Call It What You Want...

Got some cute pictures of the boys on the computer this week, so I thought I should share...

Adam demonstrates his building skills. Would the Denver Developmental Tests say his fine motor skills are okay?

In this image, we catch Mark on what might have been his first date. He told me yesterday that he was kissing Anna. I thought he had just slipped his arm around her in a super-smooth date-move. Incidentally, both moms were there to supervise said date, so all was fine.

Here we see how Daddy deals with boys drawing in the condensation on the front door... he gives them cleaner cloths and puts them to work! They cleaned what they could reach, and then Mark retrieved a stool to clean a little higher (which explains how he appears THAT much taller than Adam). They were very proud of their work.

We got a couple inches of snow Sunday morning, and it was enough -- and of the right texture -- to make perfect snowmen! Our two snow-people are facing each other in the yard and waving their arms. So we couldn't get Adam to participate in the photo op... he was more than ready for his nap!

Adam, at 27 months old, is, to my mind, getting old enough to not be using a sippy cup any longer. He drinks out of a regular "big boy" cup just fine. He holds the cup just fine. The problem? Every single meal in which he has a regular cup -- no lid -- he spills it. Usually it's inattentiveness -- he's only two, he drinks from his cup, puts it down next to his elbow, then reaches for something and BAM! Milk is everywhere. But often, it's willful disobedience -- he dumps it directly into his lap. Then laughs. Or pours it onto his placemat (and everything else) and draws in it. Then laughs. Or flails his arms and hands around and knocks it over. Then laughs. Or splatters it on the table, floor, chair and window. And, yes, then laughs.

Comparisons are odious. Mark took to drinking out of an open "big boy" cup just fine, and we didn't have this problem, so I have no previous experience on which to base this.

Do I:
* Go back to a sippy cup and pretend he's still a baby?
* Clean up spills every meal and watch the steam come out of my ears, nose and even eye sockets?
* Use the cups with the built-in straw (you can use the milk coming out of the straw to "color" on your placemat, too, it turns out)?
* Start giving him a bottle?

What suggstions do you have as "rewards" for times he doesn't spill his milk/water? Once again, this is mostly to deal with the intentional spills, not the accidents, which will get better as he gets older.

Suggestions that yield actual results might win you some kind of prize... stay tuned.

Adam, eating a slice of apple, held it up. "I made a boat!"

Mark had a larger piece. "I made a boat, too!"
I suggested that maybe, because his was bigger, that he'd made an Ark.

"I made an ark!" Adam announced.

"Who made the ark?" I asked.

"Noah!" Adam had that right. (Of course, since he held hands with Noah going to chapel Tuesday at school, Noah's kind of on his mind.)

"What did Noah take on his ark?" I asked.

"Noah FAMILY!"

Very good, Adam. Not exactly what I was thinking, but definitely a correct answer. "What else did he take on the ark?"

Adam grinned a great big grin that only Adam could grin.

"JONAH!!!!!!!"

There are a lot more cute pictures from our trip -- which is quickly fading into the past -- and so here are some animal-related highlights from the trip!

Adam rides the horse at Grandma and Grandpa's. Does the horse have a name? We asked him. He told us its name is Caleb. (That's one of his friends from school.)

We went off to the Bramble Park Zoo (Watertown's own) for a chilly visit. Believe this or not, the tiger was just as close to the small boy at this point as the goats were. (Just the tiger had a rather more substantial barrier.) The animals were all quite active due to the cool weather...no lounging lizards there...

Mark compares his wingspan to that of the large birds of prey. It's a little hard to see the grimace. Raaaaah!

These are not necessarily wild animals, but they did forage for their own food. Here they are with apples they picked themselves off the tree at the Stormos'. Yum!

And, finally, this is Adam having a moment with Jo, the Vrzals' rabbit in Sheboygan. Jo is very friendly, and as long and children stay still, she'll come over and check them out. Mark wasn't so interested, but Adam was. Here, he shares a NASCAR car with her. I'm not sure if she was wholly grateful, but she indulged him by looking. Such a good rabbit.

This concludes Animal Adventures. Join us next time for a jaw-dropping display of "When Sherrill Critters Go Bad..." (Maybe not).

Or: More Proof that We're not British like some of our more dunce-y relatives.

Yep, Adam had his first visit with Dr. Chad. Sorry, all you Dr. Chad-admirers, I forgot to get your train ticket so you could be here for the appointment. Adam was a little nervous, but he laid back and opened his mouth right up for both the hygienist and Dr. Chad. Despite his good start on snaggly teeth (a la his mommy's), his teeth were reported excellent. Dr. Chad raved.

Mark got his checked, too, though the light makes it a little hard to see his mouth opened perfectly for Dr. Chad to check. Mark also got rave reviews for his excellent teeth. Except that his aren't snaggly. :) (Please note that Dr. Chad is cheesing for the camera even though he has his face covered.)

I had to fill out the medical update for Mark -- just to make sure nothing's changed, but, God Bless Them, they did not make me fill out the "whole new information" sheet that I seem to always have to do at the doctor's office. There was a question that asked "How is your child's development?" with the choices advanced, normal, below normal, and delayed (or something like). I laughed out loud at that and told the hygienist, "Doesn't every parent claim their child is advanced?" Then I felt unduly vain to check that for Mark, but, really, I think he probably is a little advanced in several areas that matter. (In the ones that don't so much, like coloring and bike riding, er, not so much.)

Of course both boys had perfect teeth reports and Dr. Chad once again praised their mommy for them having such great teeth. Ah, what can I say? (I said thank you.)

Tim's aunt Estee Stene got married over our vacation, hence our trip. I mean, was there any chance we would pass this up? Estee has always been a fairly well doting aunt as far as I can tell (when Tim's parents didn't necessarily do an allowance, just gave the guys money for what they needed, Estee sent them $20 a month for an allowance) and has always been good to us -- picking us up at 3:30 a.m. at the Minneapolis airport the day before Christmas is not easily overlooked.

It really was a great chance to get together with the family. Tim has very good relatives, and they also have very good friends. Cousin Rachel is now living in Okinawa with her Naval dentist husband, but she was back for the wedding. She has really worked to stay in touch with her, and though I am on-again/off-again with it, I try to write to her as well. Cousin Sarah is a very successful interior designer in Park City, Utah, and I got to meet her husband Wade for the first time -- they've been married for a year. I already mentioned the fun times the kids got to spend together.

Mark may not have had a basket of flowers, but he certainly had something important to carry...

Mark asked Abby to come to his house to play sometime. I think he meant right away. Hopefully we'll get to do it soon. (Aunt Margrethe sent me this photo and a few others... they are adorable because we didn't take very many ourselves; Tim was busy with groomsmen duties, and I was trying to keep Adam sane. Mark, however, attached to Aunt Margrethe for a while and played with her. Hence some cute pictures.)

Mark checks out the flowers.

The floral arrangements were made by Estee's best friend Chris, about whom I have heard forever but had never met until now. He was even funnier than I imagined. He showed up for photos in an atrocious outfit, but changed for the actual ceremony into normal clothes. He is a retired English teacher and now has a florist business. After the ceremony, he leaned forward to me and said, "Not to sound too vain, but those flowers really do look stunning, don't they?" They realllllly did. See?

Could there be a more mournful 4-year-old? I think not. Someone didn't want to participate in the family picture-taking. Eh. It's good for you.

So. Those are some pretty pictures. You'll get more stories of the vacation before it gets too cold in my memory, but I thought you ought to have a few to enjoy.

Since Mark spent the whole week last week in beds with real bedspreads (he's been sleeping with a (small) fuzzy blanket, but hey, dude, winter's coming), I decided it was time to get him a real bedspread.

I previously bought the sheets from the Hit the Road! bedding set from Target, and I like them (they're good quality and CUTE CUTE CUTE) so today while the boys were in school, I bought the comforter that goes with it.

HOW CUTE IS THIS?!?!!?

So. We came home. I told Mark I'd gotten him a new bedspread. While I was taking off Adam's shoes and jacket, Mark had already run upstairs. He went potty (by himself) and then I heard him shrieking in his room. He was throwing his animals up onto his bed (with the new bedspread on it) and jumping around shouting.

I think he likes it. :)

Added moments later:

I went up to tuck him in for his nap -- he gets a few minutes to play first -- and he actually decided on his own that he wanted to use the "new" pillow rather than his old construction pillowcase (that I made and that he's used, eschewing the matching white pillowcase that goes with the sheets), so I tucked him in and got a quick picture before bed.

Good night, sleep tight!