Our Good Ideas

Not Exactly Note Worthy

2011-07-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Wallace has a really hard time walking around in the morning wearing his fleece footed PJ's (Yes, he finally learned to walk, but still insists on carrying a small with him from dawn to dusk). Lately, after breakfast, I just strip him down to his diaper and let him play semi-nude for a good hour. He loves being naked and slapping himself on his big 'ol round belly. His belly button looks JUST like a cinnamon roll.
Of course he wouldn't have to wear fleece footed PJ's at all if it would just warm up and stop raining. Blah.

If I had a Facebook

2011-04-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Mornings like today are why I keep an emergency stash of Chocolate Costco Muffins in the freezer. Breakfast is served!
I barely resisted eating one myself. Cottage cheese and pineapple? I guess that'll do for now. I don't know why Wallace won't drink a big glass of milk first thing in the morning like my other kids (still not walking). He practically demands steak and eggs every day. This kid LOVES a good hearty breakfast first thing. He does not have time for you to go to the bathroom or put in your contacts. He's like the plant in Little Shop of Horrors. When I tried to give him a cup of milk downstairs he greeted me with a head butt. Good morning to you too!
Mack and Henry somehow managed to put the drying rack --sans clothes-- in Wallace's crib before I was up this morning. That was fun to find. There were a few other fun surprises that I'm too polite to share on the internet. At least no one dumped the powdered sugar and oatmeal out all over the kitchen. Counting my blessings.

Walking

2011-03-07T10:33:00.000-08:00

Wallace is 13 months old. I am convinced that he will never learn to walk because all he wants to do is crawl around pushing trucks in front of him. How are you supposed to drive a truck under the table if you're walking?

Handsome:

2011-01-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

Attending a wedding with three little busy boys is tough, but having my awesome looking husband (you should see how tight the pants were he had to wear) there to do the heavy lifting helps to lighten the load. Tyler was a champ the whole weekend. Outstanding Husband of the Year Award. Mack was in a pretty good mood all day. No surprise there, he's always happy. Henry was in one of his 'moods' where no one can touch him, talk to him, or look at him. Shocker. Wallace was tired, but it could of been worse.
A big CONGRATULATIONS to Kyle and Megan! May you not get sick in Mexico. We're so happy for you guys. In fact, Mack just told me this morning, "I love my new Aunt Megan."

Waiting outside the Las Vegas Temple for Kyle and Megan.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

Alright already! Everybody stop bugging me to post our resolutions onto our blog. Sheesh! (No really, actually no one asked me to do this.)
Wallace:

Learn to walk.
Learn to say some words.
(Near the end of the year) Move to a toddler bed.

Henry:

Learn to say "love" instead of "lob" (same with "live" instead of "lib").
Get to the point where he ALWAYS goes to the bathroom - on the toilet- unprompted.
Start Preschool!

Mack:

Really "get" what a calender is all about. IE: understand what order days of the week come in and months of the year.
Learn to swim independently.
Start Kindergarten!

Fern:

No desserts for 2011.
Attend the temple at least 12 times.

Tyler:

(I don't know how he'd feel about me posting his resolutions on here, so I'll have to check with him 1st and maybe up date this later. Sorry.) I think he'll tell you if you ask him.

Before I Forget

2011-01-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Mack is not a very good liar.
The other morning he came into my room to wake me up and I could tell instantly he'd gotten into something downstairs because he had crumbs all over his face.

"Mack what did you get into?"
"I didn't get into anything."
"Then why is your face all messy?"
"Um, it's not messy. I mean it's just my friends made a mess and I told them to stop it...and I was just cleaning it up."
"Mack, what kind of mess?"
"It wasn't a mess, um...I mean, it was a sea mess. Yeah. Just a sea otter mess, that's it."
"Okay..."

I know, it's another boring 'wordy post', written entirely for my own personal enjoyment. Big deal. I'm a busy lady. Get over it.

Morning at the Opera

2010-11-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Mack and Henry enter stage right. Henry holding one large car, Mack holding two smaller cars. Henry and Mack both lay down on the floor with their backs to the audience and begin driving their cars back and forth in front of themselves.

Mack: I'm a fire, a fire, a fire ca-car.
I'm a fire, a fire, a fire ca-car.
I'm a fire, a fire, a fire ca-car.
And I'm a pizza, a pee pee, a pizza car car.
I'm a pizza, a pee pee, a pizza car car.
I'm a pizza, a pee pee, a pizza car car.
And we are the same! We are a pizza and a fire car!
And we are all the same.
Henry: NO! I am a fire car!

An argument ensues. In order to illustrate his point and prove he is right, Mack rolls onto Henry. Henry roars and Mack decides to back off.

Mack: I'm a doctor car the doctor car is coming!
Hey did your engine die? Did it? That is why I am coming.
Henry: No I have an owie. Owie right there, and I have wheels.
That's my engine. No, that's my engine.
Mack: No Henry it is something that rhymes with the letter K K car.
Come on guys football car,
It's nice to meet you again.
FOOT BALL CAR! It's nice to meet you again.
This is my cousin.
FOOTBALL CAR! WOO!
It's nice to meet you again.
Henry: No I'm a a king, I'm king! I'm king!
BYE BYE, I go my home.

Henry exits stage right, followed by Mack.

Critics of this morning's opera were left speechless and had only this to say:

"Bu. Bu. Bu."

-Wallace Morley

Bathtime

2010-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Mack and Henry have the best conversations.
Today, the boys and I spent nearly all our daylight hours at my Mom's house. I was sorta working on Christmas gifts, Mack did 'homework' in his preschool workbook and Henry built towers while attempting to eat his weight in cookies. Wallace mostly cried because he doesn't feel good (he's got a cold), but when he wasn't crying his was flirting with his Granny and Aunt Kloe.
After family night, we came home and Tyler put the two older boys in the bathtub. After they'd been in the tub a while, Mack let out an enormous toot in the water. Henry turned and asked him very seriously, "You pooped?"
Mack answered him, "No, I tooted."
"You tooted in the water?"
"Yeah, under the water."
"Oh."
A little while later Mack leaned back in the tub and sighed, "Ahhh. This is the life."

2010-11-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

Toddler potty training underwear-- y'know the kind that's really thick and absorbent-- should not be sold in packs of three. It should come, at a minimum, in packs of at least TEN.

Let Me Entertain You

2010-11-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Mack was in a particularly musical mood this morning. He was walking around with his little Primary Songbook, singing away. I was lucky enough to transcribe a little of what he was singing. You're just going to have to imagine what the tune sounded like, but I can tell you the last one was a little bit like a rap.

A grown up can help you with that,
Two grown ups get baptized
sho-di-do, sho-sho-di-dooo
You have been taught by these later days.
Bridge: Lots of nonsense word singing
You have been taught when Jesus was born
We have we know about Jesus was born and food friends too
and back then...

Break to talk about his "food friends" (these are imaginary friends he has named after different foods. Like Pancake, Cupcake), apparently they were born when Jesus was born. They are a family and the food family grandparents live far away from here. "Pretty sad, huh?"

They have been taught by latter-days
Children were gathered around Jesus,
They don't know why.
Oh di-do-di-do.

I asked Mack if he wanted to sing somemore. He said, "Actually when everyone gathers up in a big circle. But you can't be in the front, I am."

By these latter days
I have been to church.
On day of days
If I had been to the temples.
You are
the odi modi
testimony.
And you are in the sky.
If you go
on a trip
You know
on a whip
you only know the odi-do.

Now he says he'll sing for me some more when I come to the big circle in his room. Gotta love this kid.

PUMPkin Patch

2010-10-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to FOUR pumpkin patches in five days! I must have lost my mind. First, we took the whole family on Tuesday for a delayed family night. The second time, I went with the boys on Thursday morning-ish for a poorly attended ward play-date. Finally, on Saturday Henry, Wallace and I met up with my parents to check two more patches off the list while Tyler and Mack were off hiking Mt. Pilchuck with the scouts. Henry was cranky on Tuesday and Saturday, but overall they were good times. Like any mother, I forced my children to take an insane number of pictures, and find myself unable to edit it down to just one or two. Enjoy.

Wallace is like this ALL the time! We lucked out with this boy.

Henry's favorite pumpkin.

Mack's favorite pumpkin.

Henry's general attitude towards having his photo taken. I've got a bunch of pictures where his face looks like this.

The wagon was just for the kids. We'd already bought our pumpkins at the grocery store, sorry.

These photos are from the second patch. Henry was in a great mood this time. I cannot get over our cute little Wally! One of these is going in a frame.

Mack and Henry love trying to hold the pumpkins up over their heads to show me their super strength.

Try as I might, I completely failed at getting the boys to look at me while sitting on some bales of hay. They were much more interested in who had the better pumpkin. I learned that Mack is partial to the green, and Henry likes the ones that are "broken".

BOMM-SHAKA-LAKA!

2010-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

Who just put up TWO blog posts in one week? ME! That's who! Enjoy these pictures please.

Batman and Super Gnome arriving home from a super hero themed birthday party.

Brothers.

And the award for 'World's Most Piercing Blue Eyes' goes to... Wally. Just ask anyone.

This is how my boys entertain themselves when Mommy is working out, making dinner, nursing, checking her email...Basically every chance they get they play in the garage.

Now Here's a Shocker

2010-10-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is our Ward Building. Shocking. Shocking.
No one was hurt so it's really not a HUGE deal, but it is very inconvenient, surprising and a little teensy tiny ittie bittie bit scary. We went to a different building yesterday (they were having stake conference, so the building was empty), and will find out what the more "permanent" solution will be later this week --permanent meaning until they rebuild. On the plus side, I know Tyler is looking forward to the new building hopefully having a full size gym.

You will not find our family anywhere near any of the news crews. I'm much too embarrassed to ever be on TV again after those I made silly comments I made about The Bachelor were aired two years ago. :)

Why My Back is Sore

2010-09-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

I don't even know how to start this.

I locked myself out of the house today.
I was about to leave for Mack's Spanish class this morning and I had Mack and Henry with me down in the garage. I had just buckled Henry into to his car seat and told Mack to hurry up and get his shoes on. I was feeling good about everything, we were about five minutes ahead of schedule and I even had lunches packed for everyone to eat on our way home afterward. I went to go back inside to get Wallace up from his nap -- he was still sleeping in his crib -- and the DOOR WAS LOCKED.
My mind started going to a million miles a minute. I could not believe it. My phone and my keys were sitting inside in the kitchen next to our lunch. I ran out to the front door. Locked. I checked the back door. Locked. I went to all the windows and took the screens down and tried to pry them open, which I knew was hopeless. I went back to my car and found a clothes pin, took it over to the garage door, started praying and tried to unlock it like in the movies. I had no idea what I was doing. I tried the same thing on the front door. About this time I started thinking about which would be cheaper to break, a window or a door. I decided a door. I knew we had various hammers and saws and what-have-you in the garage, but I couldn't think of how any of these things were going to help me since the door is made of metal and the hinges are on the inside. I couldn't really call anyone, Tyler had some very important meetings scheduled today and besides, what could my parents or anyone else do that I couldn't. I did what any desperate mother would do and started throwing my shoulder into the door police-style. I probably tried this about 10 times until, finally, magically, the door swung open! I couldn't believe it! I ran upstairs, got Wallace and our lunches and headed out the door to Mack's class. What a rush! It's taken me nearly all day to calm down and stop shaking. What an ordeal.
Let me tell you, it will NEVER happen again.

Cereal

2010-09-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

We don't eat much cold cereal at our house. Breakfast (for Mack and Henry) is typically one of the following:

Oatmeal -straight up with nothin' in it!
Zoom -cracked wheat cereal mixed with applesauce, a little brown sugar and a ton of cinnamon
Scrambled Eggs -2 per boy with cheese if we've got it
Waffles -with peanut butter
Pancakes -with peanut butter
Leftover Scones -with peanut butter
English Muffins -the Multigrain kind from Costco also with peanut butter :)

Breakfast is always consumed with a big glass of whole milk and the occasional banana on the side. If he's home, Tyler will usually make french toast. Yum. I really didn't think our breakfast menu was very diverse until I just typed out that list. However, it's all carbs and grains, so maybe I'm not doing that great after all. My kids love peanut butter, and we switched to the simple stuff with no sugar, just peanuts. I figure its better for them than jam. Right? At least everyone has a full tummy at the end. Overall, I think we do alright. We try to keep Cheerios or puffed wheat and corn in the pantry for snacks or to take to church in little baggies, sometimes we run out.
But my point is we don't usually eat cereal for breakfast. I don't have anything against eating it, I just kinda forget about it mostly. BUT, right now we're staying at my folks and when we are here the boys LOVE to eat cereal! I noticed this morning as I was asking Henry what kind he wanted for breakfast, that we've made up our own cereal language. The list sounded like this, "Do you want Baseballs?…Chocolate?… Pillows?…" Baseballs are Kix. Chocolate is Cherrios. Pillows are Life, or Chex, whichever is available. I'm sure lots of other families do this sort of thing, but I just wanted to write it down (or type it out).

By the way, he chose the Baseballs, with no milk and "no fork".

Harry Potter

2010-09-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

"I'll kill that Dumbledore!"
-Mack, playing with my brother Kody's old playmobil castle in my parents living-room (we're house sitting again). Maybe he was too young to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last week? It was PG. I wonder if he was pretending to be Snape or Malfoy?
A little later I heard this, in a very sinister voice..
"I'm the new Dumbledore, waha ha."

Beach Maps

2010-08-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

Once Upon a Time, We Went to the Aquaruim

2010-08-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

April was our last month with an aquarium membership, so we made sure to fit in one last trip with the entire family. Due to sleep deprivation, I don't remember too much about the visit, but I do remember we ate lunch there and it was yummy! I know we had a good time and I know Henry would kiss a fish on the mouth if he could. He's obsessed with the darn things. Here are some pictures to prove it really happened.

MOM! Hurry up! OKAY?

Wallace is starting to fall asleep.

Just be glad you're not in matching outfits.

Go ahead, drop the baby. We're taking this picture.

Mack. Always eager to please! One sorta smiling? I'll take it!

Chronicles of Naptime

2010-08-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Mack and Henry are supposed to be taking a nap.
I just walked in and found them dressing up like a bunny.

Busy Week

2010-06-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

We've had quite the busy week around here, but no pictures to show for it.
Monday: Took the whole family to see Toy Story 3. The boys loved it and were all very good for the entire movie. It was cute to see them sitting in their big movie chairs while drinking juice boxes and eating bunny snacks. Henry refused to share his armrests and wanted no distractions. Mack ran up stairs to see if he could catch his toys moving around as soon as we got home. The next day, he asked me why "Lightning-the-Queen" wasn't in the movie.
Tuesday: Mack's last day of Spanish Playschool. I don't know if he really understands that he has no school during the summer and when he goes back in September it won't be the same group or teacher. To celebrate his last day (and a break from driving to Ballard 2x a week for me!) we met up with Kassey and her girls at the zoo. The kids did okay. The weather was nice and they enjoyed looking at the animals but we were all exhausted at the end. Luckily, Tyler took the bus over after work and provided some parenting relief for the last hour or two.
Wednesday: The morning was crazy. Mack pushed Henry down the stairs from the very top (on accident) and I was never able to regain control of the 'home' situation. I packed up the kids and we headed over to my Mom's house. The boys were much more behaved over there and after a lunch and a nap we headed down to the beach for the afternoon. Everyone had a good time, especially Mack who got to ride back up to the house with Grandpa on his motorcycle.
Thursday: Spent the day on Lakes Union and Washington on my Dad's boat with Kassey's family and Karly and Kloe. We even picked up Tyler from work at a dock on the south end of Lake Union. Wallace didn't love the boat. He cried a little and mostly slept. Tyler, Mack and Henry had a mellow tube ride. Then it was Kloe, her friend Sienna, Karly, and her "friend" Jake" on the tube. I'm still laughing just thinking about Karly's fall on the tube. She flipped up over the back, it was the highlight of my day. Kassey, Tyler and I took a turn on the tube and while my Dad swears he took it easy, we (Kassey and I) were freaking out the entire time. The whole situation was just nuts, I couldn't stop screaming, Kassey's hand was in Tyler's armpit, and Tyler's feet hung off the front of the tube. You had to be there. On the way home we stopped at Five Guys. It was good, but no Shake Shack.
Friday: Today. We're finally taking it low key with Peter Pan, a new no-bake-cookie recipe, naps and laundry. The fathers and sons outing is tonight and I CAN'T WAIT!! I've been looking forward to this night for over Four years. I have might night all planned out--Sushi, chocolate ice cream and BBC period films.

Mack's Birthday Party

2010-06-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

I still haven't adjusted to having 3 kids. Its tough. So Mack's birthday was streamlined. It was held at the nearby children's museum and since the party room has a 'story-bookish' mural and chair, we focused in on a Knight & Dragon theme. Granny made the tasty Knight cake-- it was completely gone by the time we left for California the next day. For a party favor every kid got a sword, which was a big HIT (get it). For party games all the kids decorated Burger King crowns (which Tyler spray painted gold) with stickers, then I read them a book about a knight and a dragon (each kid also got a copy of the book). I think everyone's favorite activity was the hour or so spent playing in the museum before and after the party. A smashing good time was had by all.

Forty Hours of Driving over Three Days

2010-06-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

And my boys are still all smiles! All three little men loved being in the car. Tyler and I both agree that they were better behaved on the the road trip than they are at home. Henry rotated between reading himself books, drinking chocolate milk, playing with Bert and Ernie puppets and pointing out every single semi truck on the freeway. Mack also read and played with Wallace while eating chocolate Costco muffins. Wallace slept, ate, and then slept some more. When we arrived at a hotel and it came time to go to sleep, Henry couldn't contain himself. All day looking at trucks and then a SLUMBER PARTY! First we tried having him sleep with Mack, no go. Then he got into bed with me and Tyler slept with Mack. Henry wouldn't stop tickling my arm, so I rolled over and he played with my hair instead.
The boys were troopers at the funeral. Tyler had to take Henry out a few times, but the building's nursery toys had all been left out, which was very helpful. Henry may or may not have broken one of their matchbox cars in half. No one can prove anything.

Here we go...

2010-06-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since Tyler or I have had the time to transfer any pictures from our camera to the computer, therefore, all the pictures on our blog lately have been either given to us on a picture cd or 'taken' from other places. NO MORE. I have downloaded a LOT of photos (over 1,000!) and now I'm going to attempt to back track. Please be patient with me. I'm a busy lady. Lets all see how many posts I can get done during nap time!

Overheard

2010-06-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

"Henry, doing it with your big-brother is best." -Mack, age 4

Overheard while in his room playing with puzzles. Mack and Henry had lined up every puzzle we own in a row and were working their way down the line. When I went in there a little while later to get some laundry (always working on that laundry), Mack asked me "Do you want to buy one?"

My Grandpa

2010-05-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not very good at writing tributes. I just end up going round and round in circles, making no sense and in the end, cutting it short. I would either write too much mumbo-jumbo, or never really explain how I feel. My Grandpa passed away recently and my Mom put a wonderful tribute on her her Blog. I can't possibly top it, so I won't try. My Grandpa Dick is a really good Grandpa. I can't quite write about him in past tense just yet. He's not really 'dead' just moved on to a somewhere new. I love you Grandpa, we all do.

Goodbye Grandpa...For Now

Playtime

2010-05-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

Earlier this morning, as I went to put Wallace's laundry away in his room, I discovered how my "little guys" had been occupying themselves. While I had been busy folding clothes, Mack and Henry had taken advantage of my absence and removed all the rings from one of our stacking toys and instead, stuck them on Wally's arms and legs as if they were bacelets. Without looking, I instinctively told Mack and Henry to stop it, but Mack protested that "Wallace likes it" and Mack was right! Wallace and Henry both had silly little closed mouth grins on their faces and now Mack tells me this ring stacker thing is "Wallace's favorite toy."

Just Can't Get Enough...

2010-03-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

I can't get any time to update this blog, and I can't get enough pictures of the newest member of our family. Here are some MORE pictures of WallaceMorley. Handsome. I'm having trouble deciding which one of these pictures to frame (and finding the time), I love so many. I especially love the ones of Wallace with his Daddy (predictable). Wallace has huge hands and feet--they're as big as his cousin Winni's) but he looks teeny tiny when Tyler holds him.

All pictures are courtesy of the generous and talented Mackenzie of MACKENZIE ROBERTS PHOTOGRAPHY. Not only is she talented but also patient. Wallace cried almost the entire time. AND she took all of these photos indoors on our couch. Kudos.

"BUY TWO GET ONE FREE"*

2010-02-08T15:04:00.000-08:00

This post is a little over due...our entire blog is a lot over due. We've been experiencing some technical difficulties, but Tyler has promised me,they will be resolved soon.

On Wednesday the 27th of January, at 9:09pm, we welcomed little Wallace Morley into our family. He weighed in at 7 lbs 10 ounces, 19 3/4 inches long (and since this is the point were everyone always asks--Mack was 10 lbs 20 inches and Henry was 7lbs 9 ounces 21 inches). So far I'd describe Wallace's personality as very sweet. He loves to be soothed and cuddled by his Mommy and Daddy. Tyler stayed up with Wallace his first (and only) night at the hospital holding him and Wallace has not forgotten it. Unless he's hungry, Daddy is his favorite. I'm not saying he never gets upset, but when he does, Wallace hasn't been too hard to calm down. He has brown hair (YEAH!) like his Mommy and SUPER LONG fingers and feet like his Daddy. He has not-so-little earlobes and dark navy eyes. Mack fell in love with Wallace instantly and told Granny he'd like "Three more Wallaces." Henry wasn't so easily won over and didn't want much to do with me or the new baby at first but has slowly warmed up to the idea of having someone else around and will randomly ask to hold his little brother. Mack and Hank both love to bring little toys over to show Wallace and give him lots of kisses on his head. Mack says it best, "I'm glad baby Wallace is in our family."

As far as labor and deliveries go, this was probably my best so far. Labor was about 15 hours from when we check into the hospital to Wallace's arrival. I was ~~a little~~ a lot impatient most of the day, since I'd hoped things would move along a little quicker for the third time around (my labors have gotten progressively longer: 12 hours with Mack and 13 hours with Hank). I only had to push for about 10 minutes before we were greeted my our wailing little BOY. I had to wait another 35 minutes for the placenta (I know, too much information), which was weird, considering I hadn't even really noticed it with my other boys' births, but in the end all was well.

Tyler and I are still adjusting to life with 3 little ones. Thank goodness for all our family that live so close. We never expected to get so much help, not to mention all the food! We haven't been in our ward very long but people have been so generous with the meals, and they've all been delicious. We owe some people big time. My mom especially has been a big-big help with Mack and Hank. I don't know what I would do without her here, probably lose my mind and cut off all my hair.

All Photo credit must go to my sister, we haven't gotten the pics off of our own camera yet, so these from just before we took Wallace home will have to do. They look great! Thanks Kassey!

*Thanks to Tyler for this memorable quote, spoken just minutes after Wallace's birth. Love you!

Therapy

2009-11-06T13:39:00.000-08:00

Today, Hank's speech therapist came for her first real visit. She's been here twice before, but they weren't teaching sessions. The first visit was to evaluate his abilities, and see if he is eligible for early intervention. Hank's communication skills are currently at about a 13-15 month level (he's currently 22 months old). The therapist's 2nd visit was to make a "game plan" with me and Tyler. We talked about different times of day and activities that frustrate Henry and made clear goals for what we'd like him to be doing in about 6 months.
I've found the whole therapy process to be pretty stressful. Finding time to meet with the therapist is hard, and when I admit that it's not easy, I feel like a 'bad mom' who isn't putting her kids needs first. Plus, I love/ hate the visits. I'm glad that we're getting Henry the help he needs. I'm glad when there is a game plan and I can see Henry making progress. I love seeing Henry learn new things and he seems to enjoy the therapy. I hate being reminded of what he's not doing yet, and going over and over what he can't do. Also, the boys seem to know when the therapist is coming and make the BIGGEST MESSES! This morning Mack decided to "pretend to make oatmeal" while I was still sleeping. Translation: He filled both sides of the sink with oatmeal and water. Last time the therapist came, Hank threw a big cup of milk on the floor as she knocked on the door. Milk on the table, milk on the floor, milk on the chairs, milk on the lamp, milk on the wall. Not exactly calming, or the image I'd like to project to a stranger coming into my house to "evaluate" us.
One of the things I really like about his speech therapy is that it is realistic. I ~~hate it~~ can't stand it when people tell me, "That's how boys are" or "This kid I know didn't talk at all until he was 2" or "I think he talks great" or "He just said....." or "I understand him great" or "Kids don't need therapy til they're in school". I know people mean well, but I I think they're wrong. I'm his MOM. I know what he can or cannot do, and I know what he needs. He needs this therapy. The goals we set with this therapist are for SIX months from now. That's May, and it feels like forever, but it's much more realistic than saying he's just going to wake up tomorrow and start jabbering.
Anyway, back to today's visit... It went well. Henry made some new sounds, and I learned some more ways to encourage him to keep trying other new consonant sounds. He was happy the whole time and seemed to really like the therapist. He signed "me" and appeared engaged. Hank doesn't really make many consonant sounds and therefore has a really limited vocabulary. I learned a few ways to put some added emphasis on the where in my mouth particular sounds are coming from. I also realized I need to make specific time to work on different sounds with Henry and not just squeeze it into our regular playtime. Play-dough seems to work well for this because it keeps him sitting in one place and happy.
I'm sorta looking forward to next week's session.

Remlinger Farm

2009-10-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

We went. We ate lunch. We had fun.
I'm not sure what else to say, it was great. The boys had a blast. Mack and Hank are at a great age to take places. Mack doesn't mind waiting in line and is so grateful for everything. If you want to do something nice and then be told what a great person you are for doing it, he's your man. I bought him some socks for Church a couple days ago and he couldn't thank me enough. Hank is great because he'll do just about anything with big goofy smile on his face, all while wearing a train conductors hat. He still wears diapers but doesn't need them changed constantly. He'll eat almost anything, so I don't need to bring special stuff for him while we're out, and he loves following around his big brother. I know soon we'll have another little person with us, who won't be of such an easy going nature. I'm going to have to find benches to sit and nurse on and change a diaper every 2 hours like clockwork. I'm going to get puked on and the boys are going to feel a little neglected sometimes. Of course there will be lots of good things too, like all the extra snuggles AND I'm of the persuasion that babies are just great overall no matter what. But just two boys right now is pretty great too.

On our Way

Riding the Horses

On the Train

Baby for Now...

A Roll in the Hay

NYC

2009-10-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

What would you do with one day in New York City?
?????

Hair Cut

2009-10-13T13:38:00.000-07:00

A little while ago (I'm really bad with dates lately), Mack got another hair cut. I only cut his hair about every 6 months so it's really big deal around here (Oh, I remember now, we did it the 2nd or 3rd weekend of September!). The plan was to give both boys hair cuts, Mack first and then Hank. Henry's 1st haircut was when he was pretty young--I buzzed his head really short--and it didn't go really well. The plan was that Hank would see how well Mack did and then be okay with it. Well, the batteries on our camera died before we could start Henry's hair, so he's still waiting for his trim. But here are some before and after pictures of Mack...

NapTime

2009-10-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Mack and Hank are supposed to be taking a nap right now. Instead, they are giggling and playing a game they made up. The game basically goes like this:

Mack sits up in bed and covers his head with a blanket.
Hank stands up in his crib and covers his head with a blanket.
They both giggle like a couple of girls and then Hank plops himself down on his bottom.
I tell them to quit playing and go to sleep.
Repeat.

I haven't figured out how they determine the winner yet, but I'm guessing it's not me.
They're two very cute guys, but seriously now, go to sleep! I'm stuck upstairs at the computer until they do, and I'd really like to be doing other things right now.

Camping Trip

2009-09-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Allow me to stick to my theme of living in the past, and post some pictures of the boys from when we went on a little camping trip this summer. These pictures are all from when we were setting up camp before our friends arrived. I think they said they were working, but maybe they just wanted to wait until our two crazy boys were already asleep the 1st night? (j/k I know they were all working....right?) The boys were crazy. I'd look over and Hank would be literally rolling around in the dirt, just in case he missed a spot. Our campsite a little hill in the back of it. Mack said "This mountain is great for big boys to climb on." Hank like to walk up it and then run down it and fall flat on his face (and then roll around some more). The place was called Camano State Park, I think and we'd definitely go back, especially to nearby Cama State Park, which was gorgeous. The best part about this camping spot is how close it is to our house, just about an hour away, so easy to get to, but too far to run home if we forget anything.

Legoland

2009-09-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

In real time, our trip to Legoland was WAY BACK in June. But in Mack's mind it was only yesterday. We were lucky enough to visit Encinitas one last time before Granny and Grandpa Kim moved. In three weeks, we managed to re-do all of our favorite activities.Legoland was top of the list, but since Tyler would only be there for a week, we had to go without him. However, Mack and Hank did get Granny all to themselves for the day. Since Mack is insanely tall for his age, there wasn't much he couldn't ride, even though some had a minimum age off 4, we let him ride anyway. He says his favorite rides at Legoland were the Duplo Train and the "Oh no! Not again!" guy ride. It's the one where you ride around on a giant Duplo horse. Hank can't really say what his favorite was, but if I had to guess it'd be the splash zone. He had tons of fun and looked GOOD doing it! My favorite was obviously the ribs.

I thought a picture of the boys looking out the windows of the Duplo house would be adorable. Hank wasn't convinced.

Company Picnic

2009-09-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we attended the annual company picnic. I can't go into too much detail, but I'll try to give you the highlights.

Lots of big friendly dogs. While Hank likes dogs, they make Mack nervous. "Friendly" in dog language means they eat your food off your plate.
One of the dogs was name Tyler. Great.
Hank threw a croquet ball straight at the boss's boss's kid. At least he won't forget we were there.

Here we go again...

2009-09-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is our new blog. You like? I've been thinking lately that we needed a new blog without our last name plastered all over it. Adjust your links accordingly :). Since I've been a massive slacker lately in updating, I thought turning over a new leaf and starting a new blog at the same time seemed like a good idea (no pun intended). We'll see how well I do.