This is so frustrating!

My kids have very different responses to this feeling. Last weekend I was working with Arthur on a 3-D train puzzle that was quite complicated. After an hour of laboring over this project, Arthur proclaims, "This is so frustrating!... I love it!" Huh? He is so motivated by complicated, detailed, and precise projects. He becomes obsessed with them and is unwilling to give up no matter how difficult (and annoying) they get. He isn't necessarily having fun, but he is challenged and learning--two things that my son loves. He is a little scientist, through and through. He needs to know the answer to everything, and he always requires a good explanation for why things are the way they are.

Adaline is quite different. If an activity even sniffs of difficulty or challenge, she is on to the next project. Her response to frustration is "oh, it must not be for me" (spoken in a princess voice). She feels no remorse over giving up, no insecurity that her brother is able to do something that she is not. She can't imagine participating in something that is not oozing with enjoyment and pleasure. She watched Arthur and I build that train for 3 hours (yes, I'm serious) with utter confusion. I think she felt sorry for us, really. She was happily painting and drawing on her own terms with no instructions or expectations hanging over her. Ahh...freedom.

Adaline is comfortable and aware of her differences with her brother. "God made me different, Arthur, and I don't really like doing those things like you do." Arthur, on the other hand, is perplexed by his sister. I secretly listened in on a conversation the other day that they were having after bedtime:

Arthur: Adaline, I just don't understand why you say that you see fairies.

Adaline: I do see them. All of the time. Everywhere.

Arthur: But if you say that you see them, then you are saying that they are real. And that is a lie. Why are you trying to make me believe in this fake stuff? (getting pretty agitated at this point)

Adaline: You don't have to believe in fairies. I believe in Santa Claus and you don't.

Arthur: You can't believe in all of this fake stuff. It isn't real. You can't say that you see them. That would mean that they are real. You are lying! (downright angry now)

Adaline: Arthur, let's just not talk about it.

Arthur: This is so frustrating! (mommy intervenes and calms him down)
--------
Unfortunately for Arthur, his sister does not come with an instruction manual, and she can not be easily manipulated or controlled. This is one frustration for which he is going to have to learn a new skill. And it is more of an art than a science. Good luck, buddy!

Merry Christmas!

I'm not actually extremely late on the Christmas post since we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. I'm only a day or two late, depending on how you count :) Anyway, we had a wonderful Christmas season this year--the Eve was spent with friends who made an extravagant Indian feast, morning was with Uncle Marshall, Xmas dinner was with friends at our place, a few days after Xmas was spent with family from NJ and WA, New Year's Eve was at a neighborhood party, New Year's Day was spent at a party with lots of friends, plus we hosted several fun play dates and had an enjoyable break from school. Dad was busy working and out of town, but he was generally more available in the evenings, which was a special treat for Mom. The season ended last night with our make-shift Epiphany Party (our celebration with friends was cancelled due to illness and my king cake did not get made because an appointment lasted longer than expected.) Jamison bought some "famous" red-velvet cake from our neighborhood and stuck a baby Jesus in one slice. Adaline was king for the evening (Arthur handled it like a gentleman.) And I threw together some meatballs that ended up being plain-old spaghetti meat sauce after I mutilated them :) Oh, well. Our theme for celebrating the 12 days was people and food. We enjoyed celebrating and feasting during this happy season!
Arthur's big present (from Grandma): A violin!
Adaline's big present (free from neighbors): A bike! (You might remember that we gave both of them bikes last Christmas--Adaline's was sold due to lack-of-interest, so this is round 2...she's ridden it once. But it will be hard to sell a free bike!)
Christmas morning with Uncle Marshall--orange rolls are our tradition. (But maybe not for long because I can't make them as good as my mom, and they are too much work if they aren't going to be good.)
Our gift to our kids (given on Epiphany): Marble maze. Very detailed and precise, which means perfect for Arthur, annoying for Adaline. Gifts are tricky with Adaline because she doesn't need ANYTHING to have fun--just give her a stick and some space and she's in fairy land in a second. Throw in some art supplies and dress-up clothes, and she is happy forever!

December catch-up

Blogger and I are not as close as we used to be...and if there is a silence in blogging, then the pictures and events just pile up and I get overwhelmed. Oh well, here are a few updates on life in the Galt family. Pictured above is the kids' winter concert--they sang "Frosty the Snowman" and enjoyed every minute of their time on stage. (They are on the back row on opposite ends.) The kids have loved their new school and have met lots of friends. They were happy to return to school today after a 2 week break. Adaline woke up early this morning giddy about seeing her teacher and asking if we could have him over for dinner.



We had some nice snow before Christmas. We played in it in our neighborhood and then further enjoyed it outside of the city at a house with friends. We did some amazing sledding and the kids got to try to ski for the first time. We had a wonderful time!

*We especially enjoyed having our own personal "chair lift" to take us back up the hill after every ride down. It was our pastor driving some all-terrain vehicle back and forth for us. That's him in the fuzzy fur hood--thanks Pastor Matt!