Drew is definitely enjoying, and trying to be, more independent in lots of areas of life these days...growing up! Little things like getting things out of the refrigerator by himself, and turning on the TV. Maybe we are really late to the game with these things, I'm sure we are, but none the less, a step he is really desiring right now. It's an interesting challenge...it means releasing a lot of control on our side and trusting him to use it appropriately. It seems silly, but where do you draw the line between being helpful and getting up and down from the table at dinner 10 times. Anyway, it is neat to see him really seeking those types of things out...getting closer to him being more independent. Now, night time is a different story...he wants us in his room for him to get up and get a drink of water from his sink and we just stand there. Or to go to the bathroom in the morning, he can't run to the room by himself, we have to come up there, or promise we'll meet him there...why doesn't he want to be independent then?! What a double standard! :)
Drew's class had a cool field trip to Green Meadows Farm this month and Mommy was able to go. Noah went to school for this one, and it was better that way. It was a very large 'petting zoo'/farm with tons of large pens for the kids to either get in with the animals, or feed from the outside. The kids got to milk a cow, pet some 2 day old piglets, feed tons of different farm-type animals, go on a hayride and go through a maze, with picking out a pumpkin at the end. It was tons of fun, but we were all exhausted. I'm glad I didn't have to chase Noah around too! He'll get his chance in 2 years and I'll go again! :)
We took Drew to see another movie in the movie theater this month...Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. And we went to a true theater, not the movie tavern this time. We were really looking forward to this one since the 1st one is probably our favorite movie of the kids' movies. Drew really liked it, and it was fun to experience that with him, but the script wasn't nearly as clever as the first, so we were slightly disappointed from that end, but otherwise, super fun date with Drew. Noah stayed with Grandma and Papa again (THANK YOU! And apparently when he's not with Drew, he's a very tame and quiet little boy...we'd never know!) and Drew was really upset we didn't go right back to pick him up...we had to convince him that it would be fun to have dinner just the 3 of us. Well, thankfully we did it up right and went to Pie Five where you build your own pizza, and then Zinga, where you build your own Frozen Yogurt, so he loved it! Whew, that was close! :)
Drew is doing a good job with his letters more and more, getting to know the sounds and starting to write more. I was doing a decent job working on it at home with him for awhile, but then got out of it, so I need to pick that up again. But he seems to enjoy it more when we mess up and he has to correct us - he gets a big kick out that!
Toward the end of the month Drew seems to really have started to fixate more and more on talking about and playing like Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Mind you, he's never seen a show or movie of either of these, but he loves them! Go figure! Matthew does play some Lego Star Wars video games with him, and of course we have children's books and a few other things, but not seemingly enough to really push him in that direction. And TMNT...that's gotta be from school. The only thing we have is they are mentioned in one of his several magazines and then Daddy bought some 99 cent cups for the boys. A friend got a turtle shell at a birthday party and Drew can't stop talking about it. He's bad enough with the foam swords we have, swinging them everywhere, I'm afraid of what damage will be done, or how quickly Drew will be in tears, because I have to take the toys away if/when he gets them! Matthew has to remind me that "he's a boy..." and it's just something I have to deal with. Ok, I get it, but my goodness!
Both boys have seemingly have a renewed interest in their little play kitchen recently. It's been out since last Christmas, and has hardly been touched until about 1 week ago, and now they are in it all the time. Which is great, but guess what Drew's favorite part is...the play knives! REALLY!
I've said this before...Drew has a fascination with strings. Well, the other night he was playing with one and he was so proud of himself because he figured out (I'm sure luckily) how to tie it in a knot! Funny what can really build him up!?!
A funny thing Drew said on the way home from church one day this month: "Mommy, can you put Noah on the naughty list?" - Mommy and Daddy cracked up laughing! Wow! Thanks to an off the cuff mention that Christmas isn't too far away from Daddy, Drew has been asking about Christmas and presents all month now...he's seems to have the concept down...except for that whole waiting for it part!
The boys have really been at extremes more than what seems normal this month. They are either having a wonderful time playing with each other, role playing, playing with their castle toys, etc. to absolutely fighting seemingly non-stop. It has had me more on edge than I've been in a long time with them it seems. What a beat down...the fighting and crying...who's fault is it...then why is HE crying?...hitting back and forth...being more aggressive with each other...it got so bad one day they had to go to their own rooms and play by themselves for about an hour because they couldn't help themselves from fighting. UGH! And so it begins...that's what all of you are thinking...I just know it! :) But at the same time, they get so upset when they are apart. Noah had to stay home from school one day because of a random fever and Drew was so upset that Noah wouldn't be at school with him...they aren't even close to the same room as each other...what a goof!
To make this extreme behavior a little more challenging is Noah is becoming quite a bit more aggressive these days! He is certainly showing the 2 year old independent-minded/stubbornness and showing us he has his own ideas of how things are suppose to work out. He's also showing some more physical behavior with frequent hitting, throwing toys when angry (which hurt or leave dents/marks at times depending on what it hits), and occasional biting. We've also heard him say when he's mad at someone "you uguly!" or "Go away!" Now, all of these things are what Drew has done to him and to us, except for the biting, so we are sure to point that out when these actions are directed at Drew, who, being quite dramatic and typical first born, has a hard time dealing with these type of insults, especially from his little brother! So, it's been interesting to see how this all plays out, but very fatiguing and wearing down our patience!
We started having the boys take separate baths at the end of the month...it was just getting too crowded, leading to too much chaos, water splashing/huge mess and grappling over toys and personal space. I'm sad to see it go, and they are too, since they really enjoyed their bath play, but it was just time...they are just too crazy!
Getting ready for school in the mornings is becoming more and more of a stressor for me lately. I'm too slow to get out of bed in time to get exercise and ready before the boys get up, so I'm almost always getting ready while they are eating breakfast and watching TV. There are more and more mornings where they are fighting or accidentally spilling their glass of juice or both as they can be all over the place sometimes. I am really at a loss as how to remedy this without me being completely sleep deprived. It can lead into some stressful moments trying to get us all ready and out the door. Noah is particularly sensitive to this, and can cause some down-right physical battle to get him in his car seat...they can be quite strong when they want to be! He will push and slide down out of the seat and make his body completely rigid so I can't buckle him, and then once he drops to the floor, he'll go completely limp...oh, what to do...sigh!
The weather has been really nice for the most part, but we did get one last day to play in the water. Ironically, a cold front came through the next morning and we all froze at Drew's soccer game! :)
We had another family movie night - Little Mermaid. The boys took a long, late nap one Saturday, so we decided they might as well stay up late and turned it into a movie night. We had to fast forward through the scary parts, which seemed to bother Drew more than Noah, but I've begun to realize that's because Drew's imagination and understanding are so much more advanced, that it does affect him more. However, it was pretty silly to see Drew really concerned and Noah saying about the bad octopus character: "Mommy, she bad guy?!....she funny!" What a goof! That boy cracks me up!
We really have been quite busy this month, even on the days we have at home during the week, there was almost always something going on. We were really starting to feel it, but we can notice it too when Drew starts complaining about not having enough play time at home, well, then I start to take note of how much free time he's been given and do take a step back. It's funny how these boys need that home time too...just nothing going on, even when it's the fun stuff for them, they need to just be able to pull every toy out and play however...so I'm going to try and monitor that better next month!
We have started enjoying some evening walks again, though it's getting dark so early still that it's a bit harder. But there have been evening where the boys have really enjoyed pedaling around the neighborhood. Sometimes we even have a chance encounter of our good friends down the street being out as well to join us for a walk or just let the kids run around together in one of our front yards...so great!
The 4 of us went to the big Texas State Fair in Dallas this year! This was a big deal for us! It was actually Matthew's idea...based on hearing one of the new foods was Fried Nutella - an all time favorite food of mine! And he rarely suggests things like that because he knows how much work it is, and not sure how much the kids will actually enjoy, but we had a GREAT time! There were quite a few things the kids really enjoyed - Dog Show, a huge petting zoo area with lots of farm and zoo animals (we were right next to a giraffe!), a little Farmer exhibit where they got to walk through the work of a farmer - LOVE! The food was pretty good, so expensive, and all fried! The Nutella turned out to be a bust. But the King Ranch Casserole and Fried Brownies were delicious! We we exhausted at the end of it, and said we don't need to go back for another 5-10 years (which, the last time we went was when we were dating), so that seems about right. But it was a fun experience for us all!
We all 4 made a weekend trip to Austin this month to celebrate Uncle Kevin's 31st and Grandpa's 60th birthdays! Noah loved jumping all over the beds, Drew loved playing with Uncle K's dart gun, and we all had a great time together. It was much cooler than we expected and had a very chilly morning seeing friends at Hope's craft bazaar and then to the park. The 4 Glienke's then did the Challenge Nation: Austin race that afternoon and we had a great time! Kevin instigated it all, and was his 'birthday event'. Grandpa and Nana was on a team with another friend. Kevin and I were on a team with 7 of his friends. We finished 18 and the others finished 47 out of 137 teams! It was a bit of a scavenger hunt around downtown Austin and was quite fun! Saturday night we drove down south for Grandpa's birthday dinner with their good friends to meet at one of my friend's relatively new food truck. The food was DELICIOUS! and the company was top notch! We had a great time and it was mostly perfect for the boys to just run around outside all evening! We drove home after church on Sunday and were glad to be back. The boys ended up not napping in the car either way except Noah got about 1 hour on the way home, so that's a new one...no more planning short trips around nap time I guess! But we really did have a great time!
We had another field trip with Drew's class this month, and Mommy and Noah went this time. It was to the Benbrook Fire Station and we had a great time! The Fire Station is new within the last year or two and very nice! The kids of course loved being able to climb through lots of the trucks and got to eat at their huge picnic tables with the finale of spraying the water hoses! AWESOME! Noah was as cute as all get out, acting like he was 4 almost the whole time, and then other times wandering off like a 2 year old...but he did great and it was a fun morning for all of us! It was educational too in that they got to see and hear what the fire fighters would look and sounds like if we were ever caught in a fire and to not be scared or hide from them, because they are quite ominous looking. I never thought of it like that, but now really appreciate that! So thank you Benbrook Fire!
The Fort Worth Science and History Museum opened up a Curious George exhibit that will stay through the first week of January. We went for the first time at the end of the month and it really was quite cute. We got to meet George, had story time, and the boys loved all the play things they had...perfect for little boys and their curiosity, go figure! :) They didn't even want to leave to go to lunch they were having so much fun! Which, they usually turn crazy once that hunger sets in, so that was pretty impressive! We are looking forward to going back several times, and taking Daddy too! :)
Noah, Noah, Noah. What a hilarious little boy he is. He can really get us all laughing and giggling at how he plays, acts, and hams it up sometimes! He is something else and so fun to watch! I catch myself sometimes just completely off guard at how stinkin' adorable he can be! I know I'm biased as much I could possibly be, but he really is just mesmerizingly captivating! Even at times when he's not quite doing the right thing he can be hilarious and charming! There was a day we went for a walk and he's seen Drew pick up the newspapers in people's driveway and throw them closer to the house...so Noah picks them up and throws them into the street...it still makes me laugh! I know I don't know what he's thinking all the time, but if I had to guess, he knew he was throwing it the wrong way...but I couldn't help but just laugh! He's so funny!
One day we were looking at pictures and he saw the one we took of Big Tex at the State Fair, and out of no where he says..."I knock him down and punch him!" LOL! Then he sees a picture of Uncle Kevin: "Unc Kev!...I fight him!" Ok, seriously funny!
He loves to play Hide and Seek, but even more, he still loves the Tickle Monster game...he asks for it from Daddy all the time...it's such a thrill for him! I love to listen to the game...their shrieks of pure joy, laughter and fun make my heart smile!
Noah is starting to show he's learning some higher level thinking/processing skills. For the first time this month he was able to tell us that his tummy hurt, and we think it really did. We were out to eat and he just wouldn't eat anything, and without us prompting or anyone saying anything, he just told us "My tummy hurt", he wouldn't stay at the table and I ended up going outside with him for awhile. We made it back in for Mommy to eat, but he just picked around at the food. It was quite impressive...we would love to think he's getting to the point where he can communicate things to us that we can't guess at! He's also understanding the "if/then" principle. IE: "Do you want to play?; Yes; Then brush your teeth." and then he'll do it. It's been one of the most effective ways of getting him to do something he's not really wanting to do that he no longer falls for the shallow ploys of singing a song through or tricking him with a game scenario.
Toward the end of the month we all got run down with allergies/cold/something. The boys' throats were bothering them and coughing a lot. One night it was so bad Noah woke up crying. I went in and gave him some medicine and maybe spent 5 minutes with him. I told him it was time to go back to sleep and he just laid his head down with no protest at all! I remember that being so different with Drew, I'm always so amazed at what a good and brave boy he is about that at night! Awesome! Poor guy though, seems like we've had to wake him up a lot in the mornings this month...just really tired I guess! I really dislike waking the boys up at any given time, it seems so cruel to break them out of their sweet slumber...I know I don't like it! Maybe he's growing, or maybe he's just worn out from keeping up with the big boys all the time!
We have what's called "MeReader Books" - 8 books to an electronic device, you select your book on the device and then push the button that matches the symbol on the pages as you go and it reads you the story. The boys love them! Noah has learned how to follow along and match up the buttons with the pages...it's great! He loves to do them at bedtime especially, but we are proud of him for figuring it out already! He still loves to line up his toys or items and really focuses on it, and same with stacking. Matthew blames me for passing on the OCD gene, but I'm pretty sure it's just how 2 year olds like to play!
The boys enjoy the Wild Kratts show on PBS - they are brothers that have Creature Power suits and they can take on the characteristics of the different animals. There's one show where the brothers try to decide which is stronger, a rhino or elephant. Noah apparently loves this episode because he is frequently seen/heard/asking us to play along with "you be elephant, I rhino" or vice versa! It's amazing what they internalize!
Super cute toddler talk: Noah has learned to say a very sweet and endearing "Awww" after hearing disappointing news, IE: Uncle Kevin is not coming to our house today, he's in Austin...."Awww"! Pretty sure he picked this up from Drew, but so stinkin' cute! Also, we went to the new Curious George exhibit at the Science and History museum and Noah kept saying the whole way there, "see curio george at seum?!" LOVE!
We ended the month like everyone else...with a fun Halloween! The boys went to school as Robin and Spiderman - they were so excited, even Noah was pumped and didn't seem to be bothered by, but rather enjoyed, having the mask! They had fun with the school Harvest Festival no doubt. As a family we went to St. Paul for their Trunk or Treat, were there right at the start for hot dogs and then candy! Had fun seeing some friends and cousins Luke and Jacob and even enjoyed a horse-drawn wagon ride! Then home to hit a few houses on our street for trick or treating. We ended up running into Drew's friends Seth and Brady and their parents and ended up walking a significant route of the neighborhood. The boys had a BLAST running up to the doors together! Of course, the neighbors got an earful with them all fighting over who got to ring the doorbell and pounding on the door if they didn't come immediately, so excited about candy that they push themselves into the house, etc...all good 4 year old boy fun, right! And Noah was right there with them, having a grand old time! We had to help him keep up at times, but he loved it too! The boys were from Star Wars, Luke Skywalker and Yoda! So cute! Noah didn't mess with or fuss about his costume once, it was awesome! Third times a charm! Our make-shift light sabers were a hit (bubble wands emptied of bubbles and added glow sticks), though Drew made sure to point out he still didn't have his real light saber! He also was very clear in telling us as we walked to our immediate neighbors house that have a Doberman Pincher dog named Bambi that "I talked to them and they said that Bambi was scared of light sabers!" Ok Drew, whatever you say! LOL! That kid is so serious and certain of things! Cracks us up! We were up late and have buckets of candy that will have to be shared at work to prevent us all from over eating, but the experience was the best part...watching 2 very happy boys just loving life was super fun!
