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.

Ho! Ho! Ho! It's Santa Claus!

Today we visited Santa Claus at Bass Pro Shop.  The boys weren't shy!

And thus the love affair with all things Disney begins...

Last night, we took the boys to see Disney on Ice.  This was their first time going to any type of show like this.  They didn't really have any idea of what to expect or what we were talking about when we told them they were going to Disney on Ice.  We told them about how lots of the Disney characters would be ice skating.  They could understand the ice skating part since we had just taken them ice skating for the first time a few weeks ago.  I was bummed that I didn't take my camera.  But the website said only small cameras would be allowed.  So I had to rely on my iPhone camera instead.  Oh well, at least it is documented.

Fenn stood up a good bit of the time.  He smiled a lot.  He danced a good bit.  And he told us the names of lots of the characters and even told us some of the storylines.  He is more familiar with Disney stuff because we have been reading a set of the Classic Disney books given to us by Grandma for a while now.

Boone sat in my lap the whole time and stared in amazement at the activity on the ice.  He didn't really smile.  He didn't really talk.  He just watched and occasionally looked back at me.  If the skaters moved to an area of the rink that he couldn't see, he would quickly lean in whatever direction necessary to be able to see.

So our first time to a big show or concert was a success.  The boys had fun.  Mommy and daddy had fun.  And now we'll look forward to that first trip to Disney World... perhaps in Summer of 2013 when Fenn will be 5 1/2 and Boone will be 4.

The Serta Sheep Have Arrived!

Wow!  It's been a really long time since I've done a blog post.  My last post was in early January.  {But, I will be going back and filling in the last 5 1/2 months.  One way or another, I will get it done!}  Anyway, life has been extra busy for us since January.  My job got eliminated at the beginning of January, so I have been out of work since then.  You'd think that would give me MORE time to work on my blog.  But instead, I've been busier with stuff around the house.  Plus, to cut back on childcare expenses, the boys now only go to school 3 days a week.  And they only go from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  So needless to say, I've been kind of busy with them.  And on the days they're at school, the time I have to get things done during the day is limited.

Last week was an even crazier week than normal.  A big storm (apparently not a tornado) came through and knocked out our power around 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday night.  When we saw the strong winds and how all the trees were bent over sideways, we grabbed the kids (still awake) out of their rooms and headed to the basement.  The storm passed quickly and we were able to go back upstairs.  We made it through the night, but awoke to a house that still didn't have power.  I spent most of the day tracking down dry ice and buying regular ice to pack into coolers and our 2 refrigerators.

Fast forward to Friday morning, we were still without power.  Another storm had come through the area on Thursday night, and this time the power was out at Dan's office.  So he left work and headed to the nearest home improvement store to purchase a generator.  Well worth the money... even though we really didn't want to spend it on a generator.  But we'll be prepared for future power outages.  It made Friday night so much more bearable because we could watch tv, run a fan, plug in some lamps, and also plug in the gas cooktop to cook.

That afternoon, we received a package in the mail from a childhood friend of mine.  He recently purchased a mattress store and sells Serta mattresses.  He's one of those people I look forward to seeing what he posts on Facebook because he is so darned funny.  So we had been communicating some on Facebook and he said he would send the boys a Serta sheep.  The boys were excited to get them!  It was perfect timing.  They had just had a nice warm bath thanks to our generator.  {The first one since Tuesday night before the power outage.}  And they were ready to go to bed.  Thanks, John!

The power was restored late afternoon on Saturday and things are starting to get back to normal around here.  Well, except for the fact that I'm way behind on laundry.  I'm going to work really hard to fit in some time to catch up this blog.  It may take me a couple of months, but somehow I'll get it done.  Keep checking back for January through June blog posts!

Boone Pee Pees on the Big Boy Potty for the 1st Time

Yesterday evening, Boone actually peed while sitting on the big boy potty.  Of course, he doesn't have a whole lot he can point down (if you know what I mean).  So instead, it shot straight out, with a slight arc, and hit the wall in front of him.  I actually tried to stop it with my hands without much success.  Anyway, he's been showing some interest in the potty, such as wanting to sit on it.  But we know he's not really ready to officially start potty training.  This was more of a fluke.  Hopefully, this summer he'll be ready.

I've Been Working on the Railroad...

Yesterday, we went to the Holiday Express at UT Gardens.  It is an amazing display of hobby trains.  And the boys loved it.  I didn't get very many good pictures because it was really crowded and the boys kept running around from place to place and wouldn't stay still.

Love this photo of Fenn.  Such a cutie pie face.  I took it on our way to UT Gardens.

And then here's our other cutie pie, Boone.

Fenn watching the trains go by.

Boone was mesmerized by all the trains going in different directions on different tracks.

This is about the best shot they would let me get of the two of them together with part of the display in the background.  It was twice the size of what you see behind them.

They even got to experience what it's like to work one of those old manual push cars.

That Bandit Church

Tonight when we mentioned going to church tomorrow, Fenn said he wanted to go to that 'bandit' church again.

Let me explain.  We are members of a very large church here in Knoxville with both traditional and contemporary services on Sunday mornings.  We normally go to the traditional service and the boys go to children's church.  The contemporary services are held across the street in another building.  On Christmas Eve, our church was offering candlelight services at 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, and 9:00.  The only time that works for us is 3:00 p.m. so we can go to the service, then go to an early dinner for mexican, and still get the boys to bed at their normal times.  But that service was a contemporary service in the other building.  As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Fenn said, "This is the wrong place.  We need to go to that other building across the street."  So we explained to him why we were going to a different place, but that it was still the same church.  And then we proceeded to go inside for the service.

Well, needless to say, it made quite an impression on Fenn.  He loved the singers.  He loved the band.  Hence... that "bandit church".  And we told him we would try the contemporary service very soon.

Happy New Year!

Snow Angels

I tried to get a cute photo of both boys side-by-side making snow angels.  As usual, they wouldn't cooperate.  This is the best I could do.  Boone wouldn't look at me.  He kept looking to the side and closing his eyes.  And Fenn kept moving from one spot to another all over the yard making more snow angels.  Anyway, here's a couple more photos from the day after Christmas.

Christmas Fun in the Snow

On Christmas morning, we woke up to a light dusting of snow on the ground.  And then it snowed pretty much all day on Christmas, but with very little accumulation.  But on the day after Christmas, we woke up to a couple of inches of snow!  Yay!  Time to get out and play!  To keep in simple, we just pulled the boys' snow suits on over their pajamans, put on an extra pair of socks, added their snow boots and big coats, and then their new hats and snow mittens.  This time their hands were going to stay warm and dry.  And now that we've used the snow suits twice in December, I'm so happy I went ahead and purchased them last summer.  I found them for $8 each at a consignment sale and debated about whether it was worth spending $16 on something they may only get to wear once this year.  I think we've already gotten our money's worth in fun!

I just like the first picture up there because they were coming toward me with snow and then bumped into each other.

It's even fun to swing in the snow.  For some reason, Fenn likes the 'baby' swing.  I think it is because it is higher off the ground and he thinks it is really a big boy swing.

Fenn decided to pull Boone around on the sled.  And he did a great job.  He's strong, like bull!

And Fenn thinks it is hilarious to tackle Boone in the snow.  But Boone doesn't seem to mind... most of the time.

Having fun tackling daddy in the snow.

Just a Little More Christmas Magic

We finished out the day with a nice Christmas dinner and some family time.  And here are a few more pictures from the afternoon.

A great photo with Grami and Poppy.  Why won't they do this with us?

Not sure if they were actually hanging an ornament on the tree or plotting to pull ornaments off of the tree and throw them across the room.  It's a sweet photo, though.

I realized I didn't really have many photos of me with Petey.  I have lots of photos of him by himself or with Cole and Asha, though.

At least Boone would let me get a photo of him by the Christmas tree.  No chance of getting Fenn to do this.

Brotherly love.  Actually, they were wrestling... one of their favorite things to do now that Boone can hold his own against Fenn.

Good night and Merry Christmas! 

Time to Paint a Masterpiece!

Grandma and Grandad gave the boys an art easel and some art supplies, including the fun striped smocks they're wearing.  After opening all the other presents and eating breakfast, we let the boys do a little painting before nap time.  We limited it to 2 colors, chosen by Fenn.  He chose blue and green.  Fenn's technique involves really broad strokes across the whole page.  While Boone's technique is a little more concentrated on a small area.  Boone also enjoyed sucking the paint off the paint brush... as evidenced by the green paint on his lips, under his nose, and as we later found out, UP his nose.  As you could probably guess, mommy and daddy stood close by in the event of flying paint, considering the fact we were letting them paint in the family room.