Baby Chicks

Ahh...the memories. When I was a little girl, my grandma had a chicken house in the middle of her HUGE front farmyard. Every spring, she and my grandpa would go uptown to the Landmark grain tower and pick up the new chicks they had ordered. I remember there being scads of tiny, yellow, puffy chicks all over the chicken house. They were so cute and fun to hold...for a few weeks. Then, they turned into adult chickens and were kind of homely and "chicken" like.

Fast forward to 2011. My mom decided she wanted to raise a few hens to have fresh eggs. So, in his wisdom, my dad agreed and built her a small henhouse. Right now, these five little cuties are living in a small box in the extra garage at my mom and dad's, all cozy under a heat lamp.

I took the kids out to see them about two weeks ago. They weren't super excited about it-trying to put a little country into some city kids is tough-and the boys had more fun locking each other in the henhouse than holding the chicks. If any of you have been reading our blog long enough, you'll know that it took a lot of coaxing for Matthew..aka Mr. I Don't Like Anything Weird Touching My Hands...to even hold a chick for a second. Lucas was hyper as I don't know what, and Natalie tried to push the beaks back into their little faces. Good times...at least they ran off some steam on the swingset!

Little Mommy

Natalie is turning into quite the little mommy. She puts her babies in a stroller, gives them her pacifier, and pushes them around the house. Sometimes we even put Cheerios on the little tray of the stroller for her baby to "eat". Then she'll "rock" her baby, and put her finger to her lips and say "Shhhhh". Too cute. She gets the tupperware cups out of the cabinet to give the baby a drink, too. Such a good mommy.

Volcanic Eruptions

Since Derrick started finishing the basement, we've been uncovering many treasures that were once packed away or tossed on a shelf. One of them was a long lost gift from Uncle Darin (a Christmas gift, I think). A volcano kit from Hobby Lobby. When the boys came upstairs with it last week, I was very excited...well, not really, but I put it together anyway. So, we opened it up and started getting it together. We mixed the plaster mix and water and poured it into the mold. As it hardened, they it became warm, which the boys thought was very cool. After letting it sit on the counter for a few days, it was time to paint it. I needed to stay home with Natalie last Monday, and as the boys were walking out the door, Lucas suggested I paint it since I was going to be home all day...I guess he thought I had nothing else to do than paint his volcano. I painted it :).

Later that night, they so wanted to check it out. Lucky for them, I had some vinegar and the monstrous bag of baking soda that we got at Sam's so long ago. As we were getting ready to put the baking soda and vinegar together, Matthew had a funny look on his face. He thought the thing was going to shoot way up in the sky like a real volcano. Sorry, no. I also think he had it in his mind that it was going to magically turn from baking soda and vinegar into hot lava. No, buddy, not going to happen. They happily took turns scooping out baking soda and pouring the vinegar, listening to and watching it bubble over. After about 2 turns each, the reservoir was full of a baking soda paste, and the fun was done.

Orange Belt-CHECK!

Matthew and Lucas in front of sensei.


After several weeks of learning to count in Japanese, as well as most of the terms for some karate terms in Japanese, the boys passed their test for their orange belt. They started at white, earned the yellow about a year ago, and have now moved on to orange. Matthew's personal goal is to go up two belts in karate this year-very doable if he keeps up with it.

Matthew and Lucas performing their breakfalls.

They had to stand-together-in front of sensei and say the Japanese words for certain moves like "upper level block", "horse stance", etc., and then demonstrate them. It was funny to watch from the back of the room because Lucas was asked the words that Matthew knew better, and vice versa.

Lucas finishing his rolling breakfall.

Then, they had to perform their first and second kata-a routine of karate moves. However, the important thing is that they passed, and we are SO proud of them. They'll get their belts in class this week, so sensei can present them in front of everyone. I know they'll be so excited!

Matthew doing one of his katas.

Natalie-17 months

I think Natalie needs a little blog time of her own. As I look through some past posts, I've done a poor job of updating after her checkups, posting pictures, and giving her some cyber space. So, here's the rundown on her at seventeen months:

Weight: 24.8 lbs, 50th percentile
Height: 32 in, 75th percentile

Words she's saying:
Mommy, daddy, baby, night-night, peek, tickle-tickle, bye-bye

Cute things she does:
*blows kisses and frantically waves goodbye
*tries to put on her shoes or socks while sitting by the door
*gets a book and sits on the bottom stair step, a rug, or a pillow to read it

*rocks and burps her baby-good thing the babies aren't real because I think she's a little rough
*puts her finger to her lips and says "shhh" after she's laid down her baby and covered it up
*dances to ANY music-it's particularly cute in church
*stops everything she's doing when the "Hot Dog" dance comes on during Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
*winks with both eyes
*sings "la, la, la" along with her Sing a ma Jigs
*stands on a chair at the counter and "helps" when we are cooking

Mischeivous things she does:
*scoots up the steps at mach speed when she hears me coming down the hall because she knows she's in trouble
*unloads the lower cabinets and strews storage containers and cups all over the kitchen
*blows raspberries-while eating crackers
*runs straight to the street when we go outside
*pulls Derrick's books off the shelves in his office

She'd starve if it weren't for:

*bananas
*ritz crackers
*yogurt
*just about anything-the kid loves to eat, and will try almost anything. She's a much different eater than her brothers were.

Pickles, Nickels, and Rubber Buns

I suppose there comes a time in every boy's life when he learns lovely rhymes. I'm not talking about the Mother Goose rhymes. I'm talking rhymes of the second grade variety. You know, the type where you repeat what your older sibling tells you to all your friends at school, then those friends go home and repeat them? My boys fall in the latter category-coming home and repeating.

Here is what we've learned so far in the rhyming world (and mind you, we have to explain EVERY one of these to the boys because at first they have NO idea what they are saying...and it's kind of funny. Ok, we laugh out loud sometimes).

**"I'll give you a nickel if you tickle my pickle."

**"Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these (as they pull their shirts up). I know, that's an oldie but goodie.

**"What did you have for breakfast?" Answer: Rubber Buns.
"What did you have for lunch?" Answer: Rubber Buns.
"What did you have for dinner?" Answer: Rubber Buns.
"What did you do to the old lady when she was crying?" Answer: "Rubber Buns", which is to be interpreted as "Rub Her Buns."

This one was followed by, "Daddy, what are buns?" And hysterical laughter.

Yes, there is much learning going on at the fine institution we call school.

Hot Girls and Secret Agents

My two eight year olds :) Matthew and Lucas, February 15, 2011.

For their birthday, Matthew and Lucas chose to go to Olive Garden. Well, to be honest, because it's all you can eat breadsticks. Also, I told them that if they wanted to go out for their birthday it had to be to a restaurant with a waitress. I mean, if I'm going out to dinner-which is EXTREMELY rare in our house-I'm going to sit down and be served. I also told them that if we went to a restaurant with a waitress, sometimes they come and sing "Happy Birthday" to you and maybe bring you a balloon or something fun.
Lucas with his salad and bread :)
Dinner was great-they had their favorite, which is pasta without sauce but with lots of Parmesan cheese, and they ate their whole plate of salad before their meal came. I tell ya, to see my boys gobble up salad before a meal makes me proud. While we ate, all were happy. Then, we told the waiter that when he got around to it and a few people together that they could come and sing when they were ready. Every time the guy walked by, the boys asked when they were coming to sing. In the course of that time, two very well dressed, professional looking men came in and walked by us to their table. As they walked by, Matthew leans in towards us and says, "Are those guys secret agents?" Too funny. To be honest, they did look the part-trench coats, bluetooths, ties, etc. Matthew with a HUGE excited look on his face while they sang, and Lucas trying to hide his excitement and embarrassment from my comment about the hot girls.

Finally, the waiter arrives with two very lovely young ladies to sing. Matthew and Lucas couldn't have been more excited. Before they sang, I said, "Look, he even brought two very pretty girls to sing to you along with him." Red faces from the boys, and a sideways glance is what I received for that comment. They were in heaven for the short time it took the song to be sung.
Natalie enjoying her crayons and children's menu coloring.
Afterwards, we headed back home with a stop to WalMart...not of my choosing, but because they had gift cards to spend. Again we were reminded why Marysville needs a Target and why I haven't been to WalMart since I don't know when...but I digress. After much deliberation, we left with two LEGO Ninjago sets and two happy boys. It was home..we weren't going to hit KMart, too..another gift card...but we don't need my opinion on that one either...and put their sets together while I got Natalie to bed.
Matthew patiently waiting for his food.
They're eight...and they will remember this birthday as one where they recognized hot girls and secret agents.