Sayings....

I've been needing to do this for a long time.  Michael and Matthew are so talkative, I no longer really get a chance (or take the time to write down the things they are saying or the way they are saying it that will be unique to this stage in life.  I noticed this in particular when Matthew looked at his Lightning McQueen shoes and called them "Lightning McQueen" instead of the normal "Chee-Cha", Matthew's long-standing version of "Ka-chow!" which we say so often we no longer think it's weird.

Matthew is now defaulting to the proper names of things.

For instance, "stee" is rarely used any more. Matthew really does prefer "helicopter."

Matthew used to refer to himself as "Matt-ta-tee" or "Matt-ta-tim". He most certainly prefers the proper "Matthew" and will forcefully correct me if I revert back to his previous version.  He does, however, still call Michael "Mah-doh" and refers to Daddy as "Donny" a name we use so often for Michael Sr, again, we don't really think it's weird anymore and we hardly realize we're doing it.  Michael Jr also joins in and frequently adopts this usage.

The boys still call hot chocolate "Gak" but Matthew's version is more like "Dot". It is really hard to correct him to say it right when, after all, we have devolved "hot chocolate" into a somewhat gross sounding "Gak."

Matthew still has trouble with a lot of consonant sounds. He can identify his letters, but pronouncing them is still difficult.  The sounds C, G, F, J, and Y are particularly difficult and so he modifies as best he can, usually using a "D" or "T" sound, like, "Dross" or "Lello" (for yellow). You can tell he is trying to say it correctly, but just can't and so modifies as best as he can. It's "tute."

When Matthew does something he shouldn't like throw food and I ask him about it I'll say, "Matthew, what did you throw?" and he'll say "Nobody."  That's his standard "I didn't do it" (or I'm not going to admit doing it response).  "What did you do?" "Nobody."  Michael always looks at me waiting for my response as if to say, "Are you going to buy that, Mom? Come on! Get him!"

Michael's standard issue conversation-maker is, "What if" and "What will they say."  By they Michael means anyone that pertains to the subject at hand.  "What if you run the stop sign?" Me: "The police man will give me a ticket" Michael: "What will they say?"  "What if I bring a helicopter to Mass? What will the priest say?"

Michael's "what if" scenarios always tend towards the trouble-making. "What if I run the stop sign?" "What if I push the bad guys away" "What if you don't look both ways?"  "What if I don't give away my toys (to Good Will)?"  Trying to steer it towards the positive always stops Michael in his tracks because he likes to think of the drama of things being in trouble, but flipping it around gives Michael pause, "What if you do? That would be so nice....you'll make them happy."  He would rather let his imagination run into the slightly more dramatic.

Matthew uses the phrase, "It's not cooperating with me" a lot, but in his toddler talk it usually comes out, "It's not coperating me" That's one of my favorite phrases and we get it a lot when we try to get shoes on, for some reason.

I'm discovering that motherhood involves largely the same conversations day in and day out, especially with regard to Matthew. We add on new phrases (that I have to learn to decode from Matthew's little dialect!) each day or two, but for the most part, it's the same phrases and sentences that come up....the same responses to the same situations. It is amazing, though, to look back and see how far they've come  in so short a time. Having taken 5 courses of Spanish in high school, Matthew in 2 years time can say way more in English than I can say from all that spanish...They're amazing!

Related

.....But distinct

Cute and Plump

Molly had her 2 month old check up yesterday....she's coming in plump in the 83rd percentile for weight and 63rd for height. Not terribly surprised....

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

So I've been trying to wake up early and exercise. When the baby regularly sleeps till 9, it keeps getting harder and harder to make an excuse.

This morning, though setting my alarm a good hour before the kids awake time, they woke up crying at 5:15. Michael managed the situation and came back to bed, but I don't think they actually went back to sleep.

So they were up when I got up to exercise. I didn't want them underfoot when I was exercising so I told them to stay in their room and this is what  I saw when I was done with my routine:

So, this room was tidy last night when they went to bed (tidy as in no toys on the floor whatsoever).

Now I can't decide which is more unpleasant: just cleaning it up so we can move on with our day or making them clean it up which means holding their breakfast hostage and hounding them over and over again to get it down (because usually their method of cleaning is put a few things away.....play with that toy...I come in and crack the whip....they put a few things away....play with another toy...my kids are the ultimate dawdlers).

Trying to muster the focus of two over-tired toddlers to pick up this mess is not how I envisioned spending the morning. Ugh.

Baby Boy and Baby Girl

More Molly

We haven't had Molly in a while...so here she is!

So, basically, Molly is the easiest baby in the entire world. There is no area she could be any easier.  Does she eat like a champ? Yes.

Does she sleep like a champ? Yes.

Is she cheerful and smiley and talkative? Yes.

Can she tolerate the affections of her ambitious brothers?  Yes.

Michael and I frequently say what a gift her easiness, especially compared to the, how can I put this? lengthy adjustment period of the other two boys.  

Today, we were talking about what on earth we possibly could have done to deserve such an easy baby.  Michael, while Molly was resting in my arms, said, "Maybe it's because we didn't give back the other boys." We both laughed hard, and as if in on the joke, Molly added a perfectly timed chuckle.  

She is a sweetheart of a little girl and we are so blessed!

A Weird Idea of Fun

Yesterday, the boys and I had a morning in the house...Molly slept the better part of the morning (from 9am-10:30 she was awake, then from 10:30-1 she was asleep..yes that's right, between 7:30pm the night before and 1pm, she was only AWAKE for 1 hour and 30 minutes!) so the boys and I had lots of time to play.

We did our normal routine, had some good reading time, Airwolf time and whatnot and all of a sudden I asked what they wanted to do next and Michael said, "Go in Matthew's bed!"  Ok...so we can play games, color, play with the train, go outside on the patio, but THAT is what they want to do?

Yes. They wanted to go in Matthew's bed, pile on all their stuffed animals and just lay there hanging out.

I tried to get them to play with me by having them throw things out of the bed into a bin, but they were not interested. They didn't want to play with me, they just wanted to hang out together. So, I went in the next room and did my own thing. Bonus!  While attempting to be an interactive parent, I get excused to have some quiet time of my own....all the glory of some "me" time but none of the guilt!