lessons learned

This weekend we took a little road trip to scenic Wheaton, Illinois to visit with our good friends Mark and Katie (and the boys' good friends Linus and Leo). Mike and Mark headed to Wisconsin to see a concert, and Katie and I banded together to wrangle the four boys for the weekend. We had a lovely visit, and the boys all played nicely together. For me, one of the big bonuses was that the boys got to spend the night and two days in a house with a newborn, so now they have a slightly better idea of what to expect when our baby comes.

Liam, especially, really got into the act, learning how to give baby Leo his pacifier ("Just hold it by his mouth, Mom, don't shove the whole thing in at once!"). He also learned that babies sleep a lot, and that they poop quite frequently, and that they're really fun when they smile. Both boys got to hold Leo (under careful supervision) and marvel over his tiny features, and it made them very excited to be able to hold their new brother soon.


All this, and yet, when Mike got back late Sunday morning and we asked Liam to tell him everything he'd learned about babies, Liam got this look of wide-eyed amazement and immediately shouted out, "Babies drink milk from their mommies' BOOBS!"

So this is what life is like with two boys, and I can hardly imagine the level of bodily function fascination we're going to encounter with three of them running around!

so far behind

It's been all work for me lately, but all play for the boys. We've (actually, mostly "they've") done so many fun things lately that it's hard to catch up. We saw Loni graduate from high school (during which the boys were surprisingly good, thanks no doubt to an emergency supply of Teddy Grahams provided by Bethany) and had a blast at her open house (where there was an inflatable bouncy slide for the kids and plenty of euchre for the adults). The boys have had a bunch of field trips for school (yesterday, they went to the local library to present Ronald McDonald himself with a boatload -- literally -- of pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House) and have been lucky enough to take a few family field trips as well. Last weekend, Mike took took them to the zoo, and they came back with plenty of excited stories to tell me, along with a few disappointments about animals they missed seeing. Max, in particular, was upset because he didn't see any "lepers" at the zoo. Then yesterday, Bethany and Klaudia took two very lucky boys to see "Up" in 3D. Liam was mesmerized the whole time and gave it two very enthusiastic thumbs up, while Max enjoyed the movie but wasn't a big fan of the glasses. Today, we had a nice visit with cousins Kelsey, Emma, Jimmy, and Gracie while Max was home for his "special day" with Mike. Check out the pictures below to get a glimpse of what we've been up to.

Congrats, Loni!

Mike and Bethany give Klaudia some euchre tips...

He doesn't actually know how to read the zoo map yet.
Pretty convincing, though, isn't he?

another graduation

Last night, the boys and I headed for the hot, muggy (but not as hot as our car, whose A/C has functioned only intermittently since we drove through some high water last year!) school gym to watch Klaudia graduate from sixth grade. The ceremony was surprisingly lengthy, and the boys did well for about the first 10 or 15 minutes, after which they perspired unhappily and asked repeatedly if it was over yet. Fun stuff.



But they perked up when it was Klaudia's turn to go up and get her diploma, and soon after that, they got to head back down the bleachers and roam more freely. Piggyback rides were the order of the day, as you can see. The funny part was, on the way back home, all the boys could talk about was how much "fun" they'd had during the graduation. Memory fades fast at that age, I guess.



Or maybe it doesn't. We got home pretty late last night, and Max surprised us all by pooping in the potty for the first time ever (he's been doing great with potty training, but this is a real milestone). We had promised him that he could pick out a special toy the first time, so I'm taking him to the store tonight. But Liam surprised me by remembering that he got a trip to a museum by reaching his potty-training goals, and insisted that Max should get the same deal. I really can't believe he remembered -- it was more than a year ago!

the graduate

Last night, the boys had their spring concert at school, along with Liam's preschool graduation. They both did really well during the program, and sang their little hearts out. I may post video later, depending on how big the videos ended up being. Unfortunately, they were placed at opposite ends of the stage from each other, so it was hard to get them both doing their thing. The concert was definitely a success, and the boys loved having most of a row there just to see them (me, my mom and dad, Loni, and Bethany, who got to see them in concert for the first time). It was a real treat. Once they finished singing, the graduates donned their little mortarboards and had their names called to get their diplomas. Each kid also got a little photo album from the teachers with pictures of them during their time at the school. Liam's was wonderful! It was so sweet to see so many pictures of him (most of which were new to us) from the past two years.

Because of a prior engagement, Grandpa Okie couldn't join us, but after the program, we went to his favorite local eatery: Ponderosa. The boys and I had never been there before, so it was fun to go someplace new. I enjoyed my steak, and the boys were big fans of the ice cream bar. Once he was finished eating, Liam got a little impatient waiting for the adults to finish, but I solved that problem by handing him my camera, and he happily spent the rest of the time taking pictures out the window of the Walgreens and McDonalds next door. Funny kid.

busy bees

Life has been a little hectic here at Circus Forticus HQ lately. Work has been busy, which is great, but leaves little time for other things (like, oh, celebrating Mother's Day, for example). But we're all doing well.

Max is working diligently on potty training and is in his second week of wearing underwear all day. He's currently in a standoff with his teachers at school, wherein he refuses to use the bathroom all day long. By the time he gets home, he's ready to explode. We're trying various treat- and reward-based programs to get him used to using the facilities at school and at home.

Liam is still loving soccer. We just got his soccer pictures back yesterday, and they look wonderful! I'll have to scan one in to share with you all. We also went to Klaudia's gymnastics practice last week, and now Liam can't stop practicing somersaults (or, I guess I should say "forward rolls"). I'm counting my blessings -- he saw her on the uneven bars, so I'm lucky he's not trying to emulate that!

We had a busy weekend. Saturday we drove to Chicagoland to give Mike's mom her Mother's Day gift and to go to a party for our good friends Mark and Katie. It was a very late night, especially for Mike, who stayed up afterward to watch the Hawks win a playoff game. I got to go to brunch with my mom, Bethany, and Laura Sunday morning, which was delicious, but probably an unfortunate choice because I had to go home afterward and work, when all I wanted to do was nap. Late in the afternoon, we headed back to my mom's house for a cookout, and then came back home so I could work some more (deadline was this morning, so thankfully I'm finished with that project!).

Oh, and for anyone who's wondering, baby seems fine, too. We had our ultrasound last week, and all parts are accounted for. Unfortunately, the tech couldn't tell us the baby's gender, so it looks like we'll be waiting a while to figure that out.

So that's us lately. Sorry the posting has been light, but between work and kids, it's all I can do to grab some sleep each night!

the week in pictures

Well, the second part of the week, anyway. We had soccer practice Thursday, then went out to dinner with my family on Friday (as you can tell, the boys were in rare form). Mike also took Max to get a haircut on Friday, but you can barely tell in these pics; I'll have to post some soon to capture the cuteness. Saturday morning, Mike and Liam had a little pre-game power struggle, which resulted in a win for Mike (shocking!) and a sulk fest for Liam (warming up for the game by kicking the ball around with his arms crossed and a giant scowl on his face). Things got better as the game progressed, and the rest of the weekend went fairly smoothly. The boys and I went to a pancake breakfast at my dad's fire station Sunday morning, where they chowed down on pancakes, sausage, and eggs, and we spent the rest of the afternoon running errands and hanging out at home. A fairly busy weekend, but we still had time to relax and unwind, which we (at least the adults) needed.

life in the vomitorium, or: it was almost a good day

Today was a big day around here. This afternoon, we took Liam to Kindergarten Round-Up, where he was tested on basic skills (he said he knew all of the answers, but I'm not surprised since they only asked the kids to identify colors, shapes, letters, and numbers) while we were tested by having to sit on stools designed for small people for an hour while listening to the many (many!) rules for school protocol. Overall, it went pretty well. I'm not at all emotional about it now, but come August 19, I may change that tune.

Later in the afternoon, we headed off to a hot and sunny soccer practice. It was a really nice day, and I should have had the foresight to (a) put the boys in shorts, (b) bring sunscreen, and (c) find some sort of large-brimmed hat to keep the sun from burning my (very sensitive) face. Luckily, I did have the foresight to bring giant bottles of ice water for the boys, which Max sipped happily as we watched practice, and Liam guzzled as often as he could sneak away from the field.

After practice, it was home for dinner. Miraculously, the boys both ate well, even Max, who usually takes two bites and then announces that he's done (and then asks for a treat, of course). Loni came over, and things seemed to be going fine ... until after baths when it was time for them to go upstairs, and Max promptly vomited all over his room and the hallway. I won't give you the details, but suffice it to say that both boys were fascinated with telling me about the consistency, color, and odor of each of the specimens, and speculating on which thing Max must have had to eat or drink to cause these effects. Ugh. So now it's 10:30 and both boys are downstairs. Liam's asleep in his sleeping bag on the floor behind me, while Max is on the couch with a towel underneath him and a bucket at the ready, still awake and whisper-singing so he doesn't get into trouble for not going to sleep. I have a feeling this may end up being a long night for the whole family...

P.S. Apparently Klaudia and Emma are also sick today, so watch out, family: I'm starting to suspect that this bug is a little something extra the kids picked up during the Easter egg hunt on Sunday!

circus forticus: now with more ... um, forticus

So the Easter Bunny brought bonus baskets to my parents' house on Sunday: one for Liam, one for Max, and one for their new sibling, who will make his or her arrival in early October. The boys are pretty excited about the prospect of having a new baby to play with. To be fair, it's Liam who is really excited and impatient. We're not really sure that Max has entirely grasped the concept. What we do know is that both boys are totally jealous of the baby's Easter gift, a sock monkey jack in the box. I'm hoping they stop fighting over who gets to play with it by the time the baby is ready to play with it ... oh, who am I kidding?

happy easter

We enjoyed a fairly low-key Easter this year. After a morning at home, we headed to my step-grandma's house for a quick meal and an egg hunt for two (which Liam and Max really appreciated!) before trekking across the driveway to my mom's house. Quite a few of my aunts and uncles made the trip in to spend the afternoon together, and everyone had fun flying kites, playing wiffle ball, going on a scavenger hunt, and, of course, hunting for eggs. There was a lot of fun stuff for the kids to do outside, and for the most part, the adults got to enjoy some time chatting and catching up inside. After the egg hunt, each kid got a prize. Liam got a book of mazes, and Max got sidewalk chalk -- both of which were perfect for them. Plus, after all the other guests left, the boys discovered that the Easter Bunny had stopped by my mom's house to leave gifts for them there, too. Liam got a set of Thomas train cars, and Max got a Diego toy. However, they both fell in love with something that wasn't even in their baskets. Luckily, we got to bring that thing home too, and I'll report on it in our next installment.

first soccer game

Liam's first soccer game was Saturday, and it went really well despite the cold, damp, windy morning. Each team was split up into two smaller groups so everyone could get a chance to play, so Liam was separated from Emma, but he did get to play with his nemesis/best friend T.R. It was a very lively game. Liam may not have been the best or fastest player on the field, but he definitely made up for it in enthusiasm. And by "enthusiasm," I mean trash talk. And overly aggressive body checks. And outright pushing. It was a little surprising, but most of the other kids were doing it too, so I guess this is normal (?) for this age group. At one point during the game, the coach made Liam and a boy from the opposing team (a boy who Liam knows from school, who is almost two years older than him) shake hands and make up for their unsportsmanlike conduct. Yikes! Anyway, Liam's group ended up tied at 2, while Emma's team clobbered the opponents 7-1. Liam had a wonderful time playing, and was exhausted and grass-stained at the end. Max had a pretty good time watching, too, though he was definitely not a fan of that cold wind.

sheepish

The boys have been to Aunt Bethany's house twice in the last few days to enjoy the wildlife. Sunday night, they admired (and brushed, and petted, and fed by hand, as you can see in the pictures) the two new sheep. Last night, they made a return trip to check out the six (!) new pigs. They were mightily impressed, from all accounts, though I have no pictures of them with the pigs to offer as proof.