We're Goin' to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo...

How about you, you, you?  You can come too, too, too.  We're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo.

Joe was in Las Vegas this weekend at his brother's bachelor party and so my mom gamely agreed to help me take the kids bowling, to the zoo and to the pool in a 24 hour period.  The zoo was my favorite of the three.  We heard the monkey chattering away with some crazy hoots and other noises and did a second trip through the parakeet exhibit where they let you feed the birds.  AJ is in that phase where he thinks it is funny to talk about poop, so there was also way too much discussion about different animals' excretions.  When I asked him later that night what his favorite part of the day was, he said "watching the giraffe pee!"  Of course it was.

Ready, Set, Five!

AJ jumped enthusiastically into being five today.  We spent the day swimming with Pops and Susan, and 20 minutes into it Pops had AJ telling everyone who would listen "All you have to do is relax in the water, and the water will be your friend!"  AJ learned to paddle around the pool on his own wearing a life jacket.  Learning something new was the best way to celebrate turning five, which I sense is going to be an age that is all about AJ becoming more independent and taking in the world around him.  Here's to five!

How Does Our Garden Grow?

With too much water from over-eager gardeners who love any excuse to get wet and poor soil in the raised bed leftover from a renter or two ago, it is a wonder that our garden grows at all.  Grandma Julie thankfully got our garden started one weeknight in May when she and the boys did some planting.  (Can you tell that the stick AJ labeled in the photo says "Peas?" Read bottom to top on that one.)  In a half hour, they managed to put in lettuce, peas and spinach and then added some green beans a few weeks later.  Pops and Susan contributed some much-needed tomato plants that had a jump start in a pot and we have ourselves a respectable little backyard plot for something that was put together with relatively little effort.  It has been fun to see the kids getting such a kick out of the whole thing, and I am impressed that they have been diligently watering for a month now.  I am hoping it will get them more interested in eating vegetables.

The Big Five....Oh, Time Flies!

We had AJ's 5th birthday party today and he will officially turn five tomorrow morning.  Starting when I was pregnant people began to tell me things like enjoy it all because the time goes so fast.  There were days and weeks when AJ was a baby and a toddler when that seemed to be the opposite of what I was experiencing.  The temper tantrums and the physical hands-on involvement of the very young days can sometimes be challenging.  But suddenly I woke up and he is somehow five and I am now understanding what all those other parents have been telling me all these years.  His very young years are drawing to a close and we are starting to look into this next chapter of the early elementary years and I am feeling the desire to hold on to these sweet young years a little longer. 

The party itself was a hit.  We had it at a local swingset sales shop that lets parents rent out the space for birthday parties--genius!  It was a good fit for AJ and his energenic four friends plus Davey and Julia.  We did a pirate treasure hunt, whacked away at the old pinata and read a story as well as just ran around exploding with lots of energy on playsets.  All the parents said the kids will sleep very well tonight.  I have started asking AJ and Davey what their three favorite things were about each day as I tuck them in at night.  AJ shared some very sweet thoughts about how much fun it was to turn 5.

Overheard

The boys have been arguing lately.  They both dig their heels in and get indignent with each other.  Tonight was one of their typical, repeating refrains.  With AJ's birthday coming up, age has been the issue of disagreement.  AJ is excited to turn five and is not willing to share his spotlight with Davey.  For his part, Davey wants to be just like AJ and insists that this age thing is all a number anyway.

Davey: "I'm five!"
AJ: "You are NOT five.  I am five.  You are three and a half."
Davey: (voice raised) "NO! I am FIVE!"
AJ: (getting louder) "No, you are three and a half, then you will turn four and then in another year you will turn five.  You can't just be five.  You will always be younger than me."
Davey: (screaming at the top of his lungs, face turning red) NO!  I am not three.  I. AM. FIIIIIIIVVVVVVE!"
AJ: (screaming) You stupidhead, Davey.  You are NOT five.  I am five!"
Davey: (screaming) "Poopiehead!"

This usually ends with AJ punching Davey and the two boys rolling around on the floor. The few times I have tried to intervene, I made the mistake of trying to use logic. I would tell AJ that Davey is too young to understand age and only wants to be like AJ because he thinks AJ is cool.  Then I would tell David that we count 3 then 4 then 5.  None of this seems to de-escalate.  I think we might need to invest in some large foam boxing gloves for the boys and earplugs for mom.