A Tale of Two Hats

The lovely Liz of a belle, a bean, and a chicago dog recently posted about her daughters and their friendly sibling competition.  When I read the post, I thought, "hmmm, that doesn't really happen in our house."

I think I jinxed myself, because suddenly, Abbey and Dylan are the cutest little poster children for sibling rivalry. 

Too young to compete over grades or athletic prowess, their rivalry focuses on the "I Want THAT!" game.

The rules of the game are simple.

The first player chooses something to play with.  The aforementioned something can be a toy, a kitchen utensil, or a fuzzy cheerio found under the couch.

The second player sees the item in question and absolutely, positively can't live without it.

Sometimes there is an immediate confrontation and tug of war.  Other times, the game is more covert, with the second player waiting until the first loosens their grip on the object or sets it down for even an instant, at which point, said object is fair game.

Before playing outside one afternoon, Abbey expressed her deep desire for Dylan's new hat.  Listeing intently, she seemed to understand when I explained that Dylan needed the hat to protect his little head from the sun.  Little did I know she was plotting a bait and switch right under my nose.

The rivalry has begun.

"look, I brought out this hat instead!"

all part of her plot to secure his hat

I call this move "the distraction" - note the cute smile and shiny shoes 

the coveted hat 

the coveted hat 1.1 second later

he does not appreciate the need for sun protection 

and she swoops in for the grab, her winter hat left in the dust

Around Town

There are days when the kids and I stay home all day, playing Cootie and reading books and using copious amount of Elmer's glue to fasten sequins and pom-poms to anything and everything. Those days are comfortable and familiar and cozy.

Then there are days when we venture out and try something new, like going to the house of a new friend or trying a new play structure at a different, out-of-the-way park. Those days are exciting and unpredictable and, truth be told, a little scary.

Today is like that, because I have not one, but TWO guest posts going live around town today. It's like having a playdate in the morning and going to a new hands-on museum in the afternoon.

I'd love it if you would come with me on my playdates today!

Amy at Spread a Little Thin is right here in Michigan, so you don't have to travel far! She's a hilarious and irreverant mother of three, along with doing a million other things, including providing me inspiration for the most delicious sounding summer cocktail on the planet. She's letting me hijack her blog today to tell you about the time I tried to discipline Abbey and ended up crying in the bathroom.

Nichole from In These Small Moments and The Red Dress Club and Babble is a person I admire tremendously, as a writer and a mother and friend, and I am so honored to be visiting her blog today for her Small Moments Monday series. Nichole is a superb writer with a real gift for capturing those little moments that catch your breath and make you pause in their beauty. I'm telling a story there today about one of those moments I wish I could bottle for eternity, a time when Dylan formally bestowed the "Big Sister" label on Abbey.
 
In an ideal world, I would love to have actual playdates with both Amy and Nichole, but for now, please virtually visit them with me!

Reading is Cool

Like so many parents, I've asserted that what I want most for my kids is for them to be happy and healthy.  I say I try not to look at them and say doctor! lawyer! nuclear physicist! actor!  I say that I hope that I can be a constant source of love and support as they find their own paths.

But those are lies.

Because, really, there is something I want my kids to be.

I want them to be readers.  Bookworms.  Gluttons for the written word.

Some of my earliest memories involve books and reading and falling into worlds crafted by others, and I desperately want Abbey and Dylan to experience those moments of wonder and imagination.  Maybe they'll be curled up with an e-reader instead of a worn, library copy of The Boxcar Children, and I am absolutely fine with that, as long as they're reading.

I've been told that I know an obsene amount of utterly useless facts and information, and I fully credit that to all of the reading I do.  Books have opened doors to times and places and people I never could have imagined.

So, even though I can honestly say I hope they choose careers and life paths that lead to a contented life, I also have to mention that I hope, hope, hope that they'll walk down that path with good books under their arms.

Or a good Kindle.

Abbey's reading Tails to Dylan

it's a favorite, because there are tails you can touch

"seriously, put the camera away!

Dylan's not even dressed yet!"

the morning after Easter

I love that they're reading their new books

Silly Things We Do

"Can you say: Where's Abbey?"

A little voice asks me that several times a day, because Abbey likes playing hide and seek.  Well, she likes to hide and be sought; she's not so interested in being the seeker.

Her hiding skills have improved since her earliest attempts, when she would basically run to one side of the room and stand there, giggling in clear view.  Still, she doesn't make it too difficult to find her.

Now that Dylan's old enough to understand a little, I let him help me find her.

"Where's Abbey, Dylan?  Let's go find Abbey!"

I'm fairly certain he thinks I'm a little blind.

hiding in my mom's curtain

because there's nothing odd about a laughing curtain roll with feet

he cracks up when he "finds" her

Save Me

I've been warned that it won't last forever, but right now Abbey might be Dylan's favorite person in the entire world.  (Except when he's tired, then he zeros in on Mommy and won't rest until he hits his target.)

She laughs, and he cracks up.  She throws a piece of paper off the couch, and he cracks ups.  She shares her pretzels with him, and he cracks up.  She says, "Hellooooo," and, well, you see where I'm going with this.

She revels in this hero-worship, and it can be a great help at times.  When he's in the mood, she can entertain him for small chunks of time, enough for me to run the vacuum quickly or clean up after breakfast.  My heart gets all warm and fuzzy, and I pat myself on the back at having done a great job developing their sibling relationship.

Except there are those other times.  The times when he is crabby and won't be satisfied until I pick him up for a snuggle and a song.  The times when he is engrossed in his trucks and doesn't want to build a tower with Abbey.

At those times, Abbey doesn't understand that he's not in the mood to play simply because she's in the mood to play.  She is tenacious, though, and persists with whatever game she wants him to play, regardless of his level of protest.  And in those times, Dylan dons the: "Save Me!" face.

Poor guy.  Just wait until she wants him to play dress-up or make-up with her.

"Save Me!"

Abbey's singing, "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands"

I don't think he feels like clapping

Hilarity in the Kitchen

I am NOT letting Abbey cook Dylan in the Crock Pot

he climbed in there on his own

she looks pretty thrilled about it, though

Frosting - The Gateway Drug

Our little family celebrated Dylan's actual birthday with cupcakes.  Much like his sister, he was unsure about the whole thing at first.  What happened next is better captured in pictures...

it's my brother's birthday! 

I'm not sure about this 

notice the cupcake on the edge of the table 

I'll just have my water

hmmm, what's this soft stuff?

it's pretty sweet 

I might like this

I like it!

I really like it! 

and this is the end of his frosting bender

the cupcake remained untouched

we thought he devoured it, because it was just gone

I later found it near the train table, discarded and unwanted 

Abbey has no shame

she wiped Dylan's face with her fingers

then licked her fingers

such a helpful sister

Fashion Inspiration

Abbey is making her clothing preferences quite clear lately, even when they come out of left field.  Sometimes, though, there are days where I clearly see her inspiration.

cute, no?

outfit courtesy of Aunt Jane

The other day, Abbey was happily dressed.  At least, she was happily dressed until she saw Dylan rocking lined denim overalls.  She immediately demanded her own "overall".  She actually has two little denim jumpers, both of them at least two sizes too small.  However, she is stubborn, and I figured with a pair of tights and maybe some shorts, we'd be fine.  Unfortunately, the shorts never quite found their way into the ensemble, so the tights had to do.

he chose the horse to accessorize their dual overalls

My Little Helper?

Abbey has gone through a lot of phases as a big sister.  She has been enthralled, bored, jealous, interested, apathetic, and entertained at times.  Our current phases is a "helpful" one, which is sometimes extremely helpful and sometimes, well, not so much. 

I can say that she is an invaluable resource during grocery store trips.  I don't know how many of you have taken kids to the grocery store, but it has potential to be an Olympic sport.  I thought I had it rough pre-kids, when I just had to keep track of a list and a handful of coupons.  With kids, you do that, while making sure no one a) falls out of the cart, b) eats anything picked up off the floor or licks the cart, and c) starts adding completely unnecessary items to the cart.  During this marathon, Abbey keeps Dylan thoroughly entertained; for some reason, he finds her absolutely hilarious when she's doing things like dancing in the aisles.  I let such shenanigans occur, because they make everyone's life a little better.

There are many moments like our grocery moments, when she distracts him or plays with him or makes him smile and laugh when he's not in the mood for Mommy's funny faces. 

Yet, the helpful stage can be tough when he's in no mood to be consoled, and she doesn't understand.  I try not to interfere too much, because I know how much she likes to help with him.  I appreciate it both for its actual assistance and for what I think it is beginning to represent, which is her growing interest in and love for her little brother.  She's finally beginning to see him as a little person and not a baby doll or an annoyance, and I am so excited to see their relationship develop.  Sometimes, though, I feel like I need to step in, as evidenced in the photo below.  How much help is too much?

he was mad that he couldn't see the big trucks anymore

well, and tired (did someone say nap strike?)

she wanted to "rock" him

and yes, that's last year's Halloween costume, just for fun

Wordless Wednesday

Ok, I can't really do "wordless", because I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut.

I know I've said it before, but one of the best parts about being a mom is watching the relationship blossom between Abbey and Dylan.  Blossom is the perfect word, because it's a little like gardening.  Lots of tiring, yet wonderfully satisfying, work that ends in beauty.

why hello old school Fisher Price drum 

I swear they're two years apart

Growing Into This Sibling Thing

When I was throwing a load of laundry in the machine the other day, Abbey came downstairs practically in tears.  When I asked her if she was ok, she replied in frustration, "Mommy, Dylan won't listen to me!  I want him to put the food in the cart, and he won't listen."  Well, now she knows how Ryan and I feel, right?

And so goes the story of a big sister and little brother figuring out how to play together.  When Dylan first came home, she went back and forth between loving on him and ignoring him; she recently went through a phase where she made it her mission to push him off of any toy he managed to get into his little hands.  Now, she's decided (most days at least) that she wants him to be able to play with her. 

For the most part, that involves them laughing at each other, since he's too young to really "play" with most of her toys.  She gets excited about the silliest things; at bedtime tonight, he was standing and holding onto the side of the bathtub, and she couldn't stop laughing.  On his end, he find every single thing she does enchanting and beyond hilarious.  He could laugh at her all day.

And I could watch them in that silly state the rest of my life.

"Mommy, I will wear my big sister hat to the park.  Put on Dylan's little brother hat.  Please."

oh, and it definitely was not raining

asserting his independence and ripping it off immediately

poor little bald guy needs a hat and despises them

after a nap, he was more amenable to wearing the hat

she is so happy he is able to swing with her

he likes swinging so much and holds on like a pro

(even though I only push him about three inches in either direction)

kicking off the rain boots

watching Abbey go "higher, Mommy, higher!"

Mommy's Helper

making carrots

carrots are a fave

if there's something he's not sure about, I mix in carrots

is that cheating?

oops, dropped some

that's better

tupperware - the cooking mother's great distraction tool

carefully getting some carrots onto the spoon

"here Dylan"

so there's a little by his eye

everything can be cleaned

A Little House of One's Own*

I can remember liking to read under my bed.  That might be a little weird, I don't know, but I think it's just an example of kids liking to be in little places.  In Abbey's closet, there is a little cubby/ledge that she loves to climb onto and look at all of her clothes.  That game involves yelling at me to "Get me down Mommy, please!", so I'm happy to find that there are other little spaces that can be just as fun.

We're working on getting some pen marks out of her "own special chair", so the inserts for the chair are being stored in Dylan's room.  They were good for all sorts of jumping games and also "kerplopping", but Abbey and I discovered that they make simply fabulous walls.  Playing in her "little house" has quickly shot up to somewhere near the top of her favorite games list.  She will actually do that by herself, and she doesn't play very well by herself lately (I think it has to do with not wanting to miss anything that Dylan and I might be doing, but that's another post.)

Seeing how much she loves having somewhere to play on her own makes me think more about enrolling her in some sort of class this fall.  We're not sending her to pre-school this year, but it might make sense for her to take a little class that she can do on her own.  She's been asking about dance class, which might work.  A lot of classes like that want the kids to be three, but she's potty trained, which is a point in her favor.  I am hesitant of pushing her into something so young - she is so shy - but it also seems like it might be helpful for her to do something not attached to Mommy or Dylan.  Decisions, decisions.

the first house

so happy to have a blanket in her house

and this is "my little roof"

reading with Grandpa Don's little flashlight

while she's in there, I have the rest of my room to myself!

coming to climb all over me

the second house

notice that she even needed her Twilight Turtle in there

*A little hommage to Virginia Woolf, because she really had something to say to women writers, and one day I hope to describe myself as such.

Ignore the Mess

The mess behind Dylan is folded laundry, so at least it's a clean mess.  That's an oxymoron if I've ever seen one, although it doesn't beat the classic "jumbo shrimp" example, but I digress.  Any day of the week will find some manner of laundry in the living room, because between the diapers and the clothes and the towels I am basically swimming in laundry at all times.  Whoever invented the laundry chute concept needed to take it a step further and invent some sort of chute to send the clothes back up.  Folding and putting them away would be a bonus, too, Mr./Mrs. Inventor-of-the-Laundry-Chute.  Thanks.

Look past the mess, though, to the little boy pulling himself up on the laundry basket.  That is not a fluke.  For the past week he has been trying like crazy to pull up on anything available, and on Sunday he managed to get to standing.  He then proceeded to scoot himself from the laundry basket to the edge of the couch.  He is determined to make it impossible for me to sit down for even one minute during the day.

I just can't believe we are at this point already.

Abbey wanted to help him

good luck with that

he's going to be bigger than her by the time he's a year

Tag Team

Bad days with the kids.

They happen.

I am pretty sure that Abbey & Dylan have somehow worked together to figure out a tag team system of napping and whining.  When one fell asleep, the other woke up.  When one was finally content, the other became inexplicably irate.  We read "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" today (one of Abbey's favorites), and I felt like we were living it!

Abbey really, really wanted me to paint my fingernails after I painted my toenails.  I generally don't do that.  First of all, between laundry and dishes, I chip them within hours most of the time, and also I don't have much time to dry them.  I also generally paint my toenails at night, when the kids are asleep.  But Abbey was in the mood for make-up, and since that meant she wasn't whining, we went with make-up.  Abbey had chosen my purple nail polish, which happens to be one of those 50 second drying time polishes.  I figured I would have time for that.  Dylan had just fallen asleep.  After successfully keeping Abbey far enough away from my fingers to ensure that she didn't pass out from nail polish fumes, I began to screw the top onto the polish.  50 seconds until they were dry.  3 seconds later, Dylan woke up.  God knew what He was doing when He made them the cutest kids in the world.

yes, she took a nap

yes, that is a plastic-coated, paper banana that is a part of one of her books

yes, it stayed clamped between her teeth for the whole hour she slept

I don't mess with her naps

he's barely crawling, but he wants to stand up

he really wants to stand up

so much that he gets really mad when it doesn't work

two band-aids (no serious injuries)

a cup of milk

toast & pineapple

a super soft blanket

30 seconds later, she was crying that she wanted her blanket

it was still around her body

it was one of those days

"...some days are like that.  Even in Australia." (Judith Viorst)