Back from My Break

This has been a busy week! I've missed blogging! I was at our church day school every day this week for meetings and trainings and helping to get rooms ready. I am going to be the music teacher for the day school. Every Wednesday I'll be leading music in chapel and teaching music classes to 3 and 4 year olds. Nana was here to watch the boys. Even though I was gone only 4-6 hours each day, I missed the boys SO MUCH! Here's what they're up to:

Spence is now pulling up! The first few times he did it, nobody saw him. We would look over at him and he'd be standing. Finally we saw him do it. He also crawled up two stairs. Better get the gates! He's bonding with Daddy a lot now also. He likes for Daddy to hold him upside down by his feet.

Coleman has decided that he doesn't want to go to the potty except when he wakes up and when he goes to bed. He was going several times a day, so I'm not sure what happened. Oh well.

Tonight the boys took an awesome. That's what Coleman calls a bubble bath. Coleman put bubbles all over Spence. I'm pretty sure they had a good time.

Hopefully I'll be on a more normal schedule next week and can post regularly. Next week is haircut week for the Piks, so we'll have to get some good pictures of the boys. It will be Spence's first cut! I love all the "firsts" with babies. So be watching for new pictures!

The Big Plop!

This post is all about potty talk, so stop reading now if you don't care to know about the bathroom habits of our 2 1/2 year old. Great! You're still reading! Coleman has been going pee pee on the big potty several times a day for a while now. Just in the last few days, he's decided to sit down and talk about going poo poo. There have been grunts (just for the sake of grunting) and some playing around, but tonight before bath he was sitting on the big potty and actually went poop! He seemed surprised to see that he had gone in the potty. He flushed it right away though and gladly accepted his two stickers that he had been promised in the event of going poo poo in the big potty. We'll see if he wants to try again tomorrow. I've been talking up big boy underwear, so maybe we'll look at that or some pull-ups this weekend to encourage more regular potty trips. If any moms have advice about potty training or thoughts on pull-ups please comment! I'm not a big reader, so I've decided against reading any potty training books so far. I haven't been pushing Coleman at all, but I do want to encourage him. Can't wait to hear some good advice! This potty chat is done.

What's Hurry?

But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Hurry is definitely not in a toddler's vocabulary. Actually, I think when he hears that word, he assumes I mean "please piddle around, refuse to put on your shoes, try to grab as many cars as you can, run away from me, poop your pants, or whatever else you can think to do that could possibly make us late." I have to laugh as I write this. I don't want this precious time to pass by quickly. I love my little guys. This is a fun stage! Why do I rush? I think of how much fun we'll have "when they're old enough" to enjoy the Children's Museum, or if I dream really big, Disney World. I should just sit back and enjoy McDonald's and the neighborhood park right now.

I've realized that God uses my kids to teach me important lessons. You're all familiar with the "p" word, right? Patience is HARD! I don't want to wait on Coleman to finish his waffle he started eating 37 minutes ago! I don't want to wait any longer before Brian finds a new job! I don't want to wait 3 1/2 weeks before I see all of Brian's family at the wedding in Iowa. I don’t want to wait until my next grocery store run to have some more chocolate! OK, I went a little overboard with that last one. You get the picture though. God may be looking at me and thinking, “I don’t want to wait on her to help that person in need. I’m tired of her not being an encourager to her friends and family. I’ve about had it with her messing around and not doing what I ask.” I need to show mercy to those people and circumstances which test my patience, just as God shows mercy on me.

So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? Romans 2:3-4

Coleman & Spence await the Garbage Truck

What Is a Hamburger Capable Of?

Two days ago Brian noticed a scratch on Coleman's tummy. Coleman said he fell down. Then yesterday my mom saw it and Coleman told her a hamburger did it. Not even thinking, tonight I told Coleman we were having burgers for dinner. He got a worried look then said, "I not want a burger," as he lifted up his shirt and looked at his tummy. He ate the burger, so I'm pretty sure he was not being truthful about the earlier hamburger attack.

After dinner, we were all in the front yard playing. After Brian and Coleman had played football for a while, I took Maestro and Coleman for a walk around the block. With the sun low in the sky, Coleman noticed his shadow and said, "Look at me! I'm tall!" Then we did crazy motions and watched our shadows. He got a kick out of it.

Here are some pictures from the last few days. Click on each to get a better view.

Spence's new hangout is under the coffee table

Only safe to ride when Coleman is napping

Coleman shows Spence his spider arm painting
he got today at Chic-Fil-A

Hurricane, Hurricane, Go Away

Late August/early September is quickly becoming my least favorite time of year. If there isn't a hurricane gaining momentum in the Gulf, the weather forecasters are warning of a tropical storm brewing in the Atlantic. Events of the last few years have helped develop a dread of hurricane season. First my parents were hit by Ivan and Dennis while living in Florida, then Katrina sent hundreds of thousands of refugees our way, and finally we evacuated because of impending destruction from Cat 5 Rita. We just didn't want helicopter photographers capturing images of us atop our roof.

Now it looks as though Dean is headed south toward Mexico. As I breathe a sigh of relief, I also feel concern for those in its path. Everyone here is still in "hurricane preparedness mode" though. Last night Brian passed one gas station with bags over the nozzles, which brought back bad memories of Rita. Then there were lines at most other stations. He decided to go ahead and buy some gasoline canisters and fill them up too. We also have stocked up on water and have checked our freeze-dried emergency food. Our beef stroganoff with a 30 year shelf life is good to go. So if Dean misses us, I'm sure Felix and Gabrielle will be heading our way soon. And we'll be ready for them!

Headlines: Erin Comes Ashore with Heavy Rains

No, we did not float away today. Just wanted to clear that up.

Smell My Foot, Mommy

How a 2 year old plays dress up

What an adventurous day! Coleman found a headband in my bathroom that magically became his helicopter pilot headphones. Then we got in our helicopter and flew to the mall. First we had to go to Jason and Penny's (JC Penney) so I could look at shoes. Then we were off to the toddler play area. Coleman was king of the big cupcake and Spence crawled all over the place. I learned something new about helicopter pilots. They are big fit-throwers. It's true. When it was time to go, my little pilot pitched a big one! Apparently we couldn't go home because an excavator tore up our house. I think that's kind of like the reason he gives when he doesn't want to go to the gym. The gym is a dirty, messy, muddy place.

You know there's usually a bribe to get Coleman to eat his sandwich at lunch. Normally it's something like, "Eat your sandwich and you can have a cookie," or "Eat your sandwich and then you can watch Bob the Builder." Today what worked was, "If you eat your sandwich I'll smell your foot." Hey, whatever works, don't ask.

By the way, Thomas is out, Bob the Builder is in. We taped an episode Sunday morning and he's watched it every day since. Yes, I said taped. We are stuck in the last century. We do not have Tivo. I don't even know if that's how Tivo is spelled. We have 5 Bob the Builder books checked out from the library. Can we read them? Yes we can! If you don't get that, you've never watched or read Bob the Builder. It's ok.

How Does a SAHM Stay Sane?

Those of you with children know that they grow up so fast. Time seems to fly. Before you know it, the sweet baby you once rocked to sleep is wanting to do everything all by himself, except clean up the hot wheels and balls he's strung out all over the house. Next he's off to kindergarten, and then he's leaving for college. OK, the point was not to make myself sad, so let me get back on track. Yes, overall, time does fly by, but the days can be REALLY LONG. (This verse popped into my head: ...a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.) I love that I get to stay at home with my babies, but that doesn't mean I want to STAY HOME every day. Since our church doesn't have Mother's Day Out in August (I don't know who decided moms don't need a day off in August) I don't get much of a break from the boys. So I look for ways to entertain them, get out of the house, and keep my sanity. Today we just happened upon storytime at Chic-Fil-A. The lady sang songs, then read a book about pirates and made all the kids pirate hats out of balloons. (At least that's what she said they were, I didn't see the resemblance.) Coleman and Spence loved it, and I welcomed the fact that someone else could entertain them for 15 minutes. So I guess I'll start thinking of other indoor activities (it's brutally hot here) to keep the boys, and myself, happy for the rest of August. I wonder if balloon lady makes house calls?

"My Diaper Comed Off!"

I'll admit, sometimes if things are hectic in the afternoons I'll forget to change Coleman's diaper. He's really good about telling me when he needs a new one, so if there's no obvious smell and he doesn't say anything, it can slip my mind. Today I learned that a diaper left unchanged may take matters into its own hands. Coleman was running around chasing Maestro when his heavily soaked diaper just fell out of his shorts. I have never seen that happen. His shorts were completely on, and his diaper fell completely off, through one of the legs of his shorts. Before today, I would have guessed that probably couldn't happen.

We finally found a suit for Spence to wear to Brent and Andrea's wedding. There just aren't many choices for dressy boy's clothing out there, unless you go to Sharpstown Mall (which is in shooting distance - literally- from our old house)! For those of you who aren't familiar with Houston, Sharpstown Mall is "Houston's premier urban shopping mall." Let's just say the Piks stuck out like a sore thumb.

After reading this post, you may have second thoughts about my parenting skills. I assure you that the boys are safely tucked into their beds and wearing clean diapers. Please don't call CPS.

Cheap Thrills

Yep, that's a picture of a spring door stop. You're wondering why you're looking at a picture of a spring door stop. I just wanted you to see what entertained my children tonight. How much do we spend on toys for our kids, when all it takes is a $.49 piece of hardware attached to the wall. Coleman and Spence even took turns and didn't get upset when the other one "boinged" it. (If you don't have spring door stops in your home, "boing" is the noise it makes when you pull it back and let it go.)

On to other strange happenings. This morning Coleman told Brian to give my dad a big sloppy kiss. Let me explain. Coleman asks for a big sloppy kiss when Daddy leaves for work. Then he asks Daddy to give Mommy and Spence big sloppy kisses too. He doesn't understand that it probably wouldn't be appropriate for Brian to give big sloppy kisses, or even little sloppy kisses for that matter, to my parents.

Here's an update on our addiction to the computer game Jawbreaker. Brian decided to try to write a program to determine the maximum score for a given round of play. Using a brute force method, it would take 75,000 years to compute on the average home computer. We just really don't have that kind of time.

The Games We Play

Spence is now 9 months old! This a really fun age where he enjoys playing many different games. Here are a few of his favorites:

• Throw the Toy Down and See How Many Times Mommy Will Pick It Up
• Capture the Spider and Try To Get It To My Mouth Before I Get Caught
  
• Chew the Foam ABC Puzzle Pieces and See How Loud My Brother Screams
• Dump the Basket of Recently Picked Up Cars
• Dump the Wagon of Recently Picked Up Balls
• Dump the Bucket of Recently Picked Up Happy Meal Toys
• Dump the Whatever

And I see it in his eyes - soon he will want to play "How Many Stairs Can I Crawl Up Before Mommy Catches Me."

Coleman is very into imaginative play now. He and Nana went to the moon this morning! (His construction hard hat doubles as his astronaut helmet.) He also likes to pretend that he is Uncle Brent, Spence is Andrea, Daddy is Grandpa, and Mommy is Grandma. Puzzles are popular now too, and one of his favorites is the foam ABC puzzle with Spence's teethmarks.

While I'm talking about playing and games, I have to tell on Brian and myself. We're hooked on playing a game called Jawbreaker (similar to this) that's on Brian's new pocket pc. It reminds me a little of Tetris, which I LOVE! If you see him with a black eye, it's because I was trying to take it away from him. If you see me with a black eye, it's because I brought down the average score.

Here are a few pictures of the little ones!

For a Cookie, I'll Do It!

Is there anything that a two year old won't do for a cookie? I haven't discovered a thing. "Coleman, if you don't get your feet off the table while eating lunch you won't get a cookie." Feet go down. "Coleman, finish your sandwich or you won't get a cookie." Entire sandwich is stuffed into mouth. "Coleman, do something cute for the camera and you can have a cookie." Level of cuteness increases. "Coleman, wash the dishes, take out the trash, and change Spence's diaper or no cookie." Just kidding...

Nana is here for a visit and we are enjoying it! Tonight Coleman was pretending that the couch was a big truck. He wanted us all to get in. So Daddy, Mommy, Nana, and Spence all got in and Coleman drove. After 2 seconds, he jumped out and brought us all imaginary presents. Then he said, "Time to get out of the truck people!" I don't know where he hears this stuff!

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You Just Have to Watch

Now that Brian has some free time on his hands, he's utilizing his right brain more. Today he shot 32 minutes of video, capturing the everyday play habits of Coleman. Then he sped it up to 16 times its normal speed. You will see Coleman line up his cars on the coffee table, drive them around, roll on the floor, rub Maestro's belly, flop on the couch, pick his nose, and bounce on a beach ball all in 2 minutes! Enjoy the show!

What Adorns Our Wall

Several weeks ago we bought a matted picture frame that holds five 4x6 photos. We had an empty spot on the living room wall that just needed something. It wasn't the right color, but a little spraypaint can fix anything. Brian spraypainted it a deep red and hung it on the wall a few days ago. No family pics in it, just strangers and the Kirkland's logo. So we headed outdoors today and Brian took pictures of the boys. They look like angels. In fact, you'd never know that Coleman had just pushed Spence over, knocking his head on the cement and rock border. Everyone made it through the photo session unscathed, and the pictures are incredible. I think Brian really has a talent. Here are the five photos we chose for the frame. And remember, behind those innocent eyes lurks mischievousness.

Click the picture below for a larger view.

Keeping a Sense of Humor

The shock has worn off, our hope is in God, so now we can have a good laugh:

• Brian isn't jobless, he's just unjobful.
• Maestro's main concern is that we're going to start feeding him discounted dog food made in China.
• Is one-ply toilet paper really that bad?
• Our kids already wear the cheapest diapers on the market. Where do we go from there?
• How many times can you reuse a dryer sheet?
• Better stop growing Coleman, you're not getting longer pants any time soon.
• How many ways can beans be prepared?

On to another topic. Nothing too exciting happening here today, so here are several little tidbits to give you a glimpse into our lives.

Friday means garbage day in our town, so we've been counting all the garbage trucks we see. We're up to four.

We went to McDonald's for lunch and Coleman crossed the netting on the play equipment all by himself. Not too long ago he was scared and wouldn't even cross it if I was holding his hand.

Spence's new favorite pastime (now that he's mobile) is dumping out buckets full of toys! It's really cute, except that I had just picked it all up so I could vacuum.

The video is of a new game that Amanda and Coleman made up (and I'm sure Amanda came up with the name; it's very Amandaesque).

(Part of this post was written by Brian. He also made up the word unjobful. I didn't want anyone to think I was being cruel and making fun of him without his knowing! Also, Brian does all the video editing. I think he could have a career in that field!)


Our Blog, www.pikkula.com

The Other One's Name is Spencer

Looking at my posts, one might get the idea that Coleman is the favored child. Sure, most of my blogging has been about him. He's at such an exciting age. He's always doing something interesting or saying something funny. That's why I was so thrilled when Spence learned to crawl! Not so much that he had reached a milestone, but that I could finally include him in the blog! He's getting around a little more today than he was yesterday. All it takes is for him to see Coleman's basket full of cars and he's off. Just like his brother, he can't resist the wheels!

Now back to Coleman, who's been saying something pretty funny lately. He will say, "Mommy, where's Daddy? Where is him? I can't find him anywere! Where is him?" That's his thing now when he can't find something. He doesn't look for it, but he says, "I can't find it anywhere." That's a man for you! I think that I find it so funny because he usually uses correct grammar, rarely misusing pronouns.

In other news, we have 7 teenage girls staying at our house this weekend. We're a host home for a youth event called Disciple Now. Coleman's really excited. All day before they arrived he kept saying, "Girls comin' over my house?" Brian took them to the church tonight and Coleman was quite upset that they left and he didn't get to go. I'm hoping they are quieter than my friends and I were at my slumber parties. I don't want to be the mean adult that comes out at 1 am telling then to quiet down. That would serve me right though! Sorry Mom and Dad for keeping you up all those times!

There He Goes!

Spence started crawling yesterday! So far, he's not all over the place. He only goes for something he really wants. I'm sure once he realizes exactly what he's learned to do, he'll start exploring everything. Check out the video!

PS Sorry about the large video, with the next couple of posts, it will get pushed down and you can then see the links to the right.

Now That's Entertainment!

Things that entertain a 2 year old:

1. watching the Sierra Springs truck deliver water 2 doors down
2. trying to make a freaky dog go on a "space trip" with you
3. bursting into a room where a 9 month old is trying to take a nap
4. letting the aforementioned freaky dog lick your chips before you eat them
5. cramming half of a peanut butter sandwich in your mouth at once so you can get a cookie
6. finding new inconspicuous ways to knock over a little brother
7. pretending Mommy's curling iron is the jaws of life like you saw in the rescue vehicle dvd
   
8. looking at the enormous spider who built a web on your back patio (you know, the one Mommy is sure will find it's way into your house)
9. any activity that involves flying through the air
10. emptying anything that is full (trashcans, laundry baskets, etc.)

Things that entertain a 9 month old:

1. watching a 2 year old