Sunday, July 31, 2011

A Huge Zachie Milestone!

Zach swam in the pool by himself today!!!  J got him a new suit (with life preserver material built in) since he didn't like his life jacket, and off he went!  He swam from J to Auntie Auntie and back and forth so many times!  His little feet were moving so fast and he loved it!  I am so proud of him.  It was truly amazing to see him so comfortable in the water all by himself.  I just wish that I could have joined him (oh, moped accident!!!!).

Here are the pics:


holding onto a noodle


big brother on his noodle

swimming from Dada to Auntie Auntie

swimming on my own!

look at me!!

I'm swimming! 

look at me all by myself, swimming to Auntie Auntie!

I did it!

and I'm off again!

two swimming boys

I'm having so much fun!


I'm really swimming, Mom!

and swimming

how cute is he?

weeee!

and here's my awesome suit!

Saturday Morning Cutting The Grass

J and Gabe cut the grass together yesterday morning.  I tried to find our flip camera to capture the cuteness, but I couldn't find it.  Wah!  Gabe literally becomes Jason.  He walks right beside him with his little lawnmower; he stops when J stops; he pretends to put grass clippings into the bag; and when J yells something to me, Gabe tries to repeat every word.  It's hysterical. 

Zach didn't like the sound of the lawnmower, so he kept himself at a good distance away, watching intently.  Because he didn't move from his safe spot by the back door for literally 10 minutes straight, I seized the opportunity to snap a gazillion photos of him; because I don't have enough pictures of the boys.  I seriously need a 12-step program.  I am addicted to taking pics of these two little boys.  Here are the shots:

two boys mowing the lawn

he was concentrating so hard




look at those cheeks & lips!

he caught me snapping pics but still didn't move an inch

so I kept snapping away - do you see the cobweb on his head?  He'd just been hunting underneath out back steps.


he looks kind of sad in this shot....poor bug



his cheeks remind me of Connor Whiffen in this shot


the love!

First Face Painting!

I truly am obsessed with the Melrose Rec Dept.  On Friday after our story time/parachute class, they had a bouncy house, face painting, and pizza.  In fact, every Friday they put up the bouncy house, offer the face painting, and pizza for $1.  (everything but the pizza is free of charge!)  We've done the pizza and bouncy house in the past, but never the face painting.  Gabe saw Noah getting his face done, so he got the courage to do it, too.  Even Zach thought it was a good idea.  Here are the pics of our first face paintings:

Poor Gabe.  He was so worried about the paint coming off of his face that he couldn't enjoy it at first.

Trying to enjoy my face painting, but I'm still worried that it's "coming off."  See my caterpillar?

here's the frog on my other cheek

"It's coming off!"

I have a baseball on my cheek

see it?


Friday, July 29, 2011

One Of Gabe's Cute Habits

So, I've posted before about Gabe and his toy "hoarding".  He fills his bed with the most random things - coat hangers, slippers, shoes, toys, books, clothes, etc.  And, before nap, he's always looking for a new thing to bring upstairs. 

Gabe really likes the idea that Mommy naps, too.  He wants to know that I'm upstairs and that he's not missing out on any fun.  Sometimes I do nap (lately I've been napping a lot), and sometimes I can't.  What I think is adorable, however, is that he'll bring a toy up for me, too, and he puts the toy on my side of the bed or on top of my pillow.  He doesn't usually tell me that he's bringing me the toy, so I usually walk into my room to find some odd toy or other in my bed.  And it always makes me smile.

Well, the other day, he took this little shirt that used to be on his stuffed alligator and tried to wrap it around my ankle to make me feel better.  It was very thoughtful - he's been very sweet about my boo boos.  Anyway, Gabe told me to wear the shirt around my ankle at night, too, so that it would heal.  By the time I went to bed, I'd forgotten about the shirt.  But, when I went up to bed this is what I saw:

my side of the bed - and the shirt near my pillow

he kills me

and here's a close up of the shirt

Don't you just love him?


Thank You

Thank you to everyone who helped after my surgery.  We are a very lucky family to have so many relatives who can help us with the boys.  I am profoundly grateful.  Here are a couple pics of when Auntie Auntie and Auntie Titi were here helping:

Gabe liked standing up in Titi's hands


 
Auntie Auntie and Zach (who was holding onto an orange ball the whole time)

he doesn't look like he was "joying" the pool in this shot

Hey, Look, Mom...

I wish I could have captured the shot for you.  You know when dogs lay on their sides with their legs out - it looks like they're standing up on their side... well, Henry was lying down like that this morning.  I noticed it and thought he must be hot (even though it's not really hot today), since that's the way he lies if he's really hot or really tired.

Anyway, Gabe turns to me and says, "Hey, look, Mom, Henry got dead."

I told Gabe that he was just sleeping, and of course Gabe ran over to him, causing Henry to move before I could capture the shot.  Maybe we're watching too many dinosaur shows (with dinosaurs dying....).

Thursday, July 28, 2011

A Zach Milestone

Zach learned how to climb UP the slide this afternoon.  It's not a mom's favorite milestone, but I'm pretty proud of his adventure-seeking spirit. 

When he'd get to the top, he'd turn around and do the cutest little happy dance, clap and scream.  He's the cutest little monkey!

Dirt, Glorious Dirt

My boys LOVE dirt.  They love to throw it and cover each other in it.  Gabe, naturally, is much better at covering Zach in dirt than the other way around.  Dirt and rocks.  We have every outdoor toy imaginable in our backyard, and these two little monkeys always go to the dirt and rocks (and the hose).  Yesterday, they were covered from the top of their heads (new haircuts to boot) to the bottom of their pudgy little toes.  Here are the pics:

two little boys playing in the dirt

seriously?

talk about ring around the collar!



you can see some sand and a pine needle - underneath are layers of dirt sediment on his scalp

and check out behind his ear! 

but................he had a bawl.  They took a shower last night instead of a bath