25 Random Things

There is a little chain letter type thing going around on Facebook that asks a person to write 25 random things about himself and then send that list to 25 friends. Those friends are then instructed to write 25 things and circulate, etc. I have been having such a good time reading these lists. I have learned some really interesting things about folks that I have known all my life. I started thinking that it would be fun to make lists for each of the kids since this blog is supposed to be a virtual baby book or journal. It has been fun trying to come up with 25 random facts for each child.

Warning: This will be a long entry. If you don't really love my kids, it may be awfully boring, but it is my blog, so here goes. I'll start with my first born.

25 random facts about Evan:

1. His favorite games to play right now are "dinosaur" and "whale." Both games involve a lot of chasing up and down the hallway, catching, tickling, etc.

2. He has an extremely tender heart. The night before Christmas Eve, Pressley had a melt-down of epic proportions and pitched a major fit. Evan told his Aunt Kerry that night at bed time that he was worried that Santa might not bring Pressley any toys. So sweet to be concerned about his sister.

3. He is extremely smart. He asks really difficult questions and sometimes I don't know the answers. He is way too smart to tolerate made-up answers, so I don't even try that - anymore.

4. He is a big fan of milk. We're up to 2 gallons a week household consumption.

5. He started playing soccer last fall. We learned: 1) He has a very low threshold for being wronged (he may get that from me); 2) He is likely better suited for contact sports. Once a kid stole the ball from him and the next time that kid had the ball, Evan grabbed the back of said kid's jersey and threw him to the ground. Not such good sportsmanship, but he is learning.

6. His favorite t.v. show is Tom and Jerry. Go figure.

7. When he was little, he thought the color brown was called "brown shoes." So, everything brown became brown shoes. He has a brown teddy bear that we all call brown shoes to this day.

8. He only eats the tops off of broccoli.

9. He LOVES him some Moe's burritos and also loves baked beans.

10. When I returned to work after my maternity leave, my mom (GranNan) kept him for eight months. So, he was almost a year old before he ever went to day care. He still has a very special bond with my mom.

11. When he gets hot, his face turns BRIGHT red. People comment on it ALL the time.

12. He has a tiny scar under his left eyebrow where he got 4 stitches over a year ago after his friend Charlie pushed him into the top part of a tunnel slide at school. This was after Evan told Charlie (in a sing song voice): "You ca-an't push me down the sli-ide." Apparently he could. A mother should never have to go through taking her 3 year old to get stitches that close to his eye.

13. He learned to swim at his 4th birthday party after a girl from his class at school was swimming unassisted. He had told me that he would know how to swim when he turned 4.

14. He will not, under any circumstances, wear a coat in the car.

15. He had nurse-maid's elbow as a child - meaning he has dislocated his elbow twice.

16. He never, ever sleeps under sheets and/or covers. And he almost never sleeps with his head at the headboard.

17. In his short life, he has flown to New York at least 7 times. He has flown into at least 4 New York airports: LaGuardia, JFK, White Plains, and Newburgh.

18. His hair is so thick that if it gets too long, it is nearly impossible to get shampoo all the way to his scalp.

19. He is very good at puzzles.

20. He absolutely must win. He hates to lose.

21. Once when he was younger, his grandfather accidentally dropped a pen into his crib when tucking him in. When we woke up the next morning, his face, his p.j.s, his rabbit ("Hop"), and his crib sheet were all colored blue.

22. He is protective of his sister.

23. He was the most beautiful baby you've ever seen. I mean, gorgeous. Flawless even. Until we unwittingly let him sleep in the same position every night and the pediatrician pointed out that we had let his head flatten out on one side. It was a fairly easy fix, but we thought we had scarred him forever.

24. His name was going to be Carter, Conner, Colin, or Ethan. One night we were at a party and one of my law school friends said, "Remind me what your name choices are... I know Evan, but I can't remember the others." I said, "Oh, no. Not Evan. Ethan." Then we got home and I started talking about how much I liked the name Evan... and the rest is history.

25. He had the cutest little curl in the back of his hair when he was a young toddler. I loved it. But one night we were with Corin's law school friends and one person called it a rat tail and another called it a mullet (not in the same conversation). I knew the time had come to cut it. But I still have it in a little silver keepsake box that my mother-in-law gave me.

25 random facts about Pressley:

1. She hates to have her hair brushed and her nails trimmed. We literally have to hold her down to cut her nails.

2. She can spell her name, which I think is pretty impressive when you are 2 and your name is Pressley.

3. She loves her bitty baby doll and is very nurturing. The doll's name is Julia. We don't know why...

4. She loves apple juice. She rarely drinks anything else. I know, I know... that's bad.

5. She very much enjoys a taking a bath. I will be glad when she learns to keep the water in the tub.

6. She thinks she is a ballerina.

7. She is not nearly as finiky an eater as her brother. She has a pretty healthy appetite.

8. She likes all kinds of fruit, but grapes and bananas are her favorites.

9. She loves, loves, loves, books. She loves to be read to, she loves to "read" to anyone who will listen, and she loves to just sit by herself and "read" a good book. I hope she always will.

10. She is obsessed with putting on lipstick and chap stick. She got her own "lipstick" from her grandparents and from Santa for Christmas, but apparently that is just not the same. She still wants my lipstick and chap stick.

11. When she wakes up in the morning or from a nap, she sits up in her bed and yells, "Mommy!! (Sometimes Daddy)--It's not dark anymore!" over and over until someone comes to get her.

12. She can out-temper-tantrum any child I've ever met. She has the endurance of a marathoner when it comes to her ability to sustain a good fit. Lungs of steel, that one.

13. Along those same lines: she is as stubborn as the day is long. I guess both kids are. I have no idea where they get it. :-)

14. I'm not sure we can call it yet with 100% certainty, but all signs point to her being a lefty. My mother (also a lefty) is certain. The rest of us are just pretty sure.

15. She is terrified of all characters in costume, including Santa. You know that already if you frequent my blog and have read about Monkey Joe.

16. Like her brother, she will not wear a coat in the car.

17. She is the most manic child I've ever met. She is either ecstatic or devastated. There is no in between.

18. One of her favorite things to say right now is "all righty dighty." She got that from my dad. She says it all the time. It is very cute.

19. She likes to help me cook. Every time I get in the kitchen, she runs to get her little chair, drags it over, puts a new ding in the cabinets with it, and climbs up next to me to "help."

20. When Evan does his homework every Thursday night, Pressley has to do homework too. Evan cuts out pictures of things that begin with the letter of the week and glues them into his homework paper. Pressley just glues whatever you give her to a sheet of construction paper. She is always very proud of her work product.

21. She was a totally easy baby until she was about 8 months old. Many of you have heard me say that as soon as she became 8 or 9 months old, her inner diva kicked in and she was never easy again. Precious, yes. Easy, no.

22. She was supposed to be named Megan Caroline. When I was pregnant with Evan, we knew if we were having a girl she would be Megan Caroline. We had no idea what we would name a boy. Then, when I was pregnant with Pressley, suddenly Megan Caroline didn't seem right to me anymore. So, after about a 4 hour negotiation at the hospital after she was born, we agreed that she would be Megan Pressley. I still love the name Caroline, but it was not meant for her.

23. For a long time, Pressley's favorite saying was "not nice!!" She said it all the time. Apparently, her teachers at day care taught the kids to say that instead of hitting or biting. While it is better than hitting or biting, it was not ideal. Particularly the tone she used when she said it.

24. She used to HATE sand. She would not tolerate being put down at the beach. For the first two years of her life, we had to put her on a towel and a chair and then bring her things to keep her entertained. If we did not keep her entertained, the result was no fun for anyone. Shoes didn't help. She wanted no part of it. Thank goodness she has gotten over that.

25. She has beautiful natural blonde and red highlights in her hair. No, I don't highlight it. People have actually asked. What kind of mother do they think I am??

If you are still with me... thank you for loving my kids enough to read all that. I promise the next entry will be shorter, but it was really fun to brainstorm all this stuff and it brought back some fun memories for me.