Puppy Love!!

During our stay at the Shotz house while we were in the Pocono's Chase fell in love with a dog. Rocky is the beloved 5th child of my Uncle Steven, and is present, usually in Steven's lap, at all Shotz hosted family functions. Chase had met Rocky before and had a fascination with him, but this time he was really in love. He used to go in and out of phases of being scared of dogs. He was not scared of Rocky, though I am sure it helps that Chase is twice the size of the pooch. Here are some pix of the moments, including the picture that Chase himself took (with only a little help from Mommy.)

Chase took this one himself. Perhaps, the historian for the youngest generation?

To Train or not to Train

So Ryder's new favorite thing is to take off his diaper. Of course this means first taking off his belt (which I thought was a deterrent) and his shorts and leaving a trail of his clothes throughout the house. Sometimes the diaper is new and clean, and sometimes it is old and soiled and leaves a mess. Either way, we need to rectify the problem. So here comes the question, do we train a boy who is just turning two? Can he even understand the concept? He has peed on the potty, but not with any consistency. I bought both boys underwear today at Baby Gap. If you click on the link, you can see they are adorable. Colorful, with gecko's and stripes. I showed the boys, they were not too excited. Maybe they are not a fan of gecko's? Who knows, what will happen, stay tuned to see where this journey leads.

Poconos

We spent this past weekend in the Poconos. My Uncle Marc was kind enough to lend us his home and we spent the weekend with Beth, Dave, Jackson, Erik, Lori, Devin, and Nicky. We had a blast. We always have a great time when we can get the Sperlings, Klaus' and Tovsky's together so we had been anxiously awaiting the weekend since we planned it several months ago. Admittedly, we wondered how it would be with 5 boys ages 4 months through 4 years in one house, and we are happy to say it went great. With few naps, few full meals, and only a fair amount of television watching we had 5 very well behaved boys. Meltdowns occurred only Sunday morning and nothing got destroyed or broken. Boys are all energy, as we know, so bedtime was preceeded with sprinting laps around the kitchen/dining room/living room, but we still had successfully put all kids to bed before 9pm both nights.


Saturday we spent the day at my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Steven's house. They live on the lake and generously allowed us to use their kayaks, canoes, beach. We had a relaxing, enjoyable day taking turns out on the lake and showing our kids how to row. They all loved it.

The boys admiring the lake

Mommy and Chase kayaking

Daddy and Ryder Kayaking

As usual amongst this company we laughed plenty. A game of cranium led to some hilarity and, as expected, the girls beat the guys with a crushing victory.
In December, the same crew, minus the 5 boys, will head to Jamaica....counting down the months already.

A Shitty Encounter!

Three weeks ago we had the the not so fun experience of retrieving Chase from his crib at the shore only to find him naked and covered with his own feces. It was the pretty disgusting and after the clean up we assumed it would never happen again. Well, when it comes to trouble making Ryder can not be outdone by his brother and last week we found Ryder had finger painted his crib using his dirty diaper as his paint. Chase's was a manageable mess, Ryder's was a whole new level, which resulted in the trashing of his tent and his sheet. Clearly, our reaction was not strong enough to deter him as he did it again yesterday afternoon as a gift for our babysitter. Poor Leila, no one should have to clean such a mess.
About 8 months ago Chase had an explosion in his crib which had similar results. Although it was horribly disgusting it was not something we could discipline, the poor kid was sick. Interestingly enough, I had forgotten about that until I read the posting Sample This.
However forgotten that may have been, this new activity of Ryder's is less than thrilling. He loves to take off his diaper and has done so in the strangest of places, most recently at camp at My Gym. Luckily, no doody was involved that time.
I am not sure what to do to prevent this activity, nor to change it. Do I begin toilet training him, since clearly he has no interest in diapers? Suggestions welcome!!

Locks for Love

I've had really long hair for a really long time. In the last two years my hair has been longer than ever. It is no coincidence that the boys turn two in three weeks. I've always liked my hair long, but lately it has just been too long. The only thing I could do with it was wear it in a ponytail, and truth be told, that was giving me quite a headache. So, I decided to chop it off. To keep me from chickening out, and in order to do a real mitzvah, I decided to donate 10 inches to locks of love.
As it turns out, I have short hair for the first time since I am eleven. Other people would probably not describe it as short, but going from the middle of my back to above my shoulders is short in my book. I describe it as a bob. Yes, I have a bob. I like it, though I have yet to see it curly. I am admittedly concerned that it will be up to my ears when the curls come out, but there is little I can do about it now, except for possibly getting new earrings. Amazingly, when I went to a doctor appointment and got weighed, it turned out I lost two pounds, did my long locks weigh that much? I do feel lighter:)

A letter to my sons on their 23rd month birthday!

Dear Chase and Ryder,
Happy 23 months! I am sure if you've been reading these letters you know how stunned I am that this is the final month of your first year.
You continue to fascinate me with your developing personalities. Chase, you are articulate and observant and keenly aware of what's around you. You are funny and smart and love to run! Ryder, you are courageous and adventurous and mechanical. You are silly, and curious, and your run is more like a skip. Chase, you still try to dominate Ryder and always want anything he has and Ryder, you do sometimes put up a fight but generally give in to him, even though I do tell you to fight back.
You are good boys, you don't always listen, but then I am reminded that you are still only one! You are both very mature for your age, though glimpses of the terrible two's occasionally shines its ugly head. Chase, you are very bossy, you tend to whine, and have absolutely no interest in sharing. You want whatever it is Ryder has, even if there is another one of the same thing available, and sometimes Ryder gives it to you. Ryder, you are a bit more laid back and only sometimes will you throw your fit.
Ryder, you have all of your teeth, or so I think. Your last two popped through a few weeks ago and are almost entirely down. Chase, you still have a ways to go. You have about 12 teeth in total.
Ryder, you get your hands on everything, EVERYTHING!!! Daddy and I could be better about moving things, I admit, but still, nothing is out of your reach. You love to spill things, a full cup, turn it over. A juice box, squeeze it out. A sippy cup, take the lid off, then pour it out. It is actually unbelievable what you pull off. You do not pull the guitar out as much as you once did, but every now and again you go at it and pick up right where you left off. Your favorite thing to sing is Happy Birthday!!
Chase, the same interest Ryder had in buckles back in January (to read that post click here,) has captivated you. You need to buckle everything that has buckle and you insist you do it your self. Car seats, high chairs, booster seats, no buckle is left unbuckled. Your interest, of course, has re-sparked Ryder's despite it being an old trick for him. You have begun saying "yes" as opposed to "yeah" and you say it clearly every time. You love to say yes to lots of questions now, even if the answer is no.
Your manners have really come out lately, both of you say thank you for everything, and often use please on your own. We are very happy about this.
You both have this new thing of taking your diaper off. It's not much fun for me. I have found you after naps without diapers, or just playing with your toys without diapers. I'd like to say we have been accident free despite this, but I can't.
We're back to the beach, and into the pool, and you have been loving both. On the beach you still eat sand, but are able to sit and play for quite some time. It should be a fun summer.
We finally got a safety fence around our pool, which is great, though we are not sure it is totally Ryder proof, it does make the situation a lot better, and it happens to look great too.
We celebrated Mother's Day this month, and daddy surprised me with a beautiful watch. I do love it, but it was unnecessary!! We had a birthday party at Happy Tymes Bowling Alley this month, your cousin Emma's 5th, and though it was fun, 23 month old kids can't bowl. We helped you, and we got a few good shots, and we will wait a bit before going again.
This is a fun age you are at. I can't stop time so I am just enjoying it as I can. This age is certainly a bit challenging at times, but then I remember how fast it all goes and know, soon enough, you'll be on to new challenges.


I can't believe your next letter will be your two year letter.

Every moment, every day, you make me so very proud. I love you!!

Mommy