eat your tummy!

Brody told me today that he wanted to eat my tummy because he thinks it would taste like sour patch kids. Given my addiction to candy, he's probably not that far off.

My little helper

Tonight I tried something new. Jacob went to the Caps game with guys from his hockey team so Brody, Logan, and I went to the pizza place. That's not new. That's actually become a trend. When Jacob isn't here to cook for us, my answer is to go get pizza. At the end of our meal tonight, we had three pieces left over and needed a box to take them home. With both boys, a messy table, and coats and a purse strewn about our booth, I didn't want to go up to get the box. ...so I sent Brody. I quickly coached him on saying please and thank you and off he went. He pushed to the front of the line, stood next to the guy ordering and LOUDLY said "CAN I PLEASE HAVE A BOX?" The guy behind the counter and the guy placing his order turned to look at him, appearing confused. Brody, noticing that the guy behind the counter wasn't moving towards the boxes repeated himself, louder. "CAN I PLEASE HAVE A BOX??" At this point, the guy behind the counter asks Brody what kind of box (Brody replied "pizza") while the man ordering, the woman at the front table, and half of the line turned around to see which mom sent their four year old to retrieve a box. And they see me, laughing so hard my eyes are tearing up and Logan, who is still shoving a pizza crust in his mouth. Thankfully they were smiling and not looking at me with disdain. As Brody returned with the box, the man who was placing an order came by to tell Brody what a good helper he was and told me that he was "too cute". I apologized for his interruption and learned that in addition to coaching for please and thank you, I also need to teach him to wait his turn.

Earlier this week, while shopping in Target with Logan, he noticed a Cars book from the other end of the aisle. I said "Logan, you have good eyes!" and he quickly replied "No, I have PURPLE eyes!"

While walking out of Target with Logan, he pointed to another generic sedan, not too different from my green Camry and said "I don't want to ride in Mama's car, I want to ride in that beautiful car!"

Help!

Although Logan's communication skills are improving daily, he's still not very clear when he needs assistance. He calls to us from another room saying, "Help!" We go and find him, asking "what do you need help with?" To which he replies, "Help Logan!" Well, clearly.

I know.

Brody, Logan, and I are sitting at the kitchen table. The boys are eating lunch and I'm searching for apple butter recipes on the computer. Brody's been especially short tempered this morning and snapping or getting frustrated quite a bit. I whispered *pssst... Brody.* He whispered back, *what?* I whispered *I love you.*, looking for an "I love you too" response. He whispered back *I know.* At least he knows.

A few moments later, Logan starts throwing his rice and putting his spoon into his cup of milk, so I take them away. All of a sudden he bursts out in what I can only explain as an angry cajun voice. I sigh and ignore his gibberish. Brody says quietly, "He said he wants his milk." Sure enough, when I replay the gibberish in my head it does have the right syllables to be "i. want. my. milk." I guess they have their own language.

Brody's in Pre-K

Brody started a pre-kindergarten class this week. It's hard to believe that next fall he'll be in kindergarten and Logan will be at Winwood. I asked Brody how he liked Pre-K after his first day. He reported that he got to cut out the pieces of a flower and eat goldfish. Sounds like a pretty good day. On day 2 he reported that he had a fish in Pre-K but he didn't know it's name. On day 3 he finally mentioned his teachers and said they were nice. Today as I dropped him off, I peeked into the Preschool III class and was surprised to see how young they look. That was Brody a year ago- how did he change so quickly?

Mamie asked if we could freeze the boys at their current age and I really wish we could. At 4 and 2, the boys are interactive, sweet, and funny and we're lucky to get to spend time with them.

Goodbye Crib

I can't believe it happened so quickly. When Brody was 2 we very slowly introduced him to sleeping on a mattress, then talked about a big boy bed, then finally took down the crib and set up his big boy room. Last week at the beach, we let Logan sleep on an air mattress for the first time overnight (he sleeps on one at Shahnaz's for naps). He did great, but when we came home Logan started crying at night. On the second night of this, I was talking to Logan, trying to understand what was the matter. Finally he said "want. big. boy. bed." I said "do you want to sleep in your crib?" He said no. "Do you want to sleep in a big boy bed?" He immediately stopped crying and nodded. So, Jacob set up an air mattress for the night, Logan stopped crying and went to sleep.

The next night Jacob brought up the pieces to Logan's twin-sized bed and set it up in his room. He is still fussing a little at night but I think that's because he was accostumed to all of us sleeping in the same room at the beach. It's certainly not because of his bed. Logan loves to climb into the bed and put his head down on his pillow. He looks like such a little man.

The best part is that Logan sleeps with his door shut and still can't turn the doorknob. So while Brody gave us trouble once we moved him to a big boy bed, wandering out of his room in the middle of the night, Logan is stuck. He can get down and get out of bed, but he cannot leave his room. This morning when I got out of the shower, I could hear the doorknob turning back and forth but he couldn't get the door open. Finally he sat down and played with his toys and I heard "I'm Buzz Lightyear, HIYA!" through the monitor.

It's crazy to me that after more than four years, we won't have a crib in the house anymore. We survived the crib years. Now, to just get through potty training... :)

Rock Out

Brody has known how to make devil horns for a couple of years now. When Jacob cranks up Metallica or something like it, Brody will "rock out" with his devil horns and some light head banging, which really just looks like he's rocking forwards and backwards. Logan tries to copy him, but his hands end up looking like Edward Scissorhands. He hasn't quite figured out how to arrange his fingers. This morning as we loaded into the car, Wallflowers "One Headlight" was playing on the radio and Logan said "I rock out!", did his Scissorhands impression and started rocking back and forth. For those of you who don't know the song, One Headlight is not a "rock out" kind of song. It's slow and melodic. Jacob would not be proud.

Update 7/29: As I pulled out of the driveway this morning Logan called out from his carseat behind me saying "here Mama", which means he wants to hand me something. Most of the time this is because he has too many toys in his hands and needs to free one up. I reach back and he gives me his full bag of Fruit Loops, the only thing he had in his hands. Then he tells me "I rock out!"... to Phil Collins "I don't care anymore". Maybe this is my fault. I should pay better attention to what's on the radio when the kids are in the car. Phil Collins? Really?

In other news...
Yesterday morning, Brody was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and said "Look Mama, I can make a girl face" and proceeded to put his chin down a little bit, make his eyes really big, turn his head to the side, and open his mouth slightly. What the heck is that? And more importantly, where did he learn that?

ABCD

The east coast is in the middle of a heat wave right now, with temperatures clearing 100 degrees. One day last week as we were loading Brody and Logan into the car, Logan protested, telling Jacob to turn on the air conditioning by saying "turn ABCD on!" He repeated his request later in the week as he and I were walking to a neighboring house. As soon as we stepped outside Logan told me, "it's hot mama. Turn on ABCD." If only I had the luxury.

We were in Pawley's with the Plummers last week and packed the house with 9 adults and 7 kids. One morning, when Logan was trying to keep up with his older cousins he bumped his head into the dining table. Aunt Debbie ran to pick him up and rubbed his head saying "are you ok, baby?" Logan didn't cry a tear and quickly told Debbie "I not a baby, I a big boy!"

Cutest kids on the planet

This post is directed to Brody and Logan.

Do you realize how cute you are? I used to think I was biased because I'm your Mama so of course I think you're cute. Family would always say you're cute, but they're obligated to say you're cute. I was still skeptical about your level of cuteness to the general public. But then it started to come from friends. Miss Sylvia at Winwood hoped her grandson would be just like you. My coworkers looked at the pictures in my office and told me that you should model. And then strangers started commenting too. People stop us in stores to compliment your beautiful hair- Brody for the white-blond color and Logan for the curls. Others just stop and smile as we walk by. Seriously, you're that cute. You draw attention.

At Morgan and Tony's wedding, their friend Daryn told us her fiancee Jon had been hesitant to have kids soon, but changed his mind when he saw you two walking down the aisle. He told Daryn "We can have kids if they look like that." I know, that's extreme, but that's how cute you are. Thankfully, you're also sweet, funny, smart, and all sorts of other positive things. But look at you in those suits... Cute.

More Brogan-isms

Here are two more Brogan-isms:

At the Hoover's 4th of July party, Uncle Dink asked 2-year old Logan "what's up?". Logan immediately looked up to the ceiling of the tent to check it out.

While getting ready for school and work this morning, Brody asked me how many schools he will go to. I told him after Winwood he'd go to the school by the swimming pool, then the new school where the backhoes are working, then the big school with the soccer fields, then he'd go a school far away where he would get to live there and sleep there. Brody told me, "No, I don't want to sleep there because I sleep here at home." I told Brody that he could come home on "stay home days" and holidays to visit. He asked me if his teachers would drive him to his school that was far, far away. I told him that he'd be big like Mama and Dada and could drive himself. So he told me that he needed a car. Sigh. At 4, he's already asking for a car.

Broganisms

Here are a few snippets of conversations that occurred in our household over the past week:

Brody, at the cookout after Dada's hockey game, picks a leaf off the tree and eats it. Then walks over to the group and tells everyone "That is NOT basil."

Logan, who I affectionately call "monkey" when I say goodnight, has an angry voice that he uses when he's being defiant. It's low and gravelly, like he's talking with his chin pressed into his chest. Brody fakes taking a picture of him with his viewfinder, then shows Logan the picture through the viewfinder, saying "Look Logan, you're a giraffe!" Logan, in his angry voice shoots back "I'm NOT a giraffe, I'm a MONKEY."

Brody asks to use the bathroom while visiting with Aunt Judy and Uncle Don. I take him and as he's peeing, he tells me "Mama, their potty is beautifuller than ours."

We have very little silence in our lives right now, so it's nice that some of their chatter results in laughter.

Stream of Consciousness

There are so many uncaptured moments when I wish I had a video camera. I know Brody and Logan could be youtube sensations.

We let the boys stay up late Sunday to go to Jacob's hockey game and hang around afterwards for a BBQ. They'd started the day at Mamie and Paw Paw's, went to Brody's ice skating lessons, had an hour of quiet time, went to Zane's birthday party at the bounce house, then went straight to the hockey game. It was a long and exhausting day. By the time we got into the car to head home, it was already 9:30pm, an hour after their typical bedtime. Logan zonked out immediately but Brody decided to talk. And talk, and talk, and talk... It started with me thanking Brody for being so good at Dada's hockey game. He then took that conversation in a bunch of different directions, speaking everything that came to mind. He asked:

1. Was I a good baby before I was a big boy? (very good, but you didn't sleep a lot as a little baby)
2. Did I sleep a lot when I was a big baby? (yes, you slept a lot once you got bigger)
3. When I was in your tummy, what did I eat? (pizza)
4. Who's tummy were you in? (you tell me)
5. Were you in Dada's tummy? (no. who's my mommy?)
6. Were you in Granny's tummy? (yes)
7. What did I eat in your tummy that was really big?? (um, lots of pizza?)
8. Who is the big transformer? (I have no idea, ask your Dada)

Then he decided to start telling me things and I didn't get to talk anymore:
1. Paw Paw found the transformers in the hole up high in the place with all of the stuff.
2. A lighthouse is very high and has a top with a light and all the boats can see it.
3. I can't go on top of a lighthouse because I might get wet.
4. I can go on a lighthouse if there's a tent on top because the tent will make it so I don't get wet.
5. I can sleep in a tent on top of a lighthouse.
6. I'm tired. I think I'm going to close my eyes.
7. ...heavy breathing...

And then it was quiet, and that was nice. When we got home, I lifted two sleeping boys out of the car and carried them inside. Logan made it all the way into his pajamas and bed without waking and slept until 8:30 the next morning. Brody woke up as I was carrying him inside and waited for Jacob to get home to say goodnight. He was up the next morning at 7am, as usual, a chatterbox who was ready to play.

Brody's school lunch

Brody is so excited to go to big boy school. Yes, he still has over a year until kindergarten, but he has no concept of time and just knows that he's going there after Winwood, which could be as soon as tomorrow. This morning he wanted to talk to me about his lunch at big boy school. Aunt Morgan gave him a Spiderman lunchbox for being a super-fantastic ring bearer in her wedding and Brody is dying to pack it with food and take it to school. This morning he decided that when he goes to big boy school, he'd like to pack a lunch of yogurt, chips, a sandwich, and a cheesestick. Then he asked me what are the orange things that he has at the beach that make messy fingers. After guessing mandarin oranges I realized he was talking about cheetos. Yes, he wants cheetos too. And then he asked me if we had peas. Sure, we have peas. Brody said Ok, I want peas in my lunch too and that's it.

Now that's a quality lunch.

Doggies!

Only a kid with a great dane at home would walk by a pen of goats and say "Look Mama, doggies!"

On a related note, I may need to spend more time teaching Logan farm animals.

Tank You, Brody

One of my favorite things to hear is Logan's little voice saying "Tank you, Brody". Brody understands Logan better than anyone else right now. If Logan is asking for something and Jacob and I are just staring at him blankly, Brody will often step in and tell us that Logan wants a cheese stick or wants to watch Blue's Clues. He's a very helpful big brother right now and a fantastic translator. Yesterday, while we were all doing different things, I could hear a little conversation going on between Brody and Logan on the couch. Logan asked for something, but I couldn't tell what it was. I figured it was a toy. Brody said "here Logan" and Logan said "Tank you, Brody". When the house is peaceful, I don't want to mess it up by sticking my nose into the situation, so I left it alone, figuring that Brody had given Logan whatever toy he couldn't reach. A few minutes later, when I come out of the kitchen to tell the boys to get their shoes on to be ready when Mamie arrives, I see that Brody has opened an Easter egg full of M&Ms and given it to Logan. Logan ate all but one, which I found stuck in the couch cushions. So now they're using their power of communication to circumvent their parents, who would not have allowed them to eat an egg full of M&Ms at 5:30pm. I can bet that this will only lead to bad things for us. :)

Additional Cuteness: Logan thinks both sides of a transaction should say thank you and "welcome". If you say thank you to him, he'll repeat it. If he says thank you to you and you say you're welcome, he repeats that with a sing-songy "wel-come!" Such a polite little boy.

Logan Turns Two

Two years ago today we were sitting in the NICU, watching our baby boy struggle to breathe under an oxygen hood. We couldn't hold him and couldn't help him. Every so often, one of his monitor wires would become disconnected and set off an alarm that made us jump out of our seats. Through all of this, Logan was calm. He was the biggest baby in the NICU and so content, sunbathing under a heat lamp and fed through an IV. He had everything he needed. He was discharged just four days later, a relatively short stay that felt like an eternity.

For the first year and a half, he was a demanding baby. He always wanted to be held and if Mama was around, it had to be her. Then he started to walk. And then he started to talk. And our little boy blossomed.

Today Logan turns two. He woke to Brody and me coming into his room with presents and singing happy birthday. Brody gave him a Lightning McQueen car that changes colors and Jacob and I gave him a Chuggington book. Logan surprised me calling out the names of the different trains as he looked through the pages of the book. He refused to put it down and took the book to Shahnaz's with him.

Tonight we'll go to Mamie and Paw Paw's for a spaghetti dinner (Logan's favorite) and a Chuggington cake. And over dinner we'll all marvel at how much our baby boy has grown.

My classy little boy

It was warm yesterday, passing 80 degrees for the first time this year. Jacob put Brody in his new Buzz Lightyear pajamas, which incude a short sleeved top and shorts. It didn't cross my mind, but I don't think Brody has ever worn shorts to bed before.

Brody has a new habit of calling to Jacob and me from bed, screaming for us until we come into his room. This is his way of getting around our rule that he is not allowed to get out of bed after we say goodnight. He knows that if he gets out of bed, he loses a stuffed animal, but if he screams for us we'll come running because we don't want him to wake up Logan. Smart kid.

Last night he screamed for me and of course, I came running. I found him still under his covers and he said "I can touch my knee with my hand." The shorts must have had quite an effect. I'm so glad I ran all the way up from the basement for that. As I said goodnight and started to leave the room, he said "now my hand is on my booty and I'm giving myself a wedgie." Ah, he always manages to make the run worthwhile.

Wake up!

Brody and Jacob spent a long weekend at the cabin with Paw Paw and Jeff, leaving Logan and me to have quality time together. We went for Thai food Friday night and the staff fawned over Logan, who was on his best behavior. We went to Katie's house Saturday to play with Evelyn and Charlotte and everyone got along very well and had a great time playing. Logan in general is just a very happy little boy right now and I can't think of any time when he fussed this weekend.

My workload at the office is heavy right now and I've been staying up after the kids go to bed to catch up on work. This weekend, with Brody and Jacob out of town, I took the opportunity to work every moment that Logan was sleeping. By Sunday morning, I was sleep-deprived and exhausted. When Logan woke up, I grabbed him from the crib and plopped him in my bed to watch Yo Gabba Gabba and (what else?) Chuggington. He watched while I snoozed. I must have been out by the time Chuggington was over because I woke up to find Logan climbing across my body, going nose to nose with me saying "mama, wake up! wake up!" We sometimes play a game where he tells me to sleep, so I close my eyes and fake snore, then he tells me to wake up and I jolt awake. In the future I need to be more aware of the consequences of our games. I really could have used another half hour of sleep but when that adorable face is crammed against yours telling you to wake up, your only option is to crawl out of bed and go play.

Chuggington

How did Logan get so attached to Chuggington? He picked up a Chuggington book at random when we were at the bookstore a few weeks ago and that was our first introduction to the show. It's only on once a day at 8:30am. Since I don't get him to Shahnaz's until 9am, I know he's not watching it there. But on weekend mornings, he wakes up asking for Chuggington. He carries his book everywhere- it goes with him to Shahnaz's house, it goes in the crib with him for naps, I've read it to him at least 4 times daily for the past several days. He knows the theme song well enough to teach it to me. When I sit down a the computer he runs into the office singing "Chuuuuuug-ing-ton, chugga, chugga, chugga" and keeps repeating it until I pull up clips on you tube. This is how I learned that Chuggington was originally a UK show and Logan will accept the British accents interchangeably with the US versions. There could be worse things. At least Chuggington episodes are short and the storylines are cute. And thank goodness he doesn't have this level of interest in the Wiggles.

knock knock

We know what Brody is trying to say with his first knock knock joke, but it isn't coming out quite right. "Knock Knock", who's there? "Banana", banana who? "Banana Orange". When we try to explain that he's supposed to go through many iterations of banana before saying "orange you glad I didn't say banana?" he tells us we're wrong.

Logan listens to Brody closely enough that this morning he called to me over the kitchen table saying "knock, knock, knock, knock..." When I finally realized what he was saying and asked who's there, he said "Orange", orange who? "Orange Banana".

Mr. Personality

With big brother Motormouth around, Logan is sometimes lost in the shadows. Lately, he's taken to calling for Mama or Dada repeatedly: Mama, mama, mama, ma-MA, MA-MA, MAMAMAMAMA, etc until we acknowledge him. He usually doesn't have anything to say once we respond, so he just moves onto the next person, calling Dada, dada, dada, DA-da, DADA, Daaa-DA!

Tonight Brody is at the Caps game with Jacob, Paw Paw, and Cabey so Logan and I had a chance to spend some quiet time together. When he isn't fighting for attention, he has quite a personality! Logan was playful and giggly all night. He was talking up a storm and showed signs of being a motormouth in the making. He teased me and tested me and when I could get him to sing along, showed me that he knows most of his ABCs. He also sang along to You Are My Sunshine, "Bushel and a Peck" from Guys and Dolls, and the Wonder Pets theme song.

Logan is growing and learning at such a fast rate right now. It's nice to have a night to focus on him and enjoy his happy little personality.

Marriage already?

Scene: It's evening, around 7:45pm. Brody and Logan are in the bathtub and Jacob is sitting on the toilet seat next to the tub, watching the boys play in the water and fidgeting with his wedding ring.

Brody: Can I see your ring, Dada?
Jacob: No, because mama would be mad if you lost it
Brody: Why?
Jacob: Because it means we are married and I always have to wear it
Brody: When can I be married?
Jacob: When you find a girl you love
Brody: Can I marry mama?
Jacob: No. Who's your favorite girl?
Brody: Maggie. Can I marry Maggie?
Jacob: Maybe one day when you are older like dada

End Scene.

Rude awakenings

We've had two surprising mornings in the Weaver household this week. Yesterday as I was getting ready, I noticed Brody standing in the doorway to his room. He saw me and pointed to his bed, not saying anything. As I got closer I see that half of his face is covered in blood from his forehead to his chin and as I enter his room, I see that there is a puddle of blood on his bed. Thankfully it was immediately evident that the source was his nose so I didn't have a heart attack at the sight. He was bewildered but liked seeing the blood come off his face and onto the washcloth.

This morning I went in to get Logan and I found him standing in his crib, his footed pajamas unzipped to his ankle, his diaper undone, full of poop, and hanging off. His facial expression as I walked in was very neutral. He wasn't celebrating his achievement but he wasn't apologetic either. I think he was waiting to see how I reacted to determine if he was in trouble. I'm proud to say that I kept calm both mornings but they've probably taken a year off my life. What joys will I wake up to tomorrow?

Happy Valentine's Day

I asked Brody this morning if he'd be my valentine. I told him a valentine is someone you like a lot and give a kiss goodbye. He said no, he wouldn't be my valentine because he said Dada was already his valentine. I said, then can I be Logan's valentine and he said no because Logan was his valentine too. I asked if I could be Foster's valentine and Brody said no, EVERYBODY's already his valentine... but I could be valentines with the tree if I wanted.

As I'm leaving him at daycare, I give him a hug and asked for a kiss goodbye. He gave me a big smooch and said "You ARE my valentine" then laughed a teasing laugh, pushed me out the door, and ran off to join his friends. I have the best valentine in the world. :)

hiccups

Logan was going after Brody's lollipop last night. Brody was looking for every excuse to keep him away and said "but I have the hiccups and if Logan has my lollipop, he'll get the hiccups". Two hours later, as we're getting into bed, Logan contracted a case of the hiccups. You really cannot win against a three year old.

Fruit Loops

If I use Fruit Loops as a learning experience, does that make it any less horrific as a meal choice for Logan? He recognizes green, purple, orange, and yellow fruit loops and will call them by a name that sounds vaugely like the color. Blue and red are still unknowns for him, but hey, Brody still gets blue and red confused so it may run in the genes.

MLK Day - Take 2

It's time for our second annual MLK Day video to Dada. Once again, I'm home with the kids because Shahnaz has the day off. This year my office took the day off too, so the boys and I get to play. Here's our video to Dada, who had to work today.

10 minutes of chaos

Everything was going so well last night. Brody wasn't eating dinner but that's not completely unusual. We watched the Caps for a little bit then I took the boys upstairs for baths while Jacob walked Foster. On our way up, Logan spit out a piece of chewed puppy chow (or tasty trash? The Plummers and Weavers have different names for the stuff.) It trickled down his white and blue striped button-down shirt, leaving a chocolate trail on one of his cutest shirts (a gift for Brody from GG that I've meticulously cleaned so it stays stain-free through two children). As I picked him up, the chocolate also got on my white sleeve, a shirt that moments ago I had wondered how I'd managed to keep clean for an entire day. Out of frustration, I took off Logan's shirt, telling him Logan! Chocolate stains! Jacob laughed at me and headed outside with Foster.

I took the boys upstairs and started filling the bathtub in one bathroom while I spot-treated Logan and my shirts to try to get the chocolate out in the other bathroom. Brody was beside me swishing mouthwash before he brushed his teeth and Logan was playing with books on the floor. As soon as I've finished Logan's shirt, Brody spit out the blue mouthwash, right down the front of his shirt. This is no normal mouthwash. This is the kind that stains teeth blue to show kids where to brush. I sigh and take off Brody's shirt, adding it to my pile of pre-treating.

As I am working on my shirt, Brody covers his mouth and puffs out his cheeks with wild eyes. I know this look. Brody is about to throw up. I pick him up and quickly get him to the toilet. Thankfully he makes it in time and up comes everything he ate for the day. At that point, Jacob is back and calling me to the other bathroom. Logan has wandered away and I'm afraid I know what that means. I leave Brody holding over the toilet and head back to the other bathroom. Jacob is standing in the doorway and Logan is sitting in the bathtub, which is still filling with water. As I get closer I see Logan is still wearing socks, pants, and a diaper. Jacob heard a thud as he came upstairs and found Logan, half-dressed, sitting in the bathtub.

At this point, it's time to divide and conquer. Jacob cleans up Brody and I undress Logan to give him a proper bath. In the amount of time it took to fill a bathtub our house went from quiet and happy to total chaos. It also returned to normal just a quickly. Once finished with baths, we all snuggled in the big bed to watch Wipeout, happy that everything was back to normal.

Our week of fun

I took the week off work between Christmas and New Year's and Brody, Logan, and I went on mini-adventures.

We joined the over-70s crowd for a McDonald's breakfast and had a rare experience in which we were the only non-retired people in the restaurant. We also had the only loud voices among diners contently reading newspapers and sipping coffee. I think they were happy to see us finish up and leave.

We went to the Red Box and Brody picked out a movie to watch (Toy Story 3) then watched it on the floor while eating popcorn. Brody made it through the entire movie. Logan wandered away after 30 minutes or so. I was the only one to cry when Andy went off to college.

We went to the Udvar-Hazy air and space museum and checked out the planes and space craft. Brody's favorite was the blackbird, which had a TV next to it cycling the scene from the Transformers movie when the blackbird morphs into a robot and breaks down the door of the museum. Brody kept looking back and forth from the TV to the plane, trying to figure out which button would turn the plane into a monster. Logan liked the ramps in the museum, which he ran up and down and up and down until he eventually was so tired that he laid down on the ground and waited for me to come get him.

On Friday, when Dada was home from work too we went to see the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum downtown. We should have set expectations appropriately. Brody kept asking if they were going to roar or bite him. I don't think he was expecting bones. Both boys especially liked the Discovery Zone in the museum, which lets you get hands on with the exhibits. Brody had to touch the human skeleton (a replica, not real) one last time before leaving.

Today... sigh. It's beautiful outside and would be the perfect day for Frying Pan Park but Brody finally came down with the stomach virus that's ravaging our extended family and much of the east coast. He was a trooper this morning and said that he still wanted to go to FPP, but when we got there and walked around for a few minutes, he said he needed to throw up and wanted to go back home. So it looks like the end of our fun week will conclude quietly. We're back and he's watching TV in the big bed while Logan plays with all of the new Christmas toys. They're both happy. Logan started asking about his school friends yesterday so I take that as a good sign that they've had enough of me and want to get back to their normal schedule. I'm exhausted and am ready to get back to my normal schedule too. Work is so much less strenuous!