Why every little boy needs his mommy -

Every little boy needs his mommy because daddies have been known to set the alarm, and walk right out the door leaving the baby playing quietly all by himself locked inside with the lights still on.

"Doo-Doo"

Ryan said a new word today - "Doo-Doo". The fact that he said it while holding his hands up in the air with an odd look on his face made me a bit suspicious. As I got closer I noticed that he had something on his shin, and his hands, and OH MY GOD COME HERE!!!! Oh it was nasty. He was covered. So were the play mats, the play house, and the path from the mats, through the playhouse door, across the tile, and all the way to where he stood. Ewww!!!

Life Lesson 21 - all children should be bathed at the same time. Or at the very least if they aren't they should not be stripped down to nothing but their diaper more than 30 seconds before it's their turn.

Taking it easy

We took it pretty easy this weekend. We did swim lessons, a little shopping (the boys needed shoes, and diapers!), visited the mall play area for the first time, had a small and quiet celebration of Kevin's birthday with his family, found a new favorite park, and had a little cake. And that was just Saturday. :)

Not that this surprises me in any way, but like lots of things in life the boys just couldn't be more different in the pool. Ryan reaches, kicks, pulls up, pushes off and just basically tries to swim and do all the activities at swim lessons. Connor on the other hand is content to just let you shuttle him around the pool where ever you think he needs to go with the exception of on his back. They really do seem to be enjoying lessons and are much more comfortable in the pool than when we first started.

Speaking of differences, I think we are going to have a Mutt and Jeff. Hopefully some day Ryan will grow into the boats for feet he has. He has really LONG feet. When we went shoe shopping on Saturday I had them measure his feet. He is currently measuring a size 5. Connor's feet are thicker, but shorter. Despite Connor's recent foot growth spurt even stretching he barely makes it to a size 4. I did find some cool new shoes for Ryan that should have enough room to grow for at least a few days at the rate he is going.

The mall play area was an interesting place to visit. There were lots and lots of kids there, and despite it being for the 42" and under crowd there were sure a lot of tall looking 42 inchers in the play area. The boys didn't seem to mind though. They watched the big kids and tried to do some of the suicidal things they were doing like climbing on top of the equipment. Ryan was in hog heaven - he flitted from one near death experience to the next surprisingly escaping more or less unscathed. Connor's feet remained a bit more firmly planted to the ground for the most part which helped to keep him from getting run over. Though we didn't stay terribly long the boys seemed to have a good time and were really thrilled when I pointed out a butterfly hanging over head.

Speaking of playing the boys really tuckered themselves out at one of the parks in Kingwood after dinner. It was clearly their favorite play ground yet by far. They both picked out a slide and kept going up the stairs and down the slide, then off to do it all over again. Ryan's slide was hugely tall and spiraled down. He did amazingly well. Other than one minor incident where he tried to walk down the slide instead of sitting down to slide he did really well. Connor picked a somewhat smaller, straight slide that a little on the slick and fast side. They must have gone up and down the slides at least 2 dozen times before we took a water break and ended up heading off to the swings.

Afterwards the boys got to play with a few new toys at Kevin's parent's house and we enjoyed a little cake and ice cream.

Happy 17 Months Boys!

Happy 17 months boys!

They are growing up far too fast. They amaze me everyday with the things they have learned. They know lots of critters now - cow, horse, pig, frog, cat, dog, duck, lion, tiger, bear, bird, fish, butterfly, bee, grasshopper, snake, caterpillar, dinosaur, rabbits, etc. They can point them out in books. They know the sounds they make. They know most of their body parts, too. They can point out their head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, shoulders, tummy, belly button, knees, feet, and toes. Their vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. Ryan is doing especially well picking up new words - he can say mama, dadda, banana, more, duck, ball, off, out, go, shoe, no, please, milk, water, car, hi, bye bye, and I am sure there are others I am forgetting. He is also doing a great job trying to repeat the things you say. They are also both signing. They can sign eat, more, milk, water, please, banana, all done, bird, butterfly, dog, and diaper.


They seem to understand most of what we tell them and are really becoming great little helpers. They put their shoes and clothes up every day. They help pick up their toys for the most part, too. At school they help clean up the tables and put things in the trash. They love carrying their school bags, too. They hold my hands and walk into and out of school. They give hugs, they blow kisses. They share when they want to, and often bring each other toys and try to offer comfort if the other one is upset.

We seem to have reached a lull in the teething department. Ryan is holding steady with 12 teeth. I think the next to come for him will be his "eye teeth" the pointy fangs. Connor finally had his outside bottom teeth break through the gums about a week ago, bringing him up to 12 as well.

They are both getting quite proficient at opening doors, and things that were once safely out of reach are unexpectedly within their grasp. And what they can't accomplish alone they are learning to do together. We are in so much trouble... :)

Feeling Scrappy Again

The Discovery Green layouts I did a while back just weren't screaming just how much fun we had to me. And I was having a hard time finishing Ryan's page(s). So I decided to go a different direction and came up with these....

Waterfalls, trains, and BBQ?

We took the boys to Valley Ranch BBQ today for lunch. We sat right in front of the big waterfall topped with stuffed dead animals. That's right - indoor waterfall, and dead stuffed things. Doesn't your local BBQ place have amenities like that? No? Hmm... What about a train that hangs from the ceiling and circles the whole restaurant? No? Then you really are missing out.

The food was much better than I remembered, and the boys loved watching the train. Ryan pointed to it and waved every time it came around. But the best thing ever? Whole corn on the cob. I actually tasted my food. I had a few minutes to sit around leisurely sipping my water. They loved it. Ryan actually did a great job eating his corn. He gnawed the cob practically clean. Connor wasn't quite as aggressive, and he kept trying to stuff the whole end in his mouth. Unfortunately we didn't think to bring our cameras so we didn't get a single picture of their first corn on the cob. :) I know you are truly heartbroken, but take my word for it it was actually very cool to see them try something new, learn how to hold it, and learn how to eat it. They did such a good job I was so proud of them.

Clearly I had reason to worry...

Remember that whole bully thing? This morning at McDonalds Connor picked up a shoe and wonked a little girl for no reason what-so-ever. Just because. Yep, clearly a bright, bright future first as a bully, then as a felon.

Ryan on the other hand might not live long enough to be incarcerated. Between his daring climb higher into the play structure than we thought it would possible for him to climb and a nasty spill on the tile while running from Connor after absconding with his toy it will be a miracle if he survives toddlerhood.

A bright, bright future

Conversation Kevin and I had while watching a movie last night:

Kevin: I hope no one bullies the boys.
Me: I hope the boys aren't the bullies.

Yep, it is going to be a bright, bright future indeed.

All American

All that is missing is the apple pie.

The boys enjoyed some hot dogs for dinner tonight.

Connor ate every.last.bite. He's going to explode any minute now.

Playing In the Rain

The boys and I played in the rain today. On purpose. And we got WET. It was fun. At first the boys stayed on the front porch watching curiously as the rain came down. They giggled in delight as the gusty winds shifted a little sending the rain pelting on to the front porch on to them. At first it was just a mist from the rain splattering down, gradually growing to full fledged drops as the winds picked up blowing the driving rain our direction. As the storm eased with the worst of it past I ventured out on to the front walk. And they followed. It didn't take long for Ryan to spy the rapidly flowing water heading down the driveway into the street. He ran in the fastest moving channel. His little bare feet sending the water splashing with each and every step. Connor wasn't far behind. They both ended up in at the curb in front of our driveway where the water drained out of our yard, from our gutter, and down the driveway into the street on its way to the big drain at the end of the street. They stomped. They splashed. They smiled. And they laughed. So much joy to be found in something so simple.