All Boys All The Time

Here's a little bit about our boys right now!

• Maddox wears shorts EVERY DAY. He goes to Lisa's and Grandma's wearing pants and long sleeved shirts, but he takes shorts and jerseys with him every day. He thinks he's copying dad because Joe wears shorts to the gym in the morning. But, seriously, he has not worn pants during the day since probably November. Gma Phyllis would have an absolute cow if she knew this.



• Maddox practices his dribbling nearly every morning and/or night. He removes the rug from our entry way, or brings the ball into the kitchen and practices dribbling. After he's done, he says to me, "Practice was SO hard today, mom!" or "Mom, today Michigan beat Ohio State."
• Joey is practicing dribbling without looking at the ball, and has learned what a layup is.
  
  
• Tonight, Maddox travelled with the basketball and Joey yelled, "Mom, he's scribbling! He's scribbling!" He meant travelling!



• When Maddox makes a good play, he wants to do it over in slow motion, and he always says, "Commercial"....but what he means is "Replay". So, Joey, Joe and I always yell, "Maddox, it's replay!" And, he always says, "Oh yeah, watch my replay!" I'm not sure why he thought it was commercial.
• Joe has the boys trained to say Ohio State players are 'cheaters.' As we all sat down to watch the ESPN documentary on the Fab Five, I suggested to Joe that he tell the boys that they cheated, too. Joe said he just wants them to think Ohio State players are the cheaters. So, now when you mention Ohio State, Maddox instantly says, "They cheat, mom!"
• The boys' favorite Michigan basketball player is Tim Hardway Junior. They, of course, also love Shoelace from the Michigan football team. So, when they play, they pretend to be one of them. You know, I've never been this huge proponent of professional and college players being role models...I mean, it's nice when they are but I always hope that if you raise your kids right, you will be their role model. But, now I see why parents get concerned over that....my boys are constantly listening to ESPN, watching the players, copying their moves. That's why I steer them towards Tim Tebow and Kurt Warner, and away from Tiger Woods, and um, Ohio State.
• Last night, I stood at the door listening to the boys talk and Maddox said, "Joey, what if Daddy was God?" And, Joey said, "Well, he can't be God. But, he could be God Junior." And, Maddox then said, "Noooo....what if he was Tim Hardaway Junior? That would be awesome." God, Tim Hardaway Junior - one in the same in this household apparently.
• We have a Final Four Tournament Challenge in our house going on....all of us filled out a bracket. Joey has Marquette winning; Maddox has Michigan; Joe has Ohio State (Cheaters); and I have KU. The boys are very excited for the challenge to begin....they keep asking when the games are going to start! Listen, you're never too young to teach your children how to gamble, right?



• Joey is going to be on the Rockies baseball team this summer. He is very excited to have his "own" team. He has seven games and four practices, I think. He told Maddox that he just needs to stand on the sidelines and yell "Go Rockies!" during his games.
• Maddox and I were watching ESPN one day, and he called me into the bedroom and told me to rewind it so I could see a play. I rewinded it and it was a nice dunk, and Maddox turned and looked at me and said, "Mom, that was sick." I just knew he must have heard Joe say that at some point. I will never forget his face, because he was so serious.
• Every morning, Maddox crawls into bed and asks me to turn on ESPN. Joey wants to watch cartoons still so we have to take turns.
• Joey plays Sonic, Mario and Donkey Kong on the Wii. Maddox only wants to play sports - and when he plays, he goes all out and gets all sweaty. It cracks us up.
• The most spoken phrase in our house is: I love you.
• Just kidding. Seriously? Let's be honest here. The most spoken phrase in our house is: Did you fart? I farted. What smells? He farted. Come smell this, mom. Did you hear that? That was awesome. I didn't fart. I don't smell anything. Oops, it was me. I'm going to fart on your head. Ha Ha - smell that. Excuse Me. Good one, Joey. Nice, Maddox. I'm going to fluff it at you. I farted on you and you didn't even know it. (My mother-in-law has assured me that this is normal, however, she also has assured me that they never really outgrow this.)
• The boys are really into "Boys are better than Girls" right now. It's constantly a Mommy vs. The Men in our household.
• Our favorite t.v. shows to watch with the boys are "Minute to Win It" and "Wipeout." The boys always cheer for the boys and I always cheer for the girls.
• One of their favorite things to do is run circles around the kitchen bar/island. Over and over and over and over.
• Everything is a competition....who can run to the bathroom the fastest, who can dribble the longest, who can catch a bouncy ball in a cup first, who can fasten their seatbelt the fastest, who can burp the loudest. Although some parents I'm sure cushion it so both boys win at everything, I always make a point to tell them that there is a winner and a loser- and when you lose, you get over it and move on. I mean there ARE times when they both get to win something, but for the most part, I declare a winner and a loser. There is nothing I despise more than a sore loser and it just won't be tolerated.
• When the boys fight too much, I make them sit on the couch and hold hands and repeat "I love you brother" continuously. It usually ends in giggles and almost always accomplishes my mission.
• Maddox is more of a daddy's boy, and Joey is both of ours. Joey loves to give me random hugs, he loves to rub my belly and talk to the baby, he loves for me to cuddle with him in the morning, he still loves to sit on my lap and talk. Maddox either is playing or with daddy or on his own. He is my fiercest protector when the time calls, but mostly, he loves his daddy time. I'm hoping he'll come around and acknowledge the 10 hours it took for me to give birth to him, but until then, I'll just remain hopeful.
• Joey loves to be the "Oldest Coppola Cousin" and takes his job very seriously...he's a good teacher, he's patient with the younger cousins, he never gets mad at them (that I observe), he's always the first to kiss the baby. He always tells me that he's the oldest, and always tells me that it's the best to be the "biggest brother."
• Joey has really turned the corner in school....I see him writing so much better, reading more words, coloring so careful, following the rules...and, I never knew it could be so much fun to watch your child learn to read! Who knew?
• Maddox freestyles the prayer at supper every night. It's ALWAYS something different. It goes something like this usually: Dear God....God is so great....Papa Cecil is in heaven....He is having fun....God, you are the heavenly father....you like church....yes, you do....I go to church....I like to eat....God, you are so nice...Amen". And, it's usually done in a singing voice. I keep telling Joe I need to record five days of Maddox's prayers because it seriously is the funniest stand-up comedy/prayer routine I've ever heard. I picture God just waiting for Maddox to start his prayer, knowing it will be the funniest thing He's heard all day.

You know, it's these types of things that make me so excited for the baby to come....I just can't wait to meet him/her!!!