Mikie Did It

Mikie has adopted a new habit. . . talking about himself in the third person. Sometimes it's appropriate. For example, when he is playing a sport, he says "Mikie scores!", like he is the commentator. Other times, it is just funny.

During dinner one evening, I mentioned that "Someone put stickers in his ears at school today."

Mike: looking at Mikie "Did someone put stickers in your ears?"

Mikie: "Yes"

Mike: "Who put stickers in your ears."

Mikie: "Mikie did it."

As if there was some other kid named Mikie who did these things!

Of course, we eventually got him to admit that he was in fact the "Mikie" who put stickers in his ears, and that a more appropriate choice of words would be "I put stickers in my ears." But, the next night when I asked him who knocked over my pile of clean laundry, his response was "Mikie did it."

Who knows, maybe the kid has an imaginary friend named Mikie Trahan. Or an evil twin I don't remember giving birth to.

Love, The Trahans

Ready, Aim, Pee!

Okay, it has taken months before I finally stopped laughing long enough to grab the camera and memorialize this for all posterity. Words alone could not adequately describe Mikie's potty technique:

Mike and I had been teaching Mikie to use the potty by sitting down. I mean, the last thing I wanted was to have half my bathroom covered in urine because he realized he could aim wherever he pleased. However, we didn't realize the daycare was trying to teach him to pee standing up.

So, you can imagine my surprise one day when Mikie announced he had to use the potty. I took him into the bathroom, and placed his potty seat on the toilet. He looked at me and said, "Not like that, Mom." I asked him to show me what he meant. He proceeded to lift the seat, leaning forward to hold the seat against the back of the toilet like so:

The first time, I was too shocked to grab the step stool. And, since our toilets are standard size (unlike the miniature bowls at daycare), and he wasn't wearing his shoes, he didn't exactly have enough height. So, while he had the best of intentions, he ended up "resting" on the edge of the bowl, rather than standing over it. Before I could compose myself, he had peed, with some urine trickling into the bowl, and some trickling onto the floor. As you can see, he has now perfected his technique!

One day, he will despise me for posting this picture on the internet. But, I laugh every time I see those cheeks!

Love, The Trahans

Fireworks

For the first time in three years, Mike and I managed to see fireworks on the 4th of July. Kind of. Actually, it was the 6th of July, since our town chose to do their display on Friday. And, Mike didn't really see the fireworks. . .

Evidently, the fireworks display is quite the event in Northbridge. The fire company brought one of the firetrucks for the kids to see. There was a moon bounce, fried dough (the New England equivalent of funnel cake), vendors selling glowing necklaces and glasses. Unfortunately, we didn't know that there would be anything to do other than sit in a field waiting for it to get dark, so we didn't show up until 15 minutes before hand. Now we know for next year. We were in time to sing the Star Spangled Banner. Kind of. The high school student who sang the National Anthem did not know the words, pausing for minutes while she tried to read her print out in the dark. While I was shocked that someone could be in high school and not know the National Anthem, I guess we can't really blame her since many celebrities who sing at sporting events also manage to mess it up.

Here's the crew, waiting for the show to start:

Mikie had a good time watching the crowd while drumming on the bleachers with GrandDa:The oversized headphones were a futile attempt to mask the sound of the fireworks. Unfortunately, Mikie was tramatized after the first boom, screaming "they're trying to get me".

Mike graciously volunteered to walk him back to the car while the rest of us watched the show. He managed to watch most of them from the parking lot, while Mikie distracted himself with episodes of "Little Einsteins".

Happy Belated Independence Day.

Love, The Trahans

Beach Bums

As a belated 4th of July treat, GrandDa and Auntie Katie came to visit on Thursday evening. Since both of them have bum legs, we decided to spend Friday at the beach.

After breakfast a la Grumpy (aka Grandpa Norm), we sprayed ourselves with Coppertone and built sandcastles on the beach. Mike and Mikie braved the waves, for about 60 seconds, until Mike realized his sunglasses, which were on his head, were washed out to sea.

Mikie kept running back to shore to inform us he "was scared of the water". Immediately following his announcement, he would grab Mike by the hand, drag him toward the water yelling "Let's do it again, Dad!". Obviously, he wasn't that scared.

Auntie Katie and Mike helped Mikie build a sandcastle. Actually, Mike buried his feet in the sand, while Mikie and Katie filled the bucket. After watching them attempt to flip the full bucket over a few times without success, Mike twisted around to help them out (making sure not to unbury his feet).

Mikie was gracious enough to pose with his sandcastle. . .
long enough for me to snap a picture before he destroyed it (he's all boy!)

And, as with all trips to Sam's Snack Bar, Mikie ended the day by helping himself to the soft serve ice cream. It's nice to have friends in high places. . . namely grandparents who own a soft serve ice cream maker.

Love, The Trahans

Watering the Grass

First, let me start by saying that watering a large yard with a traditional sprinkler is not fun. And, for everyone who reads this and thinks "Why don't they get an irrigation system installed?", we plan to. After we sell the BMW and buy a shed for Steve the Tractor.

So, we went for a walk after dinner one night, and Mikie kept running into all the neighbors sprinklers. In my infinite wisdom, I cajoled him back to our own yard by promising to turn on our sprinkler. This way, we could water the lawn, bathe the child, and wear him out, all before bedtime. Click on the picture below to see what fun ensued:

I apologize for the video quality; I used my camera rather than grab the camcorder.

Love,
The Trahans

The Move (aka Guess this Food)

Let me preface this story by saying how much I despise moving. When we moved into our house in Maryland, I swore I would never move again. Then we moved to Massachusetts, which was done in three stages: move to the apartment, move everything else out of Maryland, move everything into the Massachusetts house. And, I will admit that Mike dealt with a lot of the moving because I despise moving.

In spite of this, Katie needed help moving, so, of course, I went to help. Of course, having dislocated her knee that morning (read "The Fall" below), I ended up doing a lot more packing and lifting than I bargained for. More disgusting than all other tasks was emptying the refrigerator. These are some of the things I found:

WARNING: these pictures are not for those with a weak stomach. Consult your physician before viewing. Discontinue reading of this post immediately if you experience nausea.

Item #1: And the mystery item is. . . strawberries!

Item #2:

Survey says. . . Salsa! (I was seriously guessing cat food).

On a more positive note, Katie and I had quite a few laughs at her domestic negligence. And, her fuzzy roommates kept me company Saturday morning while I finished packing.

The cripple "helping" (translation: sitting on the couch trying not to injure herself).

Henry, trying to wrap himself in tissue paper for the trip.

Bud, afraid we would leave him behind, packed himself in a tupperware tote.

This time, I am serious when I say "no more moving". At least not for another 5 years.

Love, The Trahans