December 2007

This month we scored a ton, well maybe 75 pounds, of hand me down clothes from our friends the Rounds Boys. We piled all of the the clothes on the floor and Andrew and James played all afternoon in their mosh pit of clothes. We came away with quite a few clothes, saving me a trip to the store to find pants to fit Andrew. In this picture James, face down in cotton, is wearing the Christmas sweater from one of the Rounds' early Christmas cards.

The clothes are much appreciated. You can see we were starting to run out of clothes in the right size.....or maybe the Boys just like stylish in their jeans.

James got a really nice new coat, but we had to leave the dog behind.

A day at the Rounds House is always actioned packed. Andrew got to ride a horse, and James got to go dancing with an older lady (not an OLD lady, a lady older than James). And no one went to the Emergency Room so all in all, it was a great day. The boys get tuckered out and crashed when they got home. We all got a good nights rest thanks to Schanna, aka Mrs Rounds.




Bedtime

For the past couple months I have been working with Andrew after bath time to put on his own jammies. One night he decided to put the jammies on backwards. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it, so off he went to bed with jammies on backwards.

After jammie time, then it's off to read books. We have been spending a lot of time on the ABC book. We seem to spend a lot of time on 'C'....C is for Cake. And then Andrew goes on to tell me who eat cakes.....Tammy, Chip, Mommy, Daddy, Brother, Heather, John, Patrick. Pretty much everyone in Andrew's universe eats cake in Andrew's head.

The Girl Next Door

Andrew has become quite interested in cars, trucks, buses, pretty much anything on the road. Each morning as we leave for daycare, Andrew announces when he sees the neighbors car. But lately he has taken a fascination with Tammy's car. One morning he came in at 4am to ask 'Where Tammy Car?". We think he has a crush on Tammy, who gave him a hat to wear at Halloween. Andrew is always in high fashion, he continues to sport the 2-hat look. Look out Tammy's husband!

Andrew has moved on to selecting Tammy's next car. So far the front runners are BMWs and Range Rovers.

Hoof 'n' Mouth

This month the boys got the first of many daycare illnesses: Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. It sounded a lot worse than it was. They just get grumpy for a couple days and don't eat much for a couple days. Since they are in daycare we needed to get a note from the pediatrician that said they were not contagious. The pediatrician looked at us like we were from Mars because kids in daycare are always infectious with something. So back to daycare they went after an unplanned vacation day. And when Andrew ate 6 meatballs for dinner, we figured he was ok.

Balls, Balls and more Balls

Last year my niece Megan gave us a bag of 100 balls. We had been holding back on breaking them out until we really needed to. One snowy/rainy day was the perfect day. Andrew enjoyed trying to throw the ball, and occasionally it would go forward. James, forever the food hound, tried to eat the balls.

After an hour we tried to round up all 100 balls to stow them back in the bag. Somehow 100 balls came out but 98 went n.

In the video Andrew is trying to throw the balls up to hit the fan, without much luck fortunately

Andrew has been working on his too-fast-for-the-human-eye throwing. You see the wind up then the ball is gone and you see a quick flash of a ball .

Driving

Andrew's Kazakh driving skills are still developing. He was pushing James around, slammed into the doorway, then kept going. More than once he will be pushing James on the car when they leave the room, then seconds later the car returns with no passenger.

Art

Another month, and another batch of artwork. We found a quite disturbing Pirate Andrew paper doll at the bottom of the bag from daycare. We're not sure why it's disturbing, but it's just odd.

And we also had a another barnyard extravaganza. It took me a while to figure out that the red thing was a barn, because the chicken was quite disproportionate, and the monster sheep was downright scary.

Walking

James started walking this month. After months of creeping along the sofa and table, he started taking a couple steps, then walking across the room. I am not sure who was more excited, Mommy and Daddy, or Andrew. One day when the boys were home from daycare, Andrew and I were walking James around the house all day, each of us holding one of his hands. James was also very excited that he was walking, with a grill from side to side. After a long day of walking, James likes to chow down.

One night Rob was walking James down the hall to bed, just like he walked Andrew down the hall at the same age.

The other night, just before bedtime they boys were running up and down the hall, expending every last iota of energy. Andrew make sit down the hall just a little quicker than James.










Please Place the Item in the Bag

One Sunday afternoon when Andrew was in a quite energetic mood, off to the foodstore we went. I usually go through the UScan aisle because there are fewer items in hands reach for him. We had a rather large order to scan, and Andrew soon grew antsy. After each item is scanned the computerized female voice announces "Please Place The Item In The Bag". Andrew decided he would practice his new found skill of repeating words. So for the next 100 items he announced "Please Place the Item in the Bag" which comes out sounding like "Peeeeeas Pace Ida Ih Bahhhhg" which grew louder and louder with each item. As any parent will tell you, you kind of tune things like this out. Well, I guess he became quite loud without me noticing because more and more people stopped to see what the problem was. Soon enough we were out of the store and back in the car, where he continued the chant, and I am sure he repeated it in his sleep.

Dipping

Potty training attempts continue. We are still at the 'oops, too late' phase. Andrew will tell us seconds after the event occurs, that he went. But he continues to sit on the potty before bath time, and see just how far he can dip his rear end into the toilet before feeling the ohh-so cold toilet water on his tushy.

In other potty training news, we have braved the grounds of the Toilet Paper roll again. For a year we have been living is no toilet paper on the roll because Andrew sees it as his job to grab it and run, allowing it to unravel. He seems to have gotten over than fascination for now, and I cam glad to have toilet paper back on the roll on the toilet paper dispenser.

This month's Cheap Entertainment

We have returned to Fun With Diaper Genie Rings. Once James came along, our Diaper Genie consumption increased, and so did our inventory of empty refill canisters. We now have enough Diaper Genie rings to build some nice towers. This will keep not only Andrew, but also James busy for hours. And with a nice deodorizing scent. Here is Andrew, with his Stoic Soviet facial expressions next to his creation. It's times like these that I am sure the Orphanage Director is proud.

Here is the oh-so-exciting-only-a-parent-can-watch 3 minute video

Driving Mr Andrew, or Andrew Positioning System (APS)

At the parenting class we took this fall one of the things they suggested to keep the kids entertained in the car was to have them tell you when the stop light turns red or green. This has really turned out to be a lot of fun because Andrew is totally excited about helping and it can turn a cranky child into a focused happy child instantly. And James likes it when Andrew screams GEEEEEEEEEEN MOMMY. Andrew has decided he needs to expand his car responsibilities to directions as well. When we reach an intersection he will point his hand and say "This Way!". It's usually the route we normally travel, but sometimes he vears off course like suggesting random exits off the highway. One day we will go on a driving adventure and follow all of his 'This Way" directions and wee where we end up.

Wii Gonna Be Rich

One morning i was at Wal-Mart doing some Christmas shopping and they announced 'Attention Wal-MArt shoppers, the shipment of Wii's has arrived". I got caught up in the frenzy of racing grandmothers to the pick up counter and bought one before realizing we did not need one. So I figured I would post it on eBay and make a bundle since they are such a hot item. Much to my dismay the supply was now exceeding the demand and I made a whopping $25.

Christmas

Christmas is upon us, and so came our first broken ornament. On a high shelf, not high enough obviously, we had the stocking hung with not much care. Andrew pulled on them, brought down all of the stockings along with this ornament, formerly a kitty cat dressed as Santa. No real cats were harmed in the incident.

Christmas Eve we let Andrew pick out his clothes for the day, and he came up with this Awesome Outfit. Half Hand Me Down, Half Sweat Pants from Kazakhstan. Total Cost: $1. Value When Andrew Starts Dating: Priceless.

Christmas morning we had the traditional French Toast...well, ok it's only been 2 years now. But we do look forward to making the kids sit through breakfast before letting them open gifts.

Here is Andrew from last year. As you can see in a year we have dispensed with the need for bibs most of the time, and moved James up to a booster seat about a year before we moved Andrew out of the high chair.

And for even more excitement, watch the videos. Andrews eats French Toast and pads of butter, and James eats French Toast until the syrup bottle attacks.






Then it was off to open presents. As you might have guessed, James enjoyed the wrapping paper and boxes more than the presents....until a couple days later when he discovered that toys are fun. Andrew continued his tradition of Cleaning Tool Christmas with a Swivel Sweeper this year. In less than 24 hours, he vacuumed enough to have to empty it 3 times.

Andrew's Cleaning Tool from 2006: a Swiffer. He is still as excited to play with it today, although he has passed the Swiffer Torch on to James.

This is Andrew's way of Saying "We'll see you on the other side of December in 2008"

November 2007

Jammie Time
One night I thought it would be cute to dress the boys in matching pajamas and take a picture. After 20 pictures, this was the best I could do, with James sticking his fingers in his ears and Andrew's head cut off. We bought the smaller version of the Jammie's before we left for Kazakhstan and then we received the bigger set as a shower gift for Andrew. When we were in Kazakhstan Andrew wore the smaller outfit several times, and it's hard to imagine Andrew that small with James bursting out of it at the same age Andrew was when he wore it.

James' First Birthday
James had his first birthday the beginning of the month. We celebrated it Taylor-style by having a play date with ours friends the Rounds and their 3 boys to tire everyone out, then with our 2 neighbors at home. Nothing but the best for James...a store bought Entenmens cake. Actually I had to buy 2, Rob accidentally ate the first one the night before his birthday, after all who would think that an Entenmens cake would be a birthday cake.



James was quite smiley with his cake, unlike Andrew a year earlier who had his serious face on.









Cheap Entertainment
In our on-going theme of Thrifty Parenting we are continuing our quest for cheap entertainment. Any parent will tell you that a cardboard box is more fun than the expensive toy in the box. This month we have moved on to balloons. Not just any balloons, but the ones left over from the blood drive at work. Not only did the boys have fun with them, Uncle Scott also enjoyed slamming them between his hands at Thanksgiving making a VERY loud sound which was greeted with endless giggle.

Since the balloons were filled with helium that caused issues when they floated to the peak of the cathedral ceiling. That problem was remedied by Uncle Scott standing on a kitchen chair and lifting Andrew above his head to snatch the balloon string. Yes, it was unsafe and fun but no one was hurt. Later when the balloons floated up again, Andrew got the chair out climbed up and tried to jump up to reach it, but he was about 7 feet too short. Then we realized a long handled mop worked just fine to reach them. Duh.

When the enjoyment of balloons runs thin, then it's off to the super market. They have race car or fire engine shopping carts, I am not quite sure which it is. At the beginning of the shopping trip the boys are quite content in the cart as seen here, but by the time we reach the canned fruit aisle the mayhem is starting to brew and the brotherly rivalry starts. By the time we hit the frozen food aisle, someone is getting kicked or pushed out of the cart to an audience of fellow shoppers.



When the excitement of free shopping carts peaks, then we head home for the ultimate in cheap entertainment: shadows. Andrew has been entertained by shadows for a couple weeks now. He likes his shadow, mommy's shadow, the shadow of the cow puppet and for the ultimate entertainment: the shadow of a latex balloon which not only is a shape but also takes on the color of the balloon. Unfortunately when the sun sets, the fun goes away. One night we were driving in the car and Andrew was quite upset that he lost his shadow.

Thanksgiving
This year we had Thanksgiving at our house with my brother's family and my Dad and his wife. Small enough to be enjoyable, but large enough to enforce the Kiddie Table for Andrew and James. We had the traditional turkey, stuffing blah blah blah, and we also had this fine centerpiece made from the kids' puppets to represent our favorite meats: Chicken, Pig and Cow (on the side you can't see). I could not find the turkey puppet, and I could not bring myself to adding a horse, regardless of the Kazakh meat preferences.


The day after thanksgiving most people go out shopping, instead we went to our friends the Greening's house for Black Friday Breakfast. It was really just an excuse to get the kids out of the house and burn off energy (read: Trash a house). It was a chilly morning so we had to bundle up the kids. James was so warm and toasty he fell asleep in under a minute, which was a miracle because Andrew, in the muck-a-luck hat, was busy singing Pooh Bear songs while grasping his Pooh Bear Baby Wipe dispenser.


Play Time
For James' birthday the neighbors got him a ride on toy. James sits and Andrew pushes. One day Andrew decided to make a train and push all of the other ride on toys. Jame usually enjoys this until the leisurely ride means a full speed crash into the wall. After a while Andrew grew bored of pushing and decided to cluster all of the toys in the middle of the room, then drive around them and spin out. I think this is a sign he is out growing the ride on toy he got over a year ago.



Young James is starting to walk on his own. One day he was pulling himself up on a walking toy getting ready to walk around, when the Krazy Kazakh came flying in, causing him to re-think his strolling plans.



When the boys finally do settle down, they like to sit at the play table and color. Well, Andrew colors and James eats the non-Toxic markers.














Bath Time
One night we (read: I) thought it would save time to put both of the kids in the tub at once. It was an experience. Between the tub farting ,trying to wash 2 kid's hair, it was an experience. I also don't think James liked it when Andrew tried to wrestle him in the tub. Certain body parts need to be clothed prior to contact sports.


After bath time, it was time for goofy matching pajamas and story time.


This brings me to another new favorite tub past time of Andrew's, one I hope will not continue. Let's call it submarining: He lays back in the tub so his body is just under the surface of the water, then 1 body part in particular 'surfaces' and sprays like a fountain. Of the joys of having little boys.



Bedtime
Andrew's bedtime ritual is getting a bit easier, at least once he gets into the tub. Turning out the light has become a piece of cake. I ask Andrew which of the stuffed animals he wants to help blow out the light and he picks up the animal and pretends to make him blow out the light. One night it was CHICKEN. The Chicken sings the chicken dance, then dances it. He takes it to eat, to sleep and to daycare. After a couple days at Day Care they were happy to see us take it home, only to have it return the next day. His teacher gave it too him, so we don't feel too bad. But usually it is Pooh Bear who blows out the light, and then blows the door closed.

James is a piece of cake at bedtime. We rock him for a couple minutes and he is out. Then it's off to the crib where he flops over and sleeps for 11 hours, 12 if we are lucky. but when he wakes up he goes from pleasant to cranky hungry in about 35 seconds. Unfortunately it takes us more than 35 seconds to get every dressed and ready for breakfast.

Hair Cut

Andrew was in dire need of a hair cut. Here's the after and before (with chocolate birthday cake) pictures.

TV Repairman
A couple of years ago we bought a new TV and there are a couple moving parts on the inside. We had had to replace just about every one. Why call a qualified professional when you can think you can do it yourself. This month was the most difficult one to replace, so we called in a specialist, a guy Rob work's with. Andrew thought he would lend a hand by wielding a screw driver to a piece of electronics that cost more then the present value of his college fund. He still continues to play with the screw drivers, but only to 'fix' his Fischer Price toys. BTW, the TV was fixed for the price of a pizza and Italian Hoagie.

November Artwork
This month's artwork features an abstract depiction of what our family looks like to Andrew. I can only guess that each of the family members is a color and the colored lines in no way are meant to symbolize our actual shape.

The week after Thanksgiving Andrew brought home this brown gem. It's about 2 feet long. When asked what it was first he said "Tehhd" (turd) and then "Cat Pooh". We are not sure what it is supposed to be, perhaps a turkey leg or a tree of some sort.

Get Ready for Christmas with the Taylor Elves.

October 2007

Parenting Classes

This month we started parenting classes. We are learning many things, such as cave-man speak. Apparently I blabber too much to the kids and all of the words confuse them, so now instead of "please take your pajamas off and get dressed so we can go eat breakfst" I say "pajamas.....shirt". It seems to be working, on the kids and Rob. I am looking for the magic one-word phrase that captures the essence of "please put all of your toys away".

Holy Water

The middle of the month we went out to Rob's parents' to get James baptised at his mother's church. At the beginning of the service is the children's sermon and we took both boys up. All of the other kids sat quietly on the floor about 5 feet from the Reverand. Not Andrew; he stood about 6 inches from the Reverand and ate his little baggie of GoldFish for the 5 minutes the sermon lasted. Then towards the end, Andrew lets out the World's longest gold fish fart. Luckily it was not too loud, but I certainly could hear it (and smell it).....and the little girl with her nose to Andrew's butt made note of it for others in case they missed it. Luckily, Jesus is forgiving.

James did very well, although he was fascinated by the Reverand's beard and kept trying to grab for it while he held him at the baptismal font. Andrew on the other hand just wanted to play splashy splashy. After the service we returned to Rob's parents' for a picnic and some Sunday vacuuming.

Chow Time

James is now moving on to self-feeding, otherwise known as face painting with oatmeal. Luckily the nice folks at daycare are also working with him so we have some help. After the parenting class they said we should 'empower' our children; We are letting Andrew pour his own cereal and milk (with a bit of assistance). One day the Cheerios let loose and he exclaimed "MESS!". But he's been doing well, and I have even been giving him the normal ceramic bowl we use, and he has not broken one yet, although he likes to bang the spoon and our table is now Distressed Formica-- the latest style.

Andrew often dawdles at breakfast and I need something to motivate him to finish up and put his bowl in the dishwasher. Andrew is not a normal child. One day I offered him his 1/2 teaspoon of fish oil (omega 3 for big brains) and he came running over to gulp it down. As if that was not weird enough, the next day I lured him with a snack bag of prunes to which he declared "PUUUUUUUNES", gobbled down breakfast and came to retrieve his treat. Luckily this was on a daycare day, as the prunes deliver 4 - 6 hours later.

We have also been letting Andrew retrieve the milk jug from the fridge himself. Oddly he calls it Muck, which is that I called it for quite a long time as a kid. One evening he pulled out the milk jug and it was almost empty. He shook it and then looked at me as if to say 'Can I drink from the jug?". I figured he might as well, since he will be doing it anyway in a couple years. He slowly lifted it to his mouth like it was a cup, but nothing was coming out. So he threw his head back and tried to chug it, resulting in a milk shower. Note to self: Milky clothes can not sit in the laundry basket for a week.

Halloween

Someone gave us these cool glasses at Halloween. Andrew calls them EYEBALLS. He put them on one night and announced to me "I do'ed it". I tried to correct his grammar, but he just looked at me and proudly said "Andrew do'ed it".

The kids dressed up as a Referee (actually he was the neighbor, who ref's on the weekends) and a furry green thing, or a soccer field. I bought a really cool Boo! balloon at Wal-Mart to tie to the stroller, but Andrew chose to liberate it on the 3rd house. So the rest of the night all I heard was "Bye Bye Balloon". James was the lazy man's trick or treater; He sat in the front seat of the stroller all night while I made Andrew climb in and out at every house. Sometimes Andrew was a bit adventurous and would bolt past the front door of a stranger's house; He surprised one guy who was sitting in the family room putting together a computer while his wife tended to the door.

We chose not to partake in the time honored tradition of pumpkin carving. Instead we went with the new-age traditon of slapping stickers on the pumpkin, topped off by hugging the pumpkin. In Kazakhstan if you hug a birch tree they say it gives you energy. i am not sure what hugging a pumpkin offers. Stickers are a lot more forgiving than sharp objects and gooey insides.

Here's Andrew and James as the furry green monster, a year apart.

Winter is upon us and so comes the new batch of embarassing winter clothing. No, he's doing his super-model-distant-look-pose, there was a tractor trailer unloading wood from Home Depot at the end of the street and he froze mid-step while mailing a letter.

Another stellar month of bizarre art work. This month James checks in with his first offering with Sticker Art.

Top 10 Things We Thought We'd Never Say

10. Don't lick the book

9. Please don't step on your brother's face

8. Is that a shoe in the toilet?

7. Don't stick the toothbrush up your nose.

6. Did that smell come from you?

5. Yes, you can sleep with the chicken tonight.

4. Put the broom down.

3. Put the vacum down.

2. How did the oatmeal get on the ceiling?

1. Get your tongue out of your brother's ear, please.

A year has gone by and Andrew sure how grown. Andrew 1 year ago and this year

The many faces of James