We went to a corn maze a few weekends ago.  The kids had fun.  Chloe stayed home with Opa, which ended up being a very good decision.  It was fun to let the kids go into the maze alone and listen to their squeals from outside.  

It's become humorous that almost any event we plan that we think will be so much fun ends up with Brooks having a hard time obeying.  

He really is a good kid deep in his heart.  

He doesn't try to disobey and feels really bad when he does.  

It's just that his energy is unmatched and his emotion comes from the deepest part of his soul.  It's hard to explain, but just think of him as the only kid in our party that came out of the maze dripping sweat.  The other kids?  Not a drip.

So, just like most super fun things we do, he ended up losing his ice cream treat (which I wasn't ever really going to buy him anyway...shhh, don't tell him) because he just couldn't stop picking the corn from the maze.  After he'd picked 5 ears of corn and was asked to stop several times (the corn maze needed corn for at least 4 more weekends) the fun event ended up with a "settle down, listen to me and obey me" talk between child and parents.  Sigh.  Love him.

 There are some very sweet moments that go along with our challenges.  When the kids play together without fighting it's the best!  It's fun to listen to Brooks say things to Chloe like, "Chloe, let me just cut your fingers off." while he pretends to be the doctor.  Poor little sister.  She has no clue and does just about anything Brother asks.

 Brooks comes up with the best costumes.  Below:  Green Lantern, Buzz Lightyear, Captain America and Scary Mexican wrestling mask all in one!

Not to be outdone...

Meet Batgirl.

Miss Susan, our Nanny, says it best with a heavily sarcastic undertone.

"Heather!  I am so glad that Chloe finally got an I-Pod!  I mean, she is two years old and some weeks, isn't she?"

Ha.  Ha.  Ha.

I love that she can be so honest with me.

 Yes, Chloe has an I-Pod.  We got to thinking, and whether our thinking was right or wrong, (Please refrain from sharing your opinion.  You are ONLY allowed to do that if you are Super Nanny.) we decided to get Chloe an I-Pod.  

Our justification?  Well, if we were going to get her one when she was three or four, why not get one now and let her enjoy it?  So, off to the store Greg marched (or drove) and he bought our dear, sweet, tech-savvy, two-year-old her very own I-Pod.  

She navigates through the thing like a pro and loves her "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus" app.  She also loves to make us ice cream sundaes and has been busted trying to eat them off of the screen.  

It's fun.  Really fun. And the buck-toothed, full body grin that we get every time we hand her her very own I-pod makes it so worth it.

 On another note.  Not a day goes by that one kid isn't trying to be the other kid.  Or one kid tells the other kids to "do this" or "try that".  It's great, as long as they are modeling obedient behavior and telling each other to try things that won't end up in disaster or injury.  

This is one of the more innocent, "Hey, look what I can do!  Try this, Brother!"  

I won't pretend this was all sweet and wonderful though.  Greg took the picture, but I am GUESSING (a well-educated guess) that it went something like this:

--Chloe put the lunch bag on her head. 

--Brooks screamed "I want it!"

--Chloe squealed back and held onto it as tight as she possibly could while stiffening her entire body.

--Brooks attempted to take it off her head with force.

--Chloe started to cry and laid on the floor while very upset.

--Daddy intervened and explained they can both have a turn.

--Daddy took a picture of both of them.

--Kids are happy. 

--Daddy waits for kids to lose interest in the lunch bag.

--Daddy hides lunch bag.

There is very little peace around here.  Some days I long for a quiet house with no mess.  But then I get real with myself and play super hero for the fourth time in one day, remembering that I'm really going to miss this stuff.

One of our most favorite baby sitters is gone away at beauty school.  It stinks.  We miss her terribly and long for the day she returns to Duluth to color our hair (my hair...Greg doesn't have any to color) and hang out with our beautiful kiddos while we are away on a stimulating date to Barnes and Noble or Target.  Seriously though, Greg and I are just coming to realize how nice it was to have a babysitter who our kids loved and were excited to have over.  It was an extra bonus that she knew how to drive and had a super flexible schedule.  Boo for going away to beauty school.  We are now on a hunt for a new babysitter, but wonder if there is one out there that could make our baby girl this happy.

Brooks is the best eater. Because his eating habits are a little bit different than most 4 year olds, we get good laughs out of his fueling requests. On Wednesday at 7:00 in the morning Greg was frying up some white onions for Brooks. That was what Brooks wanted for breakfast before school, so that's what he got. He didn't want any eggs to go with his plate of white onion. Nope. Just straight onions. Yum, but at 7:00 in the morning?

It may not have been the best way to start the day though (giving your kid exactly what he wants) because he ended up getting in a little bit of trouble on Wednesday for being "wild and disobedient" in class. After three years in the same class, this is Brooks first time getting "in trouble".

Needless to say, he hasn't had his Batman costume since Wednesday and had a very intense day at home (all day) with his Daddy on Thursday. His apology to his teacher on Friday was genuine and the report from his teacher was that he was "much better" on Friday. We didn't expect anything but "much better" since he pretty much knew that anything less than perfect on Friday would have been the...end...of...his...world...as...he...knows...it!

Or at least the end of his weekend as he knows it.

Not an uncommon lunch for our Buddy. In the cottage cheese container?

Cottage cheese, Italian dressing and tuna fish.

Onions.

I get it. It is so clear to me. I see now why there are two parenting books on raising children that at one time I may have thought contained redundant information.

Before my princess Chloe was here, I would have thought that Dr. Dobson could have crammed the information in his book Bringing up Girls into the book he had already written called Bringing up Boys.

Now I see that would be impossible.

There are so many amazing things about boys. I have been practicing embracing the amazing-ness of my Brooks.

Who wouldn't want a little boy running around the house protecting his Mommy all day long? Sure, he may break a few things while ensuring safety in the home. He may scratch the kitchen floor with his dart gun and may even scream so loud in order to scare the "bad guys" away, that the wakes his sister.

But, really, who wouldn't want this sweaty-headed sweetie, who looks at me and out of the blue and says, "I love you, Mom."

And who wouldn't melt into a puddle on the newly scratched floor when my block-footed, size 6 four-year old looks me in the eyes and tells me that time spent with his mom is the "best thing ever in his day".

Boys are amazing. I keep telling myself that.

Chloe had her two year pictures. They are stunning. Best part about it was that the photographer is calm and quick. It was stress free and her pictures turned out beautifully.

To view them click here. Then, once you are there enter "Client Proofs" then enter any email address (your own email works) and our password is chloe.

Brooks likes soccer much more than T-ball at this point. He loves that he can run after a ball. That just makes sense to a four-year-old boy, I think.

Brooks works really hard on the field and still scores goals on his own goalie at times. He's trying to figure it all out and it is starting to click. He scored his first goal during his last game. He had no clue how cool that was. He was more worried about the treat after the game and how much water was left in his water bottle.

Brooks is a great goalie and it comes to him very naturally. When he's in the goal he's intense. It's pretty cute as he uses his hockey moves to stop the soccer ball. He puts on his monster face and attacks the ball without fear. He even brags to us when he gets hit in the stomach by the ball and he knows exactly how many goals he lets in the net (exactly 1 goal so far).

The best part of the game for us is afterwards when the field clears out and we stay and let Chloe and Brooks have races. It's so fun to stand by Greg and watch as our kids run together across the field. It's even better when, for a few moments, they are not fighting and are showing us just how much they love each other.

We had a delightful and simple birthday party for Chloe. It was a picnic theme and was perfect for a hot July day. We didn't do the decorations on our own (if you really know me, you already figured that out) but we found a great website that is very user friendly and fun. The ladies are very talented and respond quickly. If you have can appreciate cute and crafty decorations, but are not the type to get out your glue-stick and scissors go here to find out more.

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