Brain Damage

Lately Gage and I have been experiencing a new phase with Ryan (the "not listening" phase).  On top of this, the boys are really starting to have some sibling rivalry at times ("Willyoustopstouchingme!").

Like all parents of more than one child...I have found this to be VERY frustrating at times...and have been trying to think of a good way to describe it on here.  A couple days ago, I was reminded of Bill Cosby, and it hit me.  I started to think about his stand-up routine "Himself" and the section he did on parenting and brain damage.  I knew of this part of the routine because my brother and I had 90% of the entire "Himself" routine memorized off of a cassette tape (those were some of the few moments our brain damage was not so obvious).  Suddenly I started to feel much better, being reminded that what we are going through is so common that there are comedy sketches based on it.

SO....to share with you what we are going through, I think Bill himself best describes it.

The Big 2

Evan turned 2 on Wednesday...where has the time gone?

After dropping Ryan off at preschool, I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous sunny spring day and take Evan for a walk, stopping at a park along the way so he could get his wiggles out and participate in a well-loved activity on this special day.  He has become quite the little man.

He is...
determined, motivated, stubborn, mischevious, curious, willful, smart, strong, and quite the problem solver.  He can light up a room with his smile and the twinkle in his eyes.  He has striking blue eyes, with starbursts around the pupils.  Those eyes hold the key to his thoughts...you can see it in his eyes when he is happy, when he is feeling cuddly, when he is sad, and when he is looking for trouble.  He is also a very tough little kid.  I think "rough and tumble" is the best term I've heard.  He takes a tumble, gets up, and goes back to what he was doing...hardly ever cries over a scrape or bump or bruise.

He loves his family, loves to be on the go, and loves playing with the "big kids" (a.k.a. Ryan and his friends).  He looks up to his brother with admiration, often wanting to do what Ryan is doing.  He loves to wrestle, play "train", and do just about anything his brother will do with him.  He does have a bit of a temper, and if Ryan is not wanting to play...just might haul off and throw a toy (or whatever is nearby) at him.

Evan doesn't talk a whole lot yet, but has been trying more and more lately.  Its not that he doesn't talk...he just doesn't talk in English the majority of the time.  He has entire conversations in what we call Evan-ese, and will even expect you to understand what he is saying.  He says mom and mommy as clear as day...and has for a long time.  He says dada or dad when the mood strikes him.  He says buh-uh (for brother), ball, cah (for car), go, papa, bye, and no.  Most other words he can say are usually prompted first... such as eat, snack, drink, banana, orange, Grammie, Dar, Thom, etc.

He can be a challenge, he can be silly, and he is most definitely a joy.  He is our Evan.

Later in the day we went to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory with the family where Evan enjoyed some macaroni & cheese and ice cream, then back to our house for presents and some special cupcakes that Ryan helped to make.  Be sure to check out more pictures of Evan's big day at the Hymas Photos section of the website.

We also want to say a special Happy Birthday to Great-Grandpa Hoch, who shares the same birthday!

Looking for Luck...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!

Pesky leprechauns have been visiting Ryan's classroom this week.  Those little buggers are hard to catch, and leave messes behind along with little trails of gold.
On Monday, they put gold glitter into the green play dough...yesterday they left gold glitter all over one of the activity tables...and this morning, when the kids arrived at class, there was a note on the door, toilet paper strung around the room, chairs were overturned, and toys were piled on the floor.  The "phrase of the week" became "THOSE PESKY LITTLE LEPRECHAUNS!!"  After righting all that was wrong in the classroom, they had class as usual until the end of the day when they went hunting for those pesky leprechauns.  They found lots of clues that led them around the school and even into the sanctuary.  As the kids entered one of the rooms off the sanctuary, it was evident a big find was behind the door.  Their faces lit up as they happened upon a pot of "gold" and some chocolates that the leprechauns left behind.  Evan got to tag along on these excursions, and even though he had no idea what the purpose was, he was perfectly happy to be running around with all the kids and being part of the excitement.

I have to admit that I feel my "pot of gold" is quite full.  I've got a wonderful family, great friends, good health, a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and joy in our hearts.

May the luck o' the Irish be with you always, and may your "pot of gold" always be full!