Making New Friends

Our backyard has started to become a gathering spot for the local pre-school set. Where last year we were a little young to engage in play with others, this year we have begun to discover the joy of other children including the fairer set. Recently sisters Jules and Annie Rose visited our backyard for the first time. They live across the street and often come over with their mother to play with AnaKaye next door. On this day, AnaKaye was playing with us in our backyard, so the sisters joined us. Jules is three months younger than the twins and has just turned two. Annie Rose will soon turn four years old. While AnaKeye is six, she still enjoys playing with our boys and is very gentle with them. Nothing makes a neighborhood feel alive like small children playing.

The Neighborhood Cat

They call me Socks. I adopted several families here on McCreary Avenue a few winters ago when times were tough and I was thin as a rail. Unbeknownst to one another, the Edds, Roberts and Burton families all took pity on me and set out food. With three large meals a day, I was fat and healthy by Spring. Once the families ventured outside and began exchanging neighborhood news my secret was out, but they didn’t mind. All were happy to feed me for a little of my attention. I’ve watched my families grow with the addition of the Burton’s boy, the Edds’ twin boys, and the two Helwig girls across the street. Children can be wild and unpredictable, but they don’t bother me. As long as they give me my space and pet me gently, I’ll stick around and allow them to feed me.

Birthday Benchmark Photo – 2 Years 5 Months

Tonight we enjoyed dinner at Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Making this selection gave us pause as the last time we visited this eatery I spent most of our visit in the car disciplining Trey Davey. The boys have been disruptive at restaurants before, that’s why we choose family-friendly places like Cracker Barrel, but on that night he was out of control. Benji, too, takes his opportunities to be loud and defiant in public. Some parents simply choose to stay home until their children are older and better behaved, and we have seriously considered this approach but want to teach our children to control their emotions and impulses and be respectful to themselves and others. Tonight, we felt like our efforts are beginning to take hold. While still active and curious, both boys behaved within reasonable two-year old limits and charmed the staff and fellow patrons. We are so proud of them.

The first sign of summer

We have been confined inside for the last several days by severe storms that pounded much of the southern United States. Tornados swept through Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and Nashville is experiencing their worst flood in history. By comparison, we got off easy with a week of thunderstorms and a bad case of cabin fever. The sun came out yesterday, dried the grass and allowed us to venture outside to play. We weren’t in the yard 30 minutes before Benji was bitten above the right eye by a hungry mosquito. This morning his eye is almost swollen shut. I guess you know its summertime when Benji begins looking like a prize fighter.

Thomas, Percy, Harvey…..

Carol knows how train crazy the boys are and surprised them last Monday with a new Thomas the Train movie. One unexpected bonus was a product catalog packaged with the DVD. This pamphlet featured a large number of Thomas the Train characters and captivated Trey Davey. He sat on the couch surrounded by several of his toy trains and identified nearly everything on each page. After hearing several minutes of this, Benji crawled up on the couch to investigate. On the back of the publication was an ad for the Thomas the Train Tour. Imagine their excitement when we actually see Thomas next month on their half-birthday.

Testing Their Boundaries

Trey Davey and Benji are good little boys most of the time. Lately they have been suffering from a bad case of the twos. They are maturing and testing the limits of their liberties and our patience. Both are independent and have grown fond of the words “Mine” and “No” and “I do it!” Each seems to ride an emotional roller coaster going from anger to laughter within a few minutes. They have slimmed down and become stronger than they realize. Now a hug sometimes becomes a tackle and a pat becomes a whack. We can patiently work with them on how to be gentle and loving to one another, but the recent outbreak of willful disobedience has really pushed our buttons. When they want to test those boundaries, we give them a 30 inch by 50 inch timeout space to think about their transgressions.

Derby Dismissal

The Derby is a big deal in Kentucky. For many of us, it’s the only horse race we watch annually, and for one entire afternoon once a year, Kentucky is spotlighted in a very positive way, making the citizens very proud. As a boy, I can remember being over at my Grandmother Embry’s house every year during “The Run for the Roses.” Like our boys did today, my brother Steve and I would play cars on the floor as the pageantry played out on the television behind us. I really didn’t appreciate the Derby’s beauty and tradition then. It was something I took for granted. Today, I tried to encourage the boy’s interest in the Derby, by pointing out the horses, colors, hats, roses, numbers and mud at the event. At this age, unfortunately, toy trains trump horses.