Lindgren Family Adventures: September 2013

28.9.13

What a fantastic program. The Smithsonian Institute sponsored a Museum Day that allowed families across America to visit our favorite museums on this one day for free. And what with Matthew being a rocket aficionado chose to visit our very own US Space & Rocket Center. And when I mean that Matthew is a rocket aficionado I mean this boy can tell you the difference between a "shuttle" rocket, a "booster" rocket, a "BIG" rocket and Daddy's ever popular "tickle" rocket that will have Matthew in stitches in no time.

Matthew will make it clear that his favorite is the BIG rocket (accompanied by saliva-choked rocket motor sounds and a finger lifting to the heavens). Otherwise known as the Saturn V, he loves to point out this landmark from a distance anywhere in Huntsville. At home his imagination of rockets takes off in a variety of ways. We have 'stomp' rockets that he loves to blast across the living room or at his sister. Daddy bought Estes motorized rockets that Matthew would rather carry with him into school as puncture hazards and fire hazards. And Matthew loves watching rockets on the ipad (pronounced "uh-put"), specifically SpaceX's especially cool Grasshopper, and ba particularly loud HD video of the Shuttle Discovery blasting off into space and into the imagination of children everywhere.

But on Museum Day Matthew got to walk up close to his favorites: BIG rocket, shuttle rocket and booster rocket. He was accompanied by Daddy, Mommy, Baby Charlotte and Poppie. Daddy remembers when he was a little boy and Poppie would take him to airshows and museums and planetariums and then out into the fields to watch Haley's Comet and the moons of Jupiter. Having Poppie with us made the day extra special for three generations of Lindgren rocketeers, armchair pilots, would-be astronomers and plane jane geeks. And we are so very thankful we could spend this day with our little geek in America's favorite rocket park.

BIG rocket from a little boy's point of view... ready to blast off into the imagination!

Mateo von Stink Chub explaining how exhaust gas accelerates at peak efficiency in a de Laval nozzle

Someone please kindly tell Dr. von Stink Chub that we are about to launch the rocket

Matthew's food tubes are a lot like what they eat on the

space station. Coincidentally, Matthew's diapers are a lot like what astronauts wear too... sans the pictures of Tow-Mater or Cookie Monster.

Matthew confidently explaining something that Daddy has no earthly clue about what it does....

This baby girl is just enjoying the rays!

Matthew found a play space capsule in the Davidson Center that was a HUGE hit for every boy and girl!

Little boy, big dreams.

9.9.13

Time to ditch the crib!

The debate to move Matthew to a toddler bed has been going on for quite some time now. But all advice and reason pointed to keeping him in the crib AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. So, when we prepared the nursery for Charlotte, we got another crib, even though she wouldn't move in with Matthew for quite some time.

Fast forward....A couple of weeks ago Paul needed to work late so I said I'd handle the kids. It's just hard to break your evening and come home just to have to go back to work.

Well, Matthew didn't NOT agree with our logic and spent the ENTIRE evening asking "Where's Daddy?". He had just started saying "Daddy" and "Monny" and his preference for "Daddy" is crystal clear.

The next morning he was a D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R. So much so that it convinced Paul that coming home at 5:30 for an hour isn't such a bad idea.

Unfortunately, the subsequent evenings just seemed to spiral out of control above and beyond anything I was used to. You see, the night time routine has always been MY time with Matthew and now Charlotte is also in on the action. It kills me to end my day with Matthew in tears and tantrums. I get so little time with him that I want it to be good!

Thursday night's routine culminated in pinning him down to put on "jammies" and then hearing him launch from his crib after I said good night. I knew that we would have to put a mattress on the floor because there was no way he was going to stay put and the best I could do was offer him a comfortable place to sleep on the floor once he calmed down enough.

The next day we converted his crib into a toddler bed. He was THRILLED!

oooohhhhhhh

Is this my new bed????

FREEEEDDDOOOMMMMMMM!

Jump! Jump! Jump!

Charlotte focusing on her birds

Thank you Monny!

Unfortunately, the freedom of a wide open crib was a little more than he could handle. I could tell from the minute he climbed in that he didn't like the open side. Once I was able to escape from the room we heard him in there for the better part of an hour tearing things up!

I wasn't able to get to the store to buy a side rail until Saturday so those first two nights were challenging. He slept half on and half off and was very unsure of things.

When I set up the side rail and showed him how to get in and out he was even MORE THRILLED with his new bed. Very cozy.

Saturday night as we were brushing our teeth we started talking about "jammies" and he made it clear that footed pjs were no longer acceptable. He would not be wearing them anymore. I am very sad about this. I LOVE footed pjs. So now we wear "night clothes" to avoid any confusion with "jammies".

And tonight it looks like we finally hit a groove. He went down without too much of a fight :-) Love this little boy. He'll always be my baby.