2 years ago- August 2007

A friend gave me a cd with some pics on it a couple years ago and I just now opened it. Finally.

Cal was a month older than Ike is now.

Go ahead and try to tell me Ike wasn't obese. Just try.

Camping

Eric took Cal camping for two days and one night. Here are some random in-no-particular-order photos. (Yes! Eric DID take pictures!)

Eric bought Cal a cheap fishing pole. That was the most exciting thing of all, according to Cal. And here he is with his first ever caught fish!

Make A Wish

Betty Crocker was the main sponsor for this year's Make A Wish walk (I think it's called Walk for Wishes). So, we walked about two miles around a lake. The kids did great. They had a bunch of moon bounces set up. Here's one

:

These clowns didn't do anything but walk around. The purple-haired clown came to talk to us. She said, "Hi there." I was doing my best to be excited for Cal. I said to her, "He wants to be a clown when he grows up." She responded, "It's a great job because when people laugh at you, it's ok. Although people laugh at me when I'm not dressed up, too." Cal just stared at her. I laughed politely and said, "Those are some crazy clothes, right, Cal?" She said, "That's what my mother says. Although she says that all the time..."

It was the weirdest thing.

Here's Eric with his friend, Dom (short for Dominic). He is, by far, the most personable human I know. He is friends with everyone, remembers everything about everyone and always makes people feel good. Eric told me that he knows all the Caribou people by name and will ask, "So how's your sister doing? Is she feeling better?" When we arrived at the walk, I told Eric, "You didn't tell me Dom would be here. He's my favorite!" He responded, "He's everyone's favorite."

This is a terrible photo of us. But it was the best out of the three we took. Oh well.

Riding Bikes

Here's Mado, Sammy and Cal looking cool. We rode to the park. It sure was a hassle crossing the streets.

Ike- is he crazy?

For those of you who know Isaac and may have the same concerns... read on!

I have been concerned about Isaac recently b/c he's so mean. Seriously. He loves to be "bad" and often attacks others (while pretending to be bad) with a mean look on his face. I wrote a family therapist about our issue and here is what she said to set my mind at ease:

Regarding sweet Isaac, he does not sound the least bit crazy but every bit normal, especially as a second-born son. I think its very normal to identify with "bad guys" for three reasons. 1) Bad guys are big, strong and get people's attention. 2) Little ones don't realize the actual repercussions of the actions of bad guys (ie. death isn't permanent) and even mean or bad guys can be seen, sometimes, as being comical. At the very least, kids don't see them as being evil the way that we understand they would be.3) Kids often choose to identify with someone who is different from the other child in the house. Sometimes this comes as a result of the older child assigning the younger kid the role they don't want (ie. big kid wants to be the hero/good guy and the little one gets stuck with the less desirable role), other times the child selects it for themself because it sets them apart from the others.

I would encourage you to not be alarmed by his obsession, these things change as they get older and certainly doesn't mean he is on the path to rebellion and unrepentance. You may want to limit the tv/movies, but its likely that he'll be drawn to being the antagonist regardless of what he's seeing. I would recommend a few things. 1) Remind him of the difference between playing the bad guy and being a good kid. The line between reality and fantasy is still pretty fuzzy at this age. 2) Tell stories (or find some) about sharks, snakes, monsters, etc that show kindness & goodness so he can see that even strong, possibly scary characters, can have good qualities. I don't know if he's old enough to watch Monsters Inc, but that's a good example of a couple of monsters being kind & good. You can also remind him that Elmo, Cookie Monster, etc are monsters who are good. 3) Talk to him about how he likes to be a bad guy because its fun to be big, strong, and to get people to respond (usually out of fear) but that he can do those things without trying to hurt anyone. Then give examples of how you see him doing that, or how Daddy does that in a way that is pleasing to God and Mommy & Daddy. Fighting for righteousness is great, but probably kind of a fuzzy concept as well.

Any opinions on this?

Verbage- by Ike

Isaac has been adding an extra syllable on to his present verbs.

For example:
At the dinner table, "I eatening."
On the toilet, "I poopening."
While swinging, "I pumpening."
At bedtime, "I prayening."

It makes me laugh, but since I think it's incredible cute, I've started to mimick it. (I have this problem a lot. Since watching Napolean Dynamite, I habitually say quesadilla like "kay-sa-dill-la").

Date Night

Our friends Rachel and Alan (parents to Ru and Isaiah) watched our kiddos overnight for us last week. Eric and I rode our bikes 6 miles to go play disc golf. Eric had played two times before, but it was my first time. It was a lot of fun (and free!). Here's Eric in action:

Eric then took a picture of me in action:

Here I am trying to look tiny on this huge bench.

After our game (I was +12 and Eric was +3, I think), we rode to Noodles and then hung out at Barnes and Noble until it closed. Unfortunately by then, it was so dang cold and my teeth chattered the whole way home. It was still fun, though! I rate the whole date an A-.

Como Zoo

Our moms group at our church met at the zoo for the morning. It's always interesting to go on these special outings. Usually, the kids aren't really interested in the animals and just beg for cotton candy or some other ridiculous rip-off. After I come home, get two tired and cranky kids into bed and flop on the couch, I always think, "Why do I do this?" But I know the answers- I get to see my friends! My kids get to see and experience new things. And I didn't have to clean my house! They are always much more intrigued by these giraffe statues than by the real deals right across the sidewalk.