Spider in the living room

Avi's been decorating again. This time (unbeknownst to me until just now) he's using a combination of zoob pieces, Mr. Potato Head parts and rubber band as his media for creating new window decor.

Finished quilted patchwork duvet cover

I finished it last night at 2 am. I'm pretty proud of how my idea came together. I think there should be more patchwork quilt duvet covers.
So I put it in his bed in the middle of night and asked him this morning if he saw his new present. He said, "it's not a very good present." He asked what I was doing just now and I told him and so he told me to tell y'all that he likes his ($3) dinosaur egg present. Mind you, he helped me start this project, picked our fabric, etc. Now he's pouting.
Anyhow, a "wow Mom, thank you that's so cool," would have been great. Guess kids don't always know what to say.

More Boy-style Decorating

Avi has been (without my encouragement or permission) decorating the house for Hanukkah. Yes, that is a baby washcloth in the mix.

"I'm concentrating on my numbers"

Avi has been very focused lately on figuring out addition facts. This morning he was talking about some of them at breakfast, 4+4=8 etc. Then I was trying to ask him a question about lunch or some other unimportant thing and he wasn't paying attention to me. Finally he said with a patient explanatory air, "I'm concentrating on my numbers.". Then he said to me, "3 plus 2 take away 1 is 4!"
For the record, we haven't done anything to promote this math obsession. We are just supporting his enthusiasm as it arrives.

Now, as I write this he is rolling around on his bedroom floor (NOT getting dressed for school like he's been asked multiple times) and singing "Oh Hanukkah" with a typical four-year-old attempt at the lyrics. Got the main idea, but throws in (or leaves out) some extra words.

The Ahwuhwuh Monster

I just never know what's going to happen next.  The Awuhwuh Monster wasn't pants-less until he burst into the bathroom for this filming.  He didn't know I was filming, but that wouldn't have made any difference. 

 

As an aside, the wild Ahwuhwuh Monster (a.k.a "The MC") viewed here spent much of the day quietly playing with magnets, duplos, silly bands, books and ripped paper (??!?!?).  Much of the time (about 2-3 hours, he was in his room by himself.  He wasn't forced to be in there all that time, but when I asked him to get dressed before coming out again, he wasn't willing to do that.  He was content to play on his own for all that time, but eventually had a meltdown.  I had checked on him frequently and continually asked what I could do to help him and reminded him that he wasn't in trouble, he just needed to get dressed, but he's so stubborn that encouraging offers like reading books together, playing games or doing an art project weren't enough to coax him out of his hole.  I think he just needed the downtime.   No wonder he had so much pent up energy in the evening.  

Nothing is normal around here

Life with Avi is anything but routine. Am I wrong to assume that most other kids go to the bathroom, do their business and come out? After an exceptionally long time, this is how I found him when I went to check on him. Actually that's not entirely accurate. He didn't have underwear on and hadn't wiped yet. I insisted that much was done before a picture was taken of his creation.
Just in case the picture doesn't make it clear, all the tp squares were perfectly separated.

The Dragon returns

After getting in PJs tonight, Ezra found his dragon costume and brought it over to me and communicated very effectively (without words of course) that he wanted it on. He loves that costume. The picture below is crummy, but it's the best I could get on several tries because he kept moving too fast. He's running around smiling and laughing.

Leaf pile, part II

Maybe it's because chores at home don't result in as much satisfaction for them as this one.

Leaf pile

If only they could be this industrious and cheerful about assigned chores!

4-year old attempts to unlock knock-knock jokes

Happy boys

They slept that way all night and came in to our bedroom together this morning all cheerful. It was one of the easiest mornings we've had in awhile.

Goodnight my sweet boys

Just when it seems all craziness and nagging and messy rooms and dirty bathrooms, there comes a moment like this... The picture is crummy, but I didn't want to wake them up to try again in the dark.
The short story: I was reading a story to Avi in bed and Noah came to join us, something he hasn't done in awhile. He squished in bed with us and when the story was over he said, "Remember when we used to sleep together?"
Avi replied, "Yeah, I liked that."
Noah didn't make any signs of moving and so I asked if they wanted to sleep together. They agreed. I told them they had to be quiet and go right to sleep or I'd separate them. I kissed them both and left. And here they are two hours later. Sweet boys.

Home decorating, boy style

There could be a whole blog just filled with daily pics about how my boys like to "decorate" the house. Don't miss the rubber bands in the tangle below.

The boys' bathroom

I know it's REALLY overdue for a scrub when I'm too scared to go in it and start changing E'a diaper on the floor of his room instead. Two boys equals a very scary toilet area. It's only going to get worse!

-Gretchen
(Please forgive any bad auto-corrections that I haven't caught using this "smart" device.)

School friends

Avi had such a good day today and when I asked him at tuck-in just now what was his favorite part of the day he said, "school!" with enough exuberance to make him jump all the way up in the bed. And then without any additional probing he added, "playing with Sam outside!"
It was really sweet. This morning he started to resist going to school because it wasn't a school day for Nina, but he rallied. And while it's great that he and Nina are so tight, I think it's good that they only go to school three of their four days together. It's good for him to not be so dependent on one particular friend.

Watchout for underage wizards

Story time

For the record, Avi and I had a good story time yesterday when he wasn't at school, and I have promised myself we'll do the same tomorrow when his school is closed.
And, my posting was all about my self-reflection if my experience during the day time and has nothing to do with the kind of quality experieces he has with Cary at bedtime, lest I discount that.

"How many times..."

Kids hate nagging, but we parents hate it just as much. It's beyond me what it will take to convince them of certain things. From yelling and punitive discipline to reward systems, calm words, rational conversations and logical consequences, nothing seems to work. The eldest cannot seem to learn to put his clothes away before going to bed. Strewn all over the floor is his approach. It's not like there isn't an expectation and consistent responses. So I go to read him a story tonight and see the day's clothes littered all over, and I calmly point out what I see and tell him I'm going to close the door and open it again in one minute and if he's ready for a story he'll get one, and if not, it's too late. I do so, and shortly thereafter he opens the door and says "done." Looks good I say, seeing that the underwear and socks and the first outfit of the day are out of sight. Then I spot the slacks and button-down shirt on the wicker basket under his newly-acquired Halloween costume. I calmly say he can't leave those things sitting out for the next 10 days. I tell him to pick up the hanger on the floor and use it to hang up the shirt. He goes to do so and when he opens the closet I see all the previous offenders on the closet floor. I'm tired of yelling about this. I have come unglued too many times (I have also had calm conversations about expectations many times too), but nothing seems to work. I explained AGAIN that that isn't okay. Not only is it lazy, but it's also deceitful. It's a kInd of lying, because he knows I am assuming he had done it properly. I didn't lecture. I said my piece in a sentence and then told him he list his story. What do you want to bet it will still happen again? Will someone please tell me why this is so hard and what is the magic solution?

Where do the hours go?

I'm currently staying at home with my children; some would say I'm a SAHM. Ugh, how I squirm with discomfort under that label. Not that I have any problem whatsoever with other stay-at-home-moms. How great, how lucky for them, the world needs some, etc. I just struggle with the notion of myself in that role and that role only. Wasn't I supposed to be doing something more significant? Something affecting the lives of more than just three or four (depending on who you count) people? And then what about the fact that I feel like I'm not even doing it right. Sure I've incorporated a new point system in the last few weeks, made some posters with behavioral does and don'ts to put up around the house and even managed to wipe the weeks' worth (yes that apostrophe is appropriately placed) toothpaste off the boys' bathroom counter and sink and mirror this evening, but then I realize I haven't been reading to them at all during the day. Yes, we've made it to the library and no, they haven't been watching hardly any TV (thanks in a large part to Grandpa Robert's new clubhouse he built for them), but come on, how hard is it to read a book each day? Poor middle child is getting screwed out of the same literature-rich routine that #1 had. Probably why number one is reading five chapter books at once right now, all well above grade level. God only know what will happen to the little guy. But it IS hard, believe it or not. It's a constant fast-paced dance all day just to get from one task to the next. Get 'em up, get 'em dressed, get 'em out the door at two different times to different schools, naptime for E, lunch for E (I've heard of moms reading tightly babies in the highchair; I'm too busy trying to find food he'll like, feed myself and clean up the mess as we go), diaper change, off to pick up #2 from school, a quick errand or a leisurely walk to Edison, pick up #3, home again home again..., some lesson or activity, naptime number two for Mr. E, connect with the boys about chores or whatever and before I know it it's time to cook dinner and we're already behind schedule if we want to manage baths and getting them in be by 8 for storytime, which then gets dragged out because of obnoxious behavior and a lack of cooperation and suddenly that doomed middle child is getting a super-quick five-minute book that is way too young for him and I put him to bed realizing he hasn't had a good snuggle story time in days! I don't know how to do it all. And sometimes it seems like the most important stuff doesn't happen and yet, what to cut out? That's all important stuff too. Maybe this is the challenge of life with three.

How do I get these darn shoes on?

Cary put Ezra down on our bedroom floor for a moment with his little Robeez shoes next to him to finish getting him dressed. He left the room for a moment and wondered why Ezra got so frustrated. I could even hear him howling from downstairs. Was he just tired? Or not wanting to be put down? Cary returned to find him sitting on the floor with his knee up and his foot stomping on the little slipper, howling as he couldn't figure out how to get them on.

Five point restraint vs. Ezra 'Houdini' Lieberman

Up until now I haven't questioned my choice to put Ezra in the high chair with some Os and sneak into the bathroom for a minute. The only possible danger was in choking, or so I thought. But that wasn't enough to make me worry since he's long been such a competent eater. Then yesterday Noah screamed for me from the kitchen when he discovered that Ezra had wriggled his way out of the five-point restraint safety seatbelt and was standing upright and backwards in the highchair, laughing, of course. True, the tray wasn't on at the moment, but really, would that have made a difference? I've since cinched down the straps even more.

Tinker toys aren't just for bigger boys

Ezra absolutely loves playing with tinker toys or anything that he can out one piece into another piece. The marble run pieces (sans marbles) also provide endless entertainment. He puts things in the tubes or puts the sticks in the holes or whatever. He seems very mechanically inclined already.

The thrill of the toilet paper roll

And so it begins all over again. Here's to another two years of unrolled toilet paper. Maybe we'll get lucky and Ezra will outgrow the habit earlier than his brothers did.

I'm 1

That means I can feed myself, right? He did a pretty good job with the cup and spoon for a few minutes until it all fell apart. He had yogurt in his eyelashes. Oh my.

2nd grade already?

How did we get here so fast?

Bee sting

Avi got stung by a bee today. Pretty traumatic for him, though not actually a bad reaction at all.

Where did August go?

To three teeth for Ezra (wouldn't be surprised if the fourth comes in before the end of the month), to time with cousins (near and far), to our first ever Camp Chaverim at TBI run by yours truly, to birthdays and lots of time with Grandma and Grandpas, to fun adventures up I-5 (including the Enchanted Forest) and at the coast, to swimming and drawing (for Noah).
I can't begin to recap it all. There have been so many precious moments that I have meant to write down at the end of the night, but I just haven't had the time to even send a quick email with the day's memorable events. It has been pretty much nonstop since the beginning of august between Avi's birthday party and having Colin here for a week, running up to Seattle and back and the camp at TBI and the family reunion for Great-Papa's birthday.
One favorite moment though was when I was asking Noah about his reflections on the camp. I was asking him if he made new friends or deepened friendships. He mentioned one girl at camp that we have know for a long time, but they haven't spent a lot of time together. He clearly got emotional about his growing friendship with her and said he really liked her a lot but wouldn't want her to know that. I said there's nothing wrong with him enjoying a girl as a friend and there's no reason he couldn't say something to a friend like, "Hey T---, I had fun bring at camp with you!" He didn't seem convinced that it was possible to communicate with her like that. I asked what in particular he enjoyed about her and he responded by saying (very straight-facedly) that he didn't "have words to describe" how he feels about her. Too sweet. May I be so blessed to have him share like that with me in the future and to have him so verklempt about a girl when it matters later on.

The soap opera continues

Avi's love affair with all things liquid and bottled and particularly soapy has continued. Apparently he found the need to experiment with dumping out all the liquid hand soap from the guest bath. This time I was not as upset about the loss of the soap because it wasn't a brand-new purchase. Instead I was upset because rather than dumping it down the sink, he found it more interesting to spread it all over the ottoman in the rumpus room. We didn't actually discover it until this afternoon. He apparently did it last night, so it had plenty of time to soak into the furniture and dry there.

In Ezra news (because lately I think my blog has been focused on dear Avi,) he handed me a book today and sat still long enough for me to read it to him. First time. Moo Baa La La La. Short, but complete. Milestone. I think even Avi put up with a book sooner than 10 months.

And Noah is becoming quite the artist. He is taking a drawing class on Mondays and really improving artistically a lot. Oh and last weekend he had his first sleepover at someone else's house, his friend Jude, who he's known since preschool. They had a great time. Sprinklers, wii sports, Harry Potter 4, breakfast in the UO commons, etc.

The Mom Work-Out... Good for upper body strength

I think the security guys at the Eugene Emeralds game tonight weren't sure whether to help me or watch me carefully for signs of child abuse. I had to carry Avi out of the stadium kicking, screaming, hitting, and calling me "stupid" the whole way out.
It's a good thing I work out. He's one strong kid, muscles and will.
It took a while to calm him down, but he eventually went from angry to sad and was sort so able to acknowledge that he was the reason that we had to leave, so he needn't blame the rest of us.

Shower=soap

At what age will it no longer be necessary to tell our children that they have to actually use soap when they bathe?

Meltdowns

I volunteered to take Avi's friend Sam to swimming lessons for this 4 week session. When I got there to pick her up she was having a meltdown. I tried to get her in the car, but nothing worked. Finally I had to go without her, as we were late for the lessons at that point. I could be sweet, playful, cajoling, a little firm yes, but patient overall with her, so why do none of those good parenting strategies come out when it's my own almost-four-year-old?
So we get to swimming lessons, late. It takes a couple of minutes to find out where the boys' classes are. Noah goes off to his, but I can't get Avi to join in with his. Now it's his turn to have a meltdown. Why? He didn't realize that it was a new session and he would be getting a new teacher. He was beside himself. That Avrim guy seemed likable enough, but Avi wasn't having any of it. Where was his teacher from last week?????? Oy. So, he never did get in the pool. Add that to the $6 from the soap down the drain last week. I love wasting money on nothing!

I think I forgot to record that Ezra's first tooth finally broke through a week ago today. At 9 1/2 months. He's on his own schedule this boy. I'm worried about his height. He was 5th% at his 9 month appointment, and he does seem so short. Charming to be sure, but short. I suppose there's no point in worrying about it though, when there's nothing I can do about it. (Though that didn't stop me from googling what I COULD do about it. Answer: Nothing - unless I want to try some crazy labor-intensive, herbal Indian concoctions. I guess I'm not that motivated after all.

Boys and Puddles

Question of the day:
Can a boy go past a puddle without doing one of the following?
a) stomping in it
b) pretending to almost stomp in it
c) seeing how close he can get to getting his shoes wet in it
d) seeing if he can jump over it
e) splashing a rock in it
f) seeing if he can straddle it and waddle from one end to the other
g) pushing or pretending to almost push a brother into it
h) drink from it (fortunately we're past that, but Avi has done it!)

My assessment from here. No, it is not physically possible for them to simply walk past without attempting one of the options above.

Avi got no less than three pair of pants wet today with this behavior. All before 1PM actually.
Have I mentioned how much laundry I do? I had no way of ever imagining so much laundry. At least today's sandals and rubber boots dry easier than sneakers.

Mt. Pisgah and more

What a day! We climbed Mt. Pisgah this morning. The boys did so well. See the Daring Boys' Club blog for more on that. Avi made it the whole way, a climb of over 1,000 feet in elevation. In fact, he lead the pack of six and seven-year-olds much of the way.

As if that wasn't enough for the day, we got home, I made them strip and shower as a precaution against the poison oak and then Avi had a quick lunch before Nina and her mom came to take him on a play date to the park and their house. Then back again in time to get ready for swim lessons at 5:15. Walk both ways to swim lessons (four blocks each way), which isn't a big deal unless you're not yet four years-old and you've already climbed a mountain and ran around a playground all day. But he was a trooper and did it all without a meltdown all day. Cary pointed out that tomorrow might be the day where we see the ramifications.

Noah and Avi and I finished reading The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat before bed. For a book that's nearly one hundred years old, it does an amazing job of still capturing children's attention. My grandma recommended the books to me as a child, and I had forgotten what they were until a librarian here helped me find them again. The boys have such different needs when it comes to stories, Noah who reads voraciously on his own, and Avi who still likes to have the same book read to him repeatedly. And yet, they both were completely pulled into this book, despite the simplicity of it and the old sound of the language.

End of story...

It's 8pm. I just checked on him. He's asleep as shown.

Poll: how long should I leave him in his room?

We got home from the grocery store a little bit ago. I has just finished unpacking everything. Avi was starting to open up the new $6 bottle of organic kiss my face foaming hand wash that I bought for the boys' bathroom in hopes that the foaming style would make less of a mess on their counter. I calmy, sweetly explained why I didn't want him to play with it in the kitchen (i.e. We don't need it right now, it will make a mess, and it's expensive). So he takes it upstairs to his bathroom and dumps the ENTIRE bottle out. $6 down the drain in a couple of minutes.
Noah reported this to me, so I had a moment to gather my senses (and confer with Jenn), so I was able to deal with him calmly and without yelling (or hitting). He is now shut in his room, I have explained why, have taken (and explained) his piggyback (of about $1), removed the entertaining bin of duplos from his room and shut the door. He said that he doesn't like me, but he sounds quite happy and content in there jabbering to himself. So, question is: it's 6:30 at night. He hasn't had dinner. How long can I leave him in there?

Should I move him?

Avi had a roller coaster day. That being said, roller coaster days are so normal for him I hardly think anything of it. He had many ups today. Making pancakes with me. Going on the first picolo ride with Cary and Noah. Sweetly, without being asked, picking up Ezra's toys this evening. Not throwing a fit when I had to wash his hair after he had snuck off and put a huge amount of "product" in it. And then there were the other moments, when I asked him to go get dressed and he dumped all the shirts out of his drawer and then took more than an hour to put them away (most of the time attempting -unsuccessfully- to battle with me and not do it). Or like at bedtime when he got wild and finally calmed down after his story with Cary only to sneak out of his room while I was standing by Noah's bed and spit a huge mouthful of water at us. I don't know how he managed to hold enough water in his mouth to get Noah's bed and my shorts all wet, but he did. Enough's enough. I marched him back to his bed, gave him a swat on the bottom (hope CPS isn't reading this), turned off his lights by taking the switch from the lamp and using the pull-string for the overhead lamp and locking the door (again, hoping CPS isn't reading this). It was still light outside, so it wasn't like he had to be afraid in the pitch dark. I went to check on him a little later, and this is how I found him.
I picked him up and put him in bed. I figured he'd be awfully discombobulated if he woke up like that in the middle of the night.

Treats... Mmmm

I wonder how many of the cough drop "treats" Avi snuck and ate before he was caught? It's good that little kids aren't very good at covering up their tracks, since it makes it easier to catch them and (keep them safe) when the bathroom drawer with cough drops is open and the wrappers and the sticky, half-sucked, less-desirable-flavored drops are strewn about.

"God said..."

"God told me I had an owie on my finger. I had an owie on my toe and I didn't feel it and then I felt it and God put an owie on my finger and told me I had an owie on my toe and my finger." So said Avi. Can't follow the train of thought, I'm not sure anyone could.

Smart boys

Avi really wanted to play with Rush Hour. It's for ages 8 and up. I discouraged him. He persuaded me. I thought setting up the cars in the arrangement shown on the picture would be enough of a challenge for a not quite four-year-old. No problem. Then he astounded me by actually solving the puzzle on his own multiple times. Then he got bored with it and just started being silly. What can I expect?
Not to be outdone by his older brothers, Ezra showed me the other day that he is following in their footsteps. When his binky fell under the drawer/step in the bathroom and he couldn't reach it without bonking his head, he grabbed a wooden footstool leg (that Avi had recently dismantled from) and used it to fish his binky out from under the step. I was pretty impressed. Of course someone pointed out that he's now as smart as a crow, but still, not bad for nine months.

"Am I old enough yet?"

Noah's been asking since last summer when he would be old enough to go down the big yellow slide at Amazon Pool. Today was finally the day. He went down it about a dozen times.

Proud Mama

Noah has been thoroughly enjoying Peace Village Camp. I was a little concerned about the fact that Rio was joining him on the second day because I really wanted him to fully experience the camp without the influence of his best friend. It was good that he had Monday by himself, because it gave him an opportunity to get used to the camp without Rio and then we talked Tuesday morning about carrying that experience through the week.
Anyhow, Rio was sent home from camp this afternoon because he just couldn't follow directions. He was a little out of control on the walk between TBI and the church I guess. I'm sorry for his sake, but I'm so proud of Noah that he didn't get pulled off track by him. He has grown so much in the past year. I feel confident about the two of then being together in 2nd grade now. I even asked Rev. Melanie, the camp leader, to find out if Noah was having a challenging time as well, and she said he wasn't. Yeah! His kindergarten teacher, Polly, would be so proud.
We talked about it on the walk home and he said Rio "can be so annoying sometimes."

No girlfriends and boyfriends, just friends

At a recent birthday party for one of Avi's schoolmates, I learned that the three boys in their preschool class were all spoken for. Nina had claimed Avi as her boyfriend. Avi is surrounded by all his girls. I'm always hearing about them, especially Nina and Vera. It seems those two have been in competition for the title of Avi's girlfriend, a title I'm quite certain that the girls bestow upon themselves, rather than given out by Avi. I wondered if he knew anything about it. I casually kidded him about it this morning in anticipation of the afternoon's play date with Nina. "We need to clean up your room and the house before your play date," I said, "I don't think Nina will want you to be her boyfriend if you have a messy room."
He responded with utter seriousness in what sounded like a parrot of his teachers, "there aren't any girlfriends and boyfriend at school, just friends."

Good thing, because said wanna-be girlfriend was a holy terror at the play date this afternoon. Together the two of them kept me on my toes. One would think I'd be used to that with my boys, but she convinced Avi to test new ground!

Sleep Overs and Side-Effects

Noah had his first sleep-over with a friend last night (here). This all started because he was invited to go on a trip with their family (he doesn't know this), but we aren't quite ready to let him do that. We suggested some sleep-overs this summer would be a good start. Not to start off small, we also let them set up a tent for a campout in the backyard. Rio came over around 4:30 and they played inside and out like wild until dinner. They sort-of let Avi hang out with them. It's hard being the little brother in that scenario. Here are some notes from the evening:

5:45pm: We've just finished setting up the tent. The boys are running wild in the backyard with light sabers. One of the favorite things to do is go into the tent and then climb out through the dust door in the floor of the tent. The older two also like to shut Avi in or out, but they are getting along fairly well.
Who can even imagine what conversations will happen in this tent tonight. We've already heard the word "nuts" several times, and I'm pretty sure they weren't talking about pistachios or anything else available at a grocery store. It's challenging to know when to let go and when to intervene with different standards for behavior from different families. On one hand, there's the idea that it's our house, we go by our standards (we don't condone "nuts" or "hell" or "what the"). On the other hand, I don't want to be the cranky mom and make it unpleasant to be here when I would prefer that the boys hang out here.

7:00pm: Dinnertime. I tried nobly to get the boys to be appropriate at the table (I kept engaging Rio in polite conversation) but it was an uphill battle with all that energy. There were burps, "nut" jabs, refusals of food, and finally I had to simply send Noah away because he couldn't stop laughing hysterically. Will I ever enjoy a civil dinner with my three boys. I imagine a table of my family and their friends all having thoughtful conversation. I can handle the idea that I might not get it for 15 years, but the thought that I might never get it - or stop them from burping -or pretending to burp in Avi's case (which is even worse), sends me into an emotional spiral. Is this too much to ask for my future?

7:30pm: Getting ready for the tent. We've set them up with thermarests, two flashlights with new batteries, sleeping bags (including Great-PaPa's trail riding sleeping bag), games, toys, and books. It's all ready to go in the tent. They are playing outside for a little bit while we put the other two down for bed and then we've promised them popcorn when it's time to stay in the tent.

9:30pm: Finally in the tent. That took longer than expected! The finished the popcorn long ago without ever being in the tent. Hard to keep them in there when it's still light outside, but I won't let them play in the house when it's past bedtime in here. We've settled them in and I told them they could stay up as late as they wanted playing games, talking, reading, etc, but that they had to be in the tent now unless they needed a bathroom or emergency help. NO GETTING OUT OF THE TENT OTHERWISE.

10:00pm: Eavesdropping. I've settled with my laptop at the kitchen counter. The office just seems to far away. I can hear the plasticky clink of the connect four pieces dropping and the bubble pop sound of the Trouble game when I listen out the door occasionally.

10:45pm: Eavesdropping continued. I still hear quiet chatting out there when I open the door. I think it's the only time I've heard those two boys be quiet and calm. There's something unexpectedly precious about that. I'd give anything to know what they're talking about. It occurred to me for the first time that this is where real conversation and bonding (might) happen. Of course they could just be talking about nuts again. Who knows.

12:20am: Hungry. two intrepid "campers" just came in to use the bathroom and seeing that I was up, asked for some animal crackers and raisins, since they were hungry. I obliged. They were proud that they had stayed up to midnight. They think they are staying up all night long. Out they went again, wired and giggling.

12:35am: Monopoly? They came in again to see if they could get Monopoly. They are tired of playing Trouble and Connect Four and the batteries in the camera game are all used up and they've played with all the toys. Big meanie, I said no. No more games or toys. No, you can't get new batteries for your toy camera. You may go to sleep or have quiet conversation until you fall asleep. Response: "Aaaaaaahhhhh!" and "We're not going to fall asleep."

1:05am: Mama it's cold outside. They came in again. "Can we sleep in Noah's bed? It's cold out there." Never mind that they aren't wearing all the warm clothes that I insisted that they take out there with them. They thought I was crazy for making them have sweatshirts and sweatpants and socks when it was such a warm evening. Yes, you can sleep in Noah's bed. I offered to get another sleeping bag so Rio could sleep on the floor. No, they wanted to sleep in bed together. I asked if they wanted to sleep head to toe like Noah and Avi do sometimes. No, they both wanted to have their heads together. I gave them my most-serious mom look and said everyone around them is sleeping or going to be very soon. They MUST be quiet if they are in here.
I didn't hear a peep.

1:10am: I checked. They're sound asleep. Next question, when are those two monkeys going to wake up in the morning.

7:45am: Noah's up.

9:00am: Rio's up.

10:00-11:00am. Rio's grandpa comes to pick him up. It takes an hour to separate the toy boys and all their stuff.

11:00am: Post-party withdrawl. Noah is feeling jealous and miserable because he thinks his friend is luckier than he. He appears to get more allowance and more toys (as if anyone could have more toys than our children). We try to navigate the conversation about different families and different choices and not everything's what it seems without giving him too much information. Trust us kiddo we're thinking, you don't want to trade shoes here. No job, divorce, soon to be evicted, super young parents, a long list of challenges, that I'll avoid posting here. But we refrain from telling him things about his friend that might not be appropriate. Instead we just try to help him feel better about his jealousy. I bring up Esprit sweaters and Guess blue jeans versus trips to Hawaii. I don't think it does much. He just wants to know when we get to go to Hawaii next.

12:00 noon: We're on our way to Costco. Not surprisingly Noah falls asleep in the car.

5:00pm: Early evening naps for everyone. We let the boys watch a movie so Cary (miserable with allergies could nap) and so that maybe they would fall asleep too. No. So after the movie I enforce nap time for all of us. Ezra's down. Avi goes down (he was pretty wiped out from last night's excitement too I think), and Noah does too.

6:45pm: Noah wakes up and is a wreck. Meltdown mode. I've been prepared for this. Part of the reason I took a nap, so I could handle it with sweetness. I'm understanding and sweet and give him choices and help him not get backed into a corner. He rallies after a shower (which he initially protested violently) and ends the night very nicely and cooperatively. I'm reminded of how important it is not to get worked up in dealing with meltdowns. It helps that I was prepared for it.

And a note about Avi... The last month or so has been especially challenging (after it looked like things were getting easier for a while), but again, we've seen a shift in the last few days. Perhaps his "running away" experience Monday, made him reevaluate things. I don't know, but we've had about 4 straight good days. Not perfect, who could expect that anyhow, but good. And tonight he was so very sweet. He came downstairs around 7:00 having just woken up. He was clutching his lovely and in that whiny, stubborn wake-up phase. As I always try to do, I scooped him up and gave him a snuggle and tried to entice him with some options to help him transition out of a nap. He fussed a little bit, but was quickly lured to the barstool to have a few bites of leftover popcorn. (Whatever works, right?) He sat there noshing for a minute and then out of the blue said, "Mama, I'm sorry for being whiny when I came downstairs." WOW! I hadn't even mentioned it. I hadn't even acted annoyed with him. He figured it out all on his own. Those are the moments that make you think you really are accomplishing something!

And not to leave out Mr. Ezra... He is now climbing from ground floor to rumpus room in no time at all. He's not lightning speed like Avi was, but slow and steady gets him there just fine. (And he has only been climbing stairs for a short while.) He'll do just about anything to follow those brothers. He is starting to cruise along things a little bit and occasionally lets go of what he is holding on to and stands for a millisecond before falling. Here's a picture of him at his toy shelf. He loves to empty everything off the shelves. Most significantly however, he has continued sleeping through the night. That had to be the easiest sleep training ever! He has put himself back to sleep multiple times in the middle of the night (without me even going in there). I hear a little cry and before I can even get in to him, it has stopped. Please, please, keep this up. It is making a huge difference in my ability to cope with everything. Thank you Ezra. I don't know what I would do if I was in Nancy and J's shoes.

Young Reader

I think he's finished eight or more chapter books since school let out last Thursday.

Even though we've implemented summer bedtime privelidges which allow him to stay up as late as he wants to read after being tucked in, he rarely lasts more than 15-20 minutes. He does all that other reading on the go in between other things during the day. I have to get after him to "PUT THE BOOK DOWN" half the time. I guess he comes by it naturally.

Yeah!

Ezra slept through the night last night! Of course he was raring to go at 6:20 this morning, which seemed unbearable when I was up past midnight, but better than waking three times in between! I wonder if it's because I'd let him cry a little bit at nap and bedtime a few times in the past few days. Not long, just a few minutes.

Yummy Sand

He probably ate a half dozen handfuls of sand before I just had to take him out of the sandbox. Every time he would grab a handful and bring it to his mouth I would push his hand away and tell him that we don't eat sand. Every time, he would laugh hysterically and reach for another handful. It was the laughing and repeated negative behavior that worried me more than the sand. He's going to be just like his brothers! God help me!

Fighting sleep

Ezra has decided to start protesting naps/bed. Great! Just what I need. He's fine in the car or stroller or if I nurse him all the way to a deep sleep, but otherwise he's screaming his head off. Must be too excites to have those big brothers - the ones I both just sent to their rooms for being overly-obnoxious - around all the time.

Where's Avi? The whole neighborhood wants to know.

Today, Avi hid in the bike trailer in the garage knowing full-well that I thought he had left the backyard unaccompanied and without permission (which he had indeed done just a few minutes earlier). Not finding him anywhere in the house or backyard, I proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes screaming his name frantically at full-panic volume and running all around the neighborhood alerting anyone who crossed my path that should they see a three year old in rainbow tye-die, he's supposed to be at 23rd and Alder. I was a mess. Then I was furious when I knew he was safe in the garage. Why did he hide? He was annoyed because I had told him that he would have to pick up all the black foam pieces that he had bitten and ripped and shredded across the back yard. I told him to stop while he was doing it, but he didn't, so I told him he would have to pick it up. That didn't appeal to him, so he thought he'd get even with me or something.

That was just the most dramatic event of the day. All the other major things pale in comparison. It was the kind of day that made me think someone's going to cart me away to the mental hospital (as if we actually have those any more in this time of budget crisis) before the summer's out.

Life with three boys means a lot of wrestling

Just an ordinary blip in time. Preceded by ballon popping and followed by wedgies.

Summer vacation

10:00am on the first day of summer vacation. Noah, who already completed a whole chapter book (stared this morning) says, "I'm bored." It's going to be a long summer I think.

Meet B.D.

We've decided that Avi's "bad dream" is actually Avi's Bad Dream. As in BD has a life and persona. It changes form, but I think it's his equivalent of an imaginary friend. BD prevents him from doing things (like going to the bathroom) and tells him to do other things (often not such good advice, as in "My Bad Dream told me too.") According to Avi, this evening BD was as big as a house, shaped and colored like a blueberry, but with wings and was going to eat everyone up. He told us this at dinner when he couldn't walk to the bathroom by himself for fear of BD.

Noah is enormous. He was having a meltdown tonight and refusing to bathe (which he really needed to do after a busy day playing and then dance lessons and then baseball practice). It occurred to me as I tried to drag him upstairs, that this is no longer an option. He is too heavy. I'm no wuss; he's gained quite a bit of weight lately. If it was dead weight it would be hard enough, but squirming, flailing, resisting weight is even harder.

Ezra made it all the way up a full flight of stairs yesterday. That boy is on the move constantly and pulling up on everything and anything. Also eating everything he can get his hands on. This is a challenge with two older boys in the house. He ate (and later pooped) a Lego head last week. We never even saw it go in. Stealthy.

Bad behavior = tired

I KNOW that Avi's bad behavior is usually explained by exhaustion, but why can I never seem to remember it in the moment when he is laughing at me after having hit me or run away from me or other such charming behavior? I can't seem to get it in my head in the moment that he's probably overly-tired and responding irrationally. I just get angry when I need to be the calm one.

Ok, let's see if I can catch up with my brothers

He's been crawling for a week. He started pulling himself up to standing s couple of days ago, and now apparently he thinks he's going to attempt stairs. Isn't there supposed to be some lag time between these developmental steps. At least a week or two? I can get nothing done anymore. There's a reason that people like to have them close together. Babies and itty-bitty Legos and allowance coins and marbles and homework and pencils don't mix. Oh well. He's intent on trying to sneak everything into his mouth and get everywhere he shouldn't be. Remember how I said I didn't trust that mellow demeanor... It was all just a matter of time, well the time came.

Budding Author

All of a sudden Noah's writing has taken off. (Not necessarily his spelling, but his sense of composition.) A month ago it was still a struggle to get him to write two or three sentences. Now he is picking up paper and writing on his own volition. He started a story this afternoon and wrote the above before anyone noticed what he was doing. It's just the beginning of the story he said. He intends (whether or not he eventually does) to finish it later.

Ezra is moving everywhere and fast. He has become so wiggly in the changing table he reminds me of Noah at this age. He fell off Avi's bed today, luckily I was so close I caught him and helped him gently summersault off. He is getting all around the room in no time, despite not technically crawling. He's crawling backwards and rolling and wiggling and flipping and scooting around the room faster than we can pick Legos up off the floor. I realized today that he has no problem going from front to back to horizontal to sitting with no problem at all, and it occurred to me that I don't remember him transitioning into that new skill. It's all going by so fast! He ate pizza tonight. The boy has no teeth! But you should see him rip off a hunk of crust with those powerful gums. The same ones mind you that sent him to the chiropractor shortly after birth for some cranial sacral massage because nursing him was so excruciatingly painful.

Less than kingly speech

After a high energy afternoon at the park, Avi fell asleep on the couch yesterday afternoon and was unwakeable until after his bedtime. Forget Tot Shabbat service. Forget dinner. Cary wasn't home, so I just let him sleep on the couch until I got the other two in bed and then put him to bed. Cary got home and we decided to watch The King's Speech. About 10:30 we heard a pitter-patter up the stairs and he came into the rumpus room. Given the long long nap and the content of the movie, I decided to overlook the nighttime misdemeanor. He snuggled in next to me and actually watched the movie for over an hour until the end. Fabulous movie for us, but had to be dreadfully dull to a three-year old. He even said as one point, "This movie is boring," but that didn't stop him from staying up. Though we didn't express it aloud, Cary and I both figured it couldn't hurt. There was no violence, no sex, no overtly adult themes (at least not recognizable to a three-year old). And then Colin Firth as King George the 7th(?) with the encouragement of his speech therapist launches into a cursing firestorm. F-this and s-that over and over. Cary and I couldn't help but giggle nervously. How could we have been prepared for that? Avi started giggling too, but I think it was as much because we were and because the King also was gesticulating and dancing around. Thankfully, we haven't witnessed a change in his vocabulary since watching the movie.

Free and easy

So we're nearly home from school, I'm already in the gate actually, when Noah looks back and starts cracking up. Avi, who was a half a block behind us, has stripped off his flip flops, shorts, and underwear. They were suddenly "uncomfortable." Never mind he's been wearing the outfit all day to gymnastics, in the backyard, at the school playground, and downtown. And no, they weren't wet. Suddenly his underwear was just uncomfortable. Oh, that explains it then. The picture isn't as accurate as it should be though. He was going to come into the house with his clothes and shoes still out on the sidewalk, until I made him pick them up.

"Booger Power"

Is there really anything else to say about this? I don't have it, but whatever booger power is, my boys apparently do.

Radiators

How I hate cleaning up all the paint chips from the radiators. The boys seem to think that it's perfectly ok to ignore me on this matter. I blame Cary, as they've seen him do it. Why a grown man felt the need to pick paint chips from them I have no idea?!?! But, every since then, getting them to not do it on the sly has been impossible. I want radiator covers made. But in one of parenthood's many many ironies, by the time we have time to make them, we won't need them for that reason.

SuperEater Meets his Match

Ezra wants to eat everything and hasn't found much that he doesn't care for. He likes veggies and grains more than sweet fruit so far (making it hard for me to believe he's really my child, but I do remember him being born quite vividly), but really he's not picky, and though I give a nod to the rules about what they should and shouldn't eat at this age (no honey, no peanut butter, no chokeable foods, etc.), I've been pretty lax about what I let him try. I've figured if something doesn't agree with him, we'll just take a step back for awhile. Well, that something came up. Literally. Apparently Café Yumm sauce is a little much for a seven-month-old stomach to handle. He was enjoying it at dinner time, but in the middle of the last blog posting (which I finished later), he woke up crying. I went to soothe him and help him find his binky, but found that he was lying in a pool of vomit. Lovely. Who wouldn't be crying? I picked him up, called Cary and we worked together to get the sheets changed and Ezra and I both showered, dried and redressed in clean pajamas. As soon as he was in the shower with me he was happy again. He didn't have a fever or anything, I'm pretty sure it was just an upset tummy from his overly-mature dinner. We got all cleaned up and he was pretty frantic to nurse again. We sat down in the rocker in his bedroom and right before he started to nurse he paused, pulled back and hurled all over both of us again, three times as much as before. Back to the bath and shower. New pjs again for both of us. More stuff carried to the laundry. By the time we settled back in the nursing chair again (somehow I caught all the puke with my body and the chair stayed clean - lucky I guess?!?!), he was exhausted and screaming. But fortunately, that was the end of it and he was healthy as ever in the morning. It will be awhile before I give him Café Yumm again.

Where did my Loveable Lump go?

For the first six plus months of his life, I was referring to Ezra fondly as "My Loveable Lump." He was so mellow, and stayed where I put him. That was the case until the last couple of days. He had turned on me. I knew he would. I knew he kept watching his older brothers and thinking to himself, "Someday I'm going to be like them. I'll show her." Joke's on him. I've been prepared this whole time. I keep telling people, "Yeah, he seems mellow and oh so easy, but the other two wild willful boys were easy too, I'm just biding my time." So it happened. I got seven months out of him. Just last week I could put him down on the ground surrounded by toys and he'd be happy for 20-30 minutes. Yes he technically does know how to roll in both directions, but he wouldn't for the most part. He'd sit until he fell over and then play in that spot on his tummy or back for a loooong time, happily. Now, it's like a switch was flipped. He has suddenly realized that he wants things and that he might be able to get them if he just ______ (fill in the blank). But he just can't quite ___________ (fill in the blank), and he is FRUSTRATED! I admit to finding it a little amusing when he's trying to reach for something and finds himself not getting it but instead getting farther and farther away from it due to the inexplicable backward scoot. I can remember one of the other boys doing the same thing. I think it was Noah. "Why am I going backwards? Why is that cool toy getting farther from my reach?" The legs are working, but not in the right direction. Not yet anyhow. But he's moving alright. Far from staying put he will twist, wiggle, roll, shimmy, and scoot his way all around a room in a decidedly non-linear pattern.

Not only is he dramatically different with regards to big-motor skills, but all of a sudden some flip was switched and he's grabbier, louder, and much more demonstrative in general. I knew his brothers would influence him. :)

It only takes a millisecond

Ezra did a header off the changing table the night before last. It was horrifying. I felt so scared and stupid and awful. How many times have I held on to him when he's been sitting in the changing table and thought how I wouldn't dare leave him unattended in that position because he would most likely fall and then I let that exact thing happen!
I was holding on to him as I was monitoring Noah get into the shower and helping him one-handed with the curtain and such. Then when Noah decided to take a bath instead, seeing how thoroughly filthy he was, I wanted to put some bubbles in his bath. I was still within reaching distance of Ezra, but unthinkingly took my other hand to unscrew the cap off the bottle of bubbles and out of the corner of my eye I see Ezra go head first off the table and land on his head on the floor between the garbage can and toilet, like some kind of terrible human slinky summersaulting through the air and unfolding on the floor. I can't get the image out of my mind. It just keeps replaying again and again.
He didn't cry for long. I snatched him up as soon as I saw him moving his arms and legs which was instantly and took him naked into his room to nurse him. He was happy again within just a few minutes, probably less then five, but it's taken me a day to get over it. I just keep thinking about what could have happened. How he could be paralyzed or dead or brain damaged. He doesn't even have a noticeable bump. We called the advice nurse just to make sure, but there were never any signs of concern. There's still part of me that worries that there might be long term brain injury, but I guess there's nothing else I can do except make sure I'm never so stupid again.
Thank God babies are so resilient and he's fine.

Press the Buzzer

Avi's favorite grown-up song is Press the Buzzer by Dar Williams. He wants to listen to it over and over. How appropriate. I think my favorite song at that age was Day in the Life by the Beatles. Neither feature content even remotely comprehensible to a three-year-old, but intriguing rhythm and melody is where it's at, especially if there's a catchy repeating phrase in their somewhere.

Solo trip to Sundance

Can't forget to note that Noah made his first solo trip to Sundance last week. I don't know many other moms who would have allowed their seven-year-old to do so, but he was fine. He did a great job and was so proud of himself. I don't know what I would have done for dinner that night if he hadn't have gone either. Here's to independent confident kids.

Literary appetite

Ezra loves books. To eat. He is as uninterested in books as Avi was at this age. What doesn't mean much in terms of predictions as Avi is practically reading to himself these days and loves to be read to book after book. But whenever I try to read to Ezra, he just wants to grab the book and get it on his mouth. Actually, that's what he wants to do with anything, blocks, toys, our hands, faces, food, spoons, musical instruments. Just about everything I can think of except the talking Elmo doll, which he expresses his appreciation for in the more traditional way, with giggles and smiles.

Always something to entertain him

Ezra meanwhile has discovered what great noises his tongue can make. Not letter sounds exactly, but clicks and slaps and bubbles. He likes to wave it about and push it out and in until he gets attention for it. Then we laugh and then he does too. Great fun. Such simple amusement. He continues to be very fascinated and entertained by his brothers. They keep him smiling. He doesn't roll over much, but he is sitting quite well now. I'm not ready to have him sit on the hard floor yet, but close. I figure his lack of mobility is due to the fact that there's always something to look at even without moving anywhere else, what with a dog, a cat, and two crazy brothers romping about.

Comics: the gateway drug to the morning paper

Noah has taken to reading the comics every morning now. Before we know it he will be reading the rest of the paper too. I remember it progressing like that for me, but it was much later, maybe middle school.
Speaking of reading prowess, did I already mention that Avi is reading three-letter words? Not all the time, and not without support, but far more than the average 3 1/2 year-old. I promise I'm not pushing him in this area. He wants to learn and asks to practice with me.

Tough boys

Not only is Ezra shaping up to look exactly like Noah, but he appears to be tough like him also. Mellow and tough. Nice combo. Last night he did a face plant in the tub. I picked him within a second, but I wasn't quick enough to keep him from banging his face into the drain and being facedown in the water. I snatched him up and he was clearly a little startled and take aback, but I'm certain that many other babies would have been howling. He just went on with his bath, happy to grab at toys with his new sit-and-reach abilities.
Noah today had his second or third accident on the tree swing in Chris and Julie's back yard. He lost a tooth there last year. Not even a particularly loose one. Tonight he scraped up against the tree and got pretty roughed up on his arm. Most other kids would have been in tears. Even seven year old boys. Not Noah. He calmly came to show us and tell is that it hurt. Chris took him inside, performed appropriate first aide, gave Noah the cool new see-through bandage and all was well. Though Noah wasn't sure he could help set the table or clear it either as a result.
That however has more to do with his incredibly annoying new attitude. He whines and protests about anything. He's often demanding and won't take no for an answer (not that he ever manages to get another answer with that behavior). What boggles me is how he persists with this behavior when the consequences have been clear and consistent forever. It doesn't work, so why does he keep trying?

Pancakes and powerful kisses

Ezra ate some pancake this morning. And then a big bowl of homemade puréed carrots and some blueberry oatmeal. That boy wants to eat anything he can get his hands on. He's just six months old today, but he's far more interested in food than his brothers were at this stage, or so it seems. I guess they each have to excel at something. He's not anywhere near as physically precocious as his brothers were.

Avi's new thing the past month or so is to give kisses and then say with total seriousness that the kiss is strong enough or big enough to "go all the way to Hawaii." Tonight he did a variation on that. He was being a pill AGAIN at bedtime. He was shut in his room at one point, but I had to let him out to go to the bathroom or risk an accident. I did, but made it clear I was very displeased and done with any nonsense. He finished and as I put him back in bed, he gave me a big kiss and said, "That kiss is big enough to show you I'm gonna be good now."

Noah mowed the lawn today. He started doing that last summer. How did he get so big? Some moments he's practically a teenager and the next moment he's having a three-year-old style temper tantrum about not getting something he wants.

Milestones

Ezra put himself to sleep tonight. Avi, who was really good all day, was a turkey at bedtime, repeatedly coming out if his room and making enough noise to arouse Ezra as I was trying to nurse him asleep. I finally got him to sleep and put him in the crib when Avi woke him yet again. Having already nursed him for a LONG time, I just tried to encourage him to fall asleep. It took awhile, but with a few reassuring visits and pats, and with his lovey-ducky, he did it without crying! This kid is so easy-going. Of course I thought the other two were good, easy babies too!
Noah was excited and proud that I let him ride his bike to the school playground without accompaniment, and home too. Avi and Ezra and I went too, but we were so much slower, I let Noah go ahead both going and returning. I think he's ready to go to school by himself. People think that's crazy, and I think most people don't let kids go themselves until fourth or fifth grade, but it's ridiculous. It's five blocks! Kids of previous generations would have done it and no one would have thought a thing about it. The only thing I want is a way for the school to alert me pretty much immediately if for some reason he didn't arrive. But then again, so many other kids and parents are traveling the same route that God-forbid something should happen to him, I would know from one of them.
Speaking of Noah, he's on the third Harry Potter book. It's amazing that he's only been reading for a year and a half. But then, he still can't tell time for anything.
In sad news, both Lilly and Murphy are sick. Lilly has been for some time; she has hardly eaten in months. Murphy developed a lump on the top of his tail and it's cancer. He had it removed and biopsied on Tuesday, and the results today were not good. Noah is so worried about both of them. And especially with Murphy sporting a big cone collar and a huge line of stitches on his behind. Noah is filled with sympathy for him.

Ezra

Ezra is fully sitting unassisted now. I'm not quite ready to let him do it on the hard floor, but he has really mastered the skill in the past few days.

Birthday Parties, cont.

Avi did much better at today's birthday party. He played mostly with Vera. They seem to be good pals. There was no evidence of the clingy miserable kid from the last two events.

Birthday Parties

While I don't want the boys to grow up too quickly, I do yearn for the days when there are no more birthday parties to attend at Putters. We had Emma's there today and tomorrow we will go to Papa's Pizza for Killion's.
Avi's going through a new phase in which he becomes uncharacteristically clingy at birthday parties. We spent the first half hour with him hanging on to me, trying to pull me down to the floor with him, or head-butting me. Finally I took him out to the car, where thinking he was in trouble he started to cower in the back corner until I convinced him that he wasn't in trouble, I just wanted to hug him and help him find words to express what he was feeling. I held him for a bit and we talked, but he wasn't able to really articulate what the issue was. This was similar to but even worse than his reaction at his classmate Rachel's party last week. And oh joy, we have yet another party to attend tomorrow. I keep asking him if he really wants to go, and he assures me that he does. I sure know I don't, and I can predict how he's going to act, but here we go again anyway. What's a mom to do?

To roll or not to roll...

There's a reason that people say not to put a baby on the bed, even if he isn't rolling over yet. To which I'll add, even if your baby is the most immobile baby you've ever seen, watch out! Ezra doesn't really move an inch. I put him down on the floor, and unlike his brothers (Avi in particular) who would squirm and wiggle all over the place even before they were able to turn over, Ezra just stays put. Until one day last week. I put him down for some tummy time on the floor (thankfully) in his room and went next door to help Avi get dressed. When I came back a couple of minutes later, he was on his back two or even three feet away from where I had put him. Wow! Side note: my mom said I did the same thing as a baby and scared her to death. She had me on the floor in the living/dining room and I hadn't yet rolled over. She left the room and when she returned I was no where in sight. I had rolled under the china closet.
Anyhow, Ezra rolled over three times that day (Feb 15th), and then didn't roll again for another 8 days. That was two days ago now and he still hasn't done it again.
He is getting pretty funny about eating though. He wants to eat anything we're eating. Trying to grab my utensils or bowl or food right out of my hand. He successfully snatched a chocolate chip cookie right out of my hand the other day and shoved it in his mouth. He would have kept sucking on it happily had I not taken it away from him. That said, he's none too thrilled about the baby cereal I've been trying to give him. And, he's finding it increasingly difficult to nurse when anything interesting is happening around him. We practically have to be in the rocker in his bedroom for him to really take it seriously now, and then he eats as if I haven't offered him anything all day!

Wild Monkeys and Silly Bandz

Avi throws banana peels on the kitchen floor. I ask him not to do that. Express my frustration. Discuss how we are human beings with manners not wild monkeys in the jungle. He does it again. Avi dumps dirt out of the planter on the sidewalk. I calmly give him some other options of things to do, explain why I don’t want the dirt on the patio walkway and explain that he can even play in the planter dirt, but just can’t dump it on the sidewalk. I look out the window and he does it again. I open the window and threaten a consequence. I look out and see he does it again.

The lying hasn’t stopped. Daddy asks, “have you brushed your teeth already?” I’m nursing Ezra in his room, Avi answers, “Yes, mama did it for me.” Not so. Why does he do this?

Avi wanted a dance class like his brother, so I signed him up for a spark plug one, not realizing that the darn thing was a parent child class. I hate those. Then he doesn’t want to participate half the time, so I’m left wiggling across the floor on my belly singing, “I’m a happy little lizard…” by myself. Oh joy. The things we do for our children. What I don’t get is that he runs and sits down next to Ezra’s car seat sometimes when we’re “dancing” and when I try to coax this normally highest-of-high energy children up to participate, he says, “No, I can’t do it.” What? Excuse me? What exactly about running or jumping or spinning or making shapes around the room with a handful of other kids who are all a year younger than you can you not do? He’s a mystery.

Noah came home today with a new silly bandz, the stretchy rubber bracelets in silly shapes that are all the rage with kids now. Anyhow, he got his from Sofia. Sofia, whom he was in tears about last year because she read better than he did. Sofia, whom he mentioned last year was as fast of a runner as he was. Sofia, who kicked him a couple of months ago when he pulled Morgan’s hood over her head. Sofia, whom I happened to overhear Noah tell his Aunt Holly on the phone the other day was his "new girlfriend." So this is where it starts huh? I'm resisting the strong urge to call up Sofia's mother and share all my feelings about this. Sweet girl by the way. But seeing as how they are 7, I'm not going to get carried away.

Noah, I must say, is in characteristic style being very good-natured and tough about his cast. He occasionally complains that it itches, but that’s about it. It doesn’t even slow him down enough. I have to remind him frequently that he doesn’t have the same ability to catch himself if he falls right now and to just be a tad bit more careful. You know, things like standing up in the wagon and having Avi yank the wagon around.

Like his brothers before him, Ezra has discovered the joy of the bath. It’s his favorite part of the day now I think. He’s such an easy guy. Such a sweet spirit. All the girl babies are jealous of all that hair. People can’t help but remark on it. He practically needs a haircut to keep it out of his eyes, but I can’t bear to do it yet, so I just keep sweeping it to the side. 4 months is too young for a haircut. He’s also expressing interest in people food. He is watching everything we do at the table. Watching the food go from plate to fork to mouth and wants to be right there. He hasn’t been interested in a binky at all until last night I used one when he kept waking up and that worked to put him back to sleep several times. He may take to it yet. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Fibbing

Avi has this new habit of fibbing. It comes out in all sorts of different ways, some more frustrating than others, but the funniest manifestation is when he needs to go to the bathroom. Of course he never wants to go and will deny that he needs to, even when he's doing the potty dance all around the house. I often have to chase him, catch him, and force him into the bathroom, often without a second to spare. He then pees like a race horse and exclaims emphatically, "I TOLD you I had to go!" He delivers it with the utmost sincerity, as if staying in character. Whatever that character is, I don't quite know.