And then up was down and down was up

I'm scared to even write this comment for fear it will burst the bubble and it all will end. But the last few days, in the evening, Tyler (without prompting) has said, time to clean up the playroom. And then, we actually do just that. He won't tackle downstairs with me yet but we are making progress. Well, today, it's like I've woken up in the twilight zone. It started last night really. It was bath time and Tyler suddenly decided he needed to clean and organize his room. So in he went (and Dave tagged along) and he spent quite a bit of time getting everything set up and put away. This morning I was sorting laundry (Saturday and Wednesday are laundry days) and Tyler asked if he could help. I still hadn't put the clean folded clothes from earleir in the week away so I asked Tyler if he wanted to put his own clothes away. Yes he did. He put everything exactly where it was supposed to go and even hung his shirts up on hangers and hung them in his closet. Then he helped me clean up Hailey's room. When we went back downstairs he requested some lettuce for a snack (yeah, I know, lettuce, this is a first). After his lettuce and ranch dressing (which he really did eat), he organized all the shoes at the front door. I mean, can this possibly be real. Did my lovebug go to bed as a four year old and wake up a ten year old on a really good day?? Whatever the reason, I'm loving it. And, I figure it's good to write this down so I can remember it when life gets back to normal :)

I do have to say, though, that Tyler loves helping out with jobs when Dave or I are working on soemthing. He'll help me take out the trash or other household stuff. I think he feels very grown up and responsible....which he is and he is a big help. He especially likes to help Dave when he is working outside or fixing something with the tools. Tyler has already made big plans to take our kitchen step ladder out front when Dave puts up the Christmas lights so he can help.....that is as soon as it stops raining around here.

Can You Tell Me About It Daddy?

Alright, now I can't make any more comments about Val or Tanya blogging since I have joined the club. This is my first foray and is going to be a glimpse into Tyler's curiosity bug.

So, aside from a portable DVD player that we bust out 1 or 2 times a year on trips to see Grammy and Grandpa John in Bend, OR, we have been set against movies and tv's during car rides (they get enough of that at home in the mornings!). There is the constant drum of music (Dinosaur Songs, Raffi, Compilations and Country) that Tyler always insists is too quiet but it is never quite enough. I don't know what inspires him or how the thoughts come to him but no sooner do we hit the road than Ty's brain starts working and his requests come flying in the form of; Can you tell me about it, Daddy?

As in tonight on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner...

Why do doggies go pee-pee on fire hydrants, Daddy? Can you tell me about it?

Or yesterday while we took a bike ride to Safeway...

Why do rascally teenagers put bubbles in our water fountain, Daddy? Can you tell me about it?

Or frequently...

Do you remember when we went into the stinky bathroom on the way to Bend and you said you were going to die? Can you tell me about it, Daddy? (that is actually quite a funny story that evolves to include a stick, a squirrel and a harrowing adventure back into the trailhead bathroom somewhere along Hwy 26 near Mt. Hood where upon entry I once again thought...I was going to die!)

Now, many of these stories Tyler has heard over and over and he is a stickler for repetition and ACCURACY! Sometimes I'm tired and cut the story short, sometimes I might be in a bad mood and leave something out and other times I'm just curious to see how attentive he is being but it's probably a needless test at this point because each path earns this response from Ty...

Daddy, can you tell me about it again but start from the beginning and tell me THE WHOLE THING!

It's kind of like the time I read a book to Ty after Val had read it to him twice, maybe three times. When I pronounced the word route (sounds like cow only with an r in front and t at the end like I'm British) I hadn't gotten more than a syllable into the next word in the story when Ty said, "You don't say it like that, you say route!" (sounds like root and the way normal Americans and Val say it)

I won't lie, it's taxing at times having to drive and answer all of Ty's questions as we go but the great thing is that it makes the time fly by and must be a great form of mental exercise for him. I know it is for me and I swear there have been trips that I have become hoarse in the end from having to tell him about it, and then tell it to him again, the whole thing from the beginning.

Family Dessert Night (Thankful Night)

On Monday Tyler's preschool had their "thankful" night. Each class got up on stage and sang a song and then each child was able to go up to the microphone and tell what they are thankful for. After all the "thankfuls" there were tables of desserts in back for the kids (and families) to feast on. Tyler was very excited to be able to go on stage and of course have dessert. I was curious if Tyler would actually speak into the microphone (I don't know if I would have at his age). He did a great job and is thankful for "his bed" which is very fitting for him (our little snuggle monster). The teachers must have done a great job of preparing them (I know they have been practicing) and eliminating any anxiety because all but 2 kids spoke into the microphone and there were a LOT of adults in the audience (parents and family for at least 8-10 classes (I lost count)). Tyler was very proud of his night and we are proud of him.

thankful headband/Indian feathers

Waiting to go on stage. Tyler is in a red shirt in the back.
Lining up on stage
"I'm thankful for my bed"

Dessert
Walking back to the car with Grammy and Grandpa John

Leaves

Last weekend the weather was decent (not raining) and it seemed like a good time to tackle all the leaves that were covering our yard. It started with just Dave and Tyler but soon both kids were at work. Dave used his blower and it wasn't long before Tyler was getting blown. Tyler thought this was the funniest thing ever and so he was blown over and over again. He would get right up close and jsut get blasted. It was lots of laughs for the whole family and he cheeks were still red when he went to bed (wind burn maybe??). Here are the pictures of our hard workers.

The boys...and their leaves

Filling up the bucket...if you look really hard you can see the bucket in there
Kids at work
Rake inspection

And after you work so hard to get them in piles, you have to jump into the piles right???

Naked

For the last week or so Hailey has been rejecting her clothes. She's fine for the first few hours of the day but then she starts tearing her shirt and pants off and is not happy until she is down to only her diaper (and I caught her pulling at her diaper today....yikes). Well, this morning we just avoided the clothes all together and let her start ehr day in just her diaper. She had a super tough morning crying constantly and generally very unhappy. It was clear something was wrong and it's anyone's best guess whether her teeth were bothering her or she just generally didn't feel well. We are leaning toward the teeth since she has been more or less sick with some sort of cold for the past three weeks and didn't seem much different today from any of the others. While the kids were playing in Tyler's room she came over to me and her arms felt a little cold so I just grabbed a sweatshirt from Tyler's closet and threw it on her. No, I don't make a habit of dressing her in boys clothes......the last time she was in a shirt of Tyler's it also ended up on the blog....somewhere near the creation of blog back in July. Anyway, she was happy enough. We dressed her in real clothes for Tyler's swimming lessons. Unable to stay away from the pool water, her shirt was soaked when we got home and so I threw Ty's sweatshirt back on her for her nap. She always calls down for me when she wakes up and this is how I found her when I walked into her room (note...pretty much identical to the blog in July).




I tried to put her arm back in the sleeve and she wanted nothing to do with it. I tried to take the shirt completely off and that made her mad too. So, this is how she stayed for the next hour until she wanted to take the sweatshirt off all together. I can't tell you how much this bothered Tyler, not that she was wearing his shirt, but that her arm was hanging out. Multiple times he told me to fix it and then gave up and started trying to fix it himself. But she likes things her way so there was little Tyler could do.

Dishes and Beds

Hailey has been missing her warm summer days and the freedom to play in the water all day. So, we've recruited her to help with the dishes. She loves playing in the water and scooping and pouring the water with the cups, bowls, or whatever is available. She even seems to enjoy the taste of soapy dishwater (yes we are discouraging this). And I must point out that she is pointing to daddy's "tootoo" in the one picture. "Tootoo" is another one of my favorite words.....it's just so masculine :).

Tyler has extended his "snuggle party" to Hailey and makes her a snuggle spot as well (when he's in the right mood). Here's the beds that were made, Hailey relaxing and reading in her spot, and then the remodel.

Boops

I have to do a quick blog on this because it makes me smile every time I hear Hailey say it. When Hailey does something she didn't intend to do she always says woops. Except that she doesn't actually say "woops", she says "boops". It's very cute.

It's a secret

We had a errand to run in Redmond today so as soon as Tyler got back from school, I was in a rush to pack everyone into the car and get going (and Hailey ended up with no nap......not fun for anyone). As we were getting ready Tyler said "We talked about Pilgrims and Indians today at school". Being in a rush I didn't sit down to have a conversation with him and probably said something like, "wow, Ty, that is great. You are learning so much". Once we got in the car and got settled I refocused and asked, "What did you learn about Pilgrims and Indians today at school." His response was, "It's a secret. I can't tell you." Should this be starting already?? I mean, he only just turned 4.

Victory (and Daddy's girl)

I probably should wait to post this when I have a really good picture but, you know, I'm in the moment. Look what's in Hailey's hair!!!!!

She's sad here because she just bonked her head on a sharp corner. She is such a daddy's girl. He's who she wants when she wakes up and when she is sad. She also really wants him to put her to bed at night which is a bit of a problem since Dave is usually at work at night. It's been taking me two hours to get her to sleep. I'm hoping it is just a phase, and a very short one. You can see her snuggling daddy here. She almost never puts her head down on my shoulder but she definitely loves her daddy.

Again, I'm not sure why the pictures are attaching like this.

Don't help me

I'm not sure what is happening with this picture but I'm just going with it. I'm including the pic because it's a great example of her personality. Hailey has a strong sense of independence in her. It especially shines through when she is eating. She refuses to be feed. She wants to do everything by herself. If you raise a spoon to her mouth or even put food on a spoon or fork for her, she says no, turns her face away, and gets up as if she is completely rejecting the food and is done eating. This can be frustrating especially since there really aren't all that many foods she will eat in the first place. But it you put the spoon down, look away and leave her alone, she will start to eat whatever it is she initially refused. We are typically pretty good about letting her do her own thing when it comes to eating but occasionally there is a food that is hard to spoon or finger or she has just a little bit left on her plate and just without thinking I'll spoon it for her. It never works. It's really starting to shine through that she has a very strong will to be independent and strong dose of stubbornness to go with it. I have no idea who she inherited those characteristics from :)

I was just thinking yesterday that her independence is a little funny since for the first 14 months of her life I had to carry her around pretty much all the time (a little less after she started walking at 10 1/2 months) and she more or less refused to look at most people. She's really come out of her shell (my back appreciates it). Now of course, I wish she was a little more attached and would snuggle a little more.

Tyler's Party

It's been a while since I've blogged so I'm doing a couple of them here. There just isn't enough time in the day. But finally, here are a few pictures from Tyler's birthday party on Sunday. We had family over for a jet themed party. Though Tyler really loves anything that qualifies as transportation he has been especially interested in planes and helicopters lately. Fortunately for him, he got lots of transportation gifts at his party. Tyler got a little shy when the cake first came out and it morphed into putting his head down and showing his angriest expression. But once the candles were blown out he seemed back to normal. He was super excited about his gifts. He received several helicopters, a couple of planes, some great books, a stuffed dinosaur (which has made the ranks as an in bed, snuggle friend), and a great wood (super long) road/ramp for his cars (thank you Uncle Dave). This road has also already been used as the worlds longest runway for his planes.

Jets

The lopsided cake
All eyes on me....yikes
getting excited to blow out the candles
the family
presents

Tyler likes to set up the toys he takes to his room (that is the toys that make the cut) just so. So, it took him some time to get all his new (and a couple old) aircraft set up before he went to bed for the night.

great new books

And then there were three. Good day and Goodnight

Dancing Together

Hailey and Tyler have started to dance together occasionally. It's really more of a spin in a circle but it's cute to watch and here is how it all usually goes down (literally)....


Hailey will lie on the ground frozen but she's not unhappy....as soon as she stands up she says, "more".

Socks

I must write this down so I never forget (even though I've probably blogged it already). Socks....

Tyler refuses to leave his bedroom without them
Hailey refuses to keep them on her feet

Happy Birthday

Happy 4th Birthday Tyler!!!! It's hard to believe it was 4 years ago today (on a Friday in '04) that I went into labor. I started having contractions at work around 9:30 in the morning. I already had a doctors appointment scheduled for 3 or 4 that afternoon (one week prior to my due date) so I decided to stay at work and get things wrapped up. At my doctor appointment I was 4 cm dilated and they sent us home to wait for things to get really uncomfortable :). I think we ended up back at the hospital around 8 or 9 and I was 7cm dilated. Tyler was born at 3:08am (interesting note that Hailey was born at 3:17am). So began our "new" life and all the joys of our precious baby, curious toddler, and smart preschooler.

We are convinced Tyler must be having or at least had last night some sort of growth spurt as Tyler slept in until 8:30 this morning which I don't think has ever happened, ever. He's usually up by 6:30. Or maybe it's just his way of ringing in his new year. If only Hailey would have done the same....... When he did wake up we walked in to get him singing Happy Birthday. He was very happy. I had also tied balloons all the way down our stair railing which delighted Tyler and Hailey. He wasn't even down the stairs before he wanted to open his gifts....so he did. He had such delight in his face as he opened them and pure joy as he saw what was inside. He got a blue semi/transporter truck, a Huey/Appache helicoptor (which he has really wanted for a while now) and a large search and find book. Outside of going to swimming lessons he spent the rest of the day playing with his new toys. Hailey has been enjoying the balloons. We didn't have any cake today because we aren't having his party (with family) until Sunday. But I did take Tyler and Hailey out for ice cream this afternoon.

Just waking up

He has spotted the presents
open, open, open
Wow! He's a happy camperMy helicopter

the loot
Breakfast with WHIP CREAM!
Hailey's birthday fun

please don't pop, please don't pop

Tyler was such a polite boy today. He was very thankful for the ice cream and at several times today he said "thank you so much for my presents, I love them". I'm about ready to go buy him more gifts :).....just kidding. It is so nice to see such joy at two simple toys.

Since Tyler has school MWF, I took birthday treats into is classroom yesterday. When I arrived he was wearing a birthday crown and had even received a small gift (matchbox car) from his teachers. We made train shaped jello which Tyler loved.

The Birthday boy as he looked when I showed up at snack time

The snack

Tyler's class