Adventures with Grandma Linda!

Grandma Pam loaded us into the car and said we were going for a ride, next thing we know we arrived in Volga where Grandma Linda was waiting for us. We thought maybe this is where we would find daddy and mommy, so we ran back and looked in the bedroom they stay in, but they were not there. We were so sad, but Grandma Linda took us to the living room where she keeps the toys. Guess what, there were some new toys and three new balls, so we started playing. Second-cousin Philip, Uncle Kyle, Aunt Rachel and new cousin Elliot all came over to play and eat pizza.

We love pizza so we stuffed our mouths. Grandma was not happy when I started throwing my food on the floor. That was my first boot camp lesson. When I was done eating, I was put on the floor with a bowl and Kyle and Rachel had me pick up the food I had thrown on the floor. I could not believe they were making me do this, but they were serious so I got the job done. All too soon it was bedtime, although don’t tell mom- it was an hour later than when we usually go to bed! Jaden slept in Grandma’s room, and I slept in daddy’s room. Jaden decided to get up at midnight, but Grandma talked him into going back to sleep.  But he showed her – and was up at 6:00 AM!

 

Another cool, rainy day, so all we could do was look out the glass doors. Grandma has a lot of quack quacks (birds) in her yard. Someone left the bathroom door open, so we picked up some Tupperware and thought the toilet would be a good place to throw them. Wonder why Grandma was not real happy with us? After our naps, we went to Brookings to pick up Aunt Rachel and went to the Children’s Museum.  Wow, what a place. Grandma forgot her camera – now how could she do that!? We loved pushing those green grocery carts. We hooked vegetables to this high thing and watched the vegetables go to the top and drop.   Then we gathered eggs.  Soon Jaden found the climbing thing, so off he and Phil went.  Jaden loved it, but poor Phil was a bit big to get around some of the corners.

Then Jaden heard something – water – really?  Yes, you should have seen all the water!  Phil and Jaden spent a long time in the water room. When Grandma came to get Jaden, he was soaked, but did not care!  I did not want anything to do with the water, so Aunt Rachel and I found the music room til it was time to leave.

What is the bright object outside? – the sun – really!?  Phil came out and helped Grandma get us to church.  Jaden did not even make it through the second hymn before Grandma took him out. I was a good boy and stayed in church the whole time. After our naps, Grandma got out these harnesses with a monkey back pack and put them on us.   We did not mind at all despite the fact that daddy told Grandma we are not dogs. We went for a walk.

Afterwards, we went for a stroller ride (Marcia came over and she pushed our stroller) and Grandma pushed cousin Elliot.

When we got back, Grandma said she was too tired to cook, so we got to eat at McDonalds (again, maybe something we shouldn’t tell mom!). Jaden, loved dipping those French fries into the ketchup. I loved my apples.  Afterwards we got to play at the park, and by the time we got home, we went right to sleep.

 

 

We were kind to Grandma and slept in until 7 AM Monday. We ate a good breakfast and then Grandma read books to us. We tried to pronounce the words she was saying. Then Grandma Pam came and off we went to Watertown for the week.

Thanks, Grandma Linda, for a fun time!

Preparing for South Dakota Bootcamp!

As the boys prepare for South Dakota Bootcamp, here’s a schedule for Grandma Linda, Grandpa Pam and Grandpa Al. The boys do pretty well sticking to Miss Lauren’s schedule at day care, but they have minds of their own, too!

Jaden will likely wake up first, if it’s before 6am, I give him some milk, change his diaper, and put him back to bed---he will likely cry. Try to leave him and he may/should/hopefully go back to sleep. Leaving a book within his reach helps him too. Evan is less predicable as he could wake up at 6am if he hears Jaden, or wake at 7, and if you’re lucky, 8am. They can have some cereal in the morning. As we are eating, Jaden usually sits and watches cartoons with his dry cereal.

Between 8-10am they usually eat. Typical foods include: yogurt, applesauce, lightly toasted bread, waffles (plain), muffins, fruit of any kind. You can put dry cereal on their tray as you prepare food or clean up. DO not be surprised if Evan throws food on the floor---Jaden does this when he is full; Evan does this for attention! At any time, please discipline as necessary. 

If it’s nice outside, morning is a good time to play outside. For sunscreen: the ‘stick’ makes it easy to put on the face, ‘spray’ for their scalp, and ‘lotion’ for arms/legs. I know, they are high maintenance.

Between 11:30-12:15 they typically eat lunch. It totally depends on their moods as to what they will eat! They seem to like mac n cheese, pizza, grilled cheese, cheese sandwich. They will eat most meats in small pieces……pasta marina sauce/BBQ sauce/or ketchup with the meat helps if they aren’t eating it. We grilled out and they loved baked beans! Canned carrots are their favorite veggie and they can easily split 1 can in a sitting. If you plan to give fruits at meal time. Give them at the end, or they will only want more and eat nothing else. Also, If they aren’t eating the figner foods/bite sized pieces on their trays, try using a metal fork and put a piece on it for them and give them the fork---then they should eat better because it’s more fun for them…..more work for you!

After lunch, change their diaper and to make it easy-just give them about 4-5 ounces of milk in a bottle and put them in their respective pac-n-plays with the lights out and sound machine. They should fall asleep for about a 2.5 hour nap.

When they make up- they can have a snack. For snacks: any fruits, any of the breakfast items above, gold fish crackers, veggies, graham crackers, etc.

Special Occasion: Ice Cream treats!

Playtime! They will continue to push their boundaries! They are sneaky, and quick! If they are doing something they shouldn’t be---diverting their attention should help. Also during fussy time, DVDs or Mickey Mouse online should help. They love Mickey!

Supper- same advice as lunch. Depending on snack time in the afternoon---they likely will get hungry by 5:30 or 6. They can have water in sippy cups at meals. Only thing they can’t have it Peanut Butter (and I would just stay away from eggs with Jaden).

At 7:30pm (7:15 if fussy) give them about 7-8 ounces of milk in bottle. They can drink this while playing/watching DVD. You can change them into PJs. After the milk, brush their teeth. You can put about a fraction of a pea-size dot of the toddler toothpaste on their yellow toothbrushes. You will have to do the initial brush, then they love to try and eventually chew the brush. Tonight Evan was a Drama King after I took the brush away. Then put them in their pac n plays. Nate typically sings the ABC’s and Jeasus Loves Me. Jaden gets his blanket and Evan his lamb. 

They likely will cry, but just for a bit. Evan tends to be up til after 9 whereas Jaden should cuddle with his blanket and fall asleep soon.

Now, go to bed yourself!! I do not practice what I preach, but I would highly recommend it. Jaden will be up early! If one happens to wake during the night---change diaper if needed. Evan seems to talk in his sleep, so you may just let him go. Jaden will scream-cry. If it’s like 4am, I’d give him some milk and leave him alone. I got in a pattern of trying to rock him but then he wouldn’t let me put him back down without waking up, so then we spent days basically waking up at 4…….now I just give him milk and close the door!!

You will have so much fun…..oh, and don’t forget to take pictures!!! Text/call anytime. Miss you all!!

And a final HUGE THANK YOU!!!!!

I know, I know.......'Mom, we've got this!!'

Fun Run!

Who knows if the boys will be avid runners like Aunt Laurie who is completing her 40^th state this weekend in her venture to run a marathon in all 50 states; however, they did complete their first 200-meter dash! Well, dash is a word used loosely with 1-year-olds. They definitely dash in places they shouldn’t--- like when I take one of them out of the shopping cart, and off they go. Or when we walk on the sidewalk and they spot the dog across the street they want to run and pet. 

Stay in the yard, boys!

But on the track, Evan did a little more meandering than dashing---about ¾ of the way he heard the up-beat music and stopped to dance- bouncing his head up and down: he definitely enjoyed the journey to the finish line.

Jaden and Nathan run ahead from Evan and I.

There were a lot of people at the start, so I was a little worried we would end up carrying them the 200-meters to the finish!

Mason, from daycare, also ran. The three boys did great and made it the whole way. This is my attempt to get a photo afterwards! And a great view of Evan’s bite mark on Jaden’s cheek. 

Martha or Mary?

I received an email today from Nathan. It was a reply to an email I sent him the end of March with his statement: “List completed!” I looked below, and saw the laundry-list of dates I had sent him regarding evening and weekend times I needed him- or a sitter- to watch the boys in April through graduation last Saturday. On the heels of finishing my small group book “Balance that Works When Life Doesn’t” by Susie Larson, I reflected on her writing and this past school year. (And yes, for those following and remember I posted many months ago about this book, we did take an entire school year to read one book :) ) 

The school year does have a natural ebb-and-flow, you can guess where April falls! But along with the business of work, there’s Mr. Evan and Mr. Jaden to worry about. With the warm weather they are non-stop on the go, all day and evening. This past month Evan got his first scraped knee, Jaden climbs on things that are way too high, and of course, when out of the stroller-they both go in opposite directions. We won’t even start about trying to keep a house clean with twin 1-yr-olds!

Squeezable fruit.....that's spill-proof, right?!

The last chapter of the book reflected about a passage from Luke 10 that I remember my dad referring to often growing up and even in recent years to me Thanksgiving weekend! 

          “Mary and Martha welcomed Jesus into their home. Both wanted to be near Him, both wanted to serve Him. Martha hurried to and fro, stressing about the food when the Source of all life was sitting in her living room. Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus’ feet and soaked in everything He had to say. Martha complained to Jesus and asked Him to talk to Mary. And this was His reply: “My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it – and I won’t take it away from her.”’

When thinking about balance, I see that this passage doesn’t just refer to me being ‘Martha’ when we have company over, but me letting go of some of the ‘details’ of motherhood……i.e. stop looking at overly-organized pins on Pinterest! The boys get into everything, they don’t know how not to spill, and I promised I wasn’t going to write about Jaden’s new shoes that after just the 5 short minutes I let him play in the yard, the shoes and Jaden were covered in mud! 

The boys running out their energy at a stop during our last trip back to SD.

Believe it or not, the boys loved playing with blocks within this gate while Nathan and I planted our garden. 

And yes, looks like I have a details boy on my hands.......

But do all those details matter? Should I worry about them? No. But it’s easier to write than to do. I think, ironically, it really does take Balance. Finding that fine line of worrying enough for the safety of my boys, but yet, letting them have fun exploring and learning. And as I look at the dishes in the sink, I think I’m going to practice the chapter on Rest and go to bed!

Discovering the Fun in Normal!

The ISU Health Promotions & Wellness office sponsored free admission into the Children’s Discovery Museum, so it was the perfect opportunity for Evan and Jaden to explore the museum. And explore they did!

Obviously there was a lot they couldn’t do, but they kept busy the whole time! 

Nate built a tower they could actually crawl under!

Jaden LOVED the cows!  He had to pet them all!

And then Jaden watched all 4 videos about the 'Farmer'!

Evan got some work done by planting the corn. 

And then we all got to harvest it. 

Jaden found a ramp for the tractors. 

Evan plotted how to get the animals out of the barn......

Although I love the sciences, I have to say the 3rd floor with more of the 'arts' was my favorite! 

Jaden got to star on stage as the King----really he just ran back and forth; up and down the stage but had fun in doing so. While Evan clapped for the kids who were playing with the lighting effects. 

Some kids were putting on a puppet show. They boys loved it!! I was surprised how long it kept their attention. 

Of course, Jaden was a little skeptical of the puppets. He had to figure out how these things worked!

 The secrets out! 

Evan enjoyed watching others step and hop to play the piano. Unfortunately, he didn't weigh enough to make the keys sound! 

The last thing we had time for was dancing to some music! The boys got to shake maracas and tambourines while spinning and dancing. The picture isn't very clear as the room was dark with a screen showing neon outlines of the kids dancing. They had a blast!

Soon enough, Jaden, you'll be big enough to climb on the fun two-story net playground!

Thanks, ISU Health Promotions and Wellness for a fun-filled afternoon!

Playing at the Park!

On the few days of warm weather this spring, the boys have had fun playing and exploring at area parks. It is amazing to watch them challenge themselves and do more and more each time. Which frightens me a little as I watch older boys at the park jump on things with no fear! At first they went down the slides backwards (like they do stairs).

We have a park across the soccer field in our backyard. Jaden bee-lines it to the playground, while Evan often takes a rest to cheer on a soccer match.

We have also ventured to Rosa Parks, which has playground equipment much more Evan-and-Jaden-sized.

 Aunt Laurie brought bubbles to the park!

The day before our last snowstorm we went to Carden Park at Prairieland. They had so much fun venturing on the playground. I think Nathan had just as much fun!

One of the largest parks – not completely Evan-and-Jaden-friendly- was Northpoint Elementary. You can tell a lot about Evan and Jaden’s personality by their independent selection of which item they ran to first: Evan found something he could sit on and chill, while Jaden picked the climbing wall which he found his way to the top right away!