Little tongue

Luke has been sticking his tongue out all day. Love that little tongue!

"Pime-Out" Stroller

I used to refer to Jack as a little "wild card." In the most endearing way possible, of course. But lately, I think he has moved past that. I take him into the library on his own two feet instead of in the stroller, and he stays with me and does great. When I give him a direction, I no longer dread the imminent disobedience and discipline. 

I am not sure what exactly to attribute this to....he's getting older, his speech is improving, and/or we've changed our disciplinary approach with him. He used to receive multiple spankings a day (so sad now to think about it!), but it clearly was not speaking his language. He has not had a spanking in about 2 months, and instead he has embraced "my stroller," as Jack now calls it. 

Whenever he disobeys, I strap him into the umbrella stroller in the bathroom or laundry room (depending on the floor we are on). He stays there 5 minutes with the door shut, and then comes out good as new. I think we finally stumbled upon something that matters to him. He can't be an audience to the rest of us (like the old time-out spot), and we don't have to spank the sweet little guy. 

He is getting the sleep he needs, thanks to the stroller, too. When he gets out of bed, I put him in the laundry room. Within minutes, he's asleep...

I transfer him to his bed, and he has a great nap. This whole process has become less necessary lately, but I am so thankful to have found something to gives him what he needs.

Naked tummy time

Luke has figured out how to rest himself in his elbows....prime position to roll over. However, I think he likes it so much that he doesn't want to attempt a roll. Doesn't he know that I want to go ahead and chalk this one up as a victory! I'm sure the velvety blanket against his soft bare tummy is pretty nice...can't really blame Luke here!

Construction Fans

This was our morning....just like the last 4 days....  I think the workers are starting to get a soft spot in their hearts for us. They have started bringing their trucks right up to us.  One guy stretched out the excavator scoop over our heads, another brought a bulldozer right up to the fence and stopped, waving to the guys. And more than once they have told me that the cost is $5. It would totally be worth it.

So naturally, this was the scene when we got home...

Vivid Imaginations

The boys have been playing so creatively lately! But I have to admit, this is not at all up my alley. I much prefer an activity like going on a walk or reading books. I know it is so good for them to use their imaginations, so I am so glad both Calvin and Jack enjoy using theirs despite my own lack of one. 

The fire truck

The fire truck is a permanent fixture these days,  upgraded recently with the addition of the vacuum attachment hose and a yellow "fireman's coat."  The fire hats have also undergone some needed repair, but the bucket that Dan and Luke are sitting in has to be the most exciting addition.  I love the buy-in that Cal and Jack have....Jack is so excited to be on the road to a fire that he has to yell and can't sit still. Calvin intently makes his "VRRRR" fire truck noises perched in the driver seat....I mean, where else would Calvin be?

 I kind of feel like Luke and I have similar roles in this scenario...

It's Broken!

Jack in particular has been fixing things since he "helped" Daddy fix the garage door and the sink.  Here was tonight's scenario. "The door is broken, mommy!!" (Me: Do you need to fix it?) "Uhh-huh." followed by a scampering to the door with Cal in his wake. 

At one point Jack came over to me to say that he was scared of the door because he thought it would fall down. I love that little guy's imagination!

Calvin really did have something to fix later when he drew all over the kitchen wall with a (thankfully washable) orange crayon.  He worked like a dog to scrub it off with the sponge, and it worked. At the beginning he kept saying, "This won't take long." But after a while he changed his tune to, "This is going to take a long time." 

Stories

Cal and Jack have always loved stories, and lately it has escalated to storytelling. They often ask me to tell them stories during the day. Jack takes them so seriously that he'll now randomly stop while eating to exclaim, "Look! A monster,"  pointing into the backyard. I guess I need to be careful about my story material (I thought orange and purple monster were benign enough!). Maybe they are getting it from books, though.  Cookie monster is certainly a favorite of both.

The flip side of all of this is that I think Jack has been having a few nightmares that are just as vivid. He was hysterical in the middle of the night the other day, and I didn't figure out what the problem was until the morning when he kept asking about Daddy being stuck in a truck in the ditch. When Dan came home that morning, he clung to Dan for a while and kept asking if he got out of the ditch. Sweet buddy. I am not sure if this is related, but he has been wanting to sleep on the floor. Here he is with his gear as I found him after nap.

Luke (mostly) enjoyed his first story time with the big guys tonight. Franklin Goes to the Hospital, One Bear at Bedtime, and Bible Story: The Healing at the Beautiful Gate.  So fun for me to have all three boys on my lap!

Calvin and Jack enjoyed having Luke there, too. They are such good brothers! I think they love Luke as much as I do. 

Mountain Biking and Ice Cream

Today Dan and I took the boys to a local park and happened upon this amazing mountain biking course for little kids! Calvin was in heaven! I think he has found a new favorite thing to do.

  I think Jack will be there soon enough, but he definitely enjoyed the experience, even if the extent was watching Calvin and the other bigger kids and standing on his balance bike. 

These two videos of Cal biking each have a nugget of gold at the end...

"I'm in the woods!"

"Now back to balancing"

Earlier this week, Ace and I took the boys to Jason's Deli's (as Cal calls it) and got some ice cream at the end. This was pretty entertaining...

"MOM! I ate my ice cream cone all gone. (With a smug eye brow raise and smile) Just like Daddy."

2 mintues later.... Jack: "Mom! I ate (uh) my ic ceam co (uh) gaw!" With an equally precious (but not smug) pride in his accomplishment! 

Luke: 

Fire Truck Restaurant

The boys have a new favorite game with Dan....second only to "zestling" as Jack says "wrestling." The couch transforms into a fire truck with Calvin driving, Jack manning the rear, and Dan directing traffic from the middle.  Pillows serve the role of doors, and Hot Wheels race tracks are used as fire hoses.  The best part is what happens when the boys get to the fire and dismount the truck. Suddenly, instead of putting out a fire, the boys start filling Dan's order at the nearest drive up window....aka. the front door.  Jack seems to stay focused on the fire in between orders, but Calvin and Dan forget the fire all together.  This game has inspired a lot of creative names like certain locations for the fire (the "Days" is a favorite) and equipment like the "dess."  I am still not quite sure what a "dess" is, but it seems to be some type of intercom system to communicate locations of fires.  

It has been fun watching the boys play together with and without Dan's help. Today Calvin and Jack raked together and played with leaves at the park.  Thankfully there were plenty to share! 

Luke loves watching Jack and Calvin, but he's perfectly content to hang out with Grandma for now!