Monkey See, Monkey Do!

Andrew likes to climb on the couch, usually standing on the arm, to look over the ledge at whatever I'm doing in the kitchen. He generally chooses this spot when I'm cooking in the electric skillet, since it means he is close enough to see what's going on, but not close enough to be in the way or get hurt.

However, I was a bit surprised to turn this afternoon and see Noah's face smiling at me from over the ledge. Always one to copy whatever he sees his big brother doing, I can't say I was completely shocked. But, even standing on the arm of the couch, Noah is barely tall enough for his head to be at the edge of the ledge.

Yeah. He was standing on the back of the couch.

Didn't I do a recent blog post about Noah being full of trouble?

Helping

What are big brothers for, if not for helping you take off your shoes and coat when coming in from an afternoon out?

I followed the boys into the house, arms full of groceries and such, and before I could get stuff set down and take off my coat, Andrew had Noah on the tower to help him with his shoes.

They bicker and drive each other (and me!) crazy so many times a day... but then a moment like this makes all that seem not so bad.

Dancin'

The tv screen wouldn't photograph so you could see what was on. Our classic favorite, "Joseph and the Amazing, Technicolor Dreamcoat"! Andrew still enjoys watching it and now has his little brother hooked on it too. At this point, it was Pharaoh's song about his dreams. Noah loves it and gets up to dance every time it comes on. Tonight, Andrew decided to get up and dance along with him.

With any luck, next time I'll be able to get the dancing action on video!

The Polar Express

Christmas may be over, but The Polar Express is still a favorite movie to watch. Just the sight of the opening credits brings squeals and clapping from Noah. I wasn't quite fast enough with he camera to catch him clapping, but trust that he was.

We spent many an evening in December, cuddled up in bed after dinner, watching this or that Christmas special or movie (thank you ABCFamily and their 25 Days of Christmas). We all enjoyed it... Andrew got to where he would ask at dinner what show was on that night.... and the boys were usually asleep long before the movie would end.

Now, Andrew still sometimes requests movie time after dinner. Some nights we play Wii. Some nights we get on jammies and crawl in bed for a movie. Some nights we play and then have bedtime. Whatever our after dinner time brings, the four of us enjoy it together...... and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Laundry

Today was cleaning day. The boys' room was long overdue, and I was happy to finally have a free day to get in there. I pulled a couple of laundry baskets, filled with clothes that needed folded and sorted into the living room. Both boys have had recent growth spurts, so drawers and closets were gone through and things that needed packed away were added to the baskets.

I returned to their room to keep working, while Eric worked in the kitchen. When I returned a short time later, this picture is what I found. It seems Noah wanted to sit in a laundry basket and felt it would be best emptied out on top of his brother. Crazy boy!!

Solo Bath

The boys were playing together while I was getting some work done.  I checked on them to find Andrew "reading" Goodnight Moon to Noah.  So sweet!

Noah had applesauce and pureed zucchini at dinner tonight.  He's not the best at eating veggies as table food yet, so I still puree some once in a while, just to make sure he's getting some in him.  Of course, after a few bites he threw a fit until I let him feed himself.

And that meant getting a bath.  Andrew insisted he didn't need one, and I only insist he takes one if it's been a couple days or if he's had sunscreen on.  Since he just had a bath last night, we let him skip tonight so Noah got the tub all to himself.  I'm pretty sure it was a first for him.

Noah LOVES the tub, so he was quite happy to have even more room to splash and play.

Pretty sure this grin sums up how he felt about it:

The Chair

Just because it's been a while since I posted a picture of the boys together in the chair...

Actually, it's been a while since I snapped a picture of them together in the chair.  They get up there together, but it doesn't tend to last long enough for me to even grab the camera.

Peanut

We constantly hear comments from people about how little Noah is.  When we're out, people are surprised when they seem him walking around, and even more surprised to learn he is almost 15 months old.  Since he's still small, he is still using his infant carseat.  We generally leave it in the van and just carry him in & out like we would with a bigger seat..... but, if he falls asleep on a trip out, we still have the convenience of taking the seat out and putting it on the snap-n-go stroller and letting him sleep.  People see the seat and assume it's a young baby.  When he wakes and we get him out and he takes off running after Andrew, once again, we get comments of surprise because people had thought he was much younger.  I often refer to Noah as "Peanut" and found these pictures to help show just how little he really is.

Andrew.  Just shy of 9 months.

Noah. Same outfit. Just shy of 15 months.

Andrew.

Peanut.

As best I can tell from the photos, the outfit fits both of them very similarly.  If anything, it looks like it was starting to get a little snug on Andrew.  Fits Noah great right now.  It's a size 6-9 month!

Swimming

When we were at Meijer the other day, I picked up an inflatable swimming pool for the boys.  Andrew held it the entire time we were in the store, only putting it down when we had to pay for it.  He was so excited about his dinosaur pool!

And then Eric got it out after dinner to start blowing it up.  When he didn't have any luck with the air pump out in the garage, he brought it in the house, where it was much cooler, so he could work on it in here.  He started blowing.  Andrew heard the noise--- you know the sound--- that hissing sound all inflatables make when air enters them.  And Andrew F-R-E-A-K-E-D.  He asked what the noise was, saw the pool was much bigger than the small box it had come in, and completely panicked.  Ears covered, crying and ran into the hallway begging us to get it out of here.  Unable to calm him down in any other way, Eric carried the pool back to the garage and we said we'd blow it up another time.

After prepping Andrew all morning and his agreement that it would be okay to blow up the pool in a different room than the one he was in, we finally got the pool blown up, filled and ready to use.  As soon as Noah was up from his nap, the boys got into their swim stuff and we went outside to splash.  Thankfully, the pool was a much bigger hit than the sprinkler!

The dino's tail is made to hook up to the hose and has a sprinkler/shower type feature.  But, after our last sprinkler experience failure, and the struggle just to get the dino blown up, we felt it was best to just use the pool and introduce the sprinkler later.

No pee in the pool!!!  He got out and had his shorts down before I barely had time to realize what he was doing.  Yes, I realize he'll someday hate me for this picture... especially for the unedited version I was nice enough to not post on the blog.

Eric worked on trimming some tree branches while the boys splashed.  After they were done swimming, I pulled out an old box of toys that had been in the garage since Andrew outgrew them.  They boys had fun playing with the "new" things, and I got several things put back that will be perfect toys for camping.  The rest went into the bin of outside toys for future play.

Unscheduled Bath

It isn't time stamped on the photo, but the picture was taken a little after 4PM.  You might be asking... Why would the boys be in the tub in the middle of the afternoon?  And without Daddy here to help?  Becuase Andrew yelled down the hallway at me that he was done using the toilet and needed help and that I should see what Noah was doing. 

Now, Andrew has been using the bathroom by himself for quite some time now.  He only needs assistance with wiping.  And, Noah often wanders into the bathroom while Andrew is in there, usually to play with the scale or to see if he can figure out how to climb into the bathtub.  So, just like the countless other times, I thought nothing of it when Andrew went in to go potty and a few minutes later announced that Noah was in there with him.

OH how wrong I was!!!  I walked in to find Andrew sitting as close to the edge of the toilet seat as he could get, with Noah wedged between the sink & the toilet, up to his armpits in toilet water, happily splashing away... and both boys laughing and thinking it was a grand time.  Both soaked.  And both immediately stripped down and put in the tub!

I can laugh about it now... but it did not make for a happy afternoon in the moment!

The Boys!

Bath time!

Noah thinks it's great he gets to sit in the tub like a big boy now.  But, he keeps us on our toes since he doesn't like to sit still and often tries to stand up!  They both LOVE bath time!