Straw-Berries

Matthew has been really interested lately in knowing how specific foods help our bodies, especially when it comes to fruits and vegetables. I can't decide if he's really curious or if he is trying to find a hole in my nutritional reasoning. I've had to explain the benefits of broccoli, grapes, green beans, peas, carrots, milk, apples, etc. The other day we were having strawberries with our lunch and the usual topic came up.


Matthew: Mom, what do strawberries do?

Mom: You know what Matthew, I actually don't know for sure. I know they have Vitamin C though.

Matthew: Well, I know. I think they help you to suck.

Mom: Because they are STRAW-berries?

Matthew: Yep.

Pretty good rationale, I have to admit.

Brother's Day

I know this is late, but I had to write it down because it was so funny. A few weeks ago I asked the kids what they wanted to do for Kevin for Father's Day.

Ryan: I know. Let's buy some red Zingers! (Yes, Kevin really likes Zingers.)

Mom: That's a good idea. Anything else?

Ryan: And then we can get yellow Zingers for Brother's Day!

Apparently there is an additional holiday I'm not aware of. And as a sidenote, Kevin had a fun Father's Day and got all of the manly things one would expect - a purple tie picked out by the kids (accompanied by Zingers of course) and some new drill bits. We are so lucky to have such a great dad!

Tough Week

*This was composed the end of June but never posted. Go figure. :)

It's been a while since we updated the blog, but we honestly have good reason this time. Last week the whole house came down with a not-very-fun sickness, so we spent a lot of time watching TV and eating soda crackers. Since everyone is finally feeling better, we have been trying to get back into our normal schedule, and unfortunately we've run into a couple of days where the kids have decided to rebel. Today, for example, the boys were downstairs playing Star Wars after lunch. I took advantage of a few spare minutes and went to my room to do some filing. The air conditioning came on and closed the bedroom door. I thought nothing of it and finished going through some papers. (Yeah, mommy-sense had apparently suffered from the sickness as well.) When I was done, I went downstairs to check on the kids. They were having a little scuffle about sharing, so I asked Ryan to come over and talk to me so we could work it out. When he came over I noticed orange powder around his mouth and smelled Doritos on his breath. Now, we don't have Doritos at our house very often, so the kids get pretty excited when they are around. I asked Ryan if he had been eating chips. He just looked at me and tried not to smile. I asked Matthew the same question, and he told me no, but the Mommy-sense (finally) kicked in and I could tell he wasn't being truthful. After some more questioning Matthew led me over to a blanket on the floor and lifted it up to reveal the bag of chips. It was almost entirely empty. Apparently the boys had decided they needed a snack and snuck the bag downstairs while my door was closed. Let's just say they had to clean up the mess and it looks like Doritos will have an even bigger hiatus from our house. Boys!

Buzz-Man Zach

Zachary is just like his brothers - tons of fun but FULL of mischief. He loves to grab things he's not supposed to, wait until I see him, then run away full throttle in an escape attempt. And I have to admit he is pretty fast. He likes to take favorite toys away from his brothers when they aren't looking and thinks it's hilarious to have them chase him down. And then he throws the tantrum when they reclaim their goods. This has resulted in a new era of life for him - duh, duh, duh - corner time out. He's been in time out on my lap before, but he's old enough to start the regular stuff. The first few times he went to the corner he went pretty willingly, sat down, and started to fake cry (obviously imitating his older brothers). Honestly? I had to try very hard not to laugh. Because of his talent for disturbing the peace, he has also learned to say "sorry" (sha-sha) and "love you" (lo loo).

Zach loves to play. He likes the typical cars, trucks, little people, etc., but he is usually interested in whatever his brothers are playing with (as previously mentioned.) He can really get into their ball games and can hold his own in wrestling matches.
He even likes to have lightsaber fights and can make some pretty good blaster noises. Legos are also a favorite, although he prefers to play with the lego people (he calls them "guys") by pulling them apart and putting them back together again. He loves playing outside on his bike and on the swings.

He is also starting to talk a lot more and is trying to imitate the things that we say. He wakes up every morning with the same question - "Daddy bye-bye car?" and has started to put more words together in phrases and sentences. He heard one of the boys pass gas one day and started to laugh. "Mat-ma toot!" he told all of us. New words he is saying: Mat-ma (Matthew), Rye-Rye (Ryan), uh-oh, nuh-uh, swee (swing), sly (slide), pan (pants), sock, ha (hat), bye (bike), pwee (please), tank oo, pop-pop (popcorn - the kid is an addict), my (mine), no, ow-sy (outside), muh (milk), wa-wa (water), der (there), show, gink (drink), umpa (grandma/grandpa), bubbo (bubble), Buh (Buzz Lightyear), Queen (Lightning McQueen) and some others as well.

And finally, we had to give our little guy a buzz. His sweet baby hair just wasn't filling in where it was supposed to. It was long and wispy and he was starting to have a mullet. Cool as that may be, Kevin opted to give him a buzz to give Zach's hair a new start. Here's a short breakdown of the process:

Before

During

Mohawk

Final Buzz

It made me a little sad to see all of his hair go. He looks bigger now and is no longer my baby, just a happy, busy toddler. He is such a fun little boy with a lot of spunk and personality. I guess he has to be in order to fit in with the rest of the crew. I can't believe he will be two in a few months. We sure do love our Zachary!

Ryan

Oh Ryan, where to begin? Our Ry-Ry is a compact ball of energy waiting to explode. He does everything wholeheartedly - playing, singing, running, jumping, crying, throwing fits, giving hugs and kisses, etc. He has always been independent, but lately he has been sure to let us know that he wants to do EVERYTHING by himself. He loves to play with his older brother Matthew, anything having to do with Star Wars, legos, cars, etc. And somewhere along the way he developed a new fascination with Batman and Mr. Freeze.

Ryan is also very interested in small or little things. He likes to hold old floss containers and a small toy cell-phone and always checks out the smallest board books at the library. He has a very boyish connection with bugs and rocks and can find a new rock anywhere we go. He actually has several rock collections in our backyard for this very purpose. He also thinks that he has the ability to "grow little" and is always commmenting on "when I grow little again..." It's usually so he can wear an old shirt or play with an old toy, but it's funny that his mind works that way.

Here is Ryan with his "Rainbow Mountain"

I think I've mentioned before that Ryan is very literal. Everything is taken at face value with him. When I tell him to "cool your jets" or "hold your horses" I often get an exasperated "Mom, I don't have any jets!!" (or horses). Ryan cannot be referred to as cute, handsome, funny, silly, or any other adjective. "I'm just Ryan," he informs us.

He doesn't take naps anymore, although he probably should about every third day. This is what happens when you go to time out for a few minutes...

He is also very curious about the world and has a great sense of humor. A while ago he asked Kevin, "Dad, why do you not have hair?" Kevin could only reply that some people lose their hair as they get older and that he hoped the same fate would escape Ryan. Sometimes I'll ask Ryan if he knows where something is and he'll say, "I know." "Where?" "It's lost." Thanks, dude. One time I asked him where his shoes were and he responded, "I don't know. Maybe they ran away." Another time he came up to me out of the blue and said, "Mom, look at my head." "What's wrong with it?" "I don't have a hat!" Ryan is very attached to his hat and loves to wear it at all times of day.

Case in point:

Some other fun things about Ryan:

He loves to ride bikes.

He has Life cereal for breakfast almost every day.

He is learning how to write his name
(and tends to draw on other things in the process.)

We love our Ryan and all the fun he brings to our family.