Responsibilities: not just for adults

Well I've taken the plunge - the step into helping prepare my son for the real world. I know you are just staring at the screen right now - but your kid is only three! He needs to enjoy being a kid! So before you get to worked up, trust me no one wants him to be a kid more than me. However as a parent my job is to help prepare my kids right?

We have started working on chores. Actual chores. Not just playing to see who can get the most toys into the basket when we are done playing.

Wyatt has a short list, but I am calling them chores and we are working on them together right now - sort of like chore training, if you will.

Of course he has to clean up his toys - that's a given. He is usually great about this because we have done it forever. As soon as he could get them out of the toy box we've been putting them back.

He also has to put his dirty clothes in his hamper - again not a huge deal. He's going a basketball hoop hamper, so he just pretends to play basketball.

He also has to put all the blankets and pillows on his bed every day and help mommy make the bed. Still a difficult chore, but he's learning.

Pushing that laundry basket

And here are the new biggies - laundry helper! Yep that's the title I gave him. He has to help me by pushing all the baskets of dirty clothes across the house so I can take them downstairs (we started this chore a month ago by doing basket races across the house - worked wonders!). And he has to fold the towels and washcloths once they are clean. This is probably the toughest right now, but he's interested and we are making progress (haven't figured out how to make it a game, we have no folding game).

I figure that it is extremely important that Wyatt (and eventually Levi) know how to do every chore in the house because I want them to be able to take care of their home someday. I'm not saying I expect my boys to marry women who don't do any chores, but I want them to have the knowledge so they can. Besides chores are great way to learn responsibility!

For the love of bubbles

Getting ready for some fun

Bubbles!


That word is one word that holds so many memories.


Watching Wyatt at my parents catching as many bubbles as he could before they floated away in the backyard.

Success!

Hearing Wyatt's squeals of joy as Luca, my parents dog, jumped to catch bubbles in his teeth and gobbled them up.


The first multi syllable word Wyatt said so clearly everyone understood him, not just momma.


And of course that light-headed feeling you get after blowing bubbles too much, all the while hearing Wyatt's little, almost two voice saying, "bubbles".

And in the mouth...

Yep that is a great word. So you can imagine the fun we had introducing Levi to bubbles last week. Wyatt was ecstatic. He had to show the baby bubbles. Luckily we had a small bottle of bubbles from Nana from Easter, so I didn't have to make a batch, or get light-headed from blowing bubbles for hours.



Wyatt has started to take a serious interest in blowing bubbles himself. He has gotten done the blowing part, but hasn't mastered the placement of the wand still. Most bubbles never get off the wand because he puts the wand on his lips, if not in his mouth. But still it's a learning process and we are enjoying the practice.

Enamored by his brother's skills

Here's to a summer full of bubbles and giggles.

Richmond Trip 2012

Levi getting Oma kisses

As is our family tradition (pre-kids we set up Easter as a holiday to spend with Patrick's family) we headed south to Richmond to spend Easter with Oma and Opa.

Play time

Play area at the gardens

Our usual 8 hours or less drive, clocked in at 10 hours 40 minutes and just about 11 hours this time- two kids made it take much longer. I was expecting it to take a little longer since Levi won't take a bottle and Wyatt can't really sit still for more than 30 minutes at a time. We tried to do the best we could with DVDs in the car and making the stops count. Needless to say we were glad to have the extra hands and hearts to entertain our kiddos once we arrived.

Running

The one downfall to this years trip was the weather! Yep here I go talking about the weather again. What can I say? I might be an Ohio girl, yet my soul still loves warm weather!  We had to wear sweaters, sweatshirts and coats all but one day while we were there. I mean it could have been worse. I've been spoiled by later Easters and warmer weather. I guess there is always next year. 

Sun dial instructions

Our big outing was to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. I have to admit I was a little unsure about this choice of venue to take a three-year-old and 7-month-old, but I was pleasantly surprised. Granted it was cold, but beautiful. There was a great kid area where Wyatt got to run around and check out some fun play-places. I guess the gardens have special events and classes for kids to learn more about gardening and outside play. There were different areas set up with previous projects they had done. I liked the human sundial set up - it told you where to stand based on month of the year to get the time from your shadow. Wyatt was interested, but not enough to stand on the right month. There was also a great big grassy hill that captured Wyatt's attention for awhile. What kid doesn't love to run up a hill and roll down it, over and over again?

Wyatt has been in a copying mood recently - so when Oma, Opa and daddy started their days off with reading the paper, Wyatt had to be a part of it. He was very particular about what section he wanted, I believe this was the entertainment section. He loved the pictures on this page and spent a good 10 minutes looking over the story. Adorable!

Playing outside!

A great plus was that we spent a lot of time at Oma and Opa's house just playing in the yard and reading. It was a nice break for mommy and daddy and let Oma and Opa really play with Wyatt and Levi.

Hitting practice

Wyatt got to play outside all afternoon twice in a row - one day while mommy and daddy had a movie date (the first one in a year! Check that story out here). We brought our tee-ball set and Wyatt practiced over and over. He enjoyed some football time with daddy. And I have been told that his all time best outside play was being pulled in a wagon by daddy (I spent that afternoon reading and taking care of Levi- hey it's my vacation too!)  He enjoyed every single second outside. I can't wait for our weather to get warm enough to spend time outside every day.

Football with daddy

Getting ready for bed

We made an annual trip to Carytown to shop. I mean I have to get some shopping in! Oma spoiled the boys at  Clover, a great children's consignment shop. Opa spoiled Wyatt at World of Mirth. Oma got mommy a great early Mother's day gift at It's Hip to be Round (not for maternity, but nursing clothes). And of course mommy had to stop at For the Love of Chocolate. So everyone was happy with that shopping trip!

Easter gift for Levi

Hunting down those eggs

And of course the Easter bunny stopped by and brought the boys some goodies - and some chocolate for mommy and daddy!  Again Wyatt had a grand time searching for hidden Easter eggs.




Easter Sunday was church at Area10 - which is always a fun experience. I mean church in an old theater? Of course it is going to be fun. Plus the boys really loved Sunday school. And everyone enjoyed Easter dinner. Levi even got to teeth on a piece of asparagus while we ate. I mean what a perfect way to celebrate Easter.

Movie Night Success

I said we were going to keep trying movie night, and we did, and it worked out much better.

Levi enjoyed the blankets

We decided to splurge a little and get a pizza for dinner, so while we were at home waiting for daddy bring home pizza after wok, Wyatt and I got into the spirit.


We moved the tables out of the way in the living room (just like last time). We covered the floor with blankets, pillows and sleeping bags. We even printed out coloring book pages that related to the movie - Over the Hedge (that will be it's own paragraph).

Wyatt was showing Levi how to use the gumball machine

Since we had a little extra time, we squeezed in baths and putting on pjs. By the time the pizza had arrived we had even watched all the extra movie clips and extras on the DVD - I was determined to make this into a fun thing that Wyatt would want to stay up for - I know trying a bit to hard probably.


We decided to have a special night and put the pizza box in the living room with us! Wyatt thought that was great fun and really got into eating (remember he's going through a picky phase?).

Still loves the camera

Well Levi only made it about 15 minutes into the movie, but that was to be expected.


The exciting part was that Wyatt was totally into it.


We took a slight break at 7:15 to make popcorn, which Wyatt was all about! He made it through the whole movie and was happy to finally go to bed.

Wyatt decided to leave his sucker in a bowl, in the cabinet 

 

once the pizza got there

The only down fall of the night was the movie choice. Patrick suggested it because we enjoyed it when it came out, but I didn't realize it was so violent!  Isn't it amazing how different you view things when you are trying to screen for your kids? Well lesson learned. I'll stick to Disney cartoons for awhile for our movie nights.

Little Sensitive Guy

Check out those baby blues

Now that winter is over (yeah I know it's been spring for weeks, but we had a freeze warning last night again!) I have to admit that was still holding out some hope that my little Levi's skin irritation was due to the winter air. No such luck.




He's got this great ivory skin, so perfect, except for these horrible patches of red, irritated skin.




So just like any normal mommy, I made sure to mention it at his last well visit.



"Most likely just sensitive skin, but could be a mild case of Baby eczema.  But don't worry, it is mild, and he'll probably out grow it."

Chatting

Alright, fair enough. Daddy has sensitive skin, so that makes sense. Don't worry - check.  Besides it's mostly (not all) where baby drool sits - cheeks & neck.



Now for helping him feel more comfortable in his own skin. Luckily, Levi doesn't seem to really care about it, never scratches, or seems upset if we touch the irritated skin, so I'm in agreement that it is only a mild form.

Smile pretty

He loves his daddy

So we are doing baths every day (yes I know some say less bathing, but we are going with daily). Followed by eczema lotion. And I'm making sure his clothes are made of cotton.




But really the biggest bonus is that we are putting baby oil on his little scalp and it makes his hair fun to brush! I know I shouldn't be thinking this way about a little boy, but I don't have a girl, and he's a little baby.




So we had a fun photo session the other night before bed, after all his lotions, creams and what-not.

 

Truffula trees

Truffula trees from The Lorax

Did you know I'm a fan of books? Real books, with covers and pages. Especially books that have been read and read, where the pages are easy to turn because so many hands have touched the pages over the years - that is why we go to the library every week. (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my Kindle, but it will not completely replace real books for me - Ever!)

Well if you know that, then it should surprise you that I really like Dr. Seuss - The stories, the pictures, they really take the reader to another world. And isn't that the whole point of fiction books? To take the reader into another world? Sure there are tons of children's books out there that accomplish this, and I am a fan of many of them, but there isn't anything like the Dr. Seuss books. So of course having the opportunity to introduce Wyatt to a new Seuss book was on my list of to-dos as soon as I heard about The Lorax being made into a movie. 

Cars on shapes

For those of you who aren't big Seuss fans, The Lorax is a fun story about taking care of the environment. So the topic isn't as playful as say The Cat and the Hat, but hey, it's still fun to see the book! And one of the best visuals of this book has to be the truffula trees. If you have no idea what I am talking about, you must check out the book. Tall trees with colorful puffs at the top - fun!

Well in my search to make this book a little more fun for my three-year-old (who does enjoy a good book also) I came across a guide of lessons for preschool skills. Perfect!

Eating a sock?

Sorting sizes

I have been trying real hard to find ways to practice those important skills - colors, shapes, sizes, etc - with Wyatt in ways that are more structured in an attempt to work towards being ready for school (maybe preschool - still debating...)

Anyway, back on track, this was perfect. I got to read a fun book with Wyatt, and we did a bunch of little activities.

We started with coloring some Truffula trees. Great hit. Wyatt searched his crayon box for the right color and just went to town.

Than we did some shape searches. This activity included his cars - his favorite things ever! Each shape needed it's own car. So that took us a while. But we had lots of fun taking about which color car was on which shape.

And we ended the time with some size sorting. I have decided this is a subject that we could use a little more work on. Sorting them into colors, no problem; putting big with big and small with small, not so good at. But hey now I know what we can work on.

Coloring those Truffula trees

Decompressing afterwards

During our little "school" session Levi played in his excersaucer. About halfway through the whole thing I looked up and he had managed to get his sock in his mouth! That was impressive. I mean his feet were as far from his mouth as they could be, but some how he found a sock and was chewing away. Maybe that is a sign of a tooth coming? We'll just have to wait and see.


While mommy put everything else away (Wyatt put away his cars and crayons) the boys took a break - I had to capture the moment!














** Side note- I had to be part of the fun and am putting some of my favorite pictures into Mommy moments photo challenge. I might not be the best photographer, but I love having a reason to take some fun pictures! So if you want to see what the fun is all about check out this link.