Best Friend.

Since Jacob's autism diagnosis, he has made amazing progress in several areas. However, when it comes to playing with others, Jacob still has a ways to go. He rarely interacts with other kids, including his brother and cousin, M, who is around quite often. He will play around them, and talk about them, but does not very often actually play with them. This is called solitary play, and is something that a lot of children with autism struggle with. Being his mom, this concerns me a great deal, because I obviously want him to have friends as he gets older and into grade school. Just the thought of him being lonely, or feeling like an outsider absolutely crushes me. We still have time before he will be in kindergarten, and I hope he will become better at engaging with other kids by that time.

We didn't plan on our first two children being 10 months apart, but obviously we weren't doing much to prevent it. Although in my defense, I didn't think my husband and I were going to be anywhere near each other. We were using that good old-fashioned birth control method known as the U.S. Navy.

I know that many people thought, and some probably still do think, that we're crazy for having kids so close together. I used to wonder sometimes, myself, at the timing of it all, and just figured that God has a purpose for Ryan and he was supposed to be born.

When everything happened with Jacob last year, I found myself feeling extra thankful for Ryan, and the fact that he is so close in age to Jacob. He is Jacob's built-in best friend. He absolutely adores his big brother. He constantly follows him around, and wants to be doing whatever Jacob is doing. His first question every morning is, "Where's Jacob?", and he asks me this several times during the three hours that Jacob is at preschool every day. In our car, Ryan sits in the middle seats, and Jacob is in the backseat. Ryan always turns his head around as far as he can to look behind him, and yell "Jacob! Oh, Jacob!" He loves to give Jacob hugs, and when Jacob tries to get away from him, he laughs and thinks it is a big game. I am grateful that Jacob has this built-in best friend, who will always be there, right behind him, and who will always love him. I also secretly hope that if anyone dares to be unkind to Jacob in school, that Ryan will be right there to defend his older brother. 

I don't feel uncomfortable anymore when people ask me how far apart they are in age. Regardless of what anyone thinks, I know that Ryan was destined to be born, he was part of God's plan. He knew that Jacob would need a buddy to stick by him, through the good and bad times. I still hope and pray that Jacob will improve at his social skills, and that as he gets older, he will have more friends than he can count.

But I feel comfort in knowing that Ryan will always be there for him.

Bug is THREE!

It's official: I have two 3-year olds. For the next 51 days at least.

My sweet blue-eyed middle son is now three. When did that happen?! Bug, for his part, was ecstatic about his birthday this year. He ate up the attention, the balloons, the birthday cake, the partying, and, of course, the presents. 

Yay, balloons!

Mobigo!

Space shuttle toy

Teeball toy for back yard

Blowing out his candle

"Mommy, clean my fingers!"

Yummy!

Playing with his presents

Tandem tricycle!

Taking it for a spin out front

Birthday sundae at Red Robin

Happy birthday, sweet Bug! We love you to the moon and back.

Still Here

We're still here.

Life's been crazy as ever these past few weeks, and we've been dealing with a lot of changes, some awesome, some challenging, but we're here, and we're getting through it.

Next Tuesday we will go back to Children's Hospital, to hopefully get the diagnosis we've been seeking for Binker, and we can close that chapter, which I am very anxious to do. In other Binker news, he has been doing a lot more spontaneous speaking lately, which is more exciting than I can truly express. Having him say what's on his mind, and talk about things he sees, or what people are doing, or where things are - these are HUGE steps for him, and it really encourages me that he will continue to build upon this. 

Another thing I am excited about, is that I got a phone number for a hair stylist who works with special needs kids. Binker HATES haircuts. They give him major anxiety, and it is not a fun experience for anyone involved. Because of this, I stopped taking him to actual barber shops a long time ago, and have been giving him haircuts myself. To my great disappointment, I have no natural haircutting skills, and last night was probably my worst one ever. Binker has a bald spot on one part of his head. I sent him to preschool today wearing a hat, along with a note to his teacher asking if she knew anyone who might be able to help me, and to my great joy she did! Now we have a name and phone number, and I am so thrilled I will never be forced to butcher my son's hair again.

Today is an exciting day for our whole family, as Husband will be returning home after five weeks away at school for his new job in the Navy. We have missed him so much, and are beyond happy to have him return to us. I am so proud of all of his hard work, and all that he has accomplished. It has not been easy with him being gone. I am reminded, more than ever, that he is my rock, and my best friend. I am so ready to have him home again.

Bug is talking so much now. It is really fun to have "conversations" with him. I love knowing what's going on in that sweet little head of his. At the same time, it can be bittersweet, because I see how much Bug is talking, and can't help but wonder how much more Binker would be talking, since he is older. But I know there is no use in dwelling on that, so I try not to. I know that Binker is doing great, and he is so bright, and his brain just works differently, and that's okay.

Baby Boo is growing like crazy, and getting cuter every day. He rolled over from tummy to back a couple weeks ago, and he is thisclose to rolling from back to tummy. He keeps trying to sit up on his own, and in only a couple weeks we can begin giving him solid food! Time is just going way too fast with my sweet little babe.

All in all, we are doing great and are staying busy. Hopefully in the weeks to come I will find more time to sit down and write more detailed blogs, but this is it for now. Happy Friday!

Brotherly Love

Four days a week, while Binker is at preschool, it's just me, Bug, and Boo at home. 

Bug was a little standoff-ish when we first brought Boo home from the hospital, not quite sure to make of this tiny, noisy creature. 

The face of uncertainty.

But, over the past few months, Bug has warmed up to baby a bit. He still finds him curious, but he likes to bring him his pacifiers and blankets, and he enjoys helping me give the baby his bottle. 

Boo, on the other hand, full-on adores his big brothers. Sure, he smiles for me, but when Binker or Bug come into the room he lights up, and follows them with his eyes, mesmerized. I love watching him watch his brothers. I know that as soon as he is able, he will be following them everywhere.

I took this photo this morning. 

Bug was so cute, snuggling up close to his little brother. I tell him all the time, that Boo was a gift to him, and as a big brother it's his job to take care of him, and be nice to Boo. 

And it's pretty obvious, from the expression on Boo's face, how he was feeling. I know that in the years to come there will be arguments, and fights, and hurt feelings, but I also know that there will be a deep bond between my boys. Brotherly love.

Strong-Willed Child

When my brother and I were teenagers my dad used to tease us that when we turned 13 aliens came and abducted us and would return us to our bodies at 19, meaning that teenagers can seem moody,  difficult, and unrecognizable to their parents. 

I would have to disagree though. I think the aliens take over during age two. 

Bug has been particularly challenging for us. He is very strong-willed, always doing what he wants, on his own schedule. He doesn't respond much to discipline. When he gets in trouble, he will cry, but a few minutes later he is disobeying again. I wrote about Binker when he was going through his difficult phase, but Ryan takes the cake. He will throw tantrums when he gets in trouble, or knee the couch, (I know, what?!), and then he will look at us for our reaction. He is constantly pushing us, wanting to see how far he can go. While I get frustrated with him and his defiant nature, I also can't help but be quietly amused by his antics. I find it amazing that each child is born with their own personality, and as challenging as Bug can be at times he is wonderful in so many ways.

Bug is so sweet and lovable, he always has been. When I stick out my arms he gets the biggest smile, runs over, jumps in my lap and gives the best hugs. He also loves to help out. Whether we're feeding the baby, changing a diaper, or assembling a new toy, he is always right there, intently watching and learning. In fact, we gave him his own tool belt for Christmas because he follows Husband around whenever he is fixing something with a screwdriver or hammer. Now Bug has his very own set. He runs from room to room, hammering the windowsills, and door knobs, and then he will take his "screwdriver" and turn it against the door frame and say "I fixing the door!"

I can't wait to see where his desire to learn and to help takes him. 

That's assuming, of course, that I survive the remainder of the Twos.

Hoarding, revisited.

Okay.

I just opened the garbage can in our kitchen and something caught my eye, something that didn't belong in there: clothes. And toys. And a sippy cup. And a baby monitor. All stuffed into a grocery bag, and thrown into the garbage can. It took me about .2 seconds to finger the culprit.

Bug. My hoarder.

I wrote about his hoarding habit before, almost a year ago, and since then, he has only gotten worse. He hoards everything - and I mean everything - from rubber balls, to mittens, to hair curlers, to scraps of paper he finds on the floor, to the toilet paper roll holder thingy. And he will hoard these items into whatever he can find, such as the DVD cabinet, cardboard boxes, clothes hampers, shoes, animal cracker boxes, his backpack, and his favorite, the grocery bag.

For your enjoyment, and as a way to maintain my sanity, (because I mean, really, at this point, it's either laugh at it or lose my mind), I have taken some photos of places I have discovered his hoarding piles.

Yeah, that's a paper towel roll.

Okay, this one is fun. Not only did he hoard small items into each of those red stocking hats, but then he hoarded the hats and his dinosaur into his high chair. He is hoarding his hoarded items. It's like Inception for hoarders, OMG.

Hoarding in his shoes. Really?

This past weekend though, I believe took the prize. I needed to use the bathroom, but when I opened the door, I was met with this:

Yes, that is correct. He hoarded in the toilet. And upon fishing the items out of the toilet, what kinds of treasures did we find? Well, for starters, about 50 plastic travel place mats (there goes $5.00 I'll never get back), the toilet paper holder, a red Santa bag from Target (the same one that is pictured about six photos up), and a baby shoe. Husband and I were holding our breath the entire time until we reached the bottom and confirmed that (THANK GOD), Bug had not attempted to flush the toilet with all of that stuff in there.

Oh, and as a side note, I just want to give a shout-out to the Lid-Lok toilet lock company for making just one more "child-proof" item that I have trouble using, yet my toddlers can - not only open - but also remove without difficulty. It's on the same list as child-proof doorknobs, and child-proof dishwasher locks. Am I smarter than a toddler? Apparently not.

A few weeks ago, I got so concerned over Bug's unstoppable hoarding that I Googled it. I was surprised to read that apparently many toddlers engage in this behavior, as it is their way of taking control over something, like their toys, in a world where they don't have much control. These articles also warned against trying to stop the child, claiming it is harmless behavior, and that if you try to stop them from doing it, it will only lead to unnecessary tantrums.

Now, I am all about avoiding tantrums, but in all my years I have never heard of toddler hoarding, and I find it hard to believe that it is that common of a thing. Is anyone else out there dealing with this issue? Even on a much smaller scale?

Please tell me I'm not alone, otherwise I am calling TLC. If I can't stop Ryan from hoarding, maybe we can at least we can get some celebrity out of it.

Flashback Friday - Christmases Past

Disclosure: I am stealing this post idea from Stefanie over at The Trigstad Family.

I thought that posting Santa photos from the past few years was such a cute idea, to show how the kids have grown and changed, and to debate over which Santa was the creepiest, obviously. I have to apologize though, I don't have any actual digital copies of the pictures, so these were all either scanned, or are a photo of a photo. Not the best quality, but it works.

2008, Binker's first Christmas, he was exactly 7 months old the day we had this photo taken. Ohh, he was so chubby and cute in his little vest and tie!

2009,  Binker was about 19 months old, and Bug was about 8 months. I love how Binker looks unsure about this whole situation, I remember he kept staring at Santa's beard, and Bug is just eating up the attention.

2010, Binker was 2 and a half, and Bug was about 20 months old. Neither one would smile for the camera, but amazingly they sat still and no one cried!

2011, Binker is 3 and a half, Bug is a little over 2 and a half, and Boo was exactly one month old on picture day. This year was by far the most challenging. Binker and Bug were not at all interested in sitting on Santa's lap, so we kept bribing them with candy. You can see in this picture that Binker is about 2 seconds away from sliding off the chair, but miracle of all miracles, we managed to get a photo of them all looking at the camera! (I gave up on trying for a smiley picture a long time ago).

So there you have it. Photos of our Christmases past. I have to admit that I do feel a little robbed that I don't have any photos of them screaming or crying because they don't want to be near Santa. Isn't that some sort of parent's rite of passage or something?

You say tomato, they say kenihopter

There are a few reasons I decided to start this blog, the main being to keep myself occupied while Richard was on deployment last year. It also provides a creative outlet for me, because as much as I love being a stay at home mom, I would go just a little crazy if I didn't have a fun way to express myself, and my favorite form just happens to be writing. But another great thing about keeping a blog, is that I get to chronicle milestones my kids hit, or funny things they do, or just keep record of fun memories of them. 

Lately I have been enjoying listening as they try to learn the English language, and giggling at the funny ways in which they pronounce certain words. I don't expect a lot of my friends to really care about this post, so this is mostly for myself to be able to look back in a few years and remember how cute it was when the boys were learning to talk.

First up is Binker. He's usually really good about saying things correctly, but there are a few words that tend to trip him up:

Peep-a-boo = Peek-a-boo - He has actually already outgrown this one (sniffle, sniffle), I always thought it was super adorable though, and didn't want to forget it.

Beegles = Wiggles - Binker is really into The Wiggles, a kid's show/musical group from Australia. But whenever he talks about them, it sounds like he is talking about the dog breed instead!

Lackberry = Blackberry - We picked blackberries from our yard this year, and both the boys LOVED them, but apparently the "b" is silent.

Pasketti = Spaghetti - So I'm pretty sure this one is not unique to Binker, but it is freaking cute nonetheless!

Lellow = Yellow - Binker learned his colors this summer in preschool, and my absolute favorite is how he says "Lellow". I might even ask him 50 times a day to tell me what color yellow things are, just to hear him say it!

Music-seum = Museum - I took the boys to two different children's museums last week, and they had a blast! I'm not really sure why he inserted the word "music" in there, aside from the fact that he absolutely adores music? But he keeps saying "I like music-seum! Let's go music-seum!" 

Now for Bug. He has always been harder to understand than his brother, but that only makes his attempts at talking that much cuter!

Jeetub = Jacob - speaking of his big brother, this is how Bug pronounces his name.

Frower = Brother - As in when Bug will tackle Binker in a hug and say, "I ruv you frower!" Awww!

Kenihopter = Helicopter - Totally stinking cute. That is all.

Bumbrella = Umbrella - My mom bought each of the boys their own little Cars-themed umbrella, and Bug will run around the house with it shouting, "MY bumbrella!"

Stinker = Sticker - I looooove how he says this, and I think I will seriously cry when he stops saying it like that.

These are the only ones I can think of for now. I'm sure as soon as I post this I will instantly remember five more words that they say in a funny or unique way, but at least I have a record of these ones. I really love the ages the boys are at right now, it's so fun being able to communicate with them...you know...as much as one can with two and three year olds, and to watch them try to communicate back. They are little boys for sure, but then they will say something totally adorable that melts my heart and reminds me of the sweet little babies they used to be.

Coke

I've had a morning.

Husband left a full glass of Coke on the windowsill last night, and of course Bug found it.

I spotted him lifting this huge glass to his lips to drink, and I am thinking, 1) Don't spill that glass on the carpet!, and 2) OMG if he drinks that it is going to rot a hole in his tiny stomach!

Very slowly I walk over to him, talking in soft, calming tones, hoping he won't suspect what I am doing. Finally, I am right in front of him and my fingertips are literally about to touch the glass when Ryan THROWS IT. Just throws it!

Coke goes everywhere - all over me, all over the couch and all over the carpet.

Now, I don't really care about me. I usually live in my pajamas until like 3pm, so it's not like the soda got all over a nice outfit or anything.

And, I guess if I think about it, I don't really care about the couch. We bought it when I was pregnant with our first son, and we weren't thinking with the minds of new parents. We bought a lovely toffee-color couch, and then we had a baby. And we promptly got formula, pee and baby food all over that couch. Along with the occasional sour patch martini.

In hindsight, we should have bought a black couch. Gothic, yes. But at least it would have hidden all of our spills over the last three years.

The carpet, on the other hand, is of more concern to me. It's not ours. This whole house isn't ours, it's a rental. And I have broken enough things in the time that we've lived here that I'm afraid the landlord is going to start thinking I just run around with a hammer everyday smashing stuff. And now we've got spilled Coke all over the pretty beige carpet. Not only do I fully expect him to keep our security deposit when we move, but I wouldn't be surprised if he charges an additional one, after all the damage we've done here.

And now Bug, as destructive as he may be, is at my waist crying because he is also very sensitive and hates getting in trouble. Pretty sure his feelings will be hurt for the rest of the day since I put him in time out. 

So like I said, I've had a morning. And it's not even 9am here on the west coast. Someone please tell me things can only get better?

Winter Blues

I hate winter.

I feel like once Christmas and New Year's have come and gone, it really serves no purpose. 

I know that we here in the Pacific Northwest may not exactly have that much of a right to complain, as opposed to those in the midwest who completely get buried by FEET of snow, and are expected to - not only survive - but actually be productive human beings in sub-zero degree temperatures. But, our winter can be just as depressing. When January arrives we are shrouded in a grayness that gets into your very soul. Even though winter days are supposedly "short", they seem to be never-ending, becoming one really long, depressing day.

Every once in awhile we get a bit of a tease with a bright, sunny - albeit cold - day, and everyone starts smiling again, and talking about how we will hopefully have an early spring. But then, just as our optimism and hope begin to come out of hibernation - BAM! We get sneak-attacked by some random snow storm when on the very cusp of springtime.

Really, Weather?! This was uncalled for.

You know when I would love some snow? 


December. 


When I am sitting in my house, drinking hot chocolate, decorating the Christmas tree and listening to holiday music. I would love a nice snowfall as we pack the kids in the car and drive around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights, (okay, well, technically we could still do this one, and just drive back and forth in front of our black sheep neighbor who HASN'T TAKEN HIS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS DOWN YET. But it's not the same).

I do not enjoy snow when we are four months into this wintry season and the kids have had cabin fever for three months of it. On a normal day we can't go outside to play because things are too wet and cold, and now we can't even just go for a drive somewhere to cheer us all up because this stupid snow has made us prisoners in our own house.

I considered taking the boys out in the snow to play, but the last time we went outside Binker ran for our not-childproofed deck, and Ryan ran straight down the hill in our backyard, coming within inches of the ditch at the bottom. Trying to stay in control of the two of them outside by myself just seemed kind of exhausting to me.

Watching the snow fall

So now we're stuck. I am desperately trying to think of fun, new activities to keep the boys entertained within the confines of our house, but when you're dealing with five minute attention spans, it can be tough. Any suggestions on some things that would keep two toddler boys happy?

Alternately, I am also open to prayers for spring. As far as we're concerned, it can't get here fast enough.

Off and Running

Both of the boys decided to start 2011 off running - literally. But they knew that to do so, they would need proper foot attire.

Binker has learned how to put his own socks on, which he LOVES to do. It doesn't matter if they match, or if they were dirty socks he found in the hamper, he really enjoys putting them on.

Bug has learned how to put shoes on. Usually it's Binker's shoes, since they are bigger, and therefore easier to slip on, but he does it really well! Once he puts the shoes one he runs around the house yelling "Walk! Walk!"

Binker with the socks, and Bug with the shoes, these guys make a great team! I can already imagine what kinds of schemes they will be coming up with, working together behind this Mom's back. 

Binker picks up on every. single. word. Which is awesome - most of the time. 

Not so awesome when he hears not-safe-for-toddler words...which has NEVER happened. 

::Cough cough::

Seriously though, it is so fun being able to talk with him more and more, and watch him form sentences. He is still my big singer, he loved all of the Christmas songs, and he keeps us in the Christmas spirit by continuing to sing "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" every day, even though Christmas is over. He also really enjoys "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". I have been considering bringing my old guitar out of storage to see if he takes to it like he has taken to the piano. I have a feeling he will really like playing on it, he is just a musical kid. 

Bug has taken to singing too, although since he is still working on the whole language thing he can be hard to understand, but I have heard him sing "Twinkle Twinkle", "Skimmery Rinky Dinky Dink" and the "ABC's". He is pretty good at picking up on words too, just yesterday he said "Daddy" for the first time, as opposed to "Dada", and two days ago I took the boys to lunch at McDonald's, and he kept saying "M-no-no"...which I interpreted to be "McDonald's". Trust me, it's totally what he was saying. While he does like to sing now and then, as I mentioned, he is my busy boy, who loves to play chase or toss bouncy balls back and forth. This week he also began dribbling. I can't wait to put him in  basketball, or soccer, or pretty much any sport; I have a feeling he is going to take to it like a fish to water.

Every day I marvel at how big they both seem; they're truly turning into little boys - right before my eyes. It is bittersweet. I look through old photos and I miss their chubby little baby bodies, I miss being able to carry them around in a front pack, and I miss snuggling them when they were much less mobile and all they wanted was to be held. I don't know why time has to go by so fast. 

But, each day brings something new and fun to experience with them, so my focus for 2011 is to try to be as present as I possibly can, each day with them, and soak up every moment and every smile and giggle, since I know it  all goes by too quickly.

I am feeling anxious about their birthdays, I cannot believe Bug will be two and Binker will be three. It really does blow my mind. I am so thankful for my two precious boys, they are more than I ever deserved or dreamed I would have in my children. I am the luckiest mother on earth.

Written while not under the influence of sugar, carbs, alcohol or anything else delicious that is now restricted since it is the new year and I am on a diet.

I have ten blog drafts waiting to be edited. Or discarded.

I have been writing and trying to create something of value, but I don't feel like any of it is worthy of being read.

However, I wanted my readers, (all of six of you), to know that I am alive.

It's been almost two weeks since my last blog post and it has taken me this long to recover from our holiday season of overindulgence. And it was ohhhh so worth it.

Creamy coffees, Swedish pancakes with maple syrup, brown sugar glazed salmon, lemon drops, roasted turkey, mashed potatoes made with cream cheese, peppermint bark, buttered peas, buttered everything! OMG it was spectacular.

But then.

Reality hit. Our pants were feeling tight, and so was our budget. Richard and I decided it was time to get back to eating healthier and watching our spending. Diets aren't fun, and they are doubly un-fun when your debit card goes on a diet too.

This is where we are now though, January 2011. Looking to make positive changes in our lives.

Isn't that how we always start the new year? In the spirit of bettering ourselves, I thought I would share with all of you some of my goals for 2011:

*     *     *

Read the Bible in one year - When I was about nine years old I read my children's Bible, which is like 500 pages, so I mean, that's quite an accomplishment for a child. But, I have never read the entire Bible, all the way through. I decided that it is something I need to do in my life, thus I have set out on my journey to read the Bible, beginning to end within this year. The funny thing is, I thought it would feel like a chore, but I am genuinely enjoying it and I look forward to my nightly readings. Husband has joined me in this too, and the nights he is home we read out loud with each other. It's become a really fun activity for us to share, and best of all, I'm only 28 chapters in and have already learned so many things that I never knew before. Now I am just wondering why it took me 26 years to get my act together, and start reading the most important book on earth on a regular basis!

Memorize one Bible verse every week - This one goes hand in hand with my first goal. I figured since I am reading the Bible, I might as well start committing some passages to memory.

Get paid for at least one writing job - So in the last seven months I started my blog, and became a contributing writer for The Smartly. This is all great experience for me and I love it...but would really love to branch out a bit and find some writing jobs that pay in actual money, in addition to the satisfaction I get from writing.

Write at least two blogs a week - Ok. FAIL. I know, I already messed up on this, the first week of the new year, but I am totally focused now and will work hard to keep to this goal.

Have Binker potty-trained by June 30th - This is a fluid goal for me. I would love to have him potty-trained by this date, but I know that potty training is something that cannot be rushed or forced, so if this date comes and goes, and he is still in diapers, then I am cool with that.

Date nights four times a month - Our lives are craaaaazy, yo! Between Husband's ever-changing work schedule, the kids, the housework, my writing, Husband's college classes and all the other millions of things that fill up our days, it's hard to get that essential "couple time". We're committed to setting aside time though, to focus on each other and our relationship. Whether that means dressing up and going out to dinner or putting the kids to bed early and just renting a movie doesn't matter, we just like to hang out together and talk about the two of us and how we're doing. In reality we do this a lot more often than once a week, but writing it down as a goal just reminds me to always keep our marriage the priority. 

Mommy and me dates with Binker and Bug four times a year - I get to hang out with the two coolest little dudes every day, but they are each so different and unique, so I like to do "mommy and me days" with each one individually, where we go do a fun activity and maybe go out to lunch. Basically, that kid gets to pretend to be an only child for a few hours and have mommy's full attention. What child doesn't love that? Plus, it is really fun for me to be able to have one-on-one time with each of my sons, and really see what's new with them and what they're doing now.

Read with the boys for a total of 30 minutes every day - Both Binker and Bug love books, and I want to foster that love for reading more and more as they grow. I don't time us or anything, but I just aim to sit and read with them as much as I can throughout the day - whenever they bring a book to me, or they seem bored, or I have a few extra minutes.

*     *     *

So there you have it, some of my goals for 2011. I would love to hear some of yours - please feel free to share in the comments section for all to see. Until next time, Happy New Year! 

And to my fellow New Year dieters - Ughhh, here's to another day of being "healthy" or whatever.

A Peak in the Combat Information Center Aboard the USS MacQ

As a kid, I loved making forts. My brother and I would use any found materials we could get into our grasp. Oftentimes, we would simply drape large sheets over the backs of chairs and the couch, and then we would play for hours in our "fort", or simply hang out in there watching TV until one of our parents would tell us we needed to take the fort down.

Living near the beach, we also got to make forts out of driftwood at times, or, even better, we often would come upon one that someone else had made, allowing us to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

I remember one time, I was so desperate I took one of my mom's huge umbrellas out on our back deck and sat under that while reading a book, and it was my makeshift playhouse. 

The best material for making forts or houses though, are boxes. Large boxes, like those for appliances or huge Christmas presents are the most useful.

So when a large box came in the mail last week, I quickly emptied the contents of it, cut a hole for a door and two holes for windows. I figured the boys couldn't be in a "playhouse", that's more for girls. So instead, it became the Combat Information Center aboard the USS MacQ.

The boys weren't so sure about it at first, I had to show them how to get in and out of it, and once they realized how awesome it was, they both instantly wanted to be in it - alone. There was a bit of pushing and non-sharing going on, but in the end they really had a lot of fun with it. It didn't take long for a stash of their favorite books and toys to be hidden within the CIC, and by the end of the evening I had to literally pull them out of it.

I could only obtain pictures from outside of it though, because apparently, the happenings within the CIC are so top-secret that even mommy isn't allowed inside!

Brothers

When I found out we were pregnant with Bug, I just assumed that he would come out looking like an exact copy of Binker, same features, same coloring, same personality. Being so close in age, I couldn't imagine him being anything but a slightly younger version of Binker's twin. So when Bug was born it was a pretty big shock. He looked nothing like Binker, his facial features were entirely different, he had less hair than Binker did at birth, and it was much lighter. Also, Binker has big beautiful brown eyes, and Bug has these amazing blue eyes, (where the heck did those come from??). I have always wondered what color eyes my kids would have. My Mom has brown eyes, but my Dad has hazel, so I knew that if I married a person with light-colored eyes, I stood a 25% chance of having a child with light eyes too, (I learned about all this in 10th grade biology, when we studied genetics for a total of maybe two weeks, so I am clearly an expert). When I married Husband I assumed our kids would have brown eyes, as I had always been told that brown is the dominant gene, but I figured that if any of our kids ended up having light eyes they would either be hazel or green. But blue? That was definitely a surprise. It really makes me wonder, if we ever have another child, what that one will look like.

The differences between the boys don't stop with just their looks though. Bug has posed new challenges to me that I didn't have with Binker. For instance, Bug loves to climb. It seems like every time I turn around he is climbing up onto something new - and it's always something that is hazardous to children. With Binker, I could just block his access to dangerous things and he would move on to something else, but Bug is persistent in his attempts to get around my child-proofing. I guess persistence is a good quality to have, but it keeps me busy!

They are even different when it comes to eating. Binker likes to stay clean while he eats. He takes small bites, and chews his food until it is completely gone before he takes another bite. Once he is full he won't eat anything else, not even favorite items. (I have even seen him turn away M&M's - if I hadn't given birth to him, I would say this kid can't be mine!) Bug on the other hand, LOVES food. I think he has food radar, no matter what he's doing or where he is, he always seems to know when someone else is eating and he comes running out, hoping to get a bite. He shovels food into his mouth in fistfuls, making a huge mess all over his face and hands, and he could care less. Meal time is never really over for Bug, even after he has finished a huge dinner, once he is out of his high chair, he will often wander over to Binker's high chair to sneak food off of it!

Last weekend we took a trip to the beach, and they displayed their vastly different personalities there as well. Binker walked carefully around, inspecting everything thoughtfully. Only a couple times did he actually reach down and touch the sand or water, but each time he would rub his hands together quickly afterward, trying to get the dirt off his palms; he really doesn't like being dirty. Then there is Bug. He practically bathed in the sand! He rolled around in it, covering his clothes, arms, hands, and face with wet sand. He looked as happy as a pig in mud. I think I am still trying to get all the sand out of his hair.

 

"Look, Ma, no dirt!"

 

 

"Mmm, sand is yummy!"

Now that they're both here, I can't imagine having them be exactly the same. I love how different they are, it's what makes they both so special and unique. Yet even though they have many dissimilarities, there are certain awesome qualities that they share. They are both such loving and sweet boys. They are warm and affectionate, and they melt when you hold them; they love to cuddle. And they both give the BEST kisses.

Oh, and for some inexplicable reason, they like to do head-stands.

Binker

Bug