Brothers

The other day, I actually got my camera out. Mommy points!! James and Gavin weren't being totally against it, so I asked if they would hug each other. Third try, this gem:

Gah. Brothers, man. So dang cute.

Shatter

I am honestly surprised that this happened today, and not much earlier. Today, the floor lamp that we have had since getting married, was shattered. Culprits: two little boys, one of which was quite scared and the other one could care less (guess which ones!). The littlest one was sleeping snugly in his crib, thank goodness.

James decided to have art time today (which went really well and we had such a great time!). I attempted snowflakes (FAIL), Gavin colored beautifully on any piece of paper within his reach, and James cut cut cut paper and used markers. Once they were all done, I had the wonderful job of cleaning up all our messes. I was almost done, and was taking almost the last of the paper to the recycling bin (so seriously, like two seconds in the kitchen), when I hear a loud SHATTER. I thought to myself, "What in the world could have made that noise?? How did they get to a picture frame??" I take the two steps out of the kitchen to look into our great room, and behold this scene: James on his Buzz car, Gavin standing next to him, both near where the lamp should have been, and the lamp on the ground, the top shattered into lots of lovely glass pieces. I wasn't happy. I put the boys far away from the glass and started to pick up all the glass. I look over and James is just tense and looks like he is going to burst into tears. I went over to him, and asked him if he was ok. He looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I'm scared!" and just started crying. I felt so bad- a large object shatters right next to him and his mommy gets upset at him for it happening. Poor guy. I held him close, telling him that it was totally ok. It was an accident and I would take care of it. I wasn't mad at all. Calmed him down so much. I then let them watch a Tinkerbell movie on the computer, which they thought was such a cool treat. I got the great job of making sure every last shard of glass was gone. Joy.

I have been trying a lot lately to be softer with my children. I find myself getting too caught up in the non-perfect behavior and the craze of errands and whatever else will cause me to get too anxious and be too stern with my kids. Today, even though I lost my cool for a little bit, I was really happy with how awesome it turned out in the end. I really felt like it was a big milestone for James and I understanding one another and both of us listening. He is still apologizing for it happening, but then quickly adding on, "But we'll buy a fixed one!". Yeah, let's avoid the brand-new broken ones, little buddy. I love learning lessons from my kids and seeing the efforts of mothering paying off. 

Let Me Correct Myself, Mom

It's so funny when kids are learning to talk and use proper grammar. They start off by mimicking whatever you say. "You're so funny!" is followed by "You're so funny!" then comes the lesson of who "you" and "I" are and it's different for everyone. There are so many different things to teach them, and they don't always get it, and that's totally cool. For goodness sakes, they are just small little human beings learning a language!

The other day, I said something to Gavin. I can't quite remember what, but it went something like this:

Me: Gavin, you are so sweet!

Gavin: Yes, I are... am!

What now? My two-year old just corrected his own grammar? I busted out laughing (and I just remembered what it was about... it was not about him being sweet... it was about him being stinky... ha!). I don't know how their little minds process all that they have to learn, but it certainly does. They are amazing.

The Bad Guy

Friday, I was an emotional mess. After hearing about the horrific shooting in Newtown, CT, I couldn't keep myself together. 

After putting Jack down for his nap, and getting lunch ready for Gavin, James, and I, James had me say the prayer for lunch. I had composed myself for a while, and while saying the prayer remembered to pray for all those affected by this tragedy. As I was praying, I lost it again. I finished the prayer and had a hard time pulling myself together. James and Gavin weren't quite sure what to think. Gavin kept telling me, "You not crying! No crying." While James looked concerned, but laughed a little. I let them know that, no, Mommy was not being funny. Mommy was very sad. A bad man on the other side of the country had hurt little children, and that it made Mommy very sad. A simple question from a little boy followed, "Why, Mommy?" Oh, honey. I don't know why. 

I got myself together and we all started eating. A few minutes later, James piped up, "Mommy... I'm going to go fight the bad guy." This touched my heart. I know he pretends all day long to be a good guy and fight the bad guys, but the look on his face and the way he said it... he really wanted to go save and help people. "Mommy... I am going to go fight with my sword... Because I am a knight." This made me laugh and I am so grateful for my little James. My little (wanna-be) hero.

The Captain

Sometime this last year, there was an article in the Ensign. It was about raising young kids in the gospel and what tools you can have in your home that can help them learn more about it. At the time, I definitely was feeling like I was lost on how to bring it down to the boys' level. And to help them be a little more reverant during sacrament meeting. They recommended purchasing the church's picture book, the nursery manual, and the simplified scripture stories. I didn't even realize I could have these! I bought the picture book, the nursery manual to help with FHE lessons, and The Book of Mormon simple stories. I was happy to see how much they loved the picture book. 

When my parents visited in August, they brought some Book of Mormon heroes figures. The boys were SO excited to have them! They got Nephi, Captain Moroni, Helaman, and Ammon. The figures are modeled after the heroes pictures in the picture book. James was so excited to put his heroes on top of their pictures and match them up. It's been great having them more interested in the stories and learning about these great men. 

That being said, no pole is safe now when we are shopping. I'm not sure when this started happening, but it is happening more frequently. James started it, for sure. He walks up to any pole, holds it with his right hand, holds up his left foot, and declares, "I'm Captain Moroni!!". Gah- too cute. Now Gavin gets in on it and shuffles his way in to have a turn being "Captn Noni!". We even sometimes discuss how he is going to fight the bad men and how he's "gooood". 

We may not think little ones are learning, but they certainly are.

How Many Times in the Day

I'm not sure why (and I sure am loving it), but James has decided this last week to say, "I love you, Mommy!" countless times every single day. It's cute. It's funny. Sometimes it's a bit much, but that is usually when I'm super busy and I know exactly what he has to say. He's always been a huge love. 

It is definitely humbling at times, because he has started choosing to say it also when I'm sounding exasperated. He'll go, "Mommy! Mommy! Mom!" and I unfortunately do not always have the most patience with three kids, reply curtly at times, "What?!". "I love you, Mommy!" I'm pretty sure that isn't what he was going to say, but he realizes that is what I need to hear. Kids... such great teachers.

This past week at Target (this may be the same trip as runaway gav), we were in the dollar section (yay for dollar sections!), and James turns to me while he is perusing the merchandise, "I love you, Mommy!". That's how random it is. Literally out of no where! There was a lady a few feet away from him, and when she heard it, turned to him, a bit surprised, and just said, "Aawww, that is so sweet!". I told her thank you, he's such a love. Got me thinking, though- I wonder how common it is now to have children (or more importantly, parents) express their love so openly. We've always said it to our kids, as much as we can. I never want them to question if we love them or not. 

Thinking about his expression of love this week, if I remember correctly (I might have to go check before I go to bed) that it was around this time last year that he said "I love you" to me, with no asking/prodding/whatever, for the first time. I remember feeling so happy that he LOVED me! On his own! Now there is no question of it, for sure! I don't know what I've done to deserve him and his love like this, but I sure am grateful for it. Update: November 13, 2011. Said "I love you" to me for the first time, no prompting. What a year can do.

Runaway Gav

It finally happened. Yesterday... I lost a child. At Target. More like he lost me. Not cool.

Gavin has decided to embrace his two-ness lately and been a tad wilder while out of the cart. Especially at Target. He generally is a cautious boy, but he's two. Things tend to go out the window when you are two. 

I was in the guy section of Target, looking for stocking stuffers for dear husband. James and Gavin were goofing off about two-three feet away from me. Gavin started getting the mischievous look in his eyes and started going further away. I asked him to come back. Of course he didn't. I turned around and saw Jack almost completely turned around in his cart seat, starting to stand. Seriously, if the strap isn't perfectly tight on him, he can wiggle his way till he stands. Scares me half to death. I get back to the cart to wrangle the one-year old, and as I do so, Gavin decides to run off. James tells me, "I'll go get him!" Such a good brother.  He loves to corral his little brothers. He runs off after him, I get Jack properly back in his seat and cinch the belt. I hear a little boy making his way back. James comes around the corner, without Gavin, and says, "Mommy, he ran away." He looked so put out, like he couldn't believe his brother wouldn't let him bring him back and be good. I was livid. So not what I needed!

We set off looking for him, checking the section we had been in quickly to make sure he wasn't hiding. No Gavin. I started muttering some not so great stuff. We headed for the main aisle, looking down each small aisle for any signs of him. We walked all the way down to the boy toy section. He wasn't there or anywhere in between. I was worried that if we got too far from where we were originally that we'd miss him heading back. Knowing Gavin, I knew he'd head back the where we had been when he was good and ready. We headed back, double checking, looking for a Target worker to help us out. All of a sudden they had disappeared. Awesome. Went back, he still wasn't there. Next we tried down between the older boy and baby/toddler section. As I was looking back over to the other main aisle, I see little Gavin trotting by. "GAVIN WESTMORELAND!!" Yes, I yelled. A few people were around me and I yelled at my kid. He looked at me with his cute, sheepish grin. "Gavin! Get over here now!!" He started hesitantly coming back, still wearing that darn grin of his. "Now", pointing to the floor next to me. He started running more back to me and I knelt down to see him. And, lo and behold, I surprised myself by crying. I hadn't realized how scared I was. I just held him tight, rubbing his back, crying. "You can't do that to me! You have to stay close to mommy! I was worried about you! I'm so glad you are back." His reply: "I love you". Oh, you little boy. After that I picked him up and plopped him in the back of the cart. "NO!" You better believe you get the cart treatment after you run away. I hope that is the last time that happens, but I highly doubt it. Three rambunctious little boys... it'll happen again.

Right Now

Right now, I'm letting the boys watch Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. We have errands to run, but they love it. I was just sitting here, finishing an email. Gavin sits next to me, puts his sweet little head on my shoulder...

Gavin: I sitting next to Mommy... I love (or wuv) you!...

Me: Aw, thanks!

Gavin: *smacks a fishy kiss*

Me: *heart melts and gives kiss*

Gol, love him!

Obsessed Much

At precisely 3:15 this morning, I woke up to James standing on our bed saying something along the lines of, "Santa is bringing me Loki.". Since Saturday, every day James will talk about how Santa is bringing him Loki and/or Hawkeye for Christmas. He's seen the toys in the store (and he has the other Avengers), and has sealed the deal that that is what Santa is getting him. Saturday and Sunday, I don't know how many times we had conversations about it. Or him reminding us of it. He started asking me where they were and I said, "In Santa's toy bag, waiting to come here on Christmas." Now that has been added to our conversations about it. Back to this morning...

He wanted to talk about it. He snuggled right in next to me and mentioned Hawkeye (it's a little fuzzy...). Then the cat came up and was trying to get on my side table which I wouldn't let her, so I got up to put her out in the garage. Usually when James gets in bed with us (which is quite rare), I sleep on the couch so James can sprawl out and Brad can pass out. I got situated on the couch and then after a few minutes I started hearing some crying and Brad talking. Then Brad is taking him back to his bed. I found out later that James still was talking about them. It was raining outside, but I could of swore I kept hearing crying still. If I heard it one more time, I'd go snuggle with him. Heard it, went upstairs and waited outside the door. There was nothing... and there was the semi-sob sound. I walked in and he was trying so hard to hold it in. I got in bed with him and asked him what was wrong. "Daddy is GONE!" I told him to whisper (he shares a room with Gavin and Jack could easily hear him in the next room). I tell him it's okay, I'm with him now. He can't stop crying. This time it's over Loki and Hawkeye. For reals?? We are still on them?? I asked him if we wanted to go to Target and get them later on. He said yes, but still couldn't stop crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "Daddy is MAD at me!!" and just starts sobbing. My heart just broke. I scooped him up, planning on going downstairs to let him cry and talk to me and snuggle on the couch. I was surprised (seriously) to find Brad at the end of the hall. I told him what he said, Brad was definitely not mad at him. Seeing Daddy made a big difference and James was able to settle down. He decided we'd sleep in his bed (yay for twin instead of a king!!). After a while he finally drifted off, leaving me a oh-so-tiny portion of the edge of his bed. Oh well. I got a little bit of sleep and got to be with him. It's so nice being around the older two when they sleep. Hardly happens. 

I expected him to sleep in, but when I came down from my shower he was up and about... and happy. Which made my day :) I was baffled by this obsession. He could not stop thinking about Loki and Hawkeye. Luckily we had a discussion while out on our errands that if he got his heroes today, Santa would have nothing to bring him. And wouldn't it be so much more fun to wait till Christmas? He actually liked that idea... so, so far, we haven't had to buy them early. Let's hope he sleeps all night tonight and the talk of those two lessen!

Surprise Manners

This morning, Brad and I were lounging on the couch while James, Gavin, and Jack-Jack were playing by themselves respectively. Gavin took something James wanted. James promptly says, "Gavin, give me Skrull back!" To which Gavin responds by running in the other direction, into the kitchen, screaming, "No!" James then looks to me, sad faced, and says, "Mommy, he took him from me (*more pouting*)." I tell him to just wait his turn, Gavin will be done with it shortly.

Gavin then comes running back in the room, holding out his hand, saying, "Here, James. Here, James. Here, James." James, being him, doesn't realize his name is even being said. I call his name (like three times... man, does he have his own little world sometimes). He turns to me. I say, "Look, Gavin is giving Skrull back to you."

James: Oh, thank you, Gavin!

Gavin: You're weelllcome, James!

Wow. No prompting. Just wonderful manners. Brad and I beamed at each other, giving each other a high-five. For this was a parent win. But was it? I am beginning to think it was more like a little boy win. For though we provide small guidance, it is them who chose to be nice to one another in this instance. So we won as parents, by getting these sweet guys in our family.

And Salad!

A few days ago, I was asking James what kind of sandwich he would like- peanut butter or cheese? He very joyously proclaimed, "PEANUT BUTTER! And honey!.... And salad!!" I couldn't help but laugh. I don't think he'd enjoy that one. He continued, "I want salad, Mommy! It's green. And I love it" I knew he was asking for lettuce and told him we didn't have any on hand. But I'd get some and make him a ham sandwich when I could. He said, "Ok. I love salad."

Last night I made paninis. I made James a special ham one and put some "salad" on it. I gave it to him, telling him he got salad! "I don't want it... I don't like salad..." Yeah, that's what I thought. Brad had him take a few bites with the "salad" on it, then James opened it up and ate everything but the "salad". Ah, well. We tried. And he had been enthusiastic about it. Maybe next time.

How Old Are You?

Before Gavin turned two, we started teaching him to say he was "two". I think he agreed (yes, agreed, because he is opinionated) a few times. Then it became an argument.

Us: Gavin, how old are you?? Are you two??

Gavin: No! I not two! I EIGHT!

Us: No, Gav, you are two *hold up two fingers* see? You are this many... TWO!

Gavin: Nooo, I eiiiight!

I don't know why he chose the age eight, but it's still going strong. I asked him this morning how old he was and he responded, "I eight! And you four!" Ha, no.

Me: No, I'm twenty-eight!

Gavin: Yes, TWENTY-EIGHT!

He was very excited for me to be twenty-eight. He's got a while to go before his age is correct. 

Cold Night Sky

Last night I had to go drop something off at a friend's house. It was bath time, and James has been freaking out about taking baths, so I brought him with me. He is scared (for some reason) of the water coming out of the spout. He will scream/yell/shriek at us to, "Shut it off!! Daddy/Mommy, SHUT IT OFF!" with giant tears rolling down his face. Crazy. Our first legit fear. Moving on...

We walked to our friend's house and we had a talk about the bath and how we needed the water to come out of the spout so we can have our little baths. I tried my best for the almost-four-year old to get it, but he was too emotional still to comprehend it. We went inside and James started shedding his outside wear to get ready to play. I had told him we weren't staying and reminded him. Well, he didn't like that. So he was pretty emotional again. 

Luckily he calmed down a bit when I held him (he hardly ever gets me to hold him since the other littlies need it more- poor thing) on the way home. He was still a little upset and I was trying to think of something to get his spirits up. It was super chilly last night (winter is coooo-miiiing!) and we could see our breathe. A-ha! I started huffing and blowing air out and showing him how we can see our breathe when it's cold. He loved it. He was giggling and telling me to do it again. He tried, but he was laughing too hard to get anything good. We stopped by a lamp post to get a better view. Then we saw an airplane and its trail overhead. I showed it to him and he asked me where it was going. I said, "I don't know... where is it going? Hmm...". I thought for a clever answer when James pipes up and says, "An airport." Yes, clever boy, an airport is exactly right. 

Daylight Savings Nap

Around here, we are generally not affected by Daylight Savings. I don't know why, but we let the boys stay up one night and then they adapt and we have our schedule just fine. This time has been a little harder, for some reason. Maybe it's the whole three kids thing. We let them stay up, but surprisingly (and yet not surprisingly... I could almost feel it not working...) next morning at 6:30 (their normal 7:30 wake-up) the boys were up and about. Happy as if nothing had changed. But it had- time had literally changed. And I was tired (though I went to bed early because I was exhausted. I think I have a mental problem with seeing anything before '7' in the AM). We got through it and they woke up 20 minutes later today. On our way... on our way...

With this schedule change, we've had some tired boys on our hands. Gavin especially. Today, I don't know why, but I was tired. Tired. We had already finished a movie, but they boys were playing pretty well. I figured I could lie down on the couch and just rest and go unnoticed. Ha. Gavin quickly came over to inform me that "You not sleep, Mommy! Get up, Mommy!". Um, no. I asked him if he wanted to join me and he promptly got under the blanket with me. Still adament that I was not to sleep. If he caught me with my eyes closed, he tried to open them and say, "No, Mommy! No sleep. You not tired. I not tired.". A few minutes later, he had calmed down and I was drifting off. Then James, of course, such perfect timing, yelled from the bathroom that he needed my help. I look over, and Gavin was asleep. What??? I did not see that coming. I gently got up, helped James, and came back to cuddle for a bit more. James then said he needed to sleep with Mommy and Gavin and just laid on Gavin. Didn't phase him. One. Bit. After about a minute, and lots of  wiggling, James said, "Mommy, I'm awake." Yup, I know. So am I. 

Gavin got to rest for about an hour longer. Lucky guy. At least I got a little bit of snuggles with him- doesn't ever happen. Loved it.

I Don't Know, James

Right now we are watching The Avengers (i know... bad mommy...). One of James' favorite things to do is ask questions like, "Where's his mommy?" "Where's this or that?" and right now he was asking, "Where is Captain America?" Gavin keeps telling him, "I don't know, James. I don't know, James. I don't know James... where Captain America (which is more like Captn Merca)... is." Ah, so cute. Now they are naming all the heroes in the closing credits. Correcting each other, being more specific than the other one. Butchering their names all too cutely. I cannot believe the conversations these two can have. And how much James can translate Gavin. It's awesome. These boys are just awesome.

Are you otay?

Gavin speaks amazingly well for being two. At least to us he does. James wasn't talking like this till at least 2 1/2. We love hearing him say sentences and respond to us- it's just so cool!

One of his favorite things to say is "Are you otay? Are you all better?". If I do anything that sounds distressing he asks me this. And the "all better" part is so thoughtful... like, "Are you... all bet-ter". This kid is so much fun. He is finally evening out with his terrible twos... or we've adapted a whole lot better. He still has his days but we're getting through them easier. He is such a treat and we can't get enough of him.

Holy Ghost

This is not a spiritual post.

It is Halloween time! And James has decided that all ghosts are the HOLY Ghost. I thought maybe he just did it once accidentally... no. It is eveerry time.

Point to a ghost, "What is that, James?"

James: "The Holy Ghost!!!"

Reading Corduroy and the Best Halloween Ever. In the end of the book, Corduroy decides to be a ghost for Halloween after giving up his dino costume for a friend. Every time, James says, "He's the Holy Ghost!"

Seriously. This kid is so dang funny.

Brothers

The other night when I was putting the boys down, they were being a little goofy. When we are reading stories, we are always on James bed. It's Gavin by the wall, James in the middle, me on the edge. I was reading "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (a collection of nursery rhymes), and James all of a sudden starts stroking Gavin's cheek. They break out in a fit of giggles. Of course it is repeated then! They keep doing this. Funniest part is watching Gavin's recovering face- he was totally trying to get a straight face for the next giggle-fest. So funny!! I have never seen him TRY to not laugh... to get ready to laugh!! Oh man... crack me up.

Right now we are watching Super Why. Gavin came down about 10 minutes ago. James was on the opposite end of the couch. When he finally realizes Gavin is hear, he jumps over to him, snuggles in the blanket next to him. "Gavin, you are Awaaake??" (said with much inflection, of course. it is James). Then he proceeds to stroke his cheek and wait for laughter. And laugh they did.

If You Try

James has an adorable voice. Adorable. And his inflection... well, it just adds to the adorableness. I need to get it on video more. The other day, I was doing something on my phone... can't remember what... and James comes up to me with his Magne-Doodle.
James: Mommy, you can draw Captain America... if you try!

Said with the sweetest, goofiest smile and inflection ever. It's his new "I-want-my-way-so-I'm-being-sweet" voice. And it usually works because it means he isn't whining and crying to me to get his way. Which is just... getting old.

Such a sweet boy

More more more

Holy cow, I need to start writing down what the boys are saying every day and write in here every day. They are so cute and funny. Exhausting and energetic... but cute and funny nonetheless.

Jack-jack is officially a walker as of last week. He took his first steps around a month ago, and walking a tiny bit, but last week was a huge leap in walking. He is now 100% walking more than crawling. Barely crawling anymore. He started clapping on Sunday. Um, adorable. Aaaand he waves. So basically, he's not a baby anymore?? No, I won't let that happen. He may be huge and doing little boy things, but he is still my baby.

Gavin is in the throws of the terrible-twos, though I think he is adapting a bit. We still have our worse days, but they aren't every day like they were in the beginning. Thank heavens for that. Oh, man.

James's imagination is amazing right now. He is creating stories and building houses for his toys, he makes robots out of blocks. It is wonderful to see. He is also starting to get his own catch-phrases, for lack of a better description. Cracks. Me. Up.

It's funny- Brad can handle Gavin's little meltdowns and two-ness easy. I can handle Jack's bad days of crying easy. We cannot handle the opposite. Ah, meant for each other :)

Ready For Bed?

More like riled up for bed :)

Tonight just has to be documented. The boys LOVE to have pillows thrown on them. We'll do it for a little bit, but we usually move on in a few minutes. Not tonight. Gavin could not get enough. Over and over, he would walk over to me, "throw" (more like give) me the pillow, run and giggle over to the couch, get up, and wait for me to throw the pillow back at him. He was literally drunk on laughter. It was adorable. 

It took a while for James to even notice we were playing with the pillows, oddly enough. But once he got with one or two, he was in on the fun too. It was definitely a memorable and fun night, full of laughter and fun. Perfection.

Scary

For some reason, I "rented" three Disney movies at the same time from the library like a month ago. I guess I just didn't think they would ALL come at the same time! Learned my lesson, requesting one at a time from now on. Anyways, we had Hercules, Mulan, and Toy Story 2. Hercules was definitely the favorite for James, but Gavin really liked Mulan. James liked it, too, but soon HATED me putting it in. Whaaat?? It was so weird. He would act kind of bizarre when it was being watched. He finally started talking to me and I figured it out. He was scared of her:

The Match Maker

Really?? Of aaaaallllll the movies he has watched, I canNOT believe this is the one "villain" he is scared of the most. I guess he doesn't like her yelling and being mean to Mulan. Crazy. So we will NOT be buying that movie anytime soon :)

Kind of First Steps

Jack (sort of) took his first step last night! And he took a few steps today as well. Sort of... they are not that intentional. But they are there. I probably won't really count them as his firsts, but he is headed down the road to REAL steps! It's so cute because he gets SO excited to be standing, he knocks himself over. And giggles like crazy. James keeps wanting to hug him when he is standing... we are working on him not doing that until he is a bit more sturdy :)

Additionally to finally standing on his own and taking mili-steps, Jack loves to kneel. All. The. Time. He "walks" on his knees, bounces like crazy on his knees, just sits there on his knees. Loves it. It is quite adorable. Ah, I love our Jack-Jack.

Glow Sticks and Darkness

At Halloween time, I bought some glow sticks. Because, well, they are awesome. I got necklaces and sticks for Trick-or-Treating. We didn't use them all, and so I stashed them away in our misc drawer (aka big-heaping-mess-of-crap drawer). With a new baby, a toddler-baby, and James I did not want them being chewed on or misused. 

I kind of forgot about them until a little nosy 3-1/2 year old went snooping in the drawer yesterday. He pulled them out, asking me to go into the bathroom with him (we did this at Halloween time- kids have crazy good memories, right?!). Seeing as how both boys were miraculously napping at the same time, I had random time for just the two of us. We basically had a whole pack... and none of them worked. I'm pretty sure James accidentally set them all off months ago and I didn't know. Luckily, there was a whole other pack... which wasn't looking promising either. I ended up putting the whole pack in my hand and snapping them all. We found three that worked!! And they were blue... which is perfect for...

LIGHTSABERS!!

James graciously gave me one and he got the other two. He is the Jedi Master, after all. We had lots of fun. Lots and lots of fun. I'm pretty sure we were in and out of the bathroom for about two hours. Halfway through, James introduced the monster from Empire Strikes Back figure that we got to take down several times. James was very brave and would throw his lightsabers at him. My hero :)

I couldn't have asked for more fun and wonderful time to spend with my James. I never get time around the house with just him so I feel very blessed for this little window for mommy and James. Cherish the moments.

Huh??

I got to put the two eldest boys down tonight (like I do most nights, but ya know). We had gotten them rather riled up while talking to Nana and Papa on video chat so I knew they wouldn't really listen to the books being read- but oh well. While I was reading "Cuddle", James kept saying something I couldn't quite understand.

 "fjkd throat, huh??" 

I stopped reading and asked him to say it again.

"fin my throat, huh??" *shakes head back and forth sharply, hands splayed out*

** Key note: James has an adorably squeaky voice, so the huh is raaaather accentuated and high-pitched. So ultra-adorably squeaky **

I thought for a moment, broke out into a huge grin. I figured it out. I said:

"'I haven't been this choked up since I got a piece of moussaka stuck in my throat... Huh?!?!'... Is that what you were saying? Did I get it right??"

James breaks out into giggles, "Yes!... In my throat, HUH???"

He had been quoting Hades from Disney's Hercules... when Hades meets baby Herc. I was laughing soooo hard. He did it so funny. He even hopped out of bed to do a better impersonation. We continued to say this for at least 5 minutes, now Gavin adding his own "Huh??" and hand motions to the group. I'm hoping I can get this on video tomorrow because it truly is hilarious. 

Fourth of July

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July. To get ready for it, I did a little shopping today with the boys. Got some fireworks, charcoal, food, etc. While at WalMart, James happily discovered the display case of Fourth of July wear. I turned around to get him and he had a BIG smile on his face- he had found an Uncle Sam hat. Then he went back, traded it for the stars one, and happily put that one on. I told him how cute he looked and he asked me what it was all for (while I put the hat back that I didn't want to pay for...). I told him it was for America's birthday. Conversation as follows...

Me: It's America's birthday

James: CAPTAIN America's birthday!!

Me: No, no... AMERICA... just America. It's where we live. 

James: It's Captain America's birthday!!

Me: No... *laugh*... just America. AMERica's birthday. It's our country... we live here. 

James:... it's America's birthday?

Me: Yes. 

Later on, at our second trip to WalMart, with Aunt Rachel (better known as Sissy 'round here)...

Sissy: It's America's birthday!

James: Captain America's birthday!

Sissy: No... (thinking how to make it easier) the USA. The USA's birthday is tomorrow!

James: Me S.A.'s birthday!

Can't blame him, right??

Turtle Eggs

I found this documentary on Netflix about turtles. I wasn't really sure what it was, but the boys love animals so I figured we could try it. James fell in love with the turtles. Though I was surprised at how educational it was- the first five minutes or so is all about the baby turtles making it to the ocean to safety or they will get eaten by the crabs. Interesting conversation to tell a three-year old how the crabs are going to eat the baby turtles. Anyways... it follows a logger-head turtles journey through the Gulf, into the Atlantic, across the Atlantic, back again, to the Caribbean, laying eggs, going back to the ocean. It shows her laying her eggs on the beach and everything. 

Today while we were outside playing, James was fascinated with pulling out rocks from the crack in our driveway. He was collecting rocks and picking out the dirt- it was great. Totally kept him entertained for quite some time (which is saying something in regards to James). He starts talking and as he is putting little rocks in he is saying, "The turtle is putting her eggs here. Here you go, turtle eggs". Then he takes them back out, comes up to me, looks at me, gets ready to throw, and throws them across the driveway. "Bye turtle eggs!". Oh how I love imagination :)

Shoes

Gavin loves shoes. Loves. He gets rather excited when he knows we are running errands/shopping or going outside because he gets to wear his shoes (he also gets rather obstinate to go outside immediately once shoes are on).  He wants to put his own shoes on SO BAD but they aren't really toddler friendly. Till I remembered the Crocs we inherited from cousin Adam. I thought maybe someday he would be able to slip them on.


While I was in the kitchen making dinner, Gav had been entertaining himself in the shoe 'area' (aka the huge mess by our door). I peek around the corner and he is walking towards me with one of his great self-satisfactory smiles- he has his shoes on!! He was thrilled he had accomplished this task! I love his smile and the pride he has for his accomplishments- his age is one of my favorites :)

Oldest and Youngest

James and Jack were playing on the couch together today. It was adorable. So I took a picture, naturally.

Just seeing these boys playing together and loving each other answers why Jack came when he did. These guys were meant to grow up close together. No doubt about it.

Icky Icky Ants

I have a new hate of ants since moving to Oregon. Last winter in our other apartment and this winter in this apartment, we have had a major ant problem. Killing at least 10 a day is an issue, right? It would go up and down, but mostly was up. Thankfully, they generally kept to the downstairs but it wasn't uncommon to catch a few stragglers upstairs. 

One night, when we were getting the boys ready for bed, I went into my bedroom to grab one of Gavin's pacifiers. We generally keep them in a jar downstairs for easy access, keeps them safe, and we don't lose them. I had snuck that one away during our morning bed snuggles and put it on my dresser and saved a trip for the downstairs. I grabbed it and went into the hallway and put it in Gavin's mouth. I looked at his mouth and there were ANTS crawling out of his mouth. For reals, it was one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. I yanked the pacifier out of his  mouth and it was covered in ants. Whaaaat???? Poor Gavin!!!! We ran him into the bathroom while wiping away the ants and rinsed his mouth out and brushed his mouth out several times. The poor guy was so distraught. Probably didn't help that I was freaking out and yelling at Brad to react quicker, but you know... we'll blame it mostly on the ants on his pacifier. I have no idea why that happened and it ticked me off. Why would a pacifier (a rather clean one, too), left on an upstairs nightstand attract ants?? Lots of ants, at that. Brad couldn't even talk about it for at least another week it bothered him so much. 

Poor, poor Gavin.

"Wet Bark"

Last Friday I had to go look at a craigslist ad (which we totally got and it's awesome). RIGHT when we HAD to be going, Jack decided to stick a random piece of bark dragged in by his brothers in his mouth and gag on it. I had no idea that he had until I was getting him into the car seat. Awesome. Got it out, late to the appointment, but he didn't die. Mommy win.

Then Sunday, he was on his normal 'everywhere' craze-crawl while I got pancake batter ready for Father's Day breakfast. He was over by the back window/door. I saw him do the tell-tell hand-to-mouth move to know something that was a no-no would be entering his mouth. I did not really want to see him gag again and intervened, grabbing another piece of bark out of his hand and throwing it to the side so I could make sure nothing else was in there. I thought to myself, "He must of had it in there a while because it was soggy." Upon looking down at said bark, it moved. Yeah... the bark moved. Turns out IT WAS A SLUG!!! A SLUG!!!!! I was appropriately grossed out and proud of my unknown heroic act of saving my baby from eating a slug. I promptly called Daddy to come take care of the slug- either kill it or put it in the garbage can outside. No way he was entering our house again (he opted to kill, fyi. i was very happy). 

Funny thing is... the night before I had noticed snail/slug trails on our back screen door and commented to Rach a snail must have been on there. Assuming it had been there on the outside. Ick. I'm sure I won't always catch the bugs in the mouth but man... gross. And quite honestly, hilarious.

Disney Station

We have been listening to Disney music this week, on Rachel's Pandora station. Love it. James is VERY excited to see some friends on the TV, singing. Hercules just showed up with this picture of him

 and James says, "That's Nephi!!" And he is still insisting it is him. Oh, too cute.

Father's Day

Today we celebrated Father's Day. I couldn't decide what James could handle better- gift for Daddy before or after church. Brad said to wait till after... but I thought it might be better before. When he isn't in his "I'm-so-tired" mood. Why was this so important? Because we got Brad this:

James was so excited for the "Star Wars book" (it has illustrations in it). When Brad put it out of arms reach, we had a melt-down. I sat with him, letting him cry, trying to find something to calm him down. I suggested a movie... that was a no. Being Sunday, I suggested the movie about Jesus aka The Testaments. He has really come to love this movie. His response

"I want Star Wars! I don't want Jesus!" but in his cute, squeaky voice. 

Love this kid.