three little boys

I feel like I haven't been keeping up the blog the last week.  With so much going on, I am honestly exhausted at night, so blogging has been low on the agenda.  But I do want to keep up with it better this summer.  So I am going to try to post more often. (*fingers crossed*)

This little guy has begun tantruming, throwing us straight into the terrible two's with his "dropping anchor", refusing to stand up or follow directions, and yelling, "Stop!" to Josh and myself.  It is frustrating that he has already hit this stage, but with his early development in other areas, I'm not surprised that he has his own agenda and my "parenting" just seems to get in his way!

In addition to using his voice to tell us no, though, he also says some pretty cute things.  The other day he asked Josh if we could go to the beach.  He loves to play in the sand and thought that sounded like a good idea.

He saw me wearing just a towel after my shower one morning and he looked at me from the couch, with a twinkle in his eye and said, "Hi.... Naked Baby!"  He cracked himself up with that one!

On the twins' birthday, he met Julie's cat Angel.  He loves her so!  He will pet her gently and tell Julie how soft she is. It's really sweet how much he loves animals.

He is also in a huge "what's that?" phase.  He asks us that all day long.  Even for people.  When he saw Josh's dad, he kept asking, "What's that?" Josh would say, "That's Papa Carl."  Then Wyatt would mimic what he said.

He's not the only funny one.  Logan has said quite a few cute things lately as well.  Yesterday, for instance, we were at the gas station, and the twins, who have entered the "Why" phase were asking why Josh was out of the car, why we were getting gas, why Josh was going inside...  I told them that Daddy had to pay for the gas because they don't want us to take it for free.

Logan said, "Cause those guys like to get rich, and then we will never get rich cause we have to come here everyday to get gas and give them all our money!"

Oh man, Logan, you said a mouthful!

We live near a large cemetery  and we arrived just before Memorial Day, so there were flowers everywhere.  Logan asked, "What is that place, mom?"  I wasn't sure what to say, as I didn't want to plant fears in his head, but I went ahead and answered honestly.  I said, "That's where you get buried when you die."

He looked at me with his lips pursed together in thought, and said, "Yep. I thought that was a dying place."

Then when I mentioned he could probably go with Nanny (my mom) to see her mom's grave, he said Jack could go, and he would just have special time with Daddy.  He said it all rushed in one breath like, no way was he going to go there!  I explained that you don't die if you go there, you are already dead, but he was still pretty sure he needed to stay home.

It reminded me of a few months ago in Marshall when we were talking about dying and how my grandma Beverly was dead, and how Daddy's baby sister had died and was in heaven, and Jack & Logan couldn't wrap their minds around not being able to go to heaven if they wanted, for a visit.  Jack goes, "But what if we just drive up there real fast and don't stay?"  It was sweet that he wanted to see baby Margaret and Great Grandma Bev, but sad to try and help them understand how permanent death is.

Jack has also been a fun one these days.  He is really stepping into a protective role with the little ones around him, and it's so sweet to witness.  The other day at the park, we were playing with my sister's kids (Ferris, 3 and a half & Milo, 1 and a half) and Jack grabbed Milo from behind and held him so tight, telling Roxanne that Milo was going to fall through the big opening on the bouncy bridge.  He was so adamant, we finally had to walk over and tell Jack to let him go, that he would be fine.  It's particularly funny because Milo is like the twins were (uber brave and fearless!) and Jack (who was just the same way at that age) was having a heart attack as he ventured on the equipment.

Roxanne and I have talked a lot that it's neat to see our kids together because the twins are Milo and my Wyatt is her Ferris.  They are all of such similar temperaments with their opposite cousins.  Having Wyatt helps me understand Ferris better, and I think Roxanne having Milo makes Roxanne understand why my twins were the way they were-- just born that way!

Jack is also very tender hearted.  Wyatt, as I said, has been having some stellar tantrums.  And he has had a handful of spankings, some doors closed on rooms where he is tantruming, and LOTS of crib timeouts to cool off.  Once he's done being mad, he cries pretty sad, and the other night he was in his bed having timeout after three tantrums in a row post-bathtime, and I was loading the dishwasher while he cooled off.  Jack all of a sudden bursts into the kitchen, bawling, asking if he can please see if Wyatt is ready to get out.

I stopped what I was doing and got on my knees to talk to Jack.  He was sobbing and saying he just wanted Wyatt to be okay.  I hugged him and told him I knew that Wyatt getting in trouble was sad, but that Wyatt was safe, and he needed consequences to learn.

I remember feeling that same "lump in the throat" for my sister at times, so I am empathetic to his empathy!

He is also a big helper.  He loves to take care of Wyatt and help me with chores around the house.  Yesterday I cleaned house all morning, and he was my shadow.  He cleaned toilets, scrubbed floors and washed windows.  I love that about him.

Yesterday we took the boys to the Troutdale outlets to find some pants for Wyatt at Osh Kosh, and because of our excursion, Wyatt missed nap time.  (As a sidenote, he was surprisingly good all day despite his lack of nap.)  Because of his lack of afternoon sleep, he went to bed super quick last night.  After I laid him in his crib, I climbed into Jack's bed to rub his back.  He was so sweet and sleepily asked if I wanted to get in the blankets with him.  I told him I was fine, but I love how thoughtful he can be.

Both boys love their bikes and ask to go ride them all day long! Yesterday it rained, and they were super disappointed to not get out on their wheels.  We are so proud of them riding without training wheels, and I love that the bikes are making them want to get away from electronics!

I gave the boys haircuts the other day, and they look great. I think they are the best haircuts I have given to date.  But I'll be honest and tell you, I was grateful when Josh went and got his cut at a place!  His is far more challenging!

 I wrote yesterday about bedtime and how I am focusing on slowing down.  It's sweet because the boys love it so much.  Jack asks every night if I am going to sing him to sleep.  I can tell it comforts him.  So I rock the baby and sing some songs.  I love that they are soothed by my presence, and that we have this lovely bedtime routine.

Wyatt lately is really into songs.  He will sing and sing, even doing hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider that my Uncle Jon taught him.  He loves when I sing, wants the radio on and asks to dance if he hears music he likes.  It's so cute to see him rocking out!

A new thing I tried yesterday with the big boys is a Super Why game I found at Toys R Us.  I thought it would be good for the summer, as the game focuses on sight words, letter sounds and identification and rhyming, which we haven't covered yet.

We played for the first time yesterday and the boys did awesome! Logan seems to have caught on to rhyming, which is exciting and they both remember their letters and letter sounds, which is promising. I hope to spend some time each day doing "school" stuff, but if nothing else, that game will be a fun way to keep what they learned in preschool with me last year fresh in their minds!

I have decided though, that there will be plenty of time for catch up in the fall, so I am trying to not beat myself up if a few days go by with no review.  I do hate the thought, though, that they are losing what they have already mastered... but I guess that's just how it is!

I know I am not the only one loving our little family, enjoying our summer. Every night during prayers (which is really just the boys listing what they are thankful for) one of them says thank you for playing outside or having special opportunities, like going to the pool or having a playdate.  And last night, Wyatt said his prayer as follows, "Dear God, Thank you outside. Thank you Daddy. Thank you Bogey."  It was so sweet.  I love that the boys know how sacred our time is here, and that they love each other so much.