Hello again.

Wow, we have been monumentally busy!

Last week, Mike was home with a back ache for all but 2 days of the week. The boys really liked having him home, even if they couldn't "play rough" the way they like to do. And Jockey got to have sufficient naps because Daddy was here during the pick up or drop off of Caleb so Joshy could continue his naps even while getting Caleb. Therefore, the experiment for the best Jockey nap schedule begins today... and I'm crossing my fingers.

Last week I worked a bit... And thanks to my "work" we got a free pizza on Tues. Nice!

It was my first official Parent's Night last week too. That was interesting and I got all the pertinent information, but I was saddened that Caleb might miss his first field trip due to our vacation. And I was hoping for a better parent networking system, maybe that comes later. All in all, I'm very happy with the choice of school, and I can't wait for next fall when Jockey actually gets to stay as he soooooo wants to do right now.

Last Thursday, I took Caleb to the Cascade Community church and got him signed up for Awana. We switched churches to which he will attend Awana at; the Cascade church is bigger and I hope will have more chances for friends for him. Plus, when we attend on Sundays, I hope that some of the same kids in Awana will be in his Sunday school classes. Caleb was really excited for Awana. Joshy was very upset when he discovered we were leaving Caleb and he, himself, did not get to stay. Jockey threw a public fit to include sitting in the middle of the hallway arms crossed wagging his little finger saying NO when I said let's go.

Officially, Jockey has learned how to say "I'm mad", and he says that when we tell him no (fill in action.... hitting, biting (a recent big thing), kicking, or when we take away things that he shouldn't have. The only thing that brightened Jockey's mood when we were at Awana, is taking him to the park for some one-on-one time. He seemed to like that, but he also started a fit when it was time to leave the park. Hey, he's two! And he and I are locked in a power struggle. I know that I have to reign him in now, but when he is bigger than me and 17 yrs old, I need to have the respect and obedience. He is so strong willed!

We also trekked up to the Everett Children's Museum last week. It was Free Friday. So we got in right at 3pm the whole family for free, otherwise it would have been about $30! The funny thing is that Jockey at two was enraptured with the same display that captured Caleb's attention at two... of course, it involved Balls... what else! The plane display has gotten Caleb's focus on seeing Grandma and Papa Bishop. He mentions it everyday now. I tell him to put his clothes on for the day and he asks why, are we going to see Papa Bishop? Sigh, 16 days buddy. The Children's Museum was a lot of chasing the kids around as they explored. We were fortunate that the weather was decent and they opened up the roof-top exhibits. That was huge. It had an amazing climbing structure, parts of it were 50 feet in the air. We stayed a hour and a half and we still didn't see everything. We wanted to get out of Everett before the trestle got thick with traffic. I can't wait for the next free Friday!

Saturday and Sunday were Mike's football watching days. It is funny to see Caleb cheering right along with Mike for their team. Mike has to tell Caleb who to root for, and then Caleb taunts right along with Daddy. Joshy's just in it for the football watching snacks... Sports candy (aka Carrots with ranch dip) and chips.

This week has also started out busy. The boys went to Grammy and Papa Dahl's house yesterday for a visit. And that usually means I get to relax or get to overdue chores... not this time. I spent over 4 hours in a Babies'r'us helping a friend navigate the finer points of selecting all new baby gear. A long day... followed by grocery shopping. This is finally my first time to sit down and write anything, and I still have chores I should be doing.

Kudos for the Boys:
Caleb can dress himself. And usually he does so 3-4 times a day each time with a differnt outfit. I guess that would explain why one of the big chores waiting for me is laundry. He comes up with some reason to change clothes, tags itch, something is wet, etc. I'm just happy that he is doing it himself, although I do have to ask and check to see if he remembered underwear. He is showing signs of wanting to read. He is doing remarkable at learning the spanish words I'm teaching him. He doesn't remember all of the words, but when he does say them his pronuciation is surprisingly good. Better than some of his English. Caleb is getting a stronger appetite too. Caleb is learning more and more responsibilties. Picking up his toys is a BIG one. He and Jockey are really into forts and that means all of the blankets and pillows get dragged out frequently. Caleb is doing great so far in school.

Jockey is shower obsessed. He says "sha-wee". It's cute. And he says "I'm cute". And he is praying over owies etc more often. He is good at saying sorry, coke (unfortunately), hungry and several other things. Yesterday, he recognized Grammy's house and said Grammy, which is great because it has been over two months since he has been there. Jockey is doing well at potty training, still mostly for Daddy. With me he wants to be in control and say no. Jockey has been out on his tricycle, and almost went into a ditch (controlled and guarded by Daddy) but that taught him how to steer really fast. Now it is getting him to steer in the direction that the rest of us want to walk. He is still fearful of spiders. I really should take a hose to the front of the house because if he sees them through the windows, he won't eat at the kitchen table.

Both boys are really cuddly lately, and Jockey his having separation anxiety. Sigh. That's alot of work and tears. We'll get through it.
That's all for now folks.