Every kid says it. Every parent hates to hear it. But it is especially hard the first time. And especially hard when it is coming from your 2 year old daughter. Today she said it for the first time. Through streaming tears, and at the top of her lungs Emily screamed,
“I HATE YOU, MOMMY!”
I’m experienced enough at this parent thing to know it won’t be the last time. But I’m also experienced enough to know that I’ll hate it everytime. Sigh.
Those of us who live in LA-LA Land are pretty used to seeing stars… I mean, hey, just today one of my Facebook Friends reported that David Beckham walked by her table at ESPN Zone! But today, I took the kids and my Mom to Los Angeles to see some real stars… as in the heavenly bodies you can see from the Griffith Park Observatory!
The day was a lot of fun. Although it was the smoggiest day I’ve seen in quite a while, we still enjoyed taking in the view of the entire Los Angeles basin from the observation deck, and the kids got a big kick out of seeing the legendary Hollywood sign (which they were introduced to by the movie, Bolt). We caught a great show called “Water Is Life” at the Planetarium. While the whole program was really cool, the highlight was when the lights went down in the theatre and the “stars” began twinkling in the sky of the dome… and then, from out of the darkness, comes Emily’s voice singing, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”. I really hated to have to shush her… it was precious!
So you local yokels… grab the kids and head off to the Observatory… it was a lot of fun!
So Thursday night while I was tucking him into bed, Brandon says to me, “Mommy, tomorrow I’m going to be a good boy… ALL DAY LONG.” I didn’t say the first thing that came to my mind (it wasn’t very nice). Instead, I put a huge smile on my face and said, “Really? I would LOVE that!” We shared one last kiss and a snuggle to seal the deal.
So Friday comes, and you know what? He did it! Brandon was a good boy ALL DAY LONG. In fact, he was a REALLY good boy! He was kind, and considerate, and helpful, and sweet. He was respectful, and generous. He listened and he followed instructions. It was a great day. Here’s one example: On our way to the beach I heard the following conversation coming from the back seat… Emily was yelling at the driver in front of us, “Get out of our way! GET OUT OF OUR WAY!!!” Brandon reached over, placed his hand on her forearm and gently said, “Em, you don’t have to be so mean about it.” Emily looked at him for a second then resumed her rant, “MOVE! GET OUT OF OUR WAY!!” To which Brandon gently reminded her, “She was here first. We have to wait our turn.”
During his bath that night, Brandon asked me, “Mommy, aren’t you proud of me? I was a good boy ALL DAY LONG!” I told him how very proud I was of him, and how happy I was that he did what he told me he was going to do. At bedtime, he asked me again, “Mommy, are you proud of me for being such a good boy today?” I gushed some more about how proud I was of him, and moreover, told him what a great day I had and how much I enjoyed spending time with him because he was so nice to be around. He went to sleep VERY pleased with himself.
It was a great day. But it left me with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was happy to know that he is hearing, and internalizing, the messages I give him, and that when he wants to, he can behave very, very nicely. On the other hand, it would appear that he generally doesn’t choose to do that — at least with me. Insert big sigh here. But… I’ve been given a glance at a Brandon I would love to see and spend time with everyday. I know that boy is in there. Right now, he is a 5 year old boy – and he is all the things that go along with being a 5 year old boy. But I’ve seen, what I hope, is a glimmer of who Brandon will be when he gets past all the irrationality and self-centeredness that goes along with being a 5 year old boy. But for now, I’ll take just one great day.
The other day we were walking out of Chili’s and one of the kids pointed to the hood ornament on the front of a Mercedes and asked, “Mommy, what is that?” I explained that each type of car has it’s own ornament or emblem on the front to let people know which brand of car the vehicle is.
We then walked from Chili’s across the parking lot to Target. As we walked up the sidewalk that runs between two rows of parked cars(those of you familiar with the Diamond Bar Target will know just where I mean), the kids made me identify the make of each and every car we passed. They were getting pretty good at guessing the make by the time we reached the end of the sidewalk and entered the store.
When we left the store, the game continued. And when we got to our own car, the kids wanted to know what type of car our vehicle was. I told them that our car was a Honda, and I pointed out the Honda symbol. “See how it looks like a letter H — for H-H-H-Honda!”
Well that did it. Nowdays, the kids are pointing out every Honda they see. And not just when we are walking; they do it when we are driving too! We’ll be driving along, having a good ol’ time, when suddenly one of the kids will point and scream, “HONDA!!!” They have also taken to making a game of it… competing to see who can find more Honda’s in the immediate area.
The first handful of times I heard the scream (“HONDA!!!”), it was laugh out loud funny. It was even more funny because at first Emily misunderstood and was yelling, “PONDA!!!” Then for a while it was cute. But now, a couple of weeks in… not so much. But, I will be a good parent and will hold my tongue. They love playing this game and they are having a great time doing something — together. And that little gem more than cancels out the annoyance factor.
So if you are out and about and happen to hear a kid scream, “HONDA!!!”, look around for us. I’ll be the Mommy with the Mona Lisa smile on my face with two silly giggling children at her side.
So Brandon and I had a bit of a rough day yesterday. He was being him. I was being me. Ugh! Anyway, as so often happens after one of these trying days, I tucked Brandon into bed, gave him a kiss, and the rest of the day fell away. As we nestled our heads together, we put our differences behind us and promised to make a fresh start of it come morning.
Then out of nowhere, Brandon jumps up onto his knees, throws his arms around my neck, and says, “I love you so much, Mommy!” I started to tell him that I loved him too, but he wasn’t done yet. He cut me off mid sentence, and started off on this rambling declaration of his love. It went something like this:
“Mommy, I love you all the way around the Earth… and across the whole solar system… and all the way to the moon… and across the whole solar system… and all the way to Africa… and to Egypt… and around the Earth… and across the whole solar system… and to the Pyramids… and the Sphinx… and to the moon… and all the way around the universe… and across the WHOLE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM!!!”
It was a bit of a rant, but it was an adorable, heart warming, endearing rant. What could be better than to have your child declare their love for you so emphatically. I can’t think of a single thing. Goodnight, my Sweet Prince!
Brandon and Emily are lucky to have an AMAZING Daddy. A Daddy who works hard every day to provide for his family, then comes home and spends every evening making sure his children know how very much he loves them. Whether that means acting out Jedi scenes with Brandon, or playing tea party with Emily, he gives the kids his full attention and devotion. And they love him for it. Seeing him pulling into the driveway sends them running to the door, yelling, “Daddy!!” with arms outstretched to get their share of hugs and kisses.
It is wonderful. He is wonderful. I couldn’t have picked a better man to be my husband and the father of my children. So Michael, although Fathers Day is the one day each year that we make sure to say it out loud, please know that we think you’re the very best Daddy there is… EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR! We love you!!!
Today we decided to thumb our noses at the June Gloom and embrace the very heart of summer by going hunting for tadpoles. So off we went to Sycamore Canyon Park, our favorite tadpole hunting grounds. We met our friends Natalie and Savanna there, and the kids had a great time spending the next 3 1/2 hours trying to capture the critters. Once they honed their technique, the kids got quite good at catching the elusive little things. I’m sure this won’t be the last time you find us down by the creek this summer… what a fun time!
You know what they say… it is all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. Well, it’s true. We were having a fantastic time at the birthday party. Brandon was excited because the clown knew how to make a Bazooka out of balloons, and was keeping busy with the other older boys in the inflatable obstacle course. Emily had taken a pony ride and had her face transformed into a beautiful butterfly by the face painter. Now hyped up on cotton candy and lollipops, she was bouncing happily in the toddler bounce house.
I was chatting with another mommy when I heard Emily scream. I turned my head to see her in a heap on the grass, crying her eyes out. I knew right away that this was no ordinary, “Mommy, I hurt myself” type of cry. This was something more serious. Long story short, I ended up leaving Brandon at the party with another Mommy as I prepared to immediately take Emily home. On our way to the car, I began to breathe a sigh of relief. Her crying subsided, and her chief complaint was that her tears had caused her butterfly makeup to run. But as we neared our house, she started crying again and said, “Mommy, my leg feels funny.”
I got her home and settled on the couch. She asked for some medicine. Smart girl. Motrin, yes, she needed Motrin. I gave her the medicine then tried to get her out of her jeans and into some loose pajama pants so I could better examine her leg. Emily tried to stand up but when she did she started to cry. I could see her ankle trembling. That’s when I knew we really had a problem. If she couldn’t put any weight on the leg, then it was serious and needed to be examined by a doctor. Of course, this happened on a Saturday night… so it was off to the ER we went.
We spent Saturday night in the ER. They took x-rays and although the docs couldn’t see any break or fracture, they were concerned that the injury was near the growth plates so they sent her home in a splint and instructions to follow up with the pediatrian and an orthopedist. In the meantime, they told us to keep her off her feet. Um, yeah. Exactly how do you keep a healthy, energetic, rambunctious 2 1/2 year old off her feet for days at a time?
Thankfully in our medical group we are able to get an appointment with a pediatrician 365 days a year… so bright and early on Sunday morning that’s where we were. The pediatrician ordered a second set of x-rays. Again, they could see no break or fracture, so they put the splint back on, told us to keep her off her feet again, and wait until we heard from the orthopedist. Lucky for us, that call came early on Monday. And even more lucky for us, the news was good. The orthopedist examined the films and gave us the green light to remove the splint. They did suggest we keep her wearing an ACE bandage, but they said she should be able to walk around with it on.
So that was Monday. I was excited to hear that Emily would be able to get up and move around. Emily, however, had other ideas. Apparently Em was LOVING the idea of having me carry her from place to place all day. She wasn’t ready to give that up. And I was not going to push her. So, I carried her around on Monday… and about half a day on Tuesday.
By Tuesday evening Emily was ready to try to re-enter the world of the actively mobile again. I was thrilled just to see that she could get back to her normal routine without pain. Although occasionally she does push things too far and says that her ankle is hurting, for the most part she is doing fine. It may be a while before she is 100%, but I’m just so glad she is on the road to recovery. I’ll tell you though, I sure never thought that my little princess would earn my first parental visit to the ER. I thought Brandon the Wall Walker would get that title. That little girl is just full of surprises!
Eventually, it had to happen. Brandon could only thwart our efforts to find him some activity to love for so long.
I’ll admit, I thought this year was going to be like all the rest. I offered to sign him up for a drawing class with his buddy, but he declined. I offered Basketball Skills, Chess, Gymnastics, Horse Care, Golf, Soccer, and Tennis. He declined them all. I thought I had a sure thing going when I offered to sign him up for NASA Camp, or for Secret Agent Camp, or Robot Camp, so I could not believe it when again, he declined. I think his exact words were, “I choose NOT to participate.”
These are the moments when, as a parent, you want to just pound your head against the wall. Michael and I know that Brandon would LOVE any of these classes if he would just give them a try, but we also know our boy well enough to know that if he isn’t “on board” with the idea, then you might as well give it up. He would “hate” it on principle, and proceeding anyway would be an exercise in misery for everyone — and a tremendous waste of money.
So my heart skipped a beat when a couple of weeks ago, Brandon said, “Okay, Mommy. I think I might want to try Martial Arts.” I tried to play it cool, but I was thrilled to hear this. Right away, we started searching for place for Brandon to start his training. We were hoping to have Brandon learn Kung-Fu, since it is the Chinese branch of Martial Arts. Unlike Karate and Taekwondo, Kung-Fu studios can be a bit hard to find. After some research, we found a school that specializes in a very unique martial art called, Northern Eagle Claw, a traditional kung-fu system that originated in the Northern Shaolin Temple. We decided to give it a try.
Tonight we took Brandon to the school to meet with Master Ken Edwards and get a private lesson. Things could not have gone better. Michael and I were impressed with Master Edwards level of professionalism and dedication to his art. I loved that the school creed spoke of Respect and Kindness. We learned that along with the Kung-Fu training, Brandon would learn some Chinese (in Cantonese!), as well as the art of the traditional Lion Dance and Drums. and best of all, Brandon was very receptive to Master Edwards and enthusiastic during their private lesson. Needless to say, he is officially the newest student at Shan Tung Kung-Fu School. Brandon’s first real lesson is tomorrow night. I think we’re ALL looking forward to it!
Well, it’s official. Brandon’s preschool days are behind him. Today we attended the End of The Year program at Brandon’s preschool, and as it concluded, so did Brandon’s time at DBC Children’s Center. It seems like just yesterday that we were dropping off Brandon for his very first day of school at DBC. But that was two years ago, and now he has walked through those gates as a student for the last time.
Seeing it end has been bittersweet for all of us. Brandon is REALLY looking forward to summer, and all the fun that the summer months include. But he sad to leave his teacher, Mrs. Jayshree behind. He really adores her, as do we. She has been such a wonderful teacher to Brandon — and we adored his teacher last year too! In fact, I am happy to say that overall, DBC has provided Brandon with an absolutely wonderful preschool experience.
Here is a picture of Brandon with his teacher, Mrs. Jayshree
Brandon has grown so much since he started at DBC. But as much as things change, it is nice to know that some things stay the same. He had his tongue hanging out on day one… and on the final day it is still hanging out (you can click on the photo to enlarge it for detail)! Yep, that’s our boy!
Congratulations on your completion of preschool, Brandon… we’re so proud of your accomplishment! We love you!
