May 17

Awww!
Brendan and I were just working on his Uppercase Letters workbook and were practicing the letter "I". The page had a picture of an ink bottle and I pointed out that "I" is for ink. He looked up at me and said, "Mama, 'I' is for I love you."

May 12

Nicklas has figured out rolling as transportation! He likes being able to get to his brothers' Quatros (huge Legos), Luke's Crocs (very tasty), and books (also very exciting). He does NOT like the leg of the couch (ouch!, plus it stopped him from rolling further) or rolling over so that his back lands on a toy (ouch, again!).
He is also pushing himself up on his hands and knees, but that doesn't last long. He has no balance yet, so when he pushes up, he quickly falls over onto his side.

May 8

Nicklas is now rolling over in both directions and is quite proud of himself for that achievement. He also now weighs 16 pounds! He holds his head up very well while on his belly and is even starting to get his belly off the floor for short periods of time! Maybe we'll have another early crawler/walker just like Luke was... He's also a wiggle-worm. When I go to get him up from a nap, every time I find him in a completely different spot than where I laid him down.
Luke is still working on potty-training. We have occasional successes, but progress is slow. The entire day of Call Service he stayed dry! But most days he only goes once or maybe twice. I asked him yesterday why he wouldn't go in the potty. His response was, "Oma". "Oh, will you go for Oma?" "Yeah!" "Will you go for Papa?" "Yeah!" "Will you go for Mama?" "No." Oh boy, this is going to be a challenge!
Brendan is, as always, a huge help to me. He is learning to do more and more chores. He can make his bed reasonable well (for a 3 year old), can get himself dressed, puts the towels from the bathroom into the washer, puts away the silverware from the dishwasher, gets out bibs and napkins for supper, and two days ago, he got Luke dressed completely on his own and without being prompted by me! He is very sweet to Nicklas, getting him toys, wiping up drool and spit-up, and reading books to him.
Yesterday, Brendan informed me that he was a pumpkin and Nicklas was a bugaboo. "And Luke? What's he?" "Spoiled!" Sung a la Aunt Becky. At which, Luke jumped up and began running in a circle, singing "spoiled!" over and over.

April 17

He's catching on...
When I put Nicklas down for naps or to bed at night, he has begun to cling desperately to my arm as I lower him down. "If I hold on tight enough, she'll give up and not make me take a nap!"

April 5

At noon today, I asked Luke if he would like a sandwich for lunch. "No." "Well, what would you like?" "Bread!" "Would you like anything on your bread?" "Ummm... Jelly!"
But he didn't want a sandwich for lunch...

March 6

I meant to update here a few days ago, but I've been rather busy.
Brendan told us a few nights ago at dinner that when he gets very, very bigger he is going to be a pastor.
Nicklas had his two-month check-up yesterday. He weighs 12 pounds, 4 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long!
We traveled to Wisconsin last weekend to attend a friend's wedding. Brendan is still talking about "the party."

February 24

Since we've all been pretty sick this week, nothing too exciting has happened. Luke fell and bumped his head once while I was nursing Nicklas, so Brendan ran and got the "green stuff" (Burt's Bee's Rescue Ointment) and put some on Luke's hurt. That was pretty cute. Also, Brendan has a new word. Boogity, boogity, boogity! That's what Daryll Waltrip yells at the beginning of every NASCAR race and now Brendan says it too. It's really kinda funny to listen to him try to say that.

February 17

Monday-
My Birthday! Michael gave me a baby playmat that I've wanted since Luke was born. I love it; it's so cute and nice. Michael's parents gave me a gift card to JoAnn's - thank you so much.
Brendan was looking through the Oompa Toy Catalog and saw a picture of a set of blocks he has. He immediately ran to get his blocks and arranged them just the way they were in the picture.
Wednesday-
Papa's Birthday! I went into the kitchen this evening, shortly before the boys' bedtime to find Luke stretching as tall as he could trying to reach a package of cookies on the counter. When he saw me, he brightened up and said, "Mama, up pease! Key-key! (cookie)" He apparently thought that I would pick him up to get a cookie 15 minutes before bed.
Thursday-
This morning, Michael got up with the boys and let me sleep just a bit longer. He helped them make Valentines for me. Once they were made though, they weren't going to let me get any more sleep. They ran in to give them to me; they were so proud of themselves! It was quite sweet.
Friday-
I came down with the nasty cold that the boys have been fighting. Yuck! Brendan kept unbuttoning the bottom two buttons on his shirt today. About the fourth or fifth time, I asked him why he was doing that. "Ummm..." "Are you unbuttoning your shirt because you're silly?" "No, ummm... I unbutton my shirt 'cause... I HANDSOME!" Oh dear, I think I'm in trouble here.