Our Little Goof

Talmage is quite the goof. Here are a few examples of that trait:

-Sam convinced Talmage about a week and a half ago to call me "Queen Mommy." Haha! Talmage picked right up on it and still often calls me Queen Mommy. Today we were at the store and he threw something and then immediately said, "Sorry, Queen Mommy." I couldn't keep the smile off my face. It also makes me laugh to hear him cry for me and say through his tears, "Queen Mommy! Queen Mommy!" What can I say? My boys treat me like royalty. :)

-Sometimes he is just such...a boy, I guess. Surprise, right? But I am still startled at some of the things he does. Like a few weeks ago when he kept sticking his fingers in the back of his throat, making himself gag, and then laughing hysterically. I kept asking him to stop, but he kept it up and eventually made himself throw up. That didn't faze him though-he was so intrigued!

-And today, when he was in the shower, we put the drain plug down so the tub was filling up with water as well. He kept jumping in the air and throwing himself onto the bottom of the tub while shouting, "Owie! Splash!" and again, laughing hysterically. He thought it was funny in the above picture as well to slip and fall. We put his hand puppets on his feet and he walked around slipping, falling, laughing, and repeating.

-His obsession with cleanliness is sometimes a little concerning, to the point where I'm trying to make him deal with little messes so he doesn't develop a problem or something! The other night he was going to bed and having a fit about one of his blankets. I was trying to figure out what the problem was. He gets upset if the blanket on his bed has a wrinkle in it, so I was meticulously spreading out this other blanket as well, but he kept yelling about it. I put it on the "poof" (our giant LoveSac) but he was still upset. Finally I got out of him that he wanted it in a "rectangle" (folded up) and then put on the poof. Sheesh. Now before he goes to bed he checks on that blanket in the poof and says in a satisfied, reassuring way, "rectangle," before climbing into bed.

-He apologizes to people and inanimate objects all the time. If he bumps me he immediately says, "Sorry, Mommy!" He tripped over his tractor and said, "Sorry, tractor." He bumped the plate his lunch was on and said, "Sorry, sandwich." And when he bumps himself he says, "Sorry, Talmage!" So funny.

-Not so silly, but awfully cute, is the fact that he thanks me for almost every little thing I do. If I wipe up a spill he gives me an adoring smile and says, "Thank you, Mommy!" If I give him food, the response is the same. I picked up a fire engine at a garage sale the other day for a dollar or so for his birthday, but I was letting him play with it in the car. His happiness simply could not be contained--his smile was so huge and he kept enthusiastically saying, "Thank you, Mommy!" over and over again.

-He has been fighting a nap the last week or so. He doesn't get upset, but he will play contentedly in his room for 2 1/2 hours without falling asleep! I am working with him to keep him napping since he still definitely needs one, but I am really surprised that he will play contentedly for so long, especially since we put all his toys away before naptime. He essentially just plays with books from his bookshelf for that much time...and climbs up to the top bunk to continue playing.

-Another not-so-silly one is the fact that he absolutely loves Church. He asks multiple times every day if we can go to Church. And when I go to pick him up from nursery, he backs away from me, upset because he doesn't want to leave! The other day we were sitting in the chapel, waiting for Sacrament meeting to start, and Talmage started pointing various people out. Then he sighed happily and said, "Friends!" in the most blissful tone of voice. A few minutes later I needed to play to organ so I left him sitting with another family (since Sam was on the stand). When I came to get him after I was done playing, he started crying because he didn't want to come with me. They very kindly took care of him for the whole meeting while I listened better than I have in months! He loves his Church friends and talks about them all the time, from kids his age to people older than my parents.

Obsessively Clean

Talmage gets pretty distracted when I pull out the video camera because he always wants to watch the videos of him on it. So even though he wanted to be "all done" the whole time I was taking this movie, it does a pretty good job of showing how obsessive he is about being clean while he eats. I break his sandwich into pieces because then he doesn't peel the bread apart and just lick out the jam. One day he grabbed all the pieces of his sandwich off his plate and then wiped the plate entirely clean with the cloth!

Update Blog

I know the major annoyance of private blogs is that the updates don't show up on your sidebar. I've created an update blog that I will update each time I update this blog and link it to the new post. If you want to add it to your sidebar, the address is http://www.samandkaitlynbrady-updates.blogspot.com.

Stickers

Talmage loves stickers. The other day things got a bit too quiet, so I grabbed my camera and went to investigate. I saw this:

and was still a little concerned. But then when I saw this:

and then this I just had to smile. We got a bunch of stickers with an advertisement for some Disney club in the mail, and Talmage was decorating himself and the stairs with them. :)

Another Random Picture Post

I often end up with a bunch of random snapshots of daily life that have collected so they end up grouped together in one random blog post. Enjoy!

I forgot to post this one in the post that was all about food...just another picture of Talmage eating while he stands at the counter, but for some reason I just thought it was cute. :)

Here he is on his blanket/pillow throne one morning, enjoying his book. He has an obsession with trucks right now.

This boy loves tools! I wanted to get him a tool set for his birthday, but I didn't think he'd be too keen on fake, brightly colored plastic tools and I was a little apprehensive about getting him a mini metal/wood tool set. I was having visions of a little hammer being chucked at little brother. Maybe we'll give it a couple of years. For now, he loves playing with the measuring tape!

He thinks it's funny to walk around with this hat down over his eyes.

Again, I just found these pictures cute. The way I am constantly taking and posting pictures of Talmage reminds me of a quote that was hanging in my grandma's house..."Every ol' crow thinks her chicks are the blackest." I don't think he's better than others, but I sure find him irresistable. He knows how to pull my heart strings. (Especially with the way he has been saying, "Thank you, Mommy" for every little thing lately!)

He and Sam have this fun little spinning game they do. Talmage says "fast" or "slow" and Sam spins him accordingly while Talmage throws his hands up in the air like he's on a rollercoaster ride. The funniest part (for all of us, Talmage included) is his dizzy running afterwards!

I guess pillows can serve multiple purposes. Nothing like cushioning your feet from the hard floor...

And lastly, he often sits like this, with his feet splayed out on the sides. Maybe it's so he can spring to his feet at a moment's notice and not waste a second.

A Break from the Drought

Few things inspire more wonder...

...and delight...

...in this boy...

...than a good, hard Texas rainstorm (which we have been lacking greatly this year!).

He also thinks it's funny to take pictures with his tongue sticking out with me.

That's my sweet boy! Love him!

P. S. If you click on the words "Texas rainstorm" they will take you back a year and a half or so to another lovely rainstorm...

Friends

Talmage is such a social little boy. He is constantly talking about his friends and relating things that happened with them. He got to play with his buddy Sam a couple of times a week or two ago and still loves talking to me about how they ate grapes and crackers, shared, and hugged. Such a cute little duo!

Sam gives such enthusiastic hugs...Talmage's hugs have improved drastically since playing with Sam. :)

I made this magnet board to match Talmage's room (which is a work-in-progress). I got the piece of sheet metal from a metal supply store for $7 and I got the wood to mount it on from Home Depot in the clearance bin for $1. They even cut it to size for me for free! I added a few coats of clear spray paint to the metal and covered the board in matching fabric and now it is just waiting to be hung. It's a huge hit for just about any kid that comes to play!

The boys got along so well.

The following day I recruited them to help clean the house. :)

They are two of the best little helpers around!

And as a side note, Talmage has recently become even more obsessed with cleaning. He now likes eating with a wet cloth nearby so he can wipe off his hands and face between each bite and will also wipe up accidental spills. :)