Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls...

Why chase them when you can make your very own using just the bathroom faucet, and then play in pool of water you just created on the bathroom floor... AFTER bedtime... and WITHOUT telling mom and dad?!?!? TLC - a wise band indeed. I've learned an important lesson recently - one I learned a long time ago when we were in the diaper-taking-off phase, but one of which I've recently been reminded. When it is bedtime, never trust a quiet John Dickson. If he isn't swimming in his pjs on the bathroom floor, he has sneaked (snuck?) the new bottle of coconut ginger handsoap into his bed and in the morning, the top 5 inches will be empty and the top will be MIA. We literally cannot keep him under control, because we simply cannot predict what he will try next. He's like a kid ninja.

So we've landed on Halloween costume choices for the boys this year - get ready for Captain Hook and Peter Pan. I'm particularly excited about Captain Hook - can't wait to see John Dickson rock a mustache. And no worries, he's already perfected his bad guy laugh. It's something he came up with all on his own, and it is hi-larious. Think Joey and Phoebe evil plan laugh.

We went to a used book sale a few weeks ago, and John Dickson picked out this book called "The Healthy Wolf." The premise of the book is that you have to brush your teeth, exercise, and eat healthy. Eating healthy is only about 2 pages of the book, and includes 3 don't eats, and 3 do eats. I had NO IDEA how much impact this book would have on John Dickson, but the kid is on a super health kick. Everytime he eats something healthy, he announces it, and he has been eating EVERYTHING I have given him. It helps that Adam gets home after dinner, because I tend to distract the kids at the table with nothing but vegetables while I cook the rest of the dinner. And not just in the vegetable realm - the child is eating all kinds of foods he has never eaten before. Nuts, asparagus, brussels sprouts (an old favorite turned anti-favorite turned acceptable), carrots (RAW - thats huge for him, and cooked), apples (again, raw - the child doesn't like any raw foods that he has to crunch), applesauce (also big - shield your eyes Papa - he doesn't even like apple pie or any apple-y desserts), butternut squash soup, and even rice and potatoes (not a starch side person). And other foods that he likes but doesn't necessarily eat much of he is eating like crazy.

Henry on the other hand continues to eat pretty much everything, but still favors fruits and meat. We're having some trouble getting him to eat some of his vegetables, but if he is hungry, lima beans, peas, corn and baked beans get inhaled. I tried to cut asparagus and put little pieces into his mashed potatoes, but he would just suck them clean, make a super annoyed face as he pulled it off his tongue, and then throw it angrily onto the floor. Bear is a well fed dog these days. The other day my plan to feed the kids veggies first was foiled by one Henry Kelley as we walked in the door and Henry went to the pantry, got a container of peaches and took it to his place at the table. Later when I sat him in his seat with a bowl of green beans, he started reaching for the peaches, and obviously I couldn't turn that down. I did, however, pick the green beans up off the floor.

We're headed to the Nascar Hall of Fame on Sunday and John Dickson is PUMPED to say the least. He spent literally the entire ride home yesterday asking me question after question about "Johnny Johnston" (that's Jimmie Johnson, in case you were wondering). You know, number 8. Or 30. Or 40. Or 42. Really, just any number other than 48. He wanted to know where he races, where he lives, if he races horses, why he doesn't race horses, why there are no horses at the speedway, if Johnny Johnston takes his wheels off, if he drives "rims only" - yes, he has a Lightning McQueen book, and has learned quite a bit about racing. We planned to go to the hall of fame just because I got free tickets from work, but now it's starting to look like it's going to be a really fun experience for the little man. Hopefully the Hen will like it too.

We've had a ton of rain lately, and as we crossed the lake last week, John Dickson spotted a rainbow (possibly his first?) He was really excited, and then asked me if God made it. Melt. My. Heart.

And following in the footsteps of his brother and his older cousin, Henry has begun his shoe fetish, and every night after bath he likes to run around in a diaper and his sneaks. Kicks. Whatever the youngsters are calling them these days. And then the other night he discovered a miracle... slippers.

So I decided I wasn't a very big fan of the boys daycare afterall, and so on Monday John Dickson will start at his new school, with Henry two weeks after him. It's really part of my ultimate goal to see how many kids John Dickson can convince that shoes with stars are the fastest shoes out there. i.e. my way of convincing him to get Converse shoe instead of buzz lightyear. I know, I know, you wish you thought of it first ;-)

The Hen

It's been a while since Hen had his very own blog post, and I'd say it's about time. Henry kind of goes through phases of being super sweet and laid back, and then super independent and strong willed with a stronger temper, and then back to super sweet and laid back. Right now - super sweet and laid back. I just want to squeeze him and kiss him all the time. And he pretty much lets me.

Last night was quite a different story. Henry was really mellow, slow and quiet on Sunday, and by Monday afternoon, he was running a fever. He has continued to run a fever all week, and after being up for an hour and a half screaming his lungs out last night, he's on an antibiotic for what looks like a developing ear infection. I have never in my life seen Henry so upset. He literally screamed nonstop, arching his back and pushing away from me with his legs. He didn't want to rock, didn't want to walk, didn't want to go outside, didn't want to eat or drink, didn't want to watch baby einstein, and did not want to play. If I even picked up his sippy cup, he screamed louder and tried to bat it out of my hands. And that is how you know that the Hen is really feeling miserable. He was much better today, though clearly still under the weather. His Daddy comes back tomorrow, and they'll spend the day together getting well and hooking up the washer dryer. I do hope. (Side note, its been 3 weeks since we have washed a single article of clothing. Tonight John Dickson spilled pudding all over his shorts and had to wear some super short shorts to Walmart to pick up a prescription. I guess he was at the right place at least. Next time someone offers to let me use their washer/dryer, I'll try to remember not to turn them down again!)

So the boys had their last day at their old daycare last week. Henry had already moved up from the infant class to the beginner's class, but right before I moved, we found out that his beloved Ms Sandy from the infant class had left the center. I was so upset that we didn't get to tell her goodbye that I got her number and tracked her down. She said that the last week she was there, she rocked Henry everyday. She convinced his new teacher to let him come back over to her class for a little bit each day, and he was thrilled. Adam caught Henry one day just in time to see him going back to Ms Sandy's class, and Adam said he had a HUGE grin on his face. The child practically leapt out of our arms whenever she was around, and he loved to just go lay his head on her. We'll miss her very much. We've been very lucky with daycare teachers who make us feel like our children are the only ones in the room. So far we like the new school a lot, for John Dickson especially. Henry has only been 1 day this week due to him being sick, but I'm sure it wont take long for him to win his new teachers over too.

In true Kelley form, Henry is not yet talking. He is starting to make more sounds, and sometimes I think he does mimic what we say, but no talking yet. He practically overnight started to respond to us nonverbally and really show that he understands us. If you ask if he wants milk, he goes to the fridge and pulls on it. If you ask about taking a bath or brushing his teeth, he heads to the bathroom. Ask him if he wants to go and he heads to the door. He'll sit down for you, come sit in your lap, go get his blanket, and some others. He also has started trying to put his dishes in the dishwasher, but that's really just him putting a full sippy cup of milk in the bottom of the dishwasher. And he has learned how to communicate when he is all done eating. Despite our best efforts to get him to sign "all done," he prefers to just chuck his plate. Awesome.

John Dickson has learned that he can get Henry to do his dirty work for him, knowing Henry won't get in trouble, and so we frequently hear John Dickson saying "take it Henry..." trying to give him something we told John Dickson not to touch. Or he takes him over to a drawer of socks or underwear, opens it up, and cheers Henry on as Henry empties the contents (both of them laughing hysterically, by the way). But maybe my favorite and least favorite at the same time was what happened last week... the movers had taken all of our stuff, so there was nothing the boys could get into. The bathroom door was shut and Adam was vacuuming the house. He turned off the vacuum and heard "Go Henry, go!!" coming from the bathroom (door still shut, but this time with the boys on the other side) and walked in to see Henry slamming his arm in the toilet bowl repeatedly. Literally, John Dickson's dirty work.

If you tell Henry "night night," he tries to kiss you. It's super sweet. He loves to kiss his brother.

Henry has started to nod yes very emphatically. You can really ask him any question and he will nod yes. I think my parents had fun with that this weekend. He also will nod yes if he sees something he wants. I took him to Harris Teeter yesterday (PS this place is CRAWLING with Harris Teeters, but no Publix love... sad day) and as we went down the aisles, he would nod really big and point to what he wanted, which was apparently laundry detergent and tea.

Henry still loves to suck on his fingers, and its always his pointer and middle finger together on his left hand. He picks up food with his thumb and those two fingers glued together, and now when he signs "more," he does his right hand where he puts all of his fingertips together, but his left hand is his pointer and middle fingers. I'm beginning to think he doesn't know those two can separate. It's still quite cute.

Henry has 3 blankies, which is really convenient in the event one is dirty or MIA. Venture outside of those 3 blankies, and he is not a happy camper.

I could type more, but I'm sure its easy to lose interest in a blog post with no pictures, so I'll stop there. Pictures to come soon... hey, we're still unpacking. Legitimate excuse this time!

Cliff Notes

Just to let you know that we haven't fallen off the planet, here is the cliff notes version of our last few weeks.

Towards the end of August I started my new job as an internal auditor for Lowe's (home improvement, not the grocery store chain). Adam accepted a job with Penske (truck leasing, not racing), and his last day at Clemson will be Thursday. He'll be entering the management trainee program and he's pretty excited about it.

Last Monday the movers came and packed up our house. Adam stayed there for the rest of the week with the boys and dogs. Henry slept in his pack 'n play, and John Dickson camped out in his bedroom in his tent that Nana gave him for Christmas a couple of years ago (um, yes, he is old enough to say "a few years ago" - tear). Adam has been sleeping in his sleeping bag on John Dickson's floor and trying to share John Dickson's pillow after John Dickson falls asleep. You see, I left for NC last Sunday night (I stayed in Huntersville with Leslie, we are moving to Cornelius, I work in Mooresville, and Adam will work in South Charlotte). Knowing I'd have a pillow at Leslie's, I set my pillow in the "do not pack" pile so that Adam wouldn't forget to put his aside in the morning. However, Adam did forget to set his aside, along with John Dickson's, and so John Dickson has been sleeping on my heavenly pillow. Anyhoo, we finally got moved in on Friday, and despite my best efforts to unpack everything that day, I seem to have underestimated the task. We left the next morning to go back to Piedmont, and met my parents who took the boys for the weekend, and spent the rest of the weekend painting and cleaning. I brought them back and this week it's my turn to be outnumbered by the boys. Fortunately we have beds and a kitchen this time. I can't wait for Adam to get here on Friday. So far the boys have been great, and I'm not worried about them... but the empty boxes and trash piles are, well, piling up, and it's driving me INSANE!!!!! Call me paranoid, but I'm not about to leave the boys alone to haul it out to the dumpster. And I'm sure as heck not going to haul them out with me. (Side note, within less than 24 hours, we managed to make an enemy. A grumpy lady downstairs who yelled at our movers for propping the door to our building open (she suggested they pile it all on the steps and carry it at one time...an entire condo...) because she "has rights." The next morning I took the boys downstairs to take them to meet my parents, and she apparently came out of her apartment and came to the door of the building, holding it open and staring me down all the way to the car. Adam came up behind her, and she turned and said "another busy day I see..." and went back in to her grumpy quarters. Perhaps the first person ever not to like my kids. Interesting. Our house goes on the market next week, and when that sells, we'll start looking for a house.

Adam brought the boys over on Friday to eat lunch, and John Dickson marched right up to one of the movers and said "I have a bicycle." He asked him to repeat it and John Dickson said "I have a big big big helmet and a bicycle." So John Dickson has been telling everyone that we are going to live "in Uncle Jason's house." I thought he understood but was just not communicating it correctly. Apparently he was communicating exactly what he thought, because as he came up the stairs to check out the new digs, he said "I wonder if Maggie is going to be up here." And the conversation went like this:

"No, Maggie is at Erin and Jason's house."
"But this IS Erin and Jason's house."
"No, Erin and Jason don't live here."
"But, but, Ella lives here!"
"No, Ella lives at her house..."

And then a little while later:

"So... what kind of dogs we gonna get?"

Poor poor Boo and Ellie. They put up with so much, and apparently they are quite easily replaceable. They'll move with Adam this weekend. Ellie is staycationing with Midas (and Ashley and Jeff) this week and having a blast, I'm sure. I think little man was quite confused by no Maggie, no Bear and no Ellie. Surely we must be getting new dogs...

When we finally got upstairs and I was giving John Dickson the tour, I told him which room was his, to which his very concerned response was, "but... but... but where is my bed?!?!?!?"

So that's the latest around here. Just one more trip back to Piedmont this weekend to touch up the paint on the inside and finish the scrub down. And then, we collapse.