Talan's first Movie

I rallied this morning to have a great work out and then I brought the boys into the pool and hot tub. We got in trouble with the management as apparently this isn't allowed without a lifeguard but since it was so much work hauling all that gear and changing everyone etc. that I ignored the first warning and only left after they came out a second time to tell me it was not ok to be there. Very annoying but what do you do.
After the gym we had our car washed by the ICARE people. It was a fundraiser and I bought a ticket for a car wash two weeks ago so I wanted to make sure I used it. That was a fun experience for the boys as we stayed in the car while it got washed.
After that we hooked up with Barclay and went to the new Post Falls open air market which was a bit of a dud but hopefully it will get better. Then we swam in her pool which was a huge success with both boys. Talan really likes to be swung in the water. He can't get enough of it. It is very tiring on the arms but his squeals of delight make it worth it. We then went to see the new Pixar movie called Wall-E about a robot in 2700. It was very sweet and since it had very little dialogue I understood most of it. :) We brought loads of M&Ms and bought popcorn so they munched through most of the movie. Talan, of course, went poop and insisted I change his diaper. I didn't have a diaper and so I just plucked out the poop, wiped his butt and put the same diaper back on. Poor guy. He kept signing more poop when we got back into the theater. I think he knew I pulled a fast one of him. :) Talan when straight to bed when we got home. He was very tired. Mason is lying down on the sofa trying to watch a little more TV. I am exhausted.
Tomorrow we are going to Silverwood as it is supposed to be 97 degrees here. Then Joe is home Monday. I can't wait. I know he will be exhausted but it will be great having him back home.

Ironman Event

The boys and I had a nice day up in Silverwood followed by a long 3 hour nap. Barclay commented to me it was going to be a long evening since they woke up at 6pm. So we decided to go downtown and watch the racers finish Ironman. Of course, we hit up the playground first. Mason brought the cookies that we made last night and handed them out to whom ever he could find. That was a huge success on the playground. He made a new best friend. :)

It was very cool to watch people finish and to cheer them on for their last running portion. The boys liked cheering and clapping. We even got to pet a couple canines which is always a highlight for Talan. The atmosphere was so festive and the Ironmen looked just so wiped out but proud when they finished. I'd like to do it someday. They looked like ordinary folk, all sizes, shapes and ages.

We had a bite to eat at Pita Pit. They were out of ice, smoothies, and just about everything else. It was unbelievable. After 6 years of Ironman being in town you would think they would be prepared. Joe would have been astounded.

We left about 10pm so we were falling apart by then and so we went to bed as soon as we came home. Both boys slept in bed with me. It worked out better than last time as I had Talan on the end, Mason as a buffer and my entire side to myself.

Baking Time

Aunt B had the brilliant idea to do some baking. We split into teams and so she and Talan made brownies while Mason and I made cookies with mint chocolate chips. We had so much fun. The best part was sampling the batter. Oh the memories it evoked from my own childhood. Talan is very much like me, he LOVES batter. :) Big surprise. The one hiccup was that we didn't have baking soda so we used baking powder instead. Well apparently there is a big difference because nothing has really cooked despite being in the oven forever. I can't put the kids to bed until the sample their hard work and yet the brownies are in for a third round of baking. Sorry Joe, I am sure you would have known better! :)

Anyway, it was fun. It made for some great pictures. The kids are so wired off batter that there is little hope of them going to bed any time soon. Poor me! Thank God B is staying to watch a movie. She can suffer with me.

Oh, there is one picture where Talan is actually trying to eat his corn on the cob dinner while simultaneously stir the brownie batter. We were in hysterics. What was he thinking? Eating corn takes two hands. Stirring takes two hands. Hello? BT you are too much.

Hayden Days

We went last year and this year it was exactly the same. The kids LOVED the reptile exhibit. I really fell in love with the baby giant tortoise. He was so cute. They live to beover a hundred years so that is just too big of a commitment for me. Mason really wanted to hold the baby corn snake but we were told he was too little to be held. The tarantula was a huge hit with a lot of kids but thankfully my boys did not want to hold it.

Mason did the jumpy castle, the dunk tank, and tried 3 times (15 balls worth) unsuccessfully to win a goldfish. God was answering my prayers not his. He was so sad that he didn't get a ball in the bowl to win a goldfish that I almost felt selfish (but not really). I had visions of flushing the little guy down the toilet within the week as we are not good fish owners (we have tried goldfish in the past and all that happened is I kept running up to PetCo to replace the poor critter). The only thing Talan got interested in, besides the reptiles, were some abandoned basketballs and the fire truck.

The boys were both so tired that we left after an hour. They were both asleep before we got home. I had taken them to the gym prior to the fair so it was a longish outing. I ran 3.1 miles in 32:28 which isn't a great time but it felt great workout. :)

Talan is still napping. Mason is watching TV. I am finally getting caught up on a months worth of blogs as well as uploading and organizing photos on my new laptop. It feels great to get this done especially since Joe is on the road again for 2 weeks and always appreciates getting a glimpse into our lives back here in Idaho.

A day trip to Spokane

Harini and I attempted to see the children's music festival in Spokane but unfortunately got there too late. This was totally my fault as I was no where near ready when she arrived due to the fact that our neighbor Missy with her son Mason popped over for an impromtu visit and therefore none of us were even out of our pjs when Harini arrived to pick us up.

It was a beautiful day and so we still had a fun time enjoying the giant red radio flyer wagon, feeding the ducks, and running around. We treated the boys to a gondola ride which we've both been meaning to do. Unfortunately the falls were so full and the sheer force of the water going over scared the boys and they ended up not enjoying our 20 minute gondola ride. It was hellishly hot in the gondola and trying to get 4 boys to not look down for 20 minutes was no easy chore. We tried everything we could to distract them as we hung over the falls.

Harini was far better prepared than I was for our outing bringing a bathing suit for Ethan so he could enjoy the water park area. Mason stripped down to his birthday suit much to the dismay of the other older kids. Meanwhile Talan got to ride in the cop golf cart which he loved. When the cops had to leave "to fight crime" Talan pointed at the seat he had been sitting in and cried "mine". Poor guy. I thought I was getting in trouble for Mason being naked but the cops just took a liking to Talan and thought he'd enjoy the cop-mobile.

Melt downs ended our outing to Spokane. Both Talan and Aaron feel asleep as soon as we were back in the car (it was 3:55p). Mason went to bed as soon as we got home (4:55pm) and they were both still asleep when I left for my meeting at 6:50pm. Frank came over to babysit last night and I took full advantage. I went to Fred Myer to hit up their sales racks and scored some gems! :) I found a cute bathing suit for the cruise next month.

Playdough time

The boys and I started our day playing with play dough. I got inspired to organize our play dough collection as the box was overflowing and it just was becoming unmanageable. In my clean up I found Mason’s collection of planets which was very exciting for him. We made more planets, combined containers that held the same color and threw away old and empty containers. A small satisfaction for me as the mess of it all was taking the joy out of play dough time for me. I love mornings where we just all fall into a groove of playing with this that and the other thing. It is so nice to not rush to get out of the house to be somewhere. I like it when the boys decide the agenda. It is important for them to have a say in what we do and how we spend our time. It can’t always be like this, especially when we are racing off to therapy or school, so I am just totally enjoying Summer break.

Oh, the boys still love Spike Kitty. Ever since we got him spayed last month he has been hanging around a lot more. He lets the boys love him and takes quite a bit of abuse.

Finger Painting with Aunt B

The kids so enjoy their Aunt B. Talan wanted to do finger paints and Barclay indulged him with his request. Little did she know he takes it literally and only gets paint on the very tip of one finger (look closely at the one close up of Talan and you will see this is true). He does not like to be dirty. BTW, Talan has now entered the naked phase. He likes to be nude just like big brother. Can you imagine anything better than nude finger painting!

Mason joined in mid-way and got both hands completely covered in what ended up being a gross brown color. No pictures as there was too much paint management going on. Mason’s favorite part is to mix the colors on the plate into a kind of goo and then make full hand impressions on the paper. He makes the whole project so messy that I do not offer up finger painting very often.

Talan loves it when he is thrown up in the air and always wants more. He asked for a lot of throws from his Aunt B and when she was exhausted I took over. But he is so heavy now that we can't do throws like we used to. It is just too back breaking these days.

The babysitter at the Al-Anon meeting told us a cute story about Maosn. We had given Mason a dollar bill to use for the machines at the Alano Hall. Mason put the dollar in the change machine and when the quarters came out he yelled "Jackpot". :) How cute is that? He then proceeded to insert the coins into the pool table and manage to get all the balls out. Unfortunately he is too young to use the pool table so he ended up buying a game for some of the guys there.

Post Falls Days

Barclay and I took the boys to the Post Falls Days last weekend despite the weather being horrible and rainy. We went around the vendors rather quickly and found a couple of small treasures. We then entered Mason in the Ronald McDonald Big Wheel contest. Mason and Talan practiced on the big wheels before the event. We ran into our neighbors Missy and Sean and their son Mason. The boys all got crazy together and lots of giggling and chasing ensued. Aunt B was kind enough to capture Mason’s race on film. She can vouch for how difficult filming can be when Talan is wobbling all over you! Mason won a ribbon (they all did) for participating plus we got free happy meal coupons so you can guess where we went after that! Overall it was fun but it could have been an absolute blast had the weather been more cooperative.

A new bike for May May

Joe and I took the kids to Toys R Us yesterday to buy Mason a bike. He just learned how to ride the tricycle (a gift from Grandma Susie for his 1st birthday!). Talan also knows how to ride the tricycle. So, we were just so pleased that Mason even had an interest in riding that we thought it was high time to get him a real bike with training wheels. Mason didn't want a bike he wanted toys. This is what he told us on the way to the store. But an amazing thing happened once we were inside Toys R Us. Mason started trying out a few bikes of different size frames and all of the sudden he was peddling around the store. He had never been on a real bike before so this amazed and delighted us. He had such fun. We were inside Toys R Us for an hour and a half trying out bikes and seeing which one felt the most comfortable for him. We wanted to set him up for success and so we settled on a 16" red bike. He should be able to get a lot of use out of it as it can grow with him for awhile. We decided not to buy Talan a 10" bike that he tried out because he would outgrow it so quickly. The bike guy recommended letting Talan get better on the tricycle and then going for a 12" bike.

When we got home it was late as we stopped at the gym and went to dinner and visited the play area at the mall. Mason wanted to try out his bike in the cul-de-sac. (Talan hoped on a push trike which our neighbor recently gave us). It was so wonderful to see how empowered he felt. He knew we were very proud and he was proud of himself too. I insisted they wear their helmets. I have never insisted on helmets before even though the scooter is probably just as dangerous. They weren't happy about it and there were some technical difficulties getting the helmets to fit.

When I woke up this morning, Mason was already outside riding his bike (Joe was up don't worry). How cute is that? Talan was out there too riding his little bike. Both of them wore their helmets. No complaints about it, which I was very grateful for.

There are also some photographs from Sunday morning of Talan trying on my shoes. I thought he was being so cute and I know there are pictures of me as a kid wearing my dad's swim shorts. I think there is some universality of kids wanting to wear grown up clothes irrespective of gender. I just get a kick out of it and Talan has a thing for shoes anyway!

Another milestone for Mason is that he can finally pull back his foreskin on his penis. I was getting concerned because the Pediatrician said he should be able to do this by age 5 at the latest and Mason will be 5 at the end of August. One of my mom friends in GA said that her son ended up needing to be circumcised because he had some sort of problem getting the foreskin to pull back. So, like a mom, I worried about the potential for a problem in this arena. I know so very little about all this sort of stuff. I was the one that pushed for the boys being uncircumcised so I dreaded having this "backfire" on me. :)

I realize that I haven't mentioned the wonderful progress Talan has been making with all his speech therapy. He is now talking frequently throughout the day in one word sentences without prompting. He will sometimes use two word combos without prompting and will do 3 to 4 word combos if prompted. I am very pleased and feel that we are well on our way to getting caught up with where he should be developmentally in terms of his speech. We had individual speech therapy this morning (every Tuesday) and we have group speech therapy on Thursdays. We will have our 10th session this week of group therapy out of 12 sessions so I think we have made the kind of progress that his individualized goal plan outlined for him. Yeah Talan.

Everyone is in love with Talan. Joe remarked tonight, again, how easy Talan is. He doesn't complain about brushing his teeth or going to bed. He is very easy that way. Especially in comparison to you-know-who. :) We all have our moments right?

Joe and I are discussing the issue of keeping the bowl haircut for Talan. I think it is time to move on. Barclay is very ready for it to go. Heather was just visiting and she commented she didn't like it. So, we are pondering it and hopefully will make a decision soon as he needs a haircut desperately.

My parents have been gone two weeks in Europe and it is funny how much I have wanted to call them and share what has been going on with them. Its like that old saying you don't know what you've got until its gone. I am excited for them to be back and I am very excited about our upcoming Alaskan cruise.

Mason's Last Day of School

Mason's class met at Fort Sherman park in CDA for their last day of school. Shannon, Jake's mom, brought a cake to celebrate their graduation from Teacher Tammy's class. It was very sweet and fun. The kids played and it was warm and beautiful. I'll always remember Mason's first birthday party at this park. :) It is hard to believe the school year is over. Time is going by so quickly these days.

Last night we had a very big scare. I called 911 because we could not find Mason anywhere. He had left to go visit Dylan, a 4 year old 3 houses down from us and when we went to go check in on him he was no where to be found. Dylan wasn't home and no one had seen Mason anywhere. It was one of those evenings where all the kids we out riding their bikes and it was unfathomable that Mason wouldn't be with them hanging out like he normally does. I very reluctantly called 911. Within minutes there were several police cars patrolling our neighborhood all the way down to Barclay's house as we thought, perhaps, he wandered over to her house. After an hour he was found by one of the police officers playing inside a house in the next cul-de-sac over from us. What a relief. The thoughts and images that went through my mind during that one hour were horrific. Barclay, Joe, Frank and I were all trying to find Mason as well as most of our neighbors and the kids who know Mason. Mason explained that since Dylan wasn't home he went over to 2 year old Mason's house, a relatively new "friend" of ours. It never occurred to me that he would go there. The fact that Mason was at her house for an hour and she never thought that I'd be worried amazed us all but I don't want to judge. I am just totally relieved. We are keeping him on a very short rope consequently as you can only imagine.

The only other time I have lost Mason was at the Atlanta airport while I was nursing Talan. I thought Mason was still playing in the kids area but he had wondered down a few gates and was apprehended by security. They gave me an earful about being responsible for my kids. That wasn't what I needed to hear. Thankfully the Post Falls police were stellar and gave Mason a warning about wandering away from home. He got to ride in a police car the short distance home. That really made an impact on him. We have talked numerous times about not getting in trouble with the police. So being put in a police car really cemented the fact that he was in trouble and had done something wrong.