Brady's Evil Laugh....

Brady has this evil sounding laugh lately that we couldn't resist trying to capture on video...check out the added face at the end.

Connor's Word of the Day

Lately, Connor has been using some bigger words in his language that he is either learning at school, picking up from family, or from his TV shows (they can be educational). Tonight's word of the day was....acknowledged!

He said "Yesterday on the playground, one of my friends acknowledged that me and Brady had the same shirt on (Rainforest Cafe)." He then went on to tell me that he thought it was funny how the kid referred to Brady as his friend, Brady, and not as Connor's brother.

P.S. As I was about to post this and the kids were playing next to me, Connor decided to use a new phrase "damn-it". Not the big words he needs to keep in his language...

Montessori, Light a Candle for Peace

Today at school the boys participated in the United Nation's International Day of Peace by singing and signing "Light a Candle for Peace". The song went all the way around the world. From New Zealand to Hawaii, with over 80,000 children in 35 countries singing. Brady is pictured several times in the video, but it does not look like he participated in the actual singing. The news stations were there also, so there may be more footage on the news tonight.

To see the complete video of the kids singing, click here.

For the Courier and Press Article and a short video, click here.

Family Vacation to Chicago - Action packed!

Every fall, we plan an extended weekend family vacation. The first year we did this was in 2007 when Brady was a little over 1 year old. We went to Indy for a 2-day road trip. In 2008, we went to St. Louis for a 4 day trip with 2 of those days joined by the grandparents. This year, we decided to go to Chicago for 4 days, just the four of us.

Day 1 (Navy Pier): We started the drive Thurs. morning arriving there late afternoon. We grabbed some lunch at a local deli before heading to Navy Pier. The boys were very excited to try out the rides. We rode the Ferris Wheel (great view of Chicago and Lake Michigan), the Lighthouse (like Frog Hopper) and the Carousel. We had one ticket left, so we got daddy to ride the Swings. After the rides, we grabbed some Garrett's popcorn that everyone has raved about and with reason before heading to the Children's Museum (free on Thurs. evenings). Very interesting exhibits and the place was huge! I know we only saw a small part of it in our couple hours there. The boys enjoyed the construction areas, the Dino dig, and Kids Town. The boys got to pretend to ride a city bus there as practice before the real thing. We concluded our evening with a late dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. It was so late and the boys were tired, so we didn't get to try their famous desserts.

Day 2 (City Bus ride to Museum Campus and lots of walking): We kicked off the day with a jump on the city bus...the boys first experience. They did really well and enjoyed the attention they received from other passengers. Heck, they enjoyed attention they got the whole trip. All someone had to do was say HI to Connor and he would immediately say "Guess What? or Can I tell you something?" and you had to drag him away. We rode the bus to Shedd Aquarium. Connor seemed to really enjoy the aquariums, but Brady was less thrilled. I think because several were above his eye level. We lucked into the Dolphin area at the right time for a show...instead of the normal show, they were giving us a Sneak Preview of their new Fantasea show that debuts next month. It was a really awesome show featuring full costumes, flying boats, magic, light effects, and of course several ocean animals (dolphins, Beluga whales, penguins).

Our next stop was a quick lunch before heading to Field Museum...we didn't get very far across Museum Campus before deciding to just grab some lunch from a street vendor (boys were complaining they were hot and hungry). We grabbed some Chicago-Style hot dogs where ketchup was a special request and had a nice lunch on the Museum Campus lawn overlooking the Lake. We then did a quick tour of the Field Museum focusing on the dinosaur skeleton exhibits. This was a neat looking museum, but most of it was too old for the boys. Time to leave the museum area...do we catch a bus or start walking? Oh boy, did we walk a lot this day! We started our walk along Monroe Harbor, so the boys would be distracted by all the yachts parked there. We then cut over to Millennium Park and walked through the art exhibits including the "Bean". We grabbed dinner at Giordano's for some famous stuffed pizza. We've walked this far - let's just keep walking! The boys got to see lots along the way - a Chess game on the sidewalk, banjo player, drummer on a bucket, Michigan Avenue Bridge, giant American Gothic Statue.We made one more stop before making it to the hotel - the Lego Store. We let the boys pick out a couple new Lego kits while also pointing out several that they would like Santa to bring them (hint hint Grandparents). The rest of the weekend was focused on those Legos and the hotel became the most requested place.

Day 3 (Lincoln Park Zoo): After a big breakfast, we jumped on the bus to Lincoln Park Zoo. Upon arrival, Brady requested a stroller because his feet hurt from the day before. I don't blame you bud - I would like a stroller also. We got the boys a double stroller, which I think made the day that more enjoyable and tolerable for everyone. This Zoo is really nice - lots of animals and huge habitats for the animals. It even had a Farm area- who knew the boys would enjoy watching Dairy Cows (we skipped the cow-milking). We ended up spending 6 hours there and I think we even missed a few spots (the Zoo is also undergoing a huge renovation). The boys didn't miss the opportunity to ride the Carousel or the Children's train. We used the train as motivation all day - if you are good today, you can ride the train when we leave. It worked for the most part. After the zoo, we caught the bus back to the hotel so the boys could play Legos and Mommy could nap. For our final night in Chicago, we took the boys to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. They really enjoyed it and Connor has requested a return trip for his birthday so he can get the Sparkling Volcano Dessert.

Day 4 (time to head home): We debated making another stop before heading home on Day 4. The boys, however, were quick to determine the plan for the day. "We want to eat breakfast at the same place we did yesterday, so I can get pancakes again. Then we start driving home, so Daddy can build our Lego Fire Truck." They ended up sleeping the majority of the drive home, which made Sunday night a very relaxing evening for the Seaton family. Vacation was enjoyable...unfortunately will be the last one until next fall (can't break tradition) due to the new baby arriving next spring.

Saturday Fun...Holiday World Bound

All summer, classmates have been sharing their trips to Holiday World with the boys and we have been reminding them that we would go in September (my company picnic). The park is closed to the public and is open to a few companies only. The day finally arrived...

We decided to start out the morning with the boys regular routine of Soccer. Boy was that a mistake....they decided this was the weekend to not participate. Connor sat on the sidelines and Brady participated for half...even with an audience from Mimi and Papa. I wasn't sure if it was due to their excitement to head to Holiday World or whether it was just going to be one of those days.

We arrived at Holiday World around 11:30, so I told the boys that we would have lunch first and then we would have fun. They took their sweet time walking to the picnic groves reading the park map, took their sweet time attempting to get out of eating, and had lots of attitude for us. The day was not looking any better....

After we left the picnic area, we got in line for our first ride. Good news...they both passed the height measurements. Brady was barely over 36" and could ride most rides with an adult and Connor was barely at 42" and could ride alone or with an adult. After we were leaving that first ride, we ran into our good friends that were there with their 4 children (2 in strollers).

We ended up spending the rest of the day with them. We opted out of the water park due to time and hassle and just focused on riding rides. The kids had fun getting to ride rides that were new to them this year and hanging out with other kids. The day definitely went by quick trying to navigate the park with 6 kiddos. I think their favorite ride was Frightful Falls, which they rode THREE times!

About an hour before closing, we all split up. Our friends headed home, Brady and I headed to the kiddie area, and Connor and Chris headed to the Hollidog area. Brady and Connor enjoyed the last hour doing their own thing and riding a few rides before closing. The boys were out on the drive home and didn't wake until morning (other than the mumbling that went on during PJ time).

It turned out to be a good day and next year we will be meeting our friends there at the start of the day. I think we also owe the boys a water park trip now that we have skipped it two years in a row.

Baby Peanut...expected arrival 4/12/2010

Today was our first ultrasound for Baby #3, our baby peanut! The first ultrasound always makes the pregnancy so official...as if the last several weeks of sick feeling and pigging out to keep it at bay weren't indicator enough. It was really neat to see the arms and legs flailing about on the ultrasound. The heartbeat was really strong at 173. Someone asked me if that was girl or boy indicator levels - not sure?? I am officially 9 weeks and 3 days along with expected arrival on 4/12/2010, which happens to be my parents 35th wedding anniversary.

The boys are super excited about having a new sibling and of course, are requesting a little sister since "they never had a baby sister before". I predict that a little girl would have all three boys (daddy included) wrapped around her finger, so that would be neat to see. Although, a little boy would be fun also since he wouldn't be as close in age as the boys are and I would be prepared. We'll be anxiously awaiting our 20 week ultrasound in late November to put the predictions to rest...

Brady Stories

Brady uses hidden meanings:

Brady likes to tell each of us (hopefully not anyone else) "You're mean" and we have scolded him enough times that he quickly says "You're nice" immediately after the insult. This week, he has caught on to the fact that he always gets scolded, so now he just says "You're nice" with a TONE. We know what he really means...but he thinks because he is saying the word nice that it is all better. All you can do is smile sometimes!

Brady doesn't want a follower:

Usually it is the older brother that has to worry about the little brother tag along. In our case, Brady has the big brother being the annoying tag along. Last night, Connor climbed into bed with Brady in the middle of the night. Brady was so annoyed by that fact that after telling Connor to stay out of his bed, he decided he was not going to sit on the couch and watch TV with Connor before school. Instead, he was going to eat his breakfast in the kitchen and visit with Daddy. When we got to school, I could tell that Brady wanted to pick out his own activity and do his own thing. I think the teachers even sensed it since they told Connor his friend should be arriving soon. Instead, Connor asked Brady if he could play with him and he got a hesitant "sure". Sorry Brady...you can't go far with Connor being at the same school, on the same Soccer team, and living in the same household. They are supposed to share a bedroom come January...we may need to revisit that plan.

Can't fool Connor....

The other night Connor was telling me a story about something that happened at school. I added to the story based on my knowledge of what he was talking about and he first asked me how I knew that. When I claimed my knowledge was due to Mommy Super Powers, he quickly responded with "Did Ms. Beth (his teacher) email you?". Busted....

Remember when we were kids and our parents had "super powers". They always were one step ahead of us and knew everything (until we got into high school and we knew everything and kept everything a secret from them). Kids of this generation are going to have knowledge at their fingertips with technology...and parents aren't going to be able to claim super powers and all knowing knowledge.

On a side note, this works well also for getting things out of Connor. I can ask him if something happened at school today (just randomly or because I know something) and more times than not he will admit to something because he thinks Ms. Beth emailed me. He he!

Connor knows his ABCs

This is the year that I have been told Connor will start to make huge strides in letter and word recognition, writing words, and possibly even reading by time he is 5. He is definitely showing some great progress. During summer school, he would bring booklets home of letters that he had practiced writing for the day. He is now working with the teacher assistant on a regular basis on writing words. For home, we gave him some maze and puzzle books that he loves to work on.

He will ask us how to spell a word and then he will write that word....here is an example where he wrote his and Brady's name from memory and then asked how to spell mom, dad, and Seaton. He messed up the 2nd D in dad, so decided that he would fix it by changing it to a B and rename Dad to Dabs. The S at the end of each name is for Seaton, but you can't see the period very well.

He also has shown interest in reading the newspaper and he will key in on certain letters, numbers, and pictures. He was really focused on a $49 offer to Florida in Sunday's paper and a train swap show coming in a couple weeks (too bad we will be in Chicago).

I love seeing what Connor has learned!

Soccer Fun

Brady has been taking Soccer "lessons" since April. For the new fall session, we decided to switch Brady to the YMCA Pee-Wee Youth Soccer to see if it was as good (and to save some money). To make things even better, two of Connor and Brady's close friends from school also signed up. One of the mom's asked that all three of the boys be placed on a team together, so Brady got the fortunate opportunity to be moved up to the 4-year old group.

Week 1 went well for Brady, although it took him a little bit to warm up to the new field, coach, and teammates. The coach decided to do a scrimmage, which I don't think the kids were ready for since some of them were new to the sport all together. After the official practice, Connor joined the three boys for some small group play. After a few comments from the coach and the other mom's about why Connor wasn't playing, he decided he wanted to play in the future. Afterwards, we went to get Connor a soccer ball and a goal for the boys to practice at home.

I wasn't sure how week 2 was going to go with both boys playing and Connor playing for the first time. Connor has never been a good participant in team activities, but I think having his brother and two best friends there was good motivation. They did GREAT! There were a few moments where someone was upset that they weren't picked as goalie or because they couldn't stand in line next to their brother. Week 2 was focused on each kid being given the opportunity to kick a goal past the goalie. After practice, the boys played a little bit before departing. I think that may become a regular for the boys! Looking forward to the future weeks to see how the boys progress...

Friday Night Fun

Tonight, Mimi & Papa arrived with Papa Murphy's pizza for an evening visit. While the pizza was cooking, the boys played a few rounds of hide-n-seek with them before deciding to give Mimi "lessons" on how to put together their puzzles. During a lesson, you are not allowed to touch the "work" while the "teacher" is giving the lesson. In case you didn't guess, this is how it works at Montessori. You receive a lesson on an item and then you are allowed to choose that item anytime.

After dinner, Connor was pretty excited about making some peanut butter cookies. He did very good about getting all the ingredients out and was excited about putting the ingredients in the bowl. He even cracked the egg with no difficulties. He wasn't excited about mixing - peanut butter is not a good mixing item for a little guy! When asked where he got his great cooking skills from, he said he learned from his daddy! While the cookies were baking, Connor even cleaned up all the dishes. As far as mommy is concerned, more cooks in the family is always a good thing!

School Update for the Boys

It has been 3 1/2 weeks since the start of the new school year for Connor and a new school for Brady. I receive regular update emails and pictures from both of their teachers reporting what the kids are working on and they are supposed to start working on some new things soon. It looks like the boys are enjoying school and my fears related to the boys being at a school together have been unfounded. The removal of naps has also not been as bad as we thought it could be.

Most mornings, it is a competition all the way through the school to see who is faster, who should be in front, etc. When they arrive in the playroom, they are required to pick an activity or ask another friend if they can work with them on an activity. They do this until the first recess occurs and before going to the classroom. This morning during drop off, I hung back a little bit to watch the boys. What I saw was two very mature boys setting up their rugs and coordinating between each other who was going to do what. It was very nice to watch...until I got caught and was told to go to work.

Following are a few pictures of the boys during the day at school...