Master Manipulator

Andrew is the master manipulator. Here is an example of his cleverness.

He woke up from his nap screaming and crying. I had to go in and get him, even though he can easily climb out himself. When asked why he said, "I wanted someone to carry me out of my bed." He continued to cry as I held him in my lap. Here is our conversation, all with him crying and hyper-ventilating:

Me: Andrew, why are you still crying?
Andrew: Because (sniffle, sniffle) I want my juice (as he starts sobbing again).
Me: Well, then go get your juice.
Andrew: I want you to get my juice.
Me: Well, I want you to get your juice.
Andrew: Get my juice.
Me: Get your juice.
Andrew: No, you get it.
Me: No, you get it.
Andrew: GET MY JUICE!
Me: (much calmer) Get your juice.
Andrew: Mommy (sobbing, with trembling lips and everything), no, I want you to get my juice.
Me: I want you to get your own juice.
Andrew: I'm hungry. (I guess he figured that since the above argument wasn't working, he'd switch tactics.)
Me: Okay.
Andrew: I want a snack.
Me: Okay.
Andrew: Can I have a snack?
Me: Maybe
Andrew: (with his little impish smile) I can?
Me: Maybe, if I hear the right words.
Andrew: Please can I have a snack please?
Me: Yes
Andrew: (all smiles now)Okay. I'll get my juice and you get the snack.

I admit, the boy is good. See ya later alligator...

This is how two little boys entertain themselves...until someone gets hurt!

See ya later alligator...

Because We Love Each Other

When I checked on the boys Wednesday night, this is what I found. I asked Phillip the next morning, "Why did you both sleep in the same bed?" He thought a minute and said, "Because we love each other!" Now, if that isn't the sweetest thing...

See ya later alligator...

Random Andrew Quotes

Quotes from Andrew:

After finishing his pizza...
"My tummy is saying it's full and my bike is saying it's time to ride my bike!"

We saw a truck drive down a dirt road and kick up some dust.
"I just saw that truck do somethin'. It went down the road and made dirt steam."

He's a funny little boy! See ya later alligator...

Who's There?

On the way to dinner tonight, Phillip started telling Knock-Knock jokes. We've told them before, but it's been awhile, so he must have heard some at school. He's got the format down, but doesn't quite get the gist of them.

Phillip: Knock. Knock.
Us: Who's There?
Phillip: Chicken Nugget
Us: Chicken Nugget Who?
Phillip: Uh...Chicken Nugget Phillip!

Andrew: Knock. Knock
Us: Who's There?
Andrew: Banana Split with Oranges
Us: Banana Split with Oranges Who?
Andrew: Banana Split with Oranges Andrew!

Phillip: Knock. Knock.
Us: Who's There?
Phillip: Banana Splits
Us: Banana Splits Who?
Phillip: Banana Splits...Phillip!

(These were after I told the classic "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" joke.)

These are just a few of the ones I can remember. I'll add more if he comes up with any more gems. See ya later alligator...

Lost & Found

I had just picked up Phillip from school and we were slowly driving out of the parking lot...

Phillip: Hey! There's my friend, his name is Tyler.
Me: I know.
Phillip: Do you know what happened to him today?
Me: No, tell me.
Phillip: He fell and lost his breath.
Me: Oh, that's too bad.
Phillip: Yeah, but he must have found it again.

HA! See ya later alligator...

Andrew Running the 100m

Andrew was inspired by watching Usain Bolt break the world record in the 100m and wanted to trty it himself! He did it 3 times, adding a lap each time and made me record it every time!

See ya later alligator...

Time To Go Bowling

Andrew: "It's time to go bowling."
Me: "What?"
Andrew: "Mommy, it's time to go bowling. My watch (pointing to the Buzz Lightyear compass he's wearing on his wrist) says it's time to go bowling."
Me: "Okay."
Andrew: "Phillip, we got to go bowling."
Phillip: "In just a minute, okay?" (Wonder where he got that line from??)
Andrew: "Okay."

Then on to the next thing as the attention span on the bowling thing comes to an end (until big brother reminds him that it's time to go bowling!).

Andrew: (5 minutes later) Mommy, I thought you were going bowling with us!"

These two boys are crazy! See ya later alligator...

Big Brother vs. Little Brother

We were hanging out this morning and Phillip asked if we could play Cootie. The last time we tried to play with Andrew, he got upset when he didn't roll the numbers he needed and he quit halfway through the game, so I told Phillip that Andrew wasn't quite old enough to play with us yet and if we started playing, he would definitely want to join us, so we would play it later when we were by ourselves. Phillip walks over to Andrew and says,

"Andrew, do you want to go sleep more?"

HA! Nice try big brother, but the offer of sleep is not going to entice your little brother to leave you alone to play a game with mom!

See ya later alligator...

Uh-Oh, We're in Trouble

We're all in the car one day with the radio on and a Michael Buble song comes on and Chris turns it up...

Chris: Phillip, you hear this singer? You need to sing like him when you grow up.
Phillip: What?!?
Chris: He sounds good, you need to learn to sing like this.
Phillip: Sing like this?? No Way!! I'm gonna be a rock star and ROCK OUT (while strumming his air guitar)!

Oh, boy...see ya later alligator.

Christmas in July

Fun in the tub...

Andrew as Santa Claus or Kenny Rogers or Colonel Sanders!

It's even funnier when he's talking because you just can't capture his inflections in print.

See ya later alligator...

Gee, Thanks Phillip

Phillip and I were walking hand in hand into Sam's Club the other night. He then wrapped his hand and arms around my arm and leaned his head on my arm as we walked. Then, he started rubbing my arm, looked up at me, smiled, and said,

"I like your fur mommy, it's soft."

I said, "Gee, thanks Phillip" and then started laughing hysterically. See ya later alligator...

Hold Your Horses!

Andrew was eating breakfast this morning and, after just a few bites, decided he was done and wanted to get down. I was sitting next to him doing something else...

Andrew: I'm done, I want to go play. I'm done Mommy, I want to go play! Mommy, I'm done!

Me: Hold your horses Andrew.

Andrew: (very indignant) I'm not a horsee Mommy, I'm Andrew. Silly Mommy! (shakes his head smiling)

Thanks for clearing that up for me Andrew! See ya later alligator...

I'm So Pretty

Andrew: I want a really pretty dress!
Me: You want a really pretty dress?!?
Andrew: Yes, I want a really pretty dress like Riley.
Me: But, little girls wear dresses and little boys don't (Is it okay to say this?? Or is it reinforcing those darn gender roles??)
Andrew: Oh, but I want to be pretty.

He's got a pretty good start on being pretty in his tiara.

But, Mommy Isn't Very Good at Soccer

Phillip has really gotten into playing Wii bowling (and is really good at it, his record is 213!). We use it as a reward if he has a good day at school. Andrew doesn't really like to play because he hasn't quite gotten the hand-eye coordination down enough and it's frustrating for him. So, I started bowling with Phillip and Chris plays soccer with Andrew and everyone is happy.

Phillip had a good day at school today, so while he was eating dessert, he was planning out the rest of our evening.

Phillip: "So, we'll go clean up and then Mommy can bowl with me and Daddy can play soccer with Andrew."
Chris: "What if Mommy plays soccer with Andrew and I bowl with you?"
Phillip: (pause, said with defeat) "Okay."
Andrew: (with the most pitiful voice you've ever heard) "But Mommy isn't good at soccer."

I guess there's no hiding the truth...even from a 2 year old!

See ya later alligator...

It's actually a Q

Phillip built this shape with the train tracks while I was at a meeting today.

After he woke up from his nap, I complimented him on his "neat circle track".

He responded with

"It's actually a Q Mommy. See, it has the circle and then the line coming down from it."

Wow! He is just too smart. I guess we're doing something right.

See ya later alligator...

PS- I finished a post today that I started a few days ago. So, make sure you scroll down a few days and look at "When I Grow Up... (Part Seven)". It's Hilarious!

The Family Band

Here are some pics of the boys and their 'band'. That's Phillip on the guitar and Andrew on the keyboards. They wouldn't play together long enough for me to get some video of them jammin', maybe next time!

This first one isn't with any instruments, but I thought it was an adorable picture of Andrew, so I included it too!

See ya later alligator...

Jail

Phillip: (pretending to dial and talk on his play cell phone) 9-1-1, can you please come and put Andrew in jail? He's yelling and screaming and yawning and messing my toys up. Can you please come quick and put him in jail? You can? Ok, bye.

Phillip: (to Andrew) Andrew, I called the policeman and he's going to come and take you to jail and put you in the cage.

See ya later alligator...

When I Grow Up... (Part Seven)

Phillip: "Do you know what I want to be when I grow up?"
Me: "No, what?"
Phillip: "I want to be a rock star!"
Me: "A rock star? Wow!"
Phillip: "Who can be a rock star with me?"
Me: "I don't know."
Phillip: "I know, how about Daddy? Daddy can be a rock star with me. He's really good."
(Phillip has seen Chris play guitar hero and thinks he's already a rock star!)

Above, see Phillip rocking out with his guitar he got for Christmas. Notice the Spider-Man slippers, which he insisted be part of his ensemble. If he ever does go on the road, we'll definitely have to get him a stylist!!

And now, introducing the sound stylings of Phillip...

See ya later alligator...

His Own Game

I'm sitting with Andrew while he finishes his breakfast. He says, "Hey! Let's play the hopscotch train game."
Puzzled, I respond, "I don't know what that is."
Smiling, he says, "It's where you take the trains and you say, 'Hopscotch, here we come'!"
Laughing, I say, "Okay, let's play when you get done."
He says, "Daddy, and Phillip, and Mommy, and Andrew can all get trains and play."
I say, "Daddy and Phillip aren't here."
He says, "Oh, yeah, they're at work."
I say, "Well, Daddy is at work and Phillip is at school."
He says, "You can sit in the chair and I'll sit on the couch and wait for them." "Mommy, you can sit in the chair and I'll sit on the couch and wait."

After breakfast, he immediately went and got the trains and got one for himself and said, "Hey! Let's play" pause "Oh, you don't have a train, let me get you a train Mommy." He goes and gets me Emily. "Here you go Mommy, let's play now" and he's off doing something else.

All day long, it's his own games and ideas...with no one's help.

See ya later alligator...

What Are You Going To Eat?

I hosted a baby shower for a friend of mine yesterday at 2 pm, so I was staying at the church once Sunday School got out so we could set up and decorate before the shower started.

On the way to church, Chris and I were discussing the logistics of how the afternoon was going to proceed. At one point, he asked, "What are you going to eat?"

From the backseat, we hear Andrew whisper, "A sandwich"!

He had not been in the conversation at all, but apparently wanted to send us a subliminal message about what he wanted for lunch! It was too funny and his timing was perfect. We laughed most of they way to church.

See ya later alligator...

When I Grow Up... (Part Six)

Phillip: When I grow up, I want to be a cooker.
Me: A cooker? What kinds of food do you want to cook?
Phillip: Umm, cake.
Me: (Laughing) Cake, huh? That would be called a baker.
Phillip: Yeah, I want to be a baker that cooks cake.
Me: Is that all you want to bake?
Phillip: I want to bake desserts: cupcakes, cookies, brownie, cake, and candy.
Me: Candy, too, huh? So, you would be a baker and a candy maker.
Phillip: Yeah, a baker and a candy maker.
Me: Yum, that sounds good! Will you make some for your mommy?
Phillip: Yes, and for Daddy.
Andrew: And some for me!
Phillip: Andrew, you could help me. You can make the candy and I'll bake the cakes.
Andrew: I can help you?
Phillip: Yes
Andrew: Yahoo! Let's go!
Phillip: Not know, silly, when we grow up!

See ya later alligator...

Cookie Dough

We're at the dinner table talking and I mention to Chris that Phillip's school is selling cookie dough. Phillip's ears immediately perk up and he starts trying to interrupt Chris and I talking. When we finally acknowledge him, he says, "Why did you say cookie dough?"

So I explained that his school was selling cookie dough. (If you're interested in buying some, let me know!)

He, of course, asked why.

I told him it was so he could make money.

"So, I can make money to buy a camper?" Phillip asks incredulously.

(Note: Phillip has been obsessed with campers lately and really wants us to buy one, even though we've told him numerous times that they cost too much and we don't have that much money. He thinks we do because he sees the dish full of coins on Chris' night table!)

Of course, Chris and I burst out laughing. Then I had to explain to Phillip that everyone at the school sells it so the school can make money to buy new things for the school.

He seemed satisfied by this answer, but very disappointed.

See ya later alligator...

When I Grow Up... (Part Five)

Phillip: I don't want to be a baseball player anymore.
Me: You don't huh? Well, what do you want to be?
Phillip: A Knight.
Phillip: With a Sword and a Shield.
Me: Wow, that sounds cool.
Phillip: And a big castle. A knight with a big castle.
Me: Neat.
Phillip: And with a princess.
Me: Oh, of course, with a princess.
Phillip: The knight saves the princess.
Me: You're right. That sounds like a plan.

Where do they come up with these things?!? See ya later alligator...

When I Grow Up... (Part Four)

Phillip: Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to be a baseball player.
Me: Okay, that sounds like a great plan.

Not funny, but just trying to keep track of all of his choices so I can show them to him when he grows up. I know if I don't write them down, I'll never remember!

See ya later alligator...

I'll Shoot You Up

What is up with boy's obsessions with guns?!? Having done nothing to promote guns or shooting in my house, my 4 year old is currently building a 'fire shooter' out of colored lacing beads. What's up with that? Why did he decide that's what he was building?

After telling his 2 year old brother that's what he was building, Andrew got a play rolling pin from the kitchen and started 'shooting' Phillip, with sounds and everything. So, Phillip took one of the beads and started 'shooting' back, again with sounds (which are much better than Andrew's, BTW).

I just don't understand...I guess I just don't have enough testosterone.

See ya later alligator...

It's 2009!

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As we enter a new year, we're thankful for you.
May you all enjoy God's goodness throughout the new year.