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.