Why doesn't Justin sleep?

Sigh. I just finished reading my sister's latest blog entry. I shouldn't do that before I write. It discourages me. It would be fun to be creative and witty with my entries, but I find myself struggling to even put together somewhat coherent sentences. I want to record some of my thoughts and the events of the week because I know otherwise I will forget them all too soon. I am going with the theory that something is better than nothing.

This week I decided to sort through my floppy disks. I mean, do I really need behavior tracking sheets I created for students over ten years ago? What about scoring software for a test that is now obsolete? So many things I found I just didn't need, especially not on floppy. Well, silly me was going to get rid of them. What was I thinking?!? Justin has decided they are the best toy ever. I mean, you can stack them, line them up, act out five monkeys jumping on the bed with them, build them into a birthday cake... The list just goes on and on and on. I think that I should think of a marketing angle and sell the things as the newest and greatest toy.

Justin has also been enjoying the wooden blocks that his grandparents sent him. He builds a lot of towers and animal playgrounds. He was particularly proud of this structure. I am not sure why, but for some reason this one is cool in his mind and he wanted a picture of it.

He has really been getting worn out this week. We have been playing out on the playground for a couple of hours each morning and then coming home for a snack. Justin will then ask to watch something on TV and totally crash within minutes. It isn't his normal nap time, but I won't argue with him sleeping. I will take peace and quiet whenever I can get it. If only Tiny would sleep at the same time so I could have a little nap myself. Not sure that I can complain about Tiny though. Right now I am up with Justin. It is almost 4:40 on Monday morning. Justin has been up since 2:00 AM. He appears to have insomnia. I didn't know toddlers got insomnia. Surprise!

Ryan turned five months old today. Yesterday I thought he turned five months. Evidently I don't know what day it is half the time. I had decided to start solids at five months. I think I started Justin at four months and he wasn't that into it. Tiny was ravenous! I had to make more! I tried nursing him when he still seemed hungry and he refused. He wanted that great flavor of rice cereal. He sure can track that spoon and get his mouth open and ready.

We received a huge box of hand me down clothes from my sister-in-law this week. Justin was quite excited. He loved piling them on the floor and making a cozy nest for himself. He also expressed that he liked to roll around in them. I don't mind too much when he does things like that until he takes clean, folded clothes and does it.

All in all they are good kids. They are so cute together. My favorite sound is the two of them laughing together. I try to remember that when my eyes get heavy and I have trouble focusing.

No Pictures?!?

I just went to look for some pictures to upload for this week. It doesn't appear that I took any. Oops. While a welcome change for you, the poor reader, it is an oversight on my part. I try to take pictures of my sweet boys. They are growing up so fast.

This week I was looking through pictures of Justin when he was 6 months and younger. I can't believe how fast that little baby has changed into a very busy, very opinionated toddler. His growth is incredible. He keeps me busy and is a challenge. I am sure that soon I will look back at pictures of him at this age and be just as amazed at how fast he grew. Hmm... I don't know if that sentence makes sense. I am still not getting enough sleep, thank you very much boys!

Justin received some wooden building blocks from my mother this week. When he saw them (mind you he walked right by them several times without noticing them before he literally sat on them) he was so excited and asked me what they were. I told him they were a present from Grandma and Papa. He exclaimed, "blocks!" and then added, "I can build with them!" We have been doing a lot of building and destroying and rebuilding.

His favorite books for the week include Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss' ABCs, and I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean. He tries to read them on his own and has memorized a lot of them. He gets scared of some parts, like the "scary" alligator for A and has to read it from a distance. He is such a screwy kid that way. He loves things that scare him, but he doesn't like to be too close to them. He pretended he was a dinosaur and then needed me to hold him because he is scared of dinosaurs.

Tiny continues to be a joy. He is a good natured little fellow. He reaches out with one hand and holds on to a crib bar while he sleeps. He is experimenting with his voice and can be quite loud. He laughs at Justin and enjoys watching his big brother. Ryan even laughed when I used the syringe bulb to suck boogers out of his nose. Talk about laid back!

Yesterday it was pouring rain. Justin and I spent almost an hour outside. He loves any chance to put on his raincoat and rainboots to splash in the puddles. I am not quite as enthusiastic, but I do like to see him having such a good time. I also wear my boots so I can splash. I am sure people wondered about us being outside intentionally in that weather.

Hopefully this week I can remember to take some pictures and remember some of the cute things that the boys do. The amount of sleep Justin gets (and therefore the amount that I get) has a lot to do with it. There are some days when it is all I can do to function.