Taz earning his keep

Taz is NOT one of my children -he's our dog- and he's pretty silly. He's been at Grandma and Grandpa's house on "vacation" since just before Brawny Baby arrived in September. He's coming home soon, so I thought I'd spend the week revisiting some of his antics (along with the boys) to gear us up for his return.

Look, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's....

My son called me to his room this afternoon with an urgent appeal to see that the light had burned-0ut. Granted it is a fan light, and I did have to use a step ladder to remove the light cover and replace two light bulbs, but come on, it's no big deal, right? Not to my 3 1/2 year old who upon completing the job proudly told me "you're a GREAT fixer Mom!" as though I'd performed some Apollo 13-type rocket science.

Maybe I need to start thinking of a superhero name. How about...Mommerwomaaan (to the tune of the Wonder Woman theme song), or SuperMom...able to change lightbulbs in a single bound...

Then again, maybe I'll just enjoy the fun of seeing myself through the eyes of a three year old.

Face of an angel?

...I didn't think so!!!

Old MacDonald had a taxi....E.I.E.I.O.

This morning our 3 1/2 year old was overheard singing his own version of Old MacDonald to brawny baby - the new verses sound like this:

Old MacDonald had a farm, EIEIO.

And on that farm he had a taxi, EIEIO. With a beep beep here, and a beep beep there, here a beep there a beep, everywhere a beep beep.

Old Mac Donald had a farm, EIEIO.

And on that farm he had a fire truck, EIEIO. With a weeooo weeooo here and a weeoo weeooo there....

... you get the picture.

Ooooooh! whipped-cream

No picture today, it wouldn't quite capture the humor anyway. Yesterday (Thanksgiving) our 3 1/2 year old discovered the wonders of whipped-cream. We all got quite a laugh out of the gasp, followed by "ooooh!" and a boisterous belly-laugh. Who would think a squirt of whipped-cream could be so much fun.

And that was just the application of it. His reaction was so funny that he encountered no resistance from the adults when he asked for more. Hmmm...want some pumpkin pie with that whipped-cream?!

Thanksgiving Smiles

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving - and FINALLY caught 2 month old brawny baby smiling on camera!!!!

Conversations

Have you had the opportunity to listen to emerging talkers on a baby monitor? The following are a few different conversations I heard that cracked me up.

Around age two and before we put black-out shades in his room, our older son often woke up in the morning excitedly calling "The sun is here! The sun is here!" Which was our cue that he was awake and ready for us to come get him out of bed. That later became a whiney "I'm awaaaaaaake, I'm awaaaaake."

More recently I heard the following conversation between my now 3 1/2 year old and 22 month old:

Little brother: "awake, Ve-Ve?" (Ve-Ve is what he calls his big brother)
Big brother: "you're not sleeping very well..."
Little brother "Ve-Ve awake?"
Big brother: (after getting up and turning on the light) "OH NO! Daddy broke the rest of the train track! (pause) That wasn't very nice."
Big brother: "I think the sun is here. Do you want me to open the door so we can go out in the living room?" (sounding like a challenge) "I WILL!"
Little brother: Yeah!

(mother sighing in the background) I guess it's time to get up.

Crate Training Part III: The Shop

My final entry (at least for now) in the "crate" series: The Shop.

One day our son emphatically announced "I've got to take my car to the shop!" He then proceeded to drive his ride-on car into the dog crate, pulled the gate shut behind him, and asked for his tools. Is it any surprise that his tool of choice was a hammer?

Crate Training - Part II

Is three a crowd?

Crate Training? Part I

What is it that is so fun about a small enclosed space? I always find it funny that a favorite place to play is the dog crate. The next few days are dedicated to time spent in the crate.

First up is our second-born playing ball with the dog in the crate. Not playing ball with the dog - but playing with the ball in the crate, and the dog just happens to be there.

Baby Boot Camp

The top photo is of our oldest son, who shocked us when he started doing full military-style push-ups at 4 1/2 months old. We thought it was an isolated case until our second-born, in the bottom photo, did the same (albeit with a little different style and a month later).

We're waiting to see if our third-born will do the same in a couple months. We'll keep you posted!

On-the-go potty

I never figured out the attraction our younger son developed to crawling into the potty seat, however, I was thrilled that he got over it well before his older brother actually started USING the seat.

"Take a picture of me falling off the chair!"

My previous post pictured my son ACTUALLY falling off a chair. A week later he fabricated this situation and called me in from the other room pleading, "Mommy, Mommy, take a picture of me falling off the chair!"

Why we don't stand on chairs

I heard a loud thud, followed by a timid, "Mommy can you come help me."

For the record, I did ask if he was okay before I grabbed the camera!

"The Look"

You have to be a fan of Tim Allen's Home Improvement to truly appreciate this photo.

There is an episode called "The Look" that centers around a raised-eyebrow glare (i.e. "the look") that one of the wives (Dolores) often gives her husband (Harry). The guys make fun of Harry because he is cowed by Dolores when she gives him "the look"; that is until they all are on the receiving end at the hardware store. Their reaction to Dolores' look is exactly replicated here in this photo of our son.

I was unaware that my husband had coached our son to make this face, and when he flashed it at me with amazing comedic timing while eating my lunch, I almost choked.

"Mom, can you knock that hair down?"

Disturbed by the look of his brother's hair, our oldest son asked, "Mom, can you knock that hair down?!" Hmmm...maybe it's a job better left for Spiderman.

"H" is for FORCE

One of our son's first words was "horse." He learned it watching his Grandma feed the horses. But his two-year old pronunciation came out, "feed the forces." We all got a kick out of it, but no one more than his Grandma, who insisted that anyone with horses would still consider it an accurate statement.

We had an even bigger laugh when he began learning the alphabet and upon arriving at the letter H proudly proclaimed, "'H' is for FORCE!"

The trash truck is coming!

Is trash day this exciting at your house?

Kiddie Pool?

The consensus is that we either need a bigger pool or a smaller dog.

"You're not gonna FIT there!"

I was pulling into a parking space at the mall when my then 2 1/2 year old son blurted out, "you're not gonna FIT there!" (There was an empty space on either side). The exchange echoed a time I had redirected him from "driving" his big push truck between the chairs in the living room (i.e. - "you need to go around, you're not going to fit there.") As funny as it sounded with just the kids and me in the car- imagine when my husband first heard the exchange. Thought I'd never hear the end of it.

I could dedicate an entire week to my little back-seat driver's running commentary!

"I YIKE isweam!"

Our son's hearty response to his first ice cream cone.

I wonder if his little brother (in the background) is mad because he didn't get to try one too?!?

Why fingerpaint is non-toxic

"Is he gonna use a hammer?"

At first glance it's not a question to make you laugh, or send a quiver down your spine. However, consider it in the context that my son asked it:

1. Dropping off my mini-van for a regular service.
2. On the way to my dentist appointment.

"Mom, do you think those are horse poops?"

A comment I heard from my son (3) while he was eating his lunch. Curious, I went to see what he was talking about and saw him pointing to his plate. My train of thought...

1. "Of course it's not horse poop!" But I had to see what he was pointing at. It was a drawing of a cactus on his western plate.

2. "Does he actually think I would serve him lunch on a picture of horse poop?"

3. "He's three - was he hoping it WAS horse poop??" I didn't ask!