pa rumpa pum pum

Ever since Reese knew they existed, he's wanted a drum set, a real drum set. For many reasons (his age, the expense, the noise...) we put off seriously considering getting him a set. But the boy was created to drum. It's just the way God made him. And God never gives us gifts without providing a way for us to use them. For Reese he provided a drum set this weekend. We are so grateful for (Uncle) Tim's family - Tim's brother had this set when he was younger and as they no longer needed them...well let's just say, they're now being put to very good use. See for yourself :)

on Reese

I submitted the following entry for our local Early Childhood PTA newsletter and it appeared in the March issue:

He was about nine months old when I had an inkling of an idea that our first son and second child would be very different from his sister. He had just nipped me with his newish pearly whites while I was breastfeeding him. My reaction was to jump and mildly scold him for biting me. His reaction was to giggle. That night, I wryly predicted to my husband that Reese would have quite a sense of humor as he grew.

Then, Reese began to crawl. In parental defense of having to constantly chase a very active infant, we devised a creative arrangement of the living room furniture to keep him blocked into a safe space. My husband was part of the barricade, which worked well until Reese sensed Dave was distracted (usually by our 2 1/2 year old daughter) and then he'd make a bolt for the "hole in the fence." We took to calling him "McGyver."

When our third child was born, Reese was 18 months old and his sister was three. As I wanted to breastfeed our newest addition but couldn't quite manage it with his two energetic siblings running around, I ended up securing them in their shared bedroom during Luke's feeding times. Their bedroom had a couple of twin beds, two dressers, a night table, a few books and toys and not much else. It was a room that was fairly childproof as it didn't have so much as a lamp to knock over or "experiment" with. However, Reese thought up the idea to scale the dressers and use them as launching points for jumping onto the beds. Brianna (the older of the two) thought this was a great idea and joined in on the game. Our attempts to put the kabosh on their fun failed as the childproof locks we installed on the drawers didn't exactly work as advertised. So we resigned ourselves to securing the dressers to the walls and praying we wouldn't have to make any trips to the emergency room.

Nap time also was a chance for Reese to get into mischief. Like taking off his diaper. His dirty diaper. More than once. My husband and I decided we better up the ante in the staying-one-step-ahead-of-your-child department or face having to de-poop the bedroom every day. First we tried putting the diaper on backwards so he couldn't reach the tabs. Didn't work. So we broke out the packing tape and scissors. Twice around his waist with the end of the tape secured at the back and the problem was solved. Although, it did feel a little strange having to cut the diaper off our son every time he needed to be changed. But a parent's gotta do what a parent's gotta do.

 I often chuckle when I think of how aptly Reese is named. Reese means "enthusiastic" and "Matthew" means "gift of God" and he certainly is that!

from their lips

Two lessons which I continually find myself teaching these days to the kids (and myself :) ) is not pestering one another (cabin fever anyone?) and the importance of casting out the enemy when he tells them lies. I think the lessons are starting to have an effect...

Yesterday, Reese was coloring at the dining room and Luke was "clamoring" for his attention. Reese matter-of-factly said to him, "Go pester Satan."

Hmmm....now there's a thought.

Wait - Dad left you in the elevator by yourselves?

Here's a little gem of a story from this past week...

Dave took Reese and Luke to the library one evening. They started to take the elevator (and had already pressed “2”) when forgot he had last week’s books still in his hands. Naturally, Dave asked Reese to hold the “Door Open” button while he ran 25 feet to put the books into the return bin (it's what any parent who has a 5 year-old-who-is-well-familiar-with-buttons-in-a-library-that-is-like-a-second-home would do, right? I probably would have. :) ) But even though Reese had the button pushed the door starts to close anyway and as Dave is putting the books in the bin, he heard Reese say, “Dad, the door’s closing. The door’s closing!” as it bangs shut.


In one second flat, both boys began yelling and stamping their feet as the elevator lifts off. Folks at the check out counter are looking at Dave, mouths agape. Dave looks at them and says, “Well, I guess I’d better take the stairs to the second floor” and begins running up the stairs. The screams could readily be heard throughout the library.

Dave got to the second floor as the elevator doors opened. The two spill out in tears. It took him a couple of minutes to calm them down in the bathroom while he was trying to hide his face as he was laughing so hard at the absurdity of the situation. Once they were calm, they were able to enjoy their time at the library.

On the way home, Dave tried to bring some levity to the mood as the boys were still shaken up the experience. He asked who would be the first to tell Mommy about their fun adventure. Luke said, “That was a bad adventure ... bad adventure!” in true Lukie style. Reese finally cracked a smile over the situation.

At home, Reese starting telling me the story. The first thing out of my mouth was, “Wait – Dad left you in the elevator by yourselves?!” You know, because little men sometimes get excited and get the facts all muddled together. So, Dave began to clarify what had happened. When he got the part of imitating the boys (and we could picture them looking at each other, eyes wide and yelling AAAAAHHHHH!) all of us couldn't help but laugh hysterically over it. Reese got a big kick over this retelling.

Lessons learned: (1) Elevator “Door Open” buttons only work for a few seconds and (2) Despite how grown up they want to be, one quarter of a minute in an elevator by themselves reduced our two little intrepid “Dad, I’m big enough to do that” explorers into helpless puddles which is probably not a bad thing - Reese may be more willing to wait for Dave or I before pressing any buttons.

Seriously though, Dave would never have done this in another place. Though it does make one think about the choices we make, for better or for worse, in places familar and comfortable...

Superhero

Faster than a speeding tricycle...

Taller than the knee of a grasshopper...

Stronger than a package of craisins...

Able to spot ice cream from across the room...

It's....


Tiger Style Superman (aka Reese)

Reese Was Here...

cut your hair and paste it to your back?

...or maybe to Ben's head?

This is what Dave used to say to Brie as a joke. Last night we finally did cut her hair. But we thought maybe pasting it to her back would be kinda weird. And blond doesn't seem to be Ben's color. So, instead, we thought maybe the Locks of Love charity could use it.

Here are a couple before and after pics of Brie. She didn't want her pic taken last night for some reason, hence the turning away view. Was an emotional experience for her to see herself with short hair all of a sudden. I totally get that, but was surprised that even as early as 6-going-on-7, that it is a hard thing.

In other news...
We're still "this close" to getting two of the three floors done on the new house. We see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dave says he's not sure if it's really because we're at the end of the tunnel or if it's the light from an oncoming train. Praying it's the real LIGHT at the end of this tunnel.

Allie kindly pointed out, I don't write much about Dave in the posts...must change that. So, here's a bit of an update...he just came back from a trip to Chicago for work which was a good break for him from THE HOUSE. Really THE HOUSE has become a second job, not to mention the stuff at home he helps with. He got me outside last night to toss around the baseball which was a welcome diversion. How hard it is to go from work to play mode! The kids cheered us on and awarded us points in flower petals.

The kids had another photo shoot today, since the camera was left out. Here are the fruits of their efforts:

The World Through Reese's Eye's...

Alternatively titled: What happens when the camera is left lying around and Reese is left unattended for any length of time.

Take a moment to enjoy the world from Reese's perspective:

the microwave cart


fruit drawer


lamp


DVD case #1

Judah! (note: there were several Judah pictures)

a favorite T-shirt fading away with wearings

DVD case #2

back door entry

Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Beauties

In honor of princess month :)

What Reese has been up to...

...the boy loves the computer. Here, he is looking at our song selection. Lord, help us on the day when he is able to read, as we may find our computer reprogrammed. Thus far, somehow he deleted the internet shortcut off my desktop, renamed several songs with random typing (e.g. lhfowejr0ruwq), and I think changed the picture on my desktop start up.

You know you're a mom of (a/at least one) boy when...

...You pause mid-dial to the furnace repair people because you recall that your son was playing near the furnace before it started to blow only cold air. Upon questioning said son, you learn that while he didn't technically "touch" the furnace, he did blow out the pilot flame. Though Reese couldn't explain exactly why he did it, my guess is that it had something to do with pretending it was a candle on a birthday cake. (Fact: Reese tells at least once a week what he wants to do on his birthday.)

Photo Shoot (ala Reese)

Here are some gems in a lense-eye view from Reese. Budding photographer? You decide. :) (and tomorrow, you can see one of Brianna's pics!)

Anderson Smash Hits (Updated)

Originally posted January 18th of last year...here's an updated version since I just came up with the beginnings of Ben's song...

While this entry could very well be about all the things we've broken in this house (I've set a new record in shattered glassware this week and it really is surprising how destructive three little munchkins can be), I thought I'd share some of the songs we've made up for the kids.

In all the job descriptions I've seen for a father and mother, it never occured to me that lyricist, composer and vocalist would be among them. But with all the singing that goes on, it turns out these professions, are in fact part of the requirements. To be honest, it's much more fun than our role as CEO - Chief Excrement Officer.

Here's a sampling of our songs about the kids - feel free to sing along:

Brianna:

Little Munchkin (sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle)
Little munchkin in a tree
I see her and she sees me
She is little, she is small
She's the sweetest girl of all
Little munchkin in a tree
I love her, her name is Brie


SuperBrie (sung to the tune of Super Freak)
She's a little Brie Brie girl
The kind you do take home to mother
She'll never let your spirits down
She's such a Brie-Brie scene (Oh yeah)

The girl's a little wild now
Her name is Super Brie
The kind you like to read about
In baby magazines
I'd really like to bathe her
And put her in the tub
Take a little washcloth
And give her back a rub

She's all right, she's all right
The girl's all right with me.
Oh yeah!


Reese

Little Reesie Piecie (sung to the tune of Little Tommy Tinker - see Sharon, Lois and Bram if you don't know it)
Little Reesie Piecie
Is a little sweetie
He's a cutie guy
Oh Reesie
Oh Reesie
I want to see your blue eyes


I love my Reesie (sung to a tune I don't know the name of - sorry!)
I love my Reesie
Oh yes I do
I love my Reesie
He knows it's true
He has blonde hair
And eyes of blue
Yes, Reese Matthew I love you

And I would walk
A million miles
Just for a smile
Cause Reese Matthew
I love you

NEW!!!
Reesie Man (to the tune of Spider Man)
Reesie Man, Reesie Man
Nobody's like our Reesie Man
He's so cute, he's so smart
His body is God's work of art.
Watch out!
For Reesie, Reesie Man

Reesie Man, Reesie Man
Nobody can do it like Reesie can
Thinks it out, takes a look
He likes to read his I Spy books
Watch out!
For Reesie, Reesie Man


Luke

The Lukie Rap (it's a rap I made up - feel the beat!)
My name is Lukie
I'm a cutie guy
I've got a twinkle
And it's in my eye

I like to squeak
And I like to squawk
I use words
Cause it's how I talk

I take a bath
Pull off all my clothes
I like to flap
And it really shows

I have a sister
Her name is Brie
When I was born
She was only three

And then there's Reese
He's my older bro
He gives me pats
And likes to bite my toe

New verse to the Luke rap!!!!

And now there's Ben,

He's our little man

Came after Luke,

Cause that was God's plan
As for dad

They say I look like him
He'll teach me bowling
And perhaps to swim

And last there's mom
You know she keeps me fed
Puts on my clothes
And tucks me in bed

My name is Lukie
My name is Lukie
My name is Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, Lukie

Little Lukie (sung to the Welsh hymn Suo Gan - see "Empire of the Sun" if you want to know the tune)
Little Lukie,
Time for sleeping
Time to lay and rest your head
God will guard you
And will guide you
Send his angels round your bed.

Ben's song (sung to the Veggie Tale Larry Boy theme song)

Ben-ja-min

There's no baby quite like Benjamin

Ben-ja-min

Theodore Anderson

Ben-ja-min

Oh how we love our little Benjamin

Ben-ja-min

Rock on Benjamin

(I probably will try to come up with some new verses, but at least he's not without a theme song, and a rockin' one too!)

You Know It's Cold When...

...you look at the weather forecast, 17 degrees F and think "it's warming up!" and then see 24 degree F a predicted a few days later and think spring is just around the corner.

These are pictures from March last year (since I don't have ones from this week) but it's about the same idea...

Here's a picture from Luke last year...once a crib-dwelling babe, now a big-boy-bed, ball-chucking little big man.

Listening to Brie and Reese...and #4

I took numbers one and two out for a special treat last night (it was supposed to be a girl's night out, but Brie lovingly thought of including Reese). Here's a conversation they had on the drive to The Melting Pot (a yummy fondue restaurant):

Reese: So after we have our special treat, we going to Grandpa and Nan's house but if they're sick then we'll have to come home. (Repeats this sentiment a few times)

Brianna: Yeah, like if they're throwing up and stuff.

Reese: Yeah, but then we'll have to leave.

Brianna: Reesie, no, if they're sick and throwing up, we'll have to take care of them. We'll have to get them a bucket and towel and make them some toast. Yeah.

Reese: Yeah


This is as close to verbatim as I can remember. I don't know what made Reese throw in the "sick" part as "Nan & Grandpa" have not been sick in a while. Though it warms the heart to know what they need to do when anyone does get sick!


_______

We had our 19 week ultrasound yesterday and the doctor says everything looks good, praise God. Even the neck measurement, which was shown outside the normal range was within normal yesterday. Thank you, Jesus! We got some great pictures and Dave had a peak at the sex. His challenge is keeping it from me for the next 20 weeks. I have my suspicions as to what God has blessed us with, but will refrain from sharing. So praying things continue to go well for the latter half of the pregnancy and we remain trusting in God's sovereignty through it all.

Snapshot...

Here are some highlights from the past month or so - captured in pictures and a few words.

Reese has gained the priviledge of using the living room stereo. Master DJ Reese is entertaining his sister and brother with an eclectic mix of music (from Raffi to Neil Diamond to The Blues Brothers). If you like hearing 30 seconds of less of a wide range of musical delights, Reese is your man for the job. What's Brianna doing in the picture? It looks like she's in school mode and raising her hand to ask a question. But actually she's praising God (I think Reese was playing some praise music at that moment).

Our songbird Brianna (she'll start singing classes at the end of this month so we'll see how she likes it)

Brianna exercising on her bike in the basement. Dave has a gadget that lets him ride his bike indoors for a workout and he hooked Brie up. What a stylish rider!

Three handsome men (what needs to be said?)

Our New Year's Day gingerbread house - the first I've made in a while. Except for the icing sugar it was quite healthy, of course!, even the gummy bunnies. It took two days to make and two minutes to eat. The kids were so good in helping out with it and exercises a LOT of restraint in not eating the trimmings or licking their fingers until after the assembly was complete.

This is the look of...

a little boy on his first day of preschool.

Reese is now attending a morning preschool class a couple of days a week. His thoughts so far? He misses us and says he's alone there. So sweet. We'll stick it out a little longer as there is plenty of fun stuff to keep him busy. I'm hoping this will help him develop the skills of making friends along with learning boundaries and rules from other adults. It's also nice having one-on-one Lukie time!

Chef Reesie

What happens when you leave a cranberry pancake, some maple syrup, access to the fridge and Reese alone in the kitchen unsupervised for more than 5 minutes?

A one-of-a-kind Reese creation. He was very proud to create his very first dessert unassisted. He put the maple syrup on the pancake and added some pecans for a pleasing crunch and saved it in the fridge for after dinner. It was tasty and he was excited to share it with Luke.

Oh, and he also drank some of the maple syrup in his creation process which meant he was talking a mile a minute for the next hour. This boy does not need sugar! :)

Who are these handsome guys?

Despite the not-so-great photography on my part, I find these two guys irresistable! Here are the boys dressed in what might be their wedding finery for Tim and Lauren's big day in February. While Luke isn't in the wedding, mom and I thought we might as well dress him to the nines as well.

They were quite pleased with their little men looks as well and were most willing to pose for the picture (though I used to the snap-it-while-you-can-before-they-grab-for-the-camera...hence the hasty picture taking).

One-on-One

I took Reese out last night for some mother/son time - the first time I've done so with him in a way that was intentional about having time together. Since the boy loves his stores, I figured he'd enjoy helping me get a few needed (and maybe not-so-needed) items.

Target was our destination, though I'm finding it harder to feel good about shopping at "mass produced" stores. Anyway...here's the highlights from Reese's night:

With the stores already promoting Christmas, we quickly spotted the Christmas card display. I noticed "music" about some of the cards and figured this was right up Reese's alley. It was. He loved opening and closing the cards and hearing the Christmas songs playing for him.

Then we headed to get the essentials...raisins and granola bars. Well, the granola bars weren't really essential, but God knew we were going to be shopping there last night because not only were the raisins and granola bars on sale, but there were boxes of organic fruit leather on sale too. I picked up one box of each flavor. :)

Next up was the toy aisle. Normally, I zoom by this section but I had to buy a gift for a friend in Brie's class who is having a birthday party. As I'm browsing the games, Reesie spots a Leap Frog instrument collection. He wanted the guitar, but was more delighted (I think), when I gave the drum. Thus, I discovered a new way to keep him occupied while I took my time to shop and I'll have to keep that one in mind for the future (we didn't buy the drum, just the game)!

As we were headed to the checkout, I noticed Target's music display - where you can press a button and hear a sampling of music for various CDs. Totally Reese again. So we spent about 10 minutes pressing buttons. I ended up buying a Christmas CD of piano music. I think there's got to be some kind of provable science that the longer you remain in the store, the more you buy.

The icing on the cake, or rather the whipped cream on the coffee, was as we started to leave the store. Reese likes looking at the desserts at Starbucks, so I swung the cart in that direction and discovered they were giving out free samples of some drinks. So we sampled the peppermint mocha frappachino. Rather, I had a sip, and then Reese had the rest. That led to a new discovery...Reese does not need any caffeine even in infinitesimal amounts!

God is so good to give us these moments. It also shows me how much pleasure He must take in giving us good things and spending time with us one on one. Thank you, Jesus!