Birthday Season

Fall has begun, and so have all the birthdays and celebrations that go along with them. Two weekends in a row we have bounce-house parties to attend. Our first was this past Saturday for two little boys Judah & Hudson that are friends with Matt. And Will, too.

To say that I couldn't keep up with either of them is an understatement. Bounce houses are like heaven to Matt, and he took off running whenever the kids were let in. Will did the same.

That petite little toddler was all over the place. He thinks he's so big and wants to do big things. I can't tell you the range of commentary and observations that people were making about him. Some words used to describe Will that day that I was told were: busy, pistol, cutest-thing-I've-ever-seen, looks like a baby, how does he do that?, he must have you running, etc. It just makes me laugh. He was making people nervous all morning long with his daredevilness.

I was breaking a sweat having to help him climb up things because of course he wanted to go through the obstacle course and down the tallest slide imaginable. It was quite a workout, but I know he had a blast and so did I. As did Matt for that matter. He was delighted that Will could do all those same things.

This is what I got when I asked Matt to smile for me...

And I love this one of the two of them. Will wouldn't stop grinning up at his brother. So sweet!

This Saturday is Aiden's birthday party at yet another bounce house place. Should be fun. We'll follow that up with a viewing of the TX-OU game here at our house with some friends. It's going to be a great weekend!

A few new things

Last Saturday turned out to be a big day for us. I started the morning nice and early with a CrossFit workout. They have a free workout open to the public once a month, and a friend of mine from church who is a regular member there encouraged me to go. As much of a fanatic about exercise as I am and with the curiosity I've had about this place I was very excited to go. It's a group exercise atmosphere, and their techniques seemed to be focused mostly on muscle fatigue. For one segment we rotated through 3 different exercises (overhead lifts, pull-ups, and a shuttle run) for 10 min. The goal was do as many rotations as you could in the 10 min. You see that's me in the cap. The wood blocks they put underneath enable most average sized people to jump up through most of their pull up. Not me. I was doing full on pull ups and felt the results for 4 days after that. I loved it. I may be looking into that place.

After that we met up with the Reners and had us a fun time at the lake. There was plenty of play time in the camper...

There was swimming. Unfortunately, Matt's confidence in the pool did not translate to the lake, but he still had a good time.

There was fishing, too. The kids had fun watching the fish flop around in the buckets. Hopefully they weren't tortured too badly.

We had some delightful hot-dogs for lunch. The kids rummaged through the cooler and all kinds of silliness ensued.

And this is a first for me...I fired a gun. I know! The best part is that it was with my very own shotgun. Probably didn't know I had one of those, did you? My father-in-law gifted me with one a couple years ago, and somehow this was the first occasion to test it out for me. Steven was very patient in instructing me. He yelled at me a lot for being aware of where my gun was pointing. Whoops. But really, I had it on safety like the whole time! It's going to take me some time to get used to all that. It was loud, a little jolting, but an overall fun experience.

We wrapped up the day by watching the Horns game back at our house. It was a wonderful Saturday.

Matthew Thomas is making some progress on his writing skills. His teacher has sent home homework for him to practice, and it's like pulling teeth to get that boy to do it. He kept telling me his hands were sweaty so he needed to stop. Just this week he's improved a lot, and his teacher has been so encouraging and patient with him and it has really helped him. In this picture he was embellishing my rendering of the US map. He added Hawaii and some other states and who knows what else.

Here's his latest sign and letter creation. He's fixated on dead ends and no outlets lately, and there just so happens to be one on a street near to us (Daugherty). And guess who has been on a walk for 4 days in a row to that very location? Yep, the things a mother will do.

House Guest

The week after we returned from the beach we had the pleasure of keeping Ava while her parents traveled to Nebraska for a few days. Matt & Ava play incredibly well together. Most of the time. She uses her powers of negotiation and persuasion, and it works like a charm on Matt. So, we had a full-blown slumber party for a few days. They both did remarkably well sleeping together in Matt's room. Ava opted to sleep on the floor rather than fight for space in the bed with Matt's long limbs. They woke up in the mornings and immediately began to play together and seemed to never tire of each other.

One day we went to the gym in the morning and followed that up with lunch at Chick-fil-a. Ava was very happy to tell me that that was the best day ever. She said that Chuck E. Cheese was her very favorite place but after that was the playscape at the gym. One evening after an action-packed blankie fight, they cuddled up on the couch together. Matt was reading to her...I mean, how adorable?

We also made time for playdough...you see Will didn't miss out on that one. And bike riding of course. Ava was such a sweet girl, and we enjoyed getting to keep her at our house.

Matt is still heavy into his love of road signs. I am currently painting him a few more. He has an endless list of requests...."Ok Momma, next I want you to make a detour, speed limit 70 with night 65, and then left turn on signal, and a railroad crossing with flashing lights." Riiiiiight, Matthew. I'll get right on that. He gets super excited when I finish one, and he immediately commences to stacking them all up and making highways filled with intersections and construction. I told Matthew that when he's bigger I expect him to at the very least decorate his garage with them. They are, after all, priceless pieces of art aren't they?

Whenever Matt is on the back porch riding his bikes around either Steven or I are nominated to draw signs with chalk on the ground. And then we have to obey the signage that is posted be it speed limits or detours. Does anyone else have to do this?

Little Will is enjoying books more and more these days. He's into that endless repetition stage. I sat in his room with him and read him the same Curious George book no less than 12 times in a row. "More! More!!!" If I happened to put the book down and reach for another one he'd pick it up and throw it right back at me and settle back down into my lap. He's a boy who knows what he wants. We're still working on getting that communicated clearly though!

Port Aransas 2010, Part 2

The beach trip. It's epic. It's stories are told all year long, and September is welcomed with such excitement you'd think it's Christmas. But it's not. It's a time when one week prior to our trip my dining table is covered in a blanket of snacks, beer and sunscreen all waiting to be loaded into the wagon. It's a tradition that is now many years in the making. It's 4 days that we gather together with our friends and kids, and enjoy watching the chaos unfold. Kids have multiplied like gremlins to the point where we are clearly outnumbered, the guys are spending less time on the basketball court and more time emptying the cooler while conversating on the beach, and the girls have really learned how to make the most of Girl Night.

Our roommates were Chris, Alison & Josh this year, and I have to say it was really wonderful. Matt & Josh played like they were best friends, using their imaginations and being creative with what limited playthings we had available to us at the condo. Their condo time was so much fun in fact that many times Matt didn't even want to go down to the beach. Jumping from one bunk bed to the next was one of the favorites. They played so sweetly together, and that in itself made the trip magnificent.

The Toddler Race took place again as usual this year. I think I'll call it Kid Race from henceforth...nothing about Matt is toddler anymore! I love seeing them all lined up with looks of concentration on their faces. Or confusion.

Matt was the clear runner-up. I was just happy he agreed to participate this year. Those long legs served him well.

William, William. He was a fit-throwing pistol one morning that it rained while we were down at the beach. You'd never know it from this picture though. I concluded that he doesn't like getting rained on and being cold.

Someone did a fine job digging this trench, and Will decided he'd try and hide in it.

The night we were all downstairs grilling out, the kids were all over the playground as usual. Will was having fun trying to keep up with the big kids, and he was none too happy when we pulled him away to try and attempt a family photo. That's what I get, huh?

In the kid picture this year both of my kids are visible. Will kept bolting though so I had to keep plucking him back down in his spot. But Matt was a champ and flashed the double hook 'em horns with such passion. Good boy!

Girls' Night was a hoot. We had a nice little surprise baby shower for two of our friends who are soon to be moms. Then we had a rousing game of Taboo which I am really terrible at, but we all had some really good laughs. I love that Holly is cracking up in this shot.

We had a really fun, memorable time with all our friends and their children. For some of those kids this is the only time I get to see them every year, and it is truly amazing to see how much they've changed and grown. What a privilege to be able to be a part of such a group, and such a fun vacation all together. I'm just sad it's only once a year!

'Til next year, Port A!

Port Aransas 2010, Part 1

We are back from vacation! We spent an entire week in Port Aransas, and it was wonderful. I was a little nervous about my kids becoming totally sick of the beach/pool routine, but they really did well. We headed down there on the last Monday of August and spent three days there with Steven's parents. Steven said he couldn't even remember the last time he'd been to the beach with his folks. That's preposterous to me since I came from a beach family--we sought a body of water every summer, and I grew up on the coast.

We were one of maybe 3 families total at the condo complex early that week, so we basically had the place all to ourselves. It was so quiet compared to the noise level at the weekend.

Both Matt & Will were elated to be at the beach and with the sights and feel of the sand and ocean. Will's favorite activity was running into the water (only to about knee deep) and then running back out. And then again and again. He loved digging in the sand, too, and was not bothered when every inch of him was covered in it.

Matt wasn't too involved in any sand castle construction or hole digging although he did participate some. His sand play involved him drawing roads with speed limit signs, road work signs, and highway signs. Steven drew the entire United States out for him, and Matt did his best to draw in the states. That kept him occupied for a long time.

Let's not forget the snacks. A lot of time was spent rifling through my bag in search of the right snack. My children are grazers.

Matt loved the water as well. He liked jumping the waves with either Steven or I. But what is most incredible is his progression in the pool from Monday to Sunday. Matt is not a swimmer. He's got some fears. On Monday he was clinging to us and would only let go when he was in an area where he could stand. He would not jump from the side either. As the week went on he got braver and braver. I don't know if it was because he had an audience; first his grandparents were there and then later all his little buddies showed up swimming like fish. He started putting his head under and actually swimming to us. Then he went out into deeper water where he couldn't stand and swam to us. Steven helped push him to the bottom of the deep end, and he was so proud to tell me he touched at 8 ft. And then he started jumping in from the side of the pool. I'm telling you it was the most amazing transformation. I'm so proud of him. He was really loving it, too.

It was so wonderful to get to experience it all with Ken & Joyce there with us too. We thoroughly enjoyed their company and are so happy they made the trip with us. They got to witness our children's behavior (or lack thereof!) up close and personal for a few days and still gave our kids big hugs and love when they left. :) Will is terribly 2 even though he's only 1.5, but I'll save that for another post.

Thursday morning we said goodbye to Ken & Joyce, and went into Corpus Christi for lunch and grocery shopping to get ready for the next wave. That afternoon we greeted several of our friends. And that's when it wasn't quiet anymore. More next time!