Starting the Summer Off Right

It has been such a weird weather year here. After a miserable winter with seemingly endless amounts of snow, it finally all melted in mid-March. Then we had some incredibly warm days at the end of March, before a mostly cold April and May. Then all of a sudden, this past weekend it got really hot. We jumped from highs in the mid-60s to highs in the mid to upper-80s, I think. I suppose that's no different than anywhere in the US, probably, but it was just such a big change all at once. Since it has suddenly become so warm, the boys and I have taken many opportunities to get outside.

We've all done some golfing. I had my first of three golf lessons about 2 weeks ago, so I've been more interested in getting my pitching wedge out and practicing what the golf pro wanted me to work on. Zach pretty much never needs an excuse to hit golf balls, and Drew is loving getting in on the action, too. The whole family went out to the driving range and putting green one evening last week, and it was a lot of fun. Drew made me a little nervous, but once we explained how he couldn't go forward to retrieve his balls at the driving range, he was good. He mostly liked putting (as in put, not putt) his ball into the holes on the putting green. Sometimes he even used his club for that! :-)

Here's Drew practicing with his favorite plastic club.

And Zach giving it a good whack.

Here's a little video of the boys golfing. The golfing part is short, but I think the best part is Drew's first comment to the camera.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It seems like once the snow melted, Zach started asking about setting up the swimming pool. It'd be a balmy 60 degrees and Zach would say, "I think we'll be able to get the pool out today!" I kept telling him we'd have to wait until after his birthday, but I broke my promise this week. Monday it was almost 90 degrees and humid, so we decided it was the right time to break out the pool. The boys loved it. Drew enjoyed Zach throwing buckets of cold water at his back and tummy, and Zach was happy to oblige. Drew was also thrilled to wear his new Lightning McQueen swim trunks, and Zach was happy to squirt anything he could with his little water shooter. I was happy to get some sun!

Yesterday Zach had a preschool friend over for a play date, so we went up to the park for a while and then came home for lunch and some more playing. After Drew's nap, I suggested we head back outside, and play firefighters, pretending the boys' jeep was a fire engine. Well, they loved that idea, but insisted on taking it one step further and getting in full costume first. I tried to talk them out of the costumes because of the heat, but they wouldn't hear of it. I put my foot down at wearing snow boots, though.

We got some parts from my vacuum so they could have hoses, and I'd sound the alarm and off the little firefighters would ride. Most of the fires took place at Brad and Molly's house two doors down. The boys would hop out of their fire engine and spray the fire, then drive back to our house and clean up their engine like real firefighters would do.

There was also a fire at the mailbox. Thank goodness they got it put out and all of my junk mail was not charred at all!

Here's a very shaky video of the little firefighters.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After putting out all the fires, we decided to join Molly and Cooper on a walk. Since we'd already walked/ridden bikes up to the park once that day, I gave in and let the boys ride in their jeep. Normally I don't allow the jeep for anything over a ride around the block, but I just didn't feel like arguing, and we'd all gotten plenty of exercise already, so it was fine. The boys wore their costumes the entire ride and got many happy looks from passers-by.

Today the boys and I took the dogs to the vet and then headed down to a big lake down town. We had packed Zach's bike in the car so that he could ride his bike on the trail while the dogs and I walked with Drew in the stroller. It's a 2 mile loop around the lake, so I wasn't sure how Zach would do, but he did awesome. He stopped once or twice just to talk to me and once because he needed a rest. Once we got back to the car, we got out the picnic lunch we had packed and headed over to a shady picnic table for lunch, and we were hungry! Our table was right on the beach, so it was just a short walk down to the water from there. The boys enjoyed throwing sand and sticks into the water before they decided to really go for it, and then Zach took off his shoes and socks and waded in, while Drew got down on his hands and knees and really dug his hands into the sand right at the edge of the water. They got good and sandy, that's for sure. I had brought my camera to the lake, but left it in the car, along with my cell phone, so I got no pictures of the fun day!

After a quick clean-up in the bathroom, we loaded up the car and headed out. We took a round-about way home so we could stop at DQ for a little ice cream treat, and this time I had my phone to get a good picture.

So, it's safe to say we are definitely enjoying the start to our summer and making the most of the decent temperatures. It won't be long before it's so hot and humid that it could be miserable to be outside, so I figure we better take advantage of it while we can!

Oh Brother

My whole life I've heard stories about the torture imparted upon my dad by his older brothers, especially the brother that was just above him, my late Uncle Bob. My dad was the youngest, Bob was 9 years older than him, and there are 11 years between my dad and his brother Bill, so they had a lot of size, strength, and shrewdness on him for many years. My dad has some pretty hilarious stories (for someone who wasn't the object of the torture, anyway). In more recent years I've heard stories of Mike picking on his younger brother Colin, and of my brother-in-law Will picking on his younger brother, too. Being picked upon, tricked by, and coerced into stupid things by older siblings seems to basically just be a rite of passage, especially so when it comes to brothers, I believe. And, already, at the tender ages of not-quite-five and just-over-two, I see this ringing true for my own boys.

First, there was the penis-head incident. If you missed that one, you can find it here. Then, this morning, again while I was brushing my teeth, I could hear the boys in their bathroom, and Zach was giving instructions that basically went like this- "Drew, smell my tush. Now say, 'Zach smell!'" then, "Drew, now I'll smell your tush. Drew smell!" and finally, "Drew, smell the toilet. Say, 'Toilet smell!'" And, like the good little brother, Drew was doing just what he was told to do. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a hard time imagining two sisters doing this to each other.

Then there was the next incident, which occurred tonight. The boys were in the bathroom washing their hands before dinner, and suddenly, Drew was crying and was upset- bad sign #1. So I went to the bathroom and tried to open the door, but it was locked- bad sign #2. I had Zach open the door and asked what the problem was. Drew said, "Soap in mouth!" And Zach added, "Drew got soap in his mouth." So I said, "And how did that happen? Did he do that all on his own, Zach?" Zach replied with, "Yeah, he did it to himself." "Are you sure, Zach? Remember what happened last time you lied?" I said. Zach quickly said, "Oh, yeah. Um, I helped a little bit." Anyway, it turns out that Zach told Drew to lick his (Zach's) arm while it had soap all over it, and Drew, being young and naive, again did what his big brother told him to do. Dad, I think Uncle Bob would be proud of the skill his great-nephew Zach is showing, don't you? And this is only the beginning...

Preschool Graduation & Picnic

Zach had his preschool graduation last night. The kids have been practicing the songs for this program for quite some time, and we were not disappointed. I tried to get some video but I don't suspect any of it is very good. First of all, we weren't really all that close to the front. Mike's parents got to the church at 6:20 (graduation started at 7:15), and the closest seats they could get were about 8-10 rows back. Thank goodness they got there when they did, or we would have not seen anything at all (we weren't as early as we wanted to be). So maybe later I'll look at the video and post something if it's good, but I kind of doubt any of it is really blog-worthy. But, there are plenty of decent photos, so I'll leave you with those.

The first two songs had to do with chickens, so the kids wore these cute chicken hats they made. I think this song was "The Shaky Egg." Obviously Zach is having a pretty good time up there.

The second song was actually the chicken dance that we've probably all watched/participated in at somebody's wedding. It was cute to watch Zach do this song because he often seemed to be a split second behind the majority of the group. You can even see that in this picture as you notice most of the kids have started over with the hands opening and closing like a chicken beak while Zach is finishing out the clapping from the last round.

I don't know what song this was, but I just thought Zach looked kind of cute.

After performing a bunch of songs the kids all left and the director of the preschool gave a little speech about raising the kids, shared some funny quotes from the kids from the year, and showed us a slide show of the kids. It was all really neat and touching.

When the slide show was done, the pianist started playing "Pomp and Circumstance" and the kids started filing back in in their little caps and gowns. I was instantly reminded of a time before one of my sisters' or my own graduations, when that song came on and my mom teared up immediately. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, because the song came on and the kids started walking in, and my eyes welled up with tears. Zach's class was the last class to come in, and he was towards the end of the line, but when I finally caught a glimpse of him, so handsome and happy in his cap and gown, I couldn't help but mentally flash-forward 13 years to his high school graduation. Will he look pretty much the same? I wondered. Then it was like my mind flew back about 5 years to when he was born, and I thought, "How did we get here so quickly?" and I pictured his whole childhood just flying by.

The kids all took their seats and the director read their names as they hugged their respective teachers and took their place on the risers. Here's Zach hugging Mrs. Graen, who he definitely loved this year.

It was probably good that the last part of the program was a fun rap version of "The Wheels on the Bus," because I think a lot of the parents and family members in the crowd needed the silliness. The kids put on their glasses and it was like instant attitude. So cute.

Afterward we snapped a few more pictures. First, just Zach.

Drew had spent the whole time in the church nursery, because it was "strongly encouraged" that younger siblings be cared for in the nursery. I was glad we did that, because he'd been a pill all day (except when I got in the car that night and he said, "Awesome green pants, Mom!" That was pretty sweet and even made up for him calling me a penis-head earlier.) and I didn't want to have to entertain him and miss the program. I did walk by once just before the program started, though, and saw him sitting on a nursery attendant's lap and just rocking, which made me know he was upset in there, and that had me worried. So I was definitely ready to get him right away. Anyway, he seemed to have had an ok time in there but was definitely happy to see all of us. I think somebody took a family picture of us (maybe?), but it wasn't with our camera, which is kind of a bummer. I wish I had a picture of Mike and me with our little graduate. Anyway, here's Drew and Zach together. On the way home, Drew kept saying, "Cool blue hat, Zach!" Zach definitely agreed, as he wore the cap and gown most of the morning today.

Here's Zach with 2 of his buddies, Caleb and Logan.

By the time we got home, it was almost 9 o'clock. The boys were wired and I was wiped out. Thankfully they went right to sleep!

Today was the last official preschool function, the class picnic. Here's the whole class (though it seems like there is one girl missing, maybe) with the teachers.

Zach with his teachers, Mrs. Rich and Mrs. Graen.

All the boys in the class. Zach's best buddies are Ben, who is in the back row on the right, and Caleb, who is in the blue hat. He's also good buddies with Sam, who is in the front row on the right. The little boy in the red shirt in the back middle will be in Zach's kindergarten class next year.

And here is Zach with one of his favorite girls from preschool, Sydney. Sydney was in Zach's class last year, too, and he's always been pretty smitten with her. I actually know her aunt and uncle from college, which is kind of funny.

It's hard to believe that this chapter of our lives is over. I think Zach is ready to move on to kindergarten, but I definitely will miss the security of preschool and being at a place where he's so comfortable and so happy. I know he'll get that way at kindergarten, too, but it's just harder to imagine that really warm, fuzzy feeling at a big public school than it is at a small, private preschool. It's also hard to think that these kids, who are Zach's best buds right now, probably won't be his best friends in a few months. I guess you never know, though. I'm still friends with some of the kids I went to preschool with, and look at how old I am!

Oh yeah, and just to prove he was there, he's Drew from the picnic today, having a good old time. I think I'll blink my eyes and it'll be his preschool graduation, too, won't it?

Naughty Words

This morning I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth before getting Zach off to school when Drew came in, pointed at me, and said, "You, penis-head." At first I thought I must have misheard him, so I asked him what he said, and he said it again, plain as day- "You, penis-head."

Since Drew is just a little over 2 years-old, I did the most reasonable thing I could think of- I told him we don't call people that and then I called his almost 5 year-old brother in for some explaining. Zach swore up and down that he did not tell Drew to say that, and that "Drew just thought of it on his own." Right. I was already having a hard time not laughing about the whole thing, but I was pretty certain that my 2 year-old, though he's definitely ornery, wouldn't have come up with that one on his own. I kept at it with Zach, telling him how wrong it is to lie, how that would really upset me, how if he kept lying he might have to miss his preschool graduation and picnic. He stuck to his story, looking me in the eye pretty well. Drew was right next to me, basically leaning close and imitating me, which didn't help me keep a straight face very well. Then I asked Drew, "Drew, did Zach tell you to say penis-head?" Drew's immediate response was, "Yes," and about a split second after that came out of Drew's mouth I heard Zach mutter under his breath, "Darn." I knew I had the case closed at that point. I asked Zach what he said, and he gave me the standard "I was just talking to myself" line that he gives me anytime he says something he wishes he hadn't said aloud. I was pretty mad, even though the comedy of my 2 year-old calling me a penis-head was not lost on me. So I told Zach that he was in big trouble and he needed to go sit on the stairs while I figured out what his consequence would be. I threatened to cancel his birthday party, but that felt too harsh, so I knew I wouldn't do that. I didn't decide until after I picked him up from preschool what the consequence would actually be. I told him he would have no dessert and no T.V. watching for one whole week. I felt this would be ok because first of all, he likes both of those things, but doesn't necessarily get them every day, so it's not a huge thing, but hopefully it will be big enough to make an impression. And, I might offer Drew dessert and T.V. a little more readily than I normally do just to help drive the point home in this next week. I would have liked to have talked to Mike before deciding for sure, but I also didn't want to wait too long to put the consequence in place.

Maybe other parents don't agree with this, but I feel that with Zach as my oldest child, I can generally tell which of his preschool friends have older siblings. Those kids just seem a little more knowledgeable about things I don't necessarily want Zach to know about yet, and sometimes they use language that, while not necessarily bad, I don't really want Zach using. I'm not trying to blame or judge the older siblings or the parents for the bad stuff; I know that's just how life works. I was just telling my friend Molly yesterday how in a couple of years, Drew's friends' parents will probably be saying that about Drew- "Oh, well, you know Drew does have an older brother, so he probably learned it from him..." So basically as soon as I realized what Drew was saying to me this morning, that conversation came back to me. It's happening already, I thought, Drew is learning to say inappropriate things from Zach, and he's only 2. Ugh.

On another note, when we picked Zach of from preschool, he said, "It's frickin' nicer than you expected it to be today, isn't it, Mom?" Sigh. Again, it's not like "frickin'" is a bad word, but I just don't think I need to hear it from my 4 year-old. I told him I didn't like him saying that and that I'd rather he say something like, "It's really nice out, " or something similar. But, this one I can't blame on friends with older siblings- I think this comes straight from Mike, and maybe me, too. I don't think I say it a lot, but I may just not be realizing when/how often I do say it. Anyway, I won't be surprised if I hear it come out of Drew's mouth one of these days.

Sesame Street Live

Last week Zach and I decided to surprise Drew with a trip to see Sesame Street Live. We went to Sesame Street Live a couple of years ago when Drew was a newborn and Zach was not quite three, I think, and Zach loved it. I didn't know if Zach would be as excited this time around, but Drew sure likes Elmo, Ernie, and Cookie Monster, so I figured he'd be into it. The only date that worked for us was a matinee during the week, so I decided to just go for it. I don't think Mike was too upset to miss out.

We got down town and picked up our tickets at the will call window, and headed into the arena to our seats which were pretty good. I didn't want to pay the big bucks for the most expensive, so I went for the second price range. We were off to the side of the stage, but in the front row, which was nice because we didn't have any taller people blocking our view. We were in our seats about 10 minutes before the show started, and Zach pretty much started right away with, "Mom, can we get..." I am not a believer in the idea that you need to get a souvenir every time you go somewhere special- it just leads to too much money wasted on junk, and I think it sends the wrong message, so I had already pretty much decided we weren't going home with souvenirs of any sort. I told Zach right away that just going to the show was special enough, and he took it well. He asked one more time, but quickly answered his own question with, "Oh yeah, we're not getting anything." He did ask at intermission about the Elmo balloons when they brought those out, but again, me telling him no once was all it took, and I didn't even hear whining about it later, thank goodness.

Here are the boys before the show started. I didn't want to take our good camera in, so I just did the best I could (which was not very good at all) with my phone.

Here are some of the characters dancing and singing. I wonder how these costumes work. The voices are obviously the same as on the T.V. show, so I think they have to be recorded. So how do their mouths move at the right time? The people inside the costumes appear to have their hands free to use for all of their dance moves. I can't imagine how hot it must be inside those costumes, because those people can really dance. I just can't help but wonder if this is where these dancers pictured themselves when they dreamed of dancing as their career- inside hot muppet suits getting no glory.

Some of the characters came pretty close to us when they came out and high-fived kids, but I suppose they did pay the big bucks...

All in all, the show, called "Elmo's Green Thumb," was pretty good. It carried a good message about taking care of the earth, which was nice, but probably a little lost on a big chunk of the audience, which happened to be the 3 and under crowd. There was about an hour of show, then a 15 minute intermission, and then another half-hour of show, and that last half-hour Drew was getting pretty squirrelly. He never really left the area around his seat, but he was laying on it, standing in front of it, etc. If it weren't for Zach, I might have left early. The poor girl next to Zach, who was probably about 18-21 months old, cried basically non-stop after intermission. It was just her and her mom, and just when I was wondering why on earth the mom was staying when her daughter clearly did not want to, they got up and left. I wasn't terribly annoyed by the crying, but I just felt bad for the little girl who was being forced to stay at Sesame Street Live, of all things.

Anyway, it was a nice little change from our usual Friday activities, and something fun for the boys and me to do together.

Drew Quotes

Many of the posts on this blog are about funny things Zach has said. Well, now that Drew is putting multiple-word sentences together, he is starting to say some really funny things, too. Like his big brother, Drew picks up on everything anyone ever says, and is quick to repeat things. Thankfully this hasn't really bitten me in the butt yet, at least not too badly. So, some funny (at least to Mike and me) Drew quotes:

-Drew and I were making cookies one night while Mike and Zach were outside picking up dog poop (Zach wanted to help- how long before the novelty wears off and I have to force him to help?). Zach came in and went to wash his hands so he could help with the cookie making. After he'd started helping us, I turned around to do something and noticed Zach had put the bread bag he used to pick up dog poop (imagine it as a rubber glove of sorts) on the island in the kitchen. Not anywhere near where we were making cookies, but still, a bag used to pick up dog poop sitting on my kitchen counter. I freaked out. I could not believe that a dirty dog poop bag was on my kitchen counter and that Zach didn't think to throw it into the trash immediately. I yelled more than I should have (don't worry, I apologized later), and in the midst of me freaking out, Drew joined in with, "'Scusting, Zach!" in a very reprimanding tone. You can imagine I used the word "disgusting" a few times in that little rant. Once the boys were out of the room I calmly addressed Mike and his role in the whole situation. As the adult picking up dog poop, really, he should have seen to it that the dirty dog poop bag got thrown in the big bag of poop! Either way, I don't think that will happen again!

-The other day Drew correctly used the terms "nevermind" and "just kidding" correctly when talking to me. I'm not all that surprised he used those terms because Zach uses them a lot, but I'm just surprised he used them correctly.

-In the car the other day on the way home from preschool, Drew said, "Dad home," and I said, "Dad's at work, Drew." He said, "Dad home with me," so I said, "Do you want Dad home with you?" Drew said, "Yeah. Love him." That story definitely made Mike's day.

-The boys were laying together in Zach's bed yesterday. Zach was still waking up from his nap, and Drew was just lying there with him, acting out the story The Napping House. It's just a twin bed, so there's not a lot of extra room when they're both lying on it. Once Zach decided to participate, he sort of rolled over and his elbow kind of bumped Drew, prompting Drew to say, "NO, Zach. Make me nervous!" Again, it was the correct use of the word that made me smile.

-While Drew is putting together multiple-word sentences and even multiple-sentence paragraphs, he's still not always easy to understand, especially for people other than Zach and me, and often Mike. Drew always wants to talk to Caleb, Zach's friend who we drive to/from school every day. Unfortunately for Drew, Caleb could really care less about what Drew has to say. Often times, Caleb doesn't seem to even realize Drew is talking to him. So usually I end up filling in for Caleb's part in the conversation. This has been ok in the past, but suddenly this week, Drew wasn't having any of it. He'd say something to Caleb like, "Red dump truck, Cay-bub," and I'd say, "Oh, did you see the red dump truck, Drew?" And Drew's response would be, in a very annoyed, snotty tone, "NO MOM! NOT TALKING YOU! TALKING CAY-BUB!" The second time he did this I told him he was being rude to me, and then he apologized to Caleb, which prompted Zach to say, "You should apologize to Mom, Drew!" The last time Drew did this to me was yesterday (the 3rd time this week, I think), and it was a time when Drew was talking to Zach. So I calmly told him he was being rude and that instead he should say, "I was talking to Zach, Mom," in a nice voice. Hopefully that will happen now, because although it was funny the first couple of times, if my 2 year-old keeps talking to me like that, I am in some trouble, I think.

-The last quote, and maybe the best. After the boys' bath, I always wrap Drew in his towel and sit him on the counter to brush his teeth. Then we get his jammies on. A couple of weeks ago he was sitting there on the counter, and his towel was open, and he started touching his penis and testicles, and saying, "Oh, gosh. Oh, gosh." Mike and I couldn't help but smile. Then he said, "Tiny penis," then thought a minute, and like any man, changed his mind to, "Huge penis... huge penis." It was very a very funny moment, for sure.

This kid is such a little dickens!

Pirate Show

Last Friday Mike and I got to do something special with Zach. With our good friends Ross, Kristin, and their son Caleb, we went out for dinner and then to see a show at a small community theater in town. The show was How I Became a Pirate, based on the book by Melinda Long and David Shannon. Zach has a signed copy of this book thanks to Grandma Cynthia, and he loves it, so when Kristin suggested the idea of the 6 of us going, he was thrilled. It didn't hurt that Zach thinks Caleb, Ross, and Kristin are about the coolest people on the planet, either. I think it was extra special, too, that Drew stayed home and didn't get to go with.

The show was great. They embellished the story by adding lots of songs and dancing, and the actors really did a wonderful job. I was especially impressed by the 6th grade boy who played the main character, Jeremy Jacob. The fact that a 12 year-old kid can memorize songs, lines, dance moves, and perform them all in front of a large group like that just astounds me. I couldn't do that now, and I'm an adult!

Here are Zach and Caleb sitting on the stage after the show. We almost got into big trouble for this picture!

This is Zach and Caleb with Shark Tooth, one of the pirates. I love the mean pirate faces the boys are sporting here.

Here they are with Captain Braid Beard himself. It was so nice of all of the actors to talk to the kids and give them autographs after the show.

Even after the show I was impressed with the actor who played Jeremy Jacob. I think a lot of kids his age would have acted somewhat stand-offish with little kids, but he was totally comfortable talking to Zach and Caleb. He initiated conversation and as you can see from the picture, he got down on Zach's level and was really interested in what Zach was saying. I imagine his parents are pretty proud of him.

Here are Caleb and Zach with Jeremy Jacob.

It was such a great night. It was fun to watch Zach's face as he took in the whole show and to hear what he liked best. I was a little nervous about how Drew would do at home knowing that Mike, Zach, and I were all together without him, and it sounded like he did ok. At bedtime he said something like, "Mommy, Daddy, Zach wake me up," or something along those lines, so I think he was missing us a little, but he definitely had fun with Grandma Cynthia and Grandpa Kevin. And, it was a nice way for Ross, Kristin, Mike, and me to celebrate our big boys and the end of their preschool year.

At the Circus

A few weeks ago, my nephew Cam got to go to the circus with my parents back in Colorado. Ever since knowing Cam was going and since talking to him afterwards, Zach has been asking when he can go to the circus. A week or two ago, Mike's mom and I were talking on the phone and she asked if I thought the boys would like to go to the circus. That was a no-brainer! So, Saturday morning, Curt and Linda came by early and picked the boys up to head out to the Shriner's Circus. My parents had warned me that it definitely was not "The Greatest Show On Earth," and therefore didn't really compare to Barnum and Bailey's circus, but that it was good enough for little kids. It couldn't have worked out better, though, because I had a soccer game at 10 and Mike had a tee time at 9:15, so this way the boys were happily occupied and so were Mike and me.

I met the boys and Linda after the game at Zach's soccer game; they had to leave the circus at intermission to get some lunch and get to his game on time, and I think that worked out ok. Zach was busy playing, so I asked Drew right away how the circus was, and I got a story in which the only word I could make out with certainty was "poopy," which left me wondering a little bit. So Drew repeated himself, and I understood, "Another one horsey poopy on floor." The full version of the story is that the boys were riding on horses or ponies and one pooped on the floor and held up the whole line, and then another one pooped. Apparently this made an impression on Drew!

So here's Zach on his pony.

Drew with Grandpa Curt on the pony.

Evidence to support Drew's story.

Throughout the day I got other bits and pieces about the circus. Drew's version- "Yellow snake! Tongue out!" Zach's interpretation- "There was a guy holding a big yellow snake, and his tongue kept coming out."

Another story Drew tells everyone is this- "Two elephants... walking... big trunks!" Zach's interpretation is that there were two elephants walking around with their trunks and tails interlocked. This is Drew's favorite story, and it's so cute to hear him tell it because he's just brimming with excitement each time.

The last story we hear a lot is this- "Bears... dancing..." There were bears dancing and riding bikes, I believe.

The boys must have done some inflatables before the show started.

We hoped that Drew wouldn't be freaked out by the clowns, and it seems like he was fine. He mentioned one thing to me about the clowns. "Red nose... funny paint on face!" was basically the story I got. I just love this picture because the boys (especially Zach) look so happy.

Before the show, Grandma and Grandpa told Zach and Drew that they could each pick out one thing to take home as a souvenir after the show. At first drew picked out this Superman blow-up doll that is as big as he is. Curt and Linda managed to talk him out of that (thank you!), but he ended up picking out an elephant that is almost as big as he is anyway. Oh well!

Zach picked out a gun. His first gun (sigh). I knew it was only a matter of time before he had a toy gun, and while it's something that I was against when Zach was a baby, I now know that boys will be boys, and part of that is playing/pretending with guns. It looks like a laser gun and it lights up and makes lots of neat noises (neat if you're 4; kind of annoying if you're the parent hearing the noises over and over again). Zach said he picked it out because it looks like it could be a Star Wars gun.

Here are the boys with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Curt. Thanks for taking them to the circus, Curt and Linda, and for the souvenirs they got. They love their new toys and had such a fun time! Thanks for sharing these pictures with us, too!

Milestones

We've had 2 big milestones in the past couple of weeks, one for each boy. First, last week Drew pooped on the potty, which was our first successful attempt at anything happening on the potty with him. He tells us every time he poops so we can change his diaper right away, and he knows that if he goes on the potty he'll get M&Ms, but something just isn't clicking for him. Anyway, one day last week Mike caught him right as he was about to poop and got up to the potty in time. Drew was very happy to have pooped on the potty and to get his M&Ms, but we haven't had any repeat occurrences, and that's ok with me. I have hoped he'll get potty-trained right at 2 and a half years like Zach did, and that's not until September, so I figure we still have time. And don't worry, I know he's not Zach and he may not potty train at the same time that Zach did, and I'm fine with that, too.

The other big milestone that just occurred yesterday, and this one was Zach's milestone. He rode his bike with no training wheels! We tried removing the training wheels last summer one time, and Zach just wasn't ready. He just leaned so much to one side or the other. We've been thinking for a while that we needed to give it another shot, and yesterday the boys were on their bikes (Mike and Zach on bikes, Drew in the Burley), and they ran into a preschool friend of Zach's who was on his bike with no training wheels. I think this really helped Zach to see that someone his age/size can ride without training wheels, and therefore maybe he could, too. So about 15 minutes before we needed to leave our house, Mike and Zach went out and gave it a try. Drew and I went out after about 5 minutes, and I was sort of expecting to see the major leaning we'd seen last year, but I was wrong! This video is from a few minutes later.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Zach got a little more practice in tonight with Mike, and did and even better job. He had a couple of good stops, but also a couple of crashes into the grass. Next we'll have to tackle getting started on his own and turning corners. We are so proud of him, though, and feel like this is a great boost for his confidence. I think his birthday in a month may bring a bigger bike, too.