So, today was the boys’ 21 month birthday. 1 3/4 years old. Man, time does fly. We didn’t do anything to celebrate. I did, however, sing Happy Birthday to them, just so that when it is their birthday, they will know the song and not wonder “what the?”.

We had a fun day at home, playing around. I was going to take them to the playground but the weather wasn’t all that great. My idea for the harmonica/diaper time is working out well, especially for Elijah. He can’t wait to get a diaper change! I’ll say “diaper change and harmonica time” and he’ll roll down on the floor in front of me. What a difference! And when he’s done, for the most part, he hands the harmonica back. Rowan though, still hates diaper changes, harmonica or not. 1/2 the time he is ok, but the other 1/2, he just wants to do something else. And then he doesn’t hand the harmonica back. I do have to corner him and he realizes he won’t win while I’m standing there, so he’ll hand it back. At least I don’t have to take it.

I also taught the boys how to say “I’m sorry” with signing (fist going in a circle on chest). They don’t know what it means yet, but when I ask them how to say it, they do the right sign. I’m sure Elijah will learn the meaning before Rowan. I always make him say sorry to Rowan after an attempted bite. He never says it on his own, so I have to force him to do it. And all is well in their world again.

It was pretty lonely today, weekends are usually dad-time or at least partial dad-time. They don’t seem to be missing him yet, although they do have a lower (or is it higher?) “fussy” threshold. I have been letting them watch the big tv upstairs to prepare them to sit still and watch something, so that we can go to the movies, or go to some kids show. With the laptop, they still run around, do whatever and watch only the parts that they want. This way, it trains them to sit still for a little while. Today they did 30 minutes, which was pretty good. They still get up and walk around, but then I tell them to sit back down and they do. I think they really like it, it makes them feel so grown up. They hardly ever get to see the big tv, and any tv in general, so it’s a real special treat for them.

I also had some great moments with Elijah, I think we are bonding better. I notice that when both Michael and I are here, Rowan will tend to go to me and Elijah will go to his dad. If you look at pictures, a lot of them have me with Rowan and Elijah with Michael. It’s not by choice, I think it just happens that way. While Michael is gone, I want to change that and spend more time with Elijah. I’m hoping that it will help with the whole biting thing, but he still attempted 2 bites today, which earned him timeouts.

Last night I signed up for two classes for them starting next month. They are both German classes (ack!), one is a gymnastic class and one is a movement class. I was going to sign them up for a more “creative” class, but I think at this point, anything that will allow them to run and play and move is better than sitting. Let’s hope I did the registration correctly (all in German). I am really excited to start because German classes are way cheaper than English ones, I think because they are subsidised by the government. One is really long - until February, the other is just 5 weeks. So, between that and their Kindermusik class, they will be really busy this fall.

The big thing today was that I bought the boys lederhosen from ebay! I think it might be too big for this year, but hopefully they will fit them “enough” to take our christmas picture. I wanted to get 3/4 length brown lederhosen, and brand new they are about 100 euros for the nice ones. I got one for 30 and the other for 35. Of course they are used, but those things last forever. I probably can sell it for what I bought it for, so it’s basically free. Now I have to find a hemd (shirt) and jacke. For our Christmas picture, I want all of us in our traditional Bavarian clothing with a mountainous backdrop (Garmisch maybe). Hopefully I can pull it off this year!