I Caved...

Since January and the beginning of our sicknesses, the TV has been our friend, a very good friend. I mean, what else do you do with sick kids? It's easy to turn on, it holds their attention, and it doesn't use energy that they just don't have when they're sick. It got us through many days in January and February.

Last week, I instituted a 'no TV' policy for Connor. I was tired of him handing me the remote and whining if it wasn't on. It was cute at first, but then I realized that he would prefer Sporticus, Rotten Robbie, and Blue over hanging out with us. At first, I was kind of lost myself. There were certain times of the day that I would turn it on when I knew I couldn't give my full attention, such as when I was making dinner. The first couple of days were challenging but slowly Connor got used to not having it on and started finding ways to entertain himself. Wow, what a concept, a child entertaining himself without electronics! It started to become a game to me, a sort of challenge. I had visions of the boys running through fields hiding from 'Indians' or traipsing through creeks escaping 'pirates.' I dreamt that they had no idea what Wii or Nintendo was nor did they care because they were having too much fun doing old fashioned stuff like pretending.

So, today would've been one whole week without TV. However, it is now 4:44am, Connor has been up since 1am and I've been trying to get him to go back to sleep for the past 3 hours but he has now succeeded in waking Andrew up too. So here we all sit, watching Sporticus and Rotten Robbie...at 4:44am in the morning.

I caved.

Lovey...

Connor is getting more and more lovey with Andrew lately. I think he's realizing that they will be able to play together soon. I often find Connor 'talking' to Andrew and Andrew cooing and smiling back at him. It is truly a pleasure to watch. Sometimes, however, Connor takes it a little too far, as evidenced by Andrew's face in the last two photos. He seems a bit annoyed, doesn't he?

Baby Blues...

I'm not quite sure when Andrew's eyes will change colors. In the meantime we're enjoying his baby blues. What a cutie.

And yes, that's his big toe.

Shapes or Colors...

Shapes!!

As the warm weather approaches, I'm getting increasingly nervous as to how I'm going to entertain a two year old and an almost one year old in the heat and humidity of a Carolina summer. The last three library books I've taken out have been: The Toddler's Busy Book - 365 Creative Games and Activities to Keep Your 1 1/2- to 3-Year-Old Busy, Toddler Theme-A-Saurus - The Great Big Book of Toddler Teaching Themes, and First Art -Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos. Sense the theme here?

I found these shapes and color sticker books at the dollar store. They held Connor's attention for a total of 6 minutes.

A Shout Out to Tayza...

I often roll my eyes and sigh when talking about Tayza these days. She is always under my feet and I always seem to be tripping over her. She's also always under the table or right next to Connor or Andrew's chair waiting for a scrap to fall.

However, even though she can sometimes get in our way, she really is a great dog. Andrew is absolutely fascinated by her and Connor, well, basically tortures her. He tries to ride her, pull her paws and yank her tail. Connor has gotten many a time out for all of this but sometimes we can't catch all of the times it happens. I don't even have a picture of her and Connor because he's usually doing something to her that he shouldn't be doing.

So, thank you Tayza, for being such a great dog to us. I know you would protect us with your life. I just hope I can protect you when there's two little rugrats running around here.

Sharing...

Lately, Connor has learned to share with Andrew. He shares half-eaten Cheerios, already-sipped sippy cups, and prelicked spoons and forks. Along with this, obviously, comes the sharing of germs. How do we teach a 22 month old to 'share' with his little brother yet not share the germs?

Impossible.

Cheers to spring and (hopefully) the end of the sick season.

The Two Amigos...

Don't they look like they're up to something?

Connor has taken to laying on top of Andrew when he's on the floor. It's a pretty scary sight but surprisingly Andrew loves it (and the little brute is able to handle his older brother too!) Connor is usually trying to hug and kiss Andrew and Andrew just stares up at Connor and laughs and laughs.

Good times...