Something new everyday...

Me: [to Bryce] That is a big toe you have there.

Bryce: No it is not, that is a "sumb piggy"

Me: A what?

Bryce: [holding up his thumb] A "sumb piggy", it looks just like my "sumb"

You learn something new from a 4 year old everyday!

Decoded by Nana!

Today after church, as always we were deciding where we should eat lunch. Before the question could be met with the usual round of "I don't care, wherever you want to go"s, Bryce pipes up (shocker right?).

Bryce: I know where I want to eat!

Me: Where is that?

Bryce: That place that you go the other way, not to our house

Me: Where? Give us a little more help.

Bryce: You know, you go that way (his arm went straight out in front of him) and they have chips.

Me: What it it called?

Bryce: I don't know but they have chips and crackers that are orange.

Me: Okay, what do you like there?

Bryce: Not just bread (with his hands making a box around his face)

So, I was thoroughly confused. And Mom who was listening to all of this thought a minute and said, " I think I know what he is talking about"

Nana: Is it Subway buddy?

Bryce: That's it!

To clarify, you turn the opposite way out of the church parking lot to go to Subway than you to to go home, he likes chips...anywhere, we had cheddar Sun Chips the last time (they do resemble crackers), and he would rather eat chips and stuff and not "just bread" (his sandwich I guess)

Thanks for the interpretation Nana!

"Mystery Lunch"

Tuesday was a school day for Bryce and on school days, he functions best if I let him come home and watch TV for just a little while before dinner. He knows though that during dinner is family time to talk about his day at school and he has to answer questions about his day. I ask him usually the same questions, "who did you play with?", "what did you do that was fun?", "what was for snack?", and "what was for lunch?" Here is how it went on Tuesday...

Me: So, Bryce, what was for lunch today?

Bryce: Two things I did not like...green beans [this is true] and some kind of cereal stuff

Me: Cereal for lunch? [this is not normal at school]

Bryce: Yeah, some kind of cereal with stuff on it

At this point I was very confused and couldn't stand it, I got up from the table and went to the refrigerator to the lunch menu and snickered to myself when I read the lunch for the day...

Me: Could it have been Spaghettios?

That is right, it was. No wonder he didn't want to eat it, he thought it was Cheerios with red sauce...

I'm Back!

Okay, okay, I know it has been forever since I posted anything! Time gets away from me when I have these two guys to keep me busy. Let's see, what has been going on with us...

Well, Collin is growing like a weed! He is now at a whopping 26 pounds at just 8 months old! He is making it near impossible to carry him around for very long! But the little guy loves to eat! He takes right around 24 ounces of formula a day and then we go through about 5 jars of 2nd stage baby food a day too. I haven't found anything he won't eat. Then on top of that, he has started some finger foods snacks and we can't forget the Baby Mum Mums! They are rice cake like sticks that he can hold and eat and they dissolve almost immediately in his mouth! He loves them! He is sitting up very well on his own and I am sure any day now we will be in the mobile stage. He is not crawling but he would love to be! If for no other reason, just to get to Bryce's cars!

Bryce is still a reluctant preschooler! He likes it more than he will let on but he still is not pumped when Tuesday and Thursday mornings roll around! He is getting into video games since we got a Wii for Christmas. Mater Nationals and now Mario Kart pretty much consume his thoughts often!

I have to share a couple of Bryce stories though...

Bryce doesn't like change! If something is different or you want him to do something a different way he usually has a meltdown! So imagine the surprise of my husband when he walked into the bathroom to find Bryce on the stool with the sink plugged up and full of water and he was lapping the water out of the sink like a dog! And to top it all off, his response to "what are you doing?" was "there was no cup." We usually keep a small disposable cup in the bathroom and there wasn't one there! So, no matter how much he doesn't like change, he is still a little boy and will seize the opportunity to do something possibly messy and slightly outside the house rules. (He is really not supposed to use the drain stopper)

Bryce is also, as I mentioned, in love with Mario Kart for the Wii. After church on Sunday he wanted to play and we wanted him to eat first. His response was "I wish I had something to feed me while I played, like a machine" We started laughing because Bryce would be the one to invent something like that, he has tried to get out of feeding himself from day one! So we told him that he could be an inventor when he grew up. But I told him that God had really already "invented" something for that and it was called his arms and hands. He didn't go for that! (that would mean that he had to wait to play games while he fed himself) And he said he didn't want to wait until he grew up he wanted to invent it now. So we told him to go at it. And his reaction to that..."uh, hello, a little help here." Oh, what a fun boy he is!

Bryce's Program

Hey all! Bryce had his Christmas program at Temple Tots on Friday and did a great job! He looked very comfortable on stage! He kept telling us he was singing so loud and that he really did a good job. I was in a tough spot to take pictures and had Collin with me so luckily Nana had come too and brought her camera so you can check out more on her blog if you haven't already.
http://www.pattyarrick.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much Nana!!!

Okay, for those of you who have not seen this yet, I had to give out a little Christmas cheer! It is okay to laugh, get hysterical even, I do. I love these guys to pieces and right now they could not be more different. Bryce, we cannot convince that eating is important and Collin, we cannot fill him up. I decided yesterday that I am not buying anymore "first" jars of baby food. We have plowed right through to the second jars and mind you two of those at a time!!! I don't know what we are going to do. I hope he stays that way though. Bryce is very difficult when it comes to meal times! Anyway here Bryce at all of 33 pounds is trying to hold up his whopping 22 pound baby brother. Bryce loves Collin so much though, he loves to make him laugh and sing to him!

This is the yearly "picture in front of the tree" for 2008. The day we put up our tree Bryce ran for 4 hours without stopping he was so excited! He is so pumped for Christmas this year. I have never seen anything like it! He is obsessed with Santa Claus. I know that there are debates back and forth about kids and Santa but I watch Bryce's eyes and think that there are so many years for the tough stuff of life right now at 4 he believes in magic and I really can't take that from him! But he is so very excited!

Jennifer, here is a great one for you (I almost called you with this one the other night). Bryce along with several other TFC and Olympian children is going to be a sheep in the program at church and we have been talking it up forever. Dress rehearsal was Sunday night and I mistakenly thought "no problem" and focused my attention on my singing and "Baby Jesus" (Collin). To my surprise I looked back to find my little sheep not wanting to come up the aisle and then crying and disrupting the entire herd of sheep and shepherds. So, in swoops Mommy and takes him out to talk. When I asked what the problem was, the answer was so simple, "Mommy, I don't want the other kids to be sheep with me, because I like Nana", now if anyone understands this you are doing better than me. And then to get the sympathy vote, "I am just a little too nervous for this"! He went to the Christmas party downstairs and played games and ate with the other kids after this so I don't forsee the same problem next week for the actual program but seriously could he be more unpredictable?

One more, Bryce told Josh that they had birthday cake at the party and Josh said "who was it for buddy?" and Bryce answered, "it was for Jesus...but we ate it" Just to clear it up, Baby Jesus never showed up to eat that cake!

Interview with a preschooler

The other day I convince Bryce to let me interview him so, we could remember the things that he liked when he was 4 years old here is how that went...

What is your name? Well, it is really Incredible Hulk but my boy name is Bryce Greene

Age: "sor" (4)

When I grow up I will...do grown up stuss (stuff) like take a shower

Favorite food: sticks and cheese, celery but not bananas (guess what was for lunch)

Favorite drink: uh, hello, apple juice

Favorite thing about school: stopping at the grocery store and getting things we need for dinner [this has happened once] and saying our alphabet

When I get in trouble I feel...bad, really bad

What makes you happy? You [Mommy] being nice to me and Daddy sighting (fighting) me

Favorite thing to do at home: playing and finding Mighty Mac

Best friend: Andrew [Beckett]

Favorite place to go: the store...Walmart to look at something

Kids need...shoeboxes (guess he got into Operation Christmas Child) Hey, nobody gave me a shoebox

I love...new Indiana Jones guys and new Incredible Hulk huys

Favorite thing to do with Mommy: learning

Favorite the to do with Daddy: wrestle

Best part about Collin: sharing

Favorite book: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles books

Favorite Movie: Thomas, the one where Salty has the ocean cars with a shark and octopus and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Favorite place to eat: Bob Evans

Favorite thing to wear: Pajamas and Superheros shirt