My heart melted today

I was laying on the couch this morning, because I was sooooo tired from the few hours of sleep I was able to get last night. Owen in all his sweetness yelled, "Mommy!" I answered, "Yes baby," with an arm out reaching for him. The next thing I know my baby comes running at me, hugs me tight and says, "I love you," and doesn't let go until I'm done hugging him back. I'm tearing up right now just thinking of it. He's never said those words before, and they came out of nowhere. I was blown away and a puddle of mush all at the same time.

Poor neglected Deets!

I was working on one of Dylan's scrapbooks today. He is the most neglected when it comes to recording his life. I just have not been able to get it together to get his first year scrapbook passed the day he came home from the hospital. I don't know what it is, but every time I sit down to tackle it, it's like I hit a mental road block. I just sit there paralyzed not knowing where to start. I have the photos in my hand, the notes to record the event in writing, the decorative pieces to make the page pretty....nothing. I have a feeling that it's because it isn't as cute as Brandon's scrapbooks. I had so much time to work on Brandon's. His is really creative. Dylan's is turning into a very simple, clean scrapbook with very little color and even less creativity.

Since I just can't figure out D's first year, I've moved on to the years that follow. So much easier! I've given up the large scrapbooks for digital photo books. They are less time consuming and so much easier to build. On the other hand, they are far less personal. Lets be honest, I don't have time for personal! D's first year scrapbook is a great example! It will be a miracle if it ever gets done. Anyway, today I was able to fill in 30 pages of Dylan memories. I am on a mission to get his book up to date before anyone else. My poor neglected Deets! I'm having the best time watching him grow up all over again. He was such a silly baby!

Owen's world

I really wish I wasn't the one driving today, because I would have loved get some video of Owen in the back seat. We had just dropped Dylan off at preschool, and we were on our way to the store. Owen spent the whole car ride talking to himself and singing, "brother coming" over and over again. Just those two words. It was so cute to hear him being in his own little world.

Owen is 2 today!

The birthday boy being silly with his brothers just before cake time

Today was Owen's 2nd birthday, so we had a party for him at my mom's house. Owen had the best time. He played so hard today, ate a little bit of everything, and even snuck some sips of Uncle Steve's coke. He loved all the kids that came to play today, especially his second cousins Samantha and Brittney. His Thomas the Tank Engine cake was a hit, and he tore through his presents. He knew the day was all about him and he tried his best to stay awake only to crash around 5pm.

Deets the barber

Well it was bound to happen. Dylan cut Owen's hair with a pair of safety scissors....

Owen came running crying, so I called Dylan in to see me (Brandon wasn't home) to ask him what happened. He comes in carrying the scissors, but I don't even see them until he tells me that he was getting Owen ready for a haircut. I look at Owen and nothing seems to be out of place, so I tell Deets that we don't cut anyone's hair with the safety scissors. I send them back out to the living room to play and take away the scissors just in case D forgets what's been said. 10 minutes later Deets comes running downstairs into our office with Owen right behind him with our second pair of safety scissors. Apparently he was trying to return the favor. I took away those scissors as well.

Later that evening I find locks of Owens hair on the floor. I run my fingers through his hair and clumps of hair come out in the back. Lucky for Owen Dylan didn't cut much in the same spot. I honestly didn't think Deets had done it until I found the evidence. He was so scared he'd be in big trouble he never admitted to it.

County Fair

We took the kids to the Sacramento County Fair on Thursday after Brandon got out of school. It was the perfect day to be there. There weren't many people, so the kids got off rides and got right back on all afternoon. Their absolute favorite was the super slide. They spent a good 20 minutes sliding. Owen even loved going with Russ. Every time he got to the bottom, he'd yell, "Again! Again!" just like the other two. We had to leave and come back to give Russ a rest. All those stairs and trying to fit Owen in his lap was a little exhausting. They also loved the fun house, mini ferris wheel, train, flying saucers, fish ride, spinning dragons and bumble bees. The down side to all the rides: most of them didn't work properly...not that the kids noticed. We also checked out the FFA animals: rabbits, hens/roosters, turkeys, sheep, goats and cows. All Deets wanted to see were the cows. When we finally found them, he wanted to see every single one. He was pointing out the cows as if we couldn't see them right in front of us. It was pretty cute. We finished up our day with a couple of games. In the car they were all clutching their prizes and looking extremely tired. It was a good day for the Fuller boys.

Open House & Art Festival

Last night was Caleb Greenwood's Open House and Art Festival. We walked down to the school and the first thing the kids saw was the Jamba Juice tent. Five minutes later they were walking around straws in mouths sucking on their cool treats.

The art tents were so great. Each class worked on an art project that was auctioned off to raise money for the school. Brandon's class drew nature pictures that were compiled into a large nature scene painting. One of the mom's is an artist, so she took the kids drawings and sketched out the scene based on their artwork. The result was just fantastic. I was dying to buy it (and so were a few other moms), but it turned into a gift for Brandon's teacher, Mrs. Wong. She really wanted it so one mom suggested we all buy it for the kids' teacher as an end of year gift. A few of us parents presented it to Mrs. Wong immediately at the end of the auction and she had it placed near her desk shortly thereafter. She was so touched.

In case you were wondering what Brandon's contribution was to the painting, he had two animals portrayed:

Brandon's Raccoon and Bird

Brandon's classroom was just crammed full of families. There was so much to see, it really did take quite a while for Brandon to show everyone around. He loved showing us all the things they have been doing all year. They made books, scrapbooks, photo books, self portraits, potted plants...that room was just crammed full of all kinds of projects. We also made a point to go visit the first grade rooms and meet the teachers. Brandon was just fascinated with the building toys first graders get to play with. He then noticed all the dioramas they created for open house and the desks (not tables) the kids sit at. He thought it was all pretty cool.

Brandon at the batting cage

At Brandon's last practice the kids got to try hitting some balls off the pitching machine. Had I known, I would have brought my video camera. All I had was my phone, but I'm thankful I even had that! Brandon did soooo great! He hit 4 of the pitches. Talk about boosting his confidence...he wanted to spend the rest of the practice in the cage.

Deets, the event organizer

Dylan has found a new favorite toy at preschool. I looks like a mini teeter totter that you put a beanbag on one end and you step on the other to launch it into the air. He loves it so much he organized the kids at school to make sure everyone got a turn with this toy. That surprised me when a teacher told me. It was so unlike Deets. It actually sounded more like Brandon.

I wonder if it has anything to do with his potty training. He's been really good about staying dry and going pee in the potty chair. I've been making a big deal about how he's such a big boy now just like Brandon. He idolizes Brandon, so every time I say it his face just lights up. Maybe he's thinking that since he's big like Brandon now, he'll start doing things like Brandon??? Who knows. All I know is Dylan is growing up before my eyes and it makes me a little sad. One more year and he starts kindergarten.....(sniff, sniff)...my babies are growing way too fast.

Bruiser

Owen is such a bruiser. He's usually muscling his way into getting what he wants away from his brothers. Sometimes he's so focused on the "prize" that he's not always paying attention to what he's doing. This morning was a good example.

I knew it was going to be another hot one today, so I wanted to go outside to do a little watering and gardening. Since Owen was the only one awake, I took him outside with me after breakfast. So there he is throwing a fit in the backyard at 7:30 in the morning about something trivial. I redirect his attention so he'll play with some toys, but that only lasts about minute. He's whining and carrying on as he makes his way over to me and does what I assume is a face plant into the concrete. Because I didn't see him fall, I don't realize what happened until we get in the house. All I know is I'm carrying a shaking baby who isn't taking a breath because he hurts so bad.

This is what actually happened to his face. A few good scrapes on the nose. I swear that boy cannot go a day without adding some sort of mark to his collection of scrapes and bruises. He is all boy!

Mommy's Day

I hope you all had a nice Mother's Day. We invited the family for a bbq at our house this year. Everyone just hung out watching the kids, while Russ worked his assssssss off bbq, serving drinks and preparing appetizers for everyone. I love and adore my husband, and that day he went above and beyond to make it great day. I love you honey and thank you, thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day. xoxoxo

The Upside Down Show

This show is my kids' all time favorite show. We used to find it on Noggin, but they stupidly have taken it off the air. Our boys have a fairly well developed imagination, but this show put their imagination into overdrive!

If you have never seen the show, you can check out the little snippet below. Shane and David start each show with a couple of words like horizontal and vertical. They demonstrate the words in silly ways always involving an imaginary remote control that they eventually "hand over" to you. It's very creative and very entertaining for parents and children alike. Our kids run around the house knocking on the doors yelling, "Knock, knock! Come in!" and Action Fingers make many appearance at the table during meals. They play all kinds of make believe games now, and I believe we have Shane and David to thank for that. It was by far the best children's program on tv. We just can't figure out why they took it off the air.



Russell actually found Shane and David's official site, The Umbilical Brothers. This links to some of their other comedy: http://www.umbilicalbrothers.com/site/stuff/videos.php

We love these guys just as much as our kids do and hope they come back on the air soon!

Started a new blog

I don't know what I was thinking, because I really don't have the time to keep up on this blog, but I started "A Moment in Fuller Time". I created it for my favorite snapshots of my kids. The images capture moments that I wish I could witness or re-live again and again.

I really wanted to post just one photo with my Santa Cruz entry, but it didn't really seem to fit with what I wrote. So that's where the new blog idea came from. It won't be updated quite as often as this one...unless I start going snap happy with the camera.

http://fullermoments.blogspot.com/

Photos: Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

Diane invited us to join her in Santa Cruz, so we took the boys before the rain came. It was a wonderful few days. We went hiking in Nisene Marks. It was so cute watching the boys explore their surroundings...the bugs, the bridge, the trees, the paths...Oh, the paths! They all wanted to lead and choose which way we should go next. The bridge was a pretty big hit, too. Russ, of course, had to set an example of what not to do by climbing on a log next to the creek. He took a few steps and realized he couldn't go any further, so turned around and joined the rest of the family. After walking for some time, the boys were so disappointed when we made them turn around and head back to the car. They just wanted to keep going to see what else was ahead on the trail. We were trying to avoid having to carry them a mile back to the car! I will admit I felt the same as the kids, though. I just wanted to keep going and see what would pop up around the next bend.

We took the kids to the beach a few times. The first day was just too cold and windy, so we just went home instead. The following day wasn't as windy, and the sun was out, so we chanced the beach again. It took a while for the boys to get going. At first all they wanted to do was snuggle under warm blankets and eat snacks. Once they were warm enough they dug in the sand, went hunting for seashells (and in Owen's case, rocks), and the ever popular jump off the "sand cliffs." D found rolling down the sand hill far more satisfying...oh, and Owen would jump up and then run down with those short stubby legs. It was hilarious.

We made a stop at the wharf for some crab cocktail and to check out the seals. We talked Brandon into trying the crab, and he actually liked it. He ate half a small one by himself. That shocked me. Owen tried it and spit it out saying it was "ucky". Russ gave him the oyster crackers instead, leaving him happy as a clam. Dylan was sound asleep in the car, but that was for the best. He wouldn't have tried the crab, and he would have been upset that there were only a few sleeping seals to be seen.

The Boardwalk was the last stop on our list of activities for the boys. They spent most of their time playing games and winning tickets in the arcade. They played and played and played. We had to drag them out of there to go have a picnic lunch. They did not want to stop to eat, and we did not want cranky, hungry children. With that battle behind us and with bellies full, we oh so smartly took them on a couple rides. Their iron guts handled the rides without issues, thankfully. After a stop at Marini's for some taffy, chocolate and gummies, we cashed in our tickets and walked away with tummies full of sugar and new toys in hand. Happy day!

You know, even though we took them on exciting outings, the boys were just as happy to run around outside at the house. The place had a deck wrapped around it for their running pleasure, a hammock they loved to swing in, little lizards darting around for them to look at, little rocks to line up and play with, and outdoor shower that they completely forgot about....they were in heaven the entire trip.