Is there and echo in here?

It is true that these little people living in my house are sponges. Here are a few things that I've heard recently from sponge #1.

• "I'm just freaking out a wittle bit." As he is having trouble getting his car seat buckled by himself.


• "Mommy, what is that car doing!?! They need to get out os our way!!" mimicking a little road rage??


• "OK, but put them down very gently." - Directing me on how to place his crocks on the floor for him to put on.


• "Well alright Mr. Bossy." - Usually in response to something we've asked him to do.


• "She just likes me for my body." - He says this quite often, quoting his favorite line from his favorite movie, Cars.

Here's hoping he is soaking up some of the good stuff too!!

Buddies

We got to keep Landon and Reagan recently and as usual our boys absolutely loved it! Stacey tries to act so big and cool around them and it cracks us up. They were watching Cars (of course) and asked if Stacey could sit in the middle so they could both sit by him. Does it get any sweeter? Yes, because after Wyatt went down for the night they were hugging the video monitor to help him sleep. I'll tell you these two are keepers :) We LOVE these special friends and can't wait for Brown Baby #3 to join them!!!

Mall Hopping

We have made the mall rounds this week. We met up with Karla and Noah and Haley on Tuesday at Collin Creek for some indoor energy burning (sadly no pictures), then Nannie treated us to lunch and a ride on the carousel at Stonebriar yesterday. Stacey LOVED it. In his normal brave fashion he said, "Mom, you can go now." Love you too!! But, we were already moving so I stayed put.

He was waving at anyone who would watch and kept saying nay nay.
Then today we went to Northpark. I love this mall and while they have no play area, the turtles and ducks are a classic draw.
As are the planters/slides. Stacey (husband) says he remembers sliding on them when he was little so apparently they have been calling kids names for many many years. Just look at the determination!!Wheeeeee!!
It didn't take Wyatt long to figure out he needed in on this too!

On a separate note, I've got a GREAT use for those baby rings that you have floating around!! Bag hangers. While it isn't exactly everyday that I get to buy something while at the mall, the storage on my double stroller is pretty limited so, ta-da ring hook!

The same small voice that makes me respond to a compliment with "Oh my gosh thank you I got it at Wal-Mart for $6!" instead of just "Thank you." compels me to clarify that the Neiman's and Anthropologie bags are in no way a reflection of my normal mall visits, but I was buying some b-day gifts and the only thing I get to do more than drool over at Neiman's, my face wash. So more info than you ever needed on that one but I'll be able to sleep tonight!!

Happy mall hopping.

Sweet Sleepers

After lunch with Daddy the boys were all tuckered out. Wyatt was transferred inside without a hitch, but Stacey woke up and when I told him it was nap time he insisted he wasn't sleepy...something about actions speaking louder than words would seem appropriate here. Oh why do they fight the sweet sleep.

Surprise Donuts!

On occasion we'll get an unexpected early morning knock at our door from Big and/or Nannie and you can usually bet they come bearing donuts. The boys (and Mommy!) love this sweet treat. So today as I looked out the window - hoping that the knock was Big and Nannie, since I was still in my jammies - we were not disappointed.

Thanks for the yummy breakfast!

Shhhhhhhh!!

My boys are different in countless ways and their attention span is no exception. From as early as I can remember Stacey loved to sit and be read to. He would read as many books as you let him in one setting. At just a few months old he was enthralled with Baby Einstein videos and today he would watch "shows" all day if I didn't limit him.

Wyatt on the other hand has never been still long enough to read even a few pages of a book much less watch a video. Now I know he is the second child and therefore perhaps not quite as much time is invested in these activities, but believe me we have sat down to read countless books only to have him crawl out of my lap before page two. So I usually read while he does his Tasmanian devil impression stopping the whirlwind occasionally to crawl in my lap catch a few words and the immediately return to his previous tour o destruction.

BUT - we have had some major groundbreaking activity in recent days and just this morning he has sat through three that's right THREE entire books!! His favorite is the touch and feel puppy book of course.

Stacey joined us after his morning show was over and took over the "reading".
He also loves the Happy Baby books which have a lot of baby images he recognizes and even tries to say! I remember reading these books to III over and over and over again at the office and it takes me back to see Wyatt enjoying them (better late than never right!?!).
So, to celebrate this monumental event we took our first trip to the Richardson Public Library!!!

I vividly remember sitting on a carpet square (which for some reason I thought was awesome...?) for story hour at the public library growing up, but that delightful memory is tainted by visions of Mrs. Battle, my elementary school librarian, who was extreamly...stern...for lack of a more descriptive term (panthers you know what I'm talking about). So I've kept my two potential book destroyers away until now. But thankfully Curios George, Clifford, The Cat and the Hat, Arthur and a few other famous characters welcomed us with open arms putting Mrs. Battle in her proper place. This scene didn't last for long but it sure was sweet for a minute. All in all I'd call the trip a success.We took home quite a haul and we (Stacey and I with Wyatt...well at least in the same room) have already read the whole stack. We'll let you know if we're able to make Mrs. Battle proud and return them all in one piece.

Look Who's Talking!

Wyatt has had a a vocabulary of Mommy, Daddy, puppy (his favorite and most used word other than Mommy), up, ball, this (he points at anything he can't say and says "this?") for several months but just recently he has expanded to include, bye bye, no (very grateful he took his time on this one!), Ally, nack (snack), nana (banana), Bob & Jack (our dogs), juice and he is attempting to say all sorts of other words when we prompt him. I love his sweet little voice and although I know it is a good thing that he doesn't keep his word bank to 10 words, part of me just wants him to stay right here. We'll work on chewing with our mouths closed another day.

Watch Out Michael Phelps

Stacey just completed swim lessons. We started three weeks ago, but with all the rain last week the eight lessons stretched a little longer. He is such a fish and loves the water so even though it is a little late in the "swimming" season I hope all his new skills will help him enjoy the rest of this year and jump start his swimming next summer. He caught on really quickly, and I know I'm his Mother and very biased, but his teacher agreed, that for a three year old he is a great little swimmer. Way to go Stacey we're proud of you!!

I love the absolute joy and total abandon on his face in this picture. Clearly this child enjoys the water.
His favorite part of each lesson is the lolly pop he gets at the end.
Just in case you want to see his skills in action here's a little video. Rosey (the instructor) is showing him where to jump since she isn't going to be there to catch him. Notice his total confusion when she asks him where he is going to jump...good thing he's good at swimming :)

Museum Maniacs

Debbie (Stacey's Mom) bought a family membership to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science so we decided to take the boys today and check it out. The boys LOVED it and we had a wonderful family outing just the four of us. We were on sensory overload, there was so much to see and do. They have tons of interactive exhibits and an extensive children's area in the basement. We dug for fossils in the sand, made gigantic bubbles, grew, picked and sorted produce, milked a cow, rode horses, climbed a wall, drove a fire truck and fed turtles (I don't think this one is actually on the museums list of things to do, but Stacey II and III had a ball watching some gigantic turtles fight over cheese-its in the pond outside - sadly my camera battery had dyed before the trip ended, so no pictures of this particular activity). And on top of all that it was educational and free (well, to us a least). I have a feeling this will be the first of many trips. Thanks Big and Nannie!!

Silly Lunch

I am all for anything that mixes up a slow day. And as you might guess from the fact that we're still in jammies at lunch time, this day is pretty slow around here - don't get me wrong I love a day without an agenda and there is plenty around here to keep me busy...I'm rambling back to silly lunch. I was thrilled to get some inspiration from my friend Shannon's blog http://shannonogans.blogspot.com/ (side note - Shannon, I need to know how you make the link the person's name...?) for mixing up any ordinary meal. Stacey loved it and kept repeating what I had very enthusiastically told him that this was one crazy silly lunch.
You'll notice a few repeats and more sweets than our lunch would normally have, but the boy cleaned out all 12 compartments (with just a little help from Bob and Jack...pretty sure they were given two of the four pb&J hearts) and for a child who is only living and breathing because of the energy provided from a steady diet of yogurt, popcorn and chicken nuggets that is something!
Wyatt isn't quite ready for that kind of silly plate, but he managed to make his lunch crazy all the same. Seriously, somebody stop me, I don't know what it is with these goggles, but they crack me up!

Happy lunching!

Conversations with III

Stacey told me today that he loves me real bad. I think that is a good thing...? His imagination has been cracking us up lately. Here's a conversation from a few days ago.

Me: Stacey, can you help me clean up the house?
Stacey: (with a serious scowl and shacking his head) I can't, I'm real sick.
Me: Oh, what do you think you have?
Stacey: Popcorn.
Me: Oh popcorn huh? What happens when you get popcorn?
Stacey: You get orange.

Well, what are you gonna do? Can't clean when you've got the popcorn. Oh I love him real bad :)

Here are my two cuties.

Cookie Time (think Troop Beverly Hills)

My helpers were back in action today baking cookies. Stacey unwrapped all the kisses and placed them very carefully in the center of each cookie when they came out. What a helper!! Wyatt was more interested in eating the kisses as Stacey unwrapped them. I love the way he is watching Stacey in this picture. He is such a little shadow of III these days.
What? Was this not for me?
And right there is perfect....
Haven't really mastered the center just yet :)Two left, guess I better just eat them.
I love these little bakers.

Swimming With Sarah

We went swimming at Aunt Sarah's apartment this week. The pool was perfect and I'm sure we'll be back...not sure why it took us until August to think about swimming there, but better late than never. The boys adore Sarah and it is no wonder with treats like giant suckers hidden in her apartment for them to find. Wyatt thought it was hilarious to give Sarah a taste.
Brylie Ruth and Shelley joined us too!
Sarah and all her babes. Not sure what turned Wyatt from all smiles to this sad face, but whatever it was it didn't last long.

Haley's Beach Birthday Party

We had a great time at Haley Self's 1st birthday party yesterday! The boys loved absolutely everything...beach balls, bubbles, pools, slides, sunglasses, burgers, hot dogs, cupcakes. In fact, the only thing that got Stacey to leave agreeably was that there was a beach ball favor waiting in the car for him. Thanks for a great evening and happy birthday Haley.

Thirty and Flirty and Fabulous

One of my very best friends, Katy turned 30 this weekend, she is the youngest of our group and the last to celebrate the big 3-0. We had such a fun day celebrating on Sat. Angie and Mark kept the boys (THANK YOU!!) and we met up at Josh & Julia's (Katy's brother and sister-in-law) for lunch then the girls went swimming while the boys golfed and we all met up for dinner at Se Cocina a great new Mexican restaurant in Waco. It really was a perfect day spent with some of my very favorite people.The Lord blessed me with some AMAZING girl friends and I count each of you as a HUGE blessing in my life. It is a real treat for all of us to get together (especially with all our husbands and without kids) I just wish that it hadn't gone by so fast.

(Top row: Lauren, Ann, Shannon B / Bottom Row: Shannon M, Me, Katy, Wendi)

Jump Town Take 2

So You Think You Can...Dance...Dance...Dance

Well it is a sad day for wannabe dancers like myself. The best show on television (that's right I said it...OK maybe that is a little strong, but it is for sure in my top 5 and without question the best thing on all summer) is over for another season and we'll have to wait until summer 2009 for it to return.

Unless of course I can finagle some tickets to the live show...? I thought Katee should have at least been in the top two but I loved all four of the finalist and since I don't vote I can't complain too much. My husband for one is probably a bit relieved since he has said in no uncertain terms that he would like to murder Mary Murphy and when I asked him if he'd like to guess who won, he went with Switch...um sorry babe "Switch" was not a contestant, but Twitch was the runner up.

Me and My Guys

Baby Soux Chefs

One of the most difficult parts of my day is trying to get dinner ready - and we're not talking about anything from Bon Appetit here just a plain jane dinner. But as I go into the kitchen to start, the boys are always hanging on me, whining about being hungry and so on. They do not seem to understand that dinner is not ready when I start cooking it or that I can't hold them and boil things or use a knife etc. So the 30 minutes it may take to get it ready is usually rather unpleasant. I welcome any suggestions in this area as it seems that people have children and still manage to eat so there must be something I'm missing...? Anyway, today I gave my little appendages an important job. They thoroughly mixed and munched on cheerios while I marinated some chicken. Of course I had to sweep for a second time in a matter of hours following the job, but they seemed to love it. I know with the previous stroller pictures and the aprons below some of you may suggest I re-read Bringing Up Boys, but when I put on my apron Stacey asked for his (which is covered in tools and usually used for art projects) then Wyatt walked over to the aprons (I have a bit of a weak spot for cute aprons) and pointed and cried for his own. It was pretty cute and who am I to deny such a simple request. So here are my sweet soux chefs.

Bathing Beauties

We got to go swimming today with the Gummelt girls, Cori and Grace. I failed to get a picture of the kids swimming, but here is one of Wyatt and Grace almost exactly a year ago,

And today.

The boys loved playing with the toys at Oma's house.

Wyatt's favorite was the stroller, what a proud papa. Thanks for a fun morning!!

Beating the Heat

It is so stinking hot outside!!! And we have a pretty uneventful week so we're making the rounds of all the best free indoor activities or hitting up the pool whenever we can. This morning we went to Collin Creek for some indoor energy burning. I'd say mission accomplished. We started at the play area.The boys are wearing their Amazon souvenirs, Ronaldinho Jerseys. For those of you not as in tune with international sports as I obviously am he is the Tiger Woods of "futball" in Brazil. There was actually a Brazilian lady in the play area that inquired about them.

Then we road the train, which at $2 a pop is a pretty quick ride, but the boys LOVED it!Then a little fun on the Reatrix. Stacey LOVED this, especially chasing the butterflies and kicking the soccer ball.
Wyatt was equally impressed with the shinny new floor. As was I, this mall was way overdue for a face lift.

We just started attempting to skip Wyatt's morning nap, so he was peaced out before we left the parking lot.

But Stacey and I were jamming out to his praise CD's and he was ready to party. Every time we get in the car he says, "I need my music." Now for what to do after naps...