Shewiff

Last night was quite a sad scene. Finn had stubbornly insisted on taking Jammie's car to school with him, and then left it there by accident. In the evening, we read stories and then the boys were told it was sleepytime. Both hopped off the couch, and seemed to be marching off to bed, ready and willing. Then Finn turned around, and said, "Jammie's car." It was a statement, but it had the air of decidedness about it that made it clear we were expected to deliver said car promptly. After many tears, we managed to convince Finn to go to bed with a different van. For the next twenty minutes or so, there was quiet sniffling from their bedroom, and then frank crying. I went in to check on them, in time to hear Liam whispering, "You left it at school, Finn. It's okay." Sure enough, he was quietly crying, "Jammie's car." After even more tears, and a pathetic attempt to give him Doc Hudson to sleep with, he went to sleep.

Fast forward to 4am, when loud crying woke the rest of us up. I go in to the boys' room and Finn cries out softly, "Shewiff." It is 4am, and I am in no mood to go and search through the cars for Sheriff. This is getting ridiculous. I press his van back into Finn's hand, kiss Liam, and go back to bed.

We must break this habit.

Bobo's Car

Recently, the boys have developed a new game. Specifically, Finn started it. While driving, or parking, he spots a green jeep. Typically it is of the Ford make, but it can vary. He gets all excited and yells, "Bobo's car!!" I think he really expects Bobo to be in it. Sometimes, he'll see a little red car and do the same thing.

Liam has sensed how sweet we think this is, so he has now started looking for cars that resemble Geof's, and yelling "Bobo's car! Bobo's car!". Of course, poor little Finn gets all excited before realizing that Liam is just playing. And then he starts doing it as well. Soon enough, both boys are playing "Bobo's car" in the backseat. It's quite cute.

Return of Yellow Shirt

Last year, on Liam's third birthday, he dug through his drawers and found his stripey yellow shirt, now a little small, and put it on. He declared, to our amazement, "This is what I wore on my last birthday!" Indeed, he had. It had been his favorite yellow shirt in an era when he would deign to wear a shirt of no other color. The yellow shirt is in many pictures, including his 2nd birthday, which is, we presume, how he remembered.

Fast forward to now, and Finn is wearing 2T shirts. As first, he delighted in being allowed to pull a "new" shirt out of the bag of Liam's hand-me-downs, but then he discovered yellow shirts. It seems it is either a genetic predisposition, or something to do with the age, but Finn also loves the color yellow. Sometimes he requests his "lion shirt" that Nana gave him, which is yellow, but more commonly he requests the yellow shirt. It now has a stretched-out neck, but is otherwise in surprisingly good shape. Maybe he, too, has seen in on Liam in many pictures? Yesterday, as he sat in Liam's former booster chair, wearing the yellow shirt, and sporting a bib that had been Liam's as well, we realized he was exactly the age Liam was when we moved here. How times flies.

Shorts

Since it's been a while since I posted, I thought I'd post a few "shorts".

The New Lovey
Finn has found a new lovey. I'm not entirely sure where he found it, but it is now indispensible. If it falls out of his hand as he is falling asleep, he promptly wakes up and starts to wail rather pitifully. The other problem with this new lovey is that it is not, in fact, his. It is a purple van. And as Finn will tell you happily, it is "Jammie's ban". Instead of the fifty or so other cars in the house, Finn had found the one car that Jamie inadvertantly left at our house, and it is now the most important object in his house. Sigh. Almost as inexplicably, Liam has re-adopted Barney as his favorite lovey.

Phone Manners
I called home the other evening on my way back from work. The phone rang a few times and then, "HELLO!!!!???" It was Liam.
Me: Liam, why are you answering the phone?
Liam, screaming into the phone, so as to make his converstation unintelligible: WE ********* SPRAYERS *********************************** OUTSIDE *****************
Me: What??
Liam repeats something similar.
Me: Can I please speak with Daddy?
Liam: No. He's *******************diaper ****************
Me: Can you ask him a question for me?
Liam: No. pause I'm on the phone right now.
Me: Can you put the phone down and ask him something? [at this point, I am not enjoying having my phone call screened at all]
Liam: Okay.
Me: Please ask him if he wants me to bring anything home from the store.
Liam: Okay. [the phone goes quiet]
After a few minutes . ..
Liam: Mama? Are you there?
Me: Yes, Liam. What did he say?
Liam: Bye, I love you! [he hangs up]
Matt says Liam will now be answering the phone for telemarketers.

Dinner

A quick summary of the past 45 minutes:
Finn arrives and announces, "Dinner!!!!" Dinner is served as follows:

First Course: Chicken, broccoli, and pita bread. Finn eats all of the broccoli and pita bread, then demands, "Mo' Boccli!" We tell him he may have more broccoli after he eats his chicken. Finn's response? "Boccli NOW!" Our point is reemphasized, the scene is repeated, and finally Finn relents, saying, "Okay. Eat chicken."

Second course: More broccoli. More pita bread.

Third course: Liam has made a "happy plate" and asks for a treat. Both boys receive 5 mini marshmallows. And more pita bread, because they are still hungry.

Fourth course: Cereal. Liam chooses frosted mini wheats, and Finn chooses Cheerios.

Fifth Course: Liam chooses Cheerios, having finished his mini wheats.

I think dinner is coming to a close. Keep your fingers crossed. Matt and I have now been finished for a half hour, and have cleaned up the kitchen.

The "Erik" standard

The boys both ate a big dinner last night, and were rewarded with a few mini marshmallows. After finishing their treat, both indicated they were still hungry. It's like they are already teenagers! Finn requested more pasta, and Liam asked for more green beans. I told Liam I was glad he was enjoying his vegetables, and he smiled and said, "I'm going to be big and strong like Erik!!!" He has also enjoyed wearing Erik's hand-me-downs lately, and can't wait to be "big and tall" like Erik. It must be nice to have a big cousin to hero-worship!

Ladies man

On the way home from school today, Matt asked Liam what he did today. Liam responded, "I don't know." When Matt persisted in his questioning, Liam informed him, "When I say I don't know, it means I don't want to talk about it." Well, then.

Oddly, he came to me after dinner and said he wanted to tell me something. I leaned in to listen, and he said, "Abbey kissed me on the lips today. Like this." And he demonstrated. Oh my! I asked him if he kissed her back, and he said "yes". I had no further comments, but he seemed quite pleased. I am still rather speechless about it!