Living the Toddler Life

 I love toddlers.  Everything is new and exciting.  Peter reminds me all the time how fun the simple things in life can really be.

This is where you must stand every Friday:

The sound of an approaching trash truck is always the que to run excitedly to the door.  They come down our street 6 times every Friday (trash, recycling, and lawn debris trucks doing our side and across the street) and it's as good as Christmas.  If you're outside, wave to them and they most often wave back.  That's like Santa waving from his sleigh.

When it rains, the puddles in the backyard are the best playground around.  If you can find a blue flag in your yard, wave that in the rain.  It doesn't get better than that.

When you're done playing in the rain, a yummy snack really hits the spot, but it's even better when shared with friends.  Just remember, they don't have hands, so you'll have to help them. (Peter actually said to me, "But mom, they don't have hands!"  I said, "Then you'll have to help them," and he replied, "Ok! I will!"  Then he picked up each animal, held the quesadilla to their mouth and made chewing noises and a contented, "That's yummy! Thank you!")

This age really is so much fun.

Mental Health Day

Christian came home on Friday complaining about the sub they'd had that day.  The worst part was that he'd be there again on Monday.  Monday morning, Christian overslept and missed the bus.  When he woke up and realized this, he also remembered that the sub would be there and the whole day was off to a terrible start.  "Can I just stay home today?" he asked.  I figured between obviously needing more sleep and knowing that when subs are there, no real learning takes place, I agreed.  He went online, completed his assignments in a few minutes and then we spent the day enjoying the beautiful sunshine.  First activity - bike ride to the park.  We went to the adult exercise circuit part first and Christian did pushups, pullups, and situps while Peter tried to imitate him.  Then we played on the kids' playground and Peter greatly enjoyed having his big brother with him.

When we came home, we wanted to put the bikes in the shed.  Christian tossed me the keys so I could unlock the door, but that kid doesn't know his own strength!  He lobbed them high into my mother's tree next door.  We could just see the glint of the metal in the sunshine from a branch high, high above us.  Christian first tried climbing the tree and shaking them loose, but they were stuck fast.  No amount of limb shaking brought them down.  Then he tried kicking balls at them.  That created a hip ache that lasted the rest of the day.  Finally we gave up and decided to wait until the next big storm.  While we stood in the yard talking, plop, down fell the keys, without wind, rain, or any provocation whatsoever.  The tree had simply tired of our game and given them back.  Nature definitely has a sense of humor.

After that I pushed the boys in the hammock until lunch time and again in the afternoon.  Can you see Bella photobombing from under the trampoline? 

Here's a close-up:

Bella finally got her chance to swing in the hammock.  Christian decided it would be fun to pelt her with balls.  Siblings.

Peter continues to become more and more verbal, interactive, and quick-witted.  He makes me laugh every day and fills my heart with joy.  Today he asked me for the bagel I'd put in his snack container.  I assured him there was no bagel in there.  He took the container, pointed to it and said, "Look, that is literally a bagel!"  I explained again that it wasn't and he replied, "Then what is it actually?"  It's so wild to hear these kinds of sentences come out of a 2 year old.

 He loves my ear muffs for some reason and wanted to wear them around the house all day.  He'd move them around on himself and say, "Mommy, look, nose muffs!" or "Look, neck muffs!"  and then laugh and laugh.  His little laugh is infectious.

He's also my little helper in the kitchen.  He loves to mix batter, cut up vegetables (he cuts bananas while I cut our dinner), and unload the dishwasher.  Although, he often gets distracted by an interesting item he pulls out, and I'm left to finish unloading alone.  

One not so lovely thing is his newest phase: wiping boogers on people/things.  He'll pick his nose and then wipe it anywhere he pleases - grocery carts, car seats, crib, my shirt, Kelly's pants, etc.  I never thought I'd have so many conversations about appropriate places to wipe boogers, but here I am, livin' the dream.

Feels Like Summer

 The temperatures got crazy hot last week and we took full advantage.  Peter was outside at his water table and pool nearly all day.  It's by far his favorite toy.

Christian was excited to join him, but soon realized that playing in water with Peter comes at a price.

We also went to the Hands On Museum in Ann Arbor for the first time since Covid.  I had put off going because they were still requiring masks until very recently, even for kids as young as Peter.  However, now they don't and so I couldn't wait to show him all the fun.  Surprise, surprise, he spent 90% of the day at the water exhibits.

Another fun thing we did last week was to go to Greenfield Village for their Day Out With Thomas activity.  They bring in an engine that looks like Thomas and fill the park with all sorts of Thomas themed attractions and activities.  It brings in every toddler for 50 miles.  I had brought Benjamin and Bella when they were little, but Benjamin had been completely unimpressed.  His reaction was an immediate, "But it's the exact same train as every time with Thomas stuck on the front! I'm not riding that!"  I prayed Peter would not be so discerning and luckily my prayer was answered.  He was thrilled to ride Thomas.  Christian was a great sport and came along too.  They also had live bands and magicians and other carnival style games that Christian enjoyed.  We all had a lot of fun despite the crazy heat.

Christian can't go to GFV without riding the model T.  We got the depot hack this time which was great because some of the other model T of other styles were  running with the top down.  Too hot for that!

The driver looks so sad here, but it's because he thought the picture was already done.  The guy taking a picture was terrible and kept making videos rather than taking a picture. 

I wish we could have gotten  pictures of the band and magician.  They were absolutely fabulous.  The band called themselves a "hobo band."  They wore ratty clothes and had all sorts of hobo-style props.  Their song were all about trains and riding the rails as hobos.  They were a lot of fun. At one point Christian leans over to me and asks, "Do you think they're really hobos?"  That's how convincing they were.  I simply said, "Hobos don't travel the country with expensive sound equipment."

The magician was also amazing.  He was hilarious and had us laughing constantly and we were stumped on every trick.  In fact, I made sure it was my dollar he ripped up for the trick that so many magicians do.  I knew exactly what it looked like and I watched that girl rip it in half.  Yet, when he returned it to me, there's wasn't a mark on it!!  It was 100% perfect.  I was speechless. I could have watched him all afternoon.

While we were there, Bella was camping with the scouts and Kelly and Benjamin went motorcycling. There is nothing Kelly likes more than to be motorcycling.  I'm so happy that Benjamin likes it too and it's something they can do together.

I Love to See the Temple

 Covid has made temple attendance impossible/insanely difficult, depending on the month, so when a spot opened, I jumped on it and booked it for me and my kids.  It was the first time all of us got to go together since Christian became old enough and it was wonderful.  There were, of course, a million issues that day which tried to prevent us from going and the boys were super grumpy and didn't want to go at first.  However, as always, once we persevered and got there, everyone had an amazing time and all said they were glad they went.

Bella suggested we get pizza on the way home and so we had a fun dinner together in addition to a great time at the temple.  I'm so grateful for my family and for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Happy 14th Birthday Bella!

Bella turned 14 this week.  She got a weighted blanket, vans hightop shoes, sweatpants (made my her favorite youtuber), socks, a book, a shirt, and a mug.  She was thrilled.

She had friends over on Saturday to partyand eat cake and then had invited another friend for her actual birthday, but that friend got sick and couldn't come.  We tried to make the best of it with a trip to her favorite place, Tropical Smoothie Cafe plus her favorite foods for breakfast (croissant sandwiches) and dinner (soup and breaded cheese sticks).

Bella is a wonderful part of our family.  She's caring and kind and spiritual.  She's a great leader among her church, scouts, and school friends. She's creative and artistic.  She is intelligent and musically talented.  She is simply an all around winner and we're so lucky to have her.

Some Random Peter Photos

 Peter continues to be such a joy to have around.  Just a few fun photos from our past week:

He got the bluetooth speaker and put it in his car and then drove all around the upstairs playing his music from my phone.  

He loves to eat frozen blueberries. He is my pickiest eater of the four, so I hate to say no to a healthy food.  I just wish blueberries didn't leave him tinted blue for the rest of the day.

The weather has been so nice this week.  At one point when Benjamin's internet time had run out, he was so bored that playing with a two year old became fun. He may have not really wanted to play with Peter at first, but Peter's enthusiasm is contagious and he truly seemed to have a good time.  Peter was thrilled to get to spend time with him.

We've been to four parks this week.  Peter is learning the names of all the parks in the area and asks for them by name.  I've been happy to oblige.  We're both so sick of cold, rainy weather.

We've still continued going to the rec center for their playgroup, though.  I love putting Peter with other kids his age and giving him a chance to play with them.  However, so far he's been unwilling to engage with others.  This was the most interaction he had one day - he wanted to pull this box of toys around and the little girl wanted to play with them.  So he ran and she chased until he gave up and let her play.  We keep trying.

We had another round of illness come through our house.  Peter got it first and coughed endlessly on Christian so he got it a couple days later.  Christian was so sweet with him, though.  He held him on his lap and cuddled him.  I'm so glad Peter has a brother like Christian.

The City Gave Us A Sandbox

 I always said I didn't want a sandbox in our backyard because I didn't want all the sand tracked into our house.  Then the water main broke in front of our house and the city filled in the giant (4ft wide x 10 ft deep) hole with sand.  Voila, our own personal sandbox.  Peter has been so happy.  I've been doing lots of extra laundry.  On the plus side, it's right next to the street, so we've been able to talk to a lot of neighbors who walk by and it's been a pleasant way to spend some time on nice weather days. It's been fun to pull out the sand toys from our trip to Berlin and reminisce when all my kids loved to play in the sandbox.  

Benjamin had a band concert this week.  It was with all three schools - the upper elementary, middle school, and high school.  Benjamin performed with the symphony band and with the marching band.  The drumline wore white shirt, jeans, and sunglasses rather than the marching band uniform.  You'd think that would be an easy combo, but he'd outgrown his jeans and all his white t-shirts a few months ago and we hadn't bothered to replace them, so I had to buy a new outfit and would have much preferred he wear the uniform!  They all looked good out there, though.  I always like going to his concerts because it's one of the few things he seems to enjoy doing.  Especially the marching band, he always seems happy with them.  Seeing the whole audience rock out to the drumline was pretty fun, too. 

Although I have to admit, being in that packed of an audience gave me the willies after social distancing for so long.  It's the first big gathering I've been to in years now and Kelly and I were both pretty uncomfortable. Luckily we seem to have escaped illness-free.

With Summer coming, I wanted Peter to have a shorter haircut.  I also really wanted a chance to talk to a friend of mine so I called her up and asked if she'd cut Peter's hair.  She said she'd be happy to.  She's a licensed cosmetologist and cuts hair for lots of our friends.  Peter did such a good job.  First haircut by someone other than me and he was a little nervous, but he sat for much longer than I thought he would.  I'm happy with the result.  We came home and had home-made popsicles to celebrate.