Funny Little Boys

The boys make lots of messes. But they also love to reach along the side of the fridge and retrieve the mop and broom to "clean up" after themselves. They also love to haul the mop and broom all over the house and up the stairs.

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Do you know the universal nursery "Clean up" song? It is mostly repetition of "Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere" to a generic-sounding tune. Ian always sings it when tidying up the loft and Joseph just starting chanting "Eeen up! Eeeen up!" too. Now I know when he is headed for the mops and brooms by the fridge because he'll starting chanting it and walking to the kitchen.

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"Lots of" is a quantity to Ian. Example: "No Mommy! Not just two crackers -- I want lots of and lots of!" He says this while holding up all five fingers spread far apart.

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Lately Ian has been offering Joseph toys when Joseph seems upset. He also says in his ultra-high mommy voice: "Are you okay buddy buddy? Are you okay?"

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When Ian says "I want to do Pocket Fulla", he is referring to Ring Around the Rosies.

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Today Joseph threw his sippy cup on the floor during snack time, just like always. But after I got him down from his high chair he picked up the cup and trotted over to the sink and tossed it in, like we taught Ian to do. Ian said "Look! Joseph is learning how to put his cup in the sink like me does!"

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While going to the bathroom recently, Ian declared the following observation: "Poop dumps. But potty doesn't dump."

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Ian is a great boy and delights people who know him well. However he does not do well when approached by adults, and especially adults he does not know. This includes the pediatrician, parents of his friends, grandmas in line at Walmart.... So after Ian growled at, spit on, and chased away our new neighbor last weekend, we decided to hold a little how-to for Family Home Evening tonight. I am hoping the problem was that he didn't know how to react and now that he does, he can be his charming self with strangers too. So tonight we looked at pictures of adults talking, practiced saying "Nice to meet you. My name is Ian", had plastic toy people carry on introductory conversations, and then took turns knocking on the door and introducing ourselves. Let's hope it helps.

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Joseph is starting to say all kinds of words. His latest are: sticker (sticky) clock (cock), light, popper (oppy), ball (baw), kitty cat, doggie (goggie), cracker (cracky), yummy (ummy), yogurt (go-go), apple (appy) and most recently, "duck!" which actually means 'stuck!'.

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Joseph's favorite blanket is well-loved and is in a constant state of repair and then disrepair. I try to hand-stitch the saten border back on, but he picks it right back to shreds and then gets tangled in the strings and saten and shouts "Duck! Duck!" (stuck) until we come to his rescue.

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Joseph loves to start an unending back-and-forth where he says "Mommy" and I say "Joseph" back to him. The longer it goes on the sillier he thinks it is.

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Ian still insists that during nearly every prayer we express thanks that the "airplane got stuck in the tree."

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Joseph LOVES feet and shoes. If I can't motivate him to come to me, I just offer to put on his shoes and he trots right over. He wears my shoes around the house and complains when I am wearing his favorite pair of my brown flats. When Scott walks the halls with Joseph at church and points at the paintings of Jesus, Joseph is always fixated with and points at the feet. When Scott arrives home from work, Joseph rushes to him and then bends down and points at Scott's feet and strokes his shoes. If he isn't a pediatrist someday we will be surprised.

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We just hung up some letters spelling Joseph's name above his bed. Scott pointed to a letter and said the name. Joseph pointed to "E' and said "E"! Coincidence? He did it again today! But probably still a coincidence.

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Ian changes his clothes several times a day. Each time he selects a different pair of matching shoes. He can hardly wait to strip off his PJ's each morning and put on some clothes. Favorites include: basketball shorts of all colors, two blue t-shirts with trucks on them, khaki shorts that look like daddy's "campout shorts" and a pair of brown loafers with the stitching coming off.

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Ian has seen one movie in his life -- Cars. And he has seen it less than twice. But Lightning McQueen is still his obsession. When potty treats stopped motivating Ian, Scott brought an iPod and some speakers into the restroom and started playing Life is a Highway (otherwise known as "The Daddy Racecar Song") while Ian sits happily the toilet and "dances with his feet". Sometimes Ian requests the "Mommy Racecar Song", which is Real Gone, by Sheryl Crow.

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Ian often shows his agreement to a statement or question by saying "Hmm". Now Joseph does the same thing instead of saying yes.

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My cell phone didn't work for weeks. It took several calls to Verizon and more than an hour of trouble-shooting to discover that the boys had forwarded all my calls to a non-working number. These are some technical geniuses in the making. Devious ones.

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If you ask Joseph a question he usually responds with a thoughtful sounding "Ummmmm..." He also says "Ummmmm" when he is pretending to talk on a cell phone. I thought he got it from Ian. But then Scott pointed out who Ian got it from...

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The boys new favorite brotherly activity is what I refer to as "Running with the Bulls." The boys will be playing in the loft when Joseph will spring up and run down the hallway, looking back over his shoulder and squealing. Moments later, Ian jumps up and chases after him, also squealing. When Ian reaches Joseph he bowls him over and keeps on running, leaving Joseph in a lump on the floor. Hysterical laughter from both of them follows. I do not understand boys.

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This is how Joseph kisses. Don't you wish you could have one?