Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - watching his two shows everyday, reenacting Caillou adventures with himself as the main character, playing with play dough, drawing with sidewalk chalk, making mischief, WHY mommy WHY, talking to his (imaginary?) friend Henry
N - using WORDS!!!!!, doing it himself (SELF, mommy, SELF!), "bruffsh"ing his "teef," trying to sleep in big brother's bed, reading books, giving hugs (especially to Z, who is less enthusiastic), instigating with his brother (Z asks a question, N says "NO, Z. NO."  Z hates it!), asking WHY just because Z does, throwing monumental tantrums
Mommy - being able to understand N more often, seeing how far I can go with WHY before resorting to "physics, buddy, physics"

Dislikes:
Z - staying inside, staying WITH mommy instead of running off wherever he wants, not having WHY answered every time,
N - being told NO, having someone forget to let him do it SELF
Mommy - having to answer the same WHY multiple times in five minutes (the answer didn't change, child!), tantrums when I didn't understand what N was saying

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - preschool, popcorn, Super Why!, Caillou, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, riding the tricycle around the new house, play-doh, writing stories (illustrated by Mommy), being helpful, picking up the kitty (kitty tolerates), sledding, baking banana bread/muffins, asking WHY, legos, getting his own water from the fridge dispenser, right now he's telling me he likes spinach (I'm dubious)
N - using his vocabulary (even if Mommy doesn't always understand), all things yellow, learning letters (O!), building block toys of all kinds, going to "pa-pa" house, taking turns ("N turns! Z turns! Mommy turns!), ice, apples, pushing brother around on the tricycle, balloons, maow (aka kitty), throwing massive temper tantrums, Mommy time while Z's at school
Mommy - having more room for the boys to play in, seeing them play well together, the excitement in N's face when he's discovering things, having actual conversations with Z, being able to ask Z to do me a favor and have him actually DO it

Dislikes:
Z - disappointment (not getting to watch his two shows every day, not going to the playground because he wasted too much time getting his shoes on, etc)
N - not being understood (hey, it took awhile to learn that "lurch" means "shirt"), balloons that don't last forever, being babysat by non-family, bathtime
Mommy - having more room to clean up after the boys, seeing them fight over things, being ignored, getting two kids out the door on time for things

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - using the potty, getting marshmallows and chocolate for using the potty, preschool, speaking in complete sentences, telling stories starring pieces of his dinner (pasta came home from preschool and saw another pasta and fell into the mashed potatoes and played with his friend...), lentils, "chicken and rice and beans", PLAYDOH in a big way, making soup in his play dishes (thanks P & M!)
N - using the Mommy-multitool (and the Daddy-multitool, and the Grammy-multitool, and the Granddaddy-multitool...), lentils, peeling his own banana, bread, bread, more bread, playing with other (gasp!) people (gasp!), putting away play dishes, playing in water in the sink, taking socks and shoes off in the car (and managing to COMPLETELY lose them somehow), coming up with new ways to pronounce APPLE so that it means five different things
Mommy - having conversations with Z, figuring out the new words that N is trying to manage, big hugs, explaining the new house progression to Z (and N, but he doesn't seem to grasp things just yet), the delightful games that N comes up with, seeing N lean in to give Z a kiss at bedtime

Dislikes:
Z - using the potty, having accidents, giving goodbye hugs and kisses when he leaves (or they leave, whichever), wearing clothing
N - not getting his way, being told he needs to sit in his OWN chair and let Mommy eat her dinner, his "baby" high chair, getting an APPLE when he clearly said APPLE (but meant banana)
Mommy - getting a little frazzled trying to keep up with everything that's going on, dealing with temper tantrums, having to un-spoil N



(sorry it's been a little dead over here, we've had a lot going on!  read about the house we're building over here:  romeinginrichmond.blogspot.com/  and I'm trying to catch up on pictures as quick as I can!)

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - going to the pool (hooray for poop on the potty!), pushing his brother, the "ladder" game,  doing things himself (except for when he wants "Mommy do it"), splashing in "cudders" in his rain boots, being at preschool (just not arriving or leaving), making towers out of cat food cans, Sweet Frog
N - more Mommy time while Z's at preschool, drinking out of the straw cup sans straw, trying to drink from big boy cups (and pouring it all over himself half the time), waking up TOOOOO EARLYYYYY, screaming  bloody murder to get out of his crib rather than playing with toys till someone gets him, venturing away from the Mommy charging station faster when we go places, sitting at the table without the tray, Sweet Frog (but only the fruit.  none of that yogurt nonsense.)
Mommy - more N time while Z's at preschool, abolishing the baby bottles cold turkey, fewer poopy underpant issues, going to the pool with the boy (one at a time, please, or I'll go crazy trying to keep them both from drowning!), not having to carry N quite so much, really really good hugs from both of them, Sweet Frog

Dislikes:
Z - having accidents (which are getting more infrequent, yay!), not getting to go to the pool (the aforementioned accidents) the iPod (or iPad) dying, games not going his way, not being picked up from preschool EXACTLY how he expected it (apparently not bringing N is a no-no...),
N - too much time spent in the car to/from preschool, being left in the crib for 5 seconds longer than he's okay with, learning new words (BALL has been replaced by UP as the word of choice)
Mommy - tantrums, the frazzledment of trying to entertain two very active boys

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - watching videos by Rhett & Link, toast, dumping water on the floor so he can wash his feet, spitting, using toothpaste, going to playdates, earning marshmallows and stickers by peeing on the potty (YAYYYYYYY!!!), choosing whether to wear pajamas to bed, Sweet Frog
N - UP? and HELLO! in addition to BALL! (there are other words in use: balloon, bubble, byebye, water, but those three are in heavy rotation), screaming, trying to figure out how to use the potty like everyone else (HILARIOUS), mixed fruit cups with cherries, watermelon (that's my boy!), tomatoes, interspersing head-butts with actual kisses, knocking Mommy over, closing doors, meowing, KITTIES ARE HOME!!!!
Mommy - seeing that N actually understands what is said and acts upon it, weather starting to cool off so we can go outside without melting, not having to buy size 6 diapers or pullups, not having to fight Z on every potty trip

Dislikes:
Z - being told he can't watch videos anymore, bumping his head on the floor when he slips in the water he dumped, going to the potty when it wasn't his idea, pooping on the potty
N - not being able to open the doors he closed (especially when he locks himself in), being taken away from kitty when kitty's tail is being pulled, allowing a book to be read to him (I can do that myself, thankyouverymuch)
Mommy - changing poopy underpants (especially away from home!), cleaning up kitty litter tracked all over the house, children screaming for the fun of it

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - running around in other people's homes, playing with pencils at the model house, toast, jigsaw puzzles, stacking things, reinforcing N's bad habits, being given choices, helping with chores, playing with the iPad
N - running around in other people's homes, playing with pencils at the model house, stacking things, screaming, throwing food on the floor (and looking to see what Mommy thinks of that), balloons, finding balloons in EVERY BOOK WE OWN and pointing at them over and over and over (OH MY GOD), running around the yard, saying more "words" that sound like the real thing but aren't quite, signing "milk", talking to Siri on Mommy's iPhone
Mommy - not having to carry N all the time, chasing the boys up and down the hall going WEEEEEEEEEEE

Dislikes:
Z - potty training, the choices he's given, not getting choices, following through on the choice he made (i'm sensing a pattern here), being at home, leaving home, going places, going home (another pattern!)
N - time outs (what?? no Mommy for a whole minute??  MY WORLD IS ENDING!!!!), not getting what he's asking for immediately, not being the center of Mommy's attention, not getting every single balloon he sees (and people, there are a LOT of balloons out there in the world!)
Mommy - chasing kids around in other people's homes, backaches (hey, 35 and 25 is NOT LIGHT), being sick but still having to keep up with two active kids

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - sprinklers (thanks Granddaddy!), getting out of the house almost every day, running up and down the hall wearing nothing but a hooded towel (having just gotten out of the bath, of course), getting to play the iPod again in quiet time (because mommy NEEDS the quiet time...), mangos, balloons, playing in the kitchen sink, helping mommy with chores, deliberately letting N into the kitchen BEFORE closing the gate
N - jibber jabbering, point-grunt-AH!ing to get what he wants (usually food related), running up and down the hall wearing nothing but a hooded towel (having just gotten out of the bath, of course), balloons, running around in the yard after getting out of the car, climbing stairs, milk (bottles are NOT for water, mommy!), straws, eating rocks from the driveway, giving kisses via direct cranial impact, hug fights with Z, sitting on Z's potty and using toilet paper (correctly!)
Mommy - quiet time (ahhhhhh....), snuggle time with my snuggle bear (Z) and snuggle bug (N), getting back to the gym some now that N doesn't have to have appointments (woo-hoo!)

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - temper tantrums, jigsaw puzzles, anthropomorphizing (spoony is hungry, forky wants to go to bed), origami (thanks Grammy!), putting "band aids" on the Three Amigos, making snoozies for Mommy, psinning (also known as "spinning", in Daddy's swivel chair), balloons, playing in the sink, grazing rather than eating at mealtime, "helping" cook dinner, saying Thank You, having Daddy home a lot lately in between assignments
N - walking walking walking!, trying new things, eating rocks from the driveway, having conversations with Mommy even though the vocabulary hasn't increased, painting with the milk bottle (and the water bottle, and the sippy cups, and the straw cups...), having Daddy home a lot lately in between assignments
Mommy - all the GIGGLES!!!, having more of a clue how to get through to the Z-man, being able to set both boys down to walk when we're out, having Daddy home a lot lately in between assignments

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - more of the same: saying No to everything, going outside, playing where he's not supposed to play, "chasing" N down the hall, pinwheels, cheese, ice cream (thanks Granddaddy!  :P  ), breakfast bars, gluten-free pretzels & crackers, this weird game involving taking a drink of milk and then letting it dribble out of his mouth (and this is NOT okay with Mommy!), balloons, screaming, anything with wheels
N - walking! finally! both solo and holding someone's hand, pointing at things, saying Ball! to everything (including, but not limited to, balls), BALLOONS in a big way, getting Z to "chase" him, doing everything that Big Brother is doing (right down to wanting to eat the same things, but only at the same time...when Z moves to a new food, so does N!), communicating very well despite only having "uh-oh" and "ball" as a working vocabulary, going outside (we're coming to terms with grass, slowly), ice cream (thanks Granddaddy!  :P  )
Mommy - reliving the joy and excitement of a child learning to walk (god but I love their expressions and giggles when they're doing it!), seeing that Z empathizes with his brother (even if he doesn't always want him around) and tries to help him, having a house that's the cleanest it's ever been since we moved in, having GRASS in the backyard!!!

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - bubbles bubbles BUBBLES!, "helping" Mommy put up painter's tape, the new ball popper toy we got at the thrift store, going outside without an adult, letting Earl out of the house, climbing on ladders (stepstool, really), all things fruit, making his own words to go into the songs he already knows (that's my boy!!!), leaning on Mommy's shoulder while Mommy is trying to take pictures of things down at his level (makes for blurry pictures...), orange cheddar
N - food (especially fruit, but apparently spinach-mushroom-chicken enchiladas are also acceptable), the new ball popper toy we got at the thrift store, walking with Mommy (FINALLY!!!!!), walking his turtle walker down the hallway with Z walking his shopping cart next to/behind him, all things spherical, plugging into the Mommy (or Grammy!) charging station then scampering off to play again, pointing and grunting to make it understood what he wants
Mommy - motor derby [walker] time (they're occupied!!) especially when Z helps N turn his walker around, getting full nights of sleep again, N taking one 3-4 hour nap a day

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - gluten-free "cheerios" and crackers, dried cranberries (of all things!), peeing on the big potty if there's a potty book involved, taking baths, running away from Mommy and then waiting until I'm about to say 3 before running back, getting N up from naptime (mostly so he can then play in his crib), being picked up and thrown about, opening the front door without permission
N - food he can pick up with his own fingers and put in his own mouth (and nothing else, thank you very much!) but especially berries (blue-, rasp-, or straw-), picking up a piece of food to give to you and then take back after you've held it (because it tastes SOOO much better now), being bounced on Z's bed by Z jumping all around him, trying to read books like big brother, holding the bottle for himself, drinking water from a sippy-straw cup, baths (no transition period needed anymore), opening and closing (mostly) doors over and over and over
Mommy - a little more breathing space since N is becoming more self-sufficient, drive-by huggings and kissings, introducing the boys to my favorite foods and activities

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - getting himself in and out of the carseat (which involves opening Mommy's door AND his own door, and sometimes N's door too), being able to have milk and cheese again, taking baths, going ANYWHERE that isn't home but especially playdates and the gym, pushing his own little kiddie cart at the grocery store (and wanting to put "his" pears and bananas in it!), using Mr. Penguin to play Mommy & N, trying to pick N up
N - taking toys from Z, getting into Z's personal space, balls (just about any size or composition, he isn't picky!), feeding himself tidbits of what everyone else is eating, baths (after a brief transition period, anyways!)
Mommy - being able to get stuff done while the boys play "together" in the next room, having a chance to eat while N eats his tidbits (warm food!  yay!), the fact that laughter is heard more frequently than crying sometimes

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - peanut butter bread (fold fold fold SQUISH), water, Trio blocks, playing with N's toys, bathtime (for the toys, mainly), helping Daddy rake leaves, opening the front door by himself, being a parrot, "star cheerios" (aka green/purple/red cheerios, aka N's puff snacks), helping get N up from naps (by opening the door, often before N actually needs getting up, and climbing in his crib)
N - crawling crawling crawling, following Z around, permanently attaching himself to Mommy, opening and closing doors, finger foods (the aforementioned "star cheerios" as well as "circle cheerios"), playing with Z's toys
Mommy - quiet time, hearing random laughter down the hallway from them amusing each other, playing with all the toys

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - thomas the tank engine, trio building blocks, pears, spinach, fisher-price radio (online), ode to joy as performed by beaker of the muppets, and everything else he liked last month (hasn't been much new going on here lately!)
N - crawling crawling crawling!, pulling himself up to a stand using anything around him (including his brother), pretending to be a prison inmate at the kitchen gate, trying to play with whatever big brother is playing with, being permanently affixed to mommy, trilling and clucking his tongue and blowing raspberries, eating baby food directly from the pouch (mommy forgot a spoon...)
Mommy - getting to sleep until 8ish several days in a row (still getting up in the middle of most nights, though), slobbery baby kisses, energetic toddler hugs, having Daddy working from home now, seeing Z go out of his way to find a toy to give N (even if it's really just to get N to leave him alone!), losing weight

Likes & Dislikes

Likes:
Z - reading potty books on the potty, moonbounce playgrounds, peanut butter on crackers (triscuits, of all things!), bubbles, singing nonsense syllables monotonously at the top of his lungs for 20 minutes straight, reading books to himself (he memorizes them sooooo quickly), handheld video games of any kind, asking for breakfast at lunchtime and lunch at dinnertime, asking questions and then answering them himself because a) he knows exactly what we're going to say or b) he's giving himself permission for whatever he asked for
N - flirting with strangers, blowing raspberries, standing in the dining chairs backwards so he looks like he's in prison, crawling, rubber duckies, rolling over while we're tying to change his diaper, following us from one room to the next (takes awhile, though!), trying to get in on whatever Z is doing, the letter F (efffffff!!!!!!!)
Mommy - seeing Z get better with N every day, bedtime hugs & kisses from Z, being half the double-primary of N's solar system (Z being the other), getting a little more sleep with only one mid-night feeding

Likes & Dislikes

Our regularly monthly event!  Only 2 days late!  And with bonus features!

Likes & Dislikes

The current tastes of the Ellerboys:


Likes
Z - the ABC song (and Twinkle Twinkle and Baa Baa Black Sheep, but they're all the same song, really), bananas, breakfast bars, iPod Touch and iPad, Hop on Pop by Dr Seuss, helping Mommy unload the dishwasher, giving N his bottle (with mixed results), baths (except for the hair rinsing, but that's getting better!)
N - watching Z do just about anything, learning to eat solid food, looking out the front window while standing on the sofa, anything chewable, petting the kitty, blowing raspberries, being held by strangers, getting his eczema baths

Dislikes
Z - eating the food he's given (vs the food he asks for), wearing clothes, timeouts, the Orkin man
N - sleep training, being left alone for even a split second, bananas (so far, anyways!), being held by family members, getting his eczema vaseline treatment