May 30, 2013

It was the perfect day for a Thursday at Helder Park.  Erinn and I met up with our boys and they had a riot together.  Remember - Jack and Levi are a month apart, and Luke and Elliot (did I spell it right, Erinn?) are a day apart.  We planned that well. ;)

They kept scrambling up on this...thingy...together.  Jack gave me a great smile, Levi gave me a Levi smile, LOL.

This series of pictures makes me roll.  In the span of 20 seconds Luke gives me a gamut of facial expressions, and Elliot is just giving me a deadpan "WHAT." look.  They were such good little babies as we hefted them around to chase their brothers.

My favorite thing about taking the boys to the park: when we get home, lunch has been eaten and bodies are worn out.  They went straight to bed and both slept for three hours.  That's when I feel like Supermom!!! hahahahaha

In other news: I have to introduce you to the most gentle, sweet, needy, passive-agressive territorial dog ever.  She puts up with ear-pulling, tail-pulling, general fur-pulling, being stepped on, being put outside and forgotten (for a couple hours, not a couple days, Char don't worry)...and the only retaliation she musters is to stake her claim on the boys' toys.  And their stuffed animals.  And their baby jungle gym.  And the boppy.  And she begrudgingly gets up and moves when Levi barks, "Mah-yee, GO. ON." (We're working on his bossiness toward her.)

May 29, 2013

These pics are from a few weeks ago, but I didn't take any today.  Levi and I had a date morning a few Saturdays ago because he upheld his end of a bargain: wear a life jacket at swimming lessons without crying, and he could pick something fun to do as a prize.  He came up with going to Tip Toes to visit "Skunky" in the tree house.  Well, he totally owned it at swimming lessons.  So the following Saturday we picked up snacks at JP's and then he got to play and shop at Tip Toes. :)

He is at a stage right now where he asks the same question over...and over...and over and over andoverandoverandoverandover.  Very simple questions: "Where's Papa?"  Levi, you know where he is, you tell me.  "No, MUH-maaaaaa tell me."  He's at work.   "..............Where's Papa?"

Over and over and over.

So this morning we're out for a walk and, again, his sweet nonstop chatter is infused with questions, questions, questions, repeated questions. (Meanwhile, Luke just pulls up the strap from the stroller harness and sucks on it for two miles. Not a sound from him.)  "Where's the toy car, mama?"  I don't know, they probably put it away.  "Where's the toy car, mama?"  They probably put it away.  "Where's the toy car, mama?  Levi, it's probably in their garage.  "Where's the toy car, mama?"  Levi, I am not answering that question again. Stop asking it.  "Where the toy car, mama?"  *Silence*  "Where's the toy car, mama?"  LEVI DO NOT ASK ME ANY MORE QUESTIONS.

We cross Central Avenue and I point out the emergency siren that we hear on the first Friday of the month at noon.  Oh boy.  He wants to know what's in the big box below the siren (the power supply to the siren, I imagine?).  "What's in that box, mama?"  I am so at my wit's end with answering questions that I didn't even want to speculate. I said I don't know.

"What's in that box, mama?"  I don't know.
"What's in that box, mama?" I don't know.

THREE HOURS. He asked me about that box for three hours.

I'm making his lunch.  "What's in that box, mama?"

(Mother of the Year moment coming up!!!)

Levi, that box if filled with little boys who won't stop asking the same question over and over and over again.  And when they're hungry, their mamas throw peanut butter and jelly sandwiches up to the box.

Big blue eyes.

Quivering chin.

"Mama, don't put me in that box."

"Mama, don't put me in that box."

"Mama, don't put me in that box."

Guess I'll go back to fielding the questions.
 

May 28, 2013

How do you make a little boy's day?  You send him a package in the mail filled with Thomas the Tank Engine cars.  We received such a package last week from a very special friend and Levi has been absolutely, positively addicted ever since.  And to top it off, while we were at Nana's this past weekend, she found a box in the basement that was filled with wooden track in perfect condition!!!  He's been playing with his train set (not normally a cheap investment, let alone FREE!) every second he can spare for the past couple of days.  Thank you, thank you, thank you dear friends and Nana.  You have made one little boy very, very happy.  While I make him breakfast in the morning, he sings out, "Lou are welcome to play trains with me, Mama!" (Y's are L's right now)

Train cars just arrived in the mail.  Even Luke was happy to have some new toys. :)

Levi shared very nicely.

Lining them up to tell me all of their names (he watches Thomas on "LouTube")

Absolutely electrified by his new train track. :)

Next question: how do you make a baby very grumpy and frustrated?  Give him every opportunity to crawl when it just won't happen yet.  Poor Luke could market a fabulous yoga/Pilates workout - his plank, swim, and downward dog are executed with perfect form.  But the part of his brain that is responsible for forward motion has not lit up yet.  Makes for a lot of tears and shrieking.  He can pull himself up given the right leverage and enough of a ledge to grab, and has even tried to stand on his own, but he. is. so. frustrated. about not crawling.

May 21, 2013

Another catch-up post. 

Last week we went to Helder Park in Zeeland to meet some friends...and seriously, this is the best park ever.  Levi had a riot.  So many slides and things to climb.

 

Luke got to have some hang time with his almost-birthday-buddy.  My friend Erinn and I bawled in each other's arms when we miscarried at the same time...and then we ended up having our first boys about four weeks apart...and then we had our second boys one day apart. :)

The gardens get filled!!! Levi was SO excited to see the dump truck come to deliver the dirt, he said, "I need a dump truck like that!"  He could not WAIT to dig in the dirt and move it to the beds.

On the last day of lessons at the swim house, I told Levi that if he could wear the life jacket without crying and with a good attitude, he could have a treat.  He picked going to his favorite store, Tip Toes (because Skunky lives in the treehouse there and they could bake brownies together).  So on Saturday morning we went to JP's for snacks first, and then to Tip Toes.  There's a Doug & Melissa play kitchen in the toy store downstairs, which he absolutely loves. :)

 

Finally planted the garden on Saturday!!  I'm a cheater, I buy starts at the farmer's market instead of growing from seed.  Hey man, I'm not above having someone else do the hard part.

 

We've got beans and cukes in the bed by the garage, and squash, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, oregano, lavender, watermelons, and a pumpkin in the beds.  I may need to transfer some of those squash and zucchini to the other bed.  Or I will have a tangled mess in a couple months.

 

May 20, 2013

Levi said,  "I LIKE buddy time with my bruvver!"

Wow.  I have a lot to catch up on.

The past two weeks have been a little busy - but I don't want to miss the fact that Luke is 8 months old now!!  He's trying so hard to crawl, is far happier if he's standing (he's trying to pull himself up but not a ton of success yet), is quite the hambone (as soon as he sees the camera on him he lights up a megawatt smile), and is very opinionated. ;)  He LOVES toys - Levi liked toys as a baby, but was more impressed with non-toy items like wooden spoons and bowls.  Luke, on the other hand, will completely abandon a delicious bottle if he spies a pile of toys over my shoulder.  He's still waking up once every night, but that's the season we're in.  He can totally pull a 10 to 12hr sleep but prefers a delicious bottle and warm snuggle to get him over the hump on most nights.

In other news, we put in two raised garden beds (one of the main reasons I've not been updating this), and Levi's morphing into more and more of a little boy lately (Matt and I have really noticed it in the past week, like wow, he doesn't remotely resemble a baby anymore in his looks OR attitude - he is 100% little boy).

I have a lot of fun pics to catch up on but will have to do it over the next few days as time allows.  Grandma and Grandpa Gouveia are coming in from California tomorrow, so we have a fun week ahead!!!

May 7, 2013

Have you ever read The Berenstain Bears' Picnic?  Papa Bear says "Put away your apron, Mama Bear, we're going on a picnic" and then they proceed to several picnic spots that are anything but: next to a roaring train, along a jet runway, by a swamp infested with mosquitoes....and one of them is a great spot that NO ONE knows about but Papa Bear.  Until Small Bear points out the sign that says, "Big Picnic Today!" and the picture shows six buses pulling up with bears pouring out of them.

So we went to a beautiful state park today, thinking, it's May 7th, right?  School is still in session, no one is on vacation yet, no one is camping, we will have the whole place to ourselves!!!  And we did!  When we got there, one couple had biked there with their two children, but they left a few minutes later.  The sky was blue, the birds were singing, the breeze was sweet.  We really did have the whole place to ourselves.

 

 

**scoreboard buzzer**

And then people came - thru the woods, on bikes, in mini vans..and then, I am NOT joking or exaggerating...across the way, out of the opposite woods, oozed a whole blankin' field trip of elementary school kids!!!!!  I actually yelled, "IT'S THE BERENSTAIN BEARS' PICNIC!!!" Because it pretty much was.  We were rolling.

But we had a ton of fun at the park, even if we had to share it.  Josiah has rubbed off on Levi - he totally attacked the playground.  And then he went down to the little beach and waltzed right in.  Several minutes later he tripped and face-planted in the water.  I was totally NOT anticipating that anyone would go in the water, so I didn't bring towels or extra clothes (Matt had to take off his shirt so Levi would have something to wear, a move which I'm sure made the teachers and chaperones of the aforementioned field trip feel mildly uncomfortable)...so we had to cut our plans short and head back to the condo to eat our picnic lunch.  It was still super fun, though, and I think we'll go back tomorrow.  I'll remember to pack a few extra things to change into.

 

 

Random breakfast shot.  Levi's moving into the cheesy "cheeeeeese" stage of picture taking. :)

May 6, 2013

Well today has been much better.  

Both boys have been much better and Levi's mood has significantly improved.  We all slept in this morning (yay!) but Luke did get up twice last night, but he's approaching an 8-month sleep regression thanks to practicing his mad butt-lifting crawling moves, so I guess I can't blame him.  I imagine it's really hard to relax when you're discovering how to stick your keester up in the air. :)

We were going to go on a Duck boat today (the WWII amphibian truck/boat, they're pretty cool), but since we slept in and were enjoying a nice big breakfast, we decided to just chill around the condo today and keep everyone on the down-low.  We tried to go to the petting zoo, but they don't have any animals until after Memorial Day.  There were trucks nearby, so that blew Levi's hair back.

Breakfast on the balcony :)

 

 

There's a little 'canyon' in the middle of the property, just one of those grassy fields that has a drainage pond and some trees, but if you walk to the trees and look down, there's a little stream weaving between rocky outcroppings.  A perfect mini adventure!!  It's an incredible day, so I suggested that Matt take Levi down the canyon, and Luke and I hustled back to the room to pack a quick lunch.  I made some sammies and grabbed a bag of chips, stuffed them in Levi's Mickey Mouse bucket, grabbed an extra sheet, and we had ourselves a fine picnic.  Levi threw sticks in the stream with Matt, then after he ate his PB&J he scrambled up the hill all by himself (Matt stood nearby when he was about halfway up).  The canyon was just deep enough to drown out any traffic noise, and all you could hear was birds.  It was just like being out in the middle of nowhere.  Totally a great memory. :)

Having some boy time by the stream

Picnic time!

Luke chillin' like a villain. ;)  He bats his hat over that way.

 

Our own private adventure.  There's actually a zip line off to the right, but no one was on it.  We were down here the other evening and every couple minutes someone would sail overhead.  If we didn't have the boys with us Matt and I would be all over that.

The "mountain" Levi climbed.  He totally owned it.  We were impressed. :)  Josiah would have been proud!!! LOL

 

May 5, 2013

Well. We are on vacation. Yay!!

Both boys have the trots.  Boooo!!

But - that is one of the reasons we are glad that we fell for the great sales pitch during our honeymoon and bought the timeshare (and, thankfully, quickly paid it off).  In retrospect, probably wouldn't have spent the money, but at least now wherever we go we are in a home away from home and don't have to worry about being stuck in a hotel room with two bummed-out little boys.  At least this way we all still have our own room, and hey!! - we have TWO bathrooms instead of one...ANNNNNDDDD - Matt and I don't have to army crawl to get past Luke in the middle of the night. HE is on the OTHER end of the condo. :)  THAT is a vacation in and of itself. ;)

With our timeshare we have a point system, so while we may never make it to our deeded property, we can use the points that are allotted for a week's stay there to stay at any other Wyndham properties around the country, and break it up however we want. It works out pretty well. One of those properties is at the Wisconsin Dells, which is where we are this week.  It's not a terribly far drive, and of course there's a big ol' water park (pretty much identical to Great Wolf Lodge).  So I signed Levi up for swimming lessons to get him used to the water again, and have spent the past several weeks watching YouTube videos of the water park to get him geared up for playing at the really big, really fun swim house.

And then he got the trots.  And, responsible parents that we are, we will not take a kid with the trots to the swim house.

This morning.  "Levi, what do you want for breakfast?" No. "French toast?" No.  "Apple slices?" No. "Banana?" No.  Okay.  French toast and banana it is.  (Note: He inhaled it. He was just being obtuse.)

So...today we went to a train museum and rode on the vintage train.  Which was really quite fun.  We paid the extra $2/person to ride in the caboose, and as it turns out the computer had a glitch and didn't charge the extra amount, and no one else had signed up to ride in the caboose, so we had the whole car to ourselves. :)  The train went out to an old quarry site, unhooked the engine, switched the track, and hooked the engine back up to the other end.  So we got to be at the front of the train with the engine on the way back.  The weather was beautiful, the scenery was lovely, and we got to hop off halfway through and ooh and ahh at the engine and watch the conductor switch the track.

We got back in the car and strapped Levi in, and he announced, "I didn't like the train ride."

Okay.  At least the other three of us did.

Driving here yesterday was not our favorite day on record, but we still made decent time.  Putting two kids with the trots in car seats for about seven hours does not a fun day make.  We got twisted up getting on the tollway by Chicago, and then made a couple wrong turns trying to get BACK to the tollway...of course got stuck in a bottleneck on the Dan Ryan in Chicago, but that always happens...then planned on stopping once we got out north of the city, but apparently people who live on I-90 don't eat - or at least they don't want to share their food with anyone driving by, because they don't post any signage indicating where their food can be found.  That was a slight debacle.  We finally found some upscale shopping area that was clearly not zoned for anything fast-food oriented, so we went with Chipotle (don't get me wrong, love Chipotle, but they don't even have changing tables in the bathrooms).  Had to change diapers and clothes on the bathroom floor and in the van.  Levi wasn't terribly thrilled with a burrito bowl, but he's a food trooper so he shared mine reluctantly.  We finally made it here, unloaded and I started a fine meal of hot dogs and tater tots...which he ate too quickly and threw up.  So we spent dinner last night with a crying Levi in the bath tub, me cleaning up throw up, while Luke was doing the stiff-board-trying-to-slide-out-of-the-restaurant-style-high-chair move and bawling his head off because he was so tired...and....*sigh*...well, at least everyone went down for bed quickly.

And then I got to grocery shop at Walmart.  I can see why a website is dedicated entirely to Walmart shoppers. Hoo boy.

 

Almost ready to go!!

 

Both boys actually traveled quite well.  I brought little surprise toys and treats for Levi.  Luke had his moments of displeasure, but what can you expect from a 7 month old?  He was happy to get here, though.

 

But, we have a lovely condo to stay in, nice weather to boot, and beautiful places to visit, even if we can't go to the water park right now.  There's a riding stable across the way from us that has a free petting zoo, there are a handful of lakes and state parks nearby where we can go hiking, there are small rivers and rocky outcroppings that are fun for little boys with trucks...a good time will be had this week - even. with. the trots. ;)

On our caboose

Who knew cabooses were so cool?

Even Babyluke enjoyed looking out the window