July catch-up

Ya, ya, ya. . .I know, I've been really bad about our blog. July was an extremely busy month. My last blog entry was started weeks ago, and I finally finished it today. (I didn't bother to change the blog date though.) I was really crunched for time at the newspaper. I think we had two weeks to put the August issues together. My head was spinning by the time we were done. The nice thing, though, is we had two weeks off until the September work started rolling in. I took the kids swimming at the office on the one free day we had together. They loved it, and keep asking when we're going back. I showed Brandon how to use the swim noodle, so he's dying to spend the day using it again.

We had Brandon's birthday party at The Bounce Spot on his actual birthday. He LOVED it! He was just glowing, because it was his birthday and he was the center of attention. He played really hard in all the bounce houses with his friends, especially the ones from preschool. He loved his Wall-E cake and his mountain of presents. He said it was the best day ever. What more could we ask for?




We left the next day for a trip to the ocean. The boys were giddy with excitement. They were so giddy, we were ready to pull our hair out. They were bouncing off the walls, running up and down the stairs, playing with the two recliner chairs, running around all the decking that surrounded the house, yelling, screaming, fighting, laughing. . .and that was all within the first 30 minutes of being there! It continued the next morning, so we loaded everyone up for a long car ride into Felton to visit the Big Trees State Park and Roaring Camp Railroad. Dyan and Owen fell asleep and missed most of the Big Trees. It was wonderful to be in the forest and show Brandon how beautiful it all was. He thought so many things were just so cool.

We spent a couple of days at the beach. Owen hated all the sand at first. In fact, he spent the first hour at the beach sitting on Russ's boogie board. If the sand touched his feet he completely freaked out. You would think his feet were being severed from his body. Thank goodness he finally got used to the sand. The boys spent the days building sandcastles, searching for sea shells and playing in the water. They especially loved taking a hot outside showers with Daddy when we got back to the house.

We also spent some time at the Boardwalk riding some of the rides and playing games in the arcade. We also visited the wharf so the kids could look at the seals. Of course, they loved all that too. Dylan was completely upset with us when we told him it was time to leave.

The trip was just long enough to get away for some fun with the kids, but short enough to feel like we had just gotten there. The kids sure did keep us on our toes, though. We came home needing a vacation from our kids, and luckily our moms stepped up and took them all. We had a pretty quiet weekend to rest and recoup from our family vacation.

Santa Cruz Photos

"No make it"

We go through this ritual at every lunch and dinner time. It usually goes like this:

Deets: "I hungry, Mommy."
Mommy: "What would you like to eat, honey?"
Deets: "Cream cheese sandwich and no make it. No make it, Mommy."
Mommy: "Ok"
Deets: "No make it. Just want to eat it."
Mommy: "Well, I have to put the sandwich together."
Deets: "Ok, but no make it."
Mommy: "Ok."

Dylan thinks "making it" means I have to cook it, so he will have to wait 10 to 20 minutes to eat. When D is hungry, he's hungry right now. I'm really in trouble if he wants waffles or meatballs or anything that requires cooking. I usually hand him the frozen food when he insists on eating "right now." That cures the "no make it" argument for the moment, but next meal time it starts all over again. It can be annoying, but at the same time it's so darned cute, I'm not annoyed for long.

Busy holiday weekend

I swear we did more this weekend than we do in a normal week! The boys were finally over their Hand Foot and Mouth. They looked to be well on the 4th, but we still kept other kids at a distance. After all Brandon and Owen still had the fading blisters on the 3rd.

Our neighbors across the street hosted the annual 4th of July party, so we were able to join in without possibly infecting their kids. We just set up our chairs on our lawn and watched the fireworks extravaganza from our side of the street. The boys loved the fireworks as long as they weren't loud. Since so many neighbors bring fireworks, the night goes on for hours. After 30 minutes, our boys were running around the yard and wanting to ride their bikes. Russ and his mom, Diane, eventually walked them up to the levy to watch the big fireworks going off across the river. They loved that! Brandon said it was the best day EVER!

We spent Saturday at Diane's house. She has an inflatable water slide, and the boys got to try it out. BIG HIT! They were fighting over who's turn it was. Even Owen got in on some of the action. He liked sliding, but preferred splashing around in the pool end. It was a day of play, napping and dinner at Grandma's house. Another great day!

Sunday morning we surprised the boys with a trip to "Duck Park" (McKinley Park). They were in heaven. They played hard on the play structures, sat just long enough to eat a snack, and then it was off to feed the ducks. Dylan was hilarious throwing whole pieces of bread. Owen was trying really hard to copy his brothers. His bread landed at Daddy's feet instead of in the water. It was so cute. We got really lucky: no pushy geese. Before we left, they boys wanted to get some swing time in. The only reason we left the park was because it was so hot! Sooooo hotttttttt!!!!! We decided to pack a lunch and take the boys swimming. Brandon practiced swimming with Daddy and then put on his water wings. He thought those things were the best. All he wanted to do was swim back and forth across the pool. Dylan spent the day jumping into the pool with Daddy. That's all he likes to do. Owen was running so fast in the kiddie pool he kept falling and going under water. I'd pick him up and off he was running again. It was crazy! We were at the pool so long that the baby ended up napping there, and continued to nap once we got him home and put to bed. That NEVER happens.

I was actually looking forward to going into the office for some "quiet" time to myself today. That didn't quite work out, though. I ran a few errands and came home to Russ needing me to drive him to the doctor. His back was spasming so bad could barely walk. Luckily the doctor was able to see him and treat his back in his office. After I got Russ home, I spent the rest of the afternoon picking up work at my office, at the pharmacy, at the grocery store and finally home to make dinner for the family. Then I still had to work. I'm exhausted now, but can't sleep! I think I've been going and going and going for so long that my body just isn't ready to rest yet. I really wish it would!

Deets starts potty training

Today is the big day for Dylan! We came in from swimming this morning, and instead of putting on a new diaper, I asked him if he wanted to wear his big boy underwear like Brandon. Without hesitation, he said yes. That was not the answer I expected. . .he usually says, "No way."

We popped on a pair of Nemo underpants, and I moved his potty chair to the tile entryway so he doesn't have to run so far to reach it. We've been through three pairs of underwear so far, but at least he goes to sit on the potty when he's done. The idea is there, he just needs to get the order down.

Hand Foot and Mouth

What a horrible disease! Owen has it now. Poor kid has the blisters on his tongue and on his butt clear down to the bottom of his feet. Luckily the only blisters that are bothering him are the ones in his mouth. He can't get well fast enough, though. Because the kids are so contagious, we will be spending the 4th of July holiday at home in our little bubble. At least they can watch the fireworks Russ bought out in front of our house without fear of passing the germs on to anyone else!

Swimming lessons complete

The boys just loved learning how to swim these last two weeks. Brandon didn't want to miss his last lesson with Kate, so he jumped into the pool even though he wasn't feeling so good. We didn't realize how sick he really was until we saw him shivering in the water. Very weird since the pool is heated. We pulled him from his lesson immediately, and wrapped him in his towel. Poor kid! Turns out he has Hand, Foot and Mouth just like Dylan did a earlier in the week. Dylan finished off his lessons with his usual jumping in the pool and assisted "swimming" under water. Kate was able to get him to kick his legs, but he refused to use his arms if she asked him to. He did do a little arm movement Friday, so that was a good sign that Dylan is understanding what he's supposed to do.

Swimming lesson

Brandon and Dylan started swimming lessons on Monday. Brandon just loves it. He's been reading a book about swimming lessons for the last couple of weeks, so when we got there Monday he was ready to try all the things he read about. He was most excited about getting toys from the bottom of the pool (he did that yesterday). His first lesson was just getting used to the water and learning to trust his instructor. He went under water a few times, too. He was most proud of that. At quiet time that day, I tried to give Brandon his swimming lessons book in his stack of quiet time books. Brandon was convinced he already knew how to swim and no longer needed that book anymore. I thought that was pretty darned cute.

Dylan was the polar opposite. Brandon walked right into the water to learn to swim. Dylan I carried kicking and screaming to the waters edge. I tried sitting next to him with our feet in the pool while Kate, our instructor, talked to him. He didn't want to listen, all he wanted was to be in my arms. Kate eventually carried him into the water, where he continued to scream and cry for half the lesson. Russ and I had to leave the pool and watch from a window, so Dylan couldn't see us. That helped, I think. Once he was done being scared with Kate, she was able to get him to relax and even go under water. The next day Deets couldn't wait to change into his swim diaper and shorts. He was jumping into the water his second day.

Video: Brandon's Gymnastics Dance

Brandon does gymnastics once a week at preschool. He's been doing it for about 2 years now, and this was the first time we'd seen it. Ms. Jennifer organized a gymnastics presentation for us all at the last parent meeting. It was so adorable! Only 4 kids showed up so it only took about 15 minutes. Each child did two bar exercises and a beam routine, followed by this dance. Brandon was awesome!

Preschool Graduation

Brandon "graduated" from preschool tonight. (The academic year is over.) They had a 10 minute ceremony where they performed a song for us and received their certificates. I loved Brandon in his little cap and gown! As far as the kids were concerned, the real fun was in the bounce house and when the ballon twist guy showed up. The icing on the cake: both Grandma and Lola were there to join in the fun.