Birthday Part 1: Scavenger Hunt

So almost a month has gone by and I have yet to post on the great fun we had on a special little boy's 3rd birthday.  What can I say, this month has been a little crazy and I've been a bit, well- uninspired.  But we did have a great time for his birthday- so here it is (part I anyway)

I remember the consistent highlight of my birthdays growing up was a scavenger hunt that my parents would always create for me.  The would come up with great little limerick clues that would lead me from hiding spot to hiding spot.  I don't remember very many of my actual presents- but I remember the thrill of following the clues.

Since at three my little guy isn't so much reading yet, I decided to go with visual clues for our scavenger hunt.  I took pictures of things he would recognize from in and around our house

cut out small circles from each

and hot-glued the circles to some saved up juice concentrate lids to give the tokens a little bit of heft.

Then on the big day, I hid them in order so that one clue led to the next and when he woke up from his nap gave him the very first clue and explained the puzzle.

It took him a few clues to catch on, but then he was off!

 

The clues led him to the fantastic excavator-sand-box that was a present from Gramma.  

We put a wrapped up match-box car with each clue to add incentive, but in retrospect I didn't like the way he felt hurried to disregard each of these gifts along the way.  I felt like we were teaching him ungratefulness.  So if I were to do it again, I might go with a hershey kiss or some other small treat along the way.

Family Memories

When I finally completed our family photo album for 2011 in February,  I was excited for it to be a keep-sake that would help me remember these crazy years of baby and toddler insanity where most days are just a blur.  I wanted to have a way to look back and remember the chubby curl of 2 year old toes and the gummy smile of a two-toothed baby and a handful of adorable stories without having to wade through disk upon disk of photos.  I was excited when it arrived, but fully expected to put it on a shelf and take it out in 5 years.

But it has now become one of our favorite bed-time books.  Jonathan LOVES reading it.  He wants us to tell a story about each picture and will find crazy background details and want explanation- like "what shoes am I wearing in that picture?  where are they now?"

They say real memories don't form until after about 3 years of age.  I know a lot of my own memories center on a single image that is probably in a photo-book somewhere or a rendition of a story I heard my parents or grandparents repeating around the dinner table.   And a lot of my sense of self is based the knowledge that this is MY family, that regardless of anything else I am a part of something and from somewhere.  These shared memories give me a place to belong even when I am far away and a sense of pride that goes beyond my self.

making his own magic

One of my favorite mommy-blogs is always going on and on about play-dough.  She has bagillions of recipes for various colors, scented play-dough, play-dough with glitter, etc.  It always looks amazing.  And her little girls are always doing amazing and creative things with it.  But the problem is that my little boy isn't wild about play-dough the way her little girls are.  He likes it fine- once and a while- mostly for mashing and smashing.  But doesn't ever seem to notice the color or the scent (boy-girl thing?  who knows).  It just doesn't capture his imagination and creativity.

But recently he has started getting interested in leggos- and I see that same creative spark and imaginative play emerging.

I love watching him play with his leggos- tongue out, full body concentration.

From the beginning I have tried to steer clear of toys that whiz and bang and play songs.  At first it was out of a selfish desire to not hear all of those obnoxious noises over and over and over and over and over.  But as I have watched Jonathan grow without them, I am really glad that he is learning to make his own magic with simpler toys.  Imagining garbage-trucks out of cardboard boxes and a boat out of the laundry basket requires him to learn how to stir up his own creativity in a way that banging on his ball-popper doesn't.  And, for him, leggos are a great outlet for imaginative play.

We build a lot of vehicles- airplanes, cars, trains.  And a lot of things to be knocked down or crashed.  (The slide has become the crash-test location of choice.)

And while I still help him a bit with the original creations, he is usually able to play "mechanic" after the crashes!

Easter

Easter is such a lovely holiday.  Sunny and pastel.  Flowers budding, blue skies, children smiling, voices singing in joy.  Celebration of life.  Or at least that is how I hope the photos will remember it this year.  But the truth about this Easter was that it was NOT a banner day.    So despite how it will appear in our photo album, this is how the day went...

Jonathan woke up early and so we had a chance to do our egg-hunt and find his Easter basket and have breakfast before Zoe woke up at 7:15.   But when I insisted that he eat more than 2 bites of breakfast before delving into Easter candy- tantrum #1.

We had time to experiment with our new water-color set before church.  But then when it was time to put on church clothes- tantrum #2.

We got to church early enough to park 2 blocks away instead of 3.  And when we got out of the car sans stroller and I told Jonathan that, no, I could not carry him and Zoë all the way to church- tantrum #3.

We found Daddy outside and got a lovely photo.  And I am sure the service was equally lovely.  But it happened to coincide with Zoë's morning nap- and she no longer naps well on the go.  So I experienced the service from the cry-room mostly to the tune of a beautifully dressed 7 month old screaming.  She finally fell asleep with 15 minutes left in the service.  I debated staying there in that cry-room for another hour, rocking my baby and letting her nap.  But I didn't.  I picked Jonathan up from Sunday school and when he learned that a) he could only have ONE pastry in the fellowship-hall and that b) he would need to walk back to the car- tantrum #4.

We finally got home; Zoe finally fell back asleep (nap schedule thrown to the wind).  And Jonathan and I finally sat down for lunch.  As Jonathan chewed his apple I was surrounded by quiet for the first time since 6:30am.  I sighed and rested my head on the table for just a moment.  Until the silence was broken by Jonathan's question-- "Why did Jesus have to die?"

Really?  Couldn't these questions be arranged in advance and planned for days when I have NOT been screamed at all morning?  But no, that is not how life goes- there are no dress rehearsals or study sessions before the exam.  BLAM it just hits you in the face when you are least prepared and you have to give it what you've got left and pray for grace.

I know I should probably end this post with a sunny Easter message.  But here is the truth- Life with kiddos is exhausting.  And I am exhausted.  I try to treasure every moment- because I love those coos and "da-da-da"s and all of those questions about heaven and god and firetrucks.  And I try to live out peace and love and compassion.  But I am not at my "A" game right now.  In fact, I don't remember what my "A" game feels like.  So at the end of the day- I regroup and treasure the good moments, thank God for my blessings, and pray for grace.