First Hair Cut

Here are some pictures from Graeme's first haircut (and Gavin's hair cut too). They are in reverse order, as now that we're using Google Chrome, I can't seem to cut and paste pictures.

The much anticipated lollipop at the end of the trim.

Gavin is always very excited to get his haircut, as he knows this follows.

Very happy, cute little man!!

He sat in the same jet that Gavin did for his first cut too. There was a lot less screaming, but in Gavin's defense his first haircut was a lot sooner. I think he was around a year, where Graeme is almost 2 years old.

Brotherly Bond

Just another quick note. When I was watching Gavin and Graeme play this afternoon, I noticed Graeme do absolutely everything that Gavin did. It was very cute and a little window into the future. If Gavin was playing with dump trucks, Graeme would play with dump trucks. If Gavin sat on the blanket, Graeme would come sit on the blanket. Gavin took his shirt off (because it was wet), and Graeme tugs at his sleeves to take off his shirt too. But what was even sweeter? I noticed that every once in a while, Graeme would come over to Gavin and just pet his head. It was the cutest thing ever! Just a little, 'hey, I like you!' and then he went on his merry way.

I hope they grow up to be close. We tried, for a few nights, to have Graeme share Gavin's room. We put Graeme's mattress just on the floor and, luckily, there wasn't any resistance from Gavin. They did, however, have way too much fun regardless of bedtime. So, Graeme is back in his room for the time being, but I'm glad that when the time comes, they will be happy to share a room. A little bonding time is always good.

Enjoying the Afternoon

I have to say that I'm loving our yard right now. It is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a neat and tidy landscaped yard. But it works for us. The boys love the dirt and mud alongside the scoot bike track (as well as the track itself). I love the way it looks compared to when we moved in... no lower deck, no shed in the middle taking up space, no manky dog run, no wood pile, no ivy (well at least a lot less), and generally a lot less 'ick' and a lot more enjoyable space. And what is also fun is dreaming up the next projects... but that's for another day.

There is something magical about working in the garden. Today was the first glorious sunny day we've had in a while. And it was wonderful to finally be able to work in the garden for an extended period of time and have the boys be entertained on the "kid" side of our yard. It is (and I believe will continue forever to be) amazing how you can take a little plot of land that is just weeds and turn it into beautiful plants you can eat (or otherwise enjoy). I love watching the development of everything. How big is the broccoli today? Are there any caterpillars to be captured? How is the lettuce coming along? Any slugs? It is just fun to watch things grow. (It is fun to watch people grow too... both my children and anyone who learns their way through a challenge.)

But more than just making wandering observations or throwing together a cool, homegrown salad, I LOVE watching the pleasure with which Graeme and Gavin pick and eat the veggies and berries we have.

Granted, they don't always pick the right things or at the right time, but I'm trying to let that go and just enjoy their happiness. So fun. Graeme eats the green raspberries and, as of yet, it doesn't seem to bother his system, if you know what I mean. He says, "Pick raspberries! Pick raspberries!" and now will always walk up the little hill to check out what he can reach.

For the sake of efficiency (and a little selfishness since it really is fun), I try to pick the majority of stuff myself. Otherwise, we would have nothing left in the ground and very thin carrots in our salads. Graeme also yelled across the yard to day, "Pick weed, Mummy!" and you could tell he was SO proud of himself for helping to pick weeds. It was so sweet! He also continued that helping as he picked out a few of my cosmos, declared them "weed" and then "ho'd" them to the ground. (They had not yet bloomed, of course, so it was an honest mistake.)

[For the record: Tonight we had a salad with lettuce, radishes, raspberries, strawberries, and peas from our yard. How cool. That will always be cool to me.]

Oh How Your Garden Grows

This was the massive worm I mentioned in a previous post. Graeme found it and Gavin, naturally, took it and adopted it as his own "favorite new worm".

Here's what the garden looks like from the deck. It's all starting... yeah!

Our raspberry harvest today... after a few were gobbled by the helpers.

That's the raspberry bush and the peas up top. I have two kinds of peas... some are "dwarf," which I realize now means that they don't grow as tall... not necessarily that the peas are smaller. (Which made me feel a little silly.) But that could be too. We'll see.

Venturing Toward Independence

Lately I'm feeling like I need to read some parenting books. It isn't that the boys are really all that different, but they are becoming more, shall we say, independent. This is great of course, as long as I can figure out a way to shape that independence into a framework that creates two cute little boys rather than two monsters that freak out if they can't stuff grapes in their trucks.

Craig and I were just talking about the "No!" stage and, luckily, we haven't had too much of that response. We've always used, "That's not for Gavin/Graeme!" or "We don't do that..." something less "No" like. I think by doing this, our kids thankfully only use "No" at the right time. (Knock on wood.) And, even when they do use it, they've developed an endearing way of saying no.

When Gavin was learning to talk, he said, "No, nee, no!" And that made his defiance sweet. Now that Graeme is learning to talk, he's developed his own way... "Nah! Noooo!" It usually trails off a bit, which is even cuter.

It's not really the no's that I'm concerned with these days. It's the "poo's" and "hush's" and bips, boops, foodoo-foodoo's, fwaps, and punks... and all the other interesting behaviors that have surfaced. These behaviors are, of course, accompanied by their own language. Translation?

Bip, boop, fwaps = all some form of hitting usually during play, most always when I'm trying to get someone changed or dressed

Foodoo-foodoo = messing up one's hair (funny when he does it to Graeme, not so with me)

Punk = some sort of tweak, usually associated with the backside

Gavin is the instigator of everything, yet Graeme is right beside learning ALL the new words and behaviors. Where's that book Celeste sent me??? Let's go find it...

Musings for the Day

Here are a few thoughts that have crossed my mind today. First, I realize now that, as a mom of two boys, I'm going to have to be eternally interested (or feign interest anyway) in trucks, worms, and other 'catchable' creatures. Trucks are a given, and I've become used to that... I can spot dualies* and diggers faster than Graeme (not as fast as Gavin though). And, as a emerging gardener, I also like worms, but not enough to put them in my pocket. I was cooking dinner tonight and the boys were playing outside with Craig. Gavin came to the door no less than three times saying, "Look mummy! A worm! I've got a worm!! I like worms, all the time. This is my favorite new worm." He is genuinely excited about each one, and before he came inside for dinner we had to do a highly technical worm extraction from his pockets. Total? Three. All still alive and tossed into the garden.

(For the record, yesterday Graeme also found the most massive worm I've ever seen. This worm was truly interesting - at least for a little bit.)

As another example, Gavin wanted to play inside today, but I wanted him to go outside at least for a little bit. He wasn't interested at all until I said, "Hey, there's a cool slug outside. Want to come see it?" He jumped up immediately and was like, "There's a cool slug. I want to put him in my bucket." Out the door in a heartbeat! (My apologies to said slug, as I have no idea where he ended up. Not in the pockets though, I checked. And I might as well also apologize to the rolly-polly bug in Gavin's backpack.)

What were my other musings today... now I seem to have forgotten. Oh, about dinner. Tonight I made fajitas prompted by Craig buying a mango. I've realized that fajitas are my comfort food of choice, with avocado, mango, lime, and cilantro. It reminds me of home and makes me feel happy. And it's healthier than mac 'n cheese. What's also interesting is that I don't mind making dinner every night, which I thought I would loathe when this little family business first started. I've actually developed a pretty good interest in cooking cool stuff, but (with any luck) it is a time when I'm by myself. That may sound horrible, but alone time doesn't happen much these days. The boys were with Craig this afternoon and, aside from the periodic worm show, it was just me with all the yummy potential in the kitchen. (And it turned out pretty well too...)

I had more to write, I'm sure, but I don't remember now. It seems, in this Facebook oriented world (or at least household), I go through my day thinking of witty status updates that I never end up posting because I've forgotten them by the time I sit down to write. (Except for Gavin peeing down the heating vent, that was pretty easy to remember.)

In any case, I should be studying right now. My yoga program finishes this weekend and I've got an exam and two things to teach. Needless to say, writing this blog isn't going to help me do well. Except, on second thought, it is helping me relax and wind down, so maybe it is helping after all. (And if I need another diversion, I'll post pictures of the massive worm and the boys' new haircuts.) Stay tuned. ;)

*Dualies are trucks with two wheels in the back, which in our family also includes any massive truck that has more than two tires in the back. It's a constant: "A dualie, look a dualie... another dualie..." in my car every time we go somewhere.

Window to our world...

Today is a rainy inside day... 'toons and trucks for the boys and homework for mummy. Well, and a little diversion here and there for a break from yoga test-writing and studying. I thought I'd post a few recent pictures. I made an appointment to get the boys' haircut today, so we'll have to say adios to Graeme's little wispy curls. It had to happen sometime, I suppose. Here's a little window into our world lately...

Gavin's preschool picture.
Of course, he's screaming.

A rare moment when they are both in one spot.
Luckily, they both love reading stories.

Caught in the act. This happens with every new roll.
Just too much fun I guess.

One of the reasons I love summer...
first cut flowers from our yard.
Peonies and roses.

And our first official 'harvest' from the garden. Dwarf pak choy, which I've realized is great slug bait, and three different kinds of radishes... all tiny since a certain someone likes to pick them all at once.

Scatterbrained update

"Here, Daddy! Here's a boogie for you!"

That was Gavin tonight at dinner. He's very enthralled with boogies and I was warned that the "stage" might be quite long. It's cute, right?

We are recovering from a couple trips to the ER with Graeme, who's got croup and sounds like a seal pup (though not much anymore, thank goodness). He's still happy as ever! He's a tough little guy.

Otherwise, we've finished the unpacking and laundry after our Denver weekend. It is great to go away, but it's always fantastic to come home. We've become quite the home bodies - well, compared to maybe someone who doesn't travel at all. (I really tried to come up with something funny there, but nothing was coming to me.)

I love checking on all my little plants outside, and having the kids in their own beds with all their lovies. (For the record, only two lovies go on the road, but Graeme has 6 in his bed at any given time.) Anyway, off to work on my yoga final...