I have something to show you mommy....

Here's the sweet little conversation I came home to today... (Grandma you may want to skip this one)

As soon as I got home, James ran to the hall closet to put his shoes and sweatshirt on.  

Me:  James, what are you doing?  

James: I'm going outside.  I need to show you something.

(It's raining pretty steadily at this time.)

Me:  Honey, it's raining.  

James: I know.  I just need to get something to show you.

James heads outside.

Reesha: You know an animal that looses it's tail when something happens to it.  (I'm thinking... yeah, a bee looses its tail when it stings someone.  I hope no one got stung today.)  Well, all of the sudden I turned around today and James was holding the tail of this animal.  (I'm thinking... wow!  How did he get the tail of a bee?  What amazing fine motor skills!)

At this point, I turn around to see James standing right outside the back door holding the tail of a lizard from the tip!!!!  

Me:  (Jumping out of my skin inside!!!!!)   Wow!  Look at that honey!  Why don't we find a container to put that in so you can save it to show to Daddy?  (I turn around and make a crazy face at Reesha as I head to the garage to find a plastic container in the box of plastic containers I have - a must in a family full of boys!)

Reesha: Oh!  You should have seen it when it was still moving and had blood dripping from the end!!!  I just kept reciting to myself... they are boys, they are boys!  

This reminds me of a cute comic my mom gave me at one time... It's a picture of a mom and little boy with the caption, "I had a present for you mommy but it must have crawled away!"

I asked James a little more about the lizard tail during dinner.  He shared that he had caught the lizard and picked it up by the tail.  But as he was holding it in the air, the lizard detached it's tail, the lizard dropped to the ground, and scurried off.  James was left standing there holding a lizard tail in the air.  We've read about this stuff in books but to see the defense mechanisms in real-life was something pretty cool!  Oh the life of boys!  

"I can ride my bike with one hand!"

The boys and I were at the school so they could ride their bikes yesterday.  James rides by me and says, "Look Mom, I can ride my bike with one hand!"  "Honey, there is no need to ride with just one hand."  "Yes there is!  What if I need to pick my nose!"  Really... really!  Oh my goodness!!!!

Mommy, my heart is broken!

Two sweet, sweet stories about my sweet, silly Jack boy...

Tonight we enjoyed making sugar cookies with our neighbor friends, Ben and Emma (and their mommy, Melissa)!  Think a table covered in flour and sugar, 4 boys (aged 5 1/2, 3 1/2, 3 1/2, and almost 2), and one sweet little 16 month old girl with lots of rolling pins, cookie cutters, and sugar cookie dough!!!  Most of the cookie cutters were Halloween-themed but Jack found a little heart cookie cutter.  All of the sudden, I hear: "Mommy, my heart is broken!"  Jack is holding up his sugar cookie heart that has broken in half.  So sweet and sad to hear Jack say that!  I assured him that I would fix it and everything would be okay!

Later tonight... Josh tucked Jack in around 8pm tonight.  At 10pm, we hear Jack call down for us.  Josh goes upstairs to discover that Jack has taken his PJs and night-time undies off, put his clothes for tomorrow on and his day time underwear, and put his socks at the top of the stairs.  He assured Josh that he would stay dry tonight.  And this shows the importance of having a blog... I must have gotten interrupted in the middle of this story and now coming back to it a few weeks/months later, I have no idea what happened next.  So glad I get at least some of these cute stories written down so I don't forget them all!

A few super cute stories that I MUST share before I forget...

First, a super cute conversation between Jack and his good friend, Ben.  A little info first... Ben is about a week older than Jack and they go to preschool together.  Ben's mom, Melissa, works as a nurse at Sutter Roseville and works every other Tuesdays.  On the Tuesdays that she works, Ben gets to come play at our house after preschool for a few hours.  On the Tuesdays that Melissa doesn't work, Jonathan gets to play at her house in the morning with Emma.  So today was a day that Melissa didn't work and I was driving Jack and Ben to preschool...

Jack: Mommy, can Ben come over to play after school today?

Me: Not today sweetie because Ben is going to visit his grandma in the hospital. 

Ben: Yeah, Grandma broke this bone (pointing to his femur) and they put a screw in it to fix it.

Jack: Like a pointy screw?!?!?!

Ben: Yeah.

Jack: What end did they put in first?!?!?

Me: The doctors cut open her leg, put the pointy screw in to hold her bone together, then sewed her leg back up.

Ben: Yeah and you can cut a tiger in half then sew him back together.

Jack: You can't sew a tiger back together.

Ben: Yeah you can.  

Jack: No you can't because the tiger would eat the sewing machine!  

Man I love 3-year-old conversations!!!  

Now onto Jonathan... The boys all got wallets for Christmas from Gaga and Papa... thank you Gaga and Papa!  When they get money for their birthday/Christmas/holidays or for doing extra chores around the house, they can choose to put the money in their piggie bank to save for a car or in their wallet to spend when they want.  Yesterday I mentioned that we were going to go to the Dollar Store to look for birthday invitations for James and Jack's birthday party.  Jack asked if they could get toys if they bring their wallets.  I said sure!  First thing Jonathan did was run to the toy cash register that they got from Grammy for Christmas (thank you Grammy!) and grab a handful of plastic pennies.  He then proceeded to go upstairs and put the plastic coins in his wallet.  When I asked each of the boys if they had any money, Jonathan quickly and proudly showed me his coins!!!  Poor little guy... I had to explain that we can only use metal coins at the store and that they wouldn't accept plastic coins unfortunately!  Love that he got the concept though!!!  

And now a super proud story about James and his awareness of his feelings... We had our friends, Ben and Emma, over a few Tuesdays ago after school so there was a lot going on in the playroom with two 3-year-olds, a 2-year-old, and an 18-month-old in addition to James.  The little ones were not listening to James and were taking his puzzles apart and just plain bugging James.  I was making lunch when James came to me in tears.... 

James: "Mom, they are bugging me!  They aren't listening to me and they are taking my things apart!"

Me: I'm sorry sweetie.

James: You don't understand Mom!  I had a really rough day at school today!  

Me: Really?  Why?

James:  All the kids were calling out and not getting in trouble and not listening.  It was making me really frustrated.  I'm just really upset and I'm afraid I am going to yell at someone!  

Me: It's okay sweetie.  That happens to me too and I just have to take a few minutes alone to allow myself to relax and settle down.  Do you want to play outside by yourself for a few minutes or read some books in your room alone?  

James decided to go play outside by himself for a little while and was better equipped to handle all the noise when he came back in.  I was so incredibly proud of him for being able to recognize the feelings he was having, verbalize them, and ask for help.  Love that little man to pieces!!!  

Coffee

The boys have been taught that kids don't drink coffee because it stunts your growth... So, Jack just informed me... I am going to start drinking coffee when I am 4 because I want to stay that age forever!  I don't want to get any bigger.  Will coffee keep me that number always?
Love the ways kids think!!!!

Flower... Mommy!

I am the luckiest mommy!!!  As my boys get bigger, I am so sad that I don't have a little baby anymore but I am so incredibly proud of the amazing little boys they are!  I love seeing one help the other up or them work together for some common goal (often times something boy crazy!!!) but still working together!  And as much as I try to teach them to not pick flowers off the neighbors' bushes, I love when they pick a flower and hand it to me... "Here Mommy!  This is for you!"
Now Jonathan has gotten to me... Each night we sit in his rocker and read books, many of them being "My First Words Books".  It goes a little like this....

Mommy: Fish, can you say fish?
Jonathan: Ish (and he points downstairs to where the fish are)

Mommy: Elephant, can you say elephant?
Jonathan: Some sound that is supposed to mean elephant but he can't say yet followed by his hand going in the air with the elephant noise.

Mommy: Banana, can you say banana?
Jonathan: Banan (and he pretends to eat it)

Mommy: Flower, can you say flower?
Jonathan: A noise that Jonathan means to be flower. (then he points to me and says Mommy)

So, so sweet!  Flowers are for Mommy!!!  Even Jonathan with his limited speech knows that we give flowers to Mommy!!!  Oh how I hope this is a good start to my boys taking good care of their mommy and all women in their life!!!  My heart is full!

Father's Day

My friend, Tosin, was going to be out of town on Father's Day weekend and was so sweet to allow us to play at her house on Father's Day... A fun day!!!  

Jonathan was so incredibly exhausted that he fell asleep in my arms in the pool.  That meant that I got to snuggle on the chaise lounge with him during his nap... Mommy heaven!!!  

Papa having fun jumping in the pool with Josh and Jack cheering him on!  

Mikayla taking a little break from the pool to enjoy some yummy snacks.  

The beginning of the cousin pictures... there will be so many of these in the years to come.  Just ask Uncle Doug!  Aren't they they cutest little ones?!?!?! 

And my goofballs!!!! 

We did miss the picture of Michelle and Gary's real estate agent coming over to have them sign papers on purchasing their new house!  (Same agent who helped Tosin and Anetie buy their house that we were enjoying!)

Then it was back to our house for some yummy dinner (and another trip from the real estate agent... this time for Michelle and Gary to sign papers on the sale of their home.)  Let's just say that Josh and I were a little jealous!  :-) 

After a long fun day of fun, the shower line.  I undressed them and lined them up, Josh showered them, then sent them back out to me for PJs.  So fun!  

Happy Belated Father's Day everyone!!!