Firsts

Tonight was Mikie's first night of AWANAS. We've been talking about it for over a week now and trying to get him excited for it to no avail. I think what was really making him anxious was that they are required to wear a vest where they can display the patches they earn for memorizing scripture. He won't even wear a jacket when it is cold outside, so a vest to him was pure torture. We put it on at home before we left and he threw a huge fit and so we took it off in order to get him into the car. I was so nervous that the entire night was going to go horribly and that he would be kicked out for being disobedient. I began praying that God would ease both of our fears and that he would have a great time. All day long it has been overcast with a steady drizzle of rain. As we are walking to the church Mikie keeps saying "This is a bad, bad day." I know he is referring to both "the rain" and "Awanas". When we get to his room (204 the second story of the church...how exciting!) I contemplate putting his vest on again and risking another tantrum. I quietly tell the teacher that he is really reluctant to putting it on and she says that's ok for the first time. I explain to Mikie that just this once his vest will get to stay in his bag...he seems ok with that but will not join the group of children on the floor and prefers to sit and color at a table by himself. I leave...happy that he's not crying...but expecting to be called out of service to pick him up. An hour passes and I'm still in church...God has answered my prayers! When I arrive in his classroom he is playing with the other children and has marker all over his hands and face (a sure sign of participation!) The teachers tell me that he is a very smart little boy and only showed defiance once when asked to stand for the pledge but then did finally obey. As we were walking out he was smiling, happy, and chattering on about making an Ern E Elephant puppet, and that there was a story with Luv E Lamb and a zebra. I am so relieved that it went so well and he even said next time he would wear the vest (I'll believe that when I see it!).

Here he is with his teacher, Miss Freida and his cubbie bag (but no vest).The last week in July, Mikie went to his first day camp. For 3 1/2 hours each day he was at the Stafford Parks and Rec Camp Discovery. The first day was hard for him to transition away from me. I was in the hall listening to him scream and my friend, Kim, had to help calm him down (thanks so much!!!). The next day went smoothly and on the third he cried again but this time for only a few minutes. The 4th day ended up being his last since we had to fly home to Iowa for my grandmother's funeral. This was a really big step for him to be away from me for so long and I'm so proud of him for getting through it with only a few melt downs. It helped a lot that his 2 good friends, Lenny and Jacob, were in the camp as well. Here he is with his camp shirt on. He wouldn't stand next to his bag so I could get a good picture and Zachary was screaming in the car so I didn't realize that Mikie's eyes were closed until I uploaded it days later.

3 pigs

A few weeks ago: After reading The 3 Little Pigs (book #41 in Scholastic Phonics Reader set of 72), we made our own. And then we baked biscuits with a piggy front and a piggy back for dinner. It was fun, but my son is just not into arts and crafts so it took some convincing to get him to finish it.


The first one made his house out of grass. On the back of the house Mikie drew the first little pig and wrote the number 1. He chose a pink crayon so the details are hard to see.

The second one made his house out of sticks.

And the third built her house out of logs (notice how the smartest pig was the female!)

On this house he drew the wolf falling down the chimney (blue line on right) into the pot of boiling water on the fire (orange lines bottom right).

The next book was about the Bremen Town Musicians. We read the book, made a mobile with all the animals standing on each others' backs, and watched the 5 minute fairy tale video I remember watching as a child.

It's so much fun being a mom and a teacher!

Mikie says...

Just recently, Mikie has said a few funny/cute things that I have to get written down somewhere before I end up forgetting them. So, I thought this was a good place to post them:

When we were getting ready to take Zachary to his first ENT appoint I told Mikie that we would be seeing a new doctor today and her name was Dr. Redmon....his response: "Where's Dr. Bluemon?"

When Mikie had Hand Foot and Mouth disease, we went through a Mc Donald's drive through and I asked him if he wanted a Cheeseburger Happy Meal. He told me: "No, I'm not feeling well. I want a Cheeseburger SAD meal."

While at my parents' house he told my dad that he couldn't play anymore because "All the helium went out of my arms."

Zachary had on a pair of overalls with metal buckles the other day and Mikie informed me that he couldn't sit next to Zach because "he has weird clothes on". (This is from my son who has a zipper phobia)

Michael was talking on the phone with our financial advisor and Mikie had something that he really wanted to ask him but I told him to wait until Michael was off the phone. After a while, I heard him say, "Daddy sure is talking a long time!"

On Sunday we drove 30 minutes to Kings Dominion (amusement park) and we really needed Mikie to nap so that he would be cooperative. We told him that we would wake him up when we got to the exit (which he knows is #98). The entire way he was telling us that his eyes just wouldn't stay closed and they kept coming open. When we reached exit 98 Mikie exclaimed "Exit 98! I can wake up now. Exit 98! I woke up...see my eyes are open."

This one is an OLD one, but it's got to be one of my favorites so I'll include it: While at a zoo in Germany, Mikie had just turned 2 a couple months prior and had to use the potty. I took him into a stall and the sun was shinning quite brightly through the window above the toilet making our shadows appear on the ground. Now keep in mind it was a pretty windy day and my hair was not pulled into a ponytail making it very 'fluffy'. Mikie saw the shadow of my head/hair on the ground and said "Look, Mommy...it's a lion!"

And not too long ago I said something that I tend to think on a regular basis now that I have 2 children. I said, "This house is such a mess" to which Mikie replied: "Maybe we should move to another house."

Whew, I feel better that I finally posted this. It's all been written down on a post-it and I was afraid I was going to forget to do it. I should start a little section each week for funny sayings like my friend, Kelli, has on her blog. But, I'm not sure Mikie says as many funny things as Lenny does. Maybe now that he's getting closer to 4 he will. I hope so...it's so cute to hear what they come up with!

Update on Zachary...

I just love these pictures of our goofy little guy! We took the boys to the track at the middle school right behind our house last week when the weather was so nice. They both had a great time running around and climbing up the bleachers. Zachary was being so cute making faces at the camera while I was trying to keep him from toppling down the bleachers head first.




Zachary is now 13 months old and weighs 16 lbs 13 oz. He has gained 12 oz this past month thanks to the Pedisure he drinks instead of milk (he stopped nursing last week). He is fearless and into everything (I have a little 'Jack' on my hands). He is constantly climbing, dancing, throwing balls (and food from his high chair...hand slapping doesn't even make him cry....trust me...I AM doing it hard enough), and is now running to keep up with his big brother. He will jabber non stop but only says a few words (and you have to use your imagination to know that they are indeed words)....out, cat, dog, ball, duck (or it could be quack? not sure) and I think he is saying please which comes out like "deese". Michael and I swear one night last week after we said grace he said quiet clearly "Amen" but he hasn't done it since. (Once doesn't count in my book.....but does in Boagie's so I suppose I should write it down)

After battling an ear infection for 2 months (got his first molar) and then the hand, foot, and mouth disease for a week, we had 2 healthy days and then he developed a runny nose that lasted over 2 weeks (during which he was getting his second molar). He was so congested and cranky all the time, but thankfully it didn't lead to another ear infection (Praise God, ears have been clear for 1 month now) so we finally gave him some Clarinex this past Friday. OH MY GOSH..........I should have done that a LONG time ago.........he is now "Claritin Clear"! It immediately stopped the runny nose and improved his disposition immensely! Don't get me wrong...he's still a much fussier and more demanding baby than Mikie ever was, but at least now he is smiling, laughing, and running around acting silly again. He has the same belly laugh that Mikie did (and still has). There's nothing better than hearing the laughter of my two boys...well...there is one thing better... the laughter of my two HEALTHY boys!

I hope this doesn't sound selfish, but I feel like I have been robbed out of so many moments with him because for the past 3 months (since May 19th) he has been sick with one thing or another! Those are 3 months that I can never get back and will always look back on as having a grumpy, ill little boy. I'm so sorry, Zachary!

Peas & Ketchup

I fought a battle today and WON...

Mikie has had an aversion to anything green for quite sometime now. And with his strong will it's hard to convince him to do anything. It seems that no amount of bribing or threat of punishment can get him to change his mind. So I wasn't surprised to have a full blown tantrum wailing in my house when I informed him that today he would have to eat 3 peas (sweet, organic, baby ones even!)before being excused from lunch. I'm glad today was a hot day that warranted our windows being shut and the air conditioner turned on because if anyone had heard us I know they would have thought I had him locked in a torture chamber. It took over 45 minutes (and 1 extra pea added for a total of 4 because he smashed the other 3) before he finally said, "Mommy will you hold me and put them in my mouth?" Ok!!! Boagie had coached him over the phone to hold his nose and swallow them quickly. He tried that and you guessed it......GAGGED! He not only gagged, but almost started foaming at the mouth. Each time I would shove them in, out they would come still in a small green ball shape along with a spew of saliva . After many attempts, and thankfully no vomit, I buried one in a small blob of ketchup and offered it to him on a spoon. "Cover it all the way up, Mommy." So more ketchup was added to disguise the pea and with tears (and snot) streaming down his face we had success!!! All 4 peas went down and it only took 4 teaspoons of ketchup to win this fight.

He hasn't been forced to try too many things...

it's time to start changing that....

I've got my bottle of ketchup...let the battles begin!!!!!

Monday's Marker Mess

Seeing Steph's pictures of her boys playing around the house made me realize that I don't grab my camera very often to just capture our everyday lives. I always remember to take it when we go places but I thought I would just share a few fun teachable moments we try to squeeze in whenever we can:

Mikie really enjoys workbooks. Here he is doing a Dr. Seuss counting book. Notice the pencil color choice? I love it! I may not have my girl....but I still get to enjoy somethings PINK.

One day, while trying to do my Bible study, Mikie decided he didn't need a nap and wanted to keep me company. My study involved Moses and the 10 commandments, so I told Mikie if he wasn't going to nap he needed to have Bible study time too. We got out his toddler Bible and found the story of Moses writing down God's word. I read to him and he took turns reading to me and then we discussed the rules God gave us. Then I wrote them out (in very simple terms) on 2 pieces of paper, cut it to look like stone tablets, and then Mikie poured coffee on it to make it look like parchment paper. After they were dry, we taped them to thewall at his level so he could always remember what God wants us to do. Here he is pointing to the ones he needs to work on:

Commandment # 5, 6, & 10.

After that, he asked for markers and paper. I asked him what he wanted to draw and he told me, "I'm going to make Moses and the 10 Commandments". Isn't that great!?! Praise God that he was so interested in this lesson! Now just keep praying that they will start to make a difference in his behavior.

His finished masterpiece...complete with numbers 1-10 and a 3 year old's spelling of "Mommee". I will treasure this drawing forever! What a great opportunity God gave us today!

Well....Zachary woke up from his nap and wanted to get in on the fun too....I'm so glad they make WASHABLE, NON-TOXIC markers!His mouth is not normally fushia colored.... Let's had some black & blue so it looks like Mommy beats me.

Zachary's first drawing at 13 months. His color choices sorta resemble Mikie's favorites! Will I have another pink loving boy?

While I was taking pictures of Zachary's messy face, out of the corner of my eye I see Mikie trying to steal the spotlight or should I say "digital flash".....

Dark pink on one side!

Light pink on the other.

My sink basin sure was pretty after this day!

Rappahannock River

The Saturday after we got back from Iowa, we took the boys down to the Rappahannock River. We had a picnic on a rock and then let them splash around in the water. It was such a wonderful day! The sun was shinning without a cloud in the sky and that made the water crystal clear. We could see little minnows swimming around us and even fed them some of our bread. For the most part, the water was only ankle deep, but Mikie did find a spot beside a rock where the water came up to his neck. We walked a little ways up stream so that the boys could see the rapids and we even saw a fresh water eel. It was a really nice way to spend a lazy afternoon and Mikie is already asking to go back again.




"Mommy can you see my hands."



The dragonflies really liked Mikie's head. At one point there were two on his head! I was amazed that he didn't freak out and start yelling at us to get it off. He just wanted me to take a picture so he could see it.




"See I'm not going anywhere..."

A week in Iowa...

On July 29, my grandmother Rosemary Brown passed away. She was a kind, sweet lady whom I have so many found memories of and will miss dearly. We all hopped on a plane Thursday afternoon and flew to Iowa for the funeral. Michael flew back to VA on Monday and I stayed in IA with the boys until Friday so that we could go to the Iowa State Fair.



(I just spent over an hour trying to figure out how to put pictures in and they still look all mixed up! I give up! You'll just have to view it this way...I think I'll stick with Photoshow!)



Sigourney Tractor Implement 10 Year Customer Appreciation

While in Sigourney, the local John Deere Company had a customer appreciation day complete with inflatables, petting zoo, and the Oak Ridge Brothers performance. It was a HOT HUMID day....
Daddy & Mikie on a really big slide.

Daddy & Zachary navigate through the Rat Race Maze.

Cooling off with a snow cone on this VERY hot day! Mikie's dripping with sweat. (I miss Washington!)

Iowa State Fair

Of course, one of Mikie's favorite exhibits at the fair was the train building. He didn't want to leave but we had a lot more of the fair to see.

Petting a baby piglet!

At the Little Hands exhibit, the boys had a lot of fun being 'farmers'

Zachary picking an apple:

I just love this picture!!!

In the chicken coop:

Mikie wouldn't drive the tractor, but Zach enjoyed it!

Milking a cow

After they completed all their chores, they took their products to a pretend farmers market and received $1.00 that they could then spend in the grocery store. Mikie bought a popsicle and Zachary got a cereal bar.

Into the Butterfly House

It is so hard to get a good picture of Mikie these days. I was happy that this one turned out so well. Too bad I couldn't get one of the both of them.

A butterfly landed on my mom's face.