Sunday She Said

Brooke is making Play-Doh ice cream with the sitter. I tease her about eating it. She keeps telling me I cant eat it, and I ask her why. When I walk away, she turns to the sitter and says ...

"She's not smart"

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Listening to car radio ... "Ice Ice Baby" comes on"
"Does the baby have ice on it?"

********** Brooke: Hey Mom?
Mom: Yeah?
Brooke: I'm the prettiest.

********** "You dont look really beautiful like me"

Boys Will Be Boys

Sunday She Said

(singing) "Old McDonald had a pants hat"

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I'm going to drive a tow truck when I get big. That's gonna be my job.

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Maybe Baby Ryan is Justin Bieber.

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Sledding

We got a sled and took the kids out to a local park. Brooke was pretty leery, as she generally is with new experiences, but Ryan was psyched. Daddy took him around on the sled and he was whooping and hollering, while Brooke threw snow at a wall ;) They rode the sled home together, but Brooke made Ryan ride in the back. He didnt care. The little guy is rarely phased by anything ;)

Celebratory Lunch

We went out to lunch to celebrate Ryan's 1st haircut! Actually, we were celebrating the fact that both kids survived the HOUR AND A HALF wait without a major meltdown.

We survived, and Ryan is a whole new man :)

Hand-Me-Downs

Ryan didnt get a whole lot of hand-me-downs from his big sister. A lot of her stuff she still uses (like her carseat) and a lot of her stuff we tried to give him ... she took back. Maybe that is a good thing. He got a lot of new things like new toys and a new carseat. He actually even got new plates, because his sister never though of picking hers up and throwing them and Ryan needs the kind of plates that suction cup to the table.

There are a few things that did get passed from Brooke to Ryan. One of them is this nifty t-shirt, gifted to Brooke from Uncle Tim and then passed down to Ryan from Brooke ;)

Sunday She Said

Brooke takes a photo
Mom: How do I look?  Do I look pretty?
Brooke:  Not really.
Mom:  Not really?
Brooke:  Because you're not wearing a dress.

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"You are the pants of the stinker"

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"Only me, because I am the special of the family"

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Guess What's For Dinner?

First Snow

Ryan got his first snow outing ... finally!  He was definitely leery.  I think it was more the getup than the actual snow - he found the snowpants and boots to be a bit challenging to get around in ;)  In fact, he didnt seem capable of bending his knees, so he instead bent at the waist.  That doesnt seem like a big deal, but after he folded in half and hit his head on the sidewalk for the second time I figured we should call it quits and head back in the house.

Field Trip

Today is Brooke's last day of Winter break and I thought we should do something fun to celebrate ... so, it was off the the museum!

We first started off in the cafe so Mommy could down a quick latte. Brooke ate a scone and was nice enough to give Mom and Ryan a nibble ... a mouse sized nibble.

Then, Brooke got to do a lot of fun things...





Meet some chicks

Drive a ship

Ride a cow

And watch the trains go by

Ryan experienced most of the museum from the stroller, but did get out to stretch his legs in the Farm exhibit, and, more importantly, he got to press a lot of buttons in a tractor. Everyone was happy!

Oh, What To Do

Parents regularly resort to bribes ("rewards") to encourage good behavior. They buy a desired item and dangle it in front of the child ... And then suggest a swap. Good behavior = toy (or other desired object). I've seen sticker charts, where a kid who does a certain amt of desired behaviors gets a reward upon completion. In the case of a challenging kid ... Parents beg for a few moments of good behavior in exchange for a reward.

But ... What if your kid is ALWAYS good? And what if you always find cute things you want to buy them? There is no reason to have them work toward the item because they always do what they're told? Do you simply just keep handing them the things you find? Do they then not learn the value of reward? Or do they not learn that some things require patience ... That sometimes you have to wait for good things?

People are always complaining about how much trouble their kids are. But what about those that suffer from kids that are just too good? Doesn't anyone feel bad for us?

:)

"Ball"

Ryan is all about balls lately, and has recently begun to call lots of DIFFERENT things "balls". That wouldnt be a big deal, except for the fact that he also associates the word "ball" with throwing. So if he calls it a ball ... he's gonna throw it.


Note: Yes, he is throwing ornaments from the tree. Luckily they are the shatterproof kind. And if you are wondering about the pink thing he is carrying around (in addition to the two ornaments) ... its a dog collar, of course!

Sunday She Said

(Ryan crying...)
Brooke (to Ryan): What is with the drama today?


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Brooke (to Ryan): Don't throw up on the bear!

Happy New Year!

We spent our New Years Eve at an indoor water park.  While it wasnt the ideal spot for adults, the kids has a blast.  Brooke spent the two days making sure not a since drop of water got above her neck, while Ryan continually tried to submerge his entire head under water.  They both giggled for an hour, keeping each other awake way past bedtime ... And then woke up bright and early in the AM ready to go.  We rode a trolley, checked out some cool Holiday decorations, and ate some yummy BBQ.  We also ...



Had a couple drinks...

Made a few calls ...




Checked out the pool ...




Made friends with a moose ...




And rang in the new year (at 7:30PM)!
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