Rivendell

We selected a preschool for Max. It's called Rivendell on Third Ave and President - nearby. Montessori. He liked his visit there last week, and it was lucky we came off the waitlist just as we had to make our difficult decision. It's 5 days, but shorter days. We signed him up for 3 extended days when I will work, but I don't want to have babysitting otherwise.

The focus of the classroom is on toys that are very simple, but teach important concepts. I think it will help him learn to love learning, spend time with other kids on a regular basis, and get introduced to basic academic concepts to prepare him for school.

Sibling harmony

I just want to record that Max has not hurt Eliza in 2 or maybe even 3 days. Part of this is my whisking her away a lot (Rick does this too). But another part is Max. Something's changing. He responds to the idea of "being safe" with Eliza.

This morning, he was coming out a funk, finally eating when she woke up. I brought her out and he wanted nothing but to take her in his arms. I held her close to him for a hug, and he touched her gently, smiled at her, spoke to her in a soft voice, and could not suppress a huge ear to ear grin that she wanted to be with him.

Meanwhile, Eliza's eyes were opened as wide as she could, as if she wanted to fill her brain with Max, and she was smiling too.

Grown up

Today Max climbed into his car seat by himself while I was putting Eliza in the other side. I was putting bags in the front, checking directions, and as I was starting to shut Max's door, he said, "Hey, would you do me a favor and put this strap on?"

Balloons are so last year

At the nursery/florists, the cashiers asked Max if he wanted a balloon. "No," he said. Are you sure? Yes, he insisted, and we went blithely outside and he didn't mention it again.

Which brings me to think about how he recently has only enjoyed balloons when he is able to release them straight up into the air as soon as he gets outside with them. He doesn't cry or get sad. When I tried to force him to keep a balloon, and explained how the balloons pop and become litter and birds eat them and die, he only seemed to be more excited. After Niamh's birthday on Sunday, he released his balloon directly on stepping out her front door, and then said, "Now the birds are going to get the balloon in their belly and choke!" Niamh's father was like, "What?" and I just shrugged as if I had no idea what Max was talking about.

Cleaning the Basement

To counteract the stress of school, I want to record one moment that took place yesterday. After being out in the morning and having a playdate with Aedan, Sarah, and Maggie, Max, Eliza, and I came home and drifted into the basement so Max could bring his new hulahoop (we found it in some neighbors' trash) into the yard. I took the opportunity to put Eliza in her gymini and start to clean the basement. Max was instantly into it -- insisting on doing all the mopping by himself, and talking at great length about how his friends could not step on the mop, which means where the floor was wet. He played on and off and helped me clean, and then at the end, I was feeling bad for giving him nothing in his life but activities that were really all about my goals, so I lay down on the floor and gave him airplane rides. We ended up rolling around on the carpet, laughing. It's how we used to spend a lot of time when he was a very little baby and I needed to stretch out my back after carrying him around so much. Eliza was right there with us, learning to roll a little bit herself.

Cleaning the Basement

To counteract the stress of school, I want to record one moment that took place yesterday. After being out in the morning and having a playdate with Aedan, Sarah, and Maggie, Max, Eliza, and I came home and drifted into the basement so Max could bring his new hulahoop (we found it in some neighbors' trash) into the yard. I took the opportunity to put Eliza in her gymini and start to clean the basement. Max was instantly into it -- insisting on doing all the mopping by himself, and talking at great length about how his friends could not step on the mop, which means where the floor was wet. He played on and off and helped me clean, and then at the end, I was feeling bad for ignoring him so much, so I lay down on the floor and gave him airplane rides. We ended up rolling around on the carpet, laughing. It's how we used to spend a lot of time when he was a very little baby and I needed to stretch out my back after carrying him around so much. Eliza was right there with us, learning to roll a little bit herself.

School

The preschool debate goes on -- Max is signed up to go to Spanish language emersion school next year, but as he gets closer to being the age he'll be in the fall, I'm starting to see how much he would get out of a 5 day, longer morning experience. And also to doubt whether he will be able to rise to the challenge of learning in Spanish. Last night, Rick and I discussed it for hours, consulted Sophie, who is an expert at this agonizing kind of decision-making, and decided in the end to stick with the Spanish. They can offer an extended day until 2:30pm if I need it, and their materials indicate they offer more flexibility than the playgroup we'd attended indicates. But I was up at 2:30 in the morning with Eliza and have not gone back to sleep. (It's after 6 now.)