Baby Basketball

This afternoon, we played a little basketball. The lighting was weird, so they aren't very good photos, and I tried to adjust them.....it didn't really work out for me.

Ready!

Love the hair! Too big!

"Mommy! Up!"

My alarm clock went off as it usually does, at 6 am....Lucas happily crawled in bed with me for all of five minutes before he demanded I take off the covers and get up now! I unhappily acknowledged his request and pulled the covers over my head.

So after conviencing him that I was getting up, he got out of bed and waited....After a few minutes he came back with a hidden treasure....

"Mommy! My roller skates! Thank you for my roller skates Mommy! Open my roller skates!"

A few months ago, I found some training roller skates on clearance and thought it would be a good gift for Lucas down road. I had "hidden" them upstairs in the guest bedroom, in plain sight. And this is what he threw up to me in bed....

So how he knows what roller skates are, I have NO freaking clue. But he knew exactly what to do with them when I opened the box for him (even though I debated ignoring him and pulling them out later!)

Oh No! I've fallen and I can't get up!

I know the camera is turned the wrong way, but he is too cute! He was obsessed with his roller skates all day!

Hump Day....

I thought it was a good idea to make homemade waffles this morning. Let me tell you, there is a reason that people say "Leggo My Eggo!"

Betty Crocker tried, but she does not make a good waffle. I like it sweet. I even added more sugar in that called for (which was only 2 tablespoons). And even though they were beautiful and golden - no amount of syrup could make it taste better...

The kids tried them. I thought Meredith liked it, as it was disappearing so quickly. Then I realized she was throwing it down to Dixie.

Other interesting things that I haven't told you about....
1) Lucas has tried to breastfeed a dinosaur....
2) A real paper book ended up in the bathtub. Talk about money down the drain....literally. I had to pull the Draino out on that.
3) I just realized that BuZZ Lightyear (Toy Story) was named Buzz on purpose - Buzz Aldridge, man on the moon...
4) Lucas says Please and Thank you and I am sorry on his own accord - and uses them in complete sentences
"Thank you for my blankie." "Thank you for your help!"
5) Meredith's favorite thing to do is run back and forth on the couch....dangerous.
6) I still weigh the same as I did months ago.
7) I have received flowers from another woman, more than once....
8) The temperature dropped significantly --- after 90 degrees, 60 feels COLD.
9) The three people that gave an opinion on the swimsuit (thank you, friends who really value their place in my life) all gave the same answer....
10) You will have to wait until photos of my beach vacation to see which swimsuit that is.....

Tuesday -- Take Two

My kids rarely sit still, but they were together again for a minute and I tried so hard to capture a moment....I really hate updating because it is so hard to choose photos. So you just get them all...well almost all of them...

Meredith Hates Hats!

Weekend Rewind!

This weekend, I woke up to the most miraculous sight. Someone had swooped in overnight and sprinkled everything with powdered cheese. Really, it is gross. EVERYTHING is covered in pollen. You can see it floating in the air. Mother Nature totally doesn't care that I had just washed the car last weekend....

Here are that babies....

Meredith still walks with her hands up in the air....I think it is hilarious.

I can't think of anything new with her.

After three days, I am finally satisfied with Lucas' haircut. I took my thinning shears to it and it helped the poofiness alot. He definately has super thick hair. I predict he will be able to have a cool curly top like my brother.

We are singing the ABC song here. More on that later....

His favorite thing to do is push the stroller around. (I LOVE these shorts by the way.) Anyways, he likes to push the baby around, pretend it is crying, take it out and comfort it by rubbing her back, telling her not to cry and it is okay and then pushing some more.

My kids are nutballs....

The pictures speak for themselves....

It was an itsy bitsy....

I am trying to locate a second swimsuit for our beach extravaganza come summer post deployment. I am having trouble deciding...I have had suggestions from my TP friend and my husband....but for some reason I am hesitant.

I am a mommy now - so I have to be mindful of things moving and shifting as I bend over or play in the sand. No more lounging around in the sun for me....

My husband wants me to get this one.
My friend Lindsay suggested this one...

Question 1 - Does Devon really need a WHITE bikini?

Question 2 - Will those sequins draw too much attention?

Question 3 - Will self-tanning lotion ever make Devon that dark?

Question 4 - What do you think?

I am thinking something like this maybe....

LOTS of Photos

I hope you are grateful that I took the time to upload all these photos from today. Nearly an hour of work, for your viewing pleasure!

Meredith (not) drinking her tea -- obviously, she has a paci in!

I haven't made this clear, but Meredith is exclusively walking now. I haven't seen her crawl in forever. At least since last week - if she falls down, she hops back up to take more steps. She is too cute toddling around after her brother.

She is throwing a tantrum. She was rather pissy this morning until she took her AM nap.

I tried to do a group shot....if only pacis didn't exist....

So I tried to take them away...one child cooperated for me!

Then they demanded the pacis back (you can tell I am cutting out a lot of shots here!) Lucas had gotten bored with me by this point.

Mere laying down with her big bro to watch Wow Wow Wubzy.


Lucas got annoyed and sat up and moved to the other side of the couch. Meredith followed close behind....with a fish in her mouth.

I have no idea why she is doing this, but she does it alot! AHHHH!

"B"

Right now, the letter for us is "B". And craft time was a BEE (for B - of course).

Well, Lucas was so freaking cute making this bee that I had to take his photo. Whenever he gets really into things, he sticks out his tongue. So he kept saying "more stripes!" and when he placed them, he would look like this....

Then, I had to change the batteries (another B word!) in Meredith's shopping cart. Lucas was dying to help and went and grabbed his tools to "fix it." Meredith held his tools while he worked.

TP

I just read a short blurb on the latest Consumer Report for Toilet Paper. I just thought I would share this life changing information with you!

http://www.walletpop.com/specials/best-and-worst-toilet-paper

(Sorry, everytime I try to do the link in the post, it ends up broken - so here is the whole thing)

I had a quick discussion with the only friend who I could rightfully discuss toilet paper with - and thought I should add these points...

1) We buy one of the "more expensive" toilet papers, according to Consumer Reports.

2) We bought the toilet paper based on price when we shopped at the Commissary. I vividly remember Rich walking down the ailse looking to see what was the best value.

3) The toilet paper we use is quite soft and plush. My brother commented on how great it was the first time he visited us.

4) If I have thin toilet paper, I use more of it....that doesn't really sound cost effective to me!

5) Whenever anyone comes to my house, they always clog up my toilet (Obviously, they are buying the thinner brands too). My neighbor finally bought me a plunger because she was tired of me borrowing hers.

Saturday Fun

I know it is nearly the weekend again, and I haven't updated from last weekend --
So here are some photos....

This may be hard to see - but this is what happens when you leave Meredith unattended with a bowl of oatmeal. She is completely covered. There is a reason I let her eat without clothes....

She is so proud of herself!

Meredith received a stroller for her birthday - but Lucas thinks it is his....And he is obsessed with shoes still.

Quick funny story - Lucas spotted some clearance shoes he was dying to try on while I was looking for new shoes for Meredith(oh! I am so proud! looking for clearance items at such a young age!) So I got the giant Spider Man Snow Boots down off the shelf and let him occupy himself for a while. When I was ready to move on, I told him he had to take off the shoes. He threw a HUGE tantrum and cried because he wanted the shoes. "Spider Boots, Mommy!"

Richard has been pissy lately because I don't share with him what we are eating for dinner. So I took a photo (because I do cook more than chicken nuggets, thank you very much!)

Fish is such an important part of your diet. I hope you are eating it weekly for heart and brain health and to ward off depression! No wonder people who live on the coast are so happy!

Blog Addiction

I haven't been updating my blog because I am so busy reading other's blogs....I spent the last hour on blogs. I checked my normal list of blogs, which provided links to other blogs, which led me to other blogs.

I just spent the last 15 minutes looking at a woman's blog dedicated to sewing. She blogs about all the stuff she makes.
Because it is so fun, you can check out the blog here
http://dana-made-it.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html

Well anyways, I have NEVER sewn anything in my life. I do have a sewing machine though -
I am just intimidated by it. I shouldn't be. I do things all the time which are much harder than sewing....

On top of that, I have a growing list of things I want to attempt to make. I guess I had better get started.

Not that you care, but these are the few things that I want to try to make....

repurpose old clothes that are now too little....
a shirt dress for meredith.....
a gazillion different skirts....
a tie for lucas...
a crayon roll....
a taggie blanket....(i actually have the supplies to make this now, just need to get on it!)

Black-eyed Peas

I LOVE black-eyed peas. Not the music group (that I think no longer exists anyhow), but the legume. I am enjoying them now, listening to a former member of the Black-Eyed Peas Musical Group. Hello, Madagascar, people. "I like to move it...."

Rich hated that movie by the way. He has yet to see the second one. It is way cuter....

Today (well, yesterday was the date-aversary) is the day-aversary of our engagment. The annual Boston Marathon took place in - where else - Boston. Americans took the third place positions for men and women. I admire runners.

So standing there, five years ago - I never would have imagined that I would have one, much less TWO TODDLERS....that I would have taken care of them without Richard by my side in the physical sense. Wow...

That is alot to endure in five years. I wonder what will be in store for us over the next five years...

1 Year!

Meredith had her 1-year check up today.
All is well with my sweet baby girl. She is 25.5 inches and 16.5 pounds. Everything looks great.

She had several shots and screamed the whole way through...
Lucas even ripped her bandaids off in the tub for her!

I had a friend ask if I could post photos of her walking, and I always forget to grab the camera.
So here you go Linds! I hope these help encourage Maddie!

The first video, she walked all the way from the kitchen after she and Lucas shared a banana. She won the leftovers....

The second video, she walked from our fireplace area all the way to the hallway, after Lucas.

Daddy does it again!

Richard sent us another present from Iraq. Only this time, it was handmade!!

People send him the most random things sometimes - so he had stacks of travel magazines laying around. I am not sure what kind of travel magazines they were, but they allowed him to make an animal book for the babies -- animals that I haven't even heard of before in some cases. Richard cut and pasted according to letters of the alphabet and used available Army materials, including 550 cord!

Here is Meredith showing off the final creation!


Trying to get it open! Here is the front - Lucas thinks the bat is a monkey.

She is upset because she cannot open it herself!

A page from the inside!

Dream Kitchen

Lucas and Meredith were given a play kitchen in combination of Meredith turning ONE, alongside the Easter Holiday.

These babies think this kitchen is fabulous....fully equipped with microwave, oven, double sink with sprayer, dishwasher, refrigerator and a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

HOURS of fun for us. I look forward to watching them grow with it.

Birthday

Sooo hard to believe, but I have lived to see another child's first birthday!
Meredith turned ONE today!

Holy crap! (or Holy bageebaz!, as Rich would say).

You can read a condensed version of the birth story here

A year later, I am NOW a mommy of another toddler...a little smiley, person!

So to show my love and appreciation, I made cupcakes last night. Yes, MADE from SCRATCH. Yes, that is love - because I totally should have had my sick body resting. (Don't think this is lame, I was taught to share love over food -- that is how I won my husband's heart, afterall -- that is another post though....)

She enjoyed two cupcakes today.....(Lucas had four - my word, did I just tell you that?)