aka, That Moment Right Before You Get Kicked Out Of The Hardware Store 🙂
Fortunately the patient staff at our local Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) are super good sports, and they let the boys & me kill plenty of time “horseando” (horsing around) with all manner of plungers, pipes, and more. Here’s a little gallery of our silliness from the other evening.
(Hat tip to our friend Tara for coining the term “OSHenanigans”)
“Look at my tail, Dad-O! I’m an awesome lion!!” 🙂
Without any forewarning and without any fanfare whatsoever, Finny lost two of his lower incisors today while biting into a Rice Krispie Treat at a birthday party! Check it out below!
[I had no warning from Finny (no mentions of teeth wiggling, pain, etc.), so I was quite shocked at the party. In retrospect, I’d noticed earlier in the day that one of his teeth seemed to be turned, but I didn’t give it a lot of thought. (I mean, how much does one stare into other people’s mouths, anyway?) The teeth were utterly gone, leading me to think that Finn had simply eaten them, but later he reported, “I though they were hard Krispies, so I threw them into the grass!” Yeesh.
Now we have to figure out the going rate for teeth these days. (Half dollars like my parents got me are hard to come by at 9pm on a Sunday night.) We just don’t want to overpay lest the boys get any terrible ideas!
Oh, and Finn’s kinda fascinated by his new relationship with Leo, the lion blankie who’s always clenched his mouth. “You know what’s weird, Mom-O? Now that my teeth are gone, I can just pull Leo out of my mouth without opening it! He comes right through the hole!” –J.]
The guys continue to negotiate the finer points of sharing their toys with each other. Most of the time, sharing is still a pretty contentious topic with lots of grabbing, pointing fingers, pint-sized threats, and pouting.
However, there are a few golden moments when they are being super nice and polite to each other, saying please and thank you, happily exchanging toys. In those moments, I think what we’re trying to teach them is actually sinking in.
I also like to imagine Finn and Henry singing a little song like this: {sung to the tune of “Happy Together” by the Turtles}
Imagine me and you, I do
We share our toys day and night, and night and day
We play with matchbox cars, and Thomas too
We’re sharing together
Cars and blocks, and trucks and tools
We share together so nicely
The only pal for me is you, and you for me
We’re sharing together
I can’t see me sharing with no-one but you
yeah all our toys
When we’re playing, brother i’ll be so nice to you
yeah all our toys
Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba
Ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba ba-ba-ba-ba
‘Cause I’ve got a little panda to feed. 🙂
The boys rooms are slowly turning into wildlife refuge areas (of the faux-fur, stuffed variety, that is). As you know, our man Finny is a big lion fan. He has amassed several leonine amigos, in addition to his standbys Leo and Leomaran. Friends and family have cottoned on to his love of all things lion. His growing pride now consists of those two, plus Cuttely Buttey, Whiskery Fellow, Rar Rar, Tiny Lion, and Lion Pillow.
Henry is doing his part to build an avian sanctuary. His love for owls started with his little blankie buddies Ollie and Catamaran, and has now expanded to include Blanca, Watchful Owl, Hoo Hoo, Big Owl, Roy, an owl-to-be-named later given to him by his grandma, and Owl Pillow. Having heard that his brother’s group of lions is called a “pride,” he asked what a group of owls is called. So, we looked it up and found out that groups of owls are referred to as “parliaments.” I think this must make Henry the Minister of Strigidae.
[While Googling just now for an appropriate illustration, I came across the story of a lady with an 18,000-item collection of owl paraphernalia. Yeesh—I think G-Man may be on his way to becoming a Crazy Owl Lady! –J.]
You know what’s pretty great? A Christmas Eve visit from Santa Claus himself!
It happens that a certain Detective John Fahrney can pull some strings with the big guy (going back to solving the big eggnog heist of ’88, I think), and with his help we got a very surprising knock on the door. (I love Finn’s body language in the first photo.) Cousin Jenna was a bit apprehensive, but the Micronaxx took right to Santa, enjoying the cookies he brought, showing him to the Christmas tree, and reviewing the wish lists they’d sent him. Check out our little gallery from the occasion.
So, our guys have at last experienced snow!
Galena was blessed with a great mixture of snow (let’s say 8-9″ plus periodic reinforcements throughout the week) and freezing-but-not-freezing temperatures that kept things clean & fluffy throughout our stay. Thanks to our old neighbor Christy, the boys were outfitted with snowpants & boots, and they relished helping Grandpa shovel & helping me craft a snowman (“Beardo,” Finn dubbed him). We tore up the hills, too, packing in three separate sledding trips. Check out the frosty gallery!
