He woke me with a bark!

A few days ago Caleb jumped on my bed really early in the morning and woke me up with a bark. I asked him what he was doing and he just barked. I asked him what he wanted to do for the day and he barked. I gave him his clothes for the day and he barked and shook them in his mouth with his teeth. I told him to get on his chair for breakfast and he barked and shook his head signalling that a dog can't get in the chair for breakfast. I put his food on the floor for him to eat. We went outside to play and he ran around and scratched and smelled and jumped like a dog. He wanted me to pet him like a dog and talk to him like a dog all of which was communicated through barking. All morning long was like this so after considerable thought I decided we would skip doggy potty time. I can not imagine that going well...

Often Caleb is a different animal when he wakes up but some of my favorites are frog day and crab day. They make for interesting entertainment! I attribute much of Caleb's imagination to his cousin Nicholas who is in the picture above. As you can see they are great friends!

The Happy Child

There are some not so good babies and then there are normal babies and then there are good babies and then there are miracles. I would definently define baby Timothy as a miracle. He is what you call an overly good baby. He cries only out of absolute despair. He lets you dress him without complaint, lets you rock him and hold him when you want and put him down when you are tired. He could care less about food but drinks my milk like a champ. He thinks everyone is his friend. He laughs at you even when you aren't funny. There are actually days he goes without crying. I'm being serious.

Now, I know you are not suppose to compare your children, but if we are talking about babies I think we can make exceptions. Caleb, never stopped crying the first two years of his life. Really, he cried allllllll the stinking time! Now he is a very happy child but babyhood was not his thing. Timothy, ahhhh, life is good! I really hope this does not mean that Timothy will grow up to be unhappy. Yikes!

Honestly, Timothy is a miracle baby. When I was preganant with him so many difficult things happened...both Grandfathers passed away, two home breakins by a repeat sex offender, the hurricane and no electricity for 3 weeks, I was hospitalized for being sick...I could go on and on but lets just say that there was alot to grieve over when he was in my belly. I tried to stay very calm and cry sparringly, but I was always worried he would pop out having absorbed all the fears and sadness from his 9 months in utero. God answered our prayers when we asked him to protect baby Timothy. I guess I absorbed all the sadness and he absorbed all the happiness! He is a miracle!

Yep and Nope

For some reason Caleb has decided that this is "yep and nope" week. He has forgotten "yes maam, no sir, yes please, oh thank you mommy". Every bit of manners we have been working on for the last 3 years is now gone. Gone with his new found love for the words "yep and nope". Oh well, we can always dream of the way things were!

Yes, this is a picture of our son riding the paddle boat in his underware with his little brother asleep in his bumbo seat in the back. They went to rescue the turtle floaty and no you are not mistaken, the baby grabbed a quick nap with his face in his lap on the way home. Some things I know I will never see again in this life time.

The Zig Zag Pattern

This is Caleb in his frog rain boots, his frog pjs, his frog helmet, his frog tricycle that is way too small, and his frog horn. Ahhh the joys of childhood!

I went to pick up Caleb early from his new preschool (because I can't stand to leave him there the full time...which is another issue I will blog about another time!) and got to watch him playing duck duck goose in the gym. All the kids were in a neat little circle and all of them were doing the right thing-duck, duck, goose- and running in a small little circle and sitting at their seat.

Now, I know my son well enough to know he was not going to be doing anything in a neat little circle, but what I saw was surpising, even to me.

When it was Caleb's turn he said duck, duck, duck, duck, and on and on until his teacher forced him to say goose. So when he finally did say goose he took off screaming at the top of his lungs running in a zig zag pattern all around the gym and finally collapsed in hysterical laughter all the way across the room. The kid who was suppose to be chasing him was just staring in awe, open mouthed, in the same spot he was tagged goose. Caleb was laughing so hard at himself that he was rolling on the floor totally ignoring reality. Personally, I think the shock and awe technique is very effective when playing competitive games...

I like the cloth ones...

Tim and I are very different in many ways and it seems like those differences have really magnified as we are raising our boys. The biggest issue here is me. I seem to change my mind often and to the extreme as a naturalist. Oh well, I guess he knew what he was getting into when he married me! Here are some conversations we have had recently...

Me: I've been reading some stuff on having children and have decided that I don't ever want to use birth control again.
Tim: Stop reading.

Me: I really like these cloth diapers. I think I will use them for all the kids we have.
Tim: Seriously?

Me: I think we should have a garden and grow our own vegetables this fall.
Tim: Do I have to help? Will it save money?

Me: Natural childbirth was way better than using medicine. I think I want to have all our children naturally from now on...maybe at home.
Tim: No

Me: I've gone green on all our household products. Have you noticed?
Tim: Was I suppose to notice?

Me: What do you think about homeschool?
Tim: uhhhh, isn't that two years away?

It does take a balance of powers to keep a family moving in the best direction! I guess we will see how natural the Winter family will be...

*These are pictures from a twenties party Tim and I attended this summer at the home of one of Tim's California clients.*

Just how clean are those toilet seat covers???

Caleb was washing his hand in a public bathroom this morning and he couldn't find the paper towels so...he walked right over to the toilet seat covers... pulled one out...wiped his mouth and his hands...and threw it in the trash. Huh, I wonder how often he does that???

Should I be worried?

Baby Timothy won't eat...anything! He is 7 months old and all he wants is Mamma's milk. This seems very normal to me in some ways and a little worisome in others. He doesn't take a bottle, won't eat anything from a spoon, and I tried all the little tricks people suggest to no avail. Should I be worried about this? How long should kids go before they eat at least oatmeal? Would love some feedback...I am getting mixed reviews from people. My friend Jeni only nursed her son for at least a year and he is happy and healthy and I know women use to do that all the time, but I am getting mixed reviews from some pediatricians. Any thoughts you Moms???

I know you aren't suppose to compare but I just wanted to give you a rundown on how different my boys are. Last night we found Caleb eating something hard and crunchy from the carpet. We asked him what it was and he said, "I don't know!" and just went about his business as usual.

This is what Caleb had to eat ONE day last week:
two plate size blueberry pancakes
half a pint of blueberries on the side
a glass of milk
a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
2 peaches
1 apricot
1 apple
half a sweet potato
2 slices pork tenderloin
raisins
spinach salad
an ear of corn
a lot of water!

YIKES! It is a miracle he hasn't blown up his stomach yet! I had to force him to stop eating. Do you see why I am struggling with having a child who doesn't eat???