Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Superheroes!

On Tuesday, Dianne and I took the boys to see Toy Story 3.  The boys were wonderful.  Last time they went to a movie, they didn't make it through the whole movie, so I was a little worried about how they would do.  To our surprise, they sat through the whole movie and loved every second of it!  When we were leaving, Jackson said "Since we were good boys, we will have to come see a movie EVERY DAY!"  

Toy Story 3 was a cute little movie and for some reason it made me want to be a more adventurous mom of boys.  Something about seeing the little boy in the movie playing with things such as action figures and army men, just kind of got me thinking. 

Before having kids, I didn't fully believe or know the extent of how much boys were different than girls.  I think I used to believe the only difference between boys and girls were wild vs. calm.  However, as the boys are getting older, I am realizing that boys truly are so different than girls.  Their whole way of thinking is completely different.  There have been moments when one of the boys will do or say something and I will just look at Aaron and say "Boys are so weird!"  No, I don't think my children are WEIRD, I think they are the best things on earth, but some of their actions and the fact that they are only 2 and 3 years old, shows me that boys are naturally programmed to be different than girls.  I wish I could give you 1,000 examples, but I can't.  But, those of you who have raised boys know exactly what I am talking about!  

I want to support their weirdness uniqueness that comes with being a BOY. 

I want to be okay with action figures.

I want to be okay with the fact that they really only care about 30% of the toys in their toy baskets.  They would rather use the actual baskets to build something.

I want to be okay with them pretending to be a certain animal all day long.....even loud ones.  {I didn't say I would ENJOY it and I may often mention how much fun it would be to act like the animal has a sore throat and has to whisper}  If he wants to be a tiger, I will ask to wash his paw at bath time.

I want to be okay with the fact that their #1 use of their picnic table is to jump off of.  A pretend "mountain"  is much more fun than a simple picnic table you sit and eat at.  {.....Didn't say I agree, I just support.}

Instead of seeing a box as trash, I want to be okay with it being a cool race car or spaceship even if it still looks like trash to me.  Boys don't always want to take the time to mess with construction paper and glue to actually make the box look like something else.  They can simply pretend like it is something else.  Just a plain ole' ugly box!    

I want to understand that it really does mean a lot to them to see a spider before I kill it.   

And if they want to be superheroes and RUN down the hall pretending like the only way to slow down is by the other one pushing a button {a button that doesn't really exists}, so be it.  Just don't step on the dog or my feet.  
{Jackson fixing Garrett's cape}
Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.
-- Marc Brown
You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes.  -- Author Unknown

Sweet Boy.

No words.  Just two sweet pictures.
Pictures are all people look at anyways, right?  :) 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Because simple would be Boring.

I took the boys in the backyard after lunch today.  It was almost nap time and Jackson needed to release some energy, so I thought we could just go outside for a few minutes to pass some time.

They played some baseball....
Which reminds me of something funny Jackson said the day after Harleigh's game.  
He was playing baseball and he said "Mommy, I just need to practice for a little bit to see how good I am going to be at my game tonight."  :)
 If you saw a little boy dressed like this in public, would you know that the child got dressed on his own?  I sometimes wonder if people realize that.
This was simple.  They were playing together and playing nicely.  I was sitting in a rocking chair reading a magazine.  I planned on saying "Times Up" and pictured us all just running inside to prepare for nap time.  A simple afternoon.  
They had other plans.....
I like simple. 

The boys however, think simple is boring.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

"Me Not a Baby."

Let's start at the beginning....

Remember back when Garrett was only 18 months, he decided to climb out of his crib.  
This is when we had to convert his crib into a toddler bed.
{Looking back at the blog post with these pictures just made my eyes fill with tears.  He has grown so much! Here is the link to that post:  He may be our 2nd, but that doesn't make it any easier}
Anyways - as I learned back then, Garrett would do things Jackson never thought about doing because Garrett had a big brother to learn from.  Several months ago when we were living with my parents and the boys were sharing a room, Garrett would take naps in his bed.  However, at night, if him and Jackson were not sleeping together, Garrett would often sleep on the floor between their beds.  We just thought it was because that was the closest he could get to Jackson without actually getting into Jackson's bed.  

When we moved, the boys really did well and didn't have a problem going back to separate rooms.  Lately however, Garrett does not like to lay in his bed.  Sometimes he will, but most of the time he wants to be on his floor.  One night he actually fell asleep laying on his monkey chair.  I felt so bad for him! 


The other night as he was laying on his floor, he was in one of his sweet little moods, so I asked him about it.  He said, "I don't like my bed.  Me not a baby.  Me a big boy!"  I said, "Garrett, I know you are a big boy.  You have a big boy bed!  If you were a baby, you would sleep in a crib like baby Savannah does."  He said, "My bed is baby bed."  At that point, I just loved on him, let him sleep where he wanted to in his room, and later that night before I went to bed, I moved him into his bed.


He knows his bed is different than Jackson's twin bed and he probably doesn't even remember his toddler bed being a crib.  When we converted Jackson's crib to a toddler bed, Jackson was 2 years and 4 months....
Garrett is only 2 years and 3 months right now (One month YOUNGER than Jackson was) and has been in a toddler bed for 9 months.  Garrett doesn't remember a big exciting day of becoming a big boy and graduating from his crib to a toddler bed.  His toddler bed is the only thing he knows.


Aaron and I were tired of seeing him sleep on his floor, so we bought him a new twin bed today!  It is expected to arrive around July 1st! 

SO.....Garrett's crib and mattress are FOR SALE.  I love his crib and it is in great condition.  It actually converts to a full size bed as well.  It is the Madison crib from Pottery Barn Kids.  E-mail me at jordan8082@sbcglobal.net if you are interested!  


I really cannot believe Garrett will be in a real big boy bed.  At one point we had more cribs in our house than we did beds, and now we won't have any cribs.  It is kind of bittersweet because Aaron and I still feel like Garrett will be our last.  At times, Garrett still seems like a baby to me, but I guess it may always feel like that because he is supposed to be "the baby."  

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Harleigh's Softball Game.

Harleigh's softball team made it to the championship, so I figured it would be the perfect chance for us to attend one of her games.  I wanted to see her play and I knew the boys would absolutely love it!   

Starting off with a Slurpee and popcorn -
Harleigh getting ready - 
Up to bat.....
Homerun!!!!!
 
Yelling, "Go Harleigh!!!"
Jackson cooling me down!
They discovered Harleigh in the dugout! 
Look at Garrett looking at the camera out of the corner of his eye - 
They got to go out on the field after the game....
These next pictures sum up why Jackson and Garrett are too young to be in little league sports 
{chasing birds}
The bird gave up - 
TRYING to capture a picture of the three of them -
{Take 1} 
{Take 2}
{Take 3}
Ha!  Look at Jackson!
{Take 4}
{Take 5}
Harleigh and Ricky
The boys found the practice gear and had a little fun....
Then Harleigh noticed her little cousins playing with her "cool big girl team" stuff and had them clean it up for the team.  And because Harleigh said so.....they listened.  Sometimes I wish I had the same power as Harleigh does....
I think at this point, Jackson realized that he is bigger than Garrett, like Harleigh is bigger than him, so they both stood back and let this little guy clean it up....  :)  Garrett didn't mind though!  He loved every second of it!