Potty Time!

Yeah! Ry's starting to notice when he has to go potty. Most of the time he tells me after he's done it, but tonight, he let me know before! Yeah!

He's always so excited to get in the bath that he has no interest in using the potty prior to bathing. Thus, he has to go after he gets out of the tub. He's proven this with a couple of uh-oh's on the floor lately (he likes to run around the house nekkid after tub time). Tonight, while carrying the same nekkid boy, he said that he had to go, very assertively. So, we gave it a try (I was skeptical since he spent 15 minutes sitting there earlier today). But, we had success! He was very proud of himself, as you can see.

Who Needs a Chair ...

... When you have a fridge?

Tinkertoy Tango

Whatever it takes to keep them busy - who knew I was raising contortionists?

V-Day Party

Since I'm short on time (and too many tax returns are piling up), here's a quick recap of what we've been up to over the last couple of weeks. First things first, the boys both enjoyed the Valentine's Day party at Ben's school.

Here's a picture of Ben as he delivers a Valentine (Scooby Doo, of course) to red-head E. Next, I don't remember any parties at school that had strawberries, let alone strawberries dipped in chocolate. But, Ben has them. There were also doughnuts and lollipops. It was very quiet as the kids worked on their project and ate their treats. Then the sugar kicked in - it was like someone shook a pop bottle: explosion of energy! Kids everywhere. Finally, Ry also enjoys spending time at Ben's school.

Decisions, Decisions

So I go to pick up Ben from school today. He's sitting on the couch with a couple of friends - curly blonde E and redhead E (there are four girls in his class who's names start with the letter E - short blonde E and long blonde E, too). Really, they weren't just sitting, they were snuggling. Okay, they're five, I think. Then, redhead E says she's going to marry Ben. Huh? He's five, I think! Blonde E says she's going to marry Ben, too. Really?

Apparently, all the girls were fighting over him today (B and L also want to marry him). He's exceptionally tired this evening. He says it's because everyone was very bossy to him at school today. Apparently, they were practicing for something ...

Stop the Presses!

Make note: today is the day that it finally happened! Ry, also known as world's worst sleeper, finally, finally slept thru the night. Yeah! At 18 and a half months, I guess he decided it was time. I put him down at 7:30 with hardly any fussing (much better than four hours of screaming, I assure you). I checked on him at 12 when I went to bed (he was still breathing) and then didn't hear from him until 5:30 this morning. Yeah! Now if I could just figure out how to sleep without waking up every two hours, we'll be a well-rested household.

Cross your fingers for another good night.

Hey Good Lookin'

I think I've previously mentioned that Ry refers to socks as "hots." This week, while trying to boost slumping morning spirits, I told Ry it was time to find some sockies (it was pre-coffee). He quickly turned "hots" to "hotties". So, now you've got the image of Ry wandering around, muttering "hottie, hottie, hottie". Cute, right? Fast forward to last night and Travis taking off his socks. You guessed it: "Daddy hottie".

The Incredible Shrinking Boy!

After a visit this morning to OGP (Oregon's greatest pediatrician), Dr. P, we discovered - gasp! - Ry has lost weight! I think this would be alarming for most mamas of an 18 month old, but as he's shrunk from 32 1/2 pounds to 31 1/2 pounds, no one was too concerned. I think my back actually did a little happy dance, too.

For the first time in a long time, a visit to the doc didn't involve wheezing, or instructions for steroid or nebulizer treatments. I think everyone was a little surprised, but I'll take it. Hopefully, we've turned the corner (knock on wood) and he'll be able to go off all that yucky medicine soon.

Also, Ry made some excellent progress last night toward our ultimate goal (and fervent dream) of everyone sleeping all night long in their own beds. With the tax season tyrannosaurous breathing down my neck, I'm definitely looking forward to making this a reality.

In the meantime, enjoy this look at our busy, healthy, 34 inch tall 18 month old.

Scientific Theory, Ben Style

On the way to school this morning, Ben announced that he had figured out how the rain falls out of the clouds (yes, another gray day might have prompted this observation). Ben says, "You know what, Mama, it's when the clouds bump into each other." Okay, then what happens, I ask. "Well, all the lids on all of the jars of water in the clouds come off and the jars tip over and out comes the water. That's what makes rain."

Later, Ben proposed a slight alteration to body structure. He said that bones should be connected by magnets. That way, if anything happens, the doctors can just put them back together. Travis pointed out that it's not necessarily a good idea to put metal in people's bodies because it can rust. Ben had a solution for that one, too. You just have to put the magnets in plastic. Always thinking, this one.

Now this is more like it!

Finally, a little taste of winter in a form that didn't involve wind or precipitation you can see through!

We woke Saturday morning at the usual early hour. Although it was still dark, I noticed some large white stuff mixing in with our liquid sunshine. Lo' and behold - it was snow! And it kept snowing for six hours! Bliss! It was so pretty.

Sadly, the timing was not the greatest. Ry had nicely passed on his high fever from earlier in the week to big brother. Ben, making the virus his own, took on the fever and spiced it up with a little midnight upchuck. Note to loyal readers from the eastern seaboard - this hasn't happened since the last time Aunt Tiffy made pancakes for Ben. He ate them, then quickly deposited them in Uncle Patrick's lap. It's how I knew Patrick was a keeper.

Okay, back to our snow day. Both boys enjoyed snuggling on the couch, watching the snow pile up. Okay, so I realize this is neither North Dakota nor Maine snow, but for us, it was pretty good. It was enough to throw snowballs and do some sledding. We managed to sneak out for a few minutes and tackle the monster hill next door. Again, slight exaggeration. What can I tell you - it's snow fever!

I assume it was the sickness, but the excitement from the snow likely contributed to a rare, magical occurrence at our house. Both boys took mammoth naps - four hour naps. Now, this is actually rarer than snow in Portland. I cannot remember the last time Ben napped. And, Ry hardly ever makes it past 45 minutes. So, to sum it up - snow, sledding and snowballs coupled with two napping boys - it was a good day in our little world.