No Lack of Black - the FOB blog: February 2010

Swing

We've had some really beautiful weather the past couple of days, just perfect to be outside as much as possible! We have a great, big, old tree in our front yard, so Vince borrowed the neighbors ladder (well, really he borrowed the ladder several weeks back to try to clean the ice out of the gutters on the back of the house which gets very little sun and is still totally covered in snow... but that's a different story) and hung a rope from one of the large branches. The boys are in love with their new swing. And yes, Ezra is outside without shoes on and no, it was not that warm. That is truly a child who lived in North Dakota for most of his life... 47 degrees is warm enough to be barefoot... I think if it hits 50, he'll be ready to play in the sprinkler!

On a side note... Obed also enjoys the swing, but Vince couldn't get a picture of him since he was a bit nervous to take his hand off of Obed while swinging since "hold on tight" seems to be a concept a bit lost on Obed at this point.

Solomon's First Food

"Hey, Look at me all cute in my little seat. And what's this new thing to chew on? I like it!"

"Oooooo, what is this? I should probably put it in my mouth to discover what it is - you know, because that's the best and safest way to learn - by putting everything in my mouth."

"I'm pretty sure it's poison."

"Quick, I'll spit it all out and maybe it won't penetrate my system. What is this stuff? There's no way it can be good for me. Seriously mom, what are you trying to do to me?"

A Trip to the Zoo

Vince has been out of town for the past 5 days and flew back into Denver today. The boys and I got to head to the airport this morning to pick him up and thought we would take advantage of our Denver Zoo membership and visit the zoo since we were already down that way.

We started out visiting the lions. The zoo has a glass wall where we could see the lions up close and personal. It's a little creepy being nose to nose with a lion - there was this small, nagging thought at the back of my head saying, "what if this glass doesn't hold? What if the lion lunges and comes right through and eats my baby and me?" Sure, this probably wouldn't happen... but wow, those things are HUGE!

The lion thought Obed looked like a tasty snack.

There was also a glass wall to view the hyenas. Did you know a hyena is not a dog or even a member of the canine family? I didn't. It's a member of the mongoose family... there, now you've learned your interesting fact of the day (assuming you didn't know the hyena is not a dog).

We let the boys go for a ride on the carousel today. At first, Asher and Obed were pretty sure it was torture and NO fun at all. Asher warmed up to the ride... Obed? Not so much.

Little legs get tired walking so much. We have the triple stroller, but it won't fit in the back of the van, so we only travel with the double... but it works too.

Solomon snugly peeping out of the Moby.

There were some really talented geese balancing on fence posts on one leg. I couldn't do that... but then again, I'm not a talented goose.

There were literally hundreds of ducks and geese swimming in this tiny little swimming hole. It sounded like a duck chorus as they all quacked at once. Obed loved it.

The Denver Children's Museum

The boys and I headed to the Denver Children's Museum today with some friends from church and had a fantastic day of play! When you first walk in the museum, there is a real fire truck, complete with bells, sirens and lights. My boys were sold!

There were also mini-fire coats and fire hats (adjustable hats, mind you, to fit the freakishly large melons my boys possess).

Then we headed upstairs, where there were several exhibits. There was a grocery store with a kitchen for cooking, which all the kids enjoyed for quite some time. First, Obed did the shopping.

Then Asher, Obed, and their buddy Rooker made some tasty plastic treats for lunch.

Asher was a very serious cook, making sure to wear an apron while he cooked.

Ezra did a bit of clean up on aisle 3.

Then we headed to the art exhibit, where the boys each painted pictures. Notice how Obed is holding the paintbrush. He did not want to get his delicate little hands dirty (this from the kid who dips his toothbrush into the toilet, but heaven forbid he gets paint on his fingers!).

The room which seemed to hold the interest of all the kids the longest was the giant tree room. It was a room that looks like a tree. There were tunnels under the tree roots, as well as little hidey holes for the kids to climb through. There were all sorts of costumes for the kids to dress up in - costumes of the types of animals that might live in or just below a tree. Obed was a bunny...

As was Ezra.

For a time, Asher was a squirrel and gathered acorns for the winter (and he kept asking where the feed corn was - "why don't they have feed corn here mommy? Squirrels like feed corn.")

The outfit that made me laugh the most today, however, was the earthworm. Asher wore the earthworm costume for quite a long time. He finally took it off after he asked what earthworms eat and I told him they eat just about everything. "Even poop?" he asked. When I told him they probably ate poop, he decided he was done being an earthworm.

Asher crawling into the ground, under the tree, just as an earthworm might do (sans the legs, sweatpants and tennis shoes of course).

Obed's New Toothbrush

Obed got a new toothbrush today. Why, you might ask? Well, after hearing shrieks of "NO OBED! NO! DON'T!" from Ezra last night, I ran into the bathroom, only to find Obed happily brushing away. When asked why he was screaming, Ezra promptly replied, "Obed couldn't reach the sink to rinse his toothbrush, so he dipped it into the toilet and then kept brushing." Yup, that's my kid.

The Digits

Solomon had his 6 month check today. This may surprise some of you... but he measured on the "large" side of the spectrum. He weighed in at 20 lbs, 3 oz (90%) and was 28 1/2 inches long (97%). Solomon is the largest of the 4 boys at 6 months. He is 3 pounds heavier than Ezra was at 6 months, and over 2 inches longer. He is 2 pounds heavier than Asher was, and about an inch longer. And about 1/2 pound heavier than Obed was, and over an inch longer. Praising God that Solomon is well and healthy!

New Baby Carrier

I got a new baby carrier today. I've had a Baby Bjorn since Ezra was born, and I've gotten many miles out of it. The older I get, however, and the heavier my kids get, the more and more the Bjorn hurts my neck and back. I just can't wear it anymore.

Solomon is at that stage where he has almost outgrown his car seat, but he still cannot sit up. I can hardly lift his car seat into a cart if we go to a store (since the combined weight of Solomon and the car seat is well over 30 pounds), so shopping is a bit challenging (plus I need to strap Obed down into the cart since the child has a bit of a wandering spirit in the stores and requires much attention).

I did some research and read a lot of good reviews about the Moby Wrap. My dear husband stopped by a children's store and picked one up for me today (a store full of women looking at cute baby things, also looking at the creepy bearded man walking aimlessly through the store as well).

I really, really like my new Moby Wrap. I can wear it in a bunch of different positions and Solomon is quite content to just sort of sit in the front of me and bounce along as we go. He even fell asleep in it this afternoon, which is great news! It gives me another option for him if we must be out and about during a nap time. And the best part? Thus far, my neck and shoulders have not hurt. Two thumbs up from this mama!

A Date at the Drum Store

Now that we are a bit more settled, we are starting up our weekly dates with the boys once again. This past Saturday was Asher's turn to go out with Daddy, and they headed to the drum store in Old Town. Asher was a little timid at first, but once he realized he could play as loud as he wanted and it all came through the headphones, he was hooked. He sat at the drum store for a good 30 minutes, enjoying banging around on the drums.

Senior Thickness

The kid is thick.

The Banana Phone

The boys have a banana most mornings with breakfast. Their father (who shall remain nameless for the sake of anonymity - you know, should the paparazzi find out his immense talents and then try to find out where he is... I want to protect him from that, thus the anonymity) generally grabs the bananas from the banana basket (say that 5 times fast) and on his way back to the table, strikes up a conversation on the banana phone.

The boys are learning to pick up this grand talent, and many mornings, spend a bit of time talking on the banana phone as well. They have not quite yet grabbed the conversational genius their father possesses. Their conversations typically go something like this...

Ezra: "Hello?"

Asher: "Hu-woah?"

Ezra: "HELLO?"

Asher "HU-WHOA!"

Ezra: "Daddy, I said hello to Asher and he didn't answer. He just kept saying hello."

Asher: "Daddy, dat's not twue. I said hu-woah and Ezwa just kept saying hu-whoa. He didn't ansuh."

Then some time is spent arguing about who was supposed to call and who was supposed to pick up the banana phone, at which time, the fun of the banana phone is over and we promptly peel the banana phones and break them in half so the boys can eat the phones, thus ending argument.

Falling Asleep While Reading

Occasionally, Obed falls asleep while looking at books at night.

S.R. Jones

Most days he goes by Obed, Bo-Bo or Boo-Boo-Bear. These days, however, he goes by Snot Rocket Jones and the Boogie Bunch.

Birthday Celebrations

I had a birthday this week, so of course, as it goes with birthdays in the Black house, the boys were very, very excited. All week, they have been drawing me birthday pictures and singing happy birthday to me.

Asher was so excited about my birthday presents. He had a hard time keeping them a secret (which he usually does pretty well). He never actually told me what I was getting for my birthday. He did, however, whisper (ever so quietly) to me what Daddy might like for his birthday (which is not for another 9 months). Several times this week Asher came up to me and whispered, "Mommy, I think Daddy would like new sun glasses for his birthday." The one that sort of "showed his hand" was when Asher whispered, "Mommy, I think Daddy would like a new skirt for his birthday." Shocking, I know... I got new sunglasses and a skirt for my birthday.

So the morning began with opening presents. Then Vince and the boys made me a carrot cake.

All the boys have had nicknames throughout their childhood. Ezra has been String Bean, or Beaner. Obed is Boo-Boo-Bear or Bo-Bo. Asher used to be Meatball, then Smasher (due to his tendency towards clumsiness). Meatball and Smasher evolved into Smash Burger. Imagine his surprise and delight when we moved to a city that has a restaurant called Smash Burger! That being said, we went to Smash Burger for lunch for my birthday. Obed was ready to go... although he didn't quite get the right shoes on.

The boys enjoyed Smash Burger... but really, how can you not enjoy a good hamburger and fries (every once in a while that is).

The boys thought the thing I would enjoy most for my birthday would be a picnic and camp-out on the living room floor (they must not know about things like pedicures, massages, or nice meals out yet - although the picnic and camping on the living room floor might be a close second).

We then had birthday cake (which was so yummy! Kudos to my husband for being a great cook!!). I forgot to buy more birthday candles so either A) We used the candle I had, which just happened to be the left over Lightening McQueen candle from Asher's birthday or B) I LOVE McQueen. So much so, in fact, that it was the only candle I truly wanted on my cake so as to show off my love for McQueen (I'll let you choose A or B).

After our picnic and cake, we roasted a few marshmallows over the fire, as would occur with any good camping experience.

Then it was camping time. Ezra and Asher are still chatting away in the tent as I type. Obed? Well, Obed lost the privilege of sleeping in the tent after he was in and out of the tent about 12 times, crawling on top of Ezra and Asher, throwing their animals out of the tent and just being a 2 year old sleeping in a tent, so he is currently asleep in his room. Maybe this summer he will be ready for a real camping trip (at least it was good practice, eh?).

All in all, a fun day with lots of memories for the boys. I'm grateful for my boys who want to make my birthday special for me. I truly am blessed!

Who Needs Girls?

For some reason, unbeknown to me, the boys decided last night after dinner that they wanted to do my hair. It started out with Ezra and Asher getting a few of my brushes and simply brushing, twisting and knotting my hair.

Then Obed wanted to get in on the action and brought out the "cutters" (also known as my flat iron for my hair).

The way Obed "cut" my hair with the cutters was to grab a few hairs between the cutters and then pinch the cutters together, and then proceed to pull, yanking my hair out.