Christopher's Blog

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New saying

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:17:00 +0000

Cloosty has a new saying appropriate for those WTF moments:

"What the darnit?!"

;D

What's your favorite movie?

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:51:00 +0000

Cloosty's favorite movie was Cars.

But he's matured in his taste. His new favorite movie is: Starship Troopers

*sigh*

What's your favorite color?

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:58:00 +0000

Christopher's favorite color is chocolate. :)

MMmmm... buffalo chips

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 03:03:00 +0000

Scene: In the car on the way home from Grandpa's house.

Pete and I are talking about how expensive groceries are and what coupons I used this morning at Publix.

Me: The most expensive thing I bought was that candy (for Booing* someone at work)
Pete: Really?
Me: Yeah
Sarah: What candy? (her innate candy detector is always alert)
Me: Candy? Huh?
Sarah: What candy?
Me: Oh, it's icky candy. The kind of candy little kids don't like. It's made of rocks and sticks.
Pete: Yeah. And worms and bugs and mud and bits of grass.
Me: And dirt and cow patties.
Pete: Oh the horror! Cow patties!
Sarah: No it isn't!
Me: Do you know what cow patties are?
Sarah: Yes! Cow poo!
Pete: How do you know that?
Sarah: I just do.
Pete: Would you eat cow patties?
Sarah: Ewww! No!
Cloosty: I would eat a cow patty!

The three of us burst into laughter.

Pete: You like cow poo?
Cloosty: Naw! Not cow poo!

We start talking about buffalo poo aka buffalo chips

Sarah: I like chips!
Pete: You like buffalo chips?
Sarah: No! Those are poo! I like regular chips! What are they made of?
Me: Potato chips? Potatoes.
Pete: Or corn.
Cloosty: I like chips, too!
Pete: You like buffalo chips?
Cloosty: Yeah!
Pete: But they're made of poo! You would eat poo?
Cloosty: Yeah! It's made of yummy poo!

We all burst into laughter again.

Ahhh... the memories we'll have. ;)

*Booing = secretly giving presents of candy and cute Halloween crap to people at work. Normally, at our office at least, when you get booed, you have to reciprocate to 2 other people.

School Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Here are Cloosty's school pictures. Let me tell you - these may be the only way you get to see them - what they are charging for them this year is highway robbery!

Thankfully, the teachers were able to cover up his glued-up boo boo from the day before.

Head banger

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:55:00 +0000

So... I get a call from Cloosty's school yesterday morning.

School: Ma'am, Cloosty fell in the gym and hit his head. He's bleeding. You need to come get him.

Aw, man!

The story is he was chasing a ball, got tripped up with it, and ran into a metal support pole. He hit it so hard, he bounced off and was knocked backwards a bit.

When I picked him up, he was in the office, holding an ice bag to his forehead. It's not a big gash, but the it's third one he's had up on that noggin. We went to the doctor where they glued him back together:

Looks very ouchy

Up close

And while these look like mug shots, I managed to unstick some of the hair that got glued down, so he doesn't look too bad today. They also had to shave some hair off. He got the "Best Patient Ever" award, too - such a good boy!

The kicker - picture day is tomorrow.

Dammit.

Let's Rock & Roll with the Ramones!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:04:00 +0000

Know what Cloosty's favorite song is?

Rock & Roll Radio by the Ramones - turned up really loud in the car.

(You can't really see the video, but the music's there... sorry.)

Dinnertime Conversation

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:36:00 +0000

Scene: The family is sitting at the dinner table, enjoying a home-cooked meal. Mommy is wearing a Faded Glory T-shirt with a distressed US flag in the shape of the country on it.

Cloosty: (pointing to my shirt) Mommy, you broke your American flag?
Me: No, it came like that.
Cloosty: You want another one?
Me: Do you have another one?

He starts to grunt, reaching under his bottom.

Cloosty: Yeah.
Me: Do you have one in your butt?
C: Yeah (grunting)
Daddy: You have American flags in your butt?
C: (with a hug grin) Yeah! Ta-da! (Lifts up an empty hand, but there is a pretend American flag in it). Here you go, Mommy.

Ahhh... such clean family fun at the dinner table.

Happy Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:13:00 +0000

Happy Birthday, Cloosty! It doesn't seem that it's been three years since you came into the world, but it has. You are such a big boy - always stating that "I do it by myself, Mommy."

You are also such a joy to be with. You're very loving and a great snuggle bug. I love spending time with you. You're silly and funny, inquisitive and curious, fearless and brave (except when it comes to thunder and dark rooms), and you love your sister with all your heart even though you two fight like cats and dogs sometimes.

Things you love: Superman, flags, Lightning McQueen, Cars (the movie), celery, carrots, Thomas, Blue's Clues, your "big shoes," swimming, chewing gum, bubbles, Scooby-Doo, balloons, The Incredibles, hitting the ball (baseball), dump trucks, and anything Sarah likes/has. ;)

You amaze me every day with the things you know and say. Why just last night you said to me, "I have an idea. How about..." and rubbed your chin in thought. It made me smile. A phrase you've been using lately, or at least saying differently, is "o-KAY!" as if you are just exasperated.

You had your fist "official" trip to the dentist a couple of weeks ago and you were a champ! Just like your sister, who is a great role model, you hopped up in the chair, opened your mouth, and followed Miss Kim's directions to a tee. You never fail to impress me.

You still need help with a few things, but you're getting there. Sometimes it's hard to do them, but as you grow, you'll be able to do them easily.

Happy Birthday, Cloosty! I love you!

More vocabulary

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:39:00 +0000

Here's another one:

Spidermans - vitamin

"Mommy, I want a spidermans."

Yellow car!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:59:00 +0000

Did you ever play games in the car when you went on a long trip with your family? One my siblings and I played was "Beevah" or "Beaver" for those of us without New England accents. Hehe. My sister, Becky, learned to talk when my family lived in Boston (before I was born) so she picked up a Boston accent. Therefore, she said "beevah" instead of beaver.

So what's a "beevah?"

A "beevah" is any car, usually a station wagon, with those "wooden" panels on the side. You don't see many of those these days, but back in the 70's and 80's they were everywhere.

Okay, so here's how the game went: You're driving down the road, and when you saw one of these cars you yelled out "Beevah!" I don't know if they kept score, but it was fun.

Becky and I modified it later to see who could find the most cars of their choice. She chose Monte Carlos while I chose VW Bugs. We were on the way to my grandmother's in Oxford and Becky was winning... until... we drove by this VW "graveyard" in Coldwater. Hehe... guess who won? ;)

Sarah and I have a variation of the game called "Yellow Car." We started this game when she was about 2 years old and taught it to Cloosty. Because you don't see as many yellow cars as you do red, black, white or blue cars, they are special. So when you see a yellow car/truck/van, you yell out "Yellow Car!" It's also great for teaching them about colors. And if you happen to spot an orange or even a purple car - WOW! That's EXTRA SPECIAL!

We don't keep score, it's just fun to spot them.

But now Cloosty has modified the game to "Mail Man!" or "Mail Truck!" You yell one of those out when you see a USPS vehicle, a UPS van, or a FedEx van. Oh, and there's also "Yellow School Bus!", MAX buses are just "Big School Bus!", and the short buses are "Little School Bus!" ;)

We play the game all the time - not just on long road trips. And I think for our trip down to the beach, I'll make up a sheet of paper with pictures of different things they need to look for. Examples: A flag, a bridge, a mail truck, a boat, etc. I think they'll like that. :)

Cute phrases

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Just a few of cute phrases Cloosty says:

"I not dirty. I dry." - I'm clean.

"I pick you up, Mommy" - Pick me up, Mommy.

"That's not very nice!" - When he doesn't get what he wants or if he's mad at you.

"I want to talk for (insert person's name here)" - When he wants to talk to someone on the phone.

"Sarah hit me!" - When he's mad at Sarah.

"I don't like _____" - When he doesn't want something, even if it's something he really does like.

Bye bye Pacifier!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:14:00 +0000

Cloosty has survived three weeks without his pacy.. pacie... passy... oh however you spell that!

Hooray!

He had a really rough time for a few days, crying out "Where's my pacy?!" and "I want my pacy!" He accused us of having it in our pockets, of it being behind his ear (ya know, the magic trick... "Where is that pacy? It's behind your ear!") and in his room. But alas, it was nowhere to be found.

In addition, he has been sneaking into our room in the middle of the night to sleep with us. Guess he's been waking up and can't find that comfort the pacy gave him and needs us. However, last night he slept in his bed all night! Hoping this is the norm now - he's as rough of a sleeper as his sister... kicking and pushing, etc.

And along with the absence of the pacy, so went the woobie. He carried one around for about a week, but it lost its attraction without the pacy. I gave him one yesterday because he was so grumpy and sleepy, but he put it down and forgot about it.

I felt so bad for him in the first few days. Just give my baby his pacy - he's so sad and lonely. :( Made me want to cry. But I was strong.. and Pete wouldn't let me cave in.

I'm proud of you, Cloosty. You've been a real trooper about the whole thing. And you're going to be just fine. I love you!

Who does this sound like?

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:05:00 +0000

Setting: Sarah & Cloosty are eating Valentine's candy at the kitchen table. Cloosty has asked her a question, but she has yet to answer....

Cloosty: Sarah Haddin! Did you hear me?!

Hmmm, I have no idea where he go that from....

/innocent, angelic look

;)

Pois' in eye!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Sarah likes to make experiments - just like I did when I was a kid. My method was to take a Dixie cup, run up to the bathroom and mix up all kinds of things: foundation, toothpaste, powder, Sea Breeze, pimple cream, Noxema... and stir it up with a Q-Tip. Oh, what fun! I'd never do anything with it.. just throw it away or pour it down the sink. But man, was it fun! If I was outside, I'd mush up monkey grass berries and mix it with dirt, crushed leaves, and whatever else I could find and add water, stirring with a stick. Whee! Sarah likes to mix up stuff in the kitchen. Mostly it's salt, pepper, garlic powder and whatever I will allow or what she can sneak.

Daddy and I cleaned out the fridge the other day and I found one of her experiments - salt, pepper and garlic powder. Thinking that I'd dispose of it later, I put it on the counter. Later that day, I was in the living room clipping coupons when I heard Cloosty practically screaming from the kitchen, obviously in pain. I ran in to find him holding the little cup with Sarah's experiment in one hand while fiercly rubbing his eyes with the other. "Mommy! In my eyes! In my eyes! It hurts!"

Ack! He had either sneezed, coughed or blown in that cup and gotten the spices in his eyes! I snatch up the cup, picked him up and drenched a paper towel. He wouldn't open his eyes enough for me to get water in them. I told Sarah to bring my eye drops and that seemed to help. I also soaked his woobie and let him wipe his eyes. After about 10 minutes or so, he was better - eyes a little puffy - but okay. It doesn't seem to have done any damage and I can only imagine how painful it was to have salt and pepper in his eyes! A slightly scary "I wish there was more I could do" moment, but we're all okay.

Tee Tee My Rug

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:40:00 +0000

Cloosty is the Potty Training Champion! It has been five weeks since we began the "heavy duty" potty training and he hasn't had an accident since... oh I guess three weeks ago! Let me tell you about that last one...

It was a Friday morning - I remember this because Daddy had already left for work (he leaves early on Fridays). I was in the shower and the kids were watching cartoons in my room. I had asked Cloosty if he needed to go potty when I got him up, but he said "No," so I decided I'd try again after I finished getting ready. However, before I could even finish washing my hair I hear, "Mommy! I wet Mommy!" Then he yanked back the shower curtain with big tears rolling down his cheeks and stiking his bottom out behind him, trying to get away from the wetness of his pants.

Me: Did you go potty?
Cloosty: Yeeess!
Sarah: (shouting) He tee teed on the rug!
Cloosty: I wet, Mommy!
Me: Okay, Sweetie. Sarah! Will you help him?
Sarah: (sighing) Okay.

She comes to help, but he won't have any of that!

Cloosty: No Sarah! Go 'way!
Me: Do I need to help you?
Cloosty: Yeess!

So I quickly finished up, dried off, got half-way dressed and got him and the carpet cleaned up. It wasn't that bad. When he realized what was happening, he stopped to let me know. He finished his business in the potty like a big boy.

A couple of weeks later, the four of us went out for dinner. On the way home I hear Cloosty singing "Tee tee my rug. Tee tee my rug. Tee tee my rug." We all had a big laugh and I haven't gotten him to sing it again.

He hasn't had an accident since. :)

Goodbye Pull-Ups!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:21:00 +0000

This past Friday, Cloosty had a note in his box at school from his teachers saying they think he is ready for heavy-duty potty training. Wheeee!

He's been super about going upon command, but it's just too tempting and easy for him to just go in his Pull-Ups. I bought him a few training pants a week ago or so and have him wear them on the weekends (with so-so success), but now it's time for training pants 24/7!

So Saturday, off I went to Evil-Mart and bought a handful of sweatpants, more training pants, socks and an extra pair of shoes for school.

Here's how the week has gone so far:

Monday - 3 accidents at school, dry at home.

Tuesday - Dry all night, 2 accidents at school, dry at home.

Wednesday - Dry all night, NO accidents at school, TOLD me twice at home he had to go, dry at home!!!!

Thursday - Dry all night... and we'll see how he's done at school this afternoon.

The important thing is that he's TELLING me when he has to go - not after he's wet his pants. YAYAYAYA!

So BYE BYE Pull-Ups! It's been nice knowin' ya, but you're not welcome here anymore.

:D

Sneaky sneak

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:20:00 +0000

Not unlike his sister, Christopher is super smart. It amazes me how smart these two kids are. Here he is, not even 2 1/2, and crafty as all get-out.

Prime example:

Cloosty has a pretty good bed-time routine and most of the time he's aggreable. He goes potty, puts on his jammies, brushes his teeth, we read a few books, I rock him for a little bit, and then in the bed he goes. However, over the past few weeks, he's figured out a sneaky way to delay the "rocking" and "getting into the bed" steps by telling me that "I go poo poo, Mommy."

Now understand that at first I was all about that! We've been working on potty training for a while now, but the goal now-a-days is telling us when he has to go before he messes his pull-up. So telling me that he has to go potty, especially poo poo, is FABULOUS! He actually did perform at least 5 times in the beginning and would try to for a few days after that, but then a light came on and he realized that "Hey, I won't have to go to bed just yet if I tell Mommy that I need to go."

Sneaky!

Similarly, when Sarah was this age, she, too, figured out how to, in her case, get something she wanted by telling us she needed to go potty - namely, M&Ms (or Sarah cookies as she called them). She came to the conclusion that if she just sat on the potty she would get candy. Little did she know that this was against the rules. She actually had to produce something in order to receive. But she's an opportunist and really damn cute AND she would use that to her great advantage! So she'd tell us, we'd go to the bathroom, and she wouldn't do anything, but demanded candy anyway, having a tantrum if she didn't get any.

And that's how parents learn. We have never offered Cloosty candy for going potty. And shame on us for doing that with Sarah. But I can't say, "No, you can't go potty," to him if he tells me he has to go - even if it's to get out of going to bed immediately... right? Bah, I'll let him go once, but not over and over again - and he's tried that, believe me! I definitely don't want to discourage going potty - especially number 2 - but I don't want him to think he's got the upper hand either. I'm sure, in time, he'll come up with another sneaky way - the sneaky sneak. ;)

New things

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:26:00 +0000

Cloosty has a few new things he likes or that he's doing (behaviorally):

Trucks!

Boy does he love trucks (TRWUCKS!). Fire trucks, dump trucks, cement trucks - you name it, he likes it. And he always uses the deepest voice he can muster to say "Wow! Look at dat DUMP TRWUCK! Hehe... it's hilarious! On top of that, he loves to PLAY with trucks. There are several large dump truck toys at school he plays with, which usually makes him very dirty at the end of the day. Digging in the pea gravel/dirt, shoveling it into the dump truck (or wheelbarrow - he likes those, too) is the best fun any little boy could have.

Frogs!

Cloosty is in love with frogs right now. FRAWGS, mommy! We have several toy frogs he likes to carry around or push in the stroller/buggie/wagon. "Look mommy! FRAWGS! BIBBIT!

Lulu!

Cloosty's class just got a rabbit names Lulu. Poor thing. She's terrified of all those screaming toddlers. But she didn't seem so freaked out yesterday when I petted her. Cloosty really likes her - "LULU, mommy! RABBIT!"

I luv you!

Awww, Cloosty's been telling me (and Daddy) "I luv you!" after you say it to him. One thing I like to do, which my dad did with me and still does, is say "I have a secret." Then whisper in your ear "I love you." You're supposed to whisper it back. Sarah and I do this and I'm working on it with the Rooster. He's catching on. :)

Mr. Defiant :(

Grrrr! I thought for sure that he of all people would skip this stage - my sweet little angel boy. But no... he's starting to be a stinky boy with his gripes and semi-tantrums. "NO Mommy!" Oh, believe me, this isn't the only thing he's doing - there are too many to list - but he still can't hold a candle to his sister. Heh - she's the queen! Well, he's gonna get some learnin', that's for sure. ;)

New pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:30:00 +0000

Here are some new pictures!

Hooray!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:09:00 +0000

Christopher has done two things over the past 15 hours that has made me jumpr for joy.

First:

Last night we ate dinner over at Grandpa's house. The kids both devoured the salmon (who knew?) with Sarah asking for seconds(!) and chowed down on the veggies. When Cloosty was finished, he and Sarah played under the dining table for a while - about 15 minutes or so - when Cloosty came up to me and said, "Poo poo, Mommy." I perked up. "Do you have to go poo poo?" I asked. "Yes." Wheee! Off we rushed to the bathroom. His pull-up was still dry! He sat on the potty and commenced pooping in the potty! YAYAYAYA! And good thing, too, because even though we remembered to bring his bag, there were no wipes and only old diapers (too small) in there. Whew!

This is the first time he has initiated going potty! I'm so proud. *sniffle* Keep your fingers crossed that this will be the norm. :)

Second:

This morning, after telling Cloosty's teacher about his fantastic bathroom performance last night, I kissed my precious boy good-bye and told him, "I love you." He gave me a little smile and whispered, "I luff you, Mommy." Awwww! That's the first time he's said that. Usually he's too shy to say it in front of his friends at school. Such a sweetie!

My kids impress me!

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:53:00 +0000

Last week, while Christopher and I were on "vacation," I decided he should get a really real haircut from my stylist. I realize that some people consider it "traditional" to take your young son to a genuine barber shop, but since I was getting my hair cut, too; and his first hair cut was free (can't pass that up), that we could skip the tradition and do what was more feasible and economical.

Anyway, you never know how a 2-year old is going to react in any given situation, but for some reason my kids (both of em) are able to shock and impress me whenever I think there are going to be tantrums, melt-downs and/or hysterics. For example, Sarah's first trip to the dentist - or more specifically, her first filling! Wow! I was expecting and bracing myself for the screaming hissy melt-down, but she just sat there without Novocaine and did everything the dentist said. She has been dubbed as the "Best Patient Ever." I know I was more nervous than she was. And she is the only kid I know who sings "I'm going to the dentist and you're not" to the tune of "nanny nanny boo boo." Is it the anticipation of getting to choose from the treasure chest at the end of the visit that prompts this behavior? Hmm, probably that and the fact that I don't make it into a big deal so she's not afraid. I've never said things like, "The dentist can be scary, but don't worry. It'll be okay." She's cool with it and that's fine by me.

Back to Cloosty and the haircut. I've been cutting his hair since... well, since he had his first haircut - duh. And I think I've done a pretty good job not mangling it too badly. It's not that easy when he's turning his head to look at his goofy sister and being silly himself. However, lately, he's been very good at sitting still on the (closed) toilet and letting me get most of the shagginess trimmed. Of course, as with Sarah & the dentist, when we arrived I had no idea how he was going to act. There was a little bit of a wait so he and I sat on the sofa and looked at magazines. He was being quite sociable (he tends to be shy) and having a good time. I saw him watching the other people getting their hair cut and he seemed quite interested. When it was his turn, he sat on a booster seat, was draped with a child-sized, jungle print smock and had not a glint of fear in his eye. He didn't whimper, reach for me or cry. He handed over the woobie and pacy without a fight and sat there quietly as Denise cut his hair. Wowow!

He was so good that he got to have a snack-sized bag of Cheetos. Then it was my turn. He followed us back to the hair washing station, sat across from me and would come wipe his cheesy hand on my towel while I was getting a washing. Hehe. :) During my haircut he played on the sofa and charmed a few people as well.

Here are some pictures.

I just hope he's a wonderful as his sister at his first trip to the dentist.

(crosses fingers)

What great kids!

A new means of potty training?

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 00:50:00 +0000

So I bought the biggest hooded cat box I could find the other day...

... for the cats.

Look at me!

Really, it's for the cats...

Check in time

noreply@blogger.com (Mandy) — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:12:00 +0000

Cloosty's favorite things right now:

Color - don't think he has one right now.
TV Show - He's not a big TV watcher, but he does like Oobie.
Food - Cheese (much to his father's dismay - hehehe), grapes, bananas, strawberries, noodles, corn, zuchinni, asparagus!, .
Time of day - All Day!
Book - So Big! and The Three Little Pigs (thanks SL!)
Friend - Emma
Place to go/play - He likes to be where I am and loves to play outside
Outfit - His Spiderman jammies and his new blue sneakers.
Toy - It's not really a toy, but he can't live without his Wooby.