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 ;-)