A walk in the park

I picked up the boys this afternoon and the weather was way too pretty to head home.

We made a little pit stop to our local park.

(ahem Satch... I may have an alterior motive here)

*Doesn't this park look like a LOVELY place for a birthday party?!?*

Anyway, the boys had a ball and ran off a lot little energy.

As usual they were a hot mess by the time we got back to the car.

Once home it was straight to the shower before dinner.

This was not the simple job of just washing the hands.

They were both in need of a full body scrub!

Oh how I love that spring is just around the corner!

Here we are on the swing.

They loved swinging with me because we went high in the sky.

I guess the smiles make it pretty obvious...

My big boy was in heaven.

"Higher Mama, HIGHER, HIGHER!"

The boys made some friends along the way.

Griff wanted to show his friends how much fun it was to swing with his Momma.

Gotta love when your kid still thinks that you are the coolest!  

Baby Bear  loves swinging high in the sky too!

Glad I captured these moments.

I will keep them in my brain forever.

They also really enjoyed chasing each other through the tunnels.

Here he comes!

Sliding down the slide together.

The boy with the $1,000,000 smile.

Oh how I adore both of these little people...

Potty time

Baby Bear has mastered the potty.

At any given moment you may find him in the bathroom.

He lets himself in,

bellies up to the potty,

lifts up his shirt,

stands there for a second,

then flushes.

Makes you wonder what goes through the mind of an 18 month old...

Baby Bear at the potty.

All done and time to flush.

Up

Baby Bear comes from a long line of climbers.  You may think that I am referring to Brother Bear.  Well... I am but it goes back further than that.  The climbing trait was inherited from Momma Bear.  I am still reminded of this by my mother.  

Griff was a major climber.  He started climbing long before he walked.  Anyone who has ever watched him always reports back to me, "Wow, that kid can climb!"  Move over rover we have a new climber in town!  

Baby Bear has literally taken his climbing to new heights.  The past few days I have spent the majority of my time removing him from the kitchen and laundry room counters.  He knows that it is a "no-no" but does not seem to care.  He makes eye contact with me, points to his target, and goes for it.  Seriously, the child POINTS like he is Babe Ruth calling his ball to center field.  What will I do with this monkey-boy?!?  

Posing in the window sill.

Posing like a male model on the chair.

What can I say?  He is so lucky that he is cute!!

Monkey boy 1 and Monkey boy 2.

The shiner should be of NO surprise.  I can't exactly tell you which fall
caused the black eye.  Too many to pick from.  I'm sure  this is the
first of many...

Cabin Fever

Where in the heck has the time gone?

We have been very busy,

 but I can't quite put my finger on exactly what we have been up to?!?

It is HOT, HUMID, and WET outside

so we have been spending  more time inside than out.

Here are a few pictures of my monkeys 

with a case of cabin fever.

Trying on Daddy's basketball shoes.  

Guess it is time to see the dentist?

Griff, the official household cake taste tester.

Baby Bear loves hanging with Uncle Al.
Can't say the feeling is mutual. :)

Looking OH-SO-CUTE while making a mess.

Reasons that I smile

I had a rough week.
I just sat for a second and it didn't take me very long
to remember the many
"Reasons that I smile."

• This morning my tiny tornadoes pulled the toy baskets out from under the television set.  Griffin looked at me and said, "take ticture momee, pease, pease, pease..."  YES INDEED!  Nothing would please me more. :)  These are the quick pics that I got of 2 boys.  I love everything about these pictures.

• Last night Griff conked his head.  He asked for a "nan-naid" to make it, "all bett-er."  Happy to say that the patch of hair that came off with the nan-naid wasn't too big. :)

• Here is Griff helping to unload the dishwasher.  He is going through a very independent stage right now.  I hear "I do it by self" in a sing song sweet voice all day long.  He now wants to dominate assist me with everything.  He insists on dressing himself without ANY help.  So what if his pants are on backwards tucked inside his undies with his head coming out of an arm hole?  I am so proud that he gave it his all!

•  Roman has also started his break towards independence.  This is really a tough stage.  I remember it very vividly from our first time around.  Not a baby anymore, but not quite a toddler.  Still needing Mommy, but wanting to flex his muscle of independence.  I have accepted that laundry and dishes will not be done while he is awake.  The bad good news is my chores will ALWAYS hang around until later.  Chores sure are persistent little boogers! :)  

• The other night Kenton corrected Griff for something.  Griff quickly came back with, "Wats the big idea?"  OH MY GOODNESS.  Discipline is tough enough.  Do they really have to be so stinkin' cute?!?
• "Wats the big idea" has become a widely used phrase by Griff thank you Imagination Movers.  I smile every time he throws it into conversation.  For example.  The other day we pulled up to our house and a friend's car was parked in the driveway.  "Hey momee, wats the big idea?"  See.... it made you smile too!
• Another current favorite phrase is, "wats goin on in here?"  Ex. He walked into our bedroom and a piece of furniture was moved. "Wats goin on in here?"
• Griff is into spelling everything.  I love when he sees the letter "G" placed in a word.  Example:     D-O-G for Grippin     A-G for Grippin-A-I-N.  Regardless of the placement in the word "G" is always followed by "for Grippin."
• We say grace before every meal.  The other day during grace Roman grabbed my hand to hold hands like the rest of us.  THAT was a moment that made my heart skip a beat.  He now holds hands and prays with our family.  At the end he lets out his utterance for "Amen."  Proof that these precious child that we are loaned to raise pay attention to every word and action.  Encouragement to lead by example. 
• We are so amazed by Griffin's progress.  Just a few months ago he barely spoke and put together 2 word utterances.  Wow.... his progression is AMAZING.  Every day he throws in new words and phrases.  He is such a smart and good boy.  We are so proud of him!

While Big Brother is Away...

Baby Bear

The Quicker Messer Upper!

It is a talent

to empty a drawer

in less than .5 of a second.

Little Helper

Roman has been spending A LOT of alone time with MiMi and Poppa

because his sitter has taken a little time off this summer.

He is more than willing to lend a hand around the house.

He vacuums the floor

He opens the door for you.

He sits on the potty. (a mother can dream of the day!)

He climbs up the slide,

To hang out in the pirate ship.

He loves to brush his own teeth.... all day long.

He climbs up and gets his own milk.

Calgon... take me away.  It sure is hard work being so cute!

Thanks to MiMi and Pop for taking such good care of our precious Baby Bear.

Airplane

Roman's FAVORITE mode of transportation 

is the Elmo airplane.

(thanks Nona Courtney!)

He pilots the airplane around the house

like a crazy man!

Once on the plane he takes off
and screeches like a kamikaze pilot. 

He has realized that he can get to his desired destination 

on the airplane

VERY QUICKLY!

Funny story.

The other morning I was "trying" to sleep in while Pop and MiMi were over.

Roman was DETERMINED to wake up everyone in the house.

He came into our room 3 times to wake me.

Finally on the 4th attempt of getting me out of bed

he flew in on his airplane.

Gotta love him!

Baby Bear parked his plane in the hall while playing in Griff's room.

Walking=Independence

And he's off... 

Roman has mustered up the courage to take his first steps.  

Mobility AND independence were both gained with that step.

Over the past few days we have watched the transformation of baby to toddler.

These changes have been pretty amazing to watch.

Roman no longer wants to sit in the high chair,

he has learned to open doors in the house,

he goes off on his own and plays independently,

he watches intently EVERYTHING that his big brother does

and then mimics him,

and he points to what he wants.

I am so proud of my baby boy!

Roman brings so much joy to all of our lives.

He is a beautiful and lovable child that you can not HELP by want to cuddle with.

He has a way of bulldozing his way into your life 

and your heart...     

1st Haircut

Today was a monumental day.

A round of hair cuts for the boys.

1st for Roman and kinda sorta Griffin too.

Griff has gotten several haircuts,

but today was the first time that I said...

"cut it."

Here is Baby Bear on his way to the main event.

He could no  longer see so I had a hair band in to clear his line of sight.  :)

 Here is Griffin once we got to the place.

He was watching the "big boy" in the chair before him.

I am proud to say that he took good notes

and was EXCELLENT!

(another first)

Here I am taking a picture with my baby moments before he would look like a boy.

 Daddy and flopsy Baby Bear.

Yes... I know the haircut was about 6 months past due.

 It was time to show off Baby Bear's baby blues.

Griffin went first.

 All for the love of the lollipop.

I say... "Let him have it."

 Ta-da!

 Next up....

Baby Bear

 Goodness...

Heart breaking at the sight of my boy.

One last look at hippy hair.

 Yes, he was this good the entire cut.

 And this serious.

I sure hope he has not lost his adorable smile.

Could this be his professional look?

I mean he does look like a dude now.

 The hairdresser is THAT FAST!

 "Hey Ma, what'cha think?"

 I do believe we got our moneys worth on this cut.

Yikes it is short!

 Sniff....Sniff....

 Me and my serious boy .

 Could he be posing like a male model?

Possibly his "Blue Steel?"

 I kept turning around on the drive home.

Who in the world are these boys in the back seat!?!

Baby to boy with the snip of a scissor.