The Little Things

I've mentioned before, that even as a stay-at-home mom, sometimes the days can blur, and the time can slip by all too quickly. It feels like only yesterday was early spring, and here we are, about to head into fall. They boys seem to change on a daily basis, and I have been trying to keep track of the new, cute things they've been doing. While this is a blog about life and family, I also want to be able to look back at it as a reminder of what it was like to have toddlers in the house. I take pictures. LOTS of pictures. Maybe even too many pictures, sometimes. And while pictures show how stinking cute these kids are, it doesn't tell the whole story of what they do on a day-to-day basis, and, well pictures don't show...the little things.

Jacob

Ah, Jacob. I look at him and I am filled with pride at my oldest son, yet simultaneously struck with the desire to cry. He is so big, a little boy, really. His baby fat is disappearing, and he can communicate with me through words so well. I struggle to understand how it is possible that the next birthday he celebrates will be his third. That just sounds too old; to me, he is still my baby - and I will probably always feel that way.

At the same time, it is so exciting to watch him learn and grow and change. Every day he seems to learn a new word, and not only that, but he also grasps the meaning and proper usage of words, which is really fun. This past weekend he learned the word "darn", and that you say it when something doesn't go your way. On Sunday, Jacob kept trying to open the front door, and I was holding my hand against it. I told him the door was "broken", and that we couldn't go outside that day. Jacob's response: "Darn!" After our incidents last month with him playing in the cars and inevitably burning up the car battery a couple times, I now keep the car doors locked. Every time he walks by the cars he tries to open the doors, and when he can't, he yells, "Darn!" It sounds so cute coming from his tiny little voice.

Jacob is super polite. He knows to add the word "please" whenever he wants something. For example, he will say "up please", if he wants to be picked up, or taken somewhere. Then the other night I fed him his favorite pasta and butter dish. After he had finished all the pieces on his plate, he looked at me and said, "More please!" And he also knows how to ask for milk, which kind of sounds like "nook", but, I know what he means. So when he is thirsty ("dirsty"), he will say "Nook, please!" It warms my heart hearing him talk, but even more so when he uses such nice words.

Don't get the wrong idea, though. Jacob is still very much a two-year-old, who is prone to tantrums. When he gets upset, his face scrunches up, and he will start slapping his hand against his thigh; it's almost funny. You can't help but empathize with him, it must be awful feeling all that frustration and not yet knowing how to express it. I am working with him on talking when he gets upset though, so I will say "Use your words, Jacob. Tell me what's wrong." The other day, Ryan was running around with an empty Gerber Cheeto container, and Jacob saw it, and started crying, so I told him to use his words, and through his tears and sad little voice he cried, "Cheee-(takes a breath)-tos!" I really wish I had video of it, because, even though it's sad to watch your child be upset, it is soooo cute hearing him talk when he is in that state.

Jacob has also decided that he is on strike from wearing diapers. If I don't put clothes on him as soon as he gets his diaper changed, then within five minutes he will have that diaper ripped off! If this meant that he wanted to get potty trained then I would be his biggest supporter, except that Jacob Hates! The! Potty! He won't go near it, it's like he thinks he is going to get flushed down the toilet...much like the fear I have of airplane toilets. So, I totally get it. But in the meantime, he is wasting diapers, which are not cheap. And since he is not potty trained, I have to follow him around to make sure he doesn't pee all over the house. Sigh. Something's gotta give.

All in all though, Jacob remains absolutely adorable. Every morning when I am carrying him and Ryan to the table for breakfast, I ask him if he can give Ryan a kiss, and he always leans over and kisses his little brother on the forehead. Talk about cute! And Jacob's love of music continues to grow. I know I am his mom, so I may be a little biased here, but he has got a seriously good singing voice for a two-year-old. He is on pitch, and knows the right notes for the songs. If ever he is in a bad mood, I can usually get him to cheer up by asking him to sing me a song. I won't be at all surprised if music is a big part of his future.

Ryan

Ryan! (yes, he gets an exclamation point because he is one busy little kid), is all boy. "Classic boy", as my Dad pointed out. He loooves cars, and trucks, and basically anything that has wheels and GOES. He likes to push them along the floor, blowing raspberries with his lips, imitating car sounds. Adorable. His other hobbies include getting as dirty as he possibly can, whether it is by rolling in the dirt in the yard, or rolling in the sand at the beach (and eating some of it). He is also usually a big ole mess after mealtime too. He's just busy and active and always running around, trying to keep up with his big brother. Yesterday, he jumped up and started running as fast as he could, yet he wasn't looking ahead of him, and he ran right into a wall. Saddest, and kind of funniest thing ever. He was totally okay! And then last night, right as I was about to put the boys to bed, the poor thing pulled one of our kitchen chairs onto himself. It scared me half to death - thankfully he is A-Okay, but he has a HUGE goose-egg on his forehead. Just one of many I am sure he will get throughout his childhood.

Not to be outdone by Jacob, Ryan is working on talking too. Although, I'm not sure if most people would understand a lot of the things he says, but as his Mommy, I have come to know how to translate on his behalf. A new word he learned last week was "Apple", which sounds like "Bapo", he can also say "milk" and "truck", which, incidentally sound the same: "Gak", so you just have to figure out in which context he is applying the word.

Ryan loves, loves, loves dogs. I am sure that as soon as he is able to ask for a dog, that is all he will say. We have gotten to keep my parent's dog, Millie, overnight a couple times this week. Whenever he sees her, Ryan gets so excited and yells "MeeMee!" (Millie). He chases her around, trying to grab ahold of her tail, and a couple times he has found her while she has been laying on the floor, and he crawls onto her back and tries to ride her like she is a pony. Poor "MeeMee", she is a good sport.

Ryan's got some funny quirks, too. Ever since he was an infant, he has always liked to have blankets completely covering him, including his head. I remember putting him to bed at night and placing the blanket all the way over him, and if he woke up in the night, it was usually because some part of him was showing, and he couldn't get the blanket back over himself. Now that he is bigger and gets himself to sleep, I always laugh when I go to check on him at night and he has burrowed himself under the blankets. It doesn't even matter how warm it is in the house; this week temperatures have soared into the 90's, and still, he burrows himself. Also, he likes to have a toy in each hand. If we go on a walk, I usually pick apples for the boys to eat along the way, but Ryan requires two, or else you WILL be hearing about it for the remaining mile and a half of the walk.

So these are just some recent observations on my boys. I know I will enjoy looking back on these stories as they grow, and it will also be nice for Richard when he gets home, as he is not able to read this blog out at sea, so he will be able to catch up on all the little things.