Children's Museum

After I dropped Tyler off at school today my dear friend, Marie, and I took Emma and Evan to the Children's Museum.  We had a great time but we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked.  The museum opened at 1o a.m. so we were able to stay about an hour and a half before we had to leave to get the kids home for naps.  There was lots we didn't see so we will have to schedule another trip soon!  Here are a few pictures of the highlights from the day.

Tyler and Great Uncle John would have loved this train!

Getting ready for take-off!

Dr. Brown is so kind to her patients.

The dinosaurs were a big hit.  She has a pretty awesome roar herself.

Sitting down for her pretend lunch of pizza and carrots.

Her real lunch with best buddy Evan!=)

I am thinking this might be an awful cute one to put in the slide show at their wedding!

Weekend Update

We have had a few exciting things happen since my last post.  The biggest one is that Emma "went potty" on the chair.  Now before you get too excited let me explain.  She likes to sit on the potty each night before she gets in the tub but has yet to actually do anything on it.  Well.....the other night I had gotten her out of the tub first and she was running around naked while I tended to Tyler.  I looked over and she was standing over the potty chair.  She was pretty much straddling it.  I could tell by the look on her face that she was trying to poop so I tried to get her to sit down. She kept saying "No, No, No" so I just left her there standing.  The next thing I knew she went and at least some of it fell in to the potty!!!!  We made a HUGE deal and clapped and cheered for her. Tyler yelled, "Congratulations Emma!".  I know we are a long way from being trained but it was a glimmer of light at the end of the diaper trail!=)

Friday when I went to pick the kids up at the child care at the YMCA the girls met me at the gate with the cutest story.  Emma loves to play dress up.  They have a bunch of costumes and dresses for the kids to play with while they are there.  Emma decided to put on the Belle dress from Beauty and the Beast.  When Tyler saw her in the dress he said, "Oh, Emma you look so pretty, let's dance."  He then proceeded to take her hand and they danced in a circle.  The girls said it was about the cutest thing ever-----sure wish I could have been there to see it.  Maybe they will be the brother and sister duo on Dancing with the Stars fifteen years from now!=)

Saturday Tyler got to go to Itty Bitty Sports again.  Here he is with his new shirt, hat and shades--he was much better prepared this week.

We really were trying to let Tyler's hair grow out so that he could have an actual hair style but it just wasn't working.  All it was doing was growing straight up and out.  It is very thick and very coarse...think Brillo pad.  So Marshall finally won and we got it buzzed again this weekend.  Tyler was thrilled that I don't have to comb it anymore and that it only takes two cups of water dumped on his head to rinse it after washing.  Here are his before and after pics.

There is nothing like a toy that they can play with together.  Thanks again for the great gift Aunt Katie!=)

Roses

Thanks for trimming the heck out of my rose bushes mom.  We have beautiful new buds every day!=)

Just for fun

I saw this on someone's blog and thought it would be fun to do.  Take a moment and do it and let's get this started on our friend's blogs!

I am....so glad that 100+ degree days are over here in Tucson. This is the time of year I REALLY LOVE living here.
I want...my kids to grow up knowing that they are loved and with a good work ethic and strong morals.
I have.... the sweetest kids in the world
I keep... hoping that Keli and Debbie will move to Tucson so I don't have to miss them so much!
I wish I could...lose 15 pounds and look like I did the summer before Tyler arrived.
I hate....waking up even one minute before 6am.
I fear....Emma's teenage years
I hear.... that gas is going back up so I better fill my tank back up!
I don't think....there are ever enough hours in the day.
I regret....not enjoying my pregnancies more. Now that I know I won't ever experience it again I kind of wish I would have not worried about how bad I looked but focused on the miracle that was happening.
I love...hearing my kid's belly laughs.
I am not....ever going to win "Mommy of the Year" but I sure do try my best.
I dance....to Laurie Berkner and Dancing with the Stars.
I sing.... to my kids all the time and they even seem to enjoy it=)
I never....forget to thank God each day for the amazing blessings in my life.
I rarely...paint my own toes---I need some pampering now and then.
I cry when I watch....anything remotely sentimental...I am a bit of a cry baby.
I am not always....as patient as I should be
I hate that... I'm not more of a domestic goddess!
I'm confused about...how everyone else out there seems to get so much more done than I do each day.
I need..a spa day!
I should...be cleaning up this mess of a house.

Sid the Science Kid

Have you seen the new cartoon on PBS, Sid the Science Kid?  It really is a good one.  They use the scientific process to find the answers to questions like, "Why did my banana get mushy?, Why are my shoes all of a sudden too small?, What happened to the ice in my drink?.  

Tyler is loving it!!!  It really is a good one so if you haven't seen it yet check your local PBS channel and see when it is on in your area.  

He and his mom sing a song on the way to his preschool so now Tyler and I sing it every Tuesday and Thursday morning!

"I Love my mom.  My mom is cool.  But now it's time for learning stuff at school!!!"---I am telling you, it is just too cute!=)

Weekend Update

We had a really nice weekend this weekend.  Saturday morning Tyler and Marshall headed off for Itty Bitty Sports.  The program is through the YMCA and it runs for 9 weeks.  The kids do three weeks of soccer, t-ball, and basketball.  Tyler has been REALLY looking  forward to it starting for quite awhile.  He did great but he got a bit overheated.  The paper said it was at a school so I just assumed it was in the gym...oops it was outside in the hot sun and I forgot to send a hat.  They gave the kids a t-shirt to wear so next week I will take his his picture in it.

That evening Tyler's school had their annual fundraiser.  It was a 50's theme sock hop.  We didn't dress up but we sure did have a good time!=)  Who knew how much fun $3 hula hoops were for kids.  Emma spent her evening either dancing with the hula hoop or screaming in delight over the balloons everywhere.  Tyler enjoyed the hula hoops as well and had his first experience with the limbo---too funny!

Emma has said two two word phrases this past week!  After she finished her breakfast the other morning she picked up her plate and said, "happy plate".  Tyler often says this so she has heard it and finally decided it was her turn to be acknowledged for finishing her meal!=)  She also told me to "sit down" when I was trying to hand her something while she was in her high chair.  Tyler and I laughed pretty hard at this rude little command but we celebrated the fact that she said it!

Mr. Brown has had a few good one liners lately too.  We went to the library for story time right after exercising at the Y the other morning.  I was making sure "the girls" were not popping out of the two sports bras that I wear to keep them contained when out of the back seat came, "What's the matter mom did your boob pop out?"  I can only thank his father for that one!=)  He has also turned in to such a little Eddie Haskel.  On the way to school the other morning he said, "Mom, I love you and sure look cute today."  Guess I gotta take those compliments while I can get them.  The funniest though has got to be while we were driving the other day he was peppering Marshall and I with A MILLION questions.  Why this and why that...so Marshall decided to turn the tables on him and just started throwing questions to him and constantly asking why.  The best answer came when Marshall asked Tyler, do you have boogies in your nose?'  Tyler responded "no" so Marshall asked "why".  Tyler answered, Because I ate them!"  I am praying that it was his attempt at being a smart ass like his parents but there is the small fear that he probably did eat them!

Our day

The following photos represent what happens in our house 10 to 20 times a day!

Look how cute we are.

I love you so much!

Please quit touching me!

LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!!

Update

We went out to dinner the other night and Tyler was insistent on wearing his Superman outfit. I thought that I had him convinced to be Mickey Mouse for Halloween and I had planned to dress Emma as Minnie.  I do not know where his sudden fascination with Superheros has come from but he has changed his mind and now he wants to be Spiderman.....I guess if they are going as a set Emma could always be Wonder Women. 

Emma has started to bring either her doll, duck, or baby with her where ever she goes. Here she is at the same dinner with her baby.

Can you believe how long her hair is getting?!?  She won't let me do it everyday but some mornings she is very cooperative and lets me do something with it.  I am so not a stylist..look at my own hair...but I am trying my best.  I am sure by the time she starts school I will figure out how to do a perfect part in it.

I am sure that we will be in diapers for quite awhile yet but at least she is starting to get the idea!=)

Emma getting her toes done

Did I mention she likes to do girly things?

Sept. 14th

I am not saying my kids have any musical talent but they sure do like to sing and dance!=)  Tyler turns everything into a musical instrument and Emma seems to be dancing around in circles during a large part of her day.  Here they are singing with my big spoons.

This video is from the other night before bed.  They were having a blast performing for Marshall (check out his 70's Burt Reynolds pose on the floor) and I.

The kids really are playing together more but they are also fighting more too.  Tyler loves to get in Emma's personal space and she loves to scream to let everyone in a five mile radius know that she is not happy about it.  One thing that always brings them together is food. One of their favorite afternoon snacks is a fruit smoothie.  Here are the kids enjoying one together.

My little girly girl is talking more each day. Some of her favorite words are fly, flower, eye, nose, belly, phone, Elmo, up, down, help, uh oh, ow, momma, daddy, no, and Winnie.

We have a lime tree growing in our backyard and the kids helped me pick some yesterday...they also wanted to eat one!  They tried to out do each other by licking it as much as they could before Tyler politely told me thank you but he was done!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday was Marshall's birthday so the kids and I did all we could to make it a great day for him.  Tyler had school so after dance class Emma and I went and got the cake--butter cream frosting on a chocolate cake with raspberry inside--yum!  We then went and got handmade tortillas from a restaurant that he likes for the steak and beans burros that both he and Tyler claim are the best meal ever!=)  Wal Mart was our next stop to get balloons, streamers, and wrapping paper.  Emma was obsessed with the wrapping paper.  She held the roll the whole time we were in the store.  She screamed when I gave it to the check out lady so we quickly scanned it and gave it back to her.  She held it the whole ride home and threw another fit when I tried to take it away from her to have lunch.  So....she held on to it while she ate!  I drew the line at napping with it.  After one of the biggest fits I have seen the child throw she calmed down and took a good nap.

While Emma napped I blew up balloons and hung streamers in the kitchen and entry way.  She was just amazed when she woke up and saw everything.  We went and picked up Tyler from school and after being told about the decorations awaiting him at home he announced that "Daddy needs to have a party hat for his party."  We stopped at the grocery store and got a balloon bouquet but they didn't have party hats.  On the way out of the store both kids freaked out because it was windy and they were screaming because they thought we were going to lose the balloons!  I got them calmed down so we headed to Hallmark to get the hats. They didn't have any either.  By this time it was getting close to Marshall coming home and it was HOT outside so I was ready to call it quits.  Tyler was really sad so we headed t0 Target to try to find the hats---BINGO--they had some.  The hats were Sesame Street so the kids were thrilled!  Finally we headed home to await the birthday boy.

Here the kids are practicing screaming "Surprise" for when Marshall got home.

They waited so patiently by the door and yelled as he walked in...it was adorable.

Here they are helping daddy unwrap his gifts (check out the party hats=).

Next we had a nice dinner and a really yummy cake.  The kids both had a meltdown free evening so it was a perfect day!

Happy Birthday Marshall.......you are just the best husband and dad a family could ask for!

Last game of the year

We had a great day today.  Marshall took most of the day off and took us to one final baseball game for this year.  We decided to go ahead and try to take Emma with us since most of our babysitters are in school during the day.  Both of the kids took small little power naps on the ride up so they were ready for action at the start of the 12:40 p.m. game.  I am happy to report that did fantastic.  We made it all the way to the 8th inning.  I think the hot dogs, popcorn, ice cream, and chocolate milk had something to do with it---my advice to all parents is bribe with goodies in order to get good behavior!=)

Our seats were great--we were six rows behind first base.  It was wonderful because not only were the seats perfect but it was a weekday afternoon so there were lots of empty seats around us.  This is always nice when you have kids because keeping them seated just doesn't happen! Tyler is pretty sure that he is going to play baseball when he gets big---and I gotta tell you, the kid has an arm on him too!=)  Here he is cheering for his team.

Sorry to my Missouri friends...the Diamondbacks beat St. Louis 4-3.

September 2, 2008

Not too much going on around here.  We drove up to the White Mountains this weekend and stayed in Show Low at a friend's cabin.  They originally built it to sell but since the market is so awful they are having trouble selling it.  They have decided to furnish it and use it as a retreat and rental until the market picks back up.  It is lovely up there and I have to say if it doesn't sell soon I wouldn't be too sad because I would like to go back up and stay a bit longer!=)

Tyler is still loving school.  They are getting an introduction to Spanish so we have been attempting to sing "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" "cabeza y hombros y piernas y pies". 

I have to make sure that I am using the phrases he learns so that I get the practice as well!

Emma and I have signed up for a "mommy and me" dance class.  We went last Thursday but she was a bit shy during it.  I am hoping she enjoys it more this week.  I can't imagine her not wanting to dance--she spins around this house ALL the time.  Today my friend, Marie, and her sweet boy, Evan, joined us at Gymboree for art class.  Here are a few pictures of the kids having fun.

Here is my little ham "smiling" for the camera.

She is talking so much more.  She is repeating so many different words.  I would bet money that she is talking in sentences by two.