His Secret

Josey got off the school bus yesterday and moped his way into the house. He complained that he didn't feel well, but couldn't specify what felt bad other than a vague wave at his head. He said he hadn't hit his head or gotten hurt in any way, so I wondered if someone had been mean to him and he was reluctant to tell me. After much probing, he insisted that nothing had happened and that everyone at school was nice to him. Later on he had a bit of a fever and complained of a bad headache ("like there's a bowling ball smashing around in my head!" - how descriptive) and dizziness so I gave him some tylenol and he was fine for the rest of the night.

I stayed up late studying, and when I finally went to bed I lay awake wondering if something really had happened. What if an older kid had hurt - or worse, MOLESTED - him and told him that something bad would happen if he told anyone. I fought the urge to go in and wake him up and finally fell asleep, vowing to have a talk with him in the morning.

When he woke up I was already downstairs with Tristan sleeping on me (a new game - wake up at 5:30 and insist on going downstairs, then pass out on Mommy while she sits uncomfortably on the couch watching infomercials). I heard him thump out of bed, go into our room, then begin to cry when he couldn't find me. Assuming this new behaviour was because of the imagined horrible incident yesterday I quietly called out to him so he knew where I was. He was happy to find me and snuggled up close to us.

I took a deep breath and wondered how to go about introducing the subject without scaring the bejeezus out of him and decided to go the "secret" route. There are some good secrets, I explained, like knowing what Roanen's Christmas present is and not telling him, or planning a surprise party for Daddy's birthday. Then there are bad secrets - secrets that don't make you feel nice and excited inside. If someone tells you that something is a secret and it doesn't make you feel good, then it's important to tell someone you trust, like Mommy or Daddy or Grammie or Grampa, or even your teacher, so that the bad feelings can come out instead of staying inside and making you feel yucky. You won't get in trouble, and we'll be very happy to know, even if it's about something bad. He listened without commenting or asking any questions so I let it go for the time being.

All was fine this morning. He played as usual, but became quiet and thoughtful at lunch. All of a sudden he looked at me and said "Mommy, you know how we were talking about good secrets and bad secrets this morning?" My breath caught in my throat and my heart started beating faster. How was I going to deal with what he was about to tell me? This was huge. "Yes Buddy, what about it?"

He paused for a second, then leaned across the table and looked at me with big, serious eyes. Then he whispered:

"Can we please have a surprise birthday party for Daddy?"

Glitter. Almost As Bad As The Mariah Carey Movie.

When we were in Ottawa last week Josey brought along his life savings (a whole $6.11) to go on a shopping spree in the nearby mall. I steered him clear of the huge bin of Hershey's kisses at Bulk Barn, informed him that a Goldendoodle puppy cost slightly more than 6 bucks, and gently nudged him in the direction of the craft section of Scholar's Choice. He was overjoyed at the prospect of POM POMS! PAINT! GOOGLY EYES! I was so overjoyed at the prospect of him being occupied for more than 7.3 seconds that I didn't even consider the consequences of one of his purchases - glitter. At the time I thought it was a pretty benign choice and imagined homemade Christmas cards all a-shimmer in red and green.

Reality: wielding a glue stick and said glitter he created a masterpiece of swirling sparkles all over a huge piece of bristol board, then proceeded to turn it over and do the same on the other side. Every time he lifted it up to examine/admire/display/move/"fix" it, showers of red poured off and caught drafts, landing on every surface and spreading through the entire house.

Remember the Love Shack? "Glitter on the front porch / Glitter on the highway". That's us, except it's more like "Glitter in the hallway / Glitter in the grilled cheese sandwich". Bad, BAD decision.

Stylisto

This morning I'm going to be volunteering at Josey's school. So far he has critically looked me over, announcing that I look "nice", but could he please see what I look like without my glasses on? The contacts went in, but then he asked if I could put some makeup on because my face was red. I'm just waiting for him to sniff me and tell me to put on some deodorant.

You're Welcome?

This morning in a burst of good-motherness I made crepes for breakfast. Since I had a leftover can of Thanksgiving whipped cream in the fridge I made two eyes and a smile on each of the boys' crepes and presented them with a flourish. Josey's response: "Awww thanks for putting a puking frog on my crepe Mommy!"

Ummmmm, OK...

Last week we were having dinner and Josey looked up and said "What's that bell?" to which I responded "What bell?". "That one!" he insisted, and immediately our old time-out timer loudly went off in the other room. Freaky.

And So It Begins...

Josey is officially a kindergartener. A lunchbag-toting, backpack-wearing, schoolbus-travelling, Catholic school-going kindergartener. He loves it. And I'm OK.

Evidently I Don't Speak 4 Year Old

From the bathroom: "Mommy, I'm hungry!"
Me: "Jose, did I not just give you an apple?"
"No! I mean, where's the toilet paper!"

Well Hello!

I've been seriously delinquent in my blogging lately, so much so that I've probably lost my readers, all 2 of you. To make up for it I've glued the older boys to the TV and left Tristan screaming on the floor in order to treat you to "Our Summer...In Photos!":

The summer started off with Roanen's eyes getting more and more wonky, to the point that a lot of the time he would close one eye when looking at something.


This always made me feel guilty. But not guilty enough that I couldn't take pictures.

While we waited for the surgery date, Josey started playing in the local soccer league. He started out very enthusiastic, but chasing after ball-hogging 6 year olds got old after the first few lessons. He finally ended up spending soccer nights picking grass and eating clover flowers when he wasn't rolling into the fetal position in the back of the net. The coach also found soccer a little tiring so he only showed up about 3 times. Way to teach dedication, Coach!


I'll stand here in front of the net, but only because you're giving me a freezie when this is all over.

Roanen got his first real haircut and went from baby to boy. Sob.


Big boys don't smile Mommy.

Fortunately Roanen's surgery was scheduled for early in the summer so we could (hopefully) get his eyes straightened out. He was happy playing with the toys at CHEO until he was made to put on some of the cutest pyjamas imaginable.


Or is it that he's the cutest pyjama-ed child imaginable?

Either way, he was unimpressed with the whole situation and proceeded to lie in the middle of the corridor and refuse to participate in any of the fun waiting room activities. That is, until he got some funky sedative that is evidently equivalent to a few beers.


Hey Mommy. This is waaaaay funny. If only I could sit up without falling over...

Despite being told that Roanen would be perfectly fine after the surgery he was pretty cranky. And also not very pretty to look at.


You'd be cranky too if you had stitches in your eyes.

A week later we had a real emergency.

And the next day we headed down to Niagara Falls. We had a great time on the Maid of the Mist boat.



Picked up some souvenirs...



And went to Marineland, which turned out to be a lot of fun for Josey:


For me too:


Look at the size of that caramel apple! Refrain from looking at my pasty pale legs, my hideous running shoes and the fact that my eyes always look messed up in pictures.

But evidently not so much for Roanen:


Daddy looks impressed too.

Note to people travelling to Niagara Falls with kids - the Imperial Hotel and Suites (I can't seem to find the link right now) is a super inexpensive, super nice place to stay. It's right near the main tourist street and within walking distance to the falls. The suites have separate bedroom and living areas, mini fridges and microwaves so you can bring a lot of your own food if you're like us and don't like torturing restaurants and their employees and customers with your children's presence. And did I mention cheap? Like 80 bucks per night cheap. It rocked. Don't pay any attention to the horrible reviews on the review websites (although do read them because they're hilarious).

Back to us.

Just a couple of weeks after we returned home Grammie and Grampa decided to take the boys on a little vacation. So I invited myself and Tristan along, because I'm like that. We drove down to Toronto to spend the day at Canada's Wonderland. At the hotel Roanen made friends with a very bold dove who invited himself to breakfast.


The bird ate mostly scrambled eggs. How very, very creepy.

Roanen loved Wonderland almost as much as Marineland.



A $5 bag of tiny donuts made it all better though.

Then the holiday fun was all over. But not for long! Russ found an ingenious way to get out of having to work that involved chicken poop, kerosene, and the old oil tank we use as a burn barrel. Sneaky, and oh so graphic.


That's only one leg. The other one, as well as both arms, his fingers, and a bit of his face got it too. He was dead sexy, I tell ya.

I got to take care of the chickens, the kids, and Russ for two weeks which was pretty stressful, but for the following two weeks Russ was up and able to do pretty much anything except go to work so it felt like holidays all over. Unpaid holidays, but holidays nonetheless.

Now that he's back at work, the boys and I are back in our (lack of) routine and trying to enjoy the rest of the summer before September hits and I have to send my baby to school, something that I'm alternately dreading and looking forward to. While I'm not as freaked out as I used to be, it's still going to be traumatic.

In other (pictureless) news, Tristan is crawling! Actually I meant to post that 4 months ago. Nowadays he's taking 6 steps at a time and coming very close to not needing to cling to my legs constantly.

And finally, the reason I haven't been blogging lately is because I felt like my plate just wasn't full enough and signed up for a 2 year distance education program in natural nutrition. So my "not studying" guilt has been stronger than my "not blogging" guilt and I've been hitting the books instead of regaling you with tales of my existence. And right now my "Tristan is yawning and exhausted and the boys are trying to murder each other" guilt is taking over so I'll sign off for the next 2 years or so. But not really so keep checking :P

Because My Bathroom Doesn't Smell Pissy Enough.

On Saturday evening I went into the downstairs bathroom to get the boys' toothbrushes ready for them. I glanced around while doing so and noticed a puddle in front of the toilet and some droplets between it and the sink, most likely due to Roanen's earlier attempt at getting himself a drink of water with a floppy silicone muffin cup. Then I happened to look down into the garbage can. I wondered what had been put in there that made crumpled up paper towel turn yellow. Then I saw yellow droplets on the side of the bag and it hit me. I stomped into the kitchen where the boys were having their snack and asked Josey "Did you pee in the garbage?" He immediately got a wide-eyed deer in the headlights look on his face and asked innocently "How do you know I peed in the garbage?". Little bum. When he finally confessed (which he only did because I cracked a smile at the absurdity of the act), it came out that he wanted to "make a lake" in the can, evidently after he had already started in the toilet and couldn't stop the stream while he switched receptacles. Naturally I forgot all about it until we got home from Ottawa yesterday and now my bathroom reeks of old pee. I love having boys.

Some Antibiotics Might Clear That Up...

"Mommy, Daddy's penis looks like a turkey."




(No blue balls jokes, please)

Get You A Waxin', Woman

Lately Josey has been watching too much adult television. He especially likes the commercials, because THEY PROMISE that their product is the best and that you DESPERATELY NEED IT. It started off innocently enough with the Food Network airing a Nutri-Slim commercial at least once every ten minutes. Josey was fascinated by the pictures of the food, especially the desserts (whose filming, I might add, required a zoom lens because of the tiny portion sizes) and would ask "Do you want to get that, Mommy?" every time it aired. Next came the Proactive commercials. Despite the fact that I (thankGodthankGodthankGodknockonwood) have had pretty clear skin since I was pregnant with Roanen, Josey feels that I also need that. Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Love Hewitt say so too. Then came Garnier Nutrisse. Both Josey and Sarah Jessica Parker would like me to see a dermatologist AND a nutritionist every day.

Thankfully I've managed to explain the concept of commericials to him so now he forms his own opinions. Opinions like, "You need to lose weight, Mommy" out of the blue. My personal favourite though is "It's just not right!" and "DO something about that hair - raze it or something!", spoken with utter disgust while gagging at the sight of my unmaintained nakedness. We've gotten him away from the tv, now if we could only pry Grampa's old Playboys out of his little hands. In the meantime I will have to aspire to be his ideal Mommy, a wrinkle-free anorexic with a brazilian.

Our Budding Photographer

This past Christmas Josey received his own digital camera. He had been taking some fabulous pictures with my camera, so we had high expectations of him. We weren't disappointed.

This one is my favourite. It definitely looks like it could be in a gallery or on a CD cover. Who needs eyes in a picture when the goatee expresses so much emotion on its own:



Have I mentioned that I look very much like my father? This is me in 25 or so years. I fear for my future (note: limited edition picture - my mom is going to make me remove this):



"Separated at Birth?"



"Self-Portrait - Sadness" Ok, so he didn't take this, but it still counts:



This kid is so quick and adept, he can even catch those rare moments when his brother is missing a nose. Watch out, Loch Ness Monster:



Missing from this show, "Fat Cat In Motion", a series of 50 pictures documenting Annabelle's every move while walking across the kitchen. Also, "500 Photos of Mom Making The Same Stupid Face", which was lost in an unfortunate deleting accident. See photo #2 above. They pretty much look like that, but with glasses and messy hair. Groan.

Stories, by Josey

(as "written" on a scrap of paper and read aloud)

"There was a boy who didn't have eyes and he was on a dragon's back and he killed the dragon with his sword. The dragon couldn't eat him because the boy cut off his head. Then the boy took the dragon's head and put it in a big big big big big big big big garbage can. WE END."

(When asked, I was informed that the boy didn't have eyes because he was an alien. And how could he see where the dragon's head was so he could cut it off? "He just REMEMBERED where it was!")

"Once there were two boys who lived in a house all by themselves and they could play when they wanted and eat what they wanted and they even made supper by themselves. And then they decided to go to Grammie's house and on the way they saw another Grammie so they went there instead. WE END."

Not sure about the "WE END" part. Possibly a misinterpretation of me saying "the end" at the end of every story. He's still a genius though.

Josey

In order for me to actually blog I've taken to writing a little bit at a time elsewhere so I can copy, paste, and post it when it's done that way I don't feel pressured to write something amazing and cool while frantically trying to stay within my dialup limits. Not that this is amazing and cool. Anyway, this is the latest on Josey:

Josey is two weeks away from starting his 7 week, thrice-weekly, 3-1/2 hr a day preschool class. This has turned from a super exciting thing to a minor annoyance thanks to the gas prices, which so far are turning "free" playgroup into a ten-bucks-a- day deal, and will add an extra $30 a week to preschool. Dropping him off and driving home again is now completely out of the question so I'm going to have to find something to do in town after playgroup and on the days when there is no playgroup. Hopefully the weather will improve to the point where I can go for walks with the other two boys, but I think that's going to get old after a while. That being said, I still think Josey is really going to benefit from some structure and social interaction without me around. His behaviour lately (ok, not just lately) is pretty bad and he wanders around the house like he's bored. Good thing he got a gazillion dollars worth of toys for Christmas. The past week or so he's been colouring and making crafts a lot more and that seems to occupy him for longer periods. He's figured out that he can draw things other than people (although people are still his favourite thing to draw) and he's been drawing a lot of pictures of dragons with lots of fire and people with swords "killing" the dragon. He also likes copying pictures from books, like cars and random things like fruit and houses. He likes asking me how to write words and will copy things like "TO GRAMMIE" onto pictures. He also loves doing pre-K activity books and can now recognize letters of the alphabet in both uppercase and lowercase, as well as tell me the sounds of quite a few letters. He doesn't really like being taught these things as such, but he will listen to me a little then pretty much figure it out on his own time. I keep getting surprised when he all of a sudden easily knows something that he struggled with a couple of days earlier, like identifying and writing numbers. It's hard to believe that just over a month ago I overheard Josey "reading" to Tristan like this:
"TRISTAN! We're going to read this book. It's about FOOD. Now THIS is an APPLE. M-L-H-P. That's how it's spelled. Apples are CRUNCHY and JUICY. And THIS is a BANANA. Um...Y-O-S-G-A. Banana's have peels and they're yummy. This is an ORANGE. O-S-B-B-A. Oranges have lots of JUICE in them and sometimes it's yech but they're very JUICY."
And so on...

Anyway, we went to the preschool meeting last week and the teachers were telling us that they hoped to teach the kids to recognize their names and write the first letter. Meanwhile, Josey was at the blackboard writing all the numbers from one to ten, drawing a picture of himself and signing his name. Genius.

Once again we're having pee issues. I can't even believe I'm having to say that about my 4 YEAR OLD. When he started his mini preschool programs he immediately stopped having accidents and I figured we were finally done with pee pants. That lasted for quite a while, but in the last couple of weeks he's been "forgetting" again when he's outside playing or busy doing something. The punishment this time around is losing his Vtech video game for 2 days every time he's wet. It sucks that this is happening. Seriously. He's not even remotely close to staying dry at night either, but that's really the least of my concerns right now. They make pull-ups for kids that weigh over 100 lbs so we're still safe at least for a couple more years.

The End.

My Genius Child

Ok, so kids in general have amazing brain power and he's probably not a genius, but this was pretty cool anyway. On Sunday morning while I made breakfast I put on a CD I got a few weeks ago. It's part of a kit called "Learn Italian with your Children" and consists of 3 CDs with word repetition and songs, and some activity books. It was pretty cheap at Costco and I thought it would be a good idea to expose the kids to some basic Italian before we take them to Italy so I got it. We listened to it a few times, but Josey pretty much balked at repeating anything and didn't really want to pay attention (which I expected - he's 2). We hadn't listened to it in a couple of weeks, but when I suggested putting it on, Josey agreed and said "They gonna start with "Bondonno"? (Buongiorno, or hello) So my mom was right when she said he would absorb it with it just playing in the background when he didn't seem to be paying attention. Kids are neato :)
On another note, last night around 12:30 Josey came into our bedroom and said he had to go pee, which is a first. He's fully toilet trained during the day, but still wears a diaper at night and it usually gets pretty wet by the morning. I've heard that most kids take until they're almost 4 to be night trained, but maybe it's happening early. It's good that he's recognizing it, anyway. It may have something to do with the fact that he's been questioning why he has to wear a diaper at night and commenting that babies wear diapers.
And finally, the boys seem to be getting along much better. There's not nearly as much pushing and knocking down, so Roanen is enjoying playing near Josey much more. However, Roanen has developed quite a temper, and will shove or try to bite Josey if they try to play with something at the same time. He's also having mini freakouts when I take him away from something, particularly the dishwasher, which he has an obsession with. Gee, I don't know where he'd get that temper and single-mindedness...

New stuff - yay!

Ok, now I can record stuff as it happens in something better than point form :)
Roanen may have turned a corner in his seemingly unhappy existence and has been quite content to play on his own and around Josey for the last couple of days. He still gets fussy once in a while, but I can actually get stuff done without him crawling after me and clinging to my leg, crying constantly. Knock on wood, but I finally feel like things are a little more normal. I can't wait for him to start walking so I don't have to lug him around everywhere, especially outside.
Josey's behaviour is also better, which I've decided is a reward for not killing him last week when he was a complete demon for 7 days straight. I had a horrible guilty mom moment at my mom's, though. Josey hit me, so he got a timeout on the landing going down to the basement (he won't stay in the corner so I have to put him down there and close the door. It's glass so he can see out - I'm not mean enough to just toss him somewhere where he can't see anything...) I waited an appropriate amount of time, then opened the door and asked him why he got a timeout (our usual ritual to make sure he understands why he's being punished) and he refused to answer me and screamed wildly for me to let him out. I told him he could come out when he calmed down and told me why he was having timeout, then closed the door again. This repeated itself several times, until he finally calmed down and told me why, then got a big hug. As usual when he gets really upset, he said he wanted to go to sleep and snuggle with me, so I took him up to our bed and lay down with him. After a couple of sniffles and sighs, he turned to me and said "Mommy, I sorry" and gave me a hug, then proceeded to say "My don't like myself". How's that for awful self-esteem in a 2 year old. Of course, he was his happy old self again in about 3 minutes so hopefully he doesn't have any serious issues, particularly none that were caused by me ;)

Some of my old notes - finally!

Josey - approx. 10 months

• says "Dadadadada"
• wrinkles his nose, smiles, and breathes in and out of his nose really fast
• loves bellies! Sticks his fingers in belly buttons, and will grab around waists and suck or zerbert bellies
• loves grabbing faces and necks and putting his mouth (or teeth now that he's got some) on them
• very charming to strangers; will stare at them until they smile, then will put his head on my chest and smile, pretending to be shy. He then leans way around me and plays peekaboo with them
• as soon as he sees the nursing pillow or me lifting my shirt he starts grabbing at me saying "heh heh heh"
• likes standing up against things and slamming his chest, chin, or both on them. He also likes banging heads, especially with Dad
• he's a real ham and will do anything for a laugh or a reaction; he even goes so far as to slap himself repeatedly in the head and laugh each time

Josey - 13 months

• has stopped breastfeeding and is now sleeping through the night most nights now that he's in a toddler bed
• drives cars and trucks around and makes very realistic engine noises

Josey - 14 months

• gets very excited when dad comes home - will wave with both hands at the door until he sees him, then shrieks "Daddy!"
• loves smiling at strangers and trying to get them to pay attention to him
• loves walking on his own in malls or outside. Daddy has taught him that sticks and puddles are fun
• has decided that he hates getting dressed and will cry like he's hurt whenever I try
• practicing his mad look - sticks his lips out and wrinkles his forehead, which is really funny to see
• loves putting his head down on the cats
• gets stuck climbing the gates and screams bloody murder in frustration, then gets right back up when I take him down
• says "cheese", "hot" (whispered "hot-ee), "Daddy", and can sign "hungry" (chews on a finger), and "again", and waves and blows kisses
• puts his pointer fingers and thumbs together to make be sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and puts his hands together and rocks for "Out comes the sun"
• one morning after I asked him if he was hungry, then got distracted, I found him in the kitchen eating a stack of bread that he had pulled off the counter

Josey - 15 months

• gives kisses (sometimes with tongue) when he's feeling generous
• loves boy things like trucks, cars, and blocks
• tried to make some animal noises like horses, cats, dogs, cows, horses, pigs, ducks
• has very good fine motor skills like removing marker caps and putting them back on, and placing very small objects in little holes
• takes kleenex and "blows" his nose making a honking sound

Josey - 16 months

• knows which key starts the car and can put it in the ignition
• can climb up cut out steps in the side of the play structure and likes to go down the slide backwards on his tummy
• starting to be much more vocal and uses different sounds
• can point out different animals in books

Josey - 22 months

• strings words together: "Daddy's big broom", or my favourite: "Hand Poo On"

Josey - 24 months

• saying broken sentences "Bambi on Grampa's wall"
• still loves his Little People, reading books, tools, helping Daddy do stuff
• getting very defiant - will watch your reaction as he's doing something bad like coming near the baby after he's been told to leave him alone. Tries to hit or kick Roanen if he feels like we're going to take him away from him
• likes watching shows or movies on tv, like Poko or his Berenstein Bears DVD
• sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star:

"Teeko, Teeko, Eeta Ta, How a wunna a-a-a, Up-a Up-a Up-a Up-a Up-a...(this can trail on indefinitely until he remembers there's more to the song) Ky" Repeat all over and over

• knows most of the alphabet, especially if someone else is singing it he'll sing every couple of letters and mouth the rest
• loves going to Toybus and plays really well with other kids. He especially loves singing time and watching the other kids do the actions to songs he doesn't know
• is now in his new bedroom and bed. We had some trouble getting him to start sleeping in the bed at night because he was constantly asking for "old bed", but is ok with it now, especially since he helped daddy take apart the old bed - "old bed gone"

Josey - 27 1/2 months (this is out of order)

• acting up a lot, throwing tantrums and not being happy with anything that is done for him or to him
• doesn't like getting his diaper changed, especially if it's poopy, but does not want to go on the potty except to pee once in a awhile
• says "please" and "thank you" although he needs to be reminded sometimes
• getting comfortable with other kids, but expresses it through hugging, grabbing, and flailing his legs at kids
• does not want to play on his own much
• likes smiling at Roanen to make him smile back, but still gets aggressive - kicking him or covering his face, etc
• has a good bedtime routine: bath, pjs, stories, snack, brushing teeth, then a song, but still needs someone sitting in his room until he finally falls asleep (which sometimes only happens after a lot of fooling around)

Roanen - 3 1/2 months

• hates the car! We had to stop 5 times on the way to Ottawa because he was screaming hysterically
• has slept through the night (9 hours straight) a couple of times, but mostly gets up once to nurse then goes back down to sleep easily
• naps very well during the days - sometimes sleeps up to 3 1/2 hours straight in his crib
• crying peaked at about 3 months, then slowly lessened. He's still quite fussy around dinner time, though
• loves when his legs and arms are moved - "dancing", especially when Russ does it, and will stop crying just about every time for it
• very happy and smiley - coos a lot and blows raspberries

Josey - 25/26 months

• speaks very well, but still signs "hungry" and makes a kissing sound for "thirsty"
• likes doing "Cheers" with everything that is the same - drinks, Rice Krispies, feet. He had his first bath with Roanen and was very excited to see that Roanen also has a penis: "Cheers penis!"
• has started saying "thank you" after every time he says "no", whether it's appropriate or not
• loves playing at Toybus, especially playing and singing "Sleeping Bunnies"
• sings his ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Head & Shoulders, and knows a lot of words to the Grampa song and others
• likes sitting beside Roanen on the big chair and says "One Two Boys!"
• gets on the bed in an arch and says "Tunnel!" - tries to go over top of Roanen and says "Roanen in tunnel!"

Roanen - 7-8 weeks

• gets very fussy and cries pretty much inconsolably
• will not nurse if he's not hungry, unlike Josey, so he can't be settled down that way
• sleeps on his own for 20 minutes to an hour in the AM, then 2-4 hours in the afternoon
• goes about 3 hours at a time for the first ocuple of stretches of night sleep, then 1.5 to 2.5 hour stretches thereafter
• very smiley when he's in a good mood, which usually doesn't last very long - does not like being put down very much when he's awake and will fuss even in the swing

Roanen - 8 months (yes, I failed to record a large chunk of his infancy - it was pretty much a blur of not sleeping and lots of screaming)

• having mostly short naps (around 30 minutes) but will sometimes go 1 or 1.5 hours
• eats TONS of food of varying tastes and textures - generally has no problems with new foods
• likes flirting with people now and everyone in public remarks that he's such a happy baby
• can sit on his own quite well and is starting to pull himself up to standing on things
• army crawls very well and pushes himself up on all fours and rocks
• will play by himself for longer periods of time, especially if he's outside on the deck, but becomes very agitated if Josey starts harassing him, or if he decides he wants to be held
• has developed a really annoying whine
• likes jumping on laps or in his exersaucer
• wakes up a lot at night (4-8 times) and needs to be nursed back to sleep - ends up in our bed most nights
• wakes between 5 and 6:30 in the AM
• says "A-dadadada"
• gets very excited when he sees Daddy and loves being rolled across the bed
• loves looking at himself in the mirror or in photographs - makes out with his reflection in the mirror, tongue and all :)

Josey - 2 1/2 years

• saying lovely things like "Hey cat! Come see that friggin' baby!", "How my get that friggin' sock on?", and "Oh Twap! (crap)"
• plays pretend a lot. For example, a dialogue between two grapes:

Grape #1: "Oh no! One monster gonna get me! He gonna eat me! You run away!"

Grape #2: "Ok, my run away!"

Grape #1, being eaten by the Josey monster: "Aahhh! He eat me!"

• uses nail clippers like a cell phone
• exhibiting obsessive compulsive behaviour like starting completely over from the beginning if he has a problem with something, and lining things up in perfect rows
• really likes Duplo and makes "tractors"
• pays very close attention to his food and notices when he has eaten it into the shape of something (Roanen's teething cookie into the shape of a bone and his toast into the shape of a dog - and they actually do look like them)
• mostly toilet trained. He only wears underwear (doesn't like training pants and will pee in them) and tells us when he has to poop and almost always when he has to pee - he'll have one or two accidents a day

Josey - 2 yrs 9 months

• telling us every time he has to pee and poop! (from about a month ago). He's still in a diaper at night, though, and it's usually pretty soaked in the AM
• starting to go to bed on his own without someone in the room - his naps have been like this for a while and as of Oct. 14 he has gone to bed on his own 3 nights in a row and gets better at it each night
• says "Nice day outside!" at least once a day regardless of the weather
• getting very good at his "please" and "thank you"s and is starting to figure out "sorry" and "excuse me"
• not very interested in colouring or playing with playdough for any extended periods of time , although he will make "faces" now when he draws. He makes a circle with two little dots for eyes, a big smile, and sometimes a forehead or hair.
• loves being active and playing outside
• still quite agressive with Roanen. He'll grab, kick or squeeze him, but will also sometimes hug him very gently or play nicely and share

Roanen - 9 months

• loves finger foods, especially Cheerios, and gets mad if there isn't something he can eat himself on his tray
• pulling himself up to standing and starting to cruise
• might be trying to say "Kitty", and sometimes says something similar to "Teddy".
• screams extremely angrily if something is taken away from him, or if he's in a bad mood and Josey dares to walk by him
• crawling on all 4s very well now
• gets very excited to see Daddy and hugs him tightly while pumping his legs as a greeting when he gets home from work
• eats mass quantities of food and is now over 20 lbs.