Jake, look ouuuuuuuut!

Our train table has several buckets for various types of play: trains (of course), wooden blocks, and LEGO.  This week, I've added a new bin for story telling.

Spontaneously, Jake can be crazily creative.  This happens totally on his own terms, and not always in the most appropriate setting, but he can tell fantastic stories!  However, if I ask him to tell a story, he often draws a blank or just repeats something he just heard.  As wildly fearless as he can be in his physical environment, I think he sometimes worries about not doing things well.  So, if he doesn't think he can rock it, he'll withdraw or refuse to try something.

To help build up his confidence & see that there's really no "wrong" way to tell stories, and that it can be fun to watch them unfold unexpectedly even for the storyteller, I've set up an option at the train table for storytelling.  The bucket has random loose parts that I'll swap out periodically.  For the moment, there are various people, trees, some animals, calcite crystals, a school bus, pinecones, and some vehicles.

This morning, we set up a scene with an old dinosaur nightlight.  The nightlight part broke, so I removed the bulbs & it's now a toy.  Before we really got into any story, an idea popped into my head: try compositing Jake into a toy scene.  I've thought of this from time to time, but it can be hard, like really, really difficult, to get Jake to pose.  However, he's gotten better about tolerating Mom's incessant request for photos, so after we set up the t-rex & the mountain, I asked him to look up at the alphabet on our wall, and pretend that the letter Z surprised him.  We had to take quite a few pics, but we got one that worked.

Before he left for school, I showed him a draft (he'll see the final pic below when he comes home from preschool today.)  When he saw the rough composite, it blew his mind. He asked with wonder, "Mom, was I really there with a dinosaur? Was I an Oomi Zoomi?"  It was so cute! 

I just used the 2 overhead can lights in our playroom and my point & shoot camera, so there was no attempt at good lighting.  However it was a fun little project this morning and I suspect it won't be the last attempt at Jake jumping into his stories!

 

 

Tonight, Jake asked me to take an Oomi Zoomi picture of him driving over the mountain in his truck.



 

 

I like our new church and Jake likes... smelling elephants?

Although I've tried attending a new church in Duvall this past year, it has not clicked with me for various reasons.  Last week, I tried attending Wooden Cross Lutheran Church in Woodinville http://www.woodencrosslutheran.org (15 minutes away) and knew right away that I felt "at home."

 

Not only does this church support marriage equality (something I deeply care about) but they also have several ongoing community service projects.  While the values of service and equality are the most important thing to me, I also love music.  A lot.   I love that this church supports all kinds of music.  While they played old-fashioned Lutheran hymns last week (which this choir girl loves), after service the pastor told me that they like to mix it up.  Some weeks it's traditional, some weeks it's bluesy jazz, some weeks they play church rock, and they've also had Bob Marley weeks.  OMG.  Bob Marley at church.  He said there is totally a place for "Three Little Birds" at church.  :)

 

When I told the pastor I was a little surprised to hear that the church periodically plays Bob Marley, he said that they consider themselves "Lefty Lutherans" and do things their own way and support others who do, too.  I've never heard the term "Lefty Lutheran" but I kind of love it.

 

After getting the lay of the land last week, I took Jake with me this week.

 

A few minutes into service, my little guy dug into his pocket & pulled out a pair of swimming goggles that I didn't know he had with him. I figured wearing goggles was a relatively quiet activity, so I rolled with it.  He then struggled for a minute or two to pull them down over his face at which point he sat happily goggled, sucking his thumb. Since we were in the front row on the center aisle, I’m pretty sure everyone saw.

 During the children’s sermon, the pastor talked about incense and asked the kids what their favorite smells were.  One girl raised her hand and said her favorite smell is alcohol wipes.  The congregation chuckled.  Jake went next an announced his very favoritest smell in the whole wide world is elephants.  The congregation chuckled again as the pastor said he did not see either of those answers coming.  I don't know if Jake's ever really seen an elephant - the last couple of times we've visited Woodland Park Zoo the elephants have been tough to find.  I'm pretty positive he's never smelled one, either.  The third girl tentatively said her favorite smell is candy, but she looked a little unsure if her answer fit in with the first two responses.
 

The pastor then talked about how incense smoke, or candle smoke, floats up just like prayers can.  In a quiet voice, he said that the children could pray at bedtime, at mealtime, in the morning, when they’re happy, when they’re sad, when they’re unsure of something, or anytime at all.  He asked the kids when they prayed.  Jake stood up and said in a loud voice, “I ALSO LIKE SHARKS!  THEY SWIM AND THEY’RE STRONG AND THEY BITE YOUR NOSE OFF.  GRRRRRRRRRRR!”

Fortunately, folks just laughed understandably.  Again.  Wooden Cross Lutheran of Woodenville, the Dotsons have arrived!  :)

 

 

The only thing worse than brussel sprouts...

Jake is a good eater.  Actually, Jake is a fantastic eater!  From the time he started solids, I made it my mission to expose him to nutritious foods, hoping to successfully brainwash help him develop a palette for healthy foods.  While I second-guess myself about a lot of mom-related things, I am thankful that Jake & I make a pretty good team when it comes to his nutrition.

In fact, I still try to get myself to eat as well as he does. There were times when he was a toddler when I'd serve him his favorite stir-fry tofu and broccoli for lunch while I maybe had some left-over pasta & called it "mommy's tofu."  When he was about 2 1/2, though, the game was up.  One fateful lunch, when he asked what I was eating, I told him "mommy's tofu" but he pointed his finger of accusation at my plate & told me I in fact had pizza.  The gig was up and I do try to eat better, especially around him.

He has always liked a surprising variety of foods, so it's kind of crazy to me, the one thing he won't eat.

When he turned 1, we gave him some feta cheese and he devoured it, along with the peas.  We also gave him a dill pickle, like a practical joke, but after the initial surprise, he decided he *loved* dill pickles right away (and still does.)

 

 

This kid is always ready for dinner & packs his own entertainment.

 

 

Here he is at 2 with a plate of kale, blueberries, cheese, and pita.  We both love this kind of dinner!

He has always loved broccoli and cauliflower.  Of course, when he was 1 he called them "trees and flowers" so I think he just thought they were fun to eat & had no clue that most kids don't like them.  I still haven't told him.  :)  Here he is at 3 when we met Andy for lunch at Microsoft one day.

 

 

 

Here I washed a couple of bunches of kale so that I could make juice.  Jake kept swiping them out of the sink, even when I asked him to please wait.  He had already eaten an entire plate of kale so I really didn't think he needed the extra pawfuls.  We have a kale plant in the garden from which he steals leaves, even when it's not really ready to give up the outer layer yet.  Andy has some basil plants that Jake begs to eat every day.

Cabbage.  Jake likes.

 

 

Here's one veggie that I still can't love.  I wish I could, but I can't.  For some reason, Brussels sprouts always taste bitter to me.  This weekend, Andy roasted a cookie sheet full of them and Jake & he ate them all, no problem.  When Andy told him they were ready, Jake shouted "yay" and ran down in excitement!  Weird!

 

 

This evening, on the drive home from Snoqualmie Falls, I thought about how thankful I was that not only did Jake love fruit, but that he loves his veggies, too.  One of his favorite comfort foods is even stir-fried tofu, although he also loves it when Andy cooks him steak.  I tried thinking of something that Jake really doesn't like, but couldn't come up with anything.

After helping Jake with his bath, reading him some Mother Goose, and putting him to bed, I went downstairs to tidy up the kitchen.  When I looked at his leftover plate from lunch, I realized that there is one thing that is majorly worse to Jake than broccoli, cabbage, or Brussels sprouts:

 

 

Crusts.

Preschool juggling

When I was 8, my Nanna gave me a juggling kit for Christmas.  It contained 3 scarves, 3 bean bags, and 3 balls.  I absolutely loved being able to juggle!  It was fun to be able to do something that not everyone else could do.  Also, because juggling takes both physical energy to keep your arms in motion and mental concentration for the hand-eye coordination, it usually left me feeling tired and accomplished. 

Jake is still too little to juggle 3 things but I decided to show him how to juggle 2 scarves. I think someone as young as 3 could learn to do this.  I used lightweight scarves that are about 12" or 18" per side.  I have him throw one scarf up with his left hand, transfer the 2nd from his right to left hand, then catch the 1st with his right hand.  I have him say "up, over, catch" to remind him what to do when.  We use these juggling scarves: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006B5B9NU but any lightweight scarves will work for getting started!

Accidentally punk farmer

I love making homemade play-doh. It's cheaper, has a better texture, and I can give it a nice scent with essential oils. For my last batch, I used TAZO Passion tea instead of water to add a mild color & scent. However, when we made the farmer's hair "grow" this morning, the fleshy color of the play-doh made Old MacDonald look less like a farmer & more like a punk with weird skull implants.

This is the recipe I use (although I tend to use a little extra oil to prevent it from drying our hands): http://mommyfootprint.com/the-perfect-home-made-play.... It's fun to add spices like cinnamon or even curry. Other times I add essential oils like lavender. When I have a lavender batch, I think I tend to play with it more than Jake.  :)