Falling for Candy

Did you know that you get candy for falling at the skating rink? Well as far as my boys are concerned you do!

We went to a skating party for Luke’s school tonight. It’s only the second time that they have been on real roller skates. The first time was a near disaster. Lucas spent most of the time tightly gripping onto me or the wall with both hands and he would get so, so mad when he would fall. Henry didn’t mind the falling as much, but he was just a mess. He pretty much would just kind of flail around trying to be funny. It made it nearly impossible to keep him upright--he almost took me down a few times!

They had a game where everyone sat on the rink while an arrow spun. They handed out laffy taffy to everyone. I told the boys they got it because they did such an awesome job of falling. Really I was just trying to salvage the rest of our outing, but it actually really helped! By the time we left that first time both boys were doing alright. It took a long time for them to make a lap, but they were definitely doing better then when we first got there. I pretty much expected the same this time.

I kept reminding them that it’s good to fall because that’s how you get better and plus you get candy! When they first got on the rink they both did awesome! I honestly don’t know how they got so much better! They both even skated a bit on their very own! I was way impressed with them! Lucas did a half of a lap completely by himself. When I went out to get him I realized he was crying, but still he did it on his own!

When we were there they kept telling everyone what fabulous falls they were making! At least they were being encouraging, even if it was a little off! Thank goodness for that candy.

The boys had a great time and there weren’t any tears, except for when Lucas was on his own. Don’t feel too bad for him, though. He went on his own in protest of leaving!

Josh's New Bed

Josh Oliver got to officially move into his big boy bed last week!

He totally loves it!

When we tell him to go to bed he runs in there and climbs into bed. He usually is back up pretty quickly, but at least he likes to go to his room!

He does pretty good about playing for just a little bit and then climbing into his bed to go to sleep.

Some days he’s a bit of a tornado--pulling everything out of his drawers--and a few days ago he got trapped under his bed, but really he’s doing excellent in there. He does make me a little nervous because I’ve found him standing on various things to look out the window, but he hasn’t fallen out of bed yet, so at least he‘s pretty safe when he‘s sleeping!

He’s actually been out of his crib since the beginning of December. He learned how to escape so he got to sleep on his mattress on the floor--it was a very fancy setup! It’s nice for him to be back to an actual nice room, although I definitely need to get stuff on the wall to break up the color.

My very favorite thing about it is checking on him in the middle of the night. He just looks so cute laying on his pillow in such a big bed!

FOUR!

My second boy is four now! How is that possible? I realize I’ve already had a four year old, but now I have two kids who are four and older! It’s crazy to me that our family is that “old” already. It makes me a little sad, but very excited about where we are at right now. Today was a really great day for him. He had preschool this morning. I made him Chocolate Chip cookies to take to his class. Lucas snuck six of them yesterday--there are so many things wrong with that sentence! I thought I was going to have to quickly whip up another batch this morning, but luckily we had just enough to cover everyone in his class. He came home with birthday crown and sticker on! We treated him to lunch at CiCi’s. It was a little sad having to actually pay for his meal--3 and under are free. I considered fibbing just this once, but I was glad I didn’t when he and Ben came through the door with of his birthday get-up on. It’s a good thing I’m an honest girl! People would have known. Once we made it home from lunch, Henry went to the mail and found a card from one of his favorite girls, Gina, and a package from Aunt Amy. He has a royal invitation to a dinner, movie, and candy snacks, all of his choosing, this Friday night! He is super, super excited! I barely got his mail read to him and Uncle Tom and Aunt Cathy called to wish him a happy birthday. Then it was Great Grandma right after. He got so many phone calls. I think it was a result of not having a birthday party, but I almost think it made today so much more special. That boy loves to talk on the phone. He really reminds me of a pre-teen girl! As he chats he strolls around the house and fiddles with things. If I ask to have the phone he will tell me “Not yet.” He’s also got all of the conversation starters down--”So what are you doing?”--however we need to work on his answering skills. Lucas kept saying, “Henry has another phone call?!” Really it seemed like he spent most of his day on the phone--well that’s a bit of an exaggeration--but really he was a very popular boy today--his super social side has certainly paid off! It was such a nice birthday. I wouldn’t change a single thing about it, not even by having an official birthday party for him. I’m excited to see what him being four will bring. The last month or two he has been telling me a lot of things that he was going to do when he was still three. For instance, “I’m going to go to Daddy’s work and arrest that lady who wrecked into him when I’m still three! I am!” Usually it’s the kind of stuff that kids say that they will do when they are bigger, but he was certain he would do it at the age of three. I wonder if now he will stop saying it, or if he will adjust it a bit. I guess we’ll see. As a side note it was extra special getting to watch all of the Inauguration activies going on today. I remember being in the hospital cuddling him, when President Bush was Inaugurated for the second time. It's nice to know that every four years he will share his birthday with such an important day. Today in particular!

Art Day

Yesterday we had an Art Day at our house.

Both boys had school, so they each got to pick something to do while the other one was gone.

Lucas picked play-doh. He made a pumpkin and even put a candle inside of it. I forgot to give him the once over before school and later realized he went with play-doh embedded all over his clothes! Good ol' play-doh.

Henry was going to do water colors, but he has no idea where he put them the night before. Instead he got to color with markers--that really is a treat because he's not been very responsible with them in the past so usually he's limited to crayons.

Josh Oliver got to do a little bit of everything.

We also made some chocolate chip cookies--I've eaten most of them--and played the piano some. The boys got out all of the Little People things and set up a town. On top of all of that I got all the Christmas taken down and the whole house picked up!

I love creative, productive days like yesterday!

Henry and his Girlfriends

Today Henry and I were in the art room and he came across some beads and asked what they were for. M--"You can make a necklace or something.” H--“For who?” M--“For your girlfriend, I guess.” H--“Did you know I have a real……...adult……..girlfriend?!” M--“Who is she?” H--“I met her at the party with all the balloons and the kangaroo and I told her when I grow up I’m going to marry her, but I don’t know her name!” It may sound like he’s a young romantic, but really he has lots of girlfriends and he doesn’t know any of their names! This girl was from a graduation party we went to in December. I was wandering around the foyer with Josh Oliver when two high school girls walked by me and running behind them was Henry. They went into the bathroom and he stopped just outside the door—at least he didn’t follow them in!

I asked him what he was doing and he told me that those girls were his girlfriends and that he was going to marry them. I asked him if they knew that and he said yes. He was very excited about them! I just laughed at him and told him that he should probably leave them alone.

A few minutes later, they came out and Henry once again ran behind them. Josh and I followed him. When we caught up he was sitting at their table. It was 5 or 6 guys, the two girls and then H.J. trying to make a move on the girls! I made him get up even though he told me that they said he could sit at their table. Really though, you can’t try to steal girls when their boyfriends are sitting with you! I should have let him stay, but who would have known his love for her would last! He also has another “real adult girlfriend.” She is one of Ben’s friends REAL girlfriends. She was the first one I heard him tell that he was going to marry her when he grew up—he also told her that she could drive him around places! He was glued to her the entire time she was over here. He also can’t remember her name. He is terrible with names. I wonder what she would think if she knew about this younger girl was moving in on her turf?

What in Heaven's name is going on?

Today at school, Lucas got a yellow card--a warning for naughty behavior--because he wouldn't stop singing when his teacher told him to. I thought it was going to be a song like "Bad Boys" or something bad like that. It was, however, "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain." I just couldn't help but laugh! What a song to get in trouble for. He just rolls his eye when I ask him about it. I bet he was mortified. He does not like to get in trouble. I guess we need to work on controlling our singing!

Our trip to Great Grandpa's

This past weekend the boys and I along with Gigi went up to Aunt Amy’s house. We haven’t seen Baby e in almost two weeks so we were due for a visit--plus we have a rental car thanks to our wreck from three weeks ago so we figured we might as well go!

I can’t believe how big Eli has gotten. He is so long now and he just looks so much older. How could he grow that much in just two weeks? It makes me a bit sad. Pretty much as soon as we got there, Lucas and Henry were washing their hands so that they could steal him from me. Lucky for me, they soon started playing the Wii. After that they were pretty much glued to the T.V. for the rest of the time. They did stop long enough to make us some cinnamon rolls with Aunt Amy. They did such a good job. They were delicious!

Another reason for our trip was to visit Great Grandpa. Luke and Henry decided to stay behind with Uncle Dave, so Eli, Josh, Amy, Gigi and I went. It was a really nice trip up there. We put delphinium and peonies on his grave this time. It looked really nice. Joshua got to walk around the cemetery for a little bit with Aunt Amy. He was having a pretty good time. He always seems to enjoy it when the other two aren’t around.

After the cemetery, we went to Eddie’s. It’s this little diner that we use to go to with Grandpa. I remember the food being good, but it was crazy good! The onion rings are the best I think I’ve ever had! Josh was being so funny with them. He kept looking at us through the middle of them--he wouldn’t do it when I tried to take a picture, though! I shared my food this time, but I think I may be a lot stingier next time!

It was a nice trip. The boys kind of had mean mouths--nothing bad, just stuff that I don’t like to hear come out of my own boys mouths--but otherwise they were good. I also worked on my crocheting this past weekend. I got a whole baby bootie done. It’s not quite right, but I’m pretty impressed that it looks as good as it does.

A Total Dud

Last night, New Years Eve, Ben had to work so it was just the boys and I hanging out.

Grandpa J went to work with him too--I'm super glad he finally decided to go because he had a blast! So the boys and I were going to have a mini party here at home. Gigi came over and brought doughnuts--of all nights for a sugar high I guess last night would be the best!

Our party ended up being a dud.

I didn't get out any other snack foods. We caught just the last 40 minutes of Shrek II and then I made them watch the festivites in time square. They were totally not excited about that--"What is this? The...news?" came from HJ. We just had to watch it though!

Lucas ended up crashing out pretty early--before 10:00 I'm pretty sure.

Josh Oliver kept going up and down the stairs and eventually fell down them--I'm pretty sure it was from the very top. His gums just had a bit of "bleed" on them, but I totally had pictures of a broken arm--that was the result our same type of New Years celebration four years ago with Lucas!

Josh and HJ were both so tired, but were just not going to give into sleep--Henry kept asking when we were going to bed! Finally at like 10:40 they showed London when it hit the New Year--Big Ben rang and everyone cheered.

Gigi and I quickly jumped on board and celebrated our New Year, too. I said, "Henry, are you going to jump up and down and say 'Hurray for the New Year'?" He gave the most unimpressive display of New Year excitement! I tried to wake Lucas up, but he was out cold.

Needless to say, when the clock struck 12:00, I was up in my bed eating leftover sloppy joes.

Exciting, I know, but really it was just where I wanted to be at that time!