Convos with JoJo

On Wednesday nites, we have to take two cars to church, so tonite, after loading the boys in the car, Jeremy said to them, "I'll race ya home!" Jones answered, "We gonna beat you, Dada, in your new beeg car(t - for some reason, he always adds a t)."

At the next stoplight, Jeremy pulled up beside us, and then, he SMOKED us in the turn. When he did, Jones said, "We haffa catch 'im! KA-CHOW! (like Lightnin' McQueen)."

(For the record, Jeremy won. Also, for the record, as I strapped Jones in his carseat, he told me, "I missed you!")

When we got home, Freddie disobeyed, so Jeremy went to deal with that, while I took the opportunity to review the importance of obedience with Jones.

"What happens when you disobey?" I asked.

Jones responded matter-of-factly and as if he were trying to clear up a misunderstanding. "NOT me," he said. "I not disobey. Freddie did, NOT me."

Ohhhhhh. Okay, Buddy. I gotcha.

Blame Game

A couple of years ago, Jeremy recommended that he and I should start putting puzzles together. I liked the idea, so I bought him a puzzle for his birthday that year (2014); it's been in its box in the garage ever since.

On Monday, though, the boys and I went to the Pressleys. Mrs. Pressley and Dolly were finishing up a puzzle Mrs. Pressley had been working on over the snowy weekend, and I thought, "That looks like it'd be really fun!" So that nite, I bought up our card table and broke open the box of our 1,000 piece pastime.

We spent three hours, hard at work. Where we'd spend a typical nite in chairs on opposite sides of the room, mindlessly watching ESPN or flipping through various news feeds on our phones, on Monday, we actually talked. I think it was some of the best conversation we've had in a long time, so we decided to keep up our puzzle-building.

Tuesday nite, we did more of the same. By the time we went to bed, the puzzle was almost 75% finished. Then came Wednesday morning. I built a barrier around the card table, thinking it - plus my repeated admonitions to NOT TOUCH THE PUZZLE - would keep the boys away from it while I took a shower.

That's what I get for thinking.

Not long after I'd gone back to the bathroom, I heard a sound that sound painfully similar to puzzle pieces being shaken in a box. I rushed back in to the den. My suspicions were confirmed.

There, on the floor, were all 1,000 pieces - smashed, just like mine and Jeremy's plans to frame the finished puzzle for hanging in the boys' remodeled playroom. The boys were playing in the cardboard shrapnel.

After dealing with their disobedience, I made them pick up all of the pieces. I then put the full box back on the table to test the boys when I went back to finish my shower.

They failed the test.

Not two minutes later, I heard Jones cackling an evil kind of cackle, and I knew what had happened. This pattern played out three time in all before they finally did as they were told and LEFT THE BOX ALONE.

When I got Freddie up from his nap, though, the first thing he said was, "Where puzzle go?" I said, "You broke it!"

After that, he studied me hard for at least ten seconds, looking at me with a very concerned look before saying, "JoJo did it."

Sure, he did.

Lacing Shoe Blues

In spite of the wonderful news about Freddie's blessedly excellent health (thank You, Lord!), today ended with much frustration that included but was not limited to Freddie's whining almost the entire time I made him play in the playroom and Jones's telling me I couldn't take away his piano bench, because it's his.

For the record, I DID take the bench away, and afterwards, Jones and I had a LOOOOONNNNGGGGGG talk about who owns the things in this house and to whom they are very kindly lent. I'm thinking he'll get "lent" that bench again about the time he's ready to start taking lessons.

ANYWAY, as a way to flush a frustrating day, I'm focusing only these few adorable (in my opinion) anecdotes:

1) This one isn't so much an anecdote as it's a picture. Jones threw up twice overnite (he and I both have had tender tummies of late), and he was VERY sleepy this morning, so he asked if he could cuckle on the couch. Of course, I put him on it. He hadn't been laying there for long when Freddie asked if he could sit beside him, so there they were, both cuckled up, watching "The Clubhouse." It was super cute.

2) We bought Jones this headlamp for Christmas. He hasn't really paid much attention to it. In fact, I haven't seen him play with it at all. You can imagine my surprise, then, when he popped his head through the playroom doorway, saying, "Ribbit! Ribbit" as that meant-for-his-forehead lamp covered his nose.

Of course, when I tried to get a picture of it, he wasn't cooperative, but at least, you get the gist.

3) I've alluded to Freddie's foot fetish. Baby Brother loves him some shoes. That's why I got him this lacing shoe, thinking he could PLAY with it.

Well, today, while I was addressing Jones's "you can't take it from me; it's mine" statement and the fact that, when asked if he pitched a fit when I took the bench away, he said, "No. Not me. The baby did, the baby called 'Brother,'" I heard Freddie crying from the playroom.

"Mama! Hole!" ("Help!"), he said.

So I went in to the playroom to find "the baby called 'Brother'" not PLAYING with his lacing shoe but WEARING it and unable to get it off (thus, the crying).

Behold.

 So THOSE are the things I want to remember about today - though there are other parts I'm not sure I'm able to forget.

Healthy Freckle

Very, very happy to report that, according to today's two-year check-up, Freddie Bear is fit as a fiddle!

Here are the stats:

26.5 lbs. (42nd %tile)
33.25" (13th %tile)
20.25" head circumference (99th %tile)

For comparison's sake (because this kind of stuff absolutely fascinates me), at the same appointment, Jones was:

26 lbs. (39th %tile)
35" (64th %tile)
19.75" head circumference (90th %tile)

We have now graduated from check ups every 3 or 6 months to every year. In thinking about that today, all I could say was, "THAT happened fast."

I am SO grateful for the gifts of my healthy sons!

Snow, Snow, Go Away!

On Day Three of Winter-palooza, I'm not only ready for this snow to melt, I'm ready for the MASTERS. Come quickly, Spring - with your seersucker and your sandals and your no-need-for-sixteen-layers.


Still, the boys and I enjoyed our final day of this (admittedly, blessedly) long weekend. Jeremy and I finally got smart - after two days of Freddie's whining while we were outside, we decided that he and Jeremy would stay in while Jones and I ventured out.

Nothing much of note happened during our hour or so outside. Jones did a LOT of digging; he rode Freddie's "police 'cycle," and we (I mean, I) unsuccessfully attempted to build a snowman. He really loved it out there, and so long as he didn't accidentally drop a "shubble" full of powder down his neck (he did once), he handled the cold REALLY, surprisingly well.

Jones loves to watch his "shadder."

He LOVED ramming the "cycle" into the snow on the edge of
the driveway and then inspecting the pattern of his tracks.

Thanks to YouTube, Jones's first introduction to Spidey
was the first episode of the 1967 cartoon series.
Gotta say, I learned a thing or two myself.

After his nap, Jones achieved a milestone that, as a mother of boys, I think needs to be noted: he wore his first super hero t-shirt! Now, he's worn Incredibles pajamas, but when I say "super hero" shirt, I'm talking the classics - Batman, Superman, or, in this case, SPIDER-MAN.

I didn't know he knew anything about super heroes, until he started jumping on his bed, calling himself "Superman," and randomly mentioning Spider-Man. Though I have no idea where he was introduced to these guys, I knew he'd be excited to have the t-shirt, which was handed down to me by my friend Stacey's boys and which I uncovered going through some Spring clothes during nap time. I figured it'd be fun for him to not only wear the shirt but to also watch the cartoon for the first time, too.

When I walked him after he'd woken up, I said, "I have a surprise for you!" I showed it to him, and he excitedly said, "A Spider-Man shirt! Oh, BOY!" Then, we made it in to watch the cartoon. He watched while holding on to Mike the Knight's horse.

"Are you Spider-Man?" I asked. He responded, "Yeah. And this (meaning the horse he was holding) Galahad."

Sometimes, he'd stand up in his shirt, making monster-sounds and ghostly motions, and saying, "I spooky!" leaving me to wonder exactly how much (or little, as the case seems to be) he really knows about Spider-Man.

I'm not sure he cares to know all that much more just yet. As soon as the first episode was over, he asked, "Can I please watch 'Stooby Stoo'?"

Sure, Kid.

I AM excited, though, that we are on the threshold of the super hero phase.

Freddie was less interested in Spider-Man than he was in his shoes (see picture). This child has a crazy foot fetish - particularly where these shoes are concerned. He puts them on as soon as he sees them every morning. "Shoo-MON," he tells me ("shoe on") before slipping into them himself.

Finally, just after I'd put the boys to bed, I was in the back of the house when I heard one of them crying. I thought it was Jones and went into his room.

As soon as I opened the door, he looked up at me. It was obvious he hadn't been crying.

"Are you okay, Buddy?" I asked. "I thought you were crying."
"No. It not me. I fine. Thank you for checking on me."
"Well, it must be Freddie."
"Go check see if Freddie okay."

I swear to you, that is how the conversation went down. Immediately after, I came into the den and told Jeremy verbatim what Jones said, so I wouldn't forget.

Turns out, it was Freddie who was crying - he was fine, just wanted me to "peassss sing," which I did. I went back in to tell Jones that Freddie was okay, and he again said, "Thank you for checking on me." As I left the room, he said, "Be careful, Mama. Don't fall on the stairs in the garage." No idea where that came from but thoroughly enjoyed his banter - and his concern for his brother - and the fact that my baby is becoming such a super-hero sized big boy.

Snow Day, Redux

The first thing Jones said to me when I got him out of bed this morning was, "Is it snowing?" He then ran to the den window to see for himself. Not long after that, I had one of my favorite moments of the day.

We'd eaten breakfast, and I was in the back of the house, collecting the million pieces we'd need to keep us from freezing outside. When I came back into the den, Jeremy said Jones had dressed himself. By "dressing himself," Jeremy meant that Jones had put on his Wah-ken drawers, his snow boots, and his "Goofy hat" (as Jones calls it).

I naturally grabbed my camera as soon as I saw Jones. As soon as HE saw ME, Jones ran as if we were both headed outside, but then he stopped himself.

"I KNOW I forgot sumpin'," he said. "A JACKET!"

You know, Son, that's not ALL you forgot.

This picture, which is already one of my favorites of the entire year, also offers another opportunity to remind the world of how much Jones looks like young Jeremy. They are genetic TWINS.

My other favorite moment of the day came at the end of it. I was sitting in Freddie's dark room; he was on my lap, as I sang to him, and Jones was standing right beside me, listening. He does this all the time. What he's never done before, though, is climb up into my lap beside Freddie. Tonite, though, he did. "Hold me," he said, before making himself a spot right beside his brother.

So, there I was, both of my boys sitting on my lap, both of their freshly-washed heads laying on my chest, and I made a mental note to make that happen every nite until they're too big to share the space, which I know will be here all too soon.

Between the moments that bookended my day, there was a flurry of fun.

Back to this morning...

I spent the standard 30 minutes squeezing my children into more layers of clothes than they'd normally wear in a WEEK. Finally, we made it outside. Jones told me, "Let's go look for snowballs, Mama," as if snowballs are something you FIND instead of something you make.

He then took off running "in da field," as he calls ANY patch of land, no matter how big or small. For a boy who typically stays pretty close to his mama, taking off like this was a big deal. He LOVES this snow.

Freddie ... well, not so much. He remained super whiny the whole time we were out, which was a lot longer today than yesterday (it was warmer, because the sun was out, and our faces weren't being pelted by sleet).

Jones, however, treated the snow like Winter's massive sandbox. He dug; he threw; he jumped. He'd have stayed out all day if I hadn't been home alone (Jeremy went to help his dad scrape a friend's driveway) and sick of listening to Freddie's whines.

The rest of the day was spent very similarly to yesterday - lots of "The Clubhouse" before watching the Wildcats, who appeared much-improved, incidentally (I hope it lasts), before dinner before baths before bedtime.

Likely, we'll do it all again tomorrow. Church has already been cancelled.

Truth to tell, I'm ready for warmer weather, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit to THOROUGHLY enjoying our unexpected there-day weekend.

SNOW DAY!

SNOW DAY!

In these parts, it's not often that we get even a fraction of the snow that's forecasted. This time, though, I think we may have gotten more. By the time we woke up this morning, there were probably four or five inches on the ground. Here's Jones's response to all that snow.



Here's a transcript:

"Alright, let's go to your room and see if you have some snow out ... oh, let's go to Jojo's room, and see I have some SNOW! Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow! Snow! ... Daddy. You here? Dada! Dada! It's snowing! Yep. It's just snowing. It's here. Come check it out. It's here. Gotta check it out. It's here. Come, Freddie. Come, Buzz."

Now, at the end of the day, I'd say we have close to a foot of snow, and there's supposed to be another six inches or so more fall between now and this time tomorrow. I hate snow. That's no secret to anyone who knows me, but today, I've kind of loved it - because it was significant enough that Jeremy closed the office, and except for the 30 or so minutes that we spent outside earlier today, everything is pretty much untouched, so it's just laying there, like the thick cotton swath my grandmother'd use to decorate with at Christmas.

We made it out around 9:30 or so. Jones LOVED it. He had a ball, excitedly "skating" on the "skateboards" my parents gave all the kids for Christmas. Freddie liked the skateboarding, but he whined when we were doing pretty much anything else. The snow was so thick that it was hard for him to even walk. I don't think he cared too much for having his progress impeded.

When the sleet started falling with the snow, we decided to come back in for awhile. Before going all the way back in, the boys shed some layers and played in their makeshift second playroom on the never-used sunporch (future garage!). Then, we came in, watched some "Clubhouse," as Jones called "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," and made some popcorn for lunch.

Tonite, we ate chili for dinner (courtesy of Jeremy) and watched "Spooky Mickey," all sprawled out on the den floor. As we ate, Jones asked if he could go skating again. I told him it was too dark now but that we would tomorrow.

And I imagine that we will.

When I showed this picture to Jones,
I asked, "Who's this?" He said, "That's me!"
Then he corrected himself and said,
"No. It's Woody!"

This is what your house looks like when all four in your
family are stuck in a single room for most of the day.