Eva

On the way back from Omaha, I was sitting next to Colin on the plane and was talking to him about random stuff. Colin mentioned that when he turned 16, he was going to be married.

So I asked, "Do you know who you want to marry?"

"Of course I do, Mom," he says looking at me like what a silly question.

"Who?"

"Eva."

'Z' car

Driving through a parking lot today, Colin noticed a car. "Hey Mom, look at that funny looking car."

It was only a Datsun 280Z ... my favorite kind of car in the whole wide world. I had one in high school, and I have to admit when my dad said he bought a Datsun for me, I first thought of the B210 that we had when I was little. The B210 was ugly, and I was not excited about a 280Z if it was made by the same company. But when I saw it, I was in love. It was the greatest, cutest, fastest (not that I would know!) car that I ever had. I loved that car.

Trunk boys

Pictures of Colin and Nathan in the trunk of the car when we were packing to go home after our trip to Indiana. And no, we didn't let them ride back there!

Peek-a-boo

At breakfast, sometimes Colin and Nathan like to wrap up in blankets while they eat. One morning recently, Nathan pulled the blanket over his head and said, "Where me go?". Then lowered the blanket and said, "Here me are!"

Anatomy lesson

Colin has been very interested in how we get energy from food and asks lots of questions about this. So one day a week or so ago, Colin and Danni were discussing the human anatomy and how things work, like your stomach and your heart. Colin was just in thralled by it all and looked at Danni and said, "It's like I have a whole world inside of me."

A crane big enough

Stone Mountain in Georgia is the largest monolithic exposed piece of granite. This was our destination Saturday, August 2, 2008 after Colin saw a brochure with a picture of the mountain and the skyride. The skyride was the highlight of the trip.

After going to the top, Colin said he wanted to get a crane big enough and move Stone Mountain closer to our house. That would be one very big crane!

"You crack me up ..."

That's what I always tell the kids when they make me laugh. "You guys really crack me up!" But Colin sometimes gets the wording a little wrong when he uses our phrases.

So on the airplane on the way to Austin, I did something that was funny (at this point I can't remember what it was), and Colin says, "Mom, you crank me up ... like a basketball!" I have no idea where the basketball part comes from.

Nathan's kisses

At this point, Nathan is our kisser. Colin has reached the point where sometimes he prefers not to be kissed, but you can always count on a big smacker-roo from Nathan. I remember a couple months ago, when I was getting Nathan out of the car to go into a store and he grabbed my face with both hands and plants a big kiss on my lips ... for a long time. Just going "mmmmmm" as he was kissing me in the parking lot. I have no idea where it came from but I'm not complaining.

Then again when we were in Paris standing in line for the Eiffel Tower, (I might have already mentioned this) he did it again, and again. He even gave Bob the Nathan treatment in the Louvre. Our joke was that someone had told Nathan that Paris was the city of love and he was just spreading the love!

Nathan is very generous with his kisses too and will kiss all the grandparents with little prompting. Colin on the other hand will shake hands if he doesn't feel like kissing or hugging.

Bed time ... bath time???

This is where we found the kids sleeping last Saturday night. They wanted to sleep in the master bathroom (absolutely not!), so I told the babysitter that they could sleep anywhere in their room. I guess after chasing them out of the master bathroom a couple of times, Colin and Nathan finally decided on the tub that is in their bathroom attached to their room which is okay by me.

Silly boys!

Magic

It's funny how something you say to your kids can come right back at you. I'm referring to the times that I don't want to tell Colin how I did something. I'll tell him it's "magic".

Well, I found the front door's chain on one day, the chain is located very high on the door and is there to prevent the kids from going outside (they can reach the lock). So I asked Colin if he put the chain on. He said "Yes, so Nathan couldn't go outside." Then I asked how did he do it. "Magic", he says matter of factly with the slightest hint of a smile.

Potty training

It's started, potty training Nathan. As anticipated, Nathan is a very eager student and wants to do everything himself. Colin is very helpful and has been doing a lot to potty train Nathan as well. This morning when Colin woke up, he woke up Nathan and then made him get on the toilet. At this point, Nathan is doing very well with the pooping in the potty too and knows not to go to the bathroom when he doesn't have a diaper on. We haven't gone full blown training, just whenever we are around the house a lot. I think that Nathan understands the concept and it's just a matter of taking the next step for us and making the commitment.

Funny things they say

Tonight both boys had me chuckling. First Colin and Nathan were laying in the front yard on the grass when Colin came in the house to get some water. He says "Water is the only thing that will keep you hydrated". I mean, it's true, but when it comes from a 4-year old, it just cracks you up. At least it cracks me up!

Then later tonight, I'm getting the boys ready for bed. They have had their bath and it's time to put Nathan's diaper on. Nathan has been kinda particular about the location that I change him, i.e. on the floor or on the changing table, and if it's on the floor, he has to lay down himself. So I ask Nathan where does he want to put his diaper on? He points to his penis, "Right here." Yeah, another true statement.

"All the board"

Another thing that Colin says, instead of "all aboard". We use this one to motivate the boys to go somewhere. For example, it's "all aboard the Moe's bus, the Moe's bus is leaving!"

Rotten eggs

In order to motivate the boys to do something, like go upstairs, I've been using the old saying, "Last one upstairs is a rotten egg!". Well, Colin likes to be the rotten egg, and says "first one upstairs is a rotten egg". Then he will sprint up the stairs proclaiming his rotten egg status. "I'm the rotten egg, I'm the rotten egg!"

Dip, dip, dip

Nathan is on the fast-track to becoming a condiment junkie like his dad. Always has to dip his food into something. Although when Nathan wants to dip, he says "dip, dip, dip" while pantomiming the action.

At Moe's we get this vinaigrette that I pour on my taco (I guess I'm a little of a condiment junkie too) and we all use it on our chips. The kids get chocolate chip cookies with their meals, and recently Nathan has started dipping his chocolate chip cookie into the vinaigrette!! Yuck! He really seems to like it. I just can't even image ...

Sleeping with his eyes open

Last week, the nanny was putting Colin to bed while Bob and I were out. Colin wanted to stay up until we got home, but decided that he was going to sleep with his eyes open so that he would know when we got home.

Row, row, row, your boat ... (modified)

Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a cheez-it!

Just one of the modified verses that we sing at our house. We also row our house gently down the street, and row our car. You get the picture?

Bob just loves to modify songs and apparently Colin has developed this gift too. Colin came up with the "cheez-it" line all by himself. Bob is so proud!

Midnight snack

Last week Colin fell asleep on the couch while watching the bird movie, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. This was about 4:00pm. At 5:00pm, I couldn't wake him up. So up to bed, put the diapers on and hope that he is tired enough that he will sleep through the night. We dread and debate about doing the early to bed thing.

Bob and I went to bed, and still no movement from Colin's room. We were hopeful. At 7:00am the next morning, I got back from bootcamp (still doing that craziness) and realized that Colin didn't wake us up! He must be starving, going to bed so early without dinner.

So Bob is carrying Colin downstairs for breakfast, and their conversation went something like this:

Colin (whispering): Dad

Dad (whispering too): What?

Colin: (still whispering): I already ate.

Colin is so independent that he woke up hungry, went downstairs, got out the yogurt, ate it and went back to bed. All without waking us up! I was amazed.

Tattoos

Colin loves tattoos, Nathan not so much. Let me explain. We received some Valentine tattoos from one of the grandmas (I know, who thinks of these things!), so Colin is putting a bunch on his arms. I'm so proud that he can do it all by himself ... and that it's not the real thing. Nathan comes up to me and says "tattoo" carrying one of the tattoos. So naturally I assume he wants me to put one on him. I completely forget about the incident in Florida, which I will explain in a minute. I put the tattoo on Nathan and remove the paper, he looks down, and complete meltdown! I mean he starts crying and turning red and acting like it hurts to have the tattoo on his arm. And I remember this very same reaction in Florida when I put a tattoo on his arm then. Quickly, get the baby oil out and remove the tattoo, Nathan is instantly relieved.

Note to self, no matter what Nathan says, don't put a tattoo on him!

In mom's belly

Last night, Bob was looking at some pictures with Colin before going to bed. There was an older picture of Bob, Colin and me in Omaha. Colin asked where Nathan was. Bob said that he was in Mom's belly. Colin just looked at Bob with this wide-eyed expression and very seriously said, "Did Mom eat him?"