Catching up!

Things have been really crazy around here, since the McG house has had a stomach flu and has been recovering for the last week or so. So I thought I'd play a little catch up on the blog, since both boys are sleeping this morning...

Last week:

We rode the ferry to visit Finn's Aunt Danielle (to collect some rent $$$) and had lunch with my mom, Finnegan's Grandma. Cohen LOVED the ferry!




Thursday we stopped by the international fountain at Seattle Center, but the boys were a bit overwhelmed. Finnegan didn't even want to get out of the stroller. Here's Cohen having a bit of fun in the spray...


On Friday, we went to Alki with Elliott and Leanne to celebrate Leanne's birthday. The boys loved throwing rocks and digging their toes in the sand.


A little unsure about the water, however.


Then we had a picnic in a shade-y spot on the grass and I fit all 3 boys into the car since Elliott and Finn were having a sleep over that evening.

I'm a bit amazed that Cohen didn't even reach for Elliott in the car since they were sitting right next to each other. It seems as though he saves his energy for those of us he already knows.

Thank goodness, since he was the only one still awake by the time we got to Kate's work to drop him off with mom.


I'm not sure that we're going to be able to fit much in today, since Mondays are short ones, and the boys are apparently VERY sleepy.... Hopefully we'll be able to fit in a trip to the Aquarium this week since the rain has (finally) come back!

Tuesday

The boys new "Ride":


I found it on Craigslist. It's huge, it's heavy, but it does the trick. Buckled in, the boys can't even reach eachother. So yeah... PERFECT.

We tested it out today with a walk around the block at Elliot's house, and then went to Lake Wilderness in Maple Valley (yep... that's right! WAY THE HECK OUT THERE!) with Elliot and his mama, Leanne.

We sort of ignored the playground and went and explored the lake and the grassy fields... it's just easier with 2!



Picking Flowers


Cohen fell asleep about 20 minutes from home, and Finn fell asleep about 5 minutes before we got here. I was able to move Finn from car to bed NO PROBLEM. Cohen was a little more difficult. Poor kid woke up, didn't want to get out of his carseat (I'm sure he would have slept there just fine for another hour if we were still driving), and maybe fell asleep in bed for about 5 minutes until he woke up and realized that Finn was asleep in the same room. Nap time was all over from then on out.

Monday

Today we ventured to WholeFoods and Gasworks Park. Cohen had a bit of an issue at the store... I think he was just fed-up with being in the stroller. Luckily his screaming, hitting, grabbing fit only began when we were paying for our goods. Finn and I pushed the stroller to a quiet spot and I held his hands and had him look me in the eye and talked to him about what NOT to do in the store. Then off to the park...




The boys LOVED splashing in the puddles left by last nights rain at the Sundial.

Wednesday - Got my camera back!

Today started out this sweet. Cohen was all hugs and kisses (whether Finn wanted them or not), and then went down for his nap. He was less than quietly woken up by a screaming Finn ("MOOOOOOMMMMMMMMYYYYYYY!!!!... he was excited about something?) and then it was not so sweet for the rest of the day.

The boys had an earlier than normal lunch, given Cohen's shorter than usual nap:


Then I grabbed some buckets and pitchers and we went outside and played in the water with the hose. I thought it would be a big hit with both boys but, maybe because he was tired, Cohen wasn't too thrilled with being all wet. This is when the disputing started.. Just the normal not wanting to share type stuff.

So we came inside and had a snack and the boys played in Finnegan's TeePee.

The disputing over sharing outside, turned kinda ugly when we came inside. I'm not sure if it was the fact that we were in a smaller space, or they were both just tired, but these 2 little boys were NOT getting along. Finn would push Cohen, Cohen would hit Finn, Finn would take a toy from Cohen, Cohen would take a swing at Finn.

There were timeouts, but for some reason today, the boys just were NOT responding to them. They didn't respond to talking either... it seemed as though they BOTH just went on discipline strike. NO! NO! WE WON'T GO!

Things went from kinda bad to CRAZY when Kate got here. She wasn't here 5 minutes to pick up Cohen when we heard the scream and the dropped cup, and turned around to see Finnegan screaming, and Cohen standing pointing and saying "Finn, Finn"(normally a sign that something bad just happened). Kate and I then saw the big red bite mark in the middle of Finnegan's back and we swung into action. I grabbed Finnegan to console him and we figured we'd make his owie into a sandwich and eat it to get rid of it (my weird mama owie sense of humor). Kate grabbed Cohen and took him into the kitchen and talked to him about biting his friends.

This was the second time within a week that Finn's gotten bitten, so Brandon and I decided that we should make time to talk to Kate and Ron to try and figure out what to do. I think that all 4 parents are needed to come up with a solution to this issue, so hopefully we'll be able to come up with something and live in harmony from here on out! See you tomorrow!

Monday

Today was almost great! Besides a SHARING issue... Finn stole a toy from Cohen and Cohen bit Finn on the arm. I think that it's been good to be hanging around our house. It allows the boys a bit of freedom, because I don't have to worry about chasing them around to make sure they're safe, and lets them bond, and let's Cohen get a lot more comfortable around our home. Tomorrow we'll do some water play!!!

Thursday....Common, We want some pictures!!!

Still no camera... sorry! I'd better give my dad a call to see when it's coming back to me!

Cohen did really well today. We stayed home, since I had a bunch of chores and things to catch up on around here, and the boys got the chance to bond a bit, and learned a little more about sharing and taking turns. Cohen grabbed Finn's face only once, and it was because he wanted a turn in the Car (his fave outside toy). Finn recovered quick and Cohen and I had a talk or two about giving Finn owies. He actually responded really well to our little discussions and hopefully it will sink in if we continue to verbalize about it.

WEDNESDAY--- Ah Man! No Pictures?

That's right... I'm camera-less for a couple days. It's being borrowed for some very important environmental engineering in Maple Valley (My Dad needed to use it for work).

Today was just about GREAT! Cohen had only one time-out, given to him by Brandon for attempting to bite Finnegan's foot. The rest of the day was all about hugs and kisses, and Nice, Gentle touches. Although I'm starting to think that Finn may get sick of all the Cohen love sooner than later. It's adorable for now though!

We took it easy today, and hung out at the house this morning to watch Sesame Street, while Finn worked on waking up, and Cohen then had a nap. When Cohen woke up we headed to the grocery store and took Brandon some lunch at his work. Cohen got to meet all of Brandon's crazy co-workers, and thought it was crazy fun to play peek-a-boo with one of the guys and then run across the office back to me.

On the way back to the house, Finn fell asleep (he's an easy transfer from carseat to bed, thank goodness!) and Cohen and I played outside and fed the chickens some lettuce, then came in for a snack when the girls were wanting a bit of privacy to lay some eggs. A really great day... then Kate showed up. (that's not meant to sound negative towards Kate!!!)

When Kate got here today to pick up Cohen (as well as a few days in the recent past) Cohen went CrAzY! Screaming, Throwing toys, Screaming, Hitting Mom, Screaming, Biting, did I mention Screaming? It was almost as if he was a different child. A silly Crazy kinda mean child! I seem to think that he's just excited that she's here, and possibly trying to show off for her, the same way Finn has been with me during the time that Cohen's here. Hopefully it's just another "Phase" that he'll grow out of, but for now we'll try to work on it!