The Countdown

Jack has developed an interesting countdown.  First of all, I'm impressed with his ability to count backwards.  Secondly, and more importantly, I am impressed with his... embellishments!  It goes something like this:

10.. 9... 8... 5... 7... cereal... 4... 7... Mitchell... 1... BLAST OFF!!!

Let me tell you, it never gets old.  The more Ben and Mitchell laugh at it, the more encouraged Jack gets and the sillier and crazier the countdown gets.  At some point, it really just looses the ability to be called a countdown anymore and becomes a constant stream of silly words and giggling boys.

And of course, what sort of countdown can be considered complete without a space helmet to make it official.

Junkyard Wars: The Jet

Ben and Mitchell have a new obsession.  Remember that show Junkyard Wars from a few years back? The series where teams of people run around a junk yard, collecting bits and pieces to put together something, quite frankly, a little unbelievable?

Ben and Mitchell are fascinated.  And they think if only they had access to a junk yard, all their dreams of building, owning, and operating a jet powered trike would come true.  It looks so simple to them, and it gets their imaginations bursting at the seams.

Just a few nights ago, after school, it was dinner time and getting dark and chilly out.  Dinner was ready and getting cold, but I just couldn't bear to stop the boys from what they were doing.  They had emptied out the garage, finding stuff I didn't even know what in there, busily building a two-man jet.  They weren't quite finished adding improvements to it and were having the time of their lives.  This time, I let dinner get cold.  That's what a microwave is for.  They played until past dark.  But they built their jet.

Mission accomplished!

Cookies for Babo

You know your kids have amazing imaginations (or perhaps take their toys too seriously) when they actually save portions of real treats for them.

I stopped at Starbucks for a not-so-unusual cookie and coffee date with my boys.  They each ordered a giant chocolate chip cookie (yum...)  and I had a few minutes to sit and enjoy my coffee.  We love our Starbucks dates.  Gives us a good chance to catch up on our running game of "I Spy."  They also like to throw crumbs to the birds.  Well, I think they may be throwing crumbs at the birds, but... hey, the birds get a treat in the end!

When the boys announced they were ready to go, I noticed they had both saved a sizable chunk of their cookies and were carefully placing them back in their bags.  When I asked what was wrong, (there must be something wrong if they are not finishing their cookie!!) they informed me that they were bringing home some of their cookies to share with Babo.

"Babo LOVES cookies, mom!  That's all he eats!  And he makes them and eats them and we want to share ours with him so we're bringing some home!"

Who is Babo?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  He is one of the many creatures hiding in Ben and Mitchell's beds.  He is, in fact, an Ugly Doll, and apparently, he loves cookies!  Who knew?

So there you have it.  Ben and Mitchell love Babo so much that they actually brought home cookies for him.  I forgot to check if Babo ate them or not...

Mosquito Lunch

Ben and Mitchell have a theory worked out concerning mosquitos.  Care to hear it?  It's pretty good.

Seems like out of all of us, Mitchell gets by far the most mosquito bites. Jack gets his fair share.  Ben hardly gets any.

As we drove home today, I heard them working out their hypothesis.

Ben: Mitchell, you must get the most mosquito bites because your blood tastes like dessert!

Mitchell: Then you must taste like vegetables!  Like mashed potatoes! (if you know us at all, you know mashed potatoes are the most disgusting food imaginable to my boys)

Ben: But what about Jack?  He gets some but not a TON like you.  He must be.... he must be like fruit! Or like lunch!

Jack: No!!  I'm NOT lunch!  I'm just Jack!  Mom!  He called me lunch!

Mitchell: Yeah... he's lunch...

So apparently, dessert is the best, mashed potatoes are the worst, and in the middle somewhere is... lunch?

The Fun is in the Wrapping!

My big boy just got a whole year older! It's true! He aged a year overnight! He went to bed only six years old, and woke up a 7-year-old! Pretty sure that is the way my kids picture getting older. It's a fun notion.

I just have to say, that although Ben loves his birthday - the attention, the gifts, the cake and ice cream, just "feeling special," I think Mitchell might love his birthday just as much!

All throughout the week leading up to the big day, Mitchell was busy busy. Finding treasures and wrapping them up. It was sweet that he was picking out treasures from his collection, but the ways he wrapped them was so cute! He used cardboard and colored paper; paper plates and napkins; electrical tape and about an entire roll of scotch tape.

When gift opening time came, these gifts had to come first. He just couldn't wait to deliver them to Ben. We had to go all over the house, retrieving the gifts from their hiding places he stashed them in. He had so many hidden that we even missed one. I just found it on my shoe shelf in my closet.

I am so thankful my boys have brothers. I pray nothing ever comes or stays between them.

Super Pooper

The other day, the boys were all three down in the basement without me. They insisted I not be there so that they could have all the lights off. They love to play in the dark, scary basement with no lights on. I don't get it. It just makes me sleepy. So they know that if mom is around, at least one light has to be on, hence the reason I was kicked out. Fine with me.

Well, it turns out, they were playing super heroes. I forget who Ben and Mitchell were, but Jack's superhero name was Super Pooper! I remember it because it was a funny name, but also because he has now added that to his list of acceptable names we may address him as; as in "Super Pooper is hungry! Super Pooper want milk!" I kinda miss Mooksy, but Super Pooper has now become a bit more applicable actually.

Through no real effort of my own, Jack is insisting on using his little potty. If we are in the house and he has to go, he runs up to me and says, "I gotta poop! Need potty!" Most of the time, I am ashamed to admit, I tell him to just go in his diaper. I'm sorry, but I'm just not in the mood to potty train right now! How terrible is that!? The problem is that I like being able to be out and about for hours at a time without worrying about where the closest toilet is.

Well, mom may be dragging her feet, but Ben and Mitchell are all about this. Just now, Mitchell came booking it down the stairs to tell me that Jack needed to poop but couldn't get his pants down. "Come help quick, mom!" Sure enough, I got his clothes off and he proceeded to fill that little potty while Mitchell did the same on the toilet right next to him. After they finished pooping and having quite a lengthy conversation about poop, Mitchell dug around in his drawer for some old undies that he insisted Jack was ready for. I admit, he looks pretty cute with his Lightning McQueen bottom...

It must be nice to be my boys. Can you imagine getting this excited over pooping together? Perhaps I won't actually have to potty train Jack after all - I can just let my big boys take over this time! For now though, I'm curious to see how Super Pooper does in his undies...

Mitchell and Mini Mitchell... Heaven Help Me!

It has been interesting to watch Jack transform from chubby baby into a bruiser of a toddler. Whereas he was once a peaceful and content little blob, he is now an unstoppable force! We have been watching him, always comparing him to our older boys, trying to figure out who he resembles more and who he takes after in personality more.

Well, it is no longer a guessing game as to which brother he is most like. He is a mini Mitchell. Apart, each boy is a handful. Together? Watch out. Nothing suprises me anymore. Today I found them outside, laughing hysterically and tossing a soggy old snake skin back and forth at each other, trying to get it to stick to the other boy. It was nasty. Neither boy has any fear of bugs, bees, or spiders and will chase Ben around with whatever they have managed to catch. Sometimes they just scream at each other and think it is perfectly normal and hilarious. Mitchell will dress him sometimes, putting his jammies over his clothes and Jack will love it so much he will cry if I try to dress him a little more conventionally. They often just have such an overabundance of energy that they just have to run laps around the yard (or house if I allow it.)

Both of them love mischief. Neither of them is too terribly bothered by consequences. Both boys are very loud. Both can turn a room upside down in a matter of seconds. Both of them laugh easily and often.

I could do a whole separate blog about how Jack is like Ben too, and when Ben is home, the three of them are always together, usually kept in line by big brother. For now though, Jack is more taking after his bundle of unstoppable energy brother, Mitchell. I no longer roll my eyes when strangers daily tell me I look like I have my hands full. I now agree with them.

He May Have Just Made It

To tell you the truth, if I had actually planned on having a third child, I would have wanted a little boy still, but would have attempted to have him a bit sooner. My bigger boys are less than two years apart, while Jack trails Jack by 2 years, 9 months. I realize that is still fairly close, but when I see the bond the big boys have and then see how babyish Jack still is, I often wonder if he will ever have quite the same connection to his brothers as they obviously have with each other.

Jack may have just made the cut though. I know all families are different and age isn't always a factor, but this is just the way I think. My worries are constantly put to rest when I see them like this:

Now mind you: Jack is no movie watcher. He doesn't quite appreciate the humor of Mega Mind, nor does he feel the need to actually sit still, but he does love being sandwiched between his big brothers. After a few attempts to get them sitting together, I finally figured out the reason it wasn't working was because I wasn't allowing Jack to sit where he wanted: in between his brothers. Once we got the seating arrangement settled, Jack actually stayed there for longer than I've ever seen him sit in one place without food.

The situation soon developed into rambunctiousness, but all three of them loved that.

Jack is such a little instigator. When things need livening up, he sticks his finger up Ben's nose. If Mitchell ignores him for long enough, he will lift his shirt and flub his belly. Not getting enough attention? Here! Take a finger to the eyeball! Jack may be a few more months behind than I would have chosen, but he certainly doesn't care. He will be a part of the pack, whether they like it or not!

And they love it...

Inventing New Words

For the most part, I think I am fairly honest with my kids' abilities. I think they are all intelligent and each one has areas they are a little ahead in, but I don't pretend any of them are geniuses or prodigies in any area.

That said, I think Ben has a talent for language. He spoke early, he was conversational early, he has been clearly understandable by all at an early age, he has an advanced vocabulary, and he rarely makes grammatical errors. If he does make a mistake, he only needs correction once and the mistake is rarely made a second time.

Mitchell is also intelligent and even speaks well and understandably, but doesn't posses quite the flair Ben does in this area. Because Ben has always spoken so properly, I can't recall any funny or cute mistakes that were a part of his vocabulary for a time.

Mitchell, however, has loads of them! Knowing that Ben might be above average in this area has really given me a patience and even a delight in Mitchell's "mistakes." He calls propellers "impellers." Cement mixers are "cemix makers," and he "sinks" sometimes instead of "thinks." For a time, anything risky, exciting, or dangerous was "whoa, denrious!"  The Land Before Time is "Land For Be Time," and he does things "all bury himself," rather than "all by himself."

These words of his, and countless others of the like, are cute, funny, and make me smile every time, and although I usually do correct him when he uses them, I am always hesitant to because of the humor and happiness they bring me.

Lately, his words are becoming more and more correct and I find myself missing his "mistakes," but there is a new word that he has come up with that is pretty funny and has been invented not out of incorrect pronunciation or mix-up of letters but a combination of two over-used words. His newly invented word is: "binlook!"

When he wants me to pay attention or see something he says, "binlook!" Do you get it? He has said "Ben, look!" so often that it has become one word meaning, "check this out!" and he uses it no matter who he is speaking to!

I like this word quite a bit. I like it because it's existence symbolizes how close my boys are to one another.

Sent from my iPhone

Just Like It Used To Be

Mitchell is beginning to recover from his sickness, but as he continues to sleep it off, Ben and I have had a lot more time together, just the two of us, and it has been so fun!  After I get the little guys settled down for a nap and Ben and I have both had a small "alone time," we spend the rest of the time together in a way we rarely get anymore.  He has read me simple stories, we have made paper dragons, soaked our feet in buckets of cold water on the patio (not sure where and why he came up with that idea, but it did feel nice!), laid around talking, and made tons of fun little snacks (I get mighty hungry during this part of the day!)

This middle part of my day is usually when I brew my second pot of coffee, and Ben, wanting to be a part of that as well, wanted us to make the drinks a bit more special this time.  Now this was a lot more work than just pouring a nice, hot, black cup of coffee for myself, but his way was a yummy change in the routine.  His choice was a hot chocolate "latte" for himself and a latte with cinnamon for me.  Mmmm...

I don't think I made his quite hot 

enough though because he downed that thing in about 1 minute!

Another treat we discovered in our special time together was a new favorite way for him to eat watermelon!  He loves it any way you prepare it (I think he'd dig right into a whole melon with his fingers if I let him - maybe we'll try that one day!), but this way delighted him for some reason.  We cut the end off and made it into a bowl for him, then he used a fruit spoon to dig it out.   He got 

quite a kick out of that cerated edge on the spoon and also loved to drink the juice out of the bowl when all the 

fruit was gone!  It is so easy to entertain this kid!

Being alone with Ben for a couple hours every day has reminded me of how it was for us before my other two joined the party.  It can be so easy sometimes to just take care of one big kid!  Sometimes, at the park or other public place full of kids and parents, I watch the mom or dad who is there with just one kid.  You can always tell which ones they are because they are busy building a sand castle in the sandbox, or pushing the child on the swing endlessly, or following the child tirelessly from one toy to the next, fully participating in whatever game is going on.  I envy that parent at that point and wish my kids could each have my undivided attention, but I am lucky if I can keep them all in one area of the park for long enough to kick my shoes off!  Just when Mitchell has decided we are playing trucks in the sandbox, Ben needs a push on the swing and Jack has crawled off and gotten himself stuck under the slide again!  "One child mommy" does not have this problem, but she also doesn't have the ability to sit back and let the kids entertain themselves and feel the pride and satisfaction that brings.  I suppose there are some children out there who don't need a playmate and who easily entertain themselves, but not many I'd bet.  Just when I start feeling badly that each of my boys could use a bit more of my time, I see them band together and have so much fun doing it!  So while I do envy "one child mommy" occasionally, most of the time I feel so blessed to have my two older boys so close in age and so happy with each other!  A lot more would be required of me as a playmate had Mitchell not come around when he did!

A Brotherly Pep Talk

Tomorrow is Saturday, which means another try at soccer.  Once again, Mitchell is all talk about all the "cool tricks" he is going to show the other kids on the field tomorrow.  He has been demonstrating all the silly spin moves and flying kicks and generally crazy moves he wants to show the other kids and coaches tomorrow (not sure what they have to do with soccer, but any show of energy is better than the cry-fest of last week!)

At dinner tonight, we were having a family discussion about soccer tomorrow and what is expected of each boy and how fun it will be, when Ben raised his hand and asked to be heard (one of the lovely habits he picked up in school this year.)  He asked if he and Mitchell could have some "alone time" so that he could find out why Mitchell cried so much last week and if he could "fix it for tomorrow."  I'm not sure what exactly they talked about, as they had to be alone to have this little pep talk, but it sure was cute to see Ben pull Mitch aside, put his arm around him and encourage him in quiet voices about the upcoming soccer practice.  They returned to us full of positivity that Mitchell would indeed play the game tomorrow and listen to his coaches, not make mommy play with him and run faster than all the other kids, "just like Ben does!"  Ben, you and your brother have a connection only best friends can have.  

He Likes It, Mom!

Jack is at the stage now where, if I leave him in one place and walk away for a moment, he will not be anywhere near that place when I return, so I often ask one or both of the older boys to stay with him and "keep him safe" if I need a few minutes to do something.  They really are quite helpful in that way - they never shy away from moving him in whatever way they can - rolling him, scooching him, dragging him, steam-rolling him - despite sometimes loud protestation from Jack.

Well, today I wanted to use the bathroom without having three boys watching me (I know, a crazy and unrealistic dream), so I left the boys in my room to...well, to figure it out on their own.  And figure it out, they did.  They discovered a new way to entertain Jack, burn some energy, and just be boys all at the same time!  

It certainly kept him busy and kept him from falling off the bed, which, I guess, is what I asked them to do.  In the absence of specifics, they came up with the solution that not only worked, but got all three of them laughing!  Jack is such a tough little guy.