Maybe a Bit Type A

Matt and I are both a little paricular, and I think this is starting to rub off on our kids. Now, I'm not too suprised to see it in Daniel, after all being particular is a big part of being almost 3, but Christopher is showing more and more particular desires. For instance, yesterday he noticed that Matt's slippers were not where they belonged, so he picked them up and put them away where they belong. Today he reallly wanted to wear something over his shirt before going down for a nap. He brought me the sleeve bib, but did not like that it tied in the back rather than in the front, so he went and found one of Daniel's hoodies. He was very happy in that, but I couldn't let him swim in it all day, so we traded it in for an LSU hoodie. He was quite pleased and ready to go to sleep. Maybe I'll upgrade to an iPhone so you can see pictures of these various outfits. For now, your mental picutres will have to suffice. It's just amazing to see such a little person have such specific desires. He knows what he wants and when he wants it. What a gift! I might be getting ahead if that were the case for me. Instead, I'm always weighing my alternatives. It's a bit challenging as a parent since he has very few words to communicate these wishes with, but those are coming and he does his best with the words he has and nonverbal communication.

Well, I'm going to enjoy the naptime we have right now, since having both boys sleep at the same time happens more and more infrequently.

Update: I had an opportunity to catch this in action this afternoon. Christopher insists on using these kitchen toys as cupholders, and likes Daniel to do it with him. Check it out.

Showing off their cupholders. Also notice the hoodie.

Goofballs, I tell you.

This is how boys hug.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Our weekend started on Thursday when we hosted a fundraiser for our friend Pat who is running for City Council. The party went great, and our house is now full of beautiful flowers leftover from the party. Believe it or not, I actually had to turn the A/C on because it got so warm in the house. We were treated to beautiful weather on Friday and Saturday, but today it is raining. Hopefully the rain will wash away the last of the snow. Unfortunately, the boys and I woke up sick Friday morning. Daniel was sent home from school a couple days last week with a fever. I'm hoping he can fight this off soon. We have been taking it easy all weekend which has been difficult to do with the beautiful weather. It turns out that Christopher has another ear infection. It must be rotten having ear infections and getting molars at the same time. No wonder he has been grumpy. We did get to make pancakes yesterday and baked oatmeal today. The boys love to stand at the island and help. It's an enjoyable circus. I cook, the boys 'help,' and Matt makes sure that no feet slip off the chairs or hands grab eggs. Happy Sunday everyone!

My eager helpers!

St.Patrick's Day Parade

We had a blast today with the ND Club of South Central Wisconsin's inaugural St.Patrick's Day Parade appearance. Our group was sponsored by the Capital Tap Haus which provided a great spot for lunch and green beer beforehand and afterwards. If you have a chance to stop by sometime, we highly recommend it. It's right at the top of State St. with entrances on State St. and Mifflin St. The boys loved all the action and were excellent candy throwers. Peggy did an amazing job of making poms, decorating the wagon, and procuring all our toss items. We also lucked out with the weather which was warm enough for us to ditch our jackets. Thankfully the 85,000 protesters that were down there yesterday stayed away for the parade. It would have been a bit crowded for everyone.

Yes Please or No Thank You

I find myself constantly asking Daniel to say, "Yes please." or "No thank you." You would think this is because I want to teach him good manners which is certainly why I started asking him to use those words, but I quickly discovered it is much easier to differentiate between a positive and negative response when he uses the two-word phrase. Funny the things that work when communicating with toddlers.

I've also discovered that sometimes making up songs to encourage whatever activity I need to happen like getting dressed or putting on shoes or getting to the car works wonders. The problem is that I'm really awful at making up songs. They don't have a good rhythm and I have trouble coming up with words that fit the beat. An example of one of my lame songs is, "1,2,3,4, I can put my pants on, 5,6,7,8, I can do it really great." Daniel, who is somewhat slow to put his clothes on in the morning usually puts his pants on immediately after this. I bet you can guess the next verse. It goes, "1,2,3,4, I can put my shirt on, 5,6,7,8, I can do it really great." Creativity is a strong suit for me. Funniest thing is that Christopher tries to get dressed to the song, too. And since that does not work too well for him, he just starts dancing instead.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Both boys are keeping me very busy these days. Daniel is starting to nap inconsistently at home which leaves me very little time and much more exhausted than when both boys would nap for a few hours in the afternoon. I guess we are just in another phase of life. Christopher is still climbing on everything, talking/babbling up a storm, and just as curious as his brother. He's starting to throw his weight around a bit which adds a new element to outings. I'm thinking that the eruption of molars and the desire to talk has been the source of much of his recent angst.

The boys really enjoy each other. Cristopher particularly likes to keep tabs on where Daniel is at all times. He can't understand why we can't go in a wake him up when he is sleeping when Christopher wakes up. Daniel loves to play games with Christopher. Christohper just discovered that he can do peekaboo by himself, and they boys will peekaboo across the table and just laugh and laugh. I'm looking forward to the summer when the boys can get outside a bit more. Yesterday was warm enough to get out for a bit, and I was amazed to see Daniel hop on the tricycle and pedal for himself. That was new. I feel like the boys would just tumble in the grass for hours if I would let them. Much like the tumble for hours on the couch right now.

Alright, enough rambling for now. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I promise we will have lots coming up in the next few weeks. We have the St. Patrick's Day Parade which we are walking in tomorrow, a trip to Florida, and Easter coming up.

Christopher's First Haircut

Christopher is long overdue for a haircut. His hair has been totally wild and uncontrollable for a while. Unfortunately the haircut was a less than pleasant experience. He totally freaked out and cried for a good bit of the haircut. The lady who did his hair was very patient and did a great job considering the circumstances. Christopher also did not want to sit still at all. Here are a couple videos one interview we did yesterday, and a wild one from today.