For those of you who don't know, I have four brothers. I fall right in the middle. My baby brother's given name is Andrew. My brother Tom nicknamed him Biff and it stuck. He went by Biff when we were kids and he still does. He just arrived in town from Iraq last night. I got to see him today and it was great! He is just home for a visit and then he is back to Iraq. This has been his second deployment. When he's through, he'll have spent three years there. So, here is a a special Thanks, to you Biff, for serving! Thanks for fighting for our safety and freedom!!!

So as soon as Riley saw him he wanted to wrestle, and wrestle they did. This evening while the boys were getting ready for bed Riley says to me,

Riley: Mom? Sometimes I just touched Uncle Biff and he said, 'You got me.' Why did he say that?

Me: I don't know. You will have to ask him.

Riley: I think it's because I have 'THE FORCE!'

It was so cute because he was so serious and so believing. I love that about kids.

This afternoon Jeremy was building with blocks. Tyler and I were watching him, just as requested. Then I stood up and told him I had to go get Tyler some sock. Jeremy says,

"Is that because he has naked toes?"

It brought a smile to my face.

Buddies

Today was a fun day. This afternoon Ethan and Cole came over. We played at the park for close to 3 hours. It was great!

Jeremy cracks me up sometimes. Last night he woke up around midnight and called for me. I went in. He asked me to lay down with him for a little bit. I did. Not three mintues later he says,

" I"m done with you now."

I asked if he wanted me to leave. He said yes.

The other day Riley said to me, "Mom, I don't play at school."

So I asked him why. (it is preschool and I know they do some playing.)

He replied, "I don't play much because I just love doing projects. I never want to stop."

Riley is super artistic and doing projects is one of his very favorite things.

Tyler loves to swing.

I love it when it takes his breath away.

Tyler is getting so active. He is 8 months old now. Time sure flies. He isn't crawling but it won't be long. He is all over the place, rolling and scooting around. He is so sweet. He loves his brothers so much. He gets so exciting just seeing them, even if they aren't looking at him. When they look at Tyler and talk to him, Tyler is beside himself. He is completly elated. It is so very precious.

This picture of Tyler reminds me of Jeremy.

This one reminds me of Riley.

Brothers

not yet potty trained

Some time ago, Jeremy was completely pee potty trained. Since he refused to do the other, we postponed. For the last month we've been talking about how when Jeremy is 3 he will go in the toilet. Before that day came, he was excited about it. He turned 3 yesterday. He informed me this morning, 'I'm not 3, I"m not. I"m 2. I'm not big, "Im small.' He keeps telling me that. As a result of him still being 2 : ) , He is not using the toilet. So I guess we're at square one again. I knew it was wishful thinking but hey, what can I say.

Return of the Spiders

During the last month and a half, we have been hearing a lot about 'the spiders.' They seem to be the explanation for when Jeremy doesn't know how something happened.

One day Jeremy was looking for a costume. It wasn't in the costume bucket downstairs or where he left it. I told him to check in the basket on his bookcase (in his room). He says, "noooo!" like it's not there. I told him again to go check. He did. Then he exlaims, "The spiders put it there!"

We have a side table that sits in our hall upstairs by the kids bathroom. I keep Jeremy's diapers and wipes it. I frequently send Jeremy to go get a diaper for himself. The last time he had done it that day, he left the drawer open. When I noticed it, I closed the drawer. Jeremy discovered, some time later, that it had been closed. He said while nodding his head, "The spiders closed it!"

On this same day, when Jeremy had last been in my room, there were no toys on the floor. While Jeremy was playing downstairs, I took Tyler upstairs with me for about five minutes while I put a load of clothes away. During that time, I put a few toys on the floor for Tyler to play with. We left them there. Later when Jeremy went upstairs with us he saw them. In surprise he said, "Look! The spiders got these out!" The rest of the conversation goes like this.

me: Where are the spiders?

Jeremy: (eye brows furrowed, you can tell he's thinking) I'll show you!

I follow him into the bathroom. He points his finger all around as if he's deciding as he's telling me. Then he points into the toilet.

Jeremy: In there.

As you could probably imagine, those spiders get the blame everytime Jeremy discovers that the toilet hasn't been flushed.

Jeremy: The spiders did that!

Jeremy is very expressive and contemplative when he talks. Today, I decided to ask him about those spiders again. I didn't realize until after it was done that the file is too big to upload. Does anyone know how to make it smaller? If there is a way to make it smaller you will hear more about where 'the spiders' live. They have a new home.

Jeremy cracks me up!

I haven't been blogging for way too long. I have been writting little stories down on scraps of paper here and there. So I have a bit of catching up to do. Here is a start.

Before I tell you this story, there are a few things you need to know.
1. We can tell Jeremy has had too much dairy by his diaper. Enough said, right?!
2. Riley is a hall monitor
3. You have to really choose wisely when picking battles with Jeremy.

I was holding Tyler while I was trying to throw dinner together. Jeremy recognized the opportunity, and acted. As he goes for his thrid gogurt, Riley is frantically informing Jeremy and I that he can't have anymore. The conversation goes like this,

Riley: Jeremy! You can't have anymore yogurt.

Jeremy: Yeeees! I CAN!

(meanwhile I'm trying to decide if I want to let this one go or not)

Riley: It will make you sick!

Jeremy: Noooo

Riley: It will make you sick Jeremy! Right Mom?!

Me: Weeeell. It won't make him sick but it will give him diahrea.

Riley: Yeah Jeremy, it will give you diahrea!

Jeremy: Noooo

Me: Yes it will give you diahrea!

Riley: See Jeremy!

Jeremy: I want diahrea! I do!

He said it as if, "I"m aware of the risk and I"m willing to take that chance." It made me laugh. Jeremy is so funny!

Happy Birthday Jeremy

Jeremy had to have these 3D glasses for his party!

We had tons of fun! Jeremy wanted a pinjata. I was surpised that when it came down to doing it he only took two hits and was done. He woke up at 5:45 am. I think he was tired. We still had fun playing, opening presents and eating cake and ice cream. Jeremy is 3 and so excited!

Still under construction...

I was searching all over the net for cute backrounds. This is the cutest one I could find that isn't too girly. I love things that are really girly but since I have three boys, I thought I should avoid that route. Sorry to copy you Mahina. It was my favorite one. But I did pick one that was a little bit different. What can I say, You have great taste!

I'm still working on making some changes. I will be back blogging soon. I"ve been in a stand still since January. Too long, I know. My excuse, my camera battery charger broke. I didn't replace it right away because I wanted to see if it could be fixed. Now here we are in May and I just got it replaced. Soooo, I'm back. I will be making more changes and adding more posts very soon. So stay tuned!

I found this great backround at
http://www.leeloublogs.blogspot.com/
They're super cute and Free!

A couple cute stories from the week.

We let Riley stay up late one night. We had a movie night whith him. While getting everything set up he says,

"I can't wait until my sister comes!!!"

Now just so you know, I am NOT pregnant. Nor are we even talking about having another one righ now, not for a couple of years anyway. Riley continues,

"If anyone tries to be mean to her, I won't throw them down the stairs!! I will just beat them up!!"

It's good to know he'll watch out for the sister he has been longing for since I was pregnant with Tyler. For those of you who don't know, he was convinced Tyler was a girl. He was even making her stuff at school.


Jeremy was playing with a superman action figure. He held Superman up towards me, as if Superman was the one talking to me, and in a deep voice he exlaims,

"I'm superman! I"m child of God!"

It was soo cute! Jeremy is so sweet. He is always telling me,
"Tyler's my best friend!" Jeremy loves to sing and frequently he sings to Tyler while he holds his hands. Tyler gets so excited and he laughs the whole time.

Our whole family was in the car on friday night headed to the store. Riley says,

"If there is a bad guy in our house, I will just get him with my light saber!"

The cute thing, we could tell when he said it, he really believes that he would take care of him with his light saber! I just love the imaginations of kids and how they are so believing!

It snowed last night!!

Mmmm. Tastes good!

He's so cute! I can hardly stand it!

Riley's 5th Birthday

In years past, the age your turning is how many friends you get to invite to the party. This year, I asked Riley who he wanted to invite. He rattled off nine names. I told him, "Oh I think we should pick five." He was so upset and replied, "But Mom, I have so many friends. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings." It was very sweet. So needless to say, we invited all nine. We had a great time. We pinned the life spark on the transformer, brpke into a pinjata, had cake and ice cream, opened presents, and even did a little coloring.

The night before Riley's birthday, I hung streamers while Valane did a "quick sketch" (as he would call it) of a transformer. It's crazy I know! He actually colored it with crayons. But shhhhhh, don't tell him I posted it. He doesn't like people to know. : ) We needed a game. So we thought, pin the life spark on the transformer.

Since Riley's birthday was a Saturday this year, he brought treats to school the day before. They gave him this tall and colorful hat to sport.

Every once in a while, Jeremy will reclaim his 'pink baby,' for an hour or so. Although now he calls it his 'pink blanket.'

On this particlular day, he enthusiastically informed me,

"My Pink baby is PINK."

Jeremy is such a good big brother. Here, he is proudly sharing his beloved pink blanket with Tyler.

Yesterday Valane asked Jeremy,
"Are you a big brother?"

Nodding, Jeremy replied,
"For Tyler."

Tyler was having a hard time. He wasn't crying but very agitated and uncomfortable. As soon as Lane put him in this postition, he was out for the count.

Tomatoes have always been a favorite. We don't usually eat them this way. Someone had just knocked at the door. Everyone went to the door except Jeremy. Apparently he was hungry.

Ready For School

I carpool with my friend Sarah for preschool. She was picking up Riley this particular day. I got Riley completly ready and told him to go put on his shoes. Frequently, I find myself telling him over and over again. This morning, he went strait to the coat closet, put on his shoes, coat, and backpack w/outh being told twice. That is not all. He, so kindly, helped Jeremy put his shoes on (over his footy pajamas) and his backpack. They were ready for school. I didn't have to nag once. It was awesome! I told the boys that 'Andrew's Mom' would be taking him to school. Riley said he knew. I thought it was sweet that he helped Jeremy all along the way, just because.

Especially for Grandma and Grandpa Cook

You know what I love about kids? They decide that they want to do something and then they DO IT! I wish that I carried through the way they do. On Saturday, Riley decided he wanted to write a book. He quickly began illustrating it. It's an 18 page book mind you, with an illustration on the cover and the back too. He spent two strait hours drawing the pictures.

Note to self: A convenient place to store you pen while not in use.

Riley finished all the pictures in one sitting. The next day, he colored all of them. Then he dictated the story to Lane. Voila! Riley has finished his book in just 3 hours. If you want to read the book, just double click on each image to enlarge the pictures.