Riddles, puppet-less puppet shows, and other recent happenings

I apologize to my faithful readers for the lack of blog posts lately–we have been busy! I can’t believe the summer is almost over. We have enjoyed having Uncle Jamie here several days this month. Last week, Jamie and I took the boys to the county fair. They loved seeing the animals. Will couldn’t understand why there were no giraffes or bears. He also didn’t like any animals making loud noises. Christopher had fun petting a sheep, a calf, and a bunny!

Christopher’s latest obsession is riddles. He says, “Riddle me this . . . ” (taught to him by Daddy) and then gives you several clues. This morning he said, “It’s brown, it has cinnamon jelly inside it, you put it on a plate, you have it for breakfast, and you eat it.” Aided by the fact that he was eating a brown sugar cinnamon pop tart at the time, I guessed correctly. Christopher also likes to come up with games and then give you a lesson in how to play it. The games often have interesting names. Yesterday, it was “the English man who went up the hill and came down with all the tubbies.” Don’t ask, I have NO idea.

Will’s favorite game is “puppet show.” He announces, “We’re having a puppet show, guys!” And as far as I can tell, the puppet show does not involve any actual puppets. You simply step up and down the hearth in front of the fireplace. Will LOVES this game. Will also loves to tell you that you may not do things. I guess this is part of his strong 2-year-old need to be in control. He says, “You MAY NOT have a snuggle!” or “You MAY NOT have an [imaginary] cookie!”

My sweet, sweet boys have become very complimentary lately. Christopher often tells me that he likes my hair or my shirt. And since Will has to do everything Christopher does, he joins in. Will likes to compliment my buttons, my shoulder, or my elbow. They will make great husbands someday! It’s hard to imagine any wife who wouldn’t swoon when her husband looks into her eyes and says, “I really like your shoulder!”

100 Posts!

I noticed the other day that my last post was my 100th post on this blog.  Wow!  To celebrate 100 posts of riveting stories, hilarious quotes, adorable photos, and recaps of all major holidays and celebrations, I thought I’d share my top 10 posts from the past 2+ years.  Thanks for reading!

1.  Our new imaginary friend and a snow day–February 1, 2008

2.  Why I love Arkansas–November 14, 2007

3.  Jesus is alive!–June 21, 2007

4.  Mommy vs. the utility companies–April 15, 2007

5.  Happy birthday, Will!–January 25, 2007

6.  Adventures in self-feeding–December 1, 2006

7.  Cell phones, teeth, and Mommy gets it wrong–September 21, 2006

8.  626 miles with my boys–September 15, 2006

9.  Chips, dip and ice cream–May 20, 2006

10.  We knew it was inevitable–April 13, 2006

The Real Deal

Since my last post was admittedly braggy, this post is the honest, real deal of our current lives.  I try not to write many negative things about my kids on this blog, but I have a story from last week that may become a legend in our family.  At least I hope it won’t be topped anytime soon.

I was on the computer and heard Christopher and Will playing in the other room.  I heard Will start to scream, and immediately Christopher said, “Will, I’ll tell Mommy what happened.”  They come into the study, Christopher’s arm comfortingly around Will’s shoulder.  Christopher explains:  “Will’s sippy cup was on the floor, and Will fell down, and he hit his head on the sippy cup.”  It sounded a little odd, but Will does fall down a lot, so I was tempted to believe it.  But too bad for Christopher–his brother can talk!  Will was on my lap at this point, earnestly protesting:  “He threwed it!  He threwed it!”  A few seconds later, Christopher confessed that what actually happened was that Will wouldn’t give him a toy, so he threw a sippy cup at Will’s head.  Oh yeah, he was in double big trouble for that one!

While Christopher is spinning lies, Will is asserting his independence and trying to control as much as his life as possible.  That is a nice way of saying that he throws tantrums.  All.  Day.  Long.  I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that he throws a tantrum every morning because he doesn’t want to get out of his crib.  And he throws a bigger tantrum every night because he doesn’t want to go into his crib.  And every point in between is contested as well.

But in the midst of Will’s independence month (please, Lord, just let it be a month), there are some pretty funny sayings.  My favorite is when we tell him no, and he says, “But I want you to say yes!  Say yes!!”  He knows who is in charge, he just doesn’t like our answer!  Another favorite is when he wants to do something himself, he says, “Just me!”  And then there’s the classic:  when we tell him something and he responds, “Uh, uh, uh, I don’t think so!”

Ah, gotta love those terrible twos.