Right Now - a look at SYDNEY (November 2013)

Right now, Sydney:

• enjoys Bagels with butter & cinnamon sugar for breakfast on days when he decides NOT to have Cinnamon Life. (Now that we've stocked up on cinnamon Quaker Oatmeal Squares, he's stopped requesting those.)
• prefers to ride the tractor at school during BIKE WEEK, which we're told is most challenging to ride. His teacher told us that he often rides it!
• protests naps, but falls asleep easily in the car in the afternoon
• goes to bed easily at night because he is SO TIRED (skipping a nap!) In events that he DOES nap, he's often awake until 9:40pm, making an incredibly long day for Mommy!
• hated the Charlotte's Web movie because the spider died
• searches for TWINS whenever we pour Cinnamon Life
• loves to build things!
• is addicted to television
• had an AWESOME report card from Parent Teacher conferences
• is drawing The Mouse, The Big Hungry Bear and the Red Ripe Strawberry from memory at school, bringing home a page or two at a time, claiming that he's going to make his own book
• LOVES the Rhyming Dust Bunnies book
• enjoys stickers
• gets mad if Silas attempts to pick the same kind of cereal as him
• is very protective of his baby brother; he helps watch him by the street and while we are shopping so that no one will steal him
• demonstrates some stranger danger (We used to think that he would go home with anyone)
• loves getting movies from the library
• sits quietly and looks at new library books
• is still a lap snuggler!
• takes his night diaper off as soon as he wakes up
• scribbles jagged lines across the paper and announces what he's "writing"
• is starting to remember his manners when he becomes bossy or demanding and realizes (without our prompting) that he has to use good manners and ask nicely for things
• LOVES to drink juice!
• has thick, wavy hair.
• prefers to wear sweatpants or nylon pants; he really does NOT like to wear blue jeans
• wants almost EVERYTHING when we walk through a toy aisle; he used to look at everything and decide which item he wanted to put onto his WISH LIST, but now, he just wants... well, EVERYTHING!!!
• takes all of the pillows off of mom & dad's bed
• is learning SARCASM; he often announces "Hey, that's sarcasm!" (i.e. "Thank you! Thank you SO MUCH for dumping an entire box of cereal onto the floor. I love that! It makes me REALLY happy!" We also use examples such as "Grandpa Lowell LOVES snakes!" or "Mommy just LOVES bats!"
• is suddenly becoming fearful of the dark... and monsters.... etc. He does NOT like to be alone
• turns himself into a dinosaur a lot; a T-Rex, I'd guess because he has tiny claws. (Mommy often reminds him "Hey! Put your claws away!"
• plays alone very well, as long as he knows where an adult is at
• thinks he is THE BOSS of all of us
• loves to play with the tripod and to take self-portraits with mommy. He also LOVES to play with their little kid camera.
• enjoys BOYS NIGHT because they watch tv and then, he can sleep in the big bed with Daddy and Silas.
• has the BEST BABYSITTER!!! The boys LOVE when Emily comes!
• loves to build things in the garage with Papa Olson.
• says that Piglet's BIG movie is his favorite, but we sadly don't have that one on our cable box anymore.
• smiles a lot!
• refuses to get his hair "cut" BUT will agree to getting it "trimmed"
• was tricked into getting a chiropractic adjustment; he had announced that he did NOT want the doctor to "fix him" but I was able to convince him that the doctor needed to look for tickle spots. (That was OK.)
• likes to whisper in your ear, but it is very difficult to understand him most of the time.
• enjoys going to see Daddy at work; likes to "ride on the tractor" outside of the store. (Sit on the floor model of the ATV's.)
• accepts the fact that the yellow car in the Walmart lobby is only for good listeners to ride on. NOTE: A ride = mom singing ABC's ONE TIME and then, it is time for Silas to take a turn! (They have NO IDEA that those cars take money and actually move!)
• loves to rhyme!
• enjoys bedtime a lot because he LOVES to sit and read books! (We go to the library often! He LOVES when we get brand new ones!)
• likes to help Mommy with her shot at night; putting the red part on (or taking it off) is his favorite part!
• thinks that it is AWESOME to go to our neighbor's house to play with Mason's old Thomas the Train table.
• says he's going to be a fire-fighter when he grows up. (Interestingly, when I just asked him this question, he announced that he wants to be "a fireboat driver" because we don't have one of those in this town yet. I wonder if he learned that during his tour of the fire station or if he just has an active imagination.)
• is still obsessed with Halloween right now and requests to make a new costume almost every day
• is a picky eater!!! (He'd live on cereal or PB&Nutella and drink "skinny boy milk" if we'd let him! Canned tuna meat is also a favorite of his.)
• drinks out of BLUE sippy cups.
• does NOT like time-outs anymore, declaring that he is too big for time-outs.
• gives great hugs
• rubs kisses in more often than wipe kisses off.
• builds forts next to the couch, with pillows
• talks A LOT!
• is really good at puzzles
• is an incredibly sweet little boy

Right Now - a look at SILAS (October 2013)

Right now, Silas:

• is suddenly sassy. "NO!" is his new favorite word, I'm afraid
• asks WHY, but doesn't really expect an answer. 
• struggles to poop on the potty chair, preferring to secretly do it in his big boy pants or diaper
• wakes up dry 4-5 times per week
• will only go potty on the toilet when HE wants to, but can sometimes be tricked into it because he doesn't argue when the timer goes off.
• will change his behavior at the very threat of a time-out
• is missing his last two year molar, but has started to chew on his hand lately.
• LOVES LuLu the dog and getting a sucker at the bookstore.
• is a human alarm clock, waking between 5:40-6:20am, but almost always very close to 6.
• asks to eat "gummy things" almost daily (fruit snacks... a gift from Bev & Frank)
• has attended MOPS childcare twice and freaked out both times
• sucks his right thumb
• waits until Daddy finishes his last speck of food before asking "NOW can I sit on your lap?" during dinner
• eats almost everything!
• demands a cup of juice upon waking
• used to ask for BOB THE BUILDER as soon as he woke up, but has now started to ask to watch THOMAS instead.
• wants to eat a picnic outside almost daily
• runs to the front of the room at the library, standing next to the storytime librarian when it is time to sing songs. (Hokey Pokey, etc.) He sings, smiles and dances in front of the entire room full of people, thinking nothing of it
• rushes to hold the hand of the storytime librarian when it is time to do ring around the rosie
• gets his hand stamp on a piece of paper at the library
• wakes up in the morning AND from afternoon naps, announcing "I had a happy nap!"
• pays attention while we're driving and announces things like "Mommy! This is NOT the way to Daddy's work!!! THIS is the way to Daddy's school! You are going the wrong way!!!" as well as "Huh? Where are we going? I've never been on this road before." AND "Red Light. Stop. Green light. GO!" (He also tells me that I went through a red light, as he looks out his window and sees the red for the side streets.)
• thinks butter and sour cream are foods.
• is getting good at memorizing children's books.
• announces "That's NOT funny. That's a terrible joke." to Sydney whenever Sydney tries to make up his own joke.
• often gives the reason "Sydney did...." whenever he's crying and we ask him what is the matter. Sometimes, Sydney isn't even HOME when he does it. (NOTE: often Sydney IS to blame, but NOT ALWAYS!)
• is an instigator that sometimes likes to "irk" his big brother. (They do it to each other, I'm afraid!)
• talks almost non-stop
• is an AWESOME EATER and an AWESOME SLEEPER!
• gets mad when we call him "MISTER" or "BABY"; he'll snap "I'm NOT a Mister! I'm a Silas!" or "I'm NOT a baby; I'm a Silas!" ALSO, when I tell him, you're ALWAYS going to be my baby, he corrects me - telling me "I'm always going to be your Silas!"
• plays rough; you'd NEVER GUESS he's only 2.5 He's also great at motor skills - hopping, climbing, running, jumping, skipping!
• thrives on routine; gets mad when Daddy forgets to have them brush their teeth on Boys Night.
• likes to wear a clothes hanger around his tiny waist and pretends to be an airplane; drives mommy crazy!
• likes to get a TRIANGLE donut with chocolate frosting - WITHOUT SPRINKLES!!!
• steals all of the gadgets from the kitchen drawer when no one is looking
• gets excited over heavy equipment; still says BULL-DA-BO-ZER for bulldozer. (LOVE!!!)
• loves to take the tiny shopping cart to run errands. He LOVES to go to Fareway to buy bagels and to Walmart to grocery shop. He's a great little helper!
• know his colors and counts very well
• thinks that the last line on our house rules sign says SILAS, but really it says SMILE. (Most people call him SMILEY because he is almost always smiling!!!)

UPDATE - 12/8/13: Silas is no longer potty training. He has reverted back to diapers for most of the time. (Although, a few times, he has taken his diaper off on is own and declared that he is a big boy and doesn't need it.) He HATES going poop anywhere, but in his diaper. He's showing NO INTEREST in wearing big boy pants right now. He's no longer waking dry most mornings. Giving him a little bit of breathing room again... he'll get there when he's ready.
 He's still AWESOME at going to the bathroom before a bath/shower. He also likes to go potty for Nana Olson, to make her proud. We'll keep trying! (Developmental email recently talked about regression... and them wanting to do what is comfortable for them.) ALSO, our sweet little boy has been getting rough and tumble; he holds his own agains his brother's 23 month advantage. Silas has pulled a fistful of hair from Sydney's head on more than one occasion. (Naughty!) Two-and-a-half IS a tough age, as I recall.

Sydney's signature at 4 and a half

Sydney and Mommy were busy coloring while Silas was napping. At the top of his picture, I asked him to write his name. He starts his name with the first Y, announcing that he's BEST at making Y's and that those are his favorite letters to write. He then, goes back to add the beginning S and follows up with the DNEY of his name. I couldn't wait to scan it or photograph it; he's really improving. We've seen it a few times on school papers, but I haven't witnessed him writing it on his own before; SO PROUD! Not bad for only 4.5 years old! :)

Way to Go, SYDNEY!!

Kids are gross - BATHTUB refreshments

Family of Four FALL FUN with a tripod and a self-timer 2013

A few fall pics and Halloween 2013

We did downtown Trick-or-Treating when we went to WI last weekend. 

That weekend, Sydney was a cowboy and Silas was a firefighter. 

Rachel took this picture of Mommy and Silas together; LOVE!!!

Photo Credit: Rachel Pease

Boys, go sit on the steps so I can take a picture of you handsome boys.

(Flop backwards, in unison)

Um... that's not exactly what I had in mind.

Thank you... that's better!

Halloween Party at Sydney's preschool; we made ROBOT costumes!

A nice fall day; we got the tripod out and used the self-timer to take this (adorable) picture!

(Mommy was pleased with the outcome!)

Toddler Logic THROW UP BUCKET

Another case of Toddler Logic:

This morning, Silas, Mommy and Sydney snuggled together in mommy's bed for a few minutes. We could hear Eddy bellowing from the hallway.

Sydney announced "I think maybe it sounds like Eddy is going to throw up."

"You think so?" I asked. "Maybe..." I confirmed.

We decided that it was time to get up so, we ventured down the hallway to see Eddy on the stairs. As he saw us coming, he ran down into the dining room and hid under the table.

A moment later, we heard his retching sound as he puked on the area rug under the table.

"Oh, No.... EDDY!" Silas shouted. "You're supposed to throw up IN the bucket; that's what I do! In the bucket; NOT on the carpet! Silly cat..."

The puke bucket that we used most recently (that has since become "a hat") was under one of the dining chairs, just inches from Eddy, actually.

"Maybe he didn't see the bucket." I announced with a smile.

"Maybe." the boys agreed in unison.

I went on to explain that cats don't have brains that think like us - people - do so, they wouldn't KNOW to throw up into the bucket. BUT it would be REALLY COOL if they did!

Sydney's Sesame Street LIVE coloring contest entry

At the library, Silas and Mommy picked up two entry forms to try to win four tickets to see Sesame Street LIVE in November. I explained to Sydney that he should try really hard to color carefully (since he hasn't been interested in "coloring" and has taken a liking to scribbling randomly instead.)

Sydney carefully picked out his colors while Silas was in charge of holding the Sesame Street book and finding a picture of the characters for Sydney to see.

I especially liked how Sydney made Ernie's shirt horizontal striped and Bert's in vertical stripes.

Later, we'll have Silas take a chance at coloring HIS version. Then, we'll drop our entries off at the library for a chance to win.

Sydney announced "That would be JUST PERFECT to win four tickets. It sure would be fun if ALL OF US could go! Because we would need 1... 2... 3... 4 tickets because there are four of us in this family!"

TODDLER LOGIC: Hatching out of the egg first

SYDNEY: I am going to be bigger than Silas.... because.... I hatched out of my egg first.

MOM: Your egg?

SYDNEY: Yeah, my egg in your belly. I hatched out first so, that means I will be bigger than Silas.

(*3 year preschool class project was hatching CHICKS from eggs. **He knows that he was inside of mommy's belly once. Guess he's just trying to figure things out in the world...)

Curious George... no crayons in ears

This morning, while talking on the phone to Nana, Silas was watching Curious George on PBS kids television. All of a sudden, he stopped me from talking and announced "We don't put crayons in our ears."

"You're right! We DON'T put crayons in our ears!" (Although I was a little puzzled WHY he said that, sitting in my lap in the recliner.)

Then, I realized on Curious George, they were mini-golfing and the scorekeeper held the pencil behind his ear.

Silas interpreted that, with his active 2-year-old-mind, as a crayon in his ear.

That kid PAYS ATTENTION!!!