Carter is 4 Years + 7 Months!

He's growing up too fast...

 Carter told me he wanted to learn to spell the other day. I suggested starting with "cat". He disagreed and said "spiderman" was a better word to learn. He sounded it out himself!

 He loves playing with wiki sticks (waxy, bendable sticks) and is pretty creative with them. In addition to creating things, he loves using them to tie up villains after the superheroes catch them. Figures! 

 The other night Carter said, "Mom can you get me tape, scissors, string, and a sheet of paper." I complied and he made a really cool snowman. I love his creativity!! 

Getting ready to go outside. He loves combining all sorts of winter gear:)

Most mornings Carter asks for "combination cereal" which is basically just a mix of any number of the cereals we have on hand. I guess he loves the surprise in each bite:)

 And last but not least, Carter in a cat costume with heels! What can I say? He loves playing with his friend Hadley and she doesn't have any superhero costumes. And he will not appreciate this picture in a coupe of years!

A couple other random things from this past month: He has started wanting all the tags in his clothing cut out as well as being very particular over any loose threads. He now wants to sleep in a superhero t-shirt. It is no longer sufficient to just be a hero by day. When he is in a superhero costume he won't respond when I call him Carter. "Excuse me mom, but I am Captain America."  Another quirk is that he only wants to wear jeans. His athletic/wind pants are "too slippery". He is particular! He loves the song "Indescribable". What a joy to hear him sing this all day!

Carterisms from the past month:

-While playing outside in 12 degree weather he sighed, looked at me and said, "This is nice, feels like California!"

-He will often comment on things by saying, "Ahhhh, so sweet!" I'm really not sure where he got that from.

-I overheard him the other day shouting, "Cooper be careful! If you jump from there, you will break your face." I ran to the scene and found Cooper on about the 8th or 9th stair, ready to leap. Glad Carter is a good, protective older brother!

Cooper is 3 Years + 1 Month

Sweet, stubborn, strong-willed, adorable Cooper John!

 He loves building things with legos. Tim noticed the other day that he usually makes a vehicle of some sort whereas Carter will make a pattern or something more abstract.

 Coops really struggled with eating this past month. He always wanted eggs for breakfast and pb and j for lunch but we struggled to get him to eat dinner. Here he is though enjoying a whole red pepper:)

 He loves superhero books and reading in general. 

 He is so cute...seriously...it's ridiculous! 

 Chilling with his little brother

 Cros follows Cooper around all the time. It usually ends in a fight. Maybe one day Cooper will think it is cool...I'm not holding my breath though. Coops loves doing dot paints!

 Tim took Coops into urgent care in the middle of the night this month because his breathing sounded really labored. He was put on steroids, antibiotics and now has to do a nebulizer treatment daily. He is a pretty good sport about it!

Some other random memories and quotes from the month:

-Coops laughs when he farts. It totally makes me laugh too.

-He has started stuttering a little lately. 

-We will often overhear him singing Matt Redman's song, "Never Let Go". So sweet to hear him belt out, "Oh no, You never let go. In every high and ever low. Oh no, You never let go. Lord, you never let go of me!"

-Coops is still very particular in what he wears. He needs to have a say in his wardrobe every day. And so he wears superhero t-shirts almost every day.

-He has started getting up to go potty about 10 minutes after we tuck him in at night. We keep thinking it is a stalling tactic but he always delivers.

-While going potty the other day he looked at me and smiled and said, "Did you hear that??? My poop is COMING!!"

-I was carrying him up the stairs one day and he looked at me and said, "Because you are carrying me, it means we are married." We had a good little talk after that one:)

Our Recent Library Favorites

Our boys love books! I couldn't be happier as I love reading to them! I thought it might be fun to look back in a couple of years and remember what books the boys were enjoying in this stage of life. I should mention that they do pick out a ton of superhero books which I'm not going to add to this list. These are books that we have found to be creative, clever, catchy and enjoyable for all of us.

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

We stumbled upon this book and loved the twist at the end. Then we discovered that Julia Donaldson is a master at clever stories that catch you by surprise. Here are a couple others of her that we enjoy: Room on the Broom, A Gold Star for Zog, The Snail and the Whale, and Tiddler.

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

We love this author as well! Some others that we've checked out multiple times are: Up and Down and The Way Back Home.

Shark Vs. Train by Chris Barton

The boys really got into this book...great competition and creativity!

My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza

Another book with a fun twist! I just really appreciate a children's author that can surprise me at the end of a story.

Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis

Maybe a bit of a surprise for a house full of boys but I think we all appreciate Ladybug girl's creativity and adventuresome spirit.

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

I started reading this to Carter right after he was born and cried every time! The boys have recently fallen in LOVE with it. They have me sing the song to them every night before bed. 

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and David Shannon

They are sort of in a pirate phase but this was a cute one. 

Hogwash! by Karma Wilson

It turns out the "W" section at the library is right by one of the play areas so by default I have picked out many books by Karma Wilson. I didn't even realize she was the author of so many books the kids loved. Hogwash! and Sakes Alive! A Cattle Drive are two of hers that are unique and funny. The kids also like her Bear series, especially Bear Snores On.

Monkey with a Tool Belt and the Noisy Problem by Chris Monroe

The story is cute but the pictures are really fun and detailed. 

There you go. Now let us know what your kids love and we'll check them out!

Superheroes

 I know I have said this a lot lately but our boys are REALLY into superheroes. They wear superhero t-shirts almost every day. They dress up in capes and masks all the time. They want superhero books from the library. It is crazy to me how much superhero information I have learned in the past 6 months...oh to be a mom of boys! 

 While in costume, Carter will not respond to Carter. He will only answer if you call him Captain America or whatever hero he is dressed as. 

 They wear their gear while reading books...

 While coloring or playing with wiki sticks...

 While playing with legos...they often ask to sleep in capes but so far I have denied them that privilge:) I know, mean mom!

 They have even gotten me in on the action. I never thought I'd be spending my day in a Robin costume at the age of 36.

 Carter thinks it is funny to dance pantless with a cape on...why not?! 

 And their latest shannanigans...yesterday they asked me if they could practice flying. We set up a landing pad and they went for it. They made it up to the 7th step before fear or wisdom set in. The only real danger was that Crosby thought this was also a great idea. And then he didn't want to leave their landing pad so he was harms way but escaped without a bruise!

Indoor Slip 'n Slide

Grandpa gave us a huge roll of paper that he had left over from work. We've done multiple projects with it but this was Carter's favorite...we rolled out a long stretch of it and taped it to the floor. Originally I thought we were going to draw a road with cars, etc. but Carter had another idea-an indoor slip 'n slide!

Counting to 100

Carter has been practicing counting to 100 so I thought we'd do a little activity to help. We read about something like this in one of his Highlight magazines...it suggested getting 10 bags and putting 10 things in each bag. We decided to combine it with snack time and chose 10 food items to put in each bag.

 Carter counting out 10 goldfish... 

 Cooper counting out 10 animal crackers...

 Combining all 100 items to get ready for...

 Snack time!

Annual Beach Party

 Days like this are rarely planned...they just seem to sort of happen. One of us gets an idea and we just go for it! I love that the boys are coming up with more and more of our ideas for fun. Anyways, the other day Carter found a deflated beach ball and about five minutes later we were in the middle of what has become our annual "Beach Party Day"!

Their swim gear...

Picnic and stories at the beach...

 We love listening to these two talk and tell stories! 

 Cheese!

Sun screen, just in case...

 And diving into the pool! 

I'm not sure why Crosby never got into his swim gear. I sort of thought he might get cold but in reality I was probably lazy. Poor guy got bored and this is what I found him doing. Can't really blame him!

Play Area at the Mall

Our boys have a lot of energy! And in Grand Forks in the middle of winter there are only so many places we can take them to get that energy out...especially when it has been so cold. The Grand Forks mall has a little play area that the boys really enjoy. We have been going most Saturday evenings when we are in town. The other weekend they met some boys that they loved playing with. Believe it or not, with all the wrestling and wildness, there were NO tears!

Gymnastics Center

 The gymnastics center in town has "open gym" every morning for an hour. We tried it out a couple of months ago and it has become a favorite activity in our week. The boys get to run around, jump on trampolines, dive into pits of foam squares and be wild! They always take great naps on open gym days:) 

These boys are fearless!