Buddies

Now that they both have iPods, they like to sit really close and compare notes.

Absence makes the heart grow

Upon arriving home from just a week away from the boys, I found them to have grown up more and grown closer. Not too long ago was a scene where Evan would cry and cry about Grant "touching my toys!" Now they're scheming together on "how to set traps to trick Dad." Of course, there are still plenty of tears -- from both -- and screams of "he hit me!" on a regular basis. But the two have a definite bond and as they are growing older, and are developing their own unique, brotherly relationship.

Forts

The age-old pastime never fails.

Life in a house with boys

Will it help? Time will tell. Oh please, let it help!

At the end of a long day...

These boys conk out in all sorts of positions. This was how we found them tonight.

I guess I'll keep 'em

They're cute enough.

Boys doing what boys do

Building -- and sleeping in -- a fort under their bed...

Playing their computer games...

Creative expressions

"No Grant. No Leapster"

Drawn after a whopper of a fit that Evan threw because Grant was playing his Leapster.

Silly boys

At the end of a hot and sweaty afternoon in the back yard.

Secret hideout

There are stretches of time when the boys play SO well together. They cooperate, use their imagination and do fun things like scheme to take over the world. This was their most recent stake out spot.

Zhu Zhu village

With a handful of cardboard food boxes, we helped the boys create their own little Zhu Zhu pet village. They had it set up in our entry way for about a week straight and played with it every morning. They had a store, farm, jumping place, church, school, movie theatre, airport and train track. 

Absence

I guess I've been spending too much time "in the moment," thus the lack of posts lately. I'm loving this time of year--fall. It's beautiful around here. The lakes are bordered by a kaleidoscope of color-changing trees and the cart paths are littered with golden, orange and burgundy leaves, making them look more like the yellow-brick road and less like asphalt.

What's been happening? Soccer, family visits, school, friends, work-- you know, the norm. The kids are good--growing in size and spirit. Evan's favorite thing to say these days is "I have a good idea..." What follows is anyone's guess, but it is always creative. The kid is FULL of big ideas. Grant is equally as verbal. He likes to say "Alright." He's also super-snuggly and still loves to cuddle up with his mama. In fact, he's pretty affectionate toward everyone, including his brother, much to Evan's distress. As for the "brotherhood," well, it continues to evolve and dissolve on a daily basis. As would be expected, Grant adores his older brother despite not always feeling the love back. He also, as you might guess, spends a good deal of time annoying his brother. 

'Nuf chitter chatter. On to the pictures.

Overheard

Grant: Evan!

Evan: What?

Grant: Evan!

Evan: What?

Grant: Evan!

Evan: WHAAAAT?!

Grant: Because!

Sometimes they share

Brotherly love waxes and wanes in our household on an hour by hour basis. When it's good, there's sharing, reading together, sitting close, having adventures and even helping each other retrieve a lost toy or climb a step at the park. When it's bad, well, there are lots of tears. As the mom, I play a big part in cultivating their sibling relationship, but at the end of the day, it's up to them. And if, at the end of the day, all I have is one little moment that shows just a smidge of love (see below), then I am happy. For me and for them.   

Brothers can hang out in their underwear

Recently, Evan has taken a particular liking to hanging around the house in only his underwear. When asked why, he responded, "Because I want to be just like Daddy."

Footnote: For the record, Daddy does not [typically] hang around the house in his underwear.

Line Creek Nature Preserve

The boys and I enjoyed a morning out at a local nature area. Unfortunately, it ended abruptly after Evan pushed Grant into the water. Oh well-- we'll try again next time!

Brothers and the games they play

A conversation between brothers

Overheard (by me) while driving on our golf cart today:

Evan: Hey Grant, you know what?
Grant: Um, yeah?
Evan: Birds have white poop!
Grant: White poop, yuck!
Evan: Yeah, white poop!

New yard, take 2

Despite the fact that we laid sod in our back yard just a mere 3 years ago, we thought it would be fun to do it again. For a variety of reasons (we were backyard novices), our sod died. So this weekend, amid the rain and thunderstorms, we laid 5 new palettes of Bermuda grass. Up to this point, our back yard has been nothing but dirt and a scattering of weeds, Which means, every time we went outside, the boys would become so dirty that they required a deep clean scrub in the tub. So, the idea was that with new grass, like this:

the boys would play in the grass and not the dirt. Except, children will do what children want to do... which is play in the dirt-- even with 2,500 square feet of sod:

And so, we're back to taking baths immediately after playing in the back yard. This is going to be a long summer. (Until we get seed in the remaining dirt patch-- we were 1 palette short)

For those interested, a few more shots of the updates in the back yard:

Grant can count to 7!

Evan has been teaching Grant to count-- it's been such a cool thing to witness. Of course, the whole reason behind the counting is to count down before they race their cars around the house. The last couple of weeks, we've been hearing:

Evan: "One!"
Grant: "Two!"
Evan: "Three!"
Grant: "Four!"
Evan: "Five!"
Grant: "Six!"
Evan: "Go"

And just a few minutes ago, Grant started the countdown to race all by himself, counting from 1 to 7! So cool.