Funny Kids

Staying at home with kids can be frustrating on some days, and others, like today, can make those frustrating days totally worthwhile.  Both boys have put a big smile on my face today and I just wanted to write it down so I don't forget:
Davis: 
We got home from taking Harrison to school this morning and after we got home I ran into my room.  Within the 30 seconds that it took for me to walk back into the family room, Davis had made himself a peanut butter spoon.  I laughed at the fact that he figured out how to open the jar by himself and get the peanut butter on the spoon.  I then walked into the kitchen to see what kind of mess he had made doing this.  To my surprise, I found the peanut butter jar back in its spot in the pantry with the lid (partially) on.  I might have scolded him for getting it without asking had I not been so impressed with his fine motor skills and his ability to clean up after himself!

Harrison: 
He was drinking his cup of hot chocolate today after school and he looked over at me and said, "mom, do you know what my favorite kind of hot chocolate is??   Its hot chocolate cherry.  You can buy it at www.hotchocolatecherry.com."  He is obsessed with the dream lites that you see on tv right now and he is always telling me that you can just go to www.dreamlites.com to buy them.  I guess he assumed that you just have to type in the name of whatever it is that you want on the internet to buy it...and technically you can!

Love these boys and love the time that I get to spend with them while they're so little and sweet!

Our Family Vacation

We just got back from our first true family vacation.  We spent the week in Destin at one of our favorite resorts and we had such a nice week!  It is rare that we get to spend more than 2 days together at a time as a family, so we soaked up all of the sun, sand and togetherness that we could.  Since hurricane Isaac was coming through right before our trip, we were nervous about the weather, but we ended up having 2 days of rain and the rest was perfect sunny, breezy, beautiful Florida weather!  We were there for a full week and we made it down there last Sunday, right at 4 o'clock.  We unloaded our stuff and headed straight for the beach.  It was so nice because both boys loved the sand and water.

Davis loved smashing sand castles, so I gave up quickly on trying to build a big castle for the boys.  He had a little love/hate relationship with the water.  He would run up to it and then run away.  He was okay being in it if I was holding him, and would crack up when the water came up to his toes.  He got lifted off of his feet one day from a small wave which freaked him out for the rest of the week, but I have to say, I think that having a little fear of the ocean is a good thing, especially for a 2 year old!

Harrison also loved riding on the boogie board.  The ocean was pretty rough so I was impressed that he could hang on!

Our condo was right next door to The Back Porch, so we walked over for dinner one evening.  They had to get a picture in the big chair

One of the themes of the week was "the boys side of the table".  It would always start out as "the big boys side of the table", but Davis would inevitably want to sit on his daddy's lap so he could be "one of the boys" as well.

(On another note - this is a great resort to stay at with boys b/c it is really close to Destin airport so planes would fly right over our buildings as they were landing.  It is a busy little airport, as you can tell from the boys getting side tracked at dinner!)
The best decision I made in packing for the trip was to bring the wagon!  Our condo was right on the beach, but with the kids, it took a lot of "stuff" to make it the beach and pool each day.  This wagon was our life saver, and thankfully I had a little buddy to help pull!

The next 2 days were rainy, but we found ways to entertain ourselves!  We hit up one of my favorite breakfast spots - The Donut Hole

 After breakfast, we went over to The Emerald Grande to look around at the marina and all of the boats.

Davis loved it, but the lack of fencing around the dock made us a nervous wreck!

The rain cleared up long enough for the boys to practice some fishing skills.

Davis started coming around to the water on his own...

On our way to dinner that night, Davis was cracking us up, walking around with one hand in his pocket.  Such a cool dude.  Sorry, its a little blurry!

 

We hit up my fav restaurant, The Red Bar since we couldn't enjoy too much of the beach due to the rain.  Harrison said he needed to wear his hair spikey that day because a little boy at school wears his hair like that.  I couldn't resist!

 And Davis wanted to make a funny picture like his brother...

The next night, we opted to pick up some steaks and just eat at the condo.  I think it was our favorite dinner of the week!  The weather was beautiful, and we didn't have to worry about keeping the kids contained at a restaurant!

The next day, we went over to the Baytown Wharf for dinner and got to see a gorgeous sunset over the bay

We got a nice bystander to take a picture, but I don't think he was used to the iphone, because they all came out blurry...

They had a big grassy area for concerts and after dinner, the boys ran their hearts out.  Needless to say, there was not an issue that night getting them to sleep!

The Emerald Grande was having a big SEC football parade on the last day we were there, so we put on our Alabama gear and headed over.  First, we found a girl on stilts making balloon animals for the kids. 

 There weren't too many people there, so once the parade started, the boys racked up on some beads.  They started out with a few necklaces and were so excited...

About halfway through, I started thinking, what are going to do with all of these beads??

And by the end, Davis couldn't walk because they were so heavy!

I turned around and didn't see Harrison...not to worry, he had found a lady doing facepaint...

He told me that he was getting a tiger on his face so I had to clarify with him that it was a Cincinnati Bengal tiger, NOT an Auburn tiger!  

Here was his reaction when he saw the face paint:

And Davis needed his painted too!

They also had a juggler and a New Orleans band, so the boys had a great time!

The last two days, I decided to get up early, before the boys woke up, to sit on the beach, drink some coffee and read a book...this is the one time that I was glad that Lance is not a morning person, so I didn't have to fight over who got to go down!  I wish I would have done it every morning, because it was so nice and peaceful!

We had a fantastic trip and while I was sad to say goodbye to the beautiful ocean, I was glad to get back home to my own bed!  We made some fun family memories that hopefully the boys will grow to cherish and remember!

A sweet prayer

Every night when we put Harrison to bed, we always say a prayer with him.  He usually wants me to say a prayer first and then he likes to say his own.  One of my favorite parts of the day is listening to what his little brain comes up with when he starts to pray.  This is what he said tonight:
"Dear Lord, please take care of Jack and Trey so that I can come visit them every year.  Dear Lord, thank you for Oakley and Davis and my mommy and daddy.  Dear God...I mean, dear Lord, I hope that you are having a great time in Heaven.  Amen."  If anyone knows Harrison, they know how much he adores his cousins Jack and Trey, and I just loved that he wished that God was having a great time.  I don't think my adult mind has ever thought to pray that!  So sweet.  I knew that I would forget this if I didn't write it down right away!

Davis' first bike ride

The boys love riding bikes around our driveway but if Davis is on anything with pedals, it usually involves me having to push him.  A big step was made today...he learned how to pedal himself!  My back appreciates this the most!  The look on his face was just priceless when he realized what he did for the first time.  The video was about his 3rd attempt.  I bet he will be zooming around the driveway with his brother in no time at all!  Way to go Davis!

First Week of School

After a very fun, busy summer, the boys finally started their first week of preschool at Summit.  I think we were all getting a little antsy so everyone was very excited leading up to this week.  We met both of their teachers last week and were very impressed with all of them.  Harrison was most excited about seeing his teachers from last year and is still wishing that he could be in their class again, but I think once he gets more comfortable he will be just as excited about his new teachers.  Harrison started back yesterday so we took our customary first day of school pictures.

I had seen an idea to take a picture of your child holding a picture of his first day from the year before.  I thought this was really cute, so here he is.  Its hard to tell the difference and really, to me, he looks pretty much the same, but he did shoot up a few inches.  Here is his last year's picture:

His head was below the deadbolt on the door last year and is now just above it.
He was being silly, but he let me take a few pics.  I loved these two, I just wish they weren't so blurry!  Oh how I miss my camera!!

He had a great first day and his old assistant teacher said that every time she saw him throughout the day, he was glowing and having a great time!  Exactly what a mom wants to hear!

Davis was upset yesterday when Harrison was getting ready for school and it took me a little while to realize that it was because he wasn't going to school.  When I got him up this morning, I told him it was his first day of school.  He put his hand in my face and said "no!".  Uh oh!  I made the boys a big breakfast and he finally came around and kept raising his hand and saying "Meee!!!!  Meeee!" because he was excited to go.  When I asked him if I could take his picture, he got excited and ran and grabbed his school bag.  I think he remembered how Harrison took his pictures the day before.
Of course big brother needed to show him how it was done!

I took a million pictures trying to get them both to smile at the SAME time and this was the closest I came.

Then he got a little distracted by the cool picture on his bag...

I think once we pulled up and I took his seat belt off, he knew what was about to happen and was all smiles.

I was afraid he might get upset when they took him out of the car, but he just hopped on out and walked on in, without turning back once!  Such a big boy!  It almost made me tear up thinking my baby isn't such a baby anymore!  I didn't have time to roll my window down, but I still think its sweet!

 

We have truly loved Summit and I'm so excited to see how much the boys learn this year!

My little fashion models

Harrison decided that he would dress himself this morning (a rare thing in a house with 2 boys).

Shirt from grand mommy, play shorts, knee socks from Aunt Liz's wedding (that have a big hole in them) and gym shoes.

Of course Davis couldn't be left out of this fashion statement.

Catching up - Part 2

Our trip to Tuscaloosa & Cincinnati:
It had been quite a while since I had visited my sister in Tuscaloosa, so when Julie called to invite us over for a visit, and both of our schedules were clear, we jumped at the opportunity.  Since we both have 2 kids, it seems that it gets harder and harder to line up weeks when we are both free.  Harrison has been asking to see his cousins, so it was perfect timing.  We hopped in the car on a Tuesday and stayed through Friday.  We spent the week playing at Julie's house, swimming at Indian Hills and visiting the Children's museum.  The time always flies, but we had a great time.  The only time that I remembered to take pictures, was at the museum.
Harrison found a life size Jenga game, which he loved!  I think that will have to be a Christmas gift this year...the actual game, not the life size version!

Davis scooped up some ice cream for us...

and drove a tractor...

We wore Davis out and judging from these faces, I would say they all had a great time!  I think this is my new favorite picture of the boys.

Davis hangin with the big boys!  (and Aunt Julie who made me crop her out of the pic since she just woke up)

Mid week, my mom called to let us know that my sister, Elizabeth, went into labor, so we changed our plans, and hopped in the car to head north instead of heading home.  We took this opportunity to stay at my BFF, Teresa's house in Birmingham so we could visit and make our drive to Cincy a little shorter.  The kids had fun getting to see Aunt Teresa, Mr Lance, Madeline and Paxton.  And they loved getting to eat at Moe's and having a special treat at Yogurt Lab for dessert!

We got up early on Saturday to head to Cincinnati and we headed straight to Liz's house when we got there.  What a sweet baby girl!

We spent most of the week keeping the kids busy, visiting with family and spending time with Elizabeth and Isabela.  My parents put all of the kids' toys in storage, so we lucked out that my parents purchase a glider for Liz the day we got there.  I immediately asked if we could keep the boxes to use as a play house.  That ended up being the highlight of the week for the boys!  I guess if you asked Davis, it would be his new helmet and the play house!

I mentioned in an earlier post that my parents sold their house so they are now in an apartment.  I was a little nervous staying there with the kids since it was only a 2 bedroom apt, but it went well and the kids loved it!  They have a ground floor apt which was nice, because we had more space to roam.  The kids made at least one trip a day, down the path, through the rocks, and over the bridge to the front office where they had cookies and mints waiting for them (as well as dog treats for Annie).  I'm sure these were for potential renters, but they were very nice and happy to share them with us too. 

 

My cousin Laura was in town her two girls, Adrienne and Catherine, so we got to spend some time with them as well.  We made a visit to Totter Otterville, which all of the kids loved!

They had a big indoor playset/ball pit, like at Chick Fila, a soft toddler area, train tables, a conveyor belt with blocks, a water table, do-it-yourself face painting and more!  And the best part was that it was a small enough venue that you could pretty much see the kids no matter which section they were playing in.  Of course, Davis loved the water table the best!

and the toddler area...

Harrison loved the conveyor belt..

and the face painting...

I helped him draw Spiderman on his face.  Thankfully I paid attention when he had this drawn on his face at Kings Island, so I had an idea as to how to paint a web.  He said that Spiderman has a black line down the center of his face, so that's what we did.

After our visit to Totter Otterville, Liz came over with Isabela and boys were starting to warm up to her.  They were a little nervous about the baby at first, but after the first day or so they were asking to hold her a lot.  Harrison did such a great job...

We spent some time at Grandmommy's pool and of course, instead of playing with the toys I brought, the boys spent over an hour playing with the these little pebbles from the landscaping around the pool...

We also made a trip to Union Terminal with my Aunt Carol and Cousin Laura.  We visited the children's museum, but also went through the natural history museum, which ended up being the hit with the large sandbox and cave exhibits.  I didn't take very many good pictures here, but managed to get one with Grandmommy before we left.  I didn't realize that Davis had fallen asleep in the stroller until after I took the picture!  Its such a pretty view with the city in the background.

By the end of the week, Davis found some time to play with Isabela too!

On our last day, I took the boys out to breakfast so Grandmommy and Granddaddy could sleep in.  After that, I was planning on taking them to the local splash pad.  On our way, we accidentally found a little festival setup so we stopped by for some impromptu fun.  What boy doesn't love a pirate and pirate ship???

And of course, a fire truck??

We then picked up grandmommy and headed to the splash park. The boys had a great time, but my mom took all the pics, so I will have to post those later. 

What a busy month, but we loved getting to see so much family!