4 1/2 years old

Well, I documented Ryan at 18 months, so it's only fair to do the same for Brendan. What a difference 4 1/2 makes!

• He plays independently much more these days. He still wants us to play with him, but he's also content to play in his room alone for an hour at a time.
• He's moved on from Thomas. OK, not entirely. But now he's totally enthralled with superheroes. Spiderman is still his favorite, but he's asking lots of questions about Batman these days. It's shocking, considering we haven't read any superhero books or watched their shows. Yet, he's practically an expert and just "gets" them. Must be a guy thing.
• Call him Mr. Helpful. Ryan's my helper, too, but Brendan now has a desire to help and get it right. He holds the door open for me at school, sets the table, loads the dishwasher, gets a diaper for Ryan, and so on. On good days, he'll decide to dress himself without any prodding.
• Meltdowns are fewer and fewer. Finally. On his bad days, he'll still drop to the floor when he's upset. On his good days? He works it out, especially with his brother. It's wonderful.
• He can spell and write his full name, recite his address, write all of the capital letters, count to at least 43 (the number of the King, from Cars), compose his own imaginative songs, draw beautiful pictures of Mommy and the baby in my belly, and simply amaze us with his knowledge of the world around him.

OK, so only a little bragging.

Winter wonderland

You all know by now that I don't care for the winter weather. My son seems to have taken a liking to it ... at least until summer rolls around.

This weekend he and Ken spent hours playing outside, despite temperatures below 20 degrees. They headed north on Sunday to the Fridge, a toboggan run. What's unique about this one is that it is refrigerated. Why, you ask, would it need to be refrigerated in Michigan, when it only reached 32 degrees today for the first time since Jan. 24? Good question. For the non-winter lovers like myself, it means you can enjoy a winter activity on a mild day (which it wasn't on Sunday).

We weren't sure whether Brendan would enjoy the slide, but he loved it. Ken said he covered his eyes during most of the first run, then screamed for more. Ryan and I stayed home; toboggan runs aren't for 7-month preggos and we weren't sure how Ryan would do waiting in line. He'll definitely take the challenge next winter.

And here's the little 18-month-old, who's going on 3 some days. He's growing up much faster and is on the move more than Brendan ever was at this age. An example: Brendan sat contently in his highchair until he was nearly 2 1/2 years old. Probably, the only reason I stopped using it was because I was pregnant and didn't need to be lifting him. Ryan? We're lucky if we can get five minutes in the highchair.

Ryan also decided that he's outgrown the toddler area of the indoor playground, Kids Play Cafe, that we visit. He led Ken through every tunnel and stair today, to places that Brendan didn't dare venture into until he was older. That's what happens when you're always chasing after your big brother.

School's out: It's too cold!

So I'm reading my friends' blogs, and most this week mentioned snow (a rarity in Texas) or freezing temperatures (in other parts of the country). So I thought I'd share more details on what it's like when the temperature is single digits and the wind chill is below 0.

School's out: They actually cancelled school for two days in most districts because it's too cold. Yes, these schools have functioning heaters. We're talking poor and affluent districts. Everywhere. This one really shocked me (though as a child I would have been thrilled).

Too cold to breathe: I found myself barely breathing in for the short walk into my building. When I would, you could feel the cold burn inside. This is also a good time to mention that the best part about my promotion is by far parking in our heated garage. Yes, I pay for it ($5 more than regular parking), but it's worth every penny. The garage is heated, so when I leave work each night, my car is comfortable and the thermometer reads in the 40s. And I will never have to scrape ice or snow in my work clothes again.

Maybe not skirt weather: People still wore skirts on these ridicoulsy cold days, so I thought I'd try. Stupid idea. When the wind would hit, I could barely move.

Dry, dry, dry: With extremely cold temps usually comes very dry weather. (And sunny, apparently. We don't see sun much here in the winter, yet it has been blue skies all week. The weather gods are cruel here.) So my face is dry, my lips, my skin. I can't get enough water.

Mood swings: I had never heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder until we moved here and one of my coworkers said she suffers from it. At times, I've thought it's just another excuse. After witnessing folks during this week, I completely believe in it. Everyone has appeared more tired and crankier this week. (I blame it on being nearly 7 months pregnant.) The cold is depressing.

Hmmm ... and we wonder why we have so few friends visit us during the winter!

Brrrr!

It is freezing here! I left the house once this weekend -- to go to Target, of course. Ken ventured out a couple of times, but only for good cause (grocery shopping, bathroom remodeling research). The kids didn't come close.

Even inside, though, we found ourselves wrapped in more layers than usual. This morning's temperature in my car: -1. My car has never seen subzero temperatures! Ken says we had one subzero day during our first winter, but I don't recall. It must have happened during our first couple of months, in which I didn't know anyone, didn't know where to go, hated the thought of winter, and had a very young baby at home. There would be weeklong stretches in which I wouldn't leave the house.

On a day like today, I long for those weeklong stretches snuggled inside my house!

Inquisitive minds

Definitely something you notice in a 4-year-old is the type of questions these children begin to ask. The questions have more meaning, and you begin to see that they expect to understand the answers. They aren't asking merely for attention or to make conversation.

And so it was Saturday night that Brendan began our bedtime ritual with this: "Mommy, how does the baby come out?" I'm still trying to think of the best way to answer this one ...

18 months old!

Ryan turned 18-months-old Friday. I'll post a picture soon. He has such the personality, and is all boy, just like his brother. Actually, Brendan appears to be his main motivator these days. He wants to do everything Brendan's doing.

He's speaking more and more words, though it takes a few times for Mom and Dad to catch on. We have a farm book (from Aunt Jenn or Grammy) that he loves to look through. He makes the sounds for each animal: oink, maa, baa, moo, neigh. The best is when he tries cock-a-doddle-do! I must get it on video.

Some of his other words:
-- ball
-- cracker
-- dog
-- bath
-- quack
-- boo
-- We think we've heard a couple "thank yous" come out lately.
-- door
-- Dora
-- Pablo, pronounced "Papa" (from Backyardigans)
-- He's working on open
-- Denden, or some variation, which we believe is "Brendan"
-- And I believe that yesterday, as I was asking for Brendan to respond with a "Yes, Mommy,"I heard Ryan repeat it, too.