Back to 'Normal'

Laundry Update: 7 loads down, 9,461 to go.

OK, enough about our Greatest Vacation Ever. We have been back in the real world for three days now and someone (Yay, Matt! I love you!!) carried most of the camping stuff down to the basement, so I will return to the regularly scheduled programming; ie, blathering on about how adorable my boys are.

So! Here goes.

Do you want to play Post Office? Step 1: Throw all the sofa cushions onto the floor and bounce around for a minute. Then crumple, I mean fold, up your "letter" and scream at your mom when she tries to unwad it to write an address on the side. Realize the logic of her actions and apologize profusely for your outburst. (Ha ha kids, that was a joke. NEVER admit that your mom had a good idea. Rookie mistake.) However, allow her to flatten it out a little so you can put a sticker in the corner before carefully placing your letter in the corner of the post office. (Empty couch, remember? Did you think getting rid of the cushions was just for fun?) If your mother is on top of her game, she might actually get your letter in the real mailbox on it's way to your intended recipient, but more often than not it will get left on the floor and Evan will eat it. Fun for all ages!

Ethan is really starting to understand about the written word. One day he was looking at a book in his carseat. He turned a page and exclaimed "Hey Mom, dis says sumpsings!!" "Yes!" I agreed. "All those letters are put together to make words, and the words tell a story. What does it say?" "It says, 'Dear Widdle Fwoggy, You wike to eat flies. Here is a wady bug.' " He answered.

The stories he tells are getting more involved, too. I'm not sure where he heard it, but lately he begins a lot of statements with "one time". "One time, I stayed at Gamma's house." "One time, you got a shot. When Evan was born." "One time, I feed a calf." It's pretty cute, plus you never know what he's going to say so the the entertainment rating is usually at least an 8.

Unfortunately, his backtalk is becoming more advanced as well. Now instead of a simple 'no', he'll parrot back whatever we've just said with an emphatic 'not'. "It's time to brush our teeth," I'll tell him (reasonably!). "It's time to NOT brush our teeth" he'll shriek. "How 'bout we NOT share!" "I want to NOT go to bed." Two-year-olds are delightful.

So one night, after an attitude-filled day, Ethan and I were snuggling peacefully and I was flooded with love for him. "You know what, buddy?" I whispered. "I love you soo much." "Know what, Mom?" He looked up at me with a big smile and loving eyes. My heart melted as I waited expectantly for him to continue. "My tractor is BWOKEN. I left it outside. I need to fix it." Oh, that's sweet.

Evan continues to babble and throw in a recognizable word occasionally. He has some seriously distinctive sounds, such as an 'hehm hehm hehm' when he is annoyed and 'gah bah gah ah goo' when he is playing contentedly on the floor. His facial expressions are very, ah, expressive, as well. He'll scrunch up his nose with fury when I try to pry a choking hazard out of his fingers or grin and wriggle madly when he catches sight of Ethan. He has discovered that there are interesting things to mouth and new places to explore, but his favorite spot is still on my hip (or on the boob, but that could fill a whole 'nother post!).