Protecting The Knees

Maddux is not walking yet, but she cruises all over the place. However, in the last few weeks she has figured out that she can crawl much quicker than she can cruise, so if she really wants to get to something, she drops down on all fours. This is becoming a problem because we spend so much time outside. We have two 'walkers' outside for her, but she usually crawls for at least half the time, either scraping up toes and knees or wearing holes in her pants in the driveway. Lehr came up with a good idea over the weekend: knee pads!! When we bought Eli his McQueen helmet last year, it came with a set of knee pads and elbow pads. I think the elbow ones fit Maddux's knees best, due to her size. Either way, she's back to zooming around the driveway at break-neck speed!

I was also able to catch a picture of Maddie's funny face. She opens her mouth and scrunches her nose at the same time, all the while breathing in and out of her nose. How lady-like! It is cute, but probably only to those who love her in all her weirdness. I love the look even more because her top two teeth are the only pearly-whites she has up there, so they are still a bit gapped. I love her goofy-grin!!

Mothers Day Picnic

Lehr and Tyler's dad had planned to treat the mommies to a Mothers Day picnic in a nearby park several weeks ago. Due to weather and schedules, that didn't happen on Mothers Day, so we rescheduled for this morning. The weather was warm but very nice, and the park we went to was amazing. We set up a blanket and noshed on bagels, muffins and fruit while the kids played baseball and soccer. After a while Ty started to feel a little under the weather, so we put the kids in the strollers and walked over to a duck pond. We were met by a large group of rather friendly geese. They became even more friendly when they discovered that we brought bread. Luckily no one got nipped, but Ty's fingers came awful close! From there we meandered over to a small waterfall where Eli threw rocks and crossed a suspension bridge. (Tyler and Maddux were close to sleeping at this time, so they remained in their strollers.) My favorite part of the morning was when Tyler and Maddux were hanging out on the blanket. He wanted her to lie down with him, but Mad Dog is wiggly and would not comply. She was happy to 'wrestle' with him though!

After late naps at the house, CC & D came over for dinner. Carolyn and I went for a walk first and the guys took the kids to the pool. We met up with them in time to see Maddux showing off her swimming skills (when she lets go of the wall in the baby pool and tries to crawl, resulting in a floating baby right under the surface). She performed that for us several times and never got upset, which amazes me. Eli had a blast, of course, with the kick boards and jumping in the big pool. When they blew the whistle for adult swim, we all headed back to the house for pizza on the back deck. Eli ate four slices. Large slices. Slices that Lehr had three of and I had two of. Seriously. Lehr also treated Eli to about half of a strawberry fruit Popsicle. For those of you who remind us that we're too strict with our sugar police rule, it wasn't quite 'real' ice cream, but better than nothing! As soon as he finished the Popsicle he started asking for "ice Popsicles, please!!", which is just an ice cube in a mesh feeder. I have trained that child well.....

Sign of the Times

Maddux is waving like crazy these days. She knows that when she hears someone say "hi" or "bye", she is supposed to shake her hand in the air. To my surprise Max started signing 'please' in the bath last night. I was playing along with her and she kept asking me (with her eyes, of course, since she can't talk) to continue our game. As usual, I signed please to her and asked her if she wanted my help, 'please'. She rubbed her stomach with both hands. Again and again. I got one of her displays on video...just for proof. (P.S. I LOVE the way she sticks her hand under the water and then brings it to her mouth, as if she could drink it that way!)

Date Night

Eli and Lehr had their date night last night. They ended up at The Flying Biscuit, one of Eli's favorite restaurants. After eating, they went to the Apple store in the mall to pick up our (fixed) computer. This was still very much a fun 'date' for Eli. Not only does the Apple store have a cool area set up for kids to play neat computer games, but going to the mall is something Eli has no concept of. Neither of his parents are mall shoppers, so this big, noisy, bright open space was like an amusement park to Eli. Lehr said they rode the escalators no less than 12 times. Before Eli's nap today I asked him about his date. He summed it up by telling me, "I ride da eck-sah-laters!" Cheap entertainment only for this kid!

Again with the reports on Eli's blossoming dialect. He creates these sentences that just crack me up. Sometimes because they don't quite make sense and sometimes because they are dead-on. He uses a lot of "my" instead of "me". (Mommy's playin catch wiff my.) And the usual toddler-use of "him" or "her" instead of "he" or "she". (Maddux is crawling! Her is crawling!") For the most part, E is using correct gender specification though, so I'm not complaining. And he can carry on 'real' conversations. When we discussed his date with Daddy, he was totally telling me all about it, in his own way....not much need for prompting. My favorite sentence of the day comes from right before naps when we were listening to music. There was a break in the vocals, but I kept singing. First Eli kept singing with me, but then he stopped and told me, "They not talking, Mommy." (After reading this post, Lehr informed me that he gets a similar phrase from Eli when they read bedtime stories each night. If Lehr pauses between sentences, Eli will say, "Talk about it, Daddy.")

Eli Updates

We've had a particularly good few days with Eli. Yesterday he was just a gem, through and through. He shared, he used his manners, he played with Mommy and was very 'involved' in his play, and he rolled with the flow, even when plans changed. Today has been almost as good. Although we'd planned on a gym trip this morning (meaning the kid-zone for Eli, which he wasn't excited about), we ended up walking with Noah and his mom instead. Even though Eli loves Noah, he really wanted to stay home and play catch with Mommy, as he reminded me about 20 times on the way to our walk. In the end he had a good walk and was rewarded with a trip to see the horses afterward. We walked all the way down to the Polo fields so Eli, Maddie and Noah could see the horses. There were five or six behind a short wooden fence when we arrived. They were very friendly too; the horses came right over and stuck their heads over the fence to investigate us. Eli was not at all scared and he put his hand out several times to pet them. (I didn't let him because the owner wasn't nearby and my knowledge of horses and how to handle them is non-existent.)

Our neighbors were outside when we returned home, so Eli and Maddux played with them for a few minutes before we ate lunch. Eli shared so well with both the girl and boy, and didn't give me any lip when I gave him a 1-minute warning before we had to go inside. My favorite moment came during lunch: Eli was eating a banana and broke off a small piece, held it out, and said, "I got small piece for Max." Life is good when your toddler willingly and independently shares.

Eli is really into imagination these days. He often leaves toys in specific spots in the house with the explanation that they are sleeping, or eating, or a myriad of other activities. Last night when Lehr put Eli to bed, the last request Eli made was for Daddy to take his turtle downstairs. Lehr obliged, but asked what the turtle was going to do down there while Eli slept. E told him to make the turtle some eggs and water. Ooooookaaaaaaay. Door closed; conversation finished. First thing Eli said to me when I woke him up this morning: "Turtle downstairs eatin' eggs." Stuff sticks with this kid!

On the Time-Out front, we've made progress!! This weekend we started with 'the chair'. Instead of a carpet square or a step for Eli to sit on, we placed a kitchen chair in the other room for him to sit on during his allotted time out (we're up to 4 minutes). Genius. I will admit I had next to no hope that this would work, but so far so good. For now anyway! We've had about four time outs in the last few days and he has yet to get out of one without permission. I can see the light!! The tunnel is almost behind me!

In closing, Eli's baseball fever is running high. He loves loves LOVES playing catch these days. In the last week I've been working with him to get 'in front' of the ball when I toss it to him. (Since he insists on using a real baseball, I often toss it to him as a bounce, so he has some warning.) He repeats "in frunt ov ball!" back to me randomly during our play, and he really takes the advice to heart most of the time! Please hear me when I say that I praise him for his effort, regardless of his ability, as I feel the former is more important. But lately I have been able to praise the success a lot more.

Mommy's Little Helper

My heart was warmed today by Eli's attitude and eagerness to help out and please Mommy. We had a great morning: a walk after breakfast followed by a full hour of catch out front while Maddie napped. We then came inside for a quick blanket time and lunch. After I cleaned up the kitchen, the three of us went upstairs to play a little before the kids' naps. I'd brought along a huge pile of clean laundry to fold at some point. The kids were in a good mood, so I started to fold and hang laundry right away. Eli offered to get hangers from his room,which he did a good job of. Then I hung all of his and Maddux's shirts on the hangers. They each have a low rod in their closet, so when Eli asked if he could hang the hangers in his room, I let him. He took three to start and minutes later he came back for more, hanging ALL of his shirts for me. Then he asked to do Maddie's. Since I was near the end of my stack by the time he helped in her room, I snuck in there to catch a glimpse of Eli in action. He was so cute, trying to hard to hang them just right, saying "Uh Oh!" to himself if/when the hanger didn't go on right away. It's moments like these that I need to capture on video because I'm sure in five years, we'll be arguing over him hanging his clothes!

Sun In The Fun

We had such a great weekend, but it was a lot of busy busy busy. To combat that, after dropping the Mac off at the 'doctor' this morning, we all went to the pool to relax. Uncle D joined us, but I don't think he was quite prepared for the frigid water temperature. As luck would have it, the baby pool was closed due to 'circulation problems', so we were all in the bigger (colder!) pool. Eli enjoyed jumping in the pool, but he seemed a little freaked to go under or 'swim'...most likely a cold-water issue. Maddux was right in the thick of it though. Lehr found an extra kick board and put her on it; she had a blast! Several times he just pushed the board over to me because she did such a great job holding on and enjoying the ride. Summer = good times!

She Is A Monkey

Max's newest 'trick' is swaying back and forth (usually while holding on to something so she can be standing upright) while making loud noises. Duh...she's a baby, right? It cracks me up though because often she's holding bars, like in her crib or outside of Eli's, so it appears she's at the zoo, performing for the visitors outside her cage. Last night she stood on our chair at the baseball game and gave the patrons behind us such a show...I only caught a few seconds on video because I spent the first 3 or 4 minutes laughing at her. This behavior tends to show up even more when Mad Dog is tired. She has entered that stage where she ramps up and is unable to slow down when she reaches the fatigue.

Busy Weekend!

And it will keep going from here, I think. Last night we had our first pool party at the neighborhood pool. It officially opened at 4PM and the rain (torrential rain, at that) started at 3:58. We'd already paid the caterer and whatnot though, so at 5PM we decided to head to the clubhouse to collect our food. Once we'd filled our plates, the rain let up and the clouds started to clear. Moments later, the lifeguards gave us the 'all-clear' and the pool was open for business. As cold as it was, the kids both loved the baby pool. Maddux had chattering teeth, but she cruised around the edges a few times and Eli just ruled it every way he could. He used another child's kick board and loved it. Never mind the fact that he was not a fan when we used them in swim class... After an hour of chill bumps and shivering kids, we packed up and headed home. Upon arrival, Eli requested a 'cold bath'. What a goof nut. (No pictures because I never thought the rain and lightning would clear up for a swim, so I didn't bring the camera.)

This morning, Ty came over to hang out for a few hours. The kids all got along great, mowing the grass, blowing bubbles, and playing with blocks. He is always so sweet to Mad Dog, calling her "Maddie Moo" and kissing her hand. Eli only got frustrated with sharing his toys once, and there were no meltdowns by anyone!

We rushed through lunch to get the kids down for a nap because we planned to take them to a Braves game at 4PM. During the drive to the stadium, I asked Eli if he remembered what to do if a stranger tries to take him. He did. He told me, "NO! NO! NO! NO!" and "dun away" and "Fine-d poh-eess-man." And then he added, "Or a Cubbie." At least he knows who he can trust!

First thing when we walked in, we went to the station where Eli could get his face airbrushed. Lehr had talked it up to him and he was really excited about it. As we stood there waiting, he got quiet (as usual) and said to me, "Mommy do it?" in a little voice. I told him I wasn't going to, but I'd be right there and hold his hand. Then he picked out a baseball-player-figure for the lady to paint. He sat really still and let her do her thing (though I think he was pretty scared of the airbrush on his face). Of course, Eli's favorite part was looking in the mirror at the end product.

The kids did great at the game: we lasted close to five innings in our seats (we had an empty four seats in front of us which allowed Maddux to cruise while holding onto those seat backs without disturbing anyone), and then we went to the upper deck to walk around. It was much cooler up there (the temps were in the 80's today), and they have the COOLEST kids' area set up. Eli could run a baseline and stand on a pitchers mound. He loved this and I think he ran the base no less than ten times.

Poor Maddux had a bit of a hard time because she can't move around like she'd like. She is so busy and so active, but not walking independently yet. She is crazy fast with a crawl now though, so even when you offer to 'help' her walk, she doesn't want to because she knows she can get where she wants to go much quicker on all fours. When we went to the upper deck, I let her do that as much as possible, as it was pretty clean and not very crowded. The result (of course) was Maddux finding stray peanut shells from time to time. You know they ended up in her mouth because my girl likes to eat. Poor, poor neglected second child.

Between the seats, the airbrushing, and the upper deck, we all lasted until the ninth inning, and we walked out just as the game finished. A success in my book! They laughed back and forth in the backseat the whole way home, and then ate a quick dinner before baths. Of course both kids were asleep before their heads even hit their pillows tonight.

Quite A Mouthful

More gems from the last few days:

Big vs. Little
Eli told me today how some of his friends are big and some are little. He got them all right! Initially, I was just trying to see if he knew gender difference, as he's been a little confused in the past. I asked him, "Is Cooper a bird?" He told me "No, he a big boy." So then we went through all his friends. Any child of his age or older are'big' and any babies (Max, Finley, Owen) are 'little'. (And he got the gender right each time.)

"Das so nice!"
I often tell Eli, "That's so nice of you to ....." when he shares, or shows sympathy, or does something kind. Today we were at the park and Maddux was playing with one of the baseballs we'd brought with us. Eli asked where it was and I told him Maddux was holding it. He says, "Oh, Das so nice!!"

"Here ya go."
Last night in their bath, Eli was playing with the Motrin syringe, which he loves. All of the sudden he told us that he was going to give Maddux medicine. He carefully filled it up and used a VERY soothing voice to say to her, "Come 'eer. S'ok. Here ya go." Then he squeezed it in her mouth. He was very gentle, and I reminded him that we were only pretending to give medicine. What a little care-taker!

Signs
Eli is begging me to teach him more signs each day. Most recently he's become a fan of "Good night", "I love you", "Grandma/Grandpa", and "E.L.I" He remembers the new ones from day to day and he always asks me for 'diffent' ones. Looks like I need to brush up on my signs so I can continue to challenge him!

"Dohn know how dat happent!"
On the way to the park this morning, I had to stop because I had a rock in my shoe. Eli asked me about it, and when I confirmed that yes, there was a pebble in there, Eli said, "Dohn know how dat happent!"

"Moster!"
After breakfast I took the kids to the nearby park where I've been doing "boot camp" for the last month. I thought it might be difficult to get an extra boot camp workout in today, but I figured it was worth a try. Plus there are 7 or 8 baseball fields there, so Eli and I could play catch and Maddux could crawl around in the grass. It turned out that Eli loved boot camp and we both got in a great workout. He sprinted with me, shuffled back, did lunges (though his looked quite different from mine) and (his favorite part) ran up and down 'the monster' hill. I ran up and down that thing WAY more than I usually do during boot camp because it was Eli's favorite and he kept insisting on 'the moh-ster'. He took a big tumble the first time down (it is pretty steep), but he brushed himself off and kept going. Maddux enjoyed watching us and picking weeds for the groundskeepers.

Outdoor Fun

Eli, Maddux and I met some friends at the Botanical Gardens this morning. The attractions are filling up around town, with school ending for the year, so it took the three of us twenty minutes just to get through the line! (We usually walk right up.) Tyler, Logan and Eli had a great time running around the Children's Gardens, playing follow-the-leader and exploring all of the attractions. We tried for quite some time to get the boys to put their faces through the holes for a picture, but after no less than 20 shots of mine (and who knows how many of the other moms), only one had all three boys in the holes at the same time!

Eli got really into the slide on the playground for the first time. The 'high water' was turned on, but I didn't pack a suit for Eli, so we skipped it this time. After a good two hours of playing and running around, we found a spot to eat lunch. I let Maddux out of her backpack carrier then, so she could stretch her legs. She cracks me up these days, with her dog-like mannerisms. She often puts things (toys, clothes, etc.) in her mouth and then crawls from one spot to another, and she has started shaking her head 'no' all the time. I have yet to see her use the shake as a real 'no'; usually it is more of a way to move her body to music or whatever.

School's Out For The Summer!!

Eli had his last day of school today, complete with a end-of-year picnic. I made star PB&J sandwiches and banana muffins (cupcakes to the kids) for the summer birthdays. The teacher gave us some animal crackers and juice to round out the meal. For entertainment I brought bubble and chalk, though the kids didn't get into the chalk at all. At the last minute, one of the teachers told us about a school-owned small jump castle, so we pulled that out too. What a hit! The kids loved everything, especially the bubbles. I was really impressed that there wasn't any fighting over food, toys, etc. All of the kids are so used to each other, obviously. They did great waiting turns and sharing with each other.

Lehr was able to sneak away from the office which helped me BIG time. Had I been left with putting the picnic together and watching Max on my own, it would have been worse than this picture! She had a great time sitting on the grass with Daddy, eating dried apples. It's hard to believe the year is over; the teachers sent home the beginning of the year Polaroids they took of each child and Eli was a baby in his! Once again they told me what a sports fanatic he is, and they complimented us on his manners as he is always quick with 'please' and 'thank you'. Good reports are always a nice thing to hear!

Eli's Words

Some new phrases from Eli:

"E eats evey-ting!"
This is the name of a They Might Be Giants song that Eli likes. He applies it to himself because we call him "E" from time to time. And he speaks the truth: E does eat everything!!

"Hope it doesn't dain (rain) t'day!"
I drew a new baseball diamond for Eli in the driveway yesterday. Since we were a bit bored, I got elaborate, adding a home and away side, bleachers, stadium lights, and a few other extras. When I was done, Eli grinned and walked all around the chalk drawings. Then he pensively said, more to himself than anyone, "Hope it doesn't dain t'day!"

"I catch her."
After the chalk drawing portion of our afternoon, I pushed Max around in the red car. One of her favorite things to do is ride down the driveway on her own. (It slopes up just enough at the end to stop her from running into the garage or house.) Eli did not accompany us to the top of the hill as he was still inspecting his stadium. When I got to the top and prepared to let her go, however, Eli threw his arms out wide and said, "I catch her."

"Chalk-ate." "Hmmmm...maybe like hamburgers."
This was a random one. Eli and I have been discussing birthdays as there have been a bunch in the last month or so (Daddy, Uncle J, D, Grandpa Jim, and a few others). When he started talking about it the other day, he named a bunch of other people we know, assuming their birthday was coming up soon too (why not?). I told him that most of them already had their birthday this year, but Grandma Cathie's would be in a month when we visit her. He told me, "She eat birfday cake? E-i eat too!!" Then he told me what kind: "Chalk-ate", which is weird because I don't think this child has had chocolate except for one bite of his great-grandmother's cake 18 months ago. Nonetheless, I said, "Maybe. But what do you know about chocolate? Have you had it?" He said, "Yes, I dike (like) it." So I asked, "What does it taste like?" (He usually answers this question with "grapes".) Today he said, "Hmmm...maybe like hamburgers." So there you have it: chocolate tastes like hamburgers.

Good Times

When the day-to-day becomes difficult (as it was today with Eli), I hang on to moments like these. Lehr caught a few minutes of the kids laughing up a storm in the tub tonight. Eli was laughing at the Motrin medicine dropper, which has been a favorite toy of his for a LONG time, and Max was laughing because Eli was laughing. It's just that easy with her.

The Max Report

Maddux has hit that stage where she changes so much each day that it's hard to keep up. She finally started successfully eating finger foods in the last week. For over a month now she's been working with Cheerios and such, but dexterity has failed her, so she usually ends up dropping them on the floor in frustration. Now she shovels them in her mouth, handfuls at a time. She also eats Gardenburgers, graham crackers, strips of pears, asparagus, zucchini and apples, and pasta with her hands. On the new mommy-fed diet is tofu and chicken. As much as we can, we feed Maddux what we're eating for dinner these days. Some days go better than others.

Although she's talking up a storm, no 'real' words have come from Maddux's mouth yet (except the ever-present 'mamamamama'). She is starting to sign a little though. She knows "all-done" ends her meal and lets her out of her high chair, and I've caught her using that sign a few times when she wants out of the bath too. Though it's not totally clear that she's doing it intentionally, Mad Dog does clap her hands a little when she wants more food (similar to the 'more' sign).

Still no independent walking, but Max uses the walker all the time now, and she cruises whenever possible.

We All Scream For Ice Cream!

In celebration of Lehr's birthday yesterday, the four of us walked to a local ice cream shop after dinner. Eli has had maybe two or three small tastes of ice cream in his life (remember: we are the sugar police!), so this was his first real ice cream experience! We'd had a difficult night with time outs and dinner etiquette issues, so we almost scrapped the whole mission. For this reason, I didn't even bring the camera; when we left the house we were leaning towards Eli not getting any. In the end we decided to show Eli some grace and let him have a small cone (the free baby cone they give to kids 3 and under). I gave him the choice of strawberry, peach or mango sorbet and Eli chose strawberry. He got really excited when I handed him the cone and he went to town. (He even gave Maddie a small taste, though she didn't seem to like it.) Eli wasn't quite sure what to do when he got down to the cone, but he soon figured it out and polished the treat off in no time. Of course he's been asking when we can do the 'Famee Wok and Eyssss Keeem' again. Good thing summer time is here - hopefully that can be a regular family outing!

D is for Drums

What an exciting 24 hours!! Lehr and Eli went out last night and purchased an electronic drum set. Lehr said Eli was loving the music store; lots and lots of guitars and drum sets and other instruments to look at. They got home rather late, so Eli was fast asleep by the time Lehr set it up, but first thing this morning, Eli asked me where his blue sticks were. (The sales guy gave him a set of 'kids' blue drum sticks last night.) We went over a few rules and then I let Eli sit and play drums while Maddux and I cleaned up from breakfast. He had a blast and I was oh-so proud when he listened to my instructions about what to do when the timer went off. (Put the sticks down cuz drummin' time is over!) An added benefit of the set might be the leverage tool it gives us with Eli and his choices. I've already explained to Eli that the drum set is a 'big boy toy' and that in order to use it, he has to make 'big boy choices'. That includes obeying, but if he doesn't, it definitely means going to time out if/when he is told. I've already had to take the set 'away' once today....I know he felt it too!

For now, some video of his early morning jam session. It's kinda long, but I hated to edit it down!

Same Song, Different Day

So we're back in the time-out-tumble. Eli will NOT stay in a time out. I feel I've exhausted a lot of strategies to get him to stay on his time out square, and we've had some success. I remember a whole week that went by where he didn't like it, but he obeyed and went to his square to serve his time. It was so nice it felt like a month. Now we're back to the place where I cringe when he does something showing lack of self-control because I know what is next. Even if the mood is jovial, as soon as I tell him (calmly) to go to his square, he shakes his hands while saying "no" and starts to flip out. This tells me he doesn't like time out, which means it is a good consequence. But the effort it takes for me to get him to go to time out, let alone stay there, is Herculean, at the very least. (That is not to say I'm always successful. I still have to resort to the crib T.O. sometimes, which I do not like to do.) Not an easy feat when I'm also trying to feed/play with/keep alive Mad Dog.

So another plea for help. I've asked before and you've responded, but I need some more ideas and support. Please tell me what I'm overlooking. Eli is 2 1/2 (he'll be three in August). How do you keep a child in time out without strapping them into a time out chair?!?! (Speaking of which, that used to work for us as 99% of Eli's tantrums would be during meal time. I could just turn his chair around and set the timer - he couldn't go anywhere. Those were the days!)

Oh, and when I picked him up from school today, his teacher told me he had several time outs at school today. So he's acting up all around....the testing of limits is in full effect!!!

Sweet, Sweet Baby

I can hardly call her that anymore though. My big girl is so close to walking, and she wears 12-24 month clothing and a size 3 diaper (almost too small for her) even though she's just ten months old. Yet she is still my baby!

Maddux has been sleeping in this pose for the last three days. Whenever I have to go wake her from a nap, I get the pleasure of watching her sleep so soundly this way for a few minutes before she stirs. I'm not sure what it is about this sleeping position, but it makes me melt.

Instead of books before bed last night, Maddie and I just rocked while I sang to her. She was very tired and never once tried to reach for the books. She has become a huge book fan recently and will wiggle out of my arms once she's done nursing to grab a book. Last night she just lay her head on my chest and sucked her thumb. Eli was never a big snuggler when he was sleepy, so I ate this moment up.

Afternoon Laughs

Just after dinner last night, Lehr took the kids out front while I worked on a few things in the house. I heard the red car going up and down the driveway, so I peeked out the window to see who was driving. I shot this video through the window from upstairs, so you can't hear Max too well. She is beside herself with joy though, loving every minute of the attention Lehr and Eli showered on her. And as far as the over sized helmet goes (it is Eli's), I can only guess that Eli insisted she wear it, even though she did have her seat belt on.