A Coincidence at the Park

My husband is in the Army National Guard, and this last weekend his unit had its annual summer picnic in the park. Sasha and I met Jon at his armory and he drove us over to the picnic location. We met some of his platoon and squad members, and ate barbecue.

The park that the picnic was held was one of the nicest I've ever seen. There was a large busy outdoor pool and water park, multiple play areas for the children, and the playground equipment looked very modern and high quality. So it didn't take long before Sasha was itching to start playing at the playgrounds. They did look fun! After we finished our meal, we all went to the playground to play. Yes, all of us. The cool thing about having kids is being able to play on playground equipment with your children! I was a little tired of standing and looked for somewhere to sit, but there were so many pregnant women sitting on the park benches that I didn't see a spot to sit down. There seems to be a baby boom around this town.

The swings were open, so I decided to sit on a swing. Sasha followed me to the swings and sat on the swing next to me, and Jon pushed the both of us. It was fun and amusing for all of us. Because I was being pushed, I was swinging quite high and fast. I started to wonder aloud at what my poor unborn 30-week baby in my belly thought of all the swinging, and Sasha found my musings on the topic hilarious. She made a little baby voice and pretended to be the baby, all confused at the back and forth motion going on.

Here is where I mention that we have been referring to our unborn child by his name, Killian. There, now you know his name. Sasha was laughing and yelling "Killian is like, (baby voice) 'Hey what is going on?'". There was a woman pushing a toddler on a swing next to me, and she just halted when Sasha mentioned the name.

"What was that name she just said?", the woman asked me. "Who is she talking about?".

Jon and I explained to her that I was pregnant, if it wasn't obvious, and that we were naming our unborn son Killian.

She dropped her jaw in astonishment. She was also pregnant with a son, due a month after me, and her top name consideration for her unborn son was also Killian. She had never heard the name used before, and explained that it was a name of her grandfather. I also chose the name after my grandfather, so we bonded a bit over the coincidences. She explained that her mother-in-law hated the name and worried that a child named Killian would get called "Killer". I told her we'd embrace the nickname if that occurred, and that nothing sounded more awesome to me than imagining my future son going up to bat in a little league softball game, cheering "GO GET 'EM, KILLER!" at him to urge him on to greatness. She said that for the first time, she felt good about the potential nickname if it should come up, and that she really felt that Killian was the name of her son. I told her I don't even mind sharing the name with her, even though I expected that there would probably not be any other Killians in town. She did live in a different town, I rationalized, so the two would not be in the same classroom anyways.

As I parted with the woman, she and I walked to where her mother-in-law the name-hater was sitting. She told her mother-in-law that I was also naming my son Killian, to which the mother-in-law haughtily replied, "Good, she can have it". I walked away as the poor woman continued to try to convince her mother-in-law that it was a good name for the baby, but the mother-in-law looked unconvinced.

I suppose I shall never know if she is ever successful in naming her child what she wants. Some day, perhaps the two Killians will meet in the city again. Maybe the woman will bow to the pressures of her family and find a new name, or maybe she'll stick with it and it'll grow on her family like it did ours.

Swimming Sasha

Sasha with a swim instructor

Two weeks ago, Sasha started swim lessons at the local pool. Unfortunately, her first swim lesson was her first swimming pool experience (not counting bathtubs or kiddie pools), so she was terrified. Her fear and apprehensiveness got worse each day. My husband and I experienced quite a mix of emotions as she refused her lessons and stood crying poolside. I was very frustrated that she wouldn't try. I was sort of ashamed that my child was the only child crying, screaming, and refusing to go in the pool or do lessons, while the other kids were running amok and fearlessly having fun. Sometimes I wished that she was a bit more dare-devil and adventurous.
But Sasha is just Sasha, and that's just who she is. She is a cautious child. She rarely gets in trouble because she thinks deeply before acting. And she is just like I was at that age. It hurt to see it sometimes, but her swim lesson experiences were identical to my own. May we each be blessed and cursed to have a child exactly like ourselves. Our children are unforgiving mirrors, forcing us to see our own faults and blessings with brutal honesty.

I did eventually sort things out in my own head. There are blessings to having a cautious child. Jon and I took the opportunity daily to take her to the pool during free swim, and swam with her to build up her water confidence. (My mother-in-law purchased a maternity swimsuit for me so that I could swim with Sasha, and I am grateful for that). And as I swam, it became apparent I am not exactly a good swimmer either. But we swam together and had some fun quality time. It was excellent exercise for me for pregnancy too, so there's that bonus!

Today Sasha had her final lesson and test. She failed her test and will have to repeat level one swimming lessons next year, but she gave it a very good try today. When I think about it, she had no swim pool experience at all, so why should I be surprised she would balk at it. If I had never been to a pool before, would I start diving, floating, jumping, and holding my breath immediately? Yeah I didn't think so. She's come a long way these past two weeks, and overcoming fear of the unknown is hard work.

Good job, Sasha!

A soldier visits home

The past two weeks were very busy around here. Cassie graduated from her Army AIT (advanced training) and returned home for a two week visit. Those two weeks coincided with Jon's 40th birthday and Cassie's 19th birthday, and Cassie was home on recruitment efforts which kept us somewhat busy.

She returned home on a late night flight the same day she graduated from her AIT. Some of her high school friends met her at the airport with us for her arrival home. It was an emotional homecoming with lots of hugs and a few tears. Cassie and I had a lot of text exchanges during that day as she flew home.
She had to wear her military uniform on her flights, so she was patriotically thanked for her service every few minutes as she walked around the airports. At one point, I asked her via text if she was in her ACUs (camo uniform) or her Class A's, and she answered that she didn't know. She was trying to be evasive and said I would just have to wait and see. I responded with something along the lines of, "How do you not know what uniform you are wearing? You ARE wearing clothes right?" and she sarcastically responded that she was not. I replied, "Well that changes the meaning of all those strangers thanking you for your service". BAM!

Cassie had a long list of things she wanted to see and do and eat on her leave home. Mostly stuff that she was homesick for while spending the previous year in the military. She had missed a local sushi restaurant. We took a few trips to the book store and the mall. The weather was a bit hot and stormy, and I was feeling unenergetic, so we didn't get to accomplish everything we wanted.

For Jon's birthday, he wanted something simple that Sasha would enjoy, so we went to a local amusement park. We celebrated with go-karts, bumper boats, a game of laser tag, and some video games at the arcade.

For Cassie's birthday, we celebrated with a barbecue with her friends. I was running behind schedule on the party preparations and didn't start baking her birthday cake until her friends arrived, so we made an event of it and let her friends frost and decorate her cake for the party. It was amusing. They put the candles on the side of the cake instead of on top.

There were some major festivities around town as well. The city we live in celebrated its 100th birthday, so there was a parade and a town-wide rummage sale event. Cassie went to the parade in uniform to support her friend, who was crowned "Miss Stillwater", and Cassie was almost put in the parade on the spot. Cassie, her friend, Sasha, and I went rummage sale browsing for a bit that day. Later on in the evening, Cassie went with some friends to a local Hill Climb event, which included night fireworks.

There was a day where Cassie's friend came over and they had a water balloon fight with Sasha. Cassie was being silly and hid some water balloons in Sasha's shirt so Sasha could pretend she had 'boobs'. Then a little while later, Sasha ran up to Cassie and pointed and yelled, "I see what you have there!". Sasha grabbed Cassie's chest, thinking that Cassie had hidden some water balloons in her shirt, but no, it was just Cassie's own chest that Sasha grabbed. That was some funny comedy.

Finally, the sad day came where I had to drop Cassie off at the airport so that she could fly to her next duty station. She safely arrived at her destination and is currently in-processing at the reception of her new post assignment.

Last Day of Kindergarten

So today was the last day of school, and the last day of Kindergarten for Sasha.
I should catch up on the school year for her, since I did not post about it before. Her first day went well, and as I was taking pictures of her on that first day, I took this one which amused me:

 

It reminded me of the meme picture "McKayla is Not Impressed", so I call the picture "Unimpressed Kindergartener". She did well in school this year. Kindergarten these days isn't like it used to be. Sasha had full days, non-stop full of education, and no naps. Much unlike when Cassie went to Kindergarten with her half days and naptime and cute little art projects.

Sasha had a few interesting encounters this year. She has kept her feisty spirit. She has always been a picky eater, and so we had a problem a few times with lunch. I had her eat the school's hot lunch to try to encourage a more varied diet, but there were a few times it backfired.

One day in particular was taco day. There is nothing specific about tacos that she hates. When you look at it in parts, she likes every individual part of a taco. But when you combine those ingredients and call them a taco, she engages full stubborn mode. So on this particular taco day, she marched herself and her tray straight up to the school principal and announced, "I hate tacos!".
The principal tried to coax Sasha into eating it. She said that maybe Sasha could break the taco apart and eat the parts that she liked. Sasha scolded, "What part of 'I HATE TACOS' do you not understand?". This shocked the principal, and Sasha was sent to the principal's office to eat her lunch in solitude. That was the second time in the year that Sasha was sent to the principal's office. (The first had no amusing story; she was disruptive in reading class.).

Anyways, Sasha is glad to be done with school. She had been hinting lately that she missed the days before kindergarten, where she stayed at home all day. It hasn't quite sunk in yet for me that we are now on our summer break, but I suppose it'll sink in by the middle of next week.

Dusting off the cobwebs

So, it's been a while. 2 years? Of course, a lot has happened in 2 years.

Sasha is in her final week of Kindergarten. We've had some cute adventures there. She's grown into quite a stubborn and feisty child with her distinctive personality. I have a few amusing anecdotes to share about her, most likely in upcoming posts.

Cassie has graduated high school a year ago and is serving in the military. We are expecting a visit from her in a few weeks, which we are looking forward to. I miss Cassie so very much. It's amazing and sad to watch a child grow and leave off on their own life, but I am so proud of Cassie. She has grown into a successful, fantastic, and productive adult member of human society.

 And I am currently 22 weeks pregnant with a third child now! A boy! How strange that is, to have a child grow up and leave as an adult, then find myself expecting a newborn. The age gaps will be interesting. Cassie will be 19 and Sasha will be 7 when this new child is born. The girls seem happy and excited, especially Cassie. Cassie says she always wanted a brother. I hope that Cassie can come home on leave at my due date to see her newborn brother.

So a new baby upcoming and I figured I could dust off the cobwebs on the baby blog. Especially so that Cassie can keep up with updates on her younger siblings while she is away from home. My Baby Sasha posts were for Sasha to read someday when she was grown, and now I think for my future posts, I shall address them all to Cassie so that she can still feel connected to her family while she serves her country.
Love you Cassie!

Growing Big and Strong

And pretty too. I had to include this nice picture of her. I know every mom thinks their child is beautiful but to me she is a beautiful child.

I got a new hiking backpack the other day. A really awesome fancy one in the hopes that someday this summer, my husband and I can go on a hiking/camping trip together. Anything that won't fit in our packs that we can't carry with us easily while we hike to our campsite won't come with us. So a good pack is important, especially for someone of my small stature. I'm not all that strong. This pack should help a lot with that.
So anyways, I took my new pack home and we were all admiring it. Sasha wanted to put it on. Fortunately it's empty but she was easily able to wear it. The pics above are her with my new, empty, light pack.

My husband brought out HIS pack, which is loaded with stuff and Sasha wanted to try THAT pack. We were impressed she lasted as long as she did:
Dad helps her hold it but she insisted he let her do it herself.
Wow, she was able to wear it by herself. It's not a light pack.
Nope, there she goes. Dad caught her when she fell backwards. She wanted to go back to my lighter pack after this.
I probably would have fallen over too. It was heavy by my standards as well.

Easter 2010

These pictures were taken on Easter at our family easter party at my mother-in-law's house.
Bunny ears and blowing bubbles.
Crazy bunny girl.
Aww look, a puppy. A family friend (Sasha considers her an extra grandma) got a new puppy named Muffin. Sasha loves that little puppy. Jack is the black dog and he looks on protectively. (Jack was a shadow to that puppy all day. They are both Lhasa Apsos).
Driving her new wheels that she got for her Christmas present (Thanks Mike!). It was finally nice enough outside for her to drive it around.

Aww, isn't it cute?

A drawing by Sasha. I think it's cute actually. He's got the crazy eyes and that one insane eyebrow.

Reminds me of the Cyanide and Happiness comic strip.

Reading lessons

Two days ago, when it was nice outside and Sasha was playing on her swing set, I grabbed the book that I used to teach Cassie how to read, and started working on it with Sasha.
I should explain. Many years ago, when Cassie was four, I grabbed the same book and started to teach her phonics. Back then, in the early 90s, phonics were still not really the primary method of reading instruction. I believed so strongly in phonics that I took it upon myself to teach her. And thank goodness I did. Her kindergarten and first grade classes were still using methods of reading instruction that make me cringe (memorization, NOT phonics. No wonder we have so many problems with dyslexia!).
A strong reader right before her fifth birthday, Cassie was definitely a reading success. She has been a perfect speller, and a grammar fiend her entire life. When she was five, I could hand her a newspaper and have her read aloud any article to me, without fear that she'd encounter words that she couldn't pronounce. She may not have comprehended an article about economic implications of middle east sanctions, but it sure sounded cool when she read it out loud. I have video of her, at age 4, writing letters to people by herself, and sounding out words so that she could spell them. It was awesome.

Since I have the experience of teaching a child to read, I realized back then that if I had more children, I could start the process sooner. I will be better at it the second time around. I have a few benchmarks of readiness and Sasha has passed my prerequisites (a few games we play). So it's time. No pressure though. If there is any problems, I will gladly put this project off for a break.

But it's been fun! And Sasha is honestly catching on! She read her first word, phonetically today. It was the word "am". It's a start. She is able to phonetically identify the letters M, A, and S. The lessons themselves are very tiny micro-lessons. Barely 5-7 minutes each, one per day, and only done when we're both in a good mood and having fun with something else (like on the swing set!). I am flexible and patient, so if I encounter any resistance, I just stop. Toddler attention spans are very short. So far, she enjoys her lessons, and we catch her repeating her phonics to herself very quietly when she's playing by herself.

Children's minds are amazing little sponges and will absorb what they are taught. We'll see how it goes.

My resources:
Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is the book I'm using today
Why Johnny Can't Read: And What You Can Do about It Good book for it's time and has a reading primer to teach reading at the end of it. Phonics are more accepted today than a decade or two ago, so the first half of the book can be skipped.
Both books might be "outdated" but they worked for me in the 90s with my first child and I stick with what I know.

Pondering my blog

I've been lax with updating this blog since we moved to Montana back in June. Mostly because my routine was completely disrupted. I've been busy and not really chained to my computer as much as I used to.
Also, I have been thinking and wondering exactly how long am I going to keep doing this blog anyways?
For example, my older daughter Cassie is 15, almost 16. For almost as long as I've been keeping this blog, Cassie cringes and yells at me if I write or post a pic, or reference anything about her at all. She's old enough to tell me, "Mom! I really feel uncomfortable when you publish something about me in your blog".
Sasha, however, is not of an age to tell me that. I hope that someday she can look back and see that this was a labor of love. But this is definitely not a lifelong work. I can not see myself blogging about her when she's a teen. Can you imagine me in my 70's, still blogging about my 50-something child? That would be rediculous. Anyways, my point is that at some point, there is an end. I'm still trying to figure out at what point that is.
I might still have another year of blogging to go. We shall see!

Spring

Earlier this week, we had some nice weather. After being cooped-up indoors all winter, Sasha was excited to finally go outside and play on her awesome jungle gym in the back yard.
So to keep myself amused, I took out my camera and took a few pictures. While I like them all, the first one really strikes me and is now my favorite:
I LOVE this picture!
Swinging
A big smile right as she was about to slide down her slide.

February 2010- Winter fun

Christmas 2009

Catching up on a few pics from Christmas time, 2009.
Cassie
Cassie
Opening presents
Excited, jumping for joy at the present she just opened.
Shameless! She picks her nose and when we tell her to stop, she says "NO! I want to pick my nose". So I took this pic to blackmail her when she grows up.

Autumn

Just a few pics from autumn 2009:
Autumn fairy
Sasha is giving her big sister the "I'm watching you" sign and glare.
Cassie spent days slaving away, raking leaves

Pumpkin Pie

My little helper likes pumpkin pie.
A few weeks ago, my husband was given a BUNCH of small pie pumpkins by a local farmer. After baking and pureeing one pumpkin, I found that each pumpkin yields me about two pies each. That's a lot of pies. We have at least 10 pumpkins, and I've baked about 6 pies so far. Six down, fourteen to go. So we've been busy. I've been able to bake and store a few pumpkins worth of puree in the freezer, and it seems to bake okay after freezing.
Fortunately, we love the pies.