Finger Painting

In our kitchen, Mandy has a great little table with little chairs, right next to a cabinet that holds Play-doh, crayons, coloring books, puzzles and, of course, finger paints. The table is easily washable and sits on a 7' x 9' carpet rug, laid on top of a tile floor, that is currently adorned with crayon marks, marker stains and dried, mashed bits of Play-doh. In other words, it's the perfect place to make a mess.

I was just watching Noah play, singing to himself ("Thomas-the-tank-en-gine, THOMAS-THE-TANK-EN-GINE!!!"), and thought I'd snap a few pictures.

If a little is good, more must be simply outstanding!

Painting a masterpiece.

Mixing it up with a little Play-doh

I don't know why they call it "finger-paint" - works just as great when you use the whole hand...

"Now that my hands are nice and messy, what to do?"

What a wholly unprovoked finger-painting attack looks like:

Combat at close quarters

I was close enough to dip into his paint and fight back, taking pictures one-handed.

My happily vanquished foe:

Moving Day

I don't know if he's planning on running away or what, but he's got his biggest truck loaded with some of his favorites: his Lightning McQueen car, his Elmo/Oscar vacuum cleaner, his fire truck, ambulance, motorcycle Lightning McQueen hat and a couple other cars. Topped, of course, by his favorite tow truck.

If nothing else, the boy may have a future in loading trucks.

Rollin'

Today Elliot rolled over for the first time. Unfortunately I didn't see him do it. He was on his tummy and when I went back in to get him, he was on his back. And he is this close to rolling the other way.

Elliot got a boo-boo too

This afternoon as Elliot was waking up from a nap, Noah as usual went with me to get him. He likes to get into bed and play with him and Elliot likes it too.

Noah sat straight up in bed and then fell (more like flung) himself back down really hard. I heard a noise that sounded like he hit his head on a hard wood floor. Only it was Elliot's face. He didn't mean to land on Elliot. You know it hurts bad when you only hear silence for a few seconds, then that horrendous scream. It was the first time I'd heard that hurt cry out of Elliot. It was so sad. He wasn't consoling easy and didn't want to nurse. Soon I realized why. He had a fat lip. Poor thing.

I took out a breastmilk popsicle that I had in the freezer from an ice cube tray my SIL, Lisa got me. He sucked on that and I was able to ice his lip. It definately helped. (Now that I think about it, they would be great for teething too...)

After a little fussiness and another short nap, he was luckily much better. The swelling is not as bad, but you can still tell where he got bonked. Here he is enjoying a walk this evening.

I fear with two boys, this probably isn't the last of their sibling-inflicted injuries.

The dirt-o-meter

The past two days, it's like we skipped spring and went straight to summer. Today it was so hot out a dip in a pool would have felt nice. Noah got so dirty playing outside today it was crazy. I love it The filthier he is, the better the day. It's like a gauge for how much fun he had and exercise he got. I'm going to have to scrub the bathtub tomorrow. This is why.

Such a happy boy

This is where he got his second layer of dirt. At the neighbors on the mulch pile. His first layer came from our backyard.

Ready for a bath (I never have understood parents that don't bathe their kids daily. That wouldn't work in our house.)

Elliot is often left out of my weekday pictures, because I'm usually wearing him. Today he played in the shade for quite awhile.

This is the new favorite outdoor toy we got this year. He also loves sidewalk paint and bubbles when he's not just getting in the dirt.

A lesson learned on Earth day

No, it's not about all the trash in the Pacific Ocean, conservation, global warming or anything appropriate for Earth Day. I learned you don't let your kid eat ice cream and drink a cherry limeade for an "afternoon snack". He will puke later.

I bought Noah a small dish of ice cream after our walk to Brookside and a cherry limeade for myself. He saw that wonderful cup of sparkling red stuff and proclaimed "I have it!". I told him he got ice cream instead and he said "Mommy eat it. I have this!" But, he did in fact eat most of his ice cream too.

I know it's a horrible snack, but if it makes it any better, we played outside all day and he had a healthy breakfast and lunch. :)

Bad dreams

Noah's doctor told me at his 2 year appointment that at that age nightmares start to come. I didn't think that'd be an issue with Noah. Well before Elliot was born he started to have them sometimes. Sometimes we know what they are about by what he says and sometimes he just cries a scared cry and says "Scwawy!". He woke up screaming and crying for me today at 4:45. I went in and he said "SCWAWYYYY! Hold you mama!". I picked him up and he hugged me and said "No, Jive! No!". Jive is our neighbor's sweet old Golden Retriever. For some reason he's afraid of Jive. And all dogs anymore. Except Wally. The one dog who is actually kind of scary. I hope he gets over his fear of dogs soon. Poor little kid.

More Elliot

Enjoying a nice Spring day

Noah is trying to make him laugh
Gosh, I love his pucker

Happy 3 months, Elliot!

We survived the "fourth trimester". It's going by way too fast! Life is pretty exciting for a 3 month old. He just moved up to size 2 diapers. He's discovering his hands and is very easily entertained in his little baby gym. He likes to lay on his back and doesn't really dig on tummy time. He almost rolled over today, but got mad so I helped him the rest of the way. He grabs toys but can't keep hanging on for long. He likes walks when I wear him and usually has a nice nap when we are outside. He's starting to drool and suck on his hands. I hope he doesn't start with the teeth as early as Noah did (4 months).


"Mommy, roll me over. I don't like this!" ..... and of course I obliged the sweet little angel <3 id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326957432455020738" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 267px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnuFG2Z-uJAecxZArt9ygDo2sVSBjgTrzdYZwdoqSAdNp9pc8Z9RaXkCiAf2wei1mglmW0bkDRT6H2JbGIrqmlLXr5KvyY74lOFgZ5yGtI0R00Bpnqi9OrcWWckxR-PnmdpCxc3h34NVQk/s400/IMG_8445.jpg" border="0">

New Wheels

Maiden voyage - all the tags are still on it, just in case...

Noah recently wore out his little Radio Flyer tricycle. He's been riding it since he was one and has pretty much ridden it year round, despite the weather. The only thing that stops him is actual snow, and we haven't had much of that this year. He was outgrowing it anyway, and it was funny to see his little legs pumping up and down as he booked down the sidewalk.

He enjoyed it so much, and was so good at it, that we debated whether to get him a bike, or just get him another (bigger) tricycle. Mandy first brought home a Big Wheel, but that turned out to be even smaller than what he had been riding. So Saturday we decided to get him a real bike, knowing that we might have to get the trike if he couldn't manage it.

Before buying something, I wanted to make sure he would actually ride it and like it. I figured if he didn't, I could always get the trike. So Saturday morning I took him to ToysRUs with me and asked him to pick out a bike. Not surprisingly, he immediately pointed to the Lightning McQueen bike. They had two versions, a 12-inch and a 16-inch. I put him on the smaller version, showed him how to put his feet on the pedals and off he sped.

And I do mean sped. He may have been a little unfamiliar with the physics of turning and the action of braking, but he knew how to pedal just fine. He immediately ran up the back of a lady pushing a shopping cart, causing her knees to buckle and her to almost fall over. He had a few more close calls as he concentrated on learning to ride the bike rather than wasting any time paying attention to his surroundings. People were jumping out of the way all over the store as he rode up and down the aisles.

I was worried that he might outgrow it a little too quickly, and I wasn't sure which size to get, so I tried him on the bigger version too. After a few laps around the store, he proved just as capable on that one, although it was a lot harder for him to actually get on the bike. The bike salesman convinced me I'd be back again before summer was over if I got him the smaller one, so that sealed the deal. I was beginning to see I would have a problem actually getting him off the bike just to pay for it, but we eventually got it done when I allowed him to ride it through the checkout, out the door and to the car in the parking lot.

Mandy took him on his first trip outside the smooth, flat surface of the store floor. It seemed to go pretty well. As I was watching them from down the street, at one point he got off and I saw her trying to help him get back on. When I tried that in the store, he would say "No help Daddy!" and push me away. Sure enough, a few seconds later I saw the arms-in-the-air/disgusted look that is the universal signal for "Fine. Do it yourself."

Mandy trying to 'save' Noah from a crumbling sidewalk. This would have stopped his trike dead in its tracks.

Home again. It was a good first ride. One thing I didn't think about with the bigger bike was the trouble he has going uphill. He's getting the hang of it, but it's definitely more work than it would have been on a smaller bike.

We also finally found some bubbles that worked!

Passed out. He had a long, fun day and fell asleep eating dinner.

The next day, he got in some more good riding time and seems to be getting the hang of it.

New sidewalks!

Having fun

Rough Day

It's been a long week. I was so looking forward to the end of it. The day itself was one of those rare days in early Spring - sandwiched between the snow, rain and freezing temps; where the sun is shining, the sky is blue, temperatures are just right and there's a slight breeze to make things even more pleasant.

The plan was to head home and take Noah for that bike ride he had been begging for all week. I even planned leaving a few minutes early to make the most of the rest of this day. A few minutes before I left, I got a call from Mandy, and all I could hear was Noah sobbing uncontrollably in the background. Now, he's a physical boy and normally getting a "boo boo" only causes tears until we tell him to brush it off, or until we pick him up and "kwiss it".

This time was different. He took a spill running downhill on cement, and opened up both his knees. His left knee was the worst, right on top of the scar that was forming from his first major injury that was still healing after a couple of months. In that incident, he was getting wild in the bathtub and, despite our repeated (and futile) efforts to get him to calm down and warn him that he could get hurt, he jumped up and split his knee open on the bathtub drain handle.

Let me tell you, trying to get a wet, slippery, bleeding toddler out of the bath, get the blood cleaned up and get the toddler in question quiet all before Mom gets wind of the chaos unfolding upstairs is, in fact, impossible.

Fortunately, I'm married to a pediatric nurse, and she's fairly unflappable about this sort of thing. Unfortunately, she didn't see him before I had him bandaged up. Had she done so, she probably would have recommended stitches and a doctor. By the time the cut had split open for the third time a few days later, it was too late for stitches and we had to resort to butterfly bandages.

It left such an impression on Noah though, that he often refers to this 'tragedy' and it even shapes his current bath behavior. Any time I take off his PJs or pants, I hear, "I got a boo-boo daddy. I jump in de tub." And "That not wise." He no longer jumps in the tub, although he's not been cured of his habit of splashing.

Noah was so worked up and shaking uncontrollably, and unwilling to be put down by his mom that he eventually passed out, and I came home to this scene:

That's a supermom - managing to keep two crying kids quiet. Funny thing was Wally was outside the back door waiting for me when I got home, and had been for at least an hour. Somehow he got outside while she was trying to get in, and she didn't realize it. Good thing he didn't attack any of the guys working on our new street.

Back to Noah - last time he was hurt, I never could tell though, whether he was afraid of the blood, the scar, or the bandages that we had on his knee. After the first incident, he only freaked out whenever we would take his pants off or have to change his bandages. Once the pants went on, he was fine. This time, he was filthy after a day of play outside, and we decided we needed to at least clean the wound before we applied band-aids. So, into the bath we went. It was not a pretty picture - he begged us to leave him alone.

Finally putting on the bandages was the worst. He was doing everything in his power to get away - it scared him to death, and it's heartbreaking to hear your child scream "No, daddy, no!!!" and see the absolute fear in his eyes because he thinks you're going to hurt him.

After we got him bathed and brought him back downstairs, of course he wanted his mama to "hold you" and "cuddle". It's a real rarity for us that Noah likes to slow down and be held, so Mom took full advantage, and camped out on the couch with Noah in her arms like a newborn. That left me with E, the real newborn, who is still not all that happy about getting stuck with me. So for a while, we had a house full of crying kids until Noah finally calmed down and we got to switch kids.

It was good for me as well - I never get to really hold Noah, unless it's to put him to bed. We both felt guilty about how much we were enjoying just hanging out with him on the couch (especially without having to "Play TRAINS!!!!)

After cuddling for awhile, Noah decided he did want to play trains. He was limping and holding his knee as he said "I tough". We played for a bit, but his knee was hurting too much and decided he wanted to cuddle and watch Snoopy.

Mandy just hung out on the couch with him as long as he wanted until sleep finally overcame him. His last words to Mandy were about his accident , "Miss Kewwey, ice cream" (Mandy was carrying this 38 pound boy and pushing a stroller up from down the block as Noah was sobbing, and stopped at our neighbor's house to clean him up and rest her arms. Kelley gave him some ice cream, but he was too upset to have more than a couple bites) and then he started snoring.

Getting hurt early comes from the Thomas side of the family. I had my first four stitches by 20 months, having walked into a slide (they were probably made out of steel and barbed wire back in those days). A year and a half later, I had 22 stitches in my knee from trying to "ice skate" on some windows my mom was washing. She threw me in the bathtub just to keep the blood from ruining her wood floors as we got ready for the hospital. She kept track of all the stitches in my baby book until she got tired of counting. I'm sure we'll see the same with Noah.

Hopefully he'll sleep good tonight and feel better tomorrow. No doubt we'll hear all about these boo-boos for months to come.

Officially wore it out

Well, Noah's trike is no longer :( He has ridden that thing hard core since this summer. It was already a hand me down from Charlie. And I think Sarah said she only paid $35 for it. So it wasn't fancy. We were already planning on buying him a big boy bike with training wheels soon anyway. He's a total pro on it and the tread has been pretty much gone for awhile.

Well last night riding with Paul the front tire SPLIT OPEN! I'm so glad that Paul took a video literally a couple hours before it happened of him riding up and down the church driveway. That's his thing he does all the time. He's got amazing leg strength to book it up that hill without help and then he loves cruising down as fast as he can. He used to purposely crash into the grass until we got firm and consistent on ending the bike riding if he did it. Now he brakes and stops at the end perfectly. I was surprised at how sad I was about the trike being dead now. :(

So I guess this weekend we'll be buying a real bike.........

The perks & pifalls of buying secondhand

I am big on being frugal where I can. Especially when it's things for babies they use for so little time. I've had some luck buying things from craigslist. The best deal I have ever gotten was Noah's train table and huge train collection for four times less than retail. Noah's played countless hours with this since I got it nearly a year ago. I've also gotten a highchair and lots of other baby toys.

I got a Little Tikes slide when Noah was about 9 months old for $10. It wasn't even faded, but it smelled very strongly of cheap perfume. The lady apologized for her 4 year old spraying it before I picked it up. It took time to clear out, but it did and Noah LOVED it for several months. And Elliot will use it too. Here is Noah at 1 year old sliding down his secondhand slide:

Last night I sent Paul to a house on his way home to pick up a Bumbo seat for about half the retail price. On the phone coming home he said the lady was of some unknown asian decsent and had a thick accent. She was cooking some strong smelling food. I was bathing Noah and as Paul was walking up the stairs --- before he was even in sight --- I smelled a STRONG and disgusting onion scent. He disrobed, threw his clothes down the laundry chute and showered before he was even allowed to properly come in and greet us. Yes, it was that bad. We kept the bumbo outside all night to air out and clorox wiped it down today. It doesn't have an obvious scent anymore. But, when I took Elliot out of it, his overalls had a scent. If you ever have worked in a restaurant it's the smell that just won't wash out of your work clothes. That was Elliot. I had to change his outfit. The things we go through for a good deal........... it's back outside for a few days.

Some other frugal things I've gotten (Laurie will be proud) - borrowed from a friend an infant seat, portable swing and baby papasan seat which I'm almost done with and will return in the same condition; bought a used full sized swing from another mom friend; and of course, he is wearing Noah's hand me downs - some of which are Charlie's hand me downs. If it weren't for diapers and Prevacid, we'd have gotten off scot free!

spring weather

We're still in the usual spring pattern of a few nice days and then a few crappy cold rainy days, then nice again. I laugh to myself all the time when everyone acts like it's so crazy. We saw Seinfeld and he did a bit about it and it was SO funny! I mean it does this every year people. It's earth. It tends to fluctuate. He was hysterical. He said those are the same people that look at their watch and are so shocked at the time "OH MY GOD! IT'S THREE O'CLOCK!!!! Can you believe it?!" He suggested these people just stare at a bank marquee all day and be shocked at the time and temperatures - hahaha. Anyway, that's kind of random. We are loving our nice days sprinkled between crappy days. Makes the nice ones so much nicer. We love to ride bikes, play outside and even walk to the ice cream parlor. Yum!

Easter Sunday

We had a great Easter today. Noah slept in and was really excited to see what "Easter the Bunny" left in his "Easter the Basket". He was most excited about Thomas (shocker), but loved all his other stuff too. We then went to church with Grandma Anita, Grandpa Rick and Aunt Sam. After that we went to Karen & Doran's for Easter Dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. Unfortunately, it was cold and rainy so the hunt was in the basement (again). Noah and Charlie didn't care though. This is the first year Noah got into it, excitedly grabbing eggs left and right for his basket. At first he didn't realize there was anything in the eggs. Once one of them accidentally opened and some candy fell out, that was all she wrote. The hunting was over. He was very pleasantly surprised and wanted to just eat candy. Grandma Lo was smart enough to put some small toys in some eggs, so it wasn't all candy. We really had to limit Noah's candy eating. That boy has his mama's sweet tooth and would have eaten himself sick, had we let him.

Easter Basket

Getting both of them looking at the camera, much less smiling together is impossible!

Me and my boys

Elliot's first Easter

Must have been a pretty funny joke

Can you tell they are just ready to hunt eggs already?

He was so serious about his egg hunting

Eureka!

My basket is getting full Aunt Kranen

Chachi

Noah breaking in to the eggs Charlie's basket overflowed ..... into a plastic bag

Checking out their lootYummy

Charlie is a pool shark

Noah begging for more candy. The answer was no.

This is what Elliot was doing during the egg hunt