Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Random Things- October 2013 Edition

Its been awhile since I've posted.  There are lots of reasons, excuses, etc but to sum to all up, having two little kids seems to suck the coherent thoughts straight from my brain and send them to la la land faster than I can type a blog post.  Don't get me wrong- I'm loving having a newborn again (actually I'm loving it more the second time around than the first!) and Corbin-o is just full of mischief and surprises and keeps me laughing and full of funny stories to share but the act of a.) remembering these stories and b.) recording them on the ol' blog is proving to be rather difficult.  So I started carrying around a notebook and jotting down some of these random things so when the moment finally did arrive for me to sit at the computer without a baby attached to my body or a toddler climbing and falling from a tall piece of furniture, I would be ready.  That moment is now (cue heroic music).

Now I just need to go find that notebook.  Drat.

1. My noisy life: Corbin-o never. stops. talking. Never.  He ALWAYS has something to say.  I feel like I'm living in a documentary- there's running commentary on my every movement.  The one word he hasn't seemed to grasp is 'why.'  (I do realize that that is a blessing in disguise right now)  He's also at the age where testing the limits and seeing how far he can go without getting caught is exciting to him.  So I find myself asking "why did you do ____?!?!" a lot.  And its the one question that he doesn't have anything to say about.  Well, he actually does say something- he's mastered the 'huh?' sound which just makes me repeat my why question... etc etc... its a never ending cycle.  For example:
me: "Corbin, why did you take your diaper off?"
CJ: "huh?"
me: "Why is your diaper off?!"
CJ: "huh?"
me: Corbin, why in the WORLD did you take your diaper off?"
CJ: "Mama, take diaper off?"
me: "No! Why did... oh never mind."

2. Wipers: It rained here!  Yay!  For two days!  Exciting!  Apparently more exciting for my two year old because "ohmygoshyouturnedthosewiperthingsonthecar!" when it rains.  Corbin's ongoing commentary on our drive to the store in the rain:

"It WET outside. WIPER! Mama's big new car get wet. WIPER! That Leo there-next to me. WIPER! Yellow truck outside.  Get wet too.  WIPER! Yellow truck drive down the road. Big yellow truck. WIPER!" and on and on...

Then I turned my wipers on high:

"WIPER! Mama- WIPER! it go- WIPER! fast! WIPER Mama-WIPER! Really- WIPER! Fast! WIPER!"

Cruel? I think not.

3. Parenting Milestones: I've learned over the last two years that if you write about your child doing something on the internet, the next day they will do the exact opposite of the thing you were talking about.  So I'm not going to get into the ins and outs of our potty training endeavors here since that would guarantee bad things happening on my floors but I will say that we are in potty training limbo with the Great Corbin-o.  He does his *business* on the potty without much complaint but is still in diapers for outings and naps etc.  He has a pretty extensive library in the bathroom to help with his *business* and we leave him there with a couple of books on a regular basis.  He yells at us when he's done- either with his stack of books or his *business*- and then we go about our business (of the non-potty variety).  It works.  And it actually serves as a nice transition activity when he wakes up grumpy from naps or something and is not quite ready to face the world.  He gets some quiet, alone time and I get a few minutes to prepare for the noise that follows that boy everywhere.

The other day during one of these potty-transition-times, things got a little too quiet.  Mr. Incredible was home to witness this particular act (lucky, lucky man).  Oh and it was trash day- a very important detail! (ok- parents of toddlers know this.  Trash day is the BEST day of the week.  The garbage man- might as well wear a cape and deliver candy.  We RACE to the window to watch the trash truck come, wave at the trash man, and if we have clothes on, run outside to watch up close.)  Back to our too-quiet-bathroom.  A trash truck drove down the road- we could hear it rumbling by.  Mr. Incredible finally goes to check on Corbin-o and finds him sitting in the sink.  Naked of course. And raving about the trash truck outside.  Thankfully he had finished everything up on the potty and when he heard the truck, climbed up and into the sink from where he could see the very top of the truck from the tiny window in the shower.

The climbing thing has gotten a little out of control.  A few other places I've found Corbin lately:
-on top of the picnic table outside
-on the back of the couch
-on the coffee table
-hanging from the 'window sill' in his room
-in the kitchen sink with the water on (soaking his shoes)
-stuck between the front and back seats of the car, wedged between Leo's carseat and the center console
-stuck inside a cardboard box that collapsed when he climbed on top of it

4. Big Boy Bed: Another recent development in our household is moving Corbin-o to a 'big boy bed.'  We've had a toddler bed set up in his room for awhile now.  He loved reading on it, jumping on it, calling it his big boy bed.  But if we suggested he sleep there- melt down.  So Mr. Incredible took Corbin into the room and used tools! to disassemble his crib.  We completely took the crib away and set up Corbin with his pillow, blankie, and animal friends (a growing collection).  And he's done alright.  Its a struggle some nights and naps for him to stay in his bed rather than build block towers and knock them over like King King (two nights ago) or race his fire truck and crash it into the glass closet door (last night) or stand on his side table and look out his window at trucks (every nap so far).  Here's an exercise I like to call "Where's Corbin?"







Answer: not in his bed!


5. Little Leo Update: I realize Corbin has stolen the show so here's a Leo update.  He's great!  He's a smiling bundle of baby boy who seems to enjoy playing second fiddle to his talkative, dare-devil older brother.  He just turned 3 months old (time flies!), weighs close to 15 lbs, and is a sweet, sweet baby.  He loves being wrapped in snuggly blankets, swinging, sucking on his hands, people making fishy faces at him, and his mama singing Journey songs off-key when we're in the car.  He's not a fan of long car rides, his big brother getting a little too close or rambunctious, and having to wait for food.  Here's a few instagram (follow me! christmastreeface) pics of Leo from this month:






Well, that's all I got for now.  I might actually get to hit 'publish' before one or both boys wake up too!  Oh... never mind.  Till next time!

-CtF

Thursday, October 3, 2013

hanging with my gnomey

Hey-its not my fault I think in children's board book phrasing!


angry gnome


suspicious gnome


startled gnome


curious gnome


good- bye gnome!