Birthday party

We had a very small cookout for Rudy's second birthday party. He loved being the center of attention and opening presents!

I also like to think that he found his airplane birthday cake to be pretty cool too! As you can see, he got to "help" make it.

Thank you, Brian & Becca

"Thank you" sounds more like "Pinky" (and has actually evolved from something sounding like "Pancake"...

Popsicles on the front porch

As far as I'm concerned the front porch is the best place for popsicle consumption. No stainable surfaces, no rush to eat them fast, conviently near the hose for cleanup...and this time we had the added bonus of a ear-shattering thundertorm to watch!

Rudy's Two, part 2

Rudy's TWO!

Rudy got $5 from Grandma and he picked out a Thomas train whistle. We got him Tinkertoys (so fun!) and Brady bought him some dinosaurs.

Rudy was pretty excited about the presents and smiled a giant smile every time someone sang him Happy birthday! He kept saying, "Happy Rudy" instead of "Happy Birthday"...

Happy Birthday Dad!

James 33rd birthday was a little anti-climactic because he got his big birthday present several months ago (his Wii), and because he had to go out of town that afternoon. We still made him birthday blondies though!

Luray Caverns

We decided to abandon camp when the second thunderstorm of the day rolled in. We headed into town and took the boys to Luray Caverns, which seemed to be a big hit (except when the lights went out, which Brady really did not appreciate!).

Rudy must have been hungry because he kept seeing food...ice cream (stalagmites) and potatoes (rocks in the water). Of course, when is Rudy not hungry??

Hard core campers that we are, we went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner that night. At least we still got to roast marshmallows when we got back to the campground!

Camping

We decided to actually use James' Fathers' Day tent for a Fathers' Day weekend camping trip. With the exception of a few thunderstorms and a few meltdowns, we had a great time.

I think the highlights of the trip for the boys were the campfire meals and the campground pool and playground. Oh, and sleeping in the tent, of course. It's not often you'll have a 4 year old asking when he can go to bed! He was pretty excited to sleep in the new tent!

Smores face:


Papa thought Brady should try out a slingshot...


Rudy caught his first ever fish. He thought it was pretty cool until we tried to get him to touch it. He wanted nothing to do with that!

Hello everybody

I know it's been several weeks, but this video is from Brady's last-day-of-school program...

Dance Moves

Rudy's got some groovy dance moves...

Today's Chuckles

More things that have made me laugh...

The way Rudy says 'lemonade' and M&M - yemunyay - he's been saying it for a while now, but it still makes me laugh every time.
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James took Brady to bed Sunday night and Brady asked him if he had watched the weather. When James said no, Brady held up 5 fingers and said (with great authority), "Five suns, Dad. Five suns."
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While we were eating breakfast yesterday, Rudy said, "Rain."
K: Is it raining.
R: Yeah. Rain. Vroom Vroom.
K: Oh, is it raining on the car?
R: Yes.
K: I see.
silence for about 30 seconds
R: Kidding!
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Soccer star

We finished soccer on a blazing hot Saturday morning.



Look at that keeper stance!

Cooper's Here, part 2

It's funny that even though they haven't seen each other for months, they're still buddies when they get together!

Cooper joined us for one day of Rudy's art class:

But he's only TWO...

Sitting on the not-yet-screen porch at the in-laws last night, Rudy was playing with the water gun and James asked him what he was doing.

Answer: Getting bad guys.

[We have a video on Tony's camera; I'm working on getting it uploaded here.]

James says that's what comes of being the little brother - you skip right over the dinosaurs and jump into superheroes. (Rudy's also been talking a lot about "Soup Man", who I can only assume is Superman!)

Proud Mama

You know those moments you get, when you realize (again!) that your kids are just SO amazing? I've had a couple of those lately:

Rudy, Cooper, and Brady are playing trucks at Nana and Popsie's. There is a scuffle and no one quite knows who started it. Rudy ends up with the truck that Cooper apparently wants, so I pull Rudy aside and tell him that it's nice to share with our friends and he can play a couple minutes and then he should share with Cooper. A few minutes later, all kids are playing happily and I'm debating whether I need to intervene and request that Rudy hand over the truck. In the middle of the mental debate, Rudy rolls the truck over and hands it to Cooper and says, "Done."

We've been working on table manners, in an effort to avoid the mini debacle we had a few nights ago where Brady loudly declared that he didn't like what was being served. Tonight, he ate nearly all of his meat as well as his veggies and politely asked, "Can I may I be excused?" After receiving permission, he thanked the cook for dinner before leaving the table! No prompting necessary!

Sometimes, it's nice to think that we might actually be doing something right :)

Cooper's here!`

Rudy and Cooper are about the same size, even though they're six months apart. They're pretty funny to watch play together!

Pudding Face

Working for $1

First, they made a mess (which also conveniently covered the front porch with soapy water)...

...then they worked hard scrubbing it down. They also helped wash three cars!

In the end, Oma and Papa gave them each a dollar and took them to the dollar store!

Brady and Papa

Brady and Papa had some quality time last week. They played some Sequence, made sun catchers, and chilled on the (recently cleaned) front porch...

Rudy and "Omee"

Somehow, I only managed to get pictures of Rudy and Oma and Brady and Papa last week. I'll have to work on that! In any case, Oma and Papa were glad to see that the boys still remembered them even after going an entire four weeks without seeing them.

Raspberry picking in the backyard

Love this picture!

Twizzler Time

Twizzlers were on sale, so Papa and Brady made a special trip to the grocery store. A few days of those and an ice cream treat as well...makes for a really fabulous drive home for Mom... ;)

I guess it's a grandparent's right - to sugar-up the kids and then send them home, right??

Canyon Trail #2

We took the neighbors for a hike on our favorite trail. Once each kid got their meltdown out of the way early in the trip, the rest of the hike was great!

Rudy couldn't quite stay awake...

Today's Chuckles

Things that are making me laugh this week:

1. When I go to get Rudy up in the morning or after nap, he holds up his blanket and says "Mo-more?" (One more?) and then takes one last chew before he puts it down and is ready to get up.
2. Brady's 1000 questions. Why are they sour (Sour Patch Kids)? Why do you like them? Why do you not like the black [licorice]? Why is the red cherry?
3. We're outside playing. Rudy kicks a little basketball, so I ask if he wants to play soccer and try to kick it back to him. He screams, "NOOO!" and runs into the garage. I figure he's pouting, but then he comes running back with a soccer ball and says, "Kick!"
4. Brady's complete lack of sympathy: "That's a pretty small boo-boo, Uncle Brian."
5. Rudy's word combinations - Me dressed. Rudy eat. Blanket gone. Feed Bubbles.
6. The way Rudy says his name: Ro-day
7. More questions from Brady: Where is Brian? Why did you get here first? Why is your job not as hard as Brian's?