Happy Halloween

This was supposed to be posted on Sunday, but I messed something up, so here is a belated Halloween post.

Last night Jason, Sam and I carved pumpkins. Matthew was already in bed, as he went to bed at 5:15. Sam actually put his hands in the pumpkin and pulled out seeds and other innards without so much of a cringe, but he still preferred to unsuccessfully use a spoon. Jason preferred to do his carving with power tools and it's not to hard to tell which two pumpkins he was responsible for.

We're going trick-or-treating to a few houses around the neighborhood with our friend Emily and her mom, Heidi tonight. If I can get some good pictures I will post them later.

Trip to IA

Last weekend the kids and I went to IA for a few days to visit our IA kin and enjoy some time on the farm. It was interesting traveling with two little ones. On the trip down, Matthew became quite unhappy with just under an hour to go and we had to take a break. On the way back to MN, Sam became unhappy and we drove right through it. Sleeping in the same room went pretty well. Sam actually slept in a walk-in closet, where he was quite happy and of course, slept like a rock as always. Matthew had two mediocre nights and one night which was his best sleep in maybe three months. He was sleeping so well that I really welcomed his early morning cry at a little after 5. 

We arrived on Thursday and it wasn't until Saturday that Sam warmed up enough to get into the cab of the new tractor. Or maybe it was that he was more interested in playing with the cats instead of the tractor. When Grandma Sue finally got him up the ladder into the cab, he had a great time and enjoyed playing in the tractor with his cousins, Blakely and Blaze. This week we've been hearing chants of "Shut the door! Shut the door!" from Sam as that was what the kids chanted at one point when they wanted privacy in the tractor cab. When they emerged from the tractor cab Grandpa Don drove up in his four-wheeler, which incited extreme shaking, but no crying from Sam. He clearly did not want to ride the four-wheeler. In Sam's world, tractors, construction trucks and the like are good in miniature and when they don't work, but the real deal is quite scary and overwhelming. 

For the most part, Matthew kept to his early bedtime of 6, but stretched it out to 6:45 on one evening. The evenings were filled with commotion as when the cousins under age 3 (Sam, Blakely and Sophia) get together it is a squeal and chase fest. They run from one end of the house to the other, in and out of rooms, squealing and laughing. I think the parents enjoy the activities, but it might be a little noisy and annoying to other family members who are used to more subdued evenings. Matthew slept through it all for the most part, preferring to do his waking up in the late evening/early morning hours.

Mobile Matthew

Well, Matthew has started to move around using the rock-n-scoot method. This involves rocking his upper body forward and backward and slowly shuffling forward by putting more emphasis on the forward motion. He usually is pretty successful for a few rocks, then gets over-excited and rocks himself too far backward, at which point he topples over. Sam did not use this method of locomotion. He was pretty immobile, except for rolling, for eight months (and couldn't even really sit up until then), and then put it all together (sitting, crawling and pulling up) over a two week period. But Matthew is already scooting about one foot. And that's his progress over the past two days. It's ingenious how babies come up with these things. My desktop wallpaper is a picture of the two kids from when Matthew was around one month old. And now he is doing the rock-n-scoot.

To celebrate Jason's last day of his two week vacation from work we went to the Children's Museum today. I was mentioning to Jason that it's strange that it's called a museum because it is really four stories of imaginative play area. There's a kid-sized town with a metro bus, grocery store, doctor's office and things like that, a water works plant, electric plant, nature area, and a special toddler/baby play area. Maybe museums stimulate the intellect and that's what the connection is? In the past I've spent around 2-3 hours there with Sam and some other mom and kid friends. However, I think Jason was ready to head out after maybe 45 minutes. He found studying the parenting culture very interesting, but I think that was all. Well, maybe he also enjoyed Sam's dancing exhibitions in front of the blue screen with music. Matthew was fairly entertained in the baby area with all the mirrors and some other stuff that seems to be interesting to babies. We stayed for about 1.5 hours (my shortest trip ever) and Jason complained about the crowd. He doesn't know what a crowded Children's Museum looks like. It's like the Mall of America on Black Friday, except for everyone is under 8 and has parents hovering nearby. The museum was so quiet this afternoon it was practically a library. Not once did we have to crowd in the larger-than-average elevator with four other strollers and associated parents and walking toddlers. Not once did I worry about Sam getting run over by unaware and reckless older kids. I'm sure Jason will have many more Children's Museum trips to look forward too as it is right next to where his new job is at, even sharing a parking ramp. I'm planning plenty of late afternoon excursions for our family's enjoyment.

Costumes and hugs

Last night's costume party at church was a lot of fun. Sam got 2nd place in the costume contest for his age group, behind a cute little mermaid. Jason stayed home with Matthew, who, of course, was already asleep. Unfortunately, our electricity went out at 5:30 or so and Jason was in the dark, literally, for once. The first picture is at the church, I was dressed as Gilligan. After unsuccessfully finding something for myself yesterday morning, I came home and told Jason I had nothing to dress up as and he surprised me his old Gilligan costume (red shirt and white hat). It was easy enough. Maybe in future years we will get more creative. If we decide to go out with the kids over the weekend, Matthew is going to be a pumpkin as some friends handed down their pumpkin costume. It's a little snug on the big guy, but will work for the short term.

Yesterday afternoon, Sam wanted to hold Matthew so I had Sam sit down on the couch and placed Matthew on his lap. They quickly toppled into the pillow next to them, neither was perturbed, and both appeared to be having fun. Then Sam wanted to give Matthew a bear hug as that is his "thing" these days. Matthew wasn't so pleased with that show of affection.

Matthew's longest morning nap ever

Since Jason was home this morning, I decided I would go out without the kids and find Sam a costume for our church's costume party tonight. I've been trying to give Jason some more opportunities to develop his appreciation for life at home with the kids. I put Matthew down for a nap around 8:15 and headed out. After searching 4 stores, I ended up with a walrus costume for Sam. Not exactly what I was looking for (I wasn't really sure what I was looking for), but it will work and Sam sure looks cute in it although he doesn't like the tusks hanging over his forehead.

When I returned around 10AM, Matthew was still napping. So Matthew took (and is still taking as of 10:38AM) his longest unassisted morning nap ever, under Jason's watch. Matthew's longest unassisted afternoon nap was a few weeks ago when I met a friend on a Sunday afternoon and he slept for over 2 hours. He is clearly in cahoots with Jason in thwarting my plan to give Jason quality time with the kids.

Shortly after I returned, I went upstairs with a load of clean laundry and began folding it on the bed. As I was folding some sheets, Sam took a pair of thick, fuzzy white socks that I wear to bed sometimes, hugged them, and ran with them down the hall, yelling "My lovey! My lovey!" At least that's what it sounded like he was saying. I suspect they reminded him of his Beloved. He went into the guest room where Jason was working on the computer, then emerged back into the hallway. I commanded, "Bring the socks back here." I've been a little annoyed by the toddler drag-and-drop routine and am working on getting him to return his grabbed objects back to their proper place, which in case of the socks, is on the floor right beside my bed. Sam said, "No." I repeated my command. "Bring the socks back here." He then placed the socks in his right hand and reached far back and threw them about 5 feet down the hallway. I stifled a laugh and went into the bathroom so he wouldn't see me. Moments later he came into the bathroom with the socks.

It's 10:46. Matthew is still napping. Jason is leaving to meet his new boss for lunch in a few minutes and I'm sure Matthew will wake up right about then.

Kiss it mommy!

This afternoon I bought some Doritos at the grocery store. I bought the regular flavor for myself and Sam and a flavor called "third degree burn" for Jason. We sampled them for an afternoon snack, and Jason was surprised at the hotness of his chips. We then put them away into the pantry. Later on, when I was making dinner, Sam got into the pantry and pulled out a few of the "third degree burn" chips and quickly put one into his mouth and immediately started wimpering and crying. I hurriedly got him some milk. Still crying, he said, "Kiss it mommy! Kiss it mommy!" I looked at his drooly, dorito covered lips and wondered, where do I kiss? I kissed his cheek and told him to drink his milk. The episode calmed down and I tried the chips too and immediately needed a drink. They were put up higher in the pantry.

After dinner we were cleaning up and Sam was messing around and accidentally ran into the cabinet, leading with his mouth. So he injured his lips and started crying. He came to me and wanted to be picked up, so I held him, then he stuck out his lips and said "Kiss it mommy." Here we go again. I planted a light kiss on his little lips and he was healed.

Tonight is the big Vikings/Packers game so Jason asked Sam who he wanted to win the game. Sam said the Packers. He asked again and received the same response. Then Jason asked, "Sam, who do you want to win the Vikings/Packers game?" Sam replied, "Vikings," then changed his response to "Packers." Jason thought Sam's responses had something to do with the order the teams were mentioned. So Jason slowly said, "Sam, who do you want to win the Vikings Packers game?" Still Packers. I told him that Mommy wanted the Vikings to win and asked him if he wanted the Vikings or Packers to win. Still Packers. Hmmmm. Our pro football indoctrination is not going well.

Extended time with my three Kirchhoff men

Jason is home for 2 weeks as he is between jobs right now. This morning Matthew woke around 6:30, so I got up with him, played for awhile on the polar bear ramp thing, then got ready for the day, then packed Matthew into the van for a trip to the coffee shop. Jason and Sam were still sleeping. It was around 7:30 when we left. I got a seasonal fru-fru drink and Jason's tall dark roast. When I returned Jason was awake, Sam was still sleeping. Sam is quite the sleeper these days. To bed around 7:30PM, wakes up around 7:30 or 7:45AM, and I haven't had to check on him at night in probably a month or two.

Then after breakfast Jason was making the most of his extended family time and read some stories with the kids. Sam also has frequently been asking to play "Red guys, blue guys" (i.e. Halo) and Jason gives him a controller without batteries and the two of them play. Sam is mesmerized by the game and pushes the buttons on his controller occasionally. The men have also spent a fair amount of time playing on the John Deere (while it's off, of course).

While I was making dinner (at a normal dinner preparation hour!) Jason was playing with Matthew on the floor. He was making a small blanket with a bear head dance and sing. He was singing something like, "I'm a bear without a body, I don't have any legs, I'm a bear without a body." Apparently Matthew was smiling at Jason's efforts. Matthew smiles frequently, though his laughs are hard to come by. He really makes you work for it. Anyway, Jason isn't much of a baby person, so I'll give him credit for trying.

Sam and Matthew have also been playing together more. Jason plays this game with Sam called, "Hold on Sam!" It involves Sam riding on Jason's back while crawling on the floor. So today Matthew was lying on the floor and Sam came over to him and said, "Hold on Sam!" while leaning over Matthew's back. Matthew was smiling and loving the attention from his brother. Sorry about the low quality pic.

Sunday morning

A little after 6 Matthew starts making noise. He hasn't gotten up since 10ish last night, so he must be hungry. I start stirring and then Jason offers to bring the little one in to the bed for his breakfast. A few moments later, Matthew is happily eating and Jason is snoring again. I return Matthew to his crib when he's done and hope to squeeze in another 45 minutes or so of sleep. Minutes later I hear a thumping sound and know that Matthew is lifting up his legs and slamming them down in his crib. So I get up and get him out of the crib, thinking that since he's getting up earlier, he will take a nap before church, as church is during his morning nap time.

It is 6:35. I change his clothes and put on a new shirt we got from the Children's Place. He hardly gets new clothes these days as Sam's stuff mostly fits him. We start playing with a little polar bear track thing that balls roll down. After a few minutes I decide to get myself ready for church. We go into the bathroom, Matthew goes into the bouncy seat and I put on make up and fix my hair. I showered last night, so that is not part of this morning's routine. Matthew mostly plays with the tag on his bouncy seat and not the hanging down toys above his head. He loves tags. I then hear Sam starting to make some noise next door and decide I'd better get him up before he wakes Jason.

It is 6:50. I quickly grab my church clothes, pick up Matthew and head into Sam's room. He says "Get out," meaning that he wants to get out of the crib. With Matthew on one hip, I pull Sam out of the crib. I'm still holding onto my church clothes too. I grab a pair of pants and a shirt for Sam, then go into the hall to the top of the stairs and throw all the clothing down the stairs. Sam stands at the top of the stairs wanting to hold my hand as he goes down. He then sees his bus in the bathroom, which he had played with last night during his bath and heads in the bathroom and fills his arms with his bus, fire engine and a few other cars. We then return to the top of the stairs and Sam hands me the fire engine as he can't hold onto all the vehicles and hold my hand too. I hand Matthew the fire engine and he plays with it on the way down the stairs.

It is a little after 7. We're all down the stairs. I put Matthew on the floor to play awhile and change Sam's clothes. I then pick up my church clothes from off the floor and head to the bathroom to put them on. Time for breakfast. I decide to make oatmeal and get it started cooking on the stove. Matthew starts fussing, so I pick him up and put him in the jumperoo which is in the kitchen. Sam is playing with his bus, fire engine and back hoe digger. I then run out to grab the paper.

It is 7:20. Matthew starts fussing, so I put him in the sling on my hip, so I can have my hands somewhat available to finish up breakfast. I get the coffee ready in the coffee maker and Sam brings his stool over to push the start button. I get out the brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins and Sam climbs into his chair. I put Sam's oatmeal in a little bowl, then into the fridge to cool it off. Sam is pacified with some raisins for awhile. He LOVES raisins. I mix up my oatmeal concoction and check on Sam's. It is cool enough for him to eat, so I add some cinnamon, raisins and brown sugar to his too. I then get some milk for him and mix in some "Chalk-it!!!" (chocolate).

It is 7:45. We sit down to breakfast. Matthew is still on my hip, but I can tell he's getting tired. Breakfast is peaceful, as long as Sam's raisin supply doesn't diminish. At around 7:55, Matthew starts yawning, so I decide it's time for his nap. I give Sam some more raisins to keep him occupied while I'm upstairs with the little one and head up. I feed Matthew a little and rock for a few minutes and his eyelids get heavy. I hear a crash downstairs and wonder what Sam did. I'm envisioning toys covered in oatmeal and a huge mess. Matthew goes into the crib and is quickly out.

It is 8:00, once downstairs I see that the crash was only Sam's empty plastic plate which fell to the floor. Sam is still happily eating his raisins and oatmeal. I hear Jason upstairs, sounds like he may be showering. Sam starts asking for daddy and heads up the stairs to find him. I empty the clean dishes from the dishwasher and put the empty breakfast dishes in it. A few minutes later Jason and Sam come down the stairs and I pour Jason a cup of coffee and hand it to him. I then mix up my own coffee concoction of warmed whole milk, coffee and vanilla syrup. It is 8:15.

Matthew's morning nap

Matthew's morning nap has provided Sam and I with some together time that we don't get a lot of these days. So today Matthew was starting to get fussy around 9:15. I told Sam that I was going to put Matthew down for a nap and that I would be back shortly to read some stories with him. He followed me up the stairs with Matthew and I was prepared for havoc to ensue. I started rocking Matthew. Sam started trying to climb in the crib, so I thought we'd quietly play the game of "Where's BaaBaa?" The key to toddler behavior is distraction. Anyway, I knew exactly where BaaBaa was, he was in my sweatshirt pocket, but Sam didn't know that. I told Sam to go find BaaBaa. Matthew was still rocking. His eyelids were getting heavy, but he still needed some more rocking. Sam ran into his room and said, "Where BaaBaa at??" He came back into Matthew's room and I told him to go look in Jason and my bedroom. Before Sam returned from that little trip, Matthew was successfully in his crib, nearly asleep and I was able to sneak out his door and shut it.

So then I changed sheets on the other beds, Sam and I read a few stories, I mopped the floor where Sam had spilled some milk from breakfast, got Sam into some new socks and jeans (also because of the spilled milk), and we headed outside. We kicked a bouncy ball around awhile, then Sam hit it with his baseball awhile, then we watered the plants along the deck and in the front of the house and raked some leaves. Sam mostly pushed his rake into the leaves which I raked, spreading them out a bit. He also did a fair amount of jumping and reveling in the joy of the leaf pile. Oh to be young again.

Then this evening I was making dinner while Matthew was playing in the jumperoo. When I finished I hid on one side of the kitchen island, out of Matthew's view and popped out, saying "Peek a boo!!!" Matthew was delighted and laughed and laughed and laughed. I've never heard him laugh like that before and I responded with plenty of laughs of my own. I'm not sure who was more delighted of the two of us, but it was definitely a memorable moment. I wished I could record his laugh and play it over and over again. After our peek a boo session, I decided it was time to try some solids with the little guy. He's been showing the signs of readiness, so I strapped him into the booster seat, gave him a bib and mixed up some rice cereal. He seemed to take to it fairly well, gave a few disgusted looks, but then eagerly grabbed the spoon whenever it came his way. I'm not sure if he just wanted to chew on the spoon (as he's been chewing on EVERYTHING lately) or if he wanted more rice cereal. I can't believe he is growing so quickly.

Random acts this week

Over the weekend I was having Matthew practice standing up along the side of the ottoman. He would hold on to the ottoman and stand up all by himself, so then we decided to try having Matthew stand up while Sam held his hands. Both kids loved it and it was a real treat to see the kids interacting so happily. Sam has been paying more attention to Matthew lately, and, of course, Matthew always pays attention to him. We've even been working with Sam on sharing some of his toys with Matthew. The other day I asked Sam to pick out a car to share with Matthew and he brought Matthew a little airplane that he doesn't play with much. Typical toddler. Then today he was sharing all sorts of cars with Matthew!

Here is Matthew engaged in his new favorite activity: sitting up. He can sit completely by himself for quite a long time (maybe 10 minutes???) and needs only pillows to catch the occasional tumble. I'm sure he enjoys seeing the world from a different vantage point. Another of Matthew's favorites these days: paper. He likes to grab it, crumple it, chew it (as he does everything). We have to watch the little guy closely to make sure he doesn't eat any. While reading books, Matthew is always grabbing at the pages and attempting to put his mouth on them, much to the annoyance of Sam who says, "No Matthew!" and tries to turn the page.

Earlier this week I peeled and cut up a bunch of apples I had purchased to try out an apple cake recipe. As I was peeling the apples and setting them on my cutting board, Sam pulled over one of the tall chairs that we have at our island, sat on it, then opened the silverware drawer and started pulling out all of his forks, which he then stuck into the peeled apples. Afterward, he counted his forks and blew on them, saying they were birthday candles.

Potty reading list

Our journey through potty training has taken us away from the physical act of using the potty, and back into diapers for a time, while we work on the intellectual aspects of bodily functions and wastes. Therefore, in an effort to lessen Sam's fear of pooing, I checked out a few books from the library which deal with the issue. I had no idea there were such books out there, but there certainly are and believe me, there is no shortage of such books. Here are some of Sam's favorites.

The first one is called "Where's the poop?" hy Julie Markes. Each page has a different animal and there are a number of flaps for children to open in an attempt to find the poop.

The next one is called "Everyone poops" by Taro Gomi and it has all sorts of animals with their poo.

Both books try to make the point that pooing is okay and nothing to be afraid of, it's a completely normal process. I think the intellectual training is actually working for Sam. While he still is somewhat scared when doing the deed, he now gets excited when it's all done and wants to see what he produced and flush it.

Grocery store strategy

Today we went to the grocery store. A trip to the grocery store with two little ones is no easy task. Prior to the trip, I must decide whether the time of day is suitable to a trip with the two kids. Are both well rested? Are we likely to have any nasty diaper incidents? Have the kids eaten? Are they in good moods otherwise? Will it be busy? How long will we have to wait in the checkout line?

Today's forecast was good, so we commenced preparations for the trip. This includes: diaper changes. Getting drink and snack ready (even if the kids just ate, having drink/snack with are part of the overall strategy of a successful grocery store trip). Getting Matthew in the carseat, along with 1-2 toys and a blanket and hat, depending on the outdoor weather. Getting Sam ready: shoes on, coat/sweatshirt, pants, socks, whatever clothing he needs that he doesn't have on either because 1) we haven't gotten fully dressed yet or 2) he took it off or 3) he needs a different shirt/pants/socks because they got dirty between when he got dressed and when we leave. And some books, toys or other items to take with us for the car ride and inside the store. Getting me ready. Go to the bathroom, find purse, keys, phone, coupons, grocery list, get on shoes, coat. Check my hair.

Ok, we make it out of the house and into the car without event. I nearly always forget my reusable grocery bags, but at least I have my purse, keys and the two children. The drive over there involves looking for school buses and other construction trucks to make the trip interesting.

Upon arrival at the grocery store, Sam asks, "Car cart???" Months ago I made the mistake of introducing him to the car carts. The carts with little cars in the front with steering wheels and a little squeaky horn. I get Matthew out of the car first, hoist the car seat out of the car and onto my right arm. Then I get Sam out. The car seat gets set on the ground by Sam's door while I get Sam out. This usually involves some delays as Sam has dropped his toys or drink in the middle of the van, so I must reach over him and grab the misplaced items. He's finally out, then I struggle to hold Sam's hand and carry the little one through the parking lot until we get into the store and get a cart. Sam likes to stop and jump on the rocks in the parking lot and I convince him to move on by telling him about the car cart waiting inside. This averts screaming, crying or going boneless.

There is a car cart when we get inside. Sam climbs into the car part, while I put Matthew into the basket. Groceries go into the seat and on the bottom rack of the cart. While the car carts are fun, the buckles are always broken, so there is no way to keep Sam inside the car during the trip.

This is when the grocery shopping become strategic. First strategy: speed. Move through the store as fast as I can. Thus, my grocery list is organized by store section and there are no diversions, browsing or splurge purchases. Strategy two: give Sam something to hold onto. Today it was a coupon, which he abandoned eventually, then it was chocolate chips. Strategy three: periodically ask Sam to honk the horn in the car. This meets with limited effectiveness and usually only works for the first minute or two in the store. Strategy four: give Sam something to "help me find." Today it was the milk, then car vitamins. Strategy five: speed. Keep moving quickly. Strategy six: smile and touch Matthew occasionally, appreciating his immobility and baby cuteness. This helps with my sanity. Strategy seven: when Sam gets out of the cart, give him a stern, "Back into the car!" while keeping the voice low enough as to not draw attention. Strategy eight: physically put Sam back into the car. This is not fun as he usually turns into the plank. Strategy nine: distract Sam with his drink or snack or toys.

Then it's on to checkout. We find the shortest line possible and Sam starts loading the groceries onto the conveyor belt. He LOVES doing this and it is his favorite part of the trip. While checking out, Sam starts climbing on the stacks of softener salt or charcoal. This usually keeps him occupied until we pay and make our way out the door. Then we get packed up and head home. On the way home today, Sam said "I lost a shoe. I lost a shoe, at the grocery store." He had lost a shoe in the car cart. Fortunately, I saw it before we left and put it in one of the grocery bags. The drive home involves a slightly different route as I see an excavator and two skid steers on another street, so we do a drive by to Sam's delight.

Time for cry-it-out

After the episode Tuesday when the Reluctant Napper was napping short and cranky in-between, I decided it was time for some serious "cry-it-out" action. He would nap for 30-45 minutes, then be awake for 45 minutes, then be ready for another nap, which means that his first nap just wasn't long enough. I know that I've mentioned that I've been trying to let him cry it out, but in reality, I would let him cry for a few minutes, then go in and give him the pacifier, roll him over, or just give up and get him up. But that all changed on Wednesday.

I earnestly determined that I would not attempt to ameliorate Matthew's wake ups with pacifiers, rolling over, rocking or anything else. He was going to nap for at least an hour without any assistance. Thus, when Matthew woke up from his morning nap Wednesday after 40 minutes, I turned down the monitor, put on some classical music and held back my tears while he cried and cried and cried and cried. After 10 minutes, still crying. And it wasn't a little sob here and there, it was almost constant wailing. I turned the classical up and frantically cleaned the kitchen to divert my mind and ears from the onslaught of wailing from my little determined one. After 15 minutes more, there was silence. He was back to sleep and remained so for almost an hour. The afternoon nap was basically the same.

On Thursday, after 45 minutes of a morning nap, he cried for maybe 10 minutes, then fell asleep for another hour. The afternoon nap was similar.

On Friday, after a 1.5 hour morning nap, he woke up and was good to go. Then in the afternoon, he woke 45 minutes into his nap, cried for 2 minutes and continued to sleep for another 1.5 hours.

Wow. While the wailing was heart-wrenching, he is now napping so well and hardly crying at all. I am so excited and hope this good trend continues. As with anything baby-related, however, things can change overnight when they're growing and developing so rapidly. Regardless, these days I'm almost in tears because I'm so relieved that he is napping so well.

Our daily walk

I've mentioned previously that we go on frequent walks on a paved path near our house. Yesterday I decided to bring along the camera and take some photos of our journey. We do a loop that's maybe 2 or 3 miles and finish up at the playground near our house. To keep Sam content to sit for the first part of the journey, we have a number of favorite sites along the way including the library and the train tunnel and we sometimes play "I spy" to pass the time. He's fairly patient in the stroller as he knows we finish up with throwing rocks and a stop at the playground.

The first two pics are of the kids and the gear. Packing up everyone and everything (including snack, drink, blankets, toys, spare clothing, garage door opener, sunglasses) usually takes around 15 to 20 minutes. Then we are off!





Here are some scenic pictures of our walk. 

Sam at our rock throwing site

An action shot of rock throwing, check out the rock in mid-air!

At our final destination, the playground!

The train tunnel

Rejection

I have experienced my first of what I'm sure will be many occasions of physical rejection from Sam. When I change the kids' diapers, I make it a point to shower them with kisses and nose rubs and other affectionate gestures. However, this morning when I went to change Sam's diaper (which he told me was "poopy" but was completely clean and dry...) I was peppering him with kisses when he started cringing and said, "Icky." What's icky?" I asked, expecting something about his diaper. Then he said "Mommy icky." Oh.

Kisses and sharing

Lately Matthew has become quite the kisser. When he's in the right mood, he will turn to you with his mouth wide open, grab your face and lay a big, slobbery kiss on your cheek. It's actually a combination of sucking and licking, so it tickles a little bit, but it's so sweet. What an affectionate guy! He may have gotten his father's romantic genes.

Although we haven't been working too much with Sam on sharing as I've read that kids this age just don't get it, on occasion we do talk about it. Generally when Sam is playing with another child, we have to talk about sharing eventually, as there are usually shouts of "mine!" or grabbing toys out of each other's hands at some point during playtime. So yesterday morning Matthew was playing with a toy dinosaur (I don't know why I had to describe the dinosaur as a toy, isn't that obvious?) and Sam came over to him, took it away and yelled "Share!!!" I can see our attempts at sharing are having an impact on him.

Typical meal prep

My little reluctant napper went down for a nap at 12:30. Sam and I finished our lunch, then I cleaned up and started chopping some ham and potatoes for our casserole/hot dish for supper, which I was prepping and going to put into the fridge to bake later this evening. Since Matthew's bedtime is 6PM and the hour prior is mostly devoted to bathing, feeding and otherwise getting the little guy ready for bed, I try to do most of my meal prep and cooking during the day, so that in the evening I just have to set the table and heat things up. After a few minutes of meal prep, I decided to read with Sam and leave the ham chopping for nap time. We read a few books, then a little after 1PM Sam went down for his nap.

At that time, I went in to check on Matthew. I've read that if babies typically wake up in a predictable fashion (for example, after 45 minutes of nap) that you can go in and rock them, or give them a pacifier, whatever you do to soothe them to sleep, before they start waking up and this gets them through the wake up and they can rest some more. So I watch Matthew for a few minutes. He still has his pacifier, so that's a good sign. He's wiggling around some, but then he calms down for a minute or two. So I leave and go to the computer in the room down the hall. Moments later I hear him cry. I pick him up and start rocking him. I try not to make eye contact, as that is stimulating for babies, but eventually I look down and see the upturned corners of his mouth peeking out from his pacifier in a smile, and he is fully awake. It is 1:15.  He napped for 45 minutes, as always, and is ready to go again.

We play in his room for awhile and then head downstairs. As I walk past Sam's room I hear him talking. I don't know who he's talking to or what it's about, but he's talking. It is 1:45. I briefly entertain the thought of getting him up, but realize there are over 3 hours until Jason gets home and I have no errands to run and 3 hours of two kids awake is just too much for me right now. I figure Sam will go back to sleep soon, so we proceed on. I put Matthew on the floor with a few toys and return to the ham chopping and meal prep. It is 2PM. He plays for a few moments, then starts fussing and crying again, clearly tired. I quickly cut up some more ham then wash my hands then return to the little guy. I hold him and rock for a few moments, his eyes get heavy, then he's out. Back into the crib for another try at a nap. It is 2:30.As I walk past Sam's room, there is silence.

Back to the ham and meal prep. By 2:50, dinner is ready to be baked in the oven in typical hot dish style, at 350 for 1 hour.

Some busy days

Well, where to begin. First of all, on Thursday we had our neighbor friends over to play. Emily, who is 2 mo. younger than Sam came over with her mom, Heidi and the kids played in the sandbox and as you can see from the picture, pushed each other around on the tricycle in our backyard. There are always a few shouts of "mine" when the two play together, otherwise they get along really well and we have lots of fun together.

On Friday Jason's brother and his family were in town, and in the evening, Sam's cousin Conner came to play for awhile. Conner is 2 1/2, so a little older than Sam. One of the favorite activities of the evening involved Conner riding the little bulldozer around the kitchen island and Sam chasing him as he pushed the dump truck. Sam would get Conner cornered and start ramming the back of the bulldozer, all with shouts and squeals of delight. Although neither child cried or seemed overly frustrated, I think Sam was somewhat perturbed that Conner had commandeered the riding bulldozer for the evening and would not relinquish control. Thus, the ramming action going on between the two vehicles. 

For dinner we had tater tot casserole/hot dish. Actually, the kids had "tater tot" and Jason and I had "casserole/hot dish". Or just "hot dish". According to Wisconsinhistory.org, hot dish is a "casserole-like food common in the Midwest; normally consists of a starch, a meat, and a vegetable mixed together with a sauce, often canned soup." I've heard people respond to the question, "What are you bringing for the potluck?" with "Hot dish." What exactly does that mean?  "Hot dish" as a stand alone entity just doesn't mean much. We never said "hot dish" when I was growing up, it was always casserole, which is of French origin. I guess us IA folk are more cosmopolitan that those upper-Midwestern folk. Regardless, the kids picked off the tater tots and our leftovers consisted of 1/4 of a dish of casserole and maybe three tater tots. I thought about making extra tater tots, but did not. I certainly will in the future.

On Saturday a nearby suburb had a "touch a truck" day and had a parking lot full of construction, fire, police and military trucks for the kids to climb into and check out. There was also a community garage sale and I picked up a booster seat for Matthew as he will be starting solids soon. He's recently shown some interest in food as he watches us eating very closely and tries to grab our spoons, forks, or other food items directly off of our plates. In fact, tonight he was trying to grab Grandpa Kirchhoff's beer bottle. He is revealing his true Kirchhoff heritage.