Dirt

I recently read a Q&A -- the question was "At what age is it safe to allow my child to play in a sandbox?" A portion of the answer is: "Most children seem to take to the sandbox by around 12 to 18 months .... Babies and toddlers explore their world by mouthing things, though, and your child's likely to try to eat some sand the first time she encounters it.... Most kids will quickly discover that sand doesn't taste good, and stop eating it on their own."

So I decided to put that theory to the test. Both the boys love to play outside. Andrew especially loves digging in the dirt. And Eric is no longer content to just sit in the swing while Andrew digs. So last week I let Eric loose. He isn't walking yet, so I knew this would be very dirty.

As expected, Eric put dirt in his mouth...then one rock, and another, and another. Each time he would put something in his mouth he'd take it out and look at it like "Gross!" Then he'd put it down and proceed to pick up another rock to put in his mouth. I didn't wait long enough to reach the "rocks don't taste good, now stop eating" point. I figured he'd gotten enough extra minerals in for the day.

Croup

Andrew has croup. When I explained that we needed to go to the doctor, I said "We need to go to the doctor so you can get better."

He was so great at the doctor -- letting him listen to his breathing, opening wide when he looked into his mouth, and taking the medicine they gave him there in the office. Then as we were leaving the office Andrew coughed. He looked at me with his sad, red eyes and said "Mom, but I'm still sick."

It made me tear up and smile at the same time...he was just so sad. He believed that if we went to the doctor he would get better right away.

Today he is doing a little better. Coughing more, but breathing better. He's running around again....and fighting with Eric, too (a sure sign of improvement!)

Sticks and more sticks

It seems I'm always writing funny little stories about Andrew. I guess that's because he's talking now. So this post is dedicated to Eric, the lover of sticks, swords, and anything long.



It's true...Eric loves anything long. He goes into the laundry room and wrestles down the big broom or mop, then he drags it all over the house. Going Whack! Whack! as he crawls along.

One of his favorite long things is a retractable sword. More than once we've had to take it to the store. We even took it out to eat once...Eric sat in the high chair holding tightly to the sword, eating one handed (not usual for this boy who typically uses both hands to eat as quickly as possible.)

So here he is with a snow shovel. Andrew and I were shoveling the snow (yes, shoveling in March. Ugh.) Eric was perfectly content, as long as he could hold a shovel too.

Scowls and sighs

Andrew plays a "game" when we get in the car -- it goes like this:

I go to put Eric in the car while Andrew clambers into the car. Andrew climbs over the car seat, and into the front seat.
I say "Andrew get in your car seat please."
"No!"
"Andrew get in your car seat, now."
"I'm too busy!"
"Andrew, get in your car seat NOW!"
Andrew says nothing.
"Andrew, get in your car seat now or we can't go to the library."
Andrew says nothing.
"Alright, I guess we won't go to the library."
"No! I want to go the library!" Andrew hastily crawls back to the car seat and gets in.

This happens nearly every time we get in the car. So the other day I was feeling quite grumpy about it. And as I was buckling Andrew in, he looked at me and genuinely asked "Mom, why you so mad to me?"

And that's when I felt the scowl on my face and heard the sigh that I had just uttered. And then I smiled. Kids can be so perceptive.

Fire Safety

For Family Home Evening we decided to have a lesson on Fire Safety. I wasn't very well prepared so I was just reading aloud from the FHE Manual -- "Protect children by buying them flame-retardant sleepwear and costumes for special holidays." Apparently other people where costumes a lot more than we do....

Later on during the lesson I could tell Andrew was getting a little nervous about their actually being a fire. So to clarify, I said "If the fire alarm every goes off, don't worry. Mom and Dad will come and get you."

Andrew said, "Yah, and then I'll get my costume on so I won't get burned. And I'll put those [the piano headphones] on so the noise won't hurt my ears."

Then he was obsessed with the idea all night -- going through the house pointing at things "I hope my digger doesn't burn. I hope my Bob the Builder toys don't burn. I hope the couch doesn't burn....etc, etc, etc."

I'm not sure that lesson was very effective. But in the end, Andrew did say he would go outside if there was a fire, and then he added "I know, I will play catch with the fireman. That's a good idea!"

Andrew turns 3!

Andrew turned 3 last week. Brian got this great picture of him....he looks like such a little boy! no more a toddler!

When I told Andrew that Grandma was coming Andrew said "Is Santa Claus coming too?" I said "Uh...no." He got the saddest look on his face and said "But Santa was supposed to bring me presents." After explaining that Mommy and Daddy were giving him presents, he immediately said "Oh, thanks Mom."

This birthday was all about trucks (again!) He asked for a "front loader back hoe digger." Here he is admiring his Bob the Builder cake.

Hats

Although Eric doesn't like his winter hat much, he got a kick out of wearing this newspaper hat.









While I was taking this picture of Eric in the paper hat, Andrew was busy "cooking" with his Moon Sand. He emerged from the kitchen and disappointedly told me "I can't find a chef's hat." So, we improvised and put a towel on his head.

You know you're predictable when....

You know you're predictable when your not yet 3 yr. old is commenting on your new t-shirt. (Sorry to comment on clothes again.)

Most of my clothes are black or brown, or maybe white. So today I wore a new "tangerine" t-shirt. When I came downstairs, Andrew looked up at me and happily said, "Ooh! Fun shirt Mom!"










This is Andrew on Sunday. We always have a hard time getting Andrew to sit down and eat some dinner. His excuse this time was this: "I have to build something!" After getting the tools, goggles, and a random stick, he also informed us that he needed his gloves because he was "working with fish."

(Dave, have you been talking to Andrew lately? Perhaps he was building an ice fishing house. )

Speaking of high fashion

Check out these cool bowling shoes on Andrew.












When we were in Rexburg a few weeks ago for the Temple Open House, we took Andrew bowling for the first time. It was exciting, we went with 14 cousins on 2 lanes -- after only getting to bowl one frame after 30 minutes we headed home early. On Andrew's one bowl, he pushed the ball and we watched it roll slowly, slowly down the lane, drop into the gutter, and roll out of sight. Andrew reaction was to kick up his leg, punch the air, and with much gusto say "YES!" He's a good sport. (; I do think it'll be fun to go again sometime with our little family.

Eric has started standing up from a crawling position. He's been sick with a cold (again) so he's been a little whiny, but his energy continues to be high. Here is a picture of him "smoking" his spoon. Don't get any ideas, Little Mister.

Dressing like a mom

I used to look at moms and think "Why do they still dress like they did in High School? Why don't they update their hair? Can't they see that they're out of style?"

Well, I believe I am officially becoming one of those moms. I cannot put an outfit together anymore. And yes, I know my clothes look like they are 10 years old -- well, they're not. I can't fit into those clothes. But now I'm just not a good shopper. I go to the store and am just baffled -- I don't know what to get, and if I do get something, I don't know what to wear it with.

So yesterday I went with my hip niece to the shoe store....they were having a great sale. But I couldn't make a final decision so I came home with 7 pairs of shoes. The intention is to choose 1 or 2 pairs and return the rest. Well, now my hip niece has gone home and I don't know what to do. I tried them on with my new skirt, and just felt out of it again.

So, I'm posting a picture of this skirt I bought. (These are not my legs, nor my stomach. This is a model.)

So the first question is, can I wear tights with it? (Mom with varicose veins needs tights.) And if so, what color? And then what shoes? And what shirt -- not a tightly tucked one like the model, that's for sure!

If you have suggestions, please let me know.