When our son, our first child, started to be on the move, we were the ever vigilant new parents. We carefully safeguarded cabinets and door handles, to prevent him from wreaking havoc on himself or the house. Apparently, we missed a cabinet.

The kids go to a Montessori school where they teach them to be independent. The independence sometimes becomes before mastering silverware…or the patience to eat one bite at a time.

Thane is a miniature version of my husband. Sometimes I joke that I just incubated a clone for nine months. Here he is in Daddy’s shoes…they are some big shoes to fill.

I once heard the story, with the first child, if the pacifier falls on the floor, you pick it up, run it under water and then give it back to the baby, with the second, you just wipe it off, and with the third, you let the dog lick the pacifier. Here is Mara getting into (of her own accord!) our Airedale’s very large dog crate.

Our daughter is the adventurer of the family. I guess it comes from being a second child and wanting to do everything big brother does. Here she got on the treadmill (which was turned off) and then tried to get off of it. She went head first and stayed that way for a moment at a friend’s house a few weeks ago. She had not quite mastered the stairs yet, I think we will keep her off the stair master for a few years!

check out i ♥ faces to see some more hilarious fun

Thane is an observer by nature. He watches, takes in the situation before he participates. We can tell his sister is going to be the one to jump head first into the pool (actuality, not just speculation).

Thane is the youngest by 6 months, and, in most cases, 1+ years in his Snow Plow 1 class. That is a daunting situation for any 2.5 year old. He has done well. Friends of ours have said, “as long as he wants to get back on the ice after he leaves, it is a good day.” And he has. Each and every time.

In the first session, he watched. He stood carefully on the ice. Walked when needed and maintained a perfect statue pose. He generally showed more enthusiasm for the sticker that was placed on his helmet after class.

In the second session, Thane has earned that sticker (and sometimes two!). He walks with ease, glides when asked, shimmies, and bends. He listens to his teachers and has even gone faster than some other kids, nearly pushing them out of his way. He is not at the top of his class, but not at the bottom either. Thane will never remember a time when he did not skate.

After class, his reward (in addition to the sticker) is to watch the big kids (aka 7 year olds) play hockey. We tell him that he will do that one day if he keeps listening to his teacher and doing as she says.

On Monday, a makeup dau for us, I made the mistake of letting his watch the hockey players BEFORE his lesson. Big mistake. He put up a fuss when it was time for class and you could tell by the slump of his skates when we finally coerced him on the ice that his heart was not in it.

Of course, Monday was graduation…and grade day….

Below is his report card. We are definitely keeping him in snow plow 1 for one more session, to get his sea legs and really get comfortable. The two things Ellie mentioned (not his regular teacher) as not accomplished he can actually do…when he wants to.

The type is bad so what it says is:
A. Sit and stand up with skates on: off ice? YES
B. Sit and stand up with skates on: on ice? YES
C. March in place? YES
D. March forward, 8-10 steps: NO (But he can)
E. March then glide on two feet: No (He just learned this last week)
F: Dip in place, bend knees: YES

Each week, there is a new challenge…faces, jumping, winter, feet. Something to “focus” on (all puns intended).

This week is hands. It is Week 8 of the challenge…

Since the deadline is tomorrow night, I dug into the archives. This is one of my pics (no, not Jay’s). It was taken when Thane was just seven months old, on December 23, 2007, a few days before his first Christmas. He found this old mirror (which is now broken) and was mesmerized by it and the baby on the other side of it.

check out i ♥ faces to see some more fun

Diagnosis? She is fair haired and skinned and very flexible (he could touch her thumb to arm no issue). Basically she is loose jointed and he said that loose jointed kids walk later. He showed us how her right foot is slightly inward just in a relaxed state but that surgery or a brace or anything would not fix it, she will just grow out of it. It is not affecting he walking.

She is a very healthy little girl (he repeated this often). She is flexible. There is nothing physically (or neurologically) wrong with her. There is nothing we can do to fast forward and have her walking.

Prognosis: She will be a great gymnast or swimmer! He said she seems very close to walking. I asked how long, and as any good fortune teller would respond, his answer was a very certain: “She will be walking within 3 months.” Gee, thanks Madame Zelda!

He seemed to think 12-18 months was the “normal” time to start walking. He showed no concern over her and did not say we should look for x, y, or z and then be worried.

He did say that since her joints were so loose, we should watch for picking her up by her wrist, elbows, etc, in case they slip and she were to get nursemaid’s elbow.

Jay is laughing at me because now I don’t have something to worry about.

Here are some pics our friends took of us at the rink last week. In the one where Mark (and Kinsey) is walking Mara, you can see her toe in a bit.

She has hit every milestone in stride, early or right on target. She was always alert, looks right in your eyes like she knows all your stories, and laughs heartily. She crawled right on time and is Speedy Gonzales on four legs. She can crawl both up and down stairs. What she does not do is walk.

She travels along the train table. She pulls herself up. She walks with her hands death gripping yours (we do this for 10 minutes a night). She also turns her right foot in. Not 100% of the time but most of the time.

Wednesday we have an appointment with a Pediatric Orthopedist at Vandy. We are not overly concerned, hopefully just a simple brace will get her walking in no time.

Wish us luck. Either for the appointment or for after the walking begins!

1) When you go out somewhere big (zoo, aquarium, etc) dress the kids in loud shirts that match so you can spot them easily. (OK, so not the matching, but we do the loud thing)
2) Tell them how they are each other’s best friends and that they love each other.

We do #2 all the time. Wow, in a house with a potty trained little boy and a 6 month old puppy, I should rephrase that last statement. We took the second one to heart and have said that all the time. “Mara loves you” “Thane, who is you best friend?” “Thane loves you Mara” etc etc etc.

Sunday night, Mara was sick. She would not lie down and would certainly not go to sleep. I rocked her in my arms until 10 pm when she finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

Before Thane went to bed, he came in to check on his crying sister. As I held her, he put her tiny hand in his slightly bigger hand and said…

“It’s okay, Mara. I love you. I am right here. I am not going anywhere.” Then he kissed her cheek.

To show you that we always do the right thing, especially when it comes to Mara, here are some pictures to prove it.

Mara found Aesop’s crate open and decided to crawl in

At a friend’s, Mara found the (shut off) treadmill and decided to climb up. This is her trying to get off of it. Apparently she does this at school on the steps sometimes too.

This is Thane, sick at home, with a downgraded fever. Photo is here for his awesome fashion sense (those are shark pj’s with a preds jersey) and the skates he won’t take off. Apparently he can get to the Kleenex faster this way.

Yesterday was no different. The snow was coming and I woke up to a text from the news (technology is nice) saying school was closed. I looked out the window and saw nothing.

I called into work (okay, emailed) and worked from home. So did Jay, who was in a training class. His training class was to be held via webcam, complete with microphone headset. Again, technology is nice.

At lunch, I went to meet Kennette. The snow had started to fall but it was light.

Neither Tennessee nor Tennessee roads can handle snow. When I left Prairie Life an hour and a half later, the snow had piled up and it took me almost an hour to go twelve miles.

I got home to some homemade chili. Yum. After Jay finished his class, we headed outside and played in the snow (Mara was still sleeping, probably a good thing, it was way too cold out there!)

Thane loved it. He ate the snow which he announced tasted like chocolate. We tried to make a snowman but the snow would not pack. I tried to convince him to make a snow angel but neither he nor I was willing to lie in the cold stuff!

Later on we headed out with the neighborhood kids and rode on the sled they had. Well, they did, I sat inside with the moms and watched….warm.

You are about to be three
You are a boy
Your parents are throwing you a birthday party with all of your friends (oh, and theirs)

What would you have your theme as?

A SUPER HERO BIRTHDAY PARTY OF COURSE!

Martha Stewart had nothing on this one!

We talked it up to Thane for awhile, the idea of dressing up is still a new one for him and not always a success. We had two costumes…Spiderman and the Dark Knight. Spiderman had muscles to spare. The Dark Knight had a cape. I was rooting for the Dark Knight. We figured he should choose. Again, I was rooting for the Dark Knight but I KNEW he would choose Spiderman!

We had him try on both costumes early. The Dark Knight was not a hit. Spiderman, Spiderman, Spiderman.

And, what do you dress the 13 month old little sister in? A catwoman outfit of course!!! Well, not your traditional catwoman, more like a 1950s poodle skirt with cats and matching onesie, but we get points for imagination and double for creativity.

Getting in the car he wanted nothing to do with the costume. Actually, I think he might have held it. We arrived and saw some others getting dressed in the cars and I think that made him a little more at ease. Let the dressing begin!

Leading the way, we walked through doors dressed with Super Heros and signs that read…NO VILLAINS ALLOWED!

Thane never touched the bouncy in the backyard but found Madeleine and they hit the sandbox and the toys. Trampolines were discovered in this party as well.

Thane’s favorite part…BIRTHDAY CAKE! Whenever we have cake at home (which is very rare) he always associates it with a birthday, so it definitely was not to be missed at a birthday party!! Yummy!

Mommy, Daddy and Mara had fun, too.

We might be stealing this birthday idea…

With all my trepidation in mind, I decided it was time to schedule Thane for his first appointment. In passing, I told Oma and she stressed that going to a pediatric dentist was the way to go. It would be geared to him, give him less stress, and me less stress. Plus, there was the chance he would not wind up being the anti-dentite that I am.

I looked into it. Pediatric dentists? Did they have these when we were kids? Were we going to the Chuck-e-cheese of dentistry? Or worse…the Wal-Mart?

Battle scars and all we settled on Snodgrass King Pediatric Dentistry in Cool Springs.

I talked it up to Thane for 2 days. We are going to the dentist. That is a doctor for your teeth. He’ll make sure you have big strong teeth. Who else has big strong teeth? (Thane: Lion…ROAR!)

We walked in and it was Willy Wonka’s Playland. Fish tanks. Arcade Games. 25 cent Horse rides (minus the 25 cents).

Thane loved it and looked around in awe.

When we were called back (which was probably faster than Thane would have wanted) he got to pick out his own toothbrush! A Green Diego! Next we went into the exam room, a bright room with a long flat dentist chair/bed. Flat because it was geared for them to lie down, face aimed at the ceiling. And what do you suppose was on that ceiling??? A TV with cartoons! Thane did not need to be asked twice to lie down. He sat there, in his TV Zombie trance, while we spoke with the hygienist. She then brushed his teeth. No fuss…zombie boy in full effect. Then, she pulled out a fancy dinosaur flosser. This peaked his interest only long enough to ask if we could take it home.

She flossed his teeth. Not a single wimper let alone a teardrop. When she was done, she told him he could pick two prizes on the way out.

The dentist checked him out briefly and found him in clean shape. He seems to have a bit of an overbite, but that is pretty common.

Thane got to pick out two (ok, maybe he took three) prizes–2 cars and a triceratops and then ride on the horse a few times.

Now, where nighttime brushing was a nightmare, Thane is eager to let me brush him (seriously!). Tonight he even let me floss with non-dinosaur floss. In the mornings, he is in charge and can brush them all on his own.

Tips: We lie him down on the bed to brush his teeth. He is calm, I can see in. It works.

Steph finished her task right as the program ended, or at least as Thane’s patience with the program ended. He went to the tree and began picking up an ornament and placing it on the tree. “No Thane, we are taking the tree down today” Mommy said in a gentle voice. I was not prepared for what would happen next.

Thane’s eyes widened. The edges of lips dropped below his chin. His face elongated threefold. He gave his mother a longing, “Say it isn’t so” look. Steph’s voice cracked. If I had not seen Thano and only heard her voice, I would have been certain that she had witnessed him being horribly injured. “But sweetie, that is what makes the tree so special is that we only bring it out at Christmas time. Christmas is over.” Thanos’s head dropped. His shoulders slumped and he turned his back to his mother. I looked at Steph. Her face betrayed the pain caused by the dagger in her heart.

Thanos walked back to the tree. He grabbed a wrapped ornament from a nearby box, carefully unwrapped it and hung it gently on the tree. “I am going to decorate the tree again… I am… I am going to decorate the tree… by my-self.” With that, the dagger was twisted. I looked at Steph’s face, now contorted and elongated as well. It grew whiter as the blood continued to disappear from her skin. Apparently blood cannot be pumped by a broken heart.

The next few minutes involved convincing Thano to sit on Mom’s lap while Mommy and Daddy explained how Christmas would come again and be very special next year. After less time that I expected, he acquiesced. He got down from Mommy’s lap and removed two of the ornaments he had just placed on the tree. I guess by accepting this change, he somehow felt that he could warp time and make Christmas come sooner next year.

He continued to help us dismantle the tree and wrap ornaments for some time while his patience with the tasks persisted. After accepting the fate of Christmas ’09 and choosing to remove the ornaments himself, he remained positive the rest of the day.

Mommy, however, is still recovering from the incident. If you see her soon, give her a hug.