Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Didn't We Just Do This?

Happy Birthdays to Gram & Gramma, hope you both had a great day yesterday! We were unable to get either of you on the phone, and, as you will see, we got slightly side-tracked cleaning up after the germs currently hanging on our boys! We love you both though!
So, here we are again. Seems as if we are perpetually sick lately. I know, I know, but everytime we get better we pick up something else. The above cuteness is a shot from a couple days ago, just before we started playing Pass-the-Germ again.

Still being silly about having his pic taken. Well, he wasn't feeling all that great, so I guess I can't blame him!

So if a prince has two crowns on, does that make him a king? Seriously, according to most regal traditions princesses always wear tiaras, and never crowns, as those are reserved for queens. This does not apply to princes - obviously.


Can you believe this? I took the first one over my shoulder (while holding the other sick baby) in case he hid from the camera, but apparently he wasn't feeling well enough to bother.

On a totally different note, asking everyone to pray for my Grannie. She's recovering from her knee surgery, and the place they sent her to do that is - well - questionable.


Thursday, April 24, 2008

Happy Moments

So the other day M wanted up on the couch and he lay quietly in Mama's arms for a while and grinned happily as daddy took his picture.

I've had fun stitching the boys' crowns by hand (put on a hat, and man, you are special - you can become anyone!). M is a bit easier to photograph at this stage.

Yes. Those are snow boots. We needed to run to the store and his regular shoes were dirty, so L opened the cabinet and chose these. I'll take independance and initiative from him over matching attire any day, so the snow boots went on the feet and we went out the door. I. Love. Preschoolers.

We really, really, really need to finish getting our soil ready (all though my Floridian mind has its doubts about anything actually growing in all that clay). Our little seedlings are about ready to go outside and enjoy the sunshine!

GOTCHA! Sort-of. Well, here's L streaking past the camera loving his crown. The idea came from this book which I really enjoyed reading. They're supposed to be a birthday crown kind of thing, but I couldn't help myself (hey, SouleMama lets her kids wear theirs year-round too!)...

Oh, and this - I am so excited about this book! I went ahead and bought a used one for $2.50 (crazy, huh?), because this book was written in the 1800's by the guy who founded the American Boy Scouts. You know - back when kids (well, boys anyway) actually played outside in the woods. It is F-U-L-L of stuff to do. I was lucky enough to have grown up where my brother and I could roam the woods and I hope and pray my kids will get to have that kind of experience!

Speaking of which, why is it that when you are in a room packed full of "marvelous," modern, plastic gadgets and toys your children are often bored and cranky...

But - then you go outside and take absolutely nothing with you and they are happy and willing to entertain themselves for endless gobs of time until you break the sad-yet-inevitable news that it is time to return indoors?

WHY?

Anyways. Some of the beauty brought inside by L. We must put all flowers in water.
Oh, and here's our tomatoes and strawberry starters growing happily in the sill, waiting for their new home. I really am enjoying this new project!



Friday, April 18, 2008

Busy Week!


Hmm... what's Micah studying so thoughtfully? Why, it's Mr. Travis, who lives downstairs!



Anyways, for such a busy week we certainly have very few photos! Well, I guess I didn't think one-year-old doctor checkups and L's first dental exam were exactly photo-ops! Which is true! It would be very bad form to sit in a dental chair with your 3 yr old in your lap and be trying to take pics of the event while you're supposed to be helping said 3 yr old!



But L's dental was great! No cavities, plus the tooth he smacked hard two weeks ago is only bruised, which means it'll stay slightly gray, but doesn't need to be pulled out! He was such a trooper! Refused to put the bib on (well, she did call it a bib, and L knows those are for babies!), and she didn't squirt any water in his mouth or use mr. thirsty (ooh, that thing gives me the willies! ever seen mrs. thirsty? nightmare material, i'm telling you), but she did paint and clean his teeth, sang to him, did the floride thing (i mean, he was really good), and even held perfectly still while they x-rayed the top tooth to see if there was any root damage!





And M's one-year check was great! He's the same height his brother was at one, only four pounds heavier! Yup, he's a whopping 23 lbs, 11 oz! He had to get three shots and only cried for a minute! One of them was for chicken pox, and I'm really hoping he doesn't get any spots. L got a couple teeny tiny pox spots, and presto - Mama got shingles on her right leg. The pediatrician said to watch out and try to keep any spots he gets covered, or else it'll happen again. She was pretty interested (apparently there's like a 1% chance of that happening).

Anyways, here we are having a birthday snuggle! Mama is 29 today (though I like to think I'm 19, as I was born again in April 1989 - tee hee)!




And, TADA! My fairy grandmother sent me this! She had this perfectly wonderful machine and wasn't using it, so into the postal system it went and whoopee! Happy birthday Mama! I can't decide what to sew first!


A little birthday art...

Paul starting our new garden! We have seeds that are going to need a home soon, so I better get out there and help!

Oh, and on a quick note I got to watch my interview and the footage they taped of my Author Visits - surreal!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

M is One!

So here's the Birthday Boy! He's a whole year old now! We had a simple, fun day.

Here's M opening his sit-and-ride car from Nana & Pappy...

Ah, the joy...
You mean this is all mine? I get first dibs? (I mean, everyone has to have that one thing they get dibs on, specially little brothers)
Here's the cool ball Aunt Lindsay and Niel brought Micah (yes, we have to share)...

Praise the Lord for Gramma & Grampa! We really needed these PJ's! All the clothes they sent were soooo cute! Do you think he's wondering why Mama's letting him rip all this paper?

George 1 and George 2. Ha ha. Bad joke. There were two monkeys.

Mmmm... Raspberry Birthday Cake! Where's the shovel?

Niel stealing Aunt Lindsay's cake - tee hee.


Look! Look! A family photo! Two family photos!

We also went to the nursery and picked up some stuff, as we're going to try our hands at gardening this season. L helped me start some seeds in peat pots - he really enjoyed looking at all the different kinds of seeds and opening the seed packs with me. What a big help! I can't wait to see what he thinks as they grow!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Beautiful Day

Okay, so if you didn't get to see Spring Trip - Part Three, make sure you scroll down to the previous entry! So, we've had a busy week. I did something I've been wanting to do for a long time - brought a piece of Ft. Pierce home with me and stuck it in the windowsill. It's nice just to be able to look at it, or run my fingers through the sand...

I also tried my hand at quilting, which I've never done before. Figured I should at least try the great American tradition once. I enjoyed it (the little pillow is my favorite).
Fun playing with a cup of straws. Isn't Mama terribly creative?
A nice day out in the sun, enjoying a couple of treats...

M decided to start taking this walking thing a bit more seriously.
Apparently he wants to be able to say he walked before he turned One (like his brother).
Mama really can't believe he's going to be One tomorrow...

Where we play...
On top: my little corner of our home.

On bottom: the yummy PB & banana donuts/little cakes we made.

Today: we watched Daddy mow. Then we had dinner on the porch.

Dinner on the porch = very happy Mama.




If you look closely at the center photo, you can see L's fingers, as his arm is wrapped tightly around my neck. And he is, you see, grinning at the camera more and more.

Spring Trip - Part Three

Okay, this is the last of the trip, as I have some great stuff to share from regular life, plus tomorrow is M's birthday! Here's my favorite playground (yes, that is THREE STORIES HIGH)!

M and I went for a stroll while Nana and L played - beautiful, yes?

Here's one of the flowers M and I found, amazing huh? There were some gorgeous orange ones too, but this was the sharpest flower shot we took.

And look-y here! Why, if it isn't Mr. Cautious himself, up on the 3rd story!

And here's Mr. Throw-Caution-To-The-Wind sitting in a real chair (just like his big brother), with Mama very close by, of course!


Dying Easter eggs! Like my shirt? It's a gift from one of the schools I went to! L really loved dying the eggs this year!

L wearing his chef hat and apron that the Easter Bunny left him!

Blowing bubbles with Pappy!

On to the Egg Hunt! Mama helping M collect eggs!

L had a blast gathering eggs, but he only liked the plastic ones! The real ones we had dyed were cold from being in the fridge, so they reacted to the humidity and the dye started to come off. L enjoyed smashing them with the heal of his shoe.

Anyways, here he is showing off his found (all plastic) eggs, looking entirely like his uncle Kevin!

Wow. Fearless here fell in love with the tricycle, even though his feet don't come anywhere near close to reaching the pedals (see Spring Trip - Part One for a great little video).

Fascinating...

Look who's smiling for the camera! He has been anti-camera for several months, but we just didn't say anything, and he's coming around (heaven knows, with L, if you make an issue of it, he'll dig his heels in and out-last you; he's going to be a strong leader someday)...

Practice casting!

This island is nearly always occupied (it's a popular camp-spot), but we finally got it all to ourselves. It. Was. Awesome...

At the paybeach (ocean side). So. Much. Fun.

Went back the next day, and L played in the sand, then we ran out into the surf. It was so much fun. Splashed and jumped and held Mama's hand! M splashed in the shallow waves with Nana... Bliss.
Post-beach. He actually slept through a whole photo-session (this is unusual for him). See the blister on M's right foot? That's from his knee-walking.
Okay. This picture freaks me out. That is the back of M's head, but it looks EXACTLY like L's. Anywho - here's M watching his brother have one last romp in the yard with Uncle Kevin (whom they both adore).
One last hug from Unky Kev...
We had a great visit!