Thank you

I hate thank you notes.

I hate getting them (because I feel wasteful just throwing them away but there's not much else to do with them), and I hate sending them (because I procrastinate and then stress about it).

But of course I love the idea of being thankful and I want Van to understand that too.

So this year we tried making Thank You videos.

We got out each toy from his party and I told him who got it for him and asked him what he liked about it. We talked about needing to thank people and tell them that we appreciate them getting presents for us.
Then I pressed record and tried to let him lead it, coaching if he got off track.

He loved watching them afterwards.
He got really excited about random screaming though, he would throw in a scream and think it was really funny. When it got too disruptive I had to tell him I didn't want screaming in the Thank You videos.
Then I let him make one video, just for him, that was all screaming. He really liked that.

Some examples are posted below.

Anna & Laura (Chris and Lily)

Another take

Clem

Mom and Dad

Mom and dad take 2

Aunty Svea

Aunty Svea the long version

This one is kind of long, and you can see the screaming problem in it, but has one of my favorite parts.

Van, talking about his toy: "I like this because it doesn't come off. I don't want the top part to come off by itself--" (pulls the top off while he's talking) "--it comes off… Well I don't worry because I don't want THIS to come off."(grabs another piece and tests it just be sure)

Aunty Hogean

Aunty Hogean - Original cut

This is the first video we made. I did Q&A format here, but after this I decided it would be better to let Van do most of the talking.

Doctor appointment statistics

Esther
9 months, 3 weeks
Weight: 24 lbs, 98th percentile
Height: 30.5 in, >99th percentile
Head 45 cm, 75th percentile

Van 
4 years
Weight: 44.8 lbs, 96th percentile
Height 43 in, 95th percentile
BP: 88/50
Vision: 20/40

Sorry Van, bad vision comes from your mom and dad.

Teamwork

12/21/2013

Van and Esther had their doctors appointments yesterday. Van 4 years, Esther 9 months. Everyone is great, still consistent on their growth curves, both in the 95+ percentiles for height and weight.

The doctor thought Van was great. He asked him what color my shirt was, and Van told him it was blue like the ocean. The doctor smiled and said, "He is a smart little guy, that was more intelligent then you might realize."

Duh, I thought, who do you think you're talking to? I live with him! I am amazed by the stuff he says every day. I made a blog entry on his first similie. In fact, I had to create the blog just to record a portion of the great stuff he says. Of course I think he's special and smart and wonderful, I'm his mom! How could you think I never realized this before? 

But I just smiled and nodded. 

However to back up my argument, here are some great Van quotes from today

Van: "Mom, can I have some orange juice with my crepes please?"
Me: "Yes. Van that sure was a nice way of asking, I really liked it."
Van: "Yes. If you ask 'can I have some orange juice?' you won't get some. But if you say, 'can I have some orange juice please?' nicely like that. then you'll get some. That's how you get the things you want."
Me: "That's right."
Van: "Were you thinking what I was thinking?"
Me: "About getting orange juice?"
Van: "No about eating crepes. Were you thinking what I was thinking?"
Me: "Sure"
Van: "It's a wonderful day for eating crepes."
Me: "It sure is."

***

Then later Van was mad at me and said,
"You know, something smells fishy and YOU'RE catching fish. That's just how it is."

***

"Let's pick up some more toys, we're cleaning machines!"
 - Van, enthusiastically helping me pick up the 'toy bedroom'

***

Van's watching his favorite pretend dinosaur documentary 'Chased by Dinosaurs'. The man in the movie is watching some footage they made by attaching a camera to one of the prehistoric sharks.

Van: "I'm watching two movies mom"
Me: "What?"
Van: "I'm watching two movies, because I'm watching the movie in the movie."

First Barrette

That cute little hair is getting longer, it's almost time for accessories!

Corn on the cob

Putting those first 6 teeth to use.

Van's 4th Birthday

Here are some pictures from Van's dinosaur themed party. This came together because of all the help from friends and family. What a great day.

Grandma made this awesome volcano cake.

Grandma also set the table, complete with prehistoric plants and fossils.

Fossil centerpiece

The rock vases from our wedding are very versatile, work well with wedding or dinosaur theme.

The fossil dig. 

(plastic dinosaurs, rocks and plants in Plaster of Paris, ready to be smashed apart by paleontologists)

The living room side.

The birthday side, complete with my birthday helper.

All ready for some birthday fun.

A beautiful prehistoric table.

Emily made these awesome dinosaur platters! This one has 'dinosaur toenails' in it.

This one is holding 'dinosaur poop'

And this guy has cupcakes.

Singing happy birthday.

4 candles, all out, hooray!

snacking on some lava

Below are all the pictures from the fossil dig. 

I wasn't sure how it would work. It was a little terrifying, but ultimately a fun activity. A central smashing block might have been helpful. The cardboard on the floor absorbed the force of the hammers, making it so that the kids needed to hit harder to break open the plaster. And the last thing you want is 3-6 year olds swinging hammers over their heads. 

But in the end we figured it out; no one got hurt and everyone had fun. 

Solvej, digging out a fossil.

Finn going after a fossil

Van breaking into one.

Ava smashing a fossil

Laura and Anna completing an excavation.

Ava and Lars directing a dig

Whew! What a fun day. I'm exhausted, I think everyone will sleep well tonight. 

First School Picture

This is going on my desk first thing tomorrow. How could anyone be so cute!

Christmas program

Van at his pre-school christmas program. He was gone the two weeks leading up to it, but was still able to join in.
I heard he jumped up and attempted an awesome 360 at one point but just missed the landing. We'll work on his moves for next year.