I'm downstairs, mom!

After I got ready for work this morning I headed upstairs.  I thought it was odd that Nolan didn't run out and greet me like he normally does, but I assumed he was still in bed.  All of a sudden I hear "mom!" being yelled from what sounded like the basement.  I asked Nolan where he was and he replied "I'm downstairs."  I don't know how I didn't see him, but when I got downstairs he was lying on the big couch with his head on a pillow and covered in 2 of our big blankets.  I asked what he was doing and he said "relaxing".  Too funny!

The first soccer mess

Last weekend Nolan "participated" in his first team sport - soccer. I say "participated" because he didn't participate. We had to hold him the whole time, and he repeatedly said "no", "I want a snack" and "I want to go home". It was pretty awesome. Adam and I took turns holding him and chasing Kale around the track. He acted exactly like I thought he would, given the fact he just turned 3. I think Adam's expectations were much higher than mine, because he was really disappointed. Nolan's team is made up of 3 and 4 year olds, and some of the 4 year olds are almost 5, which is a huge age difference. The coach spent the first half of the practice getting to know the kids and doing drills, and the last half was spent playing a game of soccer. Adam and I practiced a little with Nolan this week as a team, to get him more comfortable with the concept. At the end of the game the team had snack, but Nolan didn't get any because he didn't play. He started to cry so we scooped up Kale and left. The most frustrating part was that the whole way to the car Nolan cried "I want to play soccer!" Well, it was a little late for that! The weather doesn't sound like it's going to cooperate tomorrow. If it goes like it did last weekend and it's raining and snowing, it might push both of us right to the edge! Adam and I were taken a little by surprise when we were handed a picture form at the beginning of practice. Apparantly this is normal, to get your kid's individual picture taken and a team picture - and then purchase the pictures. This wasn't something we did until junior high - and know it starts when they're 3? I guess we just need to get used to it:)

Kale is constantly asking where everyone is - "Where's daddy/Nolan/mommy?" He says excuse me after he burps and is starting to say please more often, instead of just more. He loves talking about Elmo, Dora, Thomas the Train and Woody from Toy Story. He can name a football and basketball, and pretty much just loves to throw any ball around! That kid gets bruises on a daily basis from all of his tripping and falling down. He had his first ear infection last week. Not bad for 19 months! He takes his medicine like a champ, too. We need to seriously think about moving him in to a big boy bed sometime soon. He keeps welcoming more and more stuffed animals and blankets - to the point he's running out of room!

I took the kids to the park while Adam had softball practice last Sunday and his first game on Wednesday. On Sunday the kids had just started going down the slides when Nolan announced he had to go #2. Panic set in, because the bathrooms at the park are disgusting. I grabbed Nolan and he started running toward the bathroom. I had to go and find Kale first, threw him in the stroller and started running after Nolan. Thankfully the double stroller fit through the door of the bathroom. Nolan asked what that smell was as soon as we walked in, if that gives you an idea of the facilities! He then asked if we could go home for him to go, and I told him no. I settled Kale in with some M&M's and proceeded to get Nolan on the pot. There is nothing grosser than sitting face to face with your kid in a gross park bathroom while he does his thing. I started laughing at one point at the situation and Nolan asked me why I was laughing. I told him it was funny and he replied, "Don't be so happy yet mommy, I'm not done". It feels like forever when you have to hold him while he goes, to the point my feet start to fall asleep! Sure enough on Wednesday the same thing happens. This time I kept asking Nolan "Are you done yet?" He finally said to me "Mom, you keep saying that. I'll be done pretty quick!" Don't get me wrong - I'm thankful he's potty trained. I just wish he would do this at home, before our trip to the park! Speaking of potty training, Nolan has been wearing big boy underpants 24-7 for the last 2 weeks, and he hasn't had an overnight accident yet! I'm really appreciating some of his independence, especially this.

Last Sunday Nolan participated in a children's research study at the U of M. I prepped him for it be telling him we were going to go play games and do homework with a teacher, because he loves doing both of those things. He packed his Thomas the Train backpack (that happens to also have wheels and pull handle) with 9 Cars mini books, 2 Mators, a green ball and a motorcycle. Before we left I was able to get a picture of him and Kale holding hands:)

When we arrived on campus he insisted on pulling the backpack around, which was hysterical. He was so proud of himself! It took him a little while to warm up, but once he did he played 8-10 different games (some on the computer) with the research assistant, all in an attempt to study self control. Half way through I had to pull out the Oreo cookie and Dum Dum sucker to entice him to stay, and thankfully that worked. The whole thing is fasinating to me. The study is for ages 2 1/2-5 1/2 yrs old, so most of the concepts were way too difficult for him to get. He held in there for an hour and a half, and we didn't quite get finished so I need to take him back next week. He needs to finish the games and then they'll try and put an EEG cap on him to study his brain activity when he's completing the tasks. He was not at all interested in it when he saw the cap last weekend. It looks like a swimmers cap with little electrode things all over it. The process to get it on his head is about 15 minutes, and it's a little scary looking. I'm not holding my breath, but at least we'll give it a try. After the study we went to the McDonald's on campus. It was 11:45 or so, and it was amazing to me to see all of the after party college kids, dressed in their Sunday best! One of the girls was barefoot, at McDonald's. Gross! Nolan ordered his usual - a chicken nuggets happy meal. I got a little change back, so I told him he could either put it in his pocket or put it in the Ronald McDonald house change thing. I explained to him that kids who are sick need the money to help their families stay near the hospital. He put it in his pocket at first, and about a minute later took it out and put it in the change collector. I was so proud of him!

Last night I was home alone with the kids, and after dinner I took them to the yellow park, as Nolan calls it. Right before we left Kale slipped and fell on one of the fire engine toys, leaving him with 2 big welts on the left side of his face. It takes a lot to make him cry, and this sure did. While at the park Nolan slipped and landed head first in to the metal side of the equipment. His right cheek and ear are pretty banged up. Then at softball on Wednesday Kale was running too fast down a tar path and fell, causing a decent scrape and blood. He was wearing shorts, so that made it worse! He barely fussed, and once he touched the blood and looked at it on his hand he was fine. One of our friends commented he would make a good hockey player, because a little blood doesn't make him cry! Nolan has said some funny things over the last few weeks. When he's really exicted he says "Oh my gosh!" At our picnic before the softball game on Wednesday I asked him to come and sit down and he said, "Okay mom, let's do this." It will be interesting to see if Kale picks up on any of this!

How could I almost forget my sweetest moment of the week? After we got home from the park last night Kale took off for our swing set and wanted to swing. I told him to come inside but he wasn't listening, so I asked Nolan to go and get him. Off he went, yelling "Kale, it's time to go in!" I couldn't hear what Nolan told Kale, but all of a suddent they were toward the house, holding both of their hands together and walking sideways. I loved it!

Let's talk, mom

Time sure flies when the weather is nice! I feel like the last few weeks since Nolan’s birthday have flown by. The most exciting news is the arrival of our first nephew, Conner, who arrived the weekend of Easter. Our boys have gotten to see him twice, and Nolan is enthralled with him. The only baby Nolan has been around is Kale, and he doesn’t remember that because he was so little. He asked to hold him, and when he did he just stared at him and smiled. Kale was a little jealous that we didn’t allow him to really be by him or touch him. Kale is a bit of a brute, and doesn’t quite understand his own strength yet! Nolan was especially excited when Adam held Conner, and was right there watching. Even more exciting than the baby was Bailey the black lab. The boys had so much fun jumping on her and chasing her around.

Easter was fun with the kids. We spent the weekend at my parent’s house, and the kids had fun playing with Emma and Allie. It was really quiet without the Jones’ family there. We made it to church, but not without incident. Kale was his usual entertaining self, making friends with everyone around us. Nolan was good, and did really well until he went up with Emma for the offering. He was able to get his dollar in the basket, but on the way back tripped in his new dress shoes and fell. If that wasn’t bad enough another kid fell on top of him and he bumped his head really hard on the tile. He was crying/screaming at the very front of the church and when Gina and I got to the front he had a big, red goose egg on his forehead. I took him out and he was able to calm down, but he was really tired after that. He perked up once we got back to grandma and grandpa’s house for the easter egg hunt. He and Kale had so much fun, and neither of them has ever eaten as much candy as they did that morning! After all the eggs were counted we realized Kale was missing one egg. We all went out in search of it, and were surprised when half of us passed it and Kale was the one to find it. He was so proud! When we got home Nolan and Kale had fun searching for their baskets that the Easter Bunny had left for them. They were a little disappointed there wasn’t much candy, but loved the new bouncy balls. We were happy to get them to bed that evening. With all the sugar they both crashed and became a little cranky!



Last week I was home with the kids quite a bit because Adam was away for work. One morning after I had breakfast (eggs and turkey bacon) Nolan gave me a hug and said, “You smell like chicken nuggets.” Chicken nuggets are his favorite food so I should probably take that as a compliment, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to smell like them! Nolan is also in to telling me “Let’s talk, mom.” When I ask him what about he always comes up with things we’ve been talking about recently, like soccer or baby chicks. Nolan loves giving advice or providing direction to Kale these days, too – and Kale just soaks it up. I love the conversations they have in the backseat when we’re driving!

I was with the kids all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday, because Adam was helping his dad get a few things done at the farm. I took them to get their haircut Saturday morning, and then we ran errands until lunch. After nap we took a walk to Gale Woods Farm. We spent a good hour there, watching the animals and running around. While watching the chickens a rooster jumped on a hen. Nolan, ever so observant, told me “Look mom, that chicken is stuck!”. I just responded yes and we moved on. Gotta love nature! Kale’s favorite part of the farm were the lambs, primarily because he could talk to them, “baaaa”! On Sunday morning we were invited to a friend’s farm to meet the baby chicks. Nolan was a little shy at first, but warmed up when he got to hold a baby chick.
Kale also got to hold a baby chick, but not for long because he kept squeezing its neck!
They both liked the turkey’s, and Kale especially loved the cows. He even got to get in a pen and pet one of the new calves. He thought it was so funny and kept giggling. We tried to visit the goats but they didn’t want to come out and play, so instead Nolan asked if we could look at the big tractor. Both kids got to go up in the cab and sit in it. They thought they were pretty cool, especially Kale as he parade waved out the windows. The other big draw were the cats, but they didn’t really want anything to do with crazy Kale!


Kale is saying more and more words, and it’s to the point that we can actually understand him some of the time! He is a spunky kid with a boat load of energy and a big personality. He loves meeting new people and has no fear greeting people he doesn’t know. He attached himself quickly to my friend’s dad at the farm on Sunday – poor guy! He has strong opinions about what books we read before bed, and his current favorites are The Very Hungry Caterpillar and a Halloween themed book. We have also discovered that if he’s cranky in the car the song “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” calms him down!

Nolan loves reading, although his book selections are getting to be longer and longer. Two nights this week we’ve had to read the Disney book Aladdin to him – lots of pages and teeny, tiny print! Nolan also likes memorizing books and “reading” them to us. His new favorite activity is cutting paper with a scissors. He occupied himself for a ½ hour before dinner last night, cutting a piece of paper in to very tiny pieces. When he got done he said his hand hurt from cutting!

It’s interesting to watch both kids grow and change. Both seem to be at a point where the terrible 3’s and almost terrible 2’s are going to start coming in to play. Nolan and Kale play off one another, so it seems like if one is in a bad mood the other is affected, too. I’m guessing we have a few interesting years ahead of us!

I need a doctor appointment

Tonight at dinner Nolan started coughing.

D: Nolan, are you okay?
N: I need a doctor's appointment.
D: Why?
N: I have a tummy ache in my mouth.

Hilarious!