Sunday, March 30, 2008

Child labor

While I would have preferred my first 2 kids less than 2 years apart instead of more than 3, there are some definite advantages. Ethan loves to help out around the house. He will even give Colin a bottle if he's crying and I don't respond fast enough. Ethan looks kind of disgusted with me in this picture, doesn't he? Look how much Colin has grown in a few short months! Here Ethan is still feeding his younger brother, although this time they're both so distracted by the TV that neither seems to care that Colin's not really getting fed.You can't really tell, but Ethan doesn't have any pants on in the above picture. This is a common situation at our house. He doesn't have any on in the first picture, either, though I tried to take it so you can't tell. Ethan prefers to be in the fewest clothes possible at all times. I would explain that he gets it from his dad, but I think that would be oversharing. I wish he didn't like to help with the toilets, but he loves it for some strange reason.Another one I wish he'd skip...pumping gas. I'm convinced he's going to end up covered in it one of these days.

The morning of his costume party at school last Halloween, I was putting Colin in the car when I heard a scraping sound. I turned around and Ethan was dragging the full recyling bin to the curb because Jason and I hadn't done it. It was so cute to see him in his little Diego costume struggling up the driveway. I didn't get a picture, but he has repeated that chore several times.

It started very young. Here he is just after his second birthday, stitches in his forehead and mopping the floor. Again, no pants. These children are clearly in need of a primary caregiver who will spend more time feeding and clothing them and less time taking pictures. Colin likes to help, too, but more in a must-be-right-in-the-middle-of-the-action kind of way. Before he could sit up on his own, I stuck him in the laundry basket in the laundry room so I could move the clothes to the dryer. Ethan walked up and asked what I was doing. When I told him I was going to wash Baby Colin, he panicked, threw his body in front of the dryer, flung out his arms, and yelled, "You can't wash Baby Colin. You can't!" I shouldn't mess with him like that. It might give him ideas, but I couldn't help myself. I'm relieved that he doesn't want to see Colin hurt, but a little disturbed that he thinks me capable of throwing my baby in the washing machine.

5 comments:

Brooke said...

Thanks for the laugh. I love the no-pants pictures. Luke is usually half-dressed too. I justify it because he's a warm-blooded kid. Oh, they're so cute.

Brooke said...

P.S. Can I send you an email address to send you an invite to our now, exclusive blog? Thanks!

Ann said...

OK Kimberly...you missed your call as a stand up comedian...or maybe an Erma Bombeck. I laugh all the way through most of your postings. And then I read them again and have another good laugh. What a treasure this photo journal will be to Ethan and Colin someday!!!

Harris Beach Bums said...
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Harris Beach Bums said...

If you weren't my sister-in-law I would call Child Protective Services on you :)
So clever, so cute! I can't believe how big Colin and Ethan are getting!