My youngest son seems to have an affinity for kitchen items. Forget using a blanket as a “lovey,” give my kid a utensil. Last week, Shecklet #2’s preference was a mini rolling pin. This week, it’s a large black kitchen spoon. He has discovered it is like a “Go-Go-Gadget arm” that he can use to reach things on the counter, use as a drum stick, or fend off his big brother. Crazy kid!
Shecklet #2 must have known the Twins are closing in on the end of the season and hoping for a trip to the playoffs. This afternoon, he donned the Twinkies hat in support of their efforts, taking after big brother Shecklet #1, who started the hat trend by sporting the Rocky Mountain National Park hat from Grandma Patti & Grandpa Dave. Speaking of Grandma, she called to talk to Shecklet #1 today. They chatted about what he did in school this morning. Very cute!
I also just had to post this pic of Shecklet #1. His eyes are this crazy gold/green color and the shirt he wore today really brought them to life.
Jake and I both went to the U of M, so naturally, we’re Gopher fans. However, it seems that Jake’s sister, Stacie, would like to see our boys wearing red & black instead of maroon & gold. Shecklet #1 has been asking to wear his “Badger socks” for months (probably since we stopped wearing socks for the summer.) With today’s temps in the 50’s, I figured today he could bring Bucky out of summer retirement. Shecklet #2 naturally followed suit.
Here’s the kids’ feet all decked out in their Wisconsin footwear. We miss you Auntie Stacie!
club size packages of diapers and wipes.
A recent trip to Sam’s Club replenished our stash of size 3’s and wet wipes. I threw the packages on top of the clean laundry I was already hauling upstairs and let the boys help me unload everything in their room. They had so much fun playing, building, crashing in to, and moving the compact & semi-cushy “blocks.” When we finished putting away their clean clothes, we switched rooms and the diapers & wipes came along with us. Here are a couple of shots of the boys building and destroying a “road.” I love how Shecklet #1’s creative juices are flowing so much lately and how Shecklet #2 mimics his brother’s every move.
We started the day off with mass at St. John’s. Nana & Papa (my parents) showed up and surprised us. I love seeing the boys’ expressions when they see any of their grandparents. It’s always pure joy. Since we had more adults than kids, we kept Shecklet #2 with us instead of having him play in the nursery. The boys did really well. I wonder if they were on extra-good behavior for their grandparents…
Our house was full of lovely women and super cute kids this afternoon. We figured out that today’s group was a mix of 1st, 2nd & 3rd cousins from my mom’s side of the family. It was really nice to be able to spend time with all of them today. Shecklet #1 and Shecklet #2 enjoyed showing off for the group. It’s so funny what the two of them will do to entertain others when they’re in the spotlight.
While Shecklet #2 was napping this afternoon (after our guests departed,) Shecklet #1 helped me put together brownies for an impromptu dinner at our friends’ house. He cracked the eggs (with just a little help :)), stirred the batter, and scooped it from the bowl to the pan. He is really big into helping lately. I wish I could bottle some of his enthusiasm and have it on hand for when he gets older.
The day ended the way it normally does, but with a small, sweet little twist. We said bedtime prayers with the boys like we always do and I picked up Shecklet #2 and held him while Jake rocked a little while with Nolan. Nolan asked me to sing a song for him. (This has become part of the nighttime routine along with having his back scratched.) So I sang “Jesus Loves Me,” and he joined me like he usually does. Next, he asked me to sing the song he calls “Daisy” or “bicycle built for two.” Well tonight, instead of waiting for me to start the song and join me, he sang the song himself – and remembered most of the lyrics, too! It was so sweet to hear his little voice. He sure loves music!
Today and tomorrow we have an extra little guy at our house. Friends of ours are attending a conference not far from where we live, so their little man is spending some quality time at the Sheck house. Nolan and Lincoln think the temporary addition is pretty fun to have around. They enjoy entertaining him and are doing a fine job showing him how to play in creative ways.
We did have one interesting event today that I thought was worth mentioning. When lunchtime rolled around, I placed our friends’ son in Lincoln’s highchair. You would have thought I was giving him Lincoln’s most prized possession. Lincoln stomped his feet, started crying, and was just about to pull out his tantrum face when I picked him up and walked to the side of the table where we have Nolan’s booster chair. I asked him if he wanted to sit in Nolan’s chair and the crying stopped instantly. Who wants to sit in the high chair when Mom offers the big boy booster seat instead? He was SO proud to sit next to Nolan at the big table and use a placemat. Now that he’s experienced eating at the table (instead of next to it) we’ll see if he’ll even go close the high chair at meal time again.
The boys and I spent time in the backyard this afternoon. They got to play with squirt bottles while I gave the lawn a quick once-over with the lawnmower. (It was my attempt to keep the mosquitoes at bay – they seem to really love my kids.) As you can see from the pictures, Shecklet #1 has the correct form down pat. Shecklet #2 on the other hand is still learning how to manage the squirter. Actually, maybe the direction of his bottle is intentional. He figured out that he can actually squirt the water into his mouth if it’s pointed this way. Smart boy!
This evening, “Auntie Lissa” (this is how Shecklet #1 says Auntie Larissa) came over so Jake and I could attend a meeting at our church. We’re part of a small group of people who meet once a month with a seminarian friend from the St. Paul Seminary to discuss a topic of our friend’s choice. The overall goal of the meetings is to give our friend a chance to discuss parish and family life from the laity’s perspective. Tonight’s topic was a re-visitation of last year’s first meeting topic, “graces we have received over the course of the summer.” I couldn’t help but reflect back on how much our family and friends have supported us through prayer this summer and what a huge blessing that has been to our family. We know that the peace we have felt throughout recent difficult situations is an answer to the prayers being said on our behalf.
