For those of you who don't know, I have four brothers. I fall right in the middle. My baby brother's given name is Andrew. My brother Tom nicknamed him Biff and it stuck. He went by Biff when we were kids and he still does. He just arrived in town from Iraq last night. I got to see him today and it was great! He is just home for a visit and then he is back to Iraq. This has been his second deployment. When he's through, he'll have spent three years there. So, here is a a special Thanks, to you Biff, for serving! Thanks for fighting for our safety and freedom!!!

So as soon as Riley saw him he wanted to wrestle, and wrestle they did. This evening while the boys were getting ready for bed Riley says to me,

Riley: Mom? Sometimes I just touched Uncle Biff and he said, 'You got me.' Why did he say that?

Me: I don't know. You will have to ask him.

Riley: I think it's because I have 'THE FORCE!'

It was so cute because he was so serious and so believing. I love that about kids.

This afternoon Jeremy was building with blocks. Tyler and I were watching him, just as requested. Then I stood up and told him I had to go get Tyler some sock. Jeremy says,

"Is that because he has naked toes?"

It brought a smile to my face.

Buddies

Today was a fun day. This afternoon Ethan and Cole came over. We played at the park for close to 3 hours. It was great!

Jeremy cracks me up sometimes. Last night he woke up around midnight and called for me. I went in. He asked me to lay down with him for a little bit. I did. Not three mintues later he says,

" I"m done with you now."

I asked if he wanted me to leave. He said yes.

The other day Riley said to me, "Mom, I don't play at school."

So I asked him why. (it is preschool and I know they do some playing.)

He replied, "I don't play much because I just love doing projects. I never want to stop."

Riley is super artistic and doing projects is one of his very favorite things.

Tyler loves to swing.

I love it when it takes his breath away.

Tyler is getting so active. He is 8 months old now. Time sure flies. He isn't crawling but it won't be long. He is all over the place, rolling and scooting around. He is so sweet. He loves his brothers so much. He gets so exciting just seeing them, even if they aren't looking at him. When they look at Tyler and talk to him, Tyler is beside himself. He is completly elated. It is so very precious.

This picture of Tyler reminds me of Jeremy.

This one reminds me of Riley.

Brothers

not yet potty trained

Some time ago, Jeremy was completely pee potty trained. Since he refused to do the other, we postponed. For the last month we've been talking about how when Jeremy is 3 he will go in the toilet. Before that day came, he was excited about it. He turned 3 yesterday. He informed me this morning, 'I'm not 3, I"m not. I"m 2. I'm not big, "Im small.' He keeps telling me that. As a result of him still being 2 : ) , He is not using the toilet. So I guess we're at square one again. I knew it was wishful thinking but hey, what can I say.

Return of the Spiders

During the last month and a half, we have been hearing a lot about 'the spiders.' They seem to be the explanation for when Jeremy doesn't know how something happened.

One day Jeremy was looking for a costume. It wasn't in the costume bucket downstairs or where he left it. I told him to check in the basket on his bookcase (in his room). He says, "noooo!" like it's not there. I told him again to go check. He did. Then he exlaims, "The spiders put it there!"

We have a side table that sits in our hall upstairs by the kids bathroom. I keep Jeremy's diapers and wipes it. I frequently send Jeremy to go get a diaper for himself. The last time he had done it that day, he left the drawer open. When I noticed it, I closed the drawer. Jeremy discovered, some time later, that it had been closed. He said while nodding his head, "The spiders closed it!"

On this same day, when Jeremy had last been in my room, there were no toys on the floor. While Jeremy was playing downstairs, I took Tyler upstairs with me for about five minutes while I put a load of clothes away. During that time, I put a few toys on the floor for Tyler to play with. We left them there. Later when Jeremy went upstairs with us he saw them. In surprise he said, "Look! The spiders got these out!" The rest of the conversation goes like this.

me: Where are the spiders?

Jeremy: (eye brows furrowed, you can tell he's thinking) I'll show you!

I follow him into the bathroom. He points his finger all around as if he's deciding as he's telling me. Then he points into the toilet.

Jeremy: In there.

As you could probably imagine, those spiders get the blame everytime Jeremy discovers that the toilet hasn't been flushed.

Jeremy: The spiders did that!

Jeremy is very expressive and contemplative when he talks. Today, I decided to ask him about those spiders again. I didn't realize until after it was done that the file is too big to upload. Does anyone know how to make it smaller? If there is a way to make it smaller you will hear more about where 'the spiders' live. They have a new home.

Jeremy cracks me up!

I haven't been blogging for way too long. I have been writting little stories down on scraps of paper here and there. So I have a bit of catching up to do. Here is a start.

Before I tell you this story, there are a few things you need to know.
1. We can tell Jeremy has had too much dairy by his diaper. Enough said, right?!
2. Riley is a hall monitor
3. You have to really choose wisely when picking battles with Jeremy.

I was holding Tyler while I was trying to throw dinner together. Jeremy recognized the opportunity, and acted. As he goes for his thrid gogurt, Riley is frantically informing Jeremy and I that he can't have anymore. The conversation goes like this,

Riley: Jeremy! You can't have anymore yogurt.

Jeremy: Yeeees! I CAN!

(meanwhile I'm trying to decide if I want to let this one go or not)

Riley: It will make you sick!

Jeremy: Noooo

Riley: It will make you sick Jeremy! Right Mom?!

Me: Weeeell. It won't make him sick but it will give him diahrea.

Riley: Yeah Jeremy, it will give you diahrea!

Jeremy: Noooo

Me: Yes it will give you diahrea!

Riley: See Jeremy!

Jeremy: I want diahrea! I do!

He said it as if, "I"m aware of the risk and I"m willing to take that chance." It made me laugh. Jeremy is so funny!

Happy Birthday Jeremy

Jeremy had to have these 3D glasses for his party!

We had tons of fun! Jeremy wanted a pinjata. I was surpised that when it came down to doing it he only took two hits and was done. He woke up at 5:45 am. I think he was tired. We still had fun playing, opening presents and eating cake and ice cream. Jeremy is 3 and so excited!

Still under construction...

I was searching all over the net for cute backrounds. This is the cutest one I could find that isn't too girly. I love things that are really girly but since I have three boys, I thought I should avoid that route. Sorry to copy you Mahina. It was my favorite one. But I did pick one that was a little bit different. What can I say, You have great taste!

I'm still working on making some changes. I will be back blogging soon. I"ve been in a stand still since January. Too long, I know. My excuse, my camera battery charger broke. I didn't replace it right away because I wanted to see if it could be fixed. Now here we are in May and I just got it replaced. Soooo, I'm back. I will be making more changes and adding more posts very soon. So stay tuned!

I found this great backround at
http://www.leeloublogs.blogspot.com/
They're super cute and Free!