Growing Up! (part 3)

Well it only seems fair that I would share a growing up realization about Becca after posting ones about Corbin & Trent the last two days. Becca is growing so much lately, I am having one of those parenting moments daily with her. I am constantly amazed at her exploding vocabulary which now includes please, light, Hershey, Zoey, tree, doggie, eye, ears, Poppy, hi, mommy, daddy, cheese, baby, yes, no, Papa and new words are popping up daily. But that isn't what I want to talk about. I could focus on the day Becca went poop, then went and got the diapers and wipes and brought them to me and laid down without any prompting. Or how about when I said "Zoey go to your crate" and Becca grabbed Zoey's collar and walked her to the crate. But not those either. Or I could write about Becca's wonderful dancing abilities (more on that later: VIDEO alert- stay posted). Or I could tell you about her singing the ABCs, she might not have the letters down, but she has the tune. But nope, those stories take a back seat to Becca's new skill that has me pulling out my hair and losing sleep!

Here is a picture of Becca showing off her talent:

I really shouldn't be surprised, she has been climbing on the couch and into the window for weeks now, but this presents a whole new realm of challenges. So what exactly is her new skill you ask? Well, Becca has figured out how to push the kitchen chairs around wherever she wants, then climb up on the chair and reach things she couldn't before. One day, she even managed to use the chair, then step on the drawer, and get on top of the counter. I mean, really?!? REALLY!? What am I going to do with this girl?
Trent is proud of his sister, after all, he has taught her all she knows!

Growing Up! (part 2)

Yesterday, I blogged about parenting moments that make you stop and take note of how grown up your child is, and I focused on a moment with Corbin. Today, I wanted to share one such moments with Trent.

Trent is enjoying his first year of preschool and seems to be making lots of friends. A couple weeks ago, he came home and told me that Ava was his favorite girl in his class. I asked him what made Ava his favorite? His response, "because she is the biggest." (By biggest he means tallest, not actually BIG. And, I told him that girls don't appreciate being called big) Then, yesterday when we arrive at school, Trent' spotted Ava and said, "there is my favorite kid." Then at pick up time, when I was waiting with the other parents and Ava's dad tells me that he knows all about Trent. That Ava talks about him all the time and plans on marrying him. He then tells me that he asked Ava what makes Trent so special, she responded, "Because he is a cutie, Dad." Well, Trent is definitely a cutie, but I am not ready for marriage talk! He is growing up SO FAST!

Growing Up

As a parent, every once in a while, your child does something that makes you pause and realize just how grown up they are. Sometime it is a very mature mannerism, or grown up words of wisdom. Other times it is a new skill or ability they demonstrate, and other times it is an act of independence. I had a moment like this with Corbin just the other day.

One morning last week, I was exhausted (still trying to catch up from our trip to Seattle) and happened to over sleep. I woke up at 7:30a and jumped out of bed. We had to be out the door by 8:10a to get Corbin to school. I walked into the kitchen to get my cup of coffee and found Corbin. He was already dressed, backpack packed and sitting by the door, the dog was fed, he had already had a bowl of cereal and was working on making his own lunch. I was blown away! When did he get so grown up and so responsible?! I was speechless and overwhelmed with pride.

A Mohawk?!

If you would have asked me if I would allow my 6 year to get a mohawk, I would have told you NO. Yet, here is some indisputable evidence of my 6 year old with a mohawk...


hmm, how did that happen?

Well, quite simple. Corbin asked for a mohawk several weeks ago. I shrugged the request off figuring it would pass. Pass it didn't. He kept asking and I kept putting it off, trying to find a valid reason to tell him no. And finally, I realized there really was no reason not to let him. I believe in self expression and letting my children make their own choices whenever possible. So I reluctantly gave in, but not without striking a deal. I told Corbin he could have a mohawk for a couple weeks, but we would shave it off before school started (afterall, I don't want his teacher's first impression of Corbin to be with a mohawk). He quickly agreed. So here is my cute little 6 year old with a mohawk... and to tell you the truth, I don't mind it too much.


Trent also got his hair cut. Mark asked him if he wanted a mohawk like his brother. He said no, just his usual cut. Thank goodness. I don't know if I could have handled my 3 year old with a mohawk.

Name Confusion & Potty Mouths

Trent, my lively three year old, is having some major confusion with names. Here are some examples:

1. He currently thinks everyone's middle name is Jacob, like his. So, everytime he get mad at someone he calls them by their first name and Jacob (i.e. Mommy Jacob, Corbin Jacob, Zoey Jacob). Imagine him saying this in a very stern voice and face. I just crack up everytime, even though he really just wants us to take him seriously.

2. Trent has also gotten into the habbit of calling Mark, Babe. He no longer calls Mark daddy. Often during the day, he will ask me when his Babe will be home. When I told him the pumpkins were gone, he told me "Babe will get them back for us". Mark tries so hard to correct him and get him back to saying daddy, but Trent is being pretty stubborn about this one. I guess, I am going to have to start calling Mark daddy so Trent will pick it up too.

3. Finally since Becca has been born, Trent tells everyone we meet that his name is Corbin. Every store clerk, Becca's doctor, other moms from school, other kids, etc. I think he is having a little identity crisis. He thinks his brother is so cool, so it would be better to be Corbin instead of Trent. I keep trying to explain to him that if he was Corbin, I would miss my Trenton. But he continues to insist he is Corbin.

On a totally different note- Today at breakfast, my little angel boys start yelling MOM! I came into the kitchen to hear Corbin say, "Mom, Trent called me bulls*#t!" WHAT?! And then Trent repeats himself saying "Bulls*#t! Bulls*#t!" I look at Trent, he has no clue what he is saying or what it means, but he likes the reaction he is getting from Corbin so he keeps saying it. Needless to say, we had a little conversation about appropriate language.

Kids sure keep life interesting and keep me on my toes.