Thankfulness

Justin and I are always trying to show the boys how blessed we are for what we have and the importance of giving to others. I must say we are much better at showing them this during the holiday season. The boys already remember the red kettles from last year. Every time we go by one (which is at least once a day it seems) the boys ask to put money in. We always let them put a few pieces of change in. Christmas music is already on one station in town 24/7. The boys are requesting to listen to Christmas music whenever we are in the car so that station is on quite often. Today the station was holding a turkey drive for Care and Share. After nap time the boys and I went over and bought a turkey for each of them to give. I kept trying to explain why it was important that we do this for others. I think Tyler gets it at least. Throughout the rest of the season we will also do some other things to show what giving means to the boys. I can only hope that these little things we do now will make a bigger impact on them when they are older. And I hope Justin and I will get better at remembering too do this throughout the whole year.

Tidbits

It has been pretty busy around here. With Justin working more for the Gazette, the boys busy with all their activities, I am busy with church work, and then throw in a snow storm and I get behind on the blog. Here are just some tidbits from the past few days.

• Tyler has a new favorite thing to do. Make his own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He wants to make one everyday for himself for snack and usually asks Carter if he can make him one too. He does a pretty good job from slicing the bread, to spreading on the jelly and peanut butter, to remembering to use a paper towel. Along the independence lines he is also starting to clean himself during bath time. I can't believe how big he is getting.
• You would think with the new found independence the whining and tantrums would be on the wayside. Unfortunately they seem to be stronger than ever. That combined with Tyler's new attitude and talking back, its been a long few days.
• I don't think I ever mentioned it, but both boys had sinus infections all last week. They also (thankfully) got their H1N1 shots. They waited patiently outside with me for two hours before the cl inc opened. I was very proud of their behavior and others in line commented on well it was as well. Once they opened the clinic and the line started moving Carter started screaming. He kept screaming until the shots were over (he didn't want his shots). Luckily it only took them 30 minutes to get the 150 people in front of us their shots.
  
• Carter's imagination is coming out in full force lately. He is always playing pretend with Tyler. They play animals a lot. Tyler is always the mommy animal and Carter is the baby animal. They also play fire fighters, zoo keepers, and transformers. They have no idea what transformers are, but they play it anyway.
• Along the lines of transformers, today at church they were both building legos. I asked them what they were building and they told me transformers guns. I told them that we don't play guns, especially at church. Tyler informed me that they were nice guns and they don't spray things. I am glad they still don't have an idea what guns are.
  
• I let the boys watch Tarzan the other night. Tyler really liked all the animals in it. Carter seemed to like it, but also got scared in some parts and sad in some parts. One thing that really stood out though was how much Carter paid attention. Tarzan was fighting the cheetah and once he finally killed the cheetah Carter shouts out "He did it!"
  
• Tyler is doing well in school He still has some issues with wrestling during recess time. However his teacher tells me he is doing a lot better with keeping his hands to himself during the time they are in class. Hopefully soon it won't be an issue at all.
  

So there are some tidbits from the last few days. I will try to stay up on the blog better not that the next few weeks should be a little less busy. And even more importantly I am going to try to take more pictures - this blog has been lacking of those lately. We did take the boys pictures at the mall this weekend so the boys picture is from that.

Clean Teeth and PT

Both boys had dentists appointments today. Justin took the day off so we all went to the appointment. While I was filling out paperwork Justin read a book to Carter about what would happen during the visit (Tyler was busying playing). When the boys got called back they went in with no issues. Tyler came out first and asked where Carter was. He told me they weren't in the same room. A few minutes later Carter came out along with the dentist. The boys both did great and neither of them have cavities. Carter also did well enough that he got a fluoride treatment. Both boys were very excited to play with all the treasures they got from the dentist - new toothbrushes, toothpaste, stickers, and a toy. The pictures of the boys are them showing off their clean teeth.

From the dentist appointment we headed over to Tyler's first physical therapy (PT) appointment, which is the reason Justin took off. We were there a little early so we had to wait in the waiting room, but the boys behaved pretty well. All four of us went back to the gym. Carter was a little sad that he couldn't participate, but the therapist let them do a few things together. Tyler seemed to enjoy the hour long session, with getting to get on the treadmill as his favorite part. They stretched him some, which he didn't like, but Justin was glad to see this part. In hamstring mobility they want at least an 80 degree mobility and Tyler was only 60. In Tyler's ankle extension they want at least a 20 degree and Tyler only has 10. So we definitely need to work on getting those muscles less tight and more flexible. It was very nice Justin was there and understood all of this. I was also excited we all could go so I could see what his session looks like. From now on Carter and I will probably stay in the waiting room while Tyler goes in alone. We are going to be doing a lot of exercises at home and hopefully we won't have to have therapy for too long of a time. I am glad we are getting this taken care of now however.

Little Sayings

Carter cracks us up with the things that he says. He talks so well, but still mixes things up. For example he all of a sudden has a fear of automatic toilets, or really any public toilet. He doesn't like how loud they are and has to cover his ears. So whenever we go into the bathroom he always ask "is this a slow one" instead of is it a quiet one.

On the way home tonight Tyler wanted his window down. I told him no because it would be too cold. Carter says "yeah and its too dark too". Because darkness is a factor with the window being down.

During bath time Justin puts Carter's hair into a mohawk, he calls it a dinosaur.

And then a brag from Justin about Tyler. We were out to dinner and the first bar of Ring of Fire comes on (not even words to the song, just the music)- Tyler immediately says "hey that's Johnny Cash!". Well Done.

Three Year Check-Up

Carter has his three year check up. He is doing great and the doctor has no concerns - he is actually ahead in many areas. He did great during the appointment. He was excited to do all the big things like stand on the scale, get his blood pressure checked, and wear a gown (which he wore for 5 minutes before taking it off). His stats are: weight 32.2 lbs and in the 55%. height 36.5 inches and in the 25%, his bmi was 17.1, and his blood pressure was 84/58. Yes he is only .6 lbs less than his big brother. We were a little worried about when to start portion control with Carter, as he is a bigger eater than Tyler and a little less active. The doctor said so far he is just fine and we don't need to worry about it. If his weight starts increasing above his curve then we would set some limits but right now he is just fine.

Both boys feel asleep on the way to the appointment and Tyler was a mess during it, having tantrum after tantrum. He continues to have them now that we are home. I am not sure if its because a lack of sleep - with the time change he is getting less than normal, if he was hungry - he only ate a little lunch, or if he is sick. They both have had a little cough in the mornings and runny noses, but no fevers. The doctor checked his ears again just to make sure and they still looked great. I am hoping that one of these nights soon the boys will be able to go to bed early and have decent naps. Unfortunately tonight they have to go into work with me so hopefully the mood will change for the better.

Funny Things

A couple of funny things Tyler did today. First he tell me "Mom you want to know the funniest thing about a tootsie roll you have ever hear - did (heard)? Tootsie Roll to the rescue! That's pretty funny!"

And then about 5 minutes later he runs upstairs to tell me there was a raisin in his nose. Luckily it didn't take more than a blow of the nose to dislodge it. So much fun to be the mom of boys.

Lies, Lies, Lies

The boys have entered a new phase in their development - lying. I am glad to know that it is just a milestone in their development, but its not a fun one nonetheless. This morning one of them had taken the sheet down from their window that we use to keep the sun out. When I asked them which one of them took it down they both said "not me". I told them they would both be disciplined if I didn't get the truth and evermore they would be disciplined for lying to me. Tyler quickly piped up and said "it was me". I thanked him for telling me the truth and that was the end of it. Tyler has gotten in trouble for lying before so I was happy to see he fessed up to it. I would have rather he told me the first time, but the second time is progress at least.

So we go upstairs to clean their room and I see that all of the hangers that were hanging up are now on the floor. I ask them who did it so they can help me clean it up. Once again they both say "not me". When I ask who did it then they both tell me the other one did it. I was assuming it was Carter, as it is usually him who has been known to climb up and take everything down that is hanging in their closet. Tyler then tells me that he was taking down the sheet and Carter went over, turned on the light, and then climbed up and took them down. As Tyler says "it makes sense". So I am trying to get Carter to tell me, but he keeps telling me it wasn't him. At this point I assume he is just being stubborn. So I ask him one by one. "Who took the shoes down Carter?" Carter responds that he did. I thanked him for telling me the truth. When I ask him who took the hangers down he once again told me it was Tyler. So now I am getting suspicious of Tyler again, knowing Carter isn't that good of a liar. After 30 minutes or so go by without either of them telling me the truth I call Justin to see if he had any insight. He tells me they did it this morning. When he went in their room to check on them Tyler was sitting on the dresser and Carter was hiding behind my wedding dress (another no no). So they were both lying to me, but Tyler's story was way more fabricated. They both got punished for lying. I apologized to Carter for making him help me clean it up (I made him after Tyler told me they story that "made sense"). and off we were for the day. We went to the mall to get haircuts (which they both did great for and the picture is to show off the new hair), but they were not allowed to play because they lied to me (the second part of their punishment). As I was disciplining them I kept telling them that they are getting in trouble for lying, not for making the mess. We have also been watching the Boy Who Cried Wolf movies on the computer. I am hoping they get it soon.