The Naughtiest Day

As my sister says, "There's a good quiet, and there's a naughty quiet." This (pictured above) was a naughty quiet.

But not as naughty as when Tommy tried to wash Joey's hair with handsoap in the bathroom. And also not as naughty as five minutes before we left for church when Joey cracked almost a dozen eggs on the kitchen floor and tried to eat them.

And DEFINITELY not as naughty as the event that culminated in a bath, clean clothes, extinguished laughter (Tommy), dried up tears (Joey), a livid Mommy, and this quote:

(Tommy to Joey): "I'm really, really sorry that I peed on you, Joey."

Quasimodo Joey

Remember Dumbo Joey from a few weeks ago?

Well, now meet Quasimodo Joey:

When Joey gets in a fight with a mosquito, the mosquito always wins.

First Day of Preschool

Here is Tommy proudly holding his football lunchbag and wearing his Thomas the Train backpack in front of his preschool on his first day! Although he'd been very nervous all summer long (saying things like, "Mom, I want to stay with you" and "I'll go to preschool when I'm nine"), when it finally came down to it, he was pretty excited, and he seemed to love his first day. His teachers, Ms. Johnson and Ms. Eddleston, seem really nice, and the other kids seem great too.

It was a bitter sweet day for everyone, though. Out of the blue that morning, he said, "Joey, I'll miss you." That melted our hearts. Joey seemed a little confused as to why Tommy didn't come home with us after we dropped him off, and asked about him a couple of times, but otherwise did fine. I was probably the saddest--after all, this is the first step in losing that special time and bond that Tommy and I have. Anyone who's spent any time with our family knows that Tommy and Joey are both serious Momma's Boys. They love Jon too, of course, and probably think he's funner than me, but they come running to me whenever they really need something. It makes me sad to give that up, even if it's just for a few hours two days a week.

Ah, the sorrow/joy of being a parent.

The Origin of Snakes

Tommy's favorite exhibit at the zoo is the enclosed Butterfly Garden. So I was dismayed when our last visit was a near disaster... Just moments before we exited, Joey stooped down to examine a butterfly resting passively on the ground. Imagine my horror as he picked up his leg, positioned his chubby little foot right over the butterfly, and then...I jumped in to save the butterfly just in time. While heaving a sigh of relief, I turned away, only to be startled by someone else's gasp: "Tommy?!!!" Apparently, Tommy had finished the job.


We quickly told a zoo keeper, who set the butterfly in a safe place, which I took to mean that it was still alive (second huge sigh of relief), then we hurriedly left the garden.


Needless to say, the boys may need a lesson in butterfly etiquette. It turns out that they also need a lesson in butterfly anatomy. I overheard this conversation between the boys the other day:


Tommy: Joey, when butterflies grow up, they turn into snakes.

Joey: Okay. Butterflies. Snakes.


Hmmm.....

Junior Book Club

There's an amazingly sweet lady at our church who did a kids' bookclub this summer--in other words, an extra special story time at her home including outdoor games and fun snacks. The boys loved it, especially the grand finale with rootbeer floats.

I kept forgetting to take my camera to book club, but the above picture taken in Joey's bedroom shows how much they love books.

Even Joey, who used to insist that books be held upside down, and who wouldn't let me read to him if he was aware that I was doing it, now lets me read to him as long as we follow certain routines:

1. He begins each book by saying, "Why, why, story, story."

2. He gets to turn every page himself.

3. If there is a train on the page, he must say, "Chugga chugga choo choo"-- before I can say anything. If there are multiple trains, he has to say it multiple times.

4. The book is not over until he has closed the cover. (Never skip over that last blank page!)

Too Many Zoos, Too Few Farms

I took Tommy and Joey to the Minnesota Zoo on Wednesday. Joey immediately asked to see the "moos," which reminded me of a funny experience we had when my mom was visiting:

We had a very fun time at Canterbury Downs with my mom watching live horse racing--I highly recommend it for a fun-filled family activity! But as we were nearing the horses, it became apparent that Joey has been to too many zoos lately, and too few farms. As soon as he saw horses trotting by, he shouted, "Zebra! Zebra!"

*******
By the end of the night, he'd finally figured out that these were farm animals. But he was still a bit confused... four horses walked by us just as we were leaving, and he sweetly said goodbye to each of them: "Bye, bye, Moo. Bye, bye, Moo. Bye, bye, Moo. Bye, bye, Moo."

******

By the way, if we were betting people, we'd have made big money--I guessed the winner of the first race; Jon, the second; and my mom, the third. We had a great time!

August Events

We had a really fun August. Christy's mom Julie visited us for a week. We went on a vigorous walk every morning, visited Canterbury Downs to cheer on our favorite horses as they ran around the racetrack, took the boys to a couple of parks, and enjoyed a mother-daughter lunch at Olive Garden, followed by window shopping to compare our styles in home decor and furnishings. The boys loved having Grandma here!

The day Julie left, Julianne arrived!

Tommy and Joey loved playing with their cousins, Evan and Perry. We went on rides at the Mall of America, splashed around in the lake, visited the Science Museum, and spent a few hours in Stillwater, where the picture above was taken at Teddy Bear Park.

Thank you so much, Julie and Julianne, for making our month so exciting!

Just Hangin' Out

I've found Tommy in this position on a few different occasions. He explains that he's too tired to sit in a chair. Can you see that he's suspended several inches above the ground?