drawing

Tonight Joe gave the boys a bath, and Adin was mildly traumatized by some water going in his face, mouth and ear. He was all clean, so Joe got him out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. I came and brought him to the couch to snuggle. He cried a little for a couple minutes and then like a flipped switch he started to laugh about something. He decided he wanted to draw a picture of himself naked. So he got to work and soon Erik joined him. Erik asked if Adin would be drawing his belly button. "No. Not my belly button and not my penis either." Such modesty. He did end up drawing a giant purple belly button, three eyes, six arms and six legs, enormous ears and hair standing straight up almost as long as his legs. Now that I look at it again, maybe the boy in the drawing has two eyes and a nose. I'd have to ask Adin tomorrow.

The other drawing is one Erik did. I find it hilarious. He drew it as a Get Well card, as far as we can tell. Not sure what the sentiment is. "Get well or you'll end up like this guy" maybe.

As long as I'm writing about Adin, he asked me the other day if I went to Russia while I was pregnant with him. ?!? Nope, I've never been to Russia at anytime. Today he asked where he was when I was a little girl. I said I didn't know. Erik thought Adin was in heaven, but he wasn't sure.

Reading

Adin walks into the room. "I want to read you something. It's from a pretend book. Here it is." he holds out his hands as if he were holding a book. Holds the book up to his face. "This book has a lot of 'ah' words. Here's one: 'tall'. Here's another: 'ball'."

Fast!

Adin and Erik continue to be fascinated by superheroes, but now they are branching out. They read about The Avengers (Capt. America and his friends), and even are inspired by Super Grover 2.0 on Sesame Street. Erik made up his own super hero yesterday (Super E, I think his name was) and Adin is always along for the ride.

This morning they were playing and imagining and Adin was talking about his super alter ego. He said, "He's fast, the fastest, he's flying..." and then paused to think of how fast he could go. Faster than the speed of light? Infinity miles per hour? No, the fastest Adin could think of was... "the SPEED LIMIT!" Clearly, I have a very responsible superhero on my hands!

Birthday Secrets

Adin decided earlier this week that he wanted to give me five balloons for my birthday. I fully support that plan, so Joe took the boys shopping tonight. When they came home, Erik rang the doorbell and came in telling me Adin would be coming in right behind him. Then when Adin came in, he asked me to come in his room with him once he got his boots off. I agreed and then Erik couldn't wait for Adin to get his boots off so Erik dragged me to Adin's room and asked me to cover my ears! I think that's around the time I figured out something was up. So I turned on some music. I heard Adin and Erik talking about when it was time to flick the porch lights off and on. And Erik told me to be sure not to come out of Adin's room until he told me it was safe. Once it was safe, Adin took me by the hand and led me straight to Erik's room and tried to open a drawer. Erik was pretty upset but I told him I hadn't seen anything so any secrets that may be contained in the mysterious drawer are still safe. Watching the kids keep secrets is so fun!

Laundry surprise

When I was moving a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer I found lots of little bits of paper. Intrigued, I was curious what piece of paper had been washed. At the bottom of the washer I found a little notebook the boys like to use when they play police officers.

When that load was dry I was surprised to find about 10 rubber bands and paper clips at the bottom of the dryer. Erik was pretending to be a detective the other day, and I guess now his detective clothes are clean.

Water fight

Tonight, when I sent Erik to change into his pjs, he came out naked, except with a pajama shirt tied around his waist. He had the shirt part hanging in the front so that his buns were exposed. He found it very funny, and was running around for a few minutes. I went in the bathroom to supervise tooth brushing. We have a water bottle on the vanity for rinsing after brushing, and I knew there was water in it. Suddenly, it just came over me to squirt Erik's behind with the water, just as he was spitting out his toothpaste. Fortunately for me, he found it utterly hilarious. He screamed with laughter. So we had a little water fight. I stayed in the bathroom and he went in the hallway. He would dash past the open door and I tried to squirt him with water. Not the best activity for just before bed, but sometimes it's so fun to hear him laugh! I wiped the water off the floor afterward, of course. I figure it's almost like I washed the floor!

A Fistful of Dollars

The kids got valentines in the mail today with a significant amount more than one dollar. Adin's first response was to suggest bringing it with him to church on Sunday! It's so cute how he has no sense of what money could buy. Erik gets it more. We were just at Lakeshore Learning (an educational toy store) and they wanted everything they saw. I told them they could chose what to ask for for birthday presents. I'll probably let them each chose something with this Valentine's money, bring some to church and bank the rest. I'm pretty excited that they are excited about toys that don't involve superheroes!

One dollar

Last weekend I mislaid my Kindle, and for a couple days I looked for it with low intensity, sure it would turn up eventually. I kept telling the boys to keep an eye out for it, and let me know if they see it. Every time I said that, Erik would ask where I saw it last, which cracks me up. By Tues or Wed I was getting more anxious about it, and decided to put out an incentive for them. I told them whoever found it for me would get two dollars. That made quite a difference! Erik started to ask me where I saw it last, then realized he knew the answer, and asked me where the second to last place I saw it was. The three of us looked all over the family room. Then Adin decided to check the basement. On the way, Erik must have looked at the fridge and remembered seeing me put it on top to keep it away from them. He asked if it was up there. I had checked there a few times, but just by patting up there with my hand. This time I got out a chair and looked. Ta da! Erik was very excited about his two dollars, and began to mull over what to do with the money. I decided to give Adin a dollar, since he'd looked hard, as well.

On Friday I was taking Adin to the YMCA, and asked if he wanted to bring his dollar to buy a treat. "No. I want to bring it to church." Aw, how sweet. I wasn't sure if he would still want that today, but he did! He brought it along and when it was offering time, he said, "Let's do this!" He made his parents very proud today.

A fun evening

Joe went to a Timberwolves game tonight, so I was searching for something fun to do with the boys. We ended up making sugar cookies. We didn't really do much baking during the Christmas season. I baked for a cookie exchange, and my cousin Cindy bakes lots of cookies to give us, as does my mom, and Joe's mom. So I figure, why go through all that trouble at a time of year when I already have plenty to do? I love to bake, though, and want the kids to have the experience and memories, so we do some of that in January! A couple years ago we decorated gingerbread houses in January. A couple weeks ago we baked gingerbread cookies and tonight we made sugar cookies. It was very fun, and not stressful at all. As a bonus, I made them with my last pasturized egg, so I was able to snack on the leftover dough after the last pan went in the oven!

Adin has moved from asking non-stop questions, to asking non-sensical questions. Like, he'll ask me if I'm five foot seven, or 30. (He may have the mistaken impression that I'm 30 years old. I may have given him that impression.) So tonight, when he said something about wishing there were M people in the world, I thought he was being silly. (Or a divergent thinker, depending on how generous I feel.) I said, "M is not a number." He said, "But it can stand for a number." I thought, Good grief, is he talking about Roman numerals? I told him that was true but I couldn't remember what number M stands for. He said, "A thousand." We were talking about Roman numerals last week, but I can't believe he remembered.

Adin surprised Joe this morning by piping up with a comment about how the title of a book featured alliteration. He talks like a big kid, but he sure acts like a preschooler when we ask him to put on his coat and boots!

The Wedding March

Last night, I was sitting by Adin as he tried to fall asleep. Out of the blue he said to me in a desperate tone, "I don't know yet who I want to marry!" Plenty of time to decide that, my dear!

Pump it up

Adin's preschool class went to Pump It Up, a place with inflatable slides and bouncers. It looks like he had fun.





























Until he was tired and needed to rest.

Merry Christmas!

The house has been very giggly today. We got a box in the mail yesterday from our friends the Nevens. It had some cool stacking boxes and a "Dodge Tag" game. There are two vests, each with velcro bulls-eyes on the front. Each person gets three soft balls to throw at the other person. Both boys have really enjoyed playing although so far just with me, not each other. Erik, in particular, gets very, very giggly when we play.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So we are on two weeks of break from school, and sometimes the days get long. By the time I'm making dinner, my patience can be quite thin. Yesterday, Erik was bugging, bugging, bugging me in the kitchen, not with anything particularly bad, but the cumulative effect finally drove me over the edge. I pushed him out of the kitchen and scolded him. He started to cry, which annoyed me more, because I first assumed he was crying about not getting to be in the kitchen, pestering me. I asked him in exasperation, "Why are you crying?" He said, "Because you yelled at me! And you hurt me!" Talk about a low point in parenting. However, it gave me the chance to model a sincere apology. I told him I was sorry, it sounded like I scared him and I was sorry I hurt him. It's a fine line, I can't expect him to understand my perception of the nuance of the situation: he had behaved badly and wasn't listening, I was justified in my anger, but not in what I did with my anger. I can only hope that although he couldn't understand it now, someday he will be old enough to parse situations like that. I asked him to forgive me, and he did, but I still felt pretty bad about what I'd done.

Tonight while we were playing, he told me I have a tender and loving heart. I truly feel forgiven and washed clean.

Merry Christmas!

Lest you think it's all Hanukkah, and Festivus around here, we are participating in Advent activities as well. Lots of faith based ones like lighting Advent candles, and secular ones like watching Christmas specials. A couple years ago there was one on TV called "Elmo's Christmas Countdown" and I taped it. We watched it several times that year, and last year as well. The kids were so little and/or sensitive that even Charlie Brown's Christmas Special was too hard for them to watch.

But this year, it all changed. We watched Charlie Brown talk to his friends about Discipline! and respecting their Director! We saw him choose his famously pathetic tree.

I found eight specials on You Tube that I favorited to show the kids. There's our clear favorite so far, Wil Vinton's Claymation Christmas Celebration. We have the book, "The Berenstain Bear's Christmas Tree" but I found a video for it on YouTube, as well. Can't wait to show them that! One I'm saving for Christmas Eve or Day is two hours of the Yule Log burning in someone's fireplace.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Happy Hanukkah!

Adin's preschool/daycare is learning about different December holidays. Today they talked about Hanukkah and made latkes. Adin wanted to know more, so I went to Shalom Sesame and we watched a couple videos. First, we learned about the first Chanukah with Veronica Monica, then we learned about fixing the temple on Extreme Makeover: Temple Edition. I followed some links to a recipe for oven baked latkes, and we are now at the flipping part of the recipe. I'm sure Adin regrets ever asking, but I'm excited about giving them a try.

Oops, I guess flipping latkes is easier when you remember to oil the pan.

Big Cheese Adin

At Adin's new daycare/preschool they have a kid of the week, called "The Big Cheese". They ask the parents to make a poster board of pictures, fill out a survey, and parents can come in and read a book, bring lunch and/or participate in an activity. This week is Adin's turn. Joe selected some photos, which you can see in the background of the first picture.

This morning, Adin was very reluctant to go to Lenox, and to be the Big Cheese. He told me he wasn't big, he was a little cheese. So we started back pedaling and making a much smaller deal out of it. I got to read the book "The Gingerbread Baby" to the kids, which I loved doing. (The teacher took several pictures of me reading!) Then the class made gingerbread houses by taking empty half pint milk cartons, smearing frosting on them, sticking graham crackers to the frosting, and then attaching candy with more frosting. The teachers allowed Erik to stay and make one. That was quite fun to see the way different kids had different strategies. I related to the girl that hoarded as much candy as she possibly could on her plate!

Afterward, Erik and I played a couple minutes, and then left. Adin desperately wanted to leave with us, so that was hard! An hour later his teacher called to say he didn't really get over us leaving, complained of an ear ache and when she took his temp, it was 100.8! So Erik and I returned to pick up Adin and take him to the clinic, where he was diagnosed with a double ear infection! Poor big cheese.

Fortunately, he was well enough that we made it home for: Erik's first playdate with a school friend! He has a buddy from Kindergarten, and has been begging me for months to invite T over for a playdate. I finally called his mom last week and she said T had been requesting the same thing. So today T came over and they got to play superheroes, draw on magnadoodles, play a board game, and 'reminisce'. It was adorable to see them aggressively hug each other and refer to each other as "best buddy". They often would say to each other, 'remember...' and talk about little inside jokes they had from Kindergarten. T has older brothers so it didn't seem to phase him when Erik got a little over excited. T's mom has said several times that they plan to reciprocate and have Erik over, which I'm excited about.

All in all, it's been quite a day!

Monopoly

Joe bought Monopoly Junior at Goodwill this summer. It's been fun, the perfect level for Adin, but a little too simple for Erik. So Joe taught Erik how to play regular Monopoly yesterday. The first game taxed Erik's attention span a little, but after taking a break he asked to finish the game. He begged to start a new game last night, and the two of them spent an hour or more in the basement last night playing. This morning was my turn to sleep in, and when I came down, it was obvious Erik had been nagging to finish the game. So they went right back down for another hour or so.

I don't remember exactly what it was I was trying to get Adin to eat, but his response cracked me up: "I dare not try it." I asked if he heard that phrase in a book or something and he told me, "I growed up saying it."

Clue

Happy thanksgiving! We are having a lovely, warm, day. My parents picked up a board game from the lending library in their building. We've played Clue Junior at home and gave Clue not Junior (as the kids are calling it) a try. We played in parent/child teams and it's very funny to hear as Erik's parent partner whispers to him what he should guess and then he says it out loud. He's very, very serious about games. Adin, on the other hand, is running around the condo half naked, dusting, jumping, hugging, and having lots of fun.

Here's a picture from my Dad's birthday, just to show you what late fall is like in Minnesota this year.

Cleaning Blitz

So often things happen I want to post, but then don't get around to it. While Joe is reading a story about the first Thanksgiving I'll write something up quick. We just had a five minute family cleaning blitz! We all put things away and swept. After five minutes Adin was done, partially because it's bedtime, but Erik was going gangbusters and wanted to keep helping. He found another place to sweep (by the back door) and then helped pick things up off the carpet so I could vacuum. It looks sooo much better! Dare I hope we could make it a family tradition to clean for 5-15 minutes each evening? Perhaps I could motivate them extrinsically with a weekly reward. Hmmm.

Funny stuff Adin said today

I have had a cold this week, and am quite congested. We were driving in the car and I said I wished I could breathe. He said to me, very seriously, "Breathing is when you open your mouth and you don't do any talking or eating. Like this, Mama."

Tonight he told me he was hungry and brought me a giant can of soup. I did not actually believe he was hungry, so I didn't want to open it, plus we have a vat of gazpacho in the fridge. So I dished up some gazpacho and told him he would like it because it was full of yummy fruits and veggies. I warned him that this type of soup we eat cold. He said he wanted to eat it cold. When I gave it to him, he ate a bite and said how good it was (but then didn't eat any more)(I knew he wasn't hungry.) He said Erik wouldn't like it because it has tomatoes in it. I agreed and wondered why Erik doesn't like tomatoes. Adin said, "He growed up different, and a different time." I laughed, it sounded so much like someone talking about how social mores change and how people of different generations see the world differently.

First day of preschool!

Adin was so excited! He woke up and every five minutes was asking, "Is it my first day of preschool?" Then he wanted to go out and have his pictures taken like Erik did on his first day. There are quite a few kids in his class that he was in two year old parent and child class with last year, and he just went over to the table and started playing with play doh.

When I came to pick him up he was super excited. He finally got to play on the 'big kid playground'. They even had a (modified) fire drill. Because it was the first day for so many kids, they went outside before the alarm went off. His teacher, who had Erik for the last two years, said when I picked him up, "He's so different from Erik! I don't think Erik talked for the first three months!"

Adin's only disappointment about preschool? He wished it lasted all day. This is in stark contrast to Erik, who begged this morning to go back to preschool instead of going to kindergarten. Erik pulled out lots of tricks today. He asked to skip. Said he was sick. Blamed me for signing him up for full day (this one was a valid point). I think the actual school day is continuing to go ok, just the getting ready at home is tough.

Last Thursday, after the first day he told us he learned the Spanish word for 'yes'. Friday he said he learned a counting song with numbers 1-10. Today he got off the bus and told us he learned the word for 'circle'. Later he said he knew the words for 'up' and 'down'. He says he doesn't play with anyone on the playground, but I he actually is, just not the involved imaginative play schemes he does with the neighbor kids. His teacher has told me that he chats and laughs with the other kids.

I think my favorite part about the kids going to school is picking them up afterward. I get so excited to see them and hear about their day.

First day of Kindergarten!

It went well. He slept well last night, and seemed nervously excited this morning. Lots of extra energy, but no tears. We took pictures by our new apple trees, on the step and on the bus. After he was safely on the bus, I drove to work and watched the clock until his bus arrived. Then I joined the other parents out front to watch the Kindergarteners and first graders arrive and parade into school. He waved and smiled when he saw me, and was chatting with another boy about the noise level of the cafeteria.

Later I walked through the cafeteria and said hi. I asked how the day was going. "Fine. It's sort of complicated, because everything is in Spanish." I reminded him that all the kids found that part complicated. He agreed, and asked if it was almost time to go home. He seemed overwhelmed, so I didn't linger. After lunch I know he had recess and then they have a quiet time for the kids to rest if they want.

I did go back after school and watched him get on the bus. His teacher was super organized and he got right on the correct bus. I had written his bus number on his palm, and I saw him check his palm as he climbed the steps. He told Joe and me that he learned how to say "yes" in Spanish! He's very excited to go back tomorrow, because they are having (grass fed all-beef) hot dogs for lunch.

Ha! I just previewed the pictures and instead of the picture of Erik and Adin on the steps, there's one of the neighbor girl playing peek-a-boo with Adin. Also, I thought I had rotated Erik's picture already. So I guess you'll have to tilt your head to see how he looked on his first day!

'Tis the week before preschool

Ah, Adin. He's been a bit of a stinker lately, and it's hard to tease out what behavior is because of being three and independent and what's for other reasons. He's been so impulsive and disobeys us so much, that I firmly believe he's reacting to all the kindergarten talk. I think he's picking up on Joe and my anxiety, Erik's anxiety and aggressive behavior and it's making him feel unsettled. I also think he's a little jealous. We talk and talk about Kindergarten, and just a little bit about preschool. Today we all went shopping because Erik really needed bigger clothes. We have vast quantities of clothes Adin's size, so it never crossed my mind to buy him anything new. Tonight at dinner, Adin talked about Erik getting new pjs. Adin said he wished he could have new pjs too. The lightbulb finally went off for me and I told him that just like we bought Erik pjs the day before school, we could buy Adin pjs the day before his school starts.

Adin insists he's starting kindergarten, too. This may or may not help, but I sort of went along with it. I agreed that he's starting school, and talked about his teachers, Kari and Shelli, and some boys he knows in his class. I tried to strike a balance with not bursting his kindergarten dreams, but also grounding him in the reality of his actual class. I'll have to try to do some special things with him on the days that I don't work.

I can't believe how big my little pumpkins are getting.

'Twas the Night Before Kindergarten

Well, this is it. We've gone to Open House. Lots of kids came in and hugged Srta. Joyner, so they must sincerely like her. It's a nice big, open classroom, with an attached bathroom. Erik hung on us a lot, looked around and brought me books to read to him. This was difficult, since I don't know Spanish, but sometimes it was a familiar book, and that helped. The highlight may have been learning that we already know the Spanish word for turtle: tortuga. It was fun to see there were a couple kids Erik knew from preschool, and a couple I knew from other preschool classes.

Open House was Friday, and this weekend was tough. Erik was pretty aggressive and yelled a lot at other kids. I think the Open House ramped up his anxiety level. Today we had a fifteen minute meeting, just our family with Srta. Joyner. She asked him what he wanted to learn in school this year (how to invent things), asked Joe and me what we wanted him to learn (social skills, sharing, school routines). She made sure Erik knew how he was getting home (bus). She checked if he would be eating school lunch or bringing lunch from home. He said bringing his lunch. [Later we looked up what lunch is tomorrow (beef ravioli) and Friday (hot dogs). He's not familiar with ravioli but he loves hot dogs, so he's going to get school lunch on Friday.]

I've tried to be calm and upbeat in front of Erik, but when he's not around I'm a wreck. Yesterday I walked to the library and let myself feel sad. I thought about all his baby and toddler milestones. I cried a little. When I got to the library I started looking through the children's books for stories to read to Erik. I started to feel excited about the years ahead and all the wonderful books I could share with him. That helped. Joe has been feeling sentimental, too. I went through Adin's clothes and bagged the small ones to send to Goodwill. Joe said just looking at the bags made him tear up thinking about how time passes.

I don't know if I'll get pictures and stories posted tomorrow night, but I'll try to do it by this weekend.

Camp Christmas Tree

Erik had his first day at YMCA daycamp! He got on the bus at 8 am and I picked him up at 5 pm. I think the bus ride is about 45 to 60 minutes and they sing songs while riding. He had good things to say about camp. They shot archery, rode in canoes, and swam. When I picked him up he said he liked it but it was too long. This evening for some reason I asked if anyone cried at camp today. He said he had cried a little at the beginning because he didn't know anyone. But that then the counselors told him their names. I suppose after a long day of activities it's normal to forget that one cried earlier in the day, but it surprised me a little.

Back when I was in grad school, the SLP I did my student teaching under told me that preschoolers are not really able to control the volume of their voices. I see this in Adin. When we are riding in the car and he's talking to me, I have a very hard time hearing and understanding him because his voice volume is so low. And when I ask him to say it again louder he can't or won't. Other times, of course, he has a loud voice. I thought of it tonight when he went to bed. He often yawns very, very loudly as he settles down to sleep. It's funny to me to think about the difference in volume between his yawns and some of his speech!

Biking

The last couple weeks of June Erik learned how to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels. That's been lots of fun, although his freedom was lessened because he wasn't able to get started on his own without a push. He was getting pretty close and today he did it! We went down to the garden and he started on his own several times. This makes crossing the street much easier. He's so proud of himself. I kept telling him on the ride how proud I was and Adin started telling him that too! Very cute.

Fun with the kids

The kids and I went strawberry picking yesterday morning while Joe cooked a turkey. Super fun. We went with some neighbors. Erik was a little bothered that he had fewer strawberries in his basket (because he was eating so many). I kept having to tell him it's not a race, he's just eating them, so we can't see that he's picked lots.

We were invited to some friends' for dinner and fireworks. Joe took Adin home at bedtime, but this year Erik got to stay up and watch. Plus, the friends live right off a bike path so he and I biked there! The fireworks started at 10, and for about 45 mins before, he and the other kids were running and asking their parents every 3 minutes or so, "how long until the fireworks start?" He loved the fireworks for the first 15 or 20 minutes. He stood up, and would throw his arms up in the air when he really liked something. The last 10 or 15 minutes he was pretty tired so he sat down and was more relaxed. Afterwards, once the crowd passed us on the bike path home, he thought it was really cool that we were biking in the dark.

The kids and I had some fun with my Dad today. We met up at the Mall of America to go to a petting zoo as part of Toddler Tuesday. Then we walked around the amusement park for a while. A woman offered me a points card (you pay for rides with points) with a few points on it. It was hilarious watching the kids try to decide what ride to go on, or if they even wanted to go on a ride. They were just buzzing around going nowhere fast, from an adult's perspective! Finally they chose a ride and I got to go too, since Adin is too little to ride by himself. It was a mini roller coaster that was perfect for them. Just enough up and down and around to make it fun but not scary. I was pretty excited that they went on the ride, since last year even the little kids' rides were too scary.

Final story, they both often fall asleep in the car as we ride around town. Erik usually falls asleep quicker and wakes up more easily. When Adin wakes up in the car he's very upset, and does not want to leave the car or even be unbuckled. We got home today around dinner time and I really needed Adin to get out of the car. I told him Morfar was coming for dinner and he said some garbled comments about loving Morfar and Mormor, as if he thought it was news to me that he loves Mormor, too! I told him I love them both, too.
Adin: You do? I think Mormor and Morfar are going to have a baby soon.
Me: Really?!?
Adin: I hope it will have lots of milk. (Our neighbor's baby is three months and so we have to remind Adin that he can't share his food with her.)
Me: I'm sure they will give the baby lots of milk. Do you think it will be a boy or girl? Adin: A baby girl.
Me: She will be my little sister!
Adin: You've always wanted a baby sister!
Me: What about you? Have you always wanted a baby sister, too?
Adin: Yes, but my baby sister is gonna be a boy.

I feel I should add in here that there are no plans for Adin and Erik to have a baby sister, neither boy, nor girl!

Monday at the park

The boys and I had a fun day of park hopping yesterday. In the morning we went to a park in Minneapolis, and brought a picnic/snack along. It's been cool again, so Erik was quite disappointed we didn't go in the wading pool. But he was very proud of himself for a new accomplishment: he crossed the monkey bars by himself! Just a month ago, he was scared even to hold the bars and dangle, but we practiced a little bit on holding on and I held his waist so he didn't fall until he was ready. Then he moved on to this sort of controlled fall where he would reach out and grab the bar and then drop. I heard from others (Joe? my parents?) that he was now using the zip line and doing a couple bars on the monkey bars. Yesterday was the first day I got to see him cross the bars. First he did about three, then he did the whole thing! He was so proud of himself!

After lunch we went to a park just a couple blocks away with a neighbor family that has three girls, ages 6, almost 4, and about 3 months. Erik plays with the six year old, and Adin plays with the almost 4 year old, and it's very sweet to watch. Then Adin asked to hold the baby! So I had him sit on the park bench and I gingerly put her in his arms. I think I held my hand under his arm that was supporting baby's head. He did a good job and was gentle, but just held her for a minute and then was done. I thought it was so sweet that he asked to hold her!

I have noticed that the neighborhood kids stay out playing past 8, my kids' bedtime. So Erik and I discussed trying to have Adin and him stay up later and then sleep in later. He was very excited last night when he didn't have to come in and go to bed at 7:30. They came in around 8:20 and were cooperative in getting ready for bed so they were in bed by 9. However, Erik had trouble settling down and was still peeking out of his room at 9:30. He was awake at his usual time of 6:30. Adin, however, was a more dramatic fail. He was awake ALL NIGHT! Crying and restless and needing constant tending from Joe or me. I guess he was way overtired by his later bedtime. So thank goodness, their daycare was open this week and we had to pay anyway to keep our slot for fall. Joe dropped them off at the regular time and I went back to bed and slept til 1 pm! They will be going to bed at their regular time tonight, believe me!

Cute things Adin said today

We went to a picnic at the park and had lots of fun. Erik was upset that the Splash Pad was open but we weren't playing in the water (it was 65 degrees). So he alternated between having fun and being upset. When it was time to go, I loaded them in the car.
Adin: I love you, Erik.
Erik: I don't love you, Adin.
Adin: Well, I love Erik even when he's being naughty.

Adin is in his crib and says to me, "I like you 100% a lot." I laugh. He says, "Actually, I love you 106% good."

I love that kid. And the other one, too.

Proud Mama

We went to the Norwegian Lutheran Church today and celebrated syttende mai a couple days early. The boys greatly enjoyed the hot dogs and ice cream and then...the games! They had about 8 little games set up for kids to play and everybody won a little prize after each game. Adin loved horseshoes and the bean bag toss. Usually Erik prefers to stand back and observe, and Joe was on Erik duty so I'm not sure how much he participated. Except he had all the prizes in his prize bag, so he must have done the activities. Anyway, then they had a variety of team games. First there was a tug of war. We cheered the first round (kids) and the second round (girls). Then they had a round of kids vs. parents. Joe pulled on one side and the boys pulled on the other! I have some pictures on my camera and maybe when it's not midnight I'll post them. I think the boys look sort of terrified in the pictures, but I was so happy they got in there.

Next was an egg relay. Adin agreed to do the relay and I waited with him. There were five teams of four kids. The bigger kids were so great. They were the perfect balance of trying their best, but not getting upset about who won. I had Adin practice holding a coin on his spoon so he could get the concept of holding his spoon flat. Fortunately, by the time it was his turn, another team had won, so I ended up walking the relay leg holding his hand steady around the spoon. Nobody seemed to mind.

Then they had sack races! The first round was just children, but the second round they said the age limit was 100 (sorry Bestemor)! So I decided to jump! I had been encouraging Erik to join in and he refused because it looked hard. I told him the boy I'd been cheering for (who stood in front of me in the egg race) had fallen about 20 times, but he just got up and kept hopping. So anyway, I jumped and then the third round ERIK JUMPED!!! I was so proud of him! He didn't fall but all the other participants were a lot bigger and finished ahead of him so I came out and jumped him the last few yards(stood behind him and lifted him up and down). He got a big kick out of being the one who 'jumped' the highest! Maybe the dozens of times we've explained that it's ok to do something less than perfectly are sinking in. Woo Hoo!

It's like WebMD for preschoolers

Joe gave Erik a set of 2 Superfriends DVDs for his birthday. Erik's really into them and I think has watched all the episodes. They have little vignettes between the episodes: word games, random toys you can make at home and health tips. On Friday we watched one and afterwards we saw a health tip. A kid was flying a kite with Superman and said he had a headache from being in the sun. I was expecting Superman to tell him to drink some water or wear a hat next time. Instead, the kid said he was going home to take some medicine, they had lots in their medicine cabinet. Superman told him he should only take medicine from his parents or a grownup. Well, this is of course, good advice but I didn't give it much thought. Little did I guess how much Erik is taking the advice of his hero to heart!

Joe and I both had commitments on Saturday morning so my parents came over and watched the kids. Erik has shown a variety of mild cold symptoms this week, but I just told my parents we were keeping an eye on him and they could give him Benedryl or Tylenol if they thought he needed it. Mom told me later that Erik had complained his ear hurt and she offered him some Tylenol. He declined, saying he would only take medicine from his parents. She explained that it was good to be careful of who he takes medicine from, but grandparents were approved to give him medicine. He didn't want to take it, and I guess he didn't seem so sick that she insisted. He got some about an hour later when Joe came home.

Erik and Adin have about 6 different piggy banks that I frequently hide because it drives me crazy when they play with (and once ate) the money. Erik also told me this weekend that Wonder Woman told how they could make a bank out of an empty bottle. He was very excited at the idea of making a piggy bank. I found it funny, since he already has so many.

A story from Adin

I wish that I had giant springs in my legs. I would jump up in the sky. I would get on an airplane. I would fly to Finland. I would play fiddle.

Uh, no.

Adin and I were riding in the car and he was talking about someday being 18 yrs old. As usual, he thought he'd need new pants then. Then he switched to talking about being 14 year old. First thing he told me about when he is 14, Erik will have kids and Adin will have a baby! Uh, no. I told him he'd better wait until he's at least 24 and maybe 34 before having a baby. However, I told him he could babysit and then we talked about all the fun things he could do with kids he babysat.

Adin is funny

Adin was talking about how tall he is getting. He stood on a little chair (which he is not allowed to do) and said he was even bigger. He said someday he would be bigger than I am. I agreed. Adin, "When I'm 18!" Me, "Yes. When you are 18 you will be bigger than I am." Adin, thought a minute, "I'm going to need new pants." thought some more, "and shirts."

I put Adin to bed and asked if he wanted a stuffed animal. Adin, "No. You're my snuggle guy."

Adin and I were telling each other we loved each other, then he said, "I love the ceiling." I said, "I love the bed." Adin said, "But the bed is not a person!" I said, "Neither is the ceiling." He found that hilarious and we had to each say our lines about four or five more times. He cracks me up sometimes.

The future

I bought Erik a coloring book called, "The Anti-Coloring Book". On each page is a prompt and often part of a drawing. So there might be a squiggle and the prompt is "the original artist was stung on the thumb by a bee, only you can finish the drawing". Erik asks us to read him prompts until he gets to one he wants to do. So there was a drawing of a crystal ball and he was supposed to draw his future.

He gets started and draws a time machine and Superman (I think he got a couple prompts mixed up) and then I look at him and he's crying. I start asking if he's ok, why he's sad, and he tries to tell me but can't. He says, "It's too sad to say it." So my mind is flipping through possibilities, is he sad because he knows he'll never be Superman? Did he break something of ours and he's afraid to tell us? Finally he says he's sad because thinking about his future means thinking about not living with Joe and me and that's sad.

So Joe and I comfort him and tell him it's a long ways off, that's why it feels sad and scary. I don't really want to tell him that by the time he's moving out he'll want to move out.

Adin gives a hint

The boys are drawing on their Magnadoodles. Adin says to me, "Guess what this is. It's something with three wheels. It's an 18-wheeler!" Then he draws it. "Guess what this is." "An 18-wheeler?" "Yes!"

Funny stuff the kids said today

When I woke up this morning, Adin was in our bed! First time since we got back from Arizona. Joe was up with Erik, so Adin and I got to sleep in until 8:15! Adin woke slowly, and wanted to cuddle in bed for a few minutes before getting up, which was difficult for Erik to accept. Erik was disturbing Adin as he cuddled and Adin yelled, "Stop! I'm trying to concentrate!"

Then while tantruming in bed tonight Adin yelled out, "This is not my favorite place to be! I wish we didn't live here. I wish we lived in Iceland!"

We did a little rearranging this afternoon, and Erik found some old heart shaped candy boxes in his closet. He used the covers to decorate a wall and then was looking at the bottom sections of the boxes. They had conversation hearts glued to them, and one had come loose. Reading his mind, I told Erik not to eat it because it was old and had glue on it. Moments later he says, "It doesn't taste like glue to me." (If Joe had been home he would have used his favorite line: Just because it's non-toxic doesn't mean you should eat it.)

Bragging

Sigh. Well, I'm sorry to brag, but I just have to share. If you don't want to read about it, just stop now!

First, Adin was pushing buttons on my heart rate monitoring watch. He said, "Why does this say 'off'?" I asked to see it. In my normal use of the watch it doesn't display the word off. Sure enough, it said 'off'. I asked how he knew it said off and he read me the letters, although he did read them right to left (F-F-O) instead of left to right (O-F-F). So at naptime we read a book and looked for the word 'off' in it. Adin's not so keen on napping these days, so it can be a bit of a struggle getting him to stay in bed. I was kneeling next to his bed, reaching to get something and he said, "Ah-cuse [excuse]me, I would like to get out of bed." Even for the ultra polite two year old, no you cannot get out of bed!

I've been reading books about race, books that report ethnic minorities talk with their children about race more than white parents do. And that often liberal white parents expose their children to other children of different backgrounds but don't talk about race. When that happens, the white kids notice that the kids all have different colored skin, but also notice that their parents and teachers don't talk about it. And the kids try to think of their own reasons why this is, and they may be coming up with different ideas from what the parents assume (we're all the same, we're all equal).

Which is a very long way to introduce that I've been trying to have age appropriate discussions with Erik about race, even though it's very uncomfortable for me. So on Monday, I mentioned briefly to him that he didn't have school that day, and that it was a holiday. I told him MLK's name and explained very briefly that it used to be that white kids and black kids went to different schools and MLK worked to change that. And that's all I said, and we didn't talk about it again. When I picked Erik up from preschool later in the week, his teacher told me quietly that he was the only one in the class who knew who MLK was! I didn't get a chance to get the whole story from her, and Erik won't tell me about school, so that's all I know. I'm quite proud, though, that he remembered and that he somehow seems to have been able to talk about it in school.

Small world!

Adin and I attend a parent and child class one morning a week. After snack time, we go over and sit on the carpet and read books together. Adin chose a counting book that had the text in English and Spanish. He is learning to count in Spanish at daycare, so I asked him if he wanted me to read the book to him in English or Spanish. He chose Spanish, which was fine when the words were short and easy. After a couple pages they got to be very long. It was a little embarrassing because two of the other parents in the class are native Spanish speakers, and two of the teachers speak a little Spanish, as well. I was quite relieved when Adin switched over to counting in Norwegian. It was easier for me to name the items, but then the nanny of one of the other children asked me, in Swedish, if I was from Norway! It turns out she is a nanny from Sweden, and I just had never heard her talk enough to even pick up that she had an accent.

You gotta sing!

On the drive home from the YMCA today, we listened to a couple CDs. The first was just the song "You gotta sing". The lyrics are "You gotta sing when the spirit says sing" repeat several times. Verse 2 "You gotta pray when the spirit says pray". Then we listened to a CD of a variety of Christian children's songs. When we got home Adin was very sad and wanted to hear the "Deer" song again. It took me several listens to even understand 'deer' and I had no idea which song that was. I listed off all the ones we'd listened to and he said no to all of them. So we came into the house and played and forgot all about it. After his nap, I was changing his diaper and noticed he was singing, "You gotta sing when the deer says sing"! Mystery solved.

The Fifth day of Christmas

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, the kids and I went to my parents' and we decorated gingerbread men and a house. They had their new disposable cameras and took lots of pictures. Once the house was built and they were decorating it, Adin drizzled tiny colored balls on the house and said, "It's snowing in Pepperkakeby!" which means 'it's snowing in gingerbread town'. He said this about five or six times before I started the video and unfortunately, you only catch a little at the beginning, but then Erik started saying it, too. We have already begun to eat the men and house. I figure they aren't going to get any better. Adin ate the arm of his man, but tonight refused to eat his leg.
Update: Ok, I just posted this, and I can't get the video to play. It may just need some time to load, but I am not up for tinkering with it tonight! I will try to repost tomorrow if it still isn't working.

The second day of Christmas

 

 

Sunday evening my parents and Gary came over for dinner. We played a game that Harald and Ronnaug sent us home from Norway with this past summer and we saved as a Christmas present. It involves filling in picture cards with colored pegs. We've had to make a house rule of being able to share pegs with the other players to help the game move quickly enough to keep the attention of a two year old.
The boys became enraptured with my mom's disposable camera and wanted to take lots of pictures with it. They then wanted to use our digital camera, as well, which makes us nervous! So we used a little of their Christmas money to buy them each a digital camera. It will be fun to get the pictures developed and see all the pictures of the walls, floor, and who knows what else!

Christmas Day

 

 

 

 

So Friday evening, Joe's dad and sisters came over, but I guess I didn't take any pictures! The boys got a toy chainsaw and hedgetrimmer from Paul. Our tree is very well trimmed, let me tell you!

Christmas Day we went to my parents' and Joe's sisters and mom came too. We had a delicious lunch of meatballs and roast. During gift opening, Erik frequently commented that this was the best Christmas ever!!! He and Adin received a variety of police cars and fire trucks and Erik also received a fire fighter costume, complete with a little extinguisher and a little bullhorn. (Is that what they're called? You can talk into them to make announcements? He loves making announcements.) Adin received an mp3 player and microphone which he said were really cool. Oh, and Santa brought him 'a fancy guitar' which he had been talking about all month. It is so fun to watch him play it. He frowns and takes a wide stance with his legs to brace himself like he's working very hard. I will have to try and video it sometime.

Christmas Eve morning

 

 

 

 

My parents and uncle came over Christmas Eve morning for brunch. Gary brought Adin a puzzle, which the boys enjoyed putting together. My parents brought along some cookies that my mom's cousin Cindy and aunt Barb had made. They made some Sally Ann (or Aunt Sally?) cookies in the shape of gingerbread boys. They had found frosting markers and decorated them with faces and red bow ties, very cute. One had Adin's name on it and one had Erik's. Adin enjoyed playing with his gingerbread boy and talking to it, but he would not eat it.

Julebord

 

 

 

Adin has been attending Barnehage with my dad some weeks and me other weeks. In December they had a Julebord. Family was invited and they had some activities for the kids to do. People brought finger food to share and then there was a short and informal program. The kids sang some songs from class and then we all joined hands and walked around the Christmas tree. Finally, julenisse came with a big bag of presents for the children. It was very fun, although hard for kids to wait their turn to get something from julenisse. Adin had fun and participated in all or most of the activities. I don't remember why Erik wanted to wear his pajamas, but it didn't seem worth it to fight him on that count!

O Christmas Tree!

 

 

 

Here are some pictures of the boys helping to decorate my parents' Christmas tree. They enjoyed climbing on the step stool to reach up higher. I notice that the next time I visited, some of the ornament clumps had been more evenly redistributed around the tree! The picture of them lying on the floor shows how they posed when asked to sit in front of the tree for a picture.

playing and sharing

Last week I posted about the boys just starting to play together more. This week there have been amazing stretches of them playing together. They played together in the basement for a half an hour while I made dinner. Today they played in Adin's room, tossing stuffed animals back and forth. What's been really wonderful for me to hear, is how they will do a little negotiating. Erik will state how he wants the play to happen, Adin might say a slightly different plan, and Erik will comment on how they can do both, or take turns or compromise. It's really different from just a couple months ago, when any idea that wasn't his was an affront to Erik's very personhood.

Adin has finished up another round of antibiotics this week and getting him to take the medicine was challenging. One strategy that sometimes worked was to continue to insist that he take it until he became mildly upset, then offer a treat afterward. Adin would then counter offer to eat the treat first and then take the medicine. And he actually usually did. Monday night, Joe was at a meeting and I was trying to get the medicine into Adin. We reached the point where Adin (and Erik) would get a sugar cookie after taking the medicine. Adin never counter offered! I was frustrated and told Erik he could go ahead and eat his cookie. No, he said he wanted to wait and eat it when Adin ate his. Adin's cookie fell and one point of the star came off. I let him eat it, but still he wouldn't take the medicine. Knowing we had more stars and hoping to get him a little upset, I ate one of the points off Adin's star. When he was running around he crashed into me, the cookie fell and one or two more points fell off. I ate more of the points. Still he wouldn't budge. Finally I ate the cookie (planning to give him another star cookie if/when he took the medicine). Adin was upset and I was about to tell him my plan, when Erik ran over and told Adin that if he took his medicine, Erik would give him half of his cookie! Adin agreed, took the medicine and Erik gave him half his cookie!

post Christmas crib talk

Adin was cracking me up so I went and got my computer. The things he said after I started typing weren't quite as funny, but you might get a kick out of them. I have no idea what he was talking about in the first line.

What does that other thing you got for Christmas after something else?
Mama did you know that you and me and papa and Erik all have beds? All of us!
Why did you get a turkey baster for Christmas? [this was a gift from Joe]
Mama, my favorite game is football.

lillejuleaften 2010

The following vignette perfectly summarizes the boys' relationship right now:

I came out of the shower and they were playing doctor in the rose room.
Erik: checked Adin's right ear "Looks fine."
checks other ear "You have a carrot in there.
checks first ear again "You have a potato in here".
Puts blood pressure cuff on Adin. "Looks good."
Looks in doctor bag, pulls out plastic bandaid. "Are you ready for a bandaid?"
Adin: backs away, cringing. "Noo! I'm not ready."
Erik: gets really mad, "Well you need a bandaid and you're stupid."
Fighting ensues.

So basically, they alternate between playing together wonderfully, and fighting over things like a glass of water. (Anne: "We have plenty of water! You don't need to fight over that glass!") I learned that they are not yet able to control themselves better when I threaten them with Santa watching, so I have given up.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Adin's baby Erik

Sometimes when I'm lovin' on Adin, I tell him that even though he's not a baby anymore, he's still my baby. He usually says, "I'm not a baby. I'm a kid." A couple days ago he started pretending to be a baby, crying, laying in my lap. Then he started telling me he had a baby named Erik. Fortunately, he's said that when Erik's not around, I don't know that Erik would appreciate it. Today he wanted me to be his baby. So I finally decided to bring the baby doll out of toy storage. Erik never played with it, so we put it away. Adin enjoyed wrapping it in a towel and putting it down to sleep. I'm hoping this will give him a focus for his intense love for Erik.

Erik LOVES snow

We woke up yesterday to snow covering the ground, and falling in fat flakes. Erik went out with Joe and shoveled, then he played by himself and with the neighbors. Joe's mom came over to watch the kids so we could go to the MN Orchestra (thanks Lois!) and she and Erik worked really hard building a snow fort. [This picture doesn't really do it justice. It's melted some, and you can't really see the shape. Oh well.] Today he's been out there all day, as well, and enjoyed showing off the fort to the neighbors. Last spring, he told me that fall was his favorite season and winter was his second favorite. I scoffed inwardly, thinking, he'll have so much fun playing outside this summer he'll change his mind. Nope. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if winter bumps fall to the number 2 spot.

Another step

When I picked up the kids from daycare, Erik told me he learned how to read a new word, map. How do you spell it, I asked. M-A-P At home, he got out a crayon while I was making dinner and wrote out the word, then asked me if I could read it. I could! Knowing that he can write many letters, I showed him that now he can write M-A-P he could really write lots more words. We got through cap,lap, and nap before he lost interest. He wanted to write wagon. The G gave him trouble (kept writing e) and he got frustrated and wanted to stop.

Later on, Erik and Joe were talking about writing a play. Bert and Ernie could discuss what they would be for Halloween. Ernie would be a fire fighter. Someone suggested that Bert could be a police officer and I pointed out to Erik now that he could write C-A-P he could also write C-O-P.

These times when the kids are on the cusp of new developments are so exciting. They have so much potential!

You're telling me!

Adin had an ear infection last week, so he's been (happily) taking medicine ever since. Tonight was the last dose and when he was done, Erik asked if now that Adin was done, could he please have the rest of Adin's medicine? I told him that medicine can help you when you need it, but can hurt you if you take it when you don't need it. Two minutes later, Erik said, "Life is very complicated."

O ya!

Wow. It's been a long time since I've posted. Adin asked to try sleeping in the toddler bed tonight. Because Erik was very tired, we put them to bed early. Adin is just regular tired so he is lying in bed singing the closing song from Barnehage: Alle barne smiler, alle barne smiler, o ya, o ya, o ya! [All the children smile, all the children smile, all the children smile, oh yes, oh yes, oh yes.] I'm glad I'm not on the floor in his room, or I would be giggling and keeping him awake!

Family Day

I thought maybe today was Mother's Day when I came down for breakfast. Erik came right over to me, gave me a hug and said, "There's nothing like having a mother." That's about the best version of "good morning" ever! Then, I got to shower before Joe and when I came down from getting dressed, Joe had the kids fed and dressed for church, all by 7:20! I told them they must have gotten confused and thought this was Mother's Day, and we decided today was a special Family Day for loving our family.

The pictures are of the boys trying on some 'safety' goggles Joe bought for $2. Erik likes to pretend he's a construction worker, but we just read that archeologists wear goggles when working, too.

tonight

Adin found a little wheelie thing and told me he was going to Cub. Here's his shopping list:
"lettuce, pizza, chocolate, chocolate cake, custard...Does anyone like custard?"
It really started off healthy, but just went downhill fast.

As Erik was waiting for dinner to cook he went in the basement and played drums. He made up a song that went, "I love the whole world" over and over.

You make me happy.

Joe did Adin's bedtime routine tonight. They sang a bunch of songs and then Adin said, "Now let's sleep." Joe reached up his hand to put it between slats of crib. Adin squeezed his fingers for a bit and then twisted his hand back and forth a few times, and said, "Papa, you're my wrench." Joe said, "Adin, you're so sweet. You're my boy." Adin replied, "You're my grownup."

Now he's singing in his crib, "The Lord is good to meeee," over and over.

Oldemor

Adin is lying in his bed singing, "Happy Birthday dear OH-deh-mood, [that's how he pronounces 'oldemor' which is great grandma in Norwegian] happy birthday to you" on a continuous loop.
Oops, he just switched to a medley: "E-I-E-I-O! Thank you, Wisconsin! A-B-C-D-E-F-G",...nonsense syllables, huge yawn aaaand silence!

Erik to the rescue!

Joe and Erik went grocery shopping this afternoon. I guess Erik was well prepared for any emergency.

Picnic

We went to a neighborhood picnic tonight. Some neighbors from down the street (who also go to our church) were there. The older son, who must be 10 or 11, loves kids and came up to Adin on the playground. He kept a good distance between himself and Adin, and squatted a little and smiled like he was about to say something. Adin looked at me, looked at him, and said to him, "I'm a little bit afraid of you." Fortunately, the neighbor found it as hilarious as I did.

National Night Out

I organized a block party for National Night Out on Tuesday. It was really fun! Erik asked if we could have one every night and then yesterday he asked me about 20 times how long it was until we were having another block party! It was really fun to watch the kids. My boys love playing with our neighbor boys, so that was no surprise. Erik really, really wanted to invite Gavin to come play in our house, and I finally gave in. I don't mind having Gavin in there, I just hadn't cleaned at all! We've seen another 4 year old around but she doesn't play outside much so the party was our first chance to get to know her. Adin really took to her and they played together all up and down the block. Including making a run for the other side of the cones blocking off our street. Yikes. Erik made an attempt to get to know her. He walked up to her and said (very fast) "I'm Erik. What's your name?" and then ran away before she could say anything. Hilarious.

There are two houses of kids across the alley from us. They ate at their own block party, but then joined up with Gavin and Jackson and ran/biked back and forth several times. I had a similar sort of feel to my block growing up, so I really hope those families stay. I love seeing the roaming pack of kids.

Sweet Revenge

So I was playing "Three Little Pigs" with Adin and it was my turn to be the wolf. He got a little mixed up with "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" and said I shouldn't eat him, I should eat his brother instead. But that I had to wait 'til he woke up. Then Adin offered to go wake up Erik.

No kick from champagne

Erik's latest thing is to say "I really get a kick out of it" whenever Adin says or does anything. For example, we were playing in the backyard with some friends this afternoon. Adin and Erik briefly fought over the slide and Adin lashed out physically. After Erik got over being upset (he wasn't appeased by Adin's apology but by seeing Adin lose out on a popsicle treat) he said several times that he got a kick out of Adin this afternoon, except for the part where Adin bit him. Later he got a kick out of playing Duck Duck Goose with Adin and some friends.

Wait, where did the mess go?

I hired a cleaning company to come out this morning and spend a couple hours cleaning my house. It was lovely and smelled so good afterward. When the boys came in the house from the neighbor's house, Erik noticed the smell of peppermint right away. He has said in the past how much he likes things to be messy, but I always assumed that was just because he didn't want to have to clean up. This afternoon he was driving a toy truck around, and he reached waaaaay under some heavy furniture to pull out a dust bunny and put it in his truck. He was just so at sea with the house being so clean, he had to find one of his old friends, dust bunny, to feel comfortable again!

Bittersweet

Erik is going to Vacation Bible School this week. Our church doesn't do VBS, so he's going to another Lutheran church in town. We visited there one week so he would be a little familiar with the building. I talked about it a little so it wouldn't be a surprise, but didn't dwell on it so much that he got anxious.

When I dropped him off yesterday, he was momentarily upset, but went right over, sat down and played with blocks. Adin and I left the room, talked to someone at a table in the hall and then peeked in, just to make sure he was ok. He was fine. I was very proud of him.

Then today, he was momentarily upset at home before we left, but did not show any distress at all at the church. He just sat down and played and could barely be bothered to say goodbye.

Both days, I was so proud of him, but also had a twinge of sadness. Joe and I have been working with him for years on transitions, separating from us, and mastering his emotions. It's very gratifying to see him do well, but it also hits home how he is one step further from his babyhood. sigh.

Really?

Tonight there was an ice cream social at church. During dinner Adin said he didn't want to go. I figured he was probably pulling a two year old maneuver and asked if he'd rather go with me to the grocery store. Yes he would. He steadfastly maintained that he would rather go shopping with me and how excited he was to go to the grocery store. [And by the way, through the entire shopping trip he did not shut up about how much fun he was having at the store. I had to tell the manager.]

I started up the car and as soon as the music from the CD started (Peter Himmelman "My Fabulous Plum") he said, "I love this song." We drove about two minutes and he said, "I love this music. I really, really love this song. It's really, really funny." I said, "It's not as funny as you!" He said in a small, sad voice, "It's a little bit funny."

Adin's language sample from tonight.

Here's what Adin said tonight as he was winding down in his crib:

Can you go over there?
I thought you was.
You have to look in the bookcase. (should have been past tense)
That’s a good idea mama.
He’s tired and sad. (he could hear Erik crying)
I’m a little bit sad.
Is somebody out the door?
Not you, no, not Mama.
But you was.
I was waiting for you and Papa.
What’s your name again?
What’s your names?
No, that’s not your names.
Anne is your two names.
Mama, can we meet Gramma here?
Ok, that’s a good idea Mama.
You said yeah. You said yes, too.
Can you tell me a knock knock joke to me?
You say knock knock. I say who’s there.
Ok. I will not cry. (after a boo who knock knock joke)
It’s gone on.
Is that a funny one?
Can you tell me a different one joke?
No. I don’t want another knock knock joke.
Papa dump it for me.
Me either. Not me.
That’s a laugh-y one. I laughed. (After I told him a joke. I love this comment.)
Should I lie down instead?
I’m asleep.
I want you cover me.
I want you lie down.
Oh no. I love jokes.
There’s two and three. I like those numbers. My number’s two.
‘K. I will be quiet.
So cozy Mama

Four years

So far, I really like the age of four. Yesterday, Joe was going to take the boys to the local kiddie pool. Adin tripped and skinned he knee. He refused to go to the pool. Erik was verrrrry disappointed, but he was able to say with a quivery voice that he was sad about it. Last summer, he would have had a flat out tantrum.
His Grandma was here Thursday night and he wanted to go downstairs and play 'Bert and Ernie Goodnight' with her. Adin said he wanted to play too, but he couldn't go down right away, I forget why. Lois (Grandma) said that Erik waited for Adin to start the play. So sweet, especially since once Adin came down they bickered quite a bit.

He's also become significantly better at cleaning up after himself. He doesn't make a big fuss about it, sometimes he will even do it without my asking or with only one ask. When he does put up a stink, I tell him I will think about that next time he asks to play with the item. He goes right over and starts putting things away!

overheard

We were just reading a book. There was a picture of oscar the grouch listening to a bird sing. Adin said he thought the bird was singing the ABCs.

I was making Erik lunch. I peeled him a carrot. As soon as I gave it to him he asked where his sandwich was. I said I couldn't do two things at once. He said, "Ask God to help you. He knows how to do everything."

Come again?

Funny things the boys say:

When Adin wants to play baseball he says, "Play Minnesota, Mama?" I guess the only team that exists for him is the Twins! After we dropped off Erik at preschool this week he saw one of my coworkers in the hallway. He ran up to her and said, "I'm Adin Lindell!"

Erik has been learning a lot about animals and that some of them are carnivores. I find it very funny when he talks about how an animal can hide from it's 'creditors'!! He likes Gobstoppers but calls them Godstoppers. I tried to teach him by telling him I think 'gob' is another name for mouth so they stop your mouth. So then he would say, "Godst...mouth stoppers."

We are the dinosaurs

I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch today and there were lots of boys Erik's age. In the past, Erik has either not been interested in playing with the other kids or has been too nervous/shy. Today, he was right in there, climbing and rolling his toy car down the slide. Very fun for me to see.

However, as the play progressed, he seemed to get more excited and maybe was having a hard time controlling his energy. He would sort of get near kids and tense his hands like he sort of wanted to push them and was able to stop himself at the last moment. So I tried to keep a very close eye on what was going on. Soon, it escalated to making claw hands and roaring at kids. No one freaked out, but they didn't really like it, of course. So I gave him a warning to stop. He didn't. I forget now what he ended up doing, but I told him we were leaving in two minutes and he had to sit in the booth until we left.

Sitting in the booth, he became very, very calm. So I had an idea. I told him he was not allowed to be a dinosaur in Playland because dinosaurs were not allowed there. I told him we were going to the park later and he could be a dinosaur there. I asked if he thought he could play like a nice boy for a few minutes at McD's. He said yes he thought he could do that. And he did. When it was time to go he told me that he had pretended to be a baby dinosaur while playing. Yay!

Oops

I ran out to the car to grab Adin's nuk before naptime. When I came back in the house, Erik was trying to hide behind the couch. I asked what he was doing back there and he didn't answer. Then I saw the carpet was covered in whole peppercorns! He started saying, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. It was an accident."

Because he was apologizing and it would be easy to clean, I didn't get mad, I just told him that's why Joe and I tell him not to play with the peppergrinder. Once I got out the broom and told him to sweep he could tell I wasn't getting mad. So then he stopped saying, I'm sorry and started saying, "sweeping up is too hard."

Figuring out the world

Adin has been asking us the same questions over and over. "What your name, Mama? What my name, Mama? What Erik's name, Mama?" etc. The other one is, "What your number, Mama? [how old are you] What my number, Mama? What Papa's number, Mama?" Today he was sitting in his high chair eating oatmeal. My mom walked by and he said, "I'm Adin Lindell!"

Erik has always been vehemently anti-bandage. He refused to cover even the bloodiest scrapes. I think he associated band-aids with the pain from getting a shot and twisted it to think that if I put a band-aid on him, it would hurt. Earlier this week he scraped his knee and it didn't seem to bother him for the first couple days. Friday night he was having trouble falling asleep and said his knee hurt. I offered him some Tylenol, which he accepted. Then he asked for a band-aid! I couldn't believe it. Saturday morning the band-aid got wet during swim lessons so he asked for a new one. Tonight before bed he commented on how his owie was getting better. I said I thought it was because of the band-aids, and he agreed!

Cuteness

Oh dear, the boys are always up to some cuteness, but by evening, I can't remember what it was! I shall do my best to remember. Erik has been very interested in telling jokes lately, so Adin has picked one of them and will attempt to tell it. Tonight I was laying on the floor next to Adin's bed and he told me his joke about two eggs about 2 dozen times. Then he went to his next routine, asking me how old each person in the family is: what your number mama? what my number, mama? what papa's number, mama?, etc. Then he started in on: what your name, mama? what papa's name, mama? By the time he got to, "what Adin's name, mama?" my patience was worn a little thin. So I said, "robert". He must have thought I misunderstood. There was a long pause and he asked again. This time I said, "susan." Since Susan is his aunt's name, he must have thought I was confused. He said, "what you talking about, mama? no, not Susan. Not Susan, mama." I don't know if this story will be funny for other people, but it made me laugh!

March of the Penguin

We got tickets to the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast this morning. Each kid gets a raffle ticket and every now and then someone reads off ticket numbers. When your number is called, you can go up to the stage and choose a stuffed animal. Adin chose a patchwork elephant, Erik chose a penguin. He named his penguin "Penguinologist", but told me I could call him Penguin for short. He has been talking to his penguin and showing him around the house. We all went downstairs and Erik asked if Penguinologist could watch a show on the computer. Joe found "March of the Penguins". Once it started showing the landscape, Penguin said it looked like home. Then the penguins appeared. Erik started gently sobbing because Penguin missed his home and friends. Joe has offered to turn it off but Erik says it's more fun than sad. I suggested Penguin was excited to take this trip to Minnesota, but Erik says he still misses his home and friends. He's been crying for 5 or 10 minutes. Part of me thinks it's very sweet, part of me thinks it's hilarious.

Wheels

A couple weeks ago, Erik was riding his trike to the park and calling out, "look out, squirrels, here comes Trike." On Thursday our generous neighbors gave us their younger son's outgrown little bike w/training wheels. Erik is in heaven. He bikes to parks that are a half mile away! Today we were leaving a park and he started off down a gentle hill yelling, "look out, here comes Super Boy"!

Adin

I bought a container of cherry tomatoes last night, to use for beef and veggie kabobs. Adin was a big fan of the grape tomatoes from the garden last summer so I had high hopes. While he was waiting for dinner, he asked for an apple, which I gave him. Then he asked for grapes. I said, "no, but you can have tomatoes." So he said, "Want 'matoes, mama, in my mouth." He's been requesting food that way for a couple weeks. "Want ... in my mouth." It's so funny. I have no idea where he picked up that phrase. He ate lots of tomatoes, by the way, also the sweet peppers on the kabobs. He did not like the onion, though.

Elbow? What elbow?

We went to a kiddie concert tonight and the band played the Hokey Pokey. Joe told me that on the way out, Erik said his favorite part was "put your right elbow in" because your elbow isn't a part of the body!

Adin has moved on to saying four word sentences sometimes. "No tickle me again" for example.

Away in a Manger

I just checked a rarely used hotmail account and found a picture of Erik with the other Sunday School kids singing in the Christmas program. So cute.