October: Update on the kiddos.

The worst part about being so behind on the blog is missing out on capturing the funny day-to-day stuff the kids do. They grow so darn fast that you could never get it all down, but I like to think I can get enough recorded that I can look back and get a good idea of how precious they are at this moment in time. Though not near enough, here are some notes I jotted down last fall about the kiddies...
 

Ben

-Says startled and frightened. :)
-A+ on every test and every paper all year so far.
-night before his birthday he says, "I just can't stop thinking about Heaven. I think about it all the -time. How I'm only 7 and I know so many people there. On River Monster there was a boat that tipped and a 2 year old little boy died and I just can't believe it. He only got to live for 2 years...only 2 years of life."
-He was really proud when his teacher asked the class what they should eat more of on the Save A Turkey campaign and he said, Cheese-its!

-While talking about his rewards chart for staying in his bed all night, he tells me it's hard to stay in your bed all night when you have a mommy that cuddles so good.
-Wrote a song about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and Santa getting in a fight on a roof top and it was actually really funny. 

-Boy in class told me Ben was the smartest kid in class and a girl in class says he chases her and talks to her in class.
-He unloads the dishwasher, makes me coffee, cleans his room AND his sister's room and helps me constantly.
-He worries constantly about being "good enough" for me, for his teacher, and for everyone's expectations.
-He is still so obsessed with football...like so, so obsessed. He won't even watch cartoons because he would rather watch replays of games on youtube or check scores on ESPN scorecenter.

Des

-His friend Nate told his mom that "he, des, grady, cole and Kevin Durant were gonna change the world." He also told her that "he, grady and cole were the only ones that could call Des, Des and everyone else has to call him Desmond."
-Des forgot to tell us that he had a girlfriend. Then at dinner he said, "Mackenzie was talking to Nancy at her center and she waited for their conversation to be over, then he asked her if she wanted to be his girlfriend, she said yes and he said Thank you! and ran away.
-He sleeps in a tent set up on TOP of his bed every night with 10 stuffed animals and a turtle that lights up.
-When Ben was talking about people we knew in heaven Des said, Desmond Roland's mom. (Desmond Roland is an OSU football player that lost his mom this season.) I told him Desmond Roland would be really happy that people he didn't know were thinking about his mom. He said outloud, "Desmond Roland, we are sorry about your mom. I bet she is really good and gives you lots of snacks and drinks like my mom does. I hope you are ok."
-He hugs me so tight and says, "I love you my highness."
-He crawls in my bed every night and wraps an arm around my waist or shoulder.
-He is our pickiest eater but will do just about anything for a dessert.
-PreK could not be going any better. He absolutely loves going to school and loves Mrs. Nichols so much. He says the worse part is "teaching time" when they go on the carpet and actually learn stuff. :) He loves lunch and recess and P.E. and music and center time. He loves all of his classmates. He is READING which we didn't even know until he just started reading the books outloud at bedtime and Brad and I were in SHOCK. He is so, so smart and so well-behaved. He has gotten a blue dot (the best color) every single day.

Genevieve

-Says Foo Foo! with her fingers pointed to the sky when she is excited.
-She tells me her dad is "impossible".
-She says things like "I have been going potty for ages."
-She says seriously all the time, Like, "Seriously mama? You not gonna let me have another chocolate?
-She still says Wee How! instead of Yee Haw!
-She bargains for everything.
-She says, "Watch me mommy!" for everything
-She is obsessed with My Little Ponies.
-She sings Twinkle, Twinkle and ABC like 5 hours a day. She knows one line from Itsy Bitsy Spider and sings it a bit and Wheels on the bus.
-She asks to go to Mimi's house a lot and wants to live there.
-She also wants to go to Oak City and Arkan-sauce (Oklahoma City and Arkansas).
-She LOVES oatmeal (she was calling it oat-pom for a while) and as soon as her eyes open she comes to our bed, nurses for just a couple of minutes and then says, "Daddy? You making me oatmeal today?"

-She says, "Mommy! You my best fwend! I say, I am? And she says "yes! Totally!"

-She was asking Ben if she could have some of his tic tacs. He says what are polka dots? I say oh she calls tic tacs polka dots. She says, yeah! I call dem polka dots for ages!

-She has been shouting "Girl power! To the rescue!" And jumping from somewhere high.

-She sang, "we are da girls...best friends forever! On a walk to gaga's.
-She said, "Thanks for doing yoga with me. You are the best at that. I love you so much. It's HARD work!"
-So often she shouts or hugs or squeezes me and says, "I love you so much." When I respond with,  "I love YOU so much". She ALWAYS says, "I know".

the mondo.

I've said it once and I'll say it a million more times...this kid is quirky.

You just can't be around him without laughing, usually AT him. 

Lately he is all about Rescue Bots, watching his brother play Mario Kart, torturing his little sister (which she loves), flipping and jumping head first on the couch, swinging as high as we can push him on the swing, and planning his next birthday.

He is over the phase of rejecting all clothes and he has even worn socks a few times lately. In fact, he gets himself dressed all by himself every morning! He still is particular about most things (like gagging on certain foods and freaking out if his sheets are folded just so) but he's really just a pretty darn easy kid. 

And oh, is he funny. Like really, really, really funny. Here's a few things I've remembered to write down lately:

We went to the carnival on a Friday night. We had a blast and Des of course had no fear of any rides. After he and Ben rode the little cars and the tiny alligator roller coaster he was ready for some more zing. He and I rode the Scrambler and he loved it even though he was so dizzy he fell flat on his back as soon as we got out of the gate! We had to wait forever to get on the ferris wheel, but it was THE ONE he'd been waiting for. As they loaded each car and we had to stop and rock high in the air he started to get scared. As he clutched the bar and hunkered down his quivering voice asked, "Mama? A little hold here?" Then as we started going he was fine, shouting things like, "We are higher than a bucket sleigh! This is so much better than being a bucket!" And shouting to the other people on the ride, "Hey! We are TOTALLY fine over here!"

As we were driving I asked him if he wanted to take an art class. He said no. I asked don't you like to do art? He said, "Not exactly." I said, oh well what do you like to do? And he replied "...I like to fart."

He's been eating a little better lately. This kid would eat nothing but chocolate all the live long day if I let him and we have had to take zip lock baggies of brussel sprouts to birthday parties before so that he could just finish his dinner before he got the cake. He takes forever to eat, he gags on many foods even if he has liked them before, and we have to force him to eat anything. Last night he was holding up his food saying, "Are you scared? You should be because you are going into my belly!" Then he picked up a huge bite of beet and announced to the table, "Hey! Everybody! Watch this!" And then he threw it into his mouth and chewed it up without a gag, spit, or frown in sight!"

There was literally 3 and 1/2 weeks this summer that he refused to wear a shirt. This meant that the only time he left the house for almost a MONTH was when I took him to a pool party and no shirts were required. Then Grandma Mary came to visit and she brought with her a new shark shirt. For whatever reason, this shirt didn't cause him to convulse on the ground in obvious pain and torture so we let him wear it everyday for an entire month. And as if that wasn't gross enough...he would only wear the red shorts grandma brought too. So, same outfit for a month straight. And then as if THAT wasn't gross enough, he had two pairs of flip flops from Old Navy a blue and a gray. Well he lost one of each pair, meaning with his same outfit every day for a month he also wore mis-matched flip flops! I mean, you can't MAKE this stuff up!

Oh and to make it even better, there for a while he was referring to himself as "the little guy with the flip flops." !!!

Oh how I hope to remember how his sweet, sweet voice sounds. He has to softest, highest voice and he still pronounces some words like a baby. He knows so many big words like "Well, ACTUALLY blah blah blah" But then he will mispronounce others like:

remember = bamember

three = tree

ridiculous = radickalious

or calling the Hulk 'the HUNK'

While waiting to get his hair cut he took a sip of my coffee and announced to Super Cuts, "This coffee taste GOOD for CRYING OUTLOUD!"

He also will say "Aye yie yie" to himself when he finds something odd.

Brace yourself, this one is bad...At dinner one night Ben was sharing about the girls in his class that want to "date him". Yes, it starts in Kindergarten. Des said, "Well Ben. Why don't you just date my farts." We paused. "You could just crawl up my butt and meet them."

Aye yie yie.

Oh and he says poop, fart, and butt constantly.

But how easily you forgive him because of his sweet, sweet, super sweet self.

He wants to sleep in the middle of our bed every night and he misses Ben so much. He will ask at 9 a.m. if it is time to go pick him up from school yet. Once time he said, "You are the best m.a.m.a. in the whole world" as he spelled out mama. 

Ben is required to tell me 3 things about school everyday and last night he didn't want to share them until bedtime. After he was done, Des said, "Mama! Come here. I want to tell you three things about my day!" As I leaned over him he put his hands on my cheeks and thought long and hard. Then he said, "First, I love you!" and he hugged me so tight I couldn't breath. "Second, I love your eyes" and he kissed my eyes. "And....third....I love your nose" and he kissed my nose. Then, "Wait! Mama! One more! And last...you're the best mama in da hole wide world."

Geesh. This kid.

Interview with a FOUR year old!

Today my little guy is FOUR. My sweet little baby boy is 4. He is SO happy to be four...because it's really close to five. :) He did NOT want a birthday party with friends. For weeks he said he only wanted to go to the lake with the four of us and Papa and Gaga "WITH NO FRIENDS THERE!" He was very adamant that it was just his family even if that meant he got less presents (which Ben was very clear about explaining to him!) Then last weekend he changed his tune and decided he just wanted a party at our house with ONLY his family and that Papa and Gaga could come for cake and "stay awhile." Still no friends. :) 
This morning as he woke up he asked, "Mommy? Where are the balloons and tags for my birthday?" I scooped him up and took him out to the hall where he could see the balloons and streamers that Brad and I had stayed up late hanging. (phew!) Ben was waiting for him and started shouting, "Isn't it awesome!? Isn't your birthday just awesome!" They pulled down the balloons and started playing and then I let him pick out one box to open. He selected the biggest one and it was an air rocket launcher that Lala and Jess sent from California. It was a HUGE hit and we could hardly get Ben to eat breakfast because the boys were so excited playing. We dropped Ben off at school and then headed to yoga. Then we picked up donuts and came home to change out all of his clothes from "threes to fours." He won't wear anything now that is for "a three." He changed into his shirt with a "4" on the front and we sat down to do this interview. It's raining and gloomy outside but that is ok because all he wants to do for his birthday is watch Transformers (the Rescue Bots) and eat donuts. Yesterday we went to pick out his cake and they didn't have a Rescue Bots one so he had to get Spiderman. It will be ready at 2 today and we will pick it up on our way to get Ben from school. He doesn't want to have a special dinner he only wants to eat cake and we will let him because it's his birthday! 

So, here are Desi's answers to his birthday interview...

My favorite food is: "I don't know...DONUTS!"

My favorite sport to play is: "I like football and basketball."

The best show on television is: "Transformers!"

The coolest person on Earth is: "You are." (and he hugs his mama!)

My favorite thing to learn about in school is: "Coloring books."

The thing I do the most awesomely is: "Wii...and SLEEPING!"

If I could go anywhere in the world, I’d go to: "Football!"

My favorite color is: "Blue."

When I grow up I’m going to become: "FOUR! When I am five, I just dunno! This is super hard!..."

My favorite song is: "Call me maybe...wait, I have a way better song than that one...{starts singing: You share my cookie, so share it baby." (Cookie Monster cover)

The book I love right now is: "Chase." (Rescue Bot book) "AND COMPUTER!" (What?)

Three words that describe me: "Funny, a shirt, and an eyeball." (Yep. Think about that one.)

Right now I’m thankful for: (I rephrased it what do you want to say thank you for?)  "I dunno...a diaramosaurus. (I asked what does that mean? He said, I dunno what that means.")

When I was little, I used to: “Poop! poot!" (after an intervention...) "Wear footie jammies!"

My favorite season is: "Football!"

The snack I like the best is: "Eggs and granola bars and almond bars."

One food that I do not like is: "I don't like foods. I don't like pizza or tacos or hot cheese. I don't like anything in this whole world...not even hot cheese. (sidenote: these are probably his favorite foods! When I asked him again he laughed and said, "Hair.")

My best friend is: "Nobody, except you. You're my best friend."

If I had one wish it would be: "I wish for ice cream."

My best memory is: "Sit in a tree...our phineas and ferb tree with mommy." (I do NOT remember this.)

My favorite thing to play is: "Wrestling with daddy."

What I want for my 4th birthday: "The transformers.

He loves his decorations but he told me I forgot to put them in the kitchen and in my room, his room, and genevieve's room. Oopsy.

It's been a hormonal week. I can't stand all this growing up. I want my babies to be babies even if there is so much fun to look forward to. It's all going too fast and it literally makes me feel sick.

But I love who Desmond is today. He is such a fun kid. He is funny, a little weird, extra cuddly and sweet. He loves his family so much. He looks up to Ben and plays good with G. He's an entertainer and has the best facial expressions. He's absolutely gorgeous. He uses his manners and wants to behave not so that he doesn't get in trouble, but so that we aren't mad at him. He is so creative. He is our pickiest eater, literally gagging on food he doesn't like. He still can't wear socks or underwear because he can't stand the way they feel. He's sensitive in every sense of the word. And he's perfect. He is so, so, so perfect and I feel beyond grateful that I've known him for 4 years.

Des

~He calls his sister "Gen TA vieve" or "John V".

~ One day he asked me, "Is it Sunday? I don't want Jack to kick me hard in da balls today!" ???















~He says his favorite NFL team is the Broncos...but if he happens to have on green then he is the "Green BEAN Packers" :)


~Before church as I was hurriedly getting us out of the door he says, "You look cute Mama." He's always noticing what I wear and if it's anything other than yoga pants (a rare occasion) he compliments me.






















~It is much, much better now, but when we got back from our trip it took a couple of weeks to get back into the bed time routine. Des would stay up until almost 10 p.m. every night either playing in his bed, whispering trying to keep his brother awake, or worst of all, crying for us. We would take turns RE-tucking him in etc. You can't really just let him cry when he shares a room with his sleeping brother and a wall with his sleeping baby sis. He would wail and wail, "You're my best friend. I love you so much. I just want you so much. Please! You're my best friend!" It sounds cute, but man...those were some rough nights. Thankfully we are back to normal and the boys go to sleep so good as long as they get their stories from their daddy and a drink of water.

~He is really into playing wii with his brother. He's actually getting pretty good at some of the games though he is best at sword fighting because all he has to do is go crazy with waving the controller around. He and Ben play against each other and on the same team sometimes. Before each and every game/match etc. he shouts out to me or brad, "Who are we versing?" He wants to know their name. :)

















~I love that he still mispronounces certain words and I don't ever want him to learn how to say them right! He calls giraffes "a Ba Jaraff" and dessert is "bah zert". I smile every time.

















~He has a new friend at the fitness center named Cole. She is 2 and kind of a bully to him and tells him what to do and even pushed and hit him in the beginning. But he took a liking to her. He is always trying to show off for her. Last week I heard him run up to her as soon as we got there and say, "Cole! Look! I have boots!" as he pointed to his toes. But it sounded like "Ko. Yook! I have booooots." Then as we were leaving he ran up to her and gave her a full on hug and kiss on on the lips. That night at dinner I asked if Cole was his girlfriend. He said, "No. Liv is my girlfriend. Ko is my queen."

He runs on his tip toes, purposefully falls down and does cannon balls on the couch. He punches his brother with the front of his fist and pushes him with a smile on his face. His hair is unruly and getting curlier by the day. He says I'm his best friend and Ben is his best buddy. It's not that he has no fear, it's that he is completely unaware of his surroundings and any impending danger. He loves his trains and his favorite song to sing is the Thomas theme song. Speaking of Thomas, he thinks Percy is a girl and that it is utterly hilarious if he has a train hook up to a different train's coal car. He could LIVE off heart to heart cheerios and he calls them "honeys". He judges food based on how it looks and has gone to bed without dinner a few nights because he refuses to eat what is on his plate. He is so sensitive in every way...how things feel on his skin, smells, noises that are too loud and when people laugh at him. It is a daily battle to get comfortable clothes on him that "feel right" and shoes on his feet that don't make him completely fall apart. But that sensitivity makes him extra cuddly, extra generous with kind words, and more thoughtful than most 3 year olds. 

He has demanded that he get to start driving the Gator some and Ben holds on for dear life as Des drives full speed while crazily throwing in left and right turns for fun. He loves to play basketball and running over to visit his Papa and Gaga. He still hates the dogs most of the time but will occasionally chase Patty around of kiss her on the face. He knows numbers and letters and colors and shapes. He said to me, "I can make a rhyme! M and ball! See? It rhymes!" My Big Big Friend is his favorite show. He plays so good with his sissy and he will get attached to a certain toy and play with it for an entire day and then not play with it again for weeks. He still crawls in bed with us every single night at some point and when my eyes open and see him there laying horizontal with his arms and legs spread as far as they can go and his hair wild and crazy and his big ol' kissable lips my heart nearly bursts. He is just so darn amazing.

Despeeches #146

He didn't want to wear the shoes we picked out for church so he threw a royal hissy fit and bonked his head HARD on the coffee table. He had a huge goose egg and as I was cuddling him and he was crying he said, "I just love my flip flops so much."




At least once a day for the last week he has asked me, "Mama? Do I get you forever? I want you forever."

I melt and then I ask him, "Do I get you forever?" and he replies, "YEP!"

Every time he is in trouble he cries, "You mean at me!" and "But you the bestest mommy ever!" Talk about guilt trip!

An interview with a 3 year old.

Tomorrow Des turns THREE years old and I am in disbelief. Last November, when Ben turned 4, I started the tradition of interviewing my kiddos on their birthdays.  Seeing the difference in answers between Ben turning 4 and Des turning 3 is pretty hilarious...but I am writing them down exactly as he said them. When I sat Des down to ask him these questions, Ben was right there with us rephrasing every single one and egging him on. Of course. 

So, here are Desmond's questions on the eve of his third birthday...

My favorite food is: "I like pizza!"

My favorite sport to play is: "I like to play with Woody!" then after Ben kept shouting that Woody wasn't a sport and then proceeding to list every sport under the sun Des retaliated with, "Basketball!"

The best show on television is: "Blue Buzz" (This is Toy Story 1 for all of you in the dark.)

The coolest person on Earth is: "You!" and he points/pushes Ben in the chest.

My favorite thing to learn about in school is: "Poop." (He got in trouble. then he said with his sweet face, "Mama. I don't say poop in school.")

The thing I do the most awesomely is: "Poop." (He got in trouble again so he then said, "at basketball.")

If I could go anywhere in the world, I’d go to: "High School" (pronounced high tool.)

My favorite color is: "BLUE!"

When I grow up I’m going to become: "High School!" then with some explaining..."play basketball." 

My favorite song is: "ABCDs!"

The book I love right now is: "truck a muck" (Chuck the Truck)

Three words that describe me: "D. E. S." (I love that he said this. He LOVES spelling his name and finding the letters everywhere. If ANYthing has these letters in it he shouts them out, D!E!S! This spells DES!"

Right now I’m thankful for: (I rephrased it what do you want to say thank you for?)  "Mommy!"

When I was little, I used to: “I was a baby and I just played with these sunglasses and den I ate them." (as he picked up his brand new spiderman sunglasses he got yesterday. what?)

My favorite season is: "a football player." (again, what?)

The snack I like the best is: "chedder bunnies"

One food that I do not like is: (he thought and thought and thought so I said, "What doesn't taste good in your mouth? and he said, "balloons."

My best friend is: "Woody!"

If I had one wish it would be: "I wish I could be strong."

My best memory is: "Play with mommy."

My favorite thing to play is: "Jumping basketball." (when they play while jumping on the bed.)

What I want for my 3rd birthday: "I wanna be a birthday cake." (and one final, HUH?)

I love this! It is hilarious and random and sweet and quirky...all very Desmond-esque. I can't believe my baby is gonna be 3 tomorrow. He has completely changed my life and taught me so much. Like I can be a birthday cake and that football player is a season. :)

The Mondo.

With the crazy going on in our lives right now, I'm terribly behind on blogging. Life is good and the kiddos are changing every day. I really need to do an update on how much they are changing and growing but for now I want to share some of Desi's cutest phrases lately. Then hopefully I can write more soon about these little loves of my life.


Can I curl up in my boobies? Thanks mama.

That's yummy in my tummy!

























When he's in trouble he says, "You mean at me!" {instead of you're mad at me.}

That's what I'm talkin' about!

Look at that pretty girl {durl} (talking about his sissy)




















You are my best friend.

Bubba! I did it!

























I 4 like ben. He two like me.

What in the world? {Whut in da wurd?}

His words.

Des talks like a 2 year old. His sweet little voice makes me melt and the way he says certain things always has me smiling.















I know most of these are common in toddlers, but Ben never mispronounced letters and sounds and I find it simply adorable. I never want to forget his special little language.

All of his "g" sounds come out sounding like "d". Gaga is "dada" and Go is "do".

"I dowing to det a dame." {I going to get a game.}
"Mmmmm. That dreen tracker is DOOD in my belwy!" {Mmmm. That green cracker is good in my belly!"

All of his "c" sounds come out sounding like "t". Cake is "tate" and Popcorn is "poptorn."

"Tan I det a tuptate at Dada's house?" {Can I get a cupcake at Gaga's house?}
"Tould you help me buttle my tarseat?" {Could you help me buckle my carseat?}

It's so fun!























That's not all. Sometimes he comes up with completely out of the blue words too! For example Antonio on Power Rangers is "Utopia" and he calls cotton candy either "pootin' tandy" or "rotten tandy" depending on the day!























He is such a hoot! Except that now he is really into "poop" and "butt" neither of which he mispronounces. So that's not funny.

Like, at all. :)

Her first time in the seat!

I can't remember what age you are supposed to try the bumpo seat out, but we tried it last week. I remember when I finally put Ben in it at around 3 months his thighs were so fat that he couldn't fit! g. definitely does not have that problem! She may be long and chubby, but she still has a dainty thing going on.

Anyway, I was so excited to try it out. She is really into watching her brothers and seeing what it going on in the room. She loves to sit in her swing and check things out so I thought this would be the perfect time to get her in the chair. I set her down in it and Desmond was immediately captivated! He was so proud of her and kept saying, "Baby sis, SIT? Sit in chair? Good job baby sis!" It was sweet. She seemed to be doing great!

But that lasted all of two minutes, MAX. She's got incredible head control and has since the day she was born, but I guess that big ol' brain is still just a little too heavy.

Maybe we'll try it again in a week or so and hopefully she'll like it more than this:

desmond

When hanging out on the couch he sucks or chews on his big toe!

He absolutely loves farts and laughs every time.

He is talking SO much. He tells stories and knows so many words.

He doesn't like when his brother makes poop jokes and will say, "No say poop!" esp. if Ben is replacing words in a song with "poop."

A while back I was sitting on the pot first thing in the morning and he came running in as fast as he could. He threw his arms around me and gave me one of his tightest hugs and sad, "Me love you SOOOOOOOO much." I replied, "Oh, I love YOU so much!" and he put his hands on my cheeks and said, "Yes. You love US so much." and pranced out.

He is a very, very good kiddo and hardly ever misbehaves. He gets really sad when he is tired and wants his mama, and at dinner time he would rather jump or climb than eat. When he does do something wrong he will often punish himself. The other day he hit Ben and he said, "No hit. Me go to timeout." and ran into his room. Then after a couple of minutes, he peeked out and said, "Me time out over?"

He loves to get to hold g. He will ask, "Me hold sis? Me hold sis? ME HOLD SIS!!!!!!" until I let him. If she doesn't cry, he'll proudly say, "Look! Sis is happy!"
















Both boys are really starting to use their imagination and I think Des is the one that has really spurred this on. He is very creative and will incorporate the most random things that he has seen or heard into our lives. Monsters are the new thing and he talks about them all the time. He pretends to be one, he reads Not My Monster everyday and knows all the words, he says he dreams about them, and he pretends to be scared by pretend ones. One day he came out and told us that he couldn't go into his room at Gaga's house because there was a monster under the bed. He was teasing at first, but then he really worked himself up about it and got scared. He took us in there and pointed to the huge glass bowl under there and said, "See? Glass Monster!" Now he will tell you, "No monsters Gaga's house. No. Just bowl."

Monday while getting dressed for school he wanted his shirt with an alien on it that says HAPPY. He talked about his "Happy Monster" shirt all the way to school and kept saying, "Me happy monster! Me has teeth, but no bite!" Then when we got there, for the very first time, he just danced into school. Both of his teachers looked at me in disbelief! It was a good day!

"Scary" is one of his favorite words. Whenever he learns about anything new, he asks, "Dat scary?" Also, when he's telling me about something, it is one of the ways he describes almost everything. "Me jumping on bed with Ben. Not scary!" Or, "Me colored a wectangle...it's not scary!"

















While doing school worksheets, he said "Me draw name! D! E! S! Des! Ta-da!" (Of course it looked like a huge scribble of blue!)

When he walks into a room and sees you there, he always says,"Oh. Well, HI!"

While kissing his sister's head the other day he sweetly announced, "Me love sis' hair!"

And he always, always says, "tank you", "peez" and "Love you mama." even when he doesn't have to.

He has the best kisses and hugs...he literally smothers you with his tight hugs and presses your face HARD with those rosy lips to give you a kiss.

















He is just awesome!

the mondo man.

He is such a mess and I seriously laugh at this kid all the time. He is just so cute. He looks up to his brother so much and there are certain things he does that makes me think he wants to be just like him. He wants to wear his shirts, sit right next to him to watch him play football on the ipad, and still says he's four too. But so much of what he does shows that he has a great independent streak. He loves to pick to be OU when they play football despite his brother's protests. He can already take down his big brother with an excellent tackle and has no problem standing up for himself. If he doesn't want to play something he can say "no" very emphatically.

He loves, loves, loves playing football, wrestling his daddy, playing ipad (inparticularly just picking out NFL teams over and over), eating granola bars and crackers, watching Big Big Friend, his woody doll who's hat comes off, and jumping on the couch. He hates being outside in the cold, but also hates wearing clothes so his hands and feet are always freezing. He stands when he eats and never, ever stops moving...ever. He is talking so much more and he has the sweetest little voice ever.

My very favorite phrase is when he walks up to you, puts his hands on your face or bends his head to look you in the eyes and asks, "You happy?"

Also, if he gets mad or sad or hurt, once he's over it, he shouts, "I'm happy!"

He's got excellent manners and says "peez" and "tank ewe" often but even better is when he says "yes mommy sir!" When he does get it right it's cute too, "yes mommy man".

I love how he says ok ("oh-tay")

He's really into "mine" and what is his, his brother's and his sisters. It's not all bad though. For example before rest time the boys each pick a book to read and he is so proud of his pick. "Read my pick first! This is Des' pick."

He has stopped calling Ben "bubba" when he talks about him. It is now "Ben". But when they talk to each other, he still says that sweet "bubba".

He asks to go to Gaga's house every day. Gaga really sounds more like "dada" and Dada sounds like "daddy". The other day we drove into the driveway and Des whined from the back, "No not mommy's house. I want Gaga's house!"

He still cries for Nana (boobies). It's better than it was because he knows it's g's turn now ("Nana's for baby sis?"), but still when he gets hurt or tired he wants it...at least to hold it. I can't wait until he brings a girl home. I am totally gonna tell her. :)

He loves his sister. The other day she was smiling so big at him and he was so proud. "Baby sis smiling!" Now he always tries to get her to. And he loves to ask if she's awake "Baby sis wait?" and then proceeds to poke her in the eyes. (gently, of course!)

He still finds his way into our bed every night. He looks so big laying next to his baby sister and I just can't bear how fast he is growing. He loves to cuddle and he talks (or yells!) in his sleep which is funny, esp. since we can usually figure out what he's dreaming about.

He crosses his arms, sticks out his bottom lip, furrows his brow and drops his head when he gets mad...and it's adorable.

He'll tuck his toys into bed and say "night night" but he also puts them in time out...usually for pushing!

When he says his name is sounds like Desmond Mart the Shart Schatzel.

He prances when he runs and is usually singing the OSU fight song while doing it.

He wears his football helmet all the time.

He hasn't figured out the difference between me and I..."Me hurt", "Me want you" "Me watch show" etc. and says most statements like questions. It makes for the cutest toddler talk ever.

He's just simply the best 2 year old ever.

A fair trade?

The furrowed brow kid that will never EVER smile for me in a picture was discovered here on my phone's camera roll. Apparently all it takes to get that gorgeous grin is his brother behind the lens. grrrr.


But guess what? Instead of ok, he says, "oh-tay" and when I say "I love you" his reply is "SO MUCH".

He's totally forgiven.

UPDATES on BOTH boys

Here's what's new with your two favorite little schatzies...

Ben (3 weeks shy of FOUR):

This little guy is hilarious. He still talks a mile a minute and never stops. He is just so smart and had so much to say, I guess! :) In the car he gives directions to places (correct ones!) and recognizes everything. The other day we drove by a chainsaw store that we went to over 2 years ago with Grandma Mary when he was 1 year old. He said, "Mama look! There's the chainsaw store where we got Papa a new chain saw. Remember? Grandma Mary was with us." I almost crashed I was so amazed. But he is like that with everything. If he has seen it or been there one time, he will remember it. He loves to do "school" at home and asks every day to do it. His favorite thing to do is cut and glue. He has spent a lot of time lately coloring, cutting and gluing together masterpieces that he says are "christmas presents" for people. (mainly just me and genevieve, but a few others too!) When he finishes he says "Ok, mama. Let's tie 'em up!" (his definition for wrapping.

I wasn't going to give him a party because, heck, I might be in labor on November 19th, and he seemed ok with it. But one day he said, "I think we should have a party for my birthday. But don't worry Mama, it will be realllllllly easy for you. I'll ONLY invite my friends and all we'll do is play football in the backyard and you can make us a cake!" It was so sweet and so thoughtful that I am happily obliging. Ever since, he has talked nonstop about who to invite, what teams everyone will be, who will be cheerleaders (me and mimi) and how HE is bullet when they run with the flags after touchdowns. The sweetest thing had to be when he walked up to his mimi at our baby shower and said, "Mimi. I'm having a football party for when I turn four and I'm only inviting my friends. Would you like to come?"

His days are FULL of jumping on the bed, playing football, tackling his brother, jumping from couch to ottoman, running from room to room, and completely bossing his brother around.

He has started to read to his brother which is just about the sweetest thing I've ever seen. If Desmond brings a different book, Ben will say, "I can't read this one to you. I don't know these words!" but usually will end up saying, "Oh, ok bubba. I'll try." and then make something up.

He is very, very excited about his baby sis and talks about her (and to her) all the time. He has asked many times if he can be there when she is born. He wants to know if she is sleeping, hungry, kicking, and how big she is at all times. I showed him a stuffed shark today when he asked how big she was and said, she's about this size. For the rest of the day, he carried that shark with him and talked to it like it was her. He even took turns with it when they played and gave it kisses. It's precious.

He is growing up so much and really looks different these days. I'm amazed at how big his feet are and how much more independent he is. He potties without even telling us, can change his clothes, gathers eggs and is assigned 1-2 chores every morning by brad. He is such a good helper and because he is such a rule follower, he has a huge tendency to boss des around and tattle on him for everything. "I'm the boss" is a phrase that I have to correct a lot and the thing he gets in trouble most for is yelling at or disciplining his brother. :)

Despite his HUGE vocabulary, he still pronounces certain words so hilariously. "Desmond" still sounds like "dammit" 1/2 the time and anything that starts with S sounds funny. He kept telling me he wanted a "horse with a dick" for his birthday and despite my horror, I eventually realized he meant a stick horse like he had seen at a friends house! Football dominates most of his airtime whether he is play-by-play announcing pretend games or making guesses about what uniforms the cowboys will wear next. He knows several players and their numbers, but my favorite is when he is commentating and shouts, "INTERSCHEPTION!" It's so cute.

He is full of drama, full of life, and definitely full of energy.

Desmond (2 years 2 months):

This little guy is blowing my mind lately! My once, barely speak a word, practically a mute baby is becoming quite chatty. And though his vocabulary might not be what his brother's was at this age, he certainly knows a lot more things! He COUNTS TO TEN! He knows ALL OF HIS LETTERS! He can name 8 COLORS! I don't mean to brag, but stuff that kids learn in school, he has already mastered! The way he says them might be a little funny, but he says them...ALL THE TIME. In fact, it's what he loves to do. He grabs a book and points out every single letter. Or he sits in the car and points out every color he sees. He counts a stream of numbers and then runs, or hides, or jumps. And he is so proud of himself...probably because of my overflowing pride! He is talking in other ways too. He mostly says 3 word sentences and can say just about any word, even if Ben and I are the only ones that can interpret. Some of my favorites lately are:

"mama, help me."

"hing pete hong (sing pete song!)"

"me eat tuptake" (cupcake)

But it's always like that. Everything in three words and it's just amazing to see how quickly he has gone from not ever talking, to just streaming conversation constantly. And no. He is not my quiet child. He squeals, he screams, he repeats consonant sounds over and over and over just to hear it. (think: ba ba ba ba ba ba ba...until you want to scream!) Even his running is loud. He antagonizes his brother endlessly. He loves to push his buttons and try to get him to react...or better yet, hit him so he can pretend to cry and come tell me, "Bubba hurt me." "Hit head. hurt." "Kiss head mama."

He does have sweet manners and will say, "Peas" and "Ank ewe" He sings the OSU fight song already and shouts "O. S. U." with the arm motions. What can I say, they both are brainwashed!

He has a super charming personality. He shows empathy for others and when he asks questions he furrows his brow and has such worry in his voice. Speaking of that brow of his. Just like his daddy's! He has a world class smile and flashes it all the time, but somehow in almost every picture he's got that brow furrowed as if he is sad or mad. But he's not. He never is. He is happy and carefree and funny. He SKIPS around the house. SKIPS. I never want to forget it. His nude little bottom with a skip of joy that looks more like a galloping horse.

He loves to wear underwear and we are still having pretty good success at the potty...though I wouldn't say he was trained by any means.

And what a loving little boy. He is so good at showing affection, even if at times it comes out a little on the rough side. He loves to take both hands and hit both sides of my belly, then say, "Mama? Hurt hiss? (sis)?" He still grabs both my cheeks and gives me kisses. He runs up to everyone, grabs their leg and says, "Heeeeeyyyyy!" And the pats. Oh the back pats. He will pat your back (or sometimes my belly) for ages. He loves to hug and rest his head on your shoulder and just pat your back. At bedtime he asks, "Mama? Lay here?" and pats the bed and then when I lean down to hug him he just squeezes so tight around my neck and pats.

He has started to find his way to our bed some nights. I hear his chubby feet coming and then he's looking over my bed saying "hi mama" in his sleepy, low voice. He curls right up next to me, says "right here" and then literally buries his head in between my back and the bed. I don't mind it too much at all except the night I woke up to him banging his head against my head. It hurt! And he was still asleep! Such a weird-o! He has vivid dreams just like Ben does, that wake him up, or cause him to shout in his sleep. Funny thing is the thing he shouts out the most is "NO BUBBA!"

He loves hide on the floor at the foot of my bed with my comforter over his head. Everytime he colors he gets more on his body than on the paper. He might be the dirtiest little boy I've ever seen. He loves kiwi and tomatoes but when he doesn't like something he goes, "Blech!" and pretends to spit. Everytime we read before naptime, when I'm about to read the book he chose he says, "Me pick!" He hates, hates, hates when I hold other babies and immediately reverts to infant mode and wants me to hold him. He is super cranky, cuddly, and quiet for at least an hour when he wakes up from his nap. And he is still melts my heart with those big brown eyes.