Spring Cleaning

We live in a 900 sq foot apartment and we have a lot of junk. This equals problem. All winter I've been feeling like our house has been so cluttered, even when we would clean up it still felt like it was closing in on us. I realized a while ago that I have my craft stuff located in about 4 different places. We have a similar problem with other things, like bedding. It drives me nuts! I just want everything in the same category to be located in the same place, and I want to quit storing things I don't use and will never need. Especially now that we have another baby on the way which inevitably leads to more stuff (especially since she's a girl, so a whole new wardrobe). Now that Aaron is done with school for the summer, I convinced him that a great project would be to build a storage shelf in Ivan's bedroom closet.

Ivan's bedroom closet is the worst mess in our house, it's pretty much crammed full of stuff, but has no real order to it, and any time you need to get one thing out of there, you have to empty the whole closet and then repack it again. My idea was that if we had a shelf in there, worst case scenario, it would make the problem smaller by eliminating the need to unpack the whole closet down to just unpacking one shelf.

The new shelf about to go in the almost empty closet

All the junk that used to be in the closet taking over Ivan's room

I spent pretty much a whole day just sorting through all the things that used to be in Ivan's closet. My discovery: we were storing a lot of stuff we didn't need (surprise, surprise) and we were storing a lot of empty cardboard boxes that were not collapsed (dumb!). Once I started putting things back into the closet, I decided to move all the bedding from the hall closet into this closet so it would all be in once place. (It's been in two places because the hall closet had all the small things like pillowcases and sheets, but wasn't big enough to store blankets and quilts which we kept in Ivan's closet.) I still had a ton of room, so I put all things baby onto the shelf as well...the Rubbermaid boxes of various sizes of little boy clothes, the jumpy seat, the bouncy chair, the breast pump, port-a-crib, hiking backpack, Bjorn, etc. And all the clothes we've purchased or been given for Adelia so far. (Those won't stay in the closet long, but I have to find a third dresser first, yikes!)

Doing that pretty much freed up Lincoln's entire closet. His is completely empty now except for the Radio Flyer. Cool! I don't anticipate it will stay that way too long though, since we will be putting the boys in the same room sooner or later. But for now it's really nice just to have an empty space in our house.

I still have a long ways to go with my spring cleaning. I still need to organize my sewing cabinet and figure out a good location for my craft stuff (hmm...the hall closet is free...) and go through mine and Aaron's bedroom closet...and on and on. But we are a step closer in the right direction and I have a huge pile with Deseret Industries' name on it. :)

Lincoln's Creamy Pasta Salad

Lincoln made dinner for us again tonight. He loves to be a helper in the kitchen, and I really like when I find recipes that he can mostly do on his own with supervision. Tonight we made Creamy Pasta Salad I found the recipe for it in our May Highlights High Five Magazine. (Which we still love, and I still recommend to anyone with 2-6 year olds at home.)

Lincoln's Creamy Pasta Salad

2 cups sea shell pasta
15 oz can of corn, drained
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (the real recipe called for chick peas, but we don't like 'em)
1 cup frozen peas
1 small package of cherry tomatoes
4 oz block of goat cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

*Have an adult boil the pasta until tender, drain and keep warm.
1. Put corn, black beans, and peas in a large bowl.
2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half and put them in bowl.
3. Crumble goat cheese into bowl. Add olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper.
4. Add the warm pasta. Stir until goat cheese has melted into a creamy sauce.
Delicious warm or cold!

I'll admit, I wasn't a big fan of the semi-warm pasta salad, so I dumped our salad back into the pan the noodles cooked in and heated it until it was hot all the way through. This helped the goat cheese melt better too. It made a very tasty dinner! I was impressed. We were in such a hurry to eat that I didn't get a picture of the final product. The only downside was that after all that work, Lincoln wasn't a big fan of the meal. But we'll definitely have it again. It would be good with pieces of cooked chicken cut up in it too, I think.

Baby Finger Thank You Cards

Recently I found myself in the need of some thank you cards and something to keep my kids busy. So I combined my needs. I got out our paints and while Lincoln did his own creations, Ivan and I made thank you cards. I dipped his finger in paint then pressed them on the page to make the flower petals and centers. Then I helped him do the stems and leaves. After about six thank you cards worth, his attention span was shot, so I washed him up and let him down to run around. I used my pinkie finger to smear the blue and green paint around for the sky and the grass. After they were dry, I used a ball point pen to write the Thank You part. I really like how they turned out.

FHE: Mother's Day Project and S'mores

Tonight for FHE we decided to fire up the grill for the first time this year. And what do you know, our charcoal that had been sitting in the bottom of it all winter long still worked. Cool. While we waited for the grill to warm up, we all worked on some Mother's Day projects. They are currently top secret, but we'll post about them later.

After that we took our shish kabob sticks out and used them as marshmallow roasters. I don't think either of my kids have ever roasted a marshmallow before. Sad. Lincoln thought it was great and kept getting really excited about the "fire". Ivan just wanted to be up where he could see everything that was going on.

Since they've never had marshmallows before, I guess this is their first experience with S'mores too. All I can say is that it's a good thing tonight was bath night. What a sticky mess. Ivan had a hard time getting past the sticky factor, but he eventually did eat some. Lincoln loved it and had it all over his face and hands and clothes and everything else that was close. Aaron and I enjoyed ours thoroughly as well. :)

Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (aka The Plague!)

So, Ivan and two of his cousins and one of his aunts have contracted Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD). Lovely. I guess we'll be spending this next week inside. Oh well the weather is supposed to be crappy anyway. For those of you interested in more info about HFMD you may read below.

Description

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness of infants and children. The disease causes fever and blister-like eruptions in the mouth and/or a skin rash. HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) disease, a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine; however, the two diseases are not related—they are caused by different viruses. Humans do not get the animal disease, and animals do not get the human disease.

Illness

• The disease usually begins with a fever, poor appetite, malaise (feeling vaguely unwell), and often with a sore throat.
• One or 2 days after fever onset, painful sores usually develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. The sores are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks.
• A non-itchy skin rash develops over 1–2 days. The rash has flat or raised red spots, sometimes with blisters. The rash is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; it may also appear on the buttocks and/or genitalia.
• A person with HFMD may have only the rash or only the mouth sores.

 Cause

 HFMD is caused by viruses that belong to the enterovirus genus (group). This group of viruses includes polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, and enteroviruses. Coxsackievirus A16 is the most common cause of HFMD in the United States, but other coxsackieviruses have been associated with the illness. Enteroviruses, including enterovirus 71, have also been associated with HFMD and with outbreaks of the disease.

 How It Is Spread

Infection is spread from person to person by direct contact with infectious virus. Infectious virus is found in the nose and throat secretions, saliva, blister fluid, and stool of infected persons. The virus is most often spread by persons with unwashed, virus-contaminated hands and by contact with virus-contaminated surfaces. Infected persons are most contagious during the first week of the illness. The viruses that cause HFMD can remain in the body for weeks after a patient's symptoms have gone away. This means that the infected person can still pass the infection to other people even though he/she appears well. Also, some persons who are infected and excreting the virus, including most adults, may have no symptoms.HFMD is not transmitted to or from pets or other animals.

 Factors That Increase the Chance for Infection or Disease

• Everyone who has not already been infected with an enterovirus that causes HFMD is at risk of infection, but not everyone who is infected with an enterovirus becomes ill with HFMD.
• HFMD occurs mainly in children under 10 years old but can also occur in adults. Children are more likely to be at risk for infection and illness because they are less likely than adults to have antibodies to protect them. Such antibodies develop in the body during a person’s first exposure to the enteroviruses that cause HFMD.
• Infection results in immunity to (protection against) the specific virus that caused HFMD. A second case of HFMD may occur following infection with a different member of the enterovirus group.

Diagnosis  

• HFMD is one of many infections that result in mouth sores. However, health care providers can usually tell the difference between HFMD and other causes of mouth sores by considering the patient’s age, the symptoms reported by the patient or parent, and the appearance of the rash and sores.
• Samples from the throat or stool may be sent to a laboratory to test for virus and to find out which enterovirus caused the illness. However, it can take 2–4 weeks to obtain test results, so health care providers usually do not order tests.

 Treatment and Medical Management

• There is no specific treatment for HFMD.
• Symptoms can be treated to provide relief from pain from mouth sores and from fever and aches:
• Pain and fever can be treated with over-the-counter medications (caution: aspirin should not be given to children).
• Mouthwashes or sprays that numb pain can be used to lessen mouth pain.
• Fluid intake should be enough to prevent dehydration (lack of body fluids). If moderate-to-severe dehydration develops, it can be treated medically by giving fluids through the veins.

 Prevention

• A specific preventive for HFMD is not available, but the risk of infection can be lowered by following good hygiene practices.  
• Good hygiene practices that can lower the risk of infection include
• Washing hands frequently and correctly (see Clean Hands Save Lives! ) and especially after changing diapers and after using the toilet
• Cleaning dirty surfaces and soiled items, including toys, first with soap and water and then disinfecting them by cleansing with a solution of chlorine bleach (made by adding 1 tablespoon of bleach to 4 cups of water)
• Avoiding close contact (kissing, hugging, sharing eating utensils or cups, etc.) with persons with HFMD

Kelly and Esther are Married!!

This morning Kelly and Esther were married in the Oquirrah Mt Temple. It's interesting to me how every sealing ceremony the sealer chooses to say such different things to each couple, and yet all temple weddings are so beautiful. That's been my experience at least.

Aaron and I are so happy to have Kelly married. And we couldn't have picked anyone more perfect for him than Esther is. I'm glad I like her so much, since I assume, with Aaron and Kelly being twins and all, that we'll be spending quite a bit of time together over the next forever.

 

Aaron and I with the Oquirrah Mt Temple behind us.

Al of AA Photography was Kelly and Esther's photographer. He is the one who did mine and Aaron's pictures when we got married. It was fun to see him again. And imagine his surprise when he found out we were expecting baby #3. I really do like Al though, he not only does a fantastic job, but he knows how to work the people he's trying to photograph to get them to all cooperate in a timely manner.

After the temple, Aaron and I drove to Salt Lake to meet Kyle and Kelsey who were delivering our boys back to us so they could come to the reception. Once we had them, we had to drive clear and the heck out to Tooele, to Stansbury Park where the reception was. It's a ways out there, but it's beautiful (once you get past the salt flats).

My three adorable boys in their reception clothes

The reception was really classy, and the food was delicious. All the cousins really enjoyed running around together. Right outside the building was a river with a bridge over it. In the river were a whole bunch of ducks. We took the kids outside to feed the ducks. That was probably the highlight of their night. :) To the left is Zac, Luke, Lincoln, and Ivan looking at the water.

I love this picture of Ivan, he looks really cool against the sky.

After playing outside on the bridge for awhile, we went back inside to watch Kelly and Esther cut the cake and throw the bouquet. Then back outside to blow bubbles at them while they ran to their car and drove off to their honeymoon. They both just seem so happy to be together. Lincoln's second favorite part of the night was blowing bubbles. By the time we had to leave he'd gotten to be pretty decent at it, and was upset that we wouldn't let him blow bubbles in the car.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

I didn't take many pictures of these three days, but maybe if someone else did I can add some later.

Wednesday Aaron took off work and helped Kelly pack up his apartment and move. Which meant the boys and I were stranded at home without the van. The boys played and I worked on one of my many projects, which I will post about later if it ever gets finished. Wednesday night was a pizza party at Uncle Richard and Aunt Debby's house. It was great. Lincoln was thrilled to be considered a "big kid" and allowed to eat his pizza on a blanket in the living room while watching a movie with his older cousins.

Thursday everyone was kind of doing their own thing. Sydni and I took our boys and Aneya (Lisa's youngest) to the McDonald's Play place for lunch. I think everyone had a good time. Thursday night was Kelly's graduation celebration BBQ at Aunt Karen's. We had Boca burgers, tasty pasta salad, fruits and veggies and a Costco chocolate cake for dessert! Lincoln played really well downstairs with the other kids and required very little supervision. Ivan was content to sit in the high chair and eat, so all in all it was a really relaxing evening for Aaron and I.

Friday morning was Kelly's and my step-brother Bryan's Commencement ceremony at 8:00am in the bloody morning. They wanted everyone in their seats by 7:15. We'd planned on getting up early and taking the kids to go see them, but Ivan was up most of the night, so I decided to stay home with the kids while Aaron went. Afterwards, Bryan, his wife Emily, and their daughter Penny (who were all here for the week from San Diego), my mom and Kerry, all came over for brunch at our house. Mom and Kerry made us delicious french toast and bacon and sausage. Yum.

Ivan, Lincoln, and Penny enjoying their breakfast

When Mom and Kerry left to go back to Hooper, they took our kids with them! That way we didn't have to worry about finding a babysitter for Kelly's wedding dinner and the temple ceremony in the morning. Thanks Mom and Kerry, that made things really easy for us, plus the boys love going to see "Damma and Papa".

Friday night was Kelly's wedding dinner at Goodwood BBQ in Draper. We road up with Stacey and Rob. The food was excellent, as always. We sat by Esther's sister Annie and her husband (whose name is escaping me, sorry!). They were very talkative and interesting people, so we had a good time.

Since we were kidless, we went back to the townhouse and threw a party! After all the kids were in bed, the adults played Loaded Questions, and drank Margaritas and Strawberry Daiquiris (non-alcoholic of course.) We all had fun laughing at each others responses and just being together. I think this was probably the funnest night of the whole week for me.

Ryan and Melissa's Wedding Day

Ryan and Melissa got married this morning in the Mt Timpanogos Temple. The ceremony was really good, and we are all so excited for them! Again, thanks to Kyle and Kels for watching our boys so we could go. When we got home, we told Lincoln that we had gone to Ryan's wedding, and that Ryan had gotten married to Melissa, so now Melissa was Lincoln's aunt. Lincoln made a thinking face, and then said, "Yuck!"...long pause... "ants in the kitchen, I squish 'em."

Their reception was in this awesome barn out in Mapleton. The kids all thought the greatest part was the fact that there were cows inside a fence only a few feet away. Ivan even managed to step in a cow pie.

Kelly took some cool family pictures for us while we were waiting for the rest of the groomsman and bridesmaids to show up for pictures.

The reception was a lot of fun. They had a live band playing, and Lincoln is quite the little dancer it turns out.

They also had a pinata, which the kids went crazy over.  Lincoln was so funny watching the pinata. He was too scared to run out and grab the candy while all the other kids were grabbing for candy, so he'd wait until they were done, then he'd run out and grab some random piece of the pinata, and come running back to me very excited, "Look Mom, I got a eye ball!" He didn't quite get the idea, but hey, he was thrilled with his eye ball and pieces of cardboard and tissue paper, so all was well.

We stayed as long as we could, but Ivan ended up falling asleep in the arms of some random stranger (Debbie had taken him for a minute so Aaron and I could dance and as soon as she sat down with him, he reached for one of her friends' husband that was sitting next to them and promptly fell asleep.) so we decided to head out. But I heard Ryan and Melissa's get-away was awesome. :)

Ryan's Wedding Dinner

Ryan and Melissa at their wedding dinner at Bangkok Grill in Orem 2010

Tonight was Ryan and Melissa's wedding dinner at Bangkok Grill in Orem. Thai food, yum! My brother Kyle and his fiance Kelsey babysat our kids so we could go. It was a lot of fun. Aaron and I sat by Sydni and Jake and Melissa's brother Mikey and sister Michelle. Michelle reminds me a lot of Melissa, and has a lot of the same facial expressions and body language too. My favorite thing that we had to eat was the coconut milk soup....could end up being a new craving. :)

Sister's Outing

Let the craziness begin! Today was the start of a wild week. Aaron has two brothers getting married this week, and all of the family got into town late last night. We skipped stake conference today in favor of a family devotional, held with all of Aaron's siblings, their spouses and children, and Aaron's parents. Obviously you wouldn't do this every week, but I thought it was great to sit in a room with all of Aaron's family and share testimonies and teach each other about the gospel. It's not an opportunity you get every day.

Later in the day, Aaron's sisters (Lisa, Stacey, Sydni) and I and the two future Mrs. Swans (Melissa, Ryan's fiance, and Esther, Kelly's fiance) went to a park and had a sisters get-together. We took stuff to make fondue thinking that there would be a plug to plug it in. Well, there was a plug, but it just happened to be six feet off the ground. Hence the picture of Stacey balancing it on her head. :) Melissa saved us though, and ran 3 blocks to my apartment to get an extension cord. We had such a fun time talking, eating, and getting to know each other better. I love my sisters!

After that we went back to the house Aaron's family was renting for the week and had an excellent chicken and rice dinner. Lincoln had so much fun playing with all of his cousins, he was like a kid in the candy store. He just wanted to follow them all around and do everything they were doing. I wish we lived closer to everyone so that we could have big family parties more often. But we will definitely be taking advantage of having everyone together this week. I think there is some sort of party planned every single night. Bring it on.

MERS Lab Party

Aaron does research for a professor named Dr. Long in the MERS (Microwave Earth Remote Sensing) Lab at BYU. Since the end of the semester is rapidly approaching, Dr. Long had a potluck party at his house last night for all the students working in the lab and their families.

We had a nice dinner with lots of really good food. But I'd have to say that the high light was the after dinner activities. Dr. Long has a zip line. Everyone got to take turns on it. Aaron took both Lincoln and Ivan. Linc was all about it and thought it was the coolest thing ever, Ivan wasn't so sure. Lincoln even went on it by himself once (with Aaron standing right next to him the whole time of course).

Dr. Long and his wife also raise miniature horses, goats, chickens, and a llama. Cool. We all got to go and feed the horses and goats, which are really tame. The kids went crazy they were so excited.

M Day: Monkeys, Magnets, Marble Maze, and Milk Mixing

Today for M day, I introduced the letter M by reading the book Five Little Monkey's Sitting in a Tree. It's one of Lincoln's favorites right now and he can sing along with the whole thing. Then we played a simplified version of Barrel of Monkeys. I had tried to teach Lincoln the regular version earlier in the week, but he didn't seem to have the coordination for it yet. So, instead the boys took turns seeing how many monkeys they could chain together. They both did really well. Then they each got to color their own monkey.

After that, I got out Lincoln's Mag-Neato set, which is basically just a bunch of big toddler sized magnets. I explained how magnets stick to some things that are metal. Then I gave each boy a magnet and brought out a pile of different kitchen utensils. They boys took turns picking a utensil and deciding if the magnet would stick to it or not. We made one pile of magnetic things, and one pile of non-magnetic things.

Next we went into the kitchen and made marble mazes. I got the idea for those here. I decided that the boys would be less competitive if they each had their own maze, so we made two small ones instead of one really big one. And, due to time constraints, we did not decorate ours like they did in the example. But the boys had a great time with the mazes. I think it was their favorite part of the day. If I do it again though, I'll try and find something better to catch the marbles in, since I think I still have about 30 marbles back behind the washing machine. :)

For our snack we "mixed milk", meaning I poured normal white milk for the boys, and then showed them how to make it chocolate milk by letting them mix in some Ovaltine. I think they enjoyed their snack, but once they were finished they went right back to the marble maze. I think we're going to have to do that one again one of these days.

Sandbox

We went to the dollar store today to find some marbles for our upcoming M day. We found the marbles, but we also found sand pails and shovels, and for a total of two dollars, I just couldn't pass them up. The lady at the register asked Lincoln if he had a sandbox in his backyard. Nope. I had to explain that we live in an apartment complex, but that there is a park about a block north of us that has a sand volleyball court, aka the sandbox.

I took the boys over after naps. They LOVED it! So far, digging in the dirt is the only activity that I've found that they will happily do together for as long as I will let them. And to me that is so worth letting them get filthy dirty. :)

Lincoln is all about "building sand castles" which in his book translates into filling his pail as full of dirt as possible. He's not so much concerned yet about the actual building anything part.

Ivan still hasn't quite gotten the hang of getting dirt in his shovel, but he likes to empty his empty shovel into his pail. Or, even more fun, scoop dirt out of Lincoln's pail. Lincoln doesn't seem to mind though, and we all get along just great.

I think we'll be spending lots of days at the sandbox this summer.

Spring Art

Lincoln's hand flowers

Ivan's hand flowers

Today the boys and I did some hand and finger painting. I helped them paint their hands and press them to the paper three times. Both Lincoln and Ivan really liked having their hand painted. Then I gave Ivan a snack in his high chair and finger painted the stems and leaves ad grass for him. Lincoln finger painted his own stems and leaves and grass and added some green dots and things to his. I think they turned out so cute. We hung them in our kitchen window.

Eggshell Flowers

We are really looking forward to spring at our house, and have been trying to encourage it to get here as quickly as possible. Today we did a spring science project, that can be started indoors. We took an egg carton and filled each space with half an egg shell. Inside the egg shell we put potting soil. Then I showed Lincoln how to use his finger to poke a hole in the dirt in the middle of each egg shell. We put a few wildflower seeds in each hole and covered them back up again. (I chose wildflower seeds because they are drought tolerant and require very minimal care. I wanted something that was almost guaranteed to grow, so that Lincoln could see how seeds work. I've heard that marigold seeds, bean seeds, and grass seed, also work really well.)

Next we put a teaspoon of water in each shell. When we were done we put the lid on carton (so it would stay warmer) and put the carton in the window. Every day until the seeds sprouted, we would open the lid while the sun was out, and close it at night. After only a few days, we were rewarded with results.


Once the sprouts are a little bigger and the weather a little warmer, we will take these outside and dig a small hole and plant each egg shell. The nice thing about using the eggshell as a container is that you don't have to remove it before planting, just lightly crush it in your hand, and place in the hole.

Volcano Sacrifices and The Little Monkey Song

Yesterday I was attempting to make rolls for dinner, and as usual the boys (all three) were underfoot, so I banished them to the living room for some boy time. I littlw while later I went out to see what they were up to. Aaron had built a fort using two banana chairs, the couch, and our bedspread. He was laying with his upper half sticking out of the middle and sacrificing our children to the volcano. They were all having a blast. Sometimes I wonder how a little girl is going to fit into this crazy mix.

Later, at dinner, Lincoln kept singing the Five Little Monkeys song over and over instead of eating his dinner. It's one of his favorites that they do at Toddler Time at the library.

So....I Married a Nerd

If there were ever any doubts, the conversation we had last night (which is typical) will clear all of them away. So we're laying in bed...

Me: What are you doing?
Aaron: I'm staring at your ear.
Me: Why, do I have something gross in there?
Aaron: No, your ear is fine.
Me: Then why?
Aaron: Well, I'll tell you, but only if you really want to know.
Me: Ok, I want to know.
Aaron: Well, one of the satellites I've been getting the data from at work has multiple receiver antennas that are different sizes of circles for different frequencies.
Me: Oh boy

Aaron: ...and I was just thinking that your ear sort of looks like it has three different sized circles and I was wondering if that's part of how you hear different frequencies, because on the satellite there's a really big dish that receives low frequencies, and then there are smaller ones that catch the high frequencies.

Me: (rolling my eyes) No wonder you find my ears so attractive, they remind you of satellite dishes. I'm going to bed. (*In all fairness, I did tell Aaron I wanted to know, and my sarcsism was more playful than anything else.*)

Aaron: The sad part is now I'm going to have to measure my ear and figure out what frequencies I would be able to hear if I'm right.

Then this morning, Aaron looked up the human hearing range and speed of sound and figured out that his theory wouldn't be too far off.

Come Support Local Women Doing What They Love!

Misty, my neighbor, organized this craft fair, and I will have a table set up at it. I will be selling hooded bath towels and children's I Spy bags, but there will be lots and lots of other awesome things there to look at as well. Most of the women participating are stay at home moms or housewives trying to raise a couple extra dollars for their families. It's going to be a great event, and I hope everyone who is able will come out and support these women. And pass this info on to your friends and families. Thanks for helping to spread the word.

One on One Time With Ivan Boy

Sometimes I feel bad because it seems that I post a lot about Lincoln because we have been really focusing on the letter days, and doing learning activities with him, and I don't post as much about Ivan.

Today, Linc slept longer than usual, so Ivan and I had some one on one time. It was great! Lately he's been really in to dumping things out of containers and then putting them back in, only to dump them out again. He thinks it's a great game. This afternoon I got out our drawer full of Mega Bloks. Instead of dumping them out like I expected, he climbed right in on top of them, sat on them, and then began reaching under his legs and pulling the blocks out one at a time and throwing them out. All the while jabbering as he went. He's a great talker, and we had a very nice conversation in jibberish while he emptied the blocks and I occasionally scooped them up and put them back in on top of him (which he thought was hilarious).

You'd think after a year I wouldn't be surprised by this anymore, but it still amazes me how different my two boys are. Don't get me wrong, they have a lot of similar characteristics and personality traits, but they are definitely each their own little person.

Ivan is more self-entertained. As long as I am in the same room as him, he does not need me to play with him in order for him to be happy. He's content to crawl/walk around the room and stop to examine and play with anything that catches his fancy, and move on to the next thing when he looses interest. When Linc was that age, he'd only play if I were right next to him paying attention to him playing. Lincoln never really liked to play with toys, he much prefered "real life" things, like my kitchen stuff, or a flashlight, or whatever random something Aaron had out from his tool box. And although Ivan also finds a lot of enjoyment in those kinds of things, he plays really well with the toys too.

Ivan is more of a tender heart, I'm discovering. With Lincoln, using a stern voice gets absolutely zero reaction most of the time, I might as well be talking to a wall. I have to get up, walk over to him, have him look at me and give him some kind of ultimatum, "You can either stop throwing toys, or you can go have a time out, your choice." And then if he makes the wrong choice, I have to make sure I follow through. Lincoln hates time out and hates to have his toys put up for the day, but with him actions speak louder than words. With Ivan, we've recently been learning that he does not like to be spoken to sternly. At the library for example, if he's about to start pulling books off the shelf, I'll say, "Ivan no." and give him "the look" and he'll stop. It's kind of nice, but on the other hand, if my voice gets too stern, he gets his feelings hurt and bursts into tears. When Lincoln was Ivan's age, distraction worked really well. If he was playing with something he shouldn't be, I'd take it away, hand him something he could play with, and everyone was happy. But not with Ivan. He gets his feelings hurt if I take something away from him. We get big crocodile tears, and he's very hard to console, even if you're offering him other toys left and right. The best way I've found is for me to simply walk away for a few minutes until he's let off a little steam, and then pick him up and give him a big hug, then he's usually good to go after that.

Ivan also notices, more keenly than Lincoln does, if he's being left out. For example, one day I had promised Lincoln a sucker for doing something, so I gave it to him. Ivan started throwing a fit, and I could not for the life of me figure out what was wrong, until Lincoln put his sucker down, at which point Ivan made a beeline for it. He'd never had a sucker before in his life. But I decided to try giving him one, and you bet, as soon as he popped it in his mouth, that was the end of the commotion. Ivan also flat out refused to keep eating baby food, after only a short time, because he realized it was not the same as what the rest of the family was eating.

I love my little Ivan Boy and the new blessings and challenges he brings to our family. And I'm glad I got to have a little one on one time with him this afternoon. I'm starting to understand why it's important to have frequent one on one time with each of your children. It's not only good for them, but it's good for you too. :)