Choice K & O Quotes from the Past Couple of Weeks

K (after golfing alone with Papi at Lehigh University Golf Team's new driving range and practice center): "Mommy, Lehigh is my favorite golf place. Papi hit the cart. The golf cart. He hit it when it was driving because he hit the ball so far. He's the best golfer in the whole wide world. No other kids were at the Lehigh golf. No other kids are ever at golf places. Just grown ups. But I'm there. I will practice my whole life and when I'm growned up I will be even as good golfer as Tiger Woods. That's how good my Papi is."

O (saying his prayers): "Dear God, I very very very very much want school to start. And thank you for my school. I really love it. And I really love Meera. And I really love my Kyle. And I really love Mommy and Papi. And I really love God. And I really love myself. And I really love everyone in my whole life. Amen."

K (acting up during dinner... I said, "Kyle! Where are your manners?!" and he responded...): "In my pocket."

O (out of the blue, at a totally random moment): "Mommy, what happens if I eat sand? Will a vacation grow in my mouth?"

K (at lunch after eating a big pile of bread and butter pickles): "Mommy, my heart melted when I ate those!"

O (while swinging on the swing set): "Are 'black people' people with brown skin? We are black? Am I black?"

K (completely seriously-- with no tone of sarcasm whatsoever-- in response to me asking him to go dump out the compost in the compost bin): "Sure Mom! I definitely can! I'll be happy to!!!"

O (about Meera, one day when he was watching me nurse her): "Mommy, she's so cute. She's. So. CUTE. She's so cute that sometimes I think I want her to be my lovey. I could cut her in half so Kyle can have her as his lovey too."

K (about Meera, one day when she was wearing a dress that he thought was really pretty): "She looks like a little princess!!! Mom, we really like her!"

O (during a discussion about the Tooth Fairy): "Mommy, is the tooth fairy a girl or a boy? Because I think it is a boy. But other people said it was a girl. But it is not. It is a boy. Right? Because all fairies are boys. Right? That's right. I know that is right. All fairies are boys."

K (sitting down for lunch one day): "Mommy! This looks like a wonderful lunch! This is absolutely delightful!!!"

O (stating the obvious): "Mommy, I like to wear pull-ups at night because then I can just pee right in my bed. And I don't even have to worry about it. Kyle wears no pull-up. But I like to wear it. And also Mommy, when I go poopie on the potty, I always, forever just want you to wipe my butt. Not me mommy, just you!"

K (stating the obvious): "Mommy, in my mind I am thinking that you are just like our server. You are a server mommy! A server to Kyle and Owen!"

;-0

Quote of the Day: "It's delicious!"

This morning I made french toast with the boys for breakfast. Despite what a total mess it makes (picture gooey egg and milk mixture everywhere) they love making it, and they love eating it. Once it was ready we sat down at the table to eat. The boys were excited, devouring their french toast, and raving wildly about how good of a job they had done making it ("We are SUCH good chef-ers! We cooked gooooood french toast! Wow it is soooooooooo gooooooooooood!" etc.) About halfway through his plate of french toast Kyle proclaims:
"It's delicious! I'm eating it right up! It's going right down in my tummy into my big, big uterus!"

Quotes of the Day: "When I am a grown up man..."

This morning, as usual, the boys were cuddling in bed with us just after they woke up. Totally out of the blue Kyle says to me, "Mommy, when I am a grown up man you will sleep with me in my bed -- just like you sleep with Papi!" Then Owen chimed in, "And when I am a grown up man Papi will sleep with me in my bed!" Braydon and I were trying not to laugh. I said, "Well maybe you guys will want to find your own people to sleep with when you are grown up men?! I think you'll want to find your own woman or your own man to sleep in your beds with you!!" Kyle says, "No, mommy, not another woman, just you -- when I am a grown up man you will sleep in my bed!" And Owen says, "Yup, that's right -- when I am a grown up man Papi will sleep in my bed! Not another man, just Papi!"

Quote of the Day: "...so hard to lean over..."

Just a few minutes ago we were putting the boys to bed. I was walking with Owen into his room and just before he climbed up into his bed he dropped his Lovey Lion. Holding Twin Brother in the one arm, he leaned over to pick Lovey Lion up off the floor with his free arm, and then very dramatically he very slowly stood back up from having been bent over-- and as he was very dramatically standing back upright he said (melodramatically, as if he was in pain): "Ugh. Ah. Oh, it is just so hard to lean over. I have a big June in my belly." I had all I could do not to burst out laughing. He looked up at me and said, totally seriously, "I didn't eat her mommy. I didn't chew her. She just grew inside there." And then he very dramatically climbed up into his bed and got snuggled up with Lovey Lion and Twin Brother.

Quote of the Day

This afternoon I was watching the boys flying high on the swing glider in the back yard...

Kyle: Owen, we are super high!
Owen: Yes, Kyle, we are super duper high!
K: Oh my God!!! We are so high!
O: Oh my Lord!!!
K: Oh my God!!!
O: Oh my Lord!!!
K: Don't worry Mommy, we're talking about CHURCH! Don't worry!
O: Yes! We're just talking about CHURCH Mommy!

Quote of the Day: "But I'm not good at that!"

This afternoon we were driving in the car to the hospital for a pre-operative appointment for Owen's umbilical hernia surgery (it is scheduled for March 19). We had been to the pediatric surgeon last week, and somehow in the past few days all fear and anxiety over the upcoming operation has seemed to have evaporated. The boys were in great moods this afternoon (totally unfazed by the idea of surgery/hospital/pre-op-appointment/etc) and they were having a great time in the car fooling around and basically doing their normal stuff--- acting crazy and wild and out-of-control. It was starting to get to be a little too much. From the front driver's seat Braydon said to them "Guys you're getting too revved up. It is time to slow down and quiet down." They basically ignored this and kept on with their antics, including shouting/yelling/screaming whenever they'd see a car type they recognized on the highway (which is often since they recognize many makes and models). He said it again, this time more sternly and more loudly, "Guys, you're getting too revved up. It is time to slow down and quiet down." They both, in unison, started shouting, at the tops of their lungs, "An HHR!!!! An HHR!!!!! An HHR!!!!" I swung around from the passenger seat and yelled at the two of them, "Papi said to quiet down!!!!" Only about one notch quieter (i.e., still waaaay tooooo loud) they started in with screams of, "But it was an HHR! You missed it! An HHR! An HHR!" I swung back around: "THAT IS ENOUGH! NO YELLING!" This stopped them cold. More calmly I said, "Guys, you don't have to yell! We can hear you when you use your regular voice!" Owen, without batting an eye, came right back, "But I'm not good at that!"

Quote of the Day: "A Paci for Baby Sister"

It has been a month since Owen gave up his pacis. He threw them in the trash and never looked back. When the boy's ready, the boy's ready. This afternoon K & O were 'taking a shower' (i.e., mostly playing with water and soap) together in the shower in me and Braydon's bathroom. I was sitting in the bathroom reading while they played on and on for a loooong time. They were having a ball and very conversational in there. At one point I overheard this, from Owen, out of the blue, totally unrelated to anything they had been doing/talking about:
"Kyle, yesterday I put my pacis in the trash. Right in the trash because I didn't need them anymore. And someone needs to take one out for Baby Sister. A tiny one. A paci for Baby Sister. O.k. Kyle?"
Kyle said, "Uh huh."
And that was that.

Quote of the Day

"When I be 36, I'm going to do something dangerous. I'm going to swing off a big huge cliff... Rock on!" --Kyle, tonight at dinner

Quote of the Day: "Man In the Yellow Hat"

The boys have been on Winter Break this week (no school), and although they are doing absolutely positively great, and although I took two days off this week and spent all day with them on Monday and Wednesday, and although we were just on vacation together last week, I still feel the 'Career Mom Yuckies' (as I call it in my own mind) about the fact that 3 of the 7 nights this week I've been out of the house for work. For various reasons (to attend a dinner celebrating the publication of my book, to teach a graduate seminar, to give a paper), 3 of the 7 nights this week I have not been home to eat dinner with my bambinos and tuck them into bed at night. I hate this. Adding insult to injury, I'm leaving later today for a conference and will be away for an overnight "work trip." Ugh. So, this morning it lit up my whole day and made those 'Career Mom Yuckies' vanish for just a moment when the following happened...

For many months now Kyle and Owen have been wrapped up in a full blown love affair with Curious George. They have no interest in Curious George toys, but are enamored with Curious Goerge books and videos. The Curious George books are some of their absolute favorites. They choose Curious George to be read to them by us over and over and over and over. They also love the Curious George videos. They choose Curious George to watch over and over and over -- far more than any other video we own. This morning, in a sweet snuggly moment, Kyle looked me right in the eyes and said~

"Mommy, you are my Man In The Yellow Hat."

This is the second time he's said this to me (he said it to me one day this past summer too.)

Quote of the Day

Tonight after dinner we were all upstairs getting the boys ready for bed. They both had to go "poopie in the potty" at exactly the same time (this happens a lot with them). Very regularly they'll both pee together in one potty at the same time. But when it comes to poopie they have to split up. So, Owen was on the potty in the boys' bathroom and Kyle was on the potty in Braydon and I's bathroom. While we were waiting for them, Braydon and I were cleaning and neatening and sorting in the boys' bedrooms. I quietly entered my bedroom to head into the bathroom to check on Kyle. As I got within earshot I could here Kyle talking to himself while sitting on the potty (Kyle talks virtually non-stop for every waking hour whether in the presence of others or not). I could hear him in there, all alone, chit chatting away. Before reaching the bathroom I stopped to listen in on him and this is what I heard:
"I love my baby! I love my baby! I love Baby Sister, I love Baby Sister, I love Baby Sister! And she needs to come out of that big big belly!" And then very loudly, "Mommy come wipe my butt!"

Quotes of the Day re: Baby Sister

"I just can't wait to give Baby Sister a bath. In the sink. She is too little to go in the tub. And, she might try to eat our bath toys. So she'll go in the sink. I'll do it! I think I'll love it!" --Owen

"Mommy, when my baby is borned you will do this: You will bring her to my school, you will bring her into my classroom, and I will show her to all the children. That is what you will do. O.k.?!" --Kyle

Quote of the Day

This one comes from the "Things I Never Thought I'd Hear Myself Say" Category~~

"Owen! We do NOT put pretzels in our shoes! NO MORE pretzels in your shoes! O.k. Owen?"
--Heather

Overheard

This morning we were getting ready to head out and I was in the laundry room throwing clothes in the dryer. This is what I heard emanating from the kitchen:

HBJ: You really really want Mac and Cheese for lunch today?
K&O: YES YES YES! I really really want it!
HBJ: But you just had mac and cheese for dinner last night.
K&O: Silence
HBJ: Ok, I will make you mac and cheese for lunch today, you can help me, let's get a pot.
K&O : Mac and cheese - thank you!
K: You are the best mommie ever!
O: You are the best mommie in the whole world!
HBJ: Thank you my baby - that makes it worth it!

I emerge and what do I find at 7:20 AM: A pot of boiling water with Heather, Kyle & Owen crowded around it making mac and cheese; all happy as can be!

Quote of the Day: "Excuse Me..."

For an explanation of why we still allow Owen to use a pacifier, click here

Owen continues to be completely 100% unselfconscious of being 3+ years old and still using a pacifier. At this point he has only 2 left (all others have gotten lost, broken, or just disappeared over time). The 2 he has left are very old and don't even work very well anymore, but as much as we're willing to let this paci thing continue we aren't going to actively support the habit by actually buying him any new ones. He only uses the paci when he sleeps at night. But just recently we've noticed that Owen might be finally showing signs of starting to give up the paci even for that. For the past couple of weeks we've seen that he'll suck like crazy on his paci as he's drifting into sleep, but by the time we check in on him before we go to bed his paci is long dropped out of his mouth, he's sucking his thumb (so now we have two thumb suckers!), and he seems to sleep the rest of the night without the pacifier. Since he seems to be showing signs of letting go of the paci, yesterday we decided that we should start helping him officially move in that direction. So, last night, unbenounced to him, after Owen fell asleep, we found his paci in his bed and put it on his bedside table, out of his reach. All was good and the night was peaceful. ...Then... very early this morning we're all sleeping soundly and the house is silent and pitch dark. Completely out of the blue I jolt upright in bed to Owen's voice -- saying very calmly and very clearly and very loudly (not yelling or shouting, but definitely loud enough to hear throughout the house): "Excuse me?! Excuse me mommy and papi?! Excuse me?!" Braydon bolted into his room trying to get there before Owen woke up his brother. As soon as Braydon opened the door to Owen's room I hear: "Excuse me papi?! Can you please help me find my paci?!"

Quote of the Day: "Hey, June..."

For back-story to this post, click here.
This morning we were all sitting at the table eating breakfast. Owen was eating waffles and was explaining to us, in detail, that June was eating waffles too. He went on and on and on about June (par for the course these days) -- how she was sitting in the chair right next to him, she was eating waffles, he was putting the syrup on her waffles for her, she was eating "very well," etc., etc., etc. Kyle's reactions to Owen's long monologues about June are quite funny -- About half the time he seems to just roll with it and take it all in stride; the rest of the time he sort of looks at Owen like he's an absolute lunatic - like, "um, hey brother, let's get real, June is not here, not at all man." This morning Kyle just sat there blurry-eyed, half-dazed, and confused about all of this, basically eating his pancakes, ignoring all this June-talk, and minding his own business. Meanwhile Braydon and I did what we do when it comes to June... nod our heads affirmingly, slowly respond to Owen's chatter with "oh! uh huh! wow! yes! oh! uh huh! wow! yes!", raise our eyebrows and roll our eyes at each other. It just seems endless- this incessant talk about June. Anyway, this morning, Owen's going on and on about how June is sitting there at the table with us eating breakfast, Kyle's deliriously trying to just ignore it and eat his pancakes, and Braydon and I eventually were desperately trying to move on to other topics. I said to Braydon, "So, what's on your agenda today?" He happily took the bait and started to tell me about his day. Meanwhile, Owen clearly realized that we were no longer a captive audience, that we had moved on to other things, and that no one in his family was actually listening to him anymore. Out of the corner of my eye I watched Owen take another bite of waffle, briefly ponder his current situation, then look at "June" (i.e., the seat next to him). Suddenly he wiggled around in his booster seat to sit up straight, poofed his chest outward, shot his right arm up in the air, pulled the sleeve up, leaned toward "June", and said very proudly: "Hey, June, FEEL MY MUSCLE!"

Quote of the Day: "Mama and Papi"

This photo has nothing to do with the quote of the day, except that this photo shows one of the many wonderful aspects of Kyle that make him one of my best friends in the whole wide world: his expressiveness for his love of life. If you click on the photo you can see it larger to get a sense of the expression on his face. He was riding his scooter in our driveway, at the end of a long day, in the pouring rain, and he was just loving life. Being around Kyle is like being with someone who's emotions are transparent. He's just right there, right at the surface, almost all the time. It is one of the things that make him so easy to love. Anyway... the quote of the day is from Kyle~~ This evening the four of us were driving in the car to a Housewarming Party for Alex and her roommate Esther (they recently moved into a new house). We were talking about who would be at the party, etc. To Kyle and Owen I said, "Boys, who is Alex's best friend?" They both said, "Esther!!!" I said, "Yes! That's right!" Then I asked them, "Who is your best friend?" Without any hesitation, Kyle immediately said: "Mama and Papi." Braydon and I thought we were going to die of love for this child. (Note: Owen said his best friend was "Ta-vik-a" -- click here, and then shortly after Kyle changed his mind and said his best friend was "Ta-vik-a" too. ?!)

Quote of the Day / Stating the Obvious

Kyle: "I don't like sleeping."

Quote of the Day

This afternoon we were playing at the pool. I was in the pool holding my arms out for Owen to jump to me from the edge. He likes to dive and jump and cannonball by himself and definately does not need me there (and rarely wants me there) to jump to... however... this afternoon he said: "Mommy, I will jump to you and you will catch me!" I said, "O.k.!" He stood on the edge of the pool, directly facing me in the water, with his beautiful little arms outstretched, full eye contact with me. I said, "I will catch you and then I will hug you!" He said, "Yes Mommy! I need love."

Quote of the Day: "...twenty years old."

This afternoon Kyle and Owen were pretending that they were setting off fireworks. They would run back and forth from the deck to the middle of the yard where MorFar had set off the fireworks for the 4th of July. They told me over and over that they were "pretending to be MorFar!" They had me standing on the deck and I was repeatedly instructed that I was to "pretend to be the Waters!" This went on and on and on for about 20 minutes. After about the millionth time of this fireworks-pretending-routine, as we were standing on the deck, Kyle said: "Mama, I want to really do the fireworks. Not pretend. Real. I want to be MorFar." I said, "Kyle, when you are a big man, just like MorFar, then you can do fireworks for real. But now you can only pretend." Kyle said, "But I am getting big. I am getting to be a big man just like MorFar." I said, "No, Kyle, you're not old enough yet." He came right back: "But, Mama, how old is MorFar?" I said, "You want to know how old he is? Kyle, MorFar is SIXTY! Sixty years old!" He thought about this for a second, then he said, "Yes, Mama, MorFar is sixty years old. And MorMor is twenty years old."

Quotes of the Day

Kyle and I, lying in bed alone together early this morning, discussing his numerous scrapes, cuts, bruises, and gashes all over his entire body... Kyle: "Mommy, I like owies. Mommy, I like to crash."

The whole family, riding in the car this evening driving home from Father's Day dinner at the boys' favorite restaurant (Carrabas), I was trying to explain to K & O that the back-seat windows in our car do not go all the way down like the back-seat windows did in the rental car we had on Virgin Gorda... Owen: "Mommy, I'm so mad at you about these windows. Mommy, I need to be rude at you!"