'hot' stanley

flat stanley* was sent to us from our nephew in omaha.  we decided he'd most enjoy a desert hike to take in the native scenery.  however, he was overdressed for the climate (thus nicknamed 'hot stanley' per stover boy) and desperately in need of a wardrobe change.  we lent him some clothes from among our regular wardrobe and headed up to south mountain.  while with us, he saw: the nasty thorns of a mesquite tree, hundreds of tall saguaro catci, experienced arizona's first 100 degree day, and saw lots of quail running around. 

   *flat stanley is the story of a boy accidentally crushed flat. because he's flat, he can travel in the mail and see lots of places.

little miss one year old

stover babe (aka.'doll' or 'little one'):
-loves when mom empties the dishwasher because it gives her access to the forks
-imitates dogs with an 'ah,ah' bark and lets the neighbor dog kiss her on the lips over and over
-loves nutella sandwiches but passes on peanut butter
-runs to dad when he walks in the door
-babbles constantly
-listens when i tell her 'no' or 'come here'
-gives a slow, sassy eye roll that is sure to get her in trouble eventually
-panics when mom has her shoes on and tries to find her own
-loves the thrill of tossing her head all the way back on her ride-on
-is conquering her fear of the vacuum but still frightened by the shower and toy pop-up tents
-looks like this:

and so it begins... the first swim of the year

around here, the first swim of the year is quite monumental.  there's a bit of mental preperation that factors in to the decision to begin swimming.  after all, once swimming starts, it's A LOT of it for A VERY LONG time.  stover mom tries to magically time it so that swim season is no longer than half of the year.  after 6 summers here, the optimal factors that seem to indicate that it's time are: the kids have begged to swim a few times, our air conditioner is up and running (which only happens when it reaches 82+ in the house),  and it has hit 90 degrees outside.  this year, it has been an unusually mild spring so today's first swim came much later than normal.

stover boy was so excited as he'd been begging for quite some time.  unfortunately, his excitement got the best of him and he ended up inside the house!

stover girl was unenthusiastic about the thought of playing outside (which is status quo) but ended up really enjoying herself.

 

and stover baby opted to watch from afar.

easter hoppenings

stover babe was thrilled to find bubbles and a shovel in her bucket! 

the easter bunny surprised the kids by filling the eggs with quarters this year.

a monkey bread and scrambled eggs breakfast!

a dirty morning playing with easter buckets and shovels.

 

a VERY quick pre-church photo

dear aunt jordyn enters...  

 and don't forget the time spent trying to teach stover mom a cartwheel!



transparency: mom vs. stover girl

transparency: mom IS

after a long few weeks of wishing she would loose her first tooth, stover girl has made up a few she believes must be wiggling.  with every new report, stover mom has tried a wiggle which results in absolutely no movement.  a few days ago, there was at a conversation that went like this:

stover girl: i think my extra tooth might be loose.  it was hurting today at lunch when i bit down.
mom: (whose radar has gone up since she's talking about her extra tooth- the one the dentist said to watch like a hawk for tooth pain or tenderness- but is keeping her cool anyhow)  mmm.  well teeth can do weird things.  it's good you noticed.  we'll just have to watch it and see what happens tomorrow.
retort from stover girl: well it was hurting yesterday too.

that evening, unknown to mom, stover girl makes same comment to dad who has no extra tooth radar and has not had a full week of testing out all teeth in her mouth for a wiggly one.  he plays along (much like stover mom has a few times) and is excited for her.  they dream about how cool it'll be if her extra tooth is the tooth she looses first!  at the end of their conversation, stover girl whispers, 'don't tell mom- i told her and she didn't believe me.'

transparency: stover girl IS NOT

stover girl has been boo-hooing at school for almost every day for the past few weeks.  (i can guarantee she is as i'm writing this post!)  even after 2 weeks of investigation* (more on that later), i'm still fuzzy about why this little nontransparent girl of mine is so scared of school all the sudden!?  *for posterity sake, humor my investingating as it perfectly illustrates the difficulty of mothering stover girl's anxieties.  she is an intensely private over-thinker and over-generalizer so trying to figure out her mind is often like putting a puzzle together- one piece at a time.  this is what i know so far:

puzzle piece #1 i was first aware of the crying when she was afraid to re-enter computer class after having cried in class the week before.  i wasn't aware she'd cried after her visiting grandparents had left and that the teacher on duty (mr. computer teacher) had threatened stover girl's worst fear 'if you keep crying, i'll send you to the principle's office.' 
puzzle piece #2 her kindergarten teacher let her skip the computers class she feared.
puzzle piece #3 saw computer class teacher at walmart briefly- nothing particularly foreboding or scary about him. 
puzzle piece #4 reports 'i want my mom' or 'i don't like school' or 'school is too long' or 'i just want a hug from you' when asked why crying
puzzle piece #5 crying still occured even when stover mom was at school delivering birthday treats
puzzle piece #6 crying occurs at same time every day- begins at calander time and ends on the walk to specials class
puzzle piece #7 doesn't want to go to any specials class (not just computers) because they are 'boring'
puzzle piece #8 noted ambivalence about 1st grade and timing of crying concurrent with teacher talking about graduation from kindergarten
puzzle piece #9 anxiety about first grade seemingly relieved with introduction to first grade teachers, first grade classrooms, teacher awareness and bibliotherapy with junie b. books. 
puzzle piece #10 stover girl reports that she wishes mom would come get her early from school and talks about a boy whose dad picks him up early every day
puzzle piece #11 crying decreases in frequency after consequences given at home. 
puzzle piece #12 schoolteacher has not yet given consequences for crying behavior.
puzzle piece #13 cried in primary when teacher was absent.  
puzzle piece #14 recently discovered that first grade fears are now centered on having to have same specials teachers again.
puzzle piece #15 is typically resistant to therapist moms' attempts to problemsolve and responds by shutting down

poor stover girl trying to deal with insecurities all by herself... i hope to soon convince her that not every unknown teacher fully intends to send her to the dreaded principle's office!    

"saturday is the best day!"

i absolutely cherish the saturdays we have to play together as a family... those characterized by an uninterrupted day of activities, work, and errands that reunite and rebuild relationships after a seperated and hectic week.   yesterday, on what would typically be an uneventful errand, i was overcome with thanks for the abundance of time i had with the 4 most important people in my life- the perfect saturday!