He's Stubborn, But We Sure Do Love Him!

This is Boone.  He is our stubborn child.  Let me give you an example...

It's Sunday morning and as usual, we were running late trying to get ready for church.  First, Boone pitched a fit because his daddy wouldn't let him wear a t-shirt to church.  This strong opinion about what he wears has been going on since sometime around last November or December.  It is almost impossible to get him to wear anything but a t-shirt.  And to make it worse, he has 4 or 5 favorite t-shirts that he wears over and over.  Sometimes he picks it out at night, insists on sleeping in it, and then wants to wear it the next day.  I have quickly learned which battles are worth picking with him.

So we're already off to a bad start for the day.  But we did manage to get him dressed appropriately for church.  Then it was time to brush his teeth and comb his hair. First, he didn't want to open his mouth and brush his teeth.  So daddy had to make him do it.  Then it was time to rinse out his mouth.  Or as we say, "time to swish and spit".  He refused.  And continued to refuse.  Over and over and over again.  It didn't matter how many times we sent him to his room, took away a favorite toy, or tried to reason with him.  IT. WAS. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.  Period.  We finally gave out of time and had to leave for church.  And I suppose he swallowed that little bit of toothpaste, and it will be his fault if his teeth are gray when he gets his permanent teeth.

We got to church, at least 5 minutes late, and he was fine once we got there.  He walked right into his classroom with a smile on his face.  And he was happy when we picked him up after church.  But guess what happened when we got home?  Just guess.  He got out of the car, walked upstairs, went straight to the bathroom, and rinsed out his mouth.

He's stubborn, but we sure do love him!

Fenn Really Loves Books

It's bedtime in the Piper household.  The boys were supposed to be in their rooms going to sleep.  But instead, I noticed that Fenn's lights were on.  So I went in to see what he was up to.  This is what I found.  He had taken most of the books off his shelf and stacked them on his chair.  He said he wants to read all of them tomorrow.  I am so proud of him and how much he loves to read.

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What a Great Day at the Zoo!

It's Spring Break this week, and unfortunately I didn't make any specific plans for the week.  Daddy couldn't take any time off because of other upcoming trips we have planned.  And going on a trip by myself with the boys just wasn't an option this week.  So on this beautiful early spring day, we decided to go to the zoo.  I purposely didn't tell the boys in advance because they would start acting crazy and not let me get things packed if they knew.  So I quietly made sandwiches, packed snacks, and got sippy cups ready to go.  Then we loaded up in the car to head out.  That's when I finally told them where we were going.  I think they were pretty happy with my surprise.

We got there just a little after the park opened.  The black bears were first and we got lucky.  Since it was early in the day and still cool outside, they were active.

Just a little ways into the zoo, I got a text from my friend & next door neighbor, Nicole.  She and her daughter, Audrey, were just arriving and had seen my car in the parking lot.  Yay!  Having friends along always makes it more fun.

The boys were a little 'energetic' at first and were running ahead of me a little too far.  I don't mind them running ahead a little, because I get sweet photos like this.

And this.

But they eventually settled down and slowed down.  Of course, that's probably because they were getting tired.  We ended the day at the carousel and rode 5 times.

And Fenn even ran into his school friend, Cole.  Coincidentally, they were both wearing their TOT (Teams of Tomorrow) t-shirts.

We had a great day at the zoo with our friends.  A couple of highlights of the day were seeing the chimpanzees.  One of the young ones was carrying around a dead bird and kept slinging it, whacking it on the ground, and throwing it up in the air like it was a toy.  And the other big highlight were the red pandas.  They were so fun to watch running around, tackling each other and chasing each other.  One of them ran up on the ledge of the window where the kids were watching and I guess it caught Fenn off-guard because he lost his balance and fell backward.  Anyway, the kids did a ton of giggling while watching them.

Now... what to do for the rest of the week???

They're Growing Up So Fast

This morning, Fenn decided he wanted to take a shower instead of a bath.  It was his first shower.

He was proud of himself.

Then Boone decided to give it a try.

And Fenn wanted to wrap up in a towel "just like daddy".

Once he was clean, Boone's shower time turned into playtime.

And he eventually just sat down under the spray, slid around, and giggled a lot.