Finally MDO offers school pictures! I was excited to get the notice and even more excited to get the pictures. I was told we would get four pictures of each child and I got quite a few more than that plus a color and black and white of each pose. There was no mention that if you had siblings they would be photographed together – what a happy surprise!
Month: April 2013
Alex always likes to check out the lobsters when we go to the fish store. Today the man got one out and let Alex look at it up close and personal. He offered to let Alex hold it but touching a fingertip was as close as he got.
It has been interesting to watch Teague with the neighborhood boys over the last few weeks. He definitely gravitates to Alex, Riley, and Abram instead of Grant and Glenna, but he’s two years younger and can’t always keep up.
Wade and I planned a morning at the water park! He had never been and I thought having two adults might be best for my first time with two kids. We all had a great time. Teague loved the water fountains and watching everybody. Alex loved the small water slide and running around with Daddy. We got him to go on the big water slide once (just like always). After that he remembered that he was scared and would’t go again. As soon as we got home Alex was asking when we could go again.
We’re trying soccer again. Here’s hoping a 4 year old can handle hour long practices.
The water park was a definite hit!
There is no high chair (or rather hook-on high chair)! Although it is a wonderful convenience I always rejoice when it is no longer needed. No more collecting crumbs in the seat. No more having to take it apart to wash (and then finding what has gotten hidden between the clamps and the counter). Yay!!
A boy and his dog.
(Alex has really taken an interest in the animals recently. He has learned to approach them calmly and then to gently pet them. Amazingly now they don’t always run from him.)
Teague was so proud of his rocks. He carried them from one side of the yard and back (over and over).
Smile. You’re on camera.
(Wade brought home these video glasses to test. Alex has loved wearing them all day and recording/narrating everything he sees.)
Higher Daddy higher.
This reminds me of a 4 year old version’s of Born To Be Wild.
Tandem sliding – quite the accomplishment for Teague and Glenna.
Alex came home from school telling me this necklace was for catching rainbows. Tonight it was the requested item for dessert.
Mr. Independent can’t wait for his turn at brushing teeth (after Mom’s turn).
And so it begins with the second child (taught by the first child)
Alex turned his socks into knee socks and thought it was hilarious. He even requested the picture.
Teague was excited to learn that Madison will attempt to drink from his cup. (I was not as excited, but didn’t stop the behavior. Instead I grabbed my camera.)
We decided on an after dinner walk and Alex was a little concerned it might get dark before we got back to the house. He wanted a flashlight for everyone, but we finally set a group limit of two.
Teague decided he wanted a turn wearing the flashlight on his jeans too.
A little teamwork.
Alex is normally predictable with his breakfast choices (a bar or maybe two – usually nutrigrain – and apples). Occasionally he will ask for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Today he really threw me for a loop. He wanted a single piece of bread with the peanut butter and jelly not touching. The first description had the jelly on one side and the peanut butter on the other. We finally decided that might be too messy to make and to eat and came up with the half and half solution.
Happy Birthday to Mom.
Being a four year old must get exhausting. Alex has been counting down to my birthday for weeks. He couldn’t be more excited if it were his birthday. Earlier in the week he told Wade that decorations were needed. Thursday night Wade took the boys to the Party store and bought decorations. I had strict instructions this morning to sleep in while they did some serious decorating.
Batman to the rescue.
Sometimes even Superman needs a good cry.
Alex has been asking to go to Monkey Joe’s for weeks. (I have no idea why since we haven’t been in almost a year.) We finally arranged a playdate there with Riley. I was curious to see what Alex would do. He is sometimes rather hesitant and sometimes ready to jump right into new activities. For the first 30-45 minutes he wanted to “look” at the games in the arcade area. Then he finally went in the smallest of the bounce areas. By the time we had to leave he was having a great time!
Alex likes to brush his teeth by himself in the morning. Thankfully I thought to check his face before we got ready to leave the house.
Teague likes this book because it has a monkey (he still says mumby).
Photographer and his subject (eating jello).
We like to say that Alex didn’t sleep the first 9 months of his life but has made up for it since. He has always been a great napper. (The boy still took two two hour naps till he was 22 months old.) Alex currently takes a 2-3 hour nap and sleeps 11 hours at night. Imagine my surprise when a few days after his four year check up he suddenly developed night terrors. We quickly realized what they were and thankfully they don’t last long, but he gets them 4-5 nights a week. I called the doctor just in case there was something we could do to prevent them. The first question they asked was whether he could be needing more sleep. I told her his schedule and the nurse laughed and said a lack of sleep was definitely not the issue. She gave me a few tricks for dealing with them (most of which haven’t proved helpful) and told me good luck. Thankfully Alex doesn’t remember a thing the next morning. Wade seems most effective so he normally goes in the room and speaks VERY loudly to Alex. He eventually stops screaming and snuggles back down without ever saying a word. Night terrors are freaky. Very freaky.
Thankfully Daddy and his shop come through when craftiness is needed for Kindermusik class.
Teague and I have been reading the Belly Button Book quite a bit lately. Now he likes to lift up his shirt and yell, “Bee Bo” (which is the Hippo way of saying “belly button”)
It was warm enough to be outside and the rain (which has been a constant in our lives for the last few weeks) took a break for a few hours so we had an outside play date! Could this be the return of our normal spring/summer routine? I can only hope. It’s obvious the boys have missed it. And have there ever been more typical boy pictures?
Typical Alex. He took a break from playing with Abram and Riley to read one of his new library books.
Evidently it takes three shovels (and a sword) to play in the dirt.
We had a lot of fun this morning getting dressed for church. I wasn’t sure how Teague would react to wearing a tie but he loved it and stood very patiently (much more so than Alex) while his was being put on. Alex actually had to be convinced to wear a tie and bribed to wear a belt. (Alex did have a lot of fun with Teague’s tie before getting dressed.)
Tie assembly line.
When we were in Boston the research doctor asked if Teague played with his peers yet (as opposed to parallel play). I kind of laughed and said no. At the time I was only thinking of my observations of him at MDO or play dates when Glenna or Grant are present. Then the last few days I have watched how he interacts with Alex. They are definitely two years apart but they definitely play together. It’s quite adorable to watch.
It only took moments…
Working on the farm.
Wade might have a little work to do on teaching Teague tools and their uses.