Muddy Buddies

Good idea: Take the boys to the park on our recent spring break.


Bad idea: Take the boys to the park where there was more mud than I expected.

Peanut Butter Cookie Helper

Biggest, Littlest, Middlest

I can't believe how big Ethan is getting. He's growing up in so many ways, and it seems like he surprises us weekly (sometimes daily!) with his maturity. He is so patient with his little brothers (usually), he's had an outstanding attitude toward school and chores lately, and we love seeing him develop into a young man. He's really been enjoying playing Mario Kart on the Wii, learning about the Amazon rainforest in school, and playing with his Lego Atlantis sets.


Benny has had a rough month. He's had two bouts with stomach flu, and we're so happy to see his appetite and cheerful spirits return. He's so expressive; his funny faces make us laugh all the time. He's a very inquisitive little person, and of course at one that means he's into everything possible! It's a challenge to keep up with him, but he brings a whole lot of sunshine into our days.


Then there's Alex, our bundle of energy, enthusiasm, and activity. He loves getting his picture taken, he's a natural clown, and he pays attention to every little detail. He also knows just how to encourage Benny into trouble while looking innocent the whole time. He's talking all the time, and he doesn't rest until you answer every last question that he has. He loves to find out what happens ... when you spit milk into the humidifier fan, when you drop a heavy glass penny candy jar onto the basement floor, when you pour water into the mixer while it's running ... and on and on.

Our house is busy, noisy, and occasionally full of glass shards*, but we are trying to enjoy every day with our biggest, littlest, and middlest!


*Alex was completely fascinated with the results of his drop-the-jar-on-the-floor experiment. To my chagrin, he didn't show the least bit of remorse for the devastation he'd wreaked; rather, he asked me to buy another jar for him to drop because the way it crashed was so NEAT!

Papa's "super" hat

I couldn't believe how early the snow melted this year. The first week it really started getting warm, the boys were anxious to get outside. Luke got their bikes out, and they spent a fair amount of time riding around in the driveway. Because there was still snow on the ground, I wanted Alex to wear a hat when he went out ... this day he came back with "Papa's super hat." It's a little big, but it looks good on him, don't you think?


Of course, he couldn't really see where he was going ... but he sure loved wearing it!


Big brother Ethan didn't think he needed a hat ... but he loved having his bike out again!

Haircuts

My mom recently gave all three boys haircuts. I didn't get any photos of Benny actually getting his cut, but here he is "ooohing" while watching one of the other boys.


Ethan hates the hair on his face!


Alex, sitting still like a big boy:

A month of sickies

March hasn't been the greatest month for us here. We've had someone throwing up every week, and I've done more pukey laundry than I care to think about. Right now Ethan is sacked out on the couch, getting a little rest that will hopefully help him kick this bug quickly. I'm forgoing my nap today to sit in here by him, and I thought I'd use the time to write up some blog posts. We have lots of pictures - Luke and I have been enjoying our new camera! - and all that's been lacking is the time and energy to actually post something.

I guess something good will come of yet another bout with the stomach flu!

A Treat

Luke brought home doughnuts for a treat this last Friday ... Alex enjoyed his greatly! He even ate some scrambled eggs so that he could have the second half of his. Can you guess what flavor frosting he had?

Sassypants

When one of the boys tries to help me discipline one of their brothers, I usually tell them something like, "No, I'm the mama. You don't need to tell him 'no'.". You need to know that to see the humor in this post.

We were having eggs and muffins for supper tonight (we like breakfast for supper!) and Alex was trying to brush some sugar from the muffin topping off his fingers. He explained what he was doing (because he talks constantly these days) and Ethan suggested that if he couldn't brush it all off he should lick it off.

Without a moment's hesitation, Alex turned to him, shook his little finger in Ethan's face, and said, "Hey, E, you de mama? No, you Ethan!"

I tried to keep a straight face while I told him to speak kindly to his brother because Ethan was trying to help him. Luke laughed so hard he cried. Even Ethan thought it was funny - I think it was the big attitude coming from this little person. Alex loved that we all thought he was funny, but I don't think he quite understood why we were laughing. That's probably a good thing.

Dirty Teeth

Benny has been cranky this morning, thanks to teething. I picked him up and said, "Come on Benny. Let's get you some medicine for those teeth that are hurting you." Alex followed along, and decided he wanted some medicine as well.

"Mama, my teeth hurt too. Me need medicine."

I explained that Benny's teeth hurt because he had new ones coming in, but Alex already had all he'd have for a while. He thought for a moment, then said, "My teeth are dirty. They need some medicine 'cause they're dirty."

Nice try, buddy.

Ethan, the walking dictionary

According to Ethan:

"Children: noun. Little dinks running around the house driving their mom crazy."

I wouldn't call them dinks, but the rest of it? Yeah, some days!

Playing Outside

Luke surprised me with a new camera this week, and I've been having a lot of fun playing with it! Since it's so nice and sunshiny out today, we all headed outside to play for a while this morning. Here are some pictures of the boys!

Luke pulling all three of them in the sled:

Yellow came and played, too!

It's hard work walking through the snow when you're short!

Ethan tried out the snow-block maker.

Benny got a solo sled ride, too.

sparks!

(This guest post is written by Ethan. Some of it he typed himself, and some of it he dictated to Mom.)

Sparks-a-rama was a great success for green (the color line I'm on). We beat another church (red) by one point! It was the last game - the balloon pop - that got us winning. With the balloon battle, I was pretty good and we didn't get one single point! It was a lot of fun, even though there were some games I didn't get to play.

The Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day

Without going into all the details, let me just say that yesterday was a hard day. The ones we all have where everything that can go wrong, does. The ones where our children are naughty, or get into trouble without trying, or both, all day long.

But in the midst of that kind of a day, there was a bright spot that I need to remember for the next time we have one of those days. (Because you know there will be a next time!)

I had taken the three boys grocery shopping. When we got home, I took Benny to lay him down for his nap right away because he'd fallen asleep in the car. I came back into the kitchen in time to hear this conversation between Ethan and Alex.

E: Here Alex, let me help you with your coat. There, I have it unzipped; can you take it off now?
A: Yes! Me big boy.
E: Oh, good job, Alex! Here, let me take it and hang it up. Now why don't I untie your shoes for you. There, can you take them off?
A: (grunting) Dere!
E: Very good, Alex! Go put them in the closet, okay?
A: Otay!

Ethan's cheerful, encouraging helpfulness was definitely a bright spot in my day!

Potty-training ... the saga continues

Okay, that title makes this sound a lot more dramatic than it really is! Alex has been doing really well. He wakes up from naps and in the morning dry more often than not. During the day he rarely has accidents, and when he does have an accident he usually catches himself and finishes on the toilet. He's very proud of himself and frequently tells me, "Me a big boy, Mama!" He loves to flush and watch the water go down, with many oohs and aahs. Apparently that's fascinating, because Benny likes to come watch, too.


We've promised him Thomas the Tank underwear, but Walmart didn't have any in his size when we got groceries. I'm thinking about checking Target tomorrow. Until then, he's okay with wearing his training underwear. I tried to talk him into getting some with characters from the movie "Cars", but he declined. His reasoning?

"Me love Thomas. Thomas is yummy."

According to Alex

It's been fun to listen to what is going on in Alex's mind as he's started talking more and more. Here are a few things that we've learned from him this week:

Mama's hair is spicy
Papa fell off a mountain
Grandma bought us our bathtub
Alex is his own papa
Alex is a very smart man
Benny is naughty
Ethan is a nice boy
His pillow gives him good dreams
The puggle (that's a baby platypus!) on his AWANA shirt had bad dreams last night

We're enjoying finally knowing what's going on inside his little head, but it's slightly disconcerting, as well!

Washing Dishes

Alex and Benny are helping wash dishes today:

I can't get a picture of Benny with his eyes open for some reason. I think it has to do with the way my flash works.

Alex was being silly. He didn't want to smile nicely, so he did a big goofy smile.

And his version of a frown:

Oh yeah ...

... I'm cute.

(A post a day for a whole week - just for you, Ginnie! :) I don't know what next week will bring, though ...)

Box Day

Cold winter days are just right for curling up and with a pillow and a blanket and reading a good book.

Preferably in a box.

I guess he's ready

So my theory on potty-training is that it's best to wait until the child is ready. I had seen some readiness signs in Alex, and we decided over our Christmas break to try switching to training underwear. I thought I would have more time to work with him and kind of "jumpstart" things when I wasn't trying to divide my attention between potty-training and school.

He wasn't ready. He didn't like the underwear, he wanted his diaper, he didn't want to be a big boy, and sitting on the potty wasn't something he was interested in doing. So our potty-training lasted (approximately) and hour and a half. No big deal - I figured we'd try again this summer.

Well, he's been going with Luke to watch Ethan at his swim lessons. And he wants lessons in the worst way. (Incidentally, he tells us that Aunt Ginnie is going to help him learn. Because she's nice.) Luke's been telling him that he has to be a big boy and wear underwear before he can have swim lessons. Not to pressure him, just matter-of-factly.

So the other day at breakfast, Alex asked to go potty. He sat down, read a couple books, did his business. He's been doing that every day since. Not every time he goes, but at least once a day. Saturday, he went potty, then went and found his big-boy underwear to put on.

I guess he's ready now.

(Edited to add, I wrote this on Saturday night. I started putting him in underwear Monday, and since then his interest has been waxing and waning. It all depends on his mood! For now, we're just letting him take the lead. But if he's not potty-trained next time you see him, that's why!)

The perfect place to play

Perhaps you remember our list of what I cleaned out from underneath the table one day. This time I took a picture.


Alex loves to load toys up in grocery bags and haul them around. This day he took them under the table and then pushed his box underneath it as well. Ethan was under there with him at one point, but he had moved on by the time I took the picture.