discovery all around

So I haven't really been posting lately so I figured I'd get at least a few up today. Kaalam has discovered how to blow raspberries on Zander's stomach and Zander thinks it's awesome! I keep finding Kaalam unzipping Zander's pj's so he can get to his stomach.

Kaalam takes being a big brother very seriously. He takes every opportunity to teach him, and to point out every detail he might think Zander would like to see. Zander soaks it all up. Any attention is good attention.
Zander has discovered the swings and he loves them!
This week Kaalam has discoverd worms, ants, spiders, slugs and even two salamanders. Spending the time to take a close look pays off I guess.
Kaalam keeps putting this on and announcing that he's a pumpkin.
Weird.

cheesy mess

No one should ever have to clean cheese out of their bathtub.

buffy vs edward

I was a big fan of Buffy back in the day, and I quite liked the pairing off of Buffy vs. Edward.

Enjoy!

it's all happening at the zoo

Saturday we went to the Zoo! It was fantastic. Brandon dropped us off in the morning so he could go to the temple, and Kaalam, Zander and I spent most of our morning getting rained on with no car to leave. :) It turned out alright though. Kaalam loved the frog house, and the bat house and I was even compelled at one point to enter the bug house just to have someplace indoors we could be. Around lunch time Brandon came back, the rain cleared and we got to spend another hour or two with daddy at the Zoo. Kaalam was determined not to go home until he'd seen the Elephants, so it worked out well.

In one of the rainy lulls, Kaalam climbed all over the spider web yelling, "I'm a spiderman!". When it started raining again, I practically had to drag him by his heals to get inside.
Zander had a very brief nap. It wasn't nearly long enough, but he stayed mostly happy at least.
In the frog house Kaalam very politely listened to every word of the presentation on turtle spines/shells. I'm not sure he understood a word, but he waited until the volunteer was done before randomly wandering away.
Zander's favorite part was being pushed by his big brother. Kaalam pushed faster than mom normally does. At one point Kaalam got speed going down a hill, then let go of the stroller and ran the other direction. Fortunately dad was close by, but I think Zander really thought it was pretty cool.

Once dad showed up wearing his Superman shirt, Kaalam had to show off his too. He WOULD NOT put his jacket back on. Poor thing's hands were red and he was shivering, but apparently a man's gotta do. . .

Zander won't nap without a hat on, so we'd brought one for him and it turned out to be a good thing since it was so chilly. It was way too big and kept falling in his face, but he thought it was pretty funny. He's got a good sense of humor like Kaalam and not a lot bothers him either. The two of them are going to be ganging up on me in the next couple years.

i hope it never stops!

I don't know why you wouldn't spend a rainy week outside! It's been raining since Monday and I hope it never stops! Kaalam and I have been playing everyday outside, chasing leaves down the storm drains, splashing every puddle, and not to mention playing with the "brellela". I could so totally live in Seattle. I never want it to stop! And we've gotten the chance to do plenty of baking too. Kaalam's gotten to help make whole grain french bread and cookies we've had hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows and all sorts of other treats we swore off just two weeks ago. :)

He has a froggy rain coat but today he insisted that because he had the "brellela", he didn't need the froggy coat. I think he was hoping he wouldn't get as cold as fast without it.
After about a half hour outside, he stopped dead in his tracks and said, "Mom, I'm cold. Less go inside.". And just like that he was done. He insisted on the towel and when we got him into dry clothes he huddled down on the couch for the next half hour or so watching Caillou. I've decided I really like that show. Caillou is always trying to be polite and friendly, he's kind to his little sister, he shares with his friends and they really play up the presence of both a mom and a dad. More or less all the things we're trying to teach Kaalam everyday. When Kaalam saw the episode all about being a big brother, you could tell that he made a special effort that day to take care of Zander. That made me happy.

drama at the hughes house

Kaalam's always been smart enough not to do the really stupid things that you worry about your toddler doing. He doesn't jump off things if he doesn't know he can land. He doesn't play with objects that are sharp and he doesn't put strange substances in his mouth. He's very aware and doesn't like to get hurt and usually asks for permission or help before doing something stupid, and when you tell him no, he'll usually listen.

But apparently he has no problem experimenting on his brother.

Monday morning I came into my room and found Zander spitting out soap suds and Kaalam grinning ear to ear next to the laundry detergent saying, "It's OK mom. I'm sharing!". I FREAKED out. Kaalam was lucky I was too busy making sure the baby wasn't going to die to deal with him right away. It gave me the chance to calm down. I read the box and it said to give him lots of water and then I called Poison Control (which is now programed into my phone) and they said he'd probably be fine. Turns out laundry soap is just an irritant, not really a poison, so all we could do was give him lots of fluids and some Benadryl to help soothe his irritated insides.

Not how I planned to spend my day.

I am really glad I got the chance to calm down before dealing with Kaalam. I try very hard to be patient and I very rarely yell. The only spanking he's ever had was the day he kicked week old baby Zander in the top of the head with his shoes on because he was mad at dad and I. He didn't do that a second time. But the time it took to take care of Zander let me go back afterwards and have a talk with Kaalam about never feeding the baby without asking mom or dad first. He was worried sick about Zander. He spent the rest of the morning hovering around Zander bringing him toys and trying to make him "snile". Zander was pretty miserable for about 24 hours or so, but he seems to have come through all in one piece.

Hopefully he makes it through the rest of his childhood that way.

a little somethng for week's end

It's been a bit since I've put pictures up so I thought I'd post a few before going to bed tonight.

Zander got his first tooth yesterday!! We're so excited. Especially Kaalam. He keeps sticking his fingers in Zander's mouth looking for the teeth that are supposed to be "growing up".
These two are turning into the best of buds and I'm so excited about that. We were worried Kaalam would have a hard time transitioning to having a brother, but the older Zander gets, the more these two fall in love.

We had ants in our living room this week and while I was in the kitchen getting out the lemon Pledge (works like a charm against ants!) Kaalam was enjoying himself stomping on and catching and playing with the ants. All of a sudden he came up behind me and asked if he could have some ant food. Apparently he thought they might be hungry.

a little something for mothers

I've been following the blog "Diapers and Divinity" lately. It's a fantastic site. She posts often from the general authorities of the church and I love having a site to go to when I'm frustrated and tired and my teething baby won't stop screaming and my two year old won't stop climbing onto his brother's back and I need to be reminded of the importance of why I'm raising children in an eternal sense. She posted a talk today by Elder Neil A. Maxwell, and I thought I'd share a little clip from it.

“When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this.” Neil A. Maxwell

I like it. Today was supposed to be my cleaning day and with teething sleepless Zander crying and a restless, bored, not-taking-his-nap-today Kaalam, it was pretty rough. I still feel like I'm trying to catch up from putting away Christmas and my wheels are spinning, but I can't seem to get anywhere and reading the quote tonight helped me put everything back into perspective. I really do believe that staying home and being a full time mother is the single most important thing I will ever do with my life. It feels good to be reminded of that every once and a while.