I'm sorry for not blogging sooner, but things feel extraordinarily crazy lately. Thank goodness for this moment to relax (shhh... don't tell Matt!). T2 and T3 are down for a nap and T1 is at a movie with his funky unky (uncle Jared). It took the little ones over 30 minutes to go down for their naps, but surprisingly it wasn't T2's fault. T3 really fought the nap, crying for over 30 minutes and I only went in there to comfort him every 10 minutes. What was funny is that I could hear T2, the one who usually fights taking naps, saying "shhhh!" to T3 several times.
So, T1 went to church camp for a week recently. Wednesday was family night, so Matt and I packed up the little ones and drove to the camp so we could spend a few hours with our big guy. Surprisingly, not many parents were there, leaving T1's friends "parent-less" and T1 feeling burdened by our presence because he couldn't hang with his friends. He hung out with us for a few minutes, but he was really anxious to be with his friends. At one point we asked T1 to show us his cabin and he almost started crying because his friends were in the cabin and he was scared T2 was going to embarrass him. Weird. He eventually warmed up and showed us around the camp, played a few games of tether ball, shared snacks with us, and played with his little brothers for a little while. We all ended up having a good time.
T2 is up to his usual antics. I mentioned his use of the word 'dinosaur' in a recent post because there were a few days there where every time he was in trouble he would look at you and say "dinosaur!". Why? I don't know, but it went like this:
Me: "T2, stop picking your nose!"
T2: "Dinosaur!"
Me: "T2, don't run your little brother over with the wagon!"
T2: "Dinosaur!"
Me: "T2, stop throwing balls in the house!"
T2: "Dinosaur!"
Me: "T2, don't give your food to the dogs!"
T2: "Dinosaur!"
You get the drift. He later added the following to his response when getting in trouble: "Roar! Grrrr! Shhhh!" He has since dropped the use of "Dinosaur", but he's still saying "Roar! Grrr! Shhh!" regularly. Yesterday, after having already put him in timeout for doing something (I don't even remember what for), I asked him "Do you want to get in trouble again?" to which he gleefully replied "Yes!". I tried not to laugh, but...
So you saw below that T3 took his first steps, right? Well, crawling is still the preferred method of getting around, but he is starting to walk more and more. Up until yesterday, he had really only walked when prompted, but yesterday he started walking on his own as he was chasing a ball, reaching for his toy shopping cart, and following T2. His little chunky legs need to get stronger before he's able to walk proficiently, but he's making great progress and I'm thrilled for him. He's also started waving goodbye and giving kisses. He's a little under the weather right now, so his kisses are flavored with flem, but they are so sweet nonetheless. Open mouth, of course! :)
Before I go, I'd like to share that I'm watching a rerun of an Oprah show that is incredibly moving. The major guest on the show is Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon who only has a few months to live because he's dying of pancreatic cancer. His last lecture was rich in life lessons and inspiration to be a better parent and spouse. It's available on You Tube, so check it out when you get a chance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo -- you won't be disappointed.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Crazy Times
Today is Father's Day, so before I blog, I'd like to recognize the wonderful fathers in my life. Matt, my husband, is such a terrific hands-on father. He is constantly looking to engage our children in learning, teach them how to be respectful, and show them how to have a good time. As a result, he has a strong relationship and wonderful bond with our boys. Matt's influence and values are exhibited in T1's healthy understanding of his responsibility to family, the environment, nature, and society in general. T2 and T3 will likely be just as terrific because of Matt's influence in their lives. My own father is also a joyous and caring man. He's wonderful with my boys and Matt and I thoroughly enjoy spending time with him. He's always been patient, supportive, and proud of our family and we are grateful for his presence in our lives. Happy Father's Day, Matt and Dad! I love you!
Onto the blog.... Well, we've had some good times and bad times lately. On the positive side, Matt's mom got married and, in doing so, expanded our family to include a very nice, fun, and caring man. Here's a picture from the wedding:
Unfortunately, amidst the wedding excitement my grandmother has been in and out of the hospital dealing with some major complications that originated from a relatively minor injury. She is such a loving and vibrant grandmother and great-grandmother (she's also feisty and bullheaded, but don't tell her I said that!), so please pray for a full recovery because we want to create many more memories with her. T1 has visited her a couple of times, but she's in ICU now and he's too young to visit the ICU. When he visited her, he demonstrated a level of maturity I didn't know he had. Despite the severity of the situation, he stood at her side and held her hand, unwavered by the machines and tubes she was hooked up to, and was calm and comforting as he talked to her as if nothing was wrong. She was so happy and I was so proud.
Tonight when Matt and I tucked T1 in for bed, he asked us to stay in the room while he prayed. It was such a sweet prayer. He started out thanking God for his family, Rene, and Lofton's family (his words). He asked God to forgive those who don't believe in Him, and he prayed for MamMa to be out of pain and start feeling better soon. It was such a sweet moment. It made me wonder why I'm so shy to pray in front of him. I pray every night, but I pray silent and alone. I'm thinking that Matt and I would really foster T1's spiritual growth if we would "man up" and pray out loud with each other and with our children. If anyone has any suggestions to help in this regard, I'd love to hear them.
Today I went through all of T1's papers from school and found some pretty funny things. Here's a poem he wrote that I had never seen:
I'm too tired and this blog is too long already, so I'll hold off on sharing the latest on T2, but don't let me forget to tell you about his use of the word 'dinosaur'. The mind of a 2-year old is a weird and funny thing. Until then, here's a picture of him licking the window at Matt's mom's wedding reception. Ick!
Onto the blog.... Well, we've had some good times and bad times lately. On the positive side, Matt's mom got married and, in doing so, expanded our family to include a very nice, fun, and caring man. Here's a picture from the wedding:
Unfortunately, amidst the wedding excitement my grandmother has been in and out of the hospital dealing with some major complications that originated from a relatively minor injury. She is such a loving and vibrant grandmother and great-grandmother (she's also feisty and bullheaded, but don't tell her I said that!), so please pray for a full recovery because we want to create many more memories with her. T1 has visited her a couple of times, but she's in ICU now and he's too young to visit the ICU. When he visited her, he demonstrated a level of maturity I didn't know he had. Despite the severity of the situation, he stood at her side and held her hand, unwavered by the machines and tubes she was hooked up to, and was calm and comforting as he talked to her as if nothing was wrong. She was so happy and I was so proud.
Tonight when Matt and I tucked T1 in for bed, he asked us to stay in the room while he prayed. It was such a sweet prayer. He started out thanking God for his family, Rene, and Lofton's family (his words). He asked God to forgive those who don't believe in Him, and he prayed for MamMa to be out of pain and start feeling better soon. It was such a sweet moment. It made me wonder why I'm so shy to pray in front of him. I pray every night, but I pray silent and alone. I'm thinking that Matt and I would really foster T1's spiritual growth if we would "man up" and pray out loud with each other and with our children. If anyone has any suggestions to help in this regard, I'd love to hear them.
Today I went through all of T1's papers from school and found some pretty funny things. Here's a poem he wrote that I had never seen:
My mom is so sweet
My mom makes the best treat
She fills my heart with joy
And she's not a boy.
Isn't that cute? Here's another one (typed exactly as it was written):
River
fun, Fantastic
Swimming, playing, splashing
rock, fish, mino, water
watting, floating, laughing
fast, slow
Water
On another note, T3 stood alone for about 10 seconds today. I screamed so loud with excitement that I scared him and he started crying. :( I predict he'll take his first steps in the next 3-4 weeks and definitely before his first birthday. Stay tuned... Also, he recently had 4 teeth break through the gums. We are so thrilled because he's not in pain anymore and we're now finally sleeping through the night consistently.
I'm too tired and this blog is too long already, so I'll hold off on sharing the latest on T2, but don't let me forget to tell you about his use of the word 'dinosaur'. The mind of a 2-year old is a weird and funny thing. Until then, here's a picture of him licking the window at Matt's mom's wedding reception. Ick!
Monday, June 9, 2008
WWF, chaos, creeping, girlfriends, and the like...
We're not fans of WWF, but I think T2 must have been exposed to it in a former life. The reason I say this is because this morning he was picking up chairs and throwing them across the toy room. He also picked up his child shopping cart and threw it across the room. He, of course, had the biggest smile on his face as he did this.
A few minutes later, our entire family was in the toy room. Before long, T1 was being loud, T2 was throwing things, and T3 was crying. It was so loud, messy, and crazy that Matt and I could do nothing but laugh. Believe it or not, Matt says this kind of chaos is typical now that T1 is out of school. It's amazing how one extra person in the house can completely alter your sense of normalcy.
T2 and T3 are supposed to be napping right now, but T2 is crawling out of bed repeatedly. Matt, thinking he can control the situation, has taken to lying on their bedroom floor until both boys are asleep. This can last upwards of 45 minutes. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem Matt is too effective in this practice. In my observation, it seems Matt lies down and T2 strategically waits for Matt to doze off and then he creeps out of bed and runs out of the room. A few minutes ago I found T2 in the kitchen when he was supposed to be in bed. I picked him up (he started fake snoring as soon as he was in my arms) and put him back in the bed in his bedroom. Matt was asleep on the floor. I woke Matt up and he laughed at what happened. Not 10 minutes later Matt dozed off again and T2 tried to creep by him again. This time T2 accidentally woke Matt up by hitting his leg and T2's adventure was cut short. Believe it or not, T3 can sleep through all of T2's antics.
Did I tell you T1 has a new girlfriend? Shelby broke up with him again and a day later T1 had asked Kaitlyn, a fellow safety patrol, to be his girlfriend. Kaitlyn took a day to think about it and then agreed to be his girlfriend. She goes to our church, so this has given T1 another reason to be excited to go to church.
Well, I better go now. We just found T2 hiding behind the curtains in the front room. Yes, he is supposed to be in bed. Yes, we're getting frustrated.
A few minutes later, our entire family was in the toy room. Before long, T1 was being loud, T2 was throwing things, and T3 was crying. It was so loud, messy, and crazy that Matt and I could do nothing but laugh. Believe it or not, Matt says this kind of chaos is typical now that T1 is out of school. It's amazing how one extra person in the house can completely alter your sense of normalcy.
T2 and T3 are supposed to be napping right now, but T2 is crawling out of bed repeatedly. Matt, thinking he can control the situation, has taken to lying on their bedroom floor until both boys are asleep. This can last upwards of 45 minutes. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem Matt is too effective in this practice. In my observation, it seems Matt lies down and T2 strategically waits for Matt to doze off and then he creeps out of bed and runs out of the room. A few minutes ago I found T2 in the kitchen when he was supposed to be in bed. I picked him up (he started fake snoring as soon as he was in my arms) and put him back in the bed in his bedroom. Matt was asleep on the floor. I woke Matt up and he laughed at what happened. Not 10 minutes later Matt dozed off again and T2 tried to creep by him again. This time T2 accidentally woke Matt up by hitting his leg and T2's adventure was cut short. Believe it or not, T3 can sleep through all of T2's antics.
Did I tell you T1 has a new girlfriend? Shelby broke up with him again and a day later T1 had asked Kaitlyn, a fellow safety patrol, to be his girlfriend. Kaitlyn took a day to think about it and then agreed to be his girlfriend. She goes to our church, so this has given T1 another reason to be excited to go to church.
Well, I better go now. We just found T2 hiding behind the curtains in the front room. Yes, he is supposed to be in bed. Yes, we're getting frustrated.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Boy With Hair of the Sun
T1 is into Indian stuff again (Native American, not India the country). I'm not quite sure what brought it on, but he's been reading books about Indians and talking about Indians and Indian stuff non-stop today. One of the books he was reading had a story about an Indian named 'Boy With Hair of the Sun'. We then started thinking of potential names for our kiddos if they were Indians. Here are a few:
- T1 could be... Boy of Many Girlfriends, Boy With Head for Big Brains, Boy With a Stank Like a Pig (only when he forgets DO for his BO!)
- T2 could be... Boy With Hair of the Sun (like the Indian in the story Tyler read), Boy That Always Wears Boots, Boy That Bites Like a Bear
- T3 could be... Boy With the Loud Scream, Boy With Eyes of the Sea, Boy With Curiosity Like a Cat
Silly, huh?
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