Aidan and Alanna had their gym class this morning with Coach Carlos, and Jason decided to make a little reward chart to see if he could entice Alanna to actually participate now that they've been in the class for 6 weeks. We've tried to just encourage her gently, but we've had no luck thus far. We thought that Jason's reward chart would be enough to get her going. They will earn a star each time they participate, which is no problem for Aidan, and when they get three stars, they get some alone time with Jason.
When we arrived at the gym this morning, Alanna's eyes welled up with tears, and she didn't want to go in. This was a first. Prior to this, she would go in without much of a fuss and just sit on a mat and watch quietly through the entire hour without moving so much as a toe off her little mat. Today I had high hopes, but she sat on the sidelines again. Finally, I went in and told her she needed to start taking her turns or come out and sit in the stroller. I made it clear she would not be having fun in the stroller, and she would not be allowed to sit and watch and then get a sticker at the end. As I suspected, she chose to sit in the stroller. However, I made her take one turn before she was allowed to come out of the gym. You'd think she was being tortured as she cried and wailed through her entire tour of the obstacle course. Coach Carlos was fantastic and helped her through the first couple of things, and then he had her do some things on her own. He helped her through one more cycle, as she whimpered all the while. Then she begrudgingly decided to sit in line for the balance beam. She started to get upset, and she asked Aidan to come sit by her. Being the very sensitive boy that he is, he quickly obliged. She made it through the balance beam event, and went on to the bars. On her first turn on the bars, I saw a slight smile flash across her face when she turned upside down during a hip roll, and within a few minutes she was grinning ear to ear! She looked up at me through the window with that glimmer in her eye...I think she's hooked. It was great to see her finally jump in, and she had a great time. She was able to do everything right off the bat.
She was so excited when she came out, and she couldn't wait to call Jason to tell him she took her turns. Now, I'm crossing my fingers that she's "got the bug," and she'll participate again next week. We always talk about what their favorite part was during lunch, and Alanna said "everything," and when we got in the car she told me she was so proud of herself. (And so was I....if only I had lost my patience and put my foot down sooner!)
Aidan has been having a BLAST in this class since day one (with the exception of the first 10 seconds as I was walking out of the gym). The first day, he clapped for himself and did a little jig after each turn. It was pretty hilarious. He and his friend Alex often times lie on the mats together chatting, leaving his mom and I wondering what on Earth they are talking about. He tries everything, and he gets a little timid at times if he thinks he needs help, but he has learned a ton. He loves to do forward rolls on the carpet at home, and we've been practicing some of the other things they do at home too.
So we finally got around to carving our pumpkins this morning, and Grandma and Grandpa joined us for the fun. Everyone had a good time, and Alanna and Emory helped scoop out the seeds and pulp. Aidan, on the other hand, was not too keen on that idea. Lots more photos are on our flickr site....www.flickr.com/photos/katzkiddos. You'll have to sign up for an account if you haven't already.
I emailed this to some people a few months ago, and I keep it around for good humor when I need a dose. I've been pretty good about journaling about Aidan, Alanna and Emory's development, but I've often thought I should document more about the craziness that has engulfed our lives since welcoming Aidan and Alanna into this world...followed 17 short months later by Emory. It would be funny to look back on all this and laugh at our trials and misadventures...and treasure all the endearing moments. Anyway, here it is...
Who says moms don't have time to exercise?...
Cross-Training/Intervals for Moms:
So I'm feeling like I'm constantly bombarded with questions lately...here are some things I'm hearing a lot...
Emory: "Mommy! What doing???"
Aidan: (at nap time) "I have a question!" followed by anything he can think of to avoid going to sleep.
Alanna: Anytime I mutter anything under my breath "Mommy, why you say _____?" (insert "Are you kidding me?" or "Come ON" - as I wait for traffic at a busy intersection or "This is ridiculous!") Thank God I'm being very conscious not to say things I shouldn't.
Anyone, anytime:
Is Daddy staying home today?
When is Daddy coming home?
Is Daddy staying for dinner?
What's for dinner? (I don't like it; I want chicken tenders.)
Where are we going later?
What are you eating/reading/doing?
Can we watch Blue's Clues?
Is it my turn to choose?
Why, Why, Why, Why, Why! Usually a series of at least 10 why questions, which I always guide to a question that can be answered with " Because God made it that way." And if they ask why God did something, I say "I don't know, you'll have to ask God." Then, I get a few minutes respite.
Can you....Will you...
I know, this is the story of any mother's (or father's) life, but it still makes me laugh to "write it down."
October 20, 2007
Some friends recently lent us a little pumpkin costume for Emory to wear, and as soon as Aidan and Alanna saw it, they decided they needed to be pumpkins too. This will actually be their first Halloween celebration, outside of carving pumpkins and reading Halloween books. Anyway, I promptly purchased two more pumpkin costumes, and we will collectively be a pumpkin patch for Halloween. In fact, the children decided that Jason would be a scarecrow, and I would be a black cat. Perfect accessories for a pumpkin patch, right?
Photos to come...
Today we went to the pumpkin patch. It was opening weekend, and although it was Saturday, the pumpkin patch was not crowded at all. It was a beautiful day, and Aidan, Alanna and Emory had a great time finding their way through the hay maze, going through a tunnel under a huge haystack, picking cotton, feeding some goats, and choosing their very own pumpkins. We met Farmer Ganyard and thanked him for giving us this experience for the last three years. We had planned to have a picnic at the pumpkin patch, but the weather was a little cool and all the tables were in the shade. Since the kids said they were cold, they settled for a faux picnic on a blanket in our family room. The pumpkins are set out on our front steps awaiting carving (assuming they don't spoil first!)
