Head butting children really can kill you

Head butting children really can kill you, or your teeth at least. Or so my dentist tells me. A while back I went to the dentist for the first time in a long time. One of his findings was a dead tooth. A tooth that was infected and incinerating my jaw bone. So on Monday I went in to have a root canal. It took almost 3 hours, and unlike the previous visit where I didn't feel a thing I felt an awful lot for an already dead root that should feel no pain. My whole mouth was sore and I will forever have nightmares about the pointy looking toothpick that is all that's left of one of my teeth. Not that anyone other than me, the dentist, and the hygienist will ever know thanks to the miracles of resin and crowns.

I was sad however to see another tooth go. I was also thankful that I live now, and not sometime in the past where by now I would either have a mouthful of rotting teeth, or giant empty holes where they were pulled with pliers without even the thought of something pain numbing.

Little did I know I would likely need more pain killers after the procedure than during. The whole area is pretty swollen, and super tender. Eating is out of the question. And a liquid diet doesn't sound nearly as unpleasant as it might have a few days ago. Hopefully it will feel better in the near future. Until then, bartender, more drugs please. And keep them coming.

A first time for everything

Sunday was a pretty busy day. We took the boys to a pizza buffet for the first time. The pizza was pretty greasy, but they seemed to enjoy it. Afterwards we stopped by a new park nearby. The boys got to see some ducks and geese. I swear Ryan even said the word "duck." We let them play on the playground for a while, too. Connor ended up playing in the sand while Ryan ran around checking things out.

We decided to make a return visit later in the day and came prepared with some bread to feed the ducks. Luckily it wasn't stale bread, because the ducks may not have been hungry, but our two little garbage disposals acted like they were starving so we fed most of it to them. We took the boys on a short stroller ride down by the creek at the park. Pushing the stroller though some sand was pretty hard work! I keep telling Kevin there's no need to go to the gym - he can get all his exercise at home. Need to lift weights? No problem. Pick the boys up and put them down a few dozen times. Cardio? Chase the boys around for an hour or two. :)

We wrapped up the outing with another visit to the playground. Ryan spent most of his time devising ways to run out of the play area and steal other children's toys. Connor amused himself in the sand by the bench again picking up and trying to eat all kinds of nasty things. Yuck!

Even when they are sleeping

The boys are just so funny. They are always up to something. If it is not one thing it is another. This weekend I was in the bedroom reading when I heard some giggles and glanced over at the monitor. The boys were supposed to be down for a nap, but Connor was still wide awake, sitting up in his crib. I watched for a second as he reached his hands through the slats, and grabbed ahold of a soundly sleeping Ryan's clothes and started rocking him back and forth. Poor Ryan! I have no idea how, but Ryan managed to sleep through it all.

15 months

The boys had their 15 month check up this week. I always look forward to these appointments. Seeing how much they have grown, how much they weigh, how tall they are. Though it’s funny I always leave grouching about how their scale must be broken. Because there is no way that Ryan only weighs 1 pound less than Connor. No way at all. I demand a reweigh.

Both of the boys are doing great. They are right on their curve. Their weight gain seems to have slowed down some as they only gained 1lb each between 12 and 15 months. They eat a ton, but they never stop moving, either. They are both walking really well. I often let them walk into and out of daycare instead of carrying them like I used to. They hold my hand and negotiate the big step up onto the curb like pros. Speaking of eating, they are getting really good at taking bites of food instead of shoving giant pieces of things into their mouths. They have also learned to break things into smaller pieces with their hands before putting it into their mouth. School has been giving them spoons and they commented the other day that they both did really well with some potatoes and applesauce, though we haven't been brave enough to try it ourselves. They are both 100% bottle free. They can both drink really well out of sippy cups and through straws. They can drink out of a water bottle too as long as we hold it. They are also doing a great job with signing. They can both sign more, and all done. Ryan can sign milk, banana, and please. They both wave hi, bye and night night. They blow kisses. They give high fives, and they are both doing the signs with the Itsy Bitsy spider. They give lots of hugs, and Ryan has even started giving kisses, too. They are also getting pretty good at following simple commands - they will go get shoes, socks, and various toys. They have started associating putting shoes on with going. It's funny to watch them head towards the door if we do once they have their shoes on so they can be the first one out. They LOVE to read books, though they have seemed less interested of late with having us read them books than they have been "reading" to themselves. They are both babbling up a storm. They both say mama, and dada with prompting. Ryan also tries to say banana (nana), and ball (ba). They are also getting to where they point to all kinds of things. Ryan frequently asks what's this (though it's a bit hard to catch it sounds something like "wass sit"). Ryan will also sometimes repeat other things you try to say (like the Veggie Tales he surprised us with a couple of months ago). They can now climb on and off of most of their sit on top toys. They can also push them backwards. They love taking walks in their little red cars. Connor especially loves to drive a little wild and crazy. He's such an active driver - he holds on to the steering wheel and turns it. He honks alot (just like momma) and always wants to go faster. Ryan is much more relaxed - he just sits back in his seat and enjoys the ride.

They just get to be more and more fun every day. They learn so much so fast it is really amazing. I can't wait to see what new things they learn in the next 3 months!

Preview of what's to come?

I am ashamed to admit the only good things I can say about dinner Sunday night is that they had these really cool mirrors and that it is over. The boys gave new meaning to the word terrors. In their defense, it was well past their normal dinner time, the food took forever to come, and the wait staff was pretty awful and didn't bring all kinds of things we asked for.

Those mirrors were really awesome though. It was weird seeing the boys in them. It was like looking at an older version of them. So that's what you are going to look like when you grow up?

Just another Sunday

On Sunday the boys practiced their car skills in the Cozy Coupe. They opened the doors and got in and out and pushed the car around backwards. Someday hopefully they will figure out how to get it out of reverse. :)

Connor also practiced his football skills.

HUT! HUT!

Touchdown!!

Hog Wild

As usual our little "alarm clock" woke us up just before 7am this morning. After breakfast we headed to the playground where once again the boys showed a disturbing lack of interest in the actual "toys" on the playground and fascination with the mulch. Go figure.

After a nap we had lunch at Luby's. The boys scarfed down chicken, carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and watermelon. I really wonder where they put it sometimes. Then as if that wasn't enough we made a quick stop by Costco where they tried the samples of sweet potatoe fries, and cantaloupe. And when it ran it out they carried on like they were starving!

The boys really love melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon) and the cantaloupe were so ripe, juicy, and sweet that we couldn't pass them up. So while the boys took their afternoon nap Kevin put together the picnic table we got for the boys a couple of weeks ago. We set it up on the front patio in the shade. The boys woke up from their nap just in time for snack time. Notice a theme here? They sure do a lot of eating... :) We changed them into swim suits (so we could hose them down afterwards) and put a plate full of cantaloupe in front of them. They went to town. They had juice running down their chins, and dripping everywhere. What a mess! But boy did they enjoy it!

After snacks we broke out some chalk and colored paper and let the boys color a picture. They only tried to eat the chalk once or twice, and other than a few wild and crazy episodes they even managed to keep the chalk primarily on the paper.

And if that wasn't enough fun, after playing inside for a while and shooting some hoops (see video) we took the boys for a walk in their cars to a nearby playground where they played with their cars. Connor showed off his driving skills (okay, so technically he only goes in reverse, and pretty much in circles, but hey at least he is actually pushing his car with his feet!) and practiced getting in and out of the car via the door.

We got home just in time for dinner, a bath, and then bedtime. Wow what a day. And just think we get to do it all over again tomorrow! :)

Shooting Hoops

I have never posted a video before so I wanted to know how it works. And I have learned several things.

1. I need better editing software - the kind that will do simple things like let you rotate the video right side up. Falling short of that I will have to remember to take video horizontal, not vertical from now on.

2. Clips taken in video mode from a Canon point and shoot camera are surprisingly not too bad.

3. Wild crazy arm movements (clapping and pointing) should probably be avoided while in video mode. Warning: If you are prone to motion sickness you might consider skipping the video. :)

[Reposted - rotated video! Yay!]

[Crossing my fingers and hoping it works!] Enjoy!

Feeling Scrappy

Got all our beach pictures scrapped a few days ago. Thought you guys might like to see.

I also did a quick 4x6 layout for one of our friends' son's graduation invitations. Given it took all of 10 minutes to throw together while we were waiting for some other pictures to print I think it turned out pretty well. :)

Memorial Day

We spent Memorial Day hanging out with some friends and eating some BBQ. The boys had a great time and ran themselves ragged then conveneintly took a 2 1/2 hour nap while we chatted and ate. :)