Spooky Jack O’Lanterns and Superheroes

Halloween was a fun time. We kicked off the season earlier in the month with a trip to Cox Farms. Always a good time- hay rides, kettle corn, cider, big slides, climbing on hay bales, etc. Ryan had a blast and went down every big slide they had. Jackson wasn’t as interested as he was a little sleepy since we skipped out on his nap to go. He was a good trooper though and didn’t crash until we’d already had our fill.

We expanded our Halloween decorations of the house exponentially complete with spider webs, snakes, bats and two bloody hands that we put in the bushes. Ryan had a blast decorating the house and putting the bats and spiders into the spider web. For the jack o’lanterns, Ryan requested a “spooky” pumpkin and a silly pumpkin. He was interested in watching, but neither boy wanted to touch the pumpkin glop when we started carving them.

Halloween was great. The previous day at his daycare, he was supposed to dress up for a parade. He had wanted to be Spiderman for months, but the day of the parade, wanted nothing to do with the costume. The best we could do was a police officer’s jacket. I guess seeing all of the other kids in their full ensembles changed his mind, because on Halloween, he had no problem with the costume. Jackson had no problem with his own costume (Superman), but was not too sure about anyone else’s costume. He was a little freaked out seeing Ryan in a mask and seeing others dressed up. He did really well though, even walking up to houses by himself. We hit two streets and that was about enough for both boys. It was a fun night.

Ryan’s favorite book…the Bible?

Religion is something I have struggled to introduce to my kids. The times Ethan and I have taken Ryan (and now Jackson) to church, we’ve spent the service entertaining them and trying to keep them quiet and occupied. We don’t get anything out of it and they are certainly too young to understand it. I refuse to put them in the nursery since I work full time and the weekends are the only times I spend with them. It’s not fair to them. So…I’m embarrassed to admit, Ethan and I really only get to church a few times a year. I have struggled with how and when and where to introduce religion to them. It seems God is either telling us something, or He has given us a temporary answer to these questions.

Ryan received a children’s Bible when he was much younger. Over the past few months, however, this book has become the favorite of all of his other books. It’s interesting how he finds this book superior to all of the other books we get from the library about firefighters, dinosaurs, motorcylces- all his favorite things. We have a whole pile of library books that go unread as he chooses to read from his children’s Bible every night before bedtime. His favorite stories are the ones about Jonah and the whale, Joseph and the multi-colored coat, Samson and his long hair, and David and Goliath. Definitely favors the old Testament, but loves to look through the book and pick out ones to read each night. Makes me feel good knowing that, despite not attending church regularly, he’s getting some religious education.

Ryan understands that God is everywhere, He is up in the sky, and God made all of us….and, straight from the horse’s mouth, “God is nice.”

September = Apple Picking

17lbs worth to be precise. A good time was had by all…now I just have to figure out what to do with them all!

Good Weekend

We had a fun weekend with my dad and his wife who came up to visit us. My dad is a workaholic to say the least, so it was so nice to spend the whole weekend with them. We did lots of playing, lots of eating and lots of drinking. Saturday morning, my dad, Ryan and Ethan played 9 holes of golf. Ryan had the best time riding in the cart with them and brought his golf bag along. He was so happy- I loved seeing the excitement in his eyes to be going off with his Daddy and his “Daddy Bobby” out to play a big boy sport.

That afternoon, we took Ryan to the local zoo. It’s interesting how he has changed developmentally over the past year since we last went to the zoo. This zoo has a feeding barn where he could feed the goats and sheep. In years past, he’s gotten the biggest kick of out it, but this year, wanted nothing to do with feeding the animals. Same with the tractor ride they give the kids around the park-the docile animals will come up looking for food, but Ryan was very scared of them and wanted me to hold him away from the animals. He still had a good time, but enjoyed the animals safely behind their cages the most.

Time Outs

Jackson is at a tough stage right now. He is both independent and high maintenance simultaneously. He also does not understand punishment nor can he communicate with us. Makes for some trying days all around. One minute he’s Mr. Independent, running all over, not wanting to be held, and generally getting himself into mischief. The next minute, he only wants me to carry him around…usually right when I’m trying to make dinner.

He has recently started the game of let’s throw our food off the tray and onto the floor. I give him stern reprimands, and then ultimately pull the food away. We have also tried a quicky 1 minute or so “baby time out” which is not effective b/c he simply doesn’t get it. Tonight during one of these, we put him in a chair facing away from the dinner table as we ate, next to the kitchen counter. Well, there was a box of kleenex there, and next thing I know, he deliberately plucked out a kleenex, gave it a quick exam and then tossed it to the floor. He watched it fall, then repeated the process. Yes, that time out sure did the trick!

What’s New

Jackson- Mr. Independent these days. Somehow he can get through a week of daycare without any bumps and bruises, but he always gets some injury with us. Maybe it’s the parenting. Hmm…or maybe his brother. A little of both probably. In any event, he has a huge purple knot on his forhead from where I presume he either a) ran into the door,  b) was trying to get away from his older brother swinging a pillow at him and hit the door or c) was pushed and fell into the door by said brother. I missed it, but he’s got quite the shiner. Despite all that, he loves nothing more than to wake his brother up in the morning with big bear hugs and sloppy open-mouthed kisses.

He is very stubborn and has mastered the throw-himself-on-the-ground-screaming-fit routine when he doesn’t get his way. Alternatively, he likes to do the arched back/squirm routine if you try to take him somewhere or put him somewhere he doesn’t want to be. He gets so mad. Definitely less easy-going than his brother, but still so darn cute, it’s hard to be mad at him.

Speaking of which, I took the boys to a stream about a half mile away. Ryan had a tough time coming back…it was a little too long for his little legs to ride on his bike, but he made it. He still likes to pretend his bike is his motorcycle. A new thing Ryan has started watching on TV is Scooby Doo. I think we rented it at the library one time, but it comes on an old-school cartoon channel and he’s fascinated with it recently. He calls Scooby “Scoody Ba Doo”. Pretty funny.

First beach trip 2009

We took our boys to the beach for the first time this year. My aunt has a beach house in the Hamptons (yes, not too shabby, I know!), so we were able to get free lodging. Can’t be beat! My brother-in-law and his family (Cooper- age 2.5, Isabel-age 7M) came down from Vermont as well. We had such a great time! My aunt’s house has a pool, so we spent the week going to the beach in the mornings, pool in the afternoons. The boys LOVED it. Cooper and Ryan had the best time playing with each other, swimming in the pool, playing in the waves. They both did great. Isabel and Jackson both enjoyed the water, but were held back by their parents. Jackson would have been in the pool all day long if possible. He is fearless and quite the water baby. We are really going to have to watch him like a hawk. He also enjoyed eating quite a bit of sand- each day we’d leave the beach, both boys would have sand all over them.

While the beach was loads of fun, it was definitely not “relaxing”. Watching four children ages 7m, 14m, 2.5Y and 3.5Y is definitely exhausting. We had a great time with them, but were also very happy when bedtime rolled around each night! All in all though, it was such a fun trip with great memories. I loved that the boys were able to spend so much time together.  We only see them at holidays when everyone else around, so it was so nice to have quality time with just the two families for a change.

Sprinkles

I picked up Ryan from preschool yesterday and he comes running up to me, exclaiming, “I’ve got lots of sprinkles on my face, Mommy!” I asked him if he meant freckles, and he laughed and said yes. I am fighting a losing battle to prevent him from having freckles all over like me. Right now, however, he seems to like his “sprinkles”.

No te pongas bravo, Jackson.

Anyone?

It means “don’t get mad” in Spanish. One of the phrases Jackson hears quite a bit with his temper. His daycare providers are wonderful women from Latin America, so speak a mix of English and Spanish with the kids. I try to keep up my Spanish with them and occasionally will say something to Jackson in Spanish, although probably not as much as I should. One day Jackson was mad at me for something or other and I told him “no te pongas bravo”, and he immediately stopped crying and looked at me with a surprised look on his face. He knew exactly what I meant and had obviously heard it several times before.

Good start to summer

We’ve had a lot going on around the house this May- our basement project, new swing set for the boys, Jackson walking, Ryan’s new love of golf, and of course, Jackson’s first birthday.

First, we finally finished off one-half of the basement into a playroom for the boys, storage area, and bedroom/bathroom “in-law” suite for guests (aka my mother). It looks great down there and the boys love the new space. We moved a lot of the big toys that took up so much space out of their smaller playroom upstairs (the sunroom) and put them in the basement. We’ll keep the smaller toys and trucks upstairs to entertain them while we’re upstairs, but will use the basement as the playroom until they get bigger. We’ll eventually finish the other half, but that’s not in the cards (budget) right now.

 While we were spending money like it is going out of style, we bought a fancy schmancy swingset complete with fireman pole, rock wall and a 5′ x 7′ playhouse. It’s awesome and the boys love it. We just figured they are so young, that they’ll enjoy it for years to come with their friends. It’s in a great location too, surrounded by trees so we don’t have to worry about lathering them up with sunscreen each time they go play.

 The boys have both been active. When not playing on the swing set, Jackson has been perfecting his walking skills and Ryan has been enjoying the game of golf. (Not at all influenced by his father!!!). Ethan bought him a golf bag and lefty clubs since he tends to hit left-handed. He LOVES them. The boys went to the driving range and Ryan can’t seem to get enough of it lately.

Finally, my baby boy has turned one and I’m so sad he’s no longer a baby. He’s eating “people” food, walking, exploring…he doesn’t want to cuddle with his mama like he used to. Such is life I guess. We did have a nice birthday party for him. The family came over and we had lunch followed by birthday cake. He first tried to catch the flame on the candle until Mom and Ryan quickly blew it out. He then decided to put his hands in the cake and taste it. He decided he liked it, so we cut him his own slice and he stuffed it in his mouth. It was a nice party and the boys were exhausted afterwards- each sleeping for three hours that afternoon!