Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Declan: I was playing DS while I was going potty.
Me: That's probably not the best idea.
Declan: Well it is to me.

brothers

Logan, over breakfast, to Declan: I was just thinking about when we're grown-ups. I think we'll live across the street from each other.
Declan, acting like Logan just stated the insanely obvious: We will!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Declanisms

Declan: "Can I take my pants off?"
Chris and I: "No, leave them on."
Declan, stepping out from behind the couch: [Pantsless.]
Chris: "Go put them back on."
Declan: [Pouts.]
Declan, several minutes later, still pouting: "You hurt my feelings, telling me to put my pants back on. None of my pants are cool."
Me: "What would make them cool?"
Declan: "If they could talk. Or if they were robot pants. Those are the only things that make pants cool."


Declan, quite nonchalant: "So, when are we going to have another baby?"


Declan, after seeing this commercial: "Mommy, our brownies aren't square, and that's a problem."


Declan's also been heard saying "Oh, SNAP!" when he wants something, and "Damn dogs" when they won't stop barking, both of which are hilarious coming from a 4-year-old.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Lately, when I give Declan something that he's asked for, he asks if I'm doing it because I love him. Of course I say yes. The thing I tried telling him, and I know he may not understand for a long, long time, is the reason I do just about everything is because I love him (and, of course, Logan).

Friday, November 6, 2009

Boys and Girls

Declan, on the Cartoon Network website: Mommy, how do you spell Courtney?
Me: Why do you need to spell Courtney?
Declan: Because you're a girl.
Me: Yes?
Declan: It says "email" right here. Emails are girls and males are boys.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

...sigh

Declan: How do you say "wiener" in Spanish?
Me: I have no idea.
Declan: Let's ask Dora. She always knows things in Spanish.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Music is in the air

I've been trying to get some songs and performances on video lately. We had a burst of creative energy with Halloween. Here's a sampling:

Halloween Song by Declan
(I insisted Declan put on a shirt, so he did and we had to compromise with invisible pants. Also, possibly the best part of this video is the countdown at the beginning.)

Halloween Song by Logan

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Little men

On Saturday, Chris's sister Andrea got married. It was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. Her husband Matt is a great guy and they are wonderful together. They're currently honeymooning the hell out of New Orleans.

Logan and Declan got to be ring bearers in the wedding, and that meant tuxedos for little boys. Everyone's favorite thing? Possibly. We ended up buying both of them for about the price of one rental (!) so now we're owners of two adorably obsolete tuxedos.

Declan got some performance anxiety the day of the wedding and we were all pretty certain he wasn't going to go through it, but when offered a Tootsie Pop at the crucial moment when the wedding party was lining up, he decided he'd do it for Andrea (and candy).

Grandpa Higgins happened to be in town over the weekend, which helped keep the boys happy and entertained. When the reception got a bit too receptiony for 4 and 6 year olds, he sped them happily away and Chris and I stayed a bit longer to celebrate.



















Pictures from Logan's birthday + party

Because Logan's birthday fell on a Thursday this year, we planned his party for the following Saturday. His birthday itself was pretty awesome. He felt special with the phone calls and boxes of presents arriving in the mail. I made the requested lasagna and smashed potatoes (I love both of those foods, but even typing them out as a pair feels wrong) and we had some cupcakes that were lovingly made by Chris.

The party was a superhero party and it was quite a success, especially since last year he told people after his birthday that his party wasn't that fun and he didn't enjoy it very much. Parents of the year, yo. This year we got a heap of kids from his class, played Pin the Shield on Superman, Balloon Sandwich, and some bastardized versions of tag and freeze tag which involved Ironman and Spiderman vs. Venom. Good times, good times.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, a good turnout of kids, and things went quite smoothly (aside from Declan not enjoying not being the center of attention and pouting, saying he quits). Games, pizza, cake & ice cream, and presents later, the kids were ready to go home and everyone was happy. Logan has flourished at school and made quite a few friends, and it was pleasant to see them all together.






Did I mention Logan has a girlfriend? Her name is Reece. She's the little blonde girl clapping behind Logan on his left in the above picture. I've tried to ask questions about her without embarrassing him, and all I can surmise is that it's a typical kindergarten crush where they have no idea why they like each other and they probably don't actually talk or pay attention to each other at school. Chris asked Logan if he thought Reece is cute, and he got this look on his face where it seemed like he wanted to say yes but couldn't quite bring himself to admit it to anyone. We let it drop.

Ghost friends

A few months ago, Declan decided he wanted to be called John. I learned this when he was being stubborn in soccer practice and his coach tried to guide him to the end of the line with the other kids. I was sitting in my chair on the sideline at the other end of the field, watching Declan's little cooperation switch turn on and off throughout practice. I saw his coach lean down and gently turn Dex in the direction he needed to go and then I watched Declan furiously turn back around, face his coach, and demand in a voice that carried over to me, "My name is JOHN!" I'm not sure exactly what happened after that because my eyes were covered by my hand in a classic Jean Luc Picard facepalm.

Since that day, I've heard requests from Declan to call him John on several occasions, most of them being when he's in a moment of mischief or stubbornness or being chastised for misbehavior. I consulted some friends of mine who said that he would grow out of it, and it was probably his way of deflecting either embarrassment from being in trouble or responsibility for his actions. When I asked Declan why he picked John as the name he wanted to be called, he responded that it was the coolest name he knows. Someone else surmised that Dex equates mischief with being cool and when I thought about that, I realized it was something I'd always known but never really put into words - a total lightbulb moment for me in parenting that kid.

As time has moved on, the requests to be called John have diminished and John himself has morphed into a ghost friend (I think I've mentioned before that the boys refer to their imaginary friends as ghost friends) that regularly visits our household. John most frequently shows up when Logan's in school. We've had quite a few moments of similar exchanges such as: "Mommy, say hi to John." "Hi, John!" "No! [exasperated] He's not here yet. I meant say hi when he gets inside!" Good times, good times.

This weekend, Declan channeled the spirit of "Arrested Development" when he wanted me to write John's name down on something. "I'll spell it for you. G-O-N."

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Damn

I have a lot of other things to write about but for now, a quick conversation between Chris and Declan.

Chris: [mumbles something about the damn Kansas City Chiefs]
Declan: [mumbles something else]
Declan: You didn't hear me, but I said very quietly that "damn" is a bad word.
Chris: It's not ok to say "damn" even when you're saying it's a bad word.
Declan: But I was just saying that it's bad!
Chris: Yes, it is. I'm sorry I said it. Please don't say it again, even if it's to tell someone that it's bad. Grown ups can sometimes say things that kids can't.
Declan, happily: When I grow up, I'm going to say a LOT of "damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!"

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Happy Birthday, Logan!

When he got up this morning, I said, "Who turned 6 today?!" And Logan grinned from ear to ear, then told me he's actually both 5 and 6 today. Not sure how that works, but ooooooook!

He was hap-hap-happy about life today. I guess the birthday kid gets to be the special helper all day at school, which includes important duties such as Line Leader. I plan on surprising him at school with treats for the class (muddy Rice Krispies, which means that it has chocolate chips melted in).

I asked what special dinner he wants and for the fourth year in a row, he piped up with "smashed potatoes!" When I told him we needed something to go with the mashed potatoes, he decided lasagna was a good pairing for that. So, starch is on the menu.

Back at the beginning of the year when Logan got his tonsils out, he laid on the couch watching TV and kept seeing commercials for the Snuggie. Finally he got my attention by waving his hands, then carefully signed with the bits of sign language he remembers, "I want blue." A brand new blue Snuggie awaits him today. Also, since he loves my mp3 player, we decided to get him his very own and I'm in the midst of loading it with songs selected for him by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and close family friends that are important to Logan. I'm super excited for this because it's giving him a big, eclectic selection of music and it'll make him feel good that everyone he loves was a part of it.

About Logan:

This kid is awesome. I feel lucky to be his mom. His sense of humor has developed quite a bit recently, and I find him making jokes that are hinting at sarcasm and a perspective that seems older than a 6 year old. He is a really kind and loving big brother to Dex, and they continue to be best buddies. Logan's imagination is very active, which makes for humorous stories and drawings he brings home from school. Grandma Sue thinks he's going to grow up to be a writer, and I wouldn't be surprised if that came true. :)

I'll post pictures tonight.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Be Still My Heart

Logan just read "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" as a bedtime story to Declan.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A Visit

Paul and Robin were here through the weekend, reinforcing their places in the boys' hearts and simultaneously charming Chris's family into developing crushes on them (Grandpa Tiny included). They got to spend some quality time with the kids at the Renaissance Fair, take in a soccer game of Logan's, catch a movie with Dex, and take Logan to the Royals-Red Sox game (I can't be sure, but I think the Red Sox lost that one).

The highlight of the visit (from my perspective) was when Paul and Robin brought Declan home after spending the day with him and Paul proceeded to show us what he taught Declan, which went a little like this:

Paul: "Declan, why are you so cute?"
At which point Declan's supposed to answer: "Because I look like my Grandpa!" And Paul beams at how clever and handsome he is.

What really happened was:

Paul: "Declan, why are you so cute?"
Declan: "Because I look like my mommy!"

HA! Take that, Gramps!

Chris and I play a game like this with the kids and call it "Mask." This is just Paul being a jerk.

I have a horrible confession to make. I think I ruined Logan for life because one morning a long time ago I was taking pictures of him and it was the time of year where the days are short, so when we were getting ready to leave the house it was still dark outside. Every time the flash went off, Logan blinked and the picture came out with his eyes closed. Every.freaking.time. And we tried probably 15-20 pictures and I kept getting frustrated and telling him to open his eyes. So finally we got a decent one (after a few attempts where he physically pried and held his eyes open with his fingers) but ever since that day he's been super conscious of blinking in pictures. This is one of those photos that show how I've ruined my kid, because he's smiling there with his eyes wide open like that runaway bride that looked like a deer in headlights in every photo the media showed of her.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Songwriting

The boys put on a performance last night. The type where they gather everyone together and sing songs they've made up. Good times, right?

Here is a sampling of lyrics that Declan came up with, after warning me that this was going to be a song that's about "something not very nice."

"Do you like being dead?
You're going to be dead forever!
You're going to be dead for the rest of your life!
Even when you're driving, you're going to be dead."

All the while Logan's standing to the side of the "stage" and saying, absolutely incensed, that someone who's alive can't be dead and how can someone who's dead be driving?!

Now, I know this song sounds like it's toeing the line of viciousness, but it had a nice little tempo and was rather upbeat. I'm just saying, given his love of "Dragula" and "Crazy Train" I think we've definitely got a metal future on the horizon.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Daddy

We're conveniently located on the way to Ed's triumphant return to Rhode Island, so the boys have been enjoying some time with him this weekend. The number one place they wanted to take him is Pappi's Pizza (previously pronounced as PeePee's). I don't know why Logan is so ghostly white-washed in these pictures.



Thursday, August 27, 2009

An introduction to prayer

Grandpa Tiny says the prayer every night at dinner time. Declan picked up from somewhere the somewhat traditional pose of hands smooshed together, perpendicular to his arms, and fingers straight up in the air. He closes his eyes and sometimes furrows his brow in concentration. The other night he decided he wanted to offer the prayer over dinner. This is where we learned he's thankful for three things: the day, the food, and Super Mario Brothers.

Logan will also sit quietly with his eyes closed. He's a bit less reverent in that he often ends the prayer by proudly, vigorously jinxing anyone who happens to say amen at the same time as him and then cackling about how he got us. We've learned to stagger our amen-ing.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Too cool for school

Logan started Kindergarten today. He seems much older than a Kindergartener to me, but whatever. This summer, we've repeatedly asked him if he's ready for school and tried to give him an idea of what to expect. He was always nervous about it. Last week we went to Meet the Teacher night and before we left, Logan was about as anxious as I've seen him. He did everything he could to stall, and seemed on the verge of tears as we shuffled him out the door. After actually meeting his teacher, playing with Play-doh at school, and walking around the gym and cafeteria a bit, he felt much better about the whole thing.

The next day was Kindergarten transition day, which is a half day of school where the 5 year olds go by themselves and get an idea of what it's like to ride the bus, find their classrooms, sit in class, have recess, etc. Logan was pretty happy with the idea of going, and Chris, Declan, and I walked him to the bus stop together. While we were waiting for the bus, Logan asked me why I couldn't go with him and why just Chris was going. I told him that no one was going with him to school; he had to go by himself. His eyes got wide with fear and he panicked at the idea. When the bus rolled around, he didn't want to get on, and Chris had to guide him to the steps and sort of gently push him up. As it drove away, Logan was crying in the window, waving at us in an attempt to get us to go with him. However, by the time the bus brought him back, he came happily bounding off, saying emphatically that he actually liked it!

So today he's officially off for a full day of school. He was pretty excited to go. I'm taking bets on how many days that lasts before I'm having to drag him out of bed and carry him to the bus stop. They do full day Kindergarten here, which seems like a long time to me as Mom. We've got soccer practice tonight, so I guess we're officially in busy family mode.

And now for the pictures! (As always, click on the picture if you want to see the full size

On the phone with Daddy on our way to the bus stop.

Brothers.

Handsome devils.

Aren't these the cutest freaking pants ever? Between the shirt and the pants, Dex is in pirate heaven! (Thanks again, Grandpa!)


Thursday, July 30, 2009

Camping and Soccer

One of Declan's birthday presents way back when was a tent. This past weekend we put it up in the backyard for them to play in.



Soccer season starts next week. We went to the store and got them outfitted in proper soccer gear and they came home to model their shinguard socks. Apparently they're the best things ever and I've been informed by each kid that he wants to wear them forever. I guess before today they didn't realize how vulnerable their shins are.

Declan, in proper Declan style, stripped down to his unders because one can't properly model anything fully clothed.





(ETA: I'm trying to fix the settings so the full post will show in readers, but I can't tell if it's working.)

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Lost in translation

Declan, in his quest for snuggles today, is being held like a baby by Chris. Chris was teasing him a little and saying he's going to rock the baby.

Declan: "Rock me."
Me: "Tell Chris to rock you like a hurricane."
Declan, with feeling: "Rock me like a Burger King!"

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Funeral

I don't think I've posted since we got to Missouri, meaning it's been a while and lots of things have happened/are happening. Our lives have changed a lot for the better, and we're still adjusting but overall things are going well.

This past Sunday (Easter), Chris's brother Stephen passed away. Since this is a blog about the boys, I won't even attempt to go into how that has affected anyone else, which is fine because it's near impossible to articulate that anyway. On the drive out here, Chris and I did our best to explain to the kids that Stephen was sick and tell them what they could expect from living in the house with him. We were worried they'd be nervous about it. But they are some pretty easy-going kids and it turned out to be a non issue for them. In the first few days, there were some curious questions about Stephen and his care, but other than that it didn't affect their lives in any way.

When Stephen went into the hospital, we again did our best to explain what was happening mostly because it meant Grandma Sue and Auntie Andrea weren't around the house like usual. And then a few days later, we had to explain to them that Stephen wasn't going to come home and everyone around the house was going to be sad for a little while and the best things they could do were give lots of hugs and say nice things to people. The boys were sitting on Declan's bed playing Nintendo at the moment, and they sat there listening while we explained what we could. They each got these really sad, heartbreaking looks on their faces - Logan looked down at his lap solemnly and Declan pushed out his bottom lip. And about 30 seconds later it was over and they were on to thinking about the Mario race game.

We told them what to expect at the wake and the funeral, and gave them the choice of going or staying home with me, and they chose to go. At the wake they hung out in the back for a while and slowly worked their way up to viewing Stephen. Logan was shy about it and wouldn't ever walk up to him - he'd just walk by and glance at the casket surreptitiously. Declan, however, kept walking up and standing next to people, and he'd look at Stephen a minute. When Chris was there with Stephen, Declan looked up and grinned hugely at him, completely unphased by all that was going on as usual. The funeral itself was long and boring for them, but the best part was the police escort to the cemetery. The boys watched intently while the cops held up the traffic for the procession and they squealed with excitement each time one of them zoomed past us to get ahead to the next intersection. They were completely impressed by the motorcycles.

Ed, like a good father, has been asking how the boys are handling it emotionally, and all I can tell him is that they're doing fine. They're both too young to really understand the gravity of the situation. They know it's sad and they know the basics of what's going on, but it's not affecting their moods or lives. I think the best way to describe it is they're sad for us, but they themselves aren't sad.

Chris's family has told us a few times how nice it's been to have them around, even in such a difficult time. No one can dwell too long in the sadness of a moment because it gets broken by a loud laugh down the hall or one of them zooming into the kitchen asking for a treat or Declan yelling from the bathroom for someone to wipe his butt, please. Meals need to be made, bodies need to be dressed, hands and faces need to be washed, and through all the things that go into caring for the boys, a sense of normal is brought back into the home.

Declan

Logan

boys

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

St. Patrick's Day

Last night, before the boys went to bed, we had a chat with them about leprechauns and how mischievous they are and how they like to play fun tricks on people on St. Patrick's Day. This morning, the kids woke up to things like our milk and chicken salad in the fridge turned green. We had green scrambled eggs for breakfast (with regular-colored bacon). And the boys are loving it all. For good measure, here's a short video of the boys talking about the morning. And Logan being a boy.

Logan posing so elegantly; Declan with a green milk moustache.

I love the look Declan's giving Logan here. (You can click on these photos to see a larger version of them.)

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Music

I used to say that Logan had an ear for music, and people would be like, "Duh, all kids like music." He's now five and I still think there's something special in him when it comes down to it. I don't know what it is, exactly. He picks up new songs really quickly, and has been known to add his own special soundtrack to his life, like he's writing a movie score to the movie that is Logan.

I don't know if it's the shared genetics of the boys or the shared environment, but Declan is also very musical and makes his own songs that are along the same lines of Logan's - sometimes nothing less than epic accompaniment while he climbs the stairs, dead man walking to time out. Since he was quite young, he's been known to sing himself to sleep in bed. And today, while I was getting his bath ready, he stood in the hallway naked, with a Guitar Hero guitar slung over his shoulder, and sang (loudly) a song to me requesting that I please find him a washcloth. (Of course, my camera is never to be found in those moments.) Even naked in the hallway, Dex looked so natural there with the guitar.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Teenagers

...they think they know everything.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the mom of teenagers already. I can't put my finger on anything specific, it's just a general feel of attitude and teeny-bop things like Hannah Montana, which they've strangely taken a liking to.

Logan lately has taken quite a liking to my mp3 player. He uses it every night to fall asleep, and most days is pestering me to just wear it around the house. I've got a fairly eclectic mix of music on there and he periodically goes listening for new songs he's not familiar with. He's so much like his dad and grandpa in this way - they're always interested in new music and will give just about anything a chance. Quite often I hear him wandering around the house without the mp3 player, singing songs I didn't know he knew. But when he has it in his possession, he totally cranks the volume up and rocks out. I took this picture of him last week before he went to bed, and I think he looks so much older than 5.


Declan, being the carbon copy of me that he is, has all the emotional control of a teenage girl most days. That kid can crumble into tears like nobody's business. The other day I bought them some Peeps since it's the season of the Peep and the kids piss down both legs for marshmallows (I can't stand them, p.s.).
[Sidenote: That phrase "piss down both legs" also comes from my friend Char's house. Her dear sweet daughter said it at the ripe old age of four when she saw something at the toy store she just knew her little brother would be thrilled about. It is *the* phrase to use in such context. End sidenote.] So, the Peeps. Declan ate one, and then started in on the next, biting its head off. Before I knew it, his heartbreaking pouty face had formed (the one where he's squinting as he attempts to hold back the tears and his lips form this beak-like protrusion as he attempts to hold back the sobs) and he was crying big huge tears about it. I asked him what in the world was making him cry since I assumed a Peeps treat would have the opposite effect. He told me between his jagged, sobbing breaths that he wanted to have a pet chick of his own. From then until the time the boys finished eating them, Declan teetered between the complete thrill he gets from being allowed sweets and the depths of heartache over eating baby chicks. Who knew Peeps could be such an emotional roller coaster?

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

A boy and his dinner

Last night we had corndogs and tater tots for dinner. Yes, the foods of the gods.

Declan, as hard as he tried, could not keep from calling them teeter totters. And boy, did he love those teeters. He also reminded me of the fact that I'm surrounded by boys when he absentmindedly (while listening to Logan talk about something) held his corndog horizontally and quietly made the sounds of cocking and shooting a gun. I mean, he was fairly enthralled in whatever Logan was telling him, but he still managed to hold the little part of his subconscious open that makes corndogs weapons.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

The Mommy Dot

When we moved to Utah, my friend Char had two kids that were about 4 and 1 at the time. She's since doubled her brood and is contemplating insanity by adding #5, but that's neither here nor there.

Char taught me a little trick way back when that I thought was a stroke of parenting genius (geniouse) and has been filed away in my mind for the stage of parenting I'm in now. That is, dealing with young folks who break lamps and then lie about it to avoid trouble. When Char's kid would lie about something and Char knew (or had a significant hunch) that she was being sold a houseboat in the Sahara, she said she could see the Mommy Dot. The Mommy Dot itself shows up on an unsuspecting, lying child's forehead. It's angry red in color, revealing the indignation and frustration of a parent being lied to. (OK, I may have self-projected there.) It's supposed to be seen only by parents but Logan has sworn up and down that he can see it on Dex. Technically that would mean a dot should be appearing on Logan's forehead as well, but I'm pretty sure the deal is that he and Dex get into trouble together and Logan knows the whole story so I let it slide.

Anyway, by telling a particular child that the Mommy Dot is showing and it's showing because Mommy knows the kid is lying, an amazing thing comes out: the truth. The kid, believing he is caught in a lie all of a sudden wants to come clean and reveal all. Seriously, this is parenting *magic*.

My kids believe in the Mommy Dot as desperately as they believe in Santa. The best part is they give themselves away, sometimes when I'm not even suspecting a lie. I've had conversations with them about mysterious events around the house that have a question and answer session ending in, "Can you see my dot?" Declan has been known to clap his hand to his forehead while talking to me about whether or not he drank milk in the living room. Once when I asked him if it was true that he hit Logan, he said no and immediately sighed heavily, slouched his shoulders and said, "You can see my dot, can't you?"

It's a miracle, folks.

Our latest foray in to the world of dots came the other night when Ed realized the boys had done something to his TV though he'd asked him repeatedly not to touch it. The two of them adamantly promised that they did nothing to it! No way would they touch the TV after Daddy had told them not to! How could we even think such a thing?!


After Ed left the room, each boy asked me quietly if I could see dots on either of them. Clearly, they were both involved. Together. Helping each other. Tag team mischief in action. And the story came out.

Now - if Char could get to work and please invent some parenting magic that will make kids think twice before getting into trouble, that would be awesome.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

A pretty good sum-up of parenting these boys

I was searching through my email for something, and I came across a conversation between Ed and I that occured a few months back. Here it is, in its entirety:

Ed: Did Declan cut himself shaving?
Me: Yes, on Saturday.

(No explanation asked. None needed.)

Friday, January 30, 2009

Heroism

This morning, as I was getting out of bed, my foot got caught in the sheets (quiet, you) and I yelped. Declan, hearing my cry, yelled from the living room, "I'll save you, Mommy!" We heard his little feet coming running at Declan speed and in a second, he appeared in our room, climbed up on the bed, and tackled Chris who was still laying there. At that point, he did his best to wrestle Chris down for hurting me while Chris laughed and protested that he hadn't done a thing to me. (Of course, Chris did give me the what-for because I was singing the Planet of the Apes musical (from the Simpsons) in bed which he didn't appreciate. Frankly, I consider that tackle-and-wrestle worthy.)

In other news, Logan calls his *ahem* region coconuts. We got in Chris's car yesterday and as we drove off, Logan quite pleasantly exclaimed, "Ooh! This car is vibrating my coconuts!"

Also, Declan calls lasagna masanga, and that's amusing in its own right.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

What's that noise?

Last night, as Chris was walking to bed past Logan's room, Logan stopped him and asked him what that noise was. Chris, confused because he hadn't heard any odd noises, asked what noise Logan was talking about. Logan's response: "Like an apple screaming."

Logan also decided tonight that when Aldin (the "bad kid" at school) grows up, he's going to be a car salesman because car salesmen are liars. (Ed? Was that you?)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Haircuts and things

We've had some craziness around the house for the past couple weeks, and I've gotten out of my routine. The posting has obviously been scarce. That may not change immediately, either.

On a more amusing note, Logan, Chris, and I were watching "Return of the Jedi" the other night after Declan was in bed. At the end, after the Emporer was destroyed by Vader (sorry if I'm giving away the ending) and Luke and Vader were having their final chat, Logan looked up at me and said, "Did Darth Vader go back to the bright side?"


We did haircuts for the boys yesterday. Chris has been harrassing me for Declan's hippiness. The boy's hair has gotten long and unruly and I've been resistant to cutting it because of the curls. But I think I got it out of my system and we'll keep his hair short and under control until he's old enough to take care of it himself. Here's a picture of him before it was cut (well, the curls in the back while he was looking for "circle cheese" in the fridge). [Crappy photo, but you get the idea, right?]


And here's one of the boys together after getting buzzed down. They were quite excited about life at the moment.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

See ya in hell, tonsils

A few months back, during our visit to the family doctor, we decided that given Logan's age and consistent struggle with the s and z sounds, it was probably time to see a speech therapist. The speech therapist said that for those specific sounds Logan was jamming all the air through his nose, but for the rest of his speech, not enough air was getting through. She recommended we take him to see an ENT. Good thing we already had an appointment made, because the doctor who recommended the speech therapist had gasped something that sounded strangely similar to "For crying out loud!" and, "Look at the size of those bastards!" when Logan said "aaah" and showed him his tonsils. He'd also suggested the ENT.

Enter Dr. Peterson, the guy who put tubes in Logan's ears last March. Even way back then, he was impressed at the sheer girth of the tonsils in Logan but figured he was going to be going through enough with the tubes in his ears and the biopsy on the lump in his neck and decided we'd come back another time for the rest. Last month after checking Logan out and talking to me about Logan's sleeping habits (snoring like a chainsaw, tossing and turning all night, beast to wake up in the morning), he figured the tonsils and adenoids were prime for removal. They were obviously causing speech problems and it was very likely they were causing sleep apnea as well, forcing Logan to wake himself up and roll over so he could breathe.

So the -ectomies were scheduled. Chris stayed home to keep Declan fat and happy while Logan and I met Ed and Amy at the surgical center. Logan was clearly nervous, and I had him call Grandpa on the drive. They chit chatted about the things those two mischievous boys chit chat about and Logan's mind was beautifully distracted. Once there, the nurse got Logan changed into his hospital gown and explained everything he could expect. We all watched Monsters, Inc. while we waited for his turn and he seemed to relax a little - until the anesthesiologist came to take him one direction while Mom, Dad and Amy went another. He started crying and Ed did his best to reassure him things would be fine but there wasn't much we could do other than let him go.

While we waited, Ed, Amy and I learned about making pilgrims out of urine hats (seriously) and talked about Amy's childhood experiment with biking + roller skating. It was only about a half hour before the doctor came to tell us the tonsils were out, and Logan was fine and starting to wake up. He said he was amazed at the size of the tonsils and adenoids - they were in the top 5 largest he'd ever seen and they were bringing in doctors and nurses from around the area to gawk and awe at them. Ed said he felt like he won some sort of contest.

Logan had a rough time coming out of the anesthesia. He fell asleep mid-cry a few times, which completely broke my heart. The three of us parents did our best to comfort him and encourage him to drink juice or eat an ice pop so we could go home. Logan was desperate to get the IV out (they put it in his foot so he wouldn't be pawing at it) and that turned out to be his popsicle-eating motivation. Once the popsicle and medicine were down, the IV was removed and we were cleared to go.

I expected him to sleep all day and put up a fight about eating anything, given his reluctance at the hospital. But once we got here, he went to town eating several popsicles, a bowl of ice cream, a bowl of jello, some grapple juice, and even mashed potatoes for dinner. He asked Chris to order him a pizza (denied!) and kept wanting to get up and play.

Now that it's over, Logan sounds younger and doesn't have the hot potato quality to his voice anymore. Once he heals up, we'll get him into speech therapy regularly to help him learn to make the s's and z's properly. But for the moment, he's doing great. Another childhood milestone completed.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Crazy Train

Today I hooked my mp3 player (thanks, Chris!) to my speakers and started playing Crazy Train. The starting shouts and laughter by Ozzy startled the crud out of the kids. But when the music cut in, Declan slowly took a few steps over to me with eyes wide, mouth hanging open in a half smile like he just could not believe the awesome he was hearing. He stood, sort of dazed, next to me while the song played and before long his little body was totally getting down. Then the headbanging started.

Chris was in his chair next to me watching Declan out of the corner of his eye, like he was afraid that if he paid too much attention, Declan would get shy and stop his performance. I, knowing Dex a little better than that, openly stared. The kid was into it. During the instrumental part, the boy played air guitar, shook his legs to the beat as if he was actually playing a guitar, closed his eyes, and banged his head like you would not believe.
During this time, Logan was doing some twirls and dancing that reminded me a bit of a cheerleader, but that's neither here nor there.

Considering that Declan's most requested song around our house is Dragula, I think we may have a metalhead on our hands. In light of these preferences Dex has set forth, Chris has happily volunteered to help shape Declan's musical tastes. Though, the kids did just come off a week with Grandpa in which they fell in love with Planet Claire ("Mommy, they don't have any heads there!").