Videos

I have 2 videos of the boys from today that I wanted to post. I used my cell phone and for some reason the sound is really messed up! Oh well...

This afternoon the boys and I met Ben outside when he got home just as we do most days. Today some of the kids from our court were also outside playing so the boys joined in. Zak has been trying to figure out the neighbor's scooter for a few weeks and today he finally got it to work! This is not a great video because I took it using my cell phone...

This evening right before bedtime the boys got a burst of energy. They were running around, jumping on Ben and playing with the dogs. Then Ryder started to jump off the stairs down to the floor and Zak quickly joined him. They started by jumping from the second step and then moved up to the third step.

Blog For A Cure

On Monday, Sept 28- Friday, Oct 2, 2009, Who Knew? Reviews will be hosting the first Annual Blog For A Cure, which is a new way to use social media to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, while making new connections and broadening our social media network.

“Blood cancers are an aggressive and stealthy enemy. They can and will strike people of all ages, health status, ethnicity, and sex unless we rally together and support the research that is needed to treat and prevent them. I have organized this campaign in honor of a dear family member and fellow young mom who has recently been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and is now fighting for her life. I am sure that each and every one of us can say we know someone who has been affected by these devastating, indiscriminate diseases. Together, we can use our most accessible resource, the internet, to help fight the battle.” (Posted by Lani at whoknewreviews.blogspot.com, she is a mother of triplets.)

On September 28th through Oct. 2nd, head over to Who Knew? Reviews, and click on the button to donate $1.00 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you can donate more, please do so, but the minimum to participate is $1.00. Click here for more information.

Our Weekend

Thursday afternoon we took the boys over to Rich& Laura's house to spend the night. They had their own little suitcase and were ready for their sleepover. This left me alone in the house all day on Friday to get some cleaning done as well as some downtime. I cleaned the playroom, did dishes, vacuumed, ran some errands, and then watched a movie. Ben went to his parent's house when he got off work and I met him there. Here are a few pictures of what we saw when we got there:

Zak was not ready to be awake so he just sat in my lap for a while.

Saturday morning we went to a cat show at the State Fairgrounds in Timonium. I was so excited to get back into the show hall and have everybody get a chance to meet the boys. After a while Ben and the boys went home while I stayed at the show. While at the show I fell in love with the cat that my friend Stella was showing. She has one of my breeding females (Marie) who has been producing some great kittens. Stella was showing one of Marie's kittens and this girl is the spitting image of Marie! I sat and held her for most of the afternoon. I am very excited to say that once this girl grands she will be coming to live with us! She is a solid white Maine Coon who is deaf, but very laid back as well as playful. She did well with the boys petting her and playing with her so hopefully she will fit in well. I am so anxious to go back to another show and possibly have a cat to show once and a while. Around 4:30pm Ben and the boys came back to the show to pick me up and go home.

Last night the boys were playing with Ben so I got a few videos of their new favorite game. They are going to be very good actors one day if they keep this up...they pretend fight...

Today we are staying home and being lazy. It is that time of year where Sundays are the day to stay home and watch football.

Unwanted Toddler Behaviors

Zak is definitely the stereotypical 2 year old. Unfortunately this includes many of the unwanted terrible two behaviors we all dread. He has mastered the art of throwing a temper tantrum no matter where we are. For him it seems the more public the better, the louder the better, and the more embarrassing the better. Now that he is talking he has started to learn the art of talking back. His favorite phrase at the moment is "NO, I don't want!" which he uses all the time whether it is during diaper changes, mealtime, errands, bedtime, and so on. He has also seemed to have lost his ears recently meaning he doesn't listen to anything or anybody. Zak is a very strong willed boy!

He has also become a pretty talented escape artist. The other day he showed us he knows how to unbuckle the crotch strap on his car seat and then get his arms out. We already knew he could climb out of the pack-n-play, but he demonstrated that to us everyday while on vacation. This morning he was knocking on my bedroom door at 5am because he has opened his door, closed his door and come to my bedroom. He seems to be able to climb just about everything to get to whatever he wants. He is just too smart for his own good.

The hardest behavior for me to deal with has been his hoarding. Yes, my son is a hoarder. This all started at home when he would take toys from Ryder and make a pile. Then he would sit and guard this pile so Ryder couldn't take anything back. It got to the point where Ryder wouldn't be able to play with anything because within minutes of him picking it up Zak would grab it away from him. We have been working on this with him at home and thought it wasn't too big of a deal. Recently, it has gotten worse. Now, he gets mad if we (Ben or I) try to take something from his pile of treasures in order to give back to Ryder. And he has started to do this out in public at the playground in the sandbox. He starts by collecting all of the unused toys and then moves on to grabbing toys form other kids for his pile. We had to leave the playground yesterday because he would not stop and was getting very worked up about not being able to take all of the toys. Last night while at Barnes & Nobles he started to do this with the trains at the train table in the children's section. I am not sure if this is a normal phase or something to worry about. I am thinking he might need more socialization with kids (other this Ryder who is a push over apparently) so we might be looking into some sort of class to do.

Here are a few pictures of my little "angels"....

Question of the Week

The question this week is: What are the top 5 things you never thought you would hear yourself say?

1) If you don't listen to me then you will get time out!

(never thought I would use time outs, obviously I was very naive)

2) OK, you can watch 1 Barney video.

(never thought I would have kids obsessed with Barney)

3) Can't you eat at least 1 piece of chicken with your ketchup or are you just going to live off of the ketchup?!

(I loved ketchup and heard this all the time, but never thought I would need to say it to my kids)

4) Don't walk/jump in the puddles.

(never thought I would care of my kids did this, but it is a pain to need to change clothes while out because of getting soaking wet in the puddles)

5) If you keep acting like this I will leave you here!

(can't believe this has come out of my mouth, but the boys seem to act up a lot while we are out and sometimes it just comes out of my mouth before I think about it)

The boys are only 2 years old so I am sure I will say many other things that I never thought would come out of my mouth!

Vacation Part 1: New Hampshire

The first leg of our trip started just before midnight on Friday September 11. We left the house and headed to New Hampshire. The drive took just under 7 hours which wasn't too bad. The boys slept for about half of the ride and I slept for a little at the end as well. Once we got there we had breakfast, went to the grocery store and then went to Lisa & Greg's house which is where we were staying Saturday night. Then we left and went to a McDonald's with an indoor play area to meet with Jade and June (Ben's grandmother). It was raining so this was our back-up plan; we had planned to meet at a playground. Then we went to see the cabin at the campground which Ben has talked a lot about. When we got back to Lisa & Greg's house the boys played outside in the rain with the dogs and Greg. That night we had dinner with Lisa & Greg, Lisa's parents, and Peggy & Irwin who had never met the boys so everybody enjoyed playing with them. Sunday we left Lisa & Greg's around 11am and headed to Andrea's (Ben's aunt) house for a cook-out and to play with Jade again. The boys had a blast playing with Jade and the 2 dogs. After dinner we got back in the car and made the drive up to Maine and got there around 8:45pm.

Arriving in NH

Zak's ketchup lunch

Pictures from inside the cabin at the campground

Ryder trying to get a ball from Lisa & Greg's dog

Watching Barney

Playing with Jade's baby doll stroller

Vacation Part 2: Where We Stayed in Maine

While in Maine we stayed in a cabin which was on a really nice piece of property right on Swan Lake. The owners have their house and then 4 other cabins which they rent out by the week. These cabins were called Loon Lookout Cottages. We stayed in the Bluebird while everyone else stayed in the Loon cottage. The boys loved having all of the open space to run around and not have tons of boundaries or limits while playing.

Our cottage

Our lunch on Monday

Ryder with his caterpillar

Vacation Part 3: The Lake Plot in Maine

Ben's family owns a plot of land on the other side of Swan Lake from where our cottages were. We made a few trips over there to let the boys play on the rocks. They LOVED throwing rocks into the lake trying to be like Ben who was skipping rocks on the lake.

Vacation Part 4: Grammy Rivers' House

Ben's great grandmother (aka the boys' great great grandmother) lives on the other side of the lake as well. The main reason for our trip was to visit with Grammy Rivers so that she could meet myself and the boys. She has a large piece of property as well which the boys enjoyed running around on. There used to be a big barn, but it was falling down so they took it down and burnt it just before we got there. The boys had fun throwing around the crab apples which they called balls.

Vacation Part 5: Moose Point State Park

On Friday we went to Moose Point State Park to walk around on the trails. When we first got there we went to the playground which the boys had fun with for a bit. Then we went to walk by the water, but Zak wanted to stay at the playground. Usually if we say bye bye and start to walk away they would come running, but this time Zak just continued to play. So Ben, Ryder, and I walked all the way to the car (the playground was in full view from the car) and Zak didn't even think twice about staying and playing. Finally Ben had to go back and drag him away from the playground. We walked by the water and then walked the trails.