Experiments

Motherhood requires the use of the Scientific Method every day. You are presented with a problem (typically several), you propose a hypothesis, you set up and facilitate the experiment and then you receive your outcome. Sadly, my outcomes are seldom what I intend, as proven this morning at 1:00 am.
My experiment went a little something like this...
I really wanted C and K to go back to sharing a room (in separate cribs). We split them up 2 months ago to get them sleeping through the night. It worked initially but has never been consistent until recently. We have had perfect nights for over a week. Therefore, I hypothesized that I could put them back together again. It took monumental effort to carry out my experiment. I went to Home Depot yesterday for the third time this week and finally acquired the right parts I needed to assemble the dinosaur crib that we borrowed from my parents. (Just because it is old, does not mean we are not grateful. :))
I spent the majority of yesterday afternoon assembling said dinosaur while two toddlers shook, rattled and rolled between and underneath all the loose parts. I think Cole may have swallowed a bolt. Time will tell.
So, I finally got the blasted crib put together and was ready to test my theory with the afternoon nap. Bad idea. I will spare you the details, but within 10 minutes, Cole was back in the pack 'n play in the guest room and Keith was so distraught that he never took an afternoon nap. I therefore never got a shower yesterday, which is beside my point but still important for dramatic effect.
I decided to reattempt my experiment at bedtime. Since Brent was out of town on business, it was a good night to test my theory. After about 45 minutes of chatting, yelling and trading pacifiers, they both finally fell silent and after an hour, they were both asleep. Victory!!!
After dumbing myself with 2 hours of The Bachelor, I retired to bed. My scientific hopes were dashed when my dream was interrupted by a child shouting for attention. I raced into the nursery just hoping that Cole had not awakened Keith. But once again, I was very wrong. He was leaning over so far into Keith's crib and yelling into his ear, it's a wonder he didn't fall on top of his brother or at the very least, deafen him.
There was no chance of them going back to sleep at this point, so I had to split them up again. Both boys screamed since each had lost his bed buddy, but seriously, I had to get some sleep. I didn't really mind that they had interrupted my dream though. It was really more of a nightmare. I had given birth to identical girl triplets. If night awakenings aren't enough birth control, dreams like that certainly are.


I came home the other day to find Brent teaching the boys how to carry out some experiments of their own. They were catapulting toys from the top of the banister--all under the pretense of teaching his sons "cause and effect".
This was all well and good until Cole realized that his favorite bear was now in the entryway and he would have to slide down the entire flight of stairs to retrieve him. I guess he is learning dad's lesson the hard way.

Catch up

OK. Brace yourself. This is a long one. I'm pretty sure my family is going to kill me for allowing so much time to lapse between posts. I know it's bad when even Brent is harrassing me to update our blog. He is usually satisfied with ripping on me for catching up with all of my "blog buddies." I'm struggling to keep up with all of my New Year's Resolutions and therefore blogging has slipped to about number 50 on my list. Here goes...recap of Christmas vacation:

Brent and I had an amazing get-a-way to Leavenworth right before Christmas. We left C & K with my parents and took advantage of being sans toddlers for 24 hours. Leavenworth is the cutest little town. It looks like something straight out of a Norman Rockwell setting.

We were all ridiculously spoiled on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. C and K are certainly never lacking in the toy or clothing department. Here they are making the rounds on the truck "Aunt" Alison gave them.

Brent took them for their first sleigh ride which was fun until he face-planted both of them in the snow. Perhaps next time we'll try putting them on a real sled instead of a boogie board.









Brent made the most of the freezing temperatures and copious snowfall over the holidays. He went ice-climbing twice with my dad and went skiing for a few days with his brother and dad. Here are a few pics of him scaling the frozen falls.















The boys and I made our own fun hanging out with the fam while Brent was away.










One of the highlights for me was getting professional photos taken of the boys. Mary was AMAZING! She just followed the boys around the house while they did their thing and she got some incredible shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

Keith














Cole














Undoubtedly, a fabulous Christmas vacation. Now we are back into the full swing of things at home. Here's to more frequent posting for the rest of '09!

The Squirrel Slayer

One of the squirrels that recently inhabited our attic finally met his match this week. Armed with a Pay Day, a headlamp and raw gumption, Brent successfully trapped the beastly pest and released him in nearby green space.
Unfortunately for us, our foe had a friend. We didn't even have one day of peace before another squirrel was scratching and clawing its way among our rafters and wreaking havoc with our wires and insulation.


Like any true Man's man, Brent suited up once again and dared to enter the squirrel's lair. Armed the second time with wire, gorilla glue and newly acquired trapping experience, he sealed up any possible pest entrances around the roof and reset the Pay Day trap. Hopefully our home can now deem itself a true "Rodent-free" zone. But now that Brent has effectively battled birds and squirrels, he's prepared to take on any creature that dare defy him.












Incredibly, my husband boasts talents even above squirrel trapping. He somehow made time in his busy rodent-hunting schedule to take us all to Zoolights. The zoo puts on a pretty spectacular light display for the holidays. The boys loved it in spite of the cold weather and drizzling rain. They kept pointing at all the lights and babbling incoherently.













Brent also took the boys to their third and final football game of the season. I'm preparing for his football withdrawal come mid-January. How will we possibly fill our time on Monday and Thursday evenings and on Saturday and Sunday from noon until 9 pm?











The boys are up to all kinds of new tricks lately. One of which is wearing this Santa hat. They love to put it on and take it off of themselves and each other. Then they want me to wear it and then take it off. It's an exhilarating game as you can probably imagine. It's a good thing they look so cute in the hat or I would tire much more quickly.

Give Thanks

I'm grateful for a husband who lives to entertain his sons.



And who strategically leaves his coke cans in low-lying places.

I'm grateful for Uncle Bryce, who takes great care of his nephews.

I'm grateful for a mother-in-law who patiently teaches me the ropes of cooking turkey and prime rib. Only the Burnett men cannot survive on turkey alone.

I'm grateful for grandparents who love spending time with their grandsons.




I'm grateful for the most perfect and happy sons I could ever imagine.


And for a husband who is man enough to set the table.

The difference a year makes

Same football. Same boy.







Same uncle. Same nephews.




This Thanksgiving season we are grateful that Keith is officially larger than a football.

Illness, Birthdayness and Submarines

I'm receiving hate emails and harassing phone calls from family members for allowing so much time to lapse between posts. Let me assure all of you it can only be attributed to the "Black lung" which has seized our home. The good news is that the boys are on the mend. Only runny noses remain. The bad news is that cold sores have commandeered my face. I have nine (yes, count them, NINE) cold sores right now. And I'm not counting the little tiny ones that huddle near the big ones for protection. I'm talking separate beasts, here. OK, I'm grossing myself out, moving on...




Birthdayness.
My sister Darel uses this term to justify week-long birthday celebrations and ridiculous requests regarding her celebrated day. I've chosen to describe the month of November at our house as pure "Birthdayness". The boys were insanely spoiled by grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts and uncles and honorary Grandma Patti. Mostly the month has allowed Brent and I to re-live the amazing and difficult time that was November 2007.


The boys have come a long way. Their heart, lung and temperature monitors no longer haunt our sleep. We don't live and die by the baby scale each morning, just hoping that the boys have gained weight. We no longer pray for Keith to have a bowel movement so he can eat. And fortunately, Brent and I do not share a less-than-twin size cot 24 inches above a tile floor.




Fortunately, these pictures bring back very real memories that also seem very far behind us.

Presently, the boys are tearing up the house. Just today, furniture was rearranged, an entire box of tissue was torn to shreds and partially consumed, toilet paper rolls were unraveled and literally every reachable kitchen item was pulled from its cuboardly home. And just to make sure I haven't lost my sense of humor, Keith decided to dock his own personal subs in the tub this morning. He just wanted to remind me how grateful I am that he has a healthy bowel system. And in a weird way, I'm glad he did.