A lesson in telling Thomas and Michael apart.

While at dinner tonight I asked Thomas and Michael if people at school were able to tell them apart. They said that some people were able to tell them apart.  They continued to go on and give me a lesson in telling them apart.  It was too cute not to share.  Apparently there are three ways people are able to tell them apart.

1.  Their shoes.  Thomas has green Nike shoes and Michael has red Adidas shoes.
2.  Their freckles.  Thomas has a freckle on his nose and Michael doesn't.

3.  Their hair. Thomas says "mine is straight and Michael's is curved".  I had to dig a little deeper to figure this one out.  What he was referring to was their hair neckline.  

Now you know all you need to know to tell Thomas and Michael apart.

Bath tub experiment

Thomas and Michael were playing in the bath tub, while David and I were cleaning up supper.  I walk in to check on them to find the bath water a shade of pink and very bubbly.  The fairly new bottle of body wash was in the bath tub and now half empty.  Thomas proceeds to say that it was Michael's fault.  Michael wanted to do an experiment.  The experiment was to see what color the bath water would change with body wash in it.  Well they learned that the water will turn red, when you put red soap into it.  They also learned that when you fill the bath with soap, it gets very bubbly and it is hard not to get soap in their eyes.

I wonder what other things our inquiring minds will want to find out about.

Chores, chores and more chores

The picking up toys battle never seems to end at our house.  I had seen an idea many times on Pinterest about a toy ransom box.  Unpicked up toys get put in the box and the only way to get them out was to complete a chore.   I put off putting it into action because I had dreams of getting all creative with it and printing off chore slips to pick from and a cut decoration for the box.  Last week I bit the bullet and put it into action.  I warned Thomas and Michael that toys left out would get put in my box until they did a chore to earn it back.

The first night I gathered a few things for my box including Michael's favorite hat. He was none to happy when we went to leave the next day and he couldn't take it with him.  We got home and Michael discovered he vacuum.  

Later that night while picking up toys, I gently reminded them that what was left out would go into my box and they would have to do a chore to get it back out.  I told Michael he should pick up his crocs and he said "It's okay mommy, I like doing chores!"  We will see how long that lasts!  In the meantime my floors have never been this clean!

Wind Meter

Thomas' Wind Meter

Today while waiting for lunch Thomas was outside inventing.  He created a wind meter. The job of the wind meter is to tell you if the weather is right for flying a kite.  According to Thomas if it blows backwards then it is okay weather to fly a kite, but if it doesn't move at all, or blows forwards then it is not kite flying weather.

Thomas came in for lunch explained it to Micheal.  Michael then told me that "Thomas made an invention".  After lunch they went outside to play.  I look out the window and see them standing on a stool trying to get high enough to hang the wind meter.  They weren't having much luck.  They brought everything they could think of to get them tall enough to insert the stick in the hole on the clothes line pole.  They tried stacking various stools (stools that really shouldn't be stacked).  They never did try to stand on any of their stacked stools as they were too wobbly.  I finally suggested they try the small picnic table.  This was not an easy task as they had to move it from the porch to the yard.  They worked together and got it down there.  They were almost tall enough, they could get the stick in the hole, but because it was at an angle they couldn't get it all the way through.  Finally a couple of neighbor kids came by and helped them.

They worked really hard on this.  It did appear that Thomas was definitely in charge of this operation.  They didn't get frustrated or want to quit because they couldn't get tall enough.   I wonder what other adventures will be had and inventions will be created this summer.

17 months

Mom's big helper.  

Little Brother

A happy boy!

Mom did my hair!

Ethan is now 17 months.  Most times he seems like he is 1 1/2 going on 5 1/2.  He does a very good job of keeping up with his big brothers.  All three boys get along really well.  He has been walking for a while now. Now he runs to keep up with Thomas and Michael.

We are beginning to hear more and more words from him.  One of his latest is 'mi' which translates to mine! Some other words include car, ball, bird, mama, dada, bye-bye, night night and this.  Even though he has few words he doesn't  have a hard time making his needs known.

Some of his favorite things include, sitting in his high chair watching the birds out the window, eating, opening the cabinets, pulling out a box of crackers and helping himself, even if we just finished eating.  He loves to tell   Thomas and Michael good night with a big hug.  He loves wrestling with his dad and brothers.  Blankets aren't for covering up with but laying on top of. Ethan loves to brush his teeth, usually with his brother's toothbrush.  Apparently his own brush isn't good enough!  Such a silly boy!

Nothing makes him madder than seeing his brothers outside, but not being able to get out the door to be with him.

Books and puzzles are quickly becoming favorites!

Sniffles

We were eating a nice family dinner the other night.  Most of us were finished and Ethan was definitely  done.  He throws his plate, fork and spoon over board.  David says in a stern voice "Ethan we don't do that."  I'm in the other room and can't see Ethan but all the sudden I hear sniffles, like he is trying to hold back tears.  I think he might have fake sniffles, but David said they were real.  I am cracking up in the kitchen and David is trying so hard not to laugh in front of him.

I get Ethan out and make him help me pick up the plate and silverware.  I head to get the vacuum. (carpeted dinning room brilliant!)  When I come back he is picking food up off the floor and putting it on the high chair.

It's good he listens to David because when I raise my voice at him he totally ignores me.

Appendicitis??? or not???

One night a couple of weeks ago I picked the boys up from school and Michael practically falls asleep on on the two minute drive home.  He gets out of the car crying and can't really explain what is wrong.  We get in the house and I finally get it out of him that his stomach hurts.  I have him lay down to rest and take his temperature as he feels pretty warm.  He was only running a low grade temperature.  As I'm working on dinner I keep coming to check on him and try to get more information out of him. He tells me that it is the right side of his stomach.  I asked him if he pooped that day, and he said no, but he did the day before.  The thought of constipation  crossed my mind, but I didn't think it would be that bad after only a day. My mind starts wondering about appendicitis, David of course has a late meeting and I'm home with all three boys.

Michael falls asleep in the chair after he didn't want to get up and come to the table for supper.  I'm really starting to get worried.  David finally gets home and we start deciding what is wrong and what we should do. Michael in the mean time didn't seem to feeling better.  We call Grandma Susie (the nurse) to get her opinion.  We decide to take him in to the ER.  I ask Michael to get up and put on his shoes and he tells me he can't.  I bring his shoes to him and I have to put them on him because he can't.  At this point he tells me that can't walk to the car.  I am really starting to get worried.

We drive the couple of blocks to the hospital.  The ER in Abilene Kansas wasn't really hopping that night so we got right in.  We get in the room and he seems to perk up a bit.  While we are waiting to be seen he asks if I brought anything for him to do.  I pull out a notebook and pen.  He practices spelling the names of his classmates. Hmm, he seems to be doing a lot better.  We get seen by the PA and he tells me that he thinks it is just constipation, but we could run some labs to be sure.  I went back and forth about doing them, but I didn't want to have to make another trip to the ER, so we go ahead and get them.  Michael was a rockstar while getting his blood drawn.  I told him he might want to close his eyes or look away, but he wanted to watch.  No tears at all.  By this time it was approaching bed time and he is starting to get tired.  So he lays down and tries to rest while waiting for the results.

The labs come back and confirms that it isn't appendicitis!  Michael gets some stickers on our way out and is right as rain.  I'm sure the staff at the hospital thought I was nuts bringing him in because he didn't seem to be hurting too much.  All in all we were only there for about an hour and a half, not to bad.

We get home and he walks in all excited to show dad his stickers.  David can't believe this is the same kid I left with earlier that night.

Luckily the constipation didn't last too long.  He was able to go before school the next day.

Ethan is 15 Months Old

I can't believe where time is going.  Ethan is 15 months old already.  While home Christmas break He decided to take his first steps.  Within the last week or so he has just taken off.  He will now walk all over the house and does more walking than crawling. 

As you can see by this video he loves to help Mommy.  His new thing is putting his dirty diaper in the trash after a diaper change.  I made the mistake of throwing a diaper away while over at friends house and boy did that upset him.  Since that time, he won't even wait for you to put his pants back on.  As soon as you snap up his onsie, he is up and grabbing the diaper and off to the trash can.

He also loves to help pick up.  He does a great job of picking all the blocks up that he dumps onto the ground.  He is mommies big helper when it comes to laundry.  His favorite part is closing the washer and dryer doors.

He lets us know what he is thinking, we just can't always understand what it is he wants.

Ethan is very proud of his big brothers.  They are doing great in school.  Their teacher just asked mom and dad if she could send them to reading groups in a kindergarten classroom.  They love to read!  They have also been busy working on their writing skills as well.

Christmas in Africa

As we were driving home tonight and updating the boys as to Santa's location, which was in Africa.  Thomas says "Santa delivers presents to Africa"?  We reply "yes".  Thomas says "wow, that is cool and there aren't even any people in Africa".  We say, "Thomas there are people in Africa". Thomas says  "Oh, but do they have houses?"  "Yes, Thomas they have houses".  To finish the conversation "but the houses must kind of blend in".

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Tree

According to Michael we didn't decorate the Christmas tree today, we trimmed it!

One year old!

A belated birthday blog for Ethan. Ethan turned one on November 19th. We enjoyed a nice day celebrating with friends and family. Ethan loved his birthday cake.

Diving into it even before we are done singing. 

At his one year check up he weighed 18.8 pounds and is 30 inches long.  He is a happy and healthy one year old.  

Some of his favorite things to do include dancing to music, playing with balls, getting into mom's cupboards, trying to sneak into his big brother's room.  The bathroom is also one of his favorite places to play, especially the toilet.  He also enjoys wrestling with his dad and big brothers.

He is not walking yet, but will be soon.  He is starting to stand for a few seconds on his own.  He stands longer if he doesn't realize he is standing.  He loves to cruise along furniture and walk  if you are holding his hands.  

Happy Halloween!

Make your own free digital greeting

Ethan on the Couch

I put Ethan on the couch today and he started doing laps.  The best way to understand is to watch!  Enjoy! This kid is crazy!

10 months old

I'm 10 months old now and boy am I having fun.  Dad has a football which is so much fun to play with.  Check out the video of me having a ball with it.

Mom has finally decided to stop buying the mush she calls baby food.  I would much rather eating food with my hands or food with a little texture.  I love to eat baked beans, cheese, yogurt, bananas, smoothies, carrots, peas, grapes, cereal bars, and bread.  If it were up to dad I would be trying all kinds of different foods, but I always hear mom say, no he can't have that. My grin won't be toothless for very long as my two bottom teeth just pop up, ouch that hurt.  Maybe mom will let me try some new foods if I have some teeth. I am getting the hang of using a sippy cup, now I have to figure out how to tip the cup up and not lose my balance.

I love to wrestle with my dad and play with my big brothers.  We have so much fun.  The other night I got so upset because Thomas and Michael are always keeping me out of their room. I just want to see what's in their room.  My big brothers have just started playing soccer.  It is fun to sit and watch them play.

Mom is trying very hard to figure out if I am cruising along the couch or if I'm just so quick and getting down from the couch, crawling a bit and standing back up.  She will just have to keep watching me.  I do love to stand and look outside when the doors and windows are open.  The screen doors make a cool noise when I bang on them.  Cars are another one of my favorite things to play with.  I even make a fun car noise.  I have a stuffed Clifford dog that is fun to play with.  His nose tastes really good.

So long until mom lets me stay up long enough to get on the computer (computer keys are so much fun to band on!).

Bye Bye Baby Food

It saddens me to be writing this.  I've just decided a few days ago, that I am not buying any more baby food for Ethan.  The kid doesn't have any teeth, but he doesn't want much to do with baby food.  Some of his favorite foods are baked beans, yogurt, cottage cheese, bread, cheese, nutrigrain bars and pretty much anything he can pick up with his fingers and put into his mouth.  I can't believe how fast my baby is growing up.

Household Happenings

Read on to enjoy a few of the conversations that have been had around our house lately.

This is what Michael said after hearing that Michael was going to take his lunch on the day turkey fritters were going to be served.  "Thomas you don't like turkey fritters?  How can you not like turkey fritters?  They are my favorite!  I love them!  What are turkey fritters?"

Thomas talking about their jobs at school.  "I thought when it said day off, it meant you didn't have to come to school"

Michael after hearing about the 1 million dollar prize for the winner of America's Got Talent.  "Wow (with really big eyes)  that's a lot of money, I could buy three toys."

Ethan making car noises, while he plays with cars.  I know not really a conversation, but super cute.  I"m trying to get a video, but when he sees me he crawls straight for the camera.

Most nights, Thomas admits to being tired.  He must be having too much fun at school.

Michael no sooner than we begin walking to the car after I pick them up.  "You didn't ask what my job was today"

kisses

This is the conversation I overhear as the twins are in their room and I'm working in the kitchen.  I know that Thomas is coloring and Michael has just walked in.  Thomas says "Do you know what this is?"  Michael "No".  Thomas "kisses, that means it is for a girl".  Me in my head "Oh no, not already!".  I go to tell David about this little conversation and when I come back into the kitchen, I hear them talking about Grandma and Aunt Danielle.  I ask "Who is that kiss for"  Thomas replies "Grandma Mel".  Whew that makes me feel better.

Cookie Caper

The other night I decided I was going to open a package of Oreo cookies that were in the pantry.  I go and get them out to find they have already been opened.  I figure that David opened them and put them back on the shelf.  Mad that he had some cookies without sharing with me, I pour myself a cup of milk and take them out to the living room.  I'm not planning on sharing any cookies at this time.  I ask him about the cookies and he denies it.  He promises me he didn't open the cookies.  If the didn't open them, then who did.  David thinks it is the twins.  I doubt they are able to open the sealed package.  We decide to investigate in the morning.

As we are getting ready to go the next morning, he asks them if they got into the cookies. They both deny it of course.  At first they try to blame Ethan, then the target me. I say it definitely wasn't me b/c it if was I wouldn't have put them back in the pantry and I would have eaten more than two cookies.

Really would this innocent face steal some cookies?

Who still don't know who stole the cookies from the cookie container, but we have our theories.

Taking our lunches

Aunt Danielle gave the boys super cool Darth Vader lunch boxes and Cars sandwich containers for their birthday.  It was like one of the first few days of school and the twins decided to take their lunch to school that day.  I pack them a healthy lunch to take with them. We use the lunch box and sandwich containers, that even came with a nice ice pack, and think we are set.  I pick them up from school, ask about their day, how their lunch was etc.  Then we get home and I go to put away and clean up their lunch boxes. Well come to find out both lunch boxes make it home, but the trash can got the sandwich containers and one ice pack.  Both boys were pretty upset about it.  I found it kind of hard not to laugh about the whole situation.

Lesson learned...remind children not to throw away sandwich containers.  It didn't even occur to David or I to talk with the boys about that.  I was actually kind of surprised that the school didn't have someone watching the trash cans on the first few days of school, especially since the building only has Kindergarten and 1st grade.

Off and running

Thomas and Micheal ready for their first day of Booster K.

The 2010 - 2011 school year is off and running.  I have started my new job at Chapman Middle School in Chapman KS. I'm really enjoying it so far.  It is great getting out and meeting new people.  I did manage to break my pinky toe at school already.  I was getting up from lunch table to throw away my trash and caught my toe on the leg of a chair. David keeps telling me I should be using duct tape to tape it.  I'll stick to regular medical tape.

Michael has found his seat and he is ready to go!

Ethan has adjusted well to going to daycare.  He still would rather nurse than drink formula from a sippy cup.  I'm betting he gets pretty thirsty during the day.  He is pulling himself up to a stand and loving every minute of it.  Except for when he is falling to the ground.  One of his favorite things to do while standing or sitting is jamming to the music.  He loves to dance.

Thomas getting ready to start the day!

The biggest change for us this school year is Thomas and Micheal have started school.  They are in the Booster K program at the public school.  Their class is 13 boys, who are old enough for kindergarten but not quite ready.  I'm not sure how their teacher does it, but she must have patience of a saint.  They are loving every minute of school.  One of the factors determining if they had a good day or not, is the job they had that day.  If they have a day off, it wasn't a good day at school.  The other major factor is if they had to move their clip off the fish bowl.  They haven't had to move their clip very often, so they must behaving themselves pretty well.    They have quickly figured out if they take their lunch to school, they don't get much of a sweet treat for dessert.  As we go through the menu deciding if they will take or buy their lunch one of the deciding factors is dessert.  If the menu has something like cake or cookies they will be buying their lunch from school.  I'm sure we will have many more good stories to share.