A Week Gone By...

Well over a week has past and so much to report...

We went to a birthday party for Philip's friend Anne...ponies! Philip rode...Daniel did not. My boys were in the minority (okay the only ones!) in smocked outfits. I know the time is short with Philip, but he loves anything I make!

Two Saturdays of Crimson Tide football! Both victories...despite William's expression! Both fun to be with family...Mom and Dad one game and Susan and Rob for the other.

Daniel got the croup and is yet to get over the cough and runny nose. Some long nights, but hoping the steriod will clear his cough.

Philip's rails came off his bed. Tonight is the first night, but he's slept without them many times at the beach so I think he's ready.

Major planning for Philip's first birthday party with friends. Football theme...more on that later.

Chris and I visited St. Paul's for an official tour. Really good to be back there; to see so many familiar faces. However, all I could think about was how hard it is going to be to let Philip go. Yes, I think he's ready, but I am not!!

Fall weather arrived today....what a relief. The boys and I had a great morning playing out in the yard while William napped. They loved playing hide-and-seek with me! After a quick trip to Sam's, we picked up GranGran and went to the playground for a picnic. So fun! We ran into an old friend, Leann Hannon Hanes and her two girls. We missed a playdate at the Exploreum due to Daniel still being under the weather, but we ended up having a ball with just us! Such a simple day, but so much fun. I am afraid that this is what I'll miss about Philip going off to school. Wish I had pictures, but between the picnic food, diaper bag, stroller, and three kids, there just wasn't room for a camera!

Will be back with birthday news next week!

Tankie

I want to record some thoughts today on my middle son, Daniel. Blogging for me is really a place to record my thoughts so that I can look back and remember how the boys and I filled our days, the sweet and funny things the boys do and say, etc.

Daniel, aka TankTank or Tankie, is now 27 months old and such a pleasure! He starts his morning off between 5:00 and 6:00 with a trip to the potty and then snuggle time in bed with Mom. This time together is wonderful for me. Before I had children, I would love to wake up and lay in bed...not for too long, but I could handle up to 30 minutes of quiet time...time to plan my day, say my prayers, etc. Chris has always been one to pop out of bed and get his day started...not me. So quiet time in bed with Daniel is right up my alley. We don't talk, usually don't sleep, just snuggle up, suck our thumbs (okay, really only he does that!), and get our selves together before everyone else gets up.

Here he is on his first day of school. He was heartbroken that Philip was not in his classroom anymore. It took at least two weeks to get him to go in without crying. He still has a little anxiety before the day gets started, but he has a good time while he's there. He loves having Katherine as his very own friend! He loves going to the classroom and making artwork to show Daddy at night!

During the day, he can be a pistol. Carrying his stool around to climb and get into to things. He loves both of his brothers immensely. I often say his heart is three sizes too big. If he has something Philip wants, he hands it to him without a fight. I often hear him say, "I want my Pullup." That means Philip! He also loves to play with William. If William is laying on his stomach (which is whenever he is on the floor since he always rolls over), Daniel lays down and does tummy time too. He loves to see William suck his thumb...just like him!

His vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds daily. My favorite saying right now is, "I get that for my birthday cake?" He uses this to refer to anything he wants or anything he may want to do when he gets bigger. Cracks me up.

So for my records, Daniel at 27 months, you can:

• pretty much say whatever you want....6 to 8 word sentences are your norm
• jump on two feet and run pretty fast...although your form does leave a little to be desired!
• almost ride your tricycle...you practice it everyday!
• use the potty without accidents...such a blessing!
• color pretty well...lots of times not on appropriate surfaces, but oh well.
• distinguish colors
• count to ten and recognize those numbers
• melt your parents' heart with one smile!

Each of the boys is such a blessing in their own way...how wonderful that they are all different. Will write a post on the others later!

One of those days...

It was one of those mornings...rain and lots of it. What are three little boys to do? Well, we managed until about 10:30. Then, despite a really hard rainstorm, we loaded up and decided to go to storytime!

Watching me unload the car had to be comical. I sat on the center console and got the Baby Bjorn ready. Loaded William, and then crawled out the back door with an umbrella. I then carried Daniel and William while Philip walked close by. We made it....and of course it quit raining soon after.

It was worth it though. I've been taking Philip to see Ms. Val at the library since he was 6 months old. He's always remained glued to my lap with no interest in singing or dancing. He's always been a good listener, though, and for that I am grateful. Today he branched out. He sang, danced, and listened. His enthusiasm rubbed off on Daniel who before now has followed in big brothers shy footsteps.

William took it all in. Loved having new people to see and hear!

The best thing about library day is all the new books. Daniel, who has an insane ability to check out all the Christmas books year round, enjoys hearing these tales before his nap. Then Philip and I crawl in bed and do lots of reading. Today, I fell asleep reading to him (happens a lot I'm afraid). He crawled out of bed, played a little, apparently changed clothes, and then decided that a nap sounded good. Why he didn't get back in bed with me, I don't know. I'll brace myself for the fight to get him into bed tonight, but for now will enjoy the quiet house!

New Shoes

Well...haven't written much in awhile. Can't decide how committed I am to this blogging thing. So many other things to do, right??

But today was momentous for me, so I thought I'd record some thoughts. It was supposed to be an uneventful day....trip to get new shoes (because Daniel was growing tired of me physically shoving his foot into his Ked's) and lunch with GranGran. What happened?? My boys are growing up.

When we get to J-Rays, I decide to start with Daniel. My two year old, who always has an opinion on his clothing, declares that he doesn't want red Ked's. He wants blue instead. Philip went through at least three pairs of red Ked's before I moved him to grey New Balances...Daniel just finished up his first pair. Okay....I allowed for this change...but I didn't like it.

Next it's Philp's turn. He sees that Daniel got to make a change and he decides to test the waters. He doesn't want another pair of grey New Balances (that his mom and dad love!!). No he wants some Japanese velcro shoes. Mom doesn't like this one bit...but Mom does know it is important to allow them to express themselves. So...he wins.

I'm still trying to get used to them...but they are growing on me. He loves them...loves the independence that the Velcro brings him. Why can't I dress them the way I want to forever????

Oh well...good lunch with GranGran and naps for the little guys. Philip and I appliqued two shirts for him to wear this fall. Progress....well, someone's crying...gotta run!

Potty Training 101

I imagine if you went to a potty training class they would tell you two things:

1. don't try on a child under 2
2. don't try with a new baby in the house because new babies cause children to regress.

Well, Tank Tank is defying the odds. At 23 months, he is basically demanding to be potty trained. He walks to the bathroom, pulls down his pants, and takes off his diaper...all without any assistance. I have often heard of children that potty train themselves. I've never believed it, but this kid is doing it.

Why? I think it's two fold. He clearly wants to do everything his brother does and he's loving the attention that he's getting for performing! Whatever it is, I'm loving it. I wasn't really ready for this, would have never suggested it right now (I'd prefer a full nights sleep before tackling this), but what's better than him doing it himself?? Here he is showing off his "big boy pants."

Other than that, the week's been pretty uneventful. We made a trip back to the library...first one with William...and checked out half of the children's section. I love how Philip gets so excited about his "new" books. The library rocks because it's the only place you can go and bring home whatever you like for FREE!

Yesterday, Philip, William, and I went to Heron Lakes for Cooper Ashbee's 5th birthday party. Philip sat with me in a chair for an hour (despite much prodding to go jump in) before asking, "Mom, will you come with me to put my toes in." So we did. Then he let me lift him into the baby pool. He jumped right out. He got back in. Then he proceeded to walk around the pool holding on to the edge...it's only 1 1/2 feet deep mind you. Next, he splashed a little. Progress. I never could get him to jump in or put his head under. He's so cautious. I guess it's a good thing. I wondered the whole time how different it would have been if Daniel was there. Would they be braver together??

One more story...this morning Philip lay in bed with me while I fed William. He told me that when he gets bigger he'll go to work. I said, "Baby, don't rush it. Being at home with Mommy is much more fun." He replied with, "I have to go to work to pay money and go to long meetings." Too cute although I think it filled his Daddy with some guilt!

Worm Day

Worm day...yes, you heard correctly, Worm Day. My plan for the summer is to entertain the boys with some fun projects to help pass time while William is napping. This week...worm day. I built it up big Wednesday night at bedtime. Philip woke up Thursday morning asking when would worm day start??

We began with a ride in the Gator to find the best place to search for worms.

When we found the perfect spot, we began the digging process.

I am sad to report that we dug in several spots. The boys looked so hard...but to no avail. The worms were in hiding. They did not seem to care. They were simply having a ball digging in the dirt. They filled up buckets of dirt...then dumped them out in search of hidden worms!

When they grew tired of searching, we headed into the kitchen to whip up an after lunch treat. We started by crushing up graham crackers in a bag. For two little guys who love to run around tearing things up and shouting "bang", this was a blast. Then we made chocolate pudding. The graham cracker crumbs went in first to represent sand and next the pudding to represent dirt. We topped them off with gummy worms! The boys love to help in the kitchen and seem to really enjoy this activity.

Last, an art project. We took some yarn, glue, and food coloring and made "worms" to put on construction paper. I let Daniel simply play with the "worms" on his paper. For Philip, I wrote out the word worm and he traced the letters with his yarn (with some help).

Perhaps the most fun, though, was watching Daniel eat his treat. What a mess!! All in all, a lot of fun!!

The rest of the week was uneventful. We did have a fun trip to the playground with Mary and Annie. It was packed...first day out of school for public schools. I got tickled when a little girl persistently tried to grab Daniel's hand and take him around the playground. He was not having it. At one point, she called him a baby. His response....he pointed to the stroller and said, "Baby William" and then pointed to himself and said "Tank Tank". Love it!!!

Baby WooWoo

Baby William (aka Baby WooWoo) is now a month old. At his doctor's appointment yesterday, he weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 1/4 inches long! I was impressed with his weight gain! He's an easy baby...rarely fusses and is starting to stretch to 4 1/2 to 5 hours at night!

The boys adore him. Daniel is constantly loving on him...usually leaving green snot stuck to his head. Whenever William is in the room, Daniel says, "Hi Baby WooWoo". The other night I was home alone with all the boys while Chris was at a meeting. I put the older boys to bed early and then nursed William and put him in bed too. Thinking everyone was asleep, I went downstairs to clean the kitchen. Suddenly, I hear William cry out; followed by, "Nigh Nigh Baby WooWoo, Nigh Nigh." I think Daniel knew Mommy was done with boys for the day!

Philip is more interested in talking to William. He loves to tell him all the things he is going to teach him. If I need to vaccum or clean up while Daniel is napping and William is awake, I can leave William in his bouncy seat on the porch with Philip. He will sit and talk to him while I work! How nice!!