"My Stomach Is Talking To Me"

What better way to ring in the new year than two toddlers throwing up every half-an-hour? I was thinking attending our stake party tonight, or even having rootbeer floats and a movie marathon, but the boys were in charge of the plans tonight and decided to surprise us by throwing-up during dinner with the sister missionaries over tonight...

Poor guys. This is the first time Bram has ever been sick and hearing him wretch it just painful. Thankfully, David and I currently seem to be fine. So, we are bringing in the New Year with awful kids movies and lots of cuddling and wet wipes.

It has been interesting having the kiddos suddenly explode while just finishing helping the other one get cleaned up. Anders had just finished getting cleaned up and dressed in new clothes for the fourth time, when we hear little footsteps in the hall and then a loud splash as Bram started throwing up the water he secretly guzzled. Note for the future: Don't let kids with the stomach bug take long showers because more than likely they will be back in the shower before the water heater has finished refilling the tank. We had to boil water on the stove to fill up a shallow bath for Bram. It was quite the adventure. Thankfully I have my very best friend to help and laugh through it all with me. 

Not Quite

David decided it would be a fun family activity to decorate some cards tonight. The boys killed me with their different commentary during the coloring. Bram was trying to pick out a color and Anders started to get grabby, so Bram said, "Back off! Back off!" Then I asked Anders if he was done, and he replied, "Not quite." What 3-year-old says that?! And the other day he was talking about how something was dangerous and I thought to myself, "I can't believe he even knows that word, let alone uses it correctly!" He has also started to say, "I can't know how," when we tell him to do something he doesn't think he can do. Bram's vocabulary and pronunciation have really blossomed in the past few weeks. He is talking in much more complex and complete sentences. They grow too dang fast, but I am really loving the opportunity to be part of all of it!

Polka Dot

Bram found his new best friend yesterday. We went to a store for the boys to look for the gifts they are going to bring their baby sister in the hospital. While looking around we found a section of safari stuffed animals, with six or seven different versions of stuffed giraffes. I started handing the different ones to Bram, and he wouldn't let go of this one. Even after he fell asleep, he still had a tight grip on him. Bram wants to call him Giraffe, and Anders suggested, "Polka Dot!" I thought that was such a cute name suggestion, so we are calling him both.

When we got home on Christmas Eve, David carried the boys inside wrapped in their new blankets. I walked in afterwards and this is what I found:

Well, almost what I found. Bram was laying face down and they said, "Hiding!" in unison. I was laughing so hard. 

Then as I was writing this post, the boys decided to do this:

Photo Bombing

Check out Bram in the background.

Sweet Tooth and Sweetness

Last night we had a little birthday dinner/cake celebration for a dear woman I visit teach, who also happens to babysit the boys for us. We made the cake on Thursday night and the boys kept peeking in the fridge all day Friday to look at the cake. We finally had it Friday night and Bram was in absolute heaven. Anders just wanted ice cream. 

Later that night we were at another friend's house. Bram came up to me with an upside-down sippy cup lid and a magnetic pig toy from off the fridge placed neatly at the center. In a really sweet and soft voice he said, "Happy Birthday Mom!" That kid knows how to melt my heart! 

Braving Costco

I didn't have the stamina to make it to Costco yesterday, while I was out shopping with one kid. I don't know what made me think I would have the stamina to go to Costco with both kids today. Don't get me wrong, I have really great and mostly obedient children. Usually it is a breeze to go shopping, even while I am seven months pregnant with a ginormous baby. In all seriousness though, it usually is a breeze. But combine several factors and it turns into an absolute nightmare. Factor one: the snow storm from the weekend has left a thick layer of dirty slush everywhere because today is warmer than the last three days have been. This led to factor two: the Costco parking lot was a sloshy mess of slush and dirty puddles. Which is so fun for Bram, since he loves to jump in puddles. I did not anticipate this leading to factor three: Bram eating the filthy slush off the bottom of his boots while I was trying to buckle Anders. I thought I was going to die, it was so disgusting. And for those of you who are not familiar with Montreal, over 25% of the population smoke cigarettes, so when I say the slush is gross, it is full of the grime left over from a lot of smokers! 

Then, we get home. I think, "The boys are dying to play in the snow. I will let them play in the huge piles of snow by the back porch while I unload groceries. Man, I am such an awesome mom!" They played happily for less than a minute when Anders fell into a snow mound and found out that snow on bare hands is COLD. Like, really really cold AND painful. So he screamed/cried uncontrollably for about five minutes. I couldn't take him inside to help warm them up because the car wasn't done being unloaded and Bram WOULDN'T come inside yet. Did I mention factor four: I am not supposed to pick up either of my children. With Bram, I sometimes have no choice. Whoever heard of a perfectly obedient almost two-year-old. Pretty sure I never will. 

So that was exhausting. But we did it. Hopefully Bram doesn't get some nasty virus from that slush...And Anders really isn't worse the wear for discovering how cold snow can be, and Bram somehow inherently understood this and didn't have a problem. 

Ah, the simple desires of a child!

Momma: Bram, what do you want for your birthday?

Bram: cake

Momma: is that it?

Bram: balloons?

Daddy: that is the best answer!

Home Teacher In Training

Anders was dying to go home teaching with his Dad on Friday night. He begged and begged. Finally, I told him he would have to wear church clothes if he wanted to go. The missionaries were still getting ready to leave our house. When they left, we found Anders in his room trying to get into church clothes by himself.

Last night, Anders was watching me take my many pills before bed. He queried, "Mom, you take your pills for your privacy?" My response, "My what?" He goes, "Your privacy." I reply, "You mean my pregnancy?" Anders, "Ya. That."

Bram grabbed a Christmas ornament off the tree, climbed onto the coffee table, and threw the ornament like a grenade. It shattered all over the floor. He had a little too much fun with that one.

T.M.I. But too cute not to write down. David is always asking me how I am doing and where I am hurting. I didn't realize Anders also paid attention to my answers. So the other night we were getting ready to cuddle and I was grunting away as I tried to relax with all the pains in my body from being pregnant. Anders looked so concerned and asked, "Mom, your scrotch hurt? Or your body?" I thought I was going to die of laughter. 

Mischief

I was baking sugar cookies with the boys and a friend today. My friend Brittany and I always get into really engaged conversations with eachother, which is also the time Bram seems to get into a new level of mischief that doesn't happen when I am more engaged with the boys. Today, we were busy with getting cookies in and out of the oven while chatting, and I turned to find Bram carefully unwrapping my gum. It could have been worse and he could have been eating the pieces he unwrapped. He would have gotten five successfully in his mouth by the time we noticed. So I was able to laugh and grab the camera for a picture and video.

Kid Magnet

We were at our ward Christmas dinner last night and they were having the primary present a live nativity. Some of our friends have two girls the same age as our two boys. The wife was leading the older primary in singing and their oldest daughter (3 1/2) decided to sit up on the stage even though she is still in nursery. The dad was trying to film his wife and daughter, but their youngest is a wiggle worm. So other friends of ours in the ward were trying to hold her for the dad. The husband was laughing so hard because the little girl was twisting and squirming in every direction to get out of his arms. I started laughing too, and so I pointed them out to David. He immediately jumped up and offered for the little girl to come to him. She did happily. Then, when her dad came to get her a few minutes later, she threw herself back into David's arms. He is such a good dad! On our way home he was telling me that he just ignored her in his arms, which is why she was okay. I said, "Hey! I taught you that when we first got married!" He said, "I know! I listen."

Here is a picture of Bram coming to say goodbye to me, as Daddy is taking them out for a walk to look for "little coons" (raccoons). Anders is convinced he will see some with the squirrels. I have no idea where that came from.

Green

I was wearing a pair of green sweat pants the other day. When I walked into the living room after getting dressed, Anders immediately notices the green pants, "Mom! You have GREEN pants!" He then thinks a moment before exclaiming, "I need green pants like you!"

Luckily, I already needed to go to Old Navy for maternity pants that same day. It was so amazing that we found his green pants on sale! And of course Bram needed some blue pants if Anders was getting green pants.

Broken

We were at the mall tonight because the boys were so restless being cooped up all week due to the snow. We were heading towards the exit to go to the car when the boys notice a poster. They both excitedly point out the heart to me on the poster. It was a heart-shaped cut out of the back of the dress. Anders declares, "That dress is broken!" David told him to never forget that.

Also, in case you haven't heard, Anders favorite color is green. He only reminds us twenty times a day.

Crib Escapee

David's brother, Jon, was visiting from Calgary last Thursday. We had a blast, playing board games, eating homemade French dip sandwiches, going mini-bowling, and topping it all off with delicious dessert crepes. We had worn the boys out, so much so that Bram took a three-hour-nap. We forgot that we don't let him sleep that long because he is a night owl and won't sleep at bedtime if he does. So we put the boys down for bed at ten, their normal bedtime. David and I usually go to sleep right after them, but with Jon here we stayed up chatting in the living room. David put Bram in his crib and came back out to visit. A few minutes later we hear a thump, a door close, and a pitter-patter of little feet coming down the hall.

We expected Anders, so we were surprised when Bram appeared with a triumphant grin on his face, he had just figured out how to climb out of his crib. It was such a cute, proud grin and we were so caught off-guard that we all busted out laughing. That was a mistake. For the next hour and fifteen minutes, we had a constant battle with Bram every two minutes trying to get him to stay in his crib. 

Luckily, we didn't give in, even though David really wanted to, and we haven't had the same problem since. Bram will still climb out of his crib occasionally, but not every night, and usually not more than once. 

I have the cutest kids. 

Hide-and-seek

A typical game of hide-and-seek at our house goes something like this:

The boys run and hide together and we count to ten. We then say, "Coming to find you!" And Anders immediately responds, "Hiding in my room! Under the bed!"

Tonight, we were playing and after about ten minutes, the boys run off to hide in my closet, so David and I decide to turn off the lights in the rest of the house. Then we told them we were hiding. So they come out of the closet, and out of our room, and into the hall, when Anders exclaims, "What the world! How'd it get dark?" It was so funny that even with a stifled giggle, the boys both quickly tuned into where I was hiding in the dark. 

Bram also took off to hide by himself and when we discovered his was missing, Anders goes, "He's hiding in your closet mom!" We went into my room to find him and I asked, "Are you hiding in my closet Bram?" I hear a barely audible, "No." 

We really enjoy playing hide-and-seek in this family!

Brotherly Advice

Bram fell and hit his forehead really hard on the edge of a chair. He had a huge goose egg. Once he calmed down I told him to look at his owie in the mirror. Anders was standing with him as Bram was about to touch it, "Don't touch it Bram or you'll get owie on your finger too!" Apparently, owies are contagious.

Halloween

Bram was the most adorable trick-or-treater, and not because of his costume. While he did make a really cute fireman, what set him apart was his attitude. He was glee on crack. He had constant high-pitched sqeals of glee and was stomping through any and all puddles in the drizzling rain. He would profusely thank the people at the doors without prompting and often yelled "bye!" Then he would run down the driveway and shout, "mommy! Mommy! Candy!" 

Anders was also pretty cute. He was good at saying "trick-or-treat" but had to be reminded to say thank you because he was so distracted by the fact that people were putting all sorts of treasures into his green pumpkin! It was the most amazing thing. Lol. So Anders loved it but was ready to go home and eat candy after twenty minutes.

Bram made it so fun for this pregnant and exhausted momma. I didn't start off in the best mood, but Bram was so cheerful and happy and adorable that I couldn't help but catch on to his enthusiasm and great attitude. 

We have our ward Halloween party tonight, so we will have pictures of the boys in their costumes to post later.

On another note, last night Bram said, "I wuv you mommy!" without any kind of prompting. I thought I was going to die. Sweet kiddo!

Kid Logic

We got home from dropping David off at the metro station and came into the living room. Anders goes, "I smell someping yuck mom!" It was Camrose and it was a really gross, lingering smell. So I told him Camrose was stinky. He wanted me to make Camrose leave. The smell was strong enough that Anders could smell it through his stuffed up nose!

Then Anders went to the bathroom just now. He comes running back into the living room with his underwear and pants still at his ankles. He goes, "I flushed the toilet with my mouth, not my hands. I not touch it with my hands." His justification for why he didn't need to wash his hands.

I told Anders about how we were going trick-or-treating tonight. He asked what it was. I explained that he got dressed up in his costume and then he carried his pumpkin from door to door and people put candy in it. He looked at me like I was telling a fairy tale. Then he asked his dad, "I like it or no?" Lol. This is the first year he is going to do it so we don't really know, but I piped in from the other room and told him he was going to love it. He can't wait to go.

That kid is just too much! Lol.

Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins as a family tonight. Anders picked the albino one from the farmer's market, and Bram picked the two smallest ones he could find. David picked a huge one for me and him to carve. Can you tell we are the parents of little boys?

Anders wanted his to be a smiley face and to color it orange. Lol. Why not just get an orange one to begin with? So his turned into what he called a "spooky smiley face". After I drew the smiley face on Anders' to be carved by Dad, Bram demanded I draw smiley faces on his two little ones, which he also colored. Anders was freaking out about his Dad carving and cutting the pumpkin. Freaking out! We had to talk him through it for ten minutes before David could keep on going. 

Anders thought the innards of the pumpkins were so gross, enough so that he would gag if he got so close. Bram likes to touch gross stuff, so he helped his dad clear out the big pumpkin while Anders looked thoroughly disgusted while watching.

Anders never got around to coloring his orange because Bram finished and wanted to play. So they have been off playing so great together while David and I have been having a "mini" date together. 

Overall, it was a great experience. 

Self

Bram has this new thing where he proudly exclaims, "self!" while throwing his arms out wide after completing a task by himself. It is so cute. 

Three-year-old Physics

I changed Bram's diaper on our change table. David built a ladder on it so that I don't have to lift the boys to change their diapers anymore (not cause I am a weakling, but because I am five months prego). Bram wanted me to catch him when I finished changing him. I said no, because the little stinker made me put him in his crib for time-out and then out of the crib onto the change table. He had a meltdown when I said no. 

Anders came running in ready to help. I walked out to throw his diaper away and told Anders not to climb onto the change table. Next thing I know I hear a loud crash and then screaming...

Anders had gone into his room with the intention of catching his brother off the change table since I wouldn't. When Bram wouldn't jump to him, he climbed up onto the change table to push his brother off, so he could then catch him. Unfortunately, time does not stop for three-year-old's. A hard lesson he learned when his brother got hurt. Luckily it was just a sprained ankle. I am pretty sure Anders and I cried more than Bram.

On a happier note, Anders finally decided he was ready for underwear and is basically potty-trained. No more diapers! He has a few accidents here and there, but that is pretty impressive considering he went straight to underwear 24/7 about four days ago. I think the best part is that it has been completely painless for me and David. We haven't had to fight with him about it because he decided it was time. I am just glad he decided that before the baby comes.

Potty Training Talks

So we are still working on potty-training Anders. We finally got him some Lightning McQueen underwear to help motivate him. He wore them all night and all the way through today, until he pooped his pants while company was over tonight. This morning I had the best conversation with him about keeping his underwear dry and clean.

Me: You don't want to poop on Lightning McQueen do you? I don't think he would like that. Would you like it if he pooped on you?

Anders: Lightning McQueen doesn't have a bum.

Point made. That little mind.

Thanksgiving

On this day of Thanks in Canada, we are grateful for many things. We are grateful to have a wonderful family with 2 young boys and a little girl on the way. We are grateful for the knowledge that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can be together forever as a family and that through his atonement, we can return to live in his presence.

Thanks also to all who have influenced our lives!

I People

Anders and I were cuddling and he put his hand near my mouth, so I nibbled a finger. He shouts, "No mom, eat your finger!" I respond, "No way. I want to eat yours, you just taste so good!" He goes, "No mom, I not food. I people." 

Last night we were grocers shopping and a quarter moon was out. When we came out of Costco, Anders forlornly says, "Oh no, the moon melt." We looked up and saw a mist that made it look like the moon was melting. So cute!

Bram likes to eat everything inside out. So everyday for lunch, we get a mess on his face and hands that usually looks like the picture below.

Leaves

We were heading out the door to go the park as a strong gust of wind blew past. Anders gleefully shouted, "They are playing together!" I asked him who thinking he was talking about squirrels or cats. He responded, "The leaves are playing together!"

Three-year-old Mind

I put in a movie for the boys and was trying to fast-forward through the previews...

I have the throw in my little rant about DVD's and previews. Every movie we now buy makes you sit through a whole bunch of previews and disclaimers BEFORE you even can get to the menu of your movie. It kills me because I spend up to five minutes trying to get a movie started for my boys. I didn't realize that is what I was signing up for by buying movies. I think it is wrong. Rant over.

So one of the previews started and the first line of the anouncer was, "the last place". Then I was able to fast forward. Anders goes, "Mom, the last place? That's not right, the last place." And he gave me this flabbergasted look. 

Then I finally have their movie started. It begins with typed monologue and a voice reading it. Anders sees it and goes, "Mom, look! Scriptures!" Already a little Mormon boy! :)

The boys watching their movie as I type this.

Head shoulders knees and toes

Bram has his own version:

Head

Shoulders

Toes

Bumm

Male unmentionables

Set to the tune

But not the right words.

He has now repeated it several times on his own, usually during diaper changes.

Affection

Last night, we finally had to have the talk with Anders about appropriate affection. His best friend, Samuel, was over and as they left Anders and Samuel gave eachother a huge bear hug goodbye. It was so adorable and we were all watching as Anders pulled away and planted a big, fat kiss on Samuel lips. We were kind of shocked. We tried to explain to Anders that he should only be giving kisses to mom and dad and Bram. So Bram gives Samuel a hug goodbye and then expectantly puckered, which Samuel didn't even notice.

This morning, David took the boys grocery shopping. Anders leaned over the cart and planted a kiss on a cucumber. Then, at another store he walked up to a big poster in the make-up section and kissed the person in the poster on the lips...

Looks like it is going to take some more time before the message sinks in.

Bram had awesome bed head today. It was crazy all morning and then somehow got worse after his nap.

I like my saureses

Anders: Whats this one?
Daddy: Its a brontosaurus
Anders: And what is this one?
Daddy: ... maybe a brachiasaurus? I am not that good at my suaruses...
Anders: I like my sauruses.

Anders is too Adorable

Last night it was Anders' turn for family prayer. He started his prayer and said a quick blessing on the food...he was a little confused because we started doing our family prayer and scripture study at the kitchen table a few days ago. We told him he needed to say another prayer because we were not here eating food. He started another prayer which ended up being a long monologue about our adventures to the temple grounds for F.H.E. the night before. He explained how we went to the temple and saw flowers, and then we went on the bridge, and then we went the other way but stopped because of a scary man* and then we went back down the stairs to see the flowers again. I found his prayer so adorable because he was really talking to his Heavenly Father like you would expect a three-year-old to talk to their father. 

*So the scary man part is my fault. It was getting dark and there was a walkway behind the temple gates that went into a little forest of trees. Being pregnant, I am overly sensitive to my inability to really protect my children, so when they wanted to go down the path into the woods in the fading light with a pregnant momma, I said it wasn't a good idea because there could be a scary man lurking. 

Today, I was telling Anders that maybe we would go to the park this evening with Daddy. He got really excited and said, "You coming too? And me and dad and Bram, but not Camrose." I told him that was correct and that Camrose wasn't allowed at the park. He responded, "Yeah, because she runs around and eats people." Um, no. Dogs aren't allowed.

Bram grabbed a wooden shape box and purposefully slammed it against my shin with a somewhat sharp corner. Boy did that hurt, that little punk. He went straight to time-out without a fuss, while Anders was fussing over me and wanting to know where to kiss it better. As my eyes still watered from the stinging pain, I couldn't let myself allow him close enough to kiss it. Lucky for me, he is incredibly patient with me and took it in stride.

The picture is Bram later sitting on the box he used to maim my shin.

Posed To

Anders was asking me incessantly for something. I had already given him the time when he could get what it was he wanted. He continued to ask. I told him that if he asked me again before it was time, he would have to go in time-out. His response, "Okay. I want to talk. I posed to be talking."

More quotes from this morning, "It's a little bit close." And, "Look, Camrose is wappin [wagging] her tail."

Daddy printed out some pictures for the boys to color and Anders exclaimed, "Daddy made not the gross one."

Whenever the boys watch movies they are very interactive. If it gets to a scary part of the movie Bram will say, "scare" and start shouting, "GO WAY! GO WAY! Garghhhhhhhhhhh!" While shouting he is pointing his arms at the screen and making shooting noises. It is pretty hilarious. 

Conversations with my Three-year-old

Anders: "Mom, those trees be so mean!"

Me: "How are they mean?"

Anders: "They are blocking the moon."

Me: "Good grief!...I just sounded like my dad!"

Anders: "Good grief. I just sounded like dad."

Anders: "We take a seed to the park tomorrow and cover it with sand and then it grows into a tree, okay?"

Boy or Girl?

We still don't know the gender, but everybody keeps asking. At the grocery store today, our attendant said he hopes for us that it is another boy because he is in a family of three boys and said it was the best. Anders defiantly responded, "It's a GIRL!" 

At Walmart I asked him if he would rather have another brother or sister. He said he wanted a brother. Then a few seconds later he amended that and said, "I want a girl, same as you mom!" Let me clarify, he wants a girl, the same way that I am a girl. Not he wants a girl because I want a little girl. 

Anders...

Anders quotes of the morning to me (David):

No Bram, there is no baby in there. You a boy. Boys can't have baby sisters in their bellies.

Me: we are going on a shopping adventure today.

Him: to buy a baby? Bring it home today?

Me: you mean out of mom as belly?

Him: yah! Buy baby from mom as belly today...

Me: um...

Today I had "that kid"!

We were at the park for a mother's group. Whoever thought sand was a good idea for parks, I want to punch them in the face. 

Anders threw sand in a little girl's face. Took drenching her in water and about twenty minutes before we could get her to open her eyes. Luckily, she was fine. Anders spent the entire time in time-out. When she finally did open her eyes, I had Anders go apologize. 

Less than five minutes later, Anders had thrown sand at another kid! Argh! I had THAT kid at the park today. So he spent the next thirty minutes at a picnic table by himself watching the rest of the kids play. I am hoping it was miserable enough that Anders will not ever be THAT kid again.

Falling!

Bram was standing on the coffee table and reached out saying, "catch me! Catch me!" I didn't move but kept my eyes on him. So he scooted his foot to the edge and curled his toes over saying, "falling!" I laughed and he pulled his foot back and repeated his first request half a dozen times. I gave in.

Hide-and-Seek

How can anyone resist when their precious three-year-old comes right up in their face and says, "Mommy! You hide with me in the closet? And Daddy counts and comes and finds us? You hide with me in the closet. You and me together?"

Those pleading blue eyes, filled with so much love and hope. How could I possibly say no to such a simple request? I couldn't.

Today I am grateful that my children still want me to play with them everyday.

I Can Talk!

Anders was incessantly asking for something. After a couple of verbal negatives, I finally turned to him and signed no with both hands. He looked hard at me and quickly responded, "I can talk!" His way of saying sign language was not necessary. It gave me a good chuckle.

Anders: "I posed (supposed) to!" His response recently to when his dad tells him to stop doing something. 

Anders greeting Bram this morning, "Haybraham!" A brilliant mixture of Hey Bram and Abraham.

The other day Bram shoved himself into the corner of the couch next to me and grunted for my hand. Within two minutes he was out cold. Not quite sure how he was able to fit in there, but it seemed to hit the spot for him.

Counting Love?

Anders: I love you so much mom!

Me: Nah, I don't think so.

Anders: Yes I do!

Me: How come?

Anders: Because I just love you.

Me: Why?

Anders: Because I counting.

Me: What does counting have to do with you loving me?

Anders: Well, I just counting in my bed.

Um...

Pregnancy Brain

Today we went to the mall for lunch and I payed with cash because I actually had cash on me. 

Then this afternoon was the boys' Dr. appointments. I had to carry them from their beds to the car to avoid the meltdowns of being awoken early from their naps. In the process of trying to keep them happy and subdued, I totally forgot my purse and wallet. 

I didn't realize I had forgotten either until I pulled up to the parking lot of the office. My purse had their vaccination booklets and my wallet had the money for Bram's last round of shots. 

David had to run home and pick my purse up. He brought it, we were the last patients of the day, literally five minutes before the doctor was about to leave. I pull out my wallet to pay for the vaccinations and to my horror I realize I used the cash for the shots to buy lunch earlier that day. I usually have loads of coins for the boys and we almost completely paid for the two shots with coins. We were about $1.75 short. I had the thought that I should just have David go to an ATM to get the cash and just forget about the booklets, but I never actually suggested it to David. This pregnancy brain is killing me.

Bram is 27 1/2 lbs. He is also really tall for his age. The doctor says Anders will be a least 6'1. Both are healthy and excelling in every way. Bram also figured out how to really run today. My baby is officially gone. I now have two toddlers.

I am loved

Just finished a photo book for Bram. Like his older brother, he will have his before bed "I am Loved" book to read before bed. Check it out below!

 



 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Visit Shutterfly.com to create your own personalized photobook.

Fifty-One

Me: "I love you infinity times the sun squared plus eleven!"

Anders: "I love you infinity times the sun squared plus twenty."

Me: "Well I love you infinity times the sun squared plus one-thousand."

Anders: "I love you infinity times the sun squared plus fifty-one."

(He has never said a number higher than twenty.)

Me: "Wow, that is a lot!"

Anders: "Yah, fifty-one is great!" 

Sense of Smell

Anders and Bram were in the bathtub tonight and David needed to use the toilet. Yes, we have two kids and still one bathroom. David finished on the toilet and started to walk out of the bathroom. I hear Anders say, "I smell something!" David responds, "I just pooped." Silence. And then uncontrollable laughter from me.

We changed the sheets on our bed tonight and as Anders climbed up to get dressed in his pajamas he explains, "The white sheet is gross." He then proceeded to try to climb onto my bed without touching the white sheet at all. That kid!

Quirks

Bram:

He is obsessed with picking at mine and David's cuticles whenever we cuddle with him.

He has this strong sense of fairness. It is really important to him.

If you ask him to smile he squints his eyes or pulls a face, but if you ask him to say cheese, he smiles perfectly for pictures. 

He has to have the lid of anything that is opened for him or he feels jiped.

Anders:

He has always grouped things by color. It's like programmed into him.

He adds "s" to the end of words. "That is mine(s)!" or "What you do(s)?"

Has an unbelievable memory. I have to be very careful because of this. I missed cuddling with him once, he was asleep before I got to him, and he remembered in the morning that I hadn't. He was mad at me for most of the day because that is such an important time for him with me.

He cannot relax. Whenever we throw Bram around in the air he goes limp and giggles with the sensation. Anders stays stiff as a board the whole time we try to swing him around.

Both:

They have to always be clothed, except right after bath time. They love streaking through the house after bath time.

When they do something they are proud of, they have to come over and hug or kiss me. (At home or out and about).

Woah!

I was putting a movie in for the boys and all of the sudden I hear Anders say, "Watch this and say 'woah'!" A few seconds later I hear Bram dutifully exclaim, "woah!" Then Anders reproved him, "No, not yet!" So Bram waits a few seconds and says with proper enthusiasm, "woah!"

This is what Anders was doing:

THey Are Growing UP

We have been looking for names we like for baby #3. We are pretty set on the girls name, have been for years now, but` we wanted to be prepared with some boy names that we like. It helps relieve my anxiety by allowing some sense of control. So we found a boy name we both liked and is strong like Anders and Abraham, the name is Axel. I told Anders about it and asked it him to say it. He said, "Ass-el." We tried again, and that time it sounded like a bad word. When Bram says it is sounds like "castle". Luckily, we have time to work on it. 

Bram is our little busy-body. He is my shadow when it comes to food. He has this sixth sense when it comes to me trying to eat or drink anything without him knowing. He also is always very vocal about what his brother is doing. Whenever he gets hurt by accident, or on purpose by Anders, he milks it for all it is worth. He comes to get kisses and cuddle and then he glares at Anders and yells periodically for the next ten minutes, "NICE!" 

This morning Bram added a new one. When Anders plays on our touchscreen computer, he is often way too close to the screen, so we are often telling him, "Too Close". So I was eating breakfast with Bram next to me, and all of a sudden Bram started yelling, "close! close!" He is too much sometimes. 

Four babies!

Anders kept changing his story about the baby. First, he was adamant that he was having a baby sister. Then he was convinced it was a baby sister and a baby brother, one green and one blue. Then, he was positive that it was a brother. So I had no idea what to expect with the ultrasound. Turns out, there is one baby. We still don't know if it is a girl or a boy. 

We paid to get a print out of three of the pictures from our ultrasound. I put them up on the fridge. Anders saw them this morning and asked about them. I said they were pictures of the baby. He is now convinced that there are four babies in my stomach because there are four ultrasound pictures on the fridge. His poor little mind is trying to grasp this allusive concept of baby.

A Child's Prayer

I had a really bad day the other day where I couldn't seem to keep food down. So then as I headed to bed I had a really bad hypoglycaemic attack. I was trying to cuddle with Anders, but was in so much pain, I couldn't help but moan and groan a bit. Anders was really concerned. He asked if I was okay. I told him I wasn't. So I then asked if he would pray for me. He sat up all official-like and prayed for me to feel better. The minute he finished, the pain eased. It was incredible! And I was able to tell him his prayer worked. Heavenly Father must really love it when children pray to him, because their hearts are so pure, he is usually able to answer their prayers immediately. It was a beautiful experience for us. 

We also saw baby #3 today. Beautiful and healthy and wiggly.

Friends

We went to the park this morning and there is a group of five kids under five that are part of a home daycare. We have seen them there before, and this week we were prepared to play by bringing balls for the boys to throw down the hills too. The daycare group LOVED my boys, even though they couldn't really communicate with each other because the kids are all French only. My boys would throw their balls down the hill and one of the five of the daycare kids would rush to get it and bring it back to whoever threw it. Not a shabby deal for my boys. 

When we got home and were having a snack, we talked about the fun morning at the park.

Me: "Was that so fun at the park today with your new friends."

Anders: "Yes! They are MY friends. My friends are great!"

Colors

The boys were coloring on the window with window markers. Bram likes to frequently change colors. He handed the purple back to his dad, demanding a green one. So David hands him the green one and he cheerfully exclaims, "purple!" And when he had the pink one, he insisted it was green. He knows a lot of names of colors. Now we need to work on him matching the name to the correct color.

Anders wore my shirt as his pajamas the other night. There was so much excessive material, he didn't know what to do with it. So every time we looked at him, he was doing something different with my shirt. This was probably the funniest experiment he tried.

Three Going On Thirteen

So we were at a restaurant this morning for breakfast. I had a small orange juice with mine and both the boys begged to share. Of course, the next thing I know, they have finished it and I had one sip. So I send Anders up to the counter get another orange juice. I hand him a five-dollar bill. He waits in the line. It took forever because they weren't very efficient. It was finally Anders' turn but he didn't realize it, so I shouted to the cashier that he wanted an orange juice. He handed her the money. I told him to wait to get money back. He gets it back and is ready to charge back. I remind him to wait for the juice. He gets it. And promptly comes back to the table. Without being asked he hands me the change and happily hands the juice over to Bram, allowing him the first sip. He was so pleased with himself that he had to give me a kiss. So my three-year-old already thinks he is mister independent. And to tell you the truth, in a lot of ways he really is.

Okay?

So David asks me over and over again every single day, "Are you okay?"

On a family walk the other day, Bram finally clued into this and every minute or so would yell, "k?" and look at me. He would repeat it over and over, "k? K? K? K?" until I would answer in the affirmative that I was indeed okay! I then am required to ask him if he is okay, which he responds to with a very enthused head nod. 

Then he has to ask Anders if he is okay. To which Anders often grumpily replies, "No!" Bram doesn't know how to respond to this answer so he will ask Anders again. When he gets a second grumpy, "NO!" I tell Bram, "Say what's the matter?" So Bram will say, "matter?" and is generally satisfied by that point.

This conversation is usually repeated several times until we get Bram distracted with puddles or storm drains. 

The Exciting Discovery of Hair

Lately, Anders has noticed that he has arm hair. So today while we were reading a book I mentioned it to him.

Me: "Anders, you have hair on your arms!"

Anders: "Yes. I like it, like Daddy dos it."

Oh, to be young and proud of the simple things in life. Today he realized for the first time that he also has hair on his legs like daddy. He is trying to show me In the picture below.

Picky Eaters

My kids are the only ones I know who LOVE the following foods:

Cucumber

Peppers

Zucchini

Banana squash

Carrots

Celery

And HATE the following foods:

Kraft Mac-n-cheese

Corndogs

Hot-pockets

Alfredo sauce

Skark

This conversation was part of my nightly routine with Anders.

Anders: "No monsters, no alligators, no dragons. We safe mom."

Me: "What about spiders?"

Anders: "No spiders."

Me: "What about snakes?"

Anders: "No snakes."

Me: "What about sharks?"

Anders: "Um, no sk...sk...ar...sk...?"

Me: "Sh-ark."

Anders: "Skarks live in the water mom. Our house not water. No Skarks."

This picture captures David's nightly routine with Bram: (They LOVE watching Wipe-out together)

Xylophone

When Anders plays our little xylophone, I usually dance or sing along to whatever rhythm he plays. But he has a rule for me singing or dancing along. Since red means stop, when he plays the red key I have to stop singing or dancing. And then I cannot start singing or dancing again until he plays the green key because green means go. 

Lesson of Motherhood

My biggest goal since becoming a mother was to do everything in my power to make sure my children always felt loved. How to accomplish this has been a learning process. 

Part of that process has been coming to understand that fun days create fond memories, but not lasting feelings of love. Love stems from the consistent and seemingly insignificant or repetitive moments from day to day. 

It has always been important to both my children that I cuddle with them for ten to fifteen minutes before nap-time and bedtime. As I recognized the importance of this for both my children, it adds up to an hour a day that I spend cuddling my children. An hour that doesn't allow for multi-tasking or productivity. So what makes it worth it to sacrifice an hour each and every day, over and over again? Well, an obvious answer is the precious one-on-one time that I will never get back. Also, the beautiful conversations I get to have with Anders. He has started telling me during the past few weeks, during our special cuddle time, that I am beautiful. He also cannot tell me enough how much he loves me. And neither can I.

Another benefit of this time sacrificed, my boys don't demand or scream at me at all. Like ever. They feel loved, completely. My one hour a day fills almost all of their needs from me. Don't get me wrong. They eat up every minute I play with them, but they don't demand it. Which is beautiful when I am all-day "morning sick" and really don't have a lot to give.

Could I be doing more as a mom? Always. But my number one goal of my children feeling loved is accomplished in a daily, one-hour sacrifice of my time. And every minute of that hour is worth it.

Make-up

We were looking for a new wall clock at the mall today. We were in a big department store, riding the escalator. There was an older lady with a young girl going down the other escalator as we were going up. Anders asked me where they were going. I told him I didn't know. He then responds, "They going to get make-up." We did pass numerous make-up counters on the way to the escalators, so it was a very valid suggestion from Anders, BUT I didn't know he even knew what make-up was well enough to recognize we had passed by a bunch of it. 

Yesterday, Bram was yelling "stuck!" When I looked up, this is what I saw. I told him to wait a second so I could take a picture. He not only waited, but flashed me a big grin behind that pacifier. 

Bye bye grocery store

So I take the boys to Walmart for grocery shopping and when we get back the the car and are pulling away, Bram starts waving goodbye and he and Anders start shouting Bye Bye grocery store...

I love you!

And then they started blowing the store kisses...

More waving, until I left the parking lot.

Another story, Anders and Bram were being very polite with their pleases and thank yous so I said "Great manners boys!" To which Anders replied, I no want manners...

I explained what manners are to him and he changed his mind and told me that he likes manners. Kids are great!

~David

You know you are tired when:

Hello Grandpa at you work

So Anders built a phone out of blocks and then he said:

Hello Grandpa at you work. We're at home. Okay, bye. And hung up.

Life is great.

Goodbye Kisses

The boys were leaving for the grocery store this morning as I was starting to eat my breakfast. Both boys wanted a bite of my bagel before they left. As they rounded the corner to leave, I yelled, "Goodbye! I love you!" Suddenly, Bram reappears around the corner blowing me kisses like crazy! That cute guy!

Bram Humor

When I tell Bram to spit something out of his mouth that shouldn't be there, he pulls out whatever it is and then spits. 

At church today, I had Bram say hello to a little boy who is a few months younger than Bram. The little boy was intrigued with Bram's pacifier. I told Bram that the little boy didn't know what was in Bram's mouth. So Bram whips out his pacifier and opens his mouth wide for the little boy. No mystery here.

Bram calls cupcakes, "no-no-cucks".

No-No-Nut

We got some Krispy Kreme donuts last night as a family. We gave each of the boys a donut hole to tide them over until we got home. Anders plops the full thing in his mouth and is done in thirty seconds. He asks for more. We tell him he has to wait until we get home. He goes, "But I am sooo hungry!" David and I laugh. Bram is less than half way done with his by this point. He likes to pick the sprinkles off one at a time and eat them. Anders continues to insist that he should get three when we get home. Bram finally finishes his donut hole a few minutes from home. He starts to chant from the back, "no-no-nut...no-no-nut...NO-NO-NUT!" We tell him he has to wait. He then goes, "Three" while trying to hold up three fingers. It was so ridiculously cute that we couldn't resist giving another no-no-nut to each of the boys. I know, we are totally pushovers.

That's so cool

David here again with a little Anders in my morning. So we were building towers out of foam blocks in the living room and I kept telling him that his towers were awesome and cool and other exclamations. He was having fun but then Bram wanted to be held.

A few seconds later, Anders tugs at my leg and asks me to look at his latest tower. He then asks: "Dad, is it cool?"

I tell him that it is and so he says "It is so cool! I knock it over now?" and then he breaks it like the rest.

Your towers will always be cool Anders...

A photo Syd sent to me of Bram. No explanation needed:

I'm a Nice Mom

The boys were both watching different movies in the living room this morning. Bram asked for a snack. I grabbed a couple of crackers for him and Anders. Bram then asked for more. Bram followed me as I went and got a couple more crackers and brought them down to the living room. I set some down in front of Anders and he goes, "MORE crackers for me mom?! That's so nice to me."

Andersisms

"I don't know, it's gone. It mistappear [disappeared]." - Anders

"Mom, I throwed-up nesterday [yesterday]." - Anders still remembers when he threw up while we were in Utah.

"I love Taco Bell!" - Anders after we went there for his first time yesterday.

Tippy Toes

Anders was trying to get me to do something and I told him I couldn't because I was trying not to throw up. So he says, "you do tippy toe like this Mom" and proceeds to walk on the tip of his toes. Then he started to repeat over and over, "just do tippy toes, tippy toes, tippy toes." He's got a solution to everything I tell you!

They are just too adorable!

Anders' cuteness today:

During sacrament meeting, David took Bram and Anders out to feed them a snack. Anders came back in and snuggled next to me. I was so exhausted I needed to lay down. I laid in Anders lap and he started stroking my arm and sat there as still as could be for over five minutes. Then he got upset because he couldn't see my face. 

Tonight, I was clipping his finger nails and told him if he was so good that he could vacuum them up by himself afterward. Halfway through clipping his nails he goes, "Mom, I being SUPER good!"

Bram's cuteness today:

We walk into the church building this morning and Bram starts pumping his arms above his head and shaking his fists and yelling "Play, play, play, play!" He was trying to sign it. The sign for play is your thumbs and pinkies on both hands extended and shaking your hands back and forth. It was hilarious. 

This kid NEVER stops eating. As long as he is awake he is asking for food, or a cracker (he probably has 15 a day), or a granola bar, or a "moothie" [smoothie]. Thirty minutes after a huge dinner he starts asking for a snack. It is ridiculous.

Kidney Stone

We went to urgent care yesterday because I had been experiencing extreme pain in my abdominal area since Saturday. They sent me for an ultrasound today. I have a very tiny six-week-old baby in my uterus AND a kidney stone. The baby part is great, the kidney stone not so much. I have been so sick, and it all makes sense why. 

So we were driving home from the clinic yesterday and Anders from the back says, "Mom, what are you doing?"

I reply, "Feeling sad."

Anders goes, "I give you a kiss and then you be happy."

David suggests, "How about you blow mom a kiss from the backseat and she can catch it?"

Anders replies, "No dad. I have to give her kiss on the lips."

It must have been taking too long to get home because before I know it, kisses are being thrown my way from Anders and Bram non-stop until we get home.

I Help You Feel Better

Anders and I are awake early together this morning. I am not feeling well at all. Anders asks me to look at him. I do, but my eyes must be slightly glazed over or something because he frantically says a few times, "Mom, LOOK AT ME!" Then he follows up with, "Mom, SAY SOMEPING!" So I tell him I am not feeling very good. He tells me, "Oh, I help you feel better." He then crawls next to me on the couch and starts playing with my hair and singing the second verse of "I am a Child of God". When he finishes he asks, "Help you feel better mom?" The only response is "YES!" to such a sweet and tender heart, even though I still feel really sick. But now I am sick with a smile on my face.

Twins

Anders and Bram are becoming more distinctly different as they get older, but there also seem to be quite a few things that are exactly the same. Like how stubborn they both are, or how they both always want mom. Or how much they both LOVE food and singing. And then there is the way they like to stand while watching a movie: 

Two Green Ones and Two Blue Ones

Anders keeps changing his story about the baby in my belly. He claims there are two babies, a girl and a boy. Then he told me there are two green ones and two blue ones. I told him we aren't having alien babies. He insists we are. David says if this is the case I have some explaining to do. 

And taking about explaining. The boys are always asking me to paint their toe nails when I am painting mine. I have always told Anders it is for girls. Then the other day when I was finishing up Bram demanded it paint his toe too. He still doesn't understand boy/girl differences and I wasn't up for one of his tantrums, so I painted his big toe. Of course Anders noticed and wanted his big toe done too. So later that night David is giving the boys a bath and shouts, "Momma! You've got some e[s]plaining to do!" 

You didn't give me anything!

We were running an errand the other day and there was a soda vending machine. Anders likes to play this game where he comes running up to me asking for money and I pretend to put coins in his hand. He then uses the fake coins in the machines. Bram watched this exchange between Anders and I and comes running up behind Anders with his hand outstretched. I pretend to put money into his hand and say, "There you go!" He looks into his empty hand and then up at me in disbelief. There isn't anything there! He yells at me and then sticks his hand out again. His face says he knows I gave something to Anders and he wants some too. I proceed to do the same thing as before, but to no avail. Bram doesn't quite understand make-believe games.

Belle

Me: "There is a baby in Momma's tummy!"

Anders: "I see it? Oh, in there (pointing to my stomach)."

Me: "Do you think it is a baby brother or baby sister?"

Anders: "Baby sister."

Me: "Who told you that?"

Anders, a little incredulously, "The Baby!"

Me: "Oh yeah?! And what does she want her name to be?"

Anders: "Um....Belle."

Me: "Really? Are you sure she doesn't want to be named Astrid?"

Anders: "Oh yeah, Atrit. That's right."

Then cradling his hands together he says, "I hold her."

Me: "You excited to have another brother or sister?"

Anders: "Yeah, I take care of her."

Me: "So what does she want her name to be again?"

Anders: "You do it."

If we do end up having a little girl, she is one lucky one to have Anders and Bram for big brothers. 

Feel It!

We were feeding the sister missionaries and a friend last night. David was running late and didn't arrive home until we had finished eating and had almost put the food away. After Anders finished eating he went into the bathroom and closed the door. A few minutes later, his little voice requests, "Mom, come feel it!" 

The sister missionaries exchange a look and then tell me he is asking for me. I heard him the first time. And I hear him request a second time, "Come feel it!" 

I finish what I am doing and then go into the bathroom. Anders was so proud of himself for getting the perfect water temperature in the sink for washing his hands. In fact, he was so proud of it, he had to have me come feel it before he could actually proceed in cleaning his hands. So cute!

Big Dreams

Me: "Anders, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Anders: "Um...Tall!"

Realistic and achievable for him. He sure knows how to set goals!

Granby Zoo

I have a three-year-old! Eeek!

We had a beautiful day at the Zoo to celebrate his birthday. Anders and Bram both loved the zoo, but for entirely different reasons.

Anders loved seeing all the animals, especially the monkeys. He also loved pulling the green wagon that he insisted we get as green is still his favorite color. We also got to ride on a train through a portion of the park. He has been asking to ride a train for months, so we got to check something off his bucket list on his birthday! Score!

Bram loved getting ice cream. He was also the only one who wanted to pet the goats and sting rays. And he loved seeing the fish and water at the exhibits. He would point and shout "puddle" at every body of water that he saw. His obsession with puddles has become so extreme that we cannot keep him away from puddles anywhere we go. He charges straight for them, completely ignoring anything we say. He also was obsessed with the orange traffic cones sectioning off portions of the parking lot. I am pretty sure we wouldn't have ever made it into the zoo if we had let Bram continue playing with them.

Some three-year-old updates on Anders:

Favorite color: green and blue

Favorite food: green smoothies, French fries

Favorite t.v. Show: Go, Diego, Go

Favorite movie: Peter Pan or Ice Age 3

Favorite friend: Nathan Morin (age 3), Samuel Plaskett (age 2), Jakob Bosworth (age 14), Bram.

Favorite game: dart guns

Loves: Riding his bike, reading with Mom, green peppers and cucumber, taking baths and showers,

Dislikes: Swimming, time-out, sand in his shoes, getting his hair cut, being chased or scared.

He is obsessed with getting bigger so he can:

Drive mom and dad's car.

Drive grandpa Bilodeau's tractor while grandpa rides in the trailer.

Wear underwear and use the toilet like Elmo.

Be as tall as mom and dad.

And he is huge. He is 42 pounds, which is the 97th percentile for his weight. He is above average for his height and of course his head is huge like his dads. He looks more like a four-year-old. He has also started showing his own fashion sense. Notice the two different colored shoes.