Favorite Things

I haven't done this in forever, but its time to start it up again I think. Nolan does one of my new favorite things. When he crawls now, he does it with a strut, shaking his head and hips as he is crawling all over. As much as I want him to walk (and he is taking more and more steps everyday) I will will his little strut.

Favorite Things

I haven't done one of these in a while. Here are some of my favorite things the boys have been doing.

• Tyler loves to pretend he is a police man directing traffic. When ever we are on a walk crossing the street, he holds out on hand and then waves another telling us we can go and the cars to stop. He also does this to Justin when he pulls into the driveway when he gets home from work. Last night he also did it when I was carrying a laundry basket downstairs - directing me the whole way. 
• Carter has such a sweet heart. He is always going out of his way to share his food, toys, or whatever else to Tyler. If Tyler wants something and Carter has it, he usually give it up without anyone asking him too. On the rare occasion that he does care and Tyler just takes it, when I get it back from Tyler and return it to Carter ,Carter will simply tell me "that's ok mommy, I don't mind anymore, he can have it."
• Nolan has started saying ohh and ahh lately. The best part - whenever he talks a smile is with it!
• Tyler loves to tell stories, however mostly to himself. I see him all the time pacing back and forth making up stories and explaining things to himself. I love his imagination!
• Another sweet thing Carter does if when it comes to bedtime. Even though we have bunk beds, Tyler still doesn't like to sleep on the top bunk. He is a restless sleeper and moves all over the bed he and Carter share. Carter knows this and instead of complaining he will just sleep on the floor with no complaints (we have made him a nice pallet on the floor because of this as well).
• Nolan still loves the changing table. Whenever he is upset you just need to set him up there and he gets all excited and started kicking his legs, moving his arms, and talking.

Favorite Things

Just some of my favorite things that have been going on the past few days:

• Carter has always been a social guy. However now instead of just saying hello to everyone he knows, he also wants to know their name. Whenever we see anyone walking down the street, at the check out at the store, or even dogs running around the neighborhood he asks what their name is. The other day we had a repairman come over. Carter went and asked his name. The guy turned to him said his name was Joe and then right back on talking to me. Carter didn't even say his name back so I figured he got distracted. The moment Justin pulled into the driveway Carter runs to him and says "daddy Joe was here to fix the garage." I guess he was listening.
• Carter was having a major tantrum over nothing. We were trying to ignore it. Tyler yells from downstairs "mom Carter is still crying!". When I told him to ignore him Tyler yells back up "mom he is to loud I can't hear you.". Then a few minutes later "mom Carter is still crying I think he needs a cuddle." He then went to Carter and tried to convince him to come cuddle with me.
• At night when putting the boys to bed we let them play quietly in their room as long as they are not being destructive, staying in their room, and being quiet. We usually find Carter on the floor by a stack of books fast asleep. Other times we have found him halfway under his bed or even by the door. This one took the cake though. I guess Carter had to have his boots on before he could fall asleep.
• Speaking of boots, usually Tyler wants to wear his fire hat whenever we go out. At times he must also wear his coat and boots. Carter follows along with Tyler, but with his own little flair. We have been painting all weekend and had to have a quick run to Lowes. Carter was still in his pajamas and didn't want to get dressed. So into Lowes he wore his pj's, his Crocs (which we always wears on the wrong feet), his fire hat on backwards and his sunglasses. Styling dude.
• Like I said we have been busy painting all weekend. The boys were trying to help us finish putting the last outlet covers back on. Tyler, carrying around a screwdriver, announces "I need something to screw!"
• The boys have become very fond of Ray Charles. Tyler asks me whenever we get into the car to listen to the yellow c.d. (the Ray Charles c.d.). Yesterday he told me he knows two of the songs from it that he can sing along to. However they both have a favorite that they burst out into song at any given time "I Have a Woman". All of a sudden we will hear one of them start singing "I have a woman, way over town, she's good to me, oh yeah".
  

Favorite Things

For a while now the boys have been napping in two different places. Tyler in our bedroom and Carter in their bedroom. We did this because instead of sleeping they would stay up talking, playing, and occasionally destroying the room. As of recent they have learned that they can talk to each other through the vents. So throughout naptime they just talk away like they are in the same room. We do discipline them for this as they should be staying in their beds at least trying to have quiet time, but it is sweet none the less.

The boys, as usual, take me by surprise with how much they are friends. They definitely have their moments where one is taking a toy from another, or won't stop wrestling when the other one asks them to, but there are sweet moments to. Tyler will ask Carter to play with him all the time and Carter is always happy to accept the invitation. Tyler is also getting better at helping Carter stay out of trouble instead of getting him in trouble. Carter was putting his fork into his milk cup (a no no here) and instead of tattling like Tyler usually does he told Carter "don't put your fork in the cup Carter or you will get in trouble ok?"

And one more favorite thing - whenever Carter prays at night the first thing he always says he is thankful for is Jesus. After that it is usually Tyler, mommy, and daddy. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Favorite Things

Carter says things that I can't believe comes out of his mouth. On the way to the zoo the other day the boys had their new summer hats on. Carter asked me if the animals were going to eat his hats and I told him no they wouldn't unless they threw them into the animal cages. Carter responds "I won't throw my hat into the animals because that would be dangerous." You're right Carter that would be and when did you start getting that vocabulary? I have to remind myself many times throughout a given week that he is only two and a half - which would explain all the tantrums.

Favorite Things

Carter has been testing to the max lately (how may times do I need to say something before he will listen??), but both boys have also been very sweet lately.

*We decided to go to Old Chicago's for dinner the other night. Both boys LOVE pizza. However Carter was in a mood and said he didn't like pizza. Tyler goes over to him very nicely and says "Carter you like pizza so you just try some ok?" Carter responded that "I can't like pizza". Tyler very sweetly puts his hands on Carter's cheeks and says "You will like it. I like pizza and so will you ok?" Once we got to the restaurant Carter inhaled his pizza, as usual.

*I ended up working in Carter's room today. They were about to sit down for lunch when one of the teachers asked who wanted to pray. Carter said he would. He only got as far as "Thank you God", but it was very sweet regardless. I guess he asks to pray pretty frequently.

*We are about to go full force on potty training Carter next week, he has been doing very well the last couple days and as a reward he got some gummy bears - he calls them gummy gums.

*I don't think I have blogged about this - forgive me if I have. The boys haven't said it in a while and Tyler said it yesterday. Whenever the boys get something in their eyes they tell me "I have a waffle in my eye".

*On that same note. Carter loves Band-Aids or bam baids as he calls them. The tiniest little scratch and he needs one. Tyler on the other hand - terrified of band-aids.

*On the playground at church today the boys played together almost the entire time. If they weren't playing together they were running back and forth looking for each other. Life is good.

Favorite Things

I am going to try to remember some of the sweet things the boys have been doing lately.

• The boys are only suppose to have their plugs during bedtime and nap time. However Carter finds anyway possible to get his during the day. The sweet part - he always gets one down for Tyler as well and finds Tyler to give it to him, even if that means being caught by me.
• The boys love giving raspberries to my tummy - they say they are tickling the baby.
• The boys also love to kiss my tummy. The conversation from Tyler goes like this: "I am going to give my baby sister a kiss. Now Carter you give your baby brother a kiss." Tyler wants a sister and Carter wants a brother, Justin and I were relieved to see only one baby in there at the ultrasound.
• Tyler still has his great imagination. He always tells me he "wants to be something". Then he tells me what he wants to be - a police car, a parrot, a bear, and then he acts it out of course
• Tyler is also drawing other people into his imagination. The other night he was Dickens, I was Oma, and Justin was Opa. He went back and forth from Justin and I just cuddling with us.

Favorite Things

The boys are showing more and more how much they care about each other. Tyler is becoming the best big brother. The other night Carter was having a tough time. He had purposefully threw dog food all over the floor. He then refused to clean it up. This resulted in time outs. He the continued to have a tantrum. To top it off he had a pretty bad diaper rash so he was crying because his bottom hurt. We brought him upstairs that with the understanding that we would put more medicine on him if he would then come back down and finish cleaning up his mess. Tyler came upstairs and got a hat for Carter "because it would make him feel better". He also gave him hugs and asked Carter many times if he was o.k. Tyler then came downstairs and helped Carter clean up his mess. We actually had to stop Tyler from helping so much so Carter would get to clean up something. The empathy he showed his brother at this young of age was a sight to see. Carter is following in his footsteps. Tyler has had a tough day today with not listening and tantrums. Each time Tyler wold start crying Carter would ask "whats wrong with Tyler?" Even in this tough days of tantrums they love they have for each other makes it better.

Favorite Things

Last night I was making dinner. Without any direction from me at all the boys went downstairs and took a game out of the closet. They then played the game together so nicely, making sure they took turns, and Tyler clapping for Carter when he got his pieces. They did ask me once to join them to play, but made no protest when I told them I couldn't right now. They then put the game away, once again without me having to ask. It's moments like these that I look and see how grown up they really are. Life is good.

Favorite Things

Some of the favorite things that happened on our vacation at Oma and Opa's.

*While playing with all the cousins there were times when kids weren't sharing or hitting each other - normal two and three year old behavior. Anytime Tyler would get hit, instead of hitting back , he would come and tell me very nicely "so and so hit me mommy".

*On Monday night I was getting ready to put the boys to bed. Tyler was talking about going up into the air and about Heaven. I asked him who lived in Heaven and he told me Jesus. I then explained to him that Jesus also lives in our hearts if we ask him to. He told me he wanted to see Jesus so he could have Him live in his heart. I told him he could talk to Jesus anytime, that He is always listening. On his own Tyler goes into the bathroom and I hear "Jesus I want you to come live in my heart". He then comes back out and with the happiest look on his face tells me what he did. Priceless.

*We have the boys call my Grandma Great-Grandma. Being confused that we were at Oma and Opa's house they quickly started calling her Great-Oma on their own.

*Carter was helping Opa feed Dickens and dropped the plate of food right before he was suppose to put it down. While cleaning it up, Opa kept saying "Oh dear" and "Oh boy". Now if someone drops something or does something wrong Carter says "Oh boy".

*On the same note, Carter was doing puzzles with Oma. She told him that he does puzzles so well and its amazing. At dinner that night we asked how his food was. He answers "amazing!"

*Tyler being the big brother that he is wants to help Carter potty train. Trying to convince him to come and try this morning Tyler goes into a little speech. "Carter you should try to come potty so that you can keep Thomas dry. If you get Thomas wet mommy, daddy, and I will have to throw those underwear away. You should come try." He said this is the sweetest tone. Not bossy at all, but he was really trying to help his brother out and be a good teacher.

Man I Miss This....

Today during nap, Carter woke up crying. I think he fell out of Tyler's bed. Thinking he was up for the rest of the day I brought him downstairs with me. He happily cuddled with me and then fell asleep on me for well over an hour (this was after an hour already in Tyler's bed). I don't think one of the boys have fallen asleep on me since they were newborns. I so enjoyed it!

It seems every other day Carter ends up in Tyler's bed with him. He used to move him back to his own bed, but decided we would just let them stay together. Why fight something that is so cute. And yes they are in matching pajamas. It's the only time Justin is ok with them matching.

Favorite Things

The boys say some of the funniest things...here are a few of our favorites lately:

• We got our pictures done at the mall on Sunday and as we were waiting for them to be printed out we went over to the Santa Village. Their wasn't a line at all, so we decided the boys could go in and say a quick hi. They didn't even take pictures, as we will go back another time when I have my own camera. Anyway Santa took his time talking to the boys and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. Tyler's answer "socks". Very glad my kids haven't reached the "I want stage"!
• I was trimming Carter's fingernails today and he wanted me to move on to his toes. He tells me "I need my toes off" and then "my fingers are off".
• Carter is just in a "I need" stage. He NEEDs everything. He needs his water, a cracker, his snuffy, his lunchbox, etc. Anything he wants is a need.
• Tonight at dinner Tyler prayed for our meal. His prayer went something like this "Thank you for dinner. Thank you for roosters that go cock-a-doodle-do. Thank you for turkeys that go gobble gobble. Amen"

Gotta love the funny sayings!

Favorite Things

On Monday the boys and I took Oma back to the airport. Tyler was having a bit of a hard day and fell asleep on the way to the airport. He woke up on the way home and immediately asked for Oma. He knows asks everyday if its Christmas time yet (which is when we will go to see them). The boys are doing so many great things right now. I love this stage.

Carter has started calling Tyler "brother". He will say "Thank you brother" or "I am sorry brother". Adorable. We were driving home last night and were listening to Johnny Cash. Carter was singing every word, right after Johnny sang it. Very cool to hear from the back seat "cry, cry, cry". Another Carter favorite thing - when he is in trouble, for hitting for example, I will ask "do we hit people". He will answer "yes", because, well, he did just hot someone. I then ask "are we suppose to hit people?" Then he will answer "noooo" and shake his head. It can be really hard to discipline this kid when he is so cute! Last one for Carter - we were out to eat with Oma and Carter had applesauce. The spoon was to big for him so he kept spilling it on himself. He would drop it, and then have to clean himself off, just to take another bite and drop some more. Needless to say it took a while for him to eat.

Like I have mentioned before its very fun to have real conversations with Tyler now. I love hearing what is going thru his mind. We hadn't been to church in a while with being sick. Yesterday Tyler informed me that he wanted to go to church. We got to church this morning and after 5 minutes he told me he was ready to go home. Luckily he didn't mind to much when I told him we had to stay a while longer. Tyler has been such a great listener lately. He still has his moments, but for the most part he is being a great helper. He has also been awesome at staying in bed during naps and bedtime. I guess it clicked one night and we haven't had any more problems. I love this age! And my most favorite thing from Tyler lately - he all of a sudden loves to sing! From his abc's, to twinkle twinkle, to Go Tell About Jesus (the song he sang during church service) he is always singing. The boys love to sing together - which is even more beautiful to the ears!

Favorite Things

Its been a little bit of a tough week. For the most part the boys have been doing very well. But on Tuesday Tyler decided he wouldn't take a nap and Carter has seem to have more tantrums lately. He also decided that he doesn't want to sit on his naughty step any more. Combine that with the fact that the last few times we have been out to eat the boys weren't the best listeners, I decided I should remember some of the things the boys do that make me smile instead of cringe.

• Tyler is becoming such a great big brother. We were at the park and both of the boys were climbing up to a slide. There was an older boy, maybe 6, climbing down the same structure. The older kid just touched Carter on the head, not hard at all. Tyler immediately says "no, don't hit Carter". He said this in a very nice tone tho, not a yelling or bossy tone. The boy asked "his name is Car?" Tyler responds "no its Carter". I was so proud of him. He stood up for his little brother and besides that he took the initiative to talk to a kid he didn't know - a big step for Tyler - for his little brother.
• Carter is also talking up a storm now. My favorite thing with Carter is to ask him questions. He always responds, even if he is in the middle of a tantrum and screaming. It is absolutely adorable.
• Carter is beginning to pretend play more. In their play kitchen there is a fridge with a ice maker on the door. He loves to get his cup, fill it up with water on the fridge and give us drinks. The best part of this is that we don't have a ice maker on our real fridge. Tyler would always pretend to get water from the sink. I have no idea how Carter figured it out, but I love that he did.
• This is probably something I should try to put a stop to, but I must admit I love it so for now I am going with it. Tyler has been waking up very early lately - usually around 6:15. I wake up to something and there he is looking at me. Instead of making him go back to bed (where he would most likely just wake up Carter) I bring him to bed with me. We cuddle and doze for a while til Tyler gets restless. Then we read books and cuddle some more. While I would rather him sleep in and stay in his room, I do love this time with him.
• The boys seem to get along better everyday. Of course we have to occasional fight over a toy or one of them hits the other one, but those seem to be decreasing everyday. They can't get enough of each other. As soon as Tyler hears Carter he stops whatever we are doing and jumps off the bed and runs to go get him. If Tyler is going to the bathroom, or just go upstairs, Carter needs to know where Tyler is at all times. They are two peas in a pod.
• I almost forgot one of my all time favorites! I was in a grumpy mood and needed a break from the boys. Justin was home, but Tyler only wanted me. I told him to go find his daddy. He goes over to Justin, but then looks back at me and says "guess what". I asked him "what" with a sigh. He responds " I love you!". Couldn't be grumpy after that!

They Do Love Each Other

Justin and I were watching the Olympics and I commented on how he didn't have to go up there at all to get Tyler back in bed. So I went to check on the boys to make sure they were really asleep and Tyler was asleep but once again not in his bed. We have found him asleep on the floor two times before this. Tyler knows he is suppose to stay in bed and I know we really need to crack down on this. But honestly its hard for me to do that when I see this:
Can't deny their love for each other.

Date Night and Favorite Things.

Last night Justin and I had a date night. Justin went with Tyler to a Sky Sox game for his date and I stayed home with Carter for my date. Carter and I had a fun time working on sorting, eating ice cream, having tickle fights, and reading books. Carter actually also fell asleep at 7:45, which is nice since in the last week or two its been closer to 9.

Justin and Tyler had a great time. Today I heard all about how Tyler saw the fox and how the fox fell down. From Justin's side I also heard how when they were leaving Tyler stepped off the sidewalk into the grass to walk and then announced "I'm a fox". Also as soon as he got to the game he held up his glove cause he wanted to "catch a ball".

When Tyler got home we went upstairs to the boys room. Tyler immediately went over to Carter's bed and rubbed his head. Since Carter was 4 months old the boys have shared a room and I think this was the first time they didn't fall asleep together. Carter woke up to Tyler rubbing his head and smiled. He then seemed more relaxed in his sleep knowing his brother was there. That my friends is a favorite thing. Life can't get better than that.

One More

One more favorite thing that just happened tonight. Tyler has been doing so well potty training that he received another special treat from his potty chart - baking cookies with mommy. Justin took Carter to the store so that it wold be just Tyler and I. We were sitting down enjoying our cookie and having a very nice conversation. For some reason I decided that this would be a good time to talk about private parts and how no one should touch them. This is how our conversation went:

me: Tyler do you know what your private parts are?
Tyler: Yes
me: Where are they?
Tyler: ummm upstairs

Favorite Things

Some more of my favorite things - most of these came from our trip to Greeley.

I love watching the boys have conversations together. It is so fun to hear them talk about things now. Usually its Tyler talking and Carter agreeing but its cute none the less. Most of the time they talk about the things they are doing - building towers, playing with er cars, doing puzzles, etc.

On that note I love how Tyler is full filling the bog brother role. He is always watching out for Carter. We were outside packing the car back up from the Stillmans and the boys were suppose to stay on the porch. Carter kept getting off and it was Tyler who got to him and told him "no Carter, we stay on the porch". You will also see Tyler helping Carter with things. He will go get Carter's milk for him, help get a toy, etc. Tyler moved a chair from a kitchen table and Carter needed help moving his. Tyler got down and helped Carter and when he wad done he said "here ya go Carter!". While the do have fights, most of the time they get along very well.

Carter loves to mimic everything Tyler does. If Tyler starts acting like a gorilla, so will Carter. If Tyler goes off walking somewhere around the park, Carter will soon follow. In Carter's world no one can really beat Tyler and its fun to watch.

Carter loves babies. We got to see baby Jade in Greeley who is 3 months old. Carter was so infatuated with her. He kept saying "hi baby" in a high voice and talking to her like we talk to him. He also wanted to keep giving her kisses and hugs. It was very cute to watch.

Both of the boys are becoming such cuddlers. Carter made sure everyone got plenty of hugs when we said our goodbyes. Tyler is a little more particular with who he gives his hugs out to. At Old C's he was obviously very tired. He kept asking to sit in my lap and for me to sing "Sunshine" to him. This is the song that I only sing to him (Carter has his own song as well) and I hadn't done it in a while. It was so sweet that he remembered our song and only wanted me to sing that in the middle of a crowded loud restaurant (he usually wants me to sing Wheels on the Bus or something).

Carter has found ants. We were walking around campus and he was carrying a stick. First he would try to point out the the ant his stick. He would then try to stomp on it. It was very cute and quite humorous.

Favorite Things

I know I have posted before about Tyler waking up and yelling to Carter to also wake up from the other side of their room. The other morning I hear Carter yelling "Ty-er" from his crib to wake Tyler up. I don't think there is anything better than watching your children love each other so much. That to them, nothing is better than the other one. Carter tries to do whatever Tyler is doing at all times. When its time to go pick Carter up after church Tyler is more excited to see him than he is me. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Favorite Things

Just a few more things that Tyler says that I never want to forget:

When we are driving in the car he will tell me which way to go "this way mama" and point in the direction.

Here is an example of a conversation we have at least 10 times a day:
Tyler - Whats this mama?
Me - They are glue sticks
Tyler - Oh they are glue sticks
Obviously the object changes, but every other part is the exact same.

And my favorite - we were grocery shopping and the boys were in the race car cart. Tyler leans over to Carter and says "I love you" (for the first time) and gives him a big hug and kiss. Life can't get much better than that.