Gender Issues

We were driving home from the pool today and Lou says to me,"You see, Mom, you've got girls and you've got boys. And the girls make the boys not like them."

Where this came from I have no idea, but man-oh-man, he's deep. He's got all the answers, doesn't he? My question is, why is gender such a big concern in a four-year-old's life? Aren't they all still "just kids?" Although, when Lou, Ben, Charlie and I were all in a handicap bathroom stall together he bent over while I was tinkling. Quite confounded he asked,

"Where does it come from?!"

Our Gardeners

They're much more excited about taking a picture together than allowing me to get a shot of the fruits of their labor.

Sorry about this shot. I thought I had it turned so you could see it better. Daddy had the boys wash the tomatoes when they came in the house.

We are right in the middle of the peak of our plants' growing. We have tomatoes galore, green peppers, some hot peppers, onions, yellow squash, (pickling!) cucumbers, and zucchini that love to flower yet no veggies have sprouted. I've always heard that if you let kids help in the growing of vegetables they'll be more apt to eat them.

This is not always the case, I've found out. But I'm not giving up. Lou has definitely expanded past his carrot-and-celery-stick-only phase. He's tried peppers (red, green, yellow and orange) and cucumbers, but it's because I let him dip them in ranch! I just don't know why he won't eat tomatoes--maybe he's not related to me...

Pointless Things That Are Really Cool

Oh! I wish I could have stopped laughing to take a picture for you.

Have you ever noticed how designers put thing on children's clothing that really have no importance in a child's life? For instance, Charlie has these swim trunks (size 24 mos.) that have a mesh pocket on the inside, like you would find in a grown man's swim trunks. Kevin, for example, may put his keys in there if he's worried about someone stealing them out of his bag, but also doesn't to hold on to them while he's doing cannonballs. What is a 1-year-old going to do with a mesh pocket?

This morning Charlie came walking toward me with his hands in his pockets. I couldn't stop laughing. I like when my boys look like little men, but some of those details really are pointless, at least at Charlie's age. I'm actually surprised that his chubby hands could fit in there!

That kid is so funny. I don't know how a baby who is almost 13 mos. old can know how to be a comedian already. Thank goodness for that.

How hillbilly could we be?

When I first met Kevin he was driving this car and I thought it was his parents'. What 24-year-old guy was driving an old man's car?? Turns out it was an awesome car--a leather couch on wheels--comfortable, roomy, and one of the nicest cars I've ever ridden in. It probably helps that it was the vehicle he drove while he courted me. We took so many road trips in this car until it died in front of our house...and sat there for over a year!

There's something to be said about the first car you buy with your own workin' money. A sign that you're an adult. You can make big purchases. It was hard to say good-bye, but it is also difficult to look outside and see a dead vehicle. Oh, and the ticket for expired plates, but mainly the end of a trusty sidekick like the LHS.

The boys were front and center watching the departure of our dearly beloved car. Complete in Santa gear and underoos. Goodness gracious.

How could I have forgotten?

I used to have a site at a place that keeps track of a baby's developments. For the life of me I can't remember what it was called, but it wouldn't let me upload many pictures so I switched to a blog. The nice thing about that other site, though, was that you could see how the baby grew and all the new things he was doing.

Charlie had his one year doctor's appointment a while back and I forgot to update you on how he's doing! So, better late than never, here are his stats:

• He weighs 22 lbs., 10 oz.
  
• He's 29 " long--in the 25%
  
• He still has a big noggin

He seems to be about the same size as Ben and Lou were at this point, but after hearing that he's in the 25 percentile for height I did notice that he doesn't own any "short pants." They all just make it look like he's going for the surfer dude look.

I'm 3!

Ben equates being 3 with being a big kid...unless being a big kid means he has to do a pose for the photographer he doesn't want to. He tried to give our photographer a hard time, but she was eating him up and even when he growled at her she got him to give her a big ol' grin. Once again, she got me to buy more pictures than I planned to, but they were pretty cute pictures...and when I think about the pictures we got for when Lou and Charlie were babies we definitely spent more money on them than Benny. Just trying to make sure he doesn't have the middle child syndrome.

We have no proof of our great day

Yesterday was a gorgeous Sunday without humidity and we were lucky enough to be downtown enjoying it. Grandpa and Elizabeth came over our house and we loaded up the van and headed down to Findlay Market for the Blue BBQ Festival. We grabbed sandwiches, had some Barbarossa, and we enjoyed the atmosphere before heading down to park at Fountain Square and then head over to the Carew Tower.

The Carew Tower was built in 1929 and because it was during the Depression the original plans changed and some of the material was replaced with lower grade material. After reading that you'd think the place was not much to look at, but that's not the case at all. I showed the boys the tiled walls made by a local company called Rookwood Pottery. We looked at the gold man on a horse by the entrance. But while their mom was oohing and ahhing over the architectural details, the boys got a kick out of the revolving door. Ben liked it so much, in fact, that he didn't get out of it until Daddy got in to help him.

When you walk into the atrium you take an elevator to the 45th floor. Here, you get onto another elevator to the 48th floor. The difference between the first elevator and the second elevator is quite dramatic. The second elevator is like getting into a coat closet. We all fit in and when it let us off at the 48th we climbed a set of stairs, paid $2 per person (it's free for kids under 6!) and got a bird's eye view of this beautiful city.

I'm sure it's common in whatever city you live in, but I've found that usually the only time we do touristy stuff is when people come to visit you from out of town. The last time I was on the observation deck of the Carew was in 1990 when I had an exchange student living with me. This was Kevin and the boys' first time up there, and it was great to have Grandpa and Elizabeth with us because they were able to point out landmarks, explain what certain things were, and tell stories about growing up downtown.

Unfortunately, we brought a camera with us whose battery was still in the charger at home. They sold disposable cameras at the desk where you pay your admission, but you're going to need more than that to capture these great views. No problem--we already have plans to go back, this time with our camera in hand!