Ben and Josh

Cereal

Cereal is the breakfast food of choice in our household. This morning was just another classic example of life in the Thiem household. Josh, who had already eaten a banana and a bowl of cereal earlier, wanted another bowl of cereal. He managed to open the dishwasher, stand on the door and call out for a bowl. I removed him from the dishwasher and went back to my morning agenda. I turned around again and he had pulled out a plastic plate and the box of cereal from the cupboard and successfully poured the entire box out onto the plate.

Let's just say there is now cereal everywhere....

Josh, 16 months

• Weighs at least 25lbs
• Eats just about anyting and everything... last week's latest favorite: roasted beets
• Runs most of the time instead of walking
• Obsessed with fire engines, sleeps w/ the "waa waa shirt", a NYC Fire Department t-shirt
• Interested in all trucks/tractors/machines
• Loves building things (legos or trains)
• Has figured out how to go down the slide, head first
• Very vocal, has the words for Mamma, Dadda, something that sounds like Ben, ball, waa waa, bye bye, uh-oh, bubba and often chooses to scream
• Very confident with signs (food, water, dog, cat, light, fan, helicopter, all done, hot, please, more, book, car)
• Idolizes his brother
• Loves playing outside, either picking tomatoes, digging in the sandbox or riding Ben's bike
• Enjoys sharing a room with Ben, although definitely enjoys sleeping with Dad on a regular occassions
• Loves reading and will often bring books up to us and sit down in our laps
• Is a climber, will happily stand on the top of the slide, the chair or the couch... also enjoys climbing through tunnels
• Discovered that one of his favorite toys: the cardboard box
• Favorite songs are row row row your boat and the wheels on the bus
• Has 5 teeth

Josh in the Box

Housework

I'm not a neat freak and I don't think I'll ever be one... but I tried really hard this week to find the humor when a girlfriend came to my house for the first time and afterwards when we crossed paths she said she had a lovely time at our house and it was really nice to see someone's house a mess. Oh dear. I wonder if things will get any better with time?

What Ben thinks of Daddy

1. What is something dad always says to you? "Eat your dinner"

2. What makes dad happy? "Saying please and thank you"

3. What makes dad sad? "When people don't listen"

4. How does your dad make you laugh? "Funny toys"

5. What was your dad like as a child? "toys"

6. How old is your dad? "31"

7. How tall is your dad? "bigger than you"

8. What is his favorite thing to do? "go in the shower"

9. What does your dad do when you're not around? "play with Joshy"

10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for? "making paper famous"

11. What is your dad really good at? "going in the shower"

12. What is your dad not very good at? "when the children ask to go somewhere on the computer and daddy doesn't know how to go there, it might be a little tricky"

13. What does dad do for a job? "go to work and do jobs"

14.What is your dad's favorite food? "daddy food"

15.What makes you proud of your dad? "doing proud toys"

16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be? "we'll have to think about that or watch the movie and see about that. Do you want to do that after lunch or you watch the movie"

17. What do you and your dad do together? "we play"

18. How are you and your dad the same? "we're boys"

19. How are you and your dad different? "cause we're not the same"

20. How do you know your dad loves you? "because it's good"

21. What does your dad like most about your mom? "she's good at things"

22. Where is your dad's favorite place to go? "to work"

What Ben thinks of Mommy

1. What is something mom always says to you? "How are you doing?

2. What makes mom happy? ""please

3. What makes mom sad? "When people are not very nice to people

4. How does your mom make you laugh? ""funny stuff""

5. What was your mom like as a child? "food"

6. How old is your mom? "3 1/2"

7. How tall is your mom? "that big"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? "get dressed"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "do things by yourself"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?"making famous toys"

11. What is your mom really good at? "making stationery"

12. What is your mom not very good at? "not telling what you want to do"

13. What does your mom do for a job? "you don't go to work"

14.What is your mom's favorite food? "mommy food"

15.What makes you proud of your mom? "b/c you like your mommy"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? a charachter

17. What do you and your mom do together? "we play"

18. How are you and your mom the same? "we have hats"

19. How are you and your mom different? "cause we don't have long curly hair"

20. How do you know your mom loves you? "because I'm good"

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? "going on a hike"

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? "to California"