Moms Day

These mother/father days are a lot of pressure. You take what would be a perfectly lovely Sunday and somehow feel like you have to make it into something even more lovely and wonderful. Our neighbor said that her family doesn't get too excited about mothers day because she feels like every day is mothers day...I can't say I believe that kind of nonsense! Even if there are no grand plans for the day, it's nice to be excused from breakfast duty, kitchen clean up, and general housekeeping. (Not that I really need an excuse...have you been in my house??)

The weather did not cooperate with our "grand plans," such as they were. We were hoping to get in a hike or bike ride or maybe plant our veggie garden. Rainy and low 60s though - outside activities didn't really sound fun. We were stumped! So, I caved (unusual, I know) and gave James his fathers day present - a HUGE 8-person tent. So huge, in fact, that when we proceeded to set it up in the family room, we had to move the couch into the kitchen.

Fun day though - played games and colored in our tent. Much cooler than playing games and coloring on the floor!

Soccer mom

Today was craft day with the moms' club. The boys decorated plates for me for mothers day. Brady drew a picture of our minivan on ours. Not sure what that says about our family, that he chooses to draw a minivan for me. At the very least, I guess it means I'm officially a soccer mom :)

Quiet time

Brady rarely naps these days, but I still try to send him up for quiet time a few days a week. Apparently he was completely worn out from our DC trip. He's fallen asleep upstairs several days this week.

I always wonder what this process must look like. Does he consciously decide to nap on the floor, or does he just all of a sudden get so tired that he can't even drag himself into bed?

Rudy's dinosaur

Who knew Rudy was such an artist? He drew this picture and then told me it was a dinosaur. It's a pretty good T-rex too!

Notice that his word for dinosaur is the same as his word for doughnut!

Day at the zoo

I think the best part of the zoo for the boys was climbing on all the railings, the playground (which is a giant pizza!), and the ice cream!

Take me out to the ballgame

We met up with some friends and spent the afternoon at the ball park. With the exception of Brady's constant refrain asking for more snacks, it was a great day. Weather was perfect - sunny and breezy - and the home team won!

What a trouper!

Rudy made it all the way until about the sixth inning (way past his nap time) before he finally gave in.

Same deal at the zoo on Monday - we left the hotel around 9. He walked all through the metro stations and all over the zoo until 2:00. Then, he just came to me and said, "Up." I picked him up, he put his head down and slept for an hour and a half.

Brady did even better - walking from the time we left the hotel until we met James that afternoon at 4:30. He had one little period walking up the hill to leave the zoo where he was just "so tired", but we stopped for some zoo-animal shaped chicken nuggets. About 10 minutes after he ate those, he told me he was out of energy. I said the nuggets must have gotten stuck somewhere in his body. So, he spent the several-block walk to the metro shaking the nuggets loose from his toes, fingers, and ears so they could give him more energy.

These are a few of my favorite words...

ME!

MINE!

NO!

But at least he's mastered the associated facial expressions!

Hard Work

Brady, Rudy, and I planted over 100 plants last week. It was hard work, but they were great helpers!

Rainy days

Maybe you can't tell in these pictures, but these are some wet and dirty kids! We had several rainy days in a row and we did a lot of puddle jumping!

Buddies

Most of the time, they are good buddies. It's definitely a case of monkey see, monkey do...but it works both ways. Rudy imitates everything Brady does (flying leaps off the couch, swinging on the his belly, goofy faces); Brady wants to do/have everything that Rudy does.

It's a tough thing, being the oldest (trust me, I remember). What do you mean, I don't get an M&M for peeing on the potty? Why can't I have a snack right after my breakfast, even though Rudy was up and breakfasted an hour before I was?

But - it's all "character building" right - these are the experiences and trials that make them better men?

Wow - men - that word makes me want to cry!

Bubbles!

Papa had a whole slew of surprises for the boys this weekend. One of the favorites was the bubble machine - 4000 bubbles a minute!

Soccer practice

Although it borders on (OK, is) chaos, Brady is having fun with soccer. His team (yes, they are wearing lilac shirts) has named themselves the Lightning Lizards. We have one ball hog and one wanderer, but they're a great little bunch of kids. Maybe I'm having more fun... :)

Brady scored his first goal last weekend. They're not supposed to keep score, but I think it's impossible for kids not to!

Sentences #2 and 3

#2: We took a walk at Oma and Papa's house over the weekend. James was holding Rudy's hand on the court. Brady sprinted by and Rudy pulled his hand out of James', saying, "I do run!"

#3: James and I were talking about the mantle, his latest woodworking project. James said that he was going to deliver his project to the house and install it. Rudy: "Me help screw."

Sheesh!

Growing up [too] quickly

In the last month, Rudy has become quite the chatterbox! I guess he was just waiting until he had all the words he wanted before he started talking.

It's to the point now where he'll say something and I'll wonder where he figured it out!

We pulled into school last week to drop Brady off. In the backseat, I hear Rudy say, "School. Me. Go." Clear as a bell, no doubt at all what he had just said. Then, the whole walk to the classroom he kept saying, "I go. I go. I go." I about cried!

You've heard of finger painting

But how about extreme finger painting?

It was hot. We were bored. We had a large piece of cardboard...it all started well with a painted house and some cars, trees, and flowers. But, before long, it was a mess-fest with the boys both slip-sliding in the paint. It was fun - and very funny. As you can imagine, the subsequent bath took a LONG time!

Fingerpainting 2

CUTE!

Canyon Trail

Superstar