Lightning Speed!

Brian went to a skills challenge for his baseball tournament tonight. There was a challenge for throwing, running and hitting. Each team could bring one kid for each event. Brian did the running around the bases event and from the picture below, you can see that he won!!!! He ran from home to home in 15.01 seconds!!! I think I maybe could have made it to second base in that amount of time.

Cars, Cars, and more Cars!

Justin has recently become obsessed with the movie Cars. He wants to watch it from the time he wakes up until he goes to bed. Brian and Sean thought this was fun at first, but are now throwing their heads back and whining as son as he asks for the movie. I tried to explain to them that they also were obsessed with things when they were two.

For Brian it was Toy Story and then Peter Pan. He really thought that he was Buzz. He wore his costume every day and would shoot people with his laser from the grocery cart! Then it was Peter, he actually had us call him Peter for a while. Sean was as into things as Brian, but he did love the movie Chicken Little and also wanted to watch Bear in the Big Blue House for hours on end.

Kids sure do the weirdest things. I read somewhere that as young toddlers kids thrive on predictability. When they watch a movie 506 times, they love that they can predict what will happen next. I guess that makes sense because I know my kids went crazy when you switched things in their routine. So, for now, we will keep watching Cars.....

Oreos for Breakfast!

First let me say that I do think that it is great that Brian got Justin out of his crib, brought him down stairs, and got him his milk while I was in the shower. But when he broke out the package of Oreos, he went too far. It was only about 8:30 am!!! He told me he didn't know that they couldn't have cookies since he couldn't come in the shower and ask me. Ooooo, that boy is sneaky! Well, Justin did enjoy his breakfast and in the end I guess it really isn't much different than a chocolate donut!

Make A Wish!

Ever since I told Sean a few weeks ago that these thistle seeds are for making wishes, he has been obsessed with catching them. He says he is wishing for Legos, video games, and pokemon cards. It is so cute to watch him catch the seeds and whisper his wishes to them before his breath sends them back into the breeze. On this day he caught two in a row and missed a few others that were out of his reach!

Baby Bunnies

Today we discovered baby bunnies in our back yard. They dug out a nest in the middle of the grass! There are four of them and they are so cute - and surprisingly fast!!! I guess we will have to take the dog out front for a while until they are bigger. I will die if he catches one! We put the kids picnic table over top of the burrow to protect it a bit from other animals, but still allow them to get in. The boys thought it was so neat!

14 Months Waiting

This post just kills me to write. We have been now waiting two months longer than I thought we would for a referral. I just cannot believe it! I really have no words and there is nothing that I can do but try to stay busy. And be patient, but it is not easy!!!

Happy Fourth of July 2009

We had a few friends over for burgers and chicken on the grill and kept it simple this year. We live near a local park and could hear the concert from our backyard! That night the boys and I watched fireworks from the back porch! It was great for Sean and Justin to be close enough to see them, but not so close that they were afraid!

Pokemon Discipline

My older boys have finally joined the card craze. They ask for them constantly and save money to buy packs and packs of them. Well, this Mom soon learned that earning cards for good deeds, like sharing with your brother of helping a family member, goes a long way! They also get cards for chores that they do. I just bought a huge lot online and then give them a card at a time when they earn them. Much cheaper this way. How they get about $4 for a pack of 10 cards I will never know!

They get a blind draw and never know which card they will get. I figured they would pick the best or their favorite cards first and then the motivation to behave well would decrease later on as the card selection grew thin. They are not happy about this but I am the Mom and it is my way or no cards! They eventually saw my wisdom.

The flip side is when they do something wrong, don't listen, or are the opposite of helpful with a friend or brother, then they lose a card. But this time I get to pick which card or cards they lost depending on the infraction. They are really not happy about this! And they haven't yet learned not to tell me about their favorite cards and show them to me. I still have a slight advantage, but I am sure it won't be long before they figure it out!

I have actually seen some progress in their behaviors and they are helping each other out. Sean won't want to pick up toys and Brian will remind him that he can lose a card and if he helps he might get a card at the end of the day. Genius, pure genius! Ha, ha, ha!