Sombraros, Diseases, and Baths, O My!

Almost a week with no posts and then I start with a lame over-used pop culture reference to Oz. Shame on me. Hopefully the cute pictures will make up for my absence and lack of creativity. We had a small yard sale on Saturday - small meaning it was just lots of random things we wanted to get rid of but no big ticket items. Micah joined the fun for a little.They won't always do it, but bathtime is a much speedier process if we get both boys in the tub at the same time. Sometimes we shouldn't do it just so Liam doesn't associate baths with tormenting from his older brother. He wasn't too fazed, I guess. Micah's favorite bathtime activity is dumping water from toy to cup and back again. He asked that I take a picture of him doing it so that he could see himself pouring water on camera. Weird kid. Micah spent the first year and a half of his life in daycare and other than the ear troubles and constant colds, he was rarely sick. Liam, who has yet to set foot in a daycare, is our catch-all kid. If there's a random childhood illness to have, he'll get it. A few weeks ago, before vacation, he just didn't seem quite right so I thought I would take him to the pediatrician on Saturday just to check him out, as we were leaving on Sunday. He was diagnosed with hand-foot-mouth disease, a double ear infection, and pinkeye. Good thing we were going away. Last week, he developed a fever of 103 late Wednesday night. Ibuprofen didn't really knock it out over the next 36 hours, although if you had seen him running around and eating, you wouldn't have known he was even sick. But I took him to the doctor on Friday anyway because 36 hours is a long time with a high fever. Strep test negative. Nothing wrong. Temp goes back to normal by Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon, his temp is two degrees below normal and he has this weird rash. Back to the doctor. Diagnosis? Roseola, which I had to look up online. It's a high fever for 3-4 days, and 24 days after the fever breaks, a rapidly-spreading rash breaks out. The good news is that it's viral - no antibiotics - and the rash isn't supposed to be bothering him. It started on his neck and hairline, and in this picture, you can see it all over his chest. Luckily, it should clear up soon, and no worries - he's still a cool dude with the shirt to prove it.

Rambunctious Rendition

Lately everything in our house can be described using the word "rambunctious." I'm learning that it's part of raising two little boys. In the last few weeks, Micah is really into singing and is constantly making requests for certain songs and asking me to sing them. Yesterday, however, I got him to sing a current favorite, "Rock-a-Bye Your Bear" for the camera. You may remember this from his spring concert a couple of months ago. :) Enjoy!

Peace

Peace [pees]: a state of tranquility or serenity.

Curious Liam

There are a lot of differences in personality between our two boys. To be honest, even though I wasn't anticipating a clone of Micah when we found out Liam was on the way, I just assumed that they would be similar in temperament, milestones, personalities, etc. Boy was I wrong. The difference I am focusing on today is what I call "the curiosity factor". Both of our children are super-curious, but in such different ways. Micah was the kid who, when told "no", actually seemed to listened and refrained from doing the forbidden activity in the future. Case in point, we never really childproofed our house, other than the baby gates and outlet covers. (Insert audible gasp from other undoubtedly better parents here.) He never went in the garbage can, he never cared about the china cabinet, never thought to stick any of his precious trucks in the mouth of the VCR...you get the picture. He was content to play by himself, solving puzzles and playing with his toys, spending time trying to figure out how all of the stuff he plays with works. That's how he expresses his curiosity. And then there's Liam. Liam is the reason child safety latches were invented. He loves the garbage can and is obsessed with the dishwasher. Trucks are only really good for sucking on. It's only a matter of time before I forget to close the bathroom door and he gets to the toilet paper roll before I get to him. Turning the TV on and off is one of his favorite hobbies, as is pushing buttons on the remotes. He is utterly fascinated by the dogs' dishes, and will stand inches away while they eat so he can watch. Which explains this pictures from this evening. And he just couldn't help himself. (Stop searching the internet now for the phone number to CYS - he didn't eat any. I'm all about the photo opp but not if it makes him sick!) And today, I did something I don't usually do. I left the fridge door open while I wrapped up a leftover from dinner. I turned around a few seconds later to witness this little gymnastics act. Luckily, my camera was in the kitchen already from the dog dish incident. Something intrigues him in there. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can... Feeling so proud of himself that he switches to one hand, a la Sylvester Stallone in "Cliffhanger". Let's just hope his daredevil behavior begins and ends in the refrigerator! By the way, I'm definitely not trying to make a case here that one way of learning/type of curiosity is any better than another. I think both of our boys are incredible, and I love how they experience life in such different ways. We'll save the cloning for the sheep, and enjoy our unique little boys. On a totally different note, we had a HUGE thunderstorm this evening. We get big rainstorms almost every day throughout the Florida summer, but this one was especially powerful, and I opened the front door long enough to take this picture of the rain pouring off our gutters and swamping our front yard. Then I switched to the back yard to find Lake Black (dog-made, not natural) at flood level. At least the boys - both the dog kind and the human kind - aren't afraid of thunderstorms!

Loving the Library

We're creating at least one reader at an early age. I heard him doing this after I put him to bed last night and then asked him if he would do it for the camera. He obliged.

Bedtime and Bathtime

Sometimes, when everything feels out of control, I try to focus on the simple moments.

Like bathtime.

And a bedtime snack.

And the actual bedtime.

It helps. Sometimes.

Summer days

We've been having a fun summer already. The days are really hot. So hot. And humid. But we're doing the best we can. These are some pictures from a few different days. On the last day of our vacation (the day Tim finished the floors and we took back custody of the kids from my parents!), we celebrated at Crispers. Micah's kids meal came with a free gelato. Which turned into a free gelato soul patch. No idea what he was doing here. Apparently our placemats are more fun than his toys. Loving his shirt though. It's got a handprint from each kid in his preschool class. We already miss them and his teachers! Watching a summer rainstorm.

Hamming it up.

Hmmm...if I push this button, what happens??

Turns out, it makes his brother, who has a love affair with his own belly button, giggle like the Pillsbury dough boy.

Ready for their close-ups

Rolling around on the floor. What's the male word for diva?

Last Day of School

Last Friday was Micah's last day of school. The year really flew by, and we can't believe that, at two years old, he already has a year of school under his belt! We will miss Ms. Pam and Ms. Nicki and all of his school buddies, but I'm hoping most of them will be together next year in the 3's class. We think Micah just flourished in this program, and we're so grateful that our church provides such an incredible place for children to develop important skills and learn to love Jesus. This is Micah on his first day of school in September. Even then, he eagerly ran down the hallway! On his last day of school. I wish that I had a picture taken in the same place so I could see how much he physically grew. Lesson learned for next year. There was a box of cake mix sitting on the kitchen island and Micah kept asking me to make it. So finally I did for his last day of school. And now, summer begins...

Starting 'em young

You're welcome, Heinz, for helping to create another generation of addicts.

Beautiful New Floors

Tim is pretty cool. When we moved into our house almost six years ago (has it really been that long??), we were unhappy with the carpeting. Gradually adding two dogs and two children to the mix meant the builder's grade, off-white carpet got worn down even faster. So we've been wanting to replace the carpet, but had been put off by the cost of the floors. And then to find out that the cost of installing them literally doubled the overall price was very off-putting. But I have wonderful husband who decided that he could do it himself. So he did! And all of a sudden, floors were affordable. He put laminate in our main room, the hallway outside the boys' rooms, and our bedroom. Here's our bare living room as the project began. The TV was the last thing to get moved out. :) And it begins! The dogs had no idea what to do and no idea where to go. It was a rough week for them. Samson approves the almost-done main living area. I took this shot while we were still unpacking all of our stuff. I took the opportunity that a newly blank canvas affords and rearranged our furniture. Now it feels like there are two defined spaces - the living area and the dining area, and things just seem to fit better. I couldn't be happier with the finished product. Yea Tim! I was so inspired that I decided to make us curtains. We haven't had any in a few years since we got rid of the old-lady ones that the previous tenant left behind. Turns out, curtains are also expensive, so I taught myself how to make valances. Really they're very easy once you figure out the pattern. It's hard to tell from the picture, but ours are olive green with a stitched flower pattern in the same color. A big shout-out also goes out to Mum-Mum and Pop-Pop, who spent the week in Orlando and kept the boys pretty much the whole week so that they had a place to play and sleep that wasn't coated in wood chips and dust. Thank you - we couldn't have done it without you!

Liam's party

We're back!! Camera cord located, blogging can begin again. Our baby is one year old. It's hard to believe we've had a year already with Liam. We can't imagine our family without him. In the beginning, he was a tough nut to crack. We thought he had some digestion issues; ultimately, he didn't. We thought he would start sleeping through the night; we're still waiting. We thought we would let him set his own schedule, much like we did with his older brother; instead we learned that Liam is "high maintenance" and needs to be on a schedule to thrive. The pediatrician wasn't kidding. But here's the thing about Liam. His zest for life is already evident. He is inquisitive and curious about everything around him. He doesn't hesitate to explore new things. He adores his older brother and wants to share everything - really, everything - with him. All of his emotions, most often joy, are written all over his face for the world to see. New tastes are just part of every day for him. He doesn't miss a thing. Making a mess is just one of the ways he learns. Even though he's only one and even though he's only been walking for a couple of months and even though he's only starting to talk and even though he's still new to life and has so far to go, it seems as though he has already learned one of life's biggest lessons: live each moment to the fullest, and do it with joy. Happy Birthday, Liam. We love you, we celebrate you, and we can't believe how blessed we are to follow you as you run through life.