Christmas in Lousiana

We traveled down to Lafayette this past week to celebrate Christmas at Noni's little house. Jonas and Gill were excited to visit cousins Nathan and Chris in Arkansas on the way down. We made it all the way to Noni's house (and then back home) in a one-day sprint, arriving near midnight both times.

Some highlights of the trip: presents from Noni (truck for Gill, bristle blocks for Jonas, ornaments, robes), Uncle Dex & Aunt Jen (paper constructable space ship, recycling truck for JD, wind-up clock for Gill), and lots of stocking stuffers from Aunt Desi and Uncle Joel. Aunt Desi even finished Gill's stocking! It's a beautiful match to the one she made for Jonas 3 years ago.

Noni also had a special riding tractor ready for the boys. Despite the rain, we went out for several rides on the tractor. Sadly, only one boy can ride at a time, and Gill is still too young to operate it properly, though that didn't stop him from trying to push his brother off it every chance he got. Jonas was a cautious driver, and only came close to running over Gill when he first got on it.

On Christmas night, we journey to Cindy's house in Opelousas where all of the cousins gathered for a traditional game of "Dirty Santa." We came home with red plastic baskets (the kind you get full of fries and a burger) and a grouchy santa. We had hoped to pop fireworks, but it rained the whole time we were there. We saw Cindy's crew: Cindy, John S., Chelsea and John T. (kids André, Adrienne, and Abbygail), Cala and Shay (kids Jude and Sydney), Lauren & new boyfriend Tommy (kids Shianne and Nathan), Bob & Jan's crew: John G., Rocky & Beth (Owen), Ross & Sara. Desi, Dex, Joel and Noni were there as well. It was a full house. Aunt Cindy still had lots of food left to snack on, plus freshly baked rolls from her square black iron skillet. She had "planted" the best gift in the pile for Dirty Santa - my mother's graduation photo framed in a cheesy 50's car frame.

Some bonus gatherings included a trip to the park where Joe joined us, plus a visit to Old Tyme and Borden's with Angela, Erik, and Mark.

Noni, Joel, and Desi cooked an amazing feast, including seafood gumbo, (paleo) chicken and sausage gumbo, smoked beef and spicy turkey, petite pois, creamed spinach, sweet potato casserole, brussel sprout salad, and more. We ate ourselves sick. Here's a photo of the boys making chocolate chip cookies with Noni.

Random Thoughts

Gill's favorite words: no, truck, up, outside, milk, mama

Jonas' favorite phrases: "No Gill!" "I'm hungry" (but only at 9pm when he's in bed), "Can we go to a park / car wash?", "Want to go for a bike ride."


Jonas' daycare class did an inventory of what each child was most thankful for, in honor of the holidays. While the other kids listed things such as mother, father, baby brother, dog, etc, the words "cakes" was next to Jonas' name. We know that he probably meant cup cakes. And he probably really only meant cup cake icing. Yes, we were totally edged out by sugar and lard.

And he points with his middle finger.

Tried to take the boys to The Muppet Movie. Jonas found it more entertaining to "surf" the seats so we had to leave.

Last night, for his late night snack, Jonas had pickles. I was already in bed and he came to visit me before he went to bed. When I told him he smelled like pickles, he said, "Mama, I'm not a pickle!" When we told him a few days ago that he was plum tuckered out, he said, "Mama, I'm not Tucker! I'm Jonas Vogt!"

The boys had loads of fun over the Thanksgiving holiday, which we spent in Wooster, OH. They played with cousins, ate pie and venison hot dogs, and "drove" Uncle John's tractors. They also met quite a few dogs, played in dog bowls, and fed dogs a variety of foods, including grapes and bacon. A few favorite images from the trip:

Boy Update

Gill's favorite words: no, truck, up, outside, milk, mama

Jonas' favorite words: "No Gill!"

Jonas' daycare class did an inventory of what each child was most thankful for, in honor of the holidays. While the other kids listed things such as mother, father, baby brother, dog, etc, the words "cakes" was next to Jonas' name. We know that he probably meant cup cakes. And he probably really only meant cup cake icing. Yes, we were totally edged out by sugar and lard.

Tried to take the boys to The Muppet Movie. Jonas found it more entertaining to "surf" the seats so we had to leave.

Tricycle

Jonas tore off down the sidewalk on his tricycle last night. He is much more enthusiastic about riding downhill than uphill. Of course, he's giggling and ringing his bell the whole way. I think he may have rung the bell enough to break it.

Solo parenting the Ed Way

Well, Shelly took some well deserved time out from the kids and has visited friends and family this weekend in Washington DC and Baltimore.

I've had a lot of fun with the kids this weekend. Saturday was filled with a lot of hoofin' about. I put the kids in the stroller and explored Brookside with them. I started with a stop at CCCUCC to get some measurements for the South entrance. Jonas helped me measure while Gill wandered about in the plants. After we were done there, we went up to 63rd ostensibly to go to the Grocery. We stopped at the drive up ATM first (in stroller) to get some cash and then went off to the Farmer's Market. After looking around I decided to buy some Okra. I gave a piece to Gill but he tried to eat it from the wrong end. The attendant felt sorry for the boys (or maybe impressed by their good looks) and cut a watermelon for them. Each got a piece. As could be expected, Gill devoured his. Jonas nibbled his.

Next was off to the Grocery. Both boys got a free sandwich on a croissant. That kept them quite happy. They both fell asleep in the stroller on the way home and slept for 2 hours in the foyer.

It stormed that afternoon, so we spent the rest of the afternoon in. Post storm, we went up to the park at Brookside Elementary and played on the equipment. The puddles made it extra fun for the boys.

Other miscellany for the day. Jonas decided that the proper way to eat hot dogs is with multiple combs. Gill has started to bring books for me to actually read versus just flip through.

That is about all right now!

...Harvester of Sorrow

It turns out that Jonas and Gill LOVE Metallica. After dinner I turned on the iPod & when a Metallica song came on, the boys went wild. Jonas started doing some kind of crazy Woodstock kind of dance while attempting to attack the iPod in the same manner that Pete Townsend used to attack amplifiers. Gill started beating on the wall.

Awesome

Vocabulary

Gill now has a firm grasp on saying "momma" and "poppa" - he's been saying "momma" for months now, but we are hearing "poppa" a lot more lately.

Jonas speaks in full sentences, mostly without errors, though his pronunciation is still coming along. We still don't know what a "seek-away" is. The latest variations on pronunciation are "kittles" for skittles (we used them for potty training) and "pamommy." Pamommy is his somewhat confusing terminology for whatever parent is in front of him. He just doesn't get the word started right. On occasion, we hear "mapoppa" but "pamommy" is more prevalent.

Also, Jonas used the urinal at the swimming pool the other day, and he now refers to it as "my urinal."

I love all of this!

The last night of swim lessons for JD is tonight; it was delayed one day due to poop.

Walkers & Swimmers

Jonas, at 3 years and 2 months old, just finished his 2nd swimming class, and has 6 more to go. I’d love to report his accomplishments, but I’m too busy entertaining Gill in the baby pool to keep watch. Ed monitors, taking mental notes for follow-up practice when we vacation in Hot Springs where there will be a pool.

On the way home, Jonas asks to go to a seek-a-way. Sometimes he asks to go to the park, or a doctor’s office, or just an office. I have no idea what the sick-a-way is, so Ed and I tried playing 20 questions. “Are there animals at the sick-a-way? Balloons? Clowns? Cake? Slides?” Jonas replies “no” to each question, stuck in the negative feedback loop of toddlers still teetering on cusp of managing full-blown conversations. It remains a mystery.

Mastering the iPad is Jonas’ most recent technological feat. He is better at it than me, and is quite addicted. I’m ashamed to say that I enjoy the occasional peace it brings the house once Gill is asleep. (Gill is equally obsessed but forbidden from touching it so there is lots of whining and screeching). Jonas’ favorite games are Talking Tom (a cat which yawns, farts, and mimics what you say), Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, Monkey Lunchbox, and various train apps. He laughs out loud most often at Cut the Rope. In fact, his iPad obsession is the very reason I am now able to find quiet time to blog.

Jonas also now makes music requests in the car. Favorites songs are by They Might Be Giants: LMNO and Rolling O. (I like Rolling O myself, quite well actually).

The big news is the potty training success. He has been wearing underwear (Thomas and Mickey patterns) for about a week. Skittles proved to be the most effective motivator. Number one is firmly established, but Number two (the big job) takes us by surprise. I learned that while on my own with the boys at Little Monkey Bizness. What a fun time I had in the ladies restroom trying to balance Jonas on the full sized toilet while Gill cruised under stall walls to greet strangers.

Sadly, Jonas is not brave about trying new foods. He even turned down chocolate pudding this past weekend, even though I smeared some on his lips so he could taste the velvety goodness. (How can this be MY child?) Gill, on the other hand, will try anything and everything you put in front of him. We don’t buy any infant or toddler food for Gill. Except for yogurt (which we don’t eat), he eats everything we eat.

A recent novel experience, for both Jonas and me, involved the Plaza library on a busy Sunday. Gill, Jonas and I stopped in on the way home from Monkey Bizness. My hardheaded toddler refuses to stay near me, and won’t even turn his head when I call his name as he runs off. He “got lost” not once but twice during our 20 minutes there. The 2nd time occurred as I was trying to check out. A librarian and the security guard (an imposingly tall black lady) were walking him through the library looking for his parents; they caught him pressing the metal plate at the exit doors which powers the doors open for disable people. I was alarmed, embarrassed and infuriated all at once. I impulsively asked the security guard to try and impress upon him the gravity of his actions by acting stern with him. I was frustrated that he didn’t seem to listen to me and I kept referring to her as a “police lady,” hoping he would be scared of her. If I thought he would have understood, I would have told him he was going to be arrested. I’m still uptight about the whole thing two days later. Needless to say, I handed Jonas over to his father when we got home.

Gill, at 14 months old, has mastered use of the spoon. Even his daycare teachers comment on it. He refuses to be fed; he must power the spoon on his own. He often gets a full container of yogurt with dinner, and manages to wear only about 1/3 of it.

Crawling continues to be his main method of travel, probably because he gets carried a lot by his parents who are trying to keep up with older brother. At the pool each evening, I try to walk Gill around in the baby section. The concrete surface is rough on his knees and the tops of his feet, so he is somewhat compliant. When he’s not paying attention, he stands on his own, and has taken 3-4 steps before he notices and drops down to all fours. My goals for July of 2011 is to toilet train one and get the other walking. One will make life easier, and the other will make it more complicated again.

All in all, the boys have never been more work or more fun. Ed and I are grateful for each and every moment with them, though we are exhausted. I hope to go to bed soon, and it’s just 9:00 on a Tuesday!

Growing, growing, gone!

Jonas had his 3 year visit with the pediatrician on Tuesday. His weight (30 pounds) puts him in the 40th percentile with his height (37 inches) in the 35th percentile. We are tantilizingly on the cusp of potty training. He will wear underwear, and get to the potty about 50% of the time. The big problem is the poop. He tries to hold it in; we've effectively trumped that strategy with a daily administration of Miralax for the past 8 months. Works like a charm.

Jonas is also talking up a storm (full sentence with mostly accurate syntax and pronoun usage) and I can understand about 85% of what he says. As Ed predicted, he is troubled by the "r" sound. Ed finds it particularly entertaining when he overhears Jonas yelling (and pointing) at ants on the sidewalk, telling them to go away. He experienced his first bee bite while we visiting Steve, Sue and Nathan in Greenwood, Arkansas. The bee landed on his finger while he floated in the pool. Before I could shoo it away, he was crying, and I was pulling out the stinger. Within minutes, though, he was fine. Despite my precautionary administration of a Benedryl, he skipped a nap that day.

Gill is also growing faster than I can measure. I try to cuddle and smooch him every chance I get. He is so adorable with his soft, springy curls, big blue eyes, and the ears that stick out. Not to mention his buck teeth. He has 6 teeth, almost all of which are on one side of his mouth. I can see one renegade tooth breaking through at the top on the other side, though. He is an exceptional child, always smiling first thing after waking, and laughing and happy most of the rest of the day. He's had a fever for the past 24 hours, so I spent the day with him at home today. Ed is on duty tomorrow, and I think we'll get him to the doctor to check him out. Like his older brother, he does seem to struggle a bit with chest congestion, but is otherwise quite fine. Since he had tubes put into his ears, he hasn't been sick very often. Like big brother, he also had his yearly check up with the pediatrician. He is in the 10th percentile for weight, but I have no doubts he'll catch up with the way he eats. I haven't seen him turn away much in the way of food. At his Aunt Cindy's house in Opelousas, he ate catfish courtbouillion with his very own spoon, shoveling it all in as quickly as he could. And that was the day AFTER he pigged out on boiled crawfish!

Finally! I can see evidence of my Cajun heritage in one of my boys!

My Favorite Part of Summer

I walk down the trail in our neighborhood with the boys in the double stroller, their heads bent toward each other. The breeze lifts their hair, both dark blonde, one straight and thick and the other fine and curly. The rhythm of the stroller bounces them together, their shoulders touch, legs overlap, and feet dusty from play hang loosely. Though they often squabble, time in the stroller is usually peaceful; they are distracted by people, dogs, buses, bicycles. I spend the rare quiet time marveling that these two beings are my sons.

Gill Speaks!

Saturday night at Chick Fil'A. Yes, we loaded up the boys and spent almost two hours at Chick Fil'A on Saturday night. They actually had a blast. The playroom was empty and Gill chased Jonas around, even following him high up to the slide, then coming down on his own, sometimes with a helpful push from big brother. He look quite funny coming down the bright yellow plastic slide on this back, his curls springing out from static electricity. His expression was fear and joy rolled into one, ending with little gurgles of laughter.

The best part of the evening was the trip home in the car. The boys were quietly sitting the back seat. Gill made a noise, and I spontaneously mimicked him. He parroted me back. We went back and forth, with me imitating him and vice versa. He would gurgle, then I would gurgle. I would giggle, then he would giggle. Then Jonas said "poppa" and Gill said "poppa." It made Ed immensely happy.

Gill continues to eat almost anything you put in front of him. He never cries when we drop him at daycare. Not to say that he's the perfect child. He will scream in outrage if you take his toy, or some "no no" that he's trying eat. And he is aggressive, taking things from Jonas and pulling his hair.

The Easter Bunny was good to Jonas, bringing him lots of books. His favorite so far is one about wheels (big surprise). He attended two eggs hunts: one with the neighbors on Friday night, and one at church on Sunday morning. Both included generous hauls of sugared loot. We are trying to control the eating, but he is quite a candy freak and there is a lot of whining for more.

Other Easter activities included dyeing eggs and video chatting with Noni. At dinner with the Pattons and Parrain John, we pâqued eggs. The king egg was a nice, bright orange one.

The Lump and his brother, Guitar Man, board the rocket ship Enterprise

Gill eats everything in site. He had tubes put in last Friday, which was amazingly simple and not too invasive. He was given ether gas (no IV) and we were done in an hour. No bleeding, not much apparent discomfort. I couldn't have imagined it, but his appetite improved after surgery. He's not a big drinker (about 12 ounces of formula and breast milk per day) but eats whatever you put in front of him. Especially meat. He is not overly fond of pureed green beans though. But that's about it. We call him "the chunk" and "the lump" (for "sugar lump" from his Grandma Vogt) though he's not that big. He is heavier than Jonas was at that age, though. He's probably about 18 pounds now; Jonas is only 10 pounds heavier but 2 years older. His personality remains so bright, cheerful and pleasant, except when he's mad or wants something.

Gill has begun to climb the stairs and can make it to the very top. This scares me of course. Because of the weird nature of our newel post position, the gate is on the 4th step up, leaving the lower 3 stairs unprotected. Gill will climb these steps then hang on the gate and yell for me. He's rolled down these 3 steps and it scares him. But it doesn't stop him from climbing. We keep sofa cushions at the bottom to cushion him when this happens. In general, the house is in total disarray. So much is in perpetual mess that sofa cushions on the floor don't bother me too much. Well, they do, but it's just easier to leave them there for now.

Snaggle tooth or Four Tooth are also names we have for Gill. He has one upper tooth that seems large, and 3 lower teeth, all in a row. It looks a bit hillbilly to say the least.

Though Jonas sleeps in his room (and has for the past year), he doesn't go down easily. Nightly, we do the "getting Jonas to bed" dance and I'm happy to say that it's getting a smidge bit easier. We start at 8:30, after the bath. He chooses PJs and 3 books. After each book Ed or I will ask, "Now, what are we going to do when we're done with these books?" Like a little soldier, he replies, "Turn off lights, close eyes, go to sleep."

One of my favorite games to play with Jonas is rocket ship. After lights out, we lay flat on our backs, ready to board the rocket ship Enterprise. We choose one or more passengers, strap on seat belts, do the "checks" (I say ignition, Jonas says check, I say fuel, Jonas says check, I say insurance, Jonas says check. No, I'm not very imaginative or authentic, but he doesn't know that yet). Then the countdown (backwards from 10) and then liftoff, which involves shaking the bed. Then silence as we reach space. At that point, we decide where we're going. There are no rules. It can be a planet, or the park. We decide on an activity, or narrate what we see outside the window.

Tonight, Jonas chose to bring Gill along for our space odessey. We flew to Mars where we celebrated his 3rd birthday with a catepillar birthday cake (he remembers this from his party last year), no presents (his request), and playtime at the park.

Because we're exhausted at day's end, we often fall asleep with (or before) Jonas. We wake the next morning feeling befuddled to find ourselves in his room. This happened to Ed the other morning. But what he awoke to made the bunk bed discomfort worthwhile. Jonas opened his eyes, and the first words he uttered that day were "Rock On!"

Lately, he's been playing at being a "Guitar Man." He loves his guitar PJ's and his 3 (yes, three!) play guitars. One looks like a mini version of an acoustic, and the other two are battery operated and highly annoying. I'm not sure where or how he learned the moves, but he straps on those guitars, steps to the beat, strums, works the frets, and wings the whammy bar.

Gill, of course, loves watching all of this. He is in love with his brother, except when he wants what Jonas has. Or when Jonas wants what Gill has. These clashes happen almost all the time that they are in proximity to each other. I'm slowly learning to let them be so they can work it out on their own. When one or the other would yell or cry, I would intervene. (Yes, Gill often makes Jonas cry - mostly with hair pulling) But now I pause and if the crying doesn't exceed about 15 seconds, I let it go. I do feel a bit sorry for Jonas, though, as he spends a lot of time on the bottom step in time out. He has a nasty habit of pushing or head butting Gill, or stealing toys from him.

Pink Anniversary

Jonas has pink nails. He saw me painting my toe nails, and decided that he needed some pink in his life as well. Ed is horrified anew every time he catches a glimpse.

Gill, Jonas and I went over to the Johnson's house to feed Tiga today. The boys had fun exploring Daniella's toy stash, and Jonas sampled Tiga's "Temptation" treats.

Lately, we have been making concerted efforts to get Jonas to playgrounds; he is insatiable with playtime and reading time. Yesterday, we took him to Little Monkey Bizness, an indoor play area for toddlers, and were a little horrified at the level of aggressiveness Jonas exhibits toward other boys. He mostly plays well with girl, but will boss the boys around, and try to prevent them from playing on the same equipment as him.

Gill cut another top tooth this morning; you can barely see the edge of it. We had been calling him "Three Tooth" but now will have to switch to "Four Tooth."

On our 6th anniversary, we had a nice full table. Susan & Allen, plus Helen and Lin all joined us for dinner. We had venison steaks marinated in a Teriyaki glaze, grilled sweet potatoes, and asparagus. Susan brought a good salad and Helen made a delicious dessert. The conversation was lively; they stayed for 4 hours. Both of the boys were delightful. Jonas napped until after dinner was over, and Gill was content in his high chair. They are such joys to us.

What better way to celebrate 6 years of good marriage than with our children and good friends?

A Green Kind of Day

Today was St. Patrick's Day. Since I had the week off (Spring Break), Ed took the day off, we brought the kids to daycare (we have to pay even if they don't go) and went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Compared to N.O. Mardi Gras, it was a bit of a let down. Not many good marching bands, modest floats, no throws. But the Marching Cobras did not disappoint.

When we picked up the boys at 4, Gill was asleep and Jonas whined the whole way home because he wanted to stay at daycare to play outside. I am relieved that they both seem quite content there. The staff all know them, and they no longer cry, or even look miserable, when we drop them off.

After dropping us back home (so Gill could sleep), Ed took Jonas to Arbor Villa Park, where people were drinking beer while their kids played. It's rare in the Midwest for people to relax like this, especially midweek. Thank God for the Irish!

Jonas learned a new word today: Leprechaun. And he loves saying it. And he knows that they are green. And he somehow knows the words to Humpty Dumpty.

And Gill has a new tooth! Upper right. He loves to sit in his high chair and feed himself, and he does not discriminate. All things are edible to him. Tonight's menu included kiwi, beets, green beans, and chicken. Most of it ended up under his butt, as I discovered when I lifted him out of the chair. Then, he had mangos with Greek yogurt, which I feed to him via spoon. I love feeding him, and he loves to eat!

We video chatted tonight with Noni and Aunt Desi. The boys were hyper, very playful, and Jonas hammed it up. He seems to finally be past his bashfulness with video and phone. Later, we called Aunt Desi while in the bath, and Jonas stood up and jumped around, right there in the tub. It got a little crazy.

The eyes of the beholder...

We have an older vacuum and I've run over the cord several times. This leaves some hot spots - areas of exposed wire. Because the boys are always at my feet, I often involve them in my household chores. After running the vacuum this past weekend, I decided to wrap the hot spots with electrical tape. Jonas sat with me on the stairs as I did this. At each point in the process, I explained what I was doing. "See this Jonas? It's called a power cord. These little spots have to be taped. And this special black tape is called electrical tape. Help me wrap it around the power cord." That's about how it went.

It was all normal and boring until Jonas took at piece of the tape, looking at it in true wonder. Then he said to me in a hushed voice, "It's beautiful Mama!"

That's when I felt the spirit of his grandpa Bill.

One day, he'll learn about his electrician roots, and especially about Grandpa Bill. He and his brother will always have answers to questions about electricity. There are lots of teachers in the family...their papa, Uncle Greg, Cousin Kyle. Even great Uncle Carl can teach them about nuclear energy.

The almost 3 magician

This is the scene at tonight's dinner table....

While sitting on his bench at the table, Jonas, who is now almost 3, spills the entire contents of a closed and sealed sippy cup UNDER the table. And then, only 3 minutes later and within seconds of clean-up, he then spills a closed container of yogurt in the VERY SAME LOCATION.

How sad that his mother mother has nothing better to blog about on a Friday night.

Oh, and there's a(nother) mouse about the house.