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It is wrong to try to make claims about other people’s feelings. Even if those other people are people who just turned three two months ago. And even if you are those people’s mother. But I have to say, that if Kyle and Owen could articulate it, I believe they’d say that in their opinion today was a Perfect Day. Not the perfect day (I do believe that there are several versions of a perfect day for them)… but definitely a perfect day. I think they feel that way. I think they express that through their behavior and attitude — even if they can’t verbally communicate it. Today was the first day of a week with me playing stay-at-home-mom since Alex is on vacation. Believe me, they’ll be THRILLED to see Alex by Thursday of next week!!!!!!!! They’ll go screaming and running with complete delight the second she arrives at the door!!! They’ll be happy-beyond-belief to finally get a break from me! Seriously. I’m not at all kidding. However, like probably most kids of working moms, Kyle and Owen love having mom-at-home time too. And these times are very special for our family. The boys had a leisurely morning around the house and never got out of their pajamas until 10:30 (when they changed into their bathing suits). They got to do lots of their favorite activities at home today: beading (!!), play-dough, tons of swimming, and “cooking” (i.e., cutting up fruit for a fruit salad and then mixing it up). They both got rocked to sleep by their mama for their afternoon naps. We went to pick up Jessica Waters from her Engineering Day Camp (great excitement for K & O!!!), Jessica came home and played with us for awhile, and later in the day… major highlight: the Waters Family came over to swim. To cap it all off the boys got to have one of their absolute favorite dinners tonight: The two of them completely polished off an entire box of Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese (click) loaded up with tons of peas mixed into it (yup, it is true: that is one of their all-time-favorite foods in the whole whole whole wide world — they literally light up and start squirming with glee when they see those organic white cheddar shells and green baby peas mixed all up together sitting in the bowl). Anyway, all in all, it was a Perfect Day for K & O.

The start of the day involved something never-previously-experienced in the Johnson-McCormick Family home. The boys were standing up on their stools in the kitchen ready to make a yogurt smoothie in the blender. They were waiting for me to collect the ingredients so we could begin. I noticed them kissing on the stools (for the past few days they’ve been back in a TOTAL lovey-dovey kissing phase where they kiss each other randomly numerous times throughout the day). All of a sudden Kyle said, “Mama, take our picture with the camera! Take our picture kissing!” Owen said, “Yes! Mommy! Get the camera! Take our picture kissing!!!” Never before have either of them ever requested we take a picture of anything. I grabbed the camera and obliged their request.

It feels like summer is in full swing now. The boys basically wake up, eat breakfast, and then head for the pool. It would be hard to pry them away from the pool — but we don’t even try. This weekend I taught Owen the phrase “Now this is the life!” Every now and then if he’s in the midst of lovin’ life at the pool he’ll casually say, “Mommy, this is the life!” Kyle barely ever utters a word these days since he’s literally under water more than he’s above.

O.k., seriously now, y’all know my boys… y’all know how NOT crafty they are… y’all know how much they are the antithesis of craftiness. They just can’t be bothered to sit still long enough to do any serious crafting. I mean, really, why take time out from terrorizing the cat, or tearing down the driveway on a scooter, or triple-twist-flipping-into-the-swimming-pool to do something like coloring? or pasting? or any-kind-of-crafting? Why interrupt the non-stop extreme action for something that requires such extreme calm??? B-O-R-I-N-G. Let’s be honest: for them one of the highlights so far of their summer-out-of-daycare has been the heavenly release from the daycare-craftiness-grind. It is sad. Especially for me. Since I actually really love doing crafty things myself. In my feeble attempt to round them out a bit (i.e., keep them from becoming entirely immersed in a life of nothing-but-intense-brutal-physicality), and in an effort to share my enthusiasm for creative craftiness (hoping someday something might wear off on them), I have tried to do one visually creative/”crafty” activity with them each day this summer. I’ve tried everything that kids their age are supposed to love: coloring, painting, cutting, gluing, play dough, those foam sticker things, ETC. They like it. For all of about five minutes. I try to stretch it to ten minutes just to make the set-up-and-clean-up-efforts at least semi worth it. But by ten minutes into the craft activity du jour they are more than ready to BOLT out of their seats to run-jump-stomp-run-skip-ride-roll-run-sprint-swim-climb-run-slide-hang-run-run (did I already say run?). To be honest, I had sort of given up on any serious crafting with them long, long ago. But, folks, I think it is safe to say that we have had a major breakthrough!!!!!!! I think I may have found a craft that these boys actually like!!?!!!!!!! BEADING. ?!?! I had bought the supplies last week, attempting yet again to find a new craft that they might actually like. I had not yet gathered up the gumption to try it out on them. But last night Kyle and I sat quietly in the playroom together for 30 minutes straight while he made a bead necklace for MorMor. 30 minutes of uninterrupted focused crafting with my boy. I couldn’t believe my own eyes as I sat on the couch with him and watched his little fingers pick up each bead and carefully, pain-stakingly work patiently to string it onto a piece of gimp. I thought it was some sort of fluke. My theory last night was that it was a one-shot-deal — perhaps Kyle’s way of working through his post-traumatic-shock-of-MorMor-leaving-to-go-home induced state? But then this morning (after they jumped maniacally on the bed for a full half hour doing all sorts of incredibly dangerous “tricks” and working themselves into full-blown-sweats), Kyle suggested that we “do beads!” I almost fell on the floor in shock. “O.k.!!!!!” I said. Owen said, “No, I don’t want to! Let’s ride our trucks over the bump bumps Kyle!” And Kyle said, “No, beads Owen. It is fun Owen. I like it!” I ran for the supplies. Sure enough, for 30 minutes straight (yes, THIRTY MINUTES straight!!!!!) we three sat on the floor of the family room and my boys carefully, pain-stakingly strung plastic beads onto black pieces of string. The focused concentration was unlike I’ve ever seen from them before. They sat right next to each other and quietly, calmly, patiently each made a beaded necklace for Alex. Multiple times I overheard them as they proclaimed their love for this craft to each other. “Owen?” Kyle said. “Yes Kyle?” said Owen. “Owen, I like this! I like doing these beads!” “Yes, Kyle, I like it too! I like it! I like it! I like it!” I tried to play it cool, but as you can imagine, I could barely contain myself. All I could think was ‘a crafting breakthrough! a crafting breakthrough!’ Yes folks, a crafting breakthrough indeed!!!’

Owen and Kyle’s new favorite pastime: Playing With Papi’s Old Ties. They each have one. They spend long extended periods of time “tying them” onto “button shirts” and “wearing ties” to go to “the airport” and “to work” and “to the big organ music church” and “tying them” and “making them on button shirts so tight on the neck” and “wearing big nice ties” to “go on the airplane” and “wearing ties that are tied” to “work at a restaurant” and “wearing ties as cookers at Carrabas Restaurant” where they “wear ties to make pasta” and “wear ties to make salad and bread and everybody eats it and it is so good” because they are “good cookers!” and then they “tie ties onto button shirts” to “drive the ferry so fast” and “tying the ties” to “be pilots driving big airplanes up in the sky” and “tying the ties” and “tying the ties” and “tying the ties.”

We spent our Fourth of July yesterday with K & O’s most adored two people on earth: MorMor & MorFar, and with K & O’s most adored family on earth: The Waters. If you read this blog you know about my parents (MorMor & MorFar) and you know about our friends The Waters. The big downer was the rainy-yucky weather. Not exactly the 4th of July pool-bbq that we all had imagined. Highlights, however, included: crazy-crazy-Waters-Johnson-McCormick MARCHING BAND, big bowls of summer fruit, MorMor’s-awesome-ice-cream-cake-dessert, and a fireworks display put on in our own back yard by none-other-than-MORFAR! He’d light one off; the kids would all go nuts watching it from our deck (with the exception of Owen, of course, who was deathly afraid and in the house getting loved on by Corey); and then the entire ‘audience’ would loudly chant/scream “MorFar! MorFar! MorFar!” (although when we listened closely we noticed that some of the younger kids were actually chanting “More Fire! More Fire! More Fire!”); then MorFar would light another one off. The level of excitement for this fireworks display seriously rivaled any major city’s fireworks shows yesterday, I’m sure of it. Anyway, we had a blast (no pun intended!). Hope your 4th was fun too.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!

Here is the YouTube link to a new video our friend Corey Waters has made: CLICK HERE. In addition to being a wonderful mom to her six kids she somehow makes time to be an incredible advocate for Haiti and Haitian Adoption. Please watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndwBI143ctA

MorMor and MorFar arrived late Friday night for our 4th of July Visit. Kyle and Owen adore them, and are in heaven with all the playtime they are getting with their grandparents. Braydon and I adore them too, and are in heaven with all the playtime K & O are getting with their grandparents. 😉 Since Kyle and Owen came home our tradition for the 4th of July is to have my family here with us in Pennsylvania and, importantly, to not allow my parents to “work” around here (i.e., we try hard to keep them from doing all the cooking, cleaning, yardwork, etc. that they normally insist on doing when they visit). As much as we appreciate them doing all those things (and Lord knows we do appreciate it!!!!!!), we try to keep it to a minimum for the 4th. Sadly this year my sister and her family couldn’t make it. But we’re trying to do our best to have a good time without them. In addition to all the pool-time and play-time (and exclusively eating out for dinner!!!) that we’ve been doing… we’ve also done a couple of really fun outings. On Saturday night we went to Tinicum Park for the annual Riverside Symphonia “Concert Under the Stars” (click here). This is a Bucks County 4th of July tradition. We had never been before. I don’t think we’ll ever miss it again for as long as we live here. It was awesome!!! Although the lobster salad picnic dinner we had was not well appreciated by K & O (they ate chicken and pasta salad instead), they absolutely loved the music. (and about 4,000 concert-going people absolutely loved watching them love the music). And they had a Love- (Kyle) -Hate (Owen) relationship with the fireworks (we four adults agree, however, that they were truly the best fireworks we’ve ever seen). The boys had their latest night yet — were wide awake until about 11pm. It was a good, good time. (and they slept until 9am the next morning — also a good, good time for Braydon and I who gladly slept in!). Here are a few photos.

Yesterday Braydon worked for the day and my dad treated the rest of us to a trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo (click here). We’ve been to the Philadelphia Zoo (the “Big Zoo”) a couple of times with K & O, but had never been to the — much smaller scale — Lehigh Valley Zoo. I have to say that for Kyle and Owen, right now, at age 3, the “Little Zoo” was just PERFECT. Highlights for them were the river otter, running like madmen along the zoo paths, and a horse-drawn hayride.

Highlights for me were having my parents there to help me with these two tyrants. Seriously, sometimes (i.e., when they are overtired) they are so, so bad. And it is nice to have my parents around to: #1) help me keep them in check, and #2) help affirm for me that no I am not losing my mind and yes, indeed, they are super super super “active” and… uh… ‘challenging’ at times to parent. Most of all, though, it is nice to have my parents around to: #3) tire them out. There is no one on this earth (Braydon and I included) who can physically and mentally exhaust them like their MorMor and MorFar can. In fact, yesterday — July 2, 2007 — something unprecedented occurred. At the zoo, at about 2:00 in the afternoon, Owen stood by a tree and refused to move. As I walked toward him to pick him up he said to me: “Mommy, I’m sleepy. I need to go to sleep now.” I stood there in shock. Then picked him up and handed him to my mother. Oh, and also, it is nice to have my parents around to: #4) make me a margarita at 5pm.

Last night my dad made margaritas for everybody. He and my mom suprised K & O by giving them theirs (don’t worry theirs were virgin margaritas) in cups with crazy straws shaped like glasses. It was an absolute hoot! The first thing I said when I saw this scene was: “Kyle and Owen, you are not bringing these with you when you go to college.”

As you may recall from posts about our recent vacation, we went snorkeling with the boys – which was AWESOME. And as you have probably seen from the pictures, we’re having a great summer in the swimming pool. But it’s not just a great summer enjoying the cool refreshing waters, it’s a great summer for water acrobatics.

Here is the list of things that the boys like to do and can do in the pool at the moment (they are 3 yrs, 2 months old):

1. Float underwater looking at the bottom. Max breath hold time to date: 12 seconds.
2. Swim from me to Heather underwater – across the pool (yes, swim – kicking and with a “breast stroke” kind of thing).
3. Pop up and catch a breath.
4. Jump off the side of the pool and go under in the shallow end.
5. Dive (Owen – head first, Kyle – belly first) in the shallow end; pop up and swim to us.
6. Run and jump off the side and swim over.
7. Run and dive off the side and swim over.
8. Run and twisting – spinning jump and swim over.
9. Do the same in the deep end and swim to us underwater. Owen can swim about 20 feet under water from a dive.
10. Dive off the side, swim down, touch the bottom.
11. Dive off the side, swim down, touch the bottom and grab diving toys.
12. Dive/jump off the side and swim to the steps.
13. Forward flip dive off the side of the pool. Legs go all the way over in the air with head hitting the water first (this is mostly Owen and a little scary to watch).

It’s really true. I will try to catch some video of it soon.

Owen is a total natural in the water. He is to water as Kyle is to golf. Oh – I forgot to mention – Kyle hit the ball 55 yards last week with his 5 wood.

We sometimes joke about how it’s clearly not our genetics that give them this amazing physical ability. Even if people tell Heather regularly how much they look like us. All we can do is encourage it – not that we really have to do much to do even that.

Last night at bedtime when I was trying to get Owen into his pajamas he kept lingering in front of his mirror in his bedroom. Looking right at his own reflection he said to me: “Look at me mommy! I’m a man!” He then said, “No!!! I’m not a man! I’m a big boy! But I will be a man! When I am a man I will be a captain! A captain of a ferry! A new ferry! A big ferry! And I will drive it so fast! Very very fast! I will drive it to Virgin Gorda! Me and my brother both. We will both be captains!!!”

This morning at breakfast I said to Kyle: “Kyle, Owen says he will be a captain of a ferry when he grows up. What will you be when you grow up?” Before Kyle could answer Owen said: “You will be a captain too, right Kyle? We will both be captains.” Kyle nodded, “Yes, Owen, I will be a captain. You and me both. We will both be captains.” Then Kyle paused as he thought this through. “No!” he said, “No! I will be a pilot! I will drive a airplane! A big airplane! Up in the sky! So high! Very very high! Me and my brother both. We will both be pilots!!!”

Well, currently, in this house golf is the “it” sport… as many of you who read this blog know. Kyle and Owen (especially Kyle) have been able to accurately identify Tiger Woods when they see him on t.v., on billboards, and in magazines since they were about 22 months old (“Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! Hit the ball Tiger!!!”). Long before K & O came around I was interested in the Tiger Phenomenon. I’ve followed the race-related commentaries and critiques about his questionable racialized quotes and actions; Tiger is loaded with racialized complexities; It is sociologically fascinating (and at times infuriating). Anyway… his inter-racial marriage is old news. The big news now, of course, is the Baby Tiger. (I told Kyle the other day that “Tiger had a baby!” Kyle said, “A baby tiger??”) Today I was catching up on some blogs. A lot of the culture/race-related blogs have been addressing the baby “cub” since her birth. I came across this great post from a blogger I like: Click here.