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!

'Nuff Said.

Translation?: YA YA IS COMING TODAY!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday- A Great View and Making a Scene.

Cohen gobbled up breakfast this morning, and was quick to take a nap. Which meant Finn was fed, dressed and ready to go just about the same time Cohen woke up. I decided that a new park was a great idea, so we headed up to Queen Anne and checked out the beautiful city view from Kerry Park




We ate some lunch at the park, and then headed to the post office, because I had a few packages that had to go out for my Etsy Shop. That's where our good day faltered a bit, when Cohen bit Finnegan's arm, resulting in quite a scene in the middle of the post office. I took Cohen out of the stroller and had him sit on the floor, which he was not too pleased with. Cohen has decided that he's no longer taking "Time-Out" quietly. SO... he was screaming "NO!!! NO!!!" on the floor, and Finn was screaming because of the bite on his arm. And I was trying to get my stuff together to get the heck out of there and get the boys to a better situation to be able to deal with the situation (really long sentence, I know, but the situation deserves it). So we headed for the house and spent some somewhat agreeable time in the back yard, where Finn played with his trucks in the dirt, and Cohen got to play in his favorite outside toy... the Car.


For those of you wondering what happened on Tuesday.... I'll post it when I find the energy to bring it back to the surface. I think I've figured these boys out, I just wish they could figure EACH OTHER out as well.

Happy Monday- Week 3

Cohen met our new Chickens today! Then continued to talk about the Chickens for the rest of the day. "Chickens! Chickens! Chickens!" We didn't do anything TOO exciting, besides meeting the chickens, and headed to the feed store to get them some scratch. The boys didn't do too well in the stroller when we were there, and were basically beating on each other... luckily it was a short visit. We did meet a rabbit named CoCo, and saw a bunch of chicks running around in their brooders, which was a good distraction from picking on each other.

Cohen fell asleep on the way back to the house, and decided that he was going to wake up and fight falling back asleep when we got here. Despite the fact that he only slept for about 10 minutes in the car. Hopefully he got some rest this afternoon at home, and Kate got some gardening done!

Friday... Beautiful Boys.

A new level of friendship was reached today... I think Cohen is getting comfortable here. He gave Finnegan ALL kinds of Hugs and kisses every time he got the chance. Plus, Finn's flinching a lot less whenever Cohen comes around... I see it as another good sign!!!
I wish I had gotten some pictures of the lovins..but my camera batteries needed a charge for our outside adventure.
So, after Cohen's nap today, we headed to the Olympic Sculpture Park downtown. Here's some shots of these Gorgeous kiddos:





AND HERE IS THE BEST PHOTO EVER!!!

Have a GREAT weekend Cohen!

Thursday ... BANANAAAAS!!!!

Great time at the playground! We stopped by Gilman playground for a good long play, but then Cohen just HAD to have a banana, so we stopped by the post office and headed for home to eat lunch... and bananas.


Playing in the sand

Cutest kid, Scariest photo.... he was mid scream: "BANANAAAAAAAS!!!!"


Cohen did wonderfully today, even through Finn's meltdown in the afternoon. Great day... I think we're gonna try to get to the Sculpture park tomorrow.

Day3/Week2 - Strides Were Made

Two happy Happy HAPPY boys today. The boys made strides in their relationship and no toddler inflicted injuries occurred!!! Tickling, hugging, laughing and none of that other stuff that we're just going to try and forget about from now on. Cohen seems to TRY to grab at Finn still, but it's always intercepted by a firm NO, which seems to be quite enough to let him know he needs to back away from what he's doing. Here's some pictures to prove my point. The first time I've photographed them together without worrying a little about it:
World, meet Sir Basket Head...


Tickle Tickle!!!


A Too Fun Zoo Trip

Day2/2 We're Getting There!

Today was a great day to play around the house. We got breakfast, Cohen had his nap, and all 3 of us went out into the backyard for some at-home fun! Cohen really likes the Car, and the slide which I've posted pictures of before, and Finn really likes that there's someone else to play with besides Mommy. It was a wonderful morning.

We came in for lunch, and by the time the boys were done eating, it had gotten WAY too hot and sunny in the backyard, so I grabbed a few Drum like items from the kitchen, and the boys drummed away for about 5 minutes until they realized it'd be more fun to stack everything into towers. Plus Finn really likes to wear bowls as helmets.


The boys were getting along ok, until the emotional meltdown of the year. I think it was probably caused by Finn being overly ready for a nap, and Cohen not understanding why Finn was acting so Crazy.. Cohen doesn't really seem to be a fan of Crazy. Here's what happened...

Finn got a time out today for ramming his toy stroller into our dog, Darby, on purpose, which seemed to confuse Cohen because I don't think he's witnessed some one else in time-out yet. Finn got up and apologized and being crazy, went over to talk to Cohen about what happened in a very rambunctious way. Cohen didn't like it and in a gut reaction he swung the large round disc shaped toy he was holding and smacked Finn right on the head. Straight to time out. Finn's screaming from the impact, and because Cohen's in timeout, he's mad and a little sad and is trying to be heard over Finnegan. Of course, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to take pictures (note the sarcasm here)


The breakdown only lasted a few minutes, and the boys were very happy to climb up onto the couch and read a couple of stories before Finn headed off to bed and Cohen indulged in a big bowl of applesauce. Then Kate came to get him, and I took this pic:


Off to the zoo tomorrow.

Week 2 - Day 1... A Short Visit.

I woke up at 5:15. I realized at 6:15 that Kate was late dropping Cohen off, and then at 6:25 realized that they weren't supposed to be here until 8 on Mondays. duh. I went back to bed for about a 1/2 hour and slept REALLY well!

Last week I tried keeping the boys up to get them to nap at the same time, but it didn't work too well, so since then Cohen's been having his morning nap at about 9, and Finn sleeps around the time Cohen leaves. I think Cohen may be getting a little cold that's been going around this place, so his nap was a good 2 hours today. That made our fun day very short! So we rushed to the produce stand to get veggies for the week, and then hit the fountain park in Ballard. The boys loved the water, adn had to come home pants-less. Here are some pics:




Then we made it home for Muffin Tin Monday:

This weeks tins included cucumbers, tomatoes, WholeGrain goldfish, Grapes, Chex, and Banana.

Pictures from Friday...

Playing in the backyard... check out the static!!!


This is about as close as the boys got without an issue! Playing with Finn's dinosaur magnets.

Day 5. .. A Better One

Sorry that there aren't any pictures with this post... my camera batteries are charging after being very busy this week. I'll get photos from today (Friday) and post them this weekend.

Today went quite a bit better. I think I owe a lot of that to the very sweet gesture from Cohen's Dad this morning... When Kate dropped Cohen off, she told me that the two comforting items that Cohen depends on(a bear and a blanket) were forgotten at home. I told her it would be ok, and that we'd figure it out, so she left and we started our routine.

Cohen was happily eating his breakfast while I unloaded the dishwasher, when I heard a tapping at the front door. I turned the corner and there on the other side of the screen door was Ron, holding Cohen's Bear AND blanket in his hands. He said that he noticed them in Cohen's crib and made a point to get them to the rightful owner before he had to be at work. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU RON!!!!

The rest of the day felt a lot better. It seems as though we're all actually getting into a routine. Cohen and I have breakfast and clean up time before Brandon and Finnegan wake up. Then as soon as Brandon leaves for work, Cohen's ready for a nap, and Finn and I have our normal morning routine before Cohen wakes up to have a snack and do something fun. Today we hung out at the house and in the backyard since Kate was coming early to pick him up.

About a 1/2 hour before she got there, Cohen started getting frustrated about sharing toys and books and instead of face-grabbing (I think he knew there'd be a time-out in it for him if he was grabbing faces), he grabbed Finn's hand and bit his finger. Time out again. I feel like that's all I'm doing. Time out here, time out there, but what else am I to do when there's bodily harm involved? I'm figuring the best method is to (1)separate them immediately, and (2)Let the perpetrator (whether it's Cohen or Finn, and I know it will be Finn one of these days) know what he's done wrong and that he's not to do it again. Cohen seems to be getting the point though, so hopefully it'll pay off in the end.

Any suggestions as to how to handle physical altercations? I'm up for ideas!!!

Other than that, I think the boys are actually starting to really like each other's company. They're starting to talk to one another and play silly noise-making, giggle-fit games.

Have a great weekend. Pics up soon!

Day 4. Not the Best of Days...

Today was interesting. Everything started out wonderfully. I got Cohen his breakfast and he ate almost all of it, and even some extra stuff (grapes, dry cereal, etc...). That left me the time to clean up the kitchen and get some snacks prepared for later, since Cohen was happily eating in the highchair with in arms reach and Finnegan was still sound asleep. I even got a couple loads of laundry done and made Finn and Brandon raspberry pancakes. Good morning. Good Good MORNING. Things took a wild and crazy turn after Cohen's nap (see post below).

My friend Leanne, who also has an almost 2 year old, was watching her 2 nephews (2, and 9 months) and came over for a playground playdate. We walked down to Ross park with 5 little boys as soon as they got to the house.


More pinecone collecting...


Finn and Cohen loved the park, just NOT each other. Running and laughing somehow brought out the excitement and the Face Grabber in Cohen. Every time Finn had his guard down, Cohen caught up with him and out of sheer excitement grabbed his face. HARD. ouch. Each time this happened we had 2 crying boys and the whole "fun" playground idea kinda came crumbling downward. Cohen would grab, Finn would cry, I would tell Cohen "No!", and Cohen would cry. It was no less than a little discouraging for everyone involved. I cooled things off for moments with Carrot sticks and Edamame, but it didn't help for long... even in the stroller on the way home there was a LOT more face grabbing, and a lot more crying. Poor kids.


We got home and within moments, the boys were at it again, and finally in the controlled space of "home", Cohen had his first Time-Out. A few minutes later, he had his second, and even said "Sorry Finn" after that one. Thinking it's working, but not taking any chances, I put Finn down for his nap, and Cohen and I ate some more lunch and played in the backyard.


I knew there was going to be an adjustment period, and I figured it wasn't going to be easy. We'll all figure each other out soon, so for now, I'll concentrate on keeping it fun and know that there's still a lot for us to learn from each side of this crazy little triangle!