Aaron the Whiner

Our sweet baby Aaron hit birthday #2 this summer and almost right away we saw the terrible 2s rear it's ugly head. Aaron has always been more temperamental than Peter, but the whiney-ness seems to be at an all time high recently. Lucky for Brett and I, he does pepper in some entertainment.

Here is a conversation we had with him on the way up to PA for Thanksgiving:

Scene - Aaron is in the back seat whining and we cannot understand anything he is saying.

Me - Aaron if you want to talk to Mommy and Daddy you need to used your words.

Aaron (in major whining voice) - I don't want to use my works.

Brett - Well Aaron if you don't stop whining and ask nicely for what you want we can't help you.

Aaron (in sweet baby voice) - Can I whine PLEASE Mommy and Daddy? Pleeeeease???

Cafe Press - LOVE IT

I just started a Cafe Press store. It was so fun to create, and now my items are for sale!

For the Washington Capitals Hockey Lover - http://www.cafepress.com/CapsSuperFan

Plus iPhone 4 cases can now be found at CafePress along with millions of personalized hoodies and 2011 calendars!

No Shortage of Self Confidence

The following are two conversations that happened this morning, abut 15 minute apart:

Peter was watching me get ready, and after observing me put on deodorant asked if he could try. I didn't see any harm, so we took off his PJ shirt and I let him swipe my deodorant under each of his arms. As soon as he was done, he takes in a big breath of confidence and says, "look at me Mommy, I am VERY handsome now!"

Soon after we were all sitting at the breakfast table talking about the difference between babies and big boys, when I asked Aaron, "Aaron, are you a baby or a big boy?"

"No, Mommy, I'm cute."

I couldn't agree more.

Bambi

This morning Peter asked to watch a new movie. After giving him a few choices from my childhood collection he picked Bambi.

After watching for about 20 minutes he turned to me and said, "Mommy, this movie is silly; deers can't talk!"

Very true, but why hasn't this ever been a problem for him with talking dinosaurs, cars, fish, toys, etc. etc. etc?

Three year old brains never seem to stop amazing and entertaining me!

Elephant

Sometimes when I am driving with the kids I will make the sound of an elephant, and says, "did you guys hear an elephant? We must have driven by one, lets look for him!"

They look around, and laugh, joking that an elephant got out of the zoo.

Last month, we took a family vacation to Cape May, NJ (thank you Aunt Marilyn).

This year, we decided to go out to the Cape May lighthouse and climb to the top (apparently, Brett and I forgot about our far of heights).

Aaron was carried the whole way, but Peter was a "big boy" and climbed all 199 steps by himself!

Well, almost. When we were almost to the top, I made the elephant sound.

Peter turned around, looked at me and with a totally straight face and said, "Mommy, can you pick me up, I think there is an elephant up there!"

Best Brothers

As I was typing my last blog, the boys were watching their morning 1/2 hour of TV (Dinosaur Train).

In the show they were talking about the difference between friends and siblings.

Peter looked at Aaron and said, "Aaron, your my best brother AND my best friend." Then he put his arm around Aaron and said, "I love you Aaron."

Aaron set his head on Peter's shoulder and replied, "I love you Peter."


(photo from our latest beach vacation)

Playing Sleepover

My favorite part about having two talking toddlers (preschoolers?) is their imagination. Those two boys need very little to entertain themselves and can play for hours together making up new games.

One of their newest games sort of started a week ago when Aaron was sitting in a box and Peter kept bringing him toys.

The game has changed in that there is no longer a box involved and now they named it "sleepover." The first thing they do in "Sleepover" is have one of them lay down on the couch and the other covers him with a blanket.

Then they proceed to cover the blanketed brother with all the toys in the room, so they can have a "Sleepover."


Once completely covered, Aaron likes to add a little flair to the game by bursting out of the blanket and yelling, "BUST OUT!"

Then both boys belly laugh for a few minutes (repeating "Bust out") and then do it all over again.

And now you know what a morning in the Gardner house looks like :)

Observations by Peter at the Pool

We went to the pool this afternoon, and WOW - it has gotten cold! Sad evidence that summer is coming to an end.

Peter jumped in and was noticeably shocked by the icy water.

Brett laughed and asked, "Hey Peter, is the pool warm or cold?"

Without missing a beat, Peter responded, "It is great dad; if I was a PENGUIN!"

Brett and I could not control the laughter.

Then Peter swims over to the ladder to get out and sees the "3" on the side of the pool marking how deep the water was.

"Look mother, the pool is 3 years old just like me!"

Dinosaur Eggs

We tried to go to the pool today, but it was closed due to a lack of lifeguard. We were bummed, but there is a playground near by so we just made a change in our plans.

The kids played on the swings for a little while but soon wanted to go explore and play their favorite new game - "creature adventures"

In this game you really see their little imaginations at work. They walk around the trees pointing to "monkeys," "owls," and "snakes."

Today while they were hunting for animals, Peter made a discovery - dinosaur eggs!

Peter - Mommy, Aaron, come quick. I found a nest with baby dinosaurs.

Aaron - Baby dinosaurs!?!?! Yaaaaaay!

Peter - See, Mommy (pointing to a pile of rocks).

Me - They look like rocks Peter, are they going to hatch.

Peter - No silly. They are FOSSILS. I think they were stegosaurus eggs The water went into the eggs and turned them onto rocks. Now we can take them to the museum for friends to look at.

When did my kids become smarter than me?

A new blog...

I started a new blog this morning.

It will have stories about our family, but is more focused on the things I wish I could tell my father.

Please read, follow, enjoy... it is my heart and soul.

The URL is "Peteydinker's Girl" - same as the tattoo I got in memory of my father, and a title that will forever define who I am.

http://peteydinkersgirl.blogspot.com/