Brotherly Love

On Tuesday I was sitting in the chair with Luke and Adam climbed up and sat next to us. Once he got settled he asked me if he could hold Luke. It was adorable and I was a little sad that I didn’t have my camera or even my cell phone handy so that I could share the image here. Then I remembered the webcam on my laptop.

It was pretty sweet and both boys were content to sit there for at least 5 minutes – which might not sound like a long time, but trust me with Adam’s energy level and attention span it is.

Speaking of Adam, the poor kid has been a tad under the weather for most of the week. He’s got a little bit of a cough, a runny nose, and he’s teething. Thankfully he’s down to the last two 2-year molars; one is partially through and the other is thinking about it. Once they are both in he will have the complete set of baby teeth.

Oh, and speaking of teeth, when Luke was born I was afraid of Adam would try to give his snacks to him. So I made a point of frequently reminding Adam that Luke is too little for him to share with. Adam seems to have learned the lesson well, since any time I ask him if Luke can have some of his food (fish crackers, chicken, fruit, or any of the 4 other things my obstinate toddle will currently agree to eat), Adam will respond with, “No, no teeth!”

I’m sure it won’t be long until we’re dealing with a cranky teething Luke. Hopefully we can get all of Adam’s in before he starts.

More DINOSAUR!

Can you guess what Adam and I did today?

Since we had so much fun seeing the dinosaurs on Saturday, I decided that today we should make one of our own.

I think Adam ended up with almost as much paint on him as the dinosaur did.

I did the cutting and the eyeball gluing, but he painted it all by himself. He used a brush for most of it, and his hands for the rest.

Mama, Do you see something on my face?

Right there underneath my nose.

I look pretty good with a mustache, don’t you think?

Thank goodness for washable paint.

DINOSAUR!

Today we took the boys to a dinosaur exhibit at our local community center.

Adam loved it. He had a blast looking at the dinosaur bones and really liked the fossilized footprints.

Luke wore dinosaur socks for the occasion. Actually both boys were dressed in dino gear. Adam had a T-Rex on his shirt and Luke’s outfit had a Stegosaurus on it. Between you and me, I think Dave was a little jealous that he didn’t have a Triceratops or Pteranodon shirt to wear.

Most of the artifacts were for looking and not touching, but they did have one table full of items that were hands on. Included on this table was a piece of petrified dino poop.

I didn’t take a picture.

I didn’t touch it either.

Adam and Dave were most interested in a dinosaur egg.

It wasn’t a large exhibit. I think they had three or four rooms of dinosaur artifacts and then another room dedicated to gems and minerals. It was the perfect size for Adam’s attention level though and all of us really enjoyed it.

And while Luke might not know too much about dinosaurs yet, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before his big brother fills him in on their awesomeness.

 

Up the water spout

With the weather turning cooler I’ve been on the hunt for indoor activities to entertain Adam (and myself). So last night after a quick trip to the dollar store I was prepared with a craft for the two of us today. I picked up a pack of chenille stems (apparently the term “pipe cleaner” isn’t politically correct anymore) and a bag of 125 googly eyes (we’ll be making 62 regular faces and 1 cyclops).

Add in a paper plate, some glue, and a black crayon and we were all set.

I think Adam’s favorite part was lining up the googly eyes and playing with the pipe cleaners. He was pretty pleased with the end result though and we sang a lot of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” today. He liked making the spider dance to the song.

Before nap time we relocated Mr. Spider to his new home, where he’ll be living until at least Halloween, maybe longer.

I sort of like seeing the little guy there.

Here a Cluck, There a Cluck

One of my goals for this Christmas is to make as many of the boys’ gifts as I can. I have a list a mile long of things I want to make for them and it seems like every time I finish one project for them I find three more I want to make. Hopefully getting an early start will allow me to cross a lot of fun things off of my “to craft” list. My sister (Hi Stacy) told me I should share the crafts on the website as I complete them, so blame her if this bores you.

Tonight I made a chicken puppet. Be jealous.

It’s just barely big enough for my hand to fit inside, but should be a good size for Adam. I found the idea online, and the nice lady that came up with it even included a pattern to download. I am looking forward to completing the set (8 more to go). One of Adam’s current top three favorite songs is “Old MacDonald” and so I think he’ll really get a kick out of these.

In case you’re wondering he’s also a big fan of the “ABC Song” and “Happy Birthday”. I lit a candle earlier to help make our living room smell like something other than the disgusting diaper I had just changed and Adam started to sing “Happy Birthday”. He gave me a really dirty look when I moved the candle out of his reach and didn’t let him blow it out.

Also, guess what?

Chicken Butt.

10 in a bed and the little one said…

Guess what Mr. Three-Month-Old learned to do today?

Roll over! Roll over!

I had my camera out to get some pictures of how he props himself up on his elbows now and lifts his head up to look around while he’s laying on his stomach, but he had other plans. I moved him back to his belly and he did it again, little stinker.

He’s pretty pleased with himself, don’t you think?

Of course because I had the camera focused on Luke, big brother had to sneak in on the action.

Boy, those two don’t look anything alike do they?

Daddy’s Ball

I had planned on going shopping alone Wednesday night when Dave got home from work. It’s amazing how enticing a quick trip to an office supply store can sound when you can go by yourself – no unbuckling car seats, no babies to carry, no need to bring a sippy cup, diapers, toys, or snacks – heavenly.

I grabbed my keys and had my hand on doorknob when I heard it, the sweetest little boy voice saying, “Ah-me too!” (“Ah-me is how Adam currently pronounces his name.) He looked at me with those big brown eyes and before I knew what I was doing I’d told him to put his shoes on. He said goodbye to Dave and Luke and we were on our way. As we walked out the door Dave told Adam to buy him a present.

Adam was really good in the car and while I wandered the aisles of Staples. I guess I should say he was really good for most of the time we were in Staples. Near the end of our shopping he sat on the floor, removed his shoes, hid them on the shelf behind some calendars and walked away while waving and saying “bye-bye shoes”.

After we were done at Staples I decided to take him next door to the Dollar Store to get a new coloring book. We color a lot (or “clolor” in Adam-speak). When I mentioned to Adam that we were going to get a new coloring book, he said, “Buy for Daddy”. That kid doesn’t forget anything. He remembered that Dave wanted a present. It was pretty much the most adorable thing I’d heard that day. He even charmed a couple of ladies that were standing near us, “Did he just say he wanted to buy something for his Daddy? Oh bless his heart. What a little sweetheart!”

So we walked down the toy aisle and Adam picked out a ball to give to Dave. I may or may not have gotten Adam an Elmo balloon in addition to his cloloring book because I was just that smitten with my handsome little man and his insistence on getting his daddy a toy. He held the ball all the way home and as soon as I opened the door to the house he ran downstairs and gave it to Dave. He was so proud of himself.

I was really surprised that he didn’t try to keep the ball for himself – it did have Mickey Mouse on it afterall. But, no, it’s was Daddy’s ball. I was less surprised when I saw the ball the next day. In typical two-year-old fashion he destroyed it.

Adam: Oh no!

Me: What happened to the ball?

Adam: Daddy’s ball.

Me: What happened to Daddy’s ball?

Adam: It broke.

Me: Did Adam break Daddy’s ball?

Adam: Yes.

Me: Is that good?

Adam: No, that bad (complete with index finger wagging).

At least he’s learning something, right?

I am too. Next time he and Dave go shopping I am totally asking for a present.

Oh Snap.

So I had hoped to have a bunch of adorable professional photos of the boys to share with you tonight. We had an appointment this afternoon to have them taken. I figured Luke wouldn’t be a problem – he’s naturally a smiley, happy baby. I was really hoping for a good picture (or two) of Adam alone and also a couple of the two of them together.

That didn’t happen.

Instead we’ll be rescheduling our appointment for a later date. Crying babies don’t make for good pictures (at least not all the time, there is an exception to almost every rule).