Sean and Aleece

So today I got a call at work from Aleece, I was not at my desk so she left a message.  Aleece started out with the normal “Do you know what your son did…” statements.  I thought that Leif had maybe hit/kick his brother, or hit Aleece, or would not stop crying, something that a normal crabby sick kid would do after a full day with no naps.  Both Leif and Kalven are still sniffly and Aleece was a little tired from her weekend away, maybe everyones tempers were short.  But no, Aleece starts to tell me about how Leif went potty in the big toilet.

Here is how it went down as I was told.

Aleece and Leif were playing on the bed.  Leif stops and gets “that look”.  Aleece asks him if he has to go potty and if he wants to go in the big potty chair like big boys.  Leif said “Ok” and jumped off the bed, took off his pants and diaper and sat on the toilet.  He sat there for a min then wanted to play.  Aleece told him he could only play if he went potty, so Leif went potty.  Aleece freaked out and showered praise on the little guy.

We are not pushing this but are really hoping it is the start of something.  Way to go Leif.  Way to go.

Last week Leif got a cold.  Some coughing, a little runny nose, and a lot of crabbiness.  We tried to make sure he had enough fluids and took some cough medicine, but kids just do their own things.  Leif is feeling a little better, but he still easily gets crabby, I think part of that is his age.  Well I got the cold and I think Aleece is not feeling too well, and oh yea Kalven now is coughing and has a runny nose.

Taking care of a sick kid is a bit of a chore, there just are not medicines out there to help, and the ones that are out there are difficult to get the kids to take.  If they are feeling well you have a chance, but when they feel sick, no way!  And poor little Kalven is too young for anything, we get to siphon out his nose and that’s it.  Add all of this on top of me not feeling well and we have some, not-so-fun nights.  At least everyone goes to bed early.

I know, this is all part of the joys of parenting.  I am not belly aching by any means, I knew stuff like this would happen long before even trying to have kids.  It’s just nice to get some of this out though.  Over all my kids have some phenomenal health and I give thanks for that.

Oh, and did I mention that Aleece gets to get away this weekend?  Yep she is going up north for the weekend with her best friend and they are going to get a short break.  I am glad she can have some adult time that does not involve working.

My wife is an amazing woman. She is a stay at home mom.

At my job I get to work from home pretty much whenever I want. This is nice on days that Aleece works early, or I have an appointment, or if I just want a little extra sleep.

When I work from home I get to hear what goes on during the day. I get to listen to Aleece make up songs with the kids, listen to the kids laugh because they enjoy her singing so much. I get to hear the games Aleece makes up to keep both kids entertained, which is a huge challenge when 1 kid is 7 months and the other kid is almost 3 years. I get to hear how Aleece deals with a crabby kid that will hit her rather than give her a hug. I get to listen to her teach the kids how to make a peanut butter sandwich and I get to hear Aleece sigh a big sigh of relief when a tired kid is finally asleep.

All of these things are truly amazing, but then you have to remember that she does this day after day, over and over, 10-16 hours a day. And even the “bad” days Aleece will say are great days, as long as she can spend it with the kids. On top of this Aleece has the strength to go on a diet and not only follow the diet but kick butt at it! Whenever I try to diet I get crabby, I like my comfort food, but Aleece follows the guidelines and still is happy and cheerful for the kids..

Aleece is very upbeat and happy about staying at home, it was a choice we made together and neither one of us regrets it. I wish I could be a stay at home dad, but that’s not how things work out. I do get to play with the kids at night when Aleece goes to work. Her break away from the kids is to be a server at a restaurant , yep that’s right, her break from parenting the kids is to go parent adults.

Mothers are really great people, they have a difficult job. My wife is a stay at home mom and to me she is the best in the business.

Leif started school today. He is going to school Mondays and Fridays to help with his talking.

The bus came to get him.

He was not sure what to think about it and probably a bit scared, but he was a good trooper.

There he goes.

The bus left and Leif was gone for two and a half hours. We tried to take a nap, but it did not work well. Waiting…waiting…waiting…

But eventually the bus came back.

And Leif survived!!

I think he actually liked school. As soon as the bus left we went over to the cars asking “Go? Go?” At school Leif did an art project, Duck in the rain, went outside and climbed all over, the teacher made a note about what a climbing machine he is.

And we get to do this again on Friday…we will see how that goes.

I brought Leif up to the cabin for the first time this weekend. My parents were up there making maple syrup and Leif and I joined them.

When we got there Leif just jumped out of car and started exploring. He did wave hello to my parents but wanted to just go off exploring.

Finally we got a jacket on him.

If you are going to cook maple syrup, you need to gather sap.

Leif wants do do his part and pulls the sled.

The trail is kind of wet, but Leif does not mind

Back at the cabin we cook down the sap. Typical syrup ratio is 40:1, that’s 40 gallons for 1 gallon of syrup. Sap has lots of water to boil out.

Leif wants to help again and stir the sap to keep the sugars from burning on the bottom.

After some work is done it’s time to play. Leif is taking Grandma on an adventure in the woods.

But then Leif saw me riding the three wheeler and he had to get in on that fun.

Leif found his own tapper out on the trail.

It’s been 5 min since the last ride, Leif thinks he has master that machine and can go on his own.

Time for some more chores, Leif is helping Grandpa shovel out the turn around.

Now time to gather wood for for a campfire. Not sure if that qualifies ad a chore or fun, I vote for fun.

Leif wants to poke at the fire, so I let him.

Poking at the fire is fun, but if there are no flames it gets boring. Time to throw some stuff in.

Leif absolutely loved it up there. That night after dinner we started to settle down and watched a little TV, it was raining after all. Leif would not fall asleep because he did not want to miss out on anything. We finally turned off the TV, turned a light out and just sat in silence. It took about 5 min for Leif to be asleep and 3 min after that to make sure he would not wake back up. Then we turned the TV back on and finished watching the show. That little guy was really tuckered out.

Kalven is growing so fast. He is crawling so well now, we have to be really careful when we put him down or he will crawl away! He is still a little jerky, only moving one appendage at a time but everyday his movements are getting a little smoother. Kalven has decided that he is ready for stairs. Yep, he saw the stairs and saw how Leif went up them so easily so Kalven decided to head right for them.

Aleece and I did not keep Leif away from the stairs when he was younger, we let him try them and learn how to manage stairs. We sat right behind him when he tried, but we let him figure them out and maneuver them as soon as he could. Our thinking was that if Leif learned how to do stairs we would not have to worry as much, and it worked out pretty well. Leif mastered stairs at a young age and we did not worry. We are doing the same for Kalven, he has made it up 1.5 steps already, but by then he gets excited and all giggly and just stands there laughing.

Leif on the other hand, wants to protect Kalven. I got these pictures one day when Kalven got close to the stairs and Leif decided that it was time for me to pick up Kalven.

Leif is trying to bring Kalven over to me but I keep backing away to take pictures. By the time of the last picture the kids and I were laughing so hard that we could not keep up the chase.

I say it again, boy kids grow fast!