Little Rascal

I love, love, love my little almost-2 year old!  He is generally so happy and funny--though, I've been told he's pretty serious and reserved around other people.  He developed a new trick of two-footed jumping off a stool onto the ground.  And he love somersaults.  For a not-yet-two year old, I'm impressed!  He's impressed with himself, too. :)

He's fiercely independent--wants to "ahk!" all the way to school and back, instead of riding in a stroller.  He generally complies if we ask nicely, though.  (Waiting for the worst to come still....)

He adores his shadow, which he just discovered.  He adores Camden (who, for some strange reason, he calls "Nate") and Nate (who he also calls Nate), often copying what they do but with his own style.  He loves, loves, loves his Daddy.  He loves a particular stepping stool, rakes, shovels, brooms, mops, and balls.  And phones.

But the kid will not stay in his bed at night!  Aargh!  He'll say, "Stay bed. Tay's bed. Yes, Mommy.  Stay bed."  But, 2 seconds later, he'll be out again, "HAPPY!"  No, mommy is NOT happy. And, when I stay in his room to ensure he stays in bed, he starts telling knock knock jokes.  Well, it's always the same--
M: Knock knock
Me: Who's there? (But I don't say anything during bed time)
M: Door (tiny pause)  KNOCK KNOCK
M: Door (repeat 10 times)

And, despite stern words of, "Be quiet" or "No more" or "All done" or whatever else I say, the other two boys can't help themselves but start to giggle.  And it is just about all I can do to not laugh, despite my wanting to install a seat belt around his bed.

That kid!  

Mckay has a special influence on Camden.  Mckay's hugs are very soothing to Camden, and, luckily, we can usually convince Mckay to share his hugs when Camden or Nate are sad.

And, he has a special hip dance that is so funny.  I'll try and get it on camera, but he's pretty quick about turning off tricks when the camera comes out.

I think everyone should take toddlers on walks at some point.  It is so funny!  He'll be running full speed and then stop abruptly to admire his shadow, point at a flower, or hug a tree (literally).  Sometimes he lays flat on his tummy in the middle of the sidewalk (imitating his big brothers' game of camouflage). Sometimes, he spreads his legs wide apart and puts his hands on his hips--something of a super hero stance.  Sometimes he says, "backwards" and walks backward.

Easter Week, Wednesday-Saturday

Well, on Wednesday, I had a crazy day.  For a few hours, I had 8 boys, age 6 and under at my house!  2 6-year-olds, 2 5-year-olds,  1 3-year-old, 1 2-year old, and 2 1-year-olds.  It was crazy and fun, but I'm glad I don't have them all permanently!  It took us about 45 minutes to eat lunch, and we went through a LOT of food!  Part of it was great because there was always someone else who wanted to do what one boy wanted, so they always had a buddy.  We worked on something I'll share below, but we didn't really have an Easter activity that night.

Thursday was busy as well, so we continued working on our project.  Friday was a rough day because Mckay woke up about 6-7 times through Thursday night.  In the morning, I realized he had a fever.  I wasn't feeling great myself, and felt all around irritable.  By the afternoon, I'd been able to take a short rest and felt quite a bit better, so we finished our project.

Saturday morning was our Easter egg hunt--then off to Home Depot Day (a kids' workshop), and rush home to make it in time for general conference.  In the morning session, the choir sang Nate's favorite songs and wore Camden's favorite color.  We try to find ways to engage the boys in conference, but also don't force them when they need a break.

Anyway, our special project this week was reciting and recording "The Living Christ."  We actually learned it back in November/December to get ready for Christmas, but it was good to review and remember it.  I found the words put to music, and the songs made ALL the difference in our ability to learn such a long passage.

Unfortunately, the movie is about 10 minutes long, and is a bit boring to watch.  I'm super proud of the boys for learning it, but their performing skills are, umm... well, typical for little boys, I guess! (Sticking their feet toward the camera, or looking like zombies or something).   Mostly, you hear my voice, but I will post a few parts where I made them sing alone.  Or maybe just one. It's taking an unreasonable amount of time to upload tonight. So, here you go!

PS Here are some links to what we used: 

1. (The whole text is set to different hymns.  Sometimes, the words don't exactly fit the music, and it took us singing it a few times to figure out how to get it to feel right to us.  Without the music, though, I don't think we could have done it!)

http://mariesmusic.com/products-page/lds/the-living-christ-set-to-hymn-tunes/

2. Here's a link with ALL sorts of helps.  We only used the "small cards" by printing them in black and white, cutting them out, and taping them on our glass slider door as we were learning them.  The pictures helped me think of ways to teach the boys what the words really meant.  We only have about the top 3rd of the cards remaining, as little boys have torn them down since Christmas, but I can't seem to get myself to take the rest down. :) 

http://www.bookofmormondiscovery.com/livingchrist.html

And McKay loves to be HAPPY! (Except if he's tired....)

Most of the time when when he wakes up from naps or in the morning, he walks out saying, "Happy!" (Yes, even at 2 in the morning...Aaahh!)  He's getting more cute and saying more words every day.  He loves to entertain our family, though I'm told he is quite solemn in nursery and when I've left him with friends.   He loves to jump and run, and most of the time, he likes to be helpful.  He is so much fun, and we sure love him!