What Davy's Doing

Davy has done more jobs and obeying Mom to earn a Cranky the Crane (character from Thomas the Train).  I found a used Cranky on eBay for $13 (new in stores $40), but it was still a long time being earned because it was a much bigger reward than usual.  Davy stuck with it quite well, though toward the end it helped to have the toy visible on the top of the fridge to motivate him.  He was thrilled the day he finished earning his toy and got to play with it for the first time.

Davy loves making "nests" for himself and his animals.  All the pillows and blankets in our house get heaped in one place, then Davy and company nestle in the middle.  Very cute.  All the pictures below are pretty much the same, but I couldn't pick between them so you get everything.

Davy loves this horse, Samson.  My mom recently sent some gorgeous boy dolls (the toddlers from American Girl twins) and Eddy loves them, feeding, rocking and strolling them around.  But Davy declared that he doesn't need the doll because he already has a baby--Samson.  I'm sure Iver (we named the dolls the boys' middle names so I could remember) will grow on Davy in time.  I'm just happy he has his "lovey."

This past week I apparently only took pictures of Davy.  I have no idea why.  Perhaps because he'll actually stay still for the second it takes to capture a shot where Eddy is so busy and on the go.  However, as I was reviewing the pictures and the number of Davy-heavy posts on this blog I realized that at some point in the future our children may try to use this blog as proof of favoritism.  All I can say is that from my observation and experience oldest children just have a head start on the number and frequency of pictures and other attention.  But younger children have the benefit of more experienced and relaxed parenting and cool older siblings.  So I think it all evens out.  Still, perhaps I'll try to focus more on Eddy pictures and stories next week!

This was one of the precious moments of the week.  I was putting Eddy down for a nap and came out to find this cozy scene.  My heart leapt in my throat as I saw Davy as much in love with books as I am.  I sneaked back for my camera and caught these before he noticed me.  Just call me super stealth mom.

Not Much to Report

I did a little housekeeping on the blog.  New background and layout always make me feel better (it's the semblance of actually doing something productive rather than the truth that I'm avoiding being truly productive!).  Other than that it's been a pretty quiet week.  Some great playing outside in the warm sunshine, some escaping the cold wind and rain inside, a Primary activity, and lots of ignoring the children while I read for hours.  No, scratch that.  Not really ignoring.  If they came to me with something they needed of course I took care of it.  Just not so much engaging and playing spontaneously.  In my defense, there've been some hard-to-put-down books, all come in at once from the library.

Eddy has been beyond adorable with his growing ability to communicate.  Still mostly signs and syllables that we are supposed to recognize.  We do recognize them most of the time, and he understands and obeys so well most of the time.  But my favorite is when he is a little wild or rough and I say, "Eddy, be gentle, please," and Eddy immediately signs, "sorry."  I'm not sure how he put those choice and consequence together so smoothly as I haven't coached him on it.  Such a sweet boy.

The boys found some sort of bug and were playing with it, poor thing.

We get comments all the time how similar the boys look.  We've even had people ask recently whether they are twins.   Sure, I say, twins separated by two years.

 The children's favorite part of the Primary activity was definitely the ice cream sundaes.  It was a "choose your own adventure" theme, so the kids got to choose their own toppings.  The treat came around 5:30 and more than one mom commented to us (members of the presidency) about that fact.  For myself, I was happy not to worry about dinner!

I'm converted

to Scripture Scouts.  I'd never heard of it til I met Collin.  He grew up with it in his home.  Often his parents would turn it on while the kids were sent to bed.  Collin and siblings can quote the whole thing and I had no clue what they were all laughing about (actually, that's pretty common, but that's another post).  So for Christmas I got the Book of Mormon Scripture Scout CDs for the boys and we've been listening to them non-stop in the car since.  I laugh out loud, choke up and tear up (bad for driving), and Davy and I sing along to our favorites.  I have felt the Spirit many times and I know that my boys are too, partially because they are so quiet while the CDs are on!  So, I now have a testimony of Scripture Scouts, though I can't quote every line Collin can.

to apple cider vinegar.  My mom has been a fanatic for a while now.  I've used it to kill colds, and now I love it as a facial astringent.  My face is a lot clearer these days.  Weird and gross I know (Collin reminds me every day on this one as he gags at the smell) but totally works.

to global warming.  Or whatever the heck is going on in New England right now.  It's incredible!  What a winter, and now it's spring!  The boys and I were outside all day today and I opened a window to let the warm breeze into the house.  Bliss.  On our walk this morning we saw crocuses blooming and daffodils on their way up.  Still planning on one last cold spell, but nothing can dampen my glorious joy at the weather!

Hoodwinked by DST

We woke up this morning to Eddy whimpering from his bed.  For the past few days, he had been waking up at 5:30am, so we were happy to see that this time he made it all the way to 6:45am, according to Rachel's phone.  Rachel and the boys got up to have breakfast while Collin stayed in bed for a few extra minutes -- except Collin didn't wake up again until 8am.  It wasn't until 8:30am that Collin realized we had never changed the clocks for daylight savings, so the reality was that the boys had gotten us up at 5:45am.  No wonder Collin slept in as "late" as he did.  And no wonder Rachel has gone back to bed for another hour.

Yesterday was a nice Saturday break from any obligations.  We took it slow and planned for some time at the church (while Rachel used the library to prepare her Primary sharing time) as well as a park outing with the boys (it's all the way up to 45 degrees -- why not?).  There's a really neat park in Arlington up by the temple, known as the "Big Slide" park for the 40-ft slide running down the side of a hill.

The view from the park is incredible as you can see the entire Boston skyline and out to Boston harbor.  One of these years, we plan to watch the 4th of July fireworks from here.

Back at the house, we had a little indoor playing time.  This video doesn't show the best side of Davy, but at least gives a pretty realistic view of a brotherly relationship still in development.  :)  It's hilarious that Eddy was no where near the tower when it fell, but was still blamed for it!

Earlier in the week, Rachel and the boys took a trip to Drumlin Farm.  It was a warm but muddy day.  The boys loved seeing the two-day-old lambs and funny baby goat kids who were gallivanting around their field.  There were rocks to climb, fences to peer through, and muddy puddles to stomp in.  Couldn't have asked for a nicer morning!

 

Day at the Museum

 

Yesterday was our first Saturday in a while that Collin was home with us.  The company filed its whatever document on Tuesday, so Collin is free!  We celebrated by spending a rainy morning at the MFA in Boston.  The boys and I have been quite a few times on weekday mornings (since Grandma gave us a membership for Christmas!!), so Davy played our tour guide.  We showed Dad all our favorite places in the Egyptian wing and a scary shark painting by Copley in the American Art section, then discovered a new part of the museum with the help of a scavenger hunt provided by the museum's "art cart."  The boys loved the model ship gallery with giant pull-out drawers full of treasures.  Perfect morning.  The day continued to be ideal as we all took deep and peaceful naps that afternoon, woke to a clear and warm afternoon, and took a walk to help a friend move an armoire.  The friends then invited us to candlestick bowling and yummy organic flatbread pizza at a little place in Sommerville that we would never have found on our own.  All in all, a perfect day.