Addicted

His name is Crewe and he's addicted to Costco rotisserie chicken. It's bad. He wants it for breakfast. He wants it for lunch. He wants it for dinner.

Fortunately for Crewe, his older brother recognizes his addiction and advocates for him. Like earlier this week in a conversation with me.

Cal: Mom, we really need to go to Costco.
Me: Why?
Cal: Crewe needs more chicken. Don't worry, mom, I'll feed it to him.

I want that piece.
I'm opening really big so that I don't miss a morsel.
I'm biting down really hard to make sure I get every piece.

Giggles

This morning I heard lots of giggles coming from the pantry. I could tell Crewe was giggling too. This is what I found: the boys playing windshield wiper with a brand new jumbo bag of Epic mints (or Uncle Donald mints as we call them). The pantry now smells minty fresh. Uncle Donald, maybe you can bring us some more when you come for Thanksgiving?!

Random Sampler

Chris has been on the road Monday-Thursday for the past three weeks and I'm just trying to keep above water with the boys. Here's a little about what's been happening around our house.

1. Spring has sprung. Until moving to the desert a few years ago, I had know idea that it could be so colorful and full of life. These are a couple of spring shots from our yard.

Can you believe a bird laid her eggs in a cactus? Cal visits them daily to see if they have hatched yet.

Prickly pear cactus blooms for just a few weeks each year.

2. The boys are beginning to play together. Cal has definitely assumed the role of big brother and loves to show Crewe how to do things. Crewe is the first person he looks for in the morning.
3. "Truck" is the official word of the day, week, and month. Cal is completely obsessed with anything with wheels. He tries to ride anything that looks like it will go, including Crewe's oxygen tanks. Here he is riding a friend's "car." We got him one for his upcoming birthday.
4. We are learning to watch what we say. Almost overnight Cal has started busting out with new words and phrases. In the car last week he told a driver of another car to "come on;" told me "no way" when I asked him to get his shoes, and then proclaimed "gosh" when he heard me talking on the phone to a friend.

Mr. Jealous

The honeymoon is officially over between Calahan and Crewe. Calahan has decided that Crewe takes too much of his parents’ attention and he’s taking action. The funny thing about it is that he is not at all angry at Crewe, he’s mostly mad at me! Cal has determined that the best way to get more attention is to act like Crewe. Among other things, that means Calahan wants to be carried all of the time (all 26 pounds of him), drink a bottle (not any bottle, only a bottle filled with breastmilk), and eat his meals only while sitting in my lap.

I have to admit that it’s pretty amusing at times to see Calahan “acting” like Crewe. It makes me laugh to see Cal try to wiggle his way out of Crewe’s bumbo after wedging his way into it… or to watch him pull on a pair of Crewe’s shorts as far as his knee and then try to walk… or try to climb into Crewe’s crib while imitating the sound of Crewe’s trach. 

Here are a few "acting moments" that I managed to get on camera.

This is the kid who NEVER took a bottle!

That's Crewe's favorite hanging toy he's playing with.

Look at those legs all wedged in!

Nite-Nite, Crewe

Calahan is usually very good about going to bed at night. We have a routine that includes going to say "nite-nite" to Chris and Crewe. Tonight we did our usual routine except for going to find Chris. Chris was just outside of Calahan's room so he just said "nite-nite" there. As I stepped back into Cal's room with him, he started to protest (very unlike him at night) and insisted that I open the door. After I opened the door, he said "baby" and pointed outside. Then it dawned on me... I hadn't taken him to say good night to Crewe, and he knew it! So, I carried him to where Crewe was playing and Cal blew Crewe a kiss and said "nite, nite." Only then could he go to sleep, and he went down without any trouble at all. Cal loves his brother!