Personality

Last week, as the doctor was walking out of the room after the boys' checkups, Logan was pretending to be a dog and sitting next to me with his tongue out and paws at his chest while Declan was pretending to be a superhero (that owns a dog) and talking in his grown up man voice to Logan-the-dog with his brows furrowed. The doctor glanced at them, looked at me, and laughed while he said, "You've got your hands full with those two." And I just thought to myself something along the lines of how he ain't seen nothing yet.

Yes, hands are full. But that's not a bad thing. Around our house, it's usually a fun thing because it means also that my kids have personality. Maybe I should have sat them in chairs with arms folded until we were out of the doctor's office, but the reality is that they're young boys brimming with energy (that is, until they have to do something they don't want to and they start walking very slowly with their shoulders hunched over saying they're out of energy) and they were being fairly quiet in their play. Of course there are days when the imaginations get to be too much and too loud and us grown ups get a bit overwhelmed and impatient with it all, as I'm sure Chris, Ed, and Amy can verify. The benefit is that if nothing else, the kids provide some good entertainment. Who needs TV?

Video of the boys doing their impressions of Wall-E

Along with the personality comes the imaginations, which I know I've mentioned once or twice before. The boys are pretty boy-like in their love of superheroes, and they're frequently telling me about new guys they've made up. I have a few pages of notes on these characters and have intentions to Do Things With Them. Part of my quest to capture their childhood includes making videos of them talking about their superheroes.

Logan talking about Doctor Professor and his sidekick Doy Doy
Logan talking about Bug and Punkin Scary (two of the villains)
Declan talking about Strong Mega, a guy who is super strong and super (to the 43rd power, by my count) fast

Growin'

Some of this stuff is mostly for my personal records of the future, so ignore what you must.

The boys had a couple of well-child checks yesterday, and it has been determined that all is well - though that was never really the question. My questions tend to be more about whether all is normal. Like Declan's near obsession with chocolate oranges, or Logan's never-ending singing of the epic movie scores he makes up as we go about our day. The point is, they're healthy, if a little strange.

Logan:
47" tall (98th percentile), 52 lbs. (94th percentile)

Declan:
42" tall (89th percentile), 42 lbs. (94th percentile) The nurse asked him if he's a square. He, not knowing what she was talking about, giggled maniacally in response, which is generally what he does when the conversation goes over his head.

In short, they're very tall-sized. (See what I did there?) And thick.

Not that this has to do with anything, but in the car this morning, Dex and Logan got into quite the brotherly arguement which possibly would have led to blows if they weren't buckled in over how to sing the Flash Gordon music. Declan was happily singing the intro part and Logan, with his fierce sense of order and justice, was getting annoyed as hell because Declan was leaving out the cymbal crash after they sing "FLASH!" Seriously, it was intense.

Logan's also been walking around singing Bohemian Rhapsody and Another One Bites the Dust. Evidently, Ed's been playing Queen lately.

Grandpaul

So, Ed's dad swore to me possibly on the very day of Logan's birth that if I taught the kids to call him Grandpaul, he'd teach them to call me Ass Face (which isn't as mean-spirited as it sounds, since it stems from a line in Waiting for Guffman that made me laugh for approximately a half hour straight when I first heard it [Sidenote: I just watched that clip for the first time in forever, and it still gets me going. End sidenote.]). However, he never said anything about me teaching other people to call him that, which I now urge all of you to do. Especially since it fits perfectly into that thing I love which is smashing two words together into something new. Grandpa? Paul? COME ON! IT WRITES ITSELF!

Anyway, dear Grandpa was here for a visit this weekend which made my kids piss down both legs (copyright Char's kid) in anticipation. They did lots of fun stuff together like go to Park City and eat ice cream, visit the bird museum zoo ["These ones are live, Courtney"], and possibly some cow-tipping. Grandpa went home likely worn out and exhaustedly patting himself on the back for spacing his two boys 11 years apart instead of the 19 month grace period we ended up with. Having the kids so close together has its definite advantages (built-in best friends, for one), but they certainly can wear you out fast.

Chris and I met the boys, Ed, and Ed's dad for a birthday breakfast that morning. The boys were super excited to wish me a happy birthday, and they gave me a card in which they both signed their own names and made my cold, black heart melt to a puddle. This collection of men sang "Happy Birthday" to me twice, Logan and Declan grinning wide the entire time. After the second rendition before we left, Logan stood close to me and sang it once more softly in my ear and I think he's in the running for Sweetest Kid Ever. (But don't call him sweet, because he thinks that word can only describe girls.)

As requested by Declan...

A picture of Declan looking at the snow. And when I say "as requested," I really mean "as demanded mightily."

Election Day

Logan very excitedly told me today is a special day because we get to vote. He asked me if I voted. He asked Chris if he voted. He asked our next door neighbor if she voted. When he called Grandpa to wish him a happy birthday, he asked him if he voted. Logan proudly told me tonight that when he's 18, he'll get to vote, too.

Earlier in the year (and possibly still?), Amy had an Obama sign in her yard. The boys fell in love with that name. Sometimes I'll hear them whisper it to themselves, relishing the way it rolls around in their mouths. "Obamaaaaaahhhh."

There have been talks about what the election is and what it's about (in the most basic terms). I explained that Obama and McCain were men who wanted to lead our country, and we looked at pictures of both of them online. We talked about how they had different ideas of how to run things and the people of the country will get to vote and that will determine who wins.

Politically informed, those boys. Hopefully when they're of age, they'll still be informed and excited about participating.


In other unrelated news, filed under When They Don't Know the Words: Logan refers to hail as "rock rain."