The Talker and His Brothers

For the sake of preservation I give you a post of conversations with Joseph, one conversation with John and some pictures thrown in for good measure.


While in a stand-off with John waiting for him to eat his broccoli I see Joseph encouraging him to eat his broccoli. I look away for about 60 seconds, look back and see all his broccoli gone. I ask Joseph, "did he eat his broccoli or did you eat his broccoli?" to which he responds "I help him." 

While playing in the back yard:
Joseph: I got four a dem!
Me: Four of what?
I look over and see he is picking up rabbit poop pellets.

During lunch one day:
Joseph: (to himself while on the floor picking up a noodle) Please sit up.
Joseph: (to himself while getting back on the chair) I will not please sit up.

Shortly after having me put a band-aid on his finger because it hurt (no idea why):

Me: Joseph, would you like some stickers?
Joseph: Well, I have a band aid, so I'll jus take da stickers.
Me: Ok. (hand him some stickers)
*60 seconds later after walking into the living room and back into the kitchen*
Joseph: Well, I have a band aid, so I don't need deese stickers.
Me: Ok, just put them on the counter if you don't want them.
*20 seconds later sulking into the living room*
Joseph: Well, I have a band aid, so I'm jus gonna way down.

The morning after Halloween:
Joseph: I want to pway wiff my bag.
Me: Ok, just let me take the candy out first.
Joseph: (as I'm putting all the candy in a bowl) Akshawe, I jus want da bow.
Me: So, you just want the candy?
Joseph: Yea. I jus want da candy.

"Braking weaves" with daddy.

While Will is changing John's diaper:
Will: Can you say "da da da"?
John: Da da da! (giggles)
Will: Can you say "ma ma ma"?
John: Da da! (giggles)
Will: Can you say "la la la"?
John: (incoherent jibberish) (giggles)
Will: Ah well, we'll let the state take care of you.
Speech therapy starts tomorrow :)

Watch out Tiger, they're coming for you.

I will say that John has the "d" and the "s" sound down pat. Pretty much all of his words are made from those two sounds. Here's what he can say and any explanation trying to make clear what we hear, which is hard considering some of the sounds he makes. If only I knew how to write phonetically :)
"ish" = fish, trash
"dis"(said really quickly/slurred together) = this
"da" = that
"s" (it sounds more like "uhs" but the "uh" is hardly heard) = yes (usually with a head nod)
"a da" = all done (but he only says this in response to me asking if he's all done)
"da da" = da da (daddy)
"ma ma" = ma ma (mommy, but only on occasion and only when he's crying/upset)

He won cutest voter on the block :)

Driving to the polling station:
Me: We're going to go vote then go to Safeway then go home to have lunch with daddy.
Joseph: We're going to a boat?
Me: No, we're going to vvvvote.
Jospeh: Oh! We're going to boat!

As we're walking into the polling station:
Me: See? We're going to vvvote. We're going to pick who we want to be in our government.
Joseph: OOOOooohhhh, we're going to boooooaaaaat.
Me: No, vvvvvvote. Like vvvvvery and vvvvvvvvictory!
Joseph: Oh! Wike bery and bictory!

Inside our polling station (an elementary school):
Joseph: Wook, mom! A boat! (points to a picture of a boat on the wall)

Life with Three (Part 2)

I typed this beauty up a LONG time ago. Not sure why I never published it. Oh well. Hope you enjoy the pics of the boys anyway :)


Will's first day back to work I took all three boys to Toys R Us and bought a baby pool in the hopes that I'd be able to relax in the backyard while the older boys wore themselves out. They seemed to enjoy the pool well enough, but weren't quite as tired as I had hoped.
Joseph was a bit timid about getting in - he doesn't like getting messy.

Will indulged my request to go to Fuddrucker's a few many weekends age. The boys, of course, love the fact that they get to "play" with the arcade games after dinner.

John likes to wear Will's hat when Joseph and Will are wearing theirs. It's a little big, so I finally got him his own hat (picture will come eventually).

Joseph and John showing off.

We went to story time at the train station/museum a few weeks ago with some friends and a train went by right in the middle of story time. Naturally, all the kids had to go out to watch it go by.

While eating his ice cream from Chick-fil-a:
Me: Is it yummy?
Joseph: Mmhmm. And dewicious, too.

I look over at Joseph who is sitting in his Elmo chair on the couch (his usual perch for TV watching) - it's still only 10am. I ask what he's doing and he responds "I'm waiting for Mickey Mouse." Too bad for him I had already told him there would be no Mickey Mouse until the afternoon before his nap (when he typically gets his one show per day).

Life with Three (Part 1)

Will has been back to work for a week now. I knew I would need to keep us busy this week for my own sanity, and luckily the week has gone fairly smoothly.
I also recently got a new phone that a) takes reasonably good pictures and b) connects to the internet so I can upload them to Picasa. So, here are some recent pictures and a little rambling from me :)

I love this picture of John. A friend brought over chili for dinner one night and John loved it. This is him after dinner as happy as a clam.

Will took Joseph to a Frederick Keys baseball game for his birthday...without John. John was not pleased. I took this picture shortly after Will and Joseph left. Notice he's holding his shoes and a baseball hat indicating that he's ready to go to the game, too. Poor boy cried for a good 5 minutes before I gave him (diluted) apple juice to calm him down (worked like a charm).

Will's sister, Tiffany, came for a visit last week. We all really enjoyed visiting with her, and the boys loved having someone new to play with! Here's John with Aunt Tiffany at the National Air and Space Museum Annex (Joseph refused to be pictured for some reason).

Shortly after Joseph's birthday party John took a shorter than normal nap. So he was wandering around/playing downstairs trying to figure out what to do with himself while Joseph was sleeping. I had gotten the ice cream cake (from Joseph's birthday party) out to have a piece and left it on the counter. John found his way to the cake and drove the "noisy truck" right through it knocking it off the counter. Fun times in the Rayel household.

Joseph is absolutely in love with Michael. He frequently asks to hold Michael, and loves to tend to his needs or let me know what it is that (he perceives that) Michael needs. He's such a great big brother! :)

I was finally able to catch a picture of all three boys. Of course, none of them are looking at the camera, but I still love this picture.

I'll break here and end with a Joseph-ism (part 2 coming soon!).

I asked Joseph to go to the basement and clean up the mess he made earlier in the day. After returning from cleaning up the toys he declares "The job is done!"

Welcome Michael Benedict!

Michael Benedict made an early arrival on Sunday, June 22 at 2:23am. It's a good thing he came early because he managed to weigh in at a solid 8lbs 12oz and was 21.5inches long.

Will brought Joseph and John to meet their brother last night. They enjoyed meeting Michael, but were more impressed by the privacy curtain and all the buttons in the room.

Welcome baby Michael! We're so happy you're here!

My Life Lately

It's officially summer for us. Joseph finished preschool for the year, and now I'm feeling like it's go time for baby. I've been feverishly rearranging furniture, organizing and purging stuff, and generally getting ready for baby. It seems everywhere I turn there's something else that needs to be done. Cest la life.

We finally moved John into Joseph's room, so now the nursery is ready for a little sprucing up before the bebe arrives (Soon? One can hope.)....although he won't sleep in there for the first couple months. Buuut, nobody said nesting was a rational thing.

The boys have been keeping me quite busy. John's favorite activity lately is climbing up on the kitchen chairs and grabbing for stuff on the kitchen table and occasionally falling and hurting himself. So, "keep kitchen table clear of non-John-friendly things" has been high on my to-do list lately (drinks in glass cups in particular).

He also enjoys climbing on the coffee table, and can't wait to be able to climb on the couch (I'm sure that one is coming soon!).

Joseph keeps himself busy wearing his baseball hat and staying generally obsessed with all things baseball. Yesterday he had to put on a red shirt before heading to Will's softball game (which they ended up forfeiting, so Joseph and Will got to play a little baseball in the backyard).

And today this happened:

The glove was a new addition to his sleeping paraphernalia.

And while the two older boys are keeping me busy with their antics, the in-utero babe just keeps getting bigger (as in-utero babes are want to do). He's still a pretty calm little guy, but this is the first pregnancy where I've actually had to deal with swelling. I couldn't wear my rings by the end with Joseph, but this time I'm feeling the swelling - especially in my feet. Oh well, he should be here soon(ish).

(Sorry this is a little blurry. I guess that's just
what happens the 3rd time around.)

I again don't look nearly as enormous as I feel, but trust me - I'm quite large.

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter!

We enjoyed a relaxing day where we went to the 7:30am mass (in order to avoid crowds and meltdowns). After Palm Sunday mass we decided that the 7:30 am mass was our best bet for remaining in good spirits with the boys. It did mean us waking up earlier than usual and getting the boys up and fed earlier than usual, but John almost always wakes up in a good mood. And we prepped Joseph the night before explaining that we would be getting up early to go to mass. He seemed amenable and the morning went smoothly.

After mass we came home. The boys got to check out their Easter baskets and have an egg hunt while breakfast/brunch was in the oven. I also *tried* to get some pictures of the boys, but mostly failed at that (thanks to a very active 14-month-old).

Easter baskets

This was my attempt to get each of the boys to stand behind their basket.

Joseph loved all the stuff in his basket. John loved the grass.

"Wook 'a my eggs!"

"Cheese!"

This is the best picture I got of the two of them :)

Will even tried to help, but was only minimally successful.

After Easter baskets and the egg hunt we had a breakfast of quiche and cinnamon rolls. We then spent most of the day playing and relaxing with the boys. I also did a little prep work for dinner.
We had a couple friends (who also don't have family in town) over for Easter dinner.
We had a lovely dinner and the kids had a ball playing together.
After dinner I convinced all my boys to get back into their Easter best (minus shoes for all and jewelry for me) for a little family photo (as we now had someone to take our picture). It was, again, difficult to get a good one of all of us. But a couple of them turned out well.

I can't decide which one I like better - John is downright frowning in the first picture, but Joseph's arm is in the way in the second picture. If only I knew how to use photo shop :)

I hope you, too, had a blessed and holy Easter filled with people you love and lots of chocolate!

It's Spring!

We've been busy enjoying spring and watching the boys grow. Most of these stories and pictures are from a month or two ago. I have lots more to share - hopefully soon! - but I'll start with these. Enjoy :)

The first really nice day of spring. Yay for park days!

Joseph has been interested in money and where it comes from ever since a recent trip to the bank. These two conversations happened in the same night.

As Will walks in the door coming home from work.
Joseph: Hi, daddy! Where you been?
Will: At work.
Joseph: Why?
Will: To make money for the family.
Joseph: Ooooh! Wike mommy?

"This is mommy's vacuum..." "Oooooh! I see. How interesting."

At dinner:
Joseph: Daddy work at monies?
Will: Daddy works for money.
Joseph: Oooooh! Daddy works five money.

I'm a "fun mom"... on occasion.

See? So. Much. Fun!

I spent many months stressing about and planning for potty training. I had made minimal attempts to potty train Joseph in the past, but had been unsuccessful. With the arrival of baby #3 only months away I knew it was time to just bite the bullet and do it. To my great surprise and delight it went much smoother than I anticipated.
The first couple days Joseph was pretty upset that I wouldn't put a diaper on him. And at least one time he sat on the changing table crying for a diaper. But his requests for diapers waned, and by day 4 or 5 he was on board and was saying "we're all done wiff diapers, wight mommy?"
Within about a week Joseph wasn't having any accidents and often wakes up dry from both naps and night time sleep! Woohoo! I was a little wary of using treats to coax the potty training process along, but it definitely worked and he rarely asks for them anymore (only 2 weeks since we started).

John loves when I sweep. I think it's one of his favorite things to do - watch me sweep. He especially likes to squat over the dirt pile and search for treasures. I wish I had a picture of it, but every time it happens I'm - you know - sweeping...and trying to keep him from ingesting any of the dirt (although when there are legit pieces of food it's possible that I look away).

Breakfast with Grandpa.

One morning before preschool co-op I spilled half a box of Cheerios on the floor (one of the large boxes. No exaggeration.). Cheerios were everywhere. It was already a frantic morning. Joseph slept late and co-op mornings are already stressful enough trying to get everyone dressed and ready with lunches packed and out the door on time. And I believe I was teaching preschool this particular morning, so extra fun for the morning. It was one of those "of course this would happen this morning" moments. When it happened it was so surreal. I don't think I even got upset. I just looked at it and thought "mmhmm. There is no possible way this is getting cleaned up before we leave, so there's not reason to stress about it."
What did I do? I let John down from his booster seat and let him have at it. Breakfast? Taken care of.
I then went to get Joseph out of bed and let floor Cheerios be his breakfast, too. It actually bought me a little time to get lunches packed without the boys underfoot. Win for me :)

The boys were thrilled. A million Cheerios on the floor to sit in, play in and eat? So. Awesome.

What we've been up to...

The month of February turned out to be quite busy for us. We started by having a "little" birthday playdate for John and his friend, Ignatius (who was born a mere 3 days after Joseph). "Small" turned into 12 moms, 17 toddlers and 6 babies. But, oh how much fun we all had!

Story time with Mrs. O'Callaghan!

The birthday boys pre-cupcake and singing.

Our lovely guests.

John wasn't impressed by his cupcake.
He actually refused to eat any of it.

Shirtless and happy birthday boys!

The mess tells you how much fun was had by all.

The birthday playdate was followed by a weekend visit from my parents to celebrate John's 1st birthday. They were so generous and watched the boys for us all day so Will and I could go van shopping. I always forget how long the whole car buying process really is (we had already spent a generous amount of time talking with folks about their van preferences, researching online and I took a peek at one van the weekend before). Luckily, the boys were in good hands and enjoyed a puppet show, a good nap and some quality Nanna and Grandpa time.

Clearly he's impressed by my cake baking and decorating skillz.

Mommy helps open the first gift.

Opening presents with Grandpa.

Look at my new toy!

John's just chillin' while Joseph waits patiently to help open the next gift.

Playing with his other toy! (Thanks Aunt Jeannette and Uncle Tom!)

Hangin' with Nanna.

Tackle Daddy!

The next weekend we had some dear friends from Ohio come visit. Our boys are similar ages (their two boys are both four months older than our boys and now we're both due with our 3rd babies within a week of each other!) and have so much fun together. It was so nice to have a chance to hang out and talk again. I took woefully few pictures, but I did get a couple decent ones.

Auggie and John

Joseph and Luke playing with cars.

I believe everyone was checking out an Alpha-bot here.

The last weekend in February my sister, Alyse, came to visit. The boys loved having their "Aunt Aweese" around to hang out with. I, again, forgot to take pictures (sadly, that's how I've been lately) but got a couple shots from the weekend.

Oooooh! An iPad!

Face timing it with Aunt Jeannette and Uncle Tom :)

Checking out the airplane at the Air and Space Museum Annex.

That's all for now, folks. Happy Monday!