So Many Traffic Signs, So Little Time

This is a quick post to explain why there are no pictures on the blog yet. Sean and I are taking the test for our Singapore driver's licenses on Thursday afternoon. It's a computerized test which actually requires studying, something I need to resume in a few minutes.

We've been to three Halloween parties in four days, the last of which I hosted this morning for the AWA playgroup. I'll be posting pictures hopefully this weekend or the beginning of next week. We'll be trick-or-treating on Friday near Singapore American School where many Americans live - they actually start around 4:30 or so, unlike the rest of Singapore which waits until it gets dark at 7:30. Since the boys are usually in bed by then, we'll be heading up north to nab some candy while it's still daylight, then turn the lights off here when we get home. On Saturday we're attending a rocket-themed birthday party for our three-year-old twin Aussie friends. If the boys don't expire from pleasure, I'll have some pics of that party too.

Three quick moments of random craziness:

Sean belched at the table a couple of days ago and promptly said "Excuse me" before he could get the evil eye I inherited from my Nana. Liam then pretended to belch and excused himself repeatedly for a minute or two. Weird, but polite.

I've been trying to teach the boys to sneeze into their bent elbows instead of all over the place or into their hands. So far they've manage to sneeze on their inner wrists, like they're smelling perfume they've just applied. They then say, "I sneezed on my elbow!". Looks like we've got to review a few body parts.

Finally, a few minutes ago, Liam fell asleep for his nap before Graeme. I thought Graeme was asleep, but when I looked in on them, Graeme was sitting in Liam's bed, kissing the bottom of Liam's foot. You read that correctly. Liam was facedown with one knee bent and his foot up in the air in Graeme's hands, and Graeme was kissing Liam's foot! Sorry, I just don't know if I believe it either, and I actually saw it. My children are bizarre.

Same Old Song and Dance

Good news: Both Liam and Graeme have been accident-free for several days, excluding night-time issues. Hopefully I haven't jinxed myself by putting that in writing.

Bad news: Night-time issues. For the past three nights, Liam has peed while sleeping and hasn't woken up. He wakes up in the morning reeking of urine, so I've had to shower him off before breakfast. I think he's sleeping so soundly because he's catching up on his lost sleep from the previous three weeks.

Graeme got up two nights in a row to pee (waking me up first) , and woke up the following mornings with a dry bed - yay! Unfortunately he peed in his bed last night, then rubbed his urine-soaked pajama top on my sheets when he woke me to tell me about it. There's been a lot of extra laundry lately, and I still haven't slept through the night (over a month now). Sean is getting to sleep through the night this week only because he's in Shanghai. Also, Graeme is stuck on waking up between 5:30 and 6:00 am now. This too shall pass, I tell myself, as I struggle to stay awake each afternoon around 3 pm when the exhaustion hits. Coke Light (Diet Coke to Americans) has again become my friend.

Random stuff:

Sean opened a book on rockets and spaceships the other night at bedtime, preparing to read, but waiting for Liam to finish in the bathroom. Graeme, with the impatience of a toddler, pointed to the words on the page and said, "Talk about that, Daddy!" in his best Micro voice. He obviously wasn't content just looking at the pictures for a couple of minutes.

Liam now makes anything into a rocket which he will then fly around the house making a rocket/blast-off noise. Examples include forks or spoons during lunch or dinner, the drain plug to the bathtub, the wooden stick used to play his frog instrument, his fiddlesticks during Kindermusik class, and his Lego Duplo rockets that he builds himself. Future astronaut? Maybe, if he turns into a math and science geek like his mom was in school.

Both Liam and Graeme now see imaginary animals. Liam started this a few weeks ago when he first talked about a peacock being in his room. This past weekend, the boys were talking to a peacock apparently hiding behind Sean's nightstand. There's a peacock in their Elmo video on wild animals, and a peacock in the Tails book. I guess that's where Liam got the idea, which he has shared with Graeme. Liam has also had an imaginary dog sitting next to his chair while he ate. Whatever works, I say.

A little girl fell down and bit her lip at playgroup on Tuesday, and her mom took her into the bathroom to wipe off the small drop of blood. Graeme was very concerned about her, and he asked me, "Is she okay?" several times. It's good to know that he's empathetic to others besides Liam and me. Liam, who is usually concerned about this type of thing, was instead focused on a kid-sized pretend electric guitar. He put the strap around his body and said, "I have a guitar!" about twenty times. Rock star or astronaut? Here's hoping for the latter.

The boys turned 2 and 1/2 on the 17th. It's hard to believe that these funny little people were my tiny babies not so long ago. I can't wait to see and hear what's next with them. Now, if they would just sleep...

Feels Like the First Time

The first time we were sleep-deprived by our children, that is. We've been woken up in the middle of the night by one or both boys for three long weeks now. They usually don't cry - they just appear standing next to the bed quietly or with a whine of "hug, hug". Graeme will go back to sleep almost immediately, but Liam needs to be held for a few minutes or wants one of us to sit next to his bed.

I think it's a combination of their second molars coming in and the normally desired effects of potty training, meaning perhaps they are becoming sensitive to the need to pee even in their sleep, so they're waking up. It's hard to determine what is causing the boys to wake up without them telling us anything. We've asked if they are hurting, but get a negative response. Sean and I have decided to ask whoever wakes up tonight if he wants medicine (maybe he'll respond if it's worded this way) or if he wants to pee (bladder sensitivity). We'll see what happens. At this rate, I may be removing the night diapers sooner than I planned and teaching them to go to the bathroom and then back to bed. Wish me luck on that one!

On the potty training front, Graeme is pretty much completely trained. Liam has resisted pooping in the toilet lately, though he did it early on during the first few days of training. He finally pooped in the big toilet yesterday, but then pooped on the floor an hour later while clearly having some GI issues. It was not pretty. Liam sometimes still has pee accidents too, but I think it may be due to tiredness. However, both boys have remained accident-free while in public, though, for which I am grateful. I'm pleased with their progress. Now if they'll just sleep....

Random cute or funny things from the past week:

When Graeme was putting on new pajamas with fitted cuffs on the ankles, his feet got stuck inside the ribbing. He asked very seriously, "Where are my feet?", as though they disappeared for good.

On our way out of the neighborhood to go to My Gym yesterday, three domestic helpers were walking veeerrrry slowly across the neighborhood entrance way. Usually when I see people taking their sweet time (yes, I'm southern), I will mutter something under my breath like, "Does anyone over here know what hustle means?". However, I said nothing this time. Instead, without any prompting from me, Liam said, "Hey ladies, watch out!".

When we got to My Gym, Graeme ran excitedly through the hallways to get to the gym. Once at the door, I opened it, and he yelled, "I'm here, I'm here!" while running toward the warm-up circle. Everyone looked up and laughed. Throughout the class he loudly volunteered for every demonstration. Now that the boys will be 2 & 1/2 in two weeks, they'll be moving up to the 2 & 1/2 to 3 & 1/2 group. I'm sure they will hold their own with the older kids, between Graeme's confidence and Liam's physical skills.

Wednesday was a holiday here, so Sean was home and we were all worn out and grumpy from the long night before. We decided to go to the Air Force Museum in the afternoon to get out of the house, but when we got there it was closed, of course, because it was a holiday - it's hard to think sometimes when you're exhausted. Since we had promised the boys that they would see planes, we headed to the airport. We viewed a plane pulling away from its gate, rode the monorail train between two of the terminals, played in a children's play area, stood transfixed in front of a small fountain with jumping water, and then went to McDonald's for dinner because the good child-friendly restaurants are past security. The boys got their first Happy Meals, which have changed in some ways (you can choose apple slices on the side), and not in others (the toy was a Millennium Falcon or Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter). I think those were the toys back in the early 80s when I was a kid. During the meal, Sean looked at Graeme, who was eating his cheeseburger, and made a remark about how he was just feeding the boys baby food with a spoon, and now they're eating burgers with two hands like little adults. Time, it goes so fast when you're having fun...

Tonight at dinner, Sean asked Graeme a question, and in answer, Graeme said "Thewheelsonthebusgoroundandroundallthroughthetown" very quickly with a straight face. Sean and I laughed for a solid minute.

And finally, Sean was putting the boys to bed tonight, and Liam didn't want to stay in his bed. Sean laid down beside Liam to block him from getting out, and Liam immediately said, "Get out of my bed NOW", in his sweet little voice but with a commanding tone.

Ah yes, those are my boys! They wear me out, but they're worth it.