Beans

The theatrics about food around this house have gotten a little out of hand.

The other day I made a soup with beans and pasta in it.  Isaac took one look at his bowl and began crying he "hated beans."  I told him he didn't have to eat the beans and he could pick them out and eat everything else.  I reminded him that it was dinner and there wouldn't be any other food.  He continued crying and saying he hated the beans.  Jacob got him a plate and told him to put his beans on the plate.  Isaac still cried.  He then spent the next 5 minutes crying and picking out his beans and trying to get Jacob to eat them.  He refused to put them on his plate and made a pile on the table:

He finished his mumbling and crying about the beans and began to eat the remainder of his food.  After a few minutes he looked at Jacob and I and told us he was "allergic to beans."  He is not.  Jacob and I couldn't stop the laughter.  Isaac looked at us like we were the crazy ones.  Then, I kid you not, 5 minutes later he said "I changed my mind.  I like beans.  I'm not allergic."  And began to eat the pile in the middle of the table.  True story.

Ben just pushed the whole mess off his tray and refused any of it.  Period.  I swear he is getting all his nutrition from crackers, pretzels, anything candy or cookie related, and maybe a sprinkling of fruits and veggies.  Oh yes, and a LOAD of milk.

Stinkers!

Ben figured out a new favorite way to pass the time.  Putting the coins in the connect 4 game slots.  Perfect for his age and development.  Good thinking Jacob...

(Love the crazy eyes)

So I thought.  The next day he took the sliding-coins-into-slots to a new level and was shoving them down the heat vents.  Game over.  No more Connect 4 for Ben.

I did not love retrieving said coins from said vent.

But you know what I do love?  Being these little boys' mother.  Even through all the tantrums and cleaning of messes I am really enjoying these little cuties.  Of course some days are harder than others, for all of us I'm sure, but my goal to find the joy more is really working.  I'm able to laugh a little more in times that would normally make my blood boil.  I'm also finding that as I look for those truly joyful moments I am being a little less hard on myself as a mother.  And that is certainly a much needed change.  Aren't we all doing the best we know how?  Why don't we give ourselves a break from the self-scrutiny and just enjoy that we are working hard and doing all we can?  I don't know why that is so hard for me.  But, I think I'm making some progress and feeling more happy for it.  Hopefully the three other Brunsons are feeling a little more loved too.

Much Love

I guess love in house is often shared in food.  While I showered in the morning Jacob busied himself with taking care of the boys and making delicious valentine french toast with strawberry jam.  Isaac loved it.  And so did I.  What a good husband and dad.

Later that day we had some friends over to decorate cookies.  I forgot to pull out my camera while all the kids and moms were over...it was a little crazy after all...but I did take a photo of Isaac's masterpieces.  I really love the excessive sprinkles and candies along with the piles of frosting.  It was fun.  The kids had a great time playing together and eating their works of art.  I had invited Carol and Joanna, Jamie and her three girls (Shaylee, Sydney and Kelsey) and Mary Ann and Max.  Mary Ann ended up dropping Max off as she had to go to her daughter's school party.  I really enjoyed having them all here.  

After max was picked up I got busy cleaning the living room of all the toys.  I was hoping to have it all really put together when Jacob came home from work so we could enjoy dinner together.  Here's what happened literally 1 minute after I had it all picked up.

Isaac decided he needed the bins and boxes for his train for some reason.  And I especially can't understand it because he dumped the toys and then used the bins RIGHT SIDE UP to create his train station.

Why couldn't the toys have stayed in the bin?  I don't know.  Why do I bother cleaning while the boys are awake?  I don't know that either.

Know what else, we were far from put together when Jacob came home.  Instead I was full of rage (an exaggeration, but maybe not by much) due to Isaac peeing on the foot pedals of the organ.  We were all playing together while dinner cooked and then I realized his pants were wet.  He didn't even try to make it to the toilet or tell me it had happened.  Though, to be fair, I probably wouldn't tell my mom either if she reacted in anger like I am prone to do.  Grrr....

I was mad.  I HATE everything potty training.  And so I'm not pouring energy into it any more.  I think Isaac only does worse when I react poorly so I'm trying to just set my expectations differently.  I will no longer expect that just because he is capable and just because he has been working on this for 6 MONTHS that we will have dry pants.  Instead, I will expect daily accidents and be happy if they don't come.  Perhaps then my reactions will be more calm when he pees.  Oh my.  I've tried everything else and he doesn't change so I guess I need to change me.  Raising kids is hard.

Done ranting...returning to Valentine's Day festivities.

And...all that lead to over cooked heart shaped pizza. (Oh wait, I'm not ranting or complaining any more...) It was still tasty though.  And the bread sticks were Delicious.  

After dinner the boys were put to bed and Jacob and I enjoyed a nice evening together playing a new game and eating Sees chocolates.

Hope you had a good Valentine's day too!

Photo Overload

Oh man.  Don't you just hate it when you think you haven't taken any photos and then go to look at your camera and realize you have all kinds of priceless photos that must be blogged?  Well, that was certainly my situation recently.  So, here they are in all their awesomeness!

Isaac was wearing just a pull up after one of many recent accidents.  Oh the frustration.  But Jacob was going to the garage to get something and Isaac wanted to go too.  I told him he couldn't go out there because it was too cold (we had a string of REALLY frigid weather).  He took matters into his own hands and wore this outfit.

I think we were all going stir crazy with the cold and the snow.  We didn't get out much.  The boys did a lot of watching out windows.

And I tried to come up with things to entertain us indoors.  We played with shaving cream one day.  I mostly love Ben.  He hates getting his hands dirty so I wondered what he would do with this.  He would touch it a little and then whine and look at me and want me to clean his hands just to repeat it all again.

Isaac is the opposite.

Ben's trying to get it off his hands himself.  You can see the concern in his face.  Funny.  But he really did still love it.  He cried when I put it all away.

Isaac also practiced his letters in the foam.

One day while I was working in the kitchen Isaac grabbed the basket of fruit and veggies I keep on the counter and snatched a tomato, ran to the bathroom to clean it and ate it.  All before I knew what was happening.  I thought it was super funny.

We also watched a little Olympics.  Well, Jacob and I have been watching a lot of Olympics.  For some reason I'm not as into it this year though.  

Don't I totally look like I used a bumpit in my hair?  Rest assured I did not.  Just a slightly curly hair put into a pony tail.

We have also been building a lot of trains.  This track has Isaac's name in it (sort of) and he built it on his own.  Here is the I.

and the S.  And that was really all that I found to be discernible letters.  But he was proud.  I was too.

Ben's new favorite spot is on this bench in the organ room.  He climbs up often and watches out the window.   I think he is looking so big.  

And that is the majority of the photo catch up and happenings of this house.

Isaac

Isaac was recently gifted a bin of train stuff from a nice lady in our ward.  It included many tracks and several trains.  One of the trains is battery operated and can pull the other magnetic trains.  He thinks that thing is awesome!

Isaac woke up early yesterday morning.  Usually when that happens he wants to come into our bed and cuddle until we are ready to get up and moving.  Not so yesterday.  He went straight downstairs and started pulling trains and tracks out of their bins.

After we got up and dressed and fed Jacob put a new battery in the new to us train and officially made Isaac's day.  He played with his trains and tracks ALL day long.   I got tired of hearing the motor of that little engine.  But, Isaac was a happy boy all day long.

With the new tracks we can complete the loop that travels from our living room through the entry way, into the organ room, through the kitchen, and back through the living room.  Isaac loves that.  He calls it "the longest track in the world."  It's pretty cute.  He also named the engine "Chuggington."  I'm not sure if he remembers but I showed him chuggington stuff at the toy store the other day.  He also named one of the train stations but I can't remember what it was called.  Something I'd never heard before.  He certainly has an imagination. I love watching him get so engaged in play and so excited about it.

Isaac is full of energy and spunk and often sass.  He is independent and continues to insist on doing more and more himself.  Isaac sure makes our lives interesting and I love him for it!

Ben

Ben is becoming quite the little stinker.  I think I'm going to chalk it up to continued teething and a cold.  Regardless, it's pretty funny.

He knows nap time is coming when we head to his room and I start to rock and read books.  He almost immediately starts throwing a fit. Crying and kicking and all.  So I stop reading and try and rock and sing his lullaby primary song (I love to See the Temple).  He continues throwing his fit, squirming in my arms and trying to get down.  Just now he even tried to pinch my lips together with his little hands as I started singing.  Super funny.

He is certainly getting to be more of a little boy than a baby.  He'll be 15 months next month and I'll try and get some good photos and write more about his cute little personality then.  I sure love him!

Isaac's First Trip to the Dentist

Last week, when it was like -7 outside, we bundled up bright and early to get Isaac to his very first dentist appointment.  I was too busy hustling out the door and totally forgot my camera.  I'm a little sad I don't have pictures of his first dentist visit.  Oh well.

Jacob and I had noticed some spots in one of his back molars that looked suspiciously cavity like.  I had scheduled an appointment for Isaac in July but decided to try and get him in a little sooner.  I called and they could get us in that Wednesday so we did it, despite the cold temperatures.

Isaac recently had a Bernstein Bears book out from the library about going to the dentist.  It was really good to show all the dental instruments and getting a check up.  We had also talked a lot about what happens so he was well prepared.  I thought he would do really well but sometimes when I think he'll be just fine he isn't...so you never know.  But, he was excellently behaved and cooperative.  The hygienist was really good.  She showed him all the instruments and let him touch them a little before using them to clean his teeth.  She also explained everything she was going to do before doing it and in a way that Isaac understood.  She was great.  He let her clean his teeth without problem and even did well with a fluoride treatment.  you never would have known this was his first visit.

Then the dentist came in.  He also had a good bedside manner and did well with Isaac.  He checked the spots we were concerned about and indeed Isaac does have a cavity.  Bummer.  So, we are headed back in a month to get that filled.  We'll see how well he does with that.  They told us to bring his favorite DVD.  I'm not even sure what that would be.  I guess we'll see how it goes.  Hopefully he'll be equally as cooperative for the filling as he was for the cleaning.

Isaac's favorite part of the visit was picking out a new toothbrush and a few prizes from their bin.  He's also been really good about brushing and flossing since our visit.  I hope that doesn't wear off too quickly.