small visitor

So we've been a little busy here -- we had a small friend staying with us for a few days, and since he was sleeping in the computer room, I haven't had time to blog. We had a great time while he was here. Thankfully he's a very easy kid and only cried when he wanted out of his crib in the morning or once when he dropped something on his foot. That makes me cry too. It was really fun watching our kids interact together -- we know VR well, but it's different when we have him full-time. Check out the photo of the two boys together -- why does VR have his hood up? Because M does. They were in the swings at the same time and VR did everything M did -- put his hood up, held onto a certain part of the swing, kicked his feet, etc. Pretty cute. We got lots of funny looks -- the two 2-year-olds are literally a head different in height, so they look like they could be year-apart siblings. 3 small kids in CZ? Crazy.

Spring is finally here and the weather's great! Leaves are out on most of the trees and there are still blossoms on a lot of them. Every year I forget how beautiful and green Prague is in the summer. We've had quite a wet spring this year, but even so, I don't think we'll get springtime floods, since there wasn't much snow this year.

Kid quote:

M: V, don't you want some pants on?

V: Yeah! (dancing and singing) Pants song, pants song, pa-aaants song!

kid quote

M, on the phone: Hola! M Wicker's Repair Shop. I break it, you fix it.

lack of sleep

I usually get plenty of sleep these days, so the lack of sleep in our house is not mine, but rather my children's and, chronically, my husband's, but that's a different post altogether. M just turned 4 and has been fighting naps for half a year now. We have quiet time when V naps and sometimes M takes a nap, too. The "sometimes" is the problem -- unlike some miracle children who will just collapse when they need a nap, M has to be prompted, coaxed, bribed and otherwise coerced into taking one, even when he's desperately tired. And I still don't notice all the symptoms of when he needs a nap until it's too late! So today was another day when he got totally out of control before I finally figured out that he absolutely had to have a nap, even though it was already after 3. And for good or ill, V was still asleep because she and I ran all over town this morning and she walked most of the way. What a trooper! Anyway, it always seems like other people's kids can handle lack of sleep better than mine can, and don't get as supercrank, but that's probably just an illusion. I hope.

Speaking of naps, here's a funny conversation we had yesterday when M and I went together to pick V up after her nap.

M: I'm Captain Moroni!

V: I'm Ham!

Me: You're what? Ham?

M: Yeah, yeah, Mommy, she's Mr. Ham, like a kind of meat, like Mr. Potato Head.

With all the encouragement from big brother, V has been pretending to be Ham ever since.

And speaking of Mr. Potato Head, I sing the praises of classic toys. V LOVES Mr. Potato Head and since we bought ours in the US, it was really cheap. And M got a View-Master for Christmas, which he thinks is really fun. That's the toy that looks like little binoculars and you put in cartridges to show cool 3D pictures. When we were kids, we kept our View-Master items in one of those lovely purple and gold Crown Royal bags from our uncle. I loved the bag and the toy. My mom says she loved hers as well. Didn't know that View-Masters have been around that long? First appeared in 1939, according to multiple websites. Most amusing fact: they were used to train US military personnel in the '40s. I'm glad that some toys do survive over the years. Games are much more likely to make it long-term, like dominoes! But it's nice to see some great toys endure as well.

my first blog post

As I was going through the super-quick process of creating our blog, there were little voices contributing their opinions. So the look was chosen by M, my newly turned 4-year-old, but the name was chosen by me. He was lobbying heavily for Captain Moroni or Robin Hood. With more time for thought, he would have suggested Lightning McQueen, Joy to the World or possibly Vanilla Ice Cream. Who ever thought I'd have a child who prefers vanilla?! V sat quietly during the whole 5 minutes, drinking her milk and rubbing my shirt, which is comforting to her for unknown reasons.

Quote for the week, came up during a discussion of armor and weapons:

Me: Do you know why it's important to protect you heart? It's because our hearts are what keep us al-

M: I know, I know. Our hearts are what keep us in love with princesses.