Row, Row, Row Your Boat

I should record Owen singing more often, since he does it so much. But, last night in the bath he was playing with a boat singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and so I asked him to sing it again for me:

Leif's vote

Leif fell on his face while trick-or-treating, so I kept him home on Thursday to rest and heal. I took him with me to the early voting place, and my mom stayed home with Owen. Leif didn't want to go; he wanted to stay home and climb trees and be wild with his split open chin.

We joined the snaking line just inside the church doors with an estimated 45 minute wait. Shortly thereafter, Leif got my phone and happily played Angry Birds while I steered him around in the line, that is, until we got into the next room where you fill out the paperwork. As we were being directed to our seats, the man informed us that we would have to put away the phone. Leif obeyed and sat somewhat patiently while I filled out my information.

Then we joined another line (without the phone), then we reached the computer to put in our vote. I let Leif do most of the touch screen, telling him which boxes to push, so when we got out to the car, I thought I should talk to him about voting.

I explained that we choose our leaders based on who we agree with more, and we're each able to vote for the person we want to be our leader.

Leif replied, "Did you vote for that guy that told us to put away the phone? Because I didn't agree with him."

Mommy's Hair

Short hair is fun. Short hair is easy. However, I have some men in my life, who think that princesses only have long hair. Leif and I had this interaction regarding my hair as he was swinging on the swing set.

Leif: Mommy, how old will you be when I’m all grown up?
Me: Well, when you’re 20, I’ll be 49.
Leif: Okay, when you’re that old, you can have short hair.
Me: Oh, Leif, do you miss mommy’s long hair?
Leif (with tears starting to well up in his eyes): I do.

Leif (age 2)

And in order to understand this, you must know the
TALE OF THE “MOMMY HAIR”

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Leifkin,
And when he was tired or a little afraid,
He would suck his thumb.
And at night, just before bed, he would ask his mommy
for one hair from her head.

He would take the hair, wrap it around his thumb
and clasp the rest in his fingers,
and would suck his thumb and go to sleep.

And, if that hair was not quite long enough
(like after his mommy got a haircut,
which he did not like in the least)
he would ask for a longer mommy hair.

And if he could find a stray hair for his other hand,
he would wrap it around his thumb, and clasp the rest in his fingers,
just in case he happened to turn in the night, and need to suck the other thumb.

Now that he is not such a little boy,
Leifkin no longer receives a mommy hair from his mommy.
But still, when he is sleepy, his thumb finds its way into his mouth.

The End.

CHEESE! (Some pictures of the kiddos)

Owen, Leif & I created Owen's letters!

Leif & his "best buddy" Will made his letters.

Leif & our neighbor Oscar playing with paper airplanes!

Leif on our swingset.

Owen swinging.

Cheesing it up in the studio!

Little poser in the studio.

Pretending to be airplanes to celebrate "Pop the Pilot". (My dad just got his pilot's license!)

 The boys always seem to have a stick outside!

Owen loves to swing on his belly.

Leif is always looking for a tree to climb.

Leif was the black Angry Bird for Halloween!

Owen was a Monkey. (of course!)

We enjoyed a visit from Nana (my mom) for Halloween.

Bad Guy Face

I noticed Leif making this face a lot today. It was mostly when he was fighting off pretend bad guys in the yard. So, I followed him around and got him to show me his "bad guy face".
Me: "Wow, that face would scare away some bad guys."
Leif: "Oh, that's not how I would scare away the bad guys."
Me: "Oh really, how would you?"
Leif: "Well, I'd just kill the first one, and the rest would just run away."

Oh Brother: Toddler Language

Our 2 year old Owen (who has not yet been mentioned on this blog- welcome Owen!) has been adding an "ee" to the end of lots of words lately. Charles thinks he's afraid he's losing his baby cute factor, so he's trying to talk cute. Just before dinner tonight he spots some animal crackers and looks at me and says, "Cracker time!", which is cute enough, but when I said no, it's dinner time, he tried, "Cracky timey?"

He calls himself "Owie", but every once in a while, I'll ask him if he's my Owie, and he'll say, "I Owen Warren" just to spite me. He calls Leif "Leify", which Leif likes, but will not allow anyone else to call him.

Owen is also in the stage where he repeats everything that is said. This was especially frustrating for Leif the other night as they raced in the house. Leif was faster than Owen would shout, "I WIN!" as he would run into the couch. Owen would repeat, "I WIN!", and Leif looked at him and said, "No, you lost!", to which Owen replied, "No, you lost!" So, Leif tried again, "No, I WON", and like a perfect parrot, Owen shouts with intensity, "NO! I WON!"...and so on...oh brothers! 

Hippo Logic

So, this morning I'm driving Leif to school and he says to me:
"Mommy, do you ever lie to me?"
Me (slightly startled): "No, Leif, I try not to....why?"
Leif: "Because I just think it would be really cute to see you hugging a baby hippo...(long pause where I say something like "oh")...It's just, I'm trying to steer my mind to the cute stuff."

So, there's my clue to following the Leif rabbit trail- that and the hippos. You see, last night, Leif was having trouble falling asleep.
I could tell he was legitimately troubled, so I agreed to cuddle with him.
Our conversation went something like this:
Leif: "Mom, are monsters real?"
Me: "No."
Leif: "What about big animals? Do they eat people?"
Me: "Yes, there are big animals who can eat people."
Leif: "Like Hippos? What if a giant hippo was trying to get me-"
At this point I interrupt: "Leif, you can't let your brain do this. At night especially, your imagination is going to take you to some pretty scary places if you let it. While you're still awake, you need to think of a happy story: something that made you laugh, or something you enjoyed. Think about that, and then if your mind starts to wander to the scary thoughts, you bring it back to that story, and soon you'll be fast asleep and dreaming."

After saying something like this, I answered a few more questions about hippos, including the fact that we don't have any hippos in Georgia for him to fear. I then made up a short story about his stuffed animals playing Angry Birds, and he fell asleep.

And so, you see, if I was telling the truth about having no hippos in Georgia, then he can't see me hug a baby hippo, and that would be sad.
And that folks, is Toddler Logic.