Clothing Optional

My boys are always trying to run around in just their underwear or less. Definitely a boy thing. This particular day I was telling them to "at least put your underwear on, please!" so they did what any normal human being would do...took the pillow cases off their pillows and used them as "underwear."

I will say that it's been crazy hot here lately, so I can't really blame them.

Caleb trying to make his "angry" face and punch the camera while laughing:

I can tell you this was not Levi's idea. As my Dad would say, "Monkey see, monkey do."

They're crazy, but I love 'em.

I Can't Believe This is My Life

We were letting the boys play on our small balcony before bath time the other day and in no time they were naked. Granted, it is hot here, but sans clothes is how they prefer to be. And they must be talking about body parts. Always. I heard, "I see your [fill in the blank]" several times.

I had to use a phrase the other day that I never could have imagined would come out of my mouth. Especially after having grown up with only a sister. I'll tell you it had to do with their boy parts. Of course it did, right?

I CANNOT believe how much they talk about potty stuff at this age. And my sweet husband says it won't stop until they're...well, it probably won't ever stop. If I have to hear "poop" one more time, it might be the last straw that sends momma to the loony bin. I've come very near being sent there on multiple occasions.

This morning the boys have been gathering things from their playroom, putting them in bags, singing me Happy Birthday, and presenting me with presents. It's so sweet! (My birthday isn't until December, however! And, FYI, I'd like something other than a scratched Thomas DVD.)

This phase of our lives is not an easy one. It involves so much training and discipline, and we are tired most of the time.

But, this phase of our lives is also a very tender one. The spontaneous hugs and "I love yous" are precious.

Here are a few pictures from my parents' trip here. Maybe one day I'll have the energy to blog about all we did while they were here, but maybe not. I'm still tired.

Levi's Bloody Lip

Levi fell off a chair and greeted the marble floor with his face.

Not a happy guy:

Right after it happened:

About 20 minutes later (notice the bruising):

Showing you his lip:

I'm so done with marble floors!

The Boy Stuff

When I use an asterisk in place of a letter, it's because I don't want people who'll use Google to search for yucky stuff to end up here! FYI. It's not because I consider it a bad or dirty word. It's just that people can be sent to my blog if they search for that particular word and I've typed it out. I don't want those people reading about my kiddos or seeing their pictures!

Since I didn't have a brother growing up, all this boy stuff is quite a new experience for me!

Here's Caleb's and my conversation on the way home from Mother's Day Out (this is all we talked about!):

Caleb: Mommy, do babies have p***ses?
Me: Baby boys do.
Caleb: Do babies have p***ses?
Me: Yes, Caleb, baby boys have p***ses. Only boys do, not girls.
Caleb: Does Levi have a p***s?
Me: Yes, Caleb, Levi does.
Caleb: Do you have a p***s?
Me: No, only boys have a p***s Caleb.
Caleb: Only boys.
Me: Yes.

I'm not sure why he asked this as soon as he got in the car, but he had probably gone potty before I picked him up and it was on his mind. Who knows.

I cannot tell you how many times I've said the word p***s lately. Seriously, it's enough to make me want to go get a pedicure or do some other really girly thing. I'm glad we're using the anatomically correct terms and all, but good grief I'm tired of talking about it! I guess this is just the beginning of the body humor and other lovely things boys talk about.

I can't wait.

He's Such a Mess

The other day Caleb dropped my camera on our wood floor and broke it. It's happened before and Uncle Scott fixed it, but this time I'm pretty sure it's for good. I guess that's what I'll be asking Santa for this year. It lasted over two years with Caleb constantly finding it and taking pictures of his finger, so I guess it had a pretty long life.

Caleb just came in here and announced, "I want to have my birthday. Right now."

OOOOOOOK. I tried to explain to him that his birthday is exactly 2 weeks from today, but that doesn't mean much to an almost-three-year-old. This is an almost daily ritual. Any time someone else has a birthday or we see a cake, he wants to have his birthday right then.

His favorite thing lately is to get on any raised surface in our house and pretend he's Buzz Lightyear. He climbs up, holds up his arms and announces, "To infinity and beyond..." Then he jumps off, laughs real big and does it again.

What am I going to do with him? :-)

He's All Boy, Part I

"Momma, I have bug!" He loves bugs and is not scared of them. His mother may be. A little.

In Detroit last month, we were in a nature park of sorts when Caleb promptly bent down next to a turtle and attempted to pick it up. Talk about heart attack. Me and the turtle. He didn't care one bit that the turtle was hissing at him. My brother-in-law commented that it was a pretty big turtle. The man has seriously not been in Texas enough because the turtle was maybe 6 inches across and that is small by our standards. Nonetheless, it was big enough to make me freak out a little and wonder why God thought I could handle boys. I don't have a brother and my sister was (is) so scared of bugs you could throw a piece of dark yarn her way and she'd run off screaming. Not that that ever happened. I'm just saying one could do that. (God knew what he was doing giving her a girl because she is SERIOUSLY scared of bugs!).

Justin's been reading Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and I just got a book called That's My Son: How Moms Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character by Rick Johnson. Both books make the point that moms can be overprotective when it comes to boys because we are much more likely to value safety and security over adventure. I can already see that's true in the way that Justin and I parent. But, as both books point out, boys have to be able to be adventurous in order to gain a sense of masculinity. If I want my boys to grow up to be men who protect their own families, I have to give them some space to be boys in the growing-up years. I definitely need to work on that!