A: A baby dragging a large step-stool up the stairs because his binky is caught in it.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Riddle Me This
Q: What goes "clunk, clunk, waaaah!', "clunk, clunk, waaaah!"?
A: A baby dragging a large step-stool up the stairs because his binky is caught in it.
A: A baby dragging a large step-stool up the stairs because his binky is caught in it.
T-Ricks Turns One!
Is this possible? How can our baby be a whole year old already?
He had a delightful little party last Sunday with good friends and good food. I served Cafe Rio style salads with rice, beans, carne asada, and tomatillo-ranch dressing. I also made fresh salsa and little tortilla bowls. It was delicious and well received by the birthday boy who especially loved the beans.
As is traditional, we sang "Happy Birthday" to our little guy and presented him with his very own cupcake. He loved the singing and did his little head-shake dance. He was fascinated by the candle and really wanted to touch the fire. I had to hurry and blow it out before he burned his little fingers. Our other boys have been uncertain about the cupcake and usually studied it for a while or hesitantly touched the icing before diving in. Not this kid. He grabbed it with both hands and started stuffing before I could even get a picture of the cupcake on his tray.
He liked the party hats and balloons but was very serious about the presents. He especially liked the books and toy puppy. He also got some new binkies (he wears those things out so fast), binky clips and some little boots. One of our friends brought the game Jenga as a family present. Our boys have enjoyed it, but can't quite seem to grasp that the idea is NOT to knock the tower down.
Here are some pictures from the party, I was told by the grown men in attendance that I could not post pictures of them in their party hats on my blog. Party poopers. It's okay, we'll just focus on the birthday boy.
Speaking of the birthday boy, I wanted to write a little bit about Tobias at age one.
He loves music. He can't resist a good beat and does his adorable head shaking dance.
He can't walk yet, but he cruises on and climbs everything. He also likes to go around the house on his hands and feet with his bum in the air. He giggles madly when he does this.
He says "mama" for mom or anytime he is feeling sad and wants comfort. He says "mo" for more and every once in a while he signs "finished". Most of the time, though, we know he is done because he tries to climb out of his highchair. He claps at the end of prayers in imitation of the sign for "amen". He recently started waving goodbye.
He has 6 teeth, which I think is a record for our kids at age one. He LOVES toothbrushes and toothpaste which we have to hide from in. He loves them almost as much as he loves self-inking stamps which he continues to find who-knows-where. A recent escapade left him looking like a member of the blue man group.
He loves to snuggle and wants to be held constantly. He usually will nap only when he is in someone's arms. If you set him down, he wakes up.
He has had five haircuts and could really use another one. He has an adorable cowlick on the back of his head that stands straight up no matter how many times you try to comb it or wet it down.
He adores the bathtub and water in general. His favorite activity is to stick all the foam letters to the bathroom tile. It's like magic.
He loves his brothers and thrills at their loudness and antics. They love him too and often include him in their pretend play. They also like to play "follow the leader" in which Tobias follows them all over the house like a little puppy. Who needs pets, right?
Tobias weighs 25 pounds and is in the 75th percentile for weight but only the 50th for height. We can't get enough of his baby fat. He is truly a delight in every way, except when he's not which happens sometimes. Sometimes he is very emotional and dramatic. We call it "dramatic rolling and posing" when he throws a little T-Ricks tantrum.
Despite all of the things that I just mentioned, when our pediatrician asked Benjamin at Tobias' one-year check-up, "What is Tobias doing these days?" Benjamin replied, "Tobias just a baby. He don't do much."
We all had to laugh at that. Even if he doesn't "do much" we sure love this kid and can't believe that we've been blessed to have him in our family for a whole year. Happy Birthday little buddy.
He had a delightful little party last Sunday with good friends and good food. I served Cafe Rio style salads with rice, beans, carne asada, and tomatillo-ranch dressing. I also made fresh salsa and little tortilla bowls. It was delicious and well received by the birthday boy who especially loved the beans.
As is traditional, we sang "Happy Birthday" to our little guy and presented him with his very own cupcake. He loved the singing and did his little head-shake dance. He was fascinated by the candle and really wanted to touch the fire. I had to hurry and blow it out before he burned his little fingers. Our other boys have been uncertain about the cupcake and usually studied it for a while or hesitantly touched the icing before diving in. Not this kid. He grabbed it with both hands and started stuffing before I could even get a picture of the cupcake on his tray.
He liked the party hats and balloons but was very serious about the presents. He especially liked the books and toy puppy. He also got some new binkies (he wears those things out so fast), binky clips and some little boots. One of our friends brought the game Jenga as a family present. Our boys have enjoyed it, but can't quite seem to grasp that the idea is NOT to knock the tower down.
Here are some pictures from the party, I was told by the grown men in attendance that I could not post pictures of them in their party hats on my blog. Party poopers. It's okay, we'll just focus on the birthday boy.
Speaking of the birthday boy, I wanted to write a little bit about Tobias at age one.
He loves music. He can't resist a good beat and does his adorable head shaking dance.
He can't walk yet, but he cruises on and climbs everything. He also likes to go around the house on his hands and feet with his bum in the air. He giggles madly when he does this.
He says "mama" for mom or anytime he is feeling sad and wants comfort. He says "mo" for more and every once in a while he signs "finished". Most of the time, though, we know he is done because he tries to climb out of his highchair. He claps at the end of prayers in imitation of the sign for "amen". He recently started waving goodbye.
He has 6 teeth, which I think is a record for our kids at age one. He LOVES toothbrushes and toothpaste which we have to hide from in. He loves them almost as much as he loves self-inking stamps which he continues to find who-knows-where. A recent escapade left him looking like a member of the blue man group.
He loves to snuggle and wants to be held constantly. He usually will nap only when he is in someone's arms. If you set him down, he wakes up.
He has had five haircuts and could really use another one. He has an adorable cowlick on the back of his head that stands straight up no matter how many times you try to comb it or wet it down.
He adores the bathtub and water in general. His favorite activity is to stick all the foam letters to the bathroom tile. It's like magic.
He loves his brothers and thrills at their loudness and antics. They love him too and often include him in their pretend play. They also like to play "follow the leader" in which Tobias follows them all over the house like a little puppy. Who needs pets, right?
Tobias weighs 25 pounds and is in the 75th percentile for weight but only the 50th for height. We can't get enough of his baby fat. He is truly a delight in every way, except when he's not which happens sometimes. Sometimes he is very emotional and dramatic. We call it "dramatic rolling and posing" when he throws a little T-Ricks tantrum.
Despite all of the things that I just mentioned, when our pediatrician asked Benjamin at Tobias' one-year check-up, "What is Tobias doing these days?" Benjamin replied, "Tobias just a baby. He don't do much."
We all had to laugh at that. Even if he doesn't "do much" we sure love this kid and can't believe that we've been blessed to have him in our family for a whole year. Happy Birthday little buddy.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Does Your Child Have CWS?
Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody... wait, no. I have a husband who has meetings in the morning and 5 somebodies that I will have to wrangle into Sunday clothes, load into a van and drive to church. I will attempt to do this in a timely manner because heaven knows we don't want to be late for church. It's not just that I hate being late, which I do, or that I don't want to miss any of church, which I don't, but if we arrive late it causes a royal ruckus. I know this, because we were about 5 minutes late to church a few weeks ago. Marc had kindly saved us a bench so there was no sneaking in and skulking in the back row. No, I had to boldly march my five little minions (they really were wearing their minion hats) into the chapel and up to the pew where Daddy was waiting. Five boys in bright yellow minion hats and swishy winter coats are distracting. Five boys in bright yellow minion hats in swishy winter coats who also suffer from CWS are doubly distracting.
What is CWS? It stands for Can't Whisper Syndrome. Sadly, it is a condition that all of my children have been born with. Let me explain: In order to whisper, one must force air through the pharynx without actually vibrating the vocal folds. In other words, the vocal folds are turned "off". My boys' vocal folds are always turned "on". They never cease vibrating and as a result they only have two volumes: loud and extraordinarily loud. So, when we are late for church, everyone in the congregation knows why. On the Sunday in question, my minions told their dad in excited tones about how Benjamin threw a big tantrum and we could only find one of each of his pairs of Sunday shoes so he had to wear his snow boots and how Tobias needed a diaper change at the last minute- all at full volume.
It's not that they don't try to whisper. I think they must have a "pause" button for those vocal folds because sometimes, with frequent reminders and good modeling, we can get them to whisper a couple of words but then the volume jumps right back up to loud loud loud. So far, we haven't found an effective treatment for CWS. Maybe we should raise money for research on the subject but first we will have to raise community awareness and connect with other families whose children suffer from this condition. If you think a child in your life may have CWS, take our short questionnaire:
1. Does your child's "inside voice" sound suspiciously like his "outside voice"?
2. Do you find that people in your congregation at church are better informed about your child's superhero imaginative play than they are about the talks given that Sunday?
3. Do librarians cringe when your child walks into the building?
4. Do you have to retreat to the bathroom inside the master bedroom and close both doors in order to hear the other person during a phone conversation?
5. Does your child shout, "I am whispering!" when you encourage them to whisper?
6. Is your child between the ages of 1 and 8?
7. Do you suffer from frequent headaches?
8. Does the idea of a sensory deprivation tank sound appealing to you?
9. When you hear someone actually whispering do you assume that the whispers are just voices in your head because it has been so long since you heard something that quiet?
10. Is your child unable to imitate the "soft soft whisper of a butterfly" in the Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? book even though he has mastered over 1,000 other very specific sound effects?
If you answered "yes" to at least 3 of these questions, it is likely that your child was also born with CWS. We are hopeful that this is a condition which improves over time, but as all of our test subjects are still under the age of 7, we cannot be sure of any future outcomes. If you'd like more information on CWS, or if you'd like to donate money for research or to provide sensory deprivation chambers to mothers of children with CWS then please call our hotline at 1-800-CWS-INFO, that's 1-800-297-4636*. If you do call, please do our volunteers a favor and keep your voice down. In fact, if you could just whisper, that would be great.
*Please note, there is no real hotline number for CWS. Calling this number may result in an uncomfortable confrontation with a telemarketer. Please call at your risk.
What is CWS? It stands for Can't Whisper Syndrome. Sadly, it is a condition that all of my children have been born with. Let me explain: In order to whisper, one must force air through the pharynx without actually vibrating the vocal folds. In other words, the vocal folds are turned "off". My boys' vocal folds are always turned "on". They never cease vibrating and as a result they only have two volumes: loud and extraordinarily loud. So, when we are late for church, everyone in the congregation knows why. On the Sunday in question, my minions told their dad in excited tones about how Benjamin threw a big tantrum and we could only find one of each of his pairs of Sunday shoes so he had to wear his snow boots and how Tobias needed a diaper change at the last minute- all at full volume.
It's not that they don't try to whisper. I think they must have a "pause" button for those vocal folds because sometimes, with frequent reminders and good modeling, we can get them to whisper a couple of words but then the volume jumps right back up to loud loud loud. So far, we haven't found an effective treatment for CWS. Maybe we should raise money for research on the subject but first we will have to raise community awareness and connect with other families whose children suffer from this condition. If you think a child in your life may have CWS, take our short questionnaire:
1. Does your child's "inside voice" sound suspiciously like his "outside voice"?
2. Do you find that people in your congregation at church are better informed about your child's superhero imaginative play than they are about the talks given that Sunday?
3. Do librarians cringe when your child walks into the building?
4. Do you have to retreat to the bathroom inside the master bedroom and close both doors in order to hear the other person during a phone conversation?
5. Does your child shout, "I am whispering!" when you encourage them to whisper?
6. Is your child between the ages of 1 and 8?
7. Do you suffer from frequent headaches?
8. Does the idea of a sensory deprivation tank sound appealing to you?
9. When you hear someone actually whispering do you assume that the whispers are just voices in your head because it has been so long since you heard something that quiet?
10. Is your child unable to imitate the "soft soft whisper of a butterfly" in the Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? book even though he has mastered over 1,000 other very specific sound effects?
If you answered "yes" to at least 3 of these questions, it is likely that your child was also born with CWS. We are hopeful that this is a condition which improves over time, but as all of our test subjects are still under the age of 7, we cannot be sure of any future outcomes. If you'd like more information on CWS, or if you'd like to donate money for research or to provide sensory deprivation chambers to mothers of children with CWS then please call our hotline at 1-800-CWS-INFO, that's 1-800-297-4636*. If you do call, please do our volunteers a favor and keep your voice down. In fact, if you could just whisper, that would be great.
*Please note, there is no real hotline number for CWS. Calling this number may result in an uncomfortable confrontation with a telemarketer. Please call at your risk.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Miracles Do Happen
I took these pictures to remind myself of the miracles in my life.
Not only are these little people miracles in their own right, but they were both asleep at the same time! And Tobias didn't wake up when I set him down! I can't even remember what I did during that precious nap time but I hope it involved chocolate and a good book.
Not only are these little people miracles in their own right, but they were both asleep at the same time! And Tobias didn't wake up when I set him down! I can't even remember what I did during that precious nap time but I hope it involved chocolate and a good book.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Drawing the Line
David John is drawing up a storm these days. This is great news, since he went through a long phase in which he wouldn't draw anything because he felt he couldn't do it perfectly. In my opinion, his drawings are perfect- the epitome of children's art. My only complaint, is that he doesn't always keep his art confined to paper.
I found this on a wall in our house. I called David John over when I discovered it. "Look, David John," I said "do you know anything about this?" "Oh, yeah. That looks like a purple minion." "Yeah, it looks like a purple minion that you drew." "No. Well, I didn't draw it today."
My older boys love to draw too, so I checked out some books from the library about drawing monsters and dinosaurs and robots. David John and Benjamin begged me to draw robots for them to color. They insisted on minute details so that would look "really cool". I thought I did a pretty good job.
I got a little discouraged, though, when I saw that all those details were colored entirely with black. It must be very depressing to be the artist for a children's coloring book. It makes we want to buy a coloring book, carefully shade in every picture with painstaking detail and then mail it to the artist to show her that SOMEONE appreciated all her hard work.
Benjamin is just starting to draw. I always ask him to tell me about his pictures because I don't want to guess incorrectly about what he drew. Sometimes, though, his explanations just add to my confusion. When I asked about this picture, the answer he gave was almost poetic.
"Some people bite lions.
Some people no.
Lions do bite people."
If anyone has an interpretation for me, I'd love to hear it. I can't help but think that there is some deeper meaning hidden in both picture and words.
This is one of my recent favorite David John originals. It's a Daddy alligator with two babies. They are going into the water. I am also proud that my little David John is writing his own name. His favorite part is putting the dot on his "i".
I mean, really, does it get much cuter than that? It's almost a shame I can't let him decorate our walls, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
I found this on a wall in our house. I called David John over when I discovered it. "Look, David John," I said "do you know anything about this?" "Oh, yeah. That looks like a purple minion." "Yeah, it looks like a purple minion that you drew." "No. Well, I didn't draw it today."
My older boys love to draw too, so I checked out some books from the library about drawing monsters and dinosaurs and robots. David John and Benjamin begged me to draw robots for them to color. They insisted on minute details so that would look "really cool". I thought I did a pretty good job.
I got a little discouraged, though, when I saw that all those details were colored entirely with black. It must be very depressing to be the artist for a children's coloring book. It makes we want to buy a coloring book, carefully shade in every picture with painstaking detail and then mail it to the artist to show her that SOMEONE appreciated all her hard work.
Benjamin is just starting to draw. I always ask him to tell me about his pictures because I don't want to guess incorrectly about what he drew. Sometimes, though, his explanations just add to my confusion. When I asked about this picture, the answer he gave was almost poetic.
"Some people bite lions.
Some people no.
Lions do bite people."
If anyone has an interpretation for me, I'd love to hear it. I can't help but think that there is some deeper meaning hidden in both picture and words.
This is one of my recent favorite David John originals. It's a Daddy alligator with two babies. They are going into the water. I am also proud that my little David John is writing his own name. His favorite part is putting the dot on his "i".
I mean, really, does it get much cuter than that? It's almost a shame I can't let him decorate our walls, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
Laugh Lines
Oh my, these kids just crack me up. Here are some more of our never-dull moments:
When waiting in line at the grocery store, Gabriel suddenly started grabbing Zero bars and called to his brothers, "Guys! These candy bars cost zero cents!" I had to break it to him that "zero" was just the name of the candy bar and not the price. Poor kid.
A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I were watching the movie The Prince of Egypt. Elijah was staring with rapt attention during the scenes where Moses is demonstrating the power of God. He changes his stick into a serpent, turns a river into blood and promises plague after plague when Pharoah refuses to free the Hebrews. Elijah turned to me and said, "Mom, that's impossible, right?" I was ready to talk to him about miracles and the power of God to do anything. I asked, "What's impossible?" Elijah replied, "No one can grow a beard that long! That's crazy, right?" I guess when your father is the beardless wonder facial hair probably does seem miraculous. A river of blood? Meh. Moses' beard? Now that's something.
David John is quite the literal fellow. We drove past a road sign with an arrow indicating that we should go straight. He said, "Mom! Look at that sign! The arrow is pointing up. It wants us to drive our car straight up into the sky!" I said, "We would need a flying car to do that and we don't have a flying car." "I know! We do not have a flying car! That sign is crazy."
Benjamin is a stubborn little guy. When is he upset or digging in his heels, I find myself trying to explain to him in a calm voice why he needs to put his shoes on, or go to bed, or whatever it is. I then say "Okay?" to make sure he understands. Frequently he just stares at me with furrowed brows then shouts, "No-kay!" Ah, to be two.
Tobias is in that maddening phase where he puts everything in his mouth. Last week, I kept finding him with bits of gum in his mouth. I couldn't figure out where he was getting it. Finally, I discovered that he was peeling it from the underside of a coffee table that we inherited from the previous owners of the house. I can only assume that the gum was deposited there when their now-grown five children were little. Oh yummy yum yummy.
Marc and I recently made plans for a trip away. When I bought the plane tickets and Gabriel learned that he would not be coming, he was very upset and wanted to know who would stay with him and the other boys. I answered that Grandma would come and stay with them. His face lit up and he exclaimed, "Oh! That will be fun! Grandma will not know what to do with us so she will give us lots of delicious treats!" You're showing your cards there, Gabe.
Elijah invented a fascinating new form of tag that I discovered the boys playing last week. Elijah was running around with Tobias' sippy cup and flinging droplets of milk on his brothers like some fanatical priest with holy water. If you got wet, you were out. Of course, I was not a fan of this game. "What? We're just playing milk tag!"
Tobias was being a bit of a pill a few days before his birthday. He was sitting in his highchair refusing to eat unless someone poked the cut up pieces of food in his mouth. David John turned to Tobias and said in a stern voice, "Tobias! You are almost ONE YEAR old! You can feed yourself!"
Benjamin found a box of large washable crayons and brought them to me to ask what the box said. I read it to him, "Crayola Washable Crayons". For days afterward, I kept finding a crayon or two in each load of laundry. I'm not sure how he was sneaking them into the washing machine but it was definitely deliberate. I explained to him that "washable" does not mean you can wash them in the washing machine. Unfortunately he didn't learn the lesson and I ended up drying a load of laundry with a vivid green crayon. If anyone wants a white jacket that now has green polka dots, please let me know.
When waiting in line at the grocery store, Gabriel suddenly started grabbing Zero bars and called to his brothers, "Guys! These candy bars cost zero cents!" I had to break it to him that "zero" was just the name of the candy bar and not the price. Poor kid.
A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I were watching the movie The Prince of Egypt. Elijah was staring with rapt attention during the scenes where Moses is demonstrating the power of God. He changes his stick into a serpent, turns a river into blood and promises plague after plague when Pharoah refuses to free the Hebrews. Elijah turned to me and said, "Mom, that's impossible, right?" I was ready to talk to him about miracles and the power of God to do anything. I asked, "What's impossible?" Elijah replied, "No one can grow a beard that long! That's crazy, right?" I guess when your father is the beardless wonder facial hair probably does seem miraculous. A river of blood? Meh. Moses' beard? Now that's something.
David John is quite the literal fellow. We drove past a road sign with an arrow indicating that we should go straight. He said, "Mom! Look at that sign! The arrow is pointing up. It wants us to drive our car straight up into the sky!" I said, "We would need a flying car to do that and we don't have a flying car." "I know! We do not have a flying car! That sign is crazy."
Benjamin is a stubborn little guy. When is he upset or digging in his heels, I find myself trying to explain to him in a calm voice why he needs to put his shoes on, or go to bed, or whatever it is. I then say "Okay?" to make sure he understands. Frequently he just stares at me with furrowed brows then shouts, "No-kay!" Ah, to be two.
Tobias is in that maddening phase where he puts everything in his mouth. Last week, I kept finding him with bits of gum in his mouth. I couldn't figure out where he was getting it. Finally, I discovered that he was peeling it from the underside of a coffee table that we inherited from the previous owners of the house. I can only assume that the gum was deposited there when their now-grown five children were little. Oh yummy yum yummy.
Marc and I recently made plans for a trip away. When I bought the plane tickets and Gabriel learned that he would not be coming, he was very upset and wanted to know who would stay with him and the other boys. I answered that Grandma would come and stay with them. His face lit up and he exclaimed, "Oh! That will be fun! Grandma will not know what to do with us so she will give us lots of delicious treats!" You're showing your cards there, Gabe.
Elijah invented a fascinating new form of tag that I discovered the boys playing last week. Elijah was running around with Tobias' sippy cup and flinging droplets of milk on his brothers like some fanatical priest with holy water. If you got wet, you were out. Of course, I was not a fan of this game. "What? We're just playing milk tag!"
Tobias was being a bit of a pill a few days before his birthday. He was sitting in his highchair refusing to eat unless someone poked the cut up pieces of food in his mouth. David John turned to Tobias and said in a stern voice, "Tobias! You are almost ONE YEAR old! You can feed yourself!"
Benjamin found a box of large washable crayons and brought them to me to ask what the box said. I read it to him, "Crayola Washable Crayons". For days afterward, I kept finding a crayon or two in each load of laundry. I'm not sure how he was sneaking them into the washing machine but it was definitely deliberate. I explained to him that "washable" does not mean you can wash them in the washing machine. Unfortunately he didn't learn the lesson and I ended up drying a load of laundry with a vivid green crayon. If anyone wants a white jacket that now has green polka dots, please let me know.
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