August has come and gone and sometimes I wonder where the summer went! The days can be long, but when I look back, I feel the months flew by. Overall it was a great summer with some fun trips and not much sickness (we are now making up for that!) but the high temps and mosquitos buzzing makes me happy we are moving towards the fall. I have trouble remembering what we do most days, but luckily my trusty iPhone keeps my memories for me!
1. Last year Chat set up a fantasy football draft for the dads in our playgroup. He thought it would be a fun way for the dads to get to know each other better and have some common interests so they have things to chat about at our many get togethers. It was a big success last year and so they did it again! They did the draft on a Friday night so I thought it would be fun to have all the moms and kiddos to our place that night to play and have pizza. So we had 8 adults and 16 children in our house at one time...in the heat of the summer. It got soooooo hot in our tiny house with an air conditioner that clearly does not work with large groups, but the kids did not seem to care. There wasn't a square foot of floor in our house that night that wasn't covered in toys! I loved having everyone over! I only got a quick picture of some of the remaining kids towards the end of the night...
2. My boys are silly and here is a prime example! They had a ball playing with this dog crate. They are going to love this picture one day!
3. Since we had a few more weeks without school, we have been trying to keep busy. We headed out to the zoo one morning with our good friends. I swoon whenever I see the boys like this. I love them so eager to see and learn and just having a good time being friends. I love that Ben tries to be just like the big boys and for the most part, he sure keeps up with them! He is getting to be so big so quickly with having an older brother to look up to.
4. Randomly Ben woke up with straighter hair one morning. So this is what he would look like without all his curls. He looks like a total different little boy to me! His curls were back within about 30 minutes of this picture...
5. We went to a splash pad at a local park last week and had a great time. Anything with water in this heat is a big success these days. Luke still thrives on being with his friends. These are two of his best buddies and he LOVES spending time with them. And I am so happy to be able to spend time with their moms! Outings like these have helped me get through the past six weeks without school.
6. Since we have been all over town the past week or so trying to keep the boys entertained, it was probably a pretty sure thing that one of the boys would get sick with how many places and kids they had been exposed to. However, I didn't think it would happen this quickly though since they each had a fever virus only two weeks ago. But Ben woke up from his nap over the weekend with fever. We did a lot of holding and rocking to keep him comfortable....
But then this appeared. Yup, Hand Foot Mouth. YUCK! We are on day four of being sick and the fever is gone but these little blisters are keeping him pretty uncomfortable. I didn't take him to the doctor since I am pretty sure this is just that bad virus, but I am keeping a close eye on him. I am thinking another day or two and he will be a lot better.
7. We have parent orientation tonight (FINALLY!!) at the boys' school, so I am heading to that and Chat will be staying home with Luke and the sick one. We have Open House tomorrow morning where we go to their classrooms and spend time with them there. I will be bringing Luke to that, but Ben will be staying home. Luke will start school on Friday and I just hoping he doesn't get this from Ben. They both go to school on Monday, so I am just praying that they are both healthy because this mama needs to run a lot of errands and get started on a huge to-do list that has been growing the past month and a half!
8. Brothers. It has been an evolution for these two. Before I had Ben and I found out he was a boy, I thought it would be an instant bond between Luke and Ben, but the first 18 months proved otherwise. It was a challenge for me to deal with and understand, but I just prayed it would change and my two boys would become friends as they got older. And luckily, it has. As Ben approached 18 months and Luke 3 1/2 this summer things
dramatically changed. Don't get me wrong....there are still fights over toys, a few slaps and hits and things of that nature, but the brotherly bond is not only there, it is running quite
deep.
Luke now requests Ben to play with him throughout the day...every day. When Ben is napping, several days a week Luke will tell me, "I miss Ben" and be the first one in his room when he wakes up. When the boys do fight, they love hugging to make up and just recently I don't even have to ask Luke to make up with Ben...he does it on his own when they disagree (I sad there in disbelief when I saw that!). When I read to one, the other immediately runs over and jumps up to join in on the fun and they each take their place next to me. They are learning to take turns and tolerating that struggle decently well right now. We have invented the "Ben sandwich" which is when Ben runs and hugs my legs and then Luke hugs around him and holds on to my legs -- Luke and I are the bread and Ben is the meat. They just laugh and giggle like crazy. They have started wrestling too and love it. That usually turns into screams just because Ben struggles saying 'stop', but he is hysterically laughing all the way up until he starts screaming for me to come save him. At that point he is typically getting absolutely clobbered. But they willingly hold hands when we walk in a parking lot or other place that I ask them to. Ben just gets tickled when he gets to hold Luke's hand and surprisingly I think Luke likes it too.
Ben is Luke's little copy cat. Anything Luke does, Ben is right there mimicking him and it is a beautiful sight (until Luke mimics spitting his milk out or hitting the dog...ugh!). Luke loves to talk to Ben and will repeat "Ben, listen to me!" over and over again until Ben finally looks his direction. They are pretend playing together and play "ice cream factory" all the time right now. I have pretend eaten more ice cream than you can imagine this summer. When we leave to go places, Luke is very concerned that we all need to go. "Is Ben coming with us?" is a question I hear a lot. Followed by, "I want Ben to come." I never thought I would hear that!
There are still hard days where the boys are just off or we have had too much time together or at home. They fight over toys -- we apparently need two of the same thing of everything. There is a bit of jealousy at times, but we just readjust and try to make it equal for all. Just with any child or children, there are days they make me want to pull my hair out. But the good days between these boys are multiplying and giving me such hope. I really don't know what they would do without each other and I was not saying that even three months ago. It is amazing how quickly things can change. I have been so thankful for my boys since becoming a mother, but nothing makes me feel as blessed and grateful as when I see them side by side. And it makes me realize, that things change and evolve with time. Just because something isn't happening instantly when you want or expect it doesn't mean the future can't hold something very, very different and beautiful.
9. Chat has officially now been in school for over a week although it feels like much longer than that with all the work he has put in already. If he isn't in class, he is studying every day and has already met with his group over the weekend and will again tomorrow. So far so good, but it is getting more demanding with each day. I am so proud of him for doing this though so I am trying to just be as supportive and positive as I can. However, this weekend will start eight straight nights of him being gone between working nights, group work and his class. So ask me again in about two weeks!
10. Next up....first days of school! Hallelujah!!!
