Thursday, March 25, 2010

Talk to Me, My Brother

I know I talk about Asher's speech often, but it's so stinkin' cute it stays on my mind. Lately Asher has had a lot to say to and about Brennan. He calls him Mennan and all day long it's

"Where'd Mennan go?"
"Mennan hit!"
"Mennan take!"
"No Mennan!"

O.k., so those are mostly negative examples, but he really talks to Brennan all day long. Brennan has figured out that this pronunciation is his name on his own and will answer/respond. So most of the time conversations go like this one during dinner:

Asher: "Mennan. Mennan. Mennan..."
Brennan: "What Asher?"
Asher: "Ah ga-bah denuuma..." (a long sequence in Asherese)
Brennan: "I don't know what you're saying, Asher."
Mom: He's saying that you should try your dinner because it's really yummy.
Brennan accepts that, and proceeds to finally eat.

Today was beautiful outside, so naturally we had to go out for a while. Brennan immediately joined the large group of 3-4 year olds playing in the yard across the street. Asher stayed with me on our side, but could clearly see his big brother across the way. Asher seriously spent his time just calling out to Brennan, ("Meeeennaaaan... Meeennaaan... Meeennaaan...") and turning to me every time Brennan went out of sight to ask, "Where's Mennan, Mom?" Silly ol' boy.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

... They Licked the Platter Clean


Brennan (and consequently Asher to a lesser degree) is into a new phase. As the oldest child, Brennan tends to fall right in to that stereotypical role as the child who loves to please his parents. He's far from perfect, but I love the way he goes through phases of different things just to make me and Brian happy. These are often his own ideas, done for the fun of surprising us with his awesomeness. For a long time for example, Brennan was making a point to get dressed before he left his bedroom each morning. He still does that a few times a week, but he's since moved on to other phases.

The newest one? Cleaning his plate. For all his meals the last few days Brennan has proudly eaten all of his food and then announced to us that he has "zero food" on his plate and other similar comments. Asher even got in on the action tonight, possibly because of the great response Brennan was getting. (Of course, I have no idea the extent Asher understands what we're talking about, plus he just liked the food anyway I think.) Brian wasn't home this evening (a McGraths night), so it was just me and the boys. When Brennan finished his whole dinner, I started clapping and yelling "hurray" and told him, "that makes me want to play a game with you tonight." You should have seen his eyes light up.

While getting ready for bed later, Brennan obediently put away his clean clothes while I tended to Asher. When he'd emptied his laundry bucket, I had more to refill it, but not wanting to make it into a dreaded "chore," I told Brennan that if he got himself ready for bed really fast, that I would put the other clean clothes away for him. He liked that deal and got busy, so I did too. While putting his clothes away I went ahead and took care of other missed odds and ends on the closet floor. When Brennan finished he opened the then closed closet door and exclaimed that I had cleaned it. He told me, "You're a really special Mom for cleaning my closet, Mom." Yeah, I'm awesome like that... (hah!)

I love Brennan's affection. He constantly hugs and kisses us, and tells me that I'm a great Mom or that he loves me for various reasons. It's nice for however long this will last for. I love having little kids. Never grow up, boys!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tricky Leprechauns!

IMG_2385IMG_2387 The day has just gotten started, but we’ve been enjoying St. Patrick’s Day a lot already. Last night, the Leprechauns apparently stopped by and turned our furniture upside down, pictures sideways, and lamps topsy-turvy. They also left behind some footprints and dropped some of their coins.IMG_2389

When I walked into the kitchen this morning, I joked “Oh no, "look what the Leprechauns did in here! I did the dishes last night, but they must have made some food and messed everything all up!”

IMG_2388When we walked downstairs Asher starting crying “Ooohhh nooooo” as he noticed everything. It was so cute.

Taking Brennan to preschool, he was met at our car by one of the high school students to walk him in. As we opened the door he started telling her, “they made some food and left our kitchen so messy, the Leprechauns did!” O.k. That was apparently the most memorably disruptive thing they did. Tricky Leprechauns!

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

There’s Nothing Good About Sick Kids…

…well, almost nothing.

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(Unfortunately, no, these were not taken at the same time. Still…)

But what about me? What’s the upside to when I’m sick? Well, I’ve discovered that I tend to learn new skills of Brennan’s that I didn’t know he was capable of. Like when I was pregnant with Asher and Brennan had just turned 2, I learned he could reach the snack foods on his own. (It was a good thing, and he always asked permission first).

Yesterday, I jokingly asked Brennan to make me some lunch. He asked what I wanted and I responded, “A peanut-butter and jelly sandwich.” Brennan answered “o.k.” and headed off to the kitchen. About 15 minutes later, he presented me with my sandwich. I love having an (almost) 5 year old!!!

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