Playdate with the Hydes!
Cooper:
Elephants - He's obsessed with elephants. He pretends like he's an elephant and runs around with one arm as his 'trunk' picking up things and attempting to tear branches off my plants outside, then he makes what he thinks is an elephant noise, but it's actually more of a squeal. We went to the zoo a couple months ago and it was the highlight of the trip for him to see the elephants…baby ones too. He also loves watching his Wild Kratts episode about elephants and quotes all sorts of facts about them. To be honest, elephants are one of my favorites too, so I'm not too concerned with his interest…if it were snakes I'd be a little worried.
Playgroup zoo visit…not my best shot
Re-enactments - Cooper has a big imagination and loves to pretend, mostly re-enacting real events from riding along with Daddy or going to town. This is pretty fun until he starts telling you exactly what to say to him, very scripted. For example: Mommy, when I drive this truck by you say 'there goes Cooper in his big truck'. And if we don't say it at the right time we get scolded and told to try again.
Feed store - One day as we were playing with blocks, trying to think of something to build, I thought a feed store might be a good idea. So we built it around their play barn and used some of the different shaped blocks as different types of feed. I told him I'd be right back…had to go get my truck so I could load up on feed and as I left the room he folded his hands, his face lit up, and he squealed "This is going to be so good!!" He was beyond excited. And it was pretty fun backing up, giving my feed order and letting him load it with his skid steer. We took turns being the 'feed store man' until Ace came along and smashed our store. On another feed store note, we bought a small bag of dog food today and for about 20 minutes the boys took turns taking my order, hoisting the bag on their shoulders and loading it into my 'truck'. I enjoyed that game because all I had to do was watch from the couch (which is allowed when you're 6 days from having a baby!!)
This was another structure we built…church,
complete with a nursery and children's church room
"So, how was your day?" - This is the standard question that Dalton gets when we sit down to lunch and supper. Cooper cocks his head to the side, looks at Dalton and asks the question. Then Dalton answers with as much detail as he can muster and we get on with the meal. Now it's pretty cute because Ace chimes in and says "Well…." indicating that he wants Dalton to tell him about his day.
Rodeo - Another game we've played with the toy horses and trucks and trailers is rodeo. Cooper likes to load all of the horses up, haul them to the rodeo and then we 'buck' them or rope on them before loading them and taking them back to the pasture.
Skiing - Wow, this list has been on the desk for a while!! Cooper skied for the first time this summer. He skied on Dalton's feet. I wasn't there because it was really hot and I wasn't in 'bathing suit' condition with my bulging belly.
Word-play - Cooper sometimes gets confused with words and it comes out with some pretty cute results. One instance is when he was looking at the cows behind the house. They are the registered cows and Cooper said "Look mamma, it's the cash register cows." Another time he put the piggin' string around my arm and said he caught a pig. I said I wasn't a pig but he replied "Yes you are, it's a piggin' string."
Big boy talk - He loves telling me all about things, even if he doesn't know what he's talking about. I keep saying we have an 'Arliss' on our hands from Old Yeller…he can tell a big windy for sure. He's always interested in knowing how things work and then proceeds to tell me about it. The bad thing is that he will argue his point very passionately…even if it's wrong. Makes it hard for me because I want to argue back. We're working on this.
Weird Kid - Cooper really likes equipment and he pretends like he is a backhoe, excavator, skid steer all the time. It's great when he's scooping up folded clothes and taking them to his room to put away. It's not so great when he's rumbling around the grocery store making equipment noises and getting funny looks from other customers. Dalton said that he's afraid he's going to be the 'weird kid' that takes his imaginary play and obsession with equipment a little too far. I told him I hated to break it to him but I was that kid in elementary school, except my obsession was horses. Who needs other kids when you can have a whole great world alone?
Ace:
Words, words, words - Ace is a talker already. He loves to mimic and can say so many words, many more than Cooper at this age, so we are always surprised to hear him learn a new one. He's also starting to say multiple words together like "Daddy truck", "Daddy here", "Cooper's truck", etc. Another favorite of his is "Have it" and "Get it" as he holds out his chubby little arm with fingers pinching together like he's grabbing the air.
Booya - speaking of words Ace is learning, one that Dalton wasn't too fond of when he picked it up is "Boo-ya". But he sounds so cute saying it we don't make him stop!
Swiper the Fox - Cooper likes to watch Dora (though now that we've paused our TV service, he doesn't watch as much as before..thank goodness) and Ace has picked up on the Swiper routine. He (and Cooper) runs around, acts like he's hiding behind something, sticks his head out and says "Huh" then runs up and 'swipes' something from us. Then he says "Aww man" like Swiper.
Happy Birthday - Ace's favorite song to sing is the Happy Birthday song. He can sing it pretty well and loves birthdays when he has others join in. Actually Ace loves singing lots of songs. He loves music and trying to sing along.
No to school - Cooper is a sponge and loves to learn in the traditional sense. Ace is a sponge but does NOT like to learn in the traditional sense. As soon as he realizes that I'm trying to teach him something he bolts away. That's ok though because he has time. And today I was encouraged because I realized that he knows some shapes, despite acting like he doesn't whenever we try to teach him. He just doesn't want to let on because then he'll be accountable!!
Both boys:
Favorite toys - Skid steers…yes that's right my boys enjoy playing with toy skid steers most of all; maybe it's because their Daddy did a lot of work on the skid steer this summer/fall. Tractors, trucks and trailers come in a close second though! I blame this partly on the fact that we live right on a road that is constantly filled with big trucks and dump trucks hauling equipment from one oil location to another.
Rough housing - Oh man these boys are rough! They love to wrestle, jump off of anything that they can find, chase each other around the house, throw pillows at each other and probably more if they were allowed. It's going to be a high energy house for a long time! That's ok though, it does wear them out for good naps.
Riding - They love riding with their daddy. I can't wait until I can join them! Cooper has graduated to riding his own horse….while Dalton leads him. He loves it and so does Ace because it means he gets to go for a ride too. I don't mind either, since it gives me a little time on my own.
Rio dancing - We really like the movie Rio, particularly the music. It makes for some great dancing for my "samba masters"!
Grooving and moving
Underwear guys - They love being in their underwear (or less) and it seems that Cooper never can make it until lunch with all of his clothes on. Dalton is always amazed if he comes home for lunch and Cooper has pants and a shirt on. The boy uses any excuse to strip down to his comfy undies. Ace enjoys the freedom too but since he's learned to take his diaper off I have to keep pants on him!
Playing together - It's the sweetest thing to see my boys playing together so well. Yes, they do argue over toys or get on each other's nerves at times, but for the most part they get along wonderfully. It's a precious sight to peer in Cooper's room and see them both playing on the floor together. Makes a mama's heart swell with love.
Feeing a bird at the zoo
Fall craft, finger painting leaves on a tree
Other tidbits:
Getting caught! On one of our feed runs with Dalton we hopped on the back of the truck and rode back there for a little bit while he putted around looking at the cows. Then who drove up to see a pregnant me with the two boys on the back of the truck?? Billy. It was a little embarrassing but we just waved and went on with our business. (I know what you're thinking…where's the picture of this?)
View from the road: The boys and I get bored in the house so we like to play outside a lot. After a while playing in the yard we get bored and venture into the horse pen. It's there that we wander around, picking up sticks and just killing time. Lots of people drive by, including Dalton, Monte and Billy multiple times. I sometime feel a little silly but what are you going to do? Then one day Dalton said that he was a little embarrassed of me because I had on my oversized shorts, compression stockings and big Tshirt (complete with bulging belly), peering under the cat barn looking for kittens when he drove by. He said I looked like an old man out about to mow my yard. I could have been offended but instead I just laughed because he was probably right….I've tried to keep my compression socks out of sight since then. He also gave us a good picture of what it was like when he drives by. He said that he looks in the yard and we see him and all stop, freeze and stare him down as he drives by….it must be quite a sight! Good news for him is that winter is coming so we won't have as many opportunities to embarrass him publicly.
Swing: Mom and Dad got us a swing for our birthdays and it has been a great addition. For a while we kept it on the front porch so the boys and I would go out often and sit and watch the cars drive by. Or I would take a book outside and read while the boys napped. I joked with Dalton that every time I'm on the porch Monte drives by and I'm sure he thinks all we do is sit out there. Now we've moved it to the back and it's nice to have a place to stretch out while the boys play.
Making Happy Thanksgiving turkeys with their hands for the grandparents.
"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. Make known among the nations what He has done."
1 Chronicles 16:8
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