Our jolly, joyful Travis seems to be slowly returning from the pit of defiance and fragility that captured him a couple of weeks ago. Starting during his week at summer camp, Travis just hadn’t been himself. He was testy with friends, ill-mannered as a guest, defiant with requests, and would fall apart at the smallest thing for no apparent reason. At several points I was ready to throttle him. He wasn’t so happy with me, either.
We’ve guessed that he was tired, under the weather, worn out from camp, lacking enough down time, or just plain being four. We’ll never know for sure. And I’m not sure what’s changed, but each day since Monday, things have gotten progressively better. This evening he was a delight, scampering through all his bedtime stuff and and doing things before he was asked.
Mark and I are both working at being more patient and understanding with him. We’re also reminding ourselves that while he often looks and acts bigger, he’s still just four. We tend to lose sight of that at times, treating him and Hallie just the same. This was probably a good wake-up call for us. But if anyone’s listening, we’ll do just fine without another one, thanks.
This spring I took Hallie and Travis in for their regular dental check-up. They’d been brushing well with their electric toothbrushes and we floss their teeth every night. Hallie had had a deep groove in one tooth that the dentist had been “watching” since she was 2. I knew one day that would need filling, so I wasn’t too surprised when Dr. Rich decided it was time to do that.
The big shock was with Travis’s checkup. All his exposed surfaces and his gums looked great, but his x-rays turned up 5(!) cavities between teeth. I felt like I’d been punched in the gut when I heard that news. Read the rest of this entry »
On Father’s Day a year ago we took the kids on a trail-a-bike ride. At several points along the greenway we saw signs posted on the trees with messages like, “Thank you for changing my diapers.” or “I love it when you read me stories.” They’d obviously been planted in advance for some lucky daddy to discover when he got out on the trail. It was such a sweet idea, and it made Father’s Day more special for our family, too. Read the rest of this entry »
Both kids, though more so Hallie, have been disappointed that they can’t walk Rocket themselves. The other day, I had a brainstorm. Just like we had the “balance buddy” when they were learning to ride their bikes, we could have a “Rocket buddy” for walking the dog.
We tried it out last weekend. Instead of one leash, I attached two. The kids got to take turns holding the regular leash. But Mark or I was right beside them with the retractable leash, set just a bit longer than the other. If Rocket got pulling too hard or wasn’t listening, we could jump in. But otherwise, they were in charge.
They both really seemed to like it. Maybe this will help fill their void, for the time being at least.
Hallie and I were having a banter session at dinner the other evening. I don’t even remember what she started doing, but all in good fun I asked her, “Are you just trying to be annoying?”
Without missing a beat she replied, in a pompous tone, “Why, yes! It’s become a hobby of mine.”
We both cracked up, and I could tell she was delighted with herself. She’s had fun with her new hobby, often calling my attention to her behavior and letting me know she’s “practicing.” Just so long as she doesn’t start taking it too seriously–or getting any better at it.
I made the mistake today of confirming for Travis that his is the next birthday in our family. Mind you, it’s more than four months away. But he’s begun the planning and list-making in earnest.
While checking out the gift shop after today’s visit to the science museum, he found several things he liked. He kept asking me (complete with hand gestures) to get “a huge, big, really long” piece of paper to write everything down on. Read the rest of this entry »
My Father’s Day began today with the a nice breakfast made by Kelly, two happy kids (and a loving wife) giving me hand-made cards, and a family bike ride on one of our city’s beautiful greenways. It was the way I like to spend my family time: all of our outdoors, pedaling down paths and exploring our world.
Around the time we got back, though, tensions among the kids flared a bit. Travis was back behind Hallie and me, pushing his bike across the bridge next to dangerous traffic on Crabtree Boulevard. Kelly saw his haste nearly made him trip and shouted for him to stop running. This pushed him over the edge for the rest of our trip (thankfully, we were a short way from our van). That’s when our Defiant Travis made a visit and rode home with us.
Read the rest of this entry »
About a year ago, Mark bought both kids “grow into” bikes with 20″ wheels at a yard sale. Hallie’s has gears and only handbrakes, so while she’s big enough for it, I’m not letting her ride it yet. For her birthday we got her another bike the same size, with both hand and coaster brakes, that she’ll ride until she’s consistent enough with the handbrakes. I don’t think it will be long!
During our family bike ride last weekend, it was sad to see Travis, on his little bike (16″ wheels), having to work so much harder than the rest of us. We decided it was time to try him on his bigger bike, “just to see.” Turns out he’s very ready for the bigger bike. And since his has also got hand and coaster brakes, it’s a good transition one for him. It’s so great to see both our kids cruising around the neighborhood. They just look so big! It’s pretty hard to believe that a year ago Travis was riding a 10″ bike with training wheels. How far he’s come!
We’ve basically been collecting outgrown bikes and other vehicles in our crawlspace. On Saturday, we lined them all up and took a picture. Here’s what we had: 8 bicycles (2 for Travis, 3 for Hallie, 2 for Mark, 1 for me); 2 trail-a-bikes; 3 scooters; 2 pairs of rollerblades and 1 skateboard. We’d have had 9 bikes but Wesley is enjoying Travis’s smallest one. Mark’s working on selling some of the extras at work. If they don’t go quickly, we’ll turn to Craigslist. Since that’s where about half of them came from, it seems right to sell them that way, too!
When in a debate or frustrating interaction with a cranky or complaining Travis, I’ve been known to use the phrase “End of discussion.” It’s now being turned around on me. The moment Travis detects me about to give a response or make a comment he thinks he won’t like, he’ll hold up his hand and say, “Zzzt. End of discussion!” Fortunately he doesn’t use this gem a lot. It’s more annoying than amusing, but there’s an amusing factor, too. Apparently I need to come up with a new phrase.
Last Thursday night, Hallie was counting down the days until her camp would start. She knew she had three days to wait, and I reminded her that two of the days were weekend days. I thought that would make the waiting easier. Instead, she moaned, “Oh, great. Now it’s going to feel like FOUR days instead of three because of all the things we do on the weekends.” She feigned dismay, but I don’t see her complaining about all the fun things we squeeze in. And, despite her fears, the first day of camp did actually arrive, and right on schedule.
