Those Larson Boys

Blanket has taken on a whole bunch of new syllables for Joseph lately: "Buh-wank-et", and it is still spoken as affectionately as ever.

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When I dressed for church in a flouncy, tutu-like skirt last week, Joseph walked into my room and exclaimed "Mommy! You wook wike a puh-win-sess!" He also referred to a baby in our ward as "dat pink puh-win-sess baby" because she was wearing a pink dress and matching headband. 

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Joseph is really interested in last names lately. He is always asking about people's first and last names, and he's been known to name all 5 members of a family and verify that each person shares the same last name. Both Joseph and Ian have an incredible memory for names.  

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We planted our first garden this year. Scott built the raised bed and selected and planted all the plants with the boys' help. We've harvested a yellow pepper and some butter lettuce so far. The yellow pepper is one Ian insisted on buying, and it immediately sprouted a large pepper. Here is our first green pepper:

The boys love to play "Home Depot Man". They wear their aprons around the house and ask if I need any help finding anything. They also like to wear lanyards / name tags around their necks and "eye pads" Scott has stockpiled from his international flights. 

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Ian's birthday camping trip was a big hit. The week of the trip Scott found out Brazos Bend was booked, so he snagged the last site at Double Lake instead. We let Ian call it Brazos Bend all weekend though. 

After packing up the car, Scott declared that we must be ready for a mini-van. 

The camping weather was perfect. We enjoyed 70's during the daytime and 40's at night, which is very uncharacteristic of Houston this time of year. Joseph slept without a pack n play for the first time ever, and his Dad deserves an award for calmly coaxing Joseph to sleep (which took until 10 pm) and then resettling him throughout the night when Joseph would awaken and run like a madman around the tent. My own very pregnant self slept with ear plugs, an air-mattress and no less than four pillows. 

Ian loved camping for his birthday celebration. He also thoroughly enjoyed all the camping junk food we brought, including some nasty pink pastries that took the place of a birthday cake. We also rode bikes around the campground and frolicked in the sand along the lake. I think the trip lived up to his expectations even though we didn't see any real alligators or actually go to Brazos Bend. 

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The boys have been learning to do headstands under their Dad's tutelage. 

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 Joseph has mastered dressing himself... backwards. I suspect he does it on purpose since it happens so consistently. I can't remember how I taught Ian to match his clothes, but I definitely need to help Joseph hone that skill too.

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Ian insists on tucking his shirt in. He tells me it's because he likes to look like Grandpa. Usually it looks ridiculous in his little-kid outfits, and he is constantly fussing with it to keep it all tucked in. He also always insists on buttoning ever last button on this polo shirts, all the way up to the top. It is done so precisely that I feel the need to tell people that it isn't me doing it. Recently when a pesky shirt kept coming untucked, Ian asked me to staple his shirt into his pants to make it stay!

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Ian recently asked a friend of mine where her Daddy and Brother were. I had to explain that he was actually asking about her husband and son.  He and Joseph are always trying to fit people in our family model.

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Doris taught me to make this Easter Bunny cake on Sunday. I hid it on top of the fridge so I could reveal it after Family Home Evening, but during breakfast Ian noticed it and asked why there was a "piggy bank" on top of the fridge. So the bunny "ate" breakfast with us on the table.

I love Joseph's newly-acquired silly expressions for pictures. 

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Ian has gotten really vocal about his observations lately, which often causes awkward moments in public. Two incidences, both at Garden Ridge last week, come to mind: a man in his late 20's with a beard and long flowing hair passed us. "Why does that Daddy like to have really long hair like a girl? His hair should be short like a Daddy." And then at the cash register, "Why is that Mommy sooooo much shorter than you Mommy? Why didn't she get tall like a Mommy?"

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Joseph loves dyed Easter eggs (rainbow eggs) but Ian only likes peeling them.

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Within the last 6 months Ian seems to have developed a stronger sense of smell and points out scents he didn't ever comment on before. When walking to a friends door recently Ian said "It smells like they bought the same mulch that we did, Mom." (referring to mulch we laid nearly a year ago.)

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Sometimes Ian calls his brother "Joseph Poseph" and it drives Joseph nuts. 

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Joseph is nearly always carrying around a "baby" stuffed animal while he goes about his other business. When I change his diaper he'll pitch the baby as far away from him as possible, in an attempt to keep it from getting any poop on it. So far as I know they have always stayed clean, but he always seems so desperate and concerned when he throws them. 

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I had a bunch of Brie left over from an international food activity with the YW. We discovered that Joseph really likes Brie and Ian really does not.

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The day after Ian's birthday he traded in his toddler daybed for a big boy twin-sized bed! When he first laid down he noticed how much room there still was and started naming all his friends who he could share his pillow and bed with. He doesn't fall out and really seems to like having a bed like a big boy.

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My mom saw some "alligator tails" online and couldn't resist making some for the boys. They love chasing each other around the house with them on, and each morning they pull them out from under their beds and strap them on. Unfortunately, the boys hardly stop moving while wearing their tails, so I don't have any great pictures yet. 

Joseph can strap his on by himself, and sometimes he puts it on with the "puh-wick-uh-wees" (prickley) facing down and calls himself a kangaroo. Creative, isn't he?

They go about their normal business while wearing them, and recently Ian nearly knocked over a block tower he was building when he stood up and turned. It was hilarious watching him first steady himself and prevent it from knocking over, then watching a light go on in his mind when he realized how fun it would be to do it on purpose! Now I love watching them swinging their rear-ends and tails around like Godzilla to purposely knocking towers over. 

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When the boys dislike something, they call it "Oooey-gooey." My cooking is often referred to this way, until dinner time when Daddy lays down the law. Sometimes the boys call each other Ooey-gooey and refuse to sit by one another.

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The boys have noticed that Ian has brown eyes like Dad, and Joseph has blue eyes like Mom. Sometimes Ian says that only the Brown Eyes can do something, and more than once Ian has called Joseph "Blue Eyes" as an insult.

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I've overheard Ian saying many times recently: "Don't say "Dad" Joseph, because then he will be your Dad." Same goes for talking about Mom, a favorite fire engine, a blanket, etc. But they are both most possessive about Dad.

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When Joseph is doing something he thinks is tough (like building something tall or pretending to cut something open) he puffs out his chest and says "I'm a guy."

When Joseph sees something cool he'll say to me "You know what I'm going to grow up wike? Dat wizard / Dat construction guy / Dat -climbing-up-a-tree-man."

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One drawer on Joseph's dresser is missing the guide so it falls out when messed with. We keep it empty but every so often Joseph will accidentally open it. He refers to it as the "scary drawer" and only says it's name in a whisper. 

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When a few swaddling blankets arrived in the mail this month, both boys requested that their special stuffed animals get swaddled. Ian's had to be re-swaddled repeatedly because he was bouncing his "baby" all over the house and pretending it was anything but a baby. Joseph kept his baby tightly wrapped though, and cuddled and patted it gently for more than an hour. I think this is pretty telling of the way they both feel about babies overall.
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Joseph has a few favorite babies in the ward (all in the 4-9 month range). When he sees them at parties and activities he is always eager to engage them and make them laugh. And boy is he good at getting laughs out of them!
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The boys can now wear pretty much the same size clothing (although Ian is still mostly in 3T pants and 4T shirts, and Joseph in 3T shirts and 2T pants) and for about 6 months people have been asking if they are twins. Ian has sentimental feelings about a few pairs of basketball shorts and a couple of t-shirts, but when I move things into Joseph's dresser and Ian sees that things have a 2T or 3T on the tag, he'll ask to wear it "just one more time" and then seems happy to pass it along to Joseph. It's hard to deny that these boys are really growing up!