Charlie and Santa

From the Young Impressions Christmas program ...

Then one 'froggy' Christmas Eve

I was talking to my friend Beth yesterday and she mentioned how big the boys were getting — especially Charlie.

He's got two teeth, has fine-tuned his crawling skills and seems to be trying to pull himself up. I told Beth that this rapid development was making me downright sad.

She said she has the same issue with her "baby" Anna. Beth has stopped trying to correct her mispronunciations because they're so darn cute and sweet and young and wonderful.

It made me start thinking about a couple of cute things Will has done lately that I never want to forget:

--Despite being reminded many, many times, he still refers to "fog" as "frog." As in, "Boy Mommy, it sure is froggy out today! We can't even get to daycare I bet!"

--This Christmas, Will asked Santa for a "rainbow camouflage" sled. I ask you, have you ever heard a better description for Tie-Dye?

--Charlie started wailing in the car and Will said, "He gets SO embarrassing in the car!" Not the right word but I appreciated his sentiment.

--After being a swimming class dropout about a year ago, Will decided that he's ready to try again ... then he said maybe not ... then he said he was again. Well, we have to wait for the next enrollment anyway so I figured I'd see where he stood at that point. Then, a few weeks ago, completely out of the blue, he says, "Mommy! When am I going to start swimming lessons? I've been asking you for WEEKS!"

--As the time-out numbers have steadily rose, we've been trying to reward good behavior with verbal praise. However, every time we say, "Will, you are such a good helper!" he responds. "Yes. I know." His complete lack of/awareness of humility is charming now (but we all know it won't stay charming much longer). By the way, if anyone knows how to describe humility to a four-year-old, please advise.

Uncle John

A print of this photo came in the mail from Shutterfly the other day, isn't it great?

'Gingerbread' discussion

'Gingerbread' house

On a recent Sunday it was so cold outside that we kept the boys in the house all day. While Jana was at church and her RCIA program, Will suggested that we build a gingerbread house. Great idea! Jana deemed that graham crackers would work just as well as gingerbread cookies, and she was right.

John and I built a frame for the house, and he and Will adhered the graham cracker cladding with frosting. The frosting, that is, that didn't go directly into Will's mouth. Will ran out of steam, leaving John to do the majority of the decorating. It's going to be tough to re-sell that house, but if you're looking at comparables this one stacks up pretty darn well. Nice job guys!

Merry Christmas

It's been quite a morning at the Tappa household. Will had a great night's sleep -- he didn't wake up until 7! -- then came downstairs to discover all the Christmas goodies. We took more videos than photos, and unfortunately Blogger isn't cooperating with uploading those videos right now, but here's a few shots from the action.

And yes, since I know you were wondering, that's a SpongeBob SquarePants pinata.

Merry Christmas!

We want cake!

A few weeks ago my folks came over to watch the boys and celebrate my 33rd birthday. Also, Will's friend Mason came over for a few hours (his brother was having his eighth birthday party at the nearby bowling alley; when his mom asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said "for Mason to not be at my party.") It was nice to have to extra pairs of lungs to help me blow out the candle.

Lazy Saturday

We didn't do a ton on Saturday. Will, John and I went to Waupaca in the morning for recycling, pastries, and Christmas shopping. Later John and Jana went shopping in Stevens Point and I played with the boys at home. Especially fun was popping the wrapping bubbles from Amazon-shipped packages.

Not a creature was stirring ... except Will Tappa

A few weeks ago, after a particularly trying morning of frantically trying to get everyone fed and dressed for sub-zero weather, I came into work and slumped into my chair, head in my hands.

A co-worker came by with a request and said, "So, what do you want for Christmas this year?"

I had a one-word answer: PEACE

Then this morning, I woke up to the alarm on my watch. Usually I've been awake for at least an hour by the time it goes off.

Everything was still in our house. Scott opened one eye and gave me a blissful smile as he remembered that he didn't have to go into the office this morning.

It was just so quiet. And then ... Will came into the bathroom.

"I'm telling you this because I don't know if you noticed, but I got up early and I already had my breakfast."

Wow. I started to respond but he cut me off.

"I did scrape my leg a little at the table, but it was just a scratch, see, and it already looks like it's healing."

Amazing... Again, I was cut off.

"So, I didn't eat that much for my breakfast and I will be wanting lunch today before my nap."

That's fine. Just tell Daddy ... Once again, he stopped me.

"OK. So, I'll be downstairs. If you need anything, just ask."

Oh. Wow. Thank you, Santa.

Erin and Tyler

My cousin Erin and her boyfriend Tyler stopped by Friday on their way back from Eau Claire, where they had just finished their first semester finals. What a nice treat!

They played with the boys, brought nice Christmas gifts, then watched as Will and I had a 30-minute Battle Royale in the living room. They leave with the rest of the Flanagans on Christmas Day for a tour of Italy, should be great for them!

Oh Christmas tree

Here's a shot of us putting up our Christmas tree a few weeks ago. Yes, it was December, even though Will is shirtless.

For years, Jana pushed me to get a fake tree with lights already on it -- cleaner, easier, etc. As usual, she was right!

Twin tweaks

I told Will a story the other night about twin brothers named Harrison and Garrison (no comments about the lack of creativity, please).

Harrison was an "opposite" ... every time you asked him to do something, he did something different:

If you asked him to brush his teeth, he ate piece of candy!

If you asked him to go to bed, he jumped on the couch!

If you asked him to sit down and eat dinner, he got up and went to the bathroom (based on the true life story of Will Tappa).

And so on ... Will and I came up with quite a few.

Then, in a really scattered attempt to bring the brother into this and find a moral to the story, Garrison started figuring out Harrison's pattern: When he wanted him to brush his teeth, he just asked him to eat a piece of candy etc ...

"That was a GOOD story, Mommy."

This is the highest honor Will bestows upon bedtme stories, so it was a pretty proud moment for me.

The story even inspired Will to tell his own story about "twins who were also brothers."

Here's Will's story:

"One brother was the world's best racer on horses, his name was 'Cowboy.'

Cowboy won every race he was ever in, no one else ever won.

Then one day his twin started racing. His twin, who was also his brother, was also the best at racing. His name was, uh, uh, his name was, uh. Silence. Uh. (I started to offer up options like "Indian" but they were quickly dismissed.) His name was, I know! His name was 'Horse Rider.'

Whenever Cowboy and Horse Rider raced together, they finished at EXACTLY the same time. Every single race. Every single time.

THE END

Grandpa John

My Dad arrived on Tuesday night safe and sound despite several delays and a snowstorm.

We had both boys with us ... we just couldn't resist. My dad hadn't seen Charlie yet and Will can't resist that airport.

Believe it or not, we had several false alarms as passengers arrived into the terminal. Apparently, cowboy hats were all the rage on that plane.

When he finally appeared, Will was all smiles and he says, "Hi Papa John! Wow, I didn't even recognize you!"

Charlie gave Dad some great smiles before getting him caught up on 7 months of crying in the van on the way home (yes, it was still storming.)

Anyway, we've had a great start to our visit. Will is trying to convince Papa John that he can build a tree house, he just needs to build the tree first. We've added two awesome paper airplanes to the hangar and Charlie has discovered the joys of belly surfing on my dad's knees.

Here are a few shots from the airport...

Flushed away

We were at a restaurant recently when Will decided that he is old enough to go to the bathroom by himself.

He stopped agreeing to accompany me to the ladies room quite awhile ago. That rite of passage has meant many a long wait for me outside the mens room ... usually made more frustrating by the fact that I see grown men walking out, laughing uncontrollably.

So, when Will decided he could go by himself -- I didn't have to wait outside -- I was all over that one.

Off he went.

He was gone for about .5 seconds when he came back and said, "Which one is it again?"

Scott: "The one that says M-E-N."

Off he went.

And I knew, I just knew there would be an issue.

Off I went.

There he was, going back and forth between the two doors. He looked at me, pointed to both doors, and said, "Mommy! M-E-N!"

It's how his brain works: M-E-N is in the word "men" AND the word "women."

I pointed him in the right direction and he took off again, my big little m-a-n.

Back at our table, Scott and I were enjoying a few quiet moments with Charlie when a stranger came over to me.

"Is your name Jana?"

"Yes."

"Your little boy is looking for you."

Oh, God.

I rounded the corner and there he was, pants around his ankles outside the men's room.

"Mommy! I don't know how to flush this thing!"

Well, I've now added "can flush a urinal" to my list of talents. I think I'll put it in between "can get baby poop out of the carpet" and "can reasonably function on three hours of sleep."

Bedtime stories

The other night, as is customary, Will asked for a story before bedtime after reading books. He requested a story of two armies fighting each other, so I obliged with a bad rendition of the Revolutionary War. Will was pleased with it.

Then he asked if I wanted him to tell me a story. Sure, should be interesting. What about? he asked. A football game, I said. Don't know how -- how about a soccer game? he said. Sure.

So Will told me a story about how the United States of America played a soccer game against Michigan State. Usually when these teams played the game ended in a tie, but the USA did extra exercises in their house and won the game this time, and with it an enormous trophy. Team USA then turned into an army.

They then played Texas, and Texas won this game, promptly turning into an army afterward. Texas and the USA then went over to England and fought a war, which turned out to be the last war ever fought. Couldn't they have just done it in, say, Missouri?

Fun stuff, I love it when he wants to tell stories, it's so good to foster his creativity.

Overheard at church ...

... during the sign of peace.

Nice Lady to Will: "Peace be with you little guy!"

Will: "Excuse me! I'm four and a half, and my birthday is May twentieff!"

Grandma Tappa's

There are lots of nice things about living where we live. An abundance of parks within a 15-minute drive. Pizza at the Wheel House and ice cream at Scooper's. Football games at the field just beyond our backyard.

One of the best, though, is that my grandma lives just 10 minutes away. Being able to see her on a regular basis is such a treat for me, and I think the feeling is mutual.

Especially since Jana and I had the boys. Charlie and Will are my grandma's first great-grandchildren, and it's nice for them to be able to spend quality time together.

Take Saturday morning. Charlie was Charlie, giving Grandma some smiles and cuddling, but eventually he got cranky and needed a nap. While he slept on my chest, Grandma spent a good hour one-on-one with Will.

They played hide and seek, which is always a hoot to watch. At one point Grandma was down on her hands and knees behind a chair, hiding. Will found her quickly, because he saw her feet and "bumper."

They read books, including one about firemen. Grandma was able to tell Will about his great-grandpa, who was a fireman, and the picture of me on a fire engine. They also talked about fire safety and smoke detectors. At one point during this discussion Will asked Grandma what "shrill" meant. Oh, the irony.

Later they went for a walk around Grandma's apartment complex, meeting her neighbors and checking out their door decorations. For some reason, Will just loves going in the parking garage in the basement.

Hopefully the boys will remember these times when they get older. I'm sure she will.

Saturday Night Will

Will and I had a nice time Saturday. Earlier in the day, I suggested to him that we go to the swimming pool at the Fitness and Aquatic Center in Iola, but his nap lasted until about 3:45 and the pool closed at 4:30. We couldn't go.

Will was devastated, and Jana suggested we look at some of the hotels with pools in the area, that we could book a night if the rooms were cheap. The cheapest was $96; Will, upon hearing this, ran to his room and got his piggy bank, digging out $7 to help defray the cost. He was that desperate for water.

It turned out we could just pay a few dollars and use the pool for a couple hours at most of these places, so we went to the new Holiday Inn in Stevens Point. Upon entering, Will said "Now this is a water park!" He wasn't quite big enough for the big slide yet, but we had fun with the basketball hoops, the frog slide, the hot tub, and the three water spouts.

Afterward we went to Target for some Christmas shopping. Suddenly Will yells out "Daddy, you've got to see this!" He was pointing at the full cart of a nice couple shopping for their children, particularly at an airplane toy that he much admired. "Who are those for?"asked our bashful son. "Our kids," replied the lady, kindly. "But you don't have any kids!" said Will. "Actually, we have three, and they're at home."

"Oh ... what's that?" Will said, proceeding to examine the entire contents of the cart. This is the same boy who most of the time says he is "too shy" to talk on the phone with his parents when they call. Hmmm.

After dinner and ice cream at Dairy Queen, we headed home, Will questioning my route every mile. We were listening to the Wisconsin-Green Bay basketball game, and during a commercial break and ad played for chocolate milk, which the announcer said was the optimal refreshment for exercise. "Does that mean it's good?!?" yelled Will, who hadn't spoken for 15 minutes and who I thought was asleep. Yes, Will, chocolate milk is good and good for you.

When we got home Jana was giving Charlie a bath, and informed us that the baby is close to crawling. "Oh great," said Will. "Now he'll be getting in my piggy bank."

Well, someone's got to pay for the hotel, right?

Pulling my leg

Will wakes up in the middle of the night every now and then to tell me that his legs hurt.

I remember growing pains well. Scott does too. We figure given Will's size, he probably gets some dandies.

Anyway, Will woke up about 5 a.m. today with a growing pain in his left leg. As I was putting a heated wrap on it, I tried to put a positive spin on the pain.

"Do you know what this means, Will?" I asked, rubbing his sore left leg. "It means that you're getting bigger again. You're going to be so big and tall."

"I know, I know, Mommy," he said. Then, pointing to his right leg, he says, "And if this leg hurt, it would mean I was getting smaller."

Quips from the Wheel House

Jana and I took the boys to the Wheel House in Waupaca for pizza Friday night, nice to get back on that ritual. Unfortunately Scoopers, the ice cream store next door, closes during the winter, which Will was disappointed to learn. Of course, Jana pointed out, not all ice cream shops are closed during the winter.

"Guys, I know not all ice cream shops hibernate during the winter," Will says to us. "I'm very smart, but I'm not a scientist."

This drew big laughs from a lady entering the restaurant at the same time. I think she encouraged him to become a scientist some day. We can only hope. Later, Will whispered to me that the ice cream shops that don't hibernate in the winter actually hibernate in the summer.

Not true! Afterward, at one of the ice cream shops that does not hibernate during winter or summer -- Dairy Queen -- Will was taking his sweet time finishing his Dilly Bar. Jana and I, showing rare patience, passed the time by playing with Charlie in front of the fish tank. Never one to relinquish the spotlight easily, Will took it upon himself to make a statement we haven't heard before.

"Guys, quit goofing around -- it's way past my bedtime!"

For the record, we were in fact goofing around, but it was not past his bedtime. And will finished his Dilly Bar ... darn, thought I'd get some of it.

That's all folks

Every night after school or daycare, Will gives a report that goes something like this: "Only 3 time-outs today, guys!"

Scott and I always exchange a quick warning glance not to congratulate Will.

"Let's try for zero tomorow, OK?" one of us will wearily respond.

Recently, he gets in the car and says, "Guess what? I had NO time-outs today!"

"Great, Will! That's awesome! Great job!"

"Do I get a treat?" he says, smiling from ear to ear.

"No, absolutely not. We expect you to get no time outs."

"What? That's not fair!"

"You don't get treats for not getting into trouble. You're not supposed to get into trouble!"

"Arrghh! What's going on with you guys!?!"

He just didn't get it. So I tried another tactic.

"Will, does Mommy get a treat for making dinner?" I said.

"No."

"Why not."

Pouting, he answers, "Because you're supposed to make dinner."

I thought that was the end of it. And then, last night, Will got his revenge.

While trying to stall going to bed he says, "We didn't even have a real dinner tonight."

"What?" I said. "We had chicken and potatoes."

I did feel a little guilty. We had to run a couple of errands last night and it was getting so late, we got a fried chicken dinner from the IGA. Not a very healthy dinner, but still a dinner.

"Yeah, but that's all," he says. "There wasn't any other stuff like fruit or veggies ..."

"Wait! No, you also had a banana and Mommy made you a sandwich later. And you had milk."

"That's only five things! How do you expect me to make a dinner out of that?"

Sigh. Who told Will about the concept of 7-course dinners?

Laugh riot

Charlie's first gut laugh ... of course Will is the one that inspired it.

Has-been?

The other day I was watching a recorded telecast of the Waupaca football team's state championship win over Reedsburg. Will asked which team we wanted to win, and I said Waupaca. "Did you know that Papa played sports for Waupaca when he was a boy?"

Will seemed surprised.

"Well, he wouldn't be a good player now."

"Why's that?"

"Because he's soooooo old."

I guess Will does remember Dad sauntering gingerly around the diamond at the Lakemen baseball team's alumni game a couple summers ago. Not an issue for Will:

"With my running shoes, I'm the fastest boy on Earth!"