May

22

THIS is England

Adelaide / Benjy / Henry / Life Through a Lens

Perfect English holiday checklist:

Perfect travel companions:  Check

THIS is England THIS is England THIS is England

Plenty of kids to play with my perfect travel companions:  Check

THIS is England THIS is England

People willing to entertain ALL THOSE KIDS:  Check

THIS is England THIS is England THIS is England

Time in castles:  Check

THIS is England THIS is England

Incredible scenic views of pristine English countryside:  Check

THIS is England

Bows and arrows:  Check

THIS is England THIS is England

(Please note the look of ABSOLUTE PRIDE on Henry’s face.  I assure you, it was mirrored on my own.)

Trips through quaint villages- the kind with thatched roofs, and names for cottages instead of numbered addresses.  The kind that have a boat club and a local Bentley dealer.  The kind with sheep in backyards and pubs down the road:  Check

THIS is England THIS is England

Food- spicy Indian curries, pizza, burgers, scones with butter, jam, and clotted cream, fish ‘n chips, crumpets:  Check (If you are what you eat, then my kids are walking PB&J sandwiches, and I’m fat.  I’m a walking stick of fat.)

THIS is England

Classic red phone booths:  Check

THIS is England

Good conversation with great friends:  Half check- there’s never enough time to see and talk to all the great people we’ve met in England along the way.  Never ever enough time.

Last weekend, we headed to England to commemorate our 10th anniversary of studying abroad.  10 years ago, Olli and I met amongst a group of fantastic friends.  10 years ago changed my life forever.

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May

14

An American Mother

Adelaide / Benjy / Henry / Life Through a Lens

Olli had better be careful, because each year the bar for Mothers’ Day Awesomeness gets raised a little higher.

Last year was our awesome trip to Linnanmäki.  This year, we got tickets to the USA v. Germany World Cup hockey game.

We got DECKED OUT for the occasion- America shirts, red hats, Ade was dressed head to toe in American flag coveralls.  We even made signs.  Our goal was to make it to international television so my parents could see us back in Arizona.

An American Mother

Well, the bad news is we didn’t make it on TV.  But that’s because our seats were in the FOURTH ROW!!  You guys, we paid 10 bucks for these tickets.  I was expecting the nosebleeds.  In fact, I’ve never been to a professional sporting event and sat on the main floor, much less in the third row!!  It was awesome!  We were too low for the cameras to capture us, but super close to the action.  An acceptable trade off.

An American Mother

Plus!  The security guard gave Henry a puck!  Which is super awesome!  It’ll go in a case next to the baseball Benjy got at his first baseball game.  Do you reckon someone will give us a free basketball at their first pro basketball game?  Are there display cases big enough for basketballs?

An American Mother

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May

13

Care Package

Benjy / Henry / Life Through a Lens

My Aunt Kathy just sent us a care package.  It was full of some pretty amazing stuff- Rolos, ranch dressing mix, a blanket for Ade, and THE BEST OF ALL- some rad Crayola crayons (I’m a self-confessed crayon snob and Crayola are really where it’s at) and personalized coloring books.

The boys eagerly dove into their new coloring gifts- at first using them to draw normally.  Benjy colored in a beautiful bird and Henry drew three “bears.”  And, yes, by bears I mean straight brown lines.

Care Package Care Package

But then, as often happens with children, the box became far more interesting than the new toy.  Henry started it- making a claw out of the box and crayons.  Benjy soon followed suit, using the boxes as forearm shields in his suit of armor.

Care Package Care Package

 

At what age does this end?  When does a box simply remain a box?  I fear that day.  I loathe it.

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May

10

Eagle Eye

Benjy / Henry / Life Through a Lens

Benjy has taken some key steps towards becoming a man.  And I have taken some key steps of motherhood.  We are both changed forever- he into a soccer playing champion, and me into his biggest fan.

Last week, Benjy started on his first ever soccer team.

Eagle Eye Eagle Eye Eagle Eye

And, really, he’s been preparing for this moment since birth.  He’s the most enthusiastic soccer player on that field, let me tell you.

Case(s) in point:

Last time Olli went away on business, he brought shin guards and soccer socks for the boys as gifts.  Benjy wore them to bed.  He wore them to daycare.  He wore them to church.  He wears them ALL THE TIME.

He’ll go up to random kids at the park- kids who are 2 or 3 or maybe 4 years older than him and ask to join in their game of soccer.  I’m so impressed with how brave he is, approaching new people all the time, undeterred if they don’t pass him the ball or include him.  He’ll run and run and run, and play his heart out.

I distinctly remember he was just over 2 years old, we were at a friend’s house for Thanksgiving, and chaos abounded.  Kids everywhere, food everywhere, toys everywhere.  But Benjy sat perfectly still, enthralled, watching a game of soccer on TV.

So, when he got to play his first REAL bit of soccer, he was STOKED.

They warmed up with a game of tag- running back and forth between goals.  The more kids that were tagged, the more that became “it” until everyone was “it.”  So, the kids are running helter skelter when Benjy trips and goes down hard.  And THIS is why Benjy entering soccer is also a journey for me.  I wanted to pick him up and dust him off.  At the very least, I wanted to shout, “It’s alright, Benjy!  You’re okay!”  But of course, I didn’t.  I sat on the sidelines while he picked himself up, dusted himself off, and kept running until he was safe.  It’s about letting go.  And I’ll do my very best.

Of course, since Olli was there as the Finnish-speaking parent, and I was there as the unofficial photographer, it meant ALL of our kids had to be there.  Ade, of course, was content being strapped to my torso, but Henry.  Oh, poor Henry.  He was NOT okay on the sidelines.

Eagle Eye

So, we found an empty net and borrowed a kid’s ball to keep him occupied.

Another mom at the practice said she had to put her second kid in a year early, because he’d been stuck watching his brother’s practice and couldn’t wait any longer.  I see her point.  This week we just kept Henry home with me, while Benjy went to the practice.  While Benjy made a hat trick at his practice.  While Benjy eagerly and intently followed every single direction uttered by his coaches.

I can’t wait for his first game.  Ain’t no one going to cheer louder than this soccer mom.

 

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Apr

03

Trash Talk

Benjy / Life Through a Lens

Benjy’s new favorite thing to do- okay, ONE of his new favorite things to do (other favorite things include dressing up in his knight’s costume- complete with sword and shield, puzzles, PlayDough, eating Easter candy, hiding and rehiding Easter eggs, reading Dr. Seuss books, and provoking his brother until Henry full on claws Benjy’s eyes out) is play Candy Land.  We get in about 3 or 4 games a day.  I’ve tried to encourage Chutes and Ladders, too, since that helps with counting, but it definitely doesn’t give him the same thrill that Candy Land does.

I LOVE playing Candy Land with Benjy, because I’m a doer.  I’m not terribly imaginative, so I’m not very good at playing with his Moomin figurines or with his dinosaurs.  I’m not very good at dress up.  But I love DOING.  Puzzles, coloring, board games- I’m in.

Playing with Benjy is hilarious.  Almost totally ridiculous.  Because Benjy is a trash talker.  TOTAL trash talker.

The second we start playing the game, Benjy starts.  ”You’re going to get the cupcake.  I KNOW it.”  ”You’re going to get the ice cream.  I KNOW it.”  ”I’m going to win.  I KNOW it.”  I could be mere squares away from victory and he’s undeterred.  Still bringing the trash talk, still confident of his supreme skill as Candy Land master.

Trash Talk

Ps. Here he is whistling.  After he saw a kid at church had learned how, he became obsessed with whistling.  And snapping.  He can now do both and is very proud of himself (as he should be).  He’ll whistle ever so quietly and then ask, “Mom, did you hear me whistle?”

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Mar

28

Monkey see, monkey do

Benjy / Henry / Life Through a Lens

Henry has learned all sorts of things by watching his big brother.  Before he was 1, he was playing pretend with his Moomin figurines just like Benjy would do.  He learned to feed himself pretty early on.  He started talking really early, which I believe is at least partly to do with hearing his brother speak.  And he continues to learn by watching Benjy.

The other day, he started tracing his toys because he saw Benjy do it (Where Benjy got the idea, I have no idea.  I can only imagine it came from daycare).

Monkey see, monkey do

And a few weeks before THAT, he started ice skating for the first time.

Yes, ice skating.  My two year old now cross country skis AND ice skates.

Monkey see, monkey do

The funny thing about watching the two of them learn something is seeing how differently they learn.

Benjy sits and observes for a long time.  And then he does it exactly how he’s SUPPOSED to do it, even if that way is rather difficult.  For instance, when he was skiing for the first time, he used the poles and moved his skis just like everyone who has been skiing for years does it.  But Henry figured out what WORKS, even if it’s not REALLY correct.  He just sort of walked with his skis and held his poles up.

The same happened with skating.  The first time Benjy skated, he KNEW just how it should be.  You should glide from foot to foot.  But gliding is hard, so he spent a lot of time falling.  And Olli and I spent a lot of time with our backs on FIRE because we had to support him.  Henry, however, just wanted to be on the ice independently without falling, regardless of form.  He did a sort of ice-shuffle.  He spent his time in skates, but not really skating.

Two boys.  Two totally different approaches to life.

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Mar

26

Grandma has left the building

Adelaide / Benjy / Henry / Life Through a Lens

For the first few months of Benjy’s and Henry’s lives, my mom was able to stay with us in Finland.

Words cannot express what a help she was to me in those times.  She was a comfort, she was a companion, she was encouraging, she would take the kid for a few hours so I could nap restfully.  Not to mention, my mom is an awesome house guest.  She pitches in when needed, but she doesn’t try to reorganize everything.  She doesn’t point out every parenting or housekeeping mistake I make.  She lets me live my life, doesn’t make me feel like I’m under constant scrutiny.  She’s amazing.

And I’ve LOVED my mom’s extended visits.

But then my mom went out and got one of those new-fangled job things.  And, if you can believe it, her job actually expects her to WORK!  AND NOT FROM FINLAND!  I know!!  Crazy, right?!!

So, this time, when the baby was born, my mom was only with us for two weeks.  And in a blink of an eye, those two weeks were over.

And I was devastated.  So devastated that I didn’t even stop for a Starbuck’s when I dropped her off at the airport (sidenote:  I dropped her off, because I can drive now, because we bought a new car- a seven seater.  I’m officially a Mom- capital “M”).  I genuinely didn’t know how I was going to survive without her.

How I was going to survive a week alone with three kids- two of whom had the chicken pox (did I mention Ade got it, too?  Super DUPER mild case- only one big pock on her foot- a call to the children’s hospital put our minds at ease- we weren’t to panic unless she stopped eating or ran a high fever, neither of which ever occurred), without my mom and WITHOUT OLLI (he was abroad on business Thursday-Friday)…

Turns out I would survive by surviving.  And despite my deep sorrow at not having my mom there- I had a great week.

Monday morning was my first test- Olli left for work a bit after 8, and I had to entertain the kids, get them winter-ready, out the door and to daycare by 9:30.  It was outrageously easy.  Seriously.  I even had time to give my shower a scrub.  No tantrums, no fighting, no physical assaults (Henry has been clawing the HECK out of Benjy’s face recently- half the time he looks like a lion attacked him).  ”This whole 3 kid thing is a cinch!”

Okay, so the rest of the week wasn’t quite that easy, but it was, as I said pretty great.

I already told you that Henry’s chicken pox were manageable; my in-laws took the boys Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, letting me sleep in (by sleep in, I mean, of course, sleep as long as Ade sleeps, while waking up every few hours for feeding.  My teenage-self would not consider it actually sleeping in); we had gorgeous sunny weather all week, perfect for trips to the park; my in-laws were back over on Thursday evening, providing an extra set of hands during bed time routines; and Friday evening saw an eventful trip to the library.

Seriously, pretty great.

I’m going to be okay with this whole three kid thing.

Which doesn’t mean I won’t welcome my mom back with OPEN ARMS at absolutely ANY TIME she wants to join me.

Grandma has left the building

 

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Mar

25

Writing

Benjy / Life Through a Lens

Recently, I looked into what we’d have to do to get Benjy tested into American kindergarten early.  We’re planning an extended trip to the States in autumn, and I thought if he could get a bit of formal English-speaking education, all the better.

Part of the test to enter kindergarten as a four year old was being able to write his name.

Back in January, when we were in Arizona, Benjy absolutely could NOT write his name.  He knew his name started with a “B”, he knew Henry’s started with an “H”.  He knew mine started with an “M” (Mama- not Sarah).  But beyond that, nothing.  And not really any inclination to learn.  And I had no inclination to push him (after subbing at a Finnish daycare, I fully subscribe the Finnish method of letting kids be kids- there’s plenty of time for schooling later on).

Fast forward 2 months, and Benjy CAN write his name along with a bunch of other random letters.  Random letters, that when combined, spell the most important words of all:  Woody, Buzz, Andy.

Writing

 

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Mar

16

Pox of the chicken variety

Benjy / Life Through a Lens

Ade was 12 hours old. My gorgeous children and husband and mom and in-laws were all in the maternity ward’s kitchen, gathered around looking at her for the first time.  I looked in the faces of those that loved me, that I loved right back, and was content.

Until someone pointed out the spot.

The spot on Benjy’s neck.  The spot that was strikingly similar to a chicken pox spot.  The spot that led us to find similar spots on his torso and back.

The spot.

The next day, with the spread of the spots, we determined it was indeed the chicken pox.  We talked to the doctor, we looked online, everyone agreed there was no risk to Ade- she was protected by my placenta and breast milk.  Like a superhuman antibiotic shield.

So, I wasn’t worried on a health level.  I knew he’d survive.  I knew she’d survive.

But my plans of a peaceful first week at home with my baby while the kids were happily in daycare were DASHED TO PIECES.  Now I was going to have a newborn AND a quarantined four year old to care for.  God help us if Henry got them at the same time and ALL THREE KIDS were at home that first week.

Well, thank heavens for small miracles, Henry didn’t get it that first week.  We’re betting he’s waiting until the baptism to become infectious…

And Benjy bore the disease with admirable grace.  He didn’t have a fever.  He didn’t scratch.  He didn’t need cold baths in the middle of the night.  He was, apart from scabs and blisters, a perfectly healthy boy.

Therein lay the problem.  He was totally healthy and totally active and TOTALLY IN QUARANTINE.  What could I do with a kid who didn’t nap, who didn’t rest, who wanted to GO GO GO in an itty bitty flat with a newborn??!

Well, puzzles.  Painting.  Ice skating.

Pox of the chicken variety

And dress up.

Pox of the chicken variety

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Feb

20

When the light is good…

Benjy / Henry

Bust out the camera.  And the swords, helmet, and… goggles?

When the light is good... When the light is good...

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