'No You Won't, I'll Be DEAD!'

The kids say so many funny, thoughtful things these days, I can't keep up.

Benny has become increasingly dramatic about things. He often rolls his eyes at us and sighs in frustration. He isn't doing the best job of eating lunch or dinner and often asks for more to eat before bed. Our philosophy: You eat at meals or you don't eat. We don't want to promote refusing food just because the kids don't like it. The other night, Benny was hungry before bed. I told him that he should have eaten more dinner. He told me that he was dying. I told him that he needed to go to bed and that I would see him in the morning. His response: "No you won't! I'll be DEAD!"

Lila is passionate about many stereotypical girl things: Dolls and strollers, pretending to cook and clean. But she's equally passionate about many stereotypical boy things: Blocks and cars and dinosaurs. We were driving past the Denver Museum of Nature and Science the other day and she yelled, "I want to see dinosaurs!" She has associated the museum almost entirely with its dinosaur exhibit. Since it was Friday and gorgeous out, we biked over to the museum. As we approached the dinosaurs, she squealed with delight.

Scene: In the car.

Benny: I have lots of friends.
Me: Umhmmmm (standard response to Benny when he's jabbering away).
Benny: I even have a baby friend.
Me: (interest is peaked because Benny isn't particularly fond of babies) Oh yeah, who's that?
Benny: Lila!

Last night I was getting ready for a meeting and changed out of my jeans and sweatshirt for the first time that day. When I emerged from my room, Lila said, "You look pretty, Mama." I walked on air all night.

Diaper-Free, Day 1

We hit a bit of a snag on the inaugural day of Lila's first (and hopefully last) diaper-free weekend. First, we had to take Benny to school. It snowed, so we had to bundle up and couldn't ride our bikes. So, we drove, dropped Benny off and then headed to the grocery store for weekly shopping. During the first day of a diaper-free weekend, you aren't supposed to leave the house. Whoops. Then, we ran into a neighbor whose son is in Benny's class and got invited to a short play date. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hang out at someone else's house on this dreary day. All told, we were gone from 7:45 - 11. Whoops indeed.

But, as soon as we walked through the door, I stripped Lila down below the waist. Within a half an hour, she had peed in the potty. I could also tell that she needed to work out a number two, but didn't seem very comfortable on the potty.

She went about her business for another hour or so and then said she had to go potty. Back in the bathroom we went. This time she peed and pooped on the potty! A first for sure!

So, although I haven't been following the rules, I'm feeling good about this diaper-free day! I hope there are lots more bathroom incidents just like this the rest of the weekend.

Lila Le Lou Turns TWO!

Lila's real birthday isn't until later this week, but we celebrated her in style this weekend. I'm not much for big parties. Personally, I'm not a "crafty" person and I don't enjoy decorating or coming up with fun games for kids. I prefer to think that I'm "old fashioned" when it comes to birthday parties - simple events with good friends. You could also say I'm cheap, but I think old fashioned is a nice euphemism.

Thanks to all of Benny's friends who now having siblings, Lila has quite a few built-in friends and we've met many wonderful families through Benny's daycare/pre-school. As a result, we (I) decided that I didn't want to host a big party at the house. There's a wonderful park about a mile from our house that's perfect for kids' parties.

Lila enjoyed playing with her friends and eating cake. She wasn't too keen on the happy birthday song (she wailed while we sang). Overall, I think she had a wonderful birthday party thanks to all the good friends. We didn't see too much of Benny because he was busy running around with his friends.

Nana Jean made Lila's cake this year. She does an amazing job!

All the grandparents representing!
My dad couldn't make it due to an early harvest.

Lila and her friend Addy.

Lila and her best school friend Blakey.

The kids played for an hour or so (and watched a wedding take place in a different area of the park!), ate a light dinner and then destroyed the awesome cake!

Happy birthday, my lovely little lady! You add so much joy to our family! We can't wait to see you grow and communicate and make more friends and learn!

Enjoy being TWO, Lila!

|| Pause

Ever wanted to pause life? Just because it's so perfect. And happy. And wonderful. I want to pause life right now. I want to pause it so we can come back to it someday and relive it.

August has been a magical month. The weather and the kids and the friends and the gatherings. They make me appreciate all that I have. Benny and Lila have been going through a very good "phase" together. We tend to remember the hard phases (teething, no sleeping, temper tantrums), but sometimes it's difficult to remember that there are good phases too. And you don't necessarily recognize them until they're gone.

Benny is becoming a little man. He puts his dishes in the dishwasher now without being told. He wants to learn how to tie his own shoes. He feels responsible for Lila when she's wandering off. He wants to help her when she's struggling. He loves to play with friends and make new friends. And he's a GOOD friend.

Last night, Benny was eating a pepper right off the plant in the garden. He looked at Nate and said, "Thanks for planting these, Dad." He said it so matter of factly, so genuinely that Nate teared up.

Lila is learning how to talk and express herself. Sometimes this includes dramatically throwing herself on the floor, which is usually pretty funny. She says "No way" instead of just "No." If I ask her to do something she says "OK." She has peed and pooped in the potty - all on her own accord. I recently bought her a tea pot set at a garage sale. Now she makes us coffee. There's nothing like learning from your parents!

With my relatively new and relaxed schedule, Nate and I actually have time to talk to each other. Last night we reflected on our weekend for a blissful hour while sitting outside in the cool night air.

Sometimes I get so caught up with schedules and responsibilities and stress that I forget that THIS is what we live for - these moments that make me remember how lucky I am.

Something Totally Cosmic

Coming clean about my feelings about dirty diapers opened something up - something totally cosmic. Not 24 hours after posting my disdain for diapering, Lila said she wanted to sit on the potty, sat down and got right back up. That's a pretty normal for her. She'll sit briefly and then get up, saying she wants a diaper.

Tonight, though, that's where the cosmic comes in. Tonight she got up, grabbed a book and sat back down. I figured it was all part of the routine and helped Benny get ready for bed. Not one minute later I checked on her. She got up and told me she wanted a diaper. But, you know what was different about tonight? THERE WAS PEE IN THAT POTTY! I nearly cried I was so happy.

So I did the potty dance, Benny did the potty dance and Lila looked thoroughly confused. I insisted that we call Nate to tell him about the momentous first pee. Lila told him "pee pee potty." Benny then grabbed the phone and told Nate that we all did the potty dance. Then Benny shared some of his Smarties from school with Lila to celebrate.

I don't doubt that we'll be in diapers for some (many) more months, but a mom can dream, can't she?

All the Colors of the Rainbow

It's fascinating to witness a child develop the second time around. Things are generally the same, but Benny and Lila have experienced distinct differences. Benny has been incredibly mobile and active since he was small - walking at 10 months, mastering pedaling before 3 years, mastering the bike at 4 and a half years. He also learned the alphabet and numbers very early. He could identify every letter and number by the time he was 20 months old.

Lila has not been interested in the alphabet or riding mobile equipment, but she has been incredibly focused on colors. Now, at 21 months, she can identify every color of the rainbow. There's faint hope that she'll master the potty before 2, but that's a whole different story.

Gorgeous evening rainbow in Montrose.

Brother + Sister

Nate and I have never pushed Benny to "like" Lila. For the first eight months of her life, he ignored her as though she may some day leave. Then he experienced some belated regression behaviors when Lila was about a year. Lila, on the other hand, has loved hanging out with Benny for her whole life. She especially loves that she can boss him around and he will usually do what she tells him to do.

Lately, the two of them have been playing and interacting like two friends. It warms my heart. They're finally getting to an age that they entertain each other in the car. The other day Benny had a friend over to play. The three of them were in the kids' room and laughing like crazy. When I checked on them, Lila was standing on top of her changing table and they were throwing clothes at each other.

More often than not, they are good buddies, conspiring to do something they're not supposed to do!

Time Off

My legs are finally feeling back to normal a week after the half-marathon. I've been taking it easy over the past week - only running a couple of days and biking or walking to keep my legs moving. Working all of that lactic acid out has been a challenge.

I'm taking some time off from running over the next month to focus on other active endeavors, like biking and yoga. Then I'm hoping to pick it back up for a fall half-marathon.

Speaking of time off, Lila has decided to go on a hunger strike over the past few months. She rarely eats more than five bites at each meal. I've stopped giving her many snacks in the hopes that she'll be hungry enough for a meal when the time comes. The results of that experiment have been mixed. I know that kids slow their eating way down after their first birthday, but this seems rather extreme. Lila used to consistently eat more than Benny at meal times.

I'm trying hard not to be a short order cook. I refuse to give her only what she wants (which is typically just sweets anyway). In the long run, I think this approach is better for meal times. We have never given in to Benny's eating whims and he eats what we eat for every meal - no arguments. But I do want to make sure that Lila is getting everything her growing body needs.

Has anyone else in bloggerland witnessed such a drastic change in eating habits in your kids? If so, what did you do during the phase of no eating?

Rare Moments

As I sit at my computer, drinking coffee and writing a grocery list, my kids are playing together in their room. With the door shut. It's quiet, aside from a little singing and blocks rattling. Rare moments, my friends, but so beautiful.

The Bob

Photo 1 - The bob.

Lila was born with a relatively full head of hair and never really lost it. I cut off a mullet at three months. She had amazing gravity defying hair from three months to five months (it stood STRAIGHT up and there was nothing we could do about it). It was short and adorable from six to about 14, but then became a long, tangled, stringy mess. I wasn't really prepared to cut it so early, but I didn't really see any option.

Wispy newborn hair.

Gravity-defying hair at about four months.

The perfect, manageable length at around one year.

The infamous "Bad Hair Day."

So, I made an appointment at the local kids' hair salon (we have one in our neighborhood - it's overpriced, but it's within walking distance). Benny was away for the week, which I figured would make managing a squirmy toddler getting her hair cut much easier.

Turns out that Lila was a pro. It didn't hurt that the whole experience was over in less than 15 minutes. I decided on a bob cut, which is perfect. Lila still has issues with her hair getting caught in her snot, but it's limited now! She's officially ready for summer. Just look at how adorable she is with a new haircut and a sun dress in Photo 1!

Sleepers

I often only post about sleep when I'm not getting any. Whether it's due to a fussy toddler, a new baby, sickness, whatever, I know that not getting sleep is a huge problem for me. I need sleep like I need coffee, which is to say, a lot.

I've been quite amazed by my kiddos lately. Maybe it's the warm weather and outdoor activities, maybe they're growing. I don't know, and I don't care: They are sleeping monsters! This morning Benny crawled into bed with me at around 7:30 and promptly went back to sleep until Lila woke up at 8:15! We are two lucky parents!

What's more: Lila has started begging to go to bed at night. Last night she was all out of sorts. I asked her if she wanted to go "night night." She screamed "NI NI!" ran to her crib and tried to crawl in. It's not the first time she's asked to go to bed either. What's more is that she never gets upset when we put her to bed, she just falls asleep.

As I type this, Benny is asleep for an uncharacteristic nap and Lila has been down for 2.5 hours now. I love my sleepers - even more than my sleep!

Waiting for Daddy

Yesterday was a rough one. I was still feeling under the weather and we'd had a busy day of running around town for various appointments. Benny wasn't feeling very good either. Lila was feeling just fine. By 4:30, I was ready to throw in the towel. Nate called and reported that he was about 20 minutes away. When I relayed this information to the kids, they positioned themselves at the window and waited for him - just like this - for 20 minutes. I heard giggling and other shenanigans from behind the curtains. I guess they were as tired of me as I was of the day.

I'm happy I had enough energy to capture the moment on camera. It was so sweet.

Lila Le Lou: 18 Months

Lila is technically 17 months, six days old. But I know that I'll forget to post something when she actually turns 18 months. She is such a complex, amazing little girl. She loves to dance, play with blocks, take baths with her big brother, and be outside. Mostly she just loves to be outside. Oh, and she likes to wear her winter boots - all the time! Lila, we can't wait to see you develop more, but we also want you to stay right where you are!

Day 2 - Already telling us what she thinks.

Month 1 - She literally slept ALL the time.

Month 2 - Some of the first smiles on camera.

Month 6 - First solid foods.

Month 7 - A food pro.

Month 8 - Loving a tractor ride in Iowa.

Year 1 - Using utensils.

Year 1 - First "real" Halloween (Frog).

Year 1 - Adorable girl in the park.

2nd Christmas - Kissing her stuffed animals.

Lila Month 18ish - Pretty girl.

Leaping

Even as an adult, I still find Leap Day thrilling. We get ONE EXTRA DAY this year. For some reason, that seems pretty special. And it only happens once every four years. So cool.

So today I'm leaping (metaphorically only, of course, because I'm actually sitting at work until 6). Although we've had a rough couple of weeks in terms of sickness and sleep, I've been pretty copacetic with everything. The kids, despite feeling icky and worn down, have been amazing this week. We spent the day on Monday at the mall - a seemingly insignificant stop. But the kids played at the play area after I replaced my phone. We walked around, ate a snack and made it home before lunch. Then we took a long walk - Benny on his balance bike, Lila in her stroller. And the day made me happy and thankful, once again, that I took the leap of faith to switch career tracks.

Nate and I finally feel like we're financially stable and we're ready to make some more improvements to the house this spring. New windows, new doors and a minor basement remodel. It's exciting to see the house transform into a comfortable, nice place to live. It's been a slow progression and frustrating at times.

There are so many other things to be leaping about on this Leap Day. Benny is starting kindergarten in the fall. He's well on his way to reading. His little spongy mind picks up so much stuff now, it's hard to keep up. Lila is starting to talk. She identifies all of her body parts (and can say most of them). She's an inquisitive, happy little girl. And while Nate and I are busy with work and home life, we seem to have settled into a nice routine of allowing each other to have a small social life. I am incredibly thankful that he was willing to take a leap of faith on me too.

Have a great Leap Day. And remember, it's not every year that you get an extra day to enjoy!

Cookie Monsters

Changing my work situation has led to countless improvements in my life: Teaching at the University of Denver, being able to set my own hours as a consultant, making more money. One of the biggest benefits has been staying at home with Benny and Lila two days a week. When I hatched this crazy plan, spending more time with my kids was one of the biggest motivators.

Being at home with both kids has been such a great experience. They play together now and make each other laugh. We get to do fun stuff and I can actually clean and cook and do things around the house. Benny and I now make cookies together every Friday. He gets to pick the recipe from his cookie cookbook and then we spend Friday afternoon making the cookies. As a result, I have created two cookie monsters! Lila is especially fond of our Friday afternoon activities and how they benefit her.

Cocoa Crackles (aka Our Current Favorite Recipe)

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir together wet ingredients and sugars in large bowl. Beat wet ingredients until mixed then gradually add dry ingredients.

Form small balls of cookie dough and then coat with powdered sugar. Bake for about 11 minutes.

Supper Bowl II

It's no secret that the Brown-Struckman household doesn't have a TV. Perhaps it's not a terribly surprising conclusion that we don't really care about professional sports either (since no TV is a serious impediment to keeping up with professional sports). Last year I didn't even realize it was Super Bowl Sunday until we sat down at a local restaurant for dinner and found the restaurant completely diner deserted. Aha! Light bulb.

Since we had such a nice experience in sparse-diner dining last year, we decided to do it again this year. We visited Watercourse, a great vegetarian restaurant near our house (and the inspiration for Smashing Tomato Soup). It's just about the most anti-Super Bowl restaurant there is in town. And it was perfect...

Despite looking rather annoyed, Benny had a great meal. He even got hot cocoa and red velvet cake. Lila, who just learned to drink from a straw, impressed us with her skills. Then we realized that she was actually tipping her cup back and spilling all of the water on herself and the floor.

Happy Supper Bowl Sunday!

Bad Hair Day

Nate braved a trip to Iowa with Lila last weekend. I was scared for him. One shouldn't fly with children between the ages of about 11 months to about 2 1/2. But, since Lila is still free and since Nate was traveling to Iowa to see Nana Lila, we thought it was a good idea.

Apparently, Lila traveled like a champ. There was no screaming or squirming in the airplane, she slept on her regular schedule, she ate like she used to eat (which is to say that she ate well). I'm proud of both of them!

But, I had to post these pictures. I did pack for Lila because I was a little afraid of Nate dressing her like a hobo. (Case in point: He used to get Benny ready in the morning to take him to daycare. One day I picked Benny up and the ladies at daycare were laughing because Nate had put one of his camping belts on Benny so that Benny's pants would stay up. He had to wrap it around his waste three times! And Benny wasn't potty trained yet.) However, I knew Lila's hair would be dicey. I put it in pigtails before they left and just hoped that Nate would let her sleep in the pigtails. No such luck. I'm sorry for these pictures Lila!

I also had the pleasure of spending the entire weekend with Benny. Although I missed Lila terribly, it was a treat to hang with Benny alone. He's such a funny little guy!

Spitting Image

My mom showed this picture to Benny a few months ago and asked who it was. He didn't miss a beat and answered, "Lila." I think most people would answer the same way.

It is not Lila. It's me. At six months. Spitting image.

Lila Marie, five months.

Once I saw this picture, I wondered about how Benny compared at six months. After all, we call Lila Mini Benny since she looks so much like him.

Benny Jasper, five months.

Maybe not so much...