Year in Review

Does anyone else feel like 2009 just started? Now I will have to remember to write 2010 on everything. It's usually February before I have that right.

It's been a busy year. Nolan has blossomed from a small baby into a very busy little boy. Sam has repeatedly shown he has wisdom beyond his 3 years. My inability to potty train him is bothering me more and more, but I don't know what to do about it...He is still terrified to actually pee in the potty!

TJ started kindergarten and has disproven my theory that I have perfect children. For Mrs. Marsh's sake, I hope he behaves for her after Christmas Break. He still needs to learn the world does not revolve around him!

We added one niece to our family this year. Charlotte Marie arrived on December 26 (see below for some adorable pictures!). My boys love her. I had Nolan repeating words while I changed his diaper yesterday (it helps him hold still), and this is how the conversation went:
Me: Say "Mama" Nolan: "Mama"
Me: Say "Daddy" Nolan: "Daddy"
Me: Say "Charlotte" Nolan: "Awwww"

When Nolan does say "Charlotte", it often sounds like "Sharpie". We'll keep working on it.

Next year, a new nephew will be joining our family. I was convinced Jared and Sarah were having a girl. I even did some shopping in advance. Guess I will save those items for some other niece and start looking for boy-appropriate gifts. Don't be mistaken, though, I love boys!

Happy New Year everyone!

The Birds and the Bees (According to TJ)

Tonight, TJ and Sam helped me 'cook' dinner. This means they both dragged bar stools over to the stove and took turns poking at the hamburger I was browning in the skillet. I eventually had to remove them from the kitchen, but before then I heard a rather fascinating bit of information from TJ.

TJ to Sam, "Hey Sam, did you ever think there would be more than us two brothers? I mean, there was you and me, and all of a sudden, there was Nolan! See, Mommy's tummy started getting really big. She thought she ate too much, but it turned out to be Nolan! And that's how we got another brother."

Sam's response? "Yeah!"

So much for all those discussions we had with TJ about the coming baby. He now sums it up that Mommy had weight issues.

Where did you come up with that?

My boys are full of wisdom today...

1. I wore a skirt to church this morning. I don't wear skirts very often, because I am not a fan of nylons. I also don't usually change my clothes in front of my boys (too many opinions and comments). But today, I decided I would change out of my skirt and into jeans, even though Sam was standing there yakking away at me. He watched me hang my skirt up and then remove my nylons. He said, "What are you doing, Mom?" I told him I was taking my nylons off. His response? "Those aren't nylons, those are stockings." Now, where did he hear that?

2. Bill and I went to Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle this morning. Bill helped their organist out by playing the prelude. Our boys went to Coopersville Reformed with my mom. So, we picked them up from her house on our way home. As we were getting their coats on, TJ turns to my mom and says, "When you die, you should think about selling this place." Say what?!

3. I decided I had earned a Sunday afternoon nap. I didn't sleep very long, but was enjoying being nice and warm in my bed when I heard a small person enter the room. It was Sam. He came over to my side of the bed and said, "Mom, are you awake?" I turned and looked right at him and said, "Nope. I'm asleep." He looked puzzled and said, "But I can see your face." I laughed. Do people who are asleep not have faces? He kept thinking it over and then informed me, "I think that you are awake." Oh, you caught me.

Funny Stuff

Nolan has a favorite phrase. "I do!" He will walk up to the cupboard, smile at it, and say "I do!". He is anticipating your question...."Nolan, did you want a cracker?". The answer, of course, is always "I do!"

Nolan loves hats. He can often be found playing with cars or trucks and wearing a hat on his head. Whether it is a plastic firefighter hat, or a Hanson Collision hat I got for free at a ballgame this summer, he is enamored with them. Oddly, he refuses to wear his winter hat outdoors and is forever removing it and throwing it in the van.

TJ had two winter hats. Now he has none. He knows he left one on the bus yesterday (great...last day of school before Christmas break, and he was on a different bus...what are the odds I'll get that one back?) and he has no idea what happened to the other hat. And we still have several months left of winter!

Now for something different...rather than a funny story about my kids, I'm going to tell one about my mom. Hopefully, she will enjoy it too!

My mom likes to buy the beer bread mix from Tastefully Simple. However, my parents do not drink, so whenever she makes some up, she has to have one of her kids track down a can of beer for her. This past week, she made a batch, but decided not to use beer this time. Nope, instead she used...Mountain Dew Live Wire! Bill thought this was one of the funniest things he had ever heard. He said he knows the alcohol cooks off when you use beer, but he highly doubts all that caffeine cooked off. So, have a slice of my mom's bread. You'll be wide awake the rest of the day!

Care and feeding of toddlers...

Things I learned this weekend:

1. Nolan loves bacon.
2. Nolan cannot chew bacon. Apparently, the fat in it is too much for his little teeth to handle.
3. Nolan will hold a piece of bacon in his mouth for about 10 minutes, then will start gagging.
4. I can run really fast into a hotel bathroom if I think my 20-month-old is about to puke in the lobby.

We were in Farmington Hills this weekend for Bill's work Christmas party. The party is really geared toward the kids, so his boss wanted us to bring the boys. They put us up in a Holiday Inn for the night, just to make it easier on us. It was nice to leave the party, go to the hotel, and put the boys in bed. The theory was that Bill and I would spend the rest of the evening relaxing in the living room part of our suite. However, it took the boys forever to fall asleep (Sam and TJ were wound up, Nolan was terrified). Then, they kept waking up. Nolan cried twice, Sam had a bad coughing fit, TJ couldn't find his stuffed puppy. I did not sleep much. But the boys had a grand adventure.

The bacon incident is really no big deal. I don't eat bacon, so we never have it in the house. By the time Nolan has an opportunity to eat it again, he'll probably chew it just fine. And he didn't puke. I did a finger sweep instead.

Other things I learned:
5. Santa is terrifying to Sam and Nolan. They didn't want anything to do with him. Sam told Santa he didn't want a present (because Sam didn't want to have to get close enough to accept a gift from Santa). I accepted it on his behalf.
6. Car washes are scary to Nolan. Very scary. We went through one on our way home yesterday, to try and remove several layers of salt and dirty snow. Nolan was literally shaking he was so scared. TJ got out of his seat (with my blessing) and hugged him while we went through. It was cute.

A few pictures:

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

At dinner tonight, Sam asked if it was dark out. I said yes, it was. He wondered if that meant it was nighttime. Bill explained that it just gets dark earlier in the winter, but it doesn't mean it's nighttime. Bill then informed me that at 5:08 p.m., the sun is now setting as early as it gets. From here on out, it starts to creep back. He then made the following profound statement: "The sunset keeps rising later faster."

I just sat there and looked at him with a little smile on my face. After a minute, he started smiling and said, "All right, what did I say?" I repeated his words of wisdom back to him, and he burst out laughing. He then tried to blame Sam and TJ, who, as always, were trying to interrupt us. He claims he can't think straight when he's being interrupted. Well, then he hasn't thought straight for six years!

In case you were wondering, Bill was trying to say that the sunrise will continue to get later for the next few weeks. Day or night, sunup or sundown, I guarantee you that if one of our kids is awake, they will be trying to tell us something. And Bill will be trying to think straight. And hopefully he will forgive me for posting this!

Sam and Nolan, my peas in a pod

I work short days most Fridays (I'm off one Friday a month, I work the other ones). Last Friday, I ran some errands after work and got home shortly before 4:00. I knew my mom had gone home for the day (she leaves during nap time), and I knew TJ was out playing with friends (it was his first snow day of the year), but I wasn't sure where I would find Sam and Nolan. I walked in the door and all was quiet. I wondered if Bill had given them something to do in the basement while he finished up his work for the week. I peeked into the living room and saw this:

Both boys were sitting very quietly in the recliner. Sam had gotten out a step stool and helped Nolan climb up. They were snuggling and waiting for me to come home. I went downstairs and asked Bill if he knew what his sons were up to. He said they had gotten up from nap about 15 minutes earlier, but didn't want snack or his attention. So, being Daddy, he went back to work. He knows they know where to find him.

Later that day, I was changing Sam's diaper (all attempts to train him have been a miserable failure, thus far). Sam suddenly looked up at me and said, "I know your name is Beth." I agreed that he was right and then I said, "But what are you supposed to call me?" Sam thought this over and finally said, "Baron". Heaven help me if my child ever starts calling me by my last name!

On Friday night we went to the Coopersville Christmas parade. All 3 boys received helium balloons. Nolan was in love with his and did not want to let it go, not even when it was bedtime.

Nolan has come down with a cold. It came out of nowhere and is really bothering him. He isn't sleeping well at night, which means we are both tired during the day. Apparently, Nolan was really tired at lunch today. He ate his food and then did this:

TJ and Nolan

TJ had his six-year well-child visit today. It's amazing to me how dumb he can get in public. He knows his full name, his address, his phone number, his right hand, his left hand. Yet would he tell any of that to Dr. Conner? Nope. Thankfully, she knows him well enough to realize he's a handful, not a dummy. The one thing he does need to work on (other than behaving in public) is tying his shoes.

TJ weighed in at 45.5 pounds (fully clothed) and 45 inches tall (with shoes on). That's about 3 1/2 inches and 4 pounds heavier than last year. Honestly, I was surprised he grew that much. He is finally just getting into size 5 pants. He is still only a couple pounds heavier than Sam.

Nolan now insists on having his afternoon snack in a little bowl, just like his big brothers. He gets 1/2 a graham cracker, a few mini marshmallows, and a few chocolate chips. I try to get him to eat his snack in the kitchen, but today he tried carrying it into the living room. But he didn't make it. He spilled the whole thing in the front hall. Rather than put everything back in the bowl, he plunked himself down on the floor and ate his snack as he picked it up. I suppose that is more efficient...

A few birthday pictures

Just Bizarre!

Both TJ and Sam are obsessed with the furnace. Every morning, Sam has to go around and check various registers to make sure heat is coming out of all of them. And TJ has to 'preheat' his clothes before he gets dressed. He gets up right around 7 a.m., which is when the furnace kicks on. So, he moves his clothes on top of his register vent, warms them up, then gets dressed.

Yesterday morning, Bill got up around 7:00 and noticed the light was on in TJ and Sam's room. He looked in there and laughed. Sam was still sound asleep. TJ was carefully lining up his Sunday clothes on the register. And he was stark naked. He turned to Bill and informed him that he couldn't get dressed yet because the furnace wasn't on yet and he didn't want to wear cold clothes (I have the furnace programmed not to warm up the house until we get home from church).

Umm, yeah.

Bill took pity on him and turned the heat on. After all, we can't have a child who is running around naked put on cold clothes now, can we?!

Big night out

On Friday, TJ turned six years old. I'm not sure how he can be six already, since it seems like only yesterday that he was born. But...the calendar doesn't lie. He was very anxious to have his birthday, and would probably disagree with me that time is flying by.

For his big day, Bill and I took him (along with Sam) out to Village Inn Pizza for dinner. We left Nolan with Grandma, as we didn't think he would fully appreciate the evening. TJ and Sam rarely come out to eat with us. So rarely, that they don't seem to know what to expect in a restaurant. The second the waitress seated us, Sam said, "Hey! Where's the food?" I have to give our waitress credit. She was very quick, and did a great job humoring the boys. When we heard something break back in the kitchen, TJ was dying to know what had happened. I told him he could ask the waitress the next time she came to our table. The second she walked up, he started asking questions. Not only did she explain that a plate broke, she even got one to show him exactly what kind of plate broke. When TJ expressed concern over the girl who broke the plate, the waitress assured him that no one was in trouble for dropping the plate.

When Sam started grilling her on the speaker system (his latest obsession is speakers and wiring...heaven help me!), she patiently pointed out all the speakers she could find in the room. When I mentioned it was TJ's birthday and that we were headed to Playworld after dinner, she whispered to me that he was entitled to a free piece of cake...did we have time? I said of course we did. So, a few minutes later she appears with a large piece of cake, complete with a lit candle and whipped cream on the side. Only, TJ and Daddy were in the bathroom. So, she slipped into a side room until TJ came back. Then she lit the candle and did the whole presentation all over again. She even made sure Sam got a spoon so he could share in the treat. The boys were well-behaved, just very curious about everything.

Admission to Playworld is $5.95 per kid (adults are free, thankfully). Turns out, I paid $6 for Sam to refuse to play on any of the big equipment. He wouldn't climb, bounce, or slide. Eventually, he got in a Cozy Coupe car and drove it around for 90 minutes. He also wandered around, checking the Moon Walk for air leaks (which Bill found highly amusing) and examining the sprinkler system. The birthday boy was in heaven. He went on absolutely everything, and was quite hot and tired by the time we left. Playworld wasn't busy, and there weren't any really big kids to push TJ around, so it was the perfect evening for him.

I will get pictures up soon! I promise!

How Rumors Get Started

I was in Nolan's room this afternoon, boxing up his 12-month clothing and putting 18-month clothing in his drawers (yes, he is growing!). Sam and Nolan wandered in and surveyed the mess. "Whatcha doin', Mom?" Sam asked. "I am getting out bigger clothes for your brother", I told him.

Sam turned to Nolan and said, "Did you hear that?! You are going to be a big brother!"

Heaven help me if he repeats that in public!

And just a bit of nostalgia...the clothes I put in the drawers are the size clothing Sam was wearing when Nolan was born. Time sure has flown. Sam stopped being my baby overnight, out of necessity. Sometimes, that still makes me sad. Most days, I'm just glad he is as flexible and easygoing as he is. Now, if he would just stop spreading rumors...

Ugh and Ohhhh....

I love my boys. I really do, but man, they can drive me nuts! I can't stand the way:

1. TJ screams like a girl when he doesn't get his way. I've been sending him straight to time-out for this one lately. Honestly! Take it like a man!

2. Sam says, "Mom, I need you." "What do you need?" I ask him. "I need you." This conversation can go on for five minutes, until I find something to distract him. I usually have no clue of what he wanted in the first place.

3. Nolan decides that he should be picked up while I am in the middle of preparing a meal. He sees I can't pick him up, so he wraps himself around my legs, preventing me from moving around the kitchen.

But since Thanksgiving is almost upon us, I feel a need to write down 3 things I adore:

1. The big smile TJ has on his face when he gets off the bus each day, and the enthusiasm he has when he greets his little brothers.

2. Sam in the morning. He is so cheerful. "Mom, I waked up! Do we have any cereal around here?"

3. Asking Nolan to give me a hug and having him gently lay his head on my shoulder. Awwww....

I guess they're still keepers.

The Portrait Process

I realized recently that we were way overdue for getting the boys' pictures taken. We have a portrait club membership at JC Penney, so that's where I've been taking them for the past few sittings. It's kind of a complicated process...at least in our family. Here were the steps involved:

1. Go to jcpenneyportraits.com and set up an appointment for Wednesday, November 11 at 9:40 a.m. This is as late in the year as I will go. All the crazy parents come out in late November wanting their kids' pictures taken for Christmas, and it is just insanity at Penney's. We took TJ there on his first birthday and the entire process took 3 hours. I learned my lesson.

2. Go through the boys' closets to see what they can wear for pictures.

3. Go to Kohl's to buy a new shirt for Nolan. His dressier clothes have already been worn by his brothers in previous pictures. Unacceptable to duplicate outfits.

4. Pay for TJ and Sam to get their hair cut at the salon. I never pay for haircuts, but for some reason, they will hold still for a stranger, and Grandma wanted their hair cut straight. Stephanie did a nice job.

5. Sam falls on the front porch on November 8.

6. Sam has a black eye.

7. Morning of photo shoot: Sam still looks like he got in a fight and lost. Put foundation on Sam's eye. Sam says, "Thanks, Mom! It feels all better!" Oy.

8. Smile as photographer attempts to turn Sam's head to hide the worst of the bruising.

9. Marvel at how cooperative the boys were during the photo shoot. They have NEVER behaved so well.

10. Look through proofs. Roll eyes at how noticeable Sam's injury is in the pictures.

11. Buy pictures anyway. There will never be a perfect sitting. I have 3 boys. This is just a fact.

Here he is. He looked even worse than these pictures show (in my opinion):

Our little helper

Nolan loves to do laundry! He gets very excited when I get the laundry basket out. He helps fill it up, loads the washer, moves wet clothes to the dryer, and most of all, loves to push the buttons to start the machines. He is so funny while he helps. He makes lots of grunting noises, as if to express that he is doing incredibly hard work.

The one downside is if he thinks I am going too slowly, he does it on his own...he puts wet clothes back in the washer, dirty clothes in the dryer...I have to watch him very closely!


He also likes to help empty the dishwasher. I just have to be very careful as he seems to be most interested in locating the knives!! Yikes!

Halloween 2009

Let me sum up Halloween in one word: BRRRRR!!! It was so cold trick-or-treating! I took TJ and Sam trick-or-treating through Eric's neighborhood in Coopersville. I kept them moving quickly, just so we wouldn't get cold. We were out for about 45 minutes. Sam was getting tired, so we called it quits. They had quite a haul of candy, though. Many homes gave them handfuls instead of just one piece.

After looking at the pictures I took, I was horrified to see that I only took a couple of Sam. And he was such a cute little monkey (although at first he insisted that he was the banana, not the monkey). Bad Mommy! I will try to do better next year!!

I helped out at TJ's Halloween party:

Here are the boys on Halloween, and one picture of Suzy and Maggie:

Playing with the web cam

Bill bought me a teeny tiny laptop. It has a web cam on it. He was messing around with it this afternoon and shot this video. Nolan was all excited because he could see himself on the screen (he is saying "Nolan" and "yeah", for those of you who don't speak toddler):

More observations

TJ had some sort of a bug last weekend (nope, not H1N1). I kept him home from church on Sunday in an effort to avoid passing the germs on and to encourage him to rest. His comment? "When you are sick you sleep a lot AND you are tired."

Last weekend we had a clear, starry night. Apparently, my mom was outside pointing out a few constellations to the boys. The next morning, TJ informed me that "There's a star shape that's a dipping spoon." I had to have him repeat that a few times before I figured out he was talking about the Big Dipper.

TJ had tubes put in his ears last Tuesday. It did not go well, but that's another story, and none of it was his fault. I asked him afterward if he could hear better and he said, "Not really. The sound effects are all off." I really don't know what that means, but at this point, I think his hearing is worse. He goes to see the ENT for a follow-up on Monday, and I am anxious to see what he thinks.

The other night, we had the news on while we ate dinner (No comments, please. It's usually the only time I can actually sort of catch the news). The top story was a child around 2 or 3 years old had been found wandering near a busy intersection. No one knew who he was, and he was unable to tell them his name. I thought that over. Sam is exactly that age, and in my humble opinion, is smart as a whip. He's known for over a year what an octagon is, he knows all of his letters, numbers, colors, etc. But I suddenly doubted he knew his name. I said, "Hey, Sam, what's your name?" He stopped eating, looked at me in disbelief, and said, "Sam!" I laughed and agreed that Sam was his name, but then I asked what his 'long' name was. I got a blank stare and silence in response. I prompted him, "Is your name Samuel William Baron?" He smiled and said, "Yep, that sounds right!" I told Bill that if a policeman just happened to guess his name, we'd be all set. I guess we should start working on that. Maybe I'll make him memorize his phone number.

Post Family Farm

Last weekend, we made our annual pilgrimage to Post Family Farm where we were joined by the Milanowski family. It's not much of a pilgrimage, actually, since it takes less than 15 minutes to get there, but anyway...

The boys had a great time. It was cold, but the ground was dry, which I always appreciate while trudging through the pumpkin patch. I think Sam managed to trip over every pumpkin vine he came across. I know why...he was too busy studying their elaborate sprinkler system to notice where the vines were. Sam also chickened out on riding the pumpkin train. Even Nolan and cousin Audrey were game to try that, but Sam was content to watch.

Our two pumpkins look great on the front porch. Bill and I are debating whether we are going to carve them both or not. I hate pumpkin carving, and am trying to find a way to not be available when it comes time to do that!

You Snooze, You Lose

All 3 of my boys seem to think afternoon snack is a buffet. They each want a little of this, and a little of that. Here's what they had for snack today:


TJ--a whole honey graham cracker, one package of fruit snacks, two big marshmallows, a few chocolate chips, two candy corns, and a candy pumpkin.

Sam--1/2 of a cinnamon graham cracker, a small handful of peanuts, a few chocolate chips, two candy corns, and a candy pumpkin.

Nolan--1/2 of a cinnamon graham cracker, a couple chocolate chips, and one candy corn broken into tiny pieces.

They each have their own bowl with their snack in it, and they are very particular about what I put in their bowls. Today, for some reason, TJ decided he didn't want his cracker. Don't know why, he just didn't want to eat it. So, I told him to bring it back to me and I would put it away. He came to me a minute later and said, "I can't. Sam and Nolan are sharing it." I went to investigate and discovered that, sure enough, Sam and Nolan had divided the cracker and were happily munching away on it. I was surprised by two things: that they shared, and that TJ didn't flip out when he found his brothers finishing his snack.

I hope they still eat a good dinner!

He did it! He did it!

It only took 18 months. Nolan is finally on the growth chart for weight AND height! Dr. Conner took one look at him today and commented, "Well, I see he has discovered food, huh?" Nolan was stripped down to his diaper and his chunky legs (probably inherited from his Mama) and his chubby tummy were very visible.

Fully clothed, Nolan weighs 23.8 pounds, which is the 23rd percentile (I think...it's hard to remember all these numbers!) He is 30.7 inches, which is the 7th percentile. He is definitely still a short little guy. I don't think he is ever going to be tall...I think he is built a lot like TJ.

Nolan is learning new words all the time...new ones for this week include "Shishies" (fishies) and "Suzy". He calls both Maggie and Suzy "Suzy", so apparently we need to work on saying Maggie's name next. He still won't say Sam's name, though, which is odd since Sam is his most frequent playmate. He rarely plays with TJ, but has a whole song made up for TJ ("TJ! TeeJay! TEEEEEEE JAAAAYYYYY"). It's very creative.

Chucky Warms and Wet Slippers

Sam has had his moments lately where he is angry, obstinate, or grumpy. Not sure where Mr. Sunshine went, but hopefully he'll be returning soon. Despite his moods, Sam still wakes up a pretty happy boy. This morning was no exception. Bill said Sam hurried into the kitchen and said, "I'm hungry for breakfast! I'm hungry for Chucky Warms!" Can you guess what he was actually trying to say? Yep, the always nutritious "Lucky Charms". I think from here on out they will always be known as "Chucky Warms".

TJ has always loved to wear slippers when it gets cool out. That's fine with me, because we are a no-shoe household, and the hardwood and ceramic tile floors are hard on socks. TJ used to burn through slippers pretty rapidly too, but last year my mom found the perfect solution. She bought him a pair of Crocs that are lined with fleece (or something else really warm). They don't mark up my floors, he only wears them inside, they are almost a year old and still look and fit great. The problem is, TJ takes them places (like to Grandma's) then forgets to bring them home. On Tuesday night, I realized his slippers were missing. TJ seemed vague on where he might have left them, so I looked everywhere....under his bed, IN his bed (things get lost in all the stuffed animals), in the basement, at Grandma's....no slippers anywhere. I was stumped but figured they'd turn up eventually. Then on Thursday night, TJ showed up at the dinner table wearing one slipper. I asked him where he found it, and he said, "the bathroom". That made no sense to me. The bathroom is pretty small, and I had been in there multiple times that week. I would have noticed the slipper right away. I asked TJ if he found both and he said, "No, just this one." But he seemed rather uncomfortable so I pressed him for details. He suddenly blurted out, "The other one isn't dry yet!"

What?! I went down to the bathroom and in the cupboard underneath the sink found a damp slipper. I asked TJ what on earth had happened. Turns out, TJ was watching me too closely. On Tuesday evening, as I was putting Nolan in the tub, he peed on MY slipper. I washed it and set it aside to dry. TJ decided his slippers needed a washing too. From what I understand, he filled the sink and dunked his slippers, then stashed them in the cupboard to dry.

It took 3 days for them to both dry properly. He has been told not to bathe his slippers again.

And that's that

This afternoon, my sister Amanda stopped by to return some books she borrowed. She was only here briefly, as she was on her way to meet her husband at church. As she was leaving, she called down the hall to Sam, "Bye, Sam! Be a good boy!"

From down the hall we hear, "You be a good boy too!"

Amanda and I laughed. She said, "Sam, am I a boy?"

"Yep."

End of story. Amanda tried to tell Sam she was a girl, but he was not convinced.

18 months old

On October 1st, Nolan hit 18 months. I can't believe how fast time is going, or how rapidly he's changing! He's such a character these days! He's finally using walking as his sole means of transportation, which is a relief. No more child hanging on the back of my legs. No more wet, sticky hand prints on my wood floor (WHY are his hands always wet and sticky??). I'm sure I'll eventually miss the crawling stage, but for now, I'm happy to be past it. He's finally grown into size 12-month clothing. He's got a chubby tummy, but is still very short compared to other kids his age.

Nolan talks ALL the time! Unfortunately, about 99% of it is not in English. I think he sounds like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. Bill says it sounds like he is talking backwards. Nolan understands everything we say and is quite content to make up his own language. He signs a few things, so that helps when he is desperate for milk or crackers, etc.

He is a sweetie. I love him to bits, and am so happy he's the baby of the family. He fits that role perfectly. He's my little Bug.

Rocking the bear:

Ditching the bear:

Stealing the bear's chair:

Not sure what's so funny, but he sure is cute!

Pet Project

Bill informed me awhile back that when he got a new job, he was going to buy some fish. We've had an aquarium that's been empty for several years, but I still thought it was a strange way to celebrate employment. Anyway...the boys have been campaigning for a pet, so when Bill landed his job, the boys were thrilled to hear we'd be getting fish.

They assisted (interfered) every step of the way. We are now the proud owners of two fish, Angie (named for Angie, TJ's friend down the street from our old house) and Puka (named for the dog we pet-sit, whom the boys just adore). Strange names for fish, but I digress. Here's hoping neither Angie or Puka goes belly-up anytime soon! Bill said he'd buy more fish once he felt fairly confident that these two were healthy and thriving.


TJ requested I take this picture. He wants to bring it (the photo) for show and tell, since I nixed the concept of bringing the fish to school. Let me tell you, fish are not the easiest things to photograph!

Satellite

Bill and I had DirecTV back when we bought our first house in 2000. After TJ was born, we decided we wanted to save some money, so we 'temporarily' cancelled our service in 2005. It was supposed to be for the summer. Only, we never called to turn it back on. We just learned to live without it.

With Bill's new job, his employer will reimburse us for the cost of our internet. Which means we have a little spare money each month. We decided to go ahead and get DirecTV again. Bill even got an DVR (since I never seem to sit down when my favorite shows start) and we got the HD package. Now we can finally see what our HD TV looks like! It's kinda nice!

We told the boys we were getting satellite today, and TJ was excited. He said, "All right! Now I can watch Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, and Destroyed in Seconds!" Ummm...those are not normal shows for a 5-year-old to watch. I asked him if he wanted to watch Nick Jr. or Noggin, and he said, "Oh yeah, that too."

The satellite service was installed while I was at work. This afternoon, I picked TJ up from the bus and we drove back home (we walk when it's warm, but it was raining today...) and I told him we needed to see where the man attached the satellite dish to the house. We couldn't find it. Turns out it's bolted to the deck. TJ spotted it awhile later. "Mom! Mom! I found the telescope!"

Storms

Sunday night, we had some pretty loud thunderstorms roll through. I was sound asleep when an extremely loud and long clap of thunder rumbled near our house. I woke up and my heart was pounding, the thunder was so loud. Not a pleasant way to wake up. Bill whispered, "Wow. That was really close." I wondered aloud if the boys were going to wake up. Bill said he couldn't imagine how anyone COULD have slept through that.

Just a moment later, I heard the door creak. I sat up and saw TJ in the doorway. I said, "Hey, Buddy, did that scare you?" He came running over to my side of the bed and said....."I have to go to the bathroom." I almost laughed. TJ still wants supervision about half the time. I followed him in to the bathroom where he mentioned that the thunder was pretty loud. He wasn't that upset about it. I walked back into his room with him and noticed Sam was sitting straight up in bed. I said, "Sam, did the thunder wake you up?" And he said, "Have you seen the way my pillow is?" Again, I held back the laughter, encouraged him to lay back down on said pillow, turned on their CD player (like their father, my children insist on having some sort of racket on while they sleep), and I walked away.

The thunder continued, but I never heard another peep. Nolan never stirred, TJ had gone potty, and Sam had examined his pillow. All was right in the Baron household.

The cross I must bear...

This is a picture of Bill (and my poor parents) unloading an organ that Bill purchased off Craiglist last week. For those of you keeping track, this is the THIRD organ in our possession. Ask me how happy I was about that purchase!

To his credit, Bill just wanted this organ for parts. It has been dismantled. Some parts will be added to his big pipe organ, some went into the garbage, and some of the wood will be crafted into other items later. He even re-used the organ bench. It's currently the basement entertainment center.

Not surprisingly, both TJ and Sam were really excited to see more organ parts come into the house. I did not take that as a good sign. I seem to be surrounded by miniature Bills.

I did warn Bill that if he tried to bring a fourth organ into the house, there would be plenty of room for it, as his wife would have moved out....

Cheerleaders

As you all know, I find my boys to be very amusing. Lately, they've been cheering themselves and others on with compliments. They just don't always make sense.

Sunday morning, Bill dressed Sam. Sam walks up to me and says, "Look at me. I'm pretty."

Sunday afternoon, we were watching Brianna and Nate open wedding gifts. Sam was observing the rest of us complimenting various items as they were opened. So when Brianna picked up a new gift and removed the first layer of wrapping, Sam says, "Oh! It's beautiful! What is it?" We all laughed. What he was looking at was a layer of tissue paper. None of us knew what it was at that point!

TJ's job at the gift opening was to put the opened gifts and gift bags in a pile by the television. He did a great job encouraging himself. He'd push a gift over to its designate spot and quietly say "Ta da!"

In Sunday School, TJ has to memorize some Bible verses. TJ is very good at memorization and had his Psalm memorized by the second day. "My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." He insists on practicing it everyday, just to make sure he doesn't forget it. Thus, Sam has learned the verse. I heard him playing in the garage last night, repeating over and over "...the maker of heaven and earth."

I had to email TJ's teacher with a question about a fundraiser he is doing. I also thought I'd check and see how TJ is adjusting to kindergarten. She assured me he's doing just fine. She said yesterday he kept helping the little girls by pushing their chairs in. She said he's quite the gentleman. He's not very athletic...guess he's going to be a ladies' man instead!

The cupcake kid

My niece Maggie had her first birthday last week. They had a small celebration at home...the big Van Dop party is this weekend. Aunt Kristi was kind enough to send leftover monkey cupcakes to my three boys. TJ and Sam ate theirs without too much of a mess. This, however, is the progression of Nolan and his cupcake mess:



He was so cute, I just let him go at it. It did take a LONG time to get all of the chocolate off of him, and his high chair, and the floor...