Haircuts

This past Thursday was the day. The day we were finally brave enough to take Will to the barber for a real haircut. It was time...I mean, look at that crazy do. It looked like a puffy rat's nest disaster every time he would wake up. We have just been scared of what he would do in the barber's chair, and we weren't really sure what to do or how to style his fine, baby hair.

Both boys got their hair cut at the same time. Matt sat still like a big boy, grinning at himself in the mirror. Will did his best to make an escape as the barber was tying him to the chair with a smock, but Steven & I were there to hold him still. I went ahead and let him have his lollipop. It worked well, but Will never took the thing out of his mouth which would have been okay but he also decided not to swallow. So he sat there drooling as his hair fell all around him. Well, whatever, it worked...he made it through without screaming, and he looks so handsome!

A great improvement, I think we'll all agree. He looks older to me now, but I like it!

Race Weekend!

The Austin Marathon was this past Sunday, and we knew two very special people participating in the half marathon event; Joy and Alison. The Browns traveled down from Dallas on Friday, and so we were able to all get together for an evening out at Phil's Icehouse so the kids could be as giggly and silly as they needed to be together. Well, AND so we could have Amy's ice cream afterward.

Matt, Josh, and Ava sure know how to have fun together. All it takes is making potty noises with their mouths and you've lost them to fits of hysterics and laughter. And maybe some Sprite spewing from their mouths.

Saturday morning we met up with the Browns at Zilker even though it was drizzly rainy out and made the best of it. Chris & Steven took Josh & Matt on a canoe ride down Town Lake. My favorite part of that was seeing Steven in the tiny life jacket. :)

The kids were mesmerized by the clown making balloon animals. Matt requested an orange cat, and Josh got a red dragon which he later named "Belle the Dragon".

That evening Nicole & I put together a pre-marathon carb-loading dinner for our racers Joy & Alison. A race is a perfect excuse for a dinner party. The kids got to eat outside completely unsupervised, and I think we all benefitted. No mischief there, right?

Sunday morning we woke up super early so we could make it downtown in time to see Joy & Alison at the beginning of the race. The kids all did really well...thanks to our awesome parenting skills AND a full arsenal of snacks and homemade pigs in a blanket by none other than the fabulous Nicole.

We watched Joy & Alison run by, who were looking mighty good by the way, and then ever so slowly made our way to the Capital. The grounds there had plenty of interesting things to keep the kids occupied for a good while.

We waited and watched all the fascinating sights. I quite enjoyed being a spectator to such an event. Honestly, I really wish I was a runner, but my arthritic, broken knees just don't allow for it. I really love the atmosphere, the athleticism of these runners, and the competitiveness of it all. I felt energized just being there. I'm simply amazed at anyone who can accomplish such a feat. I mean, 13.1 miles??? I could never, ever, EVER do that. Watching Alison & Joy cross that finish line was incredible; and they both posted such awesome times! I was so proud of them!! I'm so glad I got to be part of it. It was great fun to get to be there and cheer them on.

Congratulations to Joy and Alison! Y'all are amazing. I'll cheer you on anytime!

Night-Night

Yesterday while I was preparing lunch the boys were playing on the bed in Matt's room. I could hear Lego's being thrown everywhere and could only imagine the mess I would find. Matthew emerged to come sit down and eat his lunch. He went to go check on Will a couple times and reported back to me that he wasn't ready to get down. I could tell by the "Noooo!!!!" that I heard from back there. So I let him be while Matt & I sat down to eat. Then it was super quiet. That usually means he's into something he shouldn't be. I walked back there and found him asleep on Matt's bed. As you can see toys were strewn about and there he was fast asleep. I couldn't believe it. I stayed in there and photographed him and then proceeded to clean up the bed a little which was littered with Lego's, books, barrel of monkeys, Toy Story figures, etc., and he didn't even flinch. I woke him up, he ate lunch, and then he went to sleep in his own bed. Funny boy.

It appears that Will may like sleep as much as his brother. He tells me when he is ready to go to bed. The other day he was super cranky, and I think he knew it, and he finally said, "Nap! Sleep! Bed! Night-night!" He willingly goes to bed. Such strange children I have! So sweet though.

Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Matt had his Valentine party at school on Friday, so we spent some time making Valentine creations for his school friends and some of our friends and family. I got out the craft paper, glue, glitter, and stick-on letters and let the boys help me. Will was cranky and not really interested unless he could smear the glue stick all over the table and stick his finger in it. Matt could care less about the cutting and pasting, but he did care about what letters adorned them. Go figure. He named them all and even assigned numbers to some representing the recipient's age. Then Steven turned on his video game and they both abandoned our project. That's fine; I had their attention for about 10 min.

I also made sugar cookies. Steven made relentless fun of me and told me I was "that Mom". I guess I am. I enjoy making homemade treats, and yes, they tend to be over the top but I like to attribute that to my mother's strong influence on me. She was room mother after all...like every year that I was in school.

Last Thursday Matt made me a Valentine while he was at Bible study. He wouldn't let me look at it and said he wanted it to be a surprise that I could see on Valentine's Day. He went and hid it when we got home. He emerged all grins and said, "Mommy, when it's Valentine's Day on Monday you'll get to see where I hid your treat behind the curtain, but not until Monday...but when it is Monday, you'll be able to find it behind the curtain." Hehehehe. So this morning he was so excited to reveal it to me. He took me by the hand and told me to close my eyes and he led me into our bedroom where he pulled it out from behind the curtain. He was so proud of himself. I of course loved it, and he gave me a big ol' hug. Little sweetheart!

Check this out...Steven & I are going out tonight! Thanks to none other than Aunt Pam who is awesome in every way. Wahoo!

WAFFL super bowl

Last weekend we gathered at Tim & Pam's with our fantasy football league to watch the Super Bowl and congratulate this year's winner of our league. Sadly, the Moran family was sick and weren't able to join us. We had the usual spread of waffles and breakfast meats which were delicious as always.

Looks good, doesn't it? Not me, the waffles! Here I am enjoying my last few fleeting moments with my trophy. I was NOT the champion again this year. In fact, quite the opposite. Come August, I will be really happy to welcome new and different players to my team. JuggieNauts 2010 were really despicable. For real, they should be embarrassed.

For the first time since the inception of our league a male took home the trophy. None other than Mr. John Hampton was the lucky man to take possession of the coveted prize. He gave one heck of a heart-felt, moving speech. Not a dry eye in the room. Way to go, John! Display it proudly!

Seriously, HE DID IT!!!

Steven Thomas bought a 4Runner!!! It's a close tie as to who is more excited about it. You must understand that Steven has been talking about this truck for at least 2 years. For the past 6 months he has dedicated himself to thoroughly (if not overly) researching the vehicle, stalking 4Runner blogs multiple times a day, building the truck on Toyota's website numerous times, and discussing it with me and anyone else who will listen. Granted, buying a car is a HUGE decision, not to be taken lightly. But, he's known it's the truck he really wants for quite some time. Steven, being the unique individual that he is wanted a very specific 4Runner that was nowhere to be found on any dealership lot here in the state of Texas. One dealership here in town finally got the idea to make a trade with another dealership in another state, and that gave Steven his great opportunity. You can imagine my excitement when he finally pulled the trigger and brought home that shiny new truck 2 weeks ago. Now, we still have 3 vehicles. Why is that you say? Well, we "traded in" the old Acura Integra. Poor old girl wasn't worth much. Boy did I love that car. It was a great college car and so much fun to drive...even the 8 hours back and forth to Amarillo when Steven & I were dating. Memories! At this time Steven is still unsure what to do with his '91 Toyota pickup. It's the truck he's had since he got his driver's license, so secretly I think that's why he can't part with it yet. But we shall see!

So, next time you see Steven give him a pat on the back, firm handshake, high-five, what-have-you. This new truck is a big deal around here. It's his first new car that he gets to drive himself everyday. He looks really handsome in it, too, not to mention he is loving it. Wahoo!!! No more new car talk for a long time, right honey?

Snow!

I don't know if you heard...but it got COLD last week. Frigid cold and an inch or two of snow was enough to shut down the city of Austin. No school or activities--just several days at home. On Thursday evening I told Matt that it might possibly snow that night while he was sleeping. He was all atwitter with excitement. The next morning I heard him shuffle down the hallway and then walk in the dining room and flick on the light. He liked what he saw out the window. He heard Will stirring and entered his room and talked to him about the snow. So cute.

They both were excited to go out and play in it...for all of about 15 min. Will refused to wear a hat or gloves so he got cold and was done pretty quick. Matt had fun eating the snow; it's strange, but that's the first thing he did once he walked out in it. Will was laughing at him.

The snow sure was pretty but didn't last long. I'm good with that! Being house bound we got pretty creative with our playtime. LOTS of Lego building, Hot Wheels racing, block building, train tracking and fort building fun around here. The snow melted and gave way to a totally beautiful weekend.