Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are

Yesterday, after arriving home from Reeves' (completely unnecessary) haircut, I did the same thing I always do when we get home at naptime. I carried Bennett inside with Reeves following me. I went straight back to Benny's roomand put him down for his nap. As I was rounding the corner to the hall, I noticed Reeves taking off his shoes. Perfect. One less thing for me to get him to do before he goes down for his nap. When I came back to the den, there was no Reeves. Not thinking much of this, I called him. No answer. No big deal. He often likes to huddle himself under and between the pillows on the side of the sofa. But he wasn't there. I checked his room, thinking maybe he had followed me down the hall and snuck in there while I was putting Bennett down. Nope. I was admittedly starting to get a little concerned now, but not too much. He must have gone outside to play in the car or ride his bike. Not there. OK, starting to freak out. Maybe he somehow got into Benny's room without me noticing. So, despite the fact that I had just put him down, I went bursting into Benny's room looking for Reeves. Not there either. At his point I am screaming for him and wondering how I am going to explain to Bryant that I lost Reeves. You know how it is in moments like these. Your mind runs through each and every possible worst case scenario. I hate that. I checked every one of Reeves' favorite hiding spots and still couldn't find him. Finally I heard movement from Bryant's closet. My whole body relaxed. I finally stopped holding my breath. He had had a little accident and was hiding in there. I explained to him that he should never hide from Mommy or Daddy like that. If he wanted to hide, he always needed to tell me, and then I would happily look for him. We addressed and cleaned up the accident. All was well, finally. But those were the scariest five minutes I had had in quite some time. Momma don't like to play dat!

Baby Steps

Bennett has been toying with the ability to walk for some time now. He is still a hard and fast crawler, but a few weeks ago at Doro's house, he up and took 4 or 5 steps across the floor. Since then, he has been diligently practicing and is slowly perfecting his technique. He hasn't been able to piece together more than 6 or 7 steps at a time, but he always tries to walk before falling down. I think watching his brother carry things around the house is going to be his biggest motivation to strut his stuff. He is beginning to get frustrated with wanting to have a toy with him in some other area than the one he is currently occupying.He's content to hold your hands and walk forever, at least it seems like forever when you're only slightly hunched over. You have to pry your fingers from his grasp, and before he realizes it, he's taking steps. We have learned not to applaud while he is walking. Rather than encouraging further forward progress, when he hears the clapping, he stops and starts clapping himself. This, of course, only leads to a breakdown in the precarious balancing act he is preforming, and he topples.
We're really trying to treasure these teetering moments because, although we look forward to the day when he is officially a toddler, we will miss the unmarred softness of the bottom of his feet - that kissable, delectable spot reserved only for those few precious months before a child takes off running, and the soles of his feet are never the same again.

You go, Benny Boy!

It's Just a Little Roachie, Lolly!

OK, disregard the last post where I was all lovey-dovey with Aunt Lolly. After last night, she no longer resides in that warm place in my heart reserved for people who make my life easier. B and I had Bible study, and Lol graciously agreed to come babysit, at the last minute, for both boys, while she was supposed to be helping Mom with Leeze and William. At first glance, she was doing me a huge, huge favor. That being said, I have always remembered the axiom from my tenth grade Economics class - TINSTAAFL - there's no such thing as a free lunch. Apparently, there's also no such thing as a free babysitter. Even if you don't pay her in money, you will, somehow, ultimately pay for her services.
When I left bible study, I called Lol to let her know I was on the way home. She informed me that Reeves was not yet in bed because, even though they had played in his room, read numerous books, and even gone so far as to turn the lights out, he still needed to get up to go potty. No problem. Here's where it gets bad. She told me that when they got into his bathroom, there was, quoting Lol here, "a three foot long roach" in there. Of the numerous ways this situation could have been handled, she probably chose the worst one with the longest lasting consequences for me, the mother. She screamed, grabbed Reeves up, ran out of the room, and slammed the door behind her. Wonderful! Now I have a three year old son who up till now had happily stomped roaches outside with Daddy. Suddenly he is now scared to death of them. He met me at the door with tears in his eyes, telling me about the big, big roach in the bathroom. He was afraid to go down the hall without me holding him. When Bryant walked in later, Reeves, even after having been calmed down, again broke down when telling his father the tale of the giant roach. Somehow sleep finally overtook his fear of the beasts.
I don't know when this phobia will move on, but for Reeves' sake, I hope it's soon. Sorry, buddy, it's tough to live in Charlie-town if you're afraid of roaches. It's kind of like not really liking salt water or drivers who refuse to use turn signals. It's a fact of life here. So, Lol, thanks for that. If it gets really bad, I'm calling you to come over every night to put him to bed! I see now what an evil grin you have in this pic. I wonder if you are even really afraid of roaches or if this was just some sort of sordid plan to make my life difficult....

Happy Birthday, Aunt Ya-yee!

We had a great time celebrating your 26th birthday with you. The dinner was good, but the company was even better. Just look at how loved you are. The children adore you and can't stand to leave you alone (thanks for being so patient with them), and to top it all off, you got your very own caramel cake! Long live the caramel cake! You are one very special sister and one super aunt. We love you!

Look! My Keyboard Works!

It's a good thing we have a wonderful network of blogger friends who do their best to keep us on our toes and keep us up to date with our blogging. I don't know why, but I have found it difficult to blog recently. It's not for a lack of things to blog about. There are always funny and important things to jot down with two growing boys in the house. I think what I need to do is put a "Blogging Appointment" on my calendar at least twice a week. It's so easy to get on the computer during naptime and although I do it nearly everyday, I find myself reading and not writing. So, from here on out, I will make a concerted effort to update more regularly, even if it's just to note something silly or momentous one of the boys has done.
In the meantime, I did find this great site where you can upload your pictures and make a short slideshow with music. As long as you only do the quick "movies", it's free. I spent (wasted) an hour or so playing with the other day. I can't figure out how to get it on this blog. It keeps going to my photo blog, so I've just embedded it as a gadget here. Hope it works.