One More Superman G Story

(from before surgery)

G has been off playing in imaginary Florida.

Hi Mama.  I just drove my car home.

Really?  I would've thought you'd fly.

He shoots me a look of sheer disbelief.

No.  Cause it's a long way and I would've had to fly on the highway.  I can't fly on the highway.

Riiight.

Christmas Break

You gonna play with me Mama?

Sure G

Trucks is you favorite?

Well, G, I will play trucks with you, but they are not my favorite.

Ok Mama.  You can play cars.  I'll play trucks.

Baby

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before.

G has a thing about Mamas & babies.  One of the ways that plays out is in our morning routine. 

Every morning he greets me: Hello Mama Zebra (or Monkey or Tiger or Giraffe or whatever) (Hello Mama Elephant not being my favorite)

And then I HAVE to respond: Hello Baby Zebra (or Monkey or Tiger or Giraffe or whatever).

Sometimes I also have to play my role for a while.  For example, if we're tigers then I may need to serve deer for breakfast.  blech.  (or was the "blech" superfluous?)

Anyway, this afternoon G came into the kitchen wearing his new SuperG cape. 

I said: Hi SuperG

He said: I SuperMAN G

Ok.  Go wash your hands for lunch Superman G.

Yes, Mama Superman.  (pause)  Say: Bye Bye Baby Superman G

Bye Bye Baby Superman G

...and soon I gonna be da GrowingUpSupermanG.  Bye Bye Mama Superman.

This is getting complicated.

Career Preparation

What would cause a child to push a plastic handle onto his head?

"Mama!  I'm a ply-ot!"

When he's a pilot.  Of course.

Overheard

I'm on the computer and G is playing cars & legos at my feet (of course).

He's carrying on conversations with himself....

"I dot a little spaceship.  BAST OFF!"

"Why are you doing on da bus?"
"Das my mom."
"My mom is a worker."
"An me too.  I'm a worker."

"You a bad driver."
"Das ok.  Iz a little accident."
"You need to go to jail?"
"No, he can't.  Iz just a little accident."
"Well, I need-a go to jail"
"Well, my car is broken, so I can't go to jail."

And my personal favorite, the exasperated....

"LordHaveMercyG."

.... I totally don't know where he would have gotten that from.

Rolling Down the Hill

Can you see G?

He's standing up at the very top of the hill.

All of the other children are busy rolling down the hill or walking up it.

Not G.  He's studying them.
     They look like they're having fun.
          What exactly are they doing?
               How are they doing it?

He watched them for 5 minutes from the bottom of the hill, never saying a word. 
Then he asked if he could walk to the top of the hill and he watched some more.

Then - with no warning - he was ROLLING!

Crazily

At an angle

Losing his glasses

Laughing with abandon

Rolling.

Love it.

Play

With his budding imagination, G has developed a new style of play.

He directs the whole scene.

For example, I'm playing cars with him (again) (andagainandagainandagain).

G loads up his dump truck, and tells me "Say: 'Go over there buddy.  Say dat.'"

I say "Go over there, buddy."

G pushes the dump truck over, and tells me "Say: 'Hey.  Back up buddy.'"

"Back up, buddy."

And so it goes. 
Hours of entertainment. 
For G.

I don't remember Joseph ever going through this stage.  Is this "typical"?  Or just one more amusement that's unique to G?

What I Do

G often wants us to stay home together.  I usually tell him that I have to go to work so I can make money.. and then I can use the money to buy food, pay for our house, etc.

So today I'm watching G play.

He's doing this weird thing - kneeling on the floor and pretending to pick things up.

What are you doing, G?

(Wearily) I goin-a work.

What are you doing at work?

I gotta get monies (mimicks picking more money off the ground).

Oh - like Mama gets money at work.  And what do I do after I get the money?

Put it inna food (mimicks rolling the money into a big ?food mush?).

And after I'm done with the food...?

Come home.

There you have it folks, a synopsis of what I do all day every day!

G's on his way!

I goin-a vacation.

Really?  Where are you going?

Fo-dah.

Why are you going to Florida?

Da baby's in Fo-dah.

What are you going to do in Florida?

Ima play.  Ima work.  I hafta work in Fo-dah.

Well, let me take a picture so I can show Aunt Kirsti that you're in Florida. 

I move G's packed truck out of the dusty corner of the bathroom so I can take a photo.

G obliges, but makes sure I know.  "DAS not Fo-dah.  (pointing)  Fo-dah over there."

Apparently Florida is in a very specific corner of our bathroom.  Good to know.

Death by Chutes & Ladders... and a question

I love playing games.
I am a tad bit competitive.

Unfortunately, neither of those facts seem to apply to Chutes and Ladders. 

The counting (which G still can't do).. the figuring out which ways the rows travel.. those darn chutes.  Back & forth, up & down.  Again.  Again.  Again.

Again.

I would gladly take Chutes & Ladders to my work (the garbage), except for this smile....

You'd succumb to that smile too, wouldn't you?

But that's not my real question.  My real question is WHY, when this cute guy is available,

does G always want to play with this game piece? 

I'm assuming that it's because she is the piece that looks most like me.  But I do wonder if G has picked up on the "White is better/smarter/prettier" issue in our society.  Just in case, I find myself verbalizing how wonderful the little guy piece is.  And I wonder if I'm hypersensitive or if I'm not doing enough to prepare my handsome son.

Anything to keep my mind off those darn chutes.

Travelin' Man

G loaded up his bag full of the essentials - matchbox cars, slinky, glow sticks, etc - and announced: "I goin-ah the city."

More imaginative play!  LOVE that!

Fall Fun

Disaster has struck: My camera is broken!  Not sure how I will blog without photo evidence, but I'll save that worry for another day.  I have an Autumn photo dump I can share tonight....

(loves his "bike" and super-loves taking it down the hill)

(first pumpkin carving)

(picking up apples with M)

(note G's frog boots - he loves them)

It's been so gorgeous here.  I can't help but pity my poor Florida & California friends who miss this beauty :)

That's it.  The end of the photos.  Yesterday there was a potential blog post that involved dining without silverware, but who wants to read about that?  You'd need to see it.

This makes OVER ONE WEEK since I last took a picture of G.  Just imagine all of the unrecoverable sweetness that I've missed.  Better get that camera fixed soon.

Imagination

When G is tired, I'll often sit in the rocking chair, put my feet up on the footstool, and pat his back while we rock.


Today he set himself up in the kitchen - with his own rocking chair, a "footstool," and a stuffed bear.  He patted the bear's back as he rocked, and informed me: "My baby's taking a nap.  He's tired."

Not only is that the sweetest thing ever (right?), but it also shows how G is understanding more & more about pretend.  Creative, independent play is starting to happen!

Blocks

Recently we had a crazy afternoon with blocks.  We just kept building & building.

(Check out the long segment to the left, where G added all oh-jin [orange] blocks.  Interesting.)

We built until every block was used.

Of course, right after the last block was placed, they all came down.

A Birthday Novel (with story components helpfully identified for you)

The Setting - A HUGE birthday present arrives in the mail from Aunt Kirsti, Uncle Mark, and cousins!

Character #1 / G -
"Can't wait!"

Character #2 / Mom -
"Exactly how many pieces are in that box?"

The Conflict -
Lots & lots of pieces.  Mom wonders aloud if Uncle Mark is going to pop out of the box to put everything together.

Rising Action -
After a valiant attempt, Mom announces that the assembly will need to wait for a more skilled assembler.

The Climax -

Our hero, G, disolves in waves of anguish.

The Resolution -
In a surprise twist, super-friend-Pam stops by, inquires about the pieces strewn about the floor, and immediately sets about assembling the gift. 

Doncha love a happy ending.

You know you want to visit

A free park near our home.  Dancing water.  Super good times.

Weekend Review

(nothing exciting; just a review)


Amy was here working on my yard when I got home on Friday.  My flowers look amazing.  You should come check them out.

We got to visit Joseph on Saturday.  G was in heaven.  Joseph seemed so proud of G - introducing him to everyone: "This is my little brother."  Of course, G would give no one else the time of day.  They'd try to greet him, and he'd just grunt & flip his head away.  It's embarrassing to have a child with such horrible manners.  But.. I'm also not real eager to start encouraging him to warm up to strangers so I'll live with it for now.

At church today G sat through all of the songs.  A first.

He seems huge to me.  He's stronger & faster & more regulated & smarter about everything.  I posted about his weight, but I just realized how it compares to his history:

July 2009: 20 pounds

Jan. 2010: 20 pounds

July 2010: 31 pounds

Isn't that crazy?

He's getting more apt to play.. and sometimes to play independently!  Tonight he was doing his favorite - putting things in & taking them out.. and carrying around his loads, telling me he'd be "right back."  Over & over again.

I mowed the grass tonight.  For a long time, G pushed around his truck behind me.  But towards the end he was just done.  I ended up having to mow the final rows with one hand while using my other hand to hold hands with him.  So he's not that independent yet.

Weekend Fun

Balancing Yesterday's Busyness

Just a chill morning at the park.

Overheard at the park...
One little girl, speaking under her breath to another little girl:

"Next Christmas, I think you're just gonna get coal."

G also got to enjoy a coffee date with Ms. Merrily & Ms. Diane (Hi Di!).  He thought they were pretty cool.  Ms. Diane gave us a recipe book for picky eaters... halleluiah!

Some good news - Joseph has been helping to adjust G to the concept of "Mama comes back."  Basically, I say Good-bye & drive around the block, while Joseph holds the screaming G.  Only tonight, G didn't scream.  Not even one tear!  Hoping this means good things, as I start leaving him at day care on Monday.

Packed Full

Tuesday was our first trial run with day care.  It's hard to get going so early in the morning!  G was not feeling the urgent need to get out the door.  He also wasn't ready to eat breakfast so soon after waking.  Breakfast is the meal where he most often eats, so that could be a problem.  He had fun playing at day care, with me sitting in the corner.

We stopped to watch a shovel digging a big hole, which was way cool.  Is it called a power shovel?  A steam shovel?  Hydraulic?  What???  I felt like a failure-mom exclaiming: "Wow!  Look at that big construction vehicle!"

But even more cool - we went to the train station & watched some trains.  Oh my!  WISH I had my camera for that.  G's hilarious dramatics played out as he exclaimed & pointed & did berserk dancing for each train.  There were tears when we left.

Found a sandpit playground at the Riverwalk.  Hours o' fun for G.  I'm sure that getting the sand out of his curls will provide hours o'fun for me.

Everything now is our "last."  Last full Tuesday of maternity leave.. last weekday library trip.. last wave to the garbage man.. etc.  Trying to milk it for all it's worth.