Bring on the Questions

Greetings friends and family,

Easton and Layla are eager learners excited for the school year.  The night before school as we tuck them into bed I say, "tomorrow is school!" while raising my eye brows, hands, and inflection of my voice.  Layla says, "You mean after THIS day?  Hooray!".  Here's her expression of excitement for the first (official) day of school.

They both brag almost daily about how tall they are getting and how much they are growing.  After each meal it's common for them to stand up and describe how much taller they are after eating Kendra's delicious chicken pasta.  My response is always positive and upbeat about their growth, but inside I'm a bit sad they are growing so fast.  They are both awesome in their own way and I'm excited to see where they go in life.

When I consider what is the biggest challenge with Easton and Layla that is easy to describe.

Layla still has accidental "leaks" almost daily.   We think she doesn't want to stop playing or fears missing out on something if she has to go to the bathroom so she doesn't do it.  We can't seem to get the right motivation in place to get her to go to the potty consistently through the whole day.  Either she is very stubborn in this area or there is something physiologically wrong.  

Easton struggles with whining.  When something doesn't go his way he resorts to whining "noooooooo!"  He is very soft spoken even though we encourage him to talk and give him plenty of direct attention so he feels heard.  We've tried a myriad of positive and negative reinforcement, but can't seem to get any breakthroughs.  We expect him to obey when asked to do something.  We expect him to express how he feels and talk through it.  Since we only have Layla to compare against it is difficult to know if this is just a phase or if he is establishing bad habits.  He may be right in line with other boys his age for all we know...

He is a smart one though.  Each night we continue the tradition of bath, books, bed, song... and questions.  Not sure why he waits until I'm seconds away from leaving his room to ask me deep questions, but here are some of the more amazing ones:


What would happen if a dinosaur didn't have a tail?
Where do bees sleep?
What does the moon smell like?
What would happen if the space shuttle ran out of fuel?
Why do queen ants have wings, but the others don't?


If I know the answer I do my best to explain, but some of these brain-stumpers require extra help.  Seriously?  who thinks about how the moon smells? Occasionally I take out my phone and Google the questions so we can discuss the answers.  Now, when I stumble to answer a question he says, "ask your phone, Dad!"  Kids these days...

See you soon!