April 2008

April 2008
You know you are a Daddy when you have reached this level of Fashion Faux Pas. How many other hip Dad's out there wear shorts, black socks and black shoes to grill dinner on the patio?

OK, you can put your hands down now.

Hair

Andrew's dislike of getting his hair combed continues. I think in the past year I have combed his hair less than a dozen times in the morning. But I think we might have found the trick. One night one of our friends, Lauren, was coming over for dinner. I asked Andrew if he wanted to comb his hair, which he replied with an immediate and emphatic "NO!". Then I said "Lauren is coming to see you". And we came running over and said with a sweet little boy shy voice "Comb hair please". when Andrew is not running from hair combing, he hides out under the sink with his brother, and their favorite orange plunger.

Words

James is still the quiet one, although it is a challenge to get a word in edgewise with chatterbox Andrew. He now points to the kitty cats and says "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" which is James-Speak for "Kitty". He is a man of few words, but he does like his broom.

Worms

Sometimes the rough and tumble boy in the dirt has girlie moments. One morning after a night time rain shower we walked out to the mailbox. The driveway was littered with worms. He squealed like a little girl when within 5 feet of a worm, demanding they were chasing him. OK, I can understand being afraid of mice because they move fast. But a worm? You need to be real patient to watch them move, let alone believe they are attacking you.

Chow Time

No one ever said meal time would be pretty with kids. James has taken to strategically wearing his food, like this "banana shoulder" day. And there is no finer sign of a good meal than showing off your belly.

One night Andrew had waaaaay to much to eat and his belly was quite large. At bath time when he stripped off his clothes he looked down and said "Hey! Where did my p*nis go ?" The next morning after his tummy had processed dinner, he found his dear old friend.

My Money

Andrew's fascination with coinage continues. Here's are some action shots of discovering a coin, then safely stowing it in his pocket. Unfortunately he would take the coins to daycare and we have received several notices that he is not to bring coins to daycare....and they tape the offending coins to a 3x5 card, tormenting Andrew since he can see the money, but can not touch it.

Potty Time

We had major milestone this month. After a dinner chock full of Bush Baked Beans Andrew delivered his first yule log on the potty in over a year. This anomaly was met with much joy, celebration, high fives and hopes that more will follow in the near future. Andrew was just as excited as we were. Although when I said "Andrew Poop In Potty", he quickly returned with "Noooo, Andrew Poop on Mommy". Not a pleasant image for anyone involved. Most of the time we catch Andrew squeezing one out under his table with a quite concentrated face.

Two weeks later, he had another potty delivery. I am trying to contain my excitement.

Girl Watchers
A while ago when Girl Scout Cookies were in season, the boys would run to the door when the doorbell rang. They were delighted to see the Girl Scouts and would watch the little girls walk down the driveway....then down the street.....then around the circle.....then up the street. they would not say a word, they would just watch them from afar.

Rocks

With spring time comes the much awaited "outside time". At the mention of the "O" word, James will run and get his shoes and got and hop up and down. I thought only puppies behaved like that. With all of the rocks we have in the backyard now, there's not much need for toys, except maybe a dump truck to haul the rocks.

Books

Recently we went through the book archives from the books we had as kids. I can honestly say they just don't have books like they used to. I ran across the "Ice Cream Cone Coot" book which one of my sisters used to read to me. Andrew is fascinated by the drug-inspired art work and verbage from the 1970's. Apparently the book was a favorite among other kids too, and some whackos think it's valued at over $200.

Until Next Month, the Taylor Brothers Say Bye.