The Things They Say

I was ready to move on with the day, but Calvin was still nibbling at the last few Cheerios in his bowl. "Are you finished with your breakfast?" I asked.

After ignoring my question three times, he said, "What's that called, Mommy?"

Now, I've been trying to train Calvin to say something just once to me, wait for my reply, remember my response, and then not ask the same thing again. I've explained to him how irritating it is to be asked the same questions repeatedly. I was about to find out that he has in fact been listening...

"What's what called?" I replied.

"What's it called when you say the same thing over and over?" Calvin said.

Sensing a trap coming on, I hesitantly said, "Do you mean...obnoxious?"

"Yes! Mommy, you are being a-noshious, askin' me that again and again!"

~~~

Teddy is Two!

Teddy Dean is two years old today!

We spent the morning at ArtSparks, building ~


Painting ~

Drawing ~

and relaxing ~

In the evening, at home, came presents ~

including a much-longed-for Incredible Hulk toy ~

and Bibleman DVD's ~

And a Tow Mater brownie to top it all off ~

Happy Birthday, Teddy Dean! We love you!

~~~

Daddy's Big Day

On the big day, the morning of Ken's graduation ceremony, he woke up the boys wearing his cap and gown ~


Calvin said he liked Daddy's "cape" ~

~~~

The Things They Say

Calvin is very into pretend play. Tonight, he announced that we should all play "Grinch."

Me: Okay. What should we do?
Calvin: I'll be the Grinch. You can be Cindy Lou Who. And Daddy will be the roast beast.

(The thought of Ken as the roast beast cracked me up, especially since all it does is get stolen, returned, and carved.)

Me: Do you really think Daddy wants to be the roast beast?
Calvin: Well, I guess he can be the reindeer.


We are teaching Teddy to obey "right away, all the way, with a happy heart." The conversation is something like this:

Me: Teddy, when Mom and Dad ask you to do something, what should you do?
Teddy: (silent grin)
Me: You should obey right away, all the way, with a...?
Teddy: Ha-hee-har!

Teddy came up with a new name for himself the other day:

Me: What's your name?
Teddy: Cute Baby!

~~~

A Perfect Gentleman

I went out on a date yesterday...with Calvin.

Saturday night, he asked, "Mama, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow?"

How could I say no?

And he had thought it through, too. "We could go on our date after church when Teddy and Daddy take a nap," he said.

I like a man with a plan!

Before we headed out together on Sunday, Ken had a private little talk with Calvin. The talk resulted in Calvin opening the doors for me, and, get this...paying.

We had a wonderful time at Dairy Queen, enjoying small vanilla ice cream cones. Calvin made good conversation, too.

A perfect little gentleman. I hope he asks me out again.

~~~

These Boys Make Their Daddy Proud

Calvin is really catching on to the whole question-and-answer catechism conversation. He apparently wants to catechize his brother, though, in matters of football, not faith. On the way to the grocery store today, Calvin and Teddy had this sweet little conversation:

Calvin: Teddy, who does our family like, the Green Bay Packers or the Vikings?

Teddy: Gee Packa!

Calvin: What do the Packers do?

Teddy: Gee Packa take down Vikee.

Calvin: That's right, Teddy! The Green Bay Packers take down the Vikings.

~~~

My Little Bears

Calvin started Awana Cubbies this fall, and has barely taken off his club vest since. He has earned four patches, and is working on Bear Hug 10 this week.

My little Cubbie Bear ~


Proud Mama Bear can't resist adding a picture of my other little bear, my Teddy Bear, showing off his pockets ~

Making Bird Feeders

The boys and I had a project on our minds this morning. We had been inspired by Calvin's Highlights magazine to make bird feeders.

I took the boys for a walk to hunt for pine cones. We found a gold mine under a tree on the next block.

Next came the peanut butter (An awful lot of it went directly into Teddy's mouth!) ~



A bit of bird seed ~

And some garden twine ~

Voila!

~~~

The Things They Say

Teddy has two favorite words these days, and both have to do with dirty diapers.

At the kitchen counter yesterday afternoon, the boys were going back and forth with this sort of talk:

Calvin: You're a poopy pants, Teddy.

Teddy: Poopy pants.

Calvin: No, you're a poopy pants, Teddy.

Teddy: Poopy pants.

At that point, Ken and I intervened:

Kim: Boys, that's enough. No calling eachother poopy names.

Ken: That's right boys. We don't need any more talk about poopy.

Brief silence.

Teddy, with a big grin: Pee pee.

~~~

Milestone

We've reached a new milestone in the Schmidt family: Calvin can now ride his tricycle for family walks. I took him on such a walk this afternoon.

As we started out, he said, "I would like to have some conversation while we're on this walk." My, oh my. How could I say no to that?

I asked what he wanted to talk about.

Nemo and Marlin and Dory and Brucie.

~~~

Calvin is the winner!

Ken has the week off from school. With no work today either, and being the most wonderful daddy in the world, he chose to have special one-on-one time with each of the boys.

This morning, Daddy and Calvin headed off to the "Semi-marry" (as Calvin says) to go swimming. They came back grinning. It must have been fun. Meanwhile, Teddy was Mommy's special helper at the grocery store.

This evening, Ken took Teddy out for a Krispie Kreme treat. Teddy came home still licking his lips. Ken made some great memories with the boys today, for sure.

While Teddy was having his special Daddy time, Calvin and I played games! Calvin crushed me, 3-0 in CandyLand, and 3-0 in cards. And it's all fair and square; I don't just let him win.

I'm crying like a little girl.

Calvin wanted to post his winnings on the blog; he chose the title for this entry as well.

One cute Calvinism of the day: He ran into the kitchen this afternoon and said, "Momma, I just learned a new word: cornucopia!"

~~~

Good Sportsmanship

I taught Calvin a card game a couple weeks ago. It's "Hit The Deck," minus the action cards. Essentially, it's matching colors and numbers and learning to take turns. Oh, and be a good sport and congratulate the winner.

Tonight, I won the first game and Calvin won the second. As we began the third round, Calvin said, "You have a chance to win now. And if I win," he said, a big grin spreading across his face, "you're gonna cry like a little girl."

Obviously, he's learned from his Daddy how to talk smack.

~~~

Family Reading

Some delicious peaches this summer inspired us to check out James and the Giant Peach from the library. I wasn't sure if Calvin would be able to follow the storyline in a chapter book with few pictures, but he can. So this has been a fun evening activity.

Any suggestions for more chapter books at a similar level that would make for more good family reading?

Calvin's Catechism

I took a break from translating 1 John and listened in on Kimberly teaching Calvin from "A Catechism for Boys and Girls." This catechism is based on the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. The catechism breaks up into six parts (God, man and sin; the Ten Commandments; Salvation; Prayer; the Word, church and ordinances; and Last Things) in which a question is asked and an answer is given. Kim will ask a question and Calvin will give the answer. It is a great tool to teach children the Bible and how it fits together.

Calvin doing great, this evening he correctly answered the first forty questions. However, one answer was classic Calvin. Kim asked, "What do we inherit from Adam as a result of this original sin?" Calvin's answer, "Animals!" (The correct answer is 'A sinful nature.')

More Things They Say

Calvin's best line of the day:

"When Teddy chooses a love-a-ly wife that loves God, I will call him and invite him and his love-a-ly wife and children to come over to my home."

The Things They Say

Calvin asked us for some "Calvin and Mommy and Daddy talking time" tonight before bed, which was so sweet that we had to oblige. We asked one another about all of our favorites...flavor of ice cream....favorite candy bar....best friends...

When we got around to sports, it went something like this:

Mommy: Calvin, what's your favorite sport?

Calvin: Football with the Green Bay Packers!

Mommy: What's your favorite sport, Daddy?

Daddy: Football!

Calvin: What's your favorite sport, Mommy?

Mommy: Badminton.

Calvin: (squeal of laughter) That's not a sport!

Daddy: That's right, Calvin.

Mommy: But it's the only sport I've ever been good at!



Teddy is surprising us every day with his new words. He has a new favorite...

(While washing his hands and feet in the the sink)
Mommy: Teddy, don't get your blankie wet.

Teddy: Why-ee.


(This morning during morning jobs)
Mommy: Please put your clothes in the hamper.

Teddy: Why-ee.


(At bedtime)
Mommy: Time to pick up your toys.

Teddy: Why-ee.


I really think that my 20-month-old is a little young to be asking "Why?" every time I tell him to do something! It is cute, though, the way he doesn't have proper question inflection yet, and how it is always two syllables! By the way, this two syllable thing, with the "ee" at the end, is how he says just about everything.
Three of my favorites:

brocc-ee (broccoli)

thank-ee (thank you)

nak-ee! (he has no clothes on!)

.

More Things They Say

Enjoying some delicious corn on the cob for dinner:

Calvin: We haven't had corn on the cob for 10 years.

Playing I Spy outside with Grandma Patti:

Grandma: Have you seen any numbers?

Calvin: No. (looking around) Well there's a number, number 4. That's Brett Favre's number. Did you know he's coming back to life, Grandma?

Jumping in a bouncy house at Lookout Ridge indoor climbing gym:

Calvin: Barack (bounce) Obama (bounce). Barack (bounce) Obama (bounce). (Adults snickering all around him)

Mama: Calvin, who is Barack Obama?

Calvin: He's a Philistine!

While reading a Bible story with Grandpa John, or "Bop":

Bop: Have you ever seen an angel?

Calvin: There are no angels in Kentucky!

Steering Bop's boat, a 31-foot power cruiser, and Bop tries to take the wheel:

Calvin: I don't need your help.

Encouraging Teddy to finish his dinner:

Mama: Make your food go down to your tummy, Teddy Dean.

(Teddy lifted his shirt and started poking his tummy with a french fry.)

.

The Things They Say

The way Calvin greeted me this morning:

Cal: Mama! Is today 'tomorrow'?

Me: Yes! I guess it is!

Cal: Yea! I get to wear my Mr. Incredible shirt!



After giving Ken a big hug and kiss as thanks for finding some lost toy cars:

I have to go upstairs now and wash my hands. I did pee pee's.

The Things They Say

Calvin has had us laughing lately. Here are a few of his funniest (and sweetest) lines:

While walking barefoot across hot pavement:
My feet are spicy.

Praying before breakfast this morning:
Dear God, rule over Teddy's heart and make him as happy as he can be.

When I served him a bowl of old-fashioned oatmeal:
This is good porridge.

After I told him we may not be able to go to the zoo because of the weather:
I heard on the blog it's not gonna rain.

The boys were crying and whining that daddy had to leave and go to work:
Me: That's what daddies do, boys. They go to work to make money for their families. And mommies take care of the children. When you grow up to be men, you will go to work, too.
Calvin: I don't want to grow up to be a man.
Me: Sure you do, Calvin!
Calvin: No, mama, I always want to be your boy.

(Okay, melt my heart...)

Right before I prayed for a meal:
Mama, will you pray and ask God to give me a wife when I become a man?

And Teddy's favorite thing to say lately:
Mmm bite.

(This is short for "The food on your plate looks better than the food on my plate. You will give me some of yours now.")

Three Little Men

I got to spend this beautiful summer day with three handsome little men:

Caleb, our friends' son,

The Deaner-Beaner,

And Mr. Incredible.

Joy!