Those Harrod Boys

This morning the four of us went to the Cafe to Go, one of Mommy and Daddy’s favorite places to eat in town. Afterwards we went to the Habitat Restore shop and to an antique mall. Taking our sons to an antique mall was perhaps not the best choice, however we survived and didn’t bring home any broken treasures. Jonathan’s friend Jody cam by to play. Jody moved a few miles away, but at least he’s close enough to come by. Tonight we went to the “Cactus Place” to eat. Before we had ordered, Matthew accidentally knocked a full glass of water all over the table and into Jonathan’s lap. Daddy was so proud of Jonathan: he had a few tears, but got himself under control and made it through dinner. He got ice cream afterwards for showing good character. He and Daddy read about a chapter and a half out of Prince Caspian tonight.

Happy birthday cousin Ruth!

Tonight Daddy and Jonathan went out after dinner to gather some leaves for him to take to school tomorrow. We ended up at our neighbor’s, Mr. Todd’s, house, where we got three “shiney” leaves.

Matthew had a pottypalooza day! He had already gone three times before Daddy got home, and went at least nine more times before the night was over. Now we just have to teach him to go in one sitting. He sings his potty song each time: “Pee-pee in the pot-ty, pee-pee in the pot-ty!”

Flashback

Here are pictures from today in 2006 and 2008:

Today, after church and lunch, Daddy and Jonathan spent the afternoon playing Wii and running some errands. We played Ninja Reflex, Jonathan’s current favorite game, and Wii Sports Resort. Jonathan gets very mad when he loses, especially at swordfighting, but he’s so darn fast that it’s rare for him to lose!

When we were at Target, he saw a bicycle on clearance in a box, it was a Transformers-themed bike. He asked Daddy, “What does it transform into?” Daddy just smiled and said, “Something cool I suppose.” Jonathan picked out a Scooby-Doo themed book for his Leapfrom Tag reader.

We left Target and headed for the gun store (no pun intended). Jonathan wanted to hold the shotguns, all of which were way too heavy, but Daddy helped him anyway. His favorite was the Stoeger Coach Gun, which Daddy convinced him was a little too heavy to take home. He also liked the Beretta Tomcat, which was more his size. One day, Buddy.

Matthew is getting taller every day, taller than many of the children in his Sunday school classroom, which Mommy and Daddy helped with this morning. He used his kiddy potty twice this evening, which is a big deal around this house.

Matthew has something special to say…

Today was Jonathan’s first day of (pre)school. Mommy took his pictures on the front porch. It was a gray and gloomy, rainy day. Daddy and Matthew rode along with Mommy to drop Jonathan off. Halfway through the carpool line, Jonathan said, “So, you’re not going to stay with me?” Daddy’s heart was breaking. What he said was, “No, buddy, you’ll do great!” What Daddy was thinking was, “Let’s just go home.” Jonathan did great. We asked him how many kids were in his class: “About a hundred, I think.”

Mommy took the boys for summer haircuts this morning. Both are looking a lot less shaggy now. Mommy made Jonathan an Incredibles t-shirt today.

Daddy had to travel for work on Sunday and didn’t get back until after midnight Monday, so no updates for those days. Because he got in so late, Daddy stayed home this morning. He and Jonathan went to the grocery store. Jonathan was having fun trying to walk on only the white tiles (but got his feet tangled up a couple of times and hit the ground). Matthew discovered the cowboy hat today and wore it proudly.

Tonight at dinner, Daddy decided to take the boys out for ice cream. Culvers’ flavor of the day was “Mint Chip.” Daddy asked Jonathan, “So, do you want to go get some green ice cream?” Jonathan squinted and made a terrible face, “Yuck, gree…” Then, like the cartoon flashlight, Mommy and Daddy saw it register that the green ice cream, one of his favorites, might not be so bad. “Yeah, OK!” His squint had turned to a cheshire-cat-like grin very quickly.

After bath and shower time, Jonathan sat on the couch with Mommy and Daddy and watched the American Pickers show (about antique collectors, not bluegrass or booger pickers). He finally said, “I think I want to go to bed now.” He was out before Daddy could turn off the light.