So, how do they get in trouble?

I was just talking to my friend Erin on FaceBook and she asked me if Micah ever gets in trouble.  Oh boy, does he!  And so... here is a post about what each of our kids likes to do (right now) to get into trouble...

Let's start with Micah.  He's such a little love with his chubby cheeks and glasses and his million dollar smile!  He greets everyone with extended arms and snuggles in with his squshy little body.  He then trails anyone with a talking toy and snatches it from their hands! :)  He and James are BIG TIME buddies!  They follow each other from room to room a lot of the time and you can usually find them playing in pretty close proximity to one another.  They may not interact while they play, but they are 'connected' still most of the time.

Then comes the random moment when Micah decides that he would like to see, once again, whether James will fall down if he pushes him.  And he does.  James still hasn't figured out to slug him back.  Boys will be boys...  And Micah will spend a lot of time in time-out!

At church today Micah kept throwing toys in the trash.  Why?  No idea.  That was a new one (to me anyway).  The teachers put him in time out, which he didn't care about and promptly left.  They now know to call me if they're having trouble... because he won't continue it if Momma gets called in.  Promise :)

Micah also just moved to a toddler bed.  This was a big trust-thing for us and we felt like he was ready to learn to stay in his bed at night and sleep.  Unfortunately, the BLINDS are a HUGE calling to him and he's been in trouble twice in the last 24 hours for playing with them!  Tonight I walked into his room to get James since he was fussing and I saw Micah 'pop' into a straight laying position! LOL  He didn't want to get in trouble! :)  He really is a sweet little boy!

Now for James, since he is sometimes being picked on by Micah...  He is adorable and snuggly and his little face just says "I'm cute and I know it!"  Well, he's the instigator!  He will walk over and bump Micah but make it look like he didn't mean to.  I really had to watch to see it because I wasn't so sure if it was intentional or not for a while.  James still has such an awkward gait that gait I thought maybe he was just clumsy.  Nope!  Then he gets pushed over... LOL

James is just enamored with Wesley!  It's sweet, really, when you see him crawl down on Wesley's level right up into his face and look with those big beautiful eyes right into Wesley's face... until he screams!  James has a very projecting voice, and he's got a language all his own.  We call it Jameseneese.  So James will go RIGHT into Wesley's face then start jabbering in his language on a high pitch at the top of his lungs!  Wesley isn't so keen on that.

If James isn't yelling in Wesley's face, sometimes he's seeing if he can learn new ways to get past "the obstacle".  That obstacle, of course, would usually be a person.  Frequently, right now, it is Wesley.  In the past it has taken the form of Lynae and Emma and occasionally another random child laying out on the floor minding their own business playing with a toy.  James is pretty sure that these obstacles can be mounted and climbed over and that it will save him some time and energy of going around them.  Unfortunately for his obstacles, he has bony knees.  Fortunately, though, he stops when we see this about to happen and he does, in fact, go around them.

James is learning to undress himself.  By taking his pants off.  And, under grandma's watchful (or, not-so-much since he was supposed to be sleeping) stripped off clothes... and diaper... then painted.  Everything.  I'm glad I missed that event.  He continues to take his pants off but not his diaper.  YAY! :)

James' other feat with his supernaturally loud voice (which we think may lessen a bit once his hearing improves from the ear tubes) is that in his classroom at school he likes to scream.  In turn, Micah screams as well and I understand that the entire classroom may go down in shambles after this.  Why does he scream? No idea.  But, he does!  And instead of listening to his teachers, he eventually gets taken out of the room.  When he reenters the room... more screaming.  Yes, there is a behavioral specialist that knows my boys (and Emma) well and works on these types of things with them and the classroom teachers to see if there are causes for it.  Otherwise, James just likes to hear his own voice and see what 'using' it can do as far as getting him in trouble goes :).

Brianna is the third preschooler in the house so it sounds like she should go next :).  Brianna is a sweet and loving little one that is my little shadow.  She loves to play with dolls and her new stroller for them is the next best thing to having a real baby to play with.  You'd think she is just an angel some days... until you ask her to do something she doesn't want to.  Then, you can almost see the shadows as the horns raise on her sweet little innocent head... Tell Brianna to go do something she's not in tune with, and unless followed by a stern look, a real 'threat' (not a fake one, she'll know if you're bluffing!) and maybe even start to make-good on it (like, no doll until you go potty! and then you take the doll and wait).

The other area Brianna gets in trouble the most in is with EATING.  This has always been a struggle because she's never had a really strong appetite and is a very picky eater.  Our dinner routines consist of us saying "take a bite Brianna."  "Take a bite."  "Brianna, eat what I put on your fork."  "Brianna, do you want help?  Talk to me if you want help, don't sit and whine."  "Brianna, take a BITE."  And yes, each directive is usually followed with us physically helping her to do it.  Don't let her fool you... this is not a matter of helplessness!  This is a matter of control :).  She likes to have it!  LOL  And she loses it when she decides she's not going to just sit down and eat what's served and instead would like "a cracker, please??" :)

Kristopher and Brianna bicker on and off.  Though Brianna's speech is difficult to understand, we all know what she's saying a majority of the time.  Kristopher and Brianna are both 'leader' personalities and most of the time when Kristopher is sent to go sit on his bed or to come in from the porch it's because he's "taken on the dad role" to the other kids.  Making them sit, stand, go, climb... or whatever it is that he's trying to get them to do isn't allowed... because he's not the dad... and they all know to tell us by the gigantic howls that they so lovingly produce.  Kristopher is pretty good about immediately getting as far away as possible as soon as the alarm is sounded, but the guilty look on his face tells on him every time :).

We also find toys 'blocked' a lot of the time.  Kristopher will find some toys that the kids have been enjoying and... just for kicks... put them where the kids can't get to them.  Such as in the corner of the playroom with two sets of chairs and a table in the way.  That was the latest hiding spot for the 3 baby strollers and a host of long haired pajama clad cotton princesses who were lonely without their friends to play with them along with a monster truck and a rain stick.

Emma loves that rain stick, and will do just about anything to get it back from someone.  She won't, however, climb through two sets of chairs.  If someone else has it, though, she has no issue just scooting over and taking it right out of their hands!  Emma's generally not very forceful but if she feels like it, she may just knock your shoulder with her hand as she takes the rainstick so you fall down at the same time as she takes your toy.  It only works if you're seated, but she seems to have perfected this art.

Emma also hates vegetables.  She doesn't seem to care what type, how they're cooked, etc... she just doesn't want them.  I find this peculiar since a year ago she'd eat them without hesitation, but I still just make her eat them.  Emma will go through "faking" not understanding and will stare at you like "what do you mean?  if you tell her to eat them.  "Pick up your spoon" I said tonight since she was trying to eat creamed corn with a fork. "Emma, put down your fork."  "Look, Emma, your fork (showing her), put it down (showing her)."  "Emma, pick up your spoon"  Yeah, took 6 tries to get her to pick up her spoon then she stared at me when I told her to eat the corn.  Then I shoveled it on down her mouth and we went on our way.  She KNEW what the corn was, KNEW to use her spoon, but somehow she thinks we'll not realize she knows??  No idea... ;)

Let's see... that brings us to Lynae.  Lynae is a momma's girl and a sweet little snuggle.  She loved playing outside the other day and when I needed to come in to get Wesley a new bib and grab jackets for everyone, she came in too.  We'd been eating fresh oranges right off the tree and she still had a little in her mouth.  After a second glance, though, I realized that the orange she was holding was missing some peel.  Yes, it was in her mouth!  And along with the peel, out popped an acorn.  Old habits die hard (she's always liked eating acorns...).  She doesn't put too much random stuff in her mouth, but occasionally she sure does!

Lynae is also into practicing Jameseneese lately. Just at the baby gate going in to the kitchen and only while I'm prepping meals, though.  I can lock that gate and all she has to hear is the click before the banshee in her comes out!  She's sweet and snuggly, but BOY does that little girl have a temper!  She's gotten a few trips to her bed before meals when she's sure that I should be feeding or holding her while everyone else waits for dinner.  After all, she's the princess, right?

Aleksa and Wesley haven't really gotten many behaviors that get them in trouble here very much... yet.  Wesley is sure he's supposed to be held all the time which just isn't feasible, so we make arrangements for him to be held some, to watch some, and to lay and be angry and upset some too.  Aleksa mostly just likes to fuss when she doesn't like how something's going, but lately here we've been able to get her to stop with some redirection for the most part.

I'm sure there's more about each kid that I could describe... but there it is... one big long post about how our kids get in trouble here lately :)