Sleep Walker

On his way to put Eli into bed, Huts noticed Christian's door ajar. He assumed a cat had gotten into it and shut it. After putting Eli to bed, he went into Tori's room to turn off her nightlight and there was Christian sprawled out on her bed. Christian was out of it, so Huts heaved him up and threw him into his own bed. This morning, Christian told us we were lying when we mentioned where Huts had found him last night. He had no idea what he had done. He has done this before, just not gone into Tori's room. I told Huts if he keeps this up, we'll have to put a bell on his bedroom door so we know when he is getting up and walking around in his sleep!

To The Letter

Today was picture day at school, and Christian could wear whatever he wanted. Guess what! He wore his school uniform. That's right. He refused to break out of the mode and wear something different. He woke up crabby and complaining he didn't know what to wear. Then he ran howling into our closet. After much discussion and debate. he left with a white shirt and khaki pants. His teacher said he is the rule follower.

All Grown Up

That's how I would describe Christian as of late. He latches on quickly to things. No more watching The Haunted when he is in the room. He watched the episode, spellbound, giving me details of the mist and the writing on the wall. He had all kinds of theories as to whether there was a ghost and what they could do to get rid of it. I didn't want him to get the impression that we had a ghost, or that any other house he visits has one, so I don't told him it was all on TV (not exactly a lie).

Be wary of having conversations with Christian. He remembers everything and he wants to know all.

No... Eli!

This is what we hear from Christian's mouth 20 times every night. While the kids are watching TV, Eli goes up to watch with them. He likes buttons, so he tries to push the buttons on the TV and when he does, we get to hear Christian yell at him. He then tries to keep Eli's hands off the TV. This results in Eli crying or Christian yelling at us that Eli is changing the channel. I am trying to teach Christian how to work the TV so he can change it back. He gets some of it, but like the telephone (where he puts it 3 inches from his ear, says hello and hands it off), he doesn't get the full picture. He tries to change the channel when a show is on he doesn't like, but only knows how to go up with the remote, then its the parents to the rescue. At least he's trying. He can operate the DVD player pretty well. He can get it started, but isn't sure what to do when a movie ends or how to restart it. He'll get there eventually. It won't be long and he'll be the go to kid for the younger two when it comes to changing the TV.

Reading Right Along

Christian has become quite the reader. At least his ability to read is quite prolific for a first grader. He is already in the Advanced Reading group in school. He gets extra books from the library to read at home, but he doesn't seem too interested in reading books as a whole. Once he gets better he might be more interested in books like his Mama was growing up. He does well on his spelling tests and generally gets 100 or more including his two bonus words. He still gets some of his letters and numbers backwards on occasion, but that seems to be improving. He has quite a lot of homework for 1st grade. He usually has 1 homework page, spelling homework and reading decodable books. Depending on his mood he gets most of it done in an hour while we are making dinner. Hopefully this habit sticks with him and he doesn't procrastinate like his father did growing up.

No After Care

Peoria was one of the few schools to stay open on this snowy day. Off Christian went, the first one at before care. There is no after care, so Huts is leaving work early and picking up Christian at 3:30 He will be so happy to see his dad. On another note, Christian is in the advanced reading group and brought home his first book to read. We read it twice, and he did well. He still seemed nervous this morning about reading it. Hopefully, he will remember the story of henry and his dog, Mudge.

Christmas Craze

The holiday season was full of the unexpected. The kids and their mom all got sick at various points. A leak spring and we had to call in the plumber. The tire went flat on the car and we had to get a new one. In between all of this was loads of present opening. Ollie got a ton of Legos, Transformers and Bakugans. He also got some marble machines and other stuff. The only thing he didn't get is some Lego set that the Easter bunny must now find.

The Good Big Brother

Ollie received a $100 gift card from Toys R Us for being the top candy seller in his school, and guess what he did with it. He shared it with his sister. That was the first thing he said he was going to do, and Tori got a doll, while Ollie got some Legos and Bionicles. What a nice big brother. Way to go, Mom, Dad and Aunt Annie, for doing all of the selling.

Missing His Sister

Christian realized this week how much he misses his little sister when she's gone. She went to visit Cassy and Courtney in Cape for 2 weeks after Thanksgiving. Christian is a bit bored without her since he has no one to play with. Eli isn't old enough to play anything organized. The only thing he is good at is pushing buttons...usually on the TV while Christian is watching a movie!

This usually causes a cry for "help" from Christian. We than have to move Christian into our room to watch his movie and shut the door so Eli can't get in there and mess with the TV. Only another week and he'll get his sister back.


He has benefited from her being gone. He has gotten to wrestle me by himself (with Eli's help). He get to go see Fantastic Mr. Fox this weekend and he's been able to choose some of the meals we eat at dinner. He's also gotten to stay up later than usual. He can handle getting up at the same time each morning for school when he goes to sleep at 9 instead of 8:30. He's pretty much become self sufficient other than washing himself in the bath. Maybe in a year or two.

Update: No Fantastic Mr. Fox. Christian changed his mind. What a pain.

Grandma is Here

Grandma Vickie arrived on Sunday, and the kids have kept her busy. She went to Grandparents Day at Christian's school. He saw her immediately and told his teacher his grandma was there. She went to his room to help him with a picture of the two of them together. She picked him up from school and he grinned from ear to ear when he saw her. Tomorrow he gets to stay home with her and his sister! Tonight we're letting them stay up late, so they will sleep in tomorrow before their cousins arrive. It's crazy-crazy at the Ericksons.