Haircuts

This afternoon, Sydney and Mommy got haircuts. (We were BOTH much over-due and shaggy!)

Sydney got to pick if he wanted to go first or second. He decided that Mommy should go first. The beautician told him that if he was good, he could have a sucker. THAT made his day! He did AWESOME while waiting his turn and was very cooperative for his own haircut.

When she was done, he announced "My hair _ooks good. You did good job."

I am proud to be his mom!

Silas enjoyed observing at the salon and smiling at the workers and fellow patrons. Mike enjoyed the fact that Sydney's hair was no longer "shaggy".

* * * * *

As for that sucker, we made him WAIT to eat it. We went from the salon to Sam's Club and then, made a deal that if he did NOT go potty in his carseat, he could have the sucker when we got home. (Deal-breaker: If he DID go potty in his carseat, DADDY would get the sucker.)

As soon as we pulled into the driveway, he announced "Didn't go potty in my carseat. Gonna eat dis _ucker in my pocket!"

Funny things kids (and Daddy) say

Wednesday, February 22... It's no use!

SCENE: Sydney kneels on a dining room chair at the table. One of our cats, Eddy, lays on the table.

SYDNEY asks: "Wan(t) get Eddy down?"

(He tries to lift Eddy, but the cat is too heavy for the toddler to lift from that seated position.)

Disappointed, SYDNEY states: "It's no use."

(I have NO IDEA where he ever heard that, but I found it HILARIOUS!)

One day last week... ALLIGATORS

SCENE: Riding in the car.

SYDNEY: "Do you (l)ike alligators?"

DADDY: "As a pet? Or to eat?"

SYDNEY: "Huh? You (l)ike alligators, daddy?"

DADDY: "As a pet OR to eat?"

SYDNEY: "You (l)ike em?"

DADDY: "They're really tasty to eat, but they don't make good pets."

SYDNEY: "You (l)ike em as pet?"

DADDY: "NO! Not a good pet!"

SYDNEY: "Why?"

DADDY: "Cuz they're mean and they bite!"

SYDNEY: "You (l)ike eat alligators? They tasty?"

DADDY: Alligators ARE tasty.

Now, I giggle each time I hear Sydney announce "Alligators are tasty! Bite, bite, bite!"

Tuesday, February 28... Wocket in my pocket

SCENE: Daddy is playing with the boys in the living room. They are playing with puzzles. Sydney has Daddy help put some of the puzzle pieces into his pocket.

DADDY whispers: "Tell Mommy there's a rocket in your pocket."

(Mommy hears it, gives Daddy a dirty look and mouths the words "DON'T EVEN...!")

Proudly, SYDNEY states: "Der's a wocket in my pocket!"

(I had to pretend that I didn't find it funny, but I still crack a smile when I replay Sydney's voice in my head making this announcement so innocently.)

Waiting for this to bite us in the butt someday...

SCENE: Sydney's new fascination is to offer us a few different items and asking us which we like better.

SYDNEY (to Daddy): "You (l)ike dis guy?" (holding up a toy)

DADDY: "Well, I wouldn't buy him a drink in a bar, but I guess he's OK."

(Yeah... just WAITING for him to repeat that one!)

Cow in the butter?

For the life of me, I could NOT figure out what would make Sydney think it was OK for him to smash the toy cow into the stick of butter this morning.

Then, this afternoon, it struck me:

Cows in the meadow

eating butter-cups

Thunder!

Lightening!

We all JUMP UP!

(Song we sing at library storytime.)

Famous last words: I thought he was pretending

Caught a glimpse of hubby's back side and discovered that Sydney had drawn ALL OVER DADDY! Mike says "He told me he was drawing on me, but I thought he had the cap on his marker(s) and that he was just pretending."

Family photo shoot 02.27.12 w timer

SO HAPPY to have our camera back, we took advantage of the self-timer feature so that I could run over and jump into the picture between the boys. Silas doesn't really understand WHERE to look (or that we'd prefer for him to smile) when all of a sudden "something" is beeping. At least we're all looking in the same direction for ONE PICTURE. (Sydney is looking at Silas in all of my other shots.)

It's not real often that we get a photo of the 4 of us together. (Thankfully, the box that the camera was shipped back to us in was sitting on the table and was a perfect height for my makeshift tripod.)

Made to feel like a crime was committed at library

While attempting to turn a page, while reading a book together in my lap, Sydney accidentally ripped it. I told him that we would take it with us to the library and have them FIX IT. After Toddler Story Time, we asked the librarian who we should talk to about the small tear. She informed us to just tell them at the desk when we were checking out our new books and that it was not a big deal; happens all the time, in fact.

When we ventured to the check-out desk, I explained that we needed to return that book, but we had accidentally ripped a part of a page and didn't know if WE should tape it or if someone there would have to tape it (with a special tape, perhaps). The clerk at the desk looked appalled and excused herself. Soon, she came back with another worker.

"What's going on?" the newly retrieved person asked.

"We accidentally ripped a page in this book and didn't know if WE should tape it or not, but when I asked the story time librarian about it, she told us to let you know at the desk when we check out our new books."

"Do you still have the page?" she pondered.

"Yes, it is just this small tear right here." I explained as I showed her the rip at the bottom of the page.

"Oh, the page is still there and the book is still intact. That's not a big deal at all." she muttered. "We can take care of that..." and she walked away, leaving us in the company of the evil-eyed desk worker who checked out our new books in silence.

I later told Mike that the whole ordeal made me feel like a HUGE CRIME had been committed. It instilled some fear in me, similar to the fear that people have of removing the tags off of throw pillows "UNDER PENALTY OF LAW, DO NOT REMOVE..." (Gulp.) I'm sorry that my two year old accidentally ripped your library book.

• • • • •

Sunday, March 4: Today, Silas ripped the first TWO PAGES completely OUT of a Curious George library book. Of course, I used my Scotch brand Magic Tape and made it as good as new again. (I wasn't about to go through the humility at the library all over again.) Now, I am sorry that my ten-month-old ALSO ripped a book; it happens!

There IS a reason WHY we stuck to board books with Sydney for such a long time when he was little. (Even those - he often chewed on!) I remain thankful that we are raising readers as BOTH BOYS LOVE to read books! Books are a part of our daily life.

Dear Canon, WELCOME HOME

I have been COMPLETELY BUMMED without our fancy camera! It's easy to forget how many missed photo opportunities we had with our old camera when you are introduced to such a nice camera instead.

I had been watching the tracking updates from FedEx throughout the week last week. The camera traveled from the repair facility in Illinois... to a suburb of Milwaukee... to Kansas... and then was en route to Dubuque. All indications said that it would arrive HOME on Monday.

You can imagine our surprise when we got back from a weekend in WI to discover a box on our sunporch already! (And they didn't mess around... they had it cleaned and packaged very, VERY WELL!)

Oh, Canon Rebel T1i,

how I have missed you so.

WELCOME HOME!

I couldn't wait to start charging the battery again so that the camera is ready to jump back into full-swing, documenting our lives. And as soon as Silas saw mommy holding the camera again, he started practicing some really good smiles. (Thanks little buddy!)

• • • • •

As for our weekend in WI, we were relieved to calculate that we will be getting a REFUND for our federal taxes this year.

NICE!

(Thank you SO MUCH for all of your help with doing our taxes, Mom! We love you! xoXOxo)

May Babies are SO BIG 02.24.12

Our good camera is out of commission so, we had to drag out the old one. Unfortunately, having a hard time capturing an image that is worthy of saving. Ended up cloning these two into the same picture since I couldn't get them both doing SO BIG at the same time. The end result isn't too bad... it was the best I could do with what I had to work with. Photographed 02.24.12

Playing Catch-up on Project Life

I have been playing catch-up on Project Life since September 2011. I've gotten all of my 2011 pics into the album, but the journaling is still rather sparse from June through December. (Sigh, I was SO PROUD of my accomplishment of January through the arrival of our second son in May, but then I seem to have run into a MAJOR SHORTAGE in time... and sleep!)

I love Project Life! My 2.5 year old LOVES to look at our Project Life album, too. I really NEED to allow myself a little bit of "ME" time to work on it because I find it therapeutic to have a creative outlet AND I love, Love, LOVE capturing our lives! (Since following Ali Edwards, I have learned to take photographs to document our everyday lives and I really, really LOVE THAT!)

Today, I was lucky enough for both boys to nap at the same time... SO, when I should have been folding laundry, doing dishes or cleaning my house, I took some time to work on my Project Life album on my computer. (I lay out each week in InDesign, print 4x6's as a PDF and then convert them to JPGs that get uploaded to my local Walgreens.)

Here's a peek of what is waiting in the queue at Walgreens for me to pick up tomorrow. (YAY! Happy Dance... picture a frog in a blender, since I'm not a good dancer... I am SO EXCITED!)

January 22-28:

January 29-February 4:

February 5-11: Late last week, our good camera died. I was able to take a few pics with the mega-zoom lens (because it was the only one that worked) but felt extreme sadness without the camera. I've really missed it a lot AND missed a lot of great photo opportunities! :(

February 12-18: Shipped the camera and lens off to extended warranty. Dragged out our old point & shoot camera and am MISSING MY GOOD CAMERA ALL THE MORE NOW! (I'm pretty sure I will be disappointed with the pics that I pick up - since the quality of the photo will be so much less than what I have become used to in 2011.)

February 19-25: I MISS MY GOOD CAMERA!!! Last shipping update I saw, it was en route back to us.... went from Illinois - to a Milwaukee suburb - to Kansas. Waiting.... waiting.... waiting! Oh, how I miss it!

HE ASKS: Is there a baby in your belly, Mommy?

Within the past few months, Sydney has asked me (on more than one occasion) if I have a baby in my belly. (Normally, this coincides around the time that we visit with our friend Kate (who now has a 5 week old baby boy.)

Tonight, at bedtime, we had a conversation

that went like this:

"I _ove you, Mommy!" (Love)

"I love you, too, Sydney."

"Tilas* is a nice baby. I _ike our baby a lot!"

(*It's how he says SILAS... since he still doesn't pronounce words that start with S.)

"I like our baby a lot, too!"

"You have another baby in dis belly?" he asks as he pats and pokes at my flabby, leftover baby pooch.

"No, Buddy, I don't think I do."

"Oh!" he says, sounding completely disappointed. "_ucy have baby brother now. _ucy _ikes her baby brother." (*Lucy)

"I _ike our baby a lot!"

(Pause.)

"_ove you, Mommy!"

AWESOME look at our lives - thanks to Pinterest

Thanks to Pinterest, I found a really cool idea for photo-documenting a slice of our lives. (Here is the link to the original post - capturing 30 years of snapshots - that inspired me: http://www.retronaut.co/2010/06/one-family-30-years/)

I think that I might TRY to capture our yearly photos on/around our wedding anniversary... OR on/around our birthdays... OR I haven't yet decided. (I placed some for 2012 already... just because I was having fun!)

Click on it to view it larger.

Oscar-worthy NEED for medicine

While Daddy was busy cooking supper and Mommy was busy chopping up some finger food for Silas to eat, Sydney was "doing dishes" (a.k.a. playing in the sink) and rummaging through things on the counter. (He has recently discovered that he is able to open his stepstool by himself and moves it ALL OVER the kitchen... and house.) In his investigative search, he found the box containing a bottle of children's allergy medicine.

"What's dis?" he pondered. (Truthfully, he knows EXACTLY what it is.)

"That's your sniffle sneeze medicine." I replied.

"Need (s)ome of dat."

"Oh, I don't think so. You're not sneezing.

"AH-CHOO!" (A fake ah-choo sneeze in a voice similar to his pretend play voice.)

Daddy and I (BOTH) try hard NOT to laugh out loud and wear BIG GRINS on our faces. Sydney gave us a couple of Oscar-worthy fake sneezes, but we assured him that he can only take the sniffle sneeze medicine in the morning because we didn't want it to affect his sleep at bedtime.

Now, I am wondering if that is the first thing he'll ask for in the morning.

I have a surprise for you - Sydney says

SYDNEY: I have a surprise under my butt for you.

(Sydney sitting on his potty chair.)

MOM: (Excitedly) A surprise? For me? WHAT could it be?

SYDNEY: It's not quite ready for you yet.

MOM: OK, I'll wait.

Resembling a Jack-in-the-Box, Sydney POPS UP off his potty chair a few seconds later.

SYDNEY: Ta-Da!

(Peers into the potty chair to admire his work.)

SYDNEY: Now, you can dump it out and clean that up!

(As soon as he's wiped off, he runs into other room, leaving mom in the kitchen.)

From the dining room, I hear his pretend play voice announcing this:

I was waiting for you to say HIP, HIP, HORRAY. GOOD JOB!

(I guess I disappointed him a little bit.)

FPOD_2012FEB14

What's the Favorite Part of your Day?

FEBRUARY 14, 2012

DADDY: When Sydney proudly showed me his really cool snowman.

MOMMY: Being surprised with flowers for Valentine's Day.

SYDNEY: Building a really cool (s)nowman!

*By the time Daddy got home from work, the snowman had tipped over in the yard. He discreetly snuck outside to fix it and after sneaking back inside, he allowed Sydney to take him outside "to show you something really, really cool, Daddy!" THIS was REALLY my favorite part of the day... that Daddy was so sweet about it!

*Baking heart-shaped cakes with Sydney and then, letting Sydney decorate it with (s)prinkles... red, white and pink hearts... after we frosted it with CoolWhip was another favorite of mine.

Happy 41st Birthday Daddy!

We *celebrated Daddy's 41st birthday at our home. Nana & Papa Olson came over for the day, as well as Grandpa Lowell. Sydney helped him open his presents and politely asked if he could help blow out the candles, too.

Sydney was VERY EXCITED to give Daddy the birthday card that he made for him (last month)!

As a family, we made our "birthday cake" on Saturday night, but Daddy did most of the work on it. He cut all of the swiss cake rolls into little slices and layered them in the spring form pan. He also topped the chocolate fudge pudding layer with with cool whip and chocolate shavings. (There's nothing wrong with making MOST OF your own birthday cake, is there?)

Mike appreciated the birthday cards and phone call.

*NOTE: Mike and I celebrated his birthday with a relaxing, child-free dinner on Friday night at Tony Roma's while Emily babysat the boys.

King Meatball Kong

This morning, Sydney decided that he wanted to eat a CUPCAKE for breakfast. (Really, they were Cranberry Nut Bread that we made in the muffin tins, but to Sydney and for all practical purposes, they ARE cupcakes!)

So, he enjoyed half of a banana, a glass of milk and one "cupcake" while we chatted with Nana Olson on the phone. Sydney's cupcake ended up rolling off of his plate, across the table and onto the floor.

"Sydney," I started. "Remind me after we get off the phone with Nana that we should sing a silly song about a meatball."

A meatball? YEAH, THAT got his attention! (My mom laughed, knowing that he would LOVE that song!)

So, this morning - after breakfast, I taught him the song (or part of it, anyways) ON TOP OF SPAGHETTI.

"King Kong again!" he giggled.

"King Kong?" I quizzed, knowing good-and-well that he was trying to say SING SONG.

"Yeah, King Meatball Kong again! Dat's funny!"

Gosh, it is SO MUCH FUN to be a parent!

On top of spaghetti,

all covered with cheese

I lost my poor meatball

when somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table

and onto the floor.

And then, my poor meatball

rolled right out the door.

Playtime with Flash cards feels like 52-pick-up

When there is nothing else on television, Mike likes to suggest that he and Sydney work on flash cards. Lately, since the alphabet (including most lowercase letters now, too) is pretty easy for Sydney, Mike has suggested that they work on numbers.

Last night, Mike left the boxes of flash cards on the end table - next to the recliner.

This morning, I could hear Sydney talking in his "pretend play voice" and found him sitting in the recliner going over his number flashcards.

"What is dis one?" he'd ask himself.

"Kix." he answered. (SIX)

Praising himself, he announced "You're right! Good job!" (Sounding JUST LIKE daddy's praise!)

He played with the number cards for quite a while. When he got to one that he didn't know, you could hear him counting the pictures to figure it out. (I was impressed.)

"How about dese _etters now?" he stated as he opened the other box of flash cards and dumped them into the seat of the chair. "Uh, oh! _ook at dis mess now! _ook at all 'dese cards!"

"Dis is bayou (W), but if you put it dis way - is M instead." he lectured himself. (I smiled from the other room.)

I was thankful that Silas was sleeping and our house was quiet so that I could hear him. I was also thankful that the only lens that I can use for my camera right now allowed me to snap close-up photos of him from our kitchen.

I was humbled by his desire to practice these flashcards all on his own because you could see HOW IMPORTANT it is to him to please his Daddy.

I also think it is kind of cute that he still struggles to say DOUBLE-U. (He calls it BAYOU most of the time.) He CAN say it correctly if he really takes his time and tries.

Important lesson learned, I hope

Tonight, I got Sydney's toothbrush ready for him and SAT HIM on the seat of the toilet, announcing "We don't want to stand on the toilet when we brush our teeth because it might be slippery. You SIT here. I'll be right back!"

I quickly ran downstairs to grab a diaper for Sydney when I heard a loud CRASH and THUNK, followed by crying. I found Sydney (with toothbrush still in his mouth) stuck between the toilet and the wall, rubbing his back and sobbing. (Thankfully, the toothbrush was NOT part of the equation, as far as HURT is concerned.)

"Are you hurt? Are you hurt OR scared?" I kept repeating as I hugged him and rubbed his back.

Finally, he answered - through tears - "_cared!"

"Were you standing on the toilet?" I quizzed.

He nodded yes, continuing to sob.

"You see why mom told you not to stand on there?"

"Not a good idea." he stated calmly.

When I took his jammies and big boy pants off for him to go potty one last time, I discovered he has a welt and a scrape on his lower back. After putting some triple antibiotic ointment on it and getting a kiss from both mom AND dad, we assured him that he'll be OK.

I'm hoping that he learned from this lesson and remembers that: it is NOT a good idea to stand on a toilet to brush your teeth!

Hey, mom! Check THIS OUT! (Silas made discovery)

Silas has a new fascination... he has discovered the box of butt wipes and gets SUPER EXCITED when we leave the container 1) open or 2) where he can reach it.

This afternoon, before I noticed him doing it (and before I could get it away from him), he had proudly pulled out MANY buttwipes!

ONE.

TWO.

THREE.

FOUR.

FIVE.

SIX.

SEVEN.

EIGHT.

NINE.

TEN.

ELEVEN!

And then, he protested when I took them all away. (He chews on them. YUCK!) Poor little man was SO PROUD and then, I went a ruined all of his fun!

I should have known this was coming... he discovered the Kleenex box in our bedroom the other day and thought that THAT was great fun, too!

Panic from running wild

When we're walking, we ALWAYS carry Sydney across the street (or have him ride in/on the stroller) because we do NOT want him to know that he can cross the street alone. So far, this has worked VERY WELL for us! Sydney knows to wait and he announces "Too many cars" whenever he wants to be picked up and carried; sometimes, he announces it in the house, too, when he wants to be held.

This afternoon, when walking back from our playdate at Lucy's house, Sydney climbed onto the stroller (occupied by Silas) to cross the last street before our house. Then, once he was on OUR BLOCK, he thought it would be FUN to run. At first, he stopped at our neighbor's house and glanced back at me. I encouraged him to come back to our house.

"NO!" he yelled. "Don't want (to) go home now!"

And with that, he took off running... down the street... toward the park.

Pushing the stroller as fast as I could, I eventually abandoned it (with Silas in it) in our neighbor's driveway and took off running... sprinting... to catch Sydney.

Sydney had fallen down twice, LOVING the pursuit of being chased, but got right back up and ran even faster! I managed to catch up with him at the site of his second fall. Once I caught him, I carried him home - despite his "I wan(t) walk!" pleas and protests.

Once we got inside, I announced "That was VERY NAUGHTY to run like that! You need a time out!"

"NO TIME-OUT!" he shouted.

Then, a few seconds later, he calmly stated "Don'(t) want time out. Tired. Wan(t) (to) go (to) bed now."

I read him a quick story and put him in his bed. He lasted less than 5 minutes before realizing that he hadn't eaten lunch yet and that he was hungry.

At my own bedtime tonight, my nerves STILL feel a little shaken by this experience. I am SO GLAD that he hadn't gotten hurt and HOPE that he understands that "that was NOT a good idea!"

Tonight, on GoogleMaps, I discovered that he ran over 300 feet!

LEAST FAVORITE PART OF TODAY

MOMMY: The complete panic you feel when your toddler takes off running down the sidewalk and you realize that despite you yelling for him, he is NOT going to stop until you catch him. (And the guilt you have for parking and abandoning your stroller - with Baby in it - in a neighbor's driveway while sprinting to catch the toddler.)

FPOD_2012FEB07

What's the Favorite Part of your Day?

FEBRUARY 7, 2012

DADDY: At dinner, when Sydney climbed onto my chair, gave me a GIANT HUG and told me "I love you!"

MOMMY: When we got to go see Kate, Lucy and Baby Daniel and got to play at our friends house.

SYDNEY: Being silly with Daddy, by announcing "Kate _ikes Barney!" and giggling when Daddy announced "Barney! BAD!" (They did this routine for a long, long time tonight... where Sydney found it VERY FUNNY!)

SILAS: Daddy fed him a bottle of milk at bedtime and recited the library book that he has memorized.

LEAST FAVORITE PART

MOMMY: The complete panic you feel when your toddler takes off running down the sidewalk and you realize that despite you yelling for him, he is NOT going to stop until you catch him. (And the guilt you have for parking and abandoning your stroller - with Baby in it - in a neighbor's driveway while sprinting to catch the toddler.)

Sour cream is NOT sauerkraut

At the grocery store, Sydney asked to hold my hand and help me while Silas and Daddy pushed our cart. I informed him that we needed to find ham, cheese and sour cream.

He repeated the instructions loudly. A few people smirked at us.

We grabbed the ham. We found the cheese.

Then, when I went to grab the sour cream, Sydney asked "Sour cream is different than sauerkraut?"

"YES! Sour cream IS different than sauerkraut."

FPOD_2012FEB05

What's the Favorite Part of your Day?

FEBRUARY 5, 2012

DADDY: When Sydney called Daddy at work to ask him about the box on the front porch... wondering is 'dat _ittle Big Wheels mines? (Daddy didn't think Sydney would notice the cardboard box with the diagram of the mini Big Wheel on it.) Sydney was excited to hear that the LITTLE BIG WHEELS will work better so that he will be able to reach the pedals. We're going to keep it at Papa Lowell's house.

MOMMY: When Sydney and Silas BOTH took an early nap (at the same time), leaving mommy time to eat lunch, shower, get dressed AND fold a few loads of laundry.

SYDNEY: When Papa Lowell hid at the door, on the sunporch, while they played Hide & Seek. Sydney could HEAR Papa, but couldn't see him. It was pitty _ricky! (Pretty tricky!)

FPOD_2012FEB04

What's the Favorite Part of your Day?

FEBRUARY 4, 2012

DADDY: Breakfast Time! Ham, Egg & Cheese Sandwich and some hot coffee.

MOMMY: While Silas took a nap, Sydney and I snuggled in the recliner to watch Sesame Street and it was SO COZY that Mommy took a little nap because, all of a sudden, Sesame Street was over!

SYDNEY: Hiding under the upside down laundry basket from Baby Silas; then, saying Peek-a-Boo!

Sad, sad day... camera appears BROKEN!

Today is a sad, sad day!

Our fancy camera appears to be BROKEN! We (Sydney, Silas and I) used it last night to take some pictures, including some self-portraits.) The autofocus isn't working and the camera is making a strange noise, while NOT taking pictures.

I am very, very sad.

Just shy of 8000 pictures since we got it - Christmas 2010... we are averaging around 600 pictures per month. Having it out of commission does NOT help my Project Life album where we try to take at least one picture per day.

Mike reminds me that we DO have our old camera still. Time to break out the rechargeable batteries, I think - as well as the extended warranty information for the new camera.

Might have our neighbor take a look at the camera, since he is a camera buff. Otherwise, hoping for a speedy recovery!

Sigh. Sniff, sniff!

Basket of books at bedtime, Tooth Tales for Silas

We are attempting to outsmart and outwit our toddler. Per Daddy's latest suggestion, I tried to collect some bedtime books in a basket. I explained to Sydney that if he is a good boy, we will read all of the books at bedtime, but if he is naughty/sassy/uncooperative, I will take a book away. (GENUIS! This got his attention!)

Prior to bedtime tonight, Sydney lost ONE BOOK. He did, however, gain one (hidden inside the medicine cabinet with his toothbrush) by brushing his teeth very well. He was keeping close tabs on how many books he had available at bedtime.

During bedtime routine tonight, I showed him another basket of books - out in the hallway. I explained that if he stays in his bed - like a good boy - that we can read ALL OF THOSE bedtime books tomorrow, but if he gets out of bed/fusses/plays games/etc, that he will lose a book for each time.

When he was supposed to be in his bed, I informed him that he needed to lay back down. Sassily, he reported "No! Don't want to!"

"That's ONE BOOK." I announced calmly.

Sydney, immediately crying, ran to his bed - sobbing "Don't wan_ lose one book!" (I assured him that it would be OK to lose one because there were more in the basket.)

He lost a few more for getting out of his bed (again) and yelling "Blanket on!" from the doorway and for claiming he had to go potty. (He had already gone A LOT right before being diapered.) Although, after talking to Daddy, we decided that we should give him the opportunity to go potty and if it was a game, he would lose a book. IF he DID REALLY GO potty, he would not lose a book. (I guess I owe him one MORE book back since he hadn't wet his diaper after announcing that he wanted to go potty, when I assured him that he had just gone potty before being diapered.)

I explained the situation to him and he insisted that he really DID want to go potty. Surprisingly, he really DID have to go! While starting to rediaper him, he announced "Should do this on the bed cuz it'd be much, much easier to do on the bed." (He's SO adult-like in conversation sometimes! Must've been a conversation that he and Daddy have had in nights past.)

On the way back to bed, he announced that he needed to check that basket for bedtime books. "Need at least two books!" he announced. (He was QUITE PLEASED to find three left!)

I'm hoping that we're on to something here and that he will quickly figure out that HE is in control of some of his fate. Fingers crossed; hoping for toddler cooperation!

• • • • •

On a separate note, we broke a brand new toothbrush out of the package for Silas tonight. He's never participated in tooth-brushing before, but seemed to LOVE being part of the bedtime routine! For the record, upper tooth #4 looks like it is just now poking through as a slit in his gums. Perhaps, THAT is why Silas had a fever today (102.6°F and 101.1°F post-Tylenol)... from teething?

Hoping our little man feels better tomorrow! He wasn't his normal, smiley self today and we missed that. He was, however, a snuggle bug - which was a nice change of pace since he doesn't like to cuddle like Sydney always did.

Fort Fun

This morning, Daddy built a fort... or a house... for the boys. Sydney LOVED it!!!

Daddy suggested they eat inside the fort. Thankfully, we were able to convince Sydney to eat his lunch at the table instead. Silas was VERY INTERESTED in Daddy's breakfast!

While Mommy and Silas went to the BF support group, Sydney and babysitter Emily played inside the fort and had great fun!

Thanks Daddy!

Silas is silly... so big, peekAboo, silly faces and stairs

click on pics to see them larger.

How big is Silas?

SO BIG! (9 months, actually)

Figured out how to play Peek-A-Boo.

When tired, he assumes this position: right thumb in mouth, left hand rubs eyes or holds left ear.

Rubs face/eyes and pulls on left ear when tired.

LOVES to sneak up the stairs!

The many faces of Silas Jacob... he's SUCH a happy guy!

NOTE: These are not boogers on his nose... they are PEAS.