I am an Obama Mama... Ba-rack the vote!!!

Last week (A busy week at that) in pictures...

Here's some pics of the boys from last week. (They are in no particular order)

Enjoy!

SHINER #2 (What's it been - a couple of weeks since the first?!) Poor thing fell off my BIL's couch and hit the edge (rounded?) of his marble coffee table. I wasn't there, but apparently, it caused quite a scare for my in laws and Danyel. I think he looks kind of cute... like a little boxer.

I bought Carsten some Tinker Toys last week. They turned out to be (as I suspected that they would) a big hit for my little engineer/architect in the making! This pic is of a "tower"... not sure what's up with the string connecting it to the toy box, but I thought it was fabulous nonetheless!

This was a "factory"... or maybe an "elevator"... I forget.

This is the "Oh shit, I'm in trouble" face I wrote about a few posts ago. The pic is kind of blurry, but that's it. This was taken right after he turned off the TV (for the bazillionith time) while Carsten was watching cartoons. Little punk.

Here's the boys in their new robes that a dear friend of my MIL's sent from Turkey. They are so cute & so soft (can't beat that Turkish cotton)!

Back view... (three little bears from behind)

Carsten eating his free ice cream at the end of our Blue Bell Creamery tour on Tuesday. He actually said that seeing the factory was his favorite part (not eating ice cream). You gotta love the hat!

Aydin's little feeties and hands at Washington on the Brazos State Park on Tuesday (after spending the morning in Brenham). I love this shot.

More Aydin...

Aydin is a MANIAC climber. He discovered last week that he can stand up on the toy box in the playroom and turn the lights off & on. This provided much entertainment last week.

An aerial view...

In addition, I had a MNO (Mom's Night Out) with some friends on Thursday night, which is always a hoot. Then, on Friday, Danyel and I went out on our monthly date night to the DMB concert in the Woodlands, which was a lot of fun. This made for an interesting (meaning fuzzy, tired, and hungover) morning on Saturday when we attended a Christening & party (more pics of that fun in a future post) first thing in the morning... brought me back to my college days (much harder on the body with 10 years more under my belt, though). We also attended two birthday parties before the weekend was over. It was hectic to say the least, but it's fun on occasion to have a packed social calendar!

"Free Child care at the Y-M-C-A!!"

I went Friday and joined the Y by our house. I have about 15 lbs. I'd like to lose and I decided that it is high time I got serious about it. I went this morning for the first time and I am hooked! Good workout? Yeah. Nice facilities? That too. BUT. OH. MY. GOD. The free Childcare is the bomb! Why would I not go workout? An hour or so to myself EVERY WEEK DAY? Hello?! Why aren't all moms out there doing this? We should all be in the best shape of our lives! It was such a treat to get on the stepper machine for an hour, while listening to my MP3 player, chatting with some friends that I ran into, & watching ADULT (It was the 'The View', but definitely a refreshing change from 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse') programming!! I was in heaven. Yeah, I sweated and gasped for breath, BUT! I was alone for an entire hour. I burned 500 calories (according to my machine) and I was on top of the world! Then, I had to go pick the kids up. :-)

In all seriousness, though, the childcare facility is great and there are several caretakers in there as well as TONS of toys and even an outside play area. The boys seemed to really enjoy it (or atleast they seemed content when I picked them up). After my glorious workout, I took the kids to the pool for a little bit. It was quite a chore with both of them by myself, but we had a good time.

So, if you're trying to find me on a weekday morning before lunch, I'll be at the Y on 34th!

Random Pics from last week

Saturday night at about 10pm. We were coming back from a party. As you can tell, they had a good time.

Carsten's domino "art exhibit". Quite modern, huh? He called it his "show". I especially like the added touch of the spotlight (flashlight). This is what I mean when I say he is constantly creating "things" from the most random objects around the house. He's my future architect.

I love Aydin's new croc rip-offs! He thinks it is so cool that he has cars on his feet.

He's going to be disgusted by this converstation when he's 15

Carsten was laying on top of me on the couch today while watching cartoons. He started squeezing one of my breasts. He was doing this yesterday while we were at Costco and I just kind of made light of it and kept pushing his hand away. I decided it was probably time to tell him it wasn't appropriate and why. This was my first attempt at a discussion about "private parts" with Carsten. I don't think it went so well.

Me: "Bubby, don't touch my boob." (yes, this is what we call breasts at our house. Don't judge.) "Touch your own boob." (again trying to make light of the situation while pushing his hand away)

Carsten: "But, mine aren't big enough." (Is it weird that I took this as a compliment?)

M: "Bubby, you can't touch Mommy's boob." (more seriously this time as he reached for it again)

C: "Why? "

M: "Because it is one of Mommy's private parts. You are not supposed to touch other people's private parts and no one is supposed to touch yours. Do you know what a private part is?"

C: "What?"

M: "Your pee pee is your private part. You should never let anyone touch it."

C: "But sometimes I touch it."

M: "Uh.... Well, yeah.... Um, that's o.k." (while trying to hold back laughter) "Just don't let anyone else touch it, o.k.?"

C: "O.K."

Oh brother. Don't know if I got my point across, or in the right way, for that matter. We'll see. Danyel is so in charge of the birds and the bees talk. I apparently don't have a knack for such topics.

Snapshot

My main purpose of this blog is to keep a log of special memories in my life, especially those that include the boys. They are growing up so fast. It still shocks me at times that I have a 3 1/2 year old & a one year old. It just seems like yesterday that Danyel and I exchanged vows. With the boys constantly changing and growing, I want to remember, as best I can, what they were like when they were little. I want to be able to share stories with them about themselves that they can't remember. I want to be able to look back and remember how early certain aspects of their character and personality came through.

I've been keeping a scrap piece of paper by the computer for a while now. I use it to quickly jot down things about them that I don't want to forget. I know if I don't write it down, in a few years, those memories will be gone forever. I decided to compile all of those little things into a blog entry. It may bore most of you and you can quit reading now if you'd like, but as I've said before, this blog is not for your entertainment. It's all for them... My two little men.

Carsten Alexander
What a character. Carsten is as social as they come. He thrives on interacting with other kids...making new friends is his specialty. He is destined to be a class clown. When around other kids, he loves to be the center of attention. He tries to make them laugh or acts up or whatever he has to do to get them focused on him. He is very smart, but not just in a traditional sense. As far as counting, the alphabet, etc., he is average, at best. But, his vocabulary is astounding. His knowledge of worldly things is very diverse and not typical of a kid his age. His memory is shocking (when it is something that he is interested in). We can read him a book just a few times and he can read it back to us almost word for word. Of course, he is not reading, just reciting the story from memory, but as he flips through the pages he "reads" it to you almost entirely as it is written. His imagination is constantly in overdrive. Usually his adventures involve constructing something elaborate with random objects from around the house. The contraptions he builds are so intricate (for a 3 year old). While creating, he always hums away (usually something classical - thanks to Little Einsteins) until the task is complete. It's a sure sign his mind is engaged. He has the brain of an architect or an engineer. Half the time you tell him something, he responds with an "I know". The rest of the time he asks, "But, why mama?" The "why's" are enough to drive me mental. Their always followed by another why, then another, then another, and so on. The questions never end. Half the time I have no idea what the correct answer is, so I make something up on a whim. I do my best. If Danyel is around, I tell him to go ask his Dad. Some of my typical responses include, "Because that's the way God made it" or "Because I said so". These are usually where I end up after I've attempted to answer the first 15 why's. He is very curious about the world where he lives, which is great. I do my best to encourage that curiosity and to try and not stifle his wild imagination. Carsten is a talker, just like Danyel and Baba. Carsten can maneuver around on the Internet pretty efficiently. Luckily, he stays on his allowed sites, but it's only a matter of time before he realizes that the Internet is infinite. His personality is bold. He can be very defiant and determined... qualities that can be good, but bad at the same time. Carsten is very physical. His fear level of physical challenges is limited. I haven't figured out whether he will be athletic or not, but it definitely looks promising. I worry a lot about Carsten's direction taking skills and focus abilities. I have a feeling I am going to get to know a lot of his teachers. He is starting preschool in September, which should be interesting. I am confidant Carsten has what it takes to be something great. It is our job to make sure he stays on the right path. I am scared to death of Carsten at 14, 16, 18, 21.... My mind can't even fathom what is ahead. Carsten is very sweet and thoughtful when he wants to be. His manners are starting to take shape. He loves doing everything by himself and is becoming more independent every day.

Aydin Maxwell
Aydin is my sweet baby... for now. I can see his terrible two's on the horizon, but we aren't quite there yet. I have a feeling that, compared to Carsten, they will be mild, though. My most favorite thing about Aydin right now is his love for giving kisses. When I ask him to give Mama a kiss, most of the time he stops what he is doing, and comes at my face with his with his mouth wide open. I love it. I wish I could bottle up the experience to savor forever. He is a squealer. When he gets excited, he squeals with delight. His happiness level is through the roof. I told Danyel the other night that if they could put in a pill what this kid has, EVERYBODY would buy it. He loves playing with (torurting) Kiki. Sometimes he climbs on top of him and gives him a big hug. It is so cute. He is constantly exploring and in motion. I am not exaggerating when I say unless he is asleep or confined, he is moving. He hates being held for the most part. He almost instantly squirms to get away when picked up. He can say very few words... Mama, Dada, Bubba (Bubby), ball, bye, & Weeee! He loves going outside. He can't stand to have a door or a gate shut in his face. He loses it every time. He is a climber... he loves standing on top of the coffee table and stomping. He does this stomp dance that is the cutest. I need to capture it on video. If you ask him to dance, he starts doing a sort of twist that is very endearing. He is starting to understand and comply with commands and direction. Aydin absolutely adores Carsten. He is obsessed with everything that Carsten does. If Carsten does it, so does he. He loves wrestling his brother. They play pretty rough. He also loves crawling up on Carsten's bed and jumping with him. Dangerous, I know, but too much fun to watch to stop them. He's into this attacking thing lately. He comes at you with a big grin on his face saying, "Aghhhhhhhh!" and then he falls on top of you. Again, something I need to get on video. He loves giving "five". He hates eating. He is even a worse eater than Carsten. He is losing his baby fat so quickly as a result of this. I already miss it. He pretty much will only eat starchy foods. He almost always spits out vegetables and fruit. He only gets cranky when he is overtired. He only sleeps on his tummy. He started making this "O" face lately... it's like an "Oh shit, you caught me" look. He usually does it right before he is about to do something he knows he is not supposed to . I have to get a picture of it. He is unbelievably tough, courtesy of Carsten. I swear the kid could tumble all the way down the stairs and not shed a tear. But, he is starting to get a little more vocal when Carsten messes with him. We keep telling Carsten that he is in for it within the next few years. Aydin has almost no interest in TV. Other than watching Baby Einstein on occasion, the TV is nonexistent to him. This is in STARK contrast to his tube loving brother. He is most ticklish in his armpits, like all the Ramelow men (Danyel & Carsten). It's funny how something like that is genetic. As he gets older, we don't get it as much, but he gets mistaken for a girl quite often. He does have a feminine type face, I guess, but the long hair that I refuse to cut doesn't help. When we went to the Dominican Republic in July, he must have been referred to as a "she" or "her" at least 50 times within that week. I don't mind... just means he's pretty. He can get a little shy if he doesn't know you and you direct your attention at him. If I am holding him, he will almost always smile shyly and bury his head in my shoulder when spoken to by someone he isn't familiar with. When it comes to water, he is a FISH. He is an excellent swimmer for his age and just gravitates to water. I swear the kid has gills. He loves playing with balls and dragging toys around. Anything he can walk around with suits him fine. HE. WILL. NOT. STOP. FOR. ANYTHING!

To sum it up, I predict that Carsten will be our next generation Noyan and Aydin will be most like Danyel. If you know either one of them in any detail, you probably can see the similarities yourself.

So, these are my two boys in a nutshell as of today. This is a brief summary of their quirks and their characteristics. In my biased opinion, they are phenomenal. I love them being small and don't mind waiting to see what's in store for them in the future. People are always telling us to enjoy them while they are little because it goes by so fast. I've only been in this business of parenting for a short while now, but boy, do I know it. As each day ends, it saddens me to think that they are one day farther away from being my little boys. But, then again, I guess they always will be.

Us, Liberals? No way!

So, we decided to get organized with our recycling. We got super excited a couple of weeks ago when the city expanded it's plastic curbside collection to include #3, #4, #5, & #7 plastics. We already have two of the green recycling bins provided by the city (one pictured), but they are always spilling over before the collection is made every other Tuesday. So, I went out and bought some trash cans and created some labels for the different items. I'm not fond of all the room they take up in the kitchen, but it's a small sacrifice. When they get full, we just take out the bag, tie it up, and throw it in the other green bin in the garage. We are still overflowing, but at least it is more of an organized mess now. My type A personality totally digs this. Yep, exciting stuff going on over here at our house!

Carsten has really gotten excited about recycling lately, so we thought the new set up would make it easier for him to participate. Now, he just looks at the pictures, and for the most part, can figure out where everything goes. He gets really excited when he gets to "recycle something". I asked him the other day if he knows why we recycle. He looked at the labels on the trash cans and said, "So the world keeps going around and around." I told him that he was exactly right. He also knows that we turn lights off "so we don't waste electricity" and that we "don't waste water" ("or the water tower will run out of it"). He also understands why Daddy drives a scooter that has to be charged instead of running on gas.

Yep, he's our good little liberal.

That's my boy!

"Mama, Can we listen to some Dave Matthews?"

-What Carsten said the other day when we got in the van.
(BTW - his favorite song is "So Much to Say". He loves to sing along!)