11-28-12 Let's Play!

Sometimes I look at Caden and rack my brain trying to remember what you're supposed to do with a
2-1/2 year old.  I shouldn't be rusty.  The last time I had a 2-1/2 year old was, um, one year ago.

I did see this trend starting a year ago though.  Max was 2-1/2 and he really only wanted to do what Conrad was doing.  When Conrad was 2-1/2, I was his buddy.  When it was play time, I played with him.  It's different with your third child, especially when they're close in age.  With Caden, I'm not his first choice for somebody to play with.  He is always looking for Max and Conrad and beckoning for them to play trains.  I'm more of a last resort when they're no longer interested in setting up tracks for 2" trains to be pushed around.  They've moved on to bigger and better things -- big boy LEGOS (no more Duplos!).

Tonight the big boys left with Daddy and Caden started crying and saying that he wanted to go with them.  The thought, "What do I do with a 2-1/2 year old," started to creep into my head.  Then I asked him, "Do you want to play in the sink?"  A moment of genius!  Conrad and Max used to LOVE to play in the sink.  Caden does too.  There he was playing away with simple things.  Then I added a funnel.  Double genius!  He said, "Look at my fountain," and I remembered Max saying the exact same thing and I can remember the bowls and items he stacked to create his fountain.

What a fun night.  Sometimes it really is the little things.

10-20-12 My Little Pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch

10-20-12 They're funny already!

Before 6:30 am today, Caden and Max were making me laugh.  They slept in the same bed last night and as the sun was coming up, Max was calling for me.  When I went into their room Caden asked, "Did you hear my gas?" as if that's what had brought me to the room.

Next step was for me to make coffee.  Max offers to make my cup, but I told him I already had a pot brewing.  I realized he was used to us using our Keurig so I showed  him the coffee pot and explained how it made 12 cups of coffee at once.  Max watched it brew and asked if it had a passcode.

Dear Apple, Max has a suggestion for you: iPot.  The cutting edge in brewing coffee.

10-18-12 Caden's Consistent Request

Caden's favorite Blanket, or "B", is his elephant one that Max picked out for him before he was born.  However, I think his true favorite is his Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag.  It's just too cumbersome to carry around, although this doesn't always stop him from trying!  He has it in his crib right now and every night he says,"Will you snake me in?".  This is his request for me to tuck him into his sleeping bag and pull it over his head.  It makes me smile every nap time and bedtime.

By morning, Caden's sleeping bag weighs about five pounds because throughout the night he pushes all the stuffed animals, books, and water cups to the bottom of the bag.  Always fun to root through it when he's asking for his "Baby".

10-8-12 Brothers At The Zoo

10-7-12 Apple Season!

We went to the apple orchard a few weeks ago and many apple activities usually follow that, but this year we made our first apple pie.  Easiest baking I've ever done (code for: refrigerated crust).  The reason I've never made an apple pie is either one of two things.  The first option is that I don't really like apple pie.  The second option is that I have a recipe for caramel apple crisp that jumps out of my recipe box every time I slice apples.

Conrad has been asking to bake an apple pie, so I went to my Better Homes and Garden cookbook and the recipe only called for about five ingredients.  The apple washing and slicing began!  Conrad gave instructions and Max and Caden were part of the assembly line.  Max did not like the taste of the Granny Smith apples, but Caden and Conrad nibbled pieces of the peeled skin.

I cut out hearts in the top crust and soon the house was filled with the smell of a fresh baked apple pie.

It made a lovely fall dessert.  Unless you ask Max and Caden.  They took one bite and went back to playing trains.   I'm going to include my picture of our first pie.  It really does make me appreciate the talent of people who take good pictures of food.

10-3-12 My Kind of Homework

Conrad's teacher sent home this math assignment.  

Last week I gave the boys these containers to play with in the bathtub.

This week, the boys compared the sizes of the containers and the volume of water  they held and 

did a lot of pouring.  

All water activities seem better suited for the bathtub, but not when the containers of water have to sit on the edge of the bathtub.  Inevitably, the outcome will be water seeping into your bathroom tile.