Cute and Curious

Mike was getting the twins out of the van the other day and said, "Okay pumpkins! It's time to go inside." Mikayla was apparently not okay with this and stated, "No! I'm not a pumpkin."  Mike said, "Okay then, what are you if you're not a pumpkin?" Mikayla thought for a moment and then replied, "Ummmm, Sleeping Beauty." So Mike looked over and asked Caleb, "What are you? Are you a pumpkin?"  Caleb just looked at Mike and smiled for a time while contemplating. Then he replied with a big smile, "Handsome."


Two nights ago we put the twins to bed with their normal routine. After about 30 minutes, we began to hear tiny foot-steps above our heads (we were down in the basement watching a movie).  So Mike went upstairs to go see what was going on. When he opened the twins' bedroom door, Mikayla had flipped the light-switch on and was over by Caleb's toddler bed peering in at him while he was fast asleep.  In her hands was a hard, Lego giraffe which she was moving back and forth around his ears. Mike asked, "Mikayla, what are you doing? You're supposed to be asleep."  Mikayla looked up at Mike and said innocently, "I'm looking for ear-wigs in Caleb's ears."  Mike had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing as he helped assist her back to bed.  

Who's the Parent?

     While I (Melissa) was driving the van the other day, I happened to be startled by Mikayla threatening Caleb with some not-so-fun things. (Remember, she is only two-years-old.)  It started with Mikayla whispering and telling Caleb to, "Scream". So Caleb would scream at the top of his lungs and then I would tell him to, "Be quiet because screaming hurts Momma's ears and it is not respectful." Then Caleb would stop screaming, smile really big, and wait for the next command from his sister.  Mikayla was apparently amused by Caleb's eagerness and willingness to keep obeying her as well, and she continued to tell him to "Scream" despite my asking him not to.  So, of course, Caleb continued to scream and the pattern continued.
     This must have not been good enough for Mikayla though, because she then thought it'd be a good idea to hit Caleb to see what would happen. She did this, and, consequently, he started to cry. This time, she decided to be the parent though. She looked over at Caleb and sternly stated, "Caleb, do you want to go to the doctors and get shots and suppositories? Stop crying. Caleb, you'll get shots and suppositories if you keep crying." I couldn't believe my ears! My two-year-old was threatening her twin with "shots and suppositories"! Of course, poor Caleb began to cry even louder. I quickly tried to assure him he was most definitely NOT going to get shots or suppositories, and that Mikayla better stop being rude to her brother or she would be put in Time-Out.        

Marvelous Mikayla

The other day, Mikayla was making "birthday cakes" out of our food-storage cans by stacking them on top of one another.  Because it was late, Mike asked her to come upstairs and get ready for bed. To help her, he decided to participate in singing "Happy Birthday To You" for the 5-6 birthday cakes she had built on the stairs.  After the festivities (singing and blowing out pretend candles), Mike started to put the cans back on the shelf.  Apparently, Mikayla wasn't ready for her birthday cakes to be destroyed and she began to become upset. Out of frustration she ended up yelling, "DADDY, GO DO YOUR HOMEWORK!" Mike wasn't sure whether to start laughing or start crying. 

Mikayla also has some amazing manipulation tactics (we are unsure where she learned them--somehow they must be entirely innate). Mikayla had been endlessly teasing Caleb in the van by threatening him and telling him to "Hit her" so he would get into trouble (because, of course, Caleb does everything Mikayla tells him to do). I (Melissa) went back to sit in-between them to try and maintain the peace. Suddenly, Mikayla saw some fruit-snacks in the van and demanded, "I want one!" Being the good mother I am, I told Mikayla "No, you've been being naughty." The next thing Mikayla did took me entirely by surprise.  She tenderly placed her hand on my cheek, looked me angelically in the eyes, and said while smiling and batting her eye-lashes, "Momma, you're so cute. I love you." It immediately melted my heart and I almost gave in to giving her the fruit-snack....and then I realized just what she was doing. That little stinker!

Caleb's History of Screaming

I've begun to notice a pattern with our son, Caleb.

He absolutely loves to scream. A lot.

Even back in the day when he was just a little guy, he yelled, squawked, and just let his presence be known.

Here is some video evidence:

He wasn't even a year old then. Next...

Just a bit older--screaming continues...

As he gets older his scream starts to mix with the sound of a peacock...

Until we reach the present-day Caleb...

Say the Words

I was watching 'Peter Pan' with Caleb earlier today when this (see youtube link) came on. Caleb had just barely asked for his hat and his toy sword and immediately after this scene, Caleb threw a blanket over my head. Confused, I took the blanket off to see Caleb pointing the sword straight at me demanding "Say the words!" It took me a second to recognize that I was supposed to be Captain Hook. So I replied, "I'm a codfish." Caleb smiled as he forced the sword closer to my face and yelled, "Say the BIG words!" So, I had no choice but to yell, "I'M A CODFISH!" Satisfied with my confession, "Peter Pan" (aka Caleb) then began to fly around the room, while I sat humiliated and laughing since my two-year-old just put me in my place.