Snow is Cold

We went to the snow for a weekend getaway. Papa Curt came too. The cabin we stayed in lost it's electricity the first 24 hours so we were very cold. All five of us slept on the living room floor in front of the fire. The next day we went to Kirkwood where Daddy skiied. We played in the lodge and it was such a perfect day, we got to play outside in the snow. We built a snowman and Tyler kicked it over. We threw a lot of snowballs. Later that afternoon we went sledding. We never knew Tyler screams like a girl until he went flying down the mountain on the sled. He loved it. See videos here. That night we swam in the lukewarm jacuzzi. Tyler told us he'd never swam in the snow before. The next day we went on a gondola ride to the top of Heavenly. Tyler was terrified. Even more terrified than he got when we made him go on a roller coaster ride at Disney's Toon Town. He screamed, cried, begged and bawled. Must be because he's never seen anything like a gondola before. I told him it was a rocket and we counted down the blast off. He freaked out, held on, and tensed up. The thing about gondolas is they are bumpy whenever you go over a pole. We yelled "Staccato" every time, trying to make the ride as much like the Little Einsteins' Rocket as possible. Tyler hated every minute the whole way up. At the top, we threw more snowballs, looked through the binoculars, and explored. Tyler couldn't wait to ride the gondola back down. It was a super fun trip. Tyler loves the snow. Next year, he'll ski. Or snowboard. Not sure which. Either way, I'm sure he'll hate every minute of it while he's doing it and then beg us to go again when it's over.

Alert! Warning! Beware!

To everyone who reads this, be warned that Tyler has a new obsession and it's a shocking one. Papa Curt discovered this without any warning and I'm sure it totally caught him off-guard (sorry!) so now I'm spreading the word to all: Tyler is very obsessed about death and dying.

I had read somewhere several months back that the best way to discuss death with children was to be factual and not try to fluff it up. I probably should have read more closely but I'm sure I was reading while doing two other things at the same time. Anyway, we were driving around a couple days ago and Tyler was telling me about some animals that sleep during the day and are awake at night. I was impressed that Ms. Wynter (note to self, warn Ms. Wynter too) was teaching him about nocturnal animals. So we named some nocturnal animals...cats, lions, hamsters, and I mentioned that I had a hamster when I was little. We went on listing more animals when Tyler asked me what happened to my hamster. This was when I recalled that article I wished I had read more closely, so, as matter-of-factly as possible, I said he died. Then I waited. Silence.

When Tyler is silent, you know his brain is processing and he's probably going to blurt out no less than 10 questions at any minute. Yep, here they came. Why did he die? Who made him die? How did he die? Why was I sad he died? Was he sad he died too? I think the worst part of all this was that Gavin was in the car listening to the conversation which he is still far too young to comprehend. At one point I mentioned that all animals die. All animals? Even giraffes? Monkeys? Dogs? Chilidog? Why will Chilidog die? When will Chilidog die? Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday? Oh my goodness I sat there really hoping he didn't realize people were animals too. What had I done to this child?

Well, that was three days ago and after that drive, I hadn't heard anything else about it. Until last night. On our way home from the gym (apparently the car triggers deep thoughts), Tyler asked me out of the blue if Chili was sad that he is going to die. I was at a red light so I turned around to look at him. I put my hand on him. I said Chili is not going to die for a long time so you do not need to worry about that anymore. Do you think that's what that damn article meant when it said to be factual when discussing death with children?

I remember last May, right around Mack's 4th birthday, when Mack was obsessing about things dying and getting killed. I remember how shocking that subject was for me to hear coming out of a child's mouth, and how I kept trying to change the subject so his words wouldn't 'taint' Tyler. Mack is our little pioneer for all things to come since he's nine months older than Tyler. Until then, I had never thought about kids talking about that stuff. Now, this same thing is becoming Tyler's reality. On the plus side, he appears to be a very normal 4 year old. But on the minus side, it's so shocking.

So, last night after the little heart to heart and my reassurance that Chili wouldn't die any time soon, we got home and Papa called. Tyler wanted to say hi so he got on the phone. Papa asked Tyler if he was going to play T-Ball on Saturday. Tyler said "Yeah. Chilidog is going to die one day." Poor Papa, I'm so sorry! Everyone else, consider yourself warned.

Big Boy

Today was Tyler's 4-year old check up. As I watched them do all types of things they've never done at any previous check up, it struck me: He really is a big boy now. He had his first hearing test, which he thought was so cool that only he got to wear the headphones and not Gavin or Mommy. He had his first vision test and he giggled through every letter he read. When he was told to cover one eye and read the letters, he couldn't help but peek. He got all his colors right (I'm guessing that was a mini colorblind test?) and he remains in the 90th percentile for both height and weight. It was such a great appointment and he really sensed that he was growing up with all these new things. He didn't even flinch when they pricked his finger for a blood test and put some needle thing in his arm for a TB test. But they had to go and ruin it all by giving him three shots at the very end. I had to carry my big 42 pound sobbing boy out of the Doctor's office all the way to the car.

Arrrrgh!

Tyler, who has always been vocal and recently become quite imaginative, is either a pirate or a dinosaur whenever he's out in public. If someone scares or intimidates him, or if he just feels shy, he's a dinosaur and gives out an almighty Roar! He roared at the doctor today. He usually roars at other kids playing at the park until he gets to know them. If he's feeling happy, funny or just silly, he's a pirate and lets everyone know it with a big Arrgh like the one he gave the friendly grocery clerk yesterday.

Pirate Sword Fight