In Which Liam Expresses His Confusion

We were running late to nursery school one day last week, and of course traffic chose that day to be extra-heavy. A stressed-out driver sped by, zooming around us and the four cars in front by using the shoulder as a passing lane. I mumbled something under my breath (I thought!) about "idiot drivers." From the back seat came the voice of a very confused little boy...

"Mommy? Why are you calling him a 'Giddy-up Driver'? He wasn't riding a horse. Horsies don't go that fast!"

Moments like this are worth their weight in gold. As long as I'm not laughing so hard I drive the car into a tree.

10 Months Of Brotherhood

I fell off the track with these "Brotherhood" posts - too much confusion over the holidays, I guess. At any rate, here we are at Ten Months of Brotherhood...

(how could it possibly have been ten months already???)

Here is the Big Brother with his favorite ferret friend, Pippi. Who, by the way, gave us a fright by losing his tail hair and thus fooling us into thinking he had adrenal disease. A trip to the vet later, it turns out to be a fals alarm. Phew! Usually when ferrets start to go bald, it's not good news.

Mr. Happy Baby and his favorite toy, a music box. He loves to turn it on by himself and rock back and forth to the beat. It's a great thing to soothe an awake baby at 3:00 A.M.

Mr. Lemur surprised us completely by ordering spaghetti at a restaurant. This is the same boy who has NEVER ordered anything other than grilled cheese or macaroni and cheese in his life. We may get to broaden our culinary horizons soon!

Getting Kieran all bundled up to take his brother to school.

"Mommy! Pop-Pop made me this hat from the newspaper! You've never seen anything like this in your life!"

"Daddy said it was OK that Kiri drives without a license..."

Look - a milestone! Liam got his first haircut at an actual salon! Our horizons are expanding by the minute!

"Mommy? Rides are funner when Kiri comes along!"

That is one of the best parts about the last couple of months - Kiri and Liam are starting to actually play together and laugh with each other. It's really sweet to see them enjoying each other so much, and to know this is only the beginning of their relationship. I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow and change together.

Little Kids Are So Literal

Tonight I heard Kevin and Liam in the living room. We've had issues recently trying to instill the idea of privacy and private activities in our son; his hand are often in his pants because, well, he's a little boy. (Why did no one inform me that this is one of the downsides of potty training?)

Kevin: "Hands out of your pants."

Liam: "Why?"

Kevin: "Hands out of your pants!"

Liam: "But I just like my hands IN my pants."

Kevin gave up and retreated upstairs. Liam popped into the kitchen with me, hands still you-know-where, and repeated a phrase that someone at school taught him. (This particular phrase is neither vulgar nor rude, but is very, very annoying should someone repeat it over and over while, say, one is fighting morning rush traffic on Route 1. Yes, I ended up begging him to be quiet or at least say something else.) And just to be sure I was paying attention, he said it about three more times.

Me: "Dude, are you just trying to annoy Daddy and me?"

Liam (absolutely horrified): "Oh, no! Oh, dear! Actually, I was just trying to annoy Daddy!"

Me (trying hard to look stern): "Well, thanks for the clarification."

Liam: "You're welcome, Mommy."

And with that, he stomped off to find his father.

The silence, she was golden.

Bored With Your Usual Snack?

It used to be that yogurt-covered Cheerios were the go-for snack around here. But today, things have changed for the messier...

The Menagerie House proudly presents...

The yogurt and Cheerios covered baby!

Ta da! Cute, no?

Says The Lemur, "Mommy, it's good thing Casey likes to clean babies and floors!"

That is very true, Son. Good observation!

By the way, Kieran had his nine-month check-up this morning. We finally found a new pediatrician, and she was great with Kieran. Now I have to make an appointment for The Lemur and see if he likes her as much as his brother and mom do. At any rate, Kieran is 20 pounds, 4 ounces, and 28 inches long. She was impressed by his Fuzzi Bunz and the fact that he eats entirely table food and breastmilk. (In truth I think he gets a lot of Casey fur, too, but I didn't mention that. It is impossible to keep off our floors and furniture just adds protein to his diet.) She feels he's doing great, and it was so nice to have a pediatrician who wasn't telling me what I was doing wrong. Phew!

Schnorpy Boys...

Two boys, both with colds, who wake up sick after Daddy has the audacity to leave for work for the day...

Liam : "Kiri, Mommy is NOT Daddy, but she's ok with handling schnorpy noses, OK??"

Hey You! Howdy! Hi!

Hey, guys, it's that time again - Delurking Day. And from my logs it seems I have anonymous friends in many locations including central Florida, central Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Nepal, and Harvard Yard. I would love to know who you are, so please come out and introduce yourself. This is a friendly place here, and I'm kind of bored today as I'm at home with two sick children who are too sniffly and schnorpy to take out in public. Please make my day and tell me who you are!

(Thanks to Aimee for the neato button!)

In Which Liam Cuts To The Chase

Liam: "Mommy, was the world built?"

Me: "Hhhhhmmmmm?"

Liam: "You know, the world. How was it made?"

Me: "Well, the plants and animals grow, and the buildings are built by people."

Liam: "No. The world under the plants and animals. What about it?"

Me: "You mean the ground? The Earth? Where did that come from?"

Liam: "Yes."

Me: "Do you want the Biblical or the scientific explanation?"

Liam: "I just want the one that is actually right, Mommy."

Me: "Oh."

*********************


"Eh, forget the philosophical discussions. Just show me the FOOD!"

A Huge Milestone

With a huge sense of pride (and a subconscious feeling of, "At last, thank Heaven!") I am able to announce:

The Lemur has peed in the toilet!!! Long may it continue!


You may resume your normal blogging activities now...

The Good And Bad Of Being The Big Brother

Today, 8:30 AM:

Liam and Kieran are cuddling together in bed. Liam tells his baby brother, "Kiri, I just love you for all my life!"

Today, 10:30 AM:

Within one five minute period, Kieran "steals" his brother's favorite train, chews on one of Liam's Thomas trading cards, and then pulls Liam's hair when the big boy gets too close. Liam screams, "Mommy! He is not a nice baby! I love him for all my life, but he IS NOT BEING NICE!!!"

Sometimes being the big brother is not an easy job.

Happy New Year!

Wow am I out of practice on this blogging thing - it's been over a week since I posted. I got pretty sick with that bug I picked up from Mr. Lemur and it's only in the last couple of days I've been wanting to do anything beyond recovering basic respiratory function. But we have had some fun - Santa left plenty of cool things for the boys, and we did go to a really terrific New Year's Eve party last night, so we haven't been completely without fun.

In the meantime, I'm going to take one last nap before Kevin goes back to work and it's just the boys and me. I'll be back with some cute kid stories in the next few days!