My favorite Rush

I always tell Rush, "You are my favorite Rush in the whole wide world." He just smiles and smiles. I think he just hears "favorite" and chooses to go with that. I wanted to write a little about my favorite Rush tonight. I have been meaning to sit down for some time now and write about my two little people. So, I chose clothes that don't need ironing for tomorrow, and here I am. I really don't know where my typing fingers will take me tonight except that I want to type everything that I know about Rush right now. Maybe it will just be a list... maybe the paragraphs will flow... more than likely, there will be a little of both.

Rush is definitely one of kind. He marches to the beat of his own drummer, and since he was a baby, he has ALWAYS done things in his own time. You want me to crawl, walk, talk, say Mama, use the potty, color in the lines??? All in good time, Mama. All in good time. I know that is what he would say if he knew how to say that. Rush has taught me to slow down a little and let him just move at his own pace. He gets there. Every time. And then, he will usually add something brilliant as a finale. Just to show me.

Rush loves to learn new things, and he is very curious about the world. He just called me to his room (where is supposed to have been sleeping for the last 30 minutes) to tell me he knows all of the shapes on the wall... octagon, circle, and square. Just in case I was wondering. Now, if I wanted him to tell me the names, he would probably just shrug and say, "Don't know." Even though he does. (Please see paragraph 2... the drummer part.) Most of the time he can tell me almost all the letters in the alphabet. He can also count to twenty when he is in the mood. He knows all of his colors. He can also recite most of the movie Cars and Toy Story. He is willing to learn about anything if you can relate it to his favorite movies. He likes to draw and color, but he is currently unwilling to attempt to color inside the lines or draw a "stick person" despite the fact that I want him to to this, and everyone else at his daycare that can hold a crayon is doing so. All in good time, Mama. :-)

Stats:
Weight: Around 30 lbs. (Long time readers... aren't you impressed that I am no longer obsessed with this number?)
Height: At last measurement... 38.5 inches
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Foods: Pizza and Pancakes
Favorite Toys: Woody, matchbox cars, Buzz, and trains (in that order)
Favorite movie: Cars and Toy Story
Favorite Book: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and the Curious George stories (especially the camping one)
Best Friend: J.R. (He goes to daycare with Rush and Fran. They share a mutual love of Toy Story.)
Favorite way to play: He loves to build things and play with his cars. He really likes to make a "gawage" for his cars.
Nicknames:Rush-man and Rushton


Rush loves his sister very much. They love to play with each other, and they love to fuss with each other. He still call her Teeta. It feels like it is going to stick. He can say sister, Sydney, Sydney Frances, Fran, and Frannie. He has called her all of those names, but he always returns to Teeta. I think she may always be Teeta to him. We'll see..

Since they sleep in separate rooms now, they give each other hugs and kisses in the hallway before they go their separate ways to sleep. It is sweet. Very sweet. Wonder when this will end? I'm hoping for never.



It's not always fun and games around here. Although we have mostly good moments, there are times when I am about to pull out my hair. Rush likes to have things his way. If he doesn't get his way, he is prone to pitch a fit. I would describe his temper as fiery. He hasn't always displayed this character trait, so I wonder if it might just be his age. I have heard that three can be the hardest age of toddlerhood. I agree... completely. It doesn't take much to cause a fit to commence, either. Rush doesn't like for you to spring things on him. Like bedtime. He needs some notice. So, I have found that if I set the kitchen timer and tell him how long he has to play, he is usually compliant with going to bed. So, I guess we are both learning how to deal with the world. His world sometimes includes a spanking or time out, though, if he isn't working hard enough to try to fit into my world. :-)

So that I don't end on a fit-pitching note, I will tell you everything that I love about Rush. He gives the best hugs and wet, sloppy kisses. He makes a cute little smacking sound when he kisses you. He has fuzzy, wavy hair that grows way too fast, so he almost always needs a haircut. He watches me fix my hair in the morning when I get ready for work, and then says, "You look pretty today, Mom." He loves to play and gets totally rambunctious and plows into furniture and people while running around. (Ok, so that gets on my nerves sometimes, too.) When he talks to me, he calls me "Mooom." Not sure why he draws out the middle sound so much, but I like it. At night, when he wants you to lie down with him for a little while, he will say, "Moooom? I need to tell you lots of things tonight." And then, he will tell you lots of things. He will talk about anything from the pattern on the sheets to asking me questions about heaven.

Rush is a great little guy. I love being his Moooom. I am thankful every day that he is a part of our family.

Quotable Quotes

Three year olds are funny. Just funny. I have just been laughing at these two lately, so I wanted to write some of it down before I forget about these cute little words and conversations.

A couple of weekends ago, we were going to eat Sunday lunch with my parents. Rush asked what we would be having to eat. I told him it would be smoked turkey, sweet potatoes, etc. He looked up at me and said, "But, we don't eat real turkeys." I told him that we did eat real turkeys, chickens, and cows when we eat meat. He stared at me with really big eyes and said, "But Mom, dose are animals." I think we may have vegetarian on our hands! Ha!

One Saturday morning, Rush asks me, "Mom, is it anudder day (another day)?" We had been talking about days of the week, so I thought he might be asking me about the day of the week. I told him that it was "another day" preparing to talk about it being Saturday. He said, "OK. Dat means I can get out dose new toys you said I could get out anudder day." Apparently, he had asked me if he could get some toys out of the closet, and I replied, "Maybe another day." He caught me on this one.

Just today, Frannie fell down and scraped both of her knees at daycare. They are just normal little "kid knees". Scratched up and a little red... She has showed her knees to everyone who will pause long enough to see them. Then, as she was climbing out of the bathtub, she asked me if I thought she would need a walking stick. This is what she calls a cane that an elderly person would use for walking. Isn't it pretty typical for three olds to use them when they scrape their knees, too? :-) Oh, the drama.

Punky Brewster and Wall Street Celebrate V-Day

Happy Balentine's Day!!!! That's what Rush calls it. We celebrated in style with tutus, singing gorillas, and a business vest. Sydney wore her tutu and sparkly t-shirt to Sue Sue's. She reminded me of that show from the eighties, Punky Brewster. I loved Soleil Moon Frye. Rush wore his little sweater vest, which I find to be quite adorable. He thinks he is handsome when he wears it. I totally agree. Phil brought home some red singing gorillas to entertain the kids. We also ate huge sugary cupcakes. It was a good day.


P.S. Punky did not start out so happy. She got in a little trouble with her Daddy before Sue Sue's, and this is grounds for heartbreak on her part. She just can't handle her Daddy being upset with her. The picture makes me laugh. Can't help it...

Cousin Fun

I know..I said I was going to post a "What they are up to..." post..ummm... last weekend. Did not happen. In between then and now, I have had the worst sinus infection known to man. Well, maybe not to man, but the worst one to me. Ever. It is relentless. My face hurt and even my top teeth were hurting. I never had fever, so I assumed (incorrectly) that it couldn't be an infection. I was hanging in there waiting for my "cold" to pass. So, to make a long story short, one Urgent Care visit and two antibiotics later, I am sort of on the mend. I still don't feel fantastic, but I am trying to will myself to feel better. Needless to say, I have been busy just trying to keep things afloat around here. Phil has been helping a bunch and feeling sorry for me when I needed it. :-) Blogging got pushed to the back burner during the last week.

I wanted to have some cute pictures from sweet Kate's party to post, but I forgot my camera and was SO upset with myself. I took pictures with Ivy's camera, so I will post some when she emails them to me. (Hint.. hint.. Ives.) We did get to spend Saturday evening with my family at my parents' house. My Mama made the best chicken and dumplings, collard greens, and cornbread. We also had red velvet cupcakes. I ate too much. It was too good to pass up. Ivy, Tony, and Kate came to spend the night for a quick visit, so the cousins got to play. They are getting to the age where they all enjoy playing together. Kate calls them "Fwan" and "Bush" (like brush but without the 'r'). So cute! They all love each other... especially the two girls. They give hugs and are so sweet to each other. Frannie and Kate were sitting in the computer chair watching a DVD on the computer. Frannie turned to me and said, "You have got to get a picture of this, Mama." She meant I should take a picture of Kate and her sitting together. I guess she was thinking they were extra cute. :-)

Cute Cousins


Reading with Daddy/Uncle Phil


DVD Time=Everyone in the house needed a break from the running and squealing from having three toddlers on the loose

The kiddos have their Valentine's Day party tomorrow at Sue Sue's so we will be taking some morning photos of them dressed in their red and pink finery in the morning. I won't make any promises on a blog post, but you could possibly check back for one later this week. :-)

Listening in

I love it when I am left out of the conversations between my two children when we are in the car. It is alway entertaining. If they really get going, I don't need radio. I can be completely entertained by the conversation in the back seat.

Today on the way to SF's dance class:

SF: Rush, we should spend a little while being little and do the stuff for when you are little. Then, we should move on to be big. Isn't that right?
Rush: Yes, and then we can drink coffee.


I am planning to do a "what they are up to" post this weekend. I need to record some of the best (and even the not so best) parts of their personalities right now. Three is such an interesting age.

Our sweet Kate also turns two this Friday, so we will be partying with her this weekend! Fun pictures to come!!

Change

We are going through some changes right now. I have always known the day would come that we would need to separate the twins into their own rooms. They have shared a room since they came home from the hospital. I think it is good for twins to have that closeness because they need each other. We are planning to move Rush into the guest bedroom soon so that they can each have their own space. Truthfully, they have different sleep habits now. Rush is an early riser, and Fran would prefer to sleep in a little. The biggest issue that we have right now with room-sharing is that they PLAY---big time!!! At naptime, they laugh, giggle, jump, etc. People always say, "Awwww, how cute! They love each other." Cute? Yes. The first time we heard them laughing and giggling together was certainly cute. Now? Not so much. It just leaves us with cranky kids that didn't get a good nap. I have to admit that I have put off separating them because for me it signifies a definite end to babyhood. The toddler beds will be gone and replaced with twin beds that big girls and big boys sleep in. My heart breaks a little when I think of it. Speaking of heartache, today is our first trial with Rush sleeping in his "new room". He is in the guest bed that we have in that room right now, and he is doing just fine... asleep after about 5 minutes. Fran? She is not fairing so well. She is making my heart hurt. She is wailing his name. I went in to try to soothe her, and she kept saying, "I need my Rush in here with me to sleep." That pitiful, crying face was almost more than I could stand. Phil said, "Just move him back in there." Both of us stood outside the door looking at each other. It was really just so pitiful. I enticed her to sleep promising a trip to the store together later this afternoon. She likes to go on errands, so that got her quiet. I hope she will drift off soon. Poor little bug.

So, it is time for a new chapter. And that means change. I think Frannie may inherit her dislike of change from me. It is hard sometimes, but time marches on. I'll keep you posted on the transition and of course pictures of the new beds once they are in place. :-)

Life

I never got to the New Year post I was planning. We are busy around here. I don't really know with what. Just busy living life, I guess. We are back in the swing of our normal everyday routine. Get up every morning, drive into town for work and Sue Sue's... I love a good "normal routine" day!! We are being a little low key in the month of January so we can enjoy the CrAzY month of February we having coming up. Something fun and fantastic EVERY weekend in February!! I can't wait!!

Low key doesn't mean boring, though! We have been having some fun doing stuff like drinking hot chocolate for the first time, playing with Play-Doh, and having picnics with Buzz, Woody, and Jesse using the new kitchen and tea set that Frannie got for Christmas. I love to hear their imaginations go wild when we have these "picnics". First of all, they take place on an old receiving blanket. There are plates all around for all of the guests. Many of you out there that like to read this blog have been guests at the picnics, in case you were wondering. We have called you on toy phones to invite you to come over to eat fake carrots, cucumbers, and lemons. Sometimes these standard veggies are given new names like baldernashes and snivelbells. Because when you are three, giving vegetables new names is quite funny. Like, lie back on the floor giggling uncontrollably kind of funny... so I join them. Sometimes we even have fried baldernashes. Because the stove in the kitchen does sizzle.

There has also been great interest in the Kindle Fire that Phil surprised me with for Christmas. It is so much fun! The kids (especially SF) really love it, too. They have been practicing counting fish and alphabet games.

Phil and Rush's team played in the National Championship game and whooped LSU. It was much more fun to watch Auburn win last year, but I guess we will let them have this one. :-)






Good times that cannot be replaced!