And Now Hewitt Refuses Diapers At School -- Even For Naptime

Because "He a big boy."  For a while his teachers could cajole him into a diaper with the promise that he could put his underpants on top of the diaper, but then one day recently he went potty (by himself) right before naptime and shed the diaper without telling anyone.  :)  When he woke up, one of the teachers said, "(Gasp!)  Hewitt doesn't have a diaper on!"  Another one said, "He does -- I put one on him before nap."  First teacher, "Well, it's gone now!"  And ever since that day, Hewitt has not worn naptime diapers.  :)

Attention at-home caregivers : Hewitt does still wear a diaper to sleep here.  Do not let him fool you.  We're not ready to try underpants on a 2-3 hour nap (versus ~1 hour at school), and certainly not overnight!  What happens at your houses, though, is up to you...  :)

Harrison's First Pre-K Job

There are 5 or 6 "jobs" in Harrison's pre-K class -- line leader, line caboose, light switch switcher, etc.  This week Harrison got his first assignment : Cafeteria Helper.  I heard him be selected for it when I was dropping him off this morning and couldn't help but feel a swell of pride : My boy is the cafeteria helper!  I didn't want to freak him out, though, so I just casually said, "Alright, bud!  Do some good work this week as the cafeteria helper!" without having any idea what that meant.  Turns out the cafeteria helper is the kid who collects the throw-away breakfast and lunch trays and makes sure they get in the trash can.  Sounds like an unrewarding job, if you ask me, but Harrison is taking it very seriously and lets me know each afternoon how that day's work went.  My son might be a janitor right now, but I know that this week will instill an amazing work ethic in him that will carry him to powerful leadership positions in global corporations.  Or at least maybe the light switch switcher?

PBJ Love

Mama's got one -- I want one, too!

Dee-lish!

Harrison's First Date

It was with his mama!  :)

Pre-K had a half day today, so I worked from home for the morning and picked him up at lunchtime.  Since Hewitt had a regular school day, Harrison and I planned to have an us-only date for the afternoon until we picked up the Hew-Dewdler.  Harrison chose our restaurant ("the Mexican place with the bean bags that you can throw sometimes"), and we had a very special time together talking about important things that I will not disclose here.  After lunch, we hung around home together until it was time to pick up our third wheel.

Update a few weeks later : Harrison asked when we could have another date.  I teared up and told him I would go on a date with him anytime he asked me.  I love that boy!

Hewitt Is Wearing Underpants At School Today

Yay, Hewie!  :)

Sharing A Room!

The big boys are officially sharing a room now!  Finished building Harrison's bed this afternoon (in spite of all of the "help" they gave us).  Mama took a stab at first-night-together-bedtimes, and it went great.  There wasn't any chitchatting (that we could hear) once they were in bed, and there also wasn't any bed-swapping or leaving the room once I tucked them in!  There was a flurry of last minute pottying between stories and tuck-ins (one had the idea, so naturally then the other had to go, too), but I'd rather they do that before they're asleep!

Night Two Update : Dada's turn!  Another successful dual-bedtime -- and I don't think that Chris got the "I need to go potty" stalling, either.

The setup

Harrison's bed

Hewitt's bed

Pre-K Week 1 Recap

What Harrison reports having happened at school each day this week...

• Monday : He ate pepperoni pizza and drank chocolate milk for lunch.
• Tuesday : His class "investigated" (his word) the school; saw a rocket ship in the library.
• Wednesday : Marques got his head stuck in the cubby.  I am so sorry, Marques, but I could not help but laugh long and loud when this was headline news from pre-K.  Hope your head is okay!
• Thursday : Played "Jack-in-the-Box / Jack-out-of-the-Box," which sounds like some combination of "Heads Up, 7-Up" and "Duck, Duck, Goose"?
• Friday : Played tag with a boy from his class, but says he can't remember the boy's name.

We think there are probably also some academic events happening (we've been in the classroom -- they definitely have the alphabet and some sight words posted on the wall, plenty of lined paper and pencils in stock, and science / music / reading / writing centers around the room) but aren't expecting to hear much about them for a while.  :)

First Day of Big School!

And the pre-K student (and his mom!) are okay!!  We did great with drop off for the first day of school at big school -- Harrison was much braver than I was!

Got a few photos of the big guy wearing his uniform and his backpack at home, then loaded up into my car to drive over to school. We sat in the car for a minute to let Harrison finish his milk and got a nice treat of Dada and Hewitt doing a drive-by for one more wave! :) Then got Harrison's backpack on and his rain jacket over the pack (yes -- all it took was the first day of school and hundreds of sad parents dropping off hundreds of scared kids to end the drought) and marched right into that school! We held hands, of course, and Harrison walked at one of his slower speeds, but I did not have to drag or carry him in -- he went on his own! They had some loud music playing at the front entrance to greet all the students -- peppy stuff for the bigger kids to hear when they hopped out of their cars -- even had one lady bopping around with cheerleader pompoms. Basically, Harrison's worst nightmare. I know that the only way into the school without a key (that I obviously do not have access to) was through those front doors, but my mind was racing as I tried to think of some way around the scene. So I squatted and got in Harrison's face and told him, "You do not have to dance, and there will not be music inside." I knew the first part of that was true and really hoped that the second part was also true (turns out it was)! He said, "Okay," and did his best to be invisible as well as brave. We got through the front doors without incident, and he even steered me towards "his" hallway. Still walking on his own feet and still not being dragged! Got a bit hesistant at the door to his room but was okay when he realized that I was walking in with him to help him find his hooks and his cubby. He made the big decision to hang his raincoat on this hook and his backpack on that hook and helped me store his rest time blanket in the bottom cubby, then it was time to line up with the other kids and walk to the cafeteria for breakfast. We did hugs and kisses and "I love you" and "I'm proud of you" and "I'll be back to get you after lunch and rest time" and then I told him I'd wait for him in the hallway to wave while he walked to the cafeteria. So I went to the hall to wait for them to finish lining up. While I was out there, one lady told me "Congratulations!" I wasn't sure what she was congratulating me for -- the baby in my big belly or the baby in the pre-K room or not having mascara all over my face -- so I just said, "Thank you!" Then Harrison's class started filing out so I waved and smiled big at all the little kids in their perfect little line and managed to stop myself from reaching down to hold the two little girls who were crying (their teachers came over to them to help -- they weren't just standing the halls crying by themselves!) and then there he was! So proud with his chin up and his hands behind his back like his teacher asked (because "there is some really nice art in the hallways and we want to remember not to touch it when we walk past"). I patted his tamed hair (nice work, Dada) and got one more kiss and then left before the teacher could say, "Okay, Mom -- go ahead and leave now -- we'll see you this afternoon -- goodbye!" My last view was him marching into the cafeteria to discover what non-Ms.-Betty school food is like!

Handles for Baby Popcorn

Harrison had a "good" question / idea recently... 

• Harrison : "Mom, does Popcorn have any handles in there?"
• Me : "No, I don't think so.  Why?"
• Harrison : "Because if he did, then he could really do some good jumping."  (I had just commented on how Popcorn was jumping around in there.)
• Me : "Oh, that's a good point.  I don't think he has any handles to hold onto, though."
• Harrison : "Could you get him some?"
• Me : "I'll ask my doctor next time I see her."
• Harrison : "Wait!  But how would they get in there??"
• Me : "I don't know -- maybe the doctor has an idea?"
• Harrison : "Well, you might have to swallow them, and I don't think you should do that because they might bonk him on the head."
• Me : "Another good point.  Maybe we'll just let him keep jumping without handles?"
• Harrison : "Yeah -- Let's do that."

Dentist

Harrison is back -- ain't no thang...  Hewitt's first cleaning, though, and he did great!

Sat on Mama's lap for the cleaning...

...And then posed for a photo by himself later

JoshYaura's Wedding!

Mama's brother Josh and his fiance (now wife!) Laura got married in St. Martin!  We spent a week at a great villa on the island -- Josh and Laura, Mama and Dada and Harrison and Hewitt, Grandmom and Grandpop, Laura's dad David ("Grouper Man") and his wife Sherry, Laura's mom Kay and her husband Sam, and Laura's brother Brian and his girlfriend Marilyn.  We all flew down one Saturday, lounged around the house and beach for the week, and returned to the real world the next Saturday.  It was great!

PHOTOS COMING SOON!

Eight Eyes

They wore these all day long -- to the bank, to the playground, to the store...  Would have worn them for naps but I convinced them that people don't sleep with glasses on. 

Higgins Family Reunion at Myrtle Beach

The Higgins Family (~25 people, headed up by Great Grandmama Nell) spent a week at Myrtle Beach.  Chris and the boys made it for the whole week, and I flew over for the second half of the week.

The boys and their Dada

Hewie's best beach bird impression

Handsome Harrison

Running so fast!

The Chris Higgins Family

The bigger Higgins Family

The whole crew!

Four to Six

That's how many pairs of little boy underpants we're going through each day.  Not necessarily because someone is having accidents in them -- just because sometimes they need a change, and once one boy changes, the other one has to, too. 

So if you've been over lately and noticed all the pairs of little boy underpants scattered about the house, this post might answer your un-asked question...  :)

New Baby Name Idea From Harrison (Via Grandaddy)

"Hippopotamus."  Try keeping a straight face when your 4 year old suggests that for his baby brother's name!

I managed to answer with "Oh, now that's an idea! Note that there was no comment on whether it was a good idea or a bad idea.  It starts with an H -- just like Harrison and Hewitt!"

Thank you, Grandaddy.

Fast As Lightning!

The boys and I were on our way home from school the other day when I said something about driving "as fast as lightning." 

• Harrison : "How fast, Mom?"  He tends to call us "Mom" and "Dad" more than "Mama" and "Dada" these days...
• Me : "As fast as lightning, which is really fast, but only as fast as is safe."  We talk alot about driving a "safe" speed.
• Harrison : "I don't know, Mom -- he's pretty fast."
• Me : "What?"
• Harrison : "Lightning.  I said he's pretty fast.  Haven't you seen how fast he is?" 
• Me : "Oh!  Yeah -- you're right.  I'm probably not driving as fast as Lightning the Queen (Lightning McQueen from the Cars movie)."  And by the way, that is the only full-length movie we have ever tried to watch with him -- we started it the night of his birthday party and it took us two days to finish it because he didn't want to sit still for that long.  :)

First Belly Lumps!

Don't like the magazine resting on you, little guy?  Okay, then -- just roll around in there until you knock it off.  :)

~22 weeks pregnant

A Post About "Nuffin" (Nothing)

Hewitt just loves to say "nothing" -- especially when he is feeling grouchy!  If he's hungry and grouchy and you ask him if he would like some grapes or some crackers, he'll tell you that he wants "nuffin" to eat.  If he's thirsty and grouchy and you ask him if he would like some juice or some water, he'll tell you that he wants "nuffin" to drink.  If he's hot and grouchy and you ask him if he would like to go inside to cool off, he'll tell you "nuffin" (which we all know does not make sense).  If he's just plain grouchy for no apparent environmental reason, he'll tell you "nuffin" without being asked anything.  We love it, and fortunately we still laugh at it and even use it often ourselves.

Dada reports the following debate from the backseat of his car...

• Hewitt : "Nuffin." (apparently unprovoked)
• Harrison : "Something."
• Hewitt : "Nuffin!"
• Harrison : "Something!"
• Hewitt : "NUFFIN!"
• Harrison : "SOMETHING!"
• Dada : "Nobody!  Somebody!  Everybody!" (just to stir things up)
• Boys : Odd looks at each other as if to say "What is he talking about?  Crazy old man..."

They're Listening!

Chris and I are very intentional about building the boys up and keeping their "love tanks" full in an effort to keep them confident in their value to us and to head off some naughtiness perpetrated in search of attention.  We tell them that we love them and that we are proud of them and that we appreciate how helpful they are to us and that we are so lucky to have them as our boys.  Apparently they are hearing us, because when we tell Hewitt that we love him, he will smile and say, "So yucky to hab yew!" which is his version of "I am so lucky to have you!" (plus a special treat with the mis-pronunciation of "lucky"!).

Go, Braves!

Grandpop and Uncle Josh bravely took our two young men to the Braves game today.  As Josh said when he e-mailed over some pictures, "Thanks again for letting us borrow your dudes. And even more importantly, thanks for letting us return them."  :)

From what we can tell, the boys had a fun and educational time -- Hewitt has spoken on several occasions of Bop's tomahawk chopping skills (but failed to mention Josh's chopping skills, so they must need some work), and Harrison gave a surprisingly accurate historical report of Fulton County Stadium being demolished and the new stadium being built.  Also, Hewitt apparently ate 1 1/2 hotdogs, and both boys drank roughly a gallon of PowerAde.

And they're off!

"Thanks for a fun time, Bop and Josh -- can we come again next year and eat more hotdogs, please?"

Harrison at 4 Years / Hewitt at 2 Years

Harrison's stats...

• Weight -- 33 pounds (23rd percentile)
• Height -- 40 inches (26th percentile)

Hewitt's stats...

• Weight -- 30 pounds (80th percentile)
• Height -- 35 inches (79th percentile)

Baby Is Named

"Popcorn."  Because when he pops around in there, it feels like popcorn!

That's just his in-utero name, though -- we still have (and will most likely need...) 20+ weeks to decide on his on-the-outside name.

The boys both love to come and kiss Baby Popcorn through Mama's ever-expanding belly.  They say "Good morning, Baby Popcorn!" or "Hi, Baby Popcorn!" or "Good night, Baby Popcorn!" and then hurry on their way to somewhere.  Occasionally they have time to kiss the mama, too, but sometimes only Popcorn gets a kiss.

Just One More???

Chris is out of town for a few days, so Grandaddy came to stay with us and be an extra set of hands.  Here are the boys finagling one more story out of him before we go up for baths...

"Mama so pretty"

The first thing Hewitt said to me when I walked into his room this morning.  :)  I'm so "yucky" to have him!

It's Another BOY!

Which Harrison knew all along, of course. :)

Wish us luck with the 10-15 years of messy, stinky, noisy, male chaos on its way to our house! And even more luck with naming a third one... Harrison is still insisting on Kinsery, Chris is liking Bernardo, Hewitt votes for Elco (the name of the 85 year old man who lives across the street), and I am undecided.

 

I am so excited to see what three brothers can get into -- it's amazing to watch our current Hs play together, take care of each other, and be each other's biggest competitors and biggest supporters at the same time -- what will three of them be like???  Both of the boys' grandpas are from families of three boys each 2 to 3 years apart, but none of their parents are living now, so I can't ask them for a real, honest, well-now-that-50-or-60-years-have-gone-by-I'll-tell-you-what-it-was-really-like evaluation of life with three little guys peeing in the yard.  Also, as Chris said, I'm "not that good with girls anyway."  Which is true!  Any daughter of mine would have had to save her drama for someone else's mama -- when the boys start getting dramatic, I'm the first one to put my hand up and say, "Whoa -- I want to hear what you have to say, but I need to you tell me in your boy voice, not your whiny voice.  Please try again."

 

Chris and the boys came with me to my 20-week visit so they could see the ultrasound (although we just had the ultrasound lady write boy/girl on a note that we opened later), and sweet Harrison kept reaching over to pat and kiss my hand and say, "Mama -- I see our baby!"

Happy Birthday, Hewitt!

Two years old already?  We celebrated little Hew at school with a construction truck cupcake tower.  Look at that sweet smile from the birthday boy!

We are so glad to have you, Hewitt, and love you more each day!

The Birthday Party!

The day finally rrived!  The boys shared their 4th and 2nd birthday celebrations with a giant, carnival-esque birthday party.  Family, neighbors, and friends from school all came to eat and drink and play games and win prizes.  The kids all made goody bags and then played a few different kinds of carnival games to earn some valuable take-home treats!

What are we celebrating?  Some BIRTHDAYS!

Squirmy birthday boy picture #1 -- a bit better for seeing their faces

Squirmy birthday boy picture #2 -- a bit better for seeing their shirts

The spread -- nobody's going home hungry

The youngest (cousin Mallory, <1 and="and" elco="elco" grandmama="grandmama" mr.="mr." nell="nell" oldest="oldest" reat="reat" year="year">80 years) party guests

Let the games begin!

If your race car won its heat on the racetrack, you could choose a prize!

If you pulled a ducky out of the water, you could choose a prize!

If your bean bag toss landed on a plate, you could choose a prize!

Or you could just go dig through the prize buckets and take whatever looked good to you, like these hoodlums.  :)

Oh -- one of those hoodlums is a birthday boy -- carry on then!

And if none of those options were fun enough, you could always go play in the fort.

Keeping cool on a hot day -- must not have realized that there were actual drinks under all the ice :)

Found a juice box -- ahhh!

Catching up with his buddy from across the street, Mr. Elco

You're guaranteed a win when you're the only racer!

Hewie and some big boys

One excited birthday boy!

One birthday boy blowing out his candle

The other birthday boy blowing out his candle

Let's eat cake (outside!)!

Oh, yum

And then the gift-opening frenzy once the guests were gone :)

The Birthday Cakes

Grandmom helped us assemble the birthday cakes today!  We bought a few dozen cupcakes from the bakery (special order for particular colors of cake and icing) and then arranged them into the masterpieces below.  :)

Harrison's "4" Cake

Cupcakes in the shape of the number 4 with a race track and several race cars.

Hewitt's 2 Cake

Cupcakes in the shape of the number 2 with "dirt" and "rocks" and construction trucks.

The boys loved them -- thanks for the help, Grandmom!

Potty Training

Hewitt potty training his turtle, that is...

Happy Birthday, Harrison!

We had a mini-birthday party for Harrison's class today -- Cars-themed with cupcakes and a few racecars from Disney's Cars movie in the display.

Happy birthday, biggest boy -- we love you so much and are so grateful to have you!

A birthday snarl.  :)  His shirt says "Birthday boy!"

The cupcake tower

Now to build a track and have some races!