Transformers: More Than Meet the Eye

Lear has been counting down the days until Transformers 2 came out. He has been practically drooling in anticipation. Every time he saw a commercial for it, he would start screaming hysterically, then rewind the tv, and DVR the commercial so he could watch it over and over. Cory and I would find some weird show on the DVR that recorded for about 4 minutes, then find out that all that recorded was a Transformers commercial. (That boy can work a DVR almost better than I can - I think he definitely uses it more.)

So, he's been moderately excited to see it. My brother Bronson was also a raving Transformers fan in his youth, so he promised Lear that they and Cory would see it opening night. Lear was reeeeeaaaaaallly looking forward to it. The night before it came out, a friend who had advance tickets texted me to tell me that it was very scary, and probably not ideal for a five year-old to see. 

(Here, I need to explain something. Lear is a timid movie-goer. He's terrified of Sleeping Beauty. He refused to finish watching The Little Mermaid after Ursula's first appearance. Spider Man caused him to run out of our living room screaming, after which he hid behind his bed. We have to ambush him to take him to any movies, and we only go to very kid-friendly movies like Up. Which he thought was scary.  Transformers 1, however, he loved. Go figure.)

Anyway, we talked about it. We definitely don't want him to see anything scary or bad, but we had already promised him that Cory would take him to see it. My brother Barton, who was visiting, pointed out that Lear may not remember the movie when he's older, but he will definitely remember that we broke a promise that was important to him. We think it's important for Lear to know that he can count on us, so Cory took him to the movie. (Mental note: don't make promises that you'll regret later!)

Lear spent the whole day trembling with excitement. I think he was more thrilled to see Cory come home from work than I've ever seen him. He left our house chanting "I'm going to see Transformers!" over and over. This mood didn't last. Cory said that Lear spent most of the movie clutching Cory's arm desperately, and sometimes with his face buried in his arm, too. Cory offered to take Lear home several times, but Lear refused, and toughed it out. When they got home, he ate the Happy Meal that Cory picked up for him because he looked "shell-shocked" quietly, with a zombified look on his face. (Side note: I suggested that Cory take him to Burger King, where they have Transformers toys, and Cory said that he thought it wouldn't be a good idea, under the circumstances.) After a little time, he felt more like himself again, and we sent him to bed. Oddly enough, he didn't have any nightmares.

Now, we and Lear have an agreement: Daddy will preview all movies, and then decide if it's too scary for Lear to see. Lear was the one who suggested it. I wish it didn't take a bad experience for all of us to come to this conclusion, but we're not perfect parents, and we're definitely still learning. At least we kept out promise. 

P.S. He still loves Transformers - just the toys and cartoons, though. 

Lear quote:  "Oh, snap!" 

Ella quote: "Ella to the rescue!"

Ella is Three

Where does the time go?

Lear quote: "If you care to look down, Mommy, you'll see that I spilled my drink there yesterday."

Ella quote: "Ride 'em, Cowboy!"

Miscellany

This is a self portrait taken at the Zoo Train, on our preschool's Zoo Day.

Ella on the carousel.

This is a wasp we found on our dying maple tree. It's hard to tell in the picture, but its about five inches from head to the end of the ovipositor. (That's the long thing that looks like the scariest stinger on the planet.) It uses that thing to bore into a rotten tree, then lay it's egg into a grub, where it's young will eat it from the inside out. Gruesome, huh?

Lear at Preschool graduation.

Lear with his "Best Buddy" Kaeden and their friend Skye. Kaeden and Lear were well nigh inseparable at school. They both have an obsession with Transformers.

Lear quote: "Dear Heavenly Father, please bless our food. Bless the potato bug that is lost in our house that it won't get squished. Also, bless the snail on the play table in my room that is won't get lost, too..." (We now have a rule that the kids aren't allowed to bring things with more than four legs and less than two into the house.)

I can't think of an Ella quote. I'll have to try to have two for next time. 

Water damage

These are pictures of our flooded garage. We've been having almost daily thunderstorms here in Utah, and one was incredible. We were supposed to go to a band party that night (yes, I play in a band. www.kairobynight.com if you're interested) but we spent the evening pumping water out of our garage. Thanks for the Shop Vac, Brei and Kelly! These pics were taken after the water had receded a bit.

Memorial Day

We went to visit my parents in Oregon over Memorial Day weekend. Here are some random thoughts and facts:

Ella made the 13-hour drive to Oregon without accidents. Or diapers. I tried to buy Pull-Ups "just in case" but Ella threw such a fit at Target about it that I threw caution to the wind, and just took all the panties we own. On the way home, we had a bomb. On the whole, though, she did a good job.

We got to spend the whole weekend with my parents and my brother Barton. Usually he's working, but the one upside to being out of a job in these tough times is that he has lots of time to spend with us - and we loved it.

We love going to the Oregon coast. We love sand, waves, sea lions, and the aquarium.

We saw an eight foot long sturgeon - underwater. If you're ever in the Columbia River Gorge, remember: the Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery are free, and very cool.

Lear threw a fit because he only got one new Transformer a day while at grandma and grandpa's house. When I tried to tell my mom to tone it down, she said, "Tia, it's my job to spoil them, and yours to mediate the effects." Thanks, Mom. 

One of the reasons I left Oregon were springtime allergies. Now, whenever I go back, they gleefully take their revenge. Curse you, pollen!

I have a very cute new nephew. The other two are pretty darned cute, too. I loved watching my kids playing with their cousins. There wasn't even much fighting.

My brother Bronson came with us. He slept for about 97% of the drive - that's about 25 hours total. It's like he has a mutant power or something. Thank God you're here, Narcoleptic Boy!

Lear quote: "I missed Cosy so much it put a tear in my eye." (Cosy is our annoying cat.)

Ella quote, said after a compliment on her cute curls: "Yeah, I look good."

Life Lessons

As almost everyone knows, Lear is obsessed with Transformers. In fact, he is going to see the new Transformers movie with his dad and uncle when it comes out - and this boy is afraid of a long list of other movies half as scary. A few months ago, he declared that he was bored with the toys he already had, and I explained to him that I'm only going to buy him toys for his birthday and Christmas. He added up the months until his birthday (in October) and was very disappointed that he would have to wait that long. So, as parents who are trying really hard to be good parents, we saw an opportunity. 

Cory made a job chart, and Lear had to complete every job every day, and if he did this, at the end of the week, we'd pay him for his work. We priced the Transformers that he wanted, and we worked it out so that he'd have to save for ten weeks to earn enough money. So, for ten weeks, Lear has been cleaning his room and clearing away his dinner dishes (among other things) and faithfully saving his money for his Transformer. Some days he did this more cheerfully than others, but he did it.

Well, today was the day. He's been counting down the days for about five days. This morning, it was the first thing he thought about. He told everyone at preschool about it. Several times. After lunch, I paid him for his last week, and we went to the Red Store (that's what he calls Target). I purposely had him save a little less than what he needed for the toy he's been talking about, so he'd learn about budgeting and saving and stuff. He went straight for Grimlock, a Dinobot for those of you not in the know, but it was $23.00, and Lear only had $19. I thought he'd be all upset, but he simply chose one he could afford, and decided to use his leftover money to save for next time. He got a Cybertron Mode Optimus Prime - the sixth Optimus Prime in his collection.  And he is already planning his next purchase in about ten weeks.

Lear quote, chanted over and over at Target:"I'm getting a Transformer! I'm getting a Transformer!"

Ella quote: "Mommy, I swallowed Sleeping Beauty's pink shoe." She opened her mouth and pointed at her throat. "Get it out!" (This is where I roll my eyes and sigh bitterly.) 

Here's a whopper for you.

Lear has a little problem with Ring Around the Mouth - a little red, irritated ring from licking his lips too much. Somehow, he has inherited this habit from his uncle Bronson, who had a problem with it when he was Lear's age. I've been putting Vaseline on it at night, which helps a lot, but recently I've noticed that it's getting worse. I asked Lear about it, and the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Lear, why are your lips getting worse?"

Lear: "Oh, the stuff you put on it got accidently wiped off."

Me: "Accidently? How did that happen?"

Lear: "Well actually, my finger accidently fell in my cup of water on my night stand, and then I touched it to my nose, but it slipped off and it rubbed around my mouth like this." He rubbed his finger around his mouth, slowly and deliberately, all the way around. "It happened before I could stop it. It was out of my control."

I've started putting the Vaseline on when I go to sleep at night, after Lear's been asleep for a couple hours. It's been getting much better.

Lear quote: "Get away from me, you nasty predator!" Said while playing a game with Papa. Does he even know what a predator is?

Ella quote: "Go away! You NOT my friend anymore!" Let the drama begin!