Barnes Boys - Where They At

When I was going through the pictures from the Zoo, I knew I had to do an update post because the pictures below are so representative of all three of them right now. What a "true" portrait of each of them :)

Bodie:: Well...now I must backtrack...and say that, while I do believe this to be a true portrait of Bodie, there should also be a picture right next to it of him in time out or whining, because its either one of the two right now. But this is my blog and I like to remember the times more like this, so when I look back at mothering, this is what I remember. That joy. Bodie is such a sweet, tender soul. I mentioned his whining, but he is sincerely trying to work on it. He recently turned four and it has spawned a lot of discussion about what getting older means and subsequently a lot of discussions too on what being a good big brother means. We are so excited to see what Bodie learns this year. I believe four is such a magical age. It is definitely one of my favorite ages - their imagination! they still LOVE you! the wonder and excitement in every little thing. truly magical. Bodie is thriving in school. Making a ton of friends and apparently a bit of the class clown. We don't really NEED to put him in pre-school, but it has been so good for him, we do it for him.

Bryson:: Oh this face. this, "are you serious mom?" face. why does he not trust me? why does he think I lie about everything? Why does he question me when i try to tell him the definition of an island. You can't argue with me about the definition of an island!!! but he does...and he argues/questions/emotes on a daily basis. I was recently reading a parenting book about the importance of giving options and allowing your child to question and I threw the book across the room - so mad...i feel like that is where I went all wrong...I gave him that allowance, and now its all he does. no trust. no "okay mom" i am just dumb apparently. But really - I know/understand logically that this is a development phase and a lot of other moms of seven year olds are going through this same exact thing, but it is very, extremely, prolifically frustrating. I feel like I am in conflict all day long and at the end of the day the slightest thing sets me off. I am working on it. I know that most of this is my issue I need to work on. "You are the grown-up, You are the grown-up" is my mantra these days. 

Bobby:: Perfect picture for Bobby too. He is outgrowing the stroller, but still not understanding rules of walking like "stay by your mom" "hold my hand when we cross the street" "don't slap a dog in the face" - those kinds of simple rules that keep one safe and not dead. So he goes in the stroller a lot of the time still when there is walking around vehicles. We had my niece Hope with us at the Zoo, so we had a good ratio and he happily ran...and i mean ran...all over the zoo. Bobby is so much fun - a lot of work still and a destruction zone still, but man - what a little ray of sunshine! He had a ball at the zoo. Loved seeing the animals and tried to jump in a couple different cages...oh my...sometimes I wondered if that is where he belonged ;)