A jumble of on goings...

The kids are growing like weeds and I wonder often how quickly time is passing me by. I have 25 more weeks of school with kids and then another week after that to pack up my room. Then I'll be home with the kids!

Last Sunday as I was with E getting him to bed, he asked me why I had to go to work. I gave him my usual answer of "so we can have money to buy ___." He responded by saying that when he's 5 I'd be home. I said yes and then he says, "I can't wait until I'm 5."  Me too, little one. Me too.

I guess G told my mom the next day that he wanted me to stay home and that only Paul should go to work. 

I'm really looking forward to being the mom, wife, and woman I want to be...and nothing else.

E continues to ride his bike. He zooms and rides so quickly that I can't keep up! We practice writing his name, and are working on letter sounds and writing other words. He started soccer last wek and loved every minute of it. I had fun because it was just the two of us. I find that I don't get enough time with just him and me, so it's special when we have the time together. He really loves school and talks about what he does and learns. He's becoming such a better brother and teaches G too.

G is continually surprising us with his vocabulary and actions. He really is just a little copycat of his brother. He still nurses and we will be potty training soon. He loves to draw and color. These are definitely the "terrible twos". Sharing isn't his forte, but biting and hitting are. G can be very thoughtful and will say thank you a lot.

These guys are pretty awesome.

The reason it rains

As we left the mall today, E kept asking about why it rains. I gave him a scientific answer about how water evaporates and builds up in clouds. Then when the clouds get heavy, rain will fall.

Apparently, my answer wasn't good enough. 

E told me that is was because Jesus was crying. Or that he was peeing on us.

Thankful

On the way to my Mom's today with just G and me:

G: "Thank you, Mommy."

Me: "Oh, what are you thankful for?"

G: "For Daddy."

Halloween 2013

We did our second annual chili dinner outside on the driveway. Grandma, Papa and Papa Jack joined us for dinner and trick or treating.

E was the Incredible Hulk and G wa san orange monster.

The Incredible Hulks!

I also made myself a Bayside Tigers sweatshirt for the occasion!

Bikes

E and G are into riding their bikes lately. I'm hoping to start jogging while E rides since he goes pretty quickly!

Learning about dinosaurs

E has been into watching shows about dinosaurs lately. Not cartoon shows, but real Nat Geo type shows.

Yesterday he wanted to watch one so I turned on the most recent episode. The first scene we saw was of one dino ripping off the head of another for dinner. 

Here's the conversation that took place:

Me: "Umm...I think we should watch a different dinosaur show. This one didn't look too good."

E: "Nooooo! I want to learn about dinosaurs! Don't you want me to learn about dinosaurs?!"

Fall Break {the rest}

On Thursday, Paul took the day off of work and we went to the children's museum again.  He was going to a friend's cabin with some of the guys later that evening, so it was nice to get some family time in before he left.

The next day, my parents came to hang out with the boys (and me).  They were nice enough to take us out to the state fair on it's opening day.  E and G really enjoyed seeing the livestock that were there, but did not care for the level of noise that came with the fairgrounds.  Each ride was blasting music from speakers and it was just too loud for E.  G didn't seem to mind, but he did like riding the carousel. We ate pizza at Sam's Club and then headed back to get the boys down for bed.

On Saturday, E had soccer practice and wanted my dad to play with him.  I'm impressed at how much better E is getting.  He seems to really enjoy it so we signed him up for another session of soccer starting in December.  We played at the park for a bit afterwords and then went home for naps.  Paul came home that evening and the boys made him a sign.  Even E helped write some of the words that were on it.

Fall Break {thus far}

The boys and I have been enjoying our fall break and we are only halfway done!

On Monday, we went to the park to meet some of E's classmates. It was fun to see him interact (a little) with his friends from school and meet some of the ones he talks about at home.

After naps, we ran some errands at Target and headed back to the park near our house for a bit. E also found G's suspenders from his first birthday. We had fun tying ourselves together.

Yesterday we spent the day at my parents' house and met my sister for lunch. 

Today we made pumpkin muffins and then headed out to the children's museum. The boys love that place and the fact that we have a membership makes it so much better! 

I also had a "bad mommy moment" when I scolded E pretty harshly and he cried. I think it shook him up a bit hearing me so upset. 

The museum cheered us both up and we had a great rest of the day. Nap time didn't go so well with G as he only slept for 20 minutes. Later in the afternoon, we went for a nice walk and met Paul at the park.

Can't wait for tomorrow when Paul gets to stay home!

A great day

Today was a great day for us.

G slept in until 6:15, then Paul brought him in our bed. I nursed him until E woke up around 6:40. We got up and made waffles with pecan & banana maple glaze. 

At breakfast, Paul asked G if he would share his mommy milk. G said he would and E chimes in,"It's a good thing you have two boobies!"

We took a short walk outside after playing on the swings for a bit.

E had basketball practice and did ago well. He even made three baskets!

After coming home, the boys ate lunch and then took their naps.

Haircuts were next and they did fantastic! G has cried at every single haircut, but not today! Each of them received a lollipop - G had an orange one and E a blue one.

G decided that he wanted to be an orange monster with horns, but no tail for Halloween. 

I made some yummy paleo pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

We played chase around the house. I can't remember the last time I ha that much fun with the kids. So much laughter!

Our family dinner was at a local pizza place. The kids did really well behaving at the table. After G was done, he kept saying "all done". Paul told G that he would still have to sit at the table quietly until we were all finished. But G kept saying "all done" as a whisper for the next 5 minutes.

We enjoyed some cookies when we came home, played on the swings and the kids went to bed easily.

Happy {Belated} Birthday!

Happy 2nd birthday to G and me! (Ok, well...it's actually my 32nd birthday.)

I'm only three weeks late posting this, but I still did posted it!

Little G isn't so little anymore.  In fact, E keeps wondering when he'll be done having Mommy milk.  I'm wondering the same thing!

We celebrated our birthdays by having a pizza and ice cream cake after a rough day of work and short naps. I had a meeting at work until 5:15, then had to stop for the pizza and cake.  When I arrived home at 6:30, the kids were already tired and cranky.  They had already eaten dinner and were in their pajamas and ready for bed.

It wasn't the most glamorous of birthdays, but at least we were together.

G is now chatting away using 2-3 words at a time, sometimes even using 4 at a time.  He loves to dance and sing songs.  At bedtime, he will lay in his crib and sing songs before falling asleep.

Writing and drawing are still somethings that he loves to do.  He will hold the pencil/pen/marker with a two finger grip.  Usually he wills tell us what he is drawing/writing - vaccums, letters, trucks, etc. He also just started a parent-tot class at a local school. I'm hoping it will help him socialize and do a little learning outside of the house.

His favorite app, Letter School!

G loves to play with his brother, but knows exactly what sets him off and vice versa.  The few moments when they are playing together peacefully make me melt.

When he gets upset, his first reaction is to throw whatever is in his hand or nearby: cups, toys, books, food. While in time out, he loves to read books to settle down.  His most favorite book to read at anytime is his children't Bible.

When we are out driving around, he will ask to go by the church near our house to see "God" (a giant statue outside of the church).

He still has a pretty good appetite and loves peaches/nectarines.  Fruits are still a favorite as well as some vegetables.  We have him eating chicken, beef and turkey, but sandwich meat is not something he likes. I've discovered that I can put anything into an egg roll and it will be eaten.

G is learning some great qualities from his brother, as well as some not so great ones: saying "yuck" at the dinner table.

G thinks it's hilarious to try to run from us whenever he can.  Particularly when it's time for bed or diaper changes.

He will sit on his potty seat sometimes (with clothes on) and say he has to pee.  Let's hope this potty training starts soon!

I love that you come and give me kisses in order to wake me when I'm sleeping (or pretending to sleep).  I love that you still want Momma "muck" (milk) when I walk in the door from work/first thing in the morning.

G sleeps well on most nights and sleeps a solid 10 hours.  He's really into waking up around 5:30 and not going back to bed.

I'm amazed at how quickly he catches on to new sayings or situations.  He's pretty fearless when it comes to some form of physical activity.  Especially if he sees that his brother can do it!  He is shy around new people and is a bit cautious.

G is quite stubborn at times too.  He will definitely let his opinion be known when he doesn't like something that we are doing.  "No" is one of his favorite words. In the photo below, he didn't want to leave playing in the ditch, even once we started walking away.

We love you, little guy.  You bring such anxiety into my life, but you balance it with sweet kisses that make me swoon over you.  Thank you for being the spirited, easy-going, little monster that you are. We love you so!

And the moment you've been waiting for...

Evanisms

#1: Me: "Are you trading to put in your listening ears?"

E: "I can't. They're already attached to my head?"

#2: In the car talking about the rain - "It's like the clouds are peeing."

Reminiscing

I sit here and think back as to what happened two years ago today.

I was in labor with G at the hospital and hoping that his birth would be very different than his brothers.  Thankfully, it was.

Right now, I'm watching video footage from that moment and am in tears just thinking back about the last few moments I had with E before G came along.

Or remembering how much of a cow I felt I was when I saw myself tandem nursing.

Or how, for the first time in two years, I just saw footage of E and I having a quiet nursing session, just the two of us, that morning before going to the hospital.

So many thoughts were going through my mind tonight.

I am so grateful for all the love and support I have had these past two years. I could never thank Paul enough.

Great Parenting Moment

Sometimes, I have to give myself a pat on the back as a parent and this is one of those times.

I've been sick this weekend and so have the boys. But we still had to go grocery shopping. 

We started off well, but it soon took a turn for the worse. 

I was in the produce section and around the aisle comes E, shortly followed by Paul and G. E starts to throw a fit because he didn't want Paul to follow him. E said he wanted to go back and do it over again, but he didn't want anyone to follow him.

He kept fussing and dropping down tithe ground. I gave him choices about what he could do, but it was not working. He wouldn't stop having a fit. 

After a few more attempts, I asked for the car keys from Paul and I told E we were going to leave.

He didn't want to go, so I picked him up (tears and all) and we went to go have a chat in some chairs near the deli. 

After talking to him about his safety an that he was too young to go around the store alone, I brought up Daniel Tiger (a show he likes to watch). We talked about how he has to "stop and listen to stay safe".

After a few minutes he settled down. He also told me that he was hungry and tired.

Ding, ding, ding!

No wonder he was having such a hard time. I took him out of the store, grabbed him a snack and then he was ready to go back. (We had left Paul and G to do the rest of the shopping.)

I just think of how I could have chosen to lose my patience and our outcome could have been so different. Granted, I was lucky to have Paul there do that I could take the time to chat with E. But I'm so glad I did it this way instead of losing it.

Go me! 

E the Photographer

I found these pictures on my camera.  Apparently, Paul let E take some pictures while I was...er, I don't know where I was.

He has quite an artsy style to his pictures.