A Day full of Adventure...

We headed out this morning to enjoy a ride on the miniature train with our Moms group,

Once the train ride was over we headed over for a stroll at the Botanic Gardens. A busy day, but beautiful none the less. Check out some of the beautiful flowers in bloom, a few personal favs,

Magnolias, Hibiscus and {Hydrangeas}.

-N- enjoyed playing and exploring,

he found some huge pieces of bark to look at,

and a beetle too.

(Thanks for holding the bug still for this shot -H-)

Then the boys checked out the water under the bridge

and this was the first time -A- could do this on his own two feet, he usually does it from the seat of the stroller.

That's One way to find out...

In this house we eat peanut butter, lots and lots of peanut butter.

That being said, we haven't attempted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with -A- just yet, I usually like to wait until a year. However with an older brother that LOVES the stuff, if -A- was allergic we'd certainly know by now. -N- likes to share...and we are never really sure whether or not -A- has actually eaten it.

However, as -N- and Dad worked in the garage after snacks, -A- and I had projects of our own to work on. For one brief moment I set down -A- and opened the garage door to ask -B- a question (what must of been 10-15 seconds Tops), in that time -A- made his way back to the coffee table and the unsuspecting container of peanut butter from -N-'s snack. By the time I got to him, well there was {nothing} to do but take pictures...

We have one more peanut butter lover in this house, and it's a good thing he isn't allergic, cause this certainly would have been a bad reaction!

10 months old...

Weighing in somewhere around 19 lbs and 29 inches long, I present to you -A-!

(The bib says it all!)

For Sale...

So with Miss -H- & Co. preparing for their journey to So. Cal., there must be a garage sale, and what better way to do it then with a couch, some friends and McDonalds?

(-A- not pictured, he is napping, shhh...)

Can I hold my baby brother?!?

This is a question heard quite often around this house. With -A- growing so quickly (1/2 inch each month) and -N- at a bit of a stand still (1/2 inch in 6 months) soon he won't be able to hold his baby brother anymore. Soon, his baby brother won't BE a baby anymore. But for the moment he is his baby brother and as long as -A- will let him hold him, then so be it, he can HOLD his baby brother, even if it means just his head!

July 26, 2008

(-A- 9 days old & -N- 2 1/2 yrs old)

May 13, 2009

(-A- 9 months old & -N- 3 yrs old)

And the fun Begins...

So for what feels like weeks, -A- has been grabbing the closest willing set of hands and cruising all over, showing signs he will be walking soon. When you convince him to let go, he will stand there for a brief moment, just long enough to realize he's doing it and then he will slowly lower himself to the ground and crawl to the next destination. And for weeks I have tried to get him to do the very same thing with a toy, but no luck, that is until today...so look out here he comes, ready or not.

So here he is learning to walk...we all learn to walk one step at a time.

Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.

~Henry David Thoreau

Hide and Seek

The newest game in our house, is the classic game of hide and seek, and with a three year old it can get quite interesting. Standard rules, whoever is IT counts then announces "ready or Not here I come" and then seeks out the hiding place of those hiding. However a twist is to be expected when you are three and learning.

-N-: Dad wanna play hide and go seek?

-B-: Okay you hide and I will count...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! Ready or Not Here I come!

-N-: (jumping out from hiding place) Here I am! (as if the hiding spot truly hid the little man to begin with, see)



-N-: Okay I will count you hide Dad.

-B-: (see him)



-N-: 1 (open one eye while squinting out of the other), 2, 3 (-N- close your eyes), 4, 5, 678, 9, 10! Ready or NOT here I Come! Dad where are you?




After a little time goes by...and an "I can't find him Mom", Dad makes himself a little more visible



and -N- begins to giggle when he catches a glimpse of Dad and runs to say I found you!

(I can still see you)

(That's better)

After a few rounds he was getting better at the game, but the suspense is just too much at this age to expect him to stay hidden for any small amount of time and now that I think about it, I am not sure I want him to be a good hider...

Strawberry Fields Forever

So my all time favorite fruit has got to be Strawberries! I love a sweet, juicy, ripe strawberry, as a matter of fact I am salivating just thinking about them.

Well I stumbled onto the location of a "pick your own" strawberry patch. So I loaded up the kids and invited my grandmother to come along and off we went to the strawberry patch.

-N- had so much fun picking strawberries, and as you can see -A- loves him some strawberries too.

I spent quite a bit of time keeping him from putting them in his mouth but that little one is just too quick for me, and forget taking it away once the damage is done, this was the outcome of that particular decision.

Definitely a memory in the making, one we may just have to turn into a tradition. We left the fields with hopes of Jellies, Jams, pies and just biting into a fresh strawberry. However the hopes were a little lofty, as 8lbs of strawberries made a delicious fresh strawberry pie, and we indulged in some fresh picked strawberries and that was about it. So next time we will have to be sure to pick MORE, lots more!

In my Room...

-N- is a gearhead (a very proud fact for his dear ole' dad) and a cowboy at heart.

When getting ready for bed, the routine is set in stone. Get jammies on, brush teeth, storytime, and then collect items to sleep with.

Most children would request a teddy bear or a blankie and -N- doesn't fall short in that department. However, how many children do you know require a cowboy hat and their Bronco to go to sleep?

On top of Spaghetti...

Thus marks another milestone in this little guys life, -A- Eats everything in sight, that is...unless, it is in the form of mush being spoon fed to him. No more baby food for this baby as he slowly phases his way out of infancy and into toddler hood, aaahhh!

He wants to do it by himself.

This is his first attempt at Spaghetti, and Garlic bread, can't you see the pride?

He may not look the part of an Italian, but let me tell you this kiddo loves him some Spaghetti!