Say Cheese

The boys have been taking pictures of us like crazy. I guess turn about is only fair. :)

The Model

Ryan is an absolute ham in front of the camera. He poses. He grins. He gets that mischievous little twinkle in his eyes.


And those lashes. And run-away curls. Just too stinkin' cute. Though I suppose I might be a tad bit biased...

Quack!

No wonder the ducks run in fear...

10 for $10

He's been priced by the checker at Kroger. 10 for $10. Quantities limited, better hurry in. I am fairly certain I am required by law to disclose any known issues - fair trade practices and all. So I suppose we should start with: itchy spreading rash, cranky disposition, known to screech at such a high pitch that glass would crack and the neighbors in Alaska can hear him on a good day. Red Chief has nothing on him. And did I mention a prognosis of strep throat despite a negative strep test?

He broke out with the rash Saturday evening. No fever, just a rash. It started on one side of his face and neck then spread overnight and throughout the day on Sunday to encompass most of his face and a 2 inch wide 360 degree swath around his neck. I called the nurses line. We did everything but take him to a foreign country (new food (umm.. more food allergies??), new skincare product, in the 80 degree heat for 5 hours (heat rash?), traipsing through the woods (poison ivy, poison oak anyone??), and my all time favorite - encouraged him to play in a stream (toxic chemicals from the plant of your choice?)) so we really helped narrow down possible causes.

Trust me on this one - don't google rashes. Especially not poison ivy rash photos. Seriously. Don't do it.

Happy Easter!

Okay - I confess we were pretty much bums today. The only thing I came up with today was Daddy "keeping an eye" on the boys and a losing battle with a deflating helium balloon trying to get it to look the way it did when I actually went to get the camera. So today's image instead comes from our egg hunt yesterday. They are growing up overnight. How much longer do you think they will willingly carry those bunny baskets?

For those of you who insist on truth in labeling - be careful what you ask for. Here's how Daddy kept an eye on things this morning.

Waterfall

It started out as a short detour on our way home. We were just going to look. And maybe get out and get a little closer look. Before long my flip flop clad feet sunk into the mud. One thing let to another and before long the boys and I were sitting on a rock at the edge of the stream with our feet in. 10 minutes later, having long abandoned any pretense of just looking, I was encouraging the boys to reach out and touch the water coming off the rock waterfall and Kevin was eying two soaked children from the dry safety of the bank lamenting ever letting me drive.

Eggstravaganza

I am not sure I sat down all day. It was one busy day. And you would never know it by looking, but this was our first time dying eggs. Ryan is an egg dying pro. He was a huge help getting everything ready and did a great job dying his eggs.

Presents

Day 60 - Presents

I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but we still haven't opened half of the boy's presents yet.

Camera Hog

Day 55: Smiling for the Camera

Yes, it's Ryan, again. Connor the poor red-headed step-child has been a bit camera shy of late. He's too busy running such that by the time our slow cameras manage to finally get around to taking a picture all that is left is an empty spot where he once was, or a miscellaneous body part captured as he fled. Or the back of his head. Or a semi face view with him looking anywhere but at the camera. Or he's two inches from the front of the lens and we get flash blinded pictures looking up his nose. None of which are particularly flattering. Ryan on the other hand smiles for the camera and has even been known to pose. What a ham.


Though you can't see it he is actually sitting backwards IN his turtle. The seat is up, and the spot where his precious cargo typically rides instead holds his feet. And the handle bars have become a seat of sorts. He sat there precariously balanced for several minutes watching the Olympics with me.

It's SNOWING!!

Day 54: It's SNOWING!!

It only lasted for a few hours, mostly in the dark, late at night. But while it lasted we ran around outside. We closed our eyes and lifted our faces up in the air savoring the feeling as the flakes landed upon our faces. We tried to catch snow flakes on our tongues. We wore our silly hats, and mittens just because.

Because I can

Day 51: Why not?

Ryan discovered the reflectors in the middle of the road this afternoon. He was fascinated with them. He had to run over every single one. Multiple times. Despite the fact that he wouldn't get out of the middle of the road I couldn't help but smile.

Happy New Year

Day 46: Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Chinese New Year that is. We welcomed in the Chinese New Year by enjoying some dim sum at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants down in Chinatown. Ryan was especially adventurous (or starving) and tried out a variety of new things. He also impressed us with his use of chopsticks. Before we were done he had gotten pretty good at spearing things with his chopsticks. He even fed daddy the left over "cake" using his chopsticks.

War Wounds

Day 44: War wounds

I had this great idea to build the boys a playhouse out of cardboard boxes. I rescued the boxes on their way to the trash a couple of weeks ago. So this weekend we went into work and retrieved them. The boys love running around at work. So many hallways and open places to run and roam. But as we were heading out Ryan tripped and fell getting onto the elevator. He smashed face first into the side of the boxes. Poor kiddo sliced his cheek in two different places.



Luckily the wounds were quickly forgotten and the boys had fun checking out their new digs.

Storytime

Day 32 - Storytime

It was a big day for the boys. Today was Connor's 1st day in the big kid class. He was so excited when we put his bag on the hook and took his coat off. He finally got to stay. I didn't realize how badly he wanted to be in the new class until that moment. He was so excited.

When I picked the boys up typical of our 1st day luck Connor had an incident report. Apparently during his first ever trip to the potty he fell into the toilet hitting his cheek on the seat on his way down. Poor kiddo.

The boys also got new bags just like all the other big kids. They are nice backpacks. On the way out of the building I had been carrying Ryan and then put him down to walk. He hadn't quite gotten his balance when I let go and with the weight of the bag tipped backwards off the curb and landed on his rear end out in the drive way. He looked stunned like he had no idea how it happened.

When we got home they were both excited to carry their bags into the house. Just before dinner I read the boys a couple of books and before heading into the kitchen I helped Connor into the reading chair with a book. A minute later Ryan scrambled up with his bus and sat down beside Connor listening as Connor "read" the book aloud. They were so cute sitting there together.

All by myself

Day 23 - "All by myself"

Sometimes little signs that the boys are growing up like little weeds just sneak right up on me. Like yesterday at the Arbor Day Celebration when Ryan just walked right up the stairs. Not that he hasn't tackled stairs a million times before, but this time he didn't crawl up. He walked. Without holding on to a thing. All by himself. Completely out of the blue.

Dinosaurs

Day 15 - Dinosaurs

We got the boys this dinosaur last Christmas. Needless to say they were a little too little for it then, but we recently pulled it back out and Ryan especially loves to prove that he can get on by himself now and ride the dinosaur.

A few minutes later Ryan and Connor played a game of follow the leader and Ryan dove under the dinosaur like a tunnel and Connor followed. They went round and round for several minutes laughing as they went.

And I just had to throw this in as an honorable mention for the day. As I was sitting in the floor snapping away Ryan ran over and pulled out his camera and said "Mama, cheese!" as he took my picture. :)

The Digital Era

Day 12 - The Digital Era

I knew kids were getting cell phones earlier, but come on... Still in the crib!?! Talking to Daddy on the way home.

Bed Head

Day 11 - Bed Head

A little bit of bed head over breakfast.

The Big Game

Day 7 - "The Big Game"

Kevin had been looking forward to this day for a long, long time. Texas' chance at another National Championship. He (a Texas alum) and his boss (an Alabama alum) had even gone so far as to try to get tickets and were planning to road trip to the game. Unfortunately tickets were a bit hard to come by. One day at lunch a couple of weeks ago while chatting with another patron in line the guy mentioned the article in the paper he held saying it would cost $800 a ticket just to set foot inside the stadium (even for the worst nosebleed seat in the whole place!) and $2400+ for a ticket anywhere near the 40 yard line.

So with tickets to the game not forthcoming several other ideas including a trip to Austin, or a movie theater stadium event came and went. He ended up at a local restaurant/sports bar with several friends. As they had to be there over 2 hours before the game to get a table I thought it might be fun for the kids and I stop by for dinner before the game. It was a bright and noisy place with a boisterous, decidedly Texas crowd. Throughout the pregame as the crowd clapped and cheered at the sight of their team and players the boys got really excited - jumping up down, smiling, and clapping along. It was adorable.

At one point the Alabama faithful were cheering and the boys shouted and clapped along, too. Kevin, trying to discourage the cheering for Alabama had Ryan booing though still clapping at the same time. And I had Connor yelling "Roll Tide!" much to Kevin's disappointment.

With the boys having such a good time with the crowd I decided to stay for the kick off and watch a series or two despite the fact that kick-off was later than I thought and would put us home well past the boys' bedtime. About the time Colt McCoy was headed to the locker room the boys' high was wearing off and sleepiness was setting in so we called it a night.

Flying

Day 4/365 - "Fly, daddy! FLY!!"

They are so funny to watch together. He says "Fly, Daddy! Fly!!" and "Again!" But on the way up he looks terrified. However, once he is in the air he has such a big smile and an infectious laugh.