Random connectedness

Why do I always feel like we're bribing Cole? Keith calls it "persuasive negotiation." Oh you want that? Well you have to do this first. 

Dinner is also always a negotiation. Oh you want more cous cous? Well you've got to eat more carrots and turnips first.

Imagination at work - awesomely fun games with two laundry baskets (I wish I could always keep those empty) and an old dumbbell weight. 

Bevin is pretty strong willed. Her breechiness wouldn't turn when she was in the womb, what makes me think she's going to suddenly like sleeping in the swing or sleeping by herself for that matter?! Gotta keep trying though, says Keith, or else you'll never know if it will one day work. 

Cole does not like to throw things out. He gets upset when we talk about getting rid of something. "No!! Don't throw that old/ratty, broken ____ out! No. No!!" ( goes to garbage can to inspect). 

Just as soon as I wrote on the Internet that Cole doesn't take his jealousy out on his sister, he does. Of course. "Go back to sleep, Bevin!" 

To Keith: "you can play with this giraffe and mommy can play with this giraffe and I can play with this giraffe. But Bevin can't play with this giraffe."  He's also known to give her a toy and then snatch it away from her so quickly she's looking around in consternation. "Mama? Like, what just happened?"

Some fun words he's created. Must write them down before they become a thing of the past....

Fruthie: Fruit+Smoothie

Hanitizer: Hand Sanitizer

Thumbderstorm: Thunderstorm

They found a caterpillar at Anna's school this week and are keeping it in a plastic container with leaves and are going to watch as he makes a cocoon for himself. So the other night Cole said (in bed)"I'm going to wrap myself up like a raccoon!" 

Would you believe I read Blue Hat Green Hat (Sandra Boynton) to him for the first time in maybe a year. Even though he completely forgot the book, he still laughed at the exact same jokes a year later. "Ooops!!" It works every time. 

A recent conversation with a tired Cole:

Mama: "What do you like about being a big brother?"

Cole: "I don't know. It's complicated."

Bevin's first day of day care was a few weeks ago. (She lasted all of 3 hours). Cole proudly carried the cooler of pumped milk to and from the car into Anna's school. When we got there one of his friends pointed to her younger baby brother and said "that's my brother" and Cole turned to Bevin and said "this is my baby sister." I told Anna Bevin liked to be sung to but not what the songs were hoping Cole would fill her in. He totally did. He even brought a musical card he got for Easter that plays the first few lines of "you are my sunshine" to help him remember. 

Some recent things he's said that either broke, melted, or warmed my heart:

"You destroyed my nice time with daddy."

"You're my best buddy, Bevin."

"Clean that mess up Bevin. Clean that drool up!"

"I tell you what. You sit in the rocking chair while I lay down and take a nap. " (Thaat didn't actually happen.)

Then today I tried repeatedly to get him to take a nap, or at least rest.. Lately, he's just a mess by 4 pm and wreaking havoc just when Keith is cooking dinner and I'm trying to nurse the baby or wear her down. It makes for some pretty stressful moments. So we decided enough is enough. He's gotta rest even if he doesn't sleep. I don't know if today is going to be the only day he will ever do this (it's too late, I already posted the pic on Instagram and Facebook), but I had to share because I was dumbfounded when he laid on the couch and fell asleep two minutes later.