Spring Celebration

We did something a little different for our Easter activities this year. After reading this blog post, I decided to try celebrating spring the way she described. So on the first day of spring, we had our first "Spring Day"!

We started the day with bunny-shaped pancakes.


Then we took a short break to play with the Striking Venom. Because, you know, nothing says "spring" like robots fighting humans with laser guns.


Next we dyed eggs. Ethan was looking forward to this!




It was Alex's first time, of course, so he wasn't anticipating quite as much.




He really enjoyed it though.


And Alex found out what happens when you drop an egg on the floor.



That was so much fun I had to take the eggs away because he started spiking them like they were footballs.

Later we had a scavenger hunt (I forgot to take pictures during that). They found candy at a couple of the clue stops, and the big prize was a Hungry Hippo Game.



Adult supervision required, of course, until Alex is a little older.

Blanket Buddies

In order for it to be relatively safe for Benny to be on the floor, we have a rule: no one is allowed on his blanket. Alex is pretty good about staying off the blanket, but he immediately wants his blanket spread out for him to get on.



He then gathers up a number of toys and sits there with his toys.


Including the cash register full of penguins.


What, don't you keep your penguins in a cash register?

Little Man

This is a hand towel that Luke wrapped around Alex after his bath; doesn't he look like a little old man from a sauna?

Benny

Ethan's New Look

Doesn't he look handsome?

The Giant Icicle

Luke found this giant icicle back when it was still cold enough for icicles. Ethan thought it was very cool! Alex just likes being where the picture is being taken.

How to make brownies

To make Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies:

Decide after supper to make brownies while the baby is napping, the toddler is playing with his father, and the seven-year-old is playing with Legos in his room.

Measure butter, brown sugar, and white sugar into mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on to blend those ingredients while you go pick up the baby who is now awake. Because picking the baby up causes the toddler to lose all interest in playing with his dad, pick him up as well. (Remind yourself that this jealous phase will pass.) Sit for a moment rocking both boys to calm the crying. Give the baby to your husband and take the toddler with you to let him "help" with the brownies. Get eggs and milk out of the fridge while holding the toddler. Sit him on the counter (stand directly in front of him - we don't want any falls!) and shut the mixer off. Give him the same lecture you always do when he's near you in the kitchen. "Don't touch the mixer. It's very dangerous and it can hurt you."

Crack two eggs into the mixing bowl. Measure out two tablespoons of milk and add it to the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer back on, pick up the toddler, and return the milk and egg containers to the fridge.

Avoid running into the seven-year-old who has come to show you how his Lego clean team works. Return to the mixer and shut it off. Hold the toddler because the seven-year-old is now using the counter space that the toddler was sitting on to demonstrate the forklift, truck, and crane that help him pick up Legos off the floor. (They're all driven by little Lego men wearing hard hats. Safety first!) Realize that this is why it takes him so long to pick up his Legos. Get out the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa.

Try to pay attention to the Lego demonstration while accurately measuring flour, baking powder and salt into the mixing bowl. (Remember you're still holding the toddler. Don't drop him or let him grab the ingredients.) Mix until blended. Realize seven-year-old is done demonstrating and intends to play with the Legos right there next to you. Ask him to move to the other side so you can set the toddler down on the counter again.

Divide half the batter into another bowl. Pick toddler up and get peanut butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. Return to mixing area.

Measure cocoa into the batter left in the mixing bowl. Blend. Raise mixer head and reach for a spatula to stir in chocolate chips. Freak out as toddler turns the mixer on. Simultaneously holler, "No, no! That's naughty!", turn off the mixer, and check for injuries. Breathe a prayer of thanks that there are none.

Realize what a mess your kitchen now is. Wash the toddler. Realize seven-year-old has had the sense to vacate the kitchen. Put the toddler down amid much crying as he realizes he's not going to be able to watch anymore. Get down on his level and explain that he was naughty and now he has to stay down. Harden your heart against his pitiful cries.

Shoo the dog out of the kitchen and wash the batter off the floor.

Overhear seven-year-old telling his father (with great delight) that he got brownie batter in his hair but he washed it out. Realize he's coming back into the kitchen to play. Right next to you. Tell him he has to take his toys elsewhere for now as you wash chocolate batter off the counters, cabinets, and your sweatshirt.

Realize there is chocolate being smeared back on the counters. Where is that coming from? Oh, there - you missed a whole big bunch on your sleeve.

Stir in chocolate chips into the batter. Ignore the crying and tugging on your pant leg. Measure out peanut butter into batter in second bowl; mix well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Drop batter in small mounds into the pan, alternating flavors. Put into the oven. Give one child a spatula to lick. Give the other the beater bar from the mixer.




Enjoy the quiet as they enjoy their chocolate.

A couple of pictures

This is how we dress for snack.

Big smiles!

Good night hugs

Camera hog

Double chin

Bathtime Curls

Benjamin has very curly hair, when it's wet. When it's dry, it tends to stick up!

Reading to Alex

Another perk to having a reader in the house ... Ethan will read to Alex! This is especially helpful when Alex wants to read the same book over and over. Ethan is a wonderful help and reads cheerfully until Alex is ready to stop.

By the way ... Duck on a Bike is a great book!

Smiling

Benjamin has kind of a small smile here, but it's big enough to see the dimple in his cheek! (You may have to click on the picture to enlarge it, though.)

I'm trying ...

Wiser women than I have told me to enjoy the baby years we're in right now. And while I'm trying to, sometimes I wonder ... have they forgotten what it's like to have little ones?

Have they forgotten what it's like to have two crying babies? They seem to set each other off, although sometimes they just both need me at the same time.

Did they enjoy feeling pulled in so many different directions? When Alex is protesting the fact that I'm changing his diaper while Benjamin is crying because I'm not holding him and Ethan is telling me a long drawn-out story, while I remember I forgot to get dinner out of the freezer and the dog is whining to go out, well ... sometimes I want to sit down and cry myself.

Did they not have days they struggled to keep up with the housework and school and meals and diapers? Some days I think that all I really enjoy is bedtime - for me and the boys!

But then I see Alex gently patting Benjamin with a look of intent interest and affection on his little face.

I see Ethan playing with Alex without being prompted to.

I see Benjamin growing so quickly ... I'm already putting baby clothes away.

And I realize that those older, wiser moms haven't forgotten what it's like to have babies in the house. They just remember the sweet, precious moments that really matter, and forget the rest.

My mom is right - the days are long, but the years are short.

So through the fatigue, the whining, the lack of ability to have a complete, uninterrupted conversation ... I'll try to remember to look for those small moments that will make for lasting memories.

And someday, when my house is quiet and I miss the constant chatter ... when I have time to read grown-up books and I've forgotten the words to "Good Night Moon" ... when I won't have to plan phone calls strategically to make sure everyone is either napping or occupied ... maybe I'll find myself telling a frazzled young mom ...

Enjoy these years. They go so fast!

Benjamin

Benjamin likes being snuggled in his wrap!

Being the Baby

Fun and Games

Let me start by saying we have rather ugly furniture. But then, if you've been to our house, you know that! Some time ago, I got slipcovers for the couch and chairs. They weren't beautiful, but they made me feel a little better about how the furniture looked. They've recently worn out, however. (You didn't know slipcovers could wear out? When you have small boys, ANYTHING can wear out! If it doesn't get broken first, that is.)

Ethan and Alex are thrilled with the current slipcover-less state of the couch. This is why:








To think of all the money we wasted on Christmas gifts! That would be what's laying all over the floor, by the way. Mr. Potato Head is fun for scattering all the little pieces all over, but then it's on to the good toys! The couch cushions!

Happy 7th Birthday!

A couple recent pictures of our just-turned-seven-year-old:


Here he is dressed in Papa's coat and hat ... because we took a picture of Alex in Papa's coat and hat, and he tends to be a camera hog!


And here he is letting Alex watch while he plays a computer game. Alex was laughing and Ethan was being remarkably patient. Luke took this picture "to remind us that sometimes they *did* get along"!

Happy Birthday, Ethan! We love you!

A few funnies ...

So we've been busy around here lately. :) I've discovered that having an 18-month-old and a newborn is entirely different than having a 5-and-a-half-year-old and a newborn. Do you know the kind of things I've been saying?

"Don't lick the baby!"
"No, we don't pat the baby with a spatula."
"No! Icky! Don't stick your finger up Benjamin's nose. And eww, don't stick your finger up your own nose, either. And Ethan, quit laughing at him."

Alex really loves Benjamin, though. He'll even give him kisses, which he won't do for any of the rest of us. I hope he and Benjamin will be good friends as they get older, but I'm thinking that Benjamin will first go through a stage of being really irritated by how in his face Alex is.

Then again, maybe Alex will be slightly less enamored with him once Benjamin is moving and into Alex's toys. It seems to me it worked that way with Ethan and Alex!

The Boys

All of our boys

Waiting ... and some pictures

We're less than a week from the baby being born (at most), and we're all getting anxious to meet this little guy! Although Ethan wavers between being excited about another "cutie pie" and bemoaning the fact that now there will be TWO little brothers to destroy his Lego creations!

We will be inducing next Monday if baby doesn't show up of his own accord before then. Any bets on whether he will? My mom is betting he'll be here sooner. I'm hoping he waits ... if he does, then I think I may get everything checked off my to-do list!

I think I'm trying to convince myself that he'll wait, though. At yesterday's doctor's appointment I was dilated to almost 5 (sorry if that's TMI for any male readers!). That was up almost 2 cm from my previous appointment, which was only 5 days earlier.

So we'll let you all know when something happens! Until then, I finally remembered to take some pictures of the boys yesterday ... I have a terrible case of "pregnant brain" and have been forgetting to take pictures so you all can see how big the two of them are getting. Ethan is also thinks he has to be goofy for every picture ... this is the most normal one I could get.

Christmas Anticipation

Tonight as the boys were eating their bedtime snack, I asked Ethan what he was looking forward to most about Christmas. I expected to hear something about presents, and decorating the Christmas tree, and maybe making cut-out cookies together.

He is six, after all.

His response was one of those heart-warming moments. You know, the ones that come just when you need them most.

"Well," he answered thoughtfully, "we'll have a new little cutie-pie in our family."

And I think we're all looking forward to that!

We're really still here ...

... we just spent over a week at Mom and Dad's, and now we're all sick. We got pictures taken of the boys while we were at Mom and Dad's, though, so I'll be posting those soon!

If you had eaten lunch with us today ...

... here are a few things you would have heard:

Don't rub chicken on your legs! (to Alex)

No, I don't think we should name the baby "Noodle-head". Or "Slobber-tongue Head". (to Ethan)

Get your feet off the table. (to Alex)

Why are you slobbering on the table, you silly boy? And - oh, gross, don't suck it back up! (to Alex)

Get your finger out of your nose! (to both of them)

Now if that doesn't make you want to come share a meal with us, I don't know what will! On the other hand, there is a lot of laughter at the table. Even if it doesn't always come from the adults!

Playing Dress-up

Alex has decided that an angelfood cake pan is the perfect helmet, and plastic bowling pins make great weapons:


Ethan, however, prefers more traditional accessories:

Jokes by Ethan

Ethan has started making up jokes. I knew many kids went through a phase where they did this, but I didn't realize how funny it would be to us!

Ok, to get the first joke (it will be much funnier if you know this ... or maybe not, but it might make more sense) you need to know that we've been studying honeybees in science. One of the things we've learned is that honeybees dance to tell the other bees where there are flowers. So now that you know that:

When do honeybees dance and not give directions?
At a bee wedding!

(This is actually made funnier by the knowledge that he's never been to a wedding where there was a dance!)

The second one came completely out of the blue:

What do you call a centipede that weighs a few pounds?
A centi-pound!

So now you can be the life of the party with these new jokes!

Ants in the Pants

Do you remember that game, Ants in the Pants? I'm thinking I may have to get it for Christmas for Ethan and Alex to share.

This morning, Ethan was working on his math with me while Alex was playing with some centimeter cubes and rods. He usually just dumps them out and throws them around, but today he took the cubes and figured out how to jump them like the ants from that game.

This occupied him for a good 15 minutes. He'd climb up into his desk, flip the cube, chortle, climb down and find the cube, and repeat the whole process. Ethan thought it was very funny and he had to try it, too.

I don't know that they would actually play the game, but they'd sure have fun flipping the ants, don't you think?

Growing Up

I've been thinking about this for the last week or so, but I haven't had time to post it before now. It's really not just to make up for posting that embarrassing story about Ethan! :)

I don't know if all children are this way, but it seems like things will just kind of click with Ethan all of a sudden. Within the last couple of weeks, it seems like he's just all of a sudden becoming so considerate. For example, the other day he knew we were getting ready to go shopping. He asked if he could go play outside while I got Alex ready, and I told him yes. When we were ready, I called for Yellow to come in. By the time I got out to the porch, Ethan had come in from the back yard, opened the garage door for me, opened the door that I put Alex in, and climbed into his seat - all without being told. He seems to be looking for ways to be helpful without being asked. It makes me feel like he's turning into a young man rather than a little boy.

I know that's a good thing, and I'm happy to see it. It's another reminder, though, of how fast time goes; how fast my boys will be grown up and men instead of boys. So part of me is glad that he's still little boy enough that he needs a stuffed animal to go to sleep.

A mama needs to adjust to these things slowly. At least this mama does!

Bath Time Fun

***Note: I try to be careful not to blog about things that would seriously embarrass my boys. This is why you don't usually read about discipline issues, etc - certainly not because we don't have them! - but because Ethan reads this, and I don't want him to think I'm telling everyone about his struggles. This would usually fall into the "seriously embarrassing" category, but it's just too good to pass up. I'll just have to try to keep him from seeing it. And if you would not mention it to him, that would be great. But you can laugh in the privacy of your own home! :) ***

Last night, Ethan was showering and I was busy on the computer. Suddenly I heard a thump, like he'd fallen down. Of course, I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. I wasn't quite there when I heard Ethan frantically crying and calling for me. He was standing in the shower, holding the soap dish/washcloth holder that had been tiled onto the wall, crying. I still thought he'd fallen. The following conversation ensued.

Me: Are you okay, honey?
Ethan, crying: Yes, but, but LOOK!
Me: That's all right - the important thing is that you're not hurt.
Ethan, very upset: But - but -I feel really bad that I did this!
Me: Well, it was an accident, right? What happened, did you fall and try to catch yourself on it?
Ethan: NO! I WAS JUST YANKING ON IT! (He's almost hysterical at this point)
Me, stifling laughter: You were YANKING on it? Well, finish your shower and we'll take care of it.

Turns out he was worried about telling his Papa. Of course, Papa was very understanding and also had to stifle his laughter. He was also able to get the whole story out of Ethan. Apparently, he'd been playing a game that he was fighting some robbers over a washcloth. The washcloth happened to be wrapped around the washcloth holder part of the soap dish. Here's what the wall looked like:


Today they dried it out and glued the holder back in place. We'll have to take baths for a couple days, but no real harm was done.

And it's good to know that no robbers are going to steal our washcloths - at least not without a fight from Ethan!

He's really too young for this ...

Alex is a very different child from Ethan. Not that they don't have their similarities, but they are definitely different personalities. One of the ways this manifests itself is their willingness to do what you ask them to. As a one-year-old, Ethan was happy to give hugs and kisses, to point out his nose, ears, tummy, or any other body part you'd ask him to, wave bye-bye ... that sort of thing.

Alex? Not so much. He knows all those things, but if he's not in the mood, you can just forget about it. He's always looked at us like we were crazy when we'd ask him, "Where's your nose?" So we were very excited last night when I asked him that and he actually pointed to his nose! He cooperated! But then, with an impish grin, he stuck his finger UP his nose. And laughed. And of course, Ethan also laughed with great glee.

Now, because it made Ethan laugh and Mama say, "Oh, no! Don't do that!" any time we ask him where his nose is, Alex briefly points to his nose and then sticks his finger up it. Laughing the whole time, of course. He knows exactly what he's doing, and he thinks it's funny.

I'm fairly sure I could get a picture of it, but I refuse to reinforce that behavior. So I won't be doing that. Instead, here are a couple pictures of him this morning, wearing his cowboy hat and swinging his sword. (The second one is pretty blurry, but he wouldn't stand still. He was trying to chop things with his sword. And he has such a funny expression on his face, I thought I'd post it anyway.)

Oh, my ...

I should know to check on Alex as soon as it gets too quiet in his room. Today I didn't check soon enough. He brought me a handful of thermometer sheaths (the red things) and just about then I heard Ethan exclaim, "What!?!" Here's what we found in the nursery:




And the culprit - does he look remorseful? I don't think so!

Pearls of Wisdom

Ethan, to Alex, in consolation as Alex cried about not being told "no":

Let me tell you something, Alex. It's a sad fact of life that you don't always get what you want.

Earthworms

Ethan's been studying "what's under the ground" in science, and we wound up that topic with a lapbook on earthworms. Here's a nice nasty picture of the cover, complete with a slimy-looking worm:


Once again, the inside pictures weren't that good, so this is the only one that wasn't blurry; there are more mini-books that aren't pictured:



And this one is blurry, but you can see how long the one book is - that one was one of his favorites, and he wanted to be sure to include a picture of it.


We learned some neat things - did you know worms have five hearts? Or that they breathe through their skin? Aren't you glad I shared that with you, since your life would have been incomplete without that knowledge? :) The lapbook instructions and printables can be found here, if anyone is interested.

Ancient Egypt

We recently finished a study on Ancient Egypt. We mummified an apple and made an Ancient Egypt lapbook. (I took pictures, but they were pretty bad. And I don't feel like trying to take more. Because I'm lazy, tired, or sick of Ancient Egypt - take your pick. Or maybe it's all three! Ha!) We read a lot of books, we played this computer game (thanks for the link, Ginnie!), and we made an Ancient Egyptian costume.

Not a kilt, like men would have worn.

Oh, no. That, my friends, is an awful lot like a skirt. And it's boring. And they didn't wear shirts with their kilts.

And so Ethan opted for a mummy costume.



He wore it around until it started falling apart, and then ran around the house yelling, "Ahhh! I'm faaaallliiinngg apart!"

I don't know how much of Ancient Egypt he'll remember, but I think the mummies will stick in his mind.