Monday, December 31, 2007

December 27, 2007 - Our First Christmas Together as a Family

We have had a splendid Christmas season this year. On Christmas Eve, we went to my brother's house, along with all of our relatives. We had quite a house full and my sister-in-law went all out on a buffet style meal. There was so much food and such a large variety of food that it was hard to sample it all. It was wonderful seeing all of the family and the boys had a great time.

My sister-in-law had planned a very nice and touching toast, before which she read from the Bible. My niece read the story of the birth of Jesus from the Bible and then it was time to open gifts. Our two sons received so many more gifts than we had ever imagined. They barely all fit in the car but the dad was creative and was able to fit it all in.

We stayed home on Christmas day. The boys took their time opening their gifts and they played with each one as long as they wanted before we moved on to the next one. This first Christmas together as a family was a very sweet time for us all.

Each day, at different times, I would start thinking back to what we were all doing last year. It warmed my heart to see where we all are this year. This truly has been the best Christmas ever for me. I think it is the first Christmas that I really did not have anything on my list, other than wanting to have a special first Christmas with the boys and my husband. My Christmas wish came true and I am very blessed:).

The boys received so many lovely gifts and they have been having a wonderful time with them since Christmas. They really received a very nice variety of things; some things for now, some for summer and some when they are a bit older, later in 2008. So, although they received a lot of gifts, it doesn't seem that they were inundated, since several of them cannot be used right away.

Two of my nieces came to visit for a few days. One was here from Thursday evening through Saturday evening and the other from Friday morning through this morning. The boys really enjoyed the time spent with their cousins and my husband and I even got out alone to go to a movie one afternoon. The girls were a big help to us and it was nice having them here. They are both seniors in high school, so they are staying very very busy this year.

Hopefully I can get back into the groove and start posting regularly again. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Monday, December 24, 2007

December 24, 2007 - A Magical Christmas Eve

Things here are going very well. All shopping was completed a couple of days ago. Lots of wrapping was underway yesterday and is almost completed. Today we will head out to my brother's house to celebrate Christmas with my family. Tomorrow we will stay home and enjoy our first Christmas as a family.

Yesterday evening we decided to open our stockings, since there will be lots of presents today and tomorrow. The boys were so excited, as the dad got the stockings down. Nick was almost jumping up and down. We all sat on the floor and the boys had a great time dumping their stockings, opening a couple of small wrapped gifts and playing with the little toys (matchbox trucks, dollar store cell phone-big hit, dollar store tops for spinning, small wooden puzzles, a few pieces of candy and a candy cane). I almost cried at the beginning of all of this, thinking about what we were all doing last year.

Soon after, I went back to my baking in the kitchen and the dad played with the boys in the living room floor in front of the beautiful Christmas tree, while the Christmas music played in the background. I looked out over the living room from my baking in the kitchen and was overwhelmed with the blessings God has given us. It was truly a blessed and magical evening for me.

I have everything I could ever want for Christmas.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

December 20, 2007 - Christmas Preparations

I was visiting with a young mom of twins today though and she told me that she is very tired at the end of the day also. That made me feel much better, as I had always kind of chalked it up to fact that I am an older mom (I'm 44, going on 45 in Feb.). So, I am glad to know that it is fairly normal for other mom's too, especially those with multiple toddlers.

All in all, things are very happy around here these days. I enjoy my time with the boys and relish each day, as I am often thinking ahead and knowing that these times when they are little are so short....especially short for those of us who adopted our children and did not have the first year or more with them. They are incredible little people and I am truly blessed to have them in my life, as well as my wonderful, thoughtful husband.

In other news, I actually finished decorating our house and tree today:). Surprise surprise! I had previously decided that I was perfectly happy to leave it partially decorated, as there would be less for the boys to take apart:). But, for some reason, I was feeling very festive today. I guess the Christmas spirit has caught up with me, now that the hubbub of the ice storm is over.

My mom went back to her house yesterday. They finally fix her power line and restored her power on Tuesday. I was sad to see her leave and I know the boys have missed her.

My sister came to get her yesterday and, after the boys went to bed, she and I went to out to do a bit of Christmas shopping. While we were shopping, my sister picked up a very pretty tray with roses all over it and said, "Oh how pretty. I think I'll get this for mom". Our mom loves roses. I picked one up just like it, looked at it and said, with a very straight face, "This IS very pretty. I think I will get one for her too". My sister gave me the funniest 'are you nuts!?' look that I have ever seen and I busted out laughing. She is such a kidder and practical joker. I couldn't resist. We both laughed about it for a while and then laughed about it again today when I told her that I told my husband about it last night. Her son heard her laughing and wanted to know what was so funny. She told him and he didn't think it was very funny so maybe it was one of those things that you just had to be there. We thought it was pretty funny.

Today we also had a play date with my friend Gail's twin girls who are close to the boys' age. We met them recently at the mall play area and they live nearby. It has been nice to have some company over though and we really need to do it more often. The boys clearly enjoy it.

On Saturday we are planning to meet others at mom's house and start cleaning up the mess of very large branches and mangled trees in her yard. I have heard that it will be cold and we have a 40% chance of rain so we may have to reschedule, although I hate to leave her yard looking like this for very long.

Tomorrow is the husband's last day of work for a couple of weeks:). That will be nice for all of us. I need to buy some hot chocolate and pick up some fire wood.

I still have not finished my Christmas shopping and I have yet to wrap one present. So much for being done before Thanksgiving:). You know what I'll be doing over the next few days.

Monday, December 17, 2007

December 17, 2007 - MaMa's Ice Storm Visit

My mom's house is still without power and she has been staying with us since Friday. My sister is coming to get her tomorrow, since she has a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and we are really hoping her power will be back on sometime tomorrow. We are planning to gather at her house on Saturday for Project Clean-Up-Mom's-Yard, from all of the branches and ruined trees that now litter her yard.

I am going to be sad to see her leave tomorrow. I have so enjoyed having her here and the boys have really enjoyed it too. I hope she will come and stay more often in the future. We all really got on well together and she is just so easy to be with. She loves to read (as do I) and she also enjoys watching and hearing about the news and the elections so we have had a lot to discuss. We have also discussed the boys, of course, and I have enjoyed seeing her interact with them so much over the past couple of days. I think she has enjoyed her time with them too.

As they were preparing to go up to bed tonight, Nick quickly ran over to "MaMa" to give her a good night kiss. Ben followed close behind. As they walked up the stairs, they were saying "night night MaMa", over and over. It was very sweet. They really enjoy her and she loves to read to them, talk to them and play with them. She is also very good at distracting them, when they have a bee in their bonnet about something they cannot have or do, and she is good about redirecting them and helping them find interest in other things, when needed. I know she is anxious to get back to her own house but I really wish she could stay longer. I am so very thankful to have her for my mom and the boys are blessed to have her as their grandmother.

Oh yes. One other thing to note before I sign off. Nick said his first full sentence the other day. It was, "Zoe, get down." (Zoe is the cat and she was on the table.) He said it several times and he also has said "kitty, get down" several times. He seems to enjoy telling the cats what to do these days. It is cute.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

December 13, 2007 - Ice Tornado

This has to be a quickie but I did want to give a quick update on what's going on here in Oklahoma. I took a drive out the other day to go to an appointment and, had I known how bad the situation was in that part of town, I would not have gone.

It really looks like a tornado came through, at least from the perspective of seeing all of the tree limbs, some very large, and some trees down all over the place. It is really hard to believe your eyes and the pictures on the news do not do it justice....not even close.

My mom got tired of being cold and finally went to my sister's house on Tuesday. I was not able to reach anyone yesterday so I don't know if her power is back on yet or not. As of Tuesday, the assisted living home where my grandmother lives was without power so she was at my uncle's house and my dad and brothers were still without power also. I have heard on the news that the number without power today is much lower so hopefully I will hear something from my family today.

For a couple of days, we had to throw together whatever hodge podge of food we happened to have in the house for meals, as the grocery stores near us were without power. We have since found stores that never lost power and still have a good selection of everything, so the only current impact to us remains the stop lights that are still not working, although they are slowly getting those back up and working also.

During one of our hodge podge meals, we were eating some hot dogs, green beans and brown beans and ham (doesn't that sound just yummy:)!. I am not a fan of mustard but my husband is and, when the boys saw him eating it, they wanted some too. They are amazing. The assume that anything we eat MUST be good and they want to try everything. Much to my surprise, they loved the mustard and kept wanting "more, more". I have yet to find anything they won't eat...they seem to like anything and everything, although there are a few things they like more than others.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

December 11, 2007 - Oh Shoot

I was working in the kitchen on Saturday and the dad was working in his home office, as the boys played in his office. I overheard the dad say "oh shoot", soon followed by the boys saying "oh, shoot", "daddy?, oh, shoot", "daddy, oh, shoot" and the dad laughing in the background. They were both saying it repeatedly. I smiled and *again* thought of how children are so easily influenced by what we do and say.

Yesterday, Nick said "more milk please" without prompting. I think that was our first three word sentence without prompting.

The boys will now say "me?, me?", when they see (for instance) that I am getting ready to go upstairs for something and they want to go with me. Yesterday I started telling them to say "I go?" instead of me?. They repeated it over and over, as they are apt to do now days to learn.

After we put the boys in their cribs for the night, we normally rub their backs for a short time and talk softly to them, before we leave their room. Nick has started saying "back, back", anytime he wants us to rub his back...and also when he puts a book or toy back on the shelf, but that's another story. He also likes to rub his Ya Ya's back, which is cute. Last night they were taking turns lying on the floor on a little blanket and rubbing each other's back. It was very cute. They have now gotten to where they like having a small blanket in their crib when they go to sleep. They especially like it when we put Ya Ya and Bear under the blanket and they will say (Nick) "night night Ya Ya", (Ben) "night night Bear", over and over.

One of their favorite things to say now is "oatmeal?". They say it all the time. They used to say it more like "meetmo" but have recently learned to say it correctly. Their pronunciation is improving rapidly these days.

And in other news, Ben is getting his 2 year molars in now...all four of them. Nick does not seem to be getting his yet, although I am sure we will start to see signs of them soon.

We took a short drive yesterday, late afternoon, with the intention of going out for some groceries. There were so many traffic lights out, causing the traffic to back up considerably, that we changed our destination and headed to a closer grocery store. It was closed due to lack of power so we headed home but then ended up going to one that is even closer. It was open but was running on generators. They had put all of their meat away, probably in a cooler that ran on the generator. There was hardly any milk left and it was not very cold, so we did not buy it. We ended up buying a few things and then heading back home.

On our drive, we saw many tree limbs down and some trees split in half or completely fallen over due to the ice, even though we live further south of the really bad icing. We also noticed many neighborhoods very close to us where people are without power. We heard on the news last night that the power company spent yesterday trying to get power back up to the water treatment plant and the hospitals. We had been asked to conserve on water but I did not find this out until last night and had already done several loads of laundry and ran the dishwasher yesterday. Fortunately, we also heard this morning that they had the water treatment plant and hospitals back up and were going to start working on neighborhoods today. My husband's place of employment is still without power so he is home again today.

My mom, dad and two brothers' homes are still without power, although my dad and one of my brothers heat with propane so they still have heat. My mom's house does not have heat but she and my other brother, who lives with her, are staying there under lots of covers for now. My sister lives close to them so they can go to her house if they want but they have chosen to stay for now.

The temperature has warmed up a bit and it is raining today. I think the majority of the ice is suppose to melt pretty fast today so hopefully things will improve rapidly, although we have heard on the news that some people may be without power for at week. My dad's house was without power for two weeks during the bad ice storm last year. I think we were in Russia during that one but our house still had power. Those underground power lines are a good thing.

We took the boys outside for a short walk around yesterday morning. They enjoyed it and probably would have stayed out much longer, had we let them. Unfortunately, we don't have mittens that fit them and their little hands were wet and turning red quickly so we didn't stay out for very long, much to their dismay. They cried when we made them come inside. We are all getting a bit tired of being housebound for so long....but we are very very thankful that we have a warm house to be bound into:).

Gotta go, the munchkins are awake and chatting with each other:).

Monday, December 10, 2007

December 10, 2007 - Icy Trees & Preschool Activities




Yep, we have ice...and lots of it. But we don't have nearly as much as the folks northeast of us have. At my mom's house, my dad's house, my sister's house and my two brothers' houses they do not have electricity. My mom said that they could hear the large branches on the trees cracking during the night and there are large branches down all over her yard. She said it looks like a tornado went through her yard. So far, we don't have any branches down at our house, although the trees are really being pulled downward by all of that ice.










This is a Japanese Maple tree that sits just outside of our living room window.  Over the past week or so, I have been admiring the beautiful red leaves.  They have a very unique, but still very pretty, look now.  It is a beautiful tree.  I am hoping it is not damaged by all of the ice.











Here are the boys, doing some of the activities from one of the books I'm reading:

playing with buttons and sorting them into ice trays, playing with colored water and moving it from one side of the dish to the other with sponges and medicine droppers. They have so much fun with these activities.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

December 8, 2007 - The Things Kids Say

I need to start writing down the cute things the boys are saying again. There are more and more of them each day and they are so cute.

Ben's favorite thing to say now is "oooowwww" (like you might say if you just hurt yourself). He says this all the time with great feeling, even if he is not hurt. I even hear him saying it over the baby monitor, when he is trying to fall asleep in his crib.

Nick still talks all the time. I was in the laundry room, while the boys were having their snack, and I overheard Nick saying to Ben, "brother, big truck!, brother, big truck!". He had heard a big truck driving by and I wasn't in the room but he had to tell someone about it. Ben did not seem to acknowledge this news though.

I was kind of tired the other afternoon and, without thinking about it, I took a deep breath and let it out noticeably. Nick was sitting at the kitchen island, eating a snack and he immediately copied my deep breath. When I laughed, he had to do it a couple more times.

Other things they are saying lately are:

"milk please" and "more milk please"
"read please"
"very big truck!"
"Christmas tree!" (every time we see anything remotely resembling pine needles, including hanging decorations in stores)
"there!" (something I say at times, when I finish a task with them)
"now!" (also something I say at times, when I finish a task...they are quite the mimics)
If Nick is the one saying these things, every thing he says is preceded by "mommy?". He'll say "mommy?, there!" and then give me a big smile. So cute. He talks ALL the time....quite the chatter box.

A favorite book of our sons' is a large book containing multiple Golden Book classics. One story is about how Martha and Bobby help Mommy around the house. It has a picture of the two children, taking off their pajamas. When the boys see this, they say "uh oh" because I am always telling them not to take their pajamas off, since I don't want them to get cold during the night.

And, did I mention that I found a football, baseball (the soft, little kid kind) and a tractor stuffed into the back of the tree the other day? I don't know how they did that but I think they were throwing things at the tree at one point. Ben was hitting it with his hammer yesterday. There are just all kinds of things to do to a tree that are all good fun and fair game for two little two year old boys.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

November 29, 2007 - Funny Boys

The boys are both going through a phase where they are saying bye bye to everything they can think of. Bye bye truck, bye bye boo boo, bye bye house, bye bye moon, bye bye airplane, bye bye helicopter, etc.....you get the idea. But today's bye bye was one to remember.

We were getting out of the car and Ben noticed bird poop on the rear of the car. He had noticed it once before and I had told him it was bird poop. So today, both boys were saying "bye bye poop". I couldn't help but laugh at that one. They were saying it over and over, as we left the car to go into the store, and then they were saying it again, over and over, as we drove away from the store. Funny boys:).

Monday, November 26, 2007

November 26, 2007 - Hodge Podge Update







We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, celebrated at my sister's house with her family, my mom, all three of my brothers, several nieces and nephews and spouses and a great niece (pictured)....and of course, my husband and two sons. I lost count of how many people were there but I think it was somewhere around 18 or 20. It was definitely the largest family crowd that our two sons have seen yet and they seem to have handled it well. They had a great time playing with their big cousin Trent (also pictured). I brought lots and lots of toys and books to keep them busy but they spent more time playing with the toys my niece brought for her little girl. All in all, everyone had a great time, we had wonderful food and it was so nice to see the family again.













These three pictures were taken when I was making Mississippi Mud, the day before Thanksgiving. The chocolate is from the icing and the white stuff is marshmellow creme. The boys now have a new appreciation for baking.
























Here is one of the fun activities from the Mommy Teach Me book that I did with the boys today. They really liked it a lot. The trays are plastic and the pitchers are glass. I showed them how to carefully carry the tray and place it on the table. They both did pretty well.  I showed them how to be careful with the pitchers and how to pour the rice slowly, trying to hit the middle of the other pitcher. They were suppose to turn the tray around each time, so they are always pouring from left to right, which also helps preparing to read left to right. They poured it back and forth between the pitchers and into the tray and they picked it up with their fingers. I'm not sure that is exactly how it was suppose to go but the book says the number one thing for this activity is teaching them how to concentrate on a task and I think they did that pretty well. They had fun with it regardless.














I went to a dollar store this weekend to buy a lot of the stuff that I need to do many of the activities in the Mommy Teach Me book. I bought some simple sponges and cut one in half to let them pretend to wash their dishes. They loved that and have cleaned their dishes and pots and pans over and over, in addition to the window, the cabinets, trucks, trains, etc.....you name it, they have tried to clean it. Of course, they were using a dry sponge, so nothing is really clean:). But they had fun and I had fun watching them and telling them what a good job they were doing.




























The really disappointing news is that we took Ben back to the plastic surgeon today and his scar is not looking good at all. The surgeon took one look at it and said, with a frown, "this is not acceptable". Apparently, his body reacted to the dissolving type stitches very badly, meaning he is allergic to them. The result is that the scar is wider than it should be. It looks as if it pulled apart before it healed. And you can very clearly see the little holes where the stitches were.

This means that we have to redo the surgery. I almost cried when we were driving away and I had a chance to really digest this. We go back to the plastic surgeon in two months to see how the scar is doing and how much scar tissue is there. We'll continue to pray about this over the next couple of months and I know God will get us through it. I just feel really bad for Ben, that he has to go through this all over again. That's what makes me more sad than anything else.

Other than that, things here are great:)! Overall, we are all healthy, happy, having a great time together and still counting our blessings:).

Thursday, November 22, 2007

November 22, 2007 - Being Thankful

I am so very thankful that we are sharing our Thanksgiving with our children this year. They are such a joy to our lives. Yesterday my sister was saying how she had just been thinking about what joy they have brought to our entire family and how thankful she is for them too. Yes, we are very very blessed and I thank our heavenly Father for that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

November 21, 2007 - Busy Boys

Here are some fun pictures I have taken over the past couple of weeks.

Nick was putting together some bread and veggies for a pretend snack. It was most amusing to watch him work. Notice the plate on the left, with the two cars on top of the tomato. Doesn't that look yummy?! Apparently it does to a little boy:)!





One day the boys and I had a fun time coloring and drawing on paper and envelopes, folding the papers and putting them into the envelopes and pretending to mail them.

Notice how Ben holds his pencil the right way. I only showed him how to do this once. Nick, on the other hand, gets upset with me if I try to show him how to hold his pencil.




This is a little train set that my brother, SIL and niece gave the boys at a shower, before the boys ever came home. I got it out the other day for the first time but it is really for 3 years old and up....and for good reason. They spent more time taking it apart than anything else so, after a day or two, I put it away again.








This is a great toy and they are still playing with it a lot. Nick has especially enjoyed it, more so than Ben for some reason.






































The boys were doing somersaults. Nick would get in position and then pat his bottom, which he could barely reach, and say to Ben "pish, pish", "brother, pish" (translation, push:), and then Ben would push him over. It was really cute.











Yesterday afternoon, the boys and I spent a lot of time outside playing. We had been out for a while when I remembered that my sister gave us some sidewalk chalk. I'm not sure who had more fun with it, them or me:).

I am sure who got more of it on their clothes...them! I had to strip them down before I let them into the house. Good thing it was still warm outside.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

November 20, 2007 - The Cuteness Never Stops!

I have grown weary of hearing Ben scream. He screams anytime things don't go his way. Yesterday he was screaming because Nick was trying to take a toy away from him. So, I taught him how to say "mine":). This is a word that the boys had not starting using yet because they really have not heard it around here much. So I taught him the word and we role-played him having a toy and me trying to take it from him.

At the time, it seemed like a good idea. I want him to learn how to use words, rather than screaming. But, in retrospect, I am thinking that this one will most likely back fire on me. In my vivid imagination, I can already hear him *screaming* "mine!!", even if I am trying to take something from him that he should not have. Oh well, what's a mom to do?

The boys and I have started playing this game when we listen to this one song on their music CD. There is a song with a chorus that says "I'm gonna get you; you'd better run!". It is a very upbeat, fun song and I just couldn't resist chasing them, while singing the song. They absolutely love being chased. They giggle and laugh and they are never ready to stop. When the song is over, I am exhausted and they want to go "again". I think they could do this for hours.  It is good exercise.

Yesterday evening, when the dad got home, the boys were sitting in my lap and we were reading a book. We have finally gotten to the point where they will both sit in a lap and let us read the same book to the two of them at the same time. For the longest time, Nick wanted to hold and control his own book and did not want us to read to him. He enjoyed looking at the pictures and talking about them but had little interest or attention span for listening to us read. Now he loves it and will climb into a lap and say "read" to us. I digress. So we were reading a book together and they heard the garage door go up. They both got down and ran to the door and Nick was saying "daddy home, daddy home".

When the dad goes to the bedroom to change his clothes, the boys love to go with him and hide in the clothes, open and close the various doors, play with the digital scales or turn light switches on and off. Ben had been in the library/playroom, when Nick and the dad went to the bedroom. When Ben realized he was missing out on the bedroom play time, he ran in that direction saying "daddy home, daddy home".  It was so cute.

Overall, I think the boys are pretty neck and neck, when it comes to their communication skills and vocabulary size. They are both saying more and more 2 word phrases/sentences, although Ben seems more likely to repeat them now, when I say to them "say night night daddy" or something like that. When Ben gets a positive response from me, Nick usually jumps in and tries to say it too.

Yesterday I was singing "Jesus loves me, this I know..." to the boys. Ben started singing it with me and it was **SO** sweet. It almost made me cry. It is just too precious to hear a small child sing. He really did pretty well on the chorus ("Yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me; the Bible tells me so.) He could say most of it and he mumbled any words that he missed. He and I were looking at each other while we sang it together and we both had a huge smile on our faces and it was just too adorable. We both laughed together when we finished and then he would say "again?".

We have struggled in the past with the boys wanting to play with the light switches. They have gotten much better about this now and I try to remember to ask one of them to turn the lights on and off for me, since they enjoy it so much. Yesterday evening, we were getting the boys ready for bed and Nick was looking for his Ya Ya. I told him I thought it was in the library/playroom so he ran in there by himself. Normally when he saw that the room was dark, he would stop and come back, look at me and sometimes would say "help". He did not want to go into the dark room by himself. Last night, for the first time, he handled it differently. The light was off in that room and it was already dark. As he went into the room, I heard him say "light" and then the light came on. Next I heard him mumbling, as he was looking for Ya Ya and then I heard "Ya Ya!", when he found it. Next I heard "light" again and he turned out the light and ran back into the living room. It was the first time I have seen either of the boys actually go through this whole process, realizing they need the light and using the light switch as it is meant to be used. I thought for sure he would leave the room with the light still on, so I was quite surprised when he remember to turn it off again.  My little boys are growing up:(…:).

They have also gotten to the point that, when the dryer buzzer goes off, they run ahead of me into the laundry room because they enjoy helping to remove the clothes from the dryer and dumping them into a laundry basket. When I tell them I am going to the laundry room to put clothes in the dryer, they also run along with me. When I drop the clothes on the dryer door, they like to push them into the dryer.

They are still having a great time, playing with the large box in which the new furnace came. Yesterday I turned it on its side, so it is more like a cave, and it became a whole new, interesting toy again:). I am in search of some new, good puzzles, as the boys can work all of the puzzles we have now.

We were at Walmart yesterday and they have these Christmas trees set up as you enter the store. The trees were there last week too, so the boys have already seen them a couple of times and I have told them what they are. Yesterday, as we walked by one, Ben pointed to the tree and said "Christmas tree!", as big as you please. I said "yes, that is a Christmas tree; isn't it pretty?".

Lately I have written a lot about what the boys say. When I do this, I am writing what they are trying to say, rather than the actual way they are saying it. Their words frequently do not come out as clearly as I write them but I am not good at writing their words the actual way they say them, if you know what I mean. In other words, they do not speak that clearly and the dad frequently does not understand what they are saying. Since I am with them all the time, I normally know what they are saying. I just didn't want everyone thinking that they are saying all of these words perfectly clear, as an adult would, even though that is the way I write their words here. It's just easier for me to write it that way....I'm all for easy:).

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is only two days away. I can't wait! Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

November 18, 2007 - The M&M Bribe Works Like a Charm

For the first time, I took the boys to church by myself! Yay! I prayed about it a lot and I used a small bag of M&M's as my helper:). I talked to the boys about going to church and playing with the other children and seeing Katy (our babysitter) again, etc. I told them they were going to be big boys and not cry and that they were going to go to their class and I was going to go to my class. I talked it up pretty good, but I still brought the M&M's, which were key to our success.

I showed them the M&M's as we were getting out of our car and told them they could have one when we got inside. I gave them each one when we got to the sign-in desk. (By this time, they have normally started crying/whining and asking to be picked up.) I gave them each another one when we got to the door of their classroom.  Then, Nick decided he did not want to go and he took off running in the other direction. But then I said "Nick, don't you want another M&M?" and he came running back:). They both went into the classroom and Ben held up his hands for me to pick him up, as he said "mommy? mommy?".  I told him I would be back later and I gave the candy to Katy. I think there was only one other little girl in the class at the time and there are two adults and Katy, taking care of the kids. So, the boys were getting a lot of attention from everyone, which helped. And, of course, the M&M's were key. Neither of them cried at all! It was amazing! They normally cry every week, when we leave them.

I was so relieved that it went so well. As I sat in my class, I said a thank-you prayer. My husband joined me for the worship service and we went together to pick up the boys from their class. Ben had his back to the door, so he didn't see us come in. He was holding up a doll, moving her up and down and around, as he danced with her! It was so funny. I was cracking up. One of the caregivers said that both of the boys had been dancing with the dolls. Very funny. They were both very happy to see their daddy, since they had not seen him this morning.

We will definitely be buying more of those M&M's!

November 18, 2007 - The Mimic

I was driving the other day, with the boys in the back in their car seats, and I was trying to get out of a parking lot, taking a left turn onto a major road. I was having a hard time finding an exit where I could cross the median. I ended up at a dead end in the parking lot and said "oh shoot". From the back seat, I hear little Nick saying "mommy?" "oh hoot", or something like that, but clearly trying his best to imitate what I had just said and wondering what it meant.

Isn't it funny that, of all the words you say that they don't imitate, that they somehow know when you have said something that you don't want them to imitate? Or maybe it is just that they are drawn to exclamations, since Nick seems to like to also imitate words like "wow!".

Regardless, it was a very funny, but also eye opening, moment:).

The same day, I was combing the boys' hair, as we were getting ready to go out and run our errands. As I was combing Nick's hair, he said "mommy?" "church?". It took me a minute to understand what he was saying, since it was a bit out of context (for me anyway). Fortunately (?) at this age they repeat everything until you acknowledge, in some way, what they are saying. I am quite surprised at how much he is understanding now, not just new words but really understanding more meaning behind the words.

Yesterday the boys spent a good deal of time outside with their dad. The dad was raking leaves and the boys were having fun, playing with leaves, sticks and rocks. I love watching little boys play outside, especially when there are no toys around and they invent their own play. Even though this was suppose to be some down time for me, I was drawn to the windows to watch them. At one point, Ben was ready to come inside but Nick clearly wanted to stay outside with dad. I think he would be out there all day, every day, if he could.

It's funny though. I watch them with their dad and they seem to be really good about playing while dad reads or works or whatever. With me, they are constantly saying "Mommy? Sit. Sit." They want me to see what they are doing, to play with them, to talk to them, to narrate what they are doing, etc. The dad plays with them and interacts with them too. But I am sure, since I am home with them all day, that I end up doing this more, so I suppose they have come to expect it more from me. I definitely talk to them A LOT and I think they like that too. I enjoy spending time with them and playing with them but, sometimes, when I see them playing so nicely, with the dad sitting nearby reading, I'm a bit jealous of that situation:). I suppose maybe I should make an effort to do that a bit here and there, so they might get used to it with me too sometimes.

In other news, Ben's face is healing very nicely. We put sunscreen on it every morning and wash it off every night, so that hopefully the scar will not be as prominent. Yesterday it looked as if the scab was starting to flake off in places. Little kids heal so fast; it is really amazing.

The dad took the boys shopping with him yesterday and they bought outside Christmas lights for the house and the bushes out front.  I am ready to start decorating. I think we should turn on our lights on Thanksgiving day night or the the night after, so we can enjoy them longer:).

The boys are awake now and the dad is at work, so I must run.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

November 14, 2007 - The Best Job Ever!

Today we went to Sam's to buy a few things and we had lunch there. The boys split a hot dog, had a few potato chips and two sips of an orange soda. This was their first time to ever try any carbonated beverage. When they tried it, they gave me the funniest look and then started coughing. When I offered them a second sip a little later, they both shook their head no. They each finally had a second sip when they were almost done with the meal...if you want to call that a meal:). I sat there and felt guilty about what an unhealthy lunch I was feeding them. Terrible momma!

Here are more fun words / phrases the boys are saying:

-- Nick, standing in the living room this morning and pointing outside: "windy!" (it has been VERY windy here today).
-- Nick, after burping the other day: "scuse you".
-- Ben, handing me the letter H as I was walking by the fridge this morning: "H" (I just introduced 'G', 'H' and 'I' yesterday evening). Nick also handed me the letter 'I' and told me "I".  I have been introducing three letters at a time, using the magnetic letters that stick to the fridge.They learn so fast!
-- Both boys, first thing in the morning, running towards the big ottoman in the living room where we change diapers: "first! first!" and then pushing and shoving each other away, trying to be the first to get their diapers changed. If Nick wins, Ben throws a big fit and then Nick usually tries to escape before I can change his diaper anyway, after all that fuss.
-- Nick, pulling Ben's pants and diaper out and peeking into them: "poopy?" and then he looks at me and smiles/laughs. He is such a little mimic these days and quite the entertainer.
-- Both boys, sitting in their booster seats at the kitchen island yesterday at snack time, each patting his own chest: "me? me?" (they are trying to understand pronouns)
-- Both boys, sitting in their booster seats at the kitchen island this morning: "daddy work?, daddy work?"  Yep, daddy is at work today:).

I am starting to hear more and more two word phrases. This is one of the most exciting things ever! Am I crazy? I find this so exciting and entertaining. I am always explaining to them different things and showing them things, everywhere we go and I always tell them to say such-and-such. It seems that they just have to say something once and they have it down. Kids are just such amazing learners. And it really gets me when they say something that I have not told them to say before but they just picked it up from listening to me talk, such as "windy". What amazing memories and attention to detail! I am in awe.

This is still just the best job ever!!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

November 11, 2017 - Tea Parties and Talks



One day recently I showed the boys how to pretend to have a dinner party or "tea party", by showing them how to set their little table with the new dishes they received as a birthday present. I got the bears and Jo Jo out and sat them in the seats at the table. The boys were very entertained by this, thought it was funny, and started to pretend they were pouring stuff and helping the bears eat.

That lasted all of about 2 minutes and then the fun began as they decided it was more fun to SIT ON THEIR GUESTS!!




Sitting on the guests became the fun thing to do. The boys moved from seat to seat, taking turns sitting on each of the bears.  The only guest who didn't get sat on was Jo Jo. He is not as soft, so maybe that was just smart of them.



































The situation quickly deteriorated, as Nick threw one of the bears on the table, knocking half of the dishes on the floor. 













I discouraged this kind of behavior but, soon after, the lovely "tea party" ended in a dog pile on top of the guests!  Maybe this is just the way boys have tea parties....or dog pile parties:).








More funny things said this morning:
Ben said: "brother, pish" (push)
Nick said: "no" (this was a first; normally the pusher rushes right over and pushes, for a little while at least...of course, the pusher is also normally Nick, so maybe he is just getting tired of being the pusher.

Nick, sitting at the island with Ben, eating oatmeal. He spoons up a huge spoonful of oatmeal and says: "biiiiig bite", just as big as you please. Ben follows suit soon after. So I start asking them to show me a small bite and then a big bite. They do both, repeating "big bite" and "small bite", as the case may be.

Nick, sitting next to me on the little red couch in the library/play room, cutting up the cut-able, wooden veggies: "Mommy?" "Yes Nick?" "tomato" "yes, that is a tomato".  Ben is in the background saying "tractor, tractor, wagon", while he plays with a tractor and the small wagon it pulls.

Me, sitting next to Ben, reading a book about Jonah and the whale. Ben points to a picture of Jonah, floating down to the depths of a colorful ocean while holding his nose (it is a funny picture) and says "down down down", which is what the book says on that page. They have such a great memory.

While reading books together on the couch, I ask "are you guys hungry?". Both boys look at me and, at the same time, ask "yogurt?".

At some point in the morning, Nick runs over to the fridge and says "milk, milk". I say, "please ask nicely" and he says "pleeeease". I say "can you say "milk please"? He says "milk" "pleeeease".

We were sitting on the couch, reading (singing) the Wheels on the Bus book. Ben was laughing and trying to sing it with me. It was so cute. He would sing the beep, beep , beep and swish, swish, swish, etc. parts with me and then would sing "all day long" with me too. Nick would sing "all day". I was cracking up.

They are definitely putting more and more words together every day. They are still leaving a slight pause between words at times. This is so much fun! I love watching them and helping them learn to talk!

November 11, 2007 - Cutie Pies





My too little cutie pies:)!


























November 11, 2007 - The Annoying Ledge







Here is B, riding his "bike", while carrying around the new favorite spatula. Just before I took the picture, I asked him "what do you have in your hand?", which is why he is holding it up for us to see:).














As we are heading out of the boys bedroom, down the hall way, towards the stairs, there is a place where the boys can throw things, such as Ya Ya and/or Bear, over this half-wall. When this happens, Ya Ya and/or Bear end up either falling all the way down to the first floor below or, if they are thrown over from just the right place, they land on the dust-collector ledge below.








Let's just say, I am getting tired of retrieving the broom to knock Ya Ya and/or Bear off of the ledge. On the upside, the ledge has never had less dust on it since we have lived here:).