Too perfect 

Little boys

Ok, this was meant to be a post about Wendall's first day at school. Then I recieved word that one of my dearest friends has finally birthed her very own baby boy. Now I'm way too happy to actually write.

So. Wendall went to school. He did not even say goodbye to me because he was too busy trying to remember how to greet his teacher. (A hand shake while he says "Guten Morgen Frau Herbst.") I picked him up four hours later, tired and dirty, and very pleased with himself. The only thing that went a bit wrong was that he had expected to eat lunch at school today, and he is not scheduled for lunch until Thursday. Lunch smelled yummy, too. I have a feeling that I won't be packing many lunches for him. We came home and had pb&j and peaches, so he was happy, but I can tell he is looking forward to going back.

To backtrack a bit: Monday afternoon I recieved a phone call informing me that a spot had opened up at St Barbara's Kindergarten in Sorghof, and if I was willing to have him start on Friday it was ours. The school only accepts 50 children a year, and all of the spaces had been filled when we arrived, but so many people have left the base recently that a few of the spaces opened. The school has a mix of German and American kids, and everything is taught in German, along with English assistance. Wendall and I spent the next few days tracking down the paperwork and various items he needed before beginning the school year. On Tuesday, when I am sure that he likes the school, I will have him dropped from the books for the preschool on base. He has friends attending that class, but we will work on seeing them in the afternoon and on weekends.

A big day!

School time

Tomorrow morning the boy begins attending a German preschool. He will be taught in German and English, and will have a mix of kids. We are looking forward to this big step. Today we went school shopping, so he now has shoes, raingear, and other goodies to start him off right.

We went to a corn maze on Sunday, or a maize layberinth. Wendall had great fun at the maize maze, and truly enjoyed playing in the haystacks. 

We went to Vilseck's castle this weekend. Wendall had a great time playing with his sword and shield. 

Sleeping alone

At 4:30 this morning we were awakened by Wendall calling out for us. He had had a nightmare, and needed to know that everything was ok. We tried to calm him, and eventually brought him into our bed, where he settled into sleep, touching one or both of us for the remainder of the night.

We have been lucky up to now, not many nightmares have disturbed our rest, but as Wendall's imagination expands this will change. I still suffer from the occasional nightmare (the last was that I was trapped in the home of a militant anti-choice born again Christian. It was awful, and I only wish I was kidding.), but I know that I once had a few a week.

While pulling Wendall's little body close this morning, I thought about the sleeping arrangements in most US and European families. I realized how unfair it is that we spend our childhood alone in a bed, with no warm body nearby to help fight the terrors of the night. It is not until adulthood, when most of the monsters have been laid to rest, that we are able to cuddle up to someone and let their warmth and solid form remind us that we are safe in bed.

I had a friend in high school who had shared a room and a bed with her older sister from the day she was born. Her sister was two years older, and when I met them they shared a queen sized bed, or they had until her sister went out of state for college. My friend had spent the night alone for the first time in her life, and she did not enjoy it at all. By winter, she had started inviting people to sleep-overs every weekend that her sister was away. Almost every weekend she would have a few friends spend the night, maybe in her big comfy bed, maybe on the floor. She always looked happiest on Mondays. By Thursday she looked tired, the result of sleepless nights. She looked forward to college so that she could have a roommate again, and ended up very happy in a triple occupancy room for her freshman year.

So I wonder, what would happen if families shared space more freely at night. I know that there are issues with co-sleeping and "family beds", but I wonder how the children sleep, and how often parents are pulled out of bed in the early hours of the morning.

Not that I need my child in my bed every moment of every night, but it made me kinda happy to be in a big bed with two Wendalls and two kitties this morning.

Wendall in his new bed, hugging Doggie. 

Bush Polling Badly

I have not mentioned recently how much I dislike Bush.

I really dislike Bush.

It looks like other people agree.

We went to a Fest, with plenty of rides and food. This might have been Wendall's favorite. 

A man,a beer, and meat.  

Lunch at the Fest. Mmmm, pork! 

The Lego Prince 

This is the street in front of the house, shot from the boy's window.