The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play

Last week it rained.  And rained.  And rained.  I can't really complain about it too much since we didn't suffer near the devestation that our friends and family back in Pennsylvania experienced.  But it was certainly enough to put a damper on things... and to keep us cooped up in the house.

Jack is really in to Dr. Seuss right now.  Every morning he'd wake up, look out the window and start reciting the first few pages of The Cat in the Hat. 

The sun did not shine
It was too wet to play
So we sat in the house
All that cold, cold wet day

I sat there with Sally
We sat there we two
And I said, "How I wish
we had something to do."

To wet to go out
And too cold to play ball
So we sat in the house
We did nothing at all

So all we could do
Was to sit, sit, sit, sit
And we did not like it
Not one little bit

Usually he starts breaking off right about the "bump" part, but hey, not bad memorization for an almost-3-year-old.

This is how Jack plays hide and seek.  And even if he wasn't easy to spot, he can't stop giggling enough to make the game worthwhile anyway.

So we caught ourselves saying how we wish we had something to do many times this week.  And unfortunately for Jack, The Cat in the Hat never showed up.  He was stuck with a tired, pregnant Mommy.  And not that there aren't enough puzzles, books and games to keep us occupied here in the house.  But it was just the thought of being trapped that made things difficult.  And the fact that it was dark and gloomy most of the day.  And typically these would be perfect days to cuddle up with a book and cup of hot tea.  Or spin a few projects off the sewing machine.  But things just don't work that way with little boys.  At least, not while they're awake.

Jude was having way too much fun with the mirror, so Jack had to step in and take things over.

By Day #3 Jude was getting antsy.  He raided the coat closet, dug out his galoshes, and carried them over to where I was sitting after dinner.   Then he turned up his eyes, handed me his boots and said, "Uh, uhhhh?"  Which translates to "Please Mommy, can we please get out of the house?"  And I couldn't resist because I knew exactly how he was feeling.

Especially since I was hoping that seeing his mom and brother having fun out in the rain would convince Jack to finish off the last three bites of his dinner. And it did.

Can you tell they're brothers?

Soon the three of us were inhaling cool, moist air and enjoying a bug-free yard for once.  Jude immediately jumped into the rain-filled inflatable pool that was left out over the weekend and you could hear the water sloshing around in his boot for the rest of the evening.

And Jack taught himself how to open an umbrella.  Over and over again.  And each time he "poosed a butt-en" anyone standing within a 5 foot radius got sprayed with rainwater.  Too fun.

Guess who got tasked with closing the umbrella every 20 seconds?

So we spent a fine evening in the drizzle.  A perfect prelude to "tubby night." 

Dumping the water out of his boots.

And thankfully we woke up to sunny skies on Saturday.  And a chance to get back to what we do best ... get bug bites.  Okay, just kidding. 

What I meant to say was "Sharing and being kind to others."

Okay, okay, just kidding about that too.  Currently, Jack is only in to toys that Jude is playing with at any given moment.  He'll be all about riding the tricycle ... until he sees Jude having fun on the Handy Manny quad.  Or he'll be perfectly content in the sand box, unless Jude starts laughing too much on the slide.

And currently Jude is really into the slide.  He's worked up enough courage to go down by himself.  As in, Mommy wasn't paying attention and he just slid right on down and off the end and landed on his rear in the dirt ... all by himself.

But it takes him a bit of a pep talk to get there.

He'll sit at the top and think over his next move very, very carefully. 

And just when you think he's about to go, he changes his mind. 

Meanwhile a line of anxious, small children has piled up behind him (okay, maybe just Jack, but it might as well be an entire line).

Until inevitably his hand slips, he loses his footing and ends up "falling" down the slide.

He's pretty proud of his newest accomplishment.

So yes, we're thankful for the sunny skies.  And slides.  And bugs.  And ample opportunities to learn to share and take turns.  And most of all, we're thankful for two little boys who are learning more and more about what it means to be a brother. 

These two are awesome!