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We spent the weekend in Gettysburg with my mom's side of the family (well most of it, 15/17 family members were there). Since we have two 5-month-olds we opted for 2 cabins instead of tent and camper camping. D. and I did not rate a bedroom so he got the futon in the livingroom and I shared bunkbeds with P. who is 4.
Well just turned 4. We celebrated his birthday, his mother's, and my aunt's. Of course not all at once, but during three separate meals. Why have cake once when you can have it three times? Plus we had s'mores. I had them for the first time with Reese's peanutbutter cups instead of just chocolate. *GENIUS* people.
4-year-olds get up really early. And call out for their parents a lot. And when they're put back to be because no one should be up at 4:30am sometime they entertain themselves by singing. Full voice singing. P. is energetic, smart, and adorable. He is very into The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars (he's only seen the original movies). For his birthday he got an ax (so he can chop down doors and save people like the Tin Man, but he won't chop down trees because "that would hurt them".) He also got a "real" light saber and will do the Darth Vader voice. Adorable.
We saw some battlefields. I found it kind of hard to explain the Civil War to a 4-year-old. Examples:
At the cyclorama
P: (mildly distressed) Why is the horsey on the ground?
me: The horsey got shot.
P: Why did they shoot the horse?
me: They were trying to shoot the soldier but they missed and shot the horse. Sometimes that happens. [P. was unconcerned about the dead/dying/fighting soldiers, but was also interested in the canons and the fake tree. IDK]
P: Are they going to get another horse?
me: Look over there (points to another part of the painting) there's a horse that's standing up.
P: Why are bullets hard?
me: I don't know. (And I'm thinking, I do know, it's so they can tear into soft fleshy bits, but there's no way I'm saying that to the already sad four-year-old.)
Standing on the top of Little Round Top (which I was excited to see because of the 20th Maine, which was the only Gettysburg history I remember from junior year of highschool).
P: What were they doing?
me: Well some soldiers were up here on top of the hill and the other soldiers were down there and they wanted to come up and take the hill and the soldiers who were up here fought very hard to keep the hill.
P: What?
me: See those kids down there? It's like if we wanted the hill all to ourselves and they came up and wanted to take it and we didn't want them too.
P: Did they tell them that?
me and P.'s dad simultaneously: sort of
me: they told them that with guns, which isn't a good way to tell people things.
P's mom T. said that on the car on the way there P. asked who were the good guys and who were the bad guys (he has a book about the Civil War). T. said something along the lines of neither (and I'm not sure if she said or just thought: "but really the North"). What can I say we're from New England and Ohio.
The next day we went to the outlet malls, but mostly we played with P. and the babies. They are just as cute, but ever so much more fun now that they're 5 months instead of 2 or 3. It was a really nice family weekend. We hardly got to see any of Gettysburg so maybe we'll go back next year. Oh and D. and I cooked! D. made french toast (they way his mom makes it) Sat. morning and I made chili with those corncake things for dinner.
Well just turned 4. We celebrated his birthday, his mother's, and my aunt's. Of course not all at once, but during three separate meals. Why have cake once when you can have it three times? Plus we had s'mores. I had them for the first time with Reese's peanutbutter cups instead of just chocolate. *GENIUS* people.
4-year-olds get up really early. And call out for their parents a lot. And when they're put back to be because no one should be up at 4:30am sometime they entertain themselves by singing. Full voice singing. P. is energetic, smart, and adorable. He is very into The Wizard of Oz and Star Wars (he's only seen the original movies). For his birthday he got an ax (so he can chop down doors and save people like the Tin Man, but he won't chop down trees because "that would hurt them".) He also got a "real" light saber and will do the Darth Vader voice. Adorable.
We saw some battlefields. I found it kind of hard to explain the Civil War to a 4-year-old. Examples:
At the cyclorama
P: (mildly distressed) Why is the horsey on the ground?
me: The horsey got shot.
P: Why did they shoot the horse?
me: They were trying to shoot the soldier but they missed and shot the horse. Sometimes that happens. [P. was unconcerned about the dead/dying/fighting soldiers, but was also interested in the canons and the fake tree. IDK]
P: Are they going to get another horse?
me: Look over there (points to another part of the painting) there's a horse that's standing up.
P: Why are bullets hard?
me: I don't know. (And I'm thinking, I do know, it's so they can tear into soft fleshy bits, but there's no way I'm saying that to the already sad four-year-old.)
Standing on the top of Little Round Top (which I was excited to see because of the 20th Maine, which was the only Gettysburg history I remember from junior year of highschool).
P: What were they doing?
me: Well some soldiers were up here on top of the hill and the other soldiers were down there and they wanted to come up and take the hill and the soldiers who were up here fought very hard to keep the hill.
P: What?
me: See those kids down there? It's like if we wanted the hill all to ourselves and they came up and wanted to take it and we didn't want them too.
P: Did they tell them that?
me and P.'s dad simultaneously: sort of
me: they told them that with guns, which isn't a good way to tell people things.
P's mom T. said that on the car on the way there P. asked who were the good guys and who were the bad guys (he has a book about the Civil War). T. said something along the lines of neither (and I'm not sure if she said or just thought: "but really the North"). What can I say we're from New England and Ohio.
The next day we went to the outlet malls, but mostly we played with P. and the babies. They are just as cute, but ever so much more fun now that they're 5 months instead of 2 or 3. It was a really nice family weekend. We hardly got to see any of Gettysburg so maybe we'll go back next year. Oh and D. and I cooked! D. made french toast (they way his mom makes it) Sat. morning and I made chili with those corncake things for dinner.
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