Nashville Glewwe Kids

Megan was invited to a celebration for Katherine’s 4th birthday at Sweet and Sassy in Franklin. The prince fell asleep on the way, so the Queen took the Princess in the Party while the lowly King disguised himself as a lowly guard and watched over the slumbering Prince in the chariot. Princess Megan made her parents proud when they wanted to put nail polish and makeup on her; she said “I’m not supposed to put on makeup!” The Queen gave her a special writ allowing the application of makeup and praised her for her forthrightness with the royal dressers. There were about a dozen girls at the party, and they were all dressed up in gowns, giving hair-dos, fingernail polish, and a little makeup. They then took pictures of the girls on a lighted catwalk, paraded around a bit, and then introduced singly them all based on interviewing the child as they walked out on the catwalk again.

Princess Megan, ruler of Megan’s  Kingdom

Motto: Always wear pink

Royal Pet: Giraffe

Megan is crazy for giraffes. Music class songs that involve the children suggesting animals or things to ride on invariably get a response of “Giraffe!” from Megan. Tough one: what sound does a giraffe make? (answer: “Munch!”)

Megan thoroughly enjoyed the pizza, cupcake, and present opening parts of the party that occured next. It all ended with the guests getting a small gift bag. The bag contained lots of fun things Megan was excited about including a jump rope. I guess the old man has to show her how it is done (I can jump rope you know).

The past two nights I have been the holder of Michael until he goes to sleep. Sandra was out Wednesday night, so while Megan listened to Teddy Ruxpin, Michael cuddled with me downstairs. He got playful and started giving me zorberts and then grinning as I laughed. He went on for ten minutes or so until I actively tried to quiet him into sleep. He repeated the performance last night. We had a great time.

Michael’s other expressions:
- Hat! Just the sign, not the word, but he often indicates when he has seen a hat.

-Flower- he’s been doing this sign for a while.

- Hot. Again, sign only, but he uses it very correctly! He had been consistently using it near the oven or stove, but recently used the sign while at Cracker Barrel when we passed the fireplace.

Animal noises, etc:
- Michael makes the elephant sign!

- For “monkey,” Michael makes the sign and hoots. It’s great! Of course, he calls some things monkeys which clearly aren’t. Like, raccoons for one.

Michael has recently been making leaps and bounds in the expressive language department. He is working hard on learning new signs and new words each day. Examples include:
- Mine! Michael says “mine!” often! Megan taught him this word, since he often takes her things. I’ve encouraged her to only say “mine” when it’s her cup he’s stealing; I’m working on teaching them to share better.

- “Cooka”- This is how Michael says cookie. He makes the sign, too! We did some baking for goodies at church on Palm Sunday, and all day long I thought he was coming and pointing to the table and saying “cookie,” but no one (read: Grant) believed me. On Sunday, I loaded Michael into the car and then went for cookies. As I brought them to the car, he pointed to the container and clearly said “cooka.” I rejoiced, but still- Grant didn’t hear, and didn’t believe. Several times over the next few days, Michael and I worked on reinforcing sign and word and showing together. Thursday evening, at the mall, Grant challenged him, saying “I’ll buy you a cookie if you say the word.” Michael immediately signed and said the word. Grant had to buy the cookie.

- Bye. I can’t even think of how to write the way Michael says Bye. He almost whispers it, waving at the person to whom he wishes to leave, a southern “bye” gently springing from his little tongue. He doesn’t even smile when he says it; he’s obviously putting serious thought into sending people away. He also says “bye” when he’s ready to leave somewhere.

-Cup. No word yet, but he and I are working on the sign!

-Cheese. He CLEARLY has this sign ready to go! He’s used it several times to request cheese and seems to be working on saying it.

-Eat. This is a new one, and he’s only done the sign a couple times, but they were at totally appropriate moments.

-Help. I’m likely more motivated than he is on this one, but it’s because I want him to sign or talk rather than scream when he is stuck or can’t pick something up. He gets so frustrated so fast! At dance practice the other night, he couldn’t get the cup out of the cup holder on the stroller. He grunted and screamed and pointed, but I made good eye contact and refused to assist him until he made the help sign. He did it!

Maybe Grant has more examples he can think of; I’m out for now.

I’m trying to put the Disney stuff out a little at a time so as to prevent anyone throwing up in their mouth a little from all the cuteness. However, I can’t not put these pictures online to share. They are too cute!

We had several different encounters with royalty. On Tuesday, our 4th (?) day in the parks, we brought to the park a Belle dress that one of Megan’s friends let her borrow. We knew we were dining with Cinderella that night and that Megan would get a kick out of being a princess, too. At some point in the day we headed to Toon Town to wait to meet three princesses: Princess Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle. While in line, we put Megan in the Belle dress and she even allowed me to brush her wet hair and pull it up! Here are the results:

First, Princess Aurora:

Then Cinderella, who helps Megan a bit with some royal manners:

Then Belle, who teaches Megan to curtsey, chats with Megan for QUITE a while (we have the video to prove it!), then dances with her:

Nana saw how much Megan enjoyed playing dress up, so she bought Megan a Cinderella dress and “glass” slippers for our dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Mima begged Megan to get an up-do at Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boutique, Mima’s treat, but Megan would only allow for a headband. We changed Megan into this second princess dress of the day just outside of Cinderella’s castle and after she was photographed with Cinderella, she started up the spiral staircase. She paused long enough for me to get a shot of her with her newly acquired wand, though:

Oh, but that’s not all! On Thursday, we went to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot and had lunch with 5 princesses! Well, maybe 4 princesses plus Alice. Anyway, Megan wore her Cinderella dress again and had a more formal picture with Belle before we were seated. During the course of lunch, Princess Aurora, Cinderella, Alice, and Ariel made the rounds to sign autographs and be photographed with each child. Michael was more interested in his food, but Megan loved it! Here’s a picture of Megan with Ariel:

We had one other visit with Ariel in her “before” pose, at her grotto. Note how my child is relaxed enough to just chat away with royalty. You gotta’ love it!

Now, beg as you might, I will likely NOT put more Disney pictures on the web. After all, we have videos and a scrapbook and a photo album we’d HAPPILY show you should you ever be foolish enough to ask…

It’s been one of those days- for the past couple of weeks. The kids have both been whiny and needy and snotty, so I’ve been frustrated and tired and snot-covered. Lovely. The day we got back from Disney, Megan had a fever. I gave her Tylenol and the fever went away, never (?) to be heard from again. We even went to the park that afternoon, just so the kids could get out. Her snotty nose and cough remain, but the doctor said she was fine.

Fast forward about 9 days. Michael got a fever last Thursday and slept very little that night. Friday, we went to the doctor. No ear infection, no wheezing, no visible problems, but she put him on antibiotics just to be safe. As we arrived home from the pharmacy, Michael started shivering and trembling. The medicine I offered him went straight down his shirt; I barely got him to open his mouth for the second attempt. I was terrified. A call to the doctor, Grant, and my mom lead to a bath while Grant’s parents and uncle came to supervise Megan. It was a terrible afternoon! Michael’s fever lasted until the wee small hours of Sunday morning, then snuck out of the house like a roach under the door.

Relief, right? No. This morning (Tuesday, I think), I noted that Michael had a rash on his torso. It turns out that Grant and I had both sort of noticed it last night, but thought it might be related to other things going on (throwing fits until he was red in the face, taking a bath, etc.). Since it was still there this morning, I took him to the doctor, fully expecting this might indicate an allergy to the medicine, fearing what that could mean for my baby. Turns out I was wrong: Michael has Roseola. Okay. What does that mean? She said something about not worrying about whether Megan would get it, and that it would go away. I left the office and headed for Target (we’re looking for Easter shoes for Megan. I know- wrong time, eh?), letting Grant in on the diagnosis. He read more and said we needed to not let the kids be around other kids for a few days. Oops- we have ALL sorts of plans that won’t work with! It’d be another 4 paragraphs if I told you all that, though.

Anyway, we’re in Target, and I talk to my mom a bit on my cell; she agrees with Grant, of course. I hate that! We get what we need and head down the aisle to look at one last thing before leaving. Megan decides to not listen to my request to stay by my side, so I pull Michael out of the cart and make Megan ride. I hang up with Mom then try to get Michael to go the way I want to go. He doesn’t. I pick him up and carry him in my left arm, facing out from me, his bottom basically sitting on my hip. He starts coughing, then starts puking. Out of habit, I hold him out, trying to get less of the puke on us. He stops puking and starts crying, and I start working on what I’m to do next. I’d just seen and elderly gentleman, obviously a Target employee, walk by, so I start calling out “Sir? Sir?” Nothing. Nearby, women have turned to watch me, but no one is coming to my rescue; I have Typhoid Moe in my arms, after all. I then say “I need help! I need Target help! I’m going to walk away from this vomit on the floor if I don’t get help!”

That produced results. A much younger, abler Target employee came running around the corner. He looked at us, walked two aisles away, and produced a cone to alert others to the vomit and a roll of paper towels. Before he even bothered with the cone setup, he started unrolling the towels and asking how much I needed. He took care of us first! Megan asked something and I answered something about him coming to help us, even though this wasn’t his plan for work today. He reassured me that it was fine, saying “I have 3 kids myself at home. This is no problem.” Another Target guy came to offer him some assistance, and I was able to walk away, looking somewhat better than I smelled (Michael got my sleeve), forever grateful to the Target guy who came to not only do his job but to offer me a bit of comfort when I needed it. Bless him!

When we first arrived at the Orlando airport on Friday the 20-somethingth, we loaded the kids into our rental car (a 2008 4-Runner, BTW; Grant was a happy boy!) and headed out to Daytona Beach. We paid our $5 fee to get on the beach, found a parking spot, and got out of the car. We immediately decided that the day was ripe for a barefoot walk on the beach, so we stripped all of us of our shoes and began our adventure. Grant and I each rolled up the legs on our jeans in the (futile) hopes of keeping them dry. We left Megan in her capris and stripped Michael down to just his Alaska onesie.

Megan immediately started her “I don’t want to see the ocean! I don’t want to get wet! I don’t want to surf!” cries, but I dragged her to the ocean anyway. She and Michael were both none-too-pleased at the way the waves would sneak up and get them, but they eventually relaxed and began to enjoy the water soon. Megan even picked up some seashells to bring home! I told the kids that the ocean was a shy friend, coming up to tickle their toes and invite them to play with her; it was their job to decide to welcome her into their world. We both brought up references to Backyardigans episodes and Eric Carle’s 10 Little Rubber Ducks to make the ocean seem less like a stranger and more like an old aunt we just haven’t seen in a while. In the end, we had to drag the kids off the beach! Here are some pictures from our brief visit:
-First, I had to get pictures of the ocean tickling my babies’ feet:

and Michael:

Aren’t those the cutest little legs you’ve ever seen?

-Megan spent a lot of time walking near the water’s edge, only to try to run away when the water came up to greet her. I loved it!

-A picture showing off Megan in her adorable Nashville Zoo hat (though it now has a competitor, a precious purple princess hat from Disney!):

Note that her little pants are soaked. She’s not very good at outrunning the ocean!

-Here are Grant and Michael. Michael got a little wet, too. He generally loves water, but was a little unsure of the water being the one to initiate contact! It was a cold surprise for him, I’m afraid, and not one he generally welcomed.

-And here’s one of me and the kids. Getting them to both look at the camera and grin is completely out of the question, but this at least proves we were all there together:

Okay, I now have a scroll bar in my typing window, a sure sign that I’ve gone on too long. However, I want to show this one last picture of Michael. Poor guy. He’s so good at living up to the title “toddler.” He fell down numerous times and the ocean got him several more and, well, he ended up covered in sand from head to toe. Before we put him in his seat, we stripped him down, changed his diaper, cleaned as much sand as we could and wiped off all remaining traces of the ice cream Grant bought to share with the kids on the beach. We just didn’t dress him again. That came down the road, after he napped a bit.

One of the joys of being the parent going to the office everyday is the greeting I get when I come home. Yesterday when I arrived home, I came up the stairs to the gate and waited to be noticed. I didn’t wait long. Both children came tor the gate grinning ear to ear. Little hands reached through to touch my face. I eventually raised my face over the gate, and Megan wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. It was very gratifying. I wish I could have gotten video of the moment.

Somehow, all life-sized characters whose costumes don’t allow human faces to be revealed have become “monsters” to Megan. This includes Mickey and Minnie mouse, but excludes princesses, who are clearly humans in pretty dresses. Megan started out apprehensive about approaching MIckey (her first character of the week), but even kissed him on the nose before she left. Of course, she then said “I don’t want to see any more monsters today.” I respected that; it was our first day, after all.
By the end of the week though, Megan LOVED meeting the various monsters. Here she is with Quincy and June from Little Einsteins. (we met Annie and Leo later in the week)

Here’s one more shot, this time of her with the Big Cheese Himself: (their second meeting)

Michael seemed quite ambivalent about the character greeting, and though we encouraged, we never forced him to have his picture made with anyone. He did like Cinderella though. When we met the three princesses, she was the only one he’d sit still for.

Of all the characters and monsters we met though, the Ugly Stepsisters and the Stepmother were my favorite. These women were hilarious! If ever I am invited to a costume party again, I want to go as Drucilla or Anastasia. All of the “cast members” at Disney stay in character so well, and I think if I had to be that nice to people all day I’d kill someone, but these two get to have all sorts of fun! Here’s a shot of Megan with them:

Megan was quick to determine her favorite rides at Magic Kingdom, and poor little Michael was just obliged to follow along and ride when he was allowed. Next time, he’ll have a say in where we go, too.
Megan loved the teacups, and we rode them SEVERAL times during our visit. She rode in every combination possible, but here she is with her Nana and Grandpa:

She also drove on the Indy Speedway three different times, each time with a different victim (passenger). My parents took her the first time, and I was more than a little surprised to have them come back telling me that Megan drove Mom in one car and Dad went on his own. Of course, Dad had to tell me this; Mom was still laughing over Megan exclaiming “I’m driving like a crazy woman!” when they first set out. Megan later drove her own daddy, then drove me. We have photos from the first two experiences:

Megan also wanted to ride Dumbo every time we entered the gates of the Magic Kingdom, and we rode that in several different combinations. She also loved the Cinderella Carousel and LOUDLY demanded It’s a Small World an extra time on our last day in the park. My Mema would’ve been so proud! Haunted Mansion has been expanded to include additional souls, and it was a favorite for most of the adults. Megan had a love/hate relationship with it, but we only went on it a couple times while there. She soon tired of boat rides, fearing that she would get wet every time she got on one. It’s a Small World was the exception, of course. What started the fear of boat rides was our giving in to her request to go on the Kali River Rapids in Animal Kingdom on our FIRST day in the parks. Megan is 37.5 inches in her bare feet, but with shoes, made the 38″ cut. She and Grant and I rode, and we got SOAKED. By the end, she was clear in saying “I want off of this thing!” She is nothing if not articulate. Here’s one last shot, of her and Grant moments after the ride:

I feel that I must tell you that yes, the high was only in the 70s that day, but it was rainy, and the girl did have fun. AND I convinced her to change into dry clothes later (and I mean several hours later, but she was still wet!) when I showed her that her backup outfit featured the Disney Princesses. Oh well.
Off to bed. More stories later!