Why do little boys love weapons so much?

I returned from a teeth cleaning with the usual haul--sample-sized toothpaste, floss, and a toothbrush.  Silas immediately confiscated the toothbrush and when I asked for it back he said, "It's not your toothbrush.  It's my brand...new...sword!"  A few minutes later I caught him sucking on my hair elastic and told him to bring it to me.  "It's a sling shot!" he pleaded and then demonstrated his point by shooting it across the room.

Silas' Timeline

June 2012: Can say any manner of complicated sentences and understands abstract concepts. Here's an example of something he said yesterday. He doesn't like climbing the stairs or going down them because his legs are so short and it takes a lot of effort for him. At the top of the stairs he held his arms out and said, "I wish I had butterfly wings.  Then I could fly down!"
January 2012: Speaks in many full sentences.  When asked how he is doing, he responds with "I'm doing well."  Also is a tease.  If you ask him what his name is, he will say "Gideon" with a very sly smile.  He also called horses cows for a long time because he got a kick out of us correcting him.
December 2011: Counts to 11
June 2011: Learns how to make animal sounds and also says "I want a bite"
May 18, 2011: Vocabulary is growing and he's combining words into phrases such as, "this one," "that one," "that way," and "open the door"
April 7, 2011: Current vocabulary includes "momma," "dad," "baby," "no," "ya," "hi," "hello," "this," "that," "oh," and "nummers" (delicious food)

Circa March 27, 2011: Prefers walking to crawling
March 2, 2011: Takes first step
December 18, 2010: Crawls for the first time (three "steps")
December 1, 2010: First tooth pops through
October 30, 2010: Says "mama"
August 10, 2010: Rolls from front to back
August 1, 2010: Laughs
July 1, 2010: Rolls from back to front for the first time
May 31, 2010: Smiles intentionally
May 9, 2010: Umbilical cord falls off
May 8, 2010: Does first "push-up"
May 4, 2010: Silas is born at 2:15pm

How Idioms Get Started

Gideon: "Mom, would you place the rockets?"  Me: "What?"  Gideon: "It means to put something where it's supposed to go." (He was looking for his shoes.)

That was this morning.  Last night at dinner Gideon said, "You know, a mouth is a food prison."

I was drawing a picture on the magna-doodle when Gideon came over to inspect my artwork.  "What are you drawing?" he asked.  "Sai wanted me to draw a little boy."  Gideon: "WHAT!?!  They're the most humanated creatures in the whole wide world!"

Gideon's Translation of Mommy Speak

I was folding laundry yesterday when I heard Gideon trying to engage Silas in a pillow fight.  Silas wasn't too keen on the idea, having experienced a "pillow fight" (a Gideon clobbering) earlier in the morning.  I shouted to Gideon that I didn't want any pillow fighting.  He either didn't hear me or ignored me (probably the later), so I crossed the hall into the boys' room just in time to see Gideon throwing a pillow at Silas from on top of the bunk bed (as though Silas wasn't already at a serious disadvantage in the pillow-fighting category).  Silas was crying and I firmly told Gideon, "I better not see you throw another pillow!"  Gideon responded with, "Okay...but just don't watch.  You can go clean the downstairs."

Gideon's Drawings

After having absolutely NO interest in drawing or coloring, Gideon came to me one day about a month ago and showed me the fish that he drew.

I thought it was so cute that I had to take a picture of it and since that time he's been drawing all kinds of things, but mostly little cartoon people.

Pinnochio and Other Tales

As we were touring around the newly opened WinCo last Monday, Silas was getting sick of being in the shopping cart.  Attempting to squirm out of the straps that held him down, he began crying, "I'm a real boy!  I'm a real boy!"

One morning I asked Silas what he wanted for breakfast.  He said that he wanted strawberries.  I told him we didn't have any strawberries.  He looked at me and said, in the most authoritative voice he could master, "We are going to have strawberries."

Silas' sassy two-year old attitude often leads him to rebel against things like putting his clothes on, getting a diaper change, etc.  I counteract this with reverse psychology.  If he cries about getting his pajamas on, for example, I say, "Fine.  You can't wear your pajamas."  He will immediately start crying about wanting his pajamas and then I can put them on easily.  It works like a charm.  Well, apparently Gideon has been noting my strategy.  One day Gideon and Silas were fighting over a toy sword, so I took it away from both of them.  Gideon responded with, "Thank you for taking my toy away!  I don't like toys.  I don't want toys every day."

Welcome to Las Vegas or in Other Words: Sights I'd Rather Not See in My Kitchen

In case you can't tell, this spider was ginormous!  Look how small the "regular" spider looks in comparison (which is eating it, by the way).

Potty Humor

Silas has been really excited about using the potty.  Yesterday, he added a festive flourish to his pottying ritual.  Whenever he does something in the potty, he gives me a high five and tells me, "Merry Christmas, you!"  I have no idea where he got this, but if I am interpreting it correctly, then A) I'm getting an early Christmas present: poop; and B) It's the best Christmas present ever!

And while we're on the topic of potty stuff... We had the missionaries to dinner tonight and for an unusual twist Gideon was quiet while Silas was the chatterbox.  So, there we were, eating our dinner, when Silas turned to the missionary beside him and said something about poop.  Then a few minutes later, he started shouting, "That was my gas!  That was my gas!  That was my gas!" despite my attempts to shush him.  He made up for it later by his very cute attempts at conversation, "Do you like cinnamon rolls, missionaries?"  "Do you like milk, missionaries?"

Boyhood Thrills

The other day, while I was eating lunch with Gideon and Silas, I found myself very annoyed by the game they were playing while they were supposed to be eating.  "Stop. Putting. Broccoli. In. Your. Eye!" I snapped.  No sooner did the words escape my mouth than I realized something.  Only a mother with two young boys would ever have to say something like "Stop putting broccoli in your eye!"