready to learn, knowing how to sit together on the carpet or line up or clean up or follow directions or use a school potty or sit at a certain table. They know how to listen to a teacher read to a group. They know how to take turns. And they already know about using centers and learning through doing and being self-directed in completing tasks. Learning how to transition from one task to another easily can be a huge leap for some children and it takes time and practice. And going to kindergarten 5 days a week for a full day is a HUGE leap over being at home every day with no school experience.

Preschool is a place to have fun! Do you have a sandbox in your kitchen? How many children do you haveevery day in the play kitchen dressing up and pretending at the same time, building on each others' stories and contributing their own ideas? Do you have every kind of art material available and allow free reign over them? Do you have a woodworking center? Do you spend time on your computer or iPad with Sam often, developing her computer skills? There is so much to see and do in a preschool that just cannot be replicated at home. And at home, Mom often has other things to do, like laundry, cooking, cleaning, baby care, errands, and so much more. A teacher's job is to focus on the children only. For 3 hours a day, children and their happiness and learning and development are the teachers' only focus.

Preschool is a place of professionals (ideally.) Trained teachers know about developmental milestones and evaluate children annually or semi-annually and have conferences with parents on their child's progress and can point out any additional support needed. Teachers know about how children learn and know fun ways to help children learn when it doesn't even feel like learning. Teachers know how to support children emotionally, dealing with separation from their parents, managing friendships, and learning how to express themselves in a group setting. Teachers have lots of ideas on how to deal with difficult behaviors. Teachers can sometimes spot changes in children even before their parents recognize it, either because of their training, their focus, or simply because your child is a different child in a school setting than she is at home.

To sum up, sending "S" to preschool is not just so someone can teacher her the letters of the alphabet or how to write her name...There are so many ways children can learn and grow in a preschool program that have nothing at all to do with academics. And depending on the program, there may be some structured academics as well.

Seth kissing his image in the mirror

Sis and bro

the best princess in the world.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! We are hoping Samantha's Valentine's will be extra special this year. Weather permitting, she will be visiting Princess Belle, at Magic Kingdom, next week. To my surprise, my daughter is the quintessential "girl" and loves anything to do with princesses. Her obsession started with Ariel, the Little Mermaid, then transitioned over to Tinkerbell, from Peter Pan. Tinkerbell is still in the picture but her absolute favorite is Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. To my wonderment Sam has a "Princess Radar". We will be in a store or be looking at a catalog and she'll see something "Princess" across the entire store (and Walmart is huge) or she'll see something "Princess" 2-millimeters high in a catalog. She doesn't miss a single "Princess" item! And, the tutu you see in the picture above. OMG, she keeps it in the bed with her while she sleeps, as well as holds a Princess Valentine card in her hand. CRAZY!

Update on Seth's self-soothing skills: Some improvement. He's fallen asleep on his own a few times, but approx. 10 days ago I developed a cold. Due to feeling like absolute crap I've resorted to nursing him to sleep. Not always, but most of the time. Oh well. Life goes on.

Samantha continues to amaze us with her vocabulary and communication skills. She is also eating like a champ. I thought our eating battles with her would last forever. Hooray for Samantha.

Oh, I wish I got video footage of Seth making out with himself in the mirror. It was hilarious.