Jiggle with Giggles

Evy was taking care of business in the bathroom.  I hear the toilet flush and he BOUNDS out with energy.

Evy: MOM!!!!!
Mom:  What?
Evy: I just flushed the toilet with my TOES!!!

He then peppers me with questions about my own toe-ly skills in flushing the toilet.

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Tonight, I needed to get a new swim cap.  The one I had finally died.  We went to a sporting goods store and was roaming the place.  Merritt was doing a decent job of listening.

Then I saw him run over to a boy mannequin.

Merritt:  Boy
Mom:  Yes, that is a boy mannequin.

Then there was some discussion about how it isn't a monster even though it has no eyes, etc.

Merritt:  Mom, boy, check ah penis.  (as he lifts the mannequin's shirt and starts to pull the pants down as well)

That child was going to verify that it was a boy mannequin and not a monster.  Very thorough.

Today in School: France Field Trip

We put on our hats and our mustaches and were READY for pastries at Tart Bakery.

insisted on a self-portrait

Chocolate eclair

Macaroons (chocolate, pistachio, passion fruit)

Mom, a picture NOW, really.

DELICIOUS!!!

He was intent on finishing that mammoth pastry.  I don't blame him!

A trip to a marvelous store with LOTS of food.  We settled on lunch:  a baguette ("Just like Dad has, Mom!"), cheese, marmalade from France, and apples.  Oh, and balloons of course.

Today in School: Paper Beret

I could not find instructions on how to make a beret out of paper.  My sewing machine is dead.  And, I wanted the field trip to have an added element of fun.

So, here is what I did:
glue
pompoms (if you want)
poster board
scissors
felt
stapler

I just printed off a picture of a beret as a template and cut around it to what I thought would be a good "size" for my boys.  I then, cut the felt according to the template.

Cut one strip of posterboard (per kid) and "fit" the length around the head to make sure it is the correct size, staple it.  I used an inch wide strip.  (look how much Evy's head is bigger than Merritt's, wow)

Cut a smaller template shape out of the posterboard to provide structure for the felt piece.  (You can cut the posterboard to match the felt exactly, but you don't need to for sufficient support.)

Staple the posterboard beret shapes to the headbands.

Glue the felt shaped beret pieces (Elmer's works just fine).

Glue pompoms (f you want) and make "tuft" lines on the felt to give it beret-like dimension.

Now, we are ready to go!

Pics from Dad

Erik:  So, I may have a chance to see the Eiffel Tower.
Evy:  Dad, you got to make sure to buy a ticket to see it.  So, make sure you check that out. 

(you know he was paying attention to the show we watched about Paris yesterday)

Erik:  (giggling)  Tell me more so I do it right.
Evy:  I'm just saying you have to have a ticket.
Erik:  Well, I know I have to buy a ticket to ride the train to Paris.
Merritt runs in the room upon hearing the word TRAIN.
Evy:  (jaw drops) Mom, Did you HEAR that?  Dad gets to ride a train.

Then there was an intense discussion of who gets the to keep Dad's train ticket.  Merritt was immediately in the fray saying,'All abooaard. Tickets please!' (in Merritt talk)

I'm sure Dad is scrambling to find the ticket from the train he took earlier in the trip.

We love you, Dad!

Today in School: Eiffel Tower

This was a blast to make.   Sugar wafers, icing, and no holding back!

Very serious about laying a strong foundation.

Took a break to eat some.

Merritt:  continuing his eating break.  Everett:  getting some building done.

A little building, and, yes, time for an eating break!

YUM!

Some more building.

Evy is really getting something in place.

YAY!  The Eiffel Tower!

Love the little blob of icing that got on his ear.

Evy's on the left.  Mom's on the right.

"Mom, I think your tower is a widdle bit crooked."

Now, time to eat!

We also watched a tour video for kids about Paris.  Evy and Merritt were so excited about it the ENTIRE time.  Like every 20 seconds,"Can we go there?"  The coolest:  the food and all the modes of transportation (especially the double-decker traveling).

Evy Talk

Evy is a pretty awesome four year old kid.  I mean, he can follow multi-step directions, AWESOME!  He is helpful, and I really enjoy our school-time together when Merritt is napping.

He says some of the funniest things.  Today, when I picked him up from his weekly preschool class:

Evy:  Mom, I made a boyfriend and a girlfriend today!
Mom:  I'm so glad you made two new friends today!

When working together on coloring a picture:
Evy:  We are SO good. This is going to look awesome when it is done.
Evy:  I can't WAIT to show Dad.  He'll LLOOVVEE IT!

When working on a particularly difficult task, he has self-positive talk that he chats with while he works independently (and he'll do this with some motor movement like a shake of his body, a wiggle of his head, or waving his arms):

Evy:  Fabulous . . . oh, yeah!  I got that one . . . I figured you out you pesky picture . . . oh, oh, oh, GOTCHA! . . . oooo, you were trying to be tricky!

He still categorizes characters into 'good' and 'bad' but is more and more often talking about people related to their actions instead of a good/bad character:

Evy:  He made a poor decision, huh?
Evy:  Is the bad guy trying to make good choices?

He is constantly adding objects and treasures to his "co-wwecktions"--his favorite thing to collect, as described by him to our neighbor this morning, . . . money.

When we were talking about his upcoming birthday this morning:

Evy:  Yeah, when I turn five, I'll be in charge and make my own decisions.
Mom:  Really?  Like what.
Evy:  Like I'll let myself rot my brain and eat junk ALL the time.  (watch tv, play angry birds, and eat french fries, etc)

When something negative happens in the day, he'll turn to watch my reaction and say,"That's okay, Mom, we'll get another one."  Or, "It will be okay, Mom."  OR, he'll just simply say,"I love you, Mom!"

And, when he was supposed to be in bed this evening, I was in the bathroom and could hear his hesitant step through my bedroom.  He peers around to corner to me:

Evy:  Mom, I hate to disturb you right now . . . . (he needed to have help getting his jewel and money collection all in ONE cool sock.)

And, just now, he jiggle walks into the room and gives me a sticker using his quiet, excited voice:

Evy:  I'm going to give you a widdle reward.  (little)

Quack, Quack!

We recently took a walk around Town Lake and fed the ducks.  Most of the time when we go we end up having to hunt for hungry ducks.  This time we ran out of feed for them before we were 1/4 of the way through our journey.

Merritt was SOSOSOSO excited!  He was talking up a storm.  I tried to capture it with some success (see video at the end of the post).

He could not get close enough.  He would have walked right into the "lake" and kept going if we weren't there to distract him with other ideas.

What you can't see is the over 5 feet of distance between that edge and the bottom.  I was a very quiet mommy for those few minutes that the boys wanted to walk along the edge.

Step One:  Start Digging

Step Two:  Take Off Shoes

Step three:  Dare the Ants to Bite

We really did have a great time. We made it all the way around the "lake" with lots of play at the park, petting lots of dogs, watching a team of girls play softball, and saying hi to all the walkers/joggers.  The best moment was when we were able to say HI to a policewoman and pet the horse she was riding.  Oh, that was a MOMENT for Merritt!