funny

Cash has been potty trained for almost a year now. and he's really never had an accident. i'm pretty amazed but not too surprised knowing Cash's personality. For someone who doesn't want to ever be dirty having an accident in your pants isn't really an option!

So yesterday we were over at Rylie's and they were having the best time ever. playing all day. with every toy in the house and then some great imaginary games. Late in the afternoon they were on the swing set in the back having a hysterical time. They got on the teeter totter and were laughing so hard and then all of a sudden Cash starts looking concerned but couldn't stop laughing. he grabbed his pants and said, "oh no! Peeeeeeeee."

I grabbed him off the teeter totter and pulled his pants off to pee. then he told me, "I was going so crazy I pee'd a little bit"

a note on naptime

for a while there we let Cash give up his afternoon nap on the weekends. We thought he was over it or outgrowing a nap. But we were walking on eggshells as to not upset him and miserable come 6pm. and continuing the misery when we tried to get Cash to fall asleep.

For the past few weekends we have reinstated the naptime for Cash - against his will for sure! But we forced him to lay down and sleep. it wasn't easy but Chandler and i are sort of experts when it comes to being tough about sleep so we knew if we just forced it, Cash would succumb (sooner rather than later).

I find that he is obviously a better, nicer, easier boy if he sleeps - even for an hour - and that he falls asleep faster when it is bed time. Whereas he was laying in bed talking, singing and carrying on for hours (and hours) when he wouldn't nap, now he is asleep within 20-30 minutes.

It just goes to show that kids need sleep. And sleep really effects them. positively and negatively.

disclaimer: I am lucky that my kids are both good sleepers naturally and there is probably only so much a parent can do to get their child to sleep if it isn't in them to sleep.

Memorial day weekend

we had a nice weekend. we tried to stay busy but respectful of naptime and i think we did a pretty good job.
The boys have been waking up really early on weekends - between 5-6am. On Saturday we got up and went down to ride the train in Boulder City and then went to lunch. We got home and everyone laid down for a nap while Chandler went to the gym. I went to visit Dana in the hospital after she had her twins on Friday. That night Chandler and I got a babysitter for the boys and went to the movies!! woohoo!!
Sunday we were once again up early and took our bagels and coffee over to see Lindsey, Noah, Rylie and Grandma after Grandma had an evening in the hospital for her leg. Cash and I ended up spending the entire day with them while Chandler and Cooper spent some time together at home. I took Rylie and Cash to the movies and then they played together all afternoon.
Monday we didn't do much except for errands and played and napped.
The boys were really good and everyone was really relaxed tonight as we wound down our long weekend.

Chandler and I realized this weekend that Cooper is starting to string two words together. "Hi Cash", "go there" and others. He's a great little boy. so fearless and loving. He offers hugs and kisses and loves to be with his mommy. He's just the right mixture of rugged little boy and sweetheart. Today i caught him climbing on top of his play kitchen. he also loves to play in the car. he sits in the drivers seat and pushes all the buttons and turns the steering wheel.

Cash on the other hand is still a piece of work. He's as smart as a whip. He is learning his letters and actually is starting to write them. today he showed me a "C" and an "S" that he drew. But he's runs so hot and cold. I actually think he's got a bit of my personality because he does really good until he gets hungry and then it's all over. Cash is hitting Cooper much more than i would like. He will just swing at Cooper when he's walking by or feels like Cooper is going to get his stuff. We are working on what he "should" do when he feels like hitting Cooper but he's still working on it. we'll continue positive reinforcement which seems to work wonders on this kid.
Cash is also starting to fib and while i shouldn't be surprised, i really don't want him to do this. He lied to daddy today when he was asked if he hit Cooper and he lied to me about drawing on the couch - when he was holding the orange marker. i know it isn't malicious so now he just has to learn that its ok to tell the truth and apologize.

I-teeth

Cooper has been working on his incisors for a while now. Cooper teething has been so much more of a process than Cash. i remember that Cash would just wake up with teeth and we would have no idea they were even coming. with Cooper you know they are coming and it takes forever. they do that thing where they appear one day and the next day the gums are so swollen they disappear and then they have to come back up all over again.
right now he has 4 very puffy spaces between is group of front teeth and his first molars. he doesn't get cranky too much but when he does it isn't pretty. hopefully they'll be all in soon and we wont have to worry about it anymore. but for now he'll chew on his fingers or toes or anything in his reach.
Even Emma at daycare says to watch out for Cooper because he bites.

Cash the teacher

Even though they can fight a lot there are times when the boys are really sweet to each other. The other morning they were sitting together and Cash was asking Cooper to repeat after him. he would say, "Cooper, say dog." and Cooper would say "dog." They went on like this for probably 20 minutes until Cash got into some really hard phrases. I could tell Cooper liked the attention from Cash and Cash loved the immediate feedback from his brother.
I told Cash he was being such a good teacher and he informed me that he wasn't a teacher. He was just a little boy and teachers are big boys.

Speaking of them fighting and repeating words...Cash and Cooper will get into "NO" screaming matches that seem to go on forever. Cash was scream "NO" at Cooper for doing something Cash doesn't want him to do - probably taking a toy or something. And Cooper will hunker down, put his hands on his knees and say, "NO" right back. they will do this back and forth until Cooper starts laughing.

Cash is also starting to push or hit Cooper for no reason. Just walking by he'll push/shove him which i don't like at all and we're going to nip it in the bud quickly. i hope. the problem is that Cooper will copy Cash and hit/shove back and i'm not sure how to discipline Cooper yet.

weekend update

we had a really nice weekend. and that makes all the difference to go to work/school on Monday. here's your blow by blow recap:

• Friday, Sylvia was closed so i took the day off to spend with the boys. i must do this more often because it makes Cash so happy and i can tell a difference in him when he thinks that we are staying home to do something special together. I took the boys out to get a bagel for breakfast where we saw Jim and Mari Germain. Then, we met up with a friend of mine, Angie, and her two little boys Gavin (3) and Hunter (1) at the Springs Preserve. It was a really nice morning and only slightly warm. We played at the playground for a little while and then went and explored in the museum part of the preserve. We did some activities and then saw some cool lizards, scorpions, tortoises, a grey fox and bunnies. We stayed until lunch time and then came home to eat and nap. Everyone was so good and well behaved.


• Saturday, we got up and loaded into the car to grab some doughnuts and took the boys out to Calico Basin to run around on the boardwalk. We are almost at the point where we can walk a train but not quite yet. the best part was chasing the lizards. Cash would crouch down and watch them for a while and then Cooper would stomp in and try to grab them. Very telling of their personalities. The boys got hot and tired so they waited in the picnic area while Slider and I ran up the trail to the top of the basin rim. it was so beautiful up there, next time i'll pack my camera. Saturday afternoon/evening I had Dana's baby shower (which was great) back out at a friend's house at, of all places, Calico Basin. So i spent the most beautiful part of the day sipping sangria up in the Red Rocks which Chandler and the boys were home - napping and not napping.


• Sunday we celebrated Lindsey Loop's nuptials with a family breakfast. Since Chandler was such a good guy pitching in for a much longer than expected "mommy's afternoon out" on Saturday, i let him off the hook so he could get some things done. And The boys and i went to breakfast without daddy. We had a nice breakfast and once again, there was no fighting, screaming and everyone listened and did what i asked. Cash and Rylie played for a while after breakfast and then we went home to take naps. Once the boys woke up we took them out to Bonnie Springs to see the animals and ride the train. the really loved it. Cash is always cautious around the animals and likes the more docile ones but Cooper will just go right up to anything. at one point we turned around and Cooper had gone under the stanchion, right up to the bobcat cage and was sticking his finger through petting the bobcat. Chandler and i both jumped about a mile in the air. Cooper was the perfect height to get under the ropes so he got a lot more "petting" out of the petting zoo than the other kids. he even tried to climb into the pen with a reindeer.


• Sunday night everyone slept really well!

Cooper is incredibly verbal these days. it makes things simultaneously easier and harder. for the most part he can tell you what he wants but if there's a word we can't quite figure out he gets very frustrated because in his head he's saying the word.
some of Coops favorites:
Cash - sounds more like Ash
Daddy
Mommy - finally!
Eat
Juice
Milk
Snack
Shoes
Socks
No - no no no and shaking his head
up
Eat - he says this one a lot
Bye-Bye - as soon as you put his shoes on he b-lines to the door, waving and saying bye bye
nigh-nigh
book
bottle
blankie

the other night Cash hit 6 home runs in a row! we lost a few of the balls but it was worth it to see how happy it made him. Chandler really does well at pitching to him.

we are hoping to switch the boys to a new preschool/daycare in the fall. we love Ms. Sylvia and are so thankful she's in our lives but we are ready for the boys to be in a learning environment. UNLV has one of the best preschools in the city and the school that Chandler is working at next year is on the UNLV campus and right next door.
We are #1 and #3 on the waiting list.
you can check out the school's website here.

the other night we went to the desert to throw rocks and give Chachi a little exercise. on the way home the dog was tired and panting. Cash totally blew us away by explaining that dogs get hot and their fur makes them hot and they sweat through their tongues.
he is so smart these days. and he also hears everything you say. so we're being very deliberate with our words.
Cash is starting to learn his letters and letter sounds.

Cooper-Cat

Cooper is copying everything that Cash does. right down to bad habits. Cooper says "no" and pushes when he doesn't like something. He is sneaky and mischievous. He will steal things and run away and hide. He's trouble. And fast. Chandler and I always talked about how slow Cash was when he was little. He never ran. Cooper is the opposite. He runs everywhere! and i think he's kind of fast.
He loves to read books. and he is starting to be funny. He will babble something and then crack himself up. like his own little personal joke. He's sweet and loving but also rough and tumble.
Cooper never minds getting dirty - another complete 180 from his brother!