I'm torn about what to do with Gabriel's schedule. I'm surprised how much I miss him and think about him all day, much moreso than when he was at pre-K. But, he is having a grand time at the CDC, rather than being stuck at home every afternoon due to baby naps. And today, Katrina's naps conflicted perfectly with both pickup and dropoff times, confirming my concerns about time conflicts. And he really likes the CDC, as do I.
This morning when I dropped Gabriel off, it was unusually quiet in the CDC since the only kids there were a small group of PM kindergartners. Three girls were sitting and looking at a set of interlocking plastic pieces, apparently discussing what to do. When Gabriel walked in, they immediately chimed, "Gabriel! Will you help us build something?" Oh boy, was he in his element! He took right over and started masterfully instructing them. He didn't even glance back to see me slinking uselessly away. How can hanging around at home with Chopped Liver (formerly known as Mom) compare to the admiring attention of three adorable little girls? (Though really, girls, isn't it a little early for the damsel-in-distress routine? Sheesh, build it yourselves!)
I took Julian and Katrina to Target today, and happened to come across their tiny stock of grownup Halloween shirts. Already! In August! They'd just been put out this morning, and sure enough, people were buying them. Including me. I'm tired of asking people in the few days before Halloween, "Where did you get that cute T-shirt?" only to hear, "At Target, in August -- but I think they're out of them now." Well hah. Now I have a Halloween T-shirt. In August. Boo for me.
On Erin's inspiration, I ordered a monogrammed lunch box from Land's End for Gabriel. Gabriel's monogrammed towel is very handy in potential misplacement situations, so I figure a clearly labelled lunch box is a good thing for kindergarten.
But I'll have a little regret, since I'm actually having fun labelling his paper lunch bags. Gabriel pointed out to me yesterday that I hadn't put a heart before his name, so I added it for today.
I've heard of moms sticking notes in with their kids' lunches, so I tried it today. Partly, I did so to remind Gabriel about his lunch items, though I'd talked with him about it ahead of time.
So I asked him if he found the note, and he happily exclaimed that he had, and he really liked it and thought it was funny, then recited it back to me word for word. "Look for the cheese! Love, Mom," he laughed. Now the pressure's on. Can I can come up with a cute note every day?
(By the way, talking to Gabriel about what to look for in his lunch, and "negotiating" what to put in it, made the difference between his barely touching it, and today, almost finishing it. He insisted on the same exact thing for tomorrow as today, so he's getting that, and a note that says so.)
Gabriel decided some days ago that August 30 was his beloved Bear's birthday. He even went so far as to write it down on the calendar, and has been counting down days until the birthday. Today I suggested to him that we make a present for Bear, in the form of a photo of Gabriel with him. This led to a photo session, in which I got a nice picture of Gabriel and Bear. I'm still trying to persuade him to hold off on Bear's party until this weekend, when Aunt Laura and Uncle Ryan will be here, and I'll take the excuse to try making a bear-shaped cake.
Then I managed to turn the three minutes Katrina was content sitting into an impromptu all-three photo session. I got some rare shots of them in birth order, though it took some fast-talking and persuading, since Gabriel usually insists on sitting next to Katrina.
Katrina was still grouchy, un-smiley, hard-to-please and not eating well today, but no temperature. That means, for me, no Katrina tomorrow. Love her though I do, it'll be a relief.
8/29/07
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