Latest and Greatest

Sometimes when on the phone with my dad he will ask us, "So what's the latest and greatest?", by which he basically means, "So, what's new?" So here is a blog updating you on the boys' latest and greatest:

Months ago I picked up a "marble run" (that's what we call it anyway) at a store that sells used items for children. It consists of a track that you can build in different ways to send marbles shooting and spiraling down to the bottom. We brought it out on a recent rainy day, now that Asher can be trusted not to put the marbles in his mouth. (He hasn't put one in his mouth yet, after more than a week of playing with the marbles, but I still keep a close eye on him when he is playing with or around them and the marbles are safely put away when not in use.) Toby has really enjoyed this new activity and can now build the tracks by himself with just a little help. The picture is of the first track he built almost entirely on his own!

Asher has had to sit through many, many of Toby's gymnastics classes, so we finally signed him up for a class for his own age group! He was SO excited this morning to finally get to really tear around on those mats and do all the climbing, jumping, and rolling he has been longing to do. The class is more of a mommy-and-me type thing than actual gymnastics, which is perfect. At circle time Asher followed along with the motions of the songs like he had been doing it for a long time! I was very happy with his ability to follow directions. He clapped, he marched, he helped clean up the balls...he had a blast and the rest of us loved seeing him have such a good time! In the afternoon when we went back for Toby's class, Asher was perfectly content to sit in his stroller the whole time (okay, he did have snacks for some of it) and watch Toby in action because he had already had his turn. :)

I have continued to sneak lots of veggies in to the boys' food! (Refer to my "Veggie Tales" post in March) I now have frozen cubes of orange, green, and white puree (cauliflower and zucchini) in my freezer that I can take out and quickly add to dishes. Quesadillas, meatloaf, grilled cheese, BBQ chicken sandwiches, mac-n-cheese...all victims of sneaked in vegetables that my kids have eaten without a fuss! I thought about trying to sneak veggies in to Toby's beloved peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but then I realized that that's just gross!

It has been wonderful for me to see the boys playing together and I've witnessed Toby displaying an extra measure of kindness and patience with his brother, which makes this mama's heart proud. Yesterday they were playing so well together (firetrucks, at first, then they were using jump ropes to go "fishing") that I was able to completely prep for dinner without much interruption. Yeah!