so much to say

I have not done this in so long...so I'm just going to catch myself up here with bulleted highlights of the past week or so. They will not be in order, I'm sure

-we went to the zoo today with Jen and Wibef. The boys had such a great time! Squish loved seeing the animals up close. The mam panda walked right up to where he was standing at the glass and flopped over on her belly. If the glass had not been there she would have rolled right on top of him. He thought it was so great...and I did too! Lou's favorite part was the tiger, we almost missed him but he came out of hiding right before we were about to leave. Bear was super brave and the petting zoo and would have probably ridden the goats if I would let him. Squish has started coming into a not so brave stage so he clung to me or Lou most of the time we were in there.

-Squish was SUPER well behaved at the zoo today which is a change from his normal self as of late. I thought we were coming out of the "terrible twos" and that he would start getting a little more compliant. Then the truth came out and everyone started telling me that 3 is worse than 2...and dang it, they're right. He has been so mean to me the past 2 weeks. I'd say that on most days anywhere from 50-80% of his communication with me is yelling. Even when it isn't a yelling occasion ("Squish, do you want peanut butter for lunch?" "I DON'T WANT PEANUT BUTTER NO!!!!!") Last week I ended up in the parking lot of walmart with him locked in the car (on purpose) and me sitting on the curb crying for 15 minutes. There is some serious prayer going into this situation and lots of work on my patience and understanding and discipline tactics. He is wearing me down.

-He spent the weekend with Gaggi and Pop and the break could not have come at a better time. They were having lots of work done in their yard so he went to watch the diggers and cement mixers. He had a great time. Gaggi asked Pop several times what they should have for dinner, Squish always butted in with "how bout pizza?" So that's what they had. He turned the back of Pops truck into a pirate ship and played back there for a long time and did more yard work than a toddler should ever do.... he raked, planted sunflowers, plugged grass, and worked in his veggie garden. I think Gaggi and Pop don't really like to hang out with him, they just like the free day labor:)

- Squish is still playing the "I love you more than" game. He has recently told me "I love you more than I love to wipe my tushie" which I guess makes me feel special. He told Pop "Pop, I love you more that I love to go to Pop's house" which should have made him feel VERY special.

-Bear stayed here with Daddy and me. We had a great time. Lou and I were talking about all of the work we got done and how much easier it is than it used to be. When we just had Squish we never got anything done. One of us was always "watching the baby" As in "I'll cook, you watch the baby" or "I have to pee, you watch the baby" Now that we have to, only having one around is such a breeze!

-Bear had spaghetti for the first time this weekend. What a mess! He also had his first lollipop, thanks to Jen. He seemed like a very happy camper when she broke that out for him.

That's really all I can remember. This is why I should be more diligent, you forget things too fast to only do this once every 8 days or so! I'm so tired I'm not even going to proof-read this. Hope it makes sense.