Industrial Strength Drummer

I wish I could remember the exact age that Tyler started drumming but at this point all I can say is that Tyler has loved drumming for a long time (though less than 3 years :)). We discovered early on that he had a great sense of rythm and would drum to the beat of songs. The older he's gotten the harder he drums. From the beginning Tyler has had an industrial strength drum. It's a dishwasher soap can from Costco.....only because it was cheap and convenient at the time. He started out with a couple of small sticks but has since graduated to real drum sticks. Man, does he hit hard. It was never an issue with our drum but at my mom's last summer he broke right through some "real" toy drums. Well, earlier this year Tyler actually broke one of his drum sticks in half while drumming. And not long after he cracked the top of his industrial strength drum. I'm not sure what we are going to do when he gets stronger. He still loves to drum LOUD to music and it's also a great tension release for him when he is feeling angry. Yesterday, Dave got some funny video of him drumming. We got out the camera and took a picture of the broken stick and drum (which is still used as the drum....we just flip it over to the other side).

This is how the drum stick used to look

One drum stick....two pieces

The unbreakable drum....that broke

Do you think he drums too hard?

These are the videos that Dave took. I don't know if they prtray the true live experience but here you go. The first is his drum solo to Chick Magnet (should I admit our kids love this song). The second is some speed drumming.

Drum Demo - Chick Magnet

Speed Drumming

Career Predictions

Earlier this summer Dave mentioned it would be funny to write down, each year, our prediction of what the kids will do for a career when they grow up. The prediction, of course, would be based on their current personalities and interests. Sounds like fun to me.....especially looking back on it in about 20 years. So as of summer 2008 when Hailey is 1 and Tyler is 3:

Hailey - Crass Comedian
Tyler - Negotiator or Baseball Player

Summer Round Up

Well, it's hard to believe that summer is basically over (though I'm hoping for some nice weather in September). Tyler starts his preschool next Wednesday. We are going to a different preschool this year (at a community church near our house). I really liked his school last year but the commute time as well as Hailey's nap schedule was just going to be really difficult this year. I think having his school 5 minutes away will be very nice. We had a meet and great with his teachers on Monday and both teachers seem really nice. He is in the "train" room which couldn't be more perfect for him.....we just have to hope he does something besides play with trains while he is there. Tyler seems to have mixed feelings over the whole thing. It took him a while last year to really adjust to school life and by the end of the year really liked his teacher Miss Molly. He has asked why she won't be his teacher this year.

I will NOT smile

Hailey is going to start a toddler group later in September. It's the same one we did with Tyler and I think she will really like it. A couple of pics of her below.......Tyler has been rebelling against having his picture taken.

I WANT THAT....NOW

Hailey has taken to walking around the house with a toy ring on her foot. It makes a little jingle sound and we are not really sure why she does it.

This is perfectly normal mom

The ring shoe

Fun and games in the kitchen

Peek-a-boo
I see you

Summer Schedule

Unless you are me, you probably don't want to read this blog. I just wanted to write this down somewhere so I can remember it in the future. It's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end (the weather has decided to move on to fall very early this year). I was just thinking about our current daily schedule and realized that it has evolved quite a bit over the summer. Back at the end of May/early June it was almost impossible to get out of the house except for early evenings. Haily was taking 2 naps a day and Tyler was still taking his single nap. Hailey would go down for her first nap at around 10am and her second around 2 ro 2:30. Tyler was napping around 12 or 1pm. So basically to leave the house we either had to leave and be back by 10am or not get out of the house until 3:30 or 4:00. Right around the time of Tyler's surgery, Hailey moved to one nap and Tyler dropped his all together. Now that Tyler isn't napping it's impossible to accomplish anything during the day. It's not until 8:00-8:30 when the kids are in bed that I can start doing dishes and digging out from under all the toys.....note our goal for these winter months is for Tyler (and Hailey as much as possible) to start picking up all their toys before bed! The nice thing about the change is that Hailey is not going down for her nap at 11:30 to 12:00 and then sleeps until about 2-2:30 on a good day. So we are able to get out in the morning and the afternoon if we need to. It's hard to believe summer is coming to an end and Tyler's school starts next week.

Rainy Days

We had a couple of rainy (but warm) days this week. The kids weren't really interested in going outside at all so we spent the days indoors. I used every idea I had to keep them entertained and could barely last the two days. I didn't realize just how much time we've been spending outside. I am now terrified for winter. I have no idea what we are going to do with ourselves. It is very apparent that we have two "outdoors" kids. We've spent this summer running, biking, swinging, and doing all other things physical. I could see an instant change in attitude when we were inside all day. Tyler especially was grumpy, whiney, and all together rascally. He was all over Hailey, grabbing her, her stuff, trapping her, and generally aggrevating her. I suppose this is where parenting multiple children comes into play.....I just need to figure out how to do it.

So along with many toys, cars, etc., we spent our rainy days building forts, constructing, and playing with the computer (alpabet game on starfall.com). Tyler built a huge fort in the living room that all three of us fit in. Ty and I played with it for about an hour and half one day while Hailey took her nap. Once Hailey woke up she had a blast literally falling into it head first off of the ottoman (not to worry she was landing on soft pillows).

The Fort which survived the attack of many monsters

Can you see Tyler peeking?

Starfall.com has an alphabet game for kids. Tyler really likes it. More than anything it gets him used to using the mouse (or touch pad on the laptop in our case) and "clicking" on the letters, arrows, etc. Tyler will actually spend quite a bit of time working through letters and is even getting pretty good at some of the different games involved. When I am trying to make dinner and he is going crazy, the computer is my saving grace. It usually keeps him entertained long enough for me to get things together. Hailey has become a computer monster. She's totally addicted. I can't even sneak in the office to check my emails during the day any more. The minute she sees one of us at the computer she comes running over and wants to be in our laps, pushing buttons. And when you don't let her.......wow, does she get mad (and loud)! To her credit, she has mastered left clicking and as long as you can get the mouse to right spot between her rapid clicks, she is a happy camper.

Tyler at work....Hailey trying to be happy watching

I can do it myself!

Grandpa John recently gave Tyler some "real" wood and screws to play with. It was actually at my request because Tyler always wants to use Dave's screwdrivers (guess it's our fault for having a couple in the pencil holder on the counter). The minute he gets one in his hand he is at the light switch plates, trying to unscrew the screws. In a moment of brillance, I thought it would be a good idea to get him some wood and screws that he could play around with and do whatever he pleases. I on the other hand could relax and not worry about him disassembling the house. Tyler loves the "kit" that Grandpa put together for him. He loves making things and you can see the satifaction of using the real thing instead of his plastic tools/screw drivers. Of course he has already asked if he can try the drill.........

Constructing

Finished product

Another master piece

Again....monkey see, monkey do

More on Hailey

Hailey has had a super runny nose the last couple of days. We think it is because of teeth and not an actual cold. The good news is that she somehow figured out how to blow her nose. This probably seems strange but it is one of great milestones in my "mother" book. I think that being able to blow your nose and being able to drink out of a straw both make life so much easier but are impossible to teach. They basically just have to figure it out. We've now reached both milestones so she is more or less independent (just kidding).

Hailey continues to say new words (seemingly daily) and has developed a major attachment to her binky's "meme". I was really hoping to prevent that with her having learned a lesson with Tyler. But it happened and several times during the day she heads upstairs specifically looking for her "meme".

She like all things dangerous and throws an instant fit if you say the word "no" to her. She has started to climb up on the arm of the "jumping" couch in the playroom. I've tried to removal method which results in kicking and screaming and even greater determination to climb up on the arm. I keep telling her she is going to get hurt or get an owie. Apparently that meant nothing to her as she now calls climbing on the arm of the couch "owie" and announces the event several time before doing it. I am at a loss as to how to stop the whole thing.

A couple of pictures from the last few days.....She was really tired and hungry which resulted in snuggling on the kitchen floor and eating a cracker. She also experimented with eating yogurt with no spoon.

The kitchen floor is not so bad

Look , no spoon

yummy

Remlinger Farms

We battled major heat on Saturday afternoon and went to Remlinger Farms. We had a great time. There were not very many people there, probably because it was so hot, so we had easy access to everything. We went for a boat ride, a train ride, rode on some tractors, survived a suffocating hay maze, visited some farm animals, and rode on an old fire engine. The train ride was one of the first thing we did and both Hailey and Tyler loved it. After being at the farm for about an hour both kids skin was flaming red on their faces and arms. Not to worry, it isn't a sunburn, our kids skin just can't handle heat! Hailey's poor hair/head was soaked under her hat. So, we cooled off in the air-conditioned restaurant and had ice cream! That made us all feel better and we were back for more fun. Hailey loved the animals, especially the ducks.....she even "quacked" at them. Tyler almost made friends with a black sheep but right as he made eye contact and started to walk toward the sheep to pet him, the sheep opened his mouth, stuck out his toungue, and made the loudest "baaa" you've ever heard. Tyler was terrified and instantly ran for cover behind me. He was obviously emotionally scarred but it was one of the funniest things to experience from a parent perspective. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. At the end of the afternoon we probably spent 20-30 minutes just playing on the fire engine. Tyler had a blast pretending he was a fireman and moving all about the fire truck. Hailey was completely happy to walk up and down the side stairs....and then climb up high where it was hard to reach her.

Tyler the busy bee

Hailey the sweet flower

boat ride - we were hoping for water splashes but no luck

Cool down
Fire Engine Fun

Bike Ride

Saturday morning we went down to a bike/walking trail not too far from our house (thanks for the idea Tonya and Pete). We went early so we could have some fun outside before the heat became to overwhelming. We had a great time. It is the perfect trail for Tyler and his bike. He has been riding his bike endlessly around our deck (it seems to have replaced his baseball obsession from earlier in the summer) which is a limiting path. Tyler was so happy to have all this space to bike you could tell he just thought it was the greatest. He rode quite a ways (about 2 miles). We took breaks to check out the river, the grass, some gravel trails, and of course to let little walking Hailey catch up (she is very easily distracted by any and all things these days.....the wonderful world of discovery). This trail runs along the river and for part of the trail the other side of the trail runs by train tracks. At one point we stepped off into a gravel trail that wrapped around a swampy pond (which in and of itself was thrilling to Ty) We walked along the trail and thought it would be fun to walk across the bridge that goes over the swamp and near the tracks. As we were going over the bridge we heard a train horn. We stopped in our tracks and watched an Amtrack train speed by. It doesn't get much better than that for Ty. Later in the day we battled the blazing sun/heat and went to Remlinger farms....more on that in a different blog.

We're off

Checking out the river

Hot Stuff

Snack Break

The kids

I am attaching the train video here. This really for Tyler because he wants to watch it over and over again. I figure this is a good place to have it for him.

We love our blankets

Both of the kids love their blanky's to the point of it being a life is over type crisis if we ever lose them. Tyler also has a teddy bear that is his best friend which has been named Teddy Teddy Teddy Bear. Tyler's blanket is an ultra soft (extremely warm) "froggy" blanket that is so loved it already has holes in it. Teddy bear was a stuffed animal he picked out as a replacement for his binky after "the binky fairy" visited our house. Tyler brings both his blanket and his teddy bear wherever he goes around the house. Mostly they just sit in a pile in whatever room his in and occassionally he goes over for a 2 minute snuggle. The blanket and the teddy bear mean the world to him and when he is upset they really make him feel better.

Nothing smells or feels better than froggy

Close up of Teddy Teddy Teddy Bear and Kitty Bear (Teddy's friend) One of many daily snuggles

Hailey has lots of blankets but this little one is the one she chooses to carry around, hug, and snuggle to her face. It's hard to know if she loves her blanky so much because of her own personality or because she watches Tyler and his blanky obsession. She is often seen holding her blanket close to her chest, rubbing it against her cheek, or lying on the floor and rubbing her face into it.

I will hold on to you forever

Whatever you say will be thrown back at you

This is one of those posts that is probably of more interest to Dave and I than all the rest of you but you will probably see these every once in while as I try to document the "little" things. Tyler seems to remember everything and hear everything (except when you ask him not to do something...then he's totally deaf). There are so many times when we have laughed over something we have once said to him that he then turned around and used against us. Of course now I can't remember them but we had a new one yesterday. When showering and getting dressed after swim lessons, Tyler has all kinds of questions about other kids, why they are doing what they are doing, why they are wearing what they are wearing, etc. The best explanation for all these things is that everyone is different and there isn't just one right way to do things. Before I finish the story I need to insert just a little bit about Tyler and clothes. Tyler has always been picky about his clothes. He will only wear certain things and they have to be put on just so. He can love a shirt today and hate it tomorrow. We quickly learned it is easiest to let him pick out his own clothes, no matter how he ends up looking. I learned to only buy neutral colored pants. For the last week or so he has only wanted to wear long sleeve shirts (who cares if it's 80 degrees out) and preferably sweat pants. By midday (after swimming) we are usually able to talk him out of pants and into shorts but he holds fast on the shirt. Now back to the story, yesterday on our way home from swimming I said, "It's getting pretty warm out, maybe we should put on a tshirt when we get home". His response, "It's ok mom, everybody is different. It's ok to wear long sleeves". What could I say to that. I should mention he was down at the park yesterday around 4:00 running like crazy. It had to be close to 80 degrees out and yes, he was still wearing his long sleeve shirt.

Along with the picking out of his own clothes there are socks. Tyler ALWAYS has to be wearing socks. This must by why I can't seem to keep them on Hailey's feet. When he picks out his own socks he almost always comes back with two socks but one from two different sets of socks (see pic). And if two matching shoes aren't handy, he's more than happy to wear mismatched shoes....even if one's a tennis shoe and the other a croc.

My socks, my way

Sometimes I really wish I had the memory of a 3 year old. Their little brains are such sponges and Tyler at least, doesn't seem to forget a thing, ever. About a month and a half ago, we were on our way home from story time and some people were walking along the sidewalk. I don't remember how the conversation steered in this direction but I ended up telling Tyler that another word for "people" out on the road is pedestrian. I told him it was a pretty complicated word and ask him if he could say it. He did. On Monday we were driving on the freeway and passed a foot bridge. Tyler had great interest in this bridge. I was going to tell Tyler that you could also call it a pedestrian bridge but instead I asked, "Do you remember the really long name for people" (fully ready to tell him, reinforcing our previous conversation) when he instantly responded "pedestrian".

A random insert - one of my favorite words that Tyler says "yesternight"

Hailey Baby

A few things on Hailey......a this and that type blog. Dave made a new, much shorter, video of Hailey dancing. I will attempt to insert it below since I never did get the other one to load. There are just a few things I want to documents for Hailey today...eating, new words, and hair.

A couple months ago, I tried to remember when Tyler started eating with a spoon. Since his baby book is not done, I don't yet have it documented. So, there I was trying to figure out when the right time would be to introduce Hailey to a spoon. It was a step I was a little afraid of since she is amessy eater to begin with. She loves to throw her food on the ground (she's getting better though) and hates to be spoon fed by someone else because she wants to do everything herself. So, off and on, I thought about this, never actually doing anything about it. One day about a month or so ago at meal time, Hailey went to the kids plate/silverware drawer, and pulled out a spoon. Then she walked over to her highchair as if this was something she did every day. She's been eating with a spoon ever since. She does quite well and it's nice that she can finally eat applesauce and yogurt and all that good stuff that she wouldn't let us feed her.

Hailey's toothy grin

Originally I was intending to do a blog with all of Hailey's new words. But they are coming so fast and furious I've lost track. A few of them are nana (banana), grammy, rock, truck, car, ga ga (as in googoo gaga), toes, head, Barney, Burt (as in Burt and Ernie) and yogurt. Of course Dave and I are probably the only ones who really understand most of her words but she is still making great progress. She is actually starting to have real conversations, though you have to read between the lines and fill in the blanks. I thinks it is safe to say she has a lot she wants to tell us.

Her "I think that's so funny" look...her most common smile

Hailey has a hand full of animal sounds she'll make...Quack, moo, meow, oh oh (monkey), hiss, woof, woof. We recently got her (thanks mom) this shirt that says "moo" on it with a picture of a cow. When she's wearing it, every time she looks down, she "moos".

Moo Shirt

Hailey's hair is starting to grow....just a little bit. Our goal is to be able to wear a hair accessory by Christmas. Only time will tell. Below is a picture of Ty and Hailey from behind. You can see that they not only share the same blue eyes but it looks like their hair is going to be the same too. A few more months and you won't be able to tell them apart.

ABC's anyone?

Is someone eating my ear?

Last night when I peeked in on Hailey (to make sure her stash of binky's were all still in her bed, this is what I saw.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Monkey See......Monkey Do

Look what he's doing....

Mom!!!!That's better

Blue Eyes

Except for me, we are a family of Dave's blue eyes. On certain days the kids eyes are really startling blue and we often get comments on them. I don't know whether it's the lighting, the background colors or just plain luck but occasionally I get a picture of the kids and their eyes are such a bright blue they just jump out of the picture. Here are a couple. The one of Tyler is from a long time ago....he was only 9 months old but it has always been a favorite and it was one of the easiest to find.

Hailey 15 months-July '08

Tyler 9 months - July '05

Tractors

Just one last Bend blog. Tyler has always loved to sit on Grandpa's tractors and loves all things John Deere. I had this great idea to do a blog that showed a picture of him sitting on the tractor for each of the last three years. It would have been fun to see him grow/age in the pictures. Unfortunately it seems that the last two years, it was my mom taking the pictures while I stood by the tractor (ready to catch Ty should he suddenly decide he was done). So I don't have any previous years on my computer. But I do have this year. It was actually fun to watch Tyler on the tractor this year. He went out almost everyday our last week there. He would get up on the tractor and pretend to do chores and things that Grandpa does.....drive down the driveway, cut the hay, bale the hay, and haul the compressor around. You could see in his eyes, the world he'd created as he moved the steering wheel and pretended to hook things up.

Future Tractor Driver

Not wanting to be left out, Hailey decided tractors were pretty neat too. Tyler was protective of his big tractor but Hailey was satisfied on the riding lawn mower. She was even saying tractor by the time we left Bend.....if you listened close enough. She also learned that if you lay your forehead right down on foot stand, you can get your face really dirty. Typical of her right now, her favorite thing to do was to get on and off, on and off, on and off.......... It's the same with stairs she wants to go up and down over and over and over again.

Hey, this is just my size

On an entirely different topic, this how Tyler slept in the pack and play while we were in Bend. He always has to sleep with ALL of his pillows and his face completely smothered. Looks comfy huh??

Love of small places