A Fit of Screams

Don't let his adorableness fool you... or do. Because he is so dang cute

I am sure this will be said many more times throughout this next year- but Jack has hit the two's. Hard. Case in point- 

Brad finally finished putting the lights on the house. We have a house to put lights on!! I digress... the boys were still up (and being ca-ra-zy) and I thought they would love to see our house all lit up. I was right! They were in their nice fleecy jammies so it wasn't too bad for them to be outside and we admired our home. Then we really started feeling the cold and we rushed back inside. James and Gavin loved it, but resumed their playing the second we got in. Jack, on the other hand, loooooved it. So much so that he started SCREAMING at us to take him back outside. And not normal screams- these were extra special screams for this occasion. These were "you aren't letting me see my beautiful house all lit up and it's magical let me back outside NOW, dictators" screams. Normally I would try to be calm at first. Normally I would get tired of hearing him scream at me. Normally I would lose my patience and insist on him being quiet because they are Christmas lights, for Pete's sake. BUT I am trying really hard to be patient and kind and gentle (see motto post!). Instead of losing patience, I held him. I kissed his head. I stroked his hair. (I kinda laughed...). After force brushing his teeth, I sat down with him and started singing. He didn't care for it much. I even tried a new song (that I forgot most of the words to), "O Christmas Tree". He still didn't care. At some points, his brothers running around almost got his attention and distracted him. But then he remembered the serious grievance towards him and would start crying again. Then he stopped. He perked up and said, "O Kismas twee O Kismwas tee". Yup, he WAS a fan of my singing! And the new song! That was the most he was going to sing, and handed the reigns back to me so I could "sing" (I use the term loosely because I dum-dummed or hummed most of it... really can't remember the words tonight) the song at least 10 times. And totally worth it. He even recovered enough to go to the window and exclaim, "Lights! Outside! On house! LIGHTS!" Which kinda started some crying again, but much better than before. We then headed to brother's bedroom and read some books. Jack completely recovered and even helped count some dragons. 

I'm mostly writing this to remember that patience and kindness pays off. It's easy to forget that it happens. It may not be as immediate as a sharp, "Stop crying!" or an impatient, "That's enough!". But it pays off and it creates tender moments you would miss out on. This night will now be precious to me because even though he was mad, we worked through it. 

I can't wait for the screaming that will happen after we drive around to look at other Christmas lights. Maybe he'll fall asleep...

Cats and Mothers

Seeing as how we have a house now, I want a pet. I didn't want one when we first moved in, but it's definitely growing on me. The painting is basically done, the garage has been cleared out, and there really isn't a whole lot of house projects going on right now.

Tonight James had a hard time going to bed (like usual). He climbed into bed with me and I showed him some pictures of the cats I was looking at (if I were to get Brad on board...). James went on to have this conversation (which I can't really remember verbatim, but I'll do the best I can): "Cats are boys AND girls. That one had a mommy cat... I love my big, human mommy" *snuggles into me*. 

One of the oddest yet sweetest moments. 

My Babies

Before Jack was born, my parents bought the boys these animal-pillows that came with blankets from Costco. They aren't nearly as big as the animal-pillows (the name is escaping me right now and I'm too lazy to google it...) that everyone else has. Gav got a black sheep and James got a white rabbit. When Jack was born they still had them so he got a brown bear. The boys liked them, but didn't play with them a terrible amount. They definitely loved the soft and cuddly blankets they came in. Later on, my mom came across a garage sale where they were selling the real ones for way cheap. She added a large tiger and another rabbit to our animal brood. Again, liked them but not crazy about them like most kids are. 

Fast forward to today.

Gavin has started carrying around the brown bear, the little white rabbit, and the large white rabbit and calling them "my babies". "Oh, look at my little babies over there! They're soo cuuute!" He'll purposely pile them up and come get you to look at his babies. "Hey, little buddy. It's ok, it's ok" Or the ever popular "My babies are sick. We need to take them to the doctor. Who's going to fix them?" Today I was playing piano and his large white rabbit had to assist me. Gavin just beams with his little babies and it is just too adorable and tender to see him with them. Of course since big brother is doing it, little brother is loving them too. I found the tiger today, so Gavin gave one of the rabbits the shaft and Jack has picked up the slack. He walks around with a death grip hug around its neck, making cuddle sounds. These boys are seriously so sweet. 

Not to make this post about this, but it does make me think about how much people forget how sweet boys are. All my boys have such a sweet nature and we try really hard to cultivate it. Why squash it? It's so much of who they are. I love my sweet boys.

First Sickness

I love fall. I don't mind winter (here- Idaho and sometimes Utah are a different story). What I don't mind and quite actually dread and despise is the sick season that accompanies this time of year. Ick. Ew. Gross. Stay away. So, of course, we have truly started the season and got our first illness this past week (or more).

Jack got sick last week. Nothing too serious, just a minor cold. But come Friday it was nasty and by Friday night, he had croup. My poor baby. We were close to going to Urgent Care but after a phone call to the nurse's hotline (love that thing!!), we felt reassured that he wasn't in need of immediate attention. After the phone call, Brad gave Jack a blessing. So grateful for that. Since he was already partially awake, I got our shower going hot and we sat in the bathroom with the steam for 10 minutes. Then I wrapped us up in a blanket and we sat in our backyard for another 10-20 minutes. He had no trouble going to bed and I slept in the room with him. In the morning, he was much better and we were both so grateful.

But by Saturday night, it was James' turn to be sick. Fever hit him out of nowhere. Sunday he could hardly drink or eat anything. Gavin seemed to be skating by, but Monday morning found him ultra sniffly and cough-y. Poor baby. When I got up with Gavin, James was already on the couch in the family room... and wearing different jammies. I asked him why and he told me that he had had a yucky cough. I couldn't get more out of him so I went to investigate- did he just cough up some phlegm and got grossed out? On his bed, there was a bunch of coughed up mucus with tinges of orange juice from the night before. Then I discovered he had coughed a bit more onto Gavin's bed. Going into the bathroom, I found even more coughed up mucus in the sink. Poor kid! I don't think he would have told me if I hadn't asked about his jammies. Though sad, I'm rather impressed that he basically took care of himself after going through something like that.

Since both beds needed to be changed and Jack was still resting in his room, I set to change both beds. Then I got my contacts in and washed my face. By that time, Jack was ready to get out. As I walked into the family room, I just see James laying oh so tiredly on the couch, his face in another coughed up mucus episode. Poor kid couldn't even move out of it! I got him up and into the bathroom to clean up his face then headed back out to take the messy couch cushion cover off (thank heavens it's removable!). I asked James if he wanted a bath and he said yes, but since he hates running water, I had him go lay down on the twin in Jack's bedroom. Once the bath was ready, I went in to get him. I asked him if he still wanted a bath and I just got the slightest shake of the head for no. He could hardly move and was ready to just pass out. I covered him up, got a blanket for a pillow, and let him fall asleep.

Three hours later he finally woke up. That kid was wiped out from this illness! Since waking up, he has finally drank A LOT, had a bit of pasta for lunch, and lots of Hawaiian haystacks for dinner. Gavin and him are very much enjoying playing together and we are enjoying hearing them being back to themselves. Jack is still struggling, but hopefully will be better tomorrow.

I'm really not looking forward to this sick season. I am praying and hoping we get a break and we won't have a year like last year. I felt like we got everything last year, it was ridiculous. I'm definitely going to try to limit our excursions out, not just for germs sake but just the holiday season in general. I don't need to be out in that and neither do they. Here's to getting better and STAYING better!

Tonight

This is the blog I really didn't want to start slacking... oops.

Today I went to Corvallis to spend some time with my sister (and drop off some food and books). We had a great time, and then it was time for me to leave around 2:30. When I got back, the boys and I had a lot of fun together. I haven't been getting away like I used to, just taking a break from my 24-hour job of being a mom. It has definitely been affecting me. Today was a much needed breather, for both the kids and I. Here are some of the silly conversations and songs we had when I got back-

Vampires and Zombies
James informed me that the zombies are good (if only! hello, nice walkers on The Walking Dead. thank you for not haunting me at night anymore!). For Halloween, we told the boys that vampires say, "I want to drink your blood!!" So James started to pretend to be a vampire... a nice vampire... a vampire doctor. He was going to drink my blood to make me feel better. Ooookaaaay. Then Gavin said he was a zombie. A doctor zombie. And he was going to eat the freckles off my arm. So on one arm I had a little vampire doctor slurping, and on the other a little doctor zombie delicately eating off  my freckles. Weird adorable? Yes.

Bushel and a peck
My grandpa used to sing this song to my mom, who sang it to us and our grandkids, and I sing it.
I love you
A bushel and a peck
A bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck
A hug around the neck, and a bushel and a peck
I love you!
I've sung this to the boys off and on but not very consistantly. For some reason today it toootally stuck because I sang it at least 50 times. Every time I said peck, they got a kiss. For a hug, a fierce hug. At the I love you, we'd sing it loud and point to each other. Jack and Gavin were giggling so much, it was insane. But so very sweet.

Now You Are...
I had to help Brad put our blinds/curtains back up on our sliding glass door since we just finished painting that room (woooooot!), so I had to sit down on our dining area laminate floor. Of course the boys gravitated to where I was and Gavin started playing with my hair. He piled it up on top and told me I was now Sissy (aka Rach). Now I know Rach does not wear here hair in a haphazard mess on top of her head, so I asked him why I was Sissy. Very logical answer- because you are. Ah. Simple will of being. Gavin thought he was so funny, playing with my hair and telling me I was someone else. Then, a light bulb went on, and he realized he could do other people. All of a sudden my hair got messier and more tugged on while I was transformed from Sissy to Nana to Papa to Daddy to whomever, then finally back to good ol' Mommy.

Stop Growing
This one's for you, Nana! James loves to get up at least once after we put him down. He has really taken to the extra time with us. Tonight I had him wait for Brad to finish fixing the doorbell so he could go snuggle with him. While we waited, I told James to stop growing... he's just so tall now!

J- No! I'm going to grow as tall as daddy!
D and M- We hope you grow bigger than daddy
J- As tall as you, Mommy?
M- No, I'm shorter than Daddy. Grow tall like Daddy or Papa
J- Or gramma? As tall as my grandma's?
M-... they're short
J- So you and my grandmas are short? But Nana is taller than you, Mommy

There you go, Mom. My kid thinks you are tall. Should make your day :)

There were other wonderful moments, but that's all my tired brain can recall at the moment. I love these boys and they just melt my heart.

Bumbies

James and Gavin are so funny. James tries to imitate our words, but sometimes he has a hard time always nailing what letter something is. But if you correct him, he'll try his best to correct himself. No arguing, just trusting. Gavin will imitate anything James says (or anyone else), but even if has it incorrect, he will stick to his guns of his first pronunciation. Which is funny, because he has such great English skills. 

Last night, when Brad was home and I was finishing up our dinner, Gavin was telling us that he was a bumbie and he comes out of the ground. I had no idea what he was talking about. Until I heard him talking to James, and he was describing what a "bumbie" is. It's a zombie. Yeah... we got this party Halloween catalog in the  mail and James has been poring over it and asking a million questions about the things he was seeing. One of the things he asked me about were the zombies coming out of the ground. He was calling them "bombies" instead of zombies, Gavin heard it and repeated it as "bumbie". And if you told him they were zombies... watch out. "NO! They are bumbies!! They come out of the ground!" Then once I told them they were bad and ate people, he gave us a story. The bumbies go to a cave where a dragon lives and the dragon killed all the bumbies so they wouldn't hurt the humans. Because humans are good and bumbies are bad. And dragons are good. 

I really need to get them on video more, because as funny as the story is, hearing it from them is 100x funnier! 

Star Wars Cuddles

While cleaning our bedroom tonight (yes, it's Sunday. but man... it was messy. think of it as a spiritual cleaning because it was getting in the way!), our door opened slightly. Fun fact- our door has never shut the whole way. It won't close. Thank you, previous tenants. This usually happens when we have our window open (which is all summer), so we figured it was the wind. A minute later, we see a smile poking in from the darkness. Mister James needed to go potty and the bathroom can be scary all by your lonesome at night. Brad and I went with him (he was so happy to have us hang out with him while going potty. there's a boy for you) and when he was all done, James looks to me and says, "Pretty sure I haven't had any cuddles today." Aka- mommy, you're coming with me. Brad had put them to bed so I was more than happy to accompany him back to his bed and hang for a while. 

No surprise to me, we were immediately in the middle of a Star Wars story. James loves to tell stories- either retelling of something or making something completely up. Tonight's request was a sort of scattering of stories, but we tied them all together in the end. The random topics were: Kit Fisto. Bobba Fett and the sand monster. Luke, Han, Princess Lei, Lando, the droids, and how they escaped from Jabba the Hut. How bad the Emperor was. Jango Fett. Other Jedi. Now to back pedal a little... 

Lately, I'll reward the boys by playing an episode or two of the Legos Star Wars on the Wii. I went through the story mode and they have never seen the first three episodes. They know Anakin becomes Darth Vader, but they've had a hard time grasping why. And I don't really care for their little minds to get it either. But watching the Legos Star Wars, it kind of gives it away. There is the episode, obviously, that implies that the other Jedi are hurt/killed. I kid you not, James started sobbing. The poor child. He has a Kit Fisto (green guy with tentacles) action figure and he dotes on him. Absolutely loves him. And he was just shown that he probably died. This was not okay. So being the mom that I am, I sheltered my child and changed the story. Don't agree with me? Don't care :) What really happened is Kit Fisto escaped but no one knew about it. Just like Obi Wan and Yoda, he became remote from most civilization and has been in hiding. All because a little four-year old's hero was killed and his mom's heart couldn't take it. Oh, and another side note- James is convinced Bobba Fett decides to become good. Not my doing, he won't listen to me. Apparently he rectifies his ways and is good down the line. 

So tonight's story is: When the Jedi were leading the Clone Troopers against the evil droids, we all know the Clone Troopers turn on all the Jedi and seem to slaughter them. This is a Jedi Mind Trick. They actually all escaped to different planets. They are waiting for the day where they can reveal themselves. Now, when Bobba Fett falls into the sand monster's mouth, he is able to wrestle free and escape with his jet pack. Upon returning to Mos Eisley Cantina, he is hired to go and hunt down Kit Fisto- news is traveling fast that more Jedi might be alive. Upon arriving at Kit Fisto's apparent whereabouts, he is struck down. None other than Kit Fisto himself emerges and takes Bobba Fett with him to his home. There, he is able to teach Bobba better ways and turns him to the good side. Bobba Fett now only answers to the Jedi, and when the Empire falls he helps rescue all the hidden Jedi and hunts down supporters/sympathizers of the Empire's ways. Once the Empire has fallen, Luke and the other Jedi start the Jedi Academy and the Jedi's ways are taught once more. 

There were random tangents in there (aren't there always when talking to four-year olds?), but that was the gist of it. I'm pretty sure we'll be discussing it a lot tomorrow. I just love the imagination of James, and how he really can see into this other world. Children's imagination is like magic sometimes. It's a privilege to see into it at times with them.

Berry Apple

Last week I got some plums. I love plums. For some reason, though, my boys have decided to be picky with what fruit they want to try. So it was a no on the plums. Boo, boys. Boo.

A few days later, I got a plum out and got it ready to eat. Gavin saw me doing it and asked what it was. I told him it was a plum. "Can I have a plum?" I let him have the one already to go and got one for myself. He took a bite, loved it, and asked what it was again. I, once again, told him it was a plum. He looked at it, examining it. A few minutes later he says, "Mmm... I love berry apples!". Hahaha!

So plums are not plums- they are berry apples. And don't try to tell him differently, because he will defiantly correct you. Silly goose.

Primary Talk

Last Sunday I got a call from the Primary Secretary, asking if we'd be at church the next Sunday and, if so, would James be able to give a talk in Primary. James loves giving talks and saying the prayer in Primary, so I told her of course he would. She said she'd send the topic in the mail. 

Well, I told myself all week to go get the mail. I didn't get it till this morning and last minutely, put together a talk about Jesus Christ taught us to serve others. We got to Primary and James was awesome and sat up front, waiting his turn. It took a while for everyone to show up and get started, so I was so impressed by how well he was doing up there (this energetic kid has a hard time sitting in a chair for two minutes!). Finally, it was his turn.

I got up to help him with the talk and show the appropriate picture. True to kid nature, he couldn't keep his mouth off the mic. Blech. How many kids have put their mouths on that thing?? A few times I would gently pull his chin back so his mouth wasn't touching, but sure enough, it found it's way back. The last time I did it, James says, "No! Then they can't hear me!" I busted up laughing (on the inside) and he finished the talk (he rocked it, of course). 

Brad and Rach were in there with me, and we went to leave. We waved bye to James and he goes, "Bye, grownups!!" Cue more laughter. I love this kid!!

Blue Tie, Purple Tie

Tonight we had the missionaries over for dinner. We love the missionaries! We haven't had them over in a while, so the boys were really excited. I didn't realize how excited...

About half an hour before they came, and right after Daddy came home, they were running, wrestling, laughing, etc. all before they came over. Holy cow! They were more excited than I anticipated! When the missionaries arrived (and dinner was still cooking... oops!) the boys were all smiles and chatter. The Elders sat down and were instantly bombarded with super heroes, dinosaurs, kids sitting next to them, and more. Bless their hearts, they took it all in stride.

The boys mostly called them "missionaries" or "Elders" occasionally, but Gavin went a tad further. The Elders dress in dress pants, white shirts, ties, and their name tag. The only real distinct feature is their tie. Gavin took hold of this and started referring to them as "Purple Tie!" and "Blue Tie!". Seriously. It was their name. And it was adorable.

The night was full of adorable antics and some embarrassing moments (like Gavin putting his half-eaten sandwich on Purple Tie's sandwich). James really came out of his shell and was so sweet talking and asking questions (his best were "What is your favorite food?" and "What is your favorite treat?". So proud of him making conversation!)

I love that my boys recognize something special about the missionaries. I am so grateful for their dedication to the gospel, to sacrifice two years to serve the Lord. I've always had an admiration for the missionaries and it never ceases to amaze me the special Spirit they have.

Trying to Grow Up

Brad has been growing out his facial hair more lately. He'll shave maybe once a week, but more like almost two weeks. He used to do it every few days. So having more constant facial hair is kind of new(er) to the boys. Of course, the one to notice it is Gavin.

Tonight, while I was prepping dinner, I could hear Brad out in the front room with the boys. Gavin asked him (in a kind of flabbergasted way), "What is this on your face?" Brad laughed a little and told him it's his beard, his facial hair. He then told him one day he'd have facial hair too... in about 12+ years. After a slight pause, Gavin goes, "Can I have it? Can you put it on my face? Put it on my face!" We both busted up laughing. Gavin was missing the joke and started very adamantly telling his daddy that he needed the hair on his face! Oh, man. Too funny.

Don't worry, son. You'll grow up one day.

Nighttime Surprise

This week has been nothing short of crazy. To prove so, we put off Gavin's birthday shopping until yesterday and by doing so, the wrapping of presents until last night (which is an improvement! i'm generally doing them the morning of...). All of our wrapping things and the presents, except tape, are in our bedroom to keep out of the reach of little hands. I go upstairs and I find this:

At some point, probably soon after I put the boys to bed, Gavin had decided it would be best to fall asleep in mommy and daddy's bed. But not tell them. That would spoil all the fun. All I could do was laugh... and quickly turn off the light. I got Brad, took the picture, and daddy hauled him off to bed. It's things like this that just melts your heart and make you love them more. I don't know why, but it certainly does! 

Quiet Time

Sometimes, you just need a break. This last week has been kind of hellish for me, and I was getting easily maxed out.

On Thursday, I just needed some quiet. I've heard of several moms who do "Quiet Time" and they have their kids play in their room, color by themselves, read books, do puzzles, all by themselves so there is some down time for mom. Well, I have kind of tried this and my kids are not ready for it yet. Boo. They are waaaay too dependent on me. But this day, I desperately needed to just read a book and have some "me" time without any interruptions. Mind. Overload.

James was coloring (which means the other two want to as well, naturally) and kept hopping off his chair, "Mommy, look at this drawing!... Do you know what this is?... Look at this one!" I love James and his drawing- he is dang good and creative. Love love love it. But not at this time. I told him, "James, mommy needs quiet time right now. I need you to go color by yourself and save your drawings to show me later. I just need some quiet time."

For at least ten minutes I got it. He was even whispering to Gavin to look at his drawings. Then he comes over to me, a tad tentative, and says, "Mommy... I think hugs are quiet." Melt my heart! I give him a hug, which puts his whole face in a smile. Then he goes, "I also think cuddling is quiet." and just cuddled right up to me. Oh, sweet boy. Love him.

Mama Bear

Since this is a blog for recording memories of my boys, I better put the bad with the good. This one brought the Mama Bear out in me and broke my heart.

Yesterday was a church dinner activity. I decided to make a trifle cake and James was so excited I was making a treat for church! To make sure he realized this was a church party, we told him that we were eating dinner, treats, and there were games for him there. Games?? He was so excited to go! It was so cute how much he and Gavin wanted to get out the door. Once we were there, we got in line to get our food. James got his hot dog and scarfed it down- was so proud of him for not getting distracted. He promptly wanted some of the cake I made- good choice, buddy. After he was done with that, he knew it was time for GAMES! 

James first tried to join in a game where you throw a ball and it splashed a water balloon on someone's head. Seeing as how balls were flying and James, Gavin, and Jack don't do well with lines and flying balls, we found a more age-appropriate game. It was right by the bubbles, so Gavin and Jack went promptly over there. The game James wanted, however, was a race game. They had a tube of water on one side and at the end there was an empty tube. In the tube of water were sponge balls- you soaked up the water, ran to the empty tube, wrung the water out of the sponge ball, and ran back for the next person to run over. Pretty simple. Well, for James, he wouldn't really listen to me about what he was supposed to be doing. He kind of got it. I was trying to not be a hovering mom and walked over to the bubbles to watch from a distance, sure he would catch on. 

Brad and I were talking by the bubbles (and keeping bubble sticks out of Jack's mouth- because that is obviously how you blow bubbles) when we both looked to where James was playing. James had tried to get a sponge ball- I'm not sure if he had cut in line, or if there wasn't any for him, but another little boy was full on yelling at him and making very angry gestures at James. A little girl, one of James' friends, was watching the little boy, and started yelling and gesturing meanly to James as well. James was cowering back, baffled as to why his peers were being so angry and mean. James has such a sweet and sensitive spirit- he was so confused. They scared him so much, he ran over to the nearest (skinny) tree and tried to hide behind it. Upon seeing this, Brad yelled out, "Seriously?!?!". I walked over to James, opening my arms up to my confused little boy. Once in my arms, he started trembling and sobbing. He was so hurt and scared inside. It broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to go over to that little boy and tell him it was not okay to talk to others that way, but I just couldn't. I was barely holding it together. My emotions were already on high from other things that day, that it was all I could do to hold my James, gather our stuff, and walk as fast as possible to our car. My heart hurt so much for him. Brad brought the other two behind us, both heart broken in their own way that we had to leave while they were having fun. Since a trip to Target was already planned, we told them we would go buy some sidewalk chalk and bubbles of our own and go have fun at home. They also got extra time in the toy aisles :)

This was our first experience with blatant meanness. I don't blame the kid- he's learning his emotions and it's hard to convey what you're feeling in the proper way all the time. It was still so hard to watch. What got me the most was the parents standing right there and doing nothing. I am not one to just watch a kid be mean to another kid- especially when you are in a situation where you know the kids involved and it's not some stranger's problem. There was only one leader there and she did the best she could, but she was juggling the whole thing by herself. I know there will be more and worse situations like this. I just hate that it has to happen. I hate that the world is so ugly and mean and I can't protect my children forever. They need to learn that there are mean people out there- but that doesn't mean they have to be. I was so proud of James- he was sad, he cried, and he bounced back. I love the resilience of kids and I hope we can protect and educate him the best we can. 

"Monster" Unleashed

Today will mark the day that Jack graduated into the full-fledged stage of terrible twos. Oh. Boy. He doesn't turn two until October, but who wants to wait that long???

It happened around the same time for James, a few months before turning two. It was hard. Gavin's literally happened on his birthday. That was harder. Gavin is at least pulling out of his two-ness, but it is still over-lapping! Ooooh... *deeeeeep breaths*

What marks today the special day? Two instances:

The boys were upstairs while I was downstairs and I decided I might as well join them and finish getting ready. I found them all on our bed and Jack holding the kids toothpaste and our toothpaste. Not something I really want all over my bed. Or anywhere. I went to take them from him- I had to wrestle it out of his hands. Talk about death grip! This then triggered a SCREAM fest, where he followed me, screaming, "MINE! MINE! MIIIIIIIINE!!!!". I put it back in the drawer, he opened it, got them both out, happiness ensued. Fine, if he was going to stay in the bathroom with me, fine. Nope. He had to wander back out. Maybe I should be more relaxed but this kid has a knack for trouble, so I wrestled it away from him and put them on the counter, far out of reach. I really got him screaming at me this time- like five minutes! I literally had to put him in his crib to cool off. Sure enough, about two minutes later, the screaming stopped. Then about a minute later I hear, "Mama?... Dada?... Nana?....... Mama!" Ok, dude, you are permitted to join us! Holy cow, so not like him. Thank you, twos.

Later on in the day, James asked if they could watch me play Star Wars on the Wii. I said sure, they were being good and it was hot out so why not kill some time that way. At one point, I had to fly across something so I showed them how R2D2 can fly in the game. They thought this was so cool! Jack was sooo happy to see R2D2 on the TV, he kept saying his name over and over. Once I was done, I went back to whatever character I had before. Jack started screaming and hitting the TV/dresser TV stand, coming up to me and hitting the pillow on my lap, screaming, "D2! D2! D2!" Then Gavin got the mini toy out of R2D2 and Jack chased him all over the house, screaming at him to give him that toy (notice how much I'm using the word "screaming"...). He got it, was happy, then needed the big version of R2D2 as well. More screaming. I got him C3PO and that made him much happier. Freak. Outs. Galore. 

Realizing this makes it a tad easier. Sure easier to laugh and deal with when you realize it's just him being almost two. I can do this, I can do this...

Story Time

Our new night time habit is James needing story time by himself. Story time as in, we make up stories together. Usually it's a swapping sort of thing. I really love it. It makes me realize how unimaginative I can be, and makes me work harder to make it exciting for him. Here are a few we've had-

-Minka, the Super Cheetah. She is a small cheetah with a heart of gold and the ability to fly and save all her animal friends in need.
- Addie, the Super Bear. A black bear who knows how to fight off the bad guys.
- Super James, with all his super pals- Super Gavin, Super Jack, Super Mommy, Super Daddy, and others. We rescue our fellow family members from endless villains.

There have been others, but those are the highlights. Tonight's was especially awesome. I read him "Five Little Monkeys" and he started talking about how you should hide from crocodiles so they don't snap you up. I asked if he'd be like the little monkey and hide in the leaves and he said no, he'd hide in the bushes. Or the branches. Or the rocks. Or the heavy rocks. And then he introduced a new character... the good dragon would protect him on the rocks. Alright! We're going there now. Then the good dragon had to fight the bad dragon (and of course we had to go over all the colors his scales, horns, claws,and  tail would be). The bad dragon got away so we introduced a good White witch who casts a tracking spell over water to go find him. Once they find the bad dragon (after some more obstacles), bad knights appear! The good knight disappeared and then came back with his armor on to make him strong enough. And then, we came full circle, and a monkey showed up to throw a banana on the bad knight's helmet. Just to be clear, this was mostly James story. I had very little to do with it. He thought he was so funny to bring the monkey back (and it really was). The conversation in the story

Bad knight: Hey! I have a banana on my helmet! Who threw that??
Monkey: It was me! The monkey!
Bad knight: There is a banana on my helmet- that is so yuuuuuuck! Why did you do that?
Monkey: Because you are bad!

Priceless.

Lately

Blogging has been on the low part of my to-do list. But this blog really shouldn't be left behind. Hello, wonderful memories of the kids!

James- well, he has apparently morphed into a teenager lately. Super fun. But he still remains our sweetheart... just trying to figure out these different things he's feeling. It's hard, but we're trying to work through it. His latest thing is to tell me that "Gavin is breaking my heart." Too cute!

Gavin- I think he is finally pulling out of his terrible two's! Hallelujah! I know it'll still be rough, but I know it'll still be better. He is still our little ham, and doing far too many funny and sweet things to remember (another reason to post more!)

Jack- man, can this kid talk now!! He knows all his letters. It's incredible! He's trying more and more words and is learning more every day. It's such a joy to watch him absorb things. His favorite song to sing right now is "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider". Over and over... and over and over...

Faux Hug

I sent a text this morning to my dad, Brad, and my mom. It was an article I was reading about 3 of the best  (and worst, but that has nothing to do with this) careers to go into to pay off student debt. Well, one was Economist (hello, Brad) and another was Civil Engineer (hello, Dad). I thought that was kind of funny so I took a pic and sent it to them. My dad was the first to respond and at the end of our conversation, he asked me how Gavin is doing (he had a fever, cough, and super tired last night. Got it from James). I told him he's still sick, but resting. Dad said to give them a hug from "poppa". So I said to the boys, with my arms open wide, "Come get a hug from Papa!!" They lit up. James raced to the windows, looking outside thinking my parents were going to pull up in the driveway. Gavin ran to the shoe area to put on his shoes, to go in the car so we could go to their house. I then had to explain to them that the hug from Papa was a hug through me. Well... James didn't like that. I asked him if he wanted to call him, and he said, "No! I want to... I want to hug him!" Only the real deal would work. 

Gavin is still wondering when we are getting our shoes on to go to their house. Sorry, little ones, not happening for a while :(

Potty Time

Gavin is getting potty trained right now. And he is rocking it. The first day he had a hard time understanding how to go in the potty, but it wasn't bad. He literally sat on the potty for two hours. And he was cool with it! Yesterday, day 2, went muuuuuuch better. Today will be day 3. I am kind of nervous. I hope the 'newness' doesn't wear off and he just keeps getting better. This is actually our third attempt at potty training in the last two months. I'm not a believer in the whole potty-train-when-the-child-is-ready. You are going to end up wasting a lot of money on unnecessary diapers. Those times failed mostly because of me. I wasn't ready for the way Gavin needed to be potty trained and I wasn't ready for dealing with the other kids while potty training. This time, I was way more mentally prepared and was way calmer and it has gone so much better. Let's hope he keeps going!! Even if he doesn't... this is happening! I'm so tired of diapers...

Young Love

James has decided he's in love with me. It's quite adorable. There have been several funny interactions. Here are some of the latest.

James: Mommy, we are falling in love
Me: Oh?!?! That's sweet, honey, but I already fell in love with your daddy. You get to fall in love with someone else closer to your age. But we can still love each other!
James: *not buying it*

He was pretending to be Batman and Gavin was Superman. He and Gavin declared, "YOU ARE WONDER WOMAN!!" as they were racing around. James stops, thinks, and says, "No, you aren't! You are woman... my woman!!" I asked if I could be Cat Woman because she is friends with Batman. "No, you are my woman!" Later, I was Cat Woman :)

It's happening less, but there was a time when several times a week he'd ask me to be his princess and dance with him. I told him I'm the queen, so I can't be his princess. Nope. Unacceptable. I'm the princess and we're getting married. He loves the idea of marriage.

On that note, today I've been super busy getting the house and dinner ready for the missionaries to come over. James knew I couldn't play with him, so I heard him talking to Gavin about  them being princes. He then asks Gavin, "Hey Gavin... would you dance with me?" Gavin sullenly says no because he's two and stubborn. James asks, "What will you dance with then?" Gavin says, "Nuffing..." Then James yells (but not too loud), "I just want to get married!!" Bahahahaha! I didn't realize dancing and marriage were basically the same thing! I laughed so hard, so of course he said it again.

James is his mother's child- he is in love with love. He's been like this forever. Always been a love. Always has had a more sensitive heart than others. It's a blessing, for sure, but we'll have to keep our eyes on him once he hits those "fun" teen years...

ABC's

It's amazing what an older sibling does for a kid. Jack definitely is benefiting from his older brothers... especially having them so close in age where they are all in the learning stages. We watch Super Why in the morning, we work on our alphabet from time to time. Apparently it has been really sticking with Jack.

The other morning I was wearing a "Zoo York Est 1993 Unbreakable" shirt for my jammies shirt. Jack was the first to wake up so we got some fun morning cuddles in. As we were cuddling, he noticed my shirt and it had letters on it. He points to the 'O' and says 'o' as well as he can. What?? He then points out a few more o's on my shirt. Then says and points to some r's and e's. I was so flabbergasted. A little while later he also pointed and said "s" and "n". James and Gavin definitely did not pick up on the alphabet so young. 

Yesterday while we were outside, I decided to write the alphabet out on our driveway to see if he knows other letters and to help him learn some more since he's doing so well with them. He added "f" and "m". This morning he recognized "a". Oh man. 

Having these three close together is hard. But it's things like this that helps me see how beneficial it is, too. His brothers really help Jack see and try things before the others did at his age. These guys are all going to love going to school and learning!

Rabbit Food

Last night for dinner, I made (cheater) Korean beef/turkey. I made it before and loved it, and this time I wanted to try it in a lettuce wrap. Hecka good! James had leftover fried rice instead of the Korean turkey and rice. But once he saw me eating the wrap, his curiosity was piqued. By the time I was done with my dinner, he decided he wanted to try the turkey with rice... and lettuce! He tried a tiny bite of the lettuce and I told him he should put some turkey in it. He did,  and wrapped it up, and ate it. And then... then he ate MORE lettuce!! He did so well eating it with rice and the Korean meat! I was so proud of him.

The Power of Banana Bread

We love banana bread here. Love. I'm pretty sure it is James' favorite thing to eat. Whenever we buy bananas, he assumes it is to make banana bread. The logic of them having to go "bad" to make bread is lost on his little four-year old mind. Anyways, we had four ripe-for-the-making-of-bread bananas ready to go yesterday, but we didn't get around it. Today,we did! 

James is such an awesome little helper. He absolutely loves to help me in the kitchen. If I'm in there, it is for sure he will come behind me within a few minutes asking me if he can help me make whatever I am making. As usual, he was an awesome little sous chef today. We got the batter all done, added our chocolate chips (and, as sous chef, he enjoyed test tasting said chocolate chips), put it in our pan, and popped it in the oven. An hour later we had deliciously warm banana bread. But it was out of his mind for the moment, while he played in his own little world until dinner time. 

For dinner, we had macaroni and cheese and broccoli. Homemade mac and cheese is probably everyone's favorite meal. Broccoli... not so much. James will nibble on the good part and be oh so proud of himself. Gavin will say he is going to eat it, but then tell us he doesn't want it. No matter what. Jack downs the stuff. It's so nice to finally have a veggie lover. Tonight while eating James said, "I'm going to eat all of it, so I can get a special treat... get banana bread." I was surprised he said that- I hadn't said anything about having to eat all his dinner to get banana bread. But hey... you said it, buddy. He finished his pasta and then ate all the tops of his broccoli (I don't blame him for not eating the stalks... shoot, I didn't start eating those till a few years ago!). He never does that. Why did he do that? To make sure he got his banana bread! Then he proceeded to peer into the broccoli bowl, looking for more. Upon seeing it was empty (I just gave the rest of it to the chunky broccoli lover), he gave me the best sad face ever and cried out, "Oh NO! My broccoli is gooone! Where did it gooo?" It was too cute. I asked him, "Did you want some more? Is it so good?" He said, "Yes. Broccoli is yummy in my tummy!" I just laughed- he cracks me up! He quickly moved onto the fact that he needed his banana bread now, but I said we had to wait for Jack to finish eating. Once he was done, everybody got a good slice of banana bread for a treat. And boy, was it enjoyed. After everyone was done, Gavin and Jack got out of their seats. James, on the other hand, asked me for more pasta. "You want more? Ok!" He then goes, "Yes, I want more pasta so I can get more treat!" Ha! Yeah, this household doesn't work that way, buddy. Sorry! I told him that he could have more, but that didn't mean he would get more treat. He was so sad. He insisted again and I said no. I had to go take care of something with one of the other boys, and when I looked over James was trying to serve himself some more mac and cheese. "Do you want more afterall?" He gave me a cute smile and nodded  yes and enjoyed another plate of pasta... with no banana bread after, but the promise of some tomorrow!

It's so crazy seeing the logic forming in these kid's minds!

Use Your Words

It's quite hard to keep things balanced around here with some things with the age difference between Jack and Gavin. Part of it is Gavin does not miss a beat. He notices that Jack gets praise for learning new words, speaking gibberish but we understand what he's trying to say, pointing, etc. 

One of our fave books is the big book of animals and big book of letters, numbers, colors, and more. Jack has really caught on to things lately. His favorite phrase, by far, is, "What's that?" But not said so well :) When he is around that book, it is constant pointing and a yell-fest of, "What's that? What's that? What's that?" and responding with an attempt at a word or just straight up gibber. Gavin loves the book, too (as does James still- they are awesome books) and will come up and try to baby talk us like Jack. "Blasdhf?" I know he's trying to get the same attention and praise Jack is getting, but gol... this kid has a ridiculous vocabulary and grammar comprehension. He can talk. We'll ask the question back to him and he'll generally respond. But sometimes we'll say, "Gavin, can you please use your words?" His response, "No, I do not want to use my words." Nicely played. I'm trying now to praise how awesome he speaks and tell him he needs to help Jack-Jack talk. He loves that- breakfast time is a lot of "Jack, say Mama. Jack, say Gavin. Say Gavin! Jack, say dada..." These brothers sure love to help one another. 

I Will Wait

The other day on the way home from a quick run to the grocery store, Mumford and Sons song I Will Wait came on the radio. I love that band. Anyways... the song ended about 10 seconds before we were in our driveway. As I was closing my car door and opening theirs, I hear Gavin start singing, "I will wait, I will wait, I will wait for yoooooooouuuuu!" I busted up laughing. I have been waiting for my kids to pick up on lyrics! Needless to say, they loved making me laugh so James and Gavin kept singing the chorus over and over again. So dang cute.
And today... the song came on again and they started singing it. Ah, love it!!

Master of the Stairs

Jack has been wanting to go down the stairs for some time. Me... I didn't want it to happen anytime soon. This kid is growing up way too fast. But since he kept trying to mimic his brothers as they go up and down the stairs, and our stairs are rather steep, I felt it high time that I teach this little boy the bum trick of stairs. He mastered it instantly. Much faster than the other two. He was so proud of himself. He now purposely goes up and down the stairs to do his new trick. And he's only fallen once! Luckily I was right there at the landing and it wasn't that bad. Here is a video and some pictures of the stair descender

Fit for a Four-Year Old

I feel like all our stories in public happen in Target... I guess we live there? Sure feels like it sometimes. Anyways...

The other day we had to go to Target. Nowadays, whenever James knows we are going to Target he asks me beforehand if we are going to look at toys. I said, maybe, we'll see. So basically a 'yes' to a four-year old? I think so.

We went to Target and we only ventured on the side of beauty/health and food. No where near clothes, toys, shoes, home, etc. I was so proud of myself. We go to check out, and once James realizes we are getting ready to pay, he flips out. Flips. Out. I literally checked the other two boys before realizing it was James who was crying.

James: We haven't looked at TOYS!! We need to look at. The. TOYS!!
Me: Buddy, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot. But we're here and we need to go.
James: No!! I need to look at toys! I want to be the BAD GUY! I am not good!

There was a bit more, but it all blended together in the few seconds this took place. I realized I had a choice- be angry that he was making such a scene over toys OR see it through eyes and see the humor from my perspective. And I say humor, as in, you've got to laugh at tough situations. I mean, it was kind of a cute fit. Seeing it from his point, I would totally be freaking out, too. It was just cute how much it mattered to him. I picked him up and held him while I tried not to smile too much. The cashier was a younger girl and was kind of avoiding eye contact, which was also kind of funny. I remembered I had stuff to return in my bag, so I headed over to the Customer Service desk. The guy who was  manning it was out front with carts and it's someone who's been there for a while. When we were getting things for James to potty train almost two years ago, he was our cashier and he talked to me about potty training his daughter. So I obviously know he's a parent. On the way over, this was our conversation:

James: I want to be mean! I am being the bad guy! I'm so mad!
Me: You are so much fun right now.
James: NO, I am NOT so much fun right now!
Me: Yeah, I know. It was sarcastic.
James: No, it was NOT.. carstic! 
Me: Yes, it was. It was sarcastic.
James: No, it WASN'T! I am being IMPOSSIBLE!
Me: (chuckles) You are right

The guy had to come behind the counter, and I could totally tell he was laughing. Which made me feel more relaxed. There's something so refreshing with knowing others are thinking, "Oh man, been there done that. It's more funny that it is annoying" James kept saying things about being bad and mean while I did the return. One of the things I returned was Spiderman 2. Totally forgot we already had it. James caught a glimpse of it and immediately started to calm down and start a barrage of questions that is so him.

James: Why are we giving it back?... We already have it?... Why is Doc Occ bad?... His robot arms made him bad. But why?... There is a black Spiderman. Why?... What made him bad?... He became Venom?...
Me: I accidentally got it. I forgot we had it!... Yes, we have it already... His arms made him bad. He is good... They didn't want to go away, so they made him bad... Yes, there is a black Spiderman, but you can't watch that one yet... A small black thing (my way of explaining it's a symbiote) gets on him and turns him bad. He wasn't happy... Venom made him bad, it makes him think badly... Yes, he became Venom but didn't like it so he made it go away. It then attached to someone else I can't remember (Eddie Brock, totally remembered later!)

I was totally happy we had got distracted with talk of Spiderman. That lasted until he had to sit in his car seat and he started up again. Luckily by the time we got home, he was over it. I was super surprised at his fit, but was so glad to find a happy place with it.

Make Me Feel Better

We just got back from grocery shopping. When I was buckling James up, I scraped  my hand pretty bad (pathetic, I know) on his car seat. Now I'm sitting on the couch and James came over to be silly and grabbed that hand and we had the following conversation:

Me: Ouch! Bud, don't squeeze that hand.
James: Why?
Me: I hurt it on your car seat.
James: Why?
Me: Well, I didn't mean to. It was an accident. See? It got scraped
James: Oh. (patting me on the head and giving me a side hug) I will protect you, I will protect you...
Me: Oh, you're so sweet! Could you kiss it better?
James: No. But I will give you a shot (running over to his toys) and check your heart!

Unfortunately, I recently packed away their doctor toys due to lack of interest. But glad to know he wants to officially make me better. Future doctor?? ;)

Add a Y, Why Don't Cha??

This came out of nowhere. And it might be one of the cutest things ever.

Like a month (or so?) ago, Gavin all of a sudden started adding a 'y' in his vowels. I remember the first word I noticed it. We were getting in the car after church and I said something to James about getting out of Gavin's spot and Gav goes, "Yes, my spo-yot!" To break it down, it's like spa-yacht. Make sense?? He now does it to almost every vowel in his words! Back = Ba-yack. Hand = Ha-yand. Ball = Ba-yall.

Because Gavin's talking couldn't get any cuter... it now has. And kind of harder to understand, but gol... so cute

Social Faux Pas

Apparently there are social lessons I need to teach James, now that he talks to everybody. I expected things like this to pop up. Kids say whatever. Like the other day at Costco, a sweet old lady in a electric wheelchair had to stop and admire our cute little boys. She asked James if he was being good, and he sheepishly said, "Do your legs not work? Are they broken?" She didn't hear him and I pulled him aside and whispered to him that she has a hard time walking, but she's ok. Being satisfied, he didn't ask her again and we moved on. Today... well, something else was said today.

I had a book on hold at the library and needed to return our books, which were due at the end of the week. We got my book and we went to the children section, where they played with the puppets and giant horse and I perused the books. There was a mom (who was rather put together, kind of jealous) and her 7ish-9 year old daughter. The daughter was really nice and played with the boys. Her mom sat down at the little table, where there is a basket of tiles to match and play with. The daughter joined her, so of course James had to follow his new friend. He sat down, and Gavin quickly followed. James decided he wasn't close enough to his new friend and too close to Gavin, so he scooted his chair in between new friend and her mom. I was done, so just kind of hovered around them. James excitedly looked up at me and said, "Mommy! Look, I have a new friend!!" I have been teaching James that when he makes new friends to ask them their names, so I asked him what her name was. He asked her. Her name was Ava. They kept playing and he asked her again what her name was. She giggled and said, "It's Ava! I already told you!" She thought it was cute he asked her again. Then, for some reason, this is the next question he asks: "Do you have a daddy??" What?? Ava replied, "No. My daddy died... (looking at mom) right, Mom?" WHAT?? Of course James asks this of the sweet little girl whose daddy is dead!! The mom took it in stride, though I could tell it stung a little, and said, "Yes, honey..." I could not believe it. He then proceeded to say, "Oh... your daddy is dead... What was his name?" I wanted to just tell him to stop talking about her deceased father, but I was just stammering and trying to say the right thing. Ava said, "His name was Andy". I quickly muttered, "I'm sorry... James, we need to get going." Yeah, I know I didn't handle this well. My social awkwardness was all too present, but I did not expect him to ask that random question. We did not leave right away due to boys not wanting to leave, but we finally did. Once in the car, I let James know that maybe we shouldn't ask those kind of questions to people we are just meeting. We need to ask questions more like - what is your favorite color?- what do you like to play? etc. 

Oooohhhh... what luck we had today. He's learning, which means we're learning. This is going to be fun!

Sister?

James loves telling us who our parents are. "You're daddy is... Papa Pat! And you're mommy is... Gramma SANDY! And Daddy's daddy is... Papa Jim!! And his mommy is Gramma... Chris!!" I wish I could add the squeakiness, but alas, I cannot without video. Since he's got our parents down pat, we've been working on who our siblings are. Mine are pretty easy, and he gets them the majority of the time. But Brad is the 5th of 6 surviving kids. And loooooots more cousins. James can remember a few, but still needs help. One thing he has picked up on is that I have one sister, and Brad has one sister. One day I asked him, "Do you want a little sister? Or another brother?" And he said, "Yeah! I have two brothers!" He asked about how he doesn't have a sister and I told him he has brothers instead. A few days later, we were going over our siblings again. We were asking about Brad's sister and afterwards, James says, "What about MY sister??" He looked a little confused and concerned. We laughed a little and told him he probably won't get a sister, but that it is ok. He has two great little brothers to play with and be friends with. That seemed to do the job to calm his mind (for now). 

I know if it were up to James, we'd have lots more babies. He is such a great big brother and loves to dote on Gavin and Jack. He has become quite the comforter and helper. Even though we are most likely done adding to our family, it's great to see James ready to love more if any decide to join us. I remember worrying when pregnant with Gavin, of him loving and accepting his little brother and how that would go over. And I worried again with Jack, seeing as how they were both still so very young. James has been a huge example of acceptance and love. He doesn't know any better that he has had to share his parents with his brothers more than most little kids do. This is his life. And he loves it. 

"Hates" Butter

For some time now, James has declared he hates butter. We have pancakes/waffles almost every weekend and if he sees us getting the butter out (because who doesn't want some on their pancakes or waffles??) he HAS to remind us he doesn't like it. Do we listen? Not all the time. That's the magic of butter- it melts. You can't see it. Especially when you put something like syrup or cinnamon and sugar or honey on it afterwards. It's just a wonderful thing to moisten something that is dry. And let's be honest, our string bean needs the extra calories! So I sneak it on when I can. Can he taste it? Heck no! So does he hate butter? Nope. He likes the taste. He hates seeing butter. If something has cooled off too much and he can see it- freak out. Until I "take it off". So funny how picky they can be and have no idea how much they really like something.

Pink Eye

Two weeks ago, James got pink eye. This is our first time getting it in our household, and it was sad. His eye was halfway shut on the worst day. He kept going into the bathroom to look at it (he loves any reason to look in a mirror), and would come out telling me, "My eye is still purple, Mommy". Cue sad face. It started off in his right eye, and he got it a little in his left eye but not nearly as bad as the right. That cleared up and no one got it. I was amazed. Until a few days later when my eye started bugging me. I go into the bathroom to see what was wrong, and sure enough... I was getting pink eye. Definitely linked it to that awful cold I had. By the end of the day it was at least 1/3 of the way shut and the next day, a for sure 1/2 way closed. Blah. Mine cleared up a little faster because, well... because I'm an adult and understand to not touch my eye too much! And wash right afterwards, of course. My eye is still bugging me a little, but I think it's just the aftermath of the pink eye. I remember having it my sophomore year of high school and for weeks afterwards, my eye not being normal for a while. And it's the same eye. And I look drugged the minute I feel sleepy because my eye is still being funky and will get all wilted looking. Anyways... moving on...

Again, thought we were in the clear. Few days later, Jack started getting the signs and he now has it in both eyes. Yesterday was probably his worst day. He is so runny nosed and his eye just isn't looking good. Then yesterday, Gavin finally got it. Gaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Luckily so far, his isn't that bad but his cold is worse. I'll take a worse cold for him because he fiiiights me on taking care of his eye. Though James didn't like it, he cooperated and Jack acts like nothing uncomfortable is going on. He's a dream pink eye patient :) Anyways, I really cannot wait for this little household to be healthy. Though we are staying home (do not want to give this to others!), the weather has been decent so we've been able to get outside. Thank heavens! 

Here's to hoping we kiss this first pink eye epidemic good-bye this weekend and get healthy soon!

Brushing Teeth

Generally, the kids are pretty awesome at brushing their teeth. But then there are the times when you remember that they are kids and will randomly fight us BAD on it. The other night was one of those nights, and the odd thing was that it was James giving us a difficult time. He was pouting and whining while I brushed his teeth. To let him know why we were doing it, I told him, "Don't you want your teeth to be nice and white? Otherwise they'll be yellow and not good." The little spark of kid curiosity went on in his head, and while still brushing, he looked at me, kind of laughing. Then the thought came in my head, Well, WE certainly don't have perfectly white teeth, and not everyone is able to have good dentist care and have good teeth, so what would he possibly say now with this new information he just got? Kind of covering my sort of mess up, I told him, "What if you had blue teeth?? That would be so gross!!" James just started giggling. I named a few more colors, the very idea of all these colors as our teeth causing fit after fit of giggles. Then I apparently chose the funniest color of all, "What if we had purple teeth?? Eeeww!" He giggled and laughed so hard, he sort of fell off the stool he was standing on. He could not get over having purple teeth. Every day now, he will randomly ask me about having green or orange or black or purple teeth, laughing while he brings it up again. Sometimes, we'll add in white teeth and we'll say, "Ooo pretty!" One way to learn a lesson, right? It's so funny to see what strikes a chord with them. 

Comfort

Today it was a tad cold in our home. Our townhouse is a bit older and the heaters are in the walls. The walls. So it takes a while to warm up our open bottom floor. Anyways, I was chilled and I started rubbing my arms to get some warmth into them. I was sitting on the floor with the boys close by. All of a sudden I feel a rather uncoordinated "rub" on my arm. Little Jack-Jack was imitating me and trying to rub my arm. Though the meaning of my rub was lost on him, he sure was proud of his imitation. 

Later, I was trying to do something important on the computer. And, of course, that means that everyone goes into hyper-drive and sonic level of noise. Sigh. I got a tad terse and Gavin was immediately next to me, patting my shoulder, saying, "It's otay, Mommy, it's otay. You better? It's otay." Gah. So sweet. These boys sure know how to get me to calm down (even though they are the usual cause of me not being calm. but let's not split hairs on that one).

Good Friend

Gavin picks up on the oddest things. It's usually things that I have to think about where they came from. Lately, whenever we ask him something that he doesn't want or he just doesn't like he answers back with, "No! I just want to be a good friend!" Huh?? I was wondering if maybe he had picked up on me giving them their pre-playdate talks about how we need to be nice, not yell, share, etc. But I don't mention being good friends (but is a good idea, come to think of it). Maybe nursery? At our church, we meet for three hours. Two of those hours Gavin goes to nursery with the other kids, ages 18 months to 3 years. They play, they snack, they learn songs, and they have church lessons. When church is over, I pick up James first and then we head over to nursery to pick up Gavin. By the time I make my way over there, he is usually the last kid and they are ready to head out. Or Brad has already gotten him. When James was in nursery, I tried to talk to the nursery leaders a little bit to see how he was doing and what he had learned. I don't really get to do that now with how late I get over there. Maybe I'll have Brad ask this next Sunday...

Scratch Your Back

Tonight was one of those fun, goofy nights. We had a pretty successful Family Home Evening and once we were done, waited for the right time for bath and night-night. While we waited we played this or that, just enjoying one another and being silly. 

I was sitting Indian-style, in front of our couch just watching Gavin and Jack-Jack play near me. All of a sudden, something that wasn't a hand was rubbing my back. I then hear James' cute little voice, "I scratch your baaa-aack!" He was so happy to be scratching my back. "I'm scratching your back, Mommy!" He then stops (and I see he was using a jagged toy saw to do the job) and comes next to me on the ground. He says, "Let me see your hands!... Oh! They are dirty... I think James can help you wash them up." He then takes me by the hand, helps me up and guides me to the bathroom. "I can turn the water on for you, too" We turn the light on and he starts the water. He grabs the soap and tries to pump some into my hand... I secretly helped a little. "I think I will wash mine too". We wash our hands together and I am done waaay before him. He washes and washes and washes his hands. I have to tell him he's all clean and to rinse rinse rinse! He does and we go back out. He acts like nothing happened. I ask him if he wants to see my hands. "Yes! Oh, they are aaaalll clean! Mine too!" He shows me his hands and I give him a kiss. He is such a sweetheart.

A little James tidbit on this matter- he is obsessed with washing his hands and drinking the water from the bathroom faucet. Like he will stay in there an extra 5-10 minutes drinking water and washing his hands. It is so funny. He is now taking it upon himself to bring us water in our own Dixie cup. How thoughtful. It's sad that I am starting to put my foot down on him for not using up the cups (he goes through a ton) and the water... I'm hoping we find a happy compromise :)

Potty Time

I really want Gavin potty trained. Really want it. He was so interested when James was learning last year, that I thought he'd be a piece of cake when the time came... but he's turned out a bit more opinionated and stubborn than I thought. Which isn't bad, just a tiny little wrench we need to work through. We tried right before the holidays- bad, bad, bad idea. It was scrapped within an hour. Now... now we are buttering him up for it. 

Today we were watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (I swear my kids don't watch TV all the time!) and it was the potty episode. I talked to Gavin as much as I could while it was on about how he could be like them, did he want to go sit on the potty like Prince Wednesday just did?? "Yes!" Whaaaat??? I've been trying to get him interested in just SITTING for at least a month now!! We went into the potty and he stood in front of the toilet, trying to figure out how to get on. I told him to wait, and I rushed to the garage to get the froggy potty we have for him. I put it down, pulled his pants down, removed his diaper... and he sat down. For at least 10 seconds! He said he was done (and he tried to pull his pants up with no diaper... sheesh) and we went back out. I tried to see if it was interested off and on later, but he insisted he was done. 

Gavin may say "no" a lot to the idea, but he says no to everything. He does seem to be warming up to the idea of being potty trained more and more. We're prepared for the day when I am brave enough to do this thing... another little wrench is the one-year old. Cute little devil who is obsessed with the bathroom. 

I can do this, I can do this, I can do this...