Our Week

We took the boys to our little neighborhood park on Tuesday. The weather was really nice and the boys were anxious to get out. They had a good time running around, sliding and swinging.



L checking the place out. What to do first?



R found a ball, which is what he spent most of his time playing with.



On our way to the park.



L sliding down, face first.



Greg had to keep up with R because, as usual, he took off.



R also spent time trying to eat rocks.



Here's L, still swinging. He loves to swing. When we took him out to go home, he threw a fit.

Today we went to the Butterfly Pavilion. I thought that it would be a pretty cool place, but things didn't go too well. To begin with, both R and L woke up on the wrong side of the bed. My bed actually, since they both woke up during the night. We went to the mall for a very short time beforehand and the boys were in their stroller. They both were very restless, so I made the decision to let them wear their new halter/backpacks at the Butterfly Pavilion, so they could move around. They're still new at using them, so it didn't go great. The worst part was the heat. I researched the place quite a bit on the internet beforehand, and no where did it mention that it was a tropical climate inside and that you should dress appropriately. It is February in Colorado, so we weren't wearing our beach attire. It was hotter and more humid than Houston in August, plus the boys and I were wearing winter clothes. This made me and them cranky. L got so hot and flushed that his face was as red as his shirt. If we go back in the future, we will wait until the boys are a little older and go in the summer, when we will be more appropriately dressed.




L loved to touch and taste the salt water in the aquarium with the stingray.



Here's R with his monkey harness.



L and his bear harness.


How things are going:

L has not taken this move very well at all. He is a natural little worrier and control freak and he has not figured out what has happened yet to his old life. As a result, he's been a little nightmare for the last couple of weeks. Before we left Fort Worth, somebody asked me who got in more trouble. I quickly said R. That has now changed. R rarely gets in trouble now, but me and L have a battle of the wills every day. He has become a serious hitter and biter. When he doesn't get what he wants, he lashes out at anything and anybody who is in his path. We've been using time out, but it only works for the moment, not long term. To top it off, he has only slept through the night 3 times since we've been here. He wakes up usually around 3 am and wails. We've tried ignoring him and sitting next to his bed until he's back to sleep. But ultimately, we give in and bring him to bed with us. He is as loud as a foghorn and doesn't calm down. I really think that he could cry all night long. Somehow, R manages to sleep through it all. I feel really bad for him. He's world has turned upside down. He's no longer in the same place or under the same routine. His schedule is pretty much the same, but it is in a different place. This house is much smaller than our old house and he has little room to run around. He also seems bored. He liked to be helpful in the past, but I've had a hard time getting him to do the little things he used to do (like put his laundry away or bring me things).

So, what am I going to do about it? We got a membership to the Children's Museum, and I hope to take them once a week. I've also enrolled them in a Gymboree Play and Music gym class on Thursday afternoons. I can now take them to open play time there during the week, as well. We also have a membership to the zoo, so I hope to take them when the weather is nice. I also bought a couple of books today about easy at home activities to do with toddlers. I'm not very creative and early childhood is not my area of expertise, so I bought some books to help. So hopefully this will help L to get some of his energy out and stimulate him enough to be in a better mood and sleep through the night.

R, in the meantime, is doing fine. He's such a funny little boy. L is goofy, but R is silly and playful. He loves to try and make you laugh and he also has the sweetest and funniest belly laugh.


I leave you with a video of the boys talking on their "phones."