Two Little Boys

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sorry Doesn't Cut It

We were driving in the car the other day, and it was raining. Zach asked why it was raining, and before I could answer, Gabe said that God made the rain. Then Gabe asked why God made everything. Before I could answer that question, Zach said that he didn't want the rain. Gabe then chimed in that he was angry at God for making the rain. In response, I said something to the effect of being sorry that they were angry, that we can't change the weather, etc. Gabe retorted, "Sorry doesn't cut it."

Well excuse me! This child of mine...

NOTE: I've never used that expression ever!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Stickers

As all kids must, my boys love getting stickers from the check-out folks at Trader Joe's. They're not big sticker guys; but they love the routine of getting stickers at the end of a Trader Joe's shopping trip. Yesterday, Zach was given a ton of stickers that he then proceeded to stick all over his car seat. No big deal. It looked cute.

This time when we went to Trader Joe's, Henry was waiting for us in the car; since we'd planned to head up to Crane's Beach right after picking Gabe up from school. As we were waiting in the car line at school, I noticed that Henry had two stickers on his back.

According to Zach, "Henry be good, waiting in the car." So, he gave Henry reward stickers. Gah! Thank goodness the stickers came right off without any trouble. Too funny.

Blasting Off

So, Gabe's teacher has a sign in her room that reads that her pre-k class is getting ready to "blast off" to kindergarten. Gabe heard that phrase and apparently committed it to memory. The other day, someone in a store asked him if he was in kindergarten and he replied, "No. I'm blasting off to kindergarten." Gah!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Why Do Little Brothers Get Everything?

When we went to Crane's beach today, Zach got a splinter on the palm of his hand when he tried to climb up on a wooden bench. Poor Bub! His first splinter!

I explained to the boys what a splinter was, and Gabe immediately became petrified of touching the wooden railings, etc. Poor guy.

Backstory: On the drive to the beach, we passed the apple orchard where Zach got stung by a bee; and Zach reminded us that he got stung by a bee there when we picked apples. Gabe was VERY upset when Zach got stung by the bee that he hadn't been stung as well. He wanted to know if he'd ever been stung by a bee before and was disappointed to learn that he hadn't.

So, a few minutes after Zach got his splinter, Gabe asked if he'd ever had a splinter before. When I told him that he was lucky that he's never had one before, Gabe responded, "why do little brothers get everything?" Poor Bub!

Y.M.C.A., It's Fun To Stay At The Y.M.C.A.

We finally joined the Reading YMCA! Yahoo! I've been dying to join the Y for so long, and now we're finally members! Today, I signed the kids up for Saturday morning swim classes (Gabe is an Eel and Zach is a Pike) in addition to a karate class for Gabe on Wednesday afternoons. Yahoo!

Another great thing about the Y is that they have open swim at the pool on weekends. So, for the past two weeks, we've taken the kids swimming in the afternoons. It's so much fun to keep up with our swimming games and to watch the kids grow even more and more comfortable in the water. Zach will now jump from the side of the pool all by himself; he'll go underwater and then pop up with his floaty. Gabe dives, swims underwater, and continues to practice swimming for periods of time without his floaty.

Also, I've been able to work out a couple of days a week in their gym; Zach goes to the free daycare there. So far, he hasn't had any behavior problems. Phew!

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the kids do in their classes, which start at the end of the month!

Why?

I can't believe how long it's taken me to blog about this. But now I know what they mean when they say that kids ask "why" all of the time. Zach is a why maniac. Gabe asked lots of why questions but always seemed satisfied with the initial explanation. Zach, on the other hand, takes the why thing to a whole other level. This is a verbatim conversation from this morning and a prime example of how things usually go:

Zach: Look at the cow-car, Mom. (referring to a cow-car-like-thing that's painted on the wall above the dairy section at Trader Joe's)

Me: Oh, yea.

Zach: Why that a cow-car, Mom?

Me: I don't know, Zach. I think it's just pretend.

Zach: Why that just pretend?

Me: Because cow cars don't really exist.

Zach: Why cow cars don't really exist.

Me: Because cars are made with motors and not cows.

Zach: Why cars made with motors?

Me: Because motors are what make cars move.

Zach: Why motors make cars move?

Me: Because that's what makes the cars go.

Zach: Why that's cuz makes cars go?

Me: Because that's what makes the cars go.

Zach: Why that's what makes the cars go?

Me: Because you're trazies!! Ahhhhhh! (trazies = crazies = crazy)

Zach: I not trazies!

Oh, but he totally is. He takes why to the infinite power!!! ALL OF THE TIME. With pretty much every question, folks!

Pictures Of What We've Been Up To Lately

We've been busy lately. We're gearing up for three more birthday parties and a Halloween party over the next two weekends...but, lately, we've had fun taking hikes in the Lynn Woods & Maudslay State Park, attending an Oktoberfest, and taking Henry to the beach in October. Here are the pics:

ready for my hike in Maudslay Park

me, too!

"I think we should take this path, Dada."

the little family

wearing Dad's shirt (for only 1 minute before deciding that it wasn't cool) to try to keep warm on the hike

Gabe helped Zach to change into his pajamas on this night!

Gabe loved being the big brother/helper! I took this picture to remember the first time when Gabe helped Zach get into his pajamas. I'm so proud of Gabe!