Callum lost his first tooth

Hi, it's me Jess...is anyone out there? Yeah, it's been a while. I actually thought I was completely done with this ole blog of mine. I wasn't planning on giving it up. It just happened. It was no longer a priority. Then Callum lost his first tooth at school last week and it seemed like too good of a story not to document. And by too good, I mean a story that wouldn't have made sense two plus years ago. 

We only discovered Callum had a loose tooth two days before it fell out. And it didn't even seem that loose. But he was in prep this past Thursday, dancing to Just Dance (high quality education over here) when the tooth came out and his mask caught it. HIS MASK...haha! He pulled it out and kept it safely in his hand until he got back to class and gave it to his teacher. She got one of those coveted tooth necklaces for him and put it safely in there. 

Fast forward to after school. Callum is usually the first kid out. Thursday, he was not. In fact, the teacher approached me before he did and said, "Did you get my message?" I thought for sure something happened. Turns out she sent me a picture of his toothless mouth, but I didn't check my messages. And Callum was late coming out because he was grabbing his tooth necklace off the teacher's desk to wear outside. 

The tooth fairy came that night. Callum requested the tooth fairy not take his tooth, so she so graciously left it, along with a note and a dollar. The problem is, the next morning a certain three year old got ahold of the tooth and lost it. It's gone. Oops. At least the memories and pictures are there, right?

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Callum's First Day of Pre-K

One thing the rona has taught me is I can feel all the feelings, even conflicting ones, and still make decisions. I'm nervous about the virus and I would consider us more cautious than many around us. I didn't want Connor and Isla going back to school because of so much exposure. But I felt comfortable with Callum going back to preschool. There were many reasons for this, mainly being they had to cut class sizes and the classes at preschool can't co-mingle. Him being exposed to 15 kids felt much different than Connor having 35 kids in his class...which is INSIDE a school building. Callum's class door is outside, so no walking through halls with other people. 

I was excited for Callum to go back to school. I think this whole pandemic has been hardest on him. He doesn't understand why he doesn't get to play with other kids. But, he wasn't excited about going back. He kept saying he wanted to go back to his 3 year old class and not a new class. I was nervous dropping him off on his first day, as he was very quiet and reserved which isn't like him. And recently, he acted like that when I took him to the dentist. He was so nervous that he ended up vomiting all over at the dentist. I was afraid of a replay of that happening at school. THANKFULLY, my fears were unfounded. And by day two, he ran into his class all excited for show and tell. 

Let's talk about what Callum wants to be when he grows up, haha! This kid is full of personality and obviously doesn't want to be put in a box and labeled with what he wants to be when he grows up. He has never once given me a serious answer to this. It will be interesting to see if that eventually changes over time. 

^^ This is a classic Callum pose. He doesn't like to pose serious/smiling and would much rather be silly. 

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Callum's "last day" of Preschool

This past Wednesday would have been Callum's last day of preschool. It would have ended with a cheesy promotion ceremony that I would have just eaten up. Then, after the ceremony had ended, there would have been a pizza party for the kids and their families. I would have taken one last photo of Callum with his teachers. And we would have collected his end of year crafts. Alas, none of that happened.

I still remember Callum's last day of school. It was surreal. The news of the virus hit hard and fast and mass panic spread quickly. On his last day of school, five kids attended in his class. People were scared. And I think we had five cases of the virus in our county at that point. I remember speculating with the teachers what would happen with the school closure. I don't think any of us thought it would last until the end of the year. Had I thought it would, I probably would have lingered chatting with those ladies a little longer (I love his teachers!) and would have taken one last photo of him with them. Hindsight.

Honestly, Callum doesn't really realize what he is missing out on. He doesn't even necessarily understand what is going on. He will ask to go places "when people aren't sick anymore". And when I tell him that he will be in a different class at school next year, he insists that he wants to go back to being three and stay in the same class at "playdough school".

Callum loved school and loved being around other kids. He loved playing in the sandbox and singing the songs on the carpet. Sending him to school was such a good thing for him and I really do hope they are able to open again in the fall.

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a glimpse into the life of Callum

This is Callum standing in front of his preschool, showing off his show and tell item. 

It's a painting he did with his Grammy (Ian's mom). He's holding it upside down. 

When I was getting him out of the car, he kept hitting me with the painting. I told him to be careful or he could ruin it. He responded with, "I'll just make another one." If that doesn't sum up Callum's personality, I don't know what does. 

Callum calls those shoes he is wearing his "jumping shoes". It's what he has called them from the moment he saw them. 

That fleece he is wearing, we bought on our vacation to San Diego last summer. It was an amazing and relaxing vacation. 

Callum is the kid that keeps me both humbled and fully entertained every single day. He's a fun one to have around...especially now that he isn't as likely to run off from me in public. He'll run, but when I tell him to stop, will most likely stop, turn around and stick his tongue out at me. Like I said, he keeps me humble.

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little moments not to be forgotten

// playing//

// getting used to her beanie //

// sleeping //

// dad party at preschool //

// tupperware is her favorite //

// sleeping //

// bubbles //

// playing //

A few things to note. I am pretty sure I take so many pictures of my kids sleeping because I am hopeful that I too will sleep again someday. A little play area in the living room is amazing and I now wonder why I resisted it for so long. In case you wonder why no pictures of Connor and Isla, as they are getting bigger, their pictures seem more and more personal and less like something I want to share with everyone for their own privacy. 

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Callum {4 years}

My little sidekick is as spicy as ever! FOUR didn't slow him down. This kid has never met someone he didn't want to play with. He tries to pick up every stick he sees...even if it is a legitimate branch. He has more energy than anyone I have met. He loves running, jumping and playing with his beyblades, cars and duplos.

Callum has literally never met anyone who he didn't consider a friend. He wants to play with everyone he sees, including adults. He will hit someone and yell "tag", even strangers in Target! Playing tag, wrestling and throwing sticks are a few of his favorite ways to play. And, it seems the sand box is his jam at school. He told me one day after school that he threw sand at someone and I told him that isn't ok. He responded that it was because the kid threw it at him first and got it in his eye. Oh man.

When I was putting Callum to bed the other night, I was thinking just how far we've come. Ian and I used to take turns sitting next to his bed and holding his hand until he went to sleep. Sometimes it took hours. These days, as long as he hasn't napped, he is out within 10 minutes. But, getting him to slow down for bedtime can sometimes be hard. Like I said, the kid has energy. He loves reading books about cars, ninjas or monkeys jumping on the bed before bedtime. I tried stopping Callum's naps in the spring, but it was dicy and it really has taken until the fall for me to fully stop them. Of course, if we drive anywhere in the late afternoon, I really have to work to keep him awake. Because of no nap, his bedtime usually ends up being around 7:30. 

Callum is a stellar eater, eating mostly anything put in front of him. Though, he also has a serious sweet tooth and will go for candy at any possible time. When there are popsicles in the freezer, he is constantly helping himself to them. He also loves eggs, chicken, pretty much any fruit and yogurt drinks. 

Callum has gone to LA with my parents twice now alone and he asks to do it by himself all the time now. I think he likes all the attention on himself! He also likes talking to people on the phone and hanging up on them mid conversation. He has taken to asking me to take his picture at various times and I totally love it. 

This kid is a special one. He is fun to have around and certainly keeps me on my toes and keeps life interesting. 

Callum got to celebrate his birthday on the actual day at school. We brought in pizza for everyone, then Callum picked out airheads to send home with everyone too. Then, in the evening, we had our family over for cake and ice cream. Callum picked out a cake topped with Oreos. He got beyblades and nerf guns for his birthday, both his favorites. 

And now a little interview with Callum:

What is your favorite:

     color - blue

     food - McDonalds

     drink - apple juice

     ice cream - chocolate

     toy - beyblades and nerf guns 

     book - the pooping one (Everybody Poops)

     song - all of them

     tv show - Morphile

     movie - Star Wars (I don't think he's ever seen any)

     thing to do - poop (toilet humor is big these days!)

     game - car game (an app)

     sport - baseball

     animal - lion...they scratch people

Who is your best friend? Landon

What do you like doing with your friends? Playing nerf guns with Charlie

Where did you meet Landon? at home

What is your favorite thing about school? playdough 

What do you enjoy learning the most? music

What do you like to do on the playground? play in the sand box

Who do you play with at school? my friends

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New Year's 2020

Alternatively titled "the blurry photos have the best memories". Actually, there could be so many alternative titles to this. From "party boy Callum" to "a glimpse into our future" to "the best new year's ever". But I'll stick with "New Year's 2020". It's simple, to the point and factual. 

I've hit that point in blogging that it happens so little that at this point, I am at least trying to throw up some of the memories I want to remember forever. New Years is one of those times. Connor really wanted to stay up until midnight and we said yes. But, we did an east coast New Years celebration at 9pm so we could all celebrate together. We even managed to stream the ball dropping on our tv. For Christmas, Isla's teacher gave me a bottle of sparkling cider, so I threw it in the fridge for the occasion. Then I told Ian to bust out some fancy glasses. With everyone grasping a wine glass of martinellis, we rang in the new year at 9pm. Everyone clang their glasses together. Callum really, REALLY enjoyed that part and kept it going, yelling "cheers!" before throwing his glass at yours. It was a sweet, fun and joy filled moment...full of children in their pajamas, a fire in the fireplace and just a cozy family time. Then the younger three went off to bed...Willa was actually already in bed. Connor and Ian stayed up watching a movie and I watched some Netflix (I'm just not a fan of marvel movies...don't hate!). About 10 minutes until midnight, I went and joined Connor and Ian. We celebrated the new year once again. And Connor was shocked when I shooed him off to bed at around 12:10. He wanted to keep the party going!!!

If I had to imagine a new year celebration with children, it was just how I would imagine it. Stress free, fun, celebratory, and most importantly, done in pjs! 

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The Tale of Four Monkeys

You guys, how cute is my fourth little monkey?! A little back story on this outfit. A former coworker sent it to me in Scotland when I was pregnant with Connor. I was super into sock monkeys back then. And it was perfect. In fact, it still is. I am keeping hardly any of my kids clothes because I know that's not what kids want when they become adults, but this, this I am keeping. And I will most likely stuff my grandchildren in it, much to the complaining and eye rolling of my children. It is what it is children! It's for the memories! 

Also, I am glad I took Willa's picture right after I put her in this outfit because, well, she had a blow out about 30 minutes after I put it on. So, she didn't even get to go trick or treating as a sock monkey. Of course, she slept for most of the trick or treating experience and I didn't even get her a bucket or take her up to a house to get candy, so I guess it doesn't really matter! 

Now let's take a walk down memory lane and revisit all the kids as sock monkeys. 

Connor:

Isla:

Callum:

Willa:

It's a good thing all my kids were fall/winter babies so this comparison worked! Man did we plan well, haha! And if sibling comparisons are your thing, here is another one of all four and two sister comparisons (one and two). I know, I know, I document A LOT.

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Callum's Preschool Open House

Just before we left on our trip to Nashville was Callum's preschool open house. As a mother, these are the types of things I eat up. Adorable little crafts, children proud of their artwork, proud of their classrooms, lovers of their teachers. Preschool is just such a sweet, sweet time. And I just love that the big crafts they do are the exact same ones that Connor and Isla did as well. 

The open house itself was rather chaotic with a million families smooshed into one classroom with preschoolers running every direction taking parents on a scavenger hunt of their classroom. But Callum enjoyed himself, and thats what matters. He also enjoyed showing off his obviously amazing artwork. 

^^ I didn't keep much artwork of the kids, but when I was cleaning out a closet the other day, I found both Connor and Isla's jellyfish like this. Now I feel like I should do something with them, since I have all three. I also thought that the preschool better still do this craft when it's Willa's turn!  

In case you wondered just how similar the crafts were with the other kids, totally samsies. Here's the proof - Connor and Isla. The entire building has undergone a renovation since we were last in that class five years ago, but the crafts remain the same! 

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