Weekend Recap

Wanted to share some pictures from the weekend.  On Saturday morning, we took Henry to Pet Land to give him a bath.  There was something really appealing about going to a pet store to bathe him in a dog tub rather than bathing him in our bathtub.  However, it was NOT worth the $20.  We bathed him ourselves, using watered-down "soap".  So, we won't be going there again, but it was a fun experience for the boys.  Not so much for Henry, though.

the boys getting Henry pumped for his bath

Daddy's getting the tub set up

bath time!

shake time!

getting dry

the boys getting dry



Later that day, we went to our cousin, Matthew's, high school graduation party.  We had a fun time seeing our Whiffen relatives!

Gabe, Zach, and Elizabeth (Matthew's cousin from his other side of the family) had a great time playing with this red balloon (notice Gabe's ever-present under bite...)

Gabe, his under bite, Uncle Ed (in the background), and Elizabeth

I wish I could turn this photo!  I got a huge kick out of how Zach's "skinny" jeans looked with his boots

those jeans were not made for boots

Zach LOVED Elizabeth

why are my pictures doing this?

does anyone know how to turn them?  If you turn your head, you can see Zach's beautiful little face.

On Sunday morning, the boys had pancakes for breakfast.  Usually, I dole out the pancakes to Zach, since he'll stuff his little mouth full of the pancake pieces at once.  For some reason, I gave him the plate this time (can't remember why), and that boy took advantage of the experience.  I turned around to find him licking his plate.  The licking went on for quite some time.  Time enough for me to grab the camera and take plenty of photos.  Zach is MY son.

On Sunday afternoon, Gabe decided to sit on his "golden" egg to help the dinosaur hatch.  He sat on the egg for most of the afternoon and evening.  This morning, he's back to sitting on the egg.

driving me nuts that I can't get these pictures to turn!!!

Pirate Playdate

Our friends, Rebecca & Zoe, hosted a pirate-themed playdate on Friday afternoon.  Rebecca is the quintessential party host.  She made a pirate flag banner that hung around the swing set (forgot to photo it), created a treasure map and box, led the kids on a treasure hunt, had pirate tattoos and eye patches, and gathered crafts to make pirate hats!  I have no idea where she finds the time to do all of this....  Thank goodness I have the pool - it will take the pressure off of creating themed backyard playdates. 

Here are the pictures from the party:

Gabe's checking out the treasure map

Zach and Catherine

Charlotte and her patch

Gabe kept lifting his patch

on the hunt for the hidden treasure

map & box

still on the hunt

Zach found the treasure - necklaces and ice pops

 

Hendrik & Zach

oh, the love of push toys

where's Zach?

there he is!

bye-bye

jumping off the rocks

more jumping

 

hanging from the monkey bars

Zoe & Charlotte looking at their tattoos

This Is Perfect, Mom

I had one of those magical moments with Gabe this afternoon.  He woke up really early from his nap and crying, so I went up to his room to get him to go back to sleep. 

Back story:  I wasn't home to put him down for his nap since J gave me the morning off; so, he might have been surprised to see me.  And, lately he's been waking up scared, saying that his room is too big.  Not sure what it's all about...

Anyway, I went to his room, told him that it was still nap time, and I rubbed his back, encouraging him to fall back to sleep.  He was still crying and not settling down, so I climbed into bed with him, hoping that lying down next to him would help.  I rubbed his back and held him and thought that he was falling back to sleep.  All of a sudden, he picked his head up, turned back to look at me and said, "This is perfect, Mom.  Thanks for coming to my house.  My room is getting smaller."  And then he put his head back down and pretended to sleep for a bit longer.

He is just so sweet.

When We're Giants...

It's raining this morning, and Gabe asked me:

G:  "Mom, would you like to dance in the rain?"
Me:  "I would some day.  Would you?"
G:  "Yes, I would."
Me:  "It would have been fun to dance in the rain yesterday when we were so dirty from playing outside.
G:  "We can't take baths outside, Mom.  When we're giants, we can take baths outside."

Of Course

Gabe wants to help Daddy with the pool. 

He asks me:  "Mom, can I help Daddy with the pool when I'm bigger, of course?" 

With an emphasis on the "of course".  I got a kick out of it, so I asked him to repeat his question, and he said the exact same thing, with emphasis.  Sometimes he sounds like a little adult.

And Then There Was This Afternoon

The afternoons this week have been great.  The boys have been playing well together in the back yard, and I've had a chance to weed.  I never thought that I'd enjoy weeding, but I do.  I love it.  Anyway, I ran inside to get something today, leaving the boys unattended for a minute (thanks to our pool fence).  When I came back outside this is what I saw:

that would be the hose



wet

wetter

Those little rascals got into the hose and had a water party.  Can't say that I blame them, since it was so hot outside.  Yet, they know they're not supposed to play with the hose.  Can't run into the house for a second.  Oh, and the house got hosed, the dog got hosed, etc.

Other Stuff We've Been Up To

We had a fun eating week.  I made a "grown up" cake for friends on Saturday, so Gabe wanted a kid-friendly cake the next day.  So, we had fun-fetti cake on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.  We ate ice cream a couple days in a row, and we even made banana bread (with chocolate chips, of course). 

Here are some pics:

making banana bread

eating my ice cream

eating my ice cream

and licking my fingers

random shot of the two boys at the Museum of Science from Memorial Day weekend