(That is a "song" that I would sing for Tyler some times when he was much smaller and I was in the middle of pealing his banana.)

 

Lots and lots of Bananas!!!!  About a year ago, Tyler set a household record of eating 8 bananas in one day....the next day he ate 6.  (with no adverse reactions in the diaper department. )  Over the course of this last year, his daily banana intake has dwindled to barely one banana a week....Until today the boy downed 3 and 2/3s bananas almost rapid fire for breakfast.  WHOA!  Where did this surge come from?  Does a monkey live at our house now?

 

(Pic of Tyler at about 10mo. trying to chew on a banana with the skin still ON!)

 

 

 

Tyler discovered our game:Cranium.  Of course he wanted to play the game but it is really and adult game so we took parts and pieces of it and made our own game....mostly matching the "guys" to the board and talking about all the pictures on the board.  Two amazing things happened as Tyler was trying to process all this information against what his young noggin already knew and I will share it here-

1) A very early comment he made, when I tried to point out the pictures of the brains and expain that they are on the inside of his head, was that "feet in the shoes, in the Dr. Seuss book of ABC's"....what does that have to do with anything!?!?!?!  Well what he really meant was Oh, the Places You'll Go, by Dr. Seuss.  We went and tracked down the book, he turned to the 2nd page of writing, pointed and said "there is the brains in shoes."  All I could do is laugh and examine the page with amazement....it says "You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes. ..."  Yep, he knew it.  There is a picture of a guy walking around streets so I don't think he gets it all but he sure has stuff memorized and can pull information from what seems like nowhere. 

2)  After that we were back to playing and attempting to draw/scribble pictures.  I asked him to "draw Beth" just to see what he would do.  Rather than draw anything, he stated that Beth is pink and Tyler is blue.  Ok, maybe a little social condtioning here with clothes and all but I decided to probe him more....Mommy is silver and Daddy is red.  Really!?!?  My theory is that silver is a reference to my jewelry (which is gold) and red is because Daddy has a favorite red IU t-shirt that he wears frequently. 

 

I am not sure that any of us will know trully what was behind the comments and thoughts but Tyler is capable of some BIG thoughts.  And really, the two kids in my house never cease to amaze me.  God has bound up so much stuff into childrens' bodies and brains that having such upclose encounters with my two blows my mind on a regular basis.  (I need to remember that the next time temper tantrum and fits find their way into our house/conversations.)  However, it might be a little better for them also, if I stop observing them like I am back in Chemistry/Physics lab again....there are no reports to write.... just learning and fun to be had in this funkylife.

 

 

I am not sure that I am ready for this!!! 

 

Two things have been happening at our house over the last week or two invloving Tyler and naps. 

1)  Tyler has started to fight naps.  He is only 2 1/2 and it seems to me that he needs more sleep.  On the days that he doesn't sleep his behaviors are really quite crazy!  Naps are good for him and good for me!!!  So, I have been trying to teach him that now he will have quiet time...books or stuffed animals in his bed until a "certain time" and it has to be quiet and calm until then.  Now that we are 2 weeks into this one, I see progress but there is more training to go. 

2)  Tyler won't sleep in his bed at night or any other time....he sleeps on the floor next to his bed.  I don't understand this new twist....I have many theories but only time will tell.  Until then we are prepping him for the day that he is required to sleep in this bed (ie winter because his room is the coldest in the house and the floor gets very cold!) and he is cool with that.  He has even repeated our conversations back to the babysitter almost word for word so I know that he heard us, it is just a matter of how much he truly "gets it". 

 

So here is a pic back to the good ole days when he would sleep in his "big boy bed".   Ahhhh, so sweet.  I love the peace of a sleeping baby/child.

 We inherited some highback booster seats from some friends to use when our two get older.  I thought that I would get a jump on things and clean them up so that eventhough we were storing them for a while, there wouldn't be a whole lot of yuck to grow and rot while being stored.  I was in the midst of washing the covers in the washing machine. I had finished wiping down the plastic shells with Clorox wipes and was letting them air dry. I had told Tyler not to touch them until they dry. Soooo....the next step was to see if I could track down user manual's on the carseats' website.  I figured that Tyler might want to "help" so I told him what I was up to....."Mommy is going to go on the computer and look for the books for these carseats.  They are the books that tell us how to use our carseats the right way.  Do you want to help me and see if we can find the books together on the computer?"  Heck, I figured that he would like being the "helper" and he would probably like the snuggle time/attention while we looked and I also figured that I would be able to talk him through the process as some sort of a teachable moment.  "Sure Mommy" was the reply from my very excited boy and next thing I knew, we are right at it doing our research...talking....pointing....good times.  Abruptly, Tyler announces that he needs to get down and go to his room, he has books there and he will look at them and be right back.  OK....Sure.....I wasn't tracking with him totally because I was 1/2 listening to him and 1/2 reading things on the internet.  He runs back into the room and proudly states that he has "matching books" for the carseats.    What!?!?!  I follow my son out to the kitchen and sure enough there are 2 books carefully placed next to the carseats and everything is neat and tidy and matching.   All I could do is laugh and tell Tyler that he did a great job finding books for the carseats.  If you look closely at the picture there is one "My Grandma and I" book next to one seat and a "My Grandpa and I" next to the other seat...they do in deed match.  Later, when all the laughter died down and we were on to the next activity I tried to clarify to my son what exactly I meant by carseat books with out squelching his spirits....who knows if he understood...but that is OK because after all, he is only 2 1/2.  Oh, to be 2 and see life that way....what is that like again!?!?

"I'm the LawnMower Daddy.  This is my baby.  She is so wittle.  She can't talk so good.  She is cuddwee."

 

 The boy sure knows how to ham-it-up for the camera with his baby when they go for rides on his motorcycle/lawnmower/schoolbus/street sweeper/police car/ambulance/jet ski.  He has such an active imagination!

 This Olympic sport is called Sippy Cup Wrestling.    Watch for Beth in 2008!

Beth is no longer satisfied to just sit and be fed....she wants to help out too and feed her brother.  They both enjoy this time quite a bit!! 

 Last night was a little hectic around our house so I let Tyler watch about 6 Dora episodes in a row to at least keep one of us occupied while I dealt with other issues.  We topped it all off with 1 Diego episode and then off to bed...or so was my plan until Beth started putting on a little show.  Now she has been clapping for about a week but watching how she put every thing together was amazing.....OK....I am a dotty mom, but frankly, I don't care.  The jist of Diego is that he is an animal rescuer.  The viewer (aka the kids) are to interact with the show in order to help Diego finish his tasks.  If you are to get Diego's camera "Click" to take a picture, you have to shout "CLICK" at the TV.  No big deal if Tyler does it....this show is designed for him.  But all of a sudden, I realized that Tyler has been quiet this time as he is happily drinking some water and I hear a little "DIT" from Beth.  I look at her and she is staring intently at the TV.  Whoa.  A few minutes pass and Diego is encouraging the kids to clap with him (clap, clap, clap)...just saying the words....and Beth starts clapping, no demo, just hears the words and claps.....then for the rest of the song slightly bounces as if she is dancing.  Phew!  Where is the camera when you need it?!  The girl refuses to stand or roll over even though she has the ability and now she jumps into skill like this....heck, just this morning was her first wave (finger squeeze type) as Nathan was heading out the door for work.  In the last couple days I've noticed her trying to copy words that we all say a lot...for instance "Brother" in Beth's language is very similar to "Bubba" but is slightly different at the end and is hard to describe.  So, all the info she has absorbed in the last 10 months is starting to bubble back out.  So fun to see.  I just haven't figured out how I feel about the TV connection though.  It is a little weird seeing a 10 month old tapped into the TV and get it and enjoy it.  I could go on forever about the TV stuff but I'll save that for later and the point now is that Beth is just starting to hit her stride, it is fun to see, and I can't wait to see more of her personality shine through.  Man, not only can she interact with us humans, but she interacts with cartoon characters too!

Beth's Turn...the itty bitty, teeny tiny pics- 

Tyler is still pretty little but he is growing up fast so here a few pics from when he was itty bitty.

Baby Tyler- 

 Today is: Baby Sarah

Since Tyler was born I have been wanting to compare everybody's baby pics.  Up to this point, I really haven't had the time to do it or really have a simple way to get all the pictures in one place for comparison that made sense to me until now.....this blog.....where you too can see the genetics at work and "cast your votes".  :-)

Today's pictures of interest-Baby Nathan 

I am having some mild flashbacks to Nathan's heart surgery last summer because our friend Cari is having surgery today at about noon for breast cancer.  We pray for her complete physical healing and that Cari and her whole family feel extra comfort/love/peace/and maybe some extra engergy to make it through all the little things that come up along the way.  (She is in for chemo and radiation after this.) In Jesus' name, Amen.  Pink today is in honor of Cari, her family, and other people who have been touched by Breast Cancer in some way. 

While the kids nap, I wanted to add to the "No Pwobwum" entry.  I have been thinking about how and where Tyler picked it up from.  He is a pretty "go with the flow" kid but we really don't say "No Problem" around our house very much.  My theory is that he picked it up from the TV shows Bob the Builder and Handy Manny.  They say it rather frequently.  He loves the guys, music, and the fact that they fix stuff....he is always looking for a way to help "fix" things around here.   Here is his version of Handy Manny.  That is Nathan's hat, his play tools, the silverware holder from the dishwasher, and socks on his hands so that he could have work gloves.  (if you don't know Bob or Manny, you will have to google them because I have't figured out how to get a pic of them attatched yet)

 Do you remember the soccer shorts from the 80s/90s and the fad that they were (at least they were a big deal at my highschool)?  Well I still have a few pair deep in the dark depths of my closet.  So this morning, I realized the the few pair of shorts that currently fit me (I have been putting off investing in various parts of my wardrobe until I can but more regular effort into my postpartum body.) are in the laundry.  Actually today will be a big laundry day any hoo, but because of the laundry situation, I figured that I would wear the Umbros....a safe bet if I am not going out and about today.  Well, Tyler waltzed into the bathroom after my shower and saw me getting dressed.  In the most innocent/sweet/thoughtful voice he has, he asked, "Are you gunna go swimming mommy?"    All I could do was laugh and think about the fashion implications invloved.  It is probably time to get rid of the shorts.  (Oh yeah,  I also thought about what Daddy's and his swimtrunks look like and his observation was really quite accurate.)

"No Pwobwum"

In English that is "No Problem".

 

That is currently Tyler's way of saying "yes" or just generally agreeing to choices and activities we present to him.  He has started to say it so much that maybe I should start paying attention to him cause I really need to relax and quit worrying! That is for sure!!

Starting up a blog....very interesting.  Just doin' a little typing to see what all the fuss is about and how this all works.  So far so good.  HMMM  this could be the start of something bigger and cooler to keep all of our dear family and friends spread out all over the world up to date on our family life.