liam writes his name!

For the past couple of weeks, Liam has been bringing home his daycare papers with his name written on them. Clearly it's a child's writing, but which child? Last night I put it to the test and asked Liam to write his name for me. I think he did a pretty good job, considering he's only 3 years and 3 months old! He's having a little trouble with the lowercase a -- he's using the circle-and-stick method, but he's putting the "stick" in a different place each time. But he's got the spelling down, and the other letters are pretty recognizable. There's video of the event below -- click on the picture, which will take you to the video. I recorded it so Mike could see it when he got home. Then I spent hours last night trying to post it onto the blog, with absolutely no success. So please go take a look, and if the video stuff ever starts working again, I'll post it directly.

2007-9-27-1

greta wants to hunt

"If we didn't have those cursed screens, not only could I chase and vanquish bugs all day, but I could get to these damned squirrels that have been taunting me all day from the deck. Then it would be ON."

sunday in the marble orchard

My mom and Loni joined us Sunday afternoon for the first annual Plymouth History Walk. It was a guided walking tour of the oldest section of Oakhill Cemetery, with seven stops along the way. Players in period costume told the life stories of some of the earliest Plymouth residents while standing next to their tombstones. There was a newspaper owner, a businessman, the first mayor of Plymouth, the daughters of a farmer, a Civil War soldier, the president of the local Women's Christian Temperance Union, and a minister. We learned some history, and the boys did really well, right up until we got to the minister, but by that point I was losing the plot a bit as well. Only about half of the tour was on the paved paths of the cemetery -- the other half of the time, I had to off-road it with the boys in the double stroller, which was not made with that use in mind. I got stuck in a rut more than once, but luckily Loni was on hand to help us out of the worst jams.

And really, what 16-year old DOESN'T want to spend the afternoon in the cemetery with her mom, sister, and nephews? Not our Lon, that's for sure. Check out that tree in the background -- it was struck by lightning not long ago.

At the first stop, another kid was misbehaving a little. The boys were entranced, and thankfully forgot that they could be misbehaving as well.


These are the two little girls. They told their family story, then explained a little bit about the fascinating symbolism of gravestone icons. Really interesting stuff. This tree-shaped monument represents a life cut short.

About halfway through, and Liam already wants to know when we're going to be finished.

saturday in the park

On Saturday, Val and Tyler came to visit and check out the house in person. The boys hit it off nicely and played well together while Val and I had some lunch and caught up a bit. Then we packed up the boys and headed for Centennial Park, where they happily explored the swings, slides, mini clubhouse thing, and of course, the big wood-and-tire play structure. Here are some highlights from the park:

Without hesitation, Liam heads straight
for the tallest slide he can find.

Max peeks over the top bar of a more appropriately
sized swing. Two seconds later, he grabbed the bar
and hurled himself, gymnast-style, down the slide.

Max and Tyler enjoy the clubhouse.

I told the boys I thought this thing would spin around.
I was wrong -- it's just a bench, but they didn't mind.

Tyler and Max explore the underside of a bridge
made from giant tires....

...While Liam tries to muster the courage to go over
the top of the bridge. (He didn't.)

Val checks on Max.

I think Max is a little envious that he chose the
stairs instead of the slide.

max gets obsessive

Two nights ago, the boys and I read a book with stickers in the back (Time to Pee, if you're really interested) and of course they each insisted on having a sticker. Liam's said "Great job peeing!" or some such thing, and Max's said "Better luck next time!" What? As Liam points out a hundred times a day, Max doesn't pee in the potty yet. Anyway, they went to bed wearing their stickers on their shirts, and Max freaked out no less than five times during the night because he had taken his sticker off to play with it and then couldn't find it. One time it was in his shirt sleeve, one time it was in his shorts ... you get the picture. The boy woke up at 2 a.m. crying, "My sticker! My sticker!" inconsolably. Mike had to go get him another stupid sticker out of the book to get him to go back to sleep.

Last night it was milk. The boys finished their cups of milk before I took them up to bed, then Max spent TWO HOURS crying for his milk. "My milk! My milk!" Lest you think I'm a cruel mommy, let me just point out that he never actually *drinks* the milk at bedtime, he just wants to hold the cup -- in such a way that it spills all over his crib and makes a huge mess. So no way was I giving him the cup! (And no, he won't accept an empty cup as a substitute. I tried.)

But the cutest obsession has been the blanket. He found one of their baby blankets a few days ago, and he's been carrying it around like Linus ever since. He even insisted on taking it to daycare this morning. My hope is that he can get attached to *only* the blanket, which he can't lose in the night or use to make a mess all over his crib. It's not unheard of -- Klaudia had a blanket (known as Fuzz, short, I believe, for Fuzzy Blanket) when she was young. My other, bigger hope is that these boys will start going to sleep without the two hours of crying. Every night, after I finally get them to sleep, I have to come down and take some Advil Migraine. And don't think I'm kidding.

P.S. I believe the blanket in question was a baby gift from Doug and Stephanie when Liam was born. So Doug and Steph, if you read this, thanks again for the blanket!

liam needs a haircut

a lot can happen in four years

For example, you could:
* Buy a house in the suburbs
* Get married
* Have a baby 9 months and 10 days later
* Sell house in suburbs, move to deluxe apartment in city
* Have a second baby 19 months after the first one
* Buy house in small town
* Quit jobs and leave security behind to move to small town
* Restore old house (this may take longer than four years!)
* Create a perfectly happy family

(I like that last one best.)

max is confused. or: one of these shoes is not like the other

Max has been obsessed with shoes lately. He brings our shoes to us constantly, and if he's barefoot, he tries to put his own shoes on. Sometimes, he succeeds. Usually, he finds it easier to get one of my shoes (or Mike's, or Liam's) onto his foot without a struggle. Today, it was both.

cousin chaos!

Tuesday night we had the pleasure of having Kelsey, Emma, Jimmy, and Gracie over for a few hours. The boys were very excited, and waited with their faces pressed to the glass door for their cousins to arrive. Things started out normally enough. Everyone colored, the boys ran around with dump trucks, the usual. But then Kelsey and Emma got out this huge bag of crafts that Aunt Dana had given them to share with all the cousins (and can I just add, "thanks" for that, Dana -- I'm going to be finding tiny foam pieces and beads for the next 30 years).


That's when the scene descended into madness, at least for a while. As you might expect, every kit and packet was dumped into one huge pile -- oh, except for the glitter glue, which got spread all across the hardwood floors while I was making dinner. Good times.


After dinner (and I have a newfound respect for anyone who can watch six kids while cooking dinner!) we retired to the living room to watch Dora. Liam even tried to interest baby Gracie in one of his toys. Nice sharing!


Then the kids wanted to have a photo shoot. Here are the best of the bunch. The last one is, I believe, the first time Liam has ever willingly posed when someone asked. I guess the trick is that the right person (Kelsey) has to be the one doing the asking!

amelia's wedding

A couple of months ago, my sister and I happened to be in Macy's during a one-day sale. We hunted through the kids' sale items, and wouldn't you know it? the only two suits in the whole place were the next sizes up for each of the boys. They were Kenneth Cole something-fancy-or-others, and they were on sale for under $20 each. How could I possibly resist? Really, could you?

And so I bought them, and brought them home, where Mike expressed skepticism and disbelief. When would they ever wear them? Isn't it a waste of money? Luckily, the boys were invited with us to my cousin Amelia's wedding last weekend, so the suits didn't go to waste.


The wedding was in nearby Culver, which should have taken only 15 minutes or so to get to, and would have ... if there wasn't a train parked on the tracks, blocking our route. So we got there a little bit late. By the time we arrived, the boys were asleep in the car, so Mike stayed with them while I snuck in to see the ceremony. Happily, I wasn't nearly the last person to arrive. The ceremony was lovely, and the reception was lively.


Once they got over their initial shyness, the boys let loose at the reception, walking and running around, talking to people, and generally having a good time. It was a while before dinner was ready, so it was a very good thing that Mike and I brought a container of fruit puffs. The boys ate the whole thing!


After dinner, the dancing started. Liam didn't like it much, but Max was really into it. He danced with Liam, with me, and even cut in on cousin Nat and his date! (They were nice enough to hoist him up to share the dance.)


But all good things must come to an end, and after a few minutes of loud music, the boys were headed for major meltdowns. So I got them changed into their pajamas, and we quickly packed up and headed for home. On our way out to get changed, my Aunt Dana stopped us for a family picture. I'm glad, because I had intended to get someone to take one, but forgot all about it. Thanks, Dana!


There are tons more pictures of the boys, the wedding, and the reception here if you're interested. Enjoy!

Oh, and the best part? The suits are still too big! My mom took in the pants and jackets for them, but made the new hems easy to take out, so they boys can wear them again. We don't have a special occasion in mind, but I smell a fancy family holiday dinner coming on...

mosquito report

Seriously, this is out of control. There seem to be fewer mosquitoes since it got colder, but Max got two bites during our walk home from the library. One is on his cheek, and the other is right on the bridge of his nose. It's swelled up so big that he looks, in the words of Aunt Laura, "Like a Klingon." Look at his poor profile! He normally has such a cute, curved little button nose, and now it's swollen beyond recognition. Maybe it's just me, but this is worse than any mosquito bites I've seen before. The sad thing is, they tell me at daycare that Max is not the worst case they saw today -- not by far. Ugh.

library!

As part of our ongoing exploration of Our Town, last night I took the boys for a long walk to the library (about a mile from our house). I've been there a couple of times since we moved, but this is the first time the boys have gone. Like a lot of areas of Our Town, a lot has changed in the last 20 years! The library, which was once fairly cozy, is now the size of the entire block. Best of all, there's a whole children's wing, which is where I took the boys. We checked out books, and Liam insisted on getting a Thomas DVD (why? he never actually watches a whole episode of Thomas), and then we hit the jackpot.

Near the kid-size study tables (where a number of kids and parents were busily doing homework together), there was a playroom. A playroom! In the library! It had a farm mural on the walls. Toys included a kitchen set, doll house, farm set, blocks, puzzles, and all sorts of other kid-friendly doodads. Miracle of miracles, I was able to sit in a handy rocking chair and read a magazine for 40 minutes while the boys played nicely. Together. With no fighting. Which just never happens. Max mostly was interested in the kitchen set (I've thought about getting them one, but they're just too much money for a big hunk of plastic), but Liam, surprisingly, was totally into the doll house. He was roll playing and speaking for all of the dolls ("Mommy, are you making dinner? Yes, Mommy is making dinner. What's Daddy doing? Daddy is sleeping in this room.") and walking them from room to room. They had a great time. I think we'll start making a walk to the library a weekly thing.

Sorry if the pictures aren't perfect, but I took them with no flash because I didn't want to get in trouble with the librarian on our first visit.

overheard

So tonight we were in Max's room, dancing along to some children's CDs that I got at last year's PIL holiday sale (and I really must add that these CDs are CRAPPY) when Liam jumped up and announced that he had to go to the bathroom.

He raced down the hall to the bathroom. As soon as he figured out where Liam was going, Max ran after him, as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him. He got to the bathroom doorway just in time for Liam to yell, "Max, I need some privacy!" and slam the door in his face.

Poor Max. He just stood there sobbing, tears pouring down his little face, and saying something I couldn't quite make out. Wait ... was that? ... yes, it certainly was Max sobbing out: "I ... want ... pri-cee!"

Max wants privacy.

At exactly the same time that I realized that what he was asking for, Liam screamed out from the bathroom, "Max, you're just a baby! You don't get privacy! You poop in your diaper!"

It just about broke my heart, and made me pee my pants laughing.

max wonders: why me?

Why is it that every time I get a mosquito bite (and I have HUNDREDS, despite that yucky spray stuff that Mom and Dad put on me) it swells up like a big ball? [Ed. note: sorry I couldn't capture the big-ball effect, but that bump over his right eye was easily the size of a super bouncy ball.]


And why is it that I can't try to ride Liam's bike -- even if he's not on it -- without him getting on my back about it?




Nobody lets me do anything around here! They think I'm just a baby, but I'll show them...

max loves turkey stroganoff

He's especially fond of the sauce.

way station

On the way back from the playground this afternoon, the boys and I stopped to check out this old train car with helpful platform so they could explore it a bit.

we interrupt this flurry of new posts to bring you the following update

Mike is upstairs giving the boys a bath while I do some blogging. What he may not know is that the baby monitor is on, so I can hear him teaching the boys to sing "We Need the Funk." It's really funny!

Mike: We need the funk! Gotta have the funk.
Liam: We need to f**k!
Mike: No, Liam! Not f**k, funk!
Liam: Oh. Sorry, Daddy.
All: We need the funk! Gotta have that funk...

fruit punch fever

I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to those sugar-free drink pouches that allow you to transform an ordinary bottle of water into pure technicolor flavor. Specifically, glorious fruit punch flavor.

Lately, Liam has taken to stealing my bottles of water whenever I'm not looking so he can sneak some sips. Which wasn't too bad considering that he's made a lot of progress in the "drinking without spilling" area. But this morning, he brought a new twist to his game: He decided to share with Max.

It was a drowsy Sunday morning, and Mike and I were snuggled up in bed while the boys happily watched a cartoon in the playroom (right next to our room). A little too happily, I thought, and got up to investigate. I was just in time to witness Liam tilting the bottle to give Max the last sip of what used to be a full bottle of fruit punch.

Look, Max is drunk on the stuff:




After I captured my staggering little man, I stripped him down to his diaper, threw away his ruined yellow shirt, and washed him off. But the fruit punch wasn't defeated that easily -- look, his poor little belly is still stained red!