Exercise Time

So lately I've had two girlfriends come over in the morning and we've been working out in the living room. They come early, usually about 7 am. The kids usually sleep later than that, so we try to be quiet. The first day, I didn't tell the kids about them coming over. Nathan came out with his sleepy eyes, squinting at the bright light then looked like he thought he was still dreaming. He looked so confused. He wouldn't talk to any of us, just went over to the table and started coloring. That's usually how he deals with things, by ignoring them. The two other boys slept right through the whole thing. Later, when the girls were gone and after Rylan woke up, I told him that they were over and we exercised. He had a look of shock on his face and said, "So I missed the whole thing." "Yep," I said. With a look of relief on his face he said, "Good! Because that would be gross!" :P

Glimpses of a First Date

Our niece, who is almost 11 years old, was sleeping over our house for the night. It's been interesting to see my 5 year old interact with her in a one-on-one situation. When I just sit back and observe, I can see a lot of the things that we have been teaching him, directly and indirectly, at work. One of these things gave me a glimpse into what his first date might look like, or maybe the conversation starter to get the first date. We were sitting down for dinner and Rylan asks Taylor, "Have you been enjoying your summer so far?" The question in and of itself is not funny, but the five year old asking the question in such a grown-up way made me chuckle inside. He's been picking up on these things and is putting them to good use. Wish I could be a fly on the wall when he has to start "that" conversation so far down the road.

Staff Brat

Rylan's Grandad is the pastor at our church. So over the years he has clocked some serious time at church, most of which were non-church days and no one was there, so he really had run of the building. His Grandma lets him ride bikes and scooters in the building and so on. So Rylan is feeling very comfortable about his position at church. In other words, he's becoming a staff brat. Here's the evidence: At a gathering the other night, Rylan's Me-ma was watching him in the back. He was trying desperately to sit on top of a table that kept tilting and threatening to fall. She told him to get down and not to do that. He looked at her and said, "You don't go to church here," with a scowl. He was clearly marking his territory and letting his Me-ma know who's in charge. Me-ma stood her ground and handled the situation, but she had to turn away and laugh when it was all done. I think it's because her dear little children were once called staff brats as well. (Although I don't know why!)

I'm a teenager!

Rylan and Nathan were playing "family." That is the newest thing that they like to do. They take turns being the Dad or even the Mom. The other will be the baby or the son. It changes every time. So today, Nathan asks Rylan if he wants to play. They both agree Nathan will be the Dad and Rylan the son. Rylan was trying to continue playing with his race car track, but "Dad" told him he had to stop. Apparently "son" was not listening and "Dad" tried to turn it off. Then I hear "son" exclaim, "I can do whatever I want, I'm a teenager!" HA! He's got another thing coming to him!

Old Pictures

We were looking through an old phone that is not used any more. I think it's from Grandma. She let the boys play with it. Nathan asked her to charge it for him. After dinner we started looking at the old pictures. There were pictures of Rylan when he was a baby and of Nathan when he was a baby. We were oo-ing and ah-ing then all of the sudden Nathan says with no joking, "Can we please stop, this is freaking me out." We all roared with laughter and Nathan did, too. I don't know if he really meant it or if the kid can just deliver a line. He cracks us all up.

Sweet moments

Rylan and Nathan were getting ready for a nap today. I was finishing up with Owen and getting him ready for a nap. I guess Rylan said he was going to go to sleep already, and I overheard Nathan say, "But you're going to miss the hug and kiss!" He said it as if it was a prized possession that he would never think of forgetting. And he never does.

Baseball

We used the new T-ball bat we bought for the boys for the first time today. They had a lot of fun. Rylan had a few really good hits with Ryan pitching to him. Nathan did too, but he still used the red plastic bat that's a little bigger. Rylan actually broke one of the whiffle balls! He was really excited about that. Of course, Owen and Mommy were on the side cheering for each of them. When it was Nathan's turn, he would say, "Cheer for me Mommy!" One time, when Nathan was up to bat, he kept missing the ball. He was getting a little frustrated, but was still having a good time. He told the ball, "Come on sucker!" Now, I don't approve of this language that he probably got from a movie, but it was still funny to me. When he finally hit a ball, he took off to run the bases. He ran to first, ran 3 circles around first without ever touching it, then ran past second, and past third, without touching them, and then stomped on to home. He was so proud of himself. I was laughing and cheering for him. He then came running over to me and said, "Good job cheering for me Mom! Give me a high 5!" It was a lot of fun.