Be tough!

The other day the boys were outside riding their bikes. Caleb zoomed down our neighbor's driveway in his usual fashion (a little too fast) and tumbled over the handlebars onto the asphalt. Joshua hurried over to survey the damage. He planted his hand on Caleb's shoulder and said "In Jesus' name, be healed... be tough! Amen." Joe and I often tell the boys to "be tough" when they fall and get a boo-boo, so I guess it only seemed natural to Joshua to tack that on to the end of his prayer.

Signs

While Joshua is happily kept preoccupied with the usual boyhood interests of trains and cars, Caleb's interests tend to be much more eclectic. One of his chief obsessions is signs. When we go to the playground, he makes a beeline for the playground rules sign. The swings, slides, and sandbox are all secondary to this glorious sign that evokes such deep passion, causing Caleb's eyes to widen with wonderment and his limbs to twitch gleefully as he studies it intently. When we are out on a walk, we must stop and examine every sign... crosswalk signs, stop signs, no parking signs, you name it. They all command Caleb's immediate attention as he demands to know what each sign represents before performing a celebratory prance around the pole. The grocery store is yet another venue offering a plethora of signs for our information-thirsty toddler. The other day we were strolling down an aisle at Whole Foods when Caleb stopped dead in his tracks and exclaimed with grave concern, "Uh oh! The sign is missing!" We looked up, and sure enough the sign that should have been displayed above the yogurt section was absent, leaving only the sign-hanging apparatus dangling lonesomely in its place.

Calling us by our first names

If Joshua and Caleb's need for my attention is urgent, or if they perceive that we are in a place where I am not uniquely "Mommy", they will drop all formalities and call me by my first name.

"Katie! Ewww, there's a big spider!" About 75% of the time when I hear the boys call me by my first name, it's because they have happened upon a malicious-looking bug, usually a spider or a cricket, and want me to come resolve the situation immediately. If it's an ant, they will simply stomp on it, if it's a mosquito they will try to slap it, if it's a bee they will (unwisely) swat at it. But spiders are Katie's responsibility... lucky me!

When we are at a playground where there are lots of other kids with their moms, they have figured out that it's easiest to get my attention if they call for "Katie!" instead of "Mommy!" I personally think it was pretty smart of them to have figured this out.

They also like to call their daddy by his first name on occasion. A lot of times it's when they can hear him approaching the front door after being away at work all day. They will hear his keys jingling at the door and will happily call out, "Joe! Joe! Joe!" in eager anticipation of Daddy's arrival.

Bird, want some apple?

Not that the boys don't enjoy Summer's bounty of peaches and plums, but when you consider the juicy mess factor, crisp Fall apples are the preferred fruit for our little chowhounds. So this morning I was thrilled to see that bulk bags of organic Fuji apples have made their seasonal debut at our local Trader Joe's.

When we got home from the grocery store, the boys played outside while snacking on their apples. I was amused to hear the following "conversation" between Joshua and a bird perched atop a nearby wire:

"Bird, want some apple?" asked Joshua, offering his partially-eaten apple with his arm extended into the air towards the bird on the phone lines high above. No response from the bird. "Why not?" Joshua demanded to know. Still no reply from his avian friend. "Tweet tweet, bird, want some apple???" Joshua asked again, becoming exasperated with the bird's indifference. He then offered some apple to the neighbor's cat "Kitty, want some apple? ... why not?" etc.

I thought it was generous of Joshua to offer his delicious apple to his animal friends considering how heartily he seemed to be enjoying it. He even ate the stem and half of the core, then proceeded to devour Caleb's discards!

The King and the Priest

The other night we were driving home from Mimi and Papa's, and Caleb was upset because the amount of time we had allotted for him to attempt to buckle his seat belt had not been sufficient, and we were forced to buckle it for him. Our strong-willed son proceeded to scream and holler the whole way home. Along the way, we passed a couple of churches, and as we drove past Caleb continued his defiant screaming while Joshua, upon noticing the crosses on the church buildings, earnestly exclaimed, "Thank you, Jesus!" We couldn't help but giggle at the stark dichotomy between the two boys at that moment. Joe remarked that the boys should henceforth be referred to as "the king and the priest".

Red Shoes & Mommy's Toilet Paper

I know I've mentioned before how strong-willed Caleb can be, but sometimes it is just too much! The other day he threw a fit because I wouldn't let him wear his red Crocs in bed during his nap. So of course naptime was postponed a good hour while he screamed in protest, despite all of my best disciplinary efforts. When he woke up from the nap, he hadn't forgotten about the red Crocs, but unfortunately by this time Joshua was awake and already wearing them. I won't get into the gory details, but let's just say that Caleb's nap was merely a brief respite from another full-fledged red Croc tantrum. Remind me never to get the boys non-matching shoes again!

Caleb has a sweet side, too. We have finally gotten the boys to sleep in their own bed at night, granted that bed is still juxtaposed right up against ours, and they usually insist on "holding Mommy's hand" as they drift off to sleep. Well, the other night I decided I'd had enough of the double-hand-holding and wanted to fall asleep in a normal non-contorted position. So when Caleb begged to hold Mommy's hand, we did not cave in. "Caleb, do you want to hold Mommy's toilet paper, instead?" Joe offered. "Ok!" chirped Caleb as he accepted the roll of toilet paper which I had in the bed in lieu of a box of Kleenex. Then Caleb proceeded to cuddle the roll of toilet paper and coo, "Aww, do you love it toilet paper? Awww, so sweet..." and he fell asleep clutching it in the cradle of his arm.

Mini-Mommy

Joshua has recently decided to assume the role of Mini-Mommy in our household. No, he does not do laundry, cook, or maintain this website. Instead, he focuses his energy on bossing around his big brother!

This morning the boys picked out the shirts they would like to wear today and were each holding a shirt while waiting for me to help them get dressed. Caleb dropped his shirt on the ground. Joshua sternly instructed his brother, saying "Caleb [insert dramatic pause], pick up your shirt". Caleb picked up his shirt. Joshua somewhat reluctantly offered his approval of Caleb's obedience with a mildly enthusiastic "good boy".

This was not an isolated incident. If Joshua perceives that Caleb is eating too fast during a meal, he will point his finger at his brother and sternly say, "Caleb, chew." If Caleb is throwing a tantrum, Joshua will tell him, "Caleb, stop screaming. Do you want to go to your room by yourself?" The thing that amuses me most is the tone of voice Joshua uses when he's dishing out these commands. His voice drops a few decibels and he utters his commands and threats in a firm monotone. I guess that must be what I sound like to the boys when they perceive that I mean business!

Sweet Caleb has been humoring his brother's Mini-Mommy tendencies pretty well. Although, I do wonder if Caleb's occasional outbursts against Joshua are partially rooted in his frustration with always being bossed around by his upstart little brother...