The Pink Tower and Dress Up

Alder's teacher sent us this picture of him 'admiring his work' the other day.
The pink tower is one of the quintessential Montessori works for young kids - it has ten blocks of differing sizes and should be built from largest to smallest. It teaches them about size relationships and counting from 1-10.

It is also supposed to be 'self correcting' so that if it is built incorrectly, it topples over. Alder has built it halfway and the opposite of how it was supposed to be built....and it is still standing! That's my boy! Breaking the rules with style!

We also sorted through some hand-me-downs the other day and had fun trying on the costumes...
It is too bad this lion suit is a too small in the torso (major wedgy) because he would be pretty adorable with some whiskers and a nose painted on...alas my son may be a super hero for Halloween this year b/c I don't see me making or buying anything new...especially since Alder doesn't even know what candy is. Ignorance is bliss until the age of 3 I am thinking!

Favorite activity

I think we have mentioned before that Alder loves his collection of 20 or so matchbox cars. He will rise from a nap or arrive home from being gone and state "I play my cars". He then goes and gets the Tupperware container that houses them in his room and brings them to wherever he decides is best - typically wherever we are at the moment. He then proceeds to take them out one by one and line them up. You would think this would take 1 minute or less, but the concentration he puts into this activity is much more than that. He makes sure to place each one in the proper direction and the container of cars is typically several steps away meaning that he must walk over to it to fetch each car. I am thinking this is a very normal 2-year-old behavior, but we can't help but wonder if this is somewhat indicative of OCD ;). Not surprising I guess considering that Jason and I are both pretty particular.

My boys are big!

I know this was mentioned in the last post, but I would like to drive this point home a bit more.

Here is Heath, 4 weeks old today, weighing nearly 13 lbs, and doing what he does best - 'drink mommy's booby' as Alder likes to say. I met two moms yesterday with 4-5 month olds that weighed less than 12 lbs! All I can say is "we make big babies..."

...and here is 26 month old Alder weighing in at somewhere over 30 lbs and taking up a full sized mattress like a 5 year old!

And yes, Daniel, I am beginning to think about how to feasibly feed these boys once they reach teenage-hood....especially on a healthy diet sans fast food, processed cheese, and bologna ...I think a big garden is the answer.

Honestly though, I am grateful to have such healthy boys and can only hope they continue to thrive.

On an unrelated note, here is Alder and his buddy Sylvia at the blueberry farm last weekend. He was in a weird trance this whole morning as you can tell from his expression...
Notice us moms in the background working hard to pick berries with babes strapped on!
And here is Heath last night providing more smiles for the camera.

and Alder enjoying his bath...or is dad enjoying it a bit more than alder?...

Heath update

I took Heath to the pediatrician yesterday and we were all amazed at the size of this 3 week old. He weighs 11 lb 14.5 oz!

I am so excited about this because at Alder's 3 week checkup, the doc sent me home with formula and told me to supplement my starving child.

He is wearing 3-6 month old clothes already(!) and attempting to sleep through the night. I wake him twice to make sure my milk supply stays up, and sometimes he wakes hungry, but he certainly loves his sleep.

Aside from being robust in size, Heath checked out as healthy otherwise. There were also comments about his red hair and likely temper to come with it...hard to imagine considering his calm demeanor thus far. I do love his fuzzy head.

Eyes appear to be solidly blue at this point.

Today is my second day alone with two kiddos. I am going to keep Alder home for at least two days a week for the rest of the summer and take him to the pool, library, other fun places... So far so good. Alder can be a bit challenging at times and seems to know that when I am nursing, he can be extra naughty and not see the normal consequences immediately. I know it is alot for him to get used to as well as us, so I am trying to be extra patient. Thankfully Heath deals with it all very well...so far... I am really grateful to be slowly getting back to pre-pregnancy self, taking some time for sun salutations when kids nap, sleeping on my back, and experiencing no heartburn after meals! Meals...yes, many of those throughout the day as breastfeeding makes one ravenous!

Loving a big summer afternoon thunderstorm....

Here lately...

Alder has been doing some random things, some funny, some interesting:

1. Couple weeks back, one morning I went in his room to see if he was awake yet. I whispered, "Are you awake?" and he lifted his head, eyes shut, lifted one hand in the air and said, "Allaclado in hand, Daddy." Translation: "I have an avacado in my hand, Daddy." I am thinking this was the first evidence of what Alder dreams about. I immediately questioned him about it and he sort of came to, looking at me as if to say, "What? I said what?", then looked at his hand, then at me again... We got a kick out of this.

2. Every morning when Alder goes to school we pass a bagel shop that we sometimes go to on the weekends for breakfast. Alder LOVES bagels. So he starts to scream "Bagel Store!" as we approach and pass. Then I say "Bagel Store!" Then he says "No, Bagel Shop!" Then I say "Ooooh, oooh, bagel shop." Then he says "No bagel store." And we have this mini argument for about a mile, where he pretends to correct me, back and forth, over and over. Then when he is tired of the game he just shouts "Bagels for breakfast!" and then we are done with that game.

3. He likes to point out darkness, saying "Its dark in there", pointing at various things and parts of things. Like the inside of a rolled up yoga mat; any picture with a night scene; a crack or crevice like say on a matchbox car or between boards on the deck; Tsuga's ear; the space behind a piece of furniture, etc.

4. He occasionally lifts up an article of my clothing and says" Daddy naked in there," over and over until I confirm that yes, I indeed am naked under my clothes.

5. When we walk over a handicap symbol painted on a parking space, he points and softly repeats "Little boy." This one is almost creepy.

6. Today, when I cranked the car, a song was just coming on with one solo banjo. "Banjo, Daddy. Banjo in Daddy's car." He likes to point out a guitar when he hears it, and sometimes a piano, but this was a first. He must be taking this from a few weeks ago when we went in a guitar shop, and I messed with a Banjo and told him about it. 'Minds like sponges' is so true.

7. He likes negatives now. Its sort of like he's taking the motormouth-identify-everything to the next level. Rather than report what everything IS, he has started telling us what things are NOT. Example: I walk in the door, and he explains, "Daddy NOT outside." He was eating a PB and J the other day, and reported, "Not spicy, Not spicy."

8. Something so fun and cute is how he will come up to Heath, get really close to his face, or his hand or foot, and scrunch his face up into a squinting, super pucker, and in his highest pitch little voice will repeat, "Heath soooo tiny." This was probably one of the first things we said to him about Heath in the hospital and it stuck.
9. When we are done reading books at night, and I ask for a hug and kiss before I get out of his bed, he says "No," politely, in hopes that I will stay longer. I say "ok" then proceed to get up, with him protesting "Nooo hug, kiss, Daddy." When I bend over him to hug and kiss standing beside the bed, he says "No Daddy, kiss and hug in the bed, IN the bed." You probably have to be there for this one. Funny thing is that he does it EVERY night, I guess.

10. Oh yeah and Alder is cutting his second molars. Its really cool that he can talk about teething. Man, that would have been nice about 18 months ago.

11. OK, Lesley just reminded me of one - how could I forget, best for last. Three times in the past few days, he will get off the potty, look at his BM, and start to tell us what it looks like. The first time, it was "like my noo-dool", the long foam noodle that he takes to the pool. The next time, it was "a goldfish!". And today, "like my puzzle, Daddy!" The first two I got, but a puzzle?

12. Today, he tried his best to get Heath to "play my cars". "He ya go, he ya go..." No luck just yet.So, just some fun things we wanted to capture. Its something new everyday and there is no telling what fun stuff we have forgotten already.

Newborn smiles and other fun stuff

Babies aren't technically supposed to smile until they are 4-6 weeks old and often later. I dont think Alder smiled until he was like 3 months old! Heath is not only proving to be a very contented baby (so far - knock on wood), but one that smiles quite easily. Yes, like all newborns, he smiles as he is falling asleep and when he dirties a diaper, but he also smiles when fully awake. I like to think he was smiling at my voice in this picture....

Overall, Heath seems to be very easy to console. He only cries when hungry or tired and we can typically do something about that! I have had to wake him each night to feed except the last two when he woke only twice and went right back to sleep after eating. He has started to spit up quite a bit which is something Alder never did. Hopefully this is not a sign of a weak stomach in our future...

Grammy, Pa Pa, uncle Travis and Aunt Ana came to meet Heath this past weekend and celebrate the 4th of July with us. We had a great time and as is typically the case when the Bullucks visit, it was productive as well. Tom and Jason put up a gutter on the front of our house and replaced the landscape timbers along our front walkway! Alder had fun for at least an hour shuttling his matchbox cars down an inclined gutter.

We had a large feast on the back deck and enjoyed the unusually mild weather - nothing over 90 for at least a week! We love spending time in our shady back yard, but really hate the hoards of mosquitoes that arrive when there is no breeze. If anyone has any remedies for dealing with mosquitoes, we are all ears. The citronella spray works pretty well, but it would be nice to get rid of them!!

Pa Pa brought the great grandmas up for a quick visit yesterday so they could see our house and meet their newest great-grandson. As always it was so nice to sit around and hear stories from times past. Not having any grandparents of my own (since I was very young) I really enjoy being able to ask questions and gain perspective about a time that seems so long ago (1920s-30s), but really wasn't. Thanks so much for making this happen Tom!

Oh, yes and Alder received a gift from Heath - his very own guitar! For months he has loved to play with dad's guitar and dad has been toying with the idea of picking up a ukulele...so we went to a local music store and found an affordable uke. We thought it would be a good idea to keep Heath on Alder's good side (hee hee) as well as teach him to be respectful and gentle with a real (not a toy) musical instrument. It hangs with Dad's guitar out of reach when not in use and he has to ask to play with it. He has learned quickly and often says - "I not drag it, not step on it, not slide it, not throw it..." He really loves his "gi-gitar" and can strum it pretty well already! He prefers a pick and holds it like a backwards dobro.

Alder has also really been enjoying smoothie popsicles ("smoovie ot-sicools")lately. I make myself a smoothie at least once a week and then freeze some of it for these later treats. Super healthy too - frozen blueberries, strawberries, bananas, soymilk, peanut butter, and sometimes yogurt and coconut. Here are Alder and his buddy Sylvia posing with their pops.

Oh yes and one more thing about Alder...he often comes home from school in different clothes than we sent him in for various reasons. They have open access to sinks and they often get wet, they go outside in all weather conditions and often get muddy, boys sit down to urinate and he stands at home, so he is still learning how to keep the flow IN the pot! Regardless, sometimes he has to borrow other kids clothes and sometimes it is 'girly' stuff. He came home yesterday in this shirt! So Cute!!He resembles mommy as a child especially when wearing girl clothes. Dad thinks it super cool too.