Great or "Gator"?

Well, Freddie ran over Jones with the "alliGator" today.

How's THAT for an opening line?

I'm not sure what happened - Jones was riding, because OF COURSE, Freddie was driving, and then all of a sudden, I looked up, and Jones was being dragged by the Gator, his right leg almost entirely under the (mercifully) plastic tire.

Jones was DEFINITELY afraid but not at all hurt. He didn't even really whine when I picked him up. He just got back on board the Gator and took off with his baby brother.

That was this afternoon - our SECOND trip to the Pressleys' for some ride time today (their huge, flat front yard is a MUCH better place to ride than anywhere at our house). On the first, the boys fought LIKE CRAZY over the Gator. I take that back - FREDDIE fought like crazy. Jones was perfectly content to ride his tractor. Every now and then, he'd ask to drive the Gator, and Freddie would have NONE OF IT.

The transitions went much better this afternoon - mostly because I'd put the fear of God into Freddie that if he DARED to pitch ANY KIND OF FIT, he would never again get on the Gator, so he did fine ... until he didn't.

After an hour or so, I said, "It's Jones's turn," and Freddie shouted, "IT NOT JONES'S TURN." This behavior, by the way, though commonplace for Jones (we're working on it), is VERY uncommon for Freddie, so, as promised, I jerked him up and dealt with his attitude before putting him the car to sit, while Jones and I parked their fleet of John Deeres. Jones did spectacularly well. No fits, no complaining. Thank the good Lord in Heaven above.

By and large, though, they both did really well with two separate tractors. This afternoon was SIGNIFICANTLY better than this morning, but still, I think the arrangement is gonna be a good one. They'd do circles in the front yard, taunting each other with "You can't catch me! You can't catch me!" Then, just before we left the second time, Jones goofily declared, "I'm a John Deere man. Freddie's an alliGator man."

Truer words were never spoken.

In other news, Freddie wants to be Zurg for Halloween. I TOTALLY know this will change a thousand times between now and October, but I hope, hope, hope he ultimately goes with this choice, because it's SO perfect for him. Everytime we watch "Toy Story 2," which, for awhile, was pretty much every day, he sits up, points, and says, "ZUUUUURRRRGGGGG" everytime Buzz's nemesis comes on the screen.  The fact that he conceived this idea in his (not-so-tiny) two year old head makes me about as proud of him as I've ever been.

Jones's current front runner makes me just as proud. He presently wants to be Johnny Strum, a "GEE-tar' playing bandit from the Ballad of Sweet Strings episode of "Sheriff Callie's Wild West." What in the world would make him want to "be like" this guy (He always uses that to describe it: "I want to be like ... [fill in the blank]"), I will never know, but I LOVE getting to see how the wheels are spinning in those little heads, and I'm gonna do all I can to make those little dress up dreams come true.

I'm completely staying out of their costume choices and letting it be whatever their little hearts desire, but in this moment, Mama's heart desires a Zurg and a Johnny Strum - both of which were selected by the boys. I just hope they CONTINUE to select them.

We'll see how this all plays out.

LOVING his hair, as it grows
out on top 

They have gotten very good
at helping carry in grocery bags -
so long as they aren't too heavy.