Wearing Strawberries

Last week the strawberry patches opened back up in Durham.  So, needless to say, on Monday morning we were back out at the berry patches.  It's a great division of labor: the boys and I pick the strawberries and take them home and then Ian makes all sorts of delicious strawberry treats from our bounty. 

I was a little more concerned about going this year.  Last year, I only had one child.  I was incredibly pregnant, but at least I knew Ben wasn't going anywhere at that time.  I decided to try to put Ben in the carrier to keep him a little contained while we picked.  But I had no idea how that would go because he's gotten so squirmy in recent weeks.

So, we met our friends at the patch and headed out into the rows.  Fortunately, I had also forgotten how good strawberry rows are at containing toddlers, so Evan and his buddies Nathaniel, Quinn, and Jonas were nicely contained while we picked.  Evan enjoyed eating them, but the real entertainment was playing with the flag that they gave us to mark our progress.  Ben didn't squirm at all when he had a strawberry in his hands.  So, I was continually handing him strawberries which he would eat and smear all over his clothing, the carrier, his body, and his mom.  Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. 

We all packed a lunch so after we paid for our berries and sat down to eat.  Unfortunately for Benny's clothing, there was a sandbox nearby, and we all know that there's nothing that goes with strawberry juice better than a sandbox! 

We had a great time.  The best outings always end with a change of clothes!  Plus, now we have jam and strawberry sorbet to enjoy!

 (Evan, Nathaniel, and the flags)

(Benny, Mom, and the strawberries)

Bye Bye BBQ

The last adventure of our packed weekend was a fantastic BBQ over at our friends, the Hopkins' house.  While it was a fun event, the reason for our gathering wasn't quite as happy.  Our friends, the Burts, are moving to California so we were all gathering to say goodbye to this great family.  We ate some delicious food, drank some drinks, talked, and watched the kids play in the backyard.  It's always nice to see them playing so well relatively independently.  However, we knew that they were getting tired and that we should probably wrap up the festivities when we looked down at the sandbox and there were multiple little almost-three year olds that had started to strip off all of their clothing.  Oh well, you never quite know what goes on in the minds of toddlers!

It was a great time with great friends, and we will definitely miss the Burts!  Ian and I will miss our friends, Evan will miss Carson, and Ben will definitely miss his first little girlfriend Amelia.

(Evan and Ben play in the sandbox-wonder what Ben could be eating?)

 

 (Nathaniel and Evan are looking a little guilty.)

 

 (Bye bye, Burts...)

 (We'll miss you!)

Touch A Truck

Last weekend was definitely eventful!  In the middle of a great visit from Seema and Tim, the day after a great b-day party, and right before a fantastic BBQ (which you'll hear more about later) we all headed down to the mall in Chapel Hill to check out an event called Touch A Truck.  Doesn't the name sound like toddler paradise?

This event is put on annually in the mall parking lot by a boy scout troop.  We missed it last year, but made sure to squeeze in a visit this time.  We started our day at the mall by showing Seema and Tim around one of our favorite stores in town, A Southern Season where they were treated to quite a few samples of foodie yumminess. 

Before we went in to Southern Season we noticed that the Jelly Belly truck was out in front of the store.  We had to check it out.  Unfortunately for us, they had the wheel of Jelly Belly flavors.  When one spins this torture device you land on a specific color of jelly bean.  You then have to eat one of that color.  It will either be a delicious fruity jelly bean flavor or one of their more "creative"options.  For Evan, they made sure it landed on a rather harmless flavors of-berry or toothpaste.  He got berry.  On Ian and Tim's spin, they had the chance to get pear or boogers.  While Tim was safe with pear, Ian was not so lucky and got boogers.  On my turn, I was fortunate enough to land on peach or vomit...needless to say, I did not get peach.  Seema had a better fate landing on licorice or skunk spray and grabbing a licorice treat.  I think my selection has turned me off of jelly beans for the immediate future.

Okay, okay, on to the point of the post.  After our trip to Southern Season we headed outside to Touch a Truck!  Could anything be more perfect for our vehicle loving son?  The parking lot was filled with all manner of vehicles from limos to diggers to semi-trucks to ferraris to trash trucks, etc.  Our first stop was the digger where Evan drove and Mommy and Daddy hopped in the scoop.  We toured around to lots of other vehicles and took our turn hopping inside, moving all the levers, turning all the wheels, pushing all the buttons, and honking all the horns.  The highlight, however, had to come when two helicopters, one from Duke and one from UNC landed right in the parking lot!  All of us then got to head over and explore the helicopters.  What a treat!  It was a great day, and I can't wait to head back next year when Benny can sit in a few more and Evan can show him around!

 (Ian and I sit in the digger scoop)

(...while Evan does the driving.)

(Evan looks stylish in this ride.)

 (Evan, Ian, and Seema investigate a trash truck.)

 (Benny and I steer a bobcat.)

 (The crowds watch as a helicopter comes in for a landing.)

(Evan and Ian pose by the helicopter tail.)

Q Turns 3

In the middle of our busy weekend, one of Evan's best buddies turned 3.  We headed over to their house for a small celebration, and it was great to celebrate this wonderful little boy.  This was the day of the horrible tornadoes that did a lot of damage in town.  However, the party was in the afternoon, and by the time we arrived the clouds were lifting and leaving behind a beautiful day.

The kids had a great time.  They played, ate cake, and had a great Easter egg hunt.  Evan was very into finding the eggs, until he realized they had candy in them.  Then, he was very in to taking apart his eggs and eating the contents. Benny unfortunately wasn't mobile enough to get to the eggs in time.  Oh well, maybe next time!  He had a great time anyway.

It was a great celebration, and happy birthday Quinn!

 (Daddy and Benny enjoy the swing.)

 (Benny is having a great time!)

 

(Ian holds back the eager Easter egg hunters.)

 

 (The hunters get ready to head out.)

 (Evan examines the treats from his eggs.)

(They're so involved with their eggs,  they don't even notice that they're having their picture taken.)

 

(flashbacks from Q turns 2 last year)

(Q is Three!!)

Reconnecting

I mentioned in the last post that we were cleaning up for visitors this weekend.  Well, we were actually lucky enough to have my good friend Seema (that I have known since middle school) and her husband Tim pass through town on the way out to the mountains for a camping trip.  We were all very excited to see them because the last time that we had seen them was at their wedding when Evan was about 4 months old!  Even though it had been so long since we had seen each other, the great thing about certain good friendships is that the time doesn't matter.  You just pick right back up where you leave off when you see them.  That's how it always is with Seema.  It was also great to get to know her husband Tim a little better.  They really are a great couple.

While the visit was too short, as they always are, we had a great time.  They got to meet the boys and spend some time having fun with them.  Evan and Ben took to them immediately.  Evan wanted to go with them to the mountains and go camping and then follow them back to New York so he could ride on the subways.  It definitely shouldn't be 2 years until the next time we all see each other.  So, Evan is definitely right...we should start planning that trip to New York!

 (Seema and Ben enjoy the morning paper.)

(Ben and Tim really analyze the current events.)

(Tim teaches Evan how to drive while we were out having fun.)

Some things are just genetic...

So, we had visitors arriving this weekend and staying with us.  I'll tell you more about their awesome stay later, but before they arrived we had to clean up this house!  We had to remove all the toys from the floor which is no small task.  Then, we had to get everything clean.  Part of that was vacuuming. 

So, whenever I get out my big vacuum we get out Evan's little red vacuum so he can clean too. 
The day after I had vacuumed, I was in the kitchen doing something, and I went in the living room to see what Evan was up to.  Not only was he working hard vacuuming the floor, he had moved all of his bigger toys up onto chairs so he could get the entire floor clean.  I don't think I am usually quite that thorough when I vacuum. 

However, when Gram vacuums, I'm sure she is that thorough.  This shows that there is definitely a cleaning gene, it is fairly strong, and my little mess-hating son has definitely inherited it. Not a bad trait to be passed down.  Thanks, Gram!

 (Evan and his vacuum)

 (Evan's careful placement of the airport runway on the dog bed)

(Ben is not too happy with Evan for placing all of his toys out of reach.)

Communication

We have all known that Evan is quite the talker.  Over the past week he's been having the greatest conversations with us.  I really should start recording or writing down some of the great insights of our almost-three year old little boy.  This week, he's been talking a lot about cars.  Ever since we borrowed our friend's Honda van for the day, he's been a little obsessed with types of cars, especially Hondas.  Whenever we walk through a parking lot or pass cars on the street, he will point out what type of car it is:

Today's car quotes from the wise Evan:

"That's a Honda"

"That's a Toyota"

"That's a Honda Jeep."

"That's a Hyundai.  Hyundais are Hondas cousins."  (Okay so Mom might have told him that one first.)

"Honda and Toyota both end it *da*.  They sound the same."

Me: "Evan what do you want for your birthday?"

Evan: "A Honda."

Me: "Well, Evan, I don't know if we can afford a Honda for your birthday."

Evan: "I want a Honda bullet train."

So, while Evan is beginning to talk about anything and everything, especially things that have 4 wheels, he's also beginning to communicate with his peers.  That is the neatest thing to watch.  Over the past couple of years Evan has had lots of "friends" that he hangs out with.  However, when they talk, they've really always been talking with us.  In the past several months they've really started to talk to each other.  Evan will start to ask a question, and he's actually asking his friend instead of me.  Then, his friend actually answers.  When our little group of moms sees these budding toddler conversations we hold our breath and watch, not wanting to interrupt and spoil the moment. 

Who knows what will come out of their mouths next!

Here's a picture from one of our play dates at the park this week.  Evan and his buddy Quinn had wandered off to a puddle a distance away from the playground.  They were having quite the conversation as they threw sticks in the puddle.  I managed to sneak this picture while they chatted.

Free Cone Day

So, yesterday was free cone day at Ben and Jerry's so of course we had to head down there.  After the boys woke up from nap, we drove to the store and hopped in line.  Since it was next to Duke's campus, there were a bunch of college students in line with us, but it moved quickly. 

When we got up to the counter, things were moving quickly and I had to decide on flavors as fast as I could.  For Evan it was easy-chocolate.  For me, I love their Ameri-cone Dream that has caramel and little cone pieces covered in chocolate.  I didn't really know what Ben would like, so I went with strawberry.  Evan got it in a cone, but of course, I got a cup to go with it in case his cone-holding arm got tired.

We all sat down in a corner of the restaurant and enjoyed our treats.  Evan decided to eat all of his out of his cup and licked his bowl clean.  Ben liked his, but I think he thought the ice cream was a little cold.  He really loved the cone broken up into little pieces and put on his stroller tray for him to enjoy.  He ate 3/4 of Evan's cone that way!  And, of course, mine was gone in about 3 seconds. 

The boys love getting their sweet treats on our afternoon outings.  If only they ate more of their dinner that evening!

 (Yum)

(Yummy!)

11 Months Old

How in the world can Ben be almost a year old?  I look at him and I still think he should be a little baby, but he's certainly not:

*He's walking. (He can walk around with a walker, although he really hasn't figured out turning yet.  He just runs into the walls and gets mad.  However, he's getting more steady everyday. 

*He's crawling-fast.  (He always wants to be on the move.  He's no longer content to sit in his exersaucer or jumper.  He can't be contained!  Unfortunately, he doesn't have any sense.  He crawls off ledges and puts absolutely everything he can find in his mouth.)

*He's got teeth.  (At this age Evan didn't have any teeth yet.  Benny has 6!  He is so miserable when he's teething and seems to be working on another one on the bottom of his mouth as we speak.  When everybody sees his toothy smile the first thing they say is how many teeth he has.)

*He's communicating.  (A really big change this month has been how much he communicates.  He's been pointing at everything.  I also swear a heard him say "mama" twice distinctly to me while we were sitting in the rocker the other day in his room.)

*He's a daredevil. (As I said, he's always careening off of ledges.  He pulls himself to standing on some very precarious ledges.  In fact, today, he slipped off of the table he was leaning on and did a face plant into the carpet biting through a chunk of his lip.  Those teeth are dangerous.) 

A year ago, I was anxiously awaiting little Ben's arrival.  A year ago, I didn't know what we were in for.  Benny is the cutest little whirlwind you've ever seen, and I'm a little afraid, but I can't wait to see what trouble he gets into next!

(a few days old)

(six months old)

(11 months old-in every shot I tried to take the feet were either in his hands or in his mouth.)

#2

So, potty training is quite a process, especially when you have a child as stubborn as our dear sweet Evan.  (Can't blame anyone but myself for the stubborn gene though!)  At this point, Evan is "preschool potty trained".  We can call him that because he wears big boy pants all day long except for nap and bedtime and does fine at preschool with no accidents.  In fact, he's gotten to the point where he really doesn't have many accidents at all. 

So what's the problem?  Our big problem is #2.  He still refuses to poop on the potty.  He'll wait until nap time and then go in his diaper.  If he feels like he has to go and he's not in bed, he'll say that he's "sleepy" and he wants a nap and diaper.  Hmmmm.  He definitely knows how to work the system.

On Wednesday, we had a morning playgroup at a neighborhood playground.  In the middle of the time at the park he started saying that he's "sleepy" and wanted to go to bed with a diaper.  I, of course, said that it was not nap time, but he could head to the nearest potty if he needed to.  He refused and went on with the playdate.

We got home and it was time for nap.  I put Ben to bed.  Then, I knew that Evan still needed to poop, so I decided to wait him out.  I said that he wouldn't get a diaper for nap and that we would stay in the bathroom until he pooped.  I really thought I had him.  Since he had to go and was tired I thought, for sure, he would go and then he could head to bed.  However, I underestimated the stubbornness gene I had passed down.  He did "try" a couple of times, but then he refused and laid down on my leg.  He then actually fell asleep on my leg! 

At that point, I felt like maybe that wasn't the right course of action and like all mommies I was questioning myself.  Plus, I wasn't about to wake up my little sleeping, bare-bottomed boy.  So, I covered him up with a nearby towel and we sat...for about an hour...on the bathroom floor. 

Eventually, he woke up, we put his big boy pants back on and we proceeded with the day.  That night, we put him in his diaper for bed, and he pooped in it.  Sigh...score one for Evan that day.

The next day we were back to where we started.  The day progressed as usual, then we got to the evening.  We were sitting around, Evan was bare-bottomed as he sometimes is after a trip to the potty.  He was sitting down when he started crying.  I asked him what was wrong, but it was becoming evident that he had to go!  In fact, he was starting to go #2 right there!  That rarely happens.  So, I picked him up, ran him to the toilet where he finished the job right where he was supposed to. 

Even though the intent to go on the potty wasn't there, we celebrated like we had won the lottery!  We cheered that he had actually pooped on the potty!  We yelled, we danced, we flushed, we got a ring lollipop as a treat, we called all the grandparents to tell them the good news.  Evan was pretty thrilled!  That was my plan...I figured if we could show him what a good thing it was then maybe he's be more willing the next time.  I thought this was the motivation he needed and we might finally be on the road to a completely potty trained boy!

Today he pooped in his diaper during nap.  Sigh.  We're going to be buying diapers into the next century!

(a picture of Evan when we first started this process and got a potty, a year and a half ago!)

April Flowers?

This weekend we headed up to Duke Gardens to take advantage of the beginning of the beautiful weather and to take a look at some of the flowers that were starting to come out.  Spring is finally arriving.

Everyone had the same idea that we did so the gardens were full of people, especially families like us.  We roamed through the flowers, played in the fields, and even wandered through the bamboo forest which Evan particularly enjoyed.

We got some good pictures, but Ian is the better photographer.  So, hopefully we'll be able to be able to head back to the gardens to get more photos while the tulips are still in bloom.  Stay tuned...

(Evan wandering in the bamboo forest)

 (Ben roaming on the lawn)

(My boys)

Knights and Ladies

This weekend, the Davis family was ready for another adventure.  So, Saturday morning, bright and shining, we all got in the car and headed across town.  Our destination?  A Renaissance festival located on the other side of Raleigh.  We thought the boys would enjoy meeting some knights, queens, and kings.  Plus, Ian and I always enjoy a good festival. 

However, this ended up being a bit different than the Renaissance fairs that we were used to.  This one was not for thousands of people.  In fact, we drove by it three times debating whether we should actually park and go in.  We just saw a few tents and a few people dressed in their Renaissance finery.  However, since we had driven all that way, we decided we would take a chance.

Immediately when we walked in, we saw a tent where a man was selling wooden swords.  Evan made a beeline for the little toddler-sized swords.  He grabbed one and was playing with it when the man came up to us and gave Evan the sword to keep!  That was such a nice thing to do!  That's when we figured that even though this festival was small, the personal touch might be a nice change.

After Evan had his sword, we walked over to see some "real" knights in action.  There were a few sword fighting nearby so we went to take a look.  Evan was entranced!  Ben thought it was pretty neat too. (Although these days, Ben's only goal in life is to move, so he was continually looking for a way out of the pack he was riding in.)  At the end of the swordfighting show, one of the men did some fancy tricks with a whip.  He actually managed to break some pieces of uncooked spaghetti that someone was holding across the ring.  Evan thought this was the coolest thing ever!  He spent the rest of the morning picking up hay off the ground and trying to slice through it with his sword.

(The knights in action)

(Evan dueling the hay)

The rest of the morning was spent watching clowns, jugglers, fencers, and jousters.  Ian and I enjoyed some mead while we all sampled a few freshly made donuts.  On the way out, Evan even had the chance to meet the queen!  He was very impressed. 

(Benny watches the joust.)

(One of the jousters)

Even though the fair wasn't quite what we expected, all of us had a great time!  It was so nice to have the chance to personally interact with all of the people at the fair and really get up close to everything.  I don't know quite what Ben will take a way from the morning except for a little hay in his mouth, but I think I may have another sword fighting buddy in Evan, yay!

(Sir Evan and the fair queen)