Trains: Take Two

Yee-hah! Cowboy Nate enjoyed Rodeo Roundup at school.

Nathan and his favorite train, Percy.

Nathan had a lesson in Primary about talents. Nathan told his teacher his talent is playing with his train set with his sister. I told him he does do a good job playing with her, and he's also good at building different train sets, changing it up every time he puts it together. Nathan started collecting wooden Thomas the Train items around age three, and he seemed to put it behind him for a while when he turned four. He got back into it by watching clips of kids playing on YouTube, and now he wants to play with it every day. I find the tracks stretching down the hall or going under our couch or shaped in figure eights or ovals in his bedroom. He's really creative with it.

It's cute when Nathan comes up to Sophia and says, "Come play train set with me." I remind him to add "please." When he asks me to play, I feel a stab of guilt when I tell him "not now" because I know how much he enjoys it. I try to play a little with him each day.

One talent Nathan doesn't have is eating well. He is an extremely picky eater. He won't touch fruits or veggies or bread or much of what Dan and I eat. If I ask, "Who's going to eat a bite of plum?" he'll shout out, "Sophia!" If I tell him he has to eat a bite or get nothing but a drink, he'll choose nothing. I enjoy food and I especially like eating healthy foods, so this has been a challenge for me as a Mom. I manage to get him to try things with his tongue, but that's it. Since Nathan likes trains so much, Dan and I decided to reward him with a train toy if he ate peanut butter on bread (he normally eats peanut butter by itself). Dan made tiny PB sandwiches for all four of us (really tiny -- he quartered a quarter slice of bread). He cut them up and we all had to eat them, and if he did, we would go to the store. Nathan ate it! It took him a few tries and a few gagging sounds, but he actually ate it. He did it a few more times too. So we went to Barnes & Noble for Family Night, and he bought a quarry mine tunnel to add to his set. Eating bread is still hard for him, and he still refuses it at church, but we wanted to reward him for his progress. Now I need to keep at it! My dream is one day he'll ASK for a sandwich ...

Quotes of the week:

"I look beautiful!" Nathan, looking at his new haircut in the mirror last week at Dollar Cuts.
"I cry when my Mom and Dad cut my hair, but I like it here." Nathan to the hair stylist. He chatted away with her, talking about how he's not supposed to come out of his room at night.
"Waffle?" Sophia, making a request as she pulls the Reddi-wip cream from the fridge. She likes waffles for breakfast.
"Mommy talked! Papa talked!" Sophia, copying what Nathan does when someone loses the Quaker meeting game in the car.

Grateful moment:

I'm thankful for books because they allow the cheapest form of travel and provide everything from entertainment to art to information. I've started reading books about manners to Nathan, and it's great to see him make connections between what the characters are doing and how he should act. Reading is one of my greatest pleasures, and I read with my children every night to share this joy with them. One of our current favorites is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Sophia's 2nd Birthday

Sophia's so happy to be two!

Sophia turned two years old on Sunday. She had a fun party at Grandma and Grandpa Drake's house. I made a Dora birthday cake (yellow cake, chocolate frosting per Dan's request), and she even said, "happy birthday" while she ate it up. She got a Dora telephone that says, "Hola, Sophia!" from her Mom and Dad along with a few outfits. Grandma and Grandpa Drake got her a cute pink soccer ball and a Dora beanie babies doll and a darling dress and shirts. Sophia got really excited about the candy from Deanne. She received a book, My First Book of Mormon Stories, that she called "baby book" and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Rogers, who saw the party via a webcam on their laptop. Sophia had a wonderful fiesta!

She wanted to play with the soccer ball right away.

She gobbled up the cake.

Run, Sophia, run!

I love this picture of Sophia. We were at Nathan's soccer game, and she kicked a soccer ball all over the place, interfering in two different games. When the boy reclaimed his ball, she took off running down the field. Sophia is so many things -- she is petite and sweet, yet she is also a whirlwind of activity. She got more exercise than some of the soccer players!

Two wins!

"Here comes the sun ..."

I entered a poem, an essay, and the first chapter of a novel in the League of Utah Writers' annual competition. The winners were announced at the conference, or Roundup, which took place this past weekend in Ogden. The president of the LUW called Monday morning to tell me I placed first for my poem and essay. That made my day!

The theme for 2008 was "Dig Deep -- Find the Writer Within." However, I didn't have to dig too deep for my material. My essay, entitled "My Little Boy Marvel," encompasses Nathan's experiences at The Learning Center and the county preschool when I thought he had high-functioning autism. I had a 1,200 word limit, and after I got through the background story, I barely had time to write about the present. I wrote it a few days before I sent everything in, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive first place.
My poem, called "stockholm in st. george," won first from the humorous poetry category. Those who know me well know I dislike cold weather. And I feel cold easily. The worst thing about living in Boston was the lingering winter. Dan, on the other hand, could sleep in the snow every night and enjoy it. Dan likes to keep the house as chilly as a meat locker, while I find it more comfortable outside (in the evenings at least). So this poem involves our differences in that regard. Writing this poem felt very therapeutic. (Don't you all think it would be nicer to live in Hawaii than Alaska? Italy rather than Sweden? Who's with me?) I'm sharing my poem with y'all.

stockholm in st. george

my brown, hooded jacket shields
the onslaught of life-sucking,
chill-to-the-bone air pumping
from venemous vents in my home.
ceiling fan blades churn above my
head like a helicopter in flight.
i read with a blanket tucked
under my chin as my husband
tampers with the computer --
click, click, tap of the mouse --
nearly naked and not shivering.
he lived in sweden once.
i throw off layers of protection
and abandon this ice prison;
i fling the door wide, step
out to welcome the slap of heat
as warm as a lover's tight embrace
and curse the day i let myself
lose the thermostat war.

It's inspired by Dan in more ways than one. One of his classic exclamations is "Curses!" We agree on many things, but when it comes to temperature, we're opposites. I love the sun, what can I say. I didn't attend Roundup, but I read my poem and essay excerpt tonight at our chapter's monthly meeting. They had many poetry categories, and I really liked one that placed in the love poetry category by a sweet "grandma" in our group. She called it "First Love," and it was about how she's glad they didn't end up together, watching each other deteriorate. She said she wanted to remember him as he looked then, and she hoped he thought of her as that picture of youth too. What a sweet poem; she won second place.

My First Chapter of a Novel didn't place. Someone at our meeting, who will host the judging for next year, said they received over 30 entries. Second place went to a woman from our chapter. I looked at my critique, and the judge said I didn't have enough or really any conflict. It is true there isn't much tension right away. The judge would have to read more to know where I was going, and it is more of a character development book rather than an action-packed book. I wonder if I need more conflict ...
Anyway, next year they are openinig up ALL the categories to nonmembers of the LUW. So let me know if you're interested, and I'll give you the scoop on next year's contest. The theme is "esoterica."

Soccer Season

Go Flying Cougars!

Nathan celebrates his teammate's goal.

We signed up Nathan for another season of KICKS soccer this fall. It's getting cooler outside, and it's fun to head to the soccer fields near Dixie College as a family to watch him play. As a Mom, I've decided autumn is my favorite season -- school starts up, it's cool enough to play sports and hike outside, the leaves change color (a little north of us), and it's BYU football season. Go Cougars!

Nathan is getting better at going after the ball and blocking kicks. He'll get upset when his team is playing and not doing well, and he'll forget he needs to play and starts shouting. He'll also stop to cheer when they're doing well. His coach asked what they wanted to be called, and half the boys wanted Fly Boys, and half wanted Cougars (my suggestion -- after all, their colors are blue and white!). So I think the name became Flying Cougars. Sounds perfect for five-year-olds. I like how KICKS soccer has the boys play three-on-three so there's more personal contact with the ball.

Nathan came home from school Friday super excited to show us his "Monster Color Book." He had it memorized and smiled as he read the pages. He wanted to read it to Sophia and probably read it ten times that day. He especially liked "green, green is dancing queen."

Sophia is starting to be a mini Me. She has copied cleaning for a while and trying on Mommy's shoes, but now she'll copy what I say while I talk to others and imitate my hand gestures. Unfortunately, she has also copied Nathan's screams and inclination to hit -- or maybe it's the other way around (since I do have to remind Nathan to "talk like a big boy").

Quotes of the week:

"Bye bus, bye Nathan." Sophia, after we see her brother off for school.

"I don't want Sophia to be cute anymore." Nathan, vying for attention.

Grateful moment:

I'm thankful for the peaceful quiet that fills the home during nap time (and while Nate's at school); I hope Sophia will take naps till she's three. Sometimes silence is sublime.