This post is a tale of three Sundays. I'm sure the blog police are well aware that the last full post was two weeks and one day ago, with a video addendum five days later. What can I say? These boys are keeping us busy. The Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we ventured out to the apple orchard with Grandma and Grandpa. Hard to tell if the highlight was the apple picking/eating or riding the tractor wagon from the store out to the trees. The long-time orchard owner drives it and delights in corny jokes and pretending to get stuck in the creek while driving through the shallow water. The kids love it and truth be told, it's hard for grown-ups to suppress a smile and a chuckle.



Fast forward one week and Sunday found us scrambling to get from church to the opening hour of "Move It! Dig It! Do It!" an annual festival of vehicles whose proceeds benefit our Children's Museum. Last year's event was somewhat marred for our crew by the incessant honking of horns. Edward is still not too fond of loud noises, but was willing to clap his hands over his ears and run from truck to bus to tractor. Our favorite Hills firefighter was there and remembered Ed from the county fair in July, so that was a big hit. (His memory was likely aided by the fact that after the fair John had sent a note of thanks to the general email account for the City of Hills and it was forwarded on to the firefighter, who wrote John an effusive note saying how much it meant to hear from us. John then sent a couple of pictures, and we now have a firefighter friend for life along with an open invitation to tour the station.)

Our camera isn't quite sophisticated to capture an image of a large machine in which you can still see the kid, so here's Daniel way up in a huge combine. John had to carry him up a ladder to get into the cab. Ed is behind him with his hands over his ears. Too many horns honking.

While Edward tried out the tractor, Grandpa took Daniel to the city bus, the vehicle with which is is most ardently obsessed. Grandpa reported that after Daniel climbed up and took a seat he kept leaning forward saying "Go go!" He did not appreciate a stationary vehicle. He thinks the bus takes you to the library because we've created a Saturday adventure this way a few times this summer.
This is the "Dig It!" part of the day--huge piles of sand to climb on and dig in. This of course led to streams of sand to be poured out of shoes before heading home.

Ironically, with all the real-life vehicles on display, our kids were most excited about a collection of Cozy Coupe cars to drive over a bumpy gravel lot. Ed was most enthralled with these "fire cars," but they actually got in and out of several different models. We flamed out after about 90 minutes and headed home for naps. Too bad I didn't get a picture of Daniel asleep in his car seat still clutching the plastic "hard hat" issued to each kid at the gate.

And now for the third Sunday, a description of which does not include photographs, came close to including child abandonment, but ends happily. We have been battling some annoying behavior tics the last week or so, which we know can be attributed to age, peer influence, and our vehement disapproval. However, understanding the source(s) does not make it any less irritating in the moment. The primary offenders are spitting and screaming. We actually battled the scream/shrieking earlier this summer, but it's back with a vengeance and can seriously drive a person insane, especially when the two boys are trying to outdo each other. Last time around we eventually hit upon "ignore" as a solution. But this time, combined with the spitting, it's just too much to bear. We have tried time-outs. We have tried "no TV" or "no computer." We have tried leaving the room. We have tried saying "that is bathroom behavior so you'll have to stay in the bathroom if you want to do that." (This is one of the school strategies. How can pre-school teachers put up with this all day every day times 12 kids????)

Part of the problem is that Daniel is too young for actual punishment so Ed sees him getting off easy and thinks he can do the same. This morning both of them had their breakfasts taken away and were sent out of the room. Ed ended up deposited in his bedroom wailing at the injustice no less than three times before 9:30 mass! Miraculously, they actually were decently behaved at Mass (the "no computer" threat works for Ed there--when he starts acting up, I tell him he won't do computer when we get home and he settles, usually.) When we got home, they played for a little while, but lunch was a repeat of breakfast and we were about to lose our minds.

Finally, during the peace of nap time (hallelujah!) I came up with the "divide and conquer" solution. We know that they feed off of each other--one starts and the other tries to go one better. They both laugh their heads off as we seethe and eventually explode. So we came up with a plan that gave each of us one-on-one time with each boy and kept them separated from each other. Ed got up from his nap first and he and I left to get new shoes, some art supplies for a school project, and groceries. At the store, when I told Ed we were getting hamburger buns, he asked if we could also have s'mores. Ingredients were purchased with the hope that such a delight could induce a calm dinner.

When we got back, John had the grill prepped for a burger dinner, which we ate in relative peace. Daniel still screamed and spit a bit, but each time we looked at Ed and warned him not to join or there would be no s'mores. He kept it together. Then "because he screamed," Daniel did not get to have s'mores (of course he didn't know the difference, but Ed did) and instead went out for a walk with me. John and Ed stayed home to roast marshmallows, eat their treats, and decorate a letter F with pictures and objects that start with that letter (school project.)

Worked like a charm. Daniel and I got back around 7, had a little more play time, and then hit the bathtub. The only hiccup was extending the playtime a little too long so that bath time ended in tears of exhaustion.

Whew! Sometimes weekends are all about survival. And sometimes it's really tough to be smarter than your kids!In other news, Edward started swimming lessons this last week and seems to like it. He's leery about full face immersion in the water, but has made some valiant attempts. After last week's lesson, I told him he could spit in the water and it would help him blow bubbles. We'll see if that works. Maybe he could get the spitting out of his system that way! There are four kids in his group with one teacher and they have their lesson in the shallow wading pool at the community center, which is nice because the kids can stand in the water. At this point, it's mostly about safety and feeling comfortable in the water, but the idea is to give him the building blocks for actual swimming. As long as he's happy, and willing to go, I'm satisfied. (These pictures were taken through the window from the parent waiting area, hence the low quality.)

I didn't complete my video before the weekend ended. I had a lot to piece together and worked hard to try to keep it short, but it still ended up at four minutes (fair warning before you click 'play.') Started it this afternoon, but didn't finish before leaving for class. I decided to tackle it tonight since I was up late watching tennis and winding down from class so I know I'll be tired and probably napping tomorrow.

So without further ado, here are three of the eleven parks we played in during the first 10 days of September. (Warning of mild scatological content at :42 and 1:50.)

The boys got their first taste of Hawkeye Game Day this morning without actually seeing the game. John and his dad had tickets so I suggested that they take the boys on Hawkeye Express (a train that runs fans from Coralville to the stadium.) I scouted a park on the west side of town that seemed close enough to be able to walk up to the stadium and meet them, but far enough that it wouldn't be totally insane at 9:30 in the morning (game time 11 a.m.) Well, I was half right. The street bordering the park, so quiet when I drove by on my test run Wednesday, was brimming with Hawk fans and cars parked on both sides. Luckily, I still managed to get a spot on the street, but I probably only made it by 10-15 minutes. I unloaded the stroller and started walking down to the stadium (about a mile.) I was the only one not wearing black and gold and even more conspicuous for pushing an empty stroller.

As it turned out, the Kenyon men had gotten on a train almost as soon as I'd dropped them off, and since the ride is less than 10 minutes, they reached our general meeting area before I did. They didn't have to wait too long though, and all in all, I think it was a success. Not sure what the kids thought of the teeming masses of Hawkeye fans. It's really insane! We ended up walking against the current, headed back to the park. For about half the trip we could walk in the street as no traffic was getting through. Back on the narrow sidewalk, things were a bit trickier, but we made it. The park was a hit (it had a fire truck AND a digger--what's not to love?) and they didn't seem to mind a bit being left behind for the actual game.

We've actually be on an unofficial Park Tour for the last week, starting with last weekend in Evanston. As if it's not enough to have a whole porch full of trucks, trains and other toys to play with, there's also a world of parks to explore at Gram and PopPop's. We started with feeding the ducks at the Northwestern University lagoon on Saturday morning. Daniel could not understand why anyone would throw perfectly good food in the water for a bunch of ducks. It took me a few minutes to realize that nearly every piece of bread I handed him was going straight in his mouth! Edward enjoyed watching the ducks gobble what he threw, even the pieces that were bigger than their heads since he couldn't quite remember to break apart the bread before throwing.

Later in the day we visited a park with a play train that Gram had discovered in her weekend preparations. They loved it! (Hence the real train excursion today and the possibility of one at the end of the month.) In this picture, Ed has just jumped off and called at the top of his lungs: "All Aboard!" I think there's video of this as well, but I haven't had time to go through it all and edit. Maybe next post. The train had an engine and two cars, all with seats, but why would you want to sit when you could be climbing?



The expressions on these next two are priceless, and pretty much speak for themselves. They were taken one right after the other. I should also note than when I try to help him on this type of rocking toy he pushes me away and says, "No, Mommy!"
The Chicagoland weather was a little chilly (no complaints!) but we returned to near perfection--70s by day 50s by night. That along with an advantageous nap schedule (leaving enough time for an excursion before John gets home from work) led to five different park visits this week (every day but Wednesday and two on Friday.) Seven if you count two today. Here's Daniel enjoying his afternoon snack at a picnic table, but neither boy could sit still long enough to eat much. Monday's excursion took us back to the park in our old neighborhood--always a fun one. It makes me miss living just half a block away. We got to see our former neighbors who are like surrogate grandparents to the boys. It was great to be able to catch up with them and let them see how the boys have grown. It was also helpful because Ed decided he had to go to the bathroom so he was able to go to their house.

Edward is working on mastering the "fireman pole" and does pretty well with low- and medium-height poles. This one was pretty high so he had me come spot him, but he mostly did it on his own. It's not a smooth slide, but he's building confidence.Daniel still likes to try everything Ed does, but luckily he seems to recognize his limitations when it comes to this particular apparatus. He has not attempted to lean out and grab the pole yet, though whenever he's up I'm either right next to him or right below, just in case!

I'll close with two close ups and I'll do my best to get some video together before the weekend is over. This shot of Edward kind of looks like one of those cheesey photo studio back drops, but I promise, it's live, sitting on a rock next to the bridge over a creek into which we were throwing leaves and maple seeds (whirly-gigs.)

A Sunday afternoon graham cracker snack put John in the mood for s'mores. He mentioned this to me before I left for the grocery store, but of course I forgot to get the chocolate. (We already had the marshmallows, left over from some baking project.) Never fear. He made a special trip with Ed to pick up the elusive ingredient while the grill warmed up for our chicken dinner. This was a powerful incentive for Edward to eat all his dinner as he knew the joy that awaited. (He had them at daycare during a lesson on camping. He is unlikely to have any real camping experience until he's old enough for Scouts!)


John found a stick and his pocket knife (Boy Scout remnant?) and whittled a poker while Ed finished his veggies. It was a nice long stick, keeping Ed from getting too close to the grill, but still required parental vigilance. I kept hearing the voice over to one of those Emergency reality shows: "In the split second it took to say Hello to a passing neighbor, the grill had turned over..." Ugh. Anyway, it was a success and the treat was enjoyed by all.

John was grilling a second set of marshmallows so I managed to both feed Daniel and snap this shot. After I'd set the camera down and turned back, this is what I saw: "More more!" (Note: these pictures were taken in immediate succession despite the pitch black back drop of the first. Guess the flash was overwhelming at such close range.)
The treats were the end of a fun-filled weekend. We started with a rare Friday evening adventure to the Children's Museum. John got home early and the kids were just waking up from naps. We wondered how to fill the hours until bedtime and decided on the museum. A quick call to Grandma and Grandpa revealed that they were also at loose ends (or, at least willing to skip whatever they had planned) so they met up with us for a bit of museum fun. Surprisingly, it was a perfect time to go. Hardly anyone else was there between about 5 and 6 p.m. It was great to have four adults there so we could let the kids explore in different directions. When I go by myself, it's always a challenge to keep up with them!

Daniel was very methodical in placing these cones. They were all stacked when he approached and he spent a long time picking them up one by one and placing them in a row--much longer than I would have credited his attention span!

It is difficult to let him climb up this tall slide on his own, but he really can do it and the pure joy of the ride down is infectious.
We split up Saturday morning with John taking Ed for a haircut and the library and me taking Daniel on an errand and then to the park. (It was supposed to be the other way around, but he fell asleep in the car so we switched course.) It was fun to watch Daniel explore the familiar park on his own, rather than following Edward around an attempting to replicate all his physical feats. He got around just fine, but on his own terms. We spent about 10 minutes at one point playing "Mommy, sit here" as he moved from point to point and patted the place next to him for me to follow. The only command I ignored was when he flopped belly down on the concrete and patted the ground next to him. Simon says: no thanks.

We met up back at home for lunch and while the boys were eating, I spotted a wooly worm climbing on the screen. We kept an eye on him until lunch was gone then got down to explore.
We have almost this exact shot of Edward two years ago (a lot less hair though!)
This picture mostly defies explanation, except to say that the bucket was some sort of helmet as the vehicle morphed between race car and fire truck.

Daniel still eats bubbles.

But he's so cute we'll keep him anyway.

And we'll close with an Edward story. Sunday morning I took out a blueberry coffee cake for a treat. Edward was intrigued by the notion of cake for breakfast, but I tried to explain so he wouldn't expect chocolate. I told him it was blueberry and cinnamon and that it was called coffee cake because people like to eat it with coffee. He considered for a moment.

"I will call it juice cake because I like to eat it with juice." Can't argue with pure logic.

Well, I wish I could say we've been too busy living life to find time for blogging about it, but the truth is we've been up to a lot of nothing this month. I finished my summer class about the time of the last post and have been enjoying a more leisurely schedule since then. Next class starts next week and I'm not looking forward to it--another dry business requirement, Operations Management. Maybe I'll be surprised, but I'm not holding my breath. I really enjoyed the summer class though, an elective about leadership, so maybe I can ride that high all the way through the fall term.

We enjoyed another backyard pool adventure on Friday after naps. John's office observes "summer hours," sending staff home at 3:30 on summer Fridays so he was home for the fun. We were amused at Daniel's fine motor skills as he attempted the squirt gun. Only his thumb is strong enough to pull the trigger and holding it this way means he squirts himself in the face more often than not. He seems not to mind though. (Click on this picture to see a larger version that shows the spray of water.)I had to snap this pre-pool shot. Who doesn't love a baby belly hanging over a diaper? I still can't bring myself to take Daniel for a haircut because I know he won't look so much like my baby with the wild curls snipped away.
Here's Daniel reading to himself on Sunday morning after church. I've managed to take both boys solo to church the last two weeks. Can't promise it will happen every week, as it's quite stressful and there's not a lot to be gained spiritually from the endeavor. However, I am aware that this is how they'll learn the ritual, and I see kids not that much older who can keep it together the whole hour so there's hope. This week we left during Communion when Daniel took a toy combine (metal) and chucked it two pews ahead of us, luckily not hitting anyone in between. I can tell the experience leaves an impression with Ed though because after watching part of a Sesame Street episode featuring a magician wearing a cape, he described it to John as "the priest made the cards disappear." I had watched it with him and it had not occurred to me to equate the costume with the priest's vestments!

John, like his mother, can not appreciate a photo of himself, but I think this is sweet.


The latest development in firefighter wear is using a pot as a face mask. In the picture above, Daniel isn't sure a frying pan will create the desired effect.
Again, I had to get permission to post this one and it was granted, reluctantly. John was already home and changed for the pool by the time Edward woke, bleary-eyed from his nap. He needed a little snuggle time to fully shake the sleepies out. It's so interesting that he still does this on occasion when he wakes. Daniel will have none of it. Even if he wakes up crying (which is unusual, but does happen) he allows himself to be held and rocked for maybe 15 seconds before squirming down and trotting across the room to deposit his pacifier in his bed and then run for the door.

Our local schools start on Thursday and the university's fall semester starts Monday. Our air conditioning is turned off as mild days are giving way to cool evenings. Summer isn't over (and I'm sure we'll have more heat) but signs of fall are all around. Locals always say that summer is the best time to be in Iowa City because the pace is slower and the population thins as students head out for summer adventures. Even though my schedule isn't tied to the academic calendar (no summers off!) I always appreciate the reawakening as the town buzzes with the energy of a new year.

An amusing anecdote (and requisite background info):

Background #1: Two weeks ago, I made a deal with Edward: if he could get through the morning drop off with no tears he could have an M&M when we got home. I was at my wit's end with the daily melt-downs and thought this would give him incentive to keep it together. Before you scoff, "ONE M&M??!" know that this was only my opening gambit and I was prepared to offer just about anything to break this horrible cycle. He did not counter, so we did not escalate the bargaining game. The first couple of mornings, I could see him swallowing hard and considering the prize awaiting before steeling himself for a "Bye, Mom!" He also started deciding in the morning exactly which color M&M he would choose when he got home. Call it bribery, call me a horrible parent, but it worked. He has resumed his customary cheerful disposition at school and I am no longer starting my days with a broken heart. It was so successful that after the first week, he became a bit hit-and-miss with requesting the reward. If he brought it up, I immediately produced the treat, but if he didn't mention it, neither did I.

Background #2: Last night we took a walk after dinner to get ice cream--a great way to end a summer weekend. We had the double stroller with us, but on the way home, pushing uphill, I suggested that Edward could get off and walk for a bit. He complied and I kept pushing while he and John trailed behind. Suddenly, I heard Ed's piercing shriek and looked back to see John scooping him up from the sidewalk. He had tripped (over his own foot) and scraped his knee, though the blood-curdling screams had John convinced he'd knocked out a tooth or worse! We were only half way home so it was a long, loud walk--not the restful summer evening we envisioned. At home, it was bath and bed time and as a distraction for Ed, I suggested he could take a "stand up bath." (I also thought it would be wise to avoid total immersion of the wounded knee.) I used the handheld shower head to hose him down, careful not to have direct spray on the knee. This was both distracting and calming and he got clean, pajama-ed, and tucked into bed. I didn't realize how big an impression this had made until we were leaving daycare and the director popped her head out of her office to say, "Hey, I heard Edward got to take a shower!" I gave her the back story and she said he hadn't told her anything about the scraped knee, just the shower.

Scene: Today, 12:30ish; returning from work/daycare, taking off shoes and putting away hats in front hallway; no mention of the after school M&M until...

Edward: I'm not going to have an M&M today. Yeah, because I'm a shower man and shower mans don't need M&Ms.

I'm not sure which is funnier, the ego-inflating "shower man" or the plural "shower mans" but either way, I almost choked stifling my guffaw.

Last week we ventured out to the Johnson County Fair and had another fun evening. The cows did not make the same impression on Ed as last year, but nonetheless, a good time was had by all.

The goats are friendly, though the boys were hesitant about the hands-on experience. Daniel preferred to stand back a bit and say, "Hi, goat!"


After trying on the helmet, Ed said he wanted the fire-fighter to show him the mask. He dutifully pulled out the full face mask and tried it on, demonstrating the attached microphone/speaker and letting Ed speak into it. Later, we learned that Edward had intended only the flip down mask attached to the helmet.
Luckily the kids are still small enough that the number of available rides is somewhat limited. Daniel rode this, a train, and the merry-go-round with John holding him tight. Edward also tried a small-scale Ferris wheel (which he rode alone with no objection, even when it stopped with him a the top to let another crying kid off) and a big inflatable bounce slide. In the future we may have to discuss ride rationing ahead of time or our "free" family fair outing could get quite pricey!

We ended the evening sharing a huge cup of ice cream. Edward, as usual, asked for chocolate, but I persuaded him to try a new flavor "cookie dough" (slightly less mess due to the ice cream itself being vanilla.) It was pretty loud though and he didn't quite hear my description of this new flavor. After a few bites, he exclaimed, "I like co-KEE-do!"

We've got him straight now and he actually requested this flavor on last night's excursion. He also asked me on the way past the grocery store this afternoon if we could have that "special treat," cookie dough ice cream at home some time. I'm guessing this will happen.

Daniel had his 18-month check-up last week and sailed through. He's tipping the scales at 29 pounds and measures about 33.5 inches. Within about 90 seconds of entering the exam room, his doctor said, "Well, I guess I don't have to ask you about his language skills!" He is quite the little chatterbox. His teacher reported that he now has most of the class asking, "Why, why?" about everything. Daniel also is into greeting everyone and everything, including this exchange as we drove by a landscaping crew, "Hi law-mo, har you?" (translation: Hi lawn mower, how are you?) If you say, "Hi Daniel, how are you?" He'll respond with a matter-of fact, "Good."