One of the many uses for an umbrella

My children are fascinated with umbrellas. Ethan used to take one out with him while he played in the sprinkler. (He also wore his fireman costume at the same time, but that's another story.) We had a couple of umbrellas that I got as a promotional gift from something, and so I've always let them play with them and not worried about the umbrellas getting wrecked.

I worried about someone's eye getting poked out with one of the ribs that end up being torn loose from the fabric, but thankfully that hasn't happened. Yet.

Alex has discovered a new way to use the play umbrella.


Yes, this is the umbrella library. Or maybe it's raining books? I'm not sure. But he piled a bunch of books on the umbrella, sat down with them, and screeched when Benny tried to touch them. Fortunately, Benny is easily distracted.



Unfortunately, by the time Alex was done playing, the umbrella was completely wrecked. But did you see that rib sticking out? Their eyes thanked me for throwing it away.

Sitting Pretty

Benny is starting to sit up on his own, although he tends to lean forward and brace himself with his hands on the floor. He doesn't practice sitting very well, though, because as soon as he sees something he wants, he tips over and belly-crawls over to it. He actually looks kind of like an inchworm.


But what a cute inchworm!

But I'm not tired!

Benny was tired. His tummy was full. His diaper was clean. But when I laid him down to sleep, he cried. After a few minutes, I got him up again. Maybe he wasn't tired after all. Maybe I misjudged his cues. I put him in the swing, and he was happy. But five minutes later, this is what I saw:



I guess he was tired after all.

Percy for Sale!

The boys got out Ethan's Thomas the Tank Engine stuff a while back, and have been playing with it. Although Ethan is a little big - and Alex is a little too small - to play with it the way it's intended to be used. But hey, what fun is it to play with a toy the way it's supposed to be played with, anyway?

So on this day, Ethan took four pieces of curved track and fastened them around his waist.

(Around his waist. Four pieces of track! Why do all the skinny genes go to the little boys?)




Then he put Percy the train on the track, and proceeded to hawk his wares.

"Percy for Sale!"


Alex didn't want to be left out, of course. That red thing in his hand here? That's James.



So if you're looking for a train, come on over. We can supply all your railway needs!

Summer Fun

A couple of Sundays ago, the boys and I went outside to play for a while before naps. Luke had just filled the pool up that weekend, but it wasn't warm enough to actually swim in yet. What is it about water that draws children? The boys were immediately drawn to it. Do you know what they're doing here?



Throwing things in the water.



What things? Oh, rocks. And later, dirt and sticks. That was Alex though, not Ethan.


And Benny just sat in the shade, chewed on his toy, and watched carefully so he'd know just how to do it next summer.

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Alex is two now! Yesterday we celebrated with a small party. There were presents:



Big brother Ethan was a willing helper in opening the gifts:


Grandma helped him figure out the fishing pole:


The bubble maker was a huge hit!


Ethan bought the swords for Alex (with his own money, he's quick to point out!) and got two so they could play together:


There were puppy dog cupcakes:



That boy has a sweet tooth!


Happy Birthday Alex!

At The Parade

Waiting patiently...

...only for so long!

Our Grampa marching

In awe

The sirens are too loud!

At Gramma's - Grampa lives there too

Cousins

What a beautiful baby!

My Three Little Guys

Benny And Grampa

This is what REALLY makes me happy!

For Ginnie (and everyone else)

Alex, our real basket case!

Benny's first "real food" - other than the occasional bite of ice cream that Dad sneaks in.

Waiting for the mono-rail train to come in at the Minnesota Zoo.

Go ahead hide my stool!

Bedtime Story

Ethan asked if he could read Alex his bedtime story recently. They both seemed like they enjoyed it!

Learning to Jump

Ethan and Alex have a little step stool that they find useful in a number of situations. (Alex especially likes it. He uses it to get into all the things that have been put up out of his reach.) Alex enjoys standing up on it - it seems to make him feel very brave.

Lately Luke has been trying to get him to jump off of it.

(Why are we teaching him to jump off things? I'm not sure. Apparently my lack of understanding is directly related to the fact that I'm female.)

Anyway, Alex is a little afraid to try jumping off the stool, but he still wants the fun of doing it. This is his solution.

Transitions

Ethan has always called us Mama and Papa. A few years ago, he started using Mom and Dad when he talked about us to someone else. Every once in a while, he'd ask if he could call me Mom. I always told him yes, knowing the time would come when Mama was too childish for him.

He'd call me Mom a time or two, and then forget all about it. I never made a big deal out of it, but I was always secretly pleased when he'd revert to Mama.

A week or so ago, he started calling us Mom and Dad. He'd do it very self-consciously, waiting for us to say something about it. When we didn't, eventually he asked me if I'd noticed anything. I told him yes, that I'd noticed he was calling us Mom and Dad. He waited expectantly, wondering what our reaction would be. I told him that was fine, that we'd always known that someday he'd get big enough to want to call us that.

We haven't talked about it anymore, but the slips of calling us Mama and Papa are getting fewer and fewer. It's becoming more natural for him to say Mom and Dad, although when he forgets Luke and I exchange a smile when he's not looking.

Sometimes it seems like he's growing up so quickly. I guess time really does fly!

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.