Supper sillies

The boys ate before Dad came home last night and had the sillies.  It started when I looked up to see Asher painted in technicolor in his Palak Paneer and Dal Masala (some TJ's Indian food I had on hand for when cooking is Just Not Possible) and started laughing.  Asher looked at me with his cherub smile and said, "What so funny, mama?" and then Owen joined in with 'cheeseball' faces :}  Asher got to eat his plum cobbler (which he and I made earlier in the day while Owen was at preschool and Eden was in the carrier...hmm, pie-making and babywearing, not the easiest combo) after inhaling his food, and Owen, my temporarily picky eater, said he would not take more than his obligatory tasting bite, and would eat his foot instead.  Which he then demonstrated :)

Bribe

So, Owen is perfectly capable of taking the next step in his reading skills, but not usually that interested.  We don't push too hard.  Just a little here and there and we keep it fun.  Reuel just relayed this conversation to me and I have to record it.

R:  Owen, how about we get out one of your reading books?
O:  I don't want to.
R:  But I'll give you a quarter if you read one to me...
O:  Well...I've got enough quarters.
R:  Owen, how much money would it take to get you to read me a book?
[Long pause]
O:  A googol.

(googol, noun: a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros and expressed as 10 ¹⁰⁰ )

(Context:  Owen had been asking earlier about the BIGGEST number and is unsatisfied with the answer inifinity.  So Reuel explained the concept of googol.  At least his comprehension is good, if the reading skills not quite as far along.)

Movies

No time to edit, so I can't vouch for the interesting-ness of the entirety of these clips...

Hide and Seek
Life is just fun with our two little guys on the weekend when everyone's home.  Heaven on earth some days!  What a privilege to share life with them.

Indoor swimming
Saw that the swimming back had been found in the closet, ransacked, and then came downstairs to find this!  What else are boys to do all winter??

Bathtime
Just some uneventful footage of the boys and Eden...and her gaze which always rests on her brothers when they are nearby!

On the differing temperaments of brothers, as observed while at play

Owen and Asher were playing outside together without supervision because I was tending Eden (Yes, I am well aware of the riskiness of this situation.  All I can say is that I have weighed the risks and benefits, and for short periods of time in which I can pop out every 10 minutes and take a look, I have deemed it more important that they get some fresh air than that we have zero risk of something going wrong.  How many burning bush berries can a 2 year old eat in 10 minutes?  I didn't count).  We had a 'meeting' before I went back in the house, in which I instructed which parts of the yard were off-limits, and I drew a bold line in chalk on the driveway to indicate the required stopping point (when I'm around, they go right down to the bottom of the drive with their bikes).  "Yes Sir!" say the boys.  (They are so cute saying Yes Sir to me, that I don't correct them to Yes Ma'am most of the time ;)

3 minutes later as I'm parked in a chair getting Eden to sleep, Owen comes running in at full tilt...

"Mommy, Mommy, UH-OH!  Oh no!  I was riding my three-wheel scooter and I was going so fast and not thinking very hard and I went over the line just a little bit!  Oh NO!"

"Owen, that's OK.  If you accidentally go over the line just a little bit, it's no big deal.  Just do your best to stay inside."

[Repeat 2 more times throughout afternoon]

On a check when I popped out to see how they were doing, I see Asher over toward the line and move in for a closer look.  Here he is with his little toes right up on the line doing a micro-shuffle, ooching his toes over til they are a few inches past the line.  Then, steps back behind and repeats.

Oh, birth order!  It's like me and Debbie all over again!!  So funny.  And why I only let them play outside like this because Owen is the elder, and very reliable as a tattletale ;)

Flirt

Eden cannot actually *be* this smart at 9 weeks, but her behavior would make one think so.  She must just be naturally loveable.  Lately when it's nap time and I wrap her up in her swaddle, she shrieks bloody murder for about a minute, and then when that doesn't result in her release, she stops crying abruptly, looks up at me and locks my eyes, gives the biggest grins and coos from her throat.  She persists in that for a minute, and I am like putty in her straight-jacketed hands.  Then, I recover my wits and place a light blanket over her eyes, and she drops off.  It's so nice when a blanket is all it takes to win!  Well, at least the falling asleep, if not the putting down.  What a contrast to toddler Asher...egads, the battles are harder-won.

Checkup and 3 vaccines today...
Age: 9 weeks
Length 22.5 in (~50th %ile)
Head:  14.75" (~20th %ile)
Weight:  11lb 4oz (between 50-75 %ile)
Weight:length:  50%ile

Only cried for one of the shots!  The boys were gleeful watching her cry...sad human nature!  Asher was saying the whole way to the office and down the hall to the exam room, and while the nurse came in to jab Eden, "No fank you.  I don't want any.  No fanks very much."

Dolly

Since the resident little girl is not yet up to playing with the various toys she has received, her brothers are more than happy to play with them til she's ready.  Of course, this is how boys play with dolls:

Let's just say a prayer for Eden, that once she's ready to play with them, she'll fare better with her brothers than her doll has.

Whacker

Owen:  Mooooooooooooooooooooo-oooom!  Asher just hit me with his hard hat, HARD!!!
Me:  Asher, please come here.  Stand up right here.  No, on your feet.  That's right, now look in my eyes.
Asher:  Okay mommy.
Me:  Asher, did you hit Owen?
Asher:  Yeah, hit wif my hat.
Me:  Asher, we don't hit.  That is a no-no.  You may NOT hit Owen.
Asher:  Oh.  Sowwy Mommy!  Sowwy Owen!  [Runs over to Owen, gives hug, mumbles under breath]  It was assident. [We all know where he learned that phrase.]
Me:  No Asher, that was not an accident, it was on purpose.  Are you going to hit Owen again?  No?  OK, here's your hard hat.  If you hit him again, I will take it away and put it up high.
[Boys go running together back to basement, Owen turns back for a moment]
Owen:  Mom, I was showing him my striker and then he said he was going to show me his whacker, and then his whacker WAS his hard hat.  He will have to find a different whacker.

These two have an interesting communal imagination.  Another phenomenon is the 'jobber.'  They will carry out all manner of odd behaviors, sometimes including doing actual chores.  Once I found them each with their own bottle of Windex and a towel, giving the sliding doors a blue baptism.  "Boys, how did you get the Windex and why are you doing this?" cries their mom.  "Our jobbers told us to do it!" says Owen.  Apparently Owen's jobber is the remote control car, and Asher's jobber routinely changes.  I have heard of imaginary friends, but I have to say that imaginary chore-directors are even better!  Now, to get the jobbers to suggest useful chores :}

Uh-oh.  Finishing up this entry and Owen just ran in, "Mom, I just jumped down the stairs using the broom!"  Time for parental supervision we suppose?