So Long, Suckers!!

If you're an occasional reader of my ramblings, you'll know that we've been having problems with wasps! The major problem is that there are so many wasps outside, my children don't want to play outside anymore!! I truly think it's a crime when children are not playing outside on a beautiful summer day. First we went with "Wasp-be-gone" in a squirt bottle - it's a little concoction I came up with and put in a squirt bottle for Caleb to spray on any wasps he sees. It works o.k. (only to the extent that he's no longer terrified to go out the door). However, it doesn't really do anything to the wasps, except maybe get them a little wet.

I tried the 2L pop bottles filled with sugar water. Tried pop in the bottles; didn't work. Tried sugar water; didn't work. Tried pop & sugar; didn't work. Tried jam; didn't work. Tried sugar water in a shallow dish; didn't work. I was ready to go out and buy some nasty chemical-laden wasp spray, but I did a little more research on the internet. Turns out that at this time of summer, wasps prefer meat to sweets. I saw a diagram for a fish hanging over top of a pail of water. We don't have any fish in the house, and the only meat we had was some sandwich meat. So I strung it up over top of an ice cream pail full of water with a few drops of dishwashing detergent using the boys' tent poles to hold it up. Not expecting anything, I went inside and forgot about it.

An hour later, I went outside and low-and-behold!! Dead wasps in the ice cream pail (about 15) !! I am now Caleb's hero!! He thinks I'm a genius for killing wasps and he claims he's no longer afraid of wasps (because Mommy kills them all!). Joshua & Caleb often discuss amongst themselves how they will kill all the wasps in the world & the whole world will be a happier place! I set up another lure in the front, and got about 6 more wasps. So I decided to share my success with you all and hope you enjoy the picture of dead wasps floating in 2 ice cream pails of water!!

First Steps & KittyKat Boys

The face says is all on the picture of Andrew! These are NOT his first steps...just the first steps I've managed to capture with the camera! Andrew's been taking steps here and there for several weeks, but still has yet to transfer over to full-time walking. Today he was getting so mad (at nothing in particular; not sure why) that he decided he was going to walk. It was actually pretty funny! The experts says that crawling is a good brain stimulation activity, since the right leg/left arm, left leg/right arm movement challenges the brain. We already knew from all of Andrew's earlier crying that he would be smart little cookie, but all this crawling just goes to reinforce his superior brain development!! LOL!

The second picture is of the boys playing kitty-cats. Their home is under a table with a big tablecloth over top. It's interesting to see how much Caleb & Joshua's play has changed in the last year. They both have good imaginations, and I'm told it's because they don't watch TV. Right now, they're playing play dough and making up stories about what they're making! They really are clever little guys! Well, Andrew's trying to get in on the play dough fun, so my time here is over. Enjoy your day!

What could be more fun than...?

What could be more fun that a trip to the Chiropractor's? The waiting room has a bunch of toys (fortunately) and Joshua likes to put on the Mickey D's hat & apron. Here he's testing out the mic to see if he can hear the person at the drive-through; or maybe if the person outside can hear him!!

It's been an interesting past few days. Mike's been out of the house from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm, and will be for one more day. Caleb & Joshua are a little bored, seeing as they don't like to go outside because of the wasps, so we're all feeling a little cooped up. Andrew's been a little grumpier than usual, and looks forward to going outside and he especially gets excited when he realizes we're going to drive some where in the van. Neither of the other boys at this age got excited at the sight of the vehicle! Usually they would get upset! So the boys have been playing lots of lego, playdough & train, and I'm been making cards like it's going out of style! We must plan a family outing to create some excitement in our lives!!!

Beach Babies

Yesterday, we went to the beach. This has been our second beach adventure this year, and I call it an adventure, because just getting Caleb out the door takes more energy & patience than...you can imagine; not to mention all the necessary other gear we need to pack and the "just in case" stuff, too. It's a good thing we have a mini van to haul all our junk around!

So here's Caleb & Joshua with their life jackets on as well as their Dollar Store blow-up toys. Caleb's fish is already toast - has a hole in it. Joshua was freaking out when I would take wet sand from the bottom of the lake and put it on his "fish". It was quite funny! Also, he hated the "yuckies" on the bottom of the lake. And Caleb has issues with the large, ugly horse flies (he thought they were wasps!). Fortunately, there weren't too many horse flies buzzing around.

Here's Andrew taking a break from all that hard swimming work. It was so cute - as I was taking this picture, he kept glancing over at the couple next to us & flashing his little smile. I'm glad he saved one for me! He enjoyed the beach, as long as he could keep at least one thumb in his mouth at all times.

Our afternoon at the beach didn't last very long, even though the water was warm and the weather was warmer! I think I've raised at least 2 "pool boys". Maybe 1 beach baby from the 3 of them. They can't wait to go to the "Y" again, to the clean water & clean pool!!

Adventurous Andrew

Andrew's been a little grumpy these last 2 days. He's only napping once a day, so that probably has something to do with it. His favourite activity is to climb up on the couches. Here he is gazing out the front window with a toy ketchup bottle in his mouth.

I'm going to be making homemade wasp traps today with 2L pop bottles. I did some research on the internet, and I think these wasps are yellow jackets, which tend to be fairly aggressive, more so when bothered and as there's less food for them. With Caleb be so terrified of wasps and me not a big fan either, I figure I better do what I can to try to minimize their presence in our yard. Caleb will scream & cry like a tortured child if he sees one! I mean, the whole neighbourhood can probably hear him. He is SO SCARED!!! Half the time, he's just screaming at a fly. He has never been stung yet, so I'm not sure why he is so afraid.

I, on the other hand, have been stung several times as a child, and each time, the swelling got a little worse, to the point where one time my eye nearly shut. Actually, maybe that happened to my Mom. She also had significant reactions to wasp stings. And it was usually my fault when she got stung. I remember one time when we were camping, my Mom & I went berry picking in the bush. I got bored, so I wandered off & ran into a wasps nest. Before I knew what was going on, I had been stung several times. I ran back towards my Mom and she also got stung a couple of times. It was not a pleasant experience!! It's a wonder my Mom ever took me berry picking again!

Finally, a decent picture!!

I really like that top picture of the boys!! The rest of them came out somewhat like the second picture - no big surprise, seeing as I have 3 young children...3 young BOYS!! In most of them, Andrew was sucking his thumb, then he started fake coughing and thought it was funny. Joshua was squirming & wiggling with excitement, and Caleb had lots of funny faces. And it only took about 8 shots to get the good one! That must be some kind of record! I'm so glad someone invented digital cameras!

Well, I know my Dad is a regular reader of my blog and possibly my biggest "fan"? LOL (that means laugh out loud for all you unfamiliar people!!) I forgot to ask you last night, Dad, are the pictures coming up clearly on your computer now? My Dad was having problems with the B&W photos coming up really dark - anyone else with that problem? I've been doing more color photos to see if it's any different. Any feedback on that would be appreciated!!

What is up with the wasps? They're EVERYWHERE! And Caleb is terrified of them! The boys don't even like playing outside anymore because of the wasps! Usually, they get more numerous at the end of August & into September, but maybe because it's so dry & hot, they're everywhere already! At first, we thought we had a nest in the yard or nearby, by now we're thinking it's everywhere? Anybody else having similar problems with too many wasps? Any theories?

After supper last night, we decided to get out of the house & brave the wasps. We went to Caleb's school park where there's no grass by the play structure (and no wasps!!!). Caleb loves to be chased around the play structure by Mike! Joshua usually just hangs and watches the other big kids doing crazy things (and probably trying to remember to try these things when Mom's not watching!!). And when Andrew's not busy trying to sneak some garbage into his mouth, he's climbing up the stairs and zooming down the little kiddie slide backwards on his tummy! He sure is a crazy little monkey! It was a good time!

Sleeping Genius

It's hard to believe that this thumb-sucking boy will soon be 4 years old. I'm sure someday he'll be very upset with me with the pictures I took of him sucking his thumb & sitting on the toilet, just to name a few humbling poses I've caught him in.

On Sunday, I was joking with Mike about coming up with a little monologue to teach Joshua; monologue, as in the sense of a comedic monologue. He already has down: "My mother is a genius, and I'm a little genius." Yes, I taught him that. But in my defense, it happened one weekend when Mike was gone, and I was struggling with Joshua's non-stop chatter, so I decided to teach him some useful information. And of course, he only repeats the TRUTH!! LOL! It is so much fun to talk with Joshua and hear the funny, crazy, and thoughtful things that come out of his little mouth. He has a heart of gold, and that will help to balance him out as he grows older. So when I have Joshua already to go with his little monologue, we'll be inviting you all down for his first performance!!

We're also coming to the conclusion that Joshua is a sleep walker. This comes as no big surprise to us, as both Mike & I were sleep walkers. We were both thumb-suckers too, for that matter! Last night (early in the morning when it was still dark), Joshua came into our room and told me, "I don't like sleeping!" I didn't say anything, because I just couldn't wake up enough to think, and then he just turned around and went to bed. We asked him this morning if he remembered doing that, and he didn't.

He also ended up in our bed Friday night & Saturday night. On Friday night, he ran into our room and said, "I hear monsters!!", jumped into our bed, closed his eyes, stuck his thumb in his mouth, and IMMEDIATELY he was asleep! And on Saturday night, I didn't even hear him jump into our bed! Guess Little Genius' brains get stimulated night & day!

Keeping Cool!

Yesterday was such a hot day! Yes, we've had hotter, but the accumulation of heat over the past several days...or week... has left us a little stressed out and extra warm! Fortunately, it cooled off last night & today is supposed to be nice. Just warm; comfortably warm!!

I took these pictures of Andrew after giving him a mini-bath in the bathroom sink just before bedtime, in an effort to keep him cool. I enjoy playing with his longer blond hair, so I spiked it a little. Don't worry! It flattens down by itself. And as everyone who sees him will comment on, "He LOVES his thumb!" In fact, he's ambidextrous with his thumb-sucking. If his right thumb does not please him, he tries the left thumb; if that doesn't work, it's back to the right thumb, and so on, and so on.

Today the Doctor had me take Andrew in for a blood test to check his hemoglobin (iron level). The person who drew his blood needed to poke his...THUMB!! He did cry a little, but was done crying even before she had all the blood she needed. And the bandage she initially put on his prized possession was promptly removed within a minute. So now he's crawling around the house with a taped up thumb, still pulling at it every once in a while, trying to get the annoying stuff off! What's a baby to do with only ONE THUMB to suck?!?!?

Caleb goes to a Wedding

We brought Caleb to a wedding yesterday - the first one he's been to where he's been aware of what's going on!! Here's a picture of him playing with a noiseless "noise-maker" they gave out at the door as we were leaving. There were also bubbles available, but that's not really his style!

When we walked into the church, Caleb glanced into the sanctuary and asked me, "Mommy, what colors did you have for your wedding?" It was a moment that every mother wishes for - that her son would show some interest in something other than trucks, hockey, fighting, and playing in the mud! And I also thought that he might end up being very helpful when it comes to planning his wedding. But that's a LONG way off!!

Andrew & Mommy

This evening, it was just me & Andrew. Mike took the boys out of town to a concert. They left shortly after 4 pm, and Andrew was upset, mad, distraught...he does NOT like to be left home alone. He thinks of himself as "one of the big boys" already. It's kind of cute, albeit noisey!!

After Andrew & I bbq'd chicken for supper, we went outside to play - that was Andrew's choice. I asked him if he wanted to go downstairs to play or outside, and he headed for the door. I'm surprised how much he understands already. I shouldn't be surprised, but because he's not saying any words, I guess I wonder sometimes how much he understands. I guess he's storing it all inside his little head, and suddenly one day...it will all come out!

Andrew has the mischieviousness, no-fear attitude of Joshua, combined with the quiet, cautious side of Caleb. Don't ask me how that works, because it's contradictory. But look at the way he climbs up the slide, and slides back down...on his belly! He tries EVERYTHING, but cautiously!! He has figured out how to climb up onto the back of the loveseat and stand on top by the window & bang on it as loud as he can - hands or head!

Last night, Andrew discovered almost accidentally that he could stand up on his own without hanging on to everything. He's been standing & furniture walking for several months, but has been reluctant to step out on his own. We were outside and he was busy playing with a stick and just stood up, still focussed on the stick. I clapped & cheered; he looked at me, wondering what the fuss was all about. Suddenly, it was all about him, up & down, up & down, so pleased with himself that he could stand up all by himself. He LOVED it that I was so excited for him! Later, when we were doing our devotions, he started standing up & walking all over the boys' room like a MAD man. It was so funny & cute. He's an "evening walker", for now! Will let you know when he takes that bold step to full time walking!

Heat Wave!

It's a heat wave in our neck of the woods! Yesterday was up to 33, and today's forecast high is 32. Plus, it's becoming more humid. In the morning, we went to the dollar store again to buy sunglasses for the boys - we got 2 pairs for one dollar! The boys thought that finally, they could see, now that they had glasses! Yes, I've been letting them walk around half blind up until now!! Silly boys!

We went outside later on in the afternoon, and it was so hot, Joshua was running around without his t-shirt. He was also riding his bike, and with his new shades, just had to take a picture of this cool little boy! You probably can't tell in this picture, but he's turning brown, even though I regularly put sunscreen all over his little body! Lucky guy! I'm having an idea that I need to set up something here called - Donate to the Bergmann Air Conditioning Fund! Think it would be coming in handy over the next several days!! The basement is still nice & cool, and that's where we'll be hanging out!

My Soapbox

Here's something funny that Andrew likes to do. He'll get into this position, on hands & feet, put his head down & lift his bum up in the air. He thinks it's so funny when we stick our heads down between his legs where he can see us. He'll do this over & over again, just laughing the whole time! So here's Joshua making Andrew laugh!

Joshua loves to make Andrew laugh. It's so cute all the things he'll do to his baby brother to get him to laugh. He does lots of tickling and "peek-a-boo" with Andrew. It's so sweet to see the 2 youngest boys playing together. Yesterday evening, I biked to the Forks with Joshua & Andrew in the bike trailer. Mike & Caleb met us there - they took the van. Caleb & Joshua are too big to fit in the bike trailer together. Anyway, the whole time there (it takes me 18-20 minutes) Joshua is talking & commenting on EVERYTHING!! Andrew is pretty much quiet the whole time, sucking his thumb. He's more like Caleb so far in this regard. But I just thought how good it is for Andrew to hear Joshua talk all the time - hopefully it will help him to talk sooner, so he can communicate with us & let us know what he needs/wants. And then once he's talking, I'll probably want him to be quiet!!

I've been trying to think of what kind of lesson I can learn from this (and there are many), but I guess the main one is just to be content with where my child is at and enjoy this time with him now. Waiting for him to learn new things (change) will not change my love for him. He will still be the same little person, even though he'll do different things, like walk & talk. So I will enjoy this time when he crawls & whines; and I'll enjoy this time with Joshua where he talks non-stop and asks more questions in a 5 minutes span that I care to answer in an entire day; and I'll enjoy this time with Caleb where he gets grumpy when I look at him and yet he tells me that he wants to marry me someday. These things will change soon enough, and some day, in the not too distant future, I'll long for these crazy, busy days!! So, take a big breath & enjoy what you have right now; become content & don't always wish for something else. Because when you get where you think you want to be, you'll still find things that you would like to be different. If you can not be content with where you are now, it becomes a never-ending pursuit to happiness. This is turning into a bit of a soap-box, so I'll jump down & get on with the rest of my day!

Here we were yesterday at the wading pool playing with our new toys. It was amazing to watch the boys share their toys with the other kids at the wading pool!! I needed to talk to them and remind them that someone else had willingly shared their toys with them the previous day, but once the sharing started, there was no end!! How many times does that happen with children? And there were times (for minutes on end) where both of them were without any toy at all, and they were still able to enjoy themselves. I watched them negotiate sharing times and trades with the kids...definately a moment where I felt that maybe I HAD done something right!

You know, sometimes you wonder as a parent if what you're modeling and/or saying actually has an affect on your children. And that they're picking up on the positive, because the good Lord knows I'm not perfect and the children will see many flaws & short comings in me! I guess that being willing to admit you're not perfect and asking your kids to forgive you from time to time (which I have had to do) is a good start. May I be willing for God to continue to change me into the parent He wants me to be!

This is such a great shot of Caleb - what he's doing is sticking his bum into the sprinkler - must feel good!!

Yesterday evening, we went to the Dollar Store to get some inflatable toys for the pool. Caleb picked a shark, Joshua picked a swimming ring, and I got a swimming ring for Andrew (who was at home, practicing his walking!!). We were paying for items and the girl (cashier) asked me if it was o.k. if the boys could carry their own toys. I said yes, that was fine, and Joshua must have smiled or something, because the 3 women behind the till were suddenly caught up in how cute the boys were. To the comment, "OOH, you boys are so cute!" Joshua replied, "We have Andrew at home." He said this twice, and the women were confused by what he was saying.

So I explained. That made them even more excited and then Joshua told them that Andrew is "our baby". They asked, "How old is he?" Joshua: "1 year old. He just had his birthday." More ooohs and aahhs followed. They asked how old Joshua was. Then I tried to get Joshua to show off his intelligence a little more (I think this is the problem - we prompt him to do these things!!), and so I asked Joshua to tell them when his birthday is. I think it's so cute when he says, "July FIRTY FIRST!" He could have stayed and talked to those adoring cashiers for quite some time, but Caleb had had enough (he stays out of the lime light when Joshua's doing his thing - he's learned that it's hard to steal the show from his brother), and was heading towards the door. And that was our evening adventure!!

So to add on and include a picture of the third boy in our family, here is a beautiful picture of Andrew enjoying the water! You can clearly see how many teeth he has. He is in the process of cutting some teeth, so he will have 12 teeth very soon. I am so blessed that teething has not bothered him thus far (that I've noticed), and he's been a pretty happy little guy for the most part. Unfortunately, all 3 boys have colds now, but we're getting over the worst of it.

Andrew is also on the verge of walking. Any day now, I'm expecting him to go to full time walking. He furniture walks all over the house, & takes small steps between things, but he seems to reluctant to give up crawling & just get up and go on 2 legs!! I know that the time will come soon enough; I'm hoping it will help to keep him a little cleaner & dryer when he plays outside. Having to do laundry two, three times a week (or more) just isn't that fun in a house without a/c. But I will not complain about the hot weather. We are happily enjoying the free wading pool close to our house (about an 8-10 minute walk). Andrew practices his walking in the pool with the support of the water (and the use of my fingers & sore back) and he loves keeping wet & cool, as we all do! Will try to get some pics of that here soon.

I've tried a couple of times now to create a good post - with a picture of each of the boys on it, but it doesn't seem that I can successfully post more than 1 picture at a time. So, after a month now of having this blogspot & not posting anything, I figure I'll just do my 1 picture at a time!! Hope you enjoy this picture of Caleb & Joshua playing in the sprinkler on a hot summer's day!