December 2008

Christmas
The boys thankfully slept in to the ripe old hour of 6:30 on Christmas morning. They still don’t totally get Christmas yet, so we all had a chance to enjoy opening the presents at a leisurely pace. James was quite proud of his backpack, which was a big as he was. And Andrew’s need to help disassemble electronics was curbed with a Handy Manny TV Set you can take apart. The creators were kind enough to make the screws loosen the part allowing the part to be removed without the screw actually coming out.





After presents it was time to move on to breakfast, French Toast again. Here’s a picture of Andrew last year and this year.












By mid afternoon we had moved on to snacks. I could not get the pomegranates opened fast enough for them. The bowl never made it to the table, they just sat on the carpet by the sink and ate them. They also started to peel off their clothes by noon. By the time uncle Scott and aunt Peg arrived, they were in their underwear.






Door
The boys were excited with the first snow. They like to look out the front door to check out snow, girl scouts, the young nurse across the street, the garbage truck or incoming visitors. Here’s another picture from April of this year.











Snow
The first couple times it snowed the boys were very excited. The snow was mixed with ice which meant daycare would close early. The boys were excited about driving home in the snow and wanted to go outside as soon as we got home (but not before Mommy stopped in an empty parking lot to explain "donuts"). James got dressed in snow boots, snowpants, a sweater, gloves, scarf, winter coat, and hat. After 5 seconds outside, he decided his Guatemalan blood was not meant for the cold. Meanwhile, Andrew was in jeans, t-shirt and his winter coat, refusing to wear hat, gloves, scarf or pretty much anything that would keep him warm. I had to drag Andrew in after an hour, but not before we went for a ride down the driveway on our sweet new sled. Sure, you might see it as a plastic recycling container, but to us it is a sled. This caused much confusion on Trash Day when Andrew asked what the men were doing with his sled.

Pellets
The wood pellet stove has been keeping the house warm all winter. Andrew is vigilant in making sure James does not touch the hot glass doors. James got a wee bit too close one day……that will be the first, last and only time that will happen. With the pellet stove comes bags of pellets, and lots of them. The boys are now using their sturdy Rainbow Lion as a work horse to help haul the 7 or8 40-pound bags we go through each week. If you make anything sound fun, they will be glad to help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88F5nE6fD6E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXGIrReVfRA





Tub
Rub a dub dub, two boys in a tub means lots of interesting moments. Do you know how loud 2 boys can scream in the tub just for the fun of hearing the echo? Did you know what water can be splashed about 6 feet up and over the shower door? Have you ever seen a ‘bubble’ contest in the tub? After this month I can answer all of those questions. Andrew is the same wild and crazy man outside of the tub as he is in. Here they are now, and this time last year.

Things I Thought I Would Never Say In Regards To Tub Time
7. No Sword Fights
6. Who made those bubbles?
5. No Belly Flops
4. No Wrestling
3. Use a washcloth. Don’t lick your brother clean.
2. Don’t spit water at your brother “private part”
1. Don’t giggle when your brother spits water at your “private part”


I am now sure that was going through their heads when they put the ski caps on, but this can't be good.









Andrew found some sunglasses on clearance at the supermarket. There was a huge out-of-season display made of cheap cardboard that looked as if it was about to topple over and he was drawn to it like Pooh Bear to Honey. Two foosdtore workers nearby kept a close eye on him, ready to pounch when he knocked the whole thing over as he randomly yanked sunglasses off the display to try them on. Without incident, he picked these "Gidget" glasses, then gently placed them into the cart, instructing me not to 'mash them' them with the bag of salad. The store workers finally were at ease and went back to their work.


Potty Time
With 1 boy potty trained we hoped the other would not be far behind. Recently James has decided that he does not need to wear a diaper; he takes it upon himself to remove his pants and diaper, place his diaper in the toilet, put his pants back on, then flush the toilet. There are several flaws in this plan, which I will leave up to the reader. Andrew also has the desire to Go Commando as he removes all the warms jammies we put on his after bath time. Forget the dilemma of boxers vs. briefs, these boys prefer to go au natural. They are really taking this ‘go green’ to reduce laundry a bit too far.

Art
Here is this month's sole art project that was blog worthy. It's a Turkey Hat, just try telling me it's not cute.










Moments That Make You Go “Hmmmmm”
From a daily daycare report: "Andrew made some better choices today. However, he emptied a bag of glitter and sequins on a friend and on the floor. He did help clean up. This is great'.
James dropped his cereal spoon on the floor. Andrew exclaims "Quick Mommy, pick it up before the germs hop on'.

At daycare Andrew has taken to sneaking up on the smaller kids in the class and roaring at them, causing them to crap their pants.

At daycare Andrew has started watching his teacher with an Eagle Eye. Whenever she turns her back, he runs and hides. When they can not find him, they have to call the office, declare a Lock Down, and his teachers and 3 directors go on a hunt for Andrew.

When Andrew is misbehaving, his teacher calls the director's office to have her come talk to him (this is new since he used to go to the Director's office which he enjoyed way too much). Once the call has been made, he goes from a spazmaniac, to a sweet little boy sitting on his cot for the pretty lady to come talk to him.

And here’s one that made me cry. We were sitting at dinner one night and Andrew asked where Mommy’s Mommy is, to which we replied “Heaven”. Andrew instantly says “I go see her sometime?” How do you reply to that ?