Nothing says special memories like the phrase "Picture Dump"

And yet, here we are dumping pictures and trying to tease out some special memories at the same time.  Mainly here are a few things I just need to share, despite my rusty blogging skills. 

1.  Ben's "smile" for the camera.  Is it a smile?  Jury's still out, but it's darling.

2.  And consistent!  (Excuse the food-filled mouth...)

A note about Jacob: this week he pulled his card in school for the first time ever.  He felt really bad and come to find out it was the Spanish teacher who had him pull it for basically a misunderstanding.  I tried to explain to him that his day to day teacher wouldn't have had him pull his card (which she herself told me) and that the Spanish teacher just doesn't know him well enough to know he's not a trouble maker (at school, anyway). 

Jacob seemed comforted by that and said, "Yeah, she totally doesn't know me.  She keeps calling me (phonetic-ish spelling) Ha-cobe!"  I felt bad breaking it to him that that's how you say Jacob in Spanish.  Sad to deflate his healing ego a little bit.  And really sad he didn't know that's how you say his name.  I mean, it's April man! 

3.  People often comment on our having 3 boys and I often say that we've specialized.  I am coming to see how right I am.  Boy stuff reigns around here.  I only wish I felt our specialization was really making me a rock star mom. 

To further explain, I also often say (or at least feel) that I have three pots on the stove. 

One is simmering.

One is boiling.

One is boiling over.

Also true, never truer than lately, and proof positive that I am not "specializing" in a way that brings the kind of tantrum-free, all potties always flushed success I crave.  Sigh.

Cute kids, tho.

4.  I pretty much only put the helmet on him because it looks cute. 

5.  Box fun!  Real smiles!  Woot woo!

6.  Box fun with a snack of frozen peas!  (Jacob is weird.)

I totally asked them to punch fists in the air, if it weren't for Benjo's total emotional commitment to it it would look too lame to post.  Ah the innocence of toddler-hood!

7.  Yeah, we tried general conference yet again with kids.  I scoured the internet (5 minutes on pinterest) for tips for keeping kids interested.  It all said to buy candy.  Lots of it.  And that was pretty much it!  Candy and a few print outs.  Which means I ate a lot of candy that weekend.  Seriously, what's with Nico?!

8.  We made "grilled cheese sandwiches" out of pound cake and orange frosting for April fool's.  I felt like the best mom ever!!! 

Nico took a bite and didn't comment on the fact that his grilled cheeser tasted like cake.  He rather rolled his eyes back into his head and said, "This is so dad gum good!"

9.  Jacob got this out of the treasure box at his school.  It's sort of a harmonica-ish thing in lip shape.  Ben is in love.  And yes, it is incredibly unsanitary.

10.  No words.

11.  Ben sipping from a straw is a favorite image of mine.  I will leave you with that and his crazy, crazy, mad, mad, mad hair.

Noon times with Nico

One of my favorite parts of this past year has been the time between dropping Jacob off at school and putting Nicholas down for nap. The rush of getting to school on time (and the frustration of Jacob's regular complaints about his "socks hurting" or his insatiable desire to wear basketball shorts in February) is gone. We've given Jacob a zillion hugs and kisses (Jacob and Nico usually share a rather soulful embrace as well) and then three become two. Not that Jacob's a drag or anything, but it's sort of freeing. Nico and I mosey back to the car and then it just feels like we can do anything.

Sometimes we go to the park or to the playroom in our building. Sometimes we run to the grocery store. Or we just come home and play. Or, when I'm feeling tired from the morning, we'll relax with a show. Whatever it is it's just the two of us. These have been such sweet times. I remember when my big sister went to school and it was just my mom and me. It was special. A time to talk with mom, to enjoy being her main focus and to have that darn Jana off my back! Kidding. But, I hope Nicholas has felt that as well. I surely have.

He's a delightful boy. A great conversationalist and so observant. When we come home and play he's quick to tell me long, involved stories and then say, "you see?" with his little hands turning palms upward and his shoulders shrugging. He's the kind of kid you like to have sitting in the cart to talk with about which apple is his favorite. Plus, since he turned two his sentences are shockingly perfect and spoken in the highest of high voices. Matt and I sorta think he's missing vocal chords it's so high.

These pictures are from one of our recent noon times together. He or I said the emotion and then he acted it out for the picture.

Angry













Silly













I can't remember, but I'll label it "cute" after the fact.













Angry again.













Spooky. Huh? Note the scratch on his cheek. I offered to put a band-aid on it and he said he needed to see it in the mirror. He came back and said he didn't want the band-aid because, "it's just jelly".













And happy.













Oh Nico, life is going to change. But it's going to be great. I promise. I love you, man.

Hey Mom!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Paints rhyme!













Why, yes son, yes they do.

A Question

"Mom, if I stop shaving will I grow a mustache?"

I didn't know he'd even started shaving!

Any answers?

Question: Is it Gasoline or Vasoline, Mommy?

Answer: Vasoline, honey.

(Asked every time I dab Vasoline on his dry cheeks. You can guess which cheeks...)

Spelling Lessons

Jacob is the perfect little doorman. He holds the elevator door for you. He knows what button to push. He asks other elevator riders "What number you going to?" with an inquisitive point. He's a professional. (That happens when you live on the 8th floor.) The other day we were at IKEA and the up/down buttons were labeled "UP" and "DOWN". He pushed up and then said:

"Look Mommy, P-U spells 'up'!"

What an observant child.

Skillz

Nico is doing amazing things lately. You can see his new tricks below.

Please see past my unnaturally high, squeaky voice. (Whenever I'm trying to capture a very specific thing on video my voice jumps octaves pretty fast...something about nerves and begging.) Also, please ignore my grunting in pain and annoyance when Jacob jumps on me. And my pronouncing Jacob as "Jeekbop".

But do see his amazing puzzle abilitays. Also enjoy his round of applause. And lastly, enjoy his new word.



His first time using his new word was when Jacob came out of his room a few days ago.

Brothers!

I'd like to take a moment to say that Nicholas really is delightful. He's a sweet baby (not a toddler yet, so don't even try to call him one). He is smiley and mild. He likes to pat me firmly on the back when I hold him and say, "ma-my". He also is a world class cuddler. Seriously, he would win any cuddle competitions (when he's in a cuddly mood, of course) hand down. I just am really enjoying him. And those cheeks! I'll stop.

Updates and Thank you

Thank you, thank you for letting me air my grievances and for the helpful advice. Allow me to fill you in on our progress.

1. Nicholas has pretty well learned that nobody's coming to get him before 6:00. He yelps at around 5:30 and then just goes back to sleep until 6:00 or 6:30. He finally learned nobody loves him! Far from it, but he's learned the sleep schedule. My cup runneth over. I am so grateful that we're moving toward more sleep in the mornings.

2. Jacob is now pretty much persnickety about everything. His situation is now reaching epic, dire proportions. Not really, but tonight Matt and I have been feeling pretty blue about his "ways".

I guess our long-term goal for Jacob (and all of our children) could be summed up by Virgina Pearce talking about her parents, Gordon & Marjorie Hinckley, and their parenting style. "Mother and Dad taught us that there was a difference between principles and rules. There are never enough rules to tell you what to do in every situation. But they did put a few principles in place. We felt free to make decisions because we knew the fundamental principles against which everything could be measured."

Long-term sometimes takes a long time. We're hopeful that some changes and helps on our part will create modest short-term success that will bear long-term fruit. And just a little acquiescence every once in a while!

Lastly, Grandma Jan sent me this clip of Nicholas's beautiful "Hello". Thanks Grandma.

"Helllllooooooooo?"

That's what Nicholas would say if he had you on the phone. But he doesn't have you on the phone. Because, obviously, that's a remote control.



















Silly Nicholas...Nicholas.

Nico-pico

He's just really, really, really cute...even with a piece of cracker in his mouth.














He's also an avid "more" signer. I faithfully signed "more" to Jacob for 6 months and nothing. Nothing. I half-heartedly signed "more" to Nicholas for two weeks and voila! He also says, "Mah. Mah." to drive his point home.














And seriously, what cuteness! What sweetness! Good natured and good lookin'!

How about 'dat, mommy?

Jacob is my little planner. He's taken to rattling off a list of demands and then saying, "How about 'dat, mommy?"

For example, "Mommy, let's go to the park, and then go to Walmart, and then to the store. How about 'dat, Mommy?" When I say that Walmart IS "the store" he says his plan louder and finishes with, "How about 'dat, Mommy, HOW ABOUT 'DAT!?!" in a really sassy, obstinate way. He says "Mommy" but he's thinking "Dummy". We continue in this adorable banter until his plans are either fulfilled or unfulfilled. And really, it doesn't matter if his plans happen or not...it almost always ends in tears.

One Man Band

Jacob's been a very musical boy lately.

He sings the typical LDS-child canon: "I am a child of God", "As I have loved you", and "Popcorn popping on the papercut tree". He also likes to sing requests (demands) to the tune of "Sing a song". Example: "I want some milk, I want some milk, I want some milk, milk, milk, milk, milk, milk." Sometimes he even replaces a few "milks" with "please". He makes a mother proud.

But now, but now this mother is extremely proud. I have always enjoyed some good-natured scatting. You know, adding a little drum or guitar never hurt anyone. It's not a cool habit, but I guess it's a part of my make-up that I'm passing on to my young.

I really like his choice of song. You will too. I've embedded it to the right for your enjoyment sans Jacob's enhancements. (Notice how in the middle of the first video Jacob takes a break to exclaim, "car transporter!")



Here he is being traditional and singing with the words a bit.



He is one cool scatting cat.

The eagle has landed

Can you believe I only just found out about this? Someone thought to build a park right next to a small airport runway. Yes, you heard me, a park next to a very active runway and (lest I forget) heliport. It was little boy heaven. Not to be confused with John Deere Heaven, "where all is mellow and even the cows are green and yellow". I digress.

Check out our proximity to those mo'sheens.














Of course, the playground lay untouched for a very long time. Just too much to see!




























I didn't really get a good picture of the runway, but it was close and it was hopping. Planes just landing and taking off all of the time. Jealous? You should be. It rocked.

We waved at helicopters and discussed, "what dat plane doing?" and "why dat propeller stop?" for about 40 minutes. Since this trip, Jacob likes to show us how the propellers stop by pumping his arms fast and then slowing them down and then delicately stopping them. When he stops them he crouches very slightly and drops his voice to hushed tones.


















After a long while we made our way over to the playground.


















































In conclusion, this park was wonderful. We will definitely be coming back often. Especially because what other park can you go to that has this threat?














Jet blast? Eeeyikes!

And what other park has this friendly reminder?


















Nico liked it too.

Would you care for some intensity with your dinner?

When I was a little girl my mother used to tell me stories about me. You know, "Once upon a time there was a little girl named [pregnant pause] Robyn, and one day..." I loved it. Mom is a great story teller. She always seemed to have a husky, intense voice that filled the stories with lots of suspense and intrigue. I really can't remember if the stories were moral little tales to help me be better or if they were stories of me catching unicorns with my rainbow lasso. I simply know that I felt so special and so amazed to think that I was in a real, live story!

The other day I decided to tell Jacob a story about himself and Nicholas. He fell in love. We have definitely not ventured out of the realm of solid reality, but it's pretty amazing to see his genuine interest in these little tales. (Although part of me wishes I'd never started "Once upon a time"ing it. The demand is amazing and Jacob is quite the taskmaster. )

Last night Jacob was asking for "Once upon a time" and so I started telling away and the look on his face told me that he was in, he was all in. This video is a bit long, and I'm sure you won't understand every word he says, but I think you'll get a glimpse at what our days are filled with lately. (I actually just spent the last 30 minutes telling a convoluted tale about my kids and their friends.)

A lot of the time what I am saying is just repeating Jacob because he now can really drive a plot. He fills them with lots of characters (his friends from nursery & the neighborhood), violence (bonks), and emotion (crying). Enjoy!

So bright they blind me!

That's right. These boys don't stop! Look at them go to town with their new crazy skillz. Also enjoy some "Wubba wubba" with Nicholas.

He calls them (the loud, garish PJs) his "boots"

There's nothin' like wearin' boots and shootin' hoops before bedtime.

Defining "normal"

After Jacob's stomach bug he was different. Jacob, like most children his age, has a wide & varied range of normal...but there's still a range! Last week he seemed to have crossed over into a whole new world of crying and confusion. He truly didn't know whether to, "scratch his watch or wind his butt" (thanks Steel Magnolias). Monday, however, started a bit of a reprieve. He only had one tantrum (15 minutes long!) and the rest of the day was his old "normal" self. Since then we've had some smoother waters. Like I say, there are always outbursts and frustrations for our little guy, but nothing like last week. Let us all pray that "Angry-J" never returns. We don't miss him!

Here are some of Jacob's more recent goings-on.

1. He loves me again. (He was very anti-mommy last week.)














2. He is actually playing with his toys.


















(And trying desperately to keep Nicholas from playing with them.)














3. He's going to church and carrying his own dang bag!


















4. He's curious. I made cheesecake and he was fascinated by the whole process. (As you can tell he's resumed eating...check out that belly against that shirt!)














5. Lastly, he's talking. Talking about silly things all of the time. Lately he jokes that roosters say, "moo" and not "cockadoodledoo". He also requests "I-am-a-child-of-God-in-Spanish-really-fast" every night for his bedtime song. He just said, after about 5 minutes of quiet time, "Jacob's funny!" And you know what? He's right!

I'm glad he's back, baby!