Boys

I don't even know what to say about this...

We stay busy...

Grant helps himself to the bookshelf and just sits and "reads"

A common phrase heard 'round the house "WRESTLE-FIGHT!!"

Monkey see, monkey do

Just the cutest little goblin you've ever seen, right?

An Observation

On our designated snack day for Henry's preschool, parents are encouraged to stay and help out in the classroom.  Don't get me wrong, I love to do this, but I have to be in the right frame of mind (I just have to stop thinking about all the items on my "to-do" list and really settle in to just some quality time with my eldest son and his buddies).

So I stayed.
And I played.

And I noticed, as a little girl and Henry were playing grocery store, complete with cash register, that the way they were exchanging money for goods was a little odd. The over sized gold coins are a nice touch. However, I watched as Henry took each coin when we paid for our bananas, box of nilla wafers, and plastic spaghetti with sauce and scanned the coin across the cash register as if it were, that's right, a credit card.

I had a good chuckle to myself and the teacher and we contemplated that, indeed, these children don't see actual currency at work much anymore. The teacher and I related that in our day, we couldn't figure out why our moms would say they didn't have enough money to pay for all those groceries. After all, the checkbook was full of checks!

Tricks and Treats

It is a trick to get everyone costumed.
It is a trick to get kids to eat anything slightly nutritious before going out.
It is a trick to (safely) get two handfuls of children from house to house.

But it is certainly a treat to knock on neighbors' doors, enjoy a little candy (Mmm chocolate), and laugh at the excitement on the faces of ghosts, dogs, hamburgers, penguins, and whatever else tagged along this evening.

For the record, George is a Ghostbuster

Fall Days

It's hard for me to believe some of the better parts of fall are behind us now.

We had days of wonderful warmth and sunshine. Breezy days where we spent our days watching leaf storms swirl down to cover our lawn with a carpet of golden leaves.

Henry's version of a "leaf angel" will quickly turn to the customary "snow angel", I'm afraid.

And I'm adjusting.

Soups, stews, and baked goods help to warm these increasingly chilly days.

Hibernation mode is setting in.

Busy boy

This is the first time Grant actually said "cheese" when i got the camera out!

When Henry is at preschool, Grant and I stay busy.

Generally, I am trying to rush through household activities (I still consider this "my time" even though I'm still responsible for an almost 18 month old). Occasionally, when I catch Grant wandering the house looking for Henry, the entertainer, I force myself to take advantage of the slower pace.

Every once in a while, it's refreshing to go to the park at our own pace, and pour rocks down the slide. Or to swing until Grant says its time to go.

And the laundry waits another day.

Just hang on a minute...

Whenever people start calling Grant "mini-George" I have to say, just hang on a minute...
let me show you something.

Charlotte, late Fall '78

Do you agree?

Henry at 3 (and a half)

Maybe I shouldn't write about Henry.
3 is something I'd rather not remember (it makes me look at Grant with a small lump of fear in my throat).
I was warned.
I was told.
It doesn't matter.
Ready or not. 3 is HARD.
3 is reasoning arguing and foot stamping and mimicking and a roller coaster of emotions. (for both parties)
Its where the rubber meets the road for parenting and you pray that this "phase" is short lived.
Terrible 2s?
A cake walk.
At least for us this is the case.



You see, he wants to help.
Great! (except sometimes he can't, or it takes a lot longer and it's messier, or it simply requires patience, and then still more patience).

And then other times, he does NOT want to help.
Like when I would love for him to dress himself, or pick up toys.

In addition, three must mean new and stronger emotions and opinions. The wrong spoon or plate at a meal can ruin the whole event. And a bowl of ice cream can lead to a spontaneous and boisterous "I LOVE YOU, MOM!"

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Actually, one of the only silver linings about three has been some increased affection. Sometimes about six or seven times a day I get a hug, kiss, and "I love you." 

I store those up for the other days. When my well of patience has run dry.
And we inch along through the day.
Closer and closer to 4.
I have hope that 4 is better.

Truth be told, I don't care what the number is, so long as I can catch a glimpse of my agreeable and sweet little Henry again. And he sticks around for longer and longer stretches. 

Henry's first day of Purple Class

Grant E.

 A few words about Grant.
Because I want to remember 

(how could I forget? I don't know, but I continually ask myself if Henry was the same way at times)

Grant is a handful.

And then some.

He's a solid kid, this explorer.

He runs, he climbs, he jumps (or tries to, anyway).

He is a larger than life kid who simply will not be contained.
He insisted on a new car seat (if brother faces forward, why not me?!) Each time we would get in the car he would scramble to climb into Henry's seat.  Sorry, pediatricians, I know you recommend rear facing until age 2 now (seriously?) but Grant insists.
I witnessed him pile his blankets in the corner of his crib and sort of lean way out, head first of course. His first actual escape could be bad news.  We've since limited his linens.
And we've reinstated the high chair straps (sit down, Grant). The Toddler Drive Thru is a last resort for baby Houdini.

And he's just a silly kid.
Trick at supper last night. Silverware tucked under the neck, no hands.
He makes us laugh.
A lot.

Changes

Adjusting to fall has been difficult for me this year. We've experienced such an abrupt change in temperatures. Mentally, I simply wasn't ready to put away swimwear and pull on coats, socks, and shoes.

So, I couldn't resist getting matching fleecy jammies for the boys this year. Henry likes the footies. Grant was not a fan at first, but he's adapted (How can we be putting away cute baby piggy toes for the season already!)

Another change related to their pj's was transitioning the boys to share a room.

Hhmmm. Backstory a little: when Grant was 10 months old we entered the time period we refer to as "the banishment". He got into such a solid rut of waking in the night and crying for no apparent reason, that we were all rather miserable as no one was getting any sleep. So, we set up his co-sleeper crib in the basement (which is, for the record, fully furnished and rather cozy). I think he cried a bit the first night, even less the second, and by the third night not at all. The rest of the family slept soundly upstairs while Grant worked out these nighttime antics on his own (I felt I'd tried everything and couldn't find a solution. Warm - check. Dry - check. Full tummy - check. Binky - check). Then, he seemed to really like the basement (like I said, dark and cozy). Reacclimating him to the upstairs seemed like it was going to be difficult (but we wanted our TV room back!). 6 months later...

It was a brief and rough transition. 1 week, crying (why? wasn't everyone on a roll with sleeping through the night?), playing (dark became nightlight because of Henry -- and if you can see anything, it must be time to play, right? with a buddy, right? Grant can see Henry and wants to wake him up to play...how to do this...oh yeah, scream really loudly...but, wait, Henry is startled from a deep slumber and he, too, is now crying). The only thing worse than a baby crying in the night is two toddlers crying in the night. But we've ironed out the kinks. Up until recently, everyone has a room buddy in our house, and everyone was sleeping peacefully. That is, until the dreaded "back to school cold" caught us.

Now the kids have been forced to choose between eating and breathing. Or in Grant's case, binky vs. breathing -- which is actually a very close call. That's how much he loves his bink.

Anyway, it works out. The boys are loving having a buddy in the room. It means Henry has company (and we get fewer requests to lie down in his bed with him). Bedtime rituals are shorter now because of the combined kid and story time. Sometimes Grant wakes up Henry earlier than he'd like, but they are so happy to see each other in the morning that it glosses over shortened hour or so of sleep. And, occasionally, there is a little game going on that delays the pitter patter of footsteps seeking our bed...which is even sweeter.