To my readers without live journals - please feel free to write. You can post an "anonymous" comment, but please tag them with your name so I know who you are!

In early April, C Raz helped pick out his new big boy bed. We decided to skip over the toddler size and go straight to the twin. After a visit to IKEA to check out what he wanted (which during that trip was playing with everything other than what we were looking at), Grandpa and Grandma kindly picked it up for us the next weekend and brought it to our house with their larger vehicle. Grandpa and Daddy assembled it with a lot of very "useful" help from C Raz; he got out his toy toolset to get in on the action. Upon this occasion, this particular grandparent was dubbed "Grandpa Tools," which has been very useful for differentiation. It is very cozy, between the jersey sheets and multiple stuffed animals that share it with him, and has great storage drawers underneath.


"Flathead or Phillips head, Grandpa?"

( Click here for more construction and some snoozing! )

Bonus photo - the Nonny Bunny!

Okay, I've heard of Christmas in July before, so why not Easter in July? C Raz and Mama had a lot of fun being creative this past March, with paper egg crafts and egg dyeing. This was the first year that C Raz had the fun of coloring eggs and he thought it was great, although he could use a lighter touch dropping them in. His favorite was probably the one he put in every single dye cup - which turned about a sort of purple-y brown. Unfortunately, hardboiled eggs are wasted at our house - I can't eat them and the boys don't like them.


"There's an egg in there!"


"This is my concentrating face!"

( Click here for egg-stra photos! HAHAHAH! )

More photo catch-up to come next week! Maybe even this weekend if Daddy Raz lets me on the home computer.

....but hard to have all cooperating for a photo at the same time!

Why is it that you can somewhat easily take a good photo of two children, but when there is a third child in the mix, it becomes almost impossible? Someone is always making a face, wiggling away or just looking off in a different direction. (Yeah, so good luck with that, pregnant sisters of ours.)


Here, C Raz hangs out with his Toledo cousins while we are attempting to get a nice horizontal shot for Busia's picture frame.


Aunt Cheri bought cool "Cousins Unite!" shirts for this photo op with his Maryland cousins. Unfortunately, due to certain uncooperative individuals who will not be named, it turned into "Cousins Untie!"

( Click here for more pix where children are somewhat well behaved! )

I will continue the efforts to post some long overdue photos next week!

C Raz got a big boy bike on Saturday. Originally we just planned to get him a tricycle, which we had never purchased last year because his feet hadn't reached the pedals yet. During this shopping trip, we discovered that he could operate this one just as well as a tricycle. Hopefully this will last longer. Also, we hadn't planned to get a "character" bike, but the Thomas one was just so much cooler than the other ones available.


First ride! Don't worry, I figured out how to properly adjust his helmet before he got much further.


Demonstrating his ability to share, C Raz allows his "deetaball" to ride his bike.

It's C Raz's new favorite word.

Did you have a good nap?

Yep.

Do you have poopy pants?

Yep.

Are you getting into trouble?

Yep.

Cjmr, did he pick this up from one of his cousins? I'm not sure where he got this one.

C Raz's new teacher informed me today that he is an advanced scissors user. She said that he does better with cutting than the kids in his class that are 5 and 6 months older than he is. Must come from his "crafty" mama. I'm so proud. :)

Why is it that I've been out of high school for almost 16 years and out of college for almost 12 years and I still have dreams where:

a) I can't find my locker or classroom and I'm running late.
b) I look at my college class schedule and realize I haven't shown up for one of my classes in several weeks.
c) I realize I have a term paper due or test to take in a few hours and either haven't written it or studied for it.

I had version c1 last night and it still has me a little frazzled. These dreams feel SO real. I wake up and feel panicky.

Any dream interpreters out there?

Excited for the Project Runway finale tonight, but bracing myself to be disappointed. I hope Jillian wins, but I think it will be that annoyingly cocky Christian.

C Raz will be sad that the "pennins" are gone, but it feels nice to have a less wintry background!

The form of discipline used at daycare has been catching on with C Raz. When Daddy is bad and misbehaves, C Raz tells him "Tie moat, Daddy!" It's quite humorous.

Upon us opening the cupboard to figure out dinner, he said "Want Roni Cheese."

N'uff said.

Two stories...

1. Earlier this week C Raz came home with a scratch on his chin. Thinking he must have inflicted it upon himself, I trimmed his nails and told him "There, now they won't hurt your face anymore." His response was "No, Andrew did it." (There happen to be two Andrews in the toddler level at his daycare.) In response to more queries about his face, he repeated "Andrew did it" about 20 more times. I asked about it the next day, and apparently it was the result of overexuberant, reciprocal tickling. In the following days, at any mention of his chin (and sometimes when asked about other things as well), the popular response has been "Andrew did it."

2. Daddy tends to be the enforcer at our house. When C Raz is acting up, Daddy is the one who says no. C Raz, of course, does not like he word no. He breaks down in tears and comes running to me for solace. Recently, a new development has been that between his sobs he says "Daddy do!" I then ask him, "What did Daddy do now?" Because, of course, it wasn't that the toddler was "breaking the law," it was that Mean Daddy was picking on him!

In case there was any question lingering in anyone's minds regarding whether C Raz is really my boy or not, he proved himself this week in the daycare parking lot. I opened his car door for him. He said "No, Mama!" Then he proceeded to shut it and reopen it himself.

Hmmm, Grammy Kay - make you think of any stairs, perchance?

Our gratitude goes out to Brian, who spotted the elusive Wii beast for us on the shopping plains, and Mom, who sounded the alert. Luckily I was able to quickly get to the hunt site and bag the prize.

Andy, who had developed a negative attitude that he would NEVER get one at this point, was very surprised when I brought my prey home and presented it at his feet.

And then I beat him three out of four games of bowling, with a high score of 191.

Earlier, C Raz was done with his snack and he wanted down from his chair. Usually he is good at saying please, but he just wasn't saying it.

Trying to solicit it from him, I asked "What do you say when you want something?"

He promptly responded "Meemaw!"

(Punchline translator: Meemaw is what he is currently calling his Grammy Kay.)

Ahem mother, the truth comes out! :)

_______

Markers are very popular at our house, as exhibited this morning. They are all kinds of fun. First you can draw with them and be an artist; then you can stick them end to end to "choo choo" them all over the house and be an engineer, and finally you can throw them in a bowl to stir them with a spatula and be a chef.

Last Tuesday, had 14"+ of snow. Saturday, still had enough to build a large snowman (C Raz's first!). Today, it's 60 degrees out and the only snow left is in the large piled-up plowed areas. Mr. Snowman is a soaking wet scarf in a mud puddle.

I think mine came out pretty cool.

We woke up to about an foot of snow this morning. Our neighbor Bob measured it at 14" in the middle of his backyard, away from drifts. It has continued to come down throughout the day.

Have to go back to work tomorrow. Back to the routine.

The other morning Colin informed me "Mama Daddy socks my pocket."

Which of course, translated, means "Hey mom, in case you were curious, Daddy was considerate enough to conveniently put my socks in my pocket for you."