Inglourious Childrens

The latest 'round here:

• Today the boys were playing with Legos. Which they turned into guns. Naturally. Amelia joined in. Naturally. They chased each other all over the house, each making their own unique "pew pew" sounds.
  
  I got the strange feeling that I was watching a scene from a Tarantino film when I realized Amelia was mowing people down with her Lego Glock... all while clutching her blanket wrapped baby doll. She's a great multitasker.



• When Jameson serves a meal, he says, "Dig up!" And when leaping from high places he says, "Jumpronimo!"



• You know those hopping marsupials found throughout Australia? Truman insists they're called "bangaroos."



• Mr. Darwin is huge. And he officially thinks he's one of the big kids now. He's almost got the crawling thing down, but it's tough with all that weight. OK, maybe he's not crawling. It's more... lunging and faceplanting. Repeatedly. But it gets him where he wants to go.



• Independent Woman. That's Amelia's official title. She potty trained herself last week. Literally. Julie and I hadn't even begun the potty training process yet so Amelia took it upon herself. One day she just decided she would only use the toilet for doing her business. She walked in. Took her pants and diaper off. Tinkled. Wiped. Got dressed. Washed her hands. It's unbelievable. If only everything was this easy.



• Amelia pretty much refuses help for anything. In the mornings she wakes up, climbs out of her crib and then announces to everyone (with her hands up in the air), "Maya awake!" She then proceeds to go to the bathroom, brush her teeth, pick out her clothes and then dress herself. Sometimes I think she's an adult trapped in a two year old's body.



• Speaking of Independent Woman, Amelia has also stopped calling me dad, dadda or daddy. She now addresses me only as James. And it's usually along the lines of "James, leave me alone," or "James, stay right there," or "James, I do it."



• Deep down, Amelia is still very much Daddy's little girl.



• We are slowly inching our way towards having our own home again. We've closed on our construction loan and are having our pre-construction meeting with the builder next week. We're loving the house plans, but it seems so, so, so far away at this point...



• Darwin is about to get kicked out of our bed. We've let all of our children co-sleep with us as long as it was practical. Darwin has reached the unpractical stage. He stretches out all over, hogs the blankets and likes to wake us up with early morning eye gouges. And he always forgets to turn off the TV when he's done watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Sorry, buddy, but it's time to go.



• If we weren't busy enough with the four year old, the twin two year olds, the nine month old, the living with the in-laws, the building a new house, the starting school this year, and whatever else... Julie and I are also working on starting a new business. 'Cause that's how we roll.



• My dentist has "found Jesus" and I have a cavity. Not sure if those facts are somehow related. Maybe it just means I have holey teeth! (Thank you. I'll be here all week. Be sure to tip your waitress.)

So Flossy

Jameson and I had dentist appointments again about a month ago. This was only Jameson's second visit to the dentist. I went out on a limb this time and scheduled our cleanings for the same time. That's not an insignificant detail. On his first visit, we had back to back appointments so that he could witness my cleaning and then get his teeth checked with me at his side. Let's face it, the dentist office can be an intimidating place for anyone, let alone a three year old on his first visit. This time, with simultaneous appointments, Jameson was going to be on his own. Granted, we would be in earshot of each other in our separate rooms across a small hallway, but I had my worries about how well he would handle it sans dad. Apparently my worries were unfounded. When they called our names, he took the lead heading back in the office. He asked what room I would be in and what room he would be in and then headed straight for his chair without me. I was slightly amazed at his confidence (and a little saddened by his independence). I don't remember ever being all that scared of visiting the dentist as a child, but I don't think I had Jameson's confidence, either. I must say I was more than a little proud of how well he handled the entire visit. It helps that our dentist, Dr. Greg Buerschen, is really good with kids and those of us that like to talk. Jameson is, of course, both. Jameson often mentions Dr. Greg while brushing his teeth at night and will comment about how impressed Dr. Greg is going to be when he checks his teeth next time. Jameson is very thorough about his oral hygiene. Our typical nighttime routine involves Jameson with a solo round of brushing followed by me taking a second go at removing all the "sugar bugs." Jameson is also down with the flossing. He really likes keeping his teeth clean. It's one habit I hope he never outgrows.

His flossing style is... interesting.



Jameson insisted that I take a picture of the inside of his mouth when he was done brushing his teeth. Upon seeing the result he cackled and exclaimed, "That's the grossest thing I've ever seen! Let's go show mom and scare her!"