Evidence of Max

Our sweet Max is a busy, little boy. Derek and I get a kick out of finding evidence of where he's been. Usually, it's harmless; like finding a truck parked in the pantry...



Or a spoon in the toilet paper...

Sometimes it's slightly annoying, like finding a buckle already done up when I have Seth in my arms and I'm trying to get him in his car seat (or swing, or bouncy seat, etc)...

But today we hit a whole new level...

I was sitting on the couch with Seth. Cole and Max were happily playing together, running back and forth from their room to the living room with blankets and pillows making a little nest for themselves on the living room floor.

On one of the trips, Cole came back to the living room, but Max didn't. Then I heard some noise coming from the study.

"Cole, please go see what your brother is doing." Cole went to the study and came back reporting, "He's playing with the computer."

Feeling too lazy to get up, I called back, "Max, leave the computer alone," hoping he would obey without me having to go get him. Obediently, Max toddled quickly back to the living room.

A little later I went to the study and noticed two things about the laptop. First, it was turned off, and I knew I hadn't done that. And second, well, see for yourself...

Uh-huh, yeah. The space bar is missing.

"Oh great," I thought, "How did he get that off," and, more importantly, "Where on earth did he put it?" I did a quick scan of the area, including the drawers in the desk since I know how much he likes to put things in things, and didn't see it. Figuring he must have carried it back with him to the living room, I left the laptop and assumed it would turn up when we picked up all the toys at bedtime.

At bedtime, the space bar didn't turn up.

I took Max to the study and pointed at the computer. "Max, where did you put the space bar?"

Immediately, and very matter-of-factly, Max pointed to the floppy-disk drive and said, "Dat hole."

A flashlight and some poking around revealed that the space bar was, in fact, in "dat hole." Thankfully, I retrieved it and put it back in it's place without too much trouble.

I have thought for a while now that Max would be one of those kids that liked to take things apart and put them back together, just for the fun of it. I just didn't expect it to happen at 21 months old!

Bug Week

Inspired by my friend, Jessica, I wanted to do some themes for the kids during the summer. The first one we did was Bug Week, and it was lots of fun!

We enjoyed all kinds of things such as bug hunts, bug crafts and eating bug snacks. We also read great bug books like Miss Spider's ABC's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and The Grouchy Ladybug. The boys really enjoyed the whole week!

Thanks, Jessica, for the great lesson plans and ideas!

I didn't get pictures of everything we did, but here is a sampling:

Making Lady Bugs

The Finished Product

We also made Caterpillars...

...and ate fun snacks like Ants on a Log, Spider Cookies, and Dirt Cups.

We used homemade magnifying glasses (minus the glass) on our bug hunts...

...and found some ants, a spider, a beetle and a few roly-polies.
(I think I'm glad we didn't find any more than that!)



Of course, Seth was along for the ride,
but he let the big boys do most of the work!
What a fun week!

***For links to the crafts shown above, click on the blue words.

The Wonderful World of Boys

One night at dinner, I was leaning towards Max to help him cut up his food. When I turned back to my plate, my dear first-born caught my eye. He was giggling and doing this:



"Oh, Cole, take your fingers out of your nose, please." I said. (More giggles from Cole)

Of course, Max just had to join in, because anything Cole does is the greatest thing on earth. So as I looked back at a giggling Max, I saw this:



"Oh, great, now Max is doing it, too. Max, take your fingers out of your nose, please," I said with a sigh (and a half smile).

I looked up at my sweet husband for support, and smiled, shaking my head. His reply was this:

Sigh.

Needless to say, we are working on our table manners, but I sure do love the sound of my boys giggling together and having fun.

It won't be too long until this one is joining in on all the fun:


I love my boys!

Music to My Ears

This evening as I was preparing dinner, I could hear the sound of Max and Cole playing together in their room. A few minutes later, Max appeared in the kitchen, without Cole. I didn't think too much about it until a few more minutes went by and I realized it was strangely quiet in the bedroom.

"Cole," I called out, "What are you doing, Sweetie?"

His answer warmed my soul, "I'm reading my Bible in my room, Mommy."

Oh how I pray I hear those words from him often and forever.

Comments from Cole

I've been jotting down some of the random things Cole has said lately. Here's a sampling:

"Your tummy looks weird, Mommy." (Yes, I know, dear. Thank you for noticing. But I do have 3 sweet babies to show for it, so that's ok.)

"I really wish I could be a crane driver."

"When the next baby comes out of your tummy, can we name him Trey?" (Um, next baby??)

"Mommy, I'm going to get on a plane and fly a long way to heaven, 'cause it's very far away!"

Van Cole

Cole requested to do a "bug craft" this afternoon (we are having a bug themed week this week...more to come on that later), and while I was getting the stuff set up, he picked up a few crayons and drew this caterpillar. It now has a place of honor on the refrigerator door. Until, that is, it gets taken to The Louvre. It's only a matter of time, I'm sure.

I'm still here!

I have so many post ideas floating through my head, but well, finding the time to sit and write them is a little difficult. Hopefully soon, I can catch up a bit.

In the mean time, here are just a few of the (most welcome) reasons I haven't had time to write: