"Mom, I Got a Wack!"

This morning when I was buckling the boys in their car seats, I was having trouble getting Bud buckled in because he was sitting so crookedly.  I asked him why he wasn't sitting straight and he said, "I'm just sitting on my crapper!"  I started to laugh and asked Bud who told him his bottom was called a "crapper".  He looked at me with confusion and pointed to the buckle under his bum and told me he meant that crapper. 

While I was cleaning some wax out of Big's ears today, I was reminded of something funny that Ginger used to say when she was 2.  When I would clean her ears I would tell her I was getting the wax out, so she started sticking her fingers in her ears and when they came out with something she would say, "Mom, I got a wack!" Apparently she thought that I was finding more than one--many wacks.

I can't believe that Big's birthday is the day after tomorrow!  He will be a "big" one year old! Hopefully I'll get some good pictures. 

Hooray for Ginger!

Last night Rophone worked with Ginger again on learning to ride her new bike. Ginger was a little reluctant to ride without training wheels, but has finally decided to go for it!  Pretty soon we'll get Bud out on her old two-wheeler (it's a good thing he loves pink!).

Looking good at the start:

Eek!  Listing a little to the left:

Learning to ride a bike is serious business:

Pen doing some tricky one-handed riding:

Bud had his tongue whipping back and forth almost the entire time he rode:

Pit stop for some necessary "repairs":

Way to go Ginger!  She still needs a few more lessons, but made it up and down the street a few times:

Photo Happy

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  We went out in the yard as a whole family for our FHE activity.  I put my small telephoto lens on and sat in the grass and snapped pictures (mostly) unnoticed.  I was laughing at Pen because she was holding poses all over the yard hoping that it would be a camera worthy shot (Pen sniffing at a dandelion, Pen gazing at the sky with wonder, etc).

Big had the least fun of anyone.  At first we put him directly on the grass, and watching him try to balance without any skin touching the grass gave us quite a kick. Finally we showed mercy and put him on a blanket, but he got more and more frustrated watching the kids run around, wanting to join them but not wanting to leave the safety of his grass-free square. Eventually he just became bummed and you can see it in the pictures. Poor Big!

I'll admit to getting a bit photo happy while we were out.  I think we were outside for about an hour and I took a little over 100 photos.  So, while it may seem that I have posted a lot for you to view....just think what I could have done!  We had a great time.

Here's Big trying to balance on only his bum:

I hollered Pen's name while she was sitting in the almond tree.  The breeze whipped her hair a bit as she turned her head:

Bud has been a bit funny today.  When I call him by name he tells me, "I'm not Bud, I'm another guy."  At one point I asked him to help me pick something up and he said, "Remember, Mom, that I'm that other guy and, well, he doesn't clean."  Unfortunately that other guy doesn't know when Bud will be returning. Soon, hopefully.  It reminds me of when Pen was 2 and for several weeks she was our "upstairs neighbor".  We would ask her a question and she would answer, "I don't know, I'm just your upstairs neighbor."

The Big Growth Spurt

Rophone bought me a new fridge a few months ago and I have really been enjoying it. I have found that the french door style really fits my current needs. Big loves to be with me in the kitchen while I cook.  His favorite spot is standing at the front of the fridge hanging on to the freezer drawer handle.  The handle allows him to throw his head back to look at the ceiling and also the stability to bounce up and down without falling over. What joy!

I think the best part about my new fridge is that I can open the doors to retrieve things while I cook without having to worry about Big climbing in to get at things and having to move him out of the way so I can shut the door again. I was just thinking a few days ago how great it was that the doors skim just above Big's head, so I don't have to displace him at all to get things done.

This morning, as I set about making banana blueberry muffins for breakfast, Big came in and took his spot at the freezer drawer.  I turned to open the fridge door to get eggs and milk, excited not to have to move Big out of the way.  I pulled the door open and... THUNK! The bottom edge of the door hit Big smack in the middle of the forehead!  Oops. I had been telling Rophone this morning that I thought Big looked bigger. I guess I was right.

Taking pictures of the kids is something I love to do and I'll probably post a lot of them on here.  I hope you don't mind.  

Big was a little blue this afternoon.  Rophone had to work and Big missed him terribly.  Here he is looking out the door hoping for his return:

They're Mocking Me!

I went to get a haircut yesterday.  It is something I always look forward to, so I sat in the chair and eagerly awaited the first snip.  As the hair started to pile up on the drape in my lap I looked down and noticed a couple of gray hairs in the mix. After looking at them a few moments I decided I wasn't enjoying it too much and took steps to rid myself of the ugly things.

I poked at the drape from underneath and watched all the hair slide off to the floor with satisfaction.  But wait....those two pesky gray hairs were still there! When I saw this, I tried a few other methods to help them on their way (you know, the finger poke and slide and the fingernail scratch).  For some reason those gray hairs refused to budge!

I don't know if it was due to hair grease, hair gel, static cling or what, but those two hairs stayed put.  As they sat there glistening against the matte black drape it almost felt as if they were mocking me!  I have been struggling to come to grips with my ever increasing age as it seems that more loose skin and wrinkles appear every day.  I think those hairs were trying to tell me, "Deal with it! We're not going anywhere!"  

At the end of the haircut I looked at myself in the mirror and evaluated my appearance. I realized that I look darn good, gray hairs and all.  I think I'm looking forward to the next stage and age in my life, and if it comes with a few gray hairs I'll deal with it.

My Life as a Hamster

My relationship with Pen (or should I say Fine!) has been a bit strained lately. With her ever increasing pre-teen behavior and my sometimes un-necessary criticisms.... ugh.  I must say that some of my criticisms are definitely warranted ("Please go back and brush your teeth again with toothpaste!").  Often it isn't even a criticism that gets it started, but a polite request to do what she needs, but does not want, to do.  I am beginning to feel like a hamster on a wheel with the seemingly never-ending cycle we are a part of.  Fine! reacts with attitude to something I say or request (I never knew a nose could go up that far!), I react to her attitude, she reacts with more attitude....and so on.

I have recently come to realize how well a sense of humor can diffuse a tense situation. Since things have gotten rather hairy at times between the two of us this week (no hamster pun intended), I decided that Pen and I needed some afternoon fun. 

This was the result:

We had a lot of fun and laughed a ton.  Bud found the whole thing rather alarming and kept running away, but Big wanted to join in.  

Here is one of the pictures we took together:

I guess the humor must have worked.  Fine! went from telling me how annoying I was this morning to making me a bouquet of flowers in the afternoon to tell me how much she loves me.  I'm glad Pen re-emerged and I hope she's here to stay for awhile.  

Bud's 3!

There was a skiff of snow on the ground when we awoke this morning and it snowed pretty much all day. No accumulation, but not exactly what one would expect on May Day.  I guess it's a good thing we didn't have a Maypole celebration planned for Bud's birthday.

We had a really good time at Bud's party tonight.  The attendees (besides our little family) were Gigi M, Grandma P, Grandpa Gorilla and Grandma Tru. We ate pizza (from a locally owned joint down the road--good stuff), salad and breadsticks, as per Bud's request. 

Here is Bud hanging out with Gigi M (Rophone's 101 1/2 year old grandma) and my mom, Grandma P:

After dinner Bud opened his gifts.  He got some great stuff.  He got some shorts, books, old school blocks, dinosaur magnets, money--but he was most excited to receive some "little cars".  Bud loves Hot Wheels just like his dad did. He calls them "little cars" because they are littler than his other cars.  Makes sense.

After presents it was time for cake and ice cream.  Bud asked me to make an excavator cake that he saw in a magazine, so I did.  Mine was much less nice looking than the original, but Bud seemed happy with it.  Here is what it looked like:

For some reason I have been unable to upload a photo of Bud blowing out the candles (right-side up, anyway). It was great--Bud blows straight up into his bangs so he blew and blew to no avail. (I felt kind of bad because we were laughing because it was so cute, but I think it was making Bud wonder why we were laughing at him) Finally, after what seemed like about 20 tries, Bud received a little help and was successful.

Bud refused to pose for a picture with Grandpa Gorilla and Grandma Tru, so here is a picture of Big enjoying the company of Grandpa Gorilla:

This picture came out a little blurry, but Big just looks too cute in Grandpa Gorilla's glasses not to post it:

I'll keep working on the picture of Bud blowing out the candles.  If I can get it to do what it's supposed to, I'll post it.