"Mommy, I made a bad choice"

Malcolm's Rules for Survival

2012-01-29T22:32:00.003-05:00

Take advantage of every situation
"Tackle-wrestle" still remains a favorite pastime for the boys. Malcolm has proven that he's one to keep an eye on, at all times. He stands back and waits for Calvin and Noah to start wrestling. As soon as one hits the ground (usually Noah) Malcolm joins in. His perfected moves include a flying "booty-bomb" to the head, rapid fire sucker punches to the stomach, or the classic blind-side tackle.

Stay one step ahead of the competition
It has become Malcolm's habit to sit on the floor in my room and play on the iPad while I get ready. He was doing just that when he heard someone coming up the stairs. His face went from smiling to concerned as he stared out to see who was coming. As soon as the unsuspecting Calvin took one step into the room, Malcolm ran straight into him, trying to knock him over, shouting, "it's MY iPad!"

Claim what's yours, quickly
Malcolm was the only one still sitting at the table when I brought out a plate of strawberries for their after-lunch treat. He carefully selected his first choice, and began nibbling away at it until Calvin showed up. Malcolm's eyes immediately narrowed, he grabbed a handful of strawberries and moved them on to his own plate. Apparently thinking this still did not provide adequate protection from a strawberry-loving older brother, Malcolm then proceeded to shove three strawberries in his mouth at once. He, of course, choked a bit, but somehow managed to get them down.

moments.2011

2012-01-01T22:29:00.012-05:00

merry christmas

2012-01-01T22:21:00.003-05:00

no soliciting

2011-10-04T23:13:00.001-04:00

Am I the only parent who has to remind their 7 year old before he goes out to play, that he may NOT try to sell the neighbors anything?... because I do.

His latest business venture was selling "nature". He quickly assured me that he wasn't planning on keeping his $.50 profit, he would be donating it to the local flood victims.

kindergarten

2011-10-04T22:29:00.004-04:00

Did we mention that this little guy started school last month?

Excited to hear all about his first day, I asked him how it went. The only reply I got was, "Mom, there's a girl in my class!"... great.

Daily after school routine:

carefully hang up beloved Mario backpack
eat a handful of goldfish
find Theo

the right way to make a s'more

2011-10-04T22:19:00.005-04:00

The boys were in heaven when our friends Jason, Calvin's popsicle parade and paper airplane pal, and Charlene came for a visit. They came bearing gifts that would make any little kid's heart stop- GIANT candy (e.g. , 1/2 lb. Reeses peanut buttercups and 16 in. long twizzlers).

After grilling a delicious dinner filled with Calvin's favorite thing to eat- meat- we got to finish it off with s'mores. While the best way to make them over the grill was debatable, we all ended up in a sufficiently marshmallowy chocolate mess; evidence of the sweet time had by all.

Noah's near death experience

2011-09-23T21:54:00.002-04:00

Picking up Noah from school the other day, I noticed he still had an unopened granola bar from his lunch. As he climbed in the back, I instructed him not to open it in the car because of the mess the crumbs would make.

Three minutes later, we arrived home. I opened his door and saw a now empty granola bar wrapper on the seat. Before I could say anything, he defended his action with the most serious face he could manage:

Mom, I was ACTUALLY starving. And I didn't want to die.

the end of bikini season

2011-09-11T15:34:00.008-04:00

Driving home from soccer practice a few weeks ago, Calvin was lamenting the fact that he hadn't been fishing in a while:

"Mom, Dad promised me he'd take me fishing again and he hasn't yet."

"He just took you last week on our trip to Missouri."

"Well, I meant here. We haven't gone here yet and it's already the end of bikini season."

"... the end of what?"

"Mom, the end of bikini season- it means summer."

"Well, ... let's just say 'summer'."

how to deal with it

2011-08-27T14:44:00.001-04:00

While I was reading the other night, Calvin was watching a National Geographic special on the oceans. At some point they started a segment on orca whales, and Calvin turned to me excitedly to inform me that they "had no enemies," would "jump out of the water onto ice to eat seals," and "wouldn't be afraid of humans."

After some thought, he said, "Dad, I know how to stop them." When I asked him what he had in mind, he stated very confidently, "land mines."

the binky fairy

2011-07-31T21:12:00.004-04:00

There is a binky fairy in our house. If I leave Theo unattended for even a moment, without fail, I return to find a binky in his mouth and a blanket neatly tucked around him.

Though I've never seen him in action, I'm pretty sure I know which sweet little boy to pin this on:

Determined.

2011-07-31T18:51:00.006-04:00

(mission: sandcastle)

Malcolm is a force to be reckoned with. Maybe it's a 3rd child thing, but he is intent on not getting overlooked and invariably makes his voice and opinion heard. As we've discovered, he has his own agenda and is not easily dissuaded.

He is very driven to keep up with his older brothers and always expects to be treated as an equal (a little tricky at nap-time). He is also quite capable for a two year old. Watching him effortlessly navigate RB's phone and my ipad ("mai ipadd!!") is impressive.

As soon as we learn how to harness this focus and will, I know it will serve him well in life. 'Til then, oh boy.

bright out here

2011-07-05T19:09:00.003-04:00

2011-07-05T19:05:00.002-04:00

Noah loves Bowser as much as a little boy can love a dog.

living large

2011-06-20T22:23:00.002-04:00

Baby Theo was the proud recipient of crocheted boots and a hat from a friend here in Pennsylvania. He approved. It's officially the first hat of any kind that fits a Jones baby.

super-duper messy

2011-06-20T22:18:00.001-04:00

When I got home from the hospital today Noah asked me to come play with him in the basement. When I asked him what he wanted to do, Calvin interjected: "Dad, it's super-duper messy." Noah rebutted, "NO, it's really messy. The side with the pole and the basketball is messy, but the side with the tv is clean. If all the toys are out, then it's super-duper messy." Uniformed classification systems are important even to 4 year-olds I guess.

Theodore Rebollo Jones

2011-06-05T13:14:00.002-04:00

Baby Theo is home.
Calvin proudly states he "will protect him, especially from wasps."
Noah chimes in, "and from rattlesnakes."
Glad to have those covered.

hot off the press

2011-06-03T10:03:00.006-04:00

Seven pounds six ounces, twenty and a half inches long. Appears to have a fierce left uppercut.

cereal monster [gecko]

2011-05-30T23:32:00.003-04:00

this is what greets me in the morning, demanding a bowl of "cheer-we-whoa's" before he will entertain any other activities.

spring sports

2011-05-30T23:25:00.002-04:00

rainy, green pennsylvania spring.

fiddler in the basement

2011-05-30T22:48:00.006-04:00

A couple of quick links to see Calvin over the last three years on the violin.

When Calvin first began taking lessons in Columbus, he had a cardboard violin he named "Plurt" that helped him learn how to position. He loved lessons with Miss Alie.

His first real violin, "Optimus Prime," got him through his first recital. Even while easily being the youngest in the program, he ate up the spotlight.

Now that vintage is cool again, his trusty transformer was exchanged for a larger model -- "Mario" -- complete with a red bow, which adds greatly to Calvin's street cred.

overheard...

2011-05-20T22:02:00.005-04:00

While wrestling each other in the basement, Noah gained a rare moment of control. Calvin's response: "Uggh. Get off Noah! You smell like poop and jelly."

Depending on the day, there may be some truth to that.

our little trooper

2011-03-13T22:07:00.005-04:00

This last month was a bit of crazy one. It started off on a high note- Calvin losing not only one, but two teeth in the same week. The tooth-fairy did not disappoint, apparently there's been some major inflation in the value of teeth since my days, and Calvin was ecstatic to add to the growing contents of his buckeye piggy bank.

Things took a turn for the worse after that, as RB came home from being on-call one night to find Calvin crying in bed unable to move his neck. After a CAT scan in the ER, RB's suspicions were confirmed that Calvin had an abscess formed deep in his throat from a strep infection and was on the verge of having his breathing obstructed. He was then admitted and ended up staying in the hospital for six days, having surgery to drain the retropharyngeal abscess.

It definitely was scary for a little while there, but Calvin remained happy and very brave the entire time. Oma and Uncles Louie, Sidney, and Will flew in and really were an amazing help. The hospital placed a Wii in Calvin's room and with that and lots of visitors, he managed to tough it out.

Calvin is now off all antibiotics and has the mischievous gleam back in his eyes. It is a helpless feeling to see your little boy so sick and we are very grateful for the wonderful care that was given to him in the hospital and by family and friends.

Roses are elmo, violets are cookie

2011-01-29T10:22:00.007-05:00

Malcolm is obsessed with Elmo. He is also very fond of coloring. I tried to use this to my advantage and a while back taught him colors according to his beloved sesame street characters. He caught on very quickly that red="elmo", yellow="big bird", and blue="cookie".

Malcolm is also stubborn. Although he now understands perfectly what "red" means, he refuses to say it himself. I've gotten a few strange looks while grocery shopping as I nod and affirm his pointing to blueberries and saying "cookie". Luckily, he's not a fan of Oscar the grouch, so "green" is the only color he'll consent to saying.

knock, knock

2011-01-27T16:17:00.004-05:00

This little Noah makes us laugh, despite his jokes.

Noah: knock, knock

Calvin: who's there?

Noah: apple

Calvin: apple who?

Noah: knock, knock

Calvin: who's there?

Noah: orange

Calvin: orange who?

Noah: knock, knock

Calvin: who's there?

Noah: Isn't it good that I didn't say banana?

merry, still

2011-01-17T22:17:00.005-05:00

Perhaps our lack of posts can attest to our busy but wonderful holidays.

The boys managed to:

- spend time with all of their grandparents, aunts, and uncles

- ride horses, 4wheelers, canoes, and airplanes

- get showered with more Christmas presents than we ever planned

- now have a little puppy to call their own

meet Bowser...

... Calvin's latest subject of expertise, Noah's basement-running training partner, and Malcolm's new best friend/archnemesis, depending on the moment.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:19:00.004-04:00

Calvin wanted to carve something "really cool," while Noah giggled uncontrollably when, in his words, he found "the weirdest pumpkin" in the patch.

There is no doubt in my mind that this Halloween will be remembered by Calvin and Noah as one of the greatest holidays ever. Between parties, parades, and trunk-or-treats, they amassed an INSANE amount of candy. They were both very pleased with their costumes and received all the admiration and adulation I'm sure they expected.

The only downside, according to our little Mario, was the masked candy givers. Noah decided it wasn't worth the risk to reach into any bowl of a masked stranger- no matter how yummy their treats might look.

First Day of School/ "I have no other choice"

2010-08-24T22:02:00.006-04:00

(Sadly, this is as good as it gets when RB's not home to take the pictures)

Calvin's first day of school was, according to him, "awesome". To celebrate, I let him play on the playground afterwards with a few of his new classmates.

I was busy retrieving Malcolm from his perch halfway up the giant slide ladder, when I heard,

"IT'S A CRICKET!"

"NO, KATYDID!"

"NO, CRICKET!"

Apparently the true identity of a small green insect on the swings was causing problems between Calvin and another little boy.

Later that evening in the car, RB and I overheard Calvin talking to himself. Evidently he wasn't quite over the bug incident:

"I have no other choice. Next time I see that boy I'm going to verse him in battle. It's the only way. It was tied three-three... it's the only way." (I have no idea where the scoring came from.)

Maybe we should start focusing more on Calvin's conflict resolution skills.

Summer, we're sad to see you go.

2010-08-24T21:10:00.006-04:00

The lightpole incident.

2010-07-11T22:38:00.001-04:00

No 5 year-olds were hurt in the making of this video.

...and the livin's easy

2010-06-30T22:27:00.012-04:00

Summertime has been treating us all pretty darn well. Our days are filled with popsicles, bikes, and swimming pools and our evenings, fireflies and basement forts.

RB and I even managed to sneak away for a week while the boys stayed with Oma and Opa. (I'm pretty sure they didn't even realize we were gone.)

The only real source of frustration so far has been the mysterious ball disappearance on the 18th hole of putt putt.

Noah, defined.

2010-05-31T22:20:00.005-04:00

Lickolish (lik-uh-lish)

-noun

a candy flavored with licorice root: Mommy, can I please have a piece of lickolish? I love lickolish.

Hossible (hos-i-bull)

-noun

an institution in which sick or injured persons are given medical or surgical treatment:

Daddy, do you have to go back to the hossible today?

Slipperling (slip-per-ling)

-verb

to slide suddenly or involuntarily; to lose one's foothold, as on a smooth surface: Mom, help! My scooter is slipperling down the hill!

Unicorn (yoo-nuh-corn)

-noun

an identifying outfit or style of dress worn by the members of a given profession, organization, or rank: Calvin, when I play soccer, I have to put on my orange unicorn just like you.

Gondolas (gon-duh-luhs)

-noun

large spectacles equipped with special lenses, protective rims, etc., to prevent injury to the eyes from strong wind, flying objects, blinding light, etc: I'm ready to go swimming, will you help me put on my gondolas?

Scooed (skoo- ed)

-verb

to move on a child's vehicle typically has two wheels with a low footboard between them, is steered by a handlebar, and is propelled by pushing one foot against the ground while resting the other on the footboard: Noah, what did you do outside all day? "I scooed."

Buffalo (buff-uh-low)

-noun
a large, long-headed mammal, Alces alces, of the deer family, having circumpolar distribution in the Northern Hemisphere, the male of which has enormous palmate antlers: Noah, what did you name your stuffed moose? "Buffalo."

the shmoozer.

2010-05-15T23:25:00.004-04:00

in between designing and throwing paper airplanes off the deck calvin whipped this out.

I think he was eyeing the last donut up on the counter.

inside the mind of calvin

2010-05-08T17:23:00.003-04:00

The boys were outside drawing pictures with chalk on the driveway when this exchange was overheard:

Calvin: Mom, guess which Pokemon I just drew.

Carolee: I don't know, Pikachu.

Calvin: Nope, but don't worry, you have 3,000 more guesses.

the porkchop

2010-05-03T21:40:00.008-04:00

Grammy and Grandpa came for a visit.

Malcolm got his first taste of grandpa's famous "30 minute cake".

It happened to be the opening weekend for trout fishing, so grandpa got the boys new poles and a fully equipped tackle box.

He even taught them how to make the top-secret trout bait, "The Porkchop"...

... the boys refused to let me in on how to make it, but I was happy to learn that no pork was actually involved.

One

2010-04-07T11:04:00.003-04:00

a little cupcake, a drink of milk, and an easy to please one year old:

Happy Easter.

2010-04-04T21:26:00.008-04:00

Life Adventures

2010-02-14T22:25:00.006-05:00

Volunteering in Calvin's class allows me to experience proud moments like this:

Calvin's latest writing assignment at school was to focus on their class hermit crabs. The kids brainstormed ideas for possible subjects and came up with an exciting list including: soil, water vapor, body parts, and diet. Calvin apparently had a different genre in mind, as he suggested"life adventures" be added in the mix.

After the allotted time for writing passed, the children gathered in a circle to share their stories with the class. After hearing the very informative stories of the other seven kids, it was Calvin's turn.

He started by proudly holding overhead his illustration with what looked like an erupting volcano and hermit crabs parachuting down from the sky. He enthusiastically started reading, "Watch out, hermit crabs! The hot lava is coming!" From there, his plot eventually led to the crabs making it into the "magical coconut hut" just in time to be transported to another magical place.

Trying to encourage his excitement about writing, his teacher asked where his hermit crabs would go next. After a split-second hesitation he said with wide-eyes, "to the Valley of DOOM!"

Fish Tracks

2010-02-14T00:13:00.004-05:00

Noah, lately.

Sitting in the Dr.'s office with the boys, Noah leaned toward me and mumbled a question I couldn't understand. Asking him to repeat it, he again, lowered his head and quickly said something I wasn't any closer to getting. Impatiently asking him to speak up and tell me one more time, he then nearly shouted his question,

"Is that guy a pirate?!!"

As I (and everyone else in the room) took a quick glance around, I made eye contact with the man sitting across from us wearing tall black boots, a bandana, and lip ring.

-----

We have our bath and bedtime routine down pretty well by now: go to the potty, get in the bath, get in pajamas, brush teeth. The other night Noah decided to mix things up and skip going to the bathroom before entering the tub with his two other brothers. After everyone was out, I told him he needed to go to the bathroom before he finished getting ready for bed. He declined saying,

"It's ok mom, I peed in the tub."

-----

The boys were playing the usual "tackle-wrestle" in the basement with RB when Calvin decided to add a new element to the game. Quickly getting into character, he announced, "I'm Thunder-Hero! I have laser eyes and laser punch!"

Noah, not to be outdone, countered, "I'm Rainbow Boy! I have super rainbows."

He then demanded to be called "Rainbow" for the rest of the night.

-----

Thanks to the recent snow, the boys have been identifying different animal tracks on our walks and drives. They've gotten pretty good at most of them, but when we came upon a new looking set they were both stumped. Calvin suggested, "moose", Noah then offered his educated guess,

"umm, Fish tracks?"

A less honest Abe

2010-02-02T20:54:00.004-05:00

I asked Noah if he had gotten into the donuts while I was on the phone.

He coolly replied, "nope."

"Through the Eyes of a Child" or "Why I'll Never Travel on Christmas Day Again"

2010-01-21T21:15:00.013-05:00

In Calvin's words, "Christmas is the best day in my whole world."

Yes, the boys had a wonderful holiday this year. What little kid wouldn't enjoy a day like this:

waking up before 6am to find the loot Santa had left them
receiving more than one present that mommy had sworn they would never own- incredibly fast shooting nerf guns, HALO legos, and an XBOX game of their very own
discovering that Santa's reindeer really did eat all of the "reindeer food" Calvin had prepared at school and then scattered over the snow covered deck without asking
getting to ride on not 1, but 2 airplanes
playing all the v-smile they wanted while hanging out at the airport
staying up incredibly late with no naps
riding a sweet shuttle bus
arriving at a hotel with a swimming pool and free donuts

Just a few highlights from the grownups' Christmas day:

staying up late for... obvious reasons as well as packing for the trip
RB sifting through the snow on the deck trying to gather all the mini-marshmallows, chocolate chips, and pretzels (ie reindeer food) without leaving tracks
Christmas day, RB ~~yelling at~~ having words with an airline worker in a Santa hat about their carry-on policy
the Santa hat lady informing us we have too many kids
finding out someone was just arrested for trying to blow up a plane
the 2nd leg of our flight getting canceled
thanks to RB's shall we say persuasive nature, eventually finding a flight taking us to an unexpected destination, Denver
unpacking from our carry-on's not 1, but 2 new clean pairs of underwear for the boys because mommy couldn't leave all the luggage unattended to get to a bathroom while daddy was busy persuading
arriving past midnight in Denver to find the shuttle bus from the hotel only comes once every hour
forcing Calvin and Noah to go against all mommy's taught them and butt in front of everyone in line for the hotel shuttle because waiting in the freezing weather another hour wasn't an option
eventually arriving at random hotel where we would then wait 24 hours for our ride to Utah

Woohoo! Hooray for holiday travel. Alright, yes, I am whining. After the "getting there" part was over, we all had a wonderful time. We were able to see Uncle Joe get married and the boys got to try out skiing.

Spending time with family was of course, the best part. It was definitely worth the head ache of getting there, and I might even be up for doing it again sometime... maybe.

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-19T00:50:00.004-05:00

and... we have winter.

The gumdrops are gone.

2009-12-13T21:35:00.006-05:00

The boys and I made a gingerbread house last week. They were told it was absolutely not for eating.

Apparently the temptation was too strong for a particular little boy in our home, as a few days ago I came downstairs to find him licking the row of gumdrops atop the roof. After I threatened to move it out of reach, he promised it wouldn't happen again.

I guess I'm surprised it lasted this long.

My guilty little Hansel...

Noah's Paradise

2009-12-05T21:40:00.010-05:00

No one enjoyed our Thanksgiving at "the shack" more than Noah. Here's a look at our little rugged mountain-man in the making:

(Hunting for arrowheads down by the river... Noah quickly switched to looking for acorn-caps, a much more fruitful search.)

I hate hot dogs.

2009-11-15T00:57:00.003-05:00

(thanks for the beautiful pics Cindy!)

Few things are more disgusting to me than the smell of raw hot dogs. I can barely stand to touch the things, for fear of the lingering stench. However, like most little boys, ours love them and due to a "kid party" being held at the house, I gave in and bought a jumbo, family pack of them. After the party, I put the remaining hot dogs in a zip-lock bag and shoved it back in the fridge.

A few days later,when it was time to throw them out, (since I definitely wouldn't be making them again) I grabbed the bag from the fridge. While holding it, I stopped to rearrange the shelf. Malcolm was, as usual, underfoot at the time. From the corner of my eye, I saw him flinch at something. I looked down to see him actually lapping at a steady stream of something falling from the air right into his mouth, face, and hair...
leaking, raw HOT DOG JUICE.

It took all the mother-love I possess to pick up my sweet little Malcolm, now covered in nasty, nasty hot dog juice. By the time I got him to the sink, it was already forming crusty spikes in his hair and he was still trying to lick whatever remained on his face. My poor, poor, disgusting angel baby.

Rebel without a cause

2009-11-15T00:46:00.006-05:00

This doesn't bode well:

Calvin:... and Daddy will go to heaven, and Mommy will go to heaven, and I'll go to heaven, and you'll go to heaven.

Noah: I don't want to go to heaven. I just want to go play with you in the basement.

Cubes of love

2009-11-15T00:39:00.005-05:00

Calvin is a die hard red fan, as in the color. He doesn't understand why it's not everyone's favorite color, but he's trying to.

Calvin: Dad, your favorite color is blue, right?
Dad: Yes.
(Calvin thinking)
Calvin: How many more cubes of love does red need to win?

Biter Biscuit

2009-11-07T22:12:00.005-05:00

A rite of passage in our home:

Malcolm has now experienced the joy, and incredible mess, of a biter biscuit. mmm.

Happy Halloween.

2009-10-31T23:08:00.005-04:00

Noah was up too late last night partying at the primary's trunk-or-treat AND he had no nap today...
(Yes, these are the same costumes as last year but the boys wanted it that way. promise.)

It's a race, of course.

2009-10-28T21:29:00.007-04:00

I arrived at Calvin's school yesterday morning just ahead of the bus. Seeing this, Calvin immediately demanded that I hurry and unbuckle him. Once freed, and with no goodbyes, he set off on a very brisk walk to the sidewalk.

I noticed him take a sideways glance at the three children getting off the bus, then all of a sudden he bolted into a sprint. He wasn't the only one. Right behind him was a cute little girl with pink bows and dark curls running faster than I would have guessed possible. As she started to catch up, my polite little boy stiff-armed her and upped his speed even more.

Noah, apparently watching as well, started calling from the window, "Go, Calvin, go!!" The sweet nun who was supposed to accompany them didn't even bother calling out, as they were too far ahead. Calvin managed to reach the door first and, with a single fist-pump, walked inside. I couldn't figure out what I had missed that started this.

When I picked Calvin up from school later that day, I asked him what happened this morning. His only reply, "I beat Emma".

to remember:

2009-10-21T19:54:00.005-04:00

(pen just stopped writing)
Noah: Mom, this pen just ran out of crayon gas.

(after a soccer game to a girl on the opposing team)
Calvin: Hi. We dominated you.
Me: Calvin, you shouldn't say that.
Calvin: But mom, we dominated her off.

(yelling to a passing car while riding his bike)
Calvin: Excuse me! EXCUSE ME!
-Driver then stops, rolls down window-
Calvin: Excuse me, please don't crush me.

(in the car, out running errands)
Calvin: Mom, do you not know many things?
Me: Well, I know some things.
Calvn: Ok, good. Tell me them, I need to know everything you know.

(another backseat conversation overheard)
Calvin: I have a great idea, Noah. You can be my padawan. I'll be your master.
Noah: Ok, Calvin.
Calvin: No, no. You say "ok. MASTER"
Noah: Ok, Master.
Calvin: Good job, padawan.

Knoebles with the Stews'

2009-10-18T21:30:00.007-04:00

Our good friends, the Stewarts, came to visit for the weekend. They have three boys as well, so needless to say, it was non-stop playtime for our little guys.

(safety first)

We visited Knoebles, the local amusement park. Thanks to their incredibly lax safety rules, all of the boys- even the two year old- were allowed to drive the go-carts and go on pretty much any ride they wanted... heaven for thrill-seeking little boys.

A big month for little Malcolm:

2009-10-01T20:51:00.006-04:00

crawling.

teething (x2).

eating.

Little one, please slow down.

ps- yes, occasionally we clothe the poor child.

A little sensitive...

2009-09-06T23:21:00.006-04:00

While it's true, little boys are mainly made up of snips and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails; there is also a very sweet, sensitive side to them... that seems to come out mainly when daddy isn't around:

Today I made the mistake of letting Calvin watch Charlotte's Web. As the movie ended, he came up from the basement sobbing. Alarmed at first, all I could make out in between tears was something about his "heart hurting". Eventually, he was able to explain that Charlotte died, and it just "hurt his heart so much", it took him-seriously- twenty minutes and a chocolate brownie to get over it... please, no one mention this movie around him.

Little Noah is a sweet mix of sensitivity and stubbornness. He adores Malcolm, and cannot bear to see him crying. Yesterday, I pulled up to a friend's house to drop him off for a playdate, which he'd been excited about all day. Malcolm was crying in the car, and I had planned to just leave him there while I quickly ran Noah to the door. Noah threw an absolute fit. He dropped to the ground and refused to go near his friend's house until I picked up Malcolm and got him to stop crying. Seeing that his little brother was happy once again, he quickly waved goodbye and sprinted away.

DAY of school

2009-09-03T22:54:00.002-04:00

As you may be able to tell from the lighting here, Calvin awoke bright and very early for the first day of kindergarten (Daddy was still home to take the picture).

I woke him up the following morning, saying it was time for school. With a confused look on his face, he asked, "Again?"

bright futures

2009-08-04T00:58:00.003-04:00

Calvin: "When I grow up, I'm going to be a donut baker."

Noah: "And I'm gonna be a banana maker."

A Bedtime Story, by Calvin

2009-07-25T23:05:00.004-04:00

"Once upon a time there were three boys named Calvin, Noah, and Malcolm. They were in the forest when all of a sudden a bear attacked them. So, they all got out their bows and their arrows and they shot that bear. Then they had a meat party. Then their mom said it was time to go home. The end."

Noah: "Calvin, that was awesome."

what fear looks like

2009-07-16T21:03:00.004-04:00

The day before I officially started in residency we made it over to the area theme park and enjoyed some remaining freedom. The whole day Calvin had been talking about riding on the "log fume". We finally made it right before the park closed.

Calvin's expression didn't change for about 20 minutes afterwards. His quote coming off the ride was, "Dad, I don't ever want to do that again. We were falling through the air!" Those six dollars spent on the photo should more than pay off in blackmail in 15 years.

the best baby in the world, at 3 months

2009-07-09T22:17:00.003-04:00

Seriously. Malcolm is my little angel child, I couldn't ask for a better baby.

"slip slide"

2009-07-09T21:41:00.002-04:00

The best way to bruise your belly... I can't tell, are they enjoying themselves?

Noah, lately

2009-07-04T22:55:00.004-04:00

tradition

2009-07-02T22:49:00.006-04:00

Apparently, we have a tradition of dragging our children, as infants, to a Cards game.

It was never intentionally done that way, but just in case little Malcolm felt left out, we had to accomodate. Besides, crowded, noisy, dirty baseball stadiums are perfect for tiny babies.

This last game, we snagged amazing seats, right behind the cardinals dugout. Calvin managed to catch the eye of ALBERT PUJOLS who then tossed him a gameball.

Perhaps, the happiest he's been his whole life... the Pujols ball AND cotton candy.

MD

2009-07-02T22:01:00.007-04:00

Yes, it is finally official.

the hooding

the fam

survivors

our greatest supporters (minus a few sorely missed aunts and uncles)

It feels so good to be finished.

Oh, wait... residency.

Malcolm Owen Jones

2009-04-25T07:45:00.006-04:00

Hello, again

2009-04-04T00:41:00.005-04:00

Yes, it's been a while. To say we've been a little distracted lately is putting it mildly.

To sum this last month up:

we're excited to say that the spot RB matched for his orthopedic surgery residency is the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA
we have found a buyer for our condo here in Columbus
we are in contract on a home in Pennsylvania
and we are scheduled to welcome a third little Jones boy to our family Monday at noon.*

*List may not be in order of importance

New Stomping Grounds:

Stealth bombers and ballistic missiles

2009-04-03T23:59:00.008-04:00

I'm very proud to say that the terms "B-2 Stealth Bomber" and "Ballistic Missiles" have become an integral part of both Calvin's and Noah's vocabulary.

Last weekend we visited the National US Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH and it did not disappoint. The 1980's rock soundtrack being played over the speakers got the boys really into it...

(According to the teacher, Calvin shared with his whole primary class the basic theory behind the Smart Bomb, going into detail about the GPS system it carries.)

The all-time favorite B-2 Stealth Bomber -Aunts and Uncles take note, you will be expected to know all about this, I'm sure.

not happy to be leaving:

Since this little outing, the boys have been playing mostly "airplane attack", drawing very descriptive "battles" involving missiles and stealth bombers, and I've been hit twice in the eye with a flying paper airplane... I get to choose the next destination for our weekend trip.

looking the part

2009-02-12T19:05:00.008-05:00

break time in between posing for pictures at aunt steph's wedding. life is tough on a little guy when you're too big to be held and still small enough that everyone wants to see your little suit.

Power of Persuasion

2009-01-19T21:54:00.005-05:00

The boys had a friend over the other day who was not that into playing one of Calvin's favorite games- racing around the house in circles.

I got to overhear this conversation as Calvin did his best to entice the little guy:

"But there will be running...." no response

"... and speed..." no response

"... and no claws poking you..."

Apparently the lack of claws sealed the deal, and they were all happily running circles in no time. These quick glimpses into the minds of my little boys help me realize that, no, I will never fully understand what goes on inside their heads.

Pretty good year

2009-01-08T22:39:00.008-05:00

Apparently Noah thought it would be fun to end 2008 by changing things up a bit.

He's decided that he's finally ready to talk- he had us worried there. He doesn't seek out all listening ears and working microphones in the area (like someone else we know) but he definitely makes his thoughts and wishes known. We've gained a whole new understanding of Noah now that we get a glimpse of what goes on in that little mind of his:

While eating out one night with a large group of family, Noah found himself seated at the head of the busy table. Before I could restrain him, he stood to full height on top of his highchair and loudly exclaimed to us all with raised hands, "I'm batman!". Definitely didn't see that one coming.

Noah has also decided that he can be contained in a crib no longer. Those who have experienced this know the first time they manage to crawl out on their own changes everything. He now shares the bottom bunk with Calvin and we put them to bed together hoping one of these nights they will eventually fall asleep on their own. So far, no luck. (On our latest trip to Missouri he even managed to outlast his patient Uncle Sidney singing to him for over an hour and his sweet Aunt Mary lying down with him until 3am, I'm pretty sure they won't be volunteering to put Noah to sleep any time soon.) It is impossible to keep our defiant little Noah in his room, much less his bed. Unfortunately for us, he's setting an early precedence for pushing boundaries.

(Technically he's still "in" his room.)

And finally, Noah has started the exciting process of potty-training. In so doing, he has brought to light a design flaw in boys' underwear. Apparently all of the cool pictures of cars, Diego, superheroes, etc. can only be found on the back, making it impossible for the little boys wearing them to see the pictures (which is pretty much the only reason to wear "big boy potty pants"). Luckily, Noah has found a solution- just wear them all backwards.

So, here's to another exciting year with little boys growing up too fast.

Soccer Wisdom

2008-11-08T19:38:00.017-05:00

Now that Calvin's first soccer season has officially ended, it's nice to look back on some of the things he has learned:

No matter what the girls think, sports should always be taken seriously.

When surrounded by enemies, just push harder.

There might be a future in motivational speaking.

This will come back to haunt me.

Penalties happen.

Noah kind of looks like Alfred Hitchcock.

Headbands make you look really cool.

Gold is a sweet, sweet thing.

Play hard, nap hard.

After Trick-or-Treating

2008-11-02T21:53:00.006-05:00

After the boys had completely worn themselves out trick-or-treating (tiring, yet rewarding work for little boys), we thought that bedtime - for once - would be easy.

Removed the face paint and costumes
Dished out allotted candy ration for night
Hid the rest of the candy
Brushed teeth
Pajamas on
In bed, lights out
Started a movie with hopes of few interruptions

Hours later, after not having heard anything throughout the movie, RB went to check in on the boys. Noah was shirtless, as always, but asleep. Calvin, on the other hand, was fully awake, sitting up in bed.

RB: Calvin, it's so late, what are you doing still awake?

Calvin: Not eating that candy (pointing to a round object covered by his blanket).

RB then uncovered the once full trick-or-treating bag of candy and noticed the chocolate covered fingers, mouth, and sheets of our little boy. He then asked where all the wrappers were and Calvin slyly pointed under his bed.

I'm a little concerned about what's going to happen when he's smart enough not to give himself away. He's sneakier than we thought. Not to mention this behavior was once again reinforced due to RB's inability to refrain from laughing at this sequence of events. And for those keeping track, this isn't the first time Calvin has been busted in bed with chocolate.

Pumpkins, Ghosts, and CANDY

2008-11-02T20:48:00.009-05:00

Since none of our Missouri pumpkins made the trip back to Ohio, we paid another visit to a pumpkin patch. Luckily, this process never grows old to Calvin.

Our dear friend Alex and his girlfriend, Meghan, came down for the weekend to join in the festivities (Calvin loves Alex, "even if his favorite team is the cubs"). They both proved to be valuable pumpkin picking advisers and very talented carvers as well.

Halloween night was, of course, one of the best nights ever for our two little sweet-toothed boys. Up until a few weeks ago, I was a little concerned about the costumes that Calvin was requesting. He seemed dead set on being Optimus Prime.
Granted, it would probably be a big improvement in the "cool" factor from last year's Halloween, but a little daunting for a mommy who is in charge of making the actual costumes.

So when Calvin announced after watching "Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin" that he would like to be a ghost, I piled the boys in the car and took them to pick out their white sheets before they had a chance to change their minds... luckily Noah is content to do anything like Calvin for the moment.

So here are our little ghosts. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't turn out that great as the boys had very little patience for smiling before the trick-or-treating.

I wish you all could have seen the boys' faces as they walked from door to door collecting their precious candy. I guarantee it would have put a smile on your face as well.

Little Rascals

2008-10-28T16:29:00.004-04:00

I've been gone for a while doing a rotation up in Michigan. This week is nice because I have no responsibilities and can stay at home with the boys. I've missed out on the daily goings-on with the little guys. For example...

Calvin just came up to me and said:

"Dad, I did my homework and all of my stuff, so Mom said I can watch a show. Please put on Little Rascals."

Before I could respond, he continued:

"And if you don't put on Little Rascals I'll... [here he paused as I turned to look at him] ... not do anything bad, but I'll keep asking you and asking you and asking you."

Noah waddled out of the crib after his nap and came up to me and said, "Daddy... really... really... really... hungry... cake."

They're my boys all right.

The Pumpkin Fairy

2008-10-14T12:50:00.010-04:00

While in Missouri, Oma took the boys to a pumpkin patch. Noah, never one for listening much anyway, needed no instruction and immediately marched right over to the pumpkins and began inspecting...

...eventually he found one

...and Uncle Willie found a few more.

Here is how you get a pumpkin picked by Uncle Sidney safely home:

While at the patch, we had a wonderful visit from the Pumpkin Fairy (aka Mrs. Johnson). The boys were showered with bags FULL of goodies and huge jars of animal crackers. The fairy also told them a wonderful story that Calvin still talks about involving a magic "pumpkin power" ring that can turn all the pumpkins to life.

Though Noah listened skeptically, all the other little boys completely bought it.

enjoying their goodies:

the proud pickers

Got it?

2008-09-27T21:50:00.007-04:00

Last night we all went to the park for an evening kite-flying/frisbee throwing/ball chasing/enjoy the nice weather outing. Right about sundown, as we were getting ready to leave Calvin noticed a young couple (very obviously on a date) and some random third wheel girl arrive with their own frisbee. Calvin made a beeline towards them and I arrived just in time to hear this exchange:

Calvin: "Hi guys... I mean, hi friends."
Random Third Wheel: "Hi there!"
Calvin: "I'm Calvin. I know, You (motioning to Third Wheel) can play with me, and You (girl on date) can play with your brother."

Calvin, facilitating hookups since 2004.

Air Show

2008-08-31T22:08:00.019-04:00

Calvin's little friend, whom he lovingly calls "Noahcrockett", invited us to a local air show. The boys, big and small, thoroughly enjoyed it. We will definitely be checking more of these out in the future.

They of course start off with their usual trick of falling asleep 5 minutes before we get there (yes, Noah fell asleep mid-granola bar).

it didn't take them long to wake up...

RB managed to get some neat shots of a few planes and I tried to recall everything I learned from TopGun to answer Calvin's questions. I'm pretty sure this one was the MiG.

The very loud F-16, which Calvin was certain was going to start dropping bombs and managed to convince the rest of the little boys of it as well.

our little "IceMan"

the insane "Wing Walker"

Soccer Camp

2008-08-22T00:07:00.012-04:00

Calvin went to soccer camp this summer.
He absolutely loved it.

Running onto the field for the first time...

Noah was a little upset when he found out that
two year-olds weren't allowed on the field.

...he cheered up quickly when he found out he could still get a drink of powerade anyway.

Classic Calvin. How many little kids have been conned this time into listening to whatever it is he felt necessary to share?

Calvin has waited for a long time to finally be on a "team" of his own. He had asked daily as the camp drew closer and closer what color he would be and who the bad guys were. This was taken moments before Calvin was reprimanded for trash-talking to the green team- let's just say it happened more than once.

Thanks to daddy's previous training, Calvin had an idea of what to do on the field.

This is Ellie. Being the fastest out of the age group and also understanding why she was on the field (see boy on right), she immediately became Calvin's nemesis.

I was a little concerned about how Calvin would react to the tough competition. Here is a previous example of how he has coped with feeling threatened:

The first time sweet Ellie ran past Calvin en route to a goal, our little boy decided he'd go for the tackle instead... luckily he missed and the coaches/mother intervened. As it turns out, she is the daughter of the ex-european professional soccer player who ran the entire camp. Way to go Calvin.

Noah decided he didn't need a coach to show him how to kick a ball.

The final day of camp, they rewarded all of the players- and stocky little blonde brothers of players- with popsicles. Nothing can make a hot, sweaty little Calvin happier than a bright red popsicle. Nothing can make him sadder than when it breaks... this sequence of events was hilarious to watch, hopefully you can get the gist of it by the pictures. (click on it to see larger version, grammy)

#1, Calvin's reaction to his popsicle breaking.
#2, Noah gloating that his is still in one piece.
#3, Noah about to dig in.
#4, Karmic retribution.

inside calvin's head

2008-08-15T10:39:00.004-04:00

calvin feels the need to narrate his activities of daily living (here as he's running through the house towards the bathroom):

"I have to go to the potty.
..my tummy's about to explode
...explode means blow up
...this is how it starts."
[bathroom door slams shut]

Scarred for life

2008-08-06T23:24:00.016-04:00

Noah told us that this year, he just wanted a really low key party to celebrate his second birthday. Uncle Joe was in town and we decided that could cover the guest list.

Noah and Calvin were in charge of decorating the cake and candle placement.

All was well until we got to the lighting candles part. I turned my head for a split second (to blow out the match) and gave Noah just enough time to touch one of the candles.

It was the saddest thing ever to see Noah go from super excited about his cake to completely afraid of it. He howled "hot, hot" through his entire birthday song.

As soon as the flaming torches of death were extinguished and removed, he somehow mustered up enough courage to eat.

And with a little encouragement from "uncky doe" he was back to himself in no time. (Although we were at a friend's birthday party last week and Noah got concerned when he saw the burning candles...)

*** Joe and Noah had a special moment at the pool while the boys were alternating jumping in off the side into their uncle's outstretched arms. Noah decided it would only be fair to give Joe's cell phone and keys - quietly resting on the pool chair - a turn. In an act of surprising agility Joe somehow managed to simultaneously catch, and keep dry, both items - and the chubby little two year old tumbling after. ***

Now that he's two...

he decided that it was time to upgrade from his push scooter to an actual tricycle.

Calvin and Noah are very proud of their big boy bikes.

Uncle Joe trying to show Calvin how to push his bike up from the grass and back onto the path after he had decided to test out the off-roading abilities.

Reasons to celebrate

2008-07-12T20:17:00.016-04:00

Now that it's finally official, we can share the happy news that Calvin and Noah are getting a new Aunt in a few months! Uncle Kevy proposed to Nicole in Florida while we were there, and we are so excited for them.

We just love Nicole, especially Calvin and Noah. I knew she was going to fit right in when we asked for a picture of her and this is the first one we saw...

Seeing this, Calvin had two observations:
1) "she's watching monster trucks"
2) "her eyes are red!"
(both very good things in Calvin's mind)

Unfortunately for Calvin, Nicole doesn't really have red eyes. She is from England though and has a really cool accent. It didn't take long for our outspoken little boy to respond: "You talk weird." At one point I walked into the room as Nicole was humoring the boys, playing their favorite game of "shoot the monsters." The elk hanging on the wall was to be the new invader and Nicole told Calvin to "shoot him in the antlers." Calvin stopped and stared and said, "what are ant-laahhs?"

Other memorable moments included Calvin requesting her to say "water" over and over again as he tried to mimic her pronunciation. Calvin loved all the swimming, playing, and bike riding they did together. We're all very excited to have her join the family.

Another cause for celebration was Calvin's 4th birthday. Grammy told Calvin she would make him whatever kind of cupcake he wanted and he chose sharks- I think they turned out really well. Way to go Grammy! (He also had a cool ninja turtle cake in Missouri from Aunt Julia, so he was loving this birthday thing.)

more random shots from the trip:

checking out the science center's hurricane machine

and orange grove harvesting...

with all this talk of marriage, after Calvin found out that mommy was already taken, he proposed to our good friend Marcea:

Calvin: Are you married?
Marcea: No, I'm not.
Calvin: Ok then, I choose you.
Marcea: Ok.

Day at the beach

2008-07-09T22:06:00.024-04:00

On our latest jaunt to Florida, we managed to spend a few sunny hours, in between rain storms, at the beach. It was lovely.

Of course, Noah managed to fall asleep right before we arrived. RB and Grandpa's boogie board idea would've been perfect if it wasn't high tide. Luckily, someone spotted the gently floating Noah before he could go very far. He soon woke up and was very confused at this strange, wet place.

It only took him a few minutes to get used to it.

Calvin, on the other hand, wasted no time and got straight to work. I smiled to see Grandpa towing him around on the boogie board. When I was little, that was always my favorite thing to do at the beach.

(Grammy doctored up this cool little photo of the boys)

Along with Grandpa and Grammy were Uncle Kevy, Aunt Nellie, and the boys' newest best friend, Blake. (Uncle Trevor decided to ditch the family and go to some lame lacrosse camp.)

The only setbacks we encountered were a large shark spotted too close to shore and, worse than that, sandy diapers.

(Since RB is always the one taking pictures, he rarely gets in any. So here is my one token shot of him- never mind that it's out of focus and off centered.)

A New Cousin!!

2008-07-05T20:54:00.009-04:00

Meet Calvin and Noah's new cousin...

Since both of the boys are as yet deprived of having any real cousins, Oma pointed out that Elmer, the new baby horse, could be considered one. They both had no problem with this.

As always, the latest trip to West Plains didn't disappoint. There were animals to chase, 4wheelers to ride, weapons to shoot, and water to splash. It is every little boys' dream.

After a few driving lessons from Aunt Mary,I found Noah perched on the littlest 4wheeler. He was pressing the big red start button and making the "vroom, vroom" sounds that he knew he should be hearing. Thank goodness he couldn't quite manage the throttle.

The biggest slide of Calvin's life:

Noah got to have his first ride on The Banana. (He only fell off once and was quickly rescued by Uncle Louie.)

Uncle Sidney inspired the boys to start practicing their baseball skills. Noah just couldn't figure out how to get to the other side of the fence.

wishful thinking...

Painting and Planes

2008-06-03T22:06:00.007-04:00

For all of our siblings and friends who aren't blessed with little boys to entertain all day, here is an example answer to the oft asked question, "So, what do you do all day?"...

We take field trips.

This particular outing was to the OSU airport and the boys LOVED it. Since poor RB wasn't able to go, he had to settle for constructing paper airplanes for them in the morning and watching them enjoy his handiwork (which they did immensely).

Trips are always more fun with friends.

Calvin and Carter inside a plane... did I mention that Calvin's imagination can be pretty intense sometimes?Noah, his usual laid back self, and Griffin taking their turn.

And on days whe I'd rather stay inside, we find some constructive way to make a mess...
Luckily, little boys are pretty easy to please. All they require is something big, fast, noisy, or messy and lots of snacks.

never trust a calvin

2008-05-20T22:29:00.004-04:00

We've already mentioned Calvin's shady racing strategies, but this determination to be best/first/chosen at all costs is spilling over into other venues as well...

This past Sunday in junior primary, the kids were playing a game for music time. One boy/girl was chosen to hide our "musical dinosaur" beanie baby while another boy/girl, who was to find the dinosaur, waited out in the hall. The rest of the children's job was to help the finder know where to look by singing louder the closer he/she came to the hidden toy.

Of course Calvin was dying to be chosen the entire game and only in the last round did I finally give in and pick him to be the "hider". He was so excited and stated that he was going to find the "best spot ever!" to hide the dinosaur. After it was hidden he then sat in the front row to make sure he could watch every move of the "finder".

The rather timid little boy who was chosen to "find" slowly walked back into the room. He was having a rough time figuring out which way he should go and looked to some of the singing children for more help. Of course every child was very eager to divulge their exciting secret and most started then to point exactly to the hiding place. Calvin however, took it upon himself to throw his perceived competition off the trail- because how good of a hider are you if the person looking actually finds it- and so very loudly said "It's somewhere over there." Of course pointing in the opposite direction of the sought after musical dinosaur. The little boy obediently followed Calvin's loud and confident directions. (I'm pretty sure that act went along with our message of trying to be more Christ-like.)

Calvin, you can thank your daddy for those genes... or maybe Grammy.

back to the ozarks

2008-05-11T21:15:00.012-04:00

We were able to sneak down to West Plains last week to see the family - we left strategically at 3 am so the boys would sleep during the car ride. Our feeble attempt at planning ahead was thwarted, however, when Calvin woke up in the transfer to the car and, once realizing what was happening, began chanting "Missouri, Missouri, Missouri" with a gleam in his eye. It's pretty hard to compete with Uncle Willy.

Pit stop at the arch.

Benefit of months of flooding is that everything turns unbelievably green.

Itch was back to help teach the little guys how to play.

Opa took everyone fishing, and everyone had wiggling fish to reel in soon.

Carolee in her snazzy mud boots was up to the task of trying to keep Noah
from charging the herd of cows.

Louis and Noah traveling in the bus - armed with plenty of crackers.

Willy and Calvin only had to be bribed with one bag of rainbow popcorn to cheer Louis and Sidney on in their respective soccer games.

busy, busy...

2008-05-05T21:08:00.008-04:00

Here are just a few of the things we've been up to lately:

finding out that dots ice cream may look pretty, but they are too cold for some little boys

enjoying a visit from Grammy and Grandpa to celebrate his 51st birthday by running a half marathon with me and then (sharing)...

banana cream pie from a great restaurant called Schmidt's we discovered on their visit

RB having ankle surgery and being stuck on crutches for two weeks

loving every second of Ohio's spring

Little Boys

2008-04-23T21:15:00.005-04:00

Today started with a visit to the Franklin Park Conservatory. They have an amazing exhibit that features "hundreds of butterflies from more than 100 species from around the world". To my dismay, there were lots of class field trips going on and the garden walkways were pretty crowded.

The boys were not in the least bit hindered by groups of students and teachers and managed to worm their way to the front of a class. This particular class was attentively listening as their teacher described the Blue Morpho butterfly resting on a nearby plant. As the narrative continued, the unfortunate insect decided to go once more into flight - directly into the airspace of a certain little Noah. Before I could react, and to the shock and horror of all the students and teachers watching, Noah proceeded with his best Karate Kid imitation to catch and squish the butterfly in his fist. Embarrassingly, it only got worse as I had significant difficulty wrenching open his clenched, dimpled fingers.

RIP

After nap time, we took a short trip to the library. We have wonderful libraries in our area and they are apparently a huge hit with the retired community as well who were filling the atrium's sitting/reading area. En route to the checkout desk, we had to pass by the comfortable reading chairs- or as Calvin calls them "thinking chairs" (they really do resemble the Blue's Clues chair).
I must quickly interject that I have never seen Calvin do anything like what happened next, and I'm pretty sure I can't even blame this one on RB...

As Calvin passed by an empty "thinking chair" he pressed his face against the arm, and, maintaining contact, continued walking... effectively wiping his nose against the entire length of the nice piece of furniture. The little old lady sitting in the next chair watched with disgust as I, for the second time today, grabbed my boys and quickly left the area.

We Love Noah

2008-04-22T00:12:00.002-04:00

In case anyone[else] is worried about our lack of Noah posts, I assure you that this little boy is in no way overlooked. While he has added a few additions to his vocabulary, he still communicates mainly through gestures and looks, and these just don't translate to blog posts.

His latest accomplishments include shoving an entire banana into his mouth, holding five monster trucks in his little chubby hands at the same time, finally throwing a ball up onto the top bunk, and hiding everything that is dear to RB- car keys, xbox controller, and the tv remote.

Here are just a few of his looks- see if you can translate...

"dog"

Mermaid

2008-04-15T20:46:00.004-04:00

I've never had to worry about Calvin getting into fights or hurting other children- usually he just runs to mommy. As we discovered last week however, apparently he can only be pushed so far.

One of Calvin's friends was over for the afternoon and they had been playing nicely on the porch for quite some time when I noticed their voices getting louder. Before too long, Calvin was calling me. As soon as I reached them he then instructed me to tell his friend that he was NOT a mermaid. I told them both that of course Calvin wasn't a mermaid and that seemed to end the conflict... or so I thought.

Three minutes later I heard a little boy howling in pain and ran to see what happened. I found Calvin holding his toy lacrosse stick behind his back and his sweet little friend in tears and grabbing his head.

"He kept calling me a mermaid" was Calvin's only reply.

Calvinisms

2008-04-04T00:21:00.003-04:00

"Excuse me Sir, I have a comment"

Now that Calvin has been in primary for over three months, I was hoping that his sitting-quietly-and-listening skills would improve. Sadly, this is not the case. He truly believes that if anyone is talking, it needs to be him.

Instead of fighting this behavior, our kind leaders asked Calvin to give his first talk a few weeks ago. Calvin was thrilled at the opportunity to finally get behind the microphone. When the time arrived for him to go up to the mike, I was right beside him getting ready to whisper into his ear word-for-word what he planned on saying. Instead of waiting to be told what to say, he lowered the mike directly in front of his mouth and started without me (though it had nothing to do with his actual talk).

After lots of help from teachers and discussions with mommy and daddy, we've finally gotten the point across to him that sometimes he just needs to listen to what others have to say and that if he wants to make a comment, he should to raise his hand. The only thing that seems to have gotten through to him is the raising hand thing. Of course, he doesn't wait until called on, he just raises his hand and says, "Excuse me Sir, I have a comment." (It's probably worth mentioning that all of our primary leaders are women.) This is usually amusing enough to the person speaking that they stop and listen to whatever random thought Calvin feels like sharing and thus the behavior remains enforced. Still, I'm going to say that it's a step in the right direction.

"You're my Best Player"

Calvin hates to say goodbye to anyone. Lately, right before we leave anywhere, he's started coming up with dramatic farewells. For instance, a commonly used one for RB as he's heading out the door is, "Daddy, you're my beeesssst daddy." He always delivers these lines with his puppy dog eyes, nodding his little head, making the most adoring/sappy look imaginable.

My favorite goodbye for the week came when it was time to leave after playing at a friend's house. At the appropriate time, the little schmoozer got all sentimental and said, "Thanks for letting me come over. You're my beeesssst player."

"I know, he's my fire hydrant."

Calvin loves firefighters. Yet for some reason, he can never remember the term "firefighters" and instead always refers to them as "fire-hydranters" (this could be because of the game we used to play in the car of spotting fire hydrants, but still, I thought the term firefighter would be cool enough for him to remember).

Today as the boys were playing, I overheard him explain to Noah that they were both "fire-hydranters". Calvin hates to be wrong, so as I started to correct him once more, telling him, "You mean fireFIGHTERS," he interrupted me and said, "No mom, I know, he's my fire HYDRANT." So then, just to save face, he acted like he meant to say hydrant and proceeded to attach a pretend hose to Noah, who of course just stood there and laughed.

"Mommy, I made a bad choice."

This line is one that is, sadly, used too often by Calvin. When he says it, I always have to take a deep breath and brace myself for something I don't want to see. The most recent use of it took place after he had colored all over our one nice rug with a black crayon.

The most memorable time happened a while ago on a trip with RB's family. The short version is that we suckered Uncle Itchy into watching Calvin and his Uncle Will. After Will fell asleep and Calvin was presumed asleep, he got his hands on the hotel's mini-bottles of shampoo and bubble bath and then dumped it all over poor sleeping Willie's eyes and face. When we got back to the room, the first thing out of Calvin's mouth, before anything was explained, was, "Mommy, I made a bad choice." Just a bit of an understatement.

Derby 2008

2008-04-03T06:26:00.012-04:00

Last year Calvin and his Lightning McQueen managed to win 1st place at our ward's pinewood derby. He and RB were very proud.Although we were unable to bring home another plastic golden trophy this year, Daddy and boys had a wonderful time carving, painting, and racing. Calvin chose to make a monster truck- Gravedigger- complete with hand-painted green flames and pirate flag. Noah went with a simpler semi-truck named Bubbabilt.

(very proud)

When Noah found out that he couldn't be the one racing his truck down the track, he turned all of his attention to the refreshments.

(Noah ran out of refreshments)

Snowflakes that stay

2008-03-14T16:32:00.031-04:00

It's old news by now, but we were snowed on - a lot. After 20+ inches canceled anything with the possibility of being canceled (including RB's overnight call responsibility) we were able to dig out all of the sledding gear for some fun on one of Columbus' few hills.

Calvin was so excited he put on his gear (including hat and gloves) about 45 minutes before we were actually ready to get out the door.

Noah was happy to get outside but seemed more interested in snowflakes on his mittens than anything else going on. After a few times down the hill, he decided he had some phone calls to make inside the warm car.

A few weeks ago RB had taken Calvin out sledding for what turned out to be a real coming-of-age experience. Calvin had been telling RB that he didn't want to go all the way up to the top of the hill because he was "too scared." Something clicked in his little mind when RB coerced him to give it a try - and when he came back in the house afterwards he proudly proclaimed, "Mommy! I turned into a brave boy! I can go all the way to the top!"

This time around, despite a bigger hill, Calvin never hesitated. He wanted to be treated as an equal with everyone else, as shown by this exchange with our friend Scott Rowley who was trying to ensure the safety of the jump we had just created:

Calvin (to Scott, sitting on his tube): "I want to go."

Scott: "OK Calvin, I'm just going to make sure it's safe to sled down first."

Calvin: "But I want to go."

Scott: "Do you want to go next?"

Calvin: "No, it's my turn."

Scott: "How about we go together?"

Calvin: "But you just had a turn."

It's impossible to reason with a "brave" three year old boy.

Calvin did have one pretty impressive wipeout, after which we ran over to make sure he was ok. He jumped up in the snow and yelled, "Dad, I just wrecked like the monster trucks!" He and his Dad managed to take at least a couple more tumbles together as well.

Noah and I were perfectly content to view most of the freezing fun from the car - maybe next year.

Winter Days

2008-03-06T19:53:00.010-05:00

By now, the boys are absolutely tired of being kept indoors due to the freezing weather (not to mention having had the stomach flu all this week). Finding new activities to entertain is always desired. My talented cousin posted this wonderful, kid-friendly craft idea on her blog and we decided to try it out today. It was so much fun! It was cheap, fast, relatively clean, and I think they turned out actually kind of cute - which is always a plus. The boys had a great time doing all of the steps involved and I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for something to do on a cold wintry day.

There are beautiful pictures and a great step-by-step guide on my cousin's blog that you must check out if you're interested. She made hers all into little place holders using some wire, we just didn't have any of that on hand. Still, I think it's such a great idea to let each of the kids make their own little animal for Easter dinner. She's made things like pumpkins for Thanksgiving and ghosts for Halloween as well that she says have now become family keepsakes that the children love to see and use.

The ingredients are flour, salt, and water... it only took Noah two taste tests to figure out this wasn't an eating type of treat. Yes, he was very disappointed.

They were able to coexist stirring for about 15 seconds.

Noah, not surprisingly, didn't get into the sculpting part so much and opted to play dough basketball instead.

Calvin on the other hand, requested tooth picks to add details to his designs. (I believe he has some of the artist gene from Aunt Julia.)

Here are our creations drying after we zapped them in the microwave for 40 seconds each. The tiny blob in the front is Calvin's "monster."
Painting was definitely the best part for Calvin.

And the finished product, monster included...

Another great use for these I discovered is for alternative eggs in Easter egg hunts. Calvin and Noah both love finding things, and instead of using the little plastic eggs that they would expect to be filled with candy, I used these today and they loved it. They were all dropped a number of times and still managed to remain in one piece, I was very impressed.

[RB Update]

When I got home and saw all the pastels and crafts I knew I had to act quickly. I took the boys straight outside to play in the mud, followed by racing on their bikes and general rough-housing and demolition.

[/end update]

Bubba's bowtie

2008-02-17T22:28:00.001-05:00

This one's inspired by Opa.

The boys were bribed with pink laffy-taffy in order to obtain the 7 seconds of sitting still that preceded the wrestling match that quickly ensued. They almost both looked at the camera at the same time.

"Actually, I'm pretty great at it."

2008-02-17T19:40:00.009-05:00

Calvin has never lacked confidence. A healthy self-image is a good thing, but I often wonder if he isn't a little too enthusiastic about himself. Case in point: I recently walked in to Calvin's group violin lesson to hear my three year-old state to the parents, teachers, and fellow students gathered around him "Yes, actually, I'm pretty great at it." I have no idea what his boast was in reference to, but according to Calvin, he is "pretty great" at everything.

Perhaps we have indulged him too much at home. RB and I both have told him that he is smart, fast, brave, can jump high, throw hard, kick far, etc. It would seem, however, that Calvin's little mind just adds "-est" to everything we say. And since he is "the fastest," if he engages in a race where he doesn't win- watch out. I've seen him take out unsuspecting friends running ahead of him who had no clue they were in an actual race. Alternatively, if he is losing he has yelled from the top of his lunges, "THIS ISN'T A RACE," and he then proceeds to start walking and not restart the competition until he has gained an advantageous position again.

This became more concerning when I noticed a growing trend in his conversations. His normal comments changed from, "I'm fast" to "I'm faster than you". We sat Calvin down and talked about how he won't always be the fastest and how saying that type of thing can make other people feel sad. Calvin still wasn't grasping the idea, so I had to simplify it into banning all sentences with the words "than you." So far, it seems to be working.

A friend of mine came up with a great idea of setting up a little race at one of the parks here for all of the children interested. I asked Calvin if he would be up for a real running race and his eyes almost popped out of his head as he said, "YES MOM! Because I'm the fastest and I'll beat everybody!" I explained to him that big boys and girls would also be racing, so it is ok if he doesn't come in first place- as long as he does his best. Trying to reassure me, he said, "It's ok mom, I'll just biff the big boys into the grass." Great.

A lesson on girls

2008-02-08T20:13:00.001-05:00

The difference between little boys and girls has never been made so apparent to me as it was last Wednesday. My sweet friend let me watch her little girl who is a few months younger than Noah and the boys tried their hardest to make her feel comfortable in our home.

This meant of course, that I found myself saying all of the following:

Boys, stop growling at her.

Stop Noah, that's called a bow. It's meant to be there.

Calvin, it's ok if she doesn't want the monster truck.

Please don't aim at her face.

No, you can't "run her over" if she's in the way.

I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to play Tackle-Wrestle right now.

After trying everything they could think of to make her happy, they gave up and defaulted back to racing around the house with cars. This gave me the chance to play with her alone and I thoroughly enjoyed our quiet and peaceful time looking at books, stacking blocks, and sorting shapes. I wasn't once hit in the head by any flying objects and I had spent more than five minutes sitting down in one place. It was amazing!

When snack time came around, the boys were getting a better feel about how to treat girls. I was very impressed as they sat quietly at their table with her and even offered to share their goldfish and raisins. In doing so, this meant that they had dibs on her pretzels and apples.

Noah's Crackers

2008-01-29T23:58:00.000-05:00

Gentle, patient, obedient, timid, and thin are all words I would never use to describe Noah. As he has now reached the 18 month mark, his little personality is becoming very apparent and quite amusing.

Noah- or as Calvin calls him, "the little chubby bubba"- is obsessed with anything on wheels. He loves playing catch and "kick" with RB. He prefers to go shirtless whenever possible and hates nothing more than long sleeves. He's a self made vegetarian and his favorite dishes are straight humus, sauteed tofu, and anything with sugar. He's hungry, always. He enjoys dancing and all animals. Since he's great at pointing, verbal communication is meaningless to him. I've yet to find anything that he's afraid of, except nursery. Oh, and then there's the temper...

Whenever I make the monthly trip to Costco, I'm always sure to pick up a big container of animal crackers. Not only are these Noah's absolute favorite things, but RB has also been know to eat half of them in one sitting. This particular time it just happened to be the last half that he finished off and he wasn't smart enough to hide the evidence. Little Noah came upon the empty container and immediately voiced his dismay,"Ma!" He then proceeded to pick up the container, which is almost as big as himself, and walk around protesting, "Ma!Ma!" He finally came to rest in front of RB and me at the table and shoved the container in my lap. Although he could tell by looking through the clear plastic that, indeed, all of his precious crackers were gone, I pulled off the lid just so he could be doubly sure.

After having his fears confirmed, Noah lost it. He threw the container down and started screaming. This was not crying, but the no tears, bright red face, clenched fat fists screaming. He then grabbed the lid out of my hands, threw it to the ground, and just to make sure he got his point across went to his little wooden table, grabbed the nearest chair and threw it to the ground as well (to his credit, this last toss did enhance the drama of it all). He then stared defiantly as he waited to see how we would reconcile the situation.

RB and I both found ourselves once again biting our lips to keep from encouraging this behavior. Who knew an 18 month old was capable of such rage?

This doesn't bode well.

Monster Trucks!!!

2008-01-21T20:10:00.000-05:00

Calvin has been obsessed with monster trucks since he discovered the cartoon version of Bigfoot a few months ago. When I heard that the monster truck circuit was coming through our town I would have felt like a negligent father if I had not indulged my son in this finer-culture event. Not to mention, since I have such little time proportionally with the boys compared to Carolee I have to try to
jam as much testosterone into their activities as possible.

Suffice it to say, expectations were more than met. There were enough wrecks, wheelies, fires, and demolished junkers to make everyone happy. I was additionally entertained counting the number of mohawks, mullets, and moms in 3-xl carhartt jackets and wranglers in our section.

It made me realize again just how easy it is to make the little guys happy (Carolee spent the time with Noah at the science museum - we didn't think Bubba was quite ready for Gravedigger and co.). I have to earn my brownie points now before he gets more demanding.

Editor's note: these events are apparently really, really loud. The best dollar I spent all day went to an enterprising teen outside the stadium selling foam earplugs.

Holidays part II

2008-01-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

Along with all of the fun holiday festivities, while in Florida we managed to use our annual pass to Sea World one last time. Calvin and Noah absolutely love all of the beautiful animals there, especially Shamu.

Although my siblings were forced into going again- they're more into the roller coaster theme parks- and tried to act unimpressed all day...

I still managed to catch them enjoying themselves:

Besides the animals, Sea World has also introduced Calvin and Noah to cotton candy- a life changing experience for them.
Calvin made a huge step forward in facing his fears and actually rode on the merry-go-round this time. (In the past we've waited in line for thirty minutes, only to leave once it's finally our turn with a sobbing Calvin- so this was a pretty big deal.) You can see the pride in his accomplishment.

While Noah would be all too willing to ride on anything he could waddle his way onto, he was left to just amuse the passersby with his few, fail-proof crowd pleasers...

the one-handed peek-a-bubba

and the "I know where my nose is"
And besides all these great times, one of my favorite things was getting to meet my dear friend's new baby girl. Here is beautiful Isabelle and a very happy Calvin. Don't you think he needs a little sister? :)

Calvin's Bacon

2008-01-20T19:44:00.000-05:00

Calvin absolutely loves bacon. If I'd let him, he would eat an entire pound of it by himself in one sitting. Because of his intense craving, I've had to severely limit how much of the stuff I make. Yesterday, as we were out of milk for cereal, I broke down and cooked a breakfast of french toast and bacon, much to Calvin's delight.

My plan was to allow him three pieces, but of course he some how managed to get a hold of twice that many. The rest, I informed him, were for daddy and therefore off limits. RB has averaged four hours of sleep a day for the past week on his surgery rotation and this was his one chance to sleep in. Calvin knew that he wasn't to disturb his sleeping father until he awoke.
A few minutes into cleaning up the kitchen, I noticed a strange and unfamiliar quietness about the house. It was then that I saw the plate of bacon on the table- completely empty. I found Noah and asked him where his brother was since Calvin always hides whenever he's "made a bad choice." Noah waddled to the coffee table and pointed his chubby finger underneath it. There was the culprit covered in turkey-bacon-bits. Assuming he had finished off all the remaining pieces, I explained to poor little Calvin about how disappointed daddy was going to be when he woke up to no bacon left for him and how important it is to share. I could tell the thought of having no bacon was a very serious one in his little mind and that he understood that he had done something wrong. He said that he would try to do better next time and then went off towards his room - I thought to play.

RB said he was fast asleep in bed when he heard a rustling noise close to his head. As he opened his eyes, he said he could just make out the form of Calvin dropping flat to the ground, trying to hide. It was then that his eyes focused on what was laying on top of the pillow next to his face... a single greasy piece of bacon.
I'm pretty sure it's the sweetest thing Calvin has ever done for someone. I'm so proud.

.....

Another proud moment for me came today in Calvin's singing time. Our very kind and talented friend was directing the music in primary and started off with "Singing a song is fun to do". He asked the children if they had other ideas of what is fun to do and received mostly the typical, expected responses until Calvin shouted out his idea... "Riding a really fast duck."
"Oh," said our friend, "Yes, riding a fast truck is fun to do."
"No, no," Calvin corrected, " Riding a really fast DUCK."
Aaah, yes there were the chuckles from the teachers and as they looked back behind the piano at me, all I could do was smile and shrug. Yes, I'm so proud.
.....

Our Happy Holidays

2008-01-13T06:59:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to get a break from the cold Ohio winter and went down to sunny and warm Florida for our Christmas.

As with all good trips, ours started off by waking up early to catch a flight. The boys were dazed and confused but willing to obey because Mommy kept mentioning the words "ride on a plane".

After the flying was over, the trip was nothing but fun and relaxing with family. We managed to play a little tennis everyday... and night. (Here's uncle Trevor showing off his graceful style.)

Calvin and Noah loved picking oranges from the backyard with grandpa and making them into juice. They also learned how to feed and chase Grandpa's newest additions to the family. (There are five more chickens as well.) And yes, it crows every morning at the first glimpse of sunlight and keeps crowing until it is sure everyone is awake and stirring inside the house.

Calvin was in heaven when Grandpa brought his plane home for repairs.

Grammy always has the house decorated beautifully for the holidays and Noah loved it all, especially the nativity animals.

The boys were of course spoiled by Grammy and Grandpa.

All of the fun new toys and goodies made it especially hard on Calvin's sharing abilities.

I was very excited to surprise RB with my gift to him this year. For the past few years/ ever since we were married, we've had issues about the number of t-shirts he has and insists on keeping. (He has actually gone through the trash to save them.) So I found a way to preserve his precious memories and intramural championships t's and make them functional as well...

... and he was only slightly upset that he wouldn't be wearing some of them anymore.