The Potty

Ewan wants to be just like his big brother!

Beach cleanup

We volunteered at a SOLVE beach cleanup as a family this year. Super fun! The goat clean-up crew was a huge hit with Ewan. Mama and Ewan found about 4 pieces of trash (it's hard when there is SO MUCH SAND TO GRAB!) Daddy and Eli filled an entire trash bag. As the photos show, it is difficult to properly dress children for a cold, rainy day that turns sunny and warm at the beach, a place where children like to dig their toes in the sand. Everyone was soaked by the time we got back to the car, despite the lack of rain. We can't wait to make it a family tradition!

Logging sports

Last Friday, the family went to McDonald Forest to witness college logging teams compete in a national championship. We only got to see 2 events: team sawing and individual loggers running an obstacle course pulling a huge chain (these events have technical names that I am not privvy to!) It was fun except that it had been pouring all week and that day was no different. We wished we hadn't missed some of the really great spectator events: a logger trying to balance on a rotating log in the water, the limber pole where a logger tries to run to the end of a pole perched over the lake, and the competition between two loggers trying to race to the top of the tree.

Ewan is 21 months old

Ewan is so close to 2 years old now! He has so many new words that I can't keep track, but this morning he came into our bedroom with his fox and very clearly said, "Fox!"

He also just learned to say "honey," "peas" (as in 'Please'), and "baby." It seems he has about 20 new words a day.

He can now climb out of his crib and does so after every nap and in the morning. This weekend, he gets a toddler bed! It is a bit of new territory for us because Eli was about 3 when he started climbing out of his crib.

Also, he wants to use a potty (probably because his brother does), and he loves to run around naked so we are starting the potty training a little early. We'll see how it goes....

We love you Ewan! Happy birthday big boy!

Shellburg Falls hike

On a beautiful winter day at the end of February, the Casper clan went to Shellburg Falls for a lovely hike. Highlights included the cattle grates, the cattle and Ewan hiking a long section of the trail himself.

Making snow

When you can't go outside for days on end because it is pouring and too cold, what do you do? You give the kids shaving cream in the bathtub! Two hours of fun! (And yes, this includes the bath afterwards to clean up.)

Stuff Eli says

I've been keeping track (on random pieces of paper strewn throughout the house) of the funny, interesting or confusing things that Eli says. These aren't full conversations, just jotted notes from a Mama who doesn't want to forget what her 4-year-old says.

Money
Eli: "I'm pretending I have enough money for a lot of food, a horse and a dog."
Mama: "Wow, that's a lot of money!"
Eli: "Yeah, I have hundreds of money!"

Birthdays
Eli: "Mama, it's still fun when you have a birthday when you are a grownup? Because it is fun? It is exciting?"

Sturdy
On a walk in our neighborhood, Eli held Zula's leash. Mama was worried when another dog walked by, and she said so to Daddy.
Eli: "Don't worry Mama. I'm as sturdy as an anchor!"

Running in the dark
On a walk home from the park in the evening, Eli wants to run.
Eli: "I can run in the dark."
Mama: "Oh you must have good eyesight."
Eli: "I can't see in the dark, but if I bump into something I just put my hands up and feel my way around it."

College
Eli: "College is where you sleep overnight?"
Mama: "Yes."
Eli: "Forever?"
Mama: "No, usually for 4 years."
Eli: "There is a breakfast place in the library?"
Mama: "Well, there is a place for eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. And then there is also a library."
Eli: "You'll go with me and stay as long as I want you to?"

The sizes in our family
Eli talking to Mama, who was asking Ewan if he wanted more food.
Eli: "I don't think he's going to eat another thing, he's just a little guy."
Pause.
Eli: "And I am a big guy, and you are a huge guy, and Daddy's a humongous guy."

Daddy's pancakes
At breakfast on the weekend with a pile of Daddy's pancakes on his plate:
Eli: "I love these pancakes so much I don't like them!"

Eli's name
Eli: "How about you just call me "Eli?" Don't call me "E," because I don't know what you are talking about or who you are talking to!"

About work
When Mama asks Ewan if he is working:
Eli: "Babies don't work, Ewan! Kids and grown-ups work!"

Who's work is more important?
On the way home from preschool one day, Eli was asking why Ewan's school was longer than his. I said that I had to pick Eli up at noon or get charged $1 per minute I was late. I also said that Marlene knows when I am going to pick up Ewan.
Eli: "So what happens if you are 600 minutes late to pick me up?"
Mama: "That's 10 hours. That would be past your rest time and dinner time and bed time. The school would be worried and they would call Daddy and maybe some other people to pick you up."
Eli, with a bright voice: "So Daddy would come pick me up from school!"
Mama: "Yes."
Eli: "Daddy doesn't pick me up because he is at work."
Mama: "Right."
Eli: "And you pick me up because Daddy's work is more important than your work?"
Mama, out loud: "Ummm...."
Mama, in her head: "You are my work!"

Preschool curriculum
Eli loves to give me updates on what he will be when he grows up. Paleontologist and Daddy are fairly constant, the others change quite drastically. One day...
Eli: "I am going to be a paleontologist, someone who swims under the water, a frog biologist, a daddy and an airplane flyer. Can I do all of those things?"
Mama: "Sure, I don't see why not."
Eli: "OK, you tell Chris (preschool teacher) so that he can start teaching me how to be those things, OK?"

Love
Eli to Ewan: "I love you more than you love me. I love you as much as the ocean!"

Gravity
Upon picking Eli up from school this month:
Eli: "Mama, Mama, I know something!"
Mama: "Oh yeah. What?"
Eli: "I can't remember what it is called, but it keeps us stuck to the Earth!"
And a few days later at a new playground, Eli tries this fancy ring-shaped merry-go-round. It is tilted enough that once it gets going (with kids on top), you don't need to push it anymore. Eli, getting scared as it goes faster and faster: "Gravity, stop doing your job!"

A cheetah
Eli has been saying that he runs as fast as a cheetah for months now. One day in February he was more specific: "I can run 50 miles per hour for three miles." I was impressed with the accuracy of his units of measure. He's not quite as accurate when explaining how tired he is: "I'm SO tired, Mama. I'm a hundred-thousand-sixty tired!"

Helping Ewan down the stairs
I love terms coined by 4-year-olds:
Eli to Ewan: "Do you want to go down the stairs by yourself? We could go baby-style, if you want."
‎'Baby-style' is backwards, on your knees. If you straighten your knees, you kind of glide down the stairs on your belly.

Choices
This is what it was like to parent Eli in Janurary (extrapolate to every other situation):
Mama: Eli, do you want a bagel, waffle or toast for breakfast?
Long pause.
Eli: Eggs.

Cords
Eli, pointing to the vacuum cord: "I want to unstrangle it."

Things I love...

Being serenaded with the ABC song by Eli on the way to school.

Ewan waving good-bye and saying "bye, bye, bye..." as a friend (or even a random person buying something from us off Craigslist) leaves our house.

Eli "working" with Daddy around the house on every kind of project -- plumbing, electrical, etc. And his eagerness for more.

Ewan's babble, especially when he is looking right at me and saying something very important, which is obvious from his expression and his intonation.

Eli jumping at the chance to pick out a diaper and clothes or pjs for Ewan.

Ewan -- wanting to be just like his big brother -- and pulling out shirts and pants from Eli's drawers.

Eli's drawings slowly transforming from scribbles to slightly-more-detailed scribbles.

Ewan's enthusiasm for artwork even when no artwork is produced.

Conversations with Eli

Who is bigger?, and thus, knows more

We spent New Year's Eve at A.C. Gilbert House -- it is the 3rd year in a row! This time, Eli and Ewan were playing in the Oregon room. At the area with the beach, Daddy said, "Oh look, a hermit crab."

A little girl next to him said, "No that's not a hermit crab, that's a (some other kind of crab)."

Daddy didn't say anything.

As they walked to another room, Eli said, "Daddy, are you bigger than that girl?"

Daddy said, "Yes, why?"

Eli: "So it was a hermit crab afterall?"


A walk in the park

While walking to Bush Park yesterday, Eli found 5 sticks he just couldn't pass up. He was dragging them to the playground, telling Mama all about the sticks, when he stopped.

Eli: "Mama, the thing about carrying all of these sticks is that other kids might ostracize me."

On the way home from the park, Eli and Mama (with Ewan on her back) were pretending to be allosaurus dinosaurs hunting for prey. Eli said we were to really use our sense of eyesight, smell and hearing to find prey, but then we would just pretend to eat it.

Upon seeing two teenage girls on the sidewalk in front of us, Eli yells, "Look meat!!!"

Luckily (for Mama), they didn't know he was talking about them.

About the babysitter

Eli met a new babysitter a few days ago. At dinner, Daddy asked if Eli liked her. Eli thought for a moment and then said, "I don't like her hair, but I like her body."

Conversations with Eli

To cool oatmeal

After putting a bowl of hot oatmeal in front of Eli, Eli asks Mama to help him blow on it to cool it off.

Eli: "Blow on the oatmeal as hard as water flows from the Columbia River to the ocean."

Jokes

Eli is just beginning to learn about jokes. He knows they are supposed to be funny. He knows people are supposed to laugh at jokes. He gets some jokes in movies (his favorite joke is from a Stuart Little movie: a skunk says, "Talk to the butt!" before spraying another animal). But that's about the extent of his joke abilities. Listen in:

Eli, during a car ride home from Portland: "Let's tell jokes! I'll go first."

Eli: "How does a cow dig a hole?"

Daddy: "How?"

Eli: "With his teeth!"

We all laugh. (And no, we don't get that joke!)

Daddy: "OK, my turn. An elephant and a rhinoceros have a baby. Guess what the baby is called."

Eli: "That's pretty funny, Daddy. OK, my turn."

Daddy: "But wait. What is the baby called?"

Eli: "It's my turn Daddy. You can tell a joke when I am done!"

Eli: "What happens with 7 rhinoceros' with horns?

Mama and Daddy: "What?"

Eli, laughing wildly: "6 grunts!"

Daddy: "OK, my turn. Why did the chicken cross the road?"

Pause.

Eli: "Daddy, jokes are supposed to be funny. That's not funny. It's just irritating."

Ewan is 18-months old

Ewan has learned a host of new words in the last month. He says, "I want that," "cheese" (as in, 'say cheese for the camera!'), juice, nigh-nigh (night-night) and he's expanded his use of "bye" by waving to people when they leave.

In lots of ways, Ewan acts much older than Eli did at 18 months old. He watches everything Eli does and then tries it himself. Lately, he's been into playing "RAWR!" with Eli's dinosaur figures. He makes dinosaurs attack each other, eat each other and roar at each other. Eli's toys are always chosen over the typical 18-month-old toys like shape sorters, puzzles with big pieces and latches.

Ewan, just like Eli, is growing like a weed. He's 25 pounds and super tall (sorry, can't remember his height!)

He is a super happy guy. Laughing and giggling most of the day. But he has started to throw mini-tantrums when he doesn't get his way. After dealing with Eli's tantrums, Mama finds Ewan's tantrums kind of silly.

Ewan very much wants to do things for himself. He practices putting his boots on throughout the day, even if we aren't going outside. He takes his pants off all the time, but can't seem to get them back on. He wants to put his own shoes and socks on, gets frustrated when he can't and gets mad at Mama for putting them on for him.

Ewan still loves cars and trucks, waits for the garbage truck and street sweeper at our windows and makes the best vroom vroom noises.

Eli is 4-years old

Oh my little baby is 4 years old!

We had a wonderful party at a gymnastics studio. Eli and his friends had an absolute blast on trampolines, in the ball pit and jumping wildly in this bungee-cord harness thing.

Eli, still obsessed with dinosaurs, got a dinosaur cake. A VERY homemade-looking dinosaur cake. Ah, frosting: why must you give Mama so much trouble.

At 4, Eli is the ultimate negotiator. A "no" elicits a paragraphs-long monologue to which Mama oftens says "Fine" to end the discussion. Truth be told: his requests or "solutions" to the problem are often very complicated but very reasonable.

Eli takes a rest every afternoon but rarely falls asleep these days. He plays elaborate games in his room (which also happens to be Mama and Daddy's room). His games often involve dinosaurs, "flying" between beds or heaping toys, clothes, hangers etc. into some kind of huge messy pile that-- if you look close enough -- is actually a volcano, mountain, tower etc.

Eli has been in preschool since September. He goes 2 mornings a week. When asked what he learns in preschool, he says "We don't learn -- we play!" Even so, he comes home with all kinds of ideas for new experiments and says he wants to be a scientist. Go preschool!

Eli is growing like a weed. Two months ago, Eli could easily wear most 3T pants. Those pants now hit the bottom of his calves. Yes, he must drink milk at dinner, but not THAT MUCH!

Mama and Daddy are excited about 4. Here's to a great year learning with a 4-year-old!

Conversations with Eli

Magic Blankie

Ewan fell down while riding his push-car and bumbed his head. He was crying pretty hard so Mama picked him him. Eli grabbed his blankie and gave it to Ewan.

Mama: "Oh look Ewan, Eli gave you his special blankie."

Eli: "Yeah Ewan, blankie is magic. It takes away your sadness and puts it
in the ground."

College

Eli: "How will I learn to be a paleontologist?"

Mama: "You'll go to college."

Eli: "They'll teach me how to dig up dinosaur bones?"

Mama: "Yes. You'll have to take all kinds of science classes."

[Pause]

Eli: "Did you go to college to learn how to be a good taker-carer-of?"

When I grow up

Eli was learning to swim, and he was successfully swimming in the pool with a lifevest. He was very proud of himself. He swam up to Daddy with a big smile on his face.

Eli: "I'm a very good swimmer!"

Daddy: "You are!"

Eli: "I'm a good runner too."

Daddy: "Yes, you are a good runner and a good swimmer."

Eli: "When I grow up, I am going to be a good runner like you and a
good swimmer like mama."

[Pause]

Eli: "And also a good taker-carer-of."

[Pause]

Eli: "Also a paleontologist."

Conversations with Eli

Multiple jobs
Today, Eli used Mama's camera to take pictures while we were at the park. After awhile he said that he was good at taking pictures.

Eli: "I want to be a picture taker when I grow up."

Mama: "Oh great. You want to be a photographer. That's a fun job!"

Eli: "Yeah, but I want to be a paleontologist too. So you know what I am going to do? I am going to take pictures of dinosaur bones!"

A new porch
On a walk in a different neighborhood, Mama sees a house she loves -- mainly because of its wraparound porch.

Mama: "Oh Eli, I love this house. Look at that porch!"

Eli: "We have a porch."

Mama: "No, we have a patio and a deck in the backyard, but we don't have a porch."

Eli, very serious: "OK Mama. How about this? Daddy and I go to the basement and get tools and then we build you a porch?"

Mama: "I would like that very much Eli."

Eli: "For real, Mama. How about we do that for real?"

Wearing skin
While dancing in the living room with Mama and Eli, Ewan sits down to take his socks off.

Mama: "Oh your feet are hot? You want to take your socks off, Ewan?"

Eli: "Yeah, take your socks off Ewan. You can just wear your skin! See, I'm wearing my skin!"

Learning is fun!
Eli, jumping up and down in the kitchen: "Mama, Mama, guess what I learned today?"

Mama, laughing: "What?"

Eli: "I learned that the sun is a STAR! It is the closest star to us. Can you believe that?!?"

Ewan is 17 months old!

Ewan is 17 months old today.

Ewan and Mama have been taking a music class together and we love it. Ewan sings and moves to all kinds of music now and he'll even try to drum on the ground when he hears a song he likes.

Ewan understands practically everything we are saying, but he still only says 'Hi' and 'Bye' in addition to 'Mama' and 'Dada'. We swore he said 'E-i' one day but it must have been a fluke!

He is intent on doing things for himself. He has to feed himself (he's been doing that since he was at least a year!), but now he wants to put his own shoes on. He can't do it yet, and that is frustrating, but he keeps trying. He is very interested in the potty, so we brought up Eli's old potties and Ewan sits on them, carries them around the house and puts stuffed animals on them. Before we know it, he will be potty trained (we hope!).

Ewan enjoys going to his daycare two days a week. For awhile he just screamed when I would leave. Now he runs in and plays. It is so nice to know he is having fun and learning a ton while he is there. He does artwork, plays with different toys, and plays with friends.

We are excited to see how Ewan likes Christmas time. But we are sure he'll like the boxes and the wrapping the best :)

Post-nap thoughts

Eli woke up from a nap the other day, walked down the stairs and said, "Mama, I have a very important question for you."

Mama, thinking the question was about watching a video, absentmindedly said, "Yes?"

Eli: "You know how you have to flush a toilet to push the poop and paper through that little hole in the toilet and then get it to go down the pipes, through the house and out to the street?"

Mama, puzzled: "Yes?"

Eli: "Well, how does it keep moving in the street pipes? There is no handle to flush at the street."

Hmmm...this Mama doesn't know. And she wonders what this 3-year-old boy is dreaming about at naptime!

Halloween

Eli and Ewan had a blast on Halloween. Eli couldn't wait to wear his Tyrannosaurus Rex costume (which needed two people to get on him), and Ewan was finally used to his giraffe costume (after screaming multiple times while wearing it around the house!) Ewan did not understand trick-or-treating; he kept trying to walk into people's homes. But he LOVED giving out candy when kids came to our house.

Eli also loved to give out candy, but only to kids. At one point he asked me -- while putting candy in a bag -- "is that a kid?" I mumbled, "Yes." Eli said, "Just an adult-sized kid?" I didn't really know how to answer that. Then Eli peered behind the "big kid" and said, "They are ALL adult-sized kids?" Seems that he had some sense that you don't trick-or-treat when you are that big!

Ewan is 15-months old!

Ewan is 15-months-old today.

He is walking all over the house now. Still falling back to his bottom a lot though. And still opting for crawling when walking seems too daunting. But he now knows how to walk up the stairs instead of climb -- he holds onto the railing pretty tightly!

He is a super sweet baby. He has always loved getting raspberries on his belly: he laughs and laughs and wriggles to get out of the way. But recently he has started giving Mama and Dadda raspberries too. He lifts up our shirts and blows on our bellies or backs. He smiles a big huge grin when he is done, as if to say,"See how good that feels?!?"

He is proving to have monkey genes. He climbs on everything. He pulls himself up by the stove handle, for example. Today he was climbing up this HUGE ladder on a big-kid slide. He has no fear, no matter how many times he takes a tumble.

No matter how active he is though, he still doesn't want to eat much. I've resorted to squeezing food in his mouth when he is distracted! And he still wakes up super hungry early in the morning. Part of the problem is that he doesn't want Mama or anyone else to feed him. Lately he's been feeding himself yogurt. Yes, the carpet around his chair is sticky. I don't recommend standing there.

He started daycare the same week that Eli started preschool. He cries a lot when he goes there but I know he is just getting used to leaving Mama for a little bit of time twice a week. But he's certainly not making it easy for Mama. The first day I dropped him off, he cried after I left the house. The second day, he cried when we walked in the house. The third day, when he got out of the car. The fourth day, when we drove down the street. The fifth day, when we turned into the neighborhood! And it isn't just a little cry -- it's Ewan's patented full-on screaming session. At least we know he is smart :)

He is still a super happy little guy who loves trucks and buses and playing outside. Can't wait to continue watching his personality come out...

Black Butte vacation

In August, we went to Black Butte Ranch with Mana and Poppy for a week. It was packed with hiking, visits to lakes (where we found snow and tadpoles!), splashing in the nearby pools, a trip to the High Desert Museum (where the boys were put to work washing clothes and the porch, and plowing the garden!) and fishing. What a great adventure!