Poopin' In The woods

Not! Went camping last weekend for the first time in two years and it was a blast! There is not much that can compare to being in the hills with your kids. Everything is a wonder all over again. I had prepared our eldest for the fact that he would have to poop in the woods, and we talked about how it was done. This was his second trip camping but first without diapers, so I thought I would prepare him. Later he told Mom all about how he was going to use a rock and how he was going to dig a hole and the fact that you needed the "camp shovel" to bury it all when you are done. I had high hopes. Well... When he thought he was ready we headed out with the camp shovel, only to turn back a few steps later. That was the end of poopin' in the woods. I never talked about using a rock by the way, I'm a big fan of the tree. Oh the stories this firepit could tell. It didn't start this big, it has grown substantially over the 23 years my family has owned the land. It's huge. That's an eight foot doctors examining table two feet from the far side and a fairly large fire burning in the front. Swayin' in the breeze The big haul. Mom and the kids took off with shovels in hand to go do some excavating and came back with this armful. One of my favorite pastimes here when I was a kid was hunting for bones, looks like I'll be doing more of it. I can't wait to go dig up the area where a bear killed two dogs when I was a kid. Three days worth of camping grime on that face. I don't want my picture taken! After a couple of nights and three days of camping fun, he was ready to come home. As we were loading up, he wanted to get his blanket out of the car, Mom told him he could get in the car with it, but he couldn't take it out. To which he replied, "yeah, because we might lose it and that would be disastrous wouldn't it mommy?" Here's a few more photos to check out.

AW and his words

AW is really learning new words/phrases quickly now. Some of his newest words are (and yes, he uses them correctly): triangle, Star Wars, seahorse, whistle, computer, climbing and moth. He seems to be learning his shapes a little backwards; whereas most kids seem to start with circle and square, the most common and simplest shapes, AW started with star, then heart, and has now figured out triangle. But no mention of circles or squares yet. He is also forming sentences now. For instance, just a bit ago he told me "squirrel eat nuts". And one of the cutest word-realted things he does is that when he is saying a word we don't understand, he actually gives us clues to figure it out. He was saying "squirrel", tellin gus that he sees a squirrel out front. Well, AW's "squirrel" is a tad indistinguishable from some other words and we just weren't repeating the right words. So AW started saying "nuts". He switched between squirrel and nuts until we figured out what he was saying! This past weekend, he started playing "Star Wars"- he'll hand you an object that, in a child's imaginary world, resembles a light saber and proceed to sword fight with you. Sometimes he calls it "Bad Guys", too. He certainly isn't the conversationalist that HL was at this age, but he shows his intelligence in plenty of other ways. He definitely understands us when we talk to him and he constantly imitates everyone around him. Unfortunately, this sometimes causes problems- HL and I were deadheading in the garden this morning and AW followed us around with toy pliers saying"cut flowers" and cutting several of my good flowers down. Oh well, it's all in the interest of learning...

Playin' Starwars

Blaster and light saber in hand, couldn't be happier. Earlier in the day Big Brother wet himself while sleeping. When I asked him about it, he denied it, telling me his pants and shirt got wet earlier in the day at pre-school. When I found the spot on the bed and sniffed I said "it sure smells like pee to me. Did you lie to me?" He flew off into an absolute rage. The kind where you can't even talk. I dragged him to his room and told him to come out when he wanted to discuss it, he was screaming by this time. Ten minutes latter he comes out, walks right up to me and says sorry for lying to you dad. I grabbed him, gave him a big hug and told him how proud I was. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the effort, or whether our discipline is working, then something like this happen and then I know. Yeah it's worth it.

Zoo Trip

Went to the zoo with the families of HL's preschool friends over the weekend. Had a splendid time watching the kids- the animals don't excite me too much, but watching children I know sure does. AW especially. He was SOO excited and happy to see all the animals he's recently learned to identify. The favorite of the day (of all the children, I suspect) was the Spider Monkeys. They were very playful and rather entertaining indeed. We took our two on a train ride which just might have been the highlight of their day- even above the monkeys. AW is looking a bit concerned here, but he loved it once it started moving...

Insight

A good friend posted this comment on my "Clouds" post: "It is amazing the insight you still have with your kids. You seem to be very aware of what they are saying and trying to teach you. I feel that I have lost some of that insight. Maybe it is because everything has happened so fast with my kids, and I am just trying to keep up with the day to day happenings and schedules. Anyway, I envy you and wish you continued appreciation for what your kids do and say!" It got me thinking. While I had tremendous insight in the first months of HL's life, I soon lost it. When AW came along, I was too busy to think much about it. Then when Hubby quit his job and went back to school, our lives were thrown into chaos scheduling-wise, so again, I had no time to think about it. It was when I started blogging that insight came back into my life. Blogging forces me to sit still and just think about things. A lot of times I start a post simply as a journal item; something I want to remember about mine or my children's lives. But as I write it, it transforms into so much more. Perhaps this is why I enjoy blogging so much.... Thank you D for your nice comment and for opening my eyes a little. :)

K family here!

Here is cute little EM who came to visit us here recently. It was such a joy to see my niece and her family- sure would love to see them more often! EM took a little while to warm up to all the new people, but once he did, he really brightened the room! His parents did well. Her husband is very athletic and has lots of energy to burn, as does HL, so those two play until they drop, pretty much. HL LOVES it! No one else around here has even a fraction of the energy it takes to wear him out. But even beyond that, HL has a special affinity for his cousin-in-law, he always has. It is great to see them together. Here are more photos of the weekend.

HL's photo talent

HL took this picture all by himself- and I think he did a darn good job! Actually, it's one of my favorite pics from Mom's Day. He hasn't yet mastered the use of the viewfinder, so we set it up where he can see the photo on the screen- he does all the rest. It'd be pretty cool if he took after his ol' ma and enjoyed photography.

Garden Blog

I started a garden blog for my own use- we seem to fall in love with plants, but can't remember what the heck they're called. So, I began bloggong about what we do inour garden. It's terribly boring to anyone but us, though, I'm sure so I haven't said anything. However, I need your help. I have two rather large plants now and I simply don't know if they are plants or weeds. If you have the time, will you please visit www.gardenofcal.blogspot.com and see if you can identify them for me? We'd appreciate your help!

Bumper Sticker

Saw the bumper sticker that I'm putting on my car in 12 years to prevent teenage boys from borrowing my car: "Real women don't have hot flashes, they have power surges!" What self-respecting teenage boy would want to drive that car?!?

Mental Edge

One of the blogs I visit regularly had a post on increasing your mental edge. As he is a teacher, he writes his post directed at teaching others, but I found that it really fits for life. The funny thing is that he read it from a book aimed at athletes and thought it fit in with teaching... Anyway, I think everyone could benefit from reading this post, especially those that work with children or teach. I recommend this entire blog to those who teach, by the way. He has some very interesting information.

Mothers Day

That's my mom, one of our many cousins, Papaw (my mom's dad) & our youngest. We had a great time celebrating Mother's day with my extended family. This year Mother's Day fell on what would have been Granny's (my Great Grandmother's) birthday, so we celebrated West Virginia style with ham hocks and beans, corn bread and raisin tarts. It sure was delicious! Our eldest picked out a nice squash for Nanny to plant in her garden. Why a squash? Your guess is as good as mine... Here are a few more photos posted on flickr.

Looking back

Almost two years ago. Can't Forget Bob the Builder! Taken in Januayr '05 March '05 May '05 June '05 Hmmm. October maybe? January '06. One of my favorites. & Easter of this year. It's amazing the changes in just a few short years. Whew.

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all you moms out there! Us boys wouldn't know what to do without you. You are the best!

HLism

HL was cringing as he was peeing this morning. "What's the matter?" I ask. "It hurts when I pee." Bummer. I told him he needs to let me know if it keeps happening and asked him to go tell his daddy so he was aware too. Hubby told me a little while later that HL told him it hurt when he peed because he "has a penis cavity." LOL!!

AW Nap Update

AW still refuses to nap. Unless he's at GMa's house. She has the time and patience to really work with him until he falls asleep. Then she usually ends up having to wake him, he sleeps so hard. So he obviously still needs the naps, why won't he just take them?!? Oh, this is terribly frustrating.

Meds

With AW sick, I've been using a trick I learned with HL for giving liquid meds and thought I would share it with you. You read all over the place that the best way to give them is to squirt them slowly into the back of the cheek. What you don't hear is how to handle when your child just spits it back out again. So here's the trick: Put the syringe in the back of the cheek and slowly squirt the medicine out. As soon as you pull the syringe from your child's mouth, blow in his face. The causes a swallowing reflex and the meds go down. It works like a charm, it really does.

My eldest wanted to share this with you.

Murphy's here

Since January, I've been saying that my kids have been so healthy this winter while my coworkers' children kept getting sick repeatedly. And wouldn't you know it, the first day that Hubby is back to watching baby S, both of my boys are sick. AW has a runny nose with a cough and a rattle in his chest, while HL decided to be miserable with a 102 fever. I swear Murphy's Law reigns in my life. So, Hubby is sitting for little S again and we are all happy to have her back! The boys truly enjoy having her around, and she's a real sweetheart. She's just about seven months old now and is on the verge of being able to crawl- this is a fun age. I'm glad it worked out this way.

AW and his owies

AW is learning his body parts... Countless times a day he comes to me with an "owie" so he can either hear me say the body part ("oh no, you have an owie on your forehead? Let mommy kiss it.) or better yet, to tell me what part was victim. Of course, his descriptions are much simpler: "Owie.... knee... mommy.... knee.... ouch..." You get the idea. Oh, and he says things until you repeat back exactly what he said. That game creates endless fun for us adults, endless: "Pawyat, mommy, pawyat" "Parrot?" "No" "Pirate?" "No" "Mommy..." "Right here" "... pawyat" Etcetera. Until I finally discover that what he is saying is that this is the mommy pirate. As opposed to the daddy pirate, of course. I should have known.

Clouds

We're on our way to Nanny's house when I point to a cloud and suggest that it looks like a duck. HL disagrees. He says it looks like a dragon. Yeah, I can see that. And over there, mommy, those are cummulus clouds. Really? I'm fairly certain they are, but whisper for confirmation from Hubby. Yes, HL is right. Those are cummulus clouds. Great. He's already getting to know things of which I'm not 100% sure. I really could have stood to wait a little longer for this day to come. Now I have to actually brush up on my education. Be more confident in what I know. In writing this post, I have just realized that HL is teaching me more than just about clouds. He's bringing to light the fact that I really do need to be more confident in myself. I can't express the frequency with which I back down from controversy or confrontation simply because I'm not 100% sure. I can't bear to make a mistake or sound foolish, so I defer to others- especially if Hubby's around. Perhaps it's time to do something about that. It's amazing what one can learn from small children.

AW and his naps

So it has now been 10 days since little AW has taken a nap. Not happy about this. It just got more and more difficult until finally he just refuses. Hubby still puts him in his crib every afternoon for 45 minutes, but he just sits there and cries. Lately he has started be quiet for very short periods, but remains awake nonetheless. He's not even two yet- he can't give up naps!! Does anyone have any input or advice? Please help!

Toddler nicknames

Some of the names toddlers come up with are just so dang cute..... AW calls HL's toy skeleton "Booky", or Spooky to us adults. He even sometimes says it with a little waver in his voice, making it sound scary. And noodles? AW calls them Neenyos. His blanket? Weewee. Not especially proud of that one, but still... Some of HL's memorable ones are: crocogator (my personal favorite!), and hoppapitamus. I know there are more, but that's all my brain will bring up at the moment, sorry to tease you.

Mouse mastery

"Mom, leave me alone, I'm trying to play a game", is what HL is saying with that oh-so-beautiful look. Yeah, HL plays games on the computer now. And he somehow taught himself just recently. Hubby must have worked with him at some point on how to work the mouse, but HL took that knowledge and went forward with it on his own. About a week ago, we had been watching a Thomas The Tank Engine DVD on the computer. AW had lost interest and I was busy doing things around the house. HL started yelling "Mom! I did it! I got the one I wanted!" He had figured out how to select a particular story on the DVD. Next thing I know, he's actually playing one of the games on the DVD. Since the DVD voiced all the commands, HL was able to follow them and answer all the questions. Smart little stinker. So then yesterday I set him up at the NickJr games website and left the room. When I returned, he had just finished his first game and the screen said "Good job H (HL's first name)." "Wow kiddo, how did the game know your name?" "I typed it in." Huh. Video-game-time-constraint battle, here we come!

Playoff Lacrosse!

My sister took the four of us to a playoff lacrosse game last weekend and every one of us had a great time! It was Hubby's and AW's first lacrosse game ever. In fact, it was AW's first live game of any kind. The drag of it was that it was right smack in the middle of nap time, but AW did very well. HL was excited about it when I told him the night before and was teaching his dad and brother about the game- from what he learned the one time he went to a lacrosse game a year previously. And wouldn't you know it, he remembered it very well! Since Hubby used to play ice hockey, I was anxious for him to experience lacrosse- I just knew he would enjoy it. And he did. He was shocked by how quickly the score jumped. Said one second he knew the score, but when he looked up again he found that he had actually missed some goals! When you're used to hockey, it is a bit strange how the action seems to never stop and the score keeps adding up. So, a great big THANK YOU to my sister and brother-in-law for sharing their tickets with us. It was very much appreciated!!

Pile o' Books

Here's the crib filled with books. Yep all the books from that shelf over there. That's two full bookshelves worth that were all neatly put away just prior to this. Makes you wonder why even bother. Of course, I usualy don't... It was all worth a good laugh at anyrate. These photos were taken after I started to empty it out. Every kid book in the top floor of our house was there.

Sleep issues

AW has been having a rough time of sleeping lately. I'm thinking maybe he is going through some separation anxiety issues. When he goes to bed, and if he wakes in the night, he needs to know that mommy is there with him in order to sleep. I end up settling him down and then crawling in HL's bed so I can respond each time AW asks for mommy. While it leaves me terribly tired, it is affirming to know that I am needed.

Brothers

An instance of obvious brotherly love... AW had a rough weekend sleeping-wise and was overly tired (NOT good when you're 22 months old). It was bedtime and he was fighting me- crying and very upset. I tried distracting him with teasers such as "let's go pick out a book", or "what book should we read tonight?" Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, HL had gone in my room and found a book that AW would love. He came out into the hallway and showed it to AW whose interest was instantly piqued and he settled right down. There are days when I worry that HL will be a rough little kid; esp. since he is always playing Star Wars or other violent-tending activities. But then he goes and does something so utterly thoughtful as he did last night and I know everything is going to be just fine.