Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Silly Children

My kids are pretty funny. Even though they can drive me crazy sometimes (at least once a day) they are pretty humorous. See below examples:

Benjamin came downstairs with his pajamas on the other day and had his pants both inside out and backwards. (But for a child not quite two-and-a-half, that's pretty good!) I told him that his pants were backwards, so he proceeded to try to correct the problem. Now, had he been wearing a skirt, his method would have worked. But you can't expect to turn pants around while they are still on your body. He did manage to get the tag behind him, but then he couldn't walk.

Anna is a very happy baby and laughs at everything. If she sees a family member, she'll squeal in delight. Matthew got her laughing pretty hard today when he was making shooting noises with a toy. He then entertained her for a long time. He is the only one that can really get her going! She is also enjoying an exersaucer we borrowed from a friend. Our nephew is still using the one we used for Ben, so we asked some friends if we could use their's. Anna seems to want that kind of stuff earlier than the boys did. Oh, we also gave her some rice cereal today, but she didn't seem to care for the idea of eating that way, so we'll wait awhile and try again.

Matthew loves to play pretend, but can't stay with one pretend for very long. First he's a pirate, then he's Merlin (he just got Sword in the Stone), then he's a superhero, then he's the villian, then he's a pizza maker, then he's some other thing from his imagination. It's fun to watch him bounce from person to person. Ben plays right along and switches with him!

Let's not forgot the silly mother of these kids. We went to church tonight and I forgot to pack diapers for Anna in the diaper bag. Good thing she didn't really need a change!

Rob may be the only normal one around here, which makes sense, because he was born in Normal....

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Oh, the Horror!!

Today we took Matthew and Anna for their well-child/baby exams. I thought it would be a great idea to schedule them together to save on time. I now think it was a terrible idea. Rob likes it, but I think I'd rather have time to focus on each child individually. The doctor seemed to have fun with the whole family in the room, so he and the kids had a great time!! (He has three children within a four year span as well, so at least he understands!)

Anyway, Anna was first, so we went back to have her weighed and measured. She is 25 1/2 inches long and 15lbs 15oz, putting her solidly in the 90th percentile for both. Her head measured in the 65th percentile. She is just one big baby girl!! She eats 30 oz a day, so she's not overeating. It just proves that some of us were born with the genes to be more loveable and squishy than others (so there.) She smiled and cooed and showed off. Before the doctor came in, the boys joined us so he could examine the kids together. Yikes.

Matthew had already been weighed and measured, 37lbs and 43 inches. We finally have an explanation for why he seems to be so skinny. He weight is at the 50th percentile, but his height is at the 95th. We were told not to worry about him, so we won't. :) He got through his exam just fine, although he and Ben decided that the exam table was a jungle gym. Ben also discovered the lights...repeatedly....and had to be put into the stroller. We brought Matthew's Leapster, so that calmed him down a bit.

Our concern with Anna was formula brand and her cradle cap. I switched her to the Parent's Choice brand, which is half the cost of Similac. I brought him the labels to have him check the vitamins and minerals and stuff, and he said the switch was fine. $12 a can as opposed to $25 a can....hmmm.....really, a no-brainer unless you have to use the expensive stuff. (I spoke with a mom recently who has a baby with severe allergies and his formula is $60 a can!!) To paraphrase a formula company "Breast is best, but if you have to use formula, go with Parent's Choice!!!"

Then, it was shot time. Matthew went first. He had four of them to get and he did not fair well. One was supposed to go into the fat on his arm.....yeah, right! The kid doesn't have any fat on his body, let alone his arm, so that didn't go over well. My little drama king let everyone in Watertown know that he DID NOT LIKE SHOTS!!! That upset Anna, who cried before she even got her shots!! She screamed and screamed with her three pokes, then I fed her a bottle and she conked right out.

And then the Litwillers went to McDonald's and made it all better. And now the two poked ones are sleeping....the short-term benefit to immunizations.

Can't wait until we get flu shots! (Which we ARE getting this year b/c I want to prevent the madness that was our sick season last year!!!)

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Kid Funnies

Matthew: Here is his Bible story for today (he told this to Benjamin.) So, Jesus and the disciples were on a boat and the storm came. Jesus made it all calm and they all got off the boat. Then they found some scurvy pirates and made them walk the plank.

Ben: After retrieving his milk from the fridge, he said, "It's very cold. But that's okay, because it'll cool off soon."

Anna: She just giggles and laughs and coos. We were asking her if she likes any boys in the nursery, and she kept getting exctied about one boy in particular. He is the pastor's grandson, so that's okay. Hmmm...but he's only two months old and she's four month's old...is that still considered robbing the cradle??

Summer Fun

Well, the Litwiller's are going on vacation all summer long. That's right, folks, we're vacationing in Watertown! All the fun (and headaches) of vacation without leaving the comforts of home (although air conditioning would be nice.)

Two weeks ago we took the kids to Lights and Sirens at the park. We left just as a thunderstorm hit, so we sat in the car for about 20 minutes. The boys got restless and started complaining, so Rob threw them out into the elements...just kidding! We waited until the storm died down and then Rob took the boys out to see the myriad of firetrucks and police cars, all flashing their lights and activating their sirens (hence the name of the activity). We got lots of safety info, the most fun being the Mr. Yuck stickers. They got to sit in a fire truck, which was great fun for them, but Matthew refused to honk the horn. Anna actually did okay with all that noise, but kept looking at me for affirmation.

Another fun Litwiller family adventure was going to the 1 year anniversary of the opening of the Piggly Wiggly. The boys jumped around in a bounce house, got their faces painted, got balloons, and ate cheap hot dogs. And that's about it for that one.

We finished up the family reading program at the library by answering all of the questions on our scavenger hunt. I wrote a poem about the boys killing an ant for part of it, so we'll see how that goes over. We're now entered in a drawing and we'll see in August if our efforts were in vain or if we get some cool family prize.

We celebrated Matthew's 4th birthday this past Saturday. He received lots of cards, a Leapster, money, a Wooly Willy game thingy, and a bike from Mom and Dad. (He got the bike back in May so he could ride it all summer.) Grandma and Grandpa Litwiller were here for the festivities. We had a big cookie in lieu of a cake (he wanted orange and Wal-Mart was all out of them). There was a fundraiser at Ace Hardware which included a bounce house, so we took the boys to that. We all went to McDonaldn's afterwards, so I'd say Matthew was thoroughly indulged.

Now we're trying to get the house straightened up. Since housekeeping is not one of my spiritual gifts, that job may take forever. And ever. And then some.

The next great Watertown adventure is in a week, when Riverfest occurs. The boys will get to ride some terrific carnival rides...well, Matthew, anyway. Ben's afraid of heights, so we'll see how that one goes.

I really hope this post made sense. I'm tired. I blame the media, because they are easy targets.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

You're It....

Each of these questions is to be answered with one word only! Here's mine:

1. Where is your cell phone? non-existant
2. Your significant other? work
4. Your mother? sleeping
5. Your father? work
6. Your favorite thing? books
7. Your dream last night? city
8 Your favorite drink? coffee
9. Your dream/goal? contentment
10. The room you’re in? study
11. Your hobby? stamping
12. Your fear? dark
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? cooler
14. What you’re not? tidy
15. Muffins? pumpkin
16. One of your wish list items? in-color items
17. Where you grew up? Illinois
18. The last thing you did? type
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Favorite gadget? KitchenAid
21. Your pets? husband
22. Your computer? Dell
23. Your mood? content
24. Missing someone? niece
25. Your car? Vue
26. Something you’re not wearing? earrings
27. Favorite store? McWhorter's
28. Like someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When is the last time you laughed? 3 o'clock
31. Last time you cried? not sure

I'm tagging Rachael and Karen H.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Kid Funnies

Yesterday, we were talking about all of the silly things the boys have been saying recently, so I thought I would share them.

Rob and Matthew made a frame for Matthew's twin mattress. (Ben is now in the toddler bed and the big crib is waiting for Anna). Rob had to take it upstairs in pieces and assemble it in their room, but Matthew would not let Rob put the posts on the bed. He says it's because the monsters can't fit under the bed. So, the mattress is on the frame, which is on the floor. Wish I'd thought of that as a kid...

One of Ben's phrases has been saying, "Oh my goodness!" The other day, he ran to the window and said, "Oh my goodness! Daddy took the car!" And then he and I were going to Aldi and as we walked to the car, he said, "Oh my goodness! The car is here!" He has also taken to singing to himself when he plays. It's mostly songs he makes up about whatever toy he is playing with.

Matthew is now a pro at yelling at the characters in Mario Kart. It's pretty funny (and obvious that he got my road rage genes.) He has also earned several trophies and is quite good at it for as young as he is.

One of Matthew's favorite pretends right now is playing pirate. He runs around and yells "Shiver me timbers!" at everyone. He asked me why pirates say that and I said, "Well, maybe they want their timbers shivered." Now he'll ask Ben to shiver his timbers b/c he wants his timbers shivered.

And then there's Anna. She is now rolling over. She's a month and a half ahead of Ben and a month ahead of Matthew on that little milestone. She's holding her head up pretty well now, but does not like to be on her tummy for long. She likes to roll alot, so she'll just roll right on over whenever she's on her back, especially during diaper changes.

Anna now wins the award for Grossest Thing Done to Mommy. She spit up into my mouth the other day. And then she smiled. Let me just state for the record that spit up does not taste good!

We are now at the end of Rob's five day weekend. It was nice. The Custom Shoppe shut down from Thursday-Monday, so that's why he had time off. We just kicked around here, went to the parade on the 4th, played lots of Wii, and had a grand time together. We didn't get to all go to church on Sunday, seeing as Anna has a head cold, but otherwise it was a very nice weekend. Rob does not want to go back to work, but since we like to live in a house and not a cardboard box, I guess he'll have to. Poor guy, his family is SO demanding and picky.....

Saturday, July 5, 2008

The Answers

So, which irrational fear belonged to whom? Those of you brave enough to guess were way off!!

Who's afraid of the dark? That would be me. Yup, I'm 32 years old and scared to death of the dark. Just to clarify, however: I'm afraid of being alone in the dark. I'm okay if I'm with somebody, even the baby, but I always feel like something is going to get me if I'm alone. I won't even come home if there is nobody here after dark. Doesn't make sense, but that's why it's an irrational fear. Oh, Ben is afraid as well, so I suppose half-credit can be given for him :)

Who's afraid of heights? That's Ben. We discovered this a few months ago when he started complaining during diaper changes. He'd scoot himself into the far corner of the changing table. He also threw a fit when they tried to change him at church. If I carry him downstairs, he'll remind me not to drop him. He also does not like sitting on counters or the back of the couch. I'm thinking that he will NOT like rides at amusement parks....

Who's afraid of loud noises? That's Anna. She's only afraid of them if she's not being held. We took her to the 4th of July parade yesterday and she was fine on my lap (although she startled in her sleep several times.) When I had her in the stroller at the VBS ending rally, she freaked out during a video presentation. She wouldn't calm down until I left the gym. Half-credit to Rob's mom, however, for guessing Rob b/c that used to be his fear.

Who's afraid of radio commercials? That's Rob. Okay, so he's not really afraid of them, but some of them are pretty weird. He listens to a lot of public radio at work. Rob doesn't have an irrational fear, so we had to come up with something. I suggested being alone with three kids scared him, but he said that made him look like a wimpy dad.

Who's afraid of being abandoned? That leaves Matthew, the most accurately guessed one. We think this fear was born during his years of day care. He has to know where I am at all times and has to know we're coming back on the rare occassions Rob and I get a date. (Might be time for another one....last one was in....hmmm.....can't remember.....so sad....)

There you have it. Our irrational fears.