Pre-Christmas Pics

Making Christmas Krispy Treats

Posing for Dad...

magic man

The boys had each enjoyed a "tootsie-pop" lollipop, and all was well in the world. All of a sudden, Evan reappeared from a brief moment away with another tootsie-pop. "Evan," I inquired, "what are you doing with another one of those?" He looked at me, looked at the lollipop, looked back at me and declared, "It's magic! I have a magic hand!" Of course - what was I thinking?! I guess I'm gonna have to raise the bag of tootsie-pops to the magic-resistant shelf in the pantry.

how to get rid of allergies

Evan asked for some milk with his breakfast recently and I replied with a look that reminded him of his milk allergy. Without even a verbal reply from me, he declared, "Daddy, I'm not allergic to milk anymore!" Laughing out loud at his wide-eyed expression and declaration, I asked him how that happened. "I just changed my mind!

far out

Nathan has been interested in the high-beams of the car lately. He's had me click them on and off so he can see the different light locations while standing in front of the parked car. He's had me switch them on and off while driving at night to see the difference. He's inquired about the purpose of them and how they differ from the fog lights some cars have. Today, in broad daylight, he informed me, "Dad, y'know what I'm going to call those high-beams? I'm gonna call them 'far-beams', because they help you see really far at night!" Far-out!

all we want

Nathan asked me recently why Jesus had to die. I was curious how much he already knew, so I asked him why he thought Jesus died. He replied, "Jesus died on the cross for our sins so we wouldn't have to... so now we can sin all we want!" We need to clarify some of his theology, but it's a good start, I think.

Random Belly

Nathan is into bellies. Ok, let me rephrase: Nathan is curious about bellies. He thinks they're funny and he always tells us when someone's shirt hikes up to reveal their belly. Whether me, Laura, Evan, family, friends, strangers, even people on TV or print ads, he's got some sort of "belly radar" or something. SO, it was not too surprising when, while getting undressed for a bath recently, Nathan asked, "Mom, what does GOD's belly look like?" (I mean, REALLY, how can I NOT share these stories?) Laura responded something about the fact she's never seen God's belly. Nathan poked his own belly out and rubbed it, saying, "I bet God has a BIG belly!" I left the room after that, but I'm guessing that, since Jesus was a carpenter by trade and they didn't use power tools back in his time, he probably had a pretty well-toned set of abs. I wonder if God smiles at the random thoughts of my sons like I do.

Random Lettuce

I'm starting a new blog subgroup featuring the random thoughts and actions of the boys. You'll know it's part of the "Random" items b/c it will begin with the word "Random" (pretty ingenious, huh?!) Anyway, here's the first...

Driving home from Sunday morning church service, the boys had decided they wanted to take Laura to Casa Ole for her birthday dinner. She had worked the night of her birthday and the boys' friend had a birthday party Sat night, so this was our opportunity to take her out. The decision was made and we were en route. After a short season of silence (all seasons of silence are short with these boys), Evan spoke up, "Mommy! Sometimes, when you eat lettuce, it gets stuck in your teeth." We looked at each other, bewildered as to where that came from, and then laughed out loud (an authentic LOL moment). Evan meanwhile maintained a serious, matter-of-fact expression that seemed to say, "Laugh if you want, but it's true!"

NATHAN, the DEFENDER!

It was a night like any other night at Chick-Fil-A. Laura was working, so the boys and I splurged on some hot nuggets and cool lemonade. After a hearty (?) meal, we crashed the indoor playground which was packed with kids young and old. Some were probably a little too old for the playground, actually. There's this sign on the door that says all children must have an adult inside the play area with them. I noticed there wasn't a single adult in the room with the 15+ kids, so I figured I'd hang out. Everything was cool... the boys jumped right into the mix, happy to run into a couple of friends from school in one of the tunnels... and then they approached THE SLIDE. There was a group of 3 older kids sitting cross-legged and chatting about whatever 10 year olds discuss these days (video games, parents, Obama's marxist-socialist agenda). They seemed to ignore the fact that there were two young boys eager to get to the slide. I watched curiously to see how the boys would handle this blockade. Evan just acted like they were part of the structure and proceded to push and climb his way over and past them to his goal. Apparently one of them said something to Evan about the slide being closed, I don't know. What I DO know is that Nathan suddenly bowed up to the girl with the biggest mouth and told her angrily and forcefully, "He's my brother! and He can go down the slide if he wants to!" Meangirl spewed back at Nathan that Evan was too little to go down the slide. "No he's NOT! He's almost four and I'm almost six and we can go down if we want to!" Evan looked back at Nathan as if to say, "thanks", and climbed over the remaining obstruction (girl) and went down the slide. Meanwhile, back at the blockade, Meangirl was apparently struggling with the fact that a five-year-old was calling her out in front of her friends. She said something about how old she and her friends were and that they were bigger than him. Nathan pointed behind her in my direction and informed her that his Daddy was 39 and a lot bigger than all of them and something about my making them get out of the way. I decided it was time to intervene before Evan got back up there and started throwing blows (Nathan tends to fight with words, Evan not-so-much!). "Excuse me, guys... is there a problem up there with the little guys going down the slide?" With a look of surprise, Meangirl replied, "Oh... no... there's no problem." "OK, good!" I must say that I was very proud of Nathan for standing up for Evan's right to slide!

apologetics

Nathan was nearby as I was setting up a promotional video clip on our church website for an upcoming event. The video was that of a girl asking questions of God and about him. She had a skeptical tone and Nathan came to God's defense rather strongly... "Daddy! Who is that girl?!" She's just some girl in a video. "Why is she talking like that?" She's just playing a role on this video, pal. At this point, the girl in the video says, "Does God even care?!" Nathan looks at the screen and says, "God DOES CARE!" I intervened and told him, "It's ok, buddy, it's just a video." Just then, she asks, "Does God love me?" Nathan leaned around me and told "her", "YES! God loves EVERYBODY! And Jesus died on a CROSS!"



Wow. Too bad most adult Christians don't share the passion of my little apologist.

(to see the video clip, CLICK HERE)

interpretation of art

Evan brought home a booklet of pictures he had colored at school. There was one particular page that had a scene in the woods. To the left of a large rock, a deer and a bunny rabbit were sleeping, with the bunny slightly in the foreground of the deer. The artist of this CHILDREN's material apparently did not have much insight into the processing of young boys' thoughts...

Evan showed Laura and stated, "Look, Mommy! That deer pooped out a bunny!"

Funny thing is, as Laura was recounting the story to me, she showed me the picture before telling me what Evan said. My first thought was, "why in the world did they put a bunny, in the shape of a 'deer pie' right below the deer's behind?"

Great minds think alike.

short-lived sweetness

So much for Evan's sweet side... Today, I arrived to pick the boys up from school and was informed that Evan had been HITTING one or more of the other boys at Aftercare (this is a post-dismissal service provided by several teachers who stay late and let the kids have free time until their parents pick them up after work). "He hit one boy in the stomach, and then hit another boy in the back with a shovel." A SHOVEL?! (At this point, I'm hoping it was a toy shovel and, if not, what the heck is a SHOVEL doing on the playground!?) Ok, so he's had some anger outbursts with Nathan, but rest assured, his little bottom received a firm reminder (once we got home) that we don't hit other kids - especially with SHOVELS (or any other tools, for that matter)!

servant's heart

Evan's new teacher, Mrs. Avery, sent the following note home last week...

Mr. & Mrs. Peck,
Evan is such a blessing. His classmate did not have a napkin for lunch. Evan tore his in half and gave his classmate half. What a servant's heart. Thanks for sharing your blessing. What a joy!

Yep. Evan is definitely more the "giver" of our two boys!

little drummer boy

Upon receiving notice that individual piano lessons would be offered during school time this year for an extra fee, we considered enrolling Nathan. We also considered the short-lived soccer interest last year. We sat down with Nathan and asked him if he would be interested in learning to play the piano/keyboard. Nathan paused and said, "No... I wanna learn to play the DRUMS!!" (Ahhhh... doesn't every little boy want to play the drums?) Though I was slightly older when I got my first "real" drum set, we're looking at beginner sets and lessons for Nathan's birthday this year. In the mean time, he's making due with assorted household items. He's also got an affinity for LOUD, Rockin' music...

Rock on, Son!

got meat?

Laura and the boys were driving somewhere and came upon some pigeons in the road. Laura slowed down to avoid hitting the preoccupied birds. Nathan commented from the back, "Mom, it's ok if birds get killed - it's ok! There's meat insided of them!"

selling point

As we drove past a local car dealership one Saturday, Evan asked if we could stop. I told him we weren't buying a new car right now and really had no need to stop. A few blocks later he announced: "When I'm big, I'm gonna buy my car at the car place with balloons! And I'm gonna have a car with a big balloon on it!" And, I'm sure it'll be orange! Well, the balloon anyway - I can testify that owning an orange car gets you a lot of "pumpkin" remarks!

grave situation

While driving through Baton Rouge, Nathan spotted a graveyard and said, "Hey! That's a graveyard! Maybe Grandma is buried there!" Ummm... No, buddy - she's in Lafayette at another place. "Is she DEAD?" Well, actually, Grandma is with Jesus - but her body is in the graveyard. "Well then, where's her HEAD?!"

don't worry... we got everything sorted out by the end of our trip!

So Little Time...

SORRY!!! for the long lapse in blogging... we've all been so busy with our lives together that I haven't had much time to write about it! Since the last post, we went to FL to visit Laura's family (and Mickey & Co.),

had a pool party with David's family in Baton Rouge,

Nathan lost two teeth (naturally)

and has a new one coming in already, Nathan also had his first cavity filled (even little guys need to floss daily), we had a weekend visit from Granny and Grandpa Hazlewood,

Evan got the flu, we all enjoyed a fun week of Crocodile Dock vacation bible school,

and TODAY... they both went to "big school" together - Evan in K-3, Nathan in K-5!!

They both woke up excited and ready to go and jumped right out of the car like big boys and headed off to their respective classrooms (with flowers they INSISTED on getting for their new teachers yesterday)!

So now we're all caught up and it feels like it went just that fast! (oh, yeah... Evan discovered he's got an ambidextrous face! see clip below...)

Better Get to Reading

A couple of days after the 'Better Daddy' discussion, I was preparing supper for the boys and I. Laura was working late, and everyone was tired, and the meal was taking longer than I'd hoped, and the boys were fighting at the table, and Evan finally balled up a fist and punched Nathan. Nathan was whining, Evan was stewing, and I did "the LOUD voice" up one side and down the other on Evan concerning something about not hitting people, regardless of how angry you get. I told them both to be still and quiet so I could finish supper and went back to the stove while Evan sat pouting in a puddle of tears in his chair. As I loaded their plates and served them at the table, Nathan informed me, "Dad, I put that 'Better Daddy' book by your drink so you can read it while we eat supper."

In Search Of A Better Way

I've been reading a book on parenting called, "Shepherding a Child's Heart". It's really insightful and instructive on how to get beyond "behavior modification" and address heart issues that motivate behavior. I was reading one evening while the boys were playing in the tub and Nathan asked, "Dad, what book are you reading?" "It's called, 'Shepherding a Child's Heart'." "But, why are you reading it?" "Because I want to be a better Dad to you and Evan." His response was so encouraging, "Oh! Maybe you can be more like Mr. Casey - he doesn't get loud like you do, even when he spanks [his boys]!"

I've talke to my friend Casey, and he's promised to make a little more noise the next time he's around my guys!

Parenting Skills

It had been a rough morning with Evan and we were extremely late. Late getting ready, late getting the boys to school (ok, so I'm aware it's summer, but "daycare" sounds so "nursery")... and, of course, I was going to be late for work. Laura had already left b/c she had a meeting at her store early that day. SO, when Evan started WHINING about whatever it was that was bugging him at the moment, I SNAPPED at him to stop whining because I'd had enough of it for the rest of the day! (I know you should never snap at your children and I know that none of you ever snapped at yours, but sometimes I make mistakes in my parenting journey.) As Evan ran from me, crying, Nathan watched him go and then very calmly stated the following:

"Hey, Dad? Sometimes when you get mad and you're really loud, it kinda scares us and hurts our feelings... (pause)... I think you hurt Evan's feelings and you should tell him you're sorry."

Man! There's nothing quite like the rebuke of a five-year-old!

Yard Man

Nathan always wants to help me work in the yard. He was insistent on helping me mow recently, so I gave him a shot (under strict supervision)...

Clean-Up Crew

It was time for some late Spring-cleaning, and I was working on the kitchen and living room. I told the boys that I wanted them to get their room ready to vacuum, and that they needed to pick everything up off of the floor. Well, they certainly cleared their room...

Namesake

Nathan's middle name is Allen. It was my grandfather's last name. Since he had no sons, my younger brother's middle name is Allen to carry on the family name. In honor of this man and our family heritage, my brother and I both named our first sons' middle names Allen. Interestingly, Nathan has a trait of sorts that reminds me of my "Pa". My grandfather used to sometimes take a short afternoon nap on the floor of his living room with his knees up. I remember thinking it was funny and, though I tried it myself, I never personally took to it. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone else sleep with their knees up, though I'm sure people do from time to time. One night I went into Nathan's room to check on him and was surprised to see his knees up in the air. I actually thought he was awake, but he was sound asleep. The first time he actually positioned himself this way before going to sleep, I asked him why he did it. "I just like to sometimes". Fine with me! Maybe everyone but me does this and it's no big deal, but I like to think it's an Allen connection!

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Sometimes I make poor judgments in motivating Nathan. REALLY poor.



Nathan was resisting getting ready for school and we were on track for being late (again). I decided to motivate him by telling him, "C'mon, Nathan, you don't want to be late for your LAST MONDAY!" I just knew that would get him going! Well, it got him going all right - DOWNHILL! He continued to resist getting ready and for the first time all year he started crying in the car that he did not want to go to school today. I reassured him that he would have a great day and his teacher and friends would really miss him if he wasn't there - after all, this would be his last week at school before summer and he needed to be there. This only sent him further into sorrow. As we pulled into the school driveway, I finally asked him WHY he was so upset. "I just don't want to go! I wanna go home!" Nathan, you LOVE school - I don't understand why you're acting this way today. "Because I don't wanna go to the last day!"



(Way to go, Dad!)



Although the teacher at the drop-off area had to pry him from the car and carry him away, he ended up having a good day and was telling me about being in KINDERGARTEN next year when I picked him up. (Thanks, Mrs. Mayers!)

Latest Pics

We had a fun day at our church a few weeks back, and here are some pics taken then...

Smooth Operator

We were driving to pick up Evan from daycare when Nathan spoke up from the back seat: "Hey, Dad! I have an idea! Let's surprise Evan with an ICEE!!" As Laura burst out laughing at Nathan's "generosity" toward Evan, Nathan pointed out a convenient opportunity to fulfill his benevolent plan. "Look, Dad, they sell Icees right over there! We should go ahead and get them now!" As Laura continued to laugh at Nathan's plotting, I suggested we pick up Evan first and then get Icees at Walmart, as we were going there for groceries anyway. I expected some resistance, but Nathan simply replied, "Yeah, let's do that - that's what I was thinking!" To know him is to love him!

Leapin' Lizards!

The boys and their cousins were enjoying spring break together for a few days and they decided to catch some lizards around the house and make them pets. They commandeered a container and rounded up one each. THEN, the BOY FACTOR kicked in. Wesley accidentally stepped on one, squishing the poor critter inside-out. Evan kept letting his down and got mad about the little guy running away, so he placed a BRICK on him and declared, "NOW he won't get away!" After he peeked under the brick, he saw the de-stuffed reptile and (with Easter candy fresh on his mind) said, "LOOK! JELLY BEANS just popped out of my lizard!"


(It gives a whole different perspective to the brand name, JellyBellies!)

They Don't Know

There is an establishment along our daily travel route which we have never visited. Nathan asked me about it as we passed by recently - "Daddy, what's that place over there?" Trying to give the most non-descript response (it's a strip club) while discouraging an interest in visiting, I simply replied, "Some grown-ups go there to get drunk and sin." Nathan made a sad face and said, "Dad, those people don't know JESUS!"

Never Too Early to Think About Marriage

With girls, anyway... Nathan's good friend and classmate was talking with her mom:

"Mom, when you're done with Daddy, I'm gonna marry him."

"Well, sweetheart, I'm not ever going to be 'done' with him - I'm always going to be married to your Daddy."

"So, who am I going to marry, then?"

"You'll just have to grow up and find your own husband to marry!"

Short pause for thought...

"Ok, then I'll just marry NATHAN!"

The Gift of Life

Driving Nathan to school, he brought up an event they were having called, the "Easter Walk". "What is the 'Easter Walk' all about, Dad?" Well, it's about the meaning of Easter. What do YOU think Easter means? "Jesus died on the cross for our sins." That's right, but there's more to the story than Jesus' death on the cross... "Because WE have sin?" Well...(my time was running out, as we approached the drop-off area)... why don't you just see how the Easter Walk turns out and we can continue this discussion tonight? "Dad, when I was born, did I have sin tied to my heart?" (WHOAH! - My five-year-old is getting what many live their whole lives and never understand!) Yes, Nathan. Unfortunately, everyone does. And that's why Jesus chose to die on the cross - to pay for OUR sins so we could truly LIVE in this life and forever with him.

STOP, door opens, and my son slips off to class as I drive away with a deep sense of pride and sobriety. As I'm reminded that "Nathan" means "gift," I consider what a wonderful gift he is and offer up a prayer, "God, may I never hold your gift so tightly that I fail to give him back to you!"

Eggsactly!

We got the boys' allergy test results, and they have no grass/tree allergies so there will be no need for injections - WHEW! However, as for FOOD allergies... eggs, milk, soy and (for Evan) wheat are on the hit list. None of them are so severe that they would swell up or anything. They just need to avoid heavy dosing of these items. So, we're nixing morning eggs, milk as a beverage and checking into potato bread for Evan. The inclusion of said foods in ingredients is ok, so long as it's not one of the first three. AND, we were informed by the allergist that we shouldn't ELIMINATE - just MODERATE these items in their diet so that they will hopefully grow out of the allergies. The boys are taking it well, although Evan used to drink a lot of milk! (I called him my little "milk-man"). Maybe that's why he always had a runny nose. The harder part is eliminating cheese! Chester Cheetah was right when he said, "It ain't easy bein' cheesy!"

Hard Questions

I was drying Nathan off after his bath, when he looked down, pointed to the small red spots on his chest and asked, "Dad, what are these things?" Believing honesty and openness to be superior to alternatives, I informed him, "those are called 'nipples'." "Why do we have them?" he inquired. "Well, we'd look kind of funny without them - God made us this way." I was really hoping to avoid the whole "difference between boys and girls" discussion, but he opened the door and we had to go in...

N: "Dad, why do ladies have big huge nipples?"
D: "Well... the nipple is just the little part - the rest is called a 'breast'."
N: "But why do ladies have big, pokey, jiggly ones?"
(Uh-oh... I need some wisdom here, God!)
N: "They have big, scary MONSTER ones that bounce around!"
(Scary! Ok, maybe it's good for him to be afraid of "them" at his age...)
D: "You see, men can't have babies - only ladies, and God made them have those kind of breasts so that they can feed their babies when they're born." (Please, God, please help!)
N: "Dad, did you know they have little, itty-bitty holes in 'em and they fill up with milk so their babies can suck on them and get the milk out?"


Whoah! Did he just...? Isn't he just five?! I'm thinking he got his info from Laura, but I'm still nervous about what questions are coming at SIX!

Who's Your Daddy?!

The boys were in the tub and I had stepped out to throw some laundry into the dryer and get their clothes for bed. The bathroom is right across the hall from the laundry room and their bedroom, so I can hear everything that goes on in there. Evan dumped a cup of water on Nathan and took one of his foam letters while his eyes were closed (he's pretty sneaky). Nathan roared at Evan in his deep voice: "NO SIR, Evan! You do NOT do that to me! You're gonna get a spanking for that!" Evan replied in his deep voice (which isn't very deep): "Oh, no I'm NOT! You're not the Daddy!" Nathan: "Yes I AM, and you ARE gonna get a spanking on your BOTTOM for disobeying!" No one got one, but at least they know what causes them! (Oh, and we had a little clarification as to who the Daddy is, too!)

Left Behind

Nathan had been sick (AGAIN!!) and was going to stay home for the day. Usually, I take Nathan to school and Laura will take Evan if he's not ready to go with Nathan and I. So, I had already gone to work when Evan decided to clue Laura in on a mistake I had made... "Mommy, guess what Daddy forgot to bring to Nathan's school," he asked cooly. Puzzled, Laura took the bait, "What, baby?" He replied with a knowing smile, "NATHAN! He's still in his bed!"

no whine, please

I guess all kids come pre-set to whine when they don't get their way. It's part of the parenting test: can you re-program your kids to NOT whine? Our approach has been to let them know when they are whining so that they recognize it and then make them repeat their request/complaint without the whine before acknowledging or responding to it. Recently, while driving, Nathan cranked up his "whine setting" and started to ask to go to a certain restaurant. I ignored him for a moment, but as he continued I reminded him that he was whining and I cannot hear what he is saying through all the whining. He paused for a moment, pouting. I looked back at him via the mirror while we were stopped, just as Evan gave him the following lecture: "Stop whining, Nathan! It frustrates me when you whine!" Trust me, nobody's happy when Evan is frustrated!

Flowers from Daddy

WARNING: This post not suitable for the weak of stomach!


All of us had been dealing with sinus/throat illness, and I had just cleared my throat and spit out the car window into the grass as we pulled into the driveway. The problem is that I didn't make it to the grass, and my throat clearing was now on the driveway. That's a problem, because Evan is very curious about anything I do... "What did you spit out the window, Daddy?" Uh, just some yucky spit, buddy. "I wanna see it." No, no you don't, son.


As Laura gave me that, "Great! Now your son wants to examine your spit!" look, Evan found the spit-spot (not exactly what "Maria" in The Sound of Music meant!) I was moving on when Laura burst out in laughter and insisted I return to catch this blog-worthy moment. Apparently, the infamous landing occured near a crack in the driveway - a few millimeters from a newly sprouted weed. Evan deduced a connection and declared, "MOMMY! Daddy spits on the ground and it makes FLOWERS!"


It reminds me of that old song lyric: "Oh, Oh, Oh, it's MAGIC! You know... Daddy just spits and plants grow!" (or something like that - I was but a wee lad when that song came out!)

nice shot!

The boys have been sick too frequently and too long. We're tired of them being sick and tired. We're tired of missed school and work, and the seemingly never-ending cycle of sickness that they wrestle with. Nathan had his tonsils out last year, but still has been sick (thought not as bad) with fever at least four times in the past 3-4 weeks! SO, Laura decided they probably inherited her severe allergies and we scheduled an appointment to get them tested. Of course, when we announced that we were going to see the doctor, they complained and asked if there would be shots. "Well... let's just see what happens when we get there," I said, knowing the allergy testing required the drawing of blood. I just wanted to avoid three hours of fear and drama before we even got there! They decided between the two of them that they weren't going to get shots... Evan: "I'm NOT gonna get a shot!" Nathan: "Me neither!" Evan: "I don't LIKE the doctor!" Nathan: "I don't like their little faces!" (huh?) David: "You haven't even MET this doctor, and you don't even know what their faces look like." Pause. Nathan: "Dad, you know what I don't like about needles?" David: "What?" Nathan: "I don't like the pokey part!" David (laughing): "That's the part most people have a problem with, pal!"

(Tee-)Tee'd Off

The boys are VERY competetive with each other in anything and everything. They compete/fight over who's going to check the mail, they compete/fight over who is first to finish a meal ("I'm the first that's done!"). They fight over who sits in the front of the tub or who gets out of the car first. But recently, as they were stripping down for bath time, they both had to potty at the same time! We do have two toilets in the house, but this was about two brothers attempting to claim one throne as their own! Nathan was able to get his pants undone first, so he relieved himself first, to Evan's heated frustration. I've told them before, "You're BOYS! As long as you only need to tee-tee, you can go at the SAME TIME - just keep your aim straight!" But Evan apparently had such difficulty getting out of his pants that Nathan had already finished, flushed and gloated by the time Evan was ready to potty! By that time, Nathan was standing at the sink washing his hands.


Tip: NEVER gloat at an already angry brother and then TURN YOUR BACK!
ESPECIALLY IF HE'S ABOUT TO PEE!!!


Evan decided to let Nathan know that "winning" isn't always the last word! He did a 180, turning his aim from the toilet to the back of Nathan's legs, and hosed down his older brother who began crying out for Laura in shock! Evan didn't say a word - he just stared Nathan down with a look of vindication on his not-so-sweet face, and then jumped into the bathtub before Nathan could get in the front.

Yay for boys!

Must be the clouds in my...

It was really cold here the second week of January, and we had the boys bundled up to head out for school. As we walked out, Nathan shouted something about an airplane overhead and noticed his breath vapor in front of his face. "HEY DAD! There's CLOUDS in my MOUTH!!"

Songbirds

The boys love to sing and there's usually a lot of singing around our house, not to mention their schools. Here are a few favorites (be ready to adjust your volume, as they can get ROWDY!)...

Hiding in Plain Sight

Evan likes to hide sometimes for fun. He hides in the pantry closet, in cabinets, in the back corner of our clothes closet (behind Daddy's dress clothes), and just about anywhere! He likes to hide in containers and under beds and boxes. He hides to avoid trouble with Mom and Dad. He hides from Nathan and his BIG BROTHER wrath!

He even tries to hide from getting dressed after a bath...