Curious Creatures At The Preschool

Curious Creatures came to Gabe's preschool again this year.  I took Zach to see the animals, since he loved it as much as Gabe did.  This year, Zach was more interested in playing in Gabe's classroom.  Luckily another little brother was playing in the room as well; the two played together beautifully.  What a relief.

The first creature to make an appearance was a flying squirrel.  The animal trainer told the kids that flying squirrels come out at night, and he asked them what kind of animals come out at night.  Gabe yelled out, "nocturnal animals."  Seriously.  The kids is a genius.  The teachers were laughing; I believe they were taken aback at his quick and accurate answer.

Here are the pics:

the skunk!

Gabe & the skunk

sitting on his little mat

Gabe's friend, Nicole

the chinchilla

Gabe's friend, Joseph, and the chinchilla

Gabe & the chinchilla

Zu Zu and the chinchilla

chinchilla hat!

the scorpion!

that's not Gabe holding the scorpion (cannot blame him)

Gabe being silly with his friend, Gavin

Gabe touching the snake

Zu Zu hugging the snake!

that's Gabe's teacher, Miss Donna, on the far right

the alligator!

Zach and Jonathan playing in the classroom

eating an "ice cream" in the classroom

playing with the train table in the classroom

Oh, No..... Oh, Yes....

So, I went to Gabe's school today to bring Zach to see the Curious Creatures enrichment program.  We saw a similar animal show at the school last year, and both boys loved it.

Guess who I sat next to during the show?  Zu Zu.  Yup.  She exists.  She has significant special needs and requires a one-on-one aide, but she's a complete love.  She enjoyed sitting next to Gabe's mom and often tried to touch me or my camera. 

Also, Gabe came home with his daily progress note (a brief note telling the parents what the kids did at school that day).  Guess what?  The note stated that the class would like to congratulate Joey Piazza with the birth of his baby sister yesterday. 

So, the story about Joey Pizza and Zu Zu might, indeed, be true.  Oh, no!!!!

Yogurt Head

Zach decided to cover his head with yogurt the other day at dinner.  I just don't understand how that's fun, but what can I do (other than carry him straight to the tub after dinner)?

Here are the pics:

I love putting yogurt on my head!

this is so much fun!

seriously?

The Topsfield Fair 2011

J and I took the kids to the Topsfield Fair on Saturday afternoon.  Momo and Auntie Teetee had taken them the weekend prior, but I really wanted to go again as a family.  Plus, my parents wanted to check it out, as they'd never been before.

Whoa!  Holy traffic.  We sat on Rt. 97 in Topsfield (about 2 miles away from the parking lot) for about 40 minutes in the car, waiting to get into the lot.  Yikes.  When we got inside, Gabe was more interested in going on the rides than in visiting the animals, vegetables, and fair stuff.  So, my parents took a quick peruse of the fair side, and we headed to the carnival side for Gabe's sake. 

I've officially ended my love for the Topsfield Fair.  I think the kids are getting to an age when rides are more fun than animals and giant pumpkins.  Plus, we go to so many farms and zoos, that I really can't blame them if they are animaled-out.  So, Momo, feel free to take them going forward...

Here are the pictures from our crowded (so very, very crowded) afternoon at the fair:

riding in their helicopter--look at their faces!

getting ready to take flight

hands on the wheels

there's their little helicopter

driving in their big rig

their truck is the first one

my favorite shot of the day (he waved every time he drove by us)

Gabe had his eye on this pink truck while waiting in line.  He was determined to make it his.

and here they are in the pink truck!

Saw-ee, Mama........Okay, Mama?

Zach is constantly apologizing.  Gabe hits him, and he apologizes to Gabe.  I sneeze, and he apologizes to me.  I drop something (completely unrelated to him), and he apologizes.

I think a realistic guess as to how many times I hear, "saw-ee, Mama," each day would be about 30.  These sweet apologies are often followed by a hug or kiss.  Honestly, God made this child SO sweet!

Speaking of sweet, just like Gabe did when he was Zach's age, Zach always lets me know that he's okay after he coughs or sneezes.  I guess he's so used to my asking him if he's okay after these things, that if I don't ask, he feels the need to let me know. 

Here's how it goes:

Zach sneezes and he says, "I okay"   or    "okay, Mom"

In turn, when I sneeze or cough, he also might ask, "Okay, Mom?"

How did I get such adorable boys???

Oh, No.....

I need to ask Gabe's teacher for a copy of the class roster in order to figure out if this story has any truth to it.  Here's the story:

This morning, Gabe was saying (over and over and over), "Joey Pizza."  When I asked him what Joey Pizza was, this is how things went:

Gabe:  The teacher tells us not to.  But Zu Zu and I call Joey Piazza, "Joey Pizza."  We say, "Joey Pizza, Joey Pizza, Joey Pizza."

Me:  Who's Zu Zu?

Gabe:  She's in my class.

Me:  Is Zu Zu her name?

Gabe: Yes.

Me:  Okay.  Well, does Joey Piazza like it when you call him "Joey Pizza"?

Gabe:  No.

Me:  Would you like it if someone called you, "Gabe Pizza"?

Gabe:  No!  And I would hit them and tell them not to call me that.  And I'd be very angry.

Obviously, this conversation goes on for a while, with me reminding Gabe that we don't hit, etc.  But, seriously....is this a true story?  I wonder....  Zu Zu?  And are kids this young really able to taunt about a name?  If this is true, poor Joey.  He's going to have a long school life of being referred to as Joey Pizza, I'm afraid.

Zach's Diaper Rocks

We had a playdate this morning with Gabe's best friend, Jay, (who goes to a different preschool now) and another friend from preschool, Nicole.  It was fun to talk with their moms, who are so familiar with Lynnfield, the school system, etc.  I'm really looking forward to getting more involved in our new community. 

Anyway, we met up at a park close to our neighborhood - a park that the boys and I just discovered last month.  The park has small pebbles (rather than wood chips) all over the ground.  At the end of the playdate, Jay, Gabe, and Zach were sitting under one of the play structures, playing quietly and happily.  When we told the boys that it was time to go home, Zach wouldn't come.  I walked over to get him and he stood up funny (pitched forward) and said that he had a boo boo on his bum.  When I investigated, I found a zillion rocks down his pants.  Turns out, the boys were playing so quietly because they were putting rocks down the back of Zach's shirt; and Zach was just letting them do it, without protest.

I scooped the rocks out of his pants, only to find another zillion rocks in his diaper!  Poor bub!  That could NOT have felt good.  Luckily I had a diaper in the car, so I changed him right away.  When we got home, rocks were still falling out of places that I must have missed.  Boys!!!