Monster Boogie

This picture is from June and has been sitting in a blog dump folder - tho I haven't gotten around to posting it, it just always makes me laugh...maybe it's not as fun if you weren't there for the motions but he's been doing this sort of silly dance since he was a teeny. Somewhere I have a shot where he looks all gangsta with one arm and like he's Rocky with the other - I think he was about 5 months old.

This funny LB song was a favorite, especially once they heard the word 'hairy' and said, hey that's not right - Harry's not a monster!

He's been playing with words and spelling more and more recently and his recent trick of puposely switching words is driving me nuts (and has me hoping Miss Lisa has a great sense of humor and a lotta patience). For example, he loves to say J-A-C-K Harry H-A-R-R-Y Jack and watch to see what I'll say. The same with on/off and all sorts of words I can't think of at the moment. I think I'm purposely blocking it ;-)

This is his early morning conversation(did I mention that he almost never stops talking lately??) Hey, Mommy, Jake and Joke rhyme! No, they both start with the letter J and end with the letter k but they DON'T rhyme. At this point Jack jumps into the fray and we start talking about silent e's ..... maybe I need to start drinking coffee.

I think this is the first purposeful mnemonic: LAMR was on a sticker he found and he wanted to remember it, so he says "it's like left, radio, right" (radio means AM/FM to him) He's been talking a lot about abbreviations recently.

And they have this blowup microphone they received as a birthday favor several years ago(thanx, Patrick!) It has an 'on' and 'off' label, so he enjoyed turning it over and over spelling 'on' and 'no' with a big ole AHA smile. Sweet, silly boy

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

I'm not sure if it's because we've been out of town or in preparation for our vacation, but the boys have been finding all sorts of toys that they have neglected for a while. This "Talking Tracks" is a puzzle that Aunt Jackie gave them during our vacation last year - it motors around whatever path you create with the puzzle pieces, and several pieces have sound so the seal passes by a diver that bubbles, seagulls that (what do you call seagulls' sound?), etc.

Funny recent music observations:
Jack: we were listening to the radio and Taylor Swift's You Shoulda Said No came on...at the right moment, Jack asked 'is that where she slams her guitar down? is that where she takes off her big shirt and has on a dress?' They rarely see videos (except JB and Laurie Berkner), so it really surprised me.

Harry: Who's that lady screaming, Mommy? Me: Martina McBride LOL (he also asks this if he hears Rascal Flats, so there is hope for his musical taste!)

several artists: Stevie Wonder, Peter Frampton, etc

Just To Be Close To You

yeah, the Commodores song was romantic, but how sweet are these?

Harry got up early to sit beside Dean while he did some morning work, then fell asleep again :wub:

Even tho there's a lot more competition, pushing and shoving, I still find them in moments like these

081608 Harry: MENU is MeNyou...Me and You! I love you, Mommy! Jack: Mommy, I need to concentrate really hard [on] what I need to do. Please let me concentrate.

These Foolish Things

My sweet husband walked into our hotel room late last nite after his own long, frustrating day to remind me how very much I'm loved and how lucky I am.

Here's how beautiful they are....

...and here's a litte puzzle - enjoy!

Don't Sleep In The Subway (or the museum)

Yes, he was posing for this and we wondered how today would go since we seemed to have 4 tired kiddos on our hands at 10AM. It was just one of those days where everything falls into place....what are the chances that we'd have trouble finding our friends at a busy subway station? I was attempting to merge onto a major interstate, and there they were to let us in! The entire day went that way - things just worked out....including a great co-adventuring Momma and 4 amazingly well-behaved and happy kids who had some major firsts today.

First subway ride
First monument picture

First reflective trip thru a museum (yes, this is one of my favorite Harry poses for some reason)

First giant elephant (the dino pix were too dark)

This insect exhibit was cool - you could lite up a particular area of the house based on what type of buggies you might find there....ewwwww, but they loved it!
This bee exhibit is neat because the bees actually have a door into the real world, so they can go from their demonstration hive to 'pollenate all the flowers outside' according to Jack
First Mall picnic

Dani and her entourage ;-)

First Mall carousel ride

First cosmic spedometer work

First pix at my favorite fountain/waterfall (I have a picture of D&me on one of our first adventures, right in that very spot about 10 years ago)
I hear the train a-comin'

Our three boyos at the end of a fun, long day

It was a great trip - glad we went even tho we were a little skeered (they do outnumber us!)

Thanx D, J&S for a fantastic day!

Petula Clark song

Skinny Legs

They've had more competitive moments lately and I've been humming this song all day. I hope they work it out without any major damage. These moments give me hope....a cool 'school bus' structure at a new park we found today.

Happy Wednesday!

Sittin' On The Dock Of The (Pool)

Jack earned a toy and insisted on this little fishing pole - I am sure it'll be 'too baby' as soon as they fish with real ones with Daddy in a few weeks. We had a fun afternoon in the pool. They love to wrap up in towels - who knows?

my apologies to Mr. Redding

Couch Potato(es)

They were just chillin' this afternoon, and I caught them in a rare moment of quiet.

One of Harry's favorites lately is: Sesame Street is brought to you today by the letter M and the number 16. Then he gets me by saying M is for Mommy; 16 is my FAVORITE number!

Weird Al Yankovic song - luckily they aren't that far gone yet!

Something To Talk About

Jack: When I was three years old, I loved and loved and loved and loved and LUUUUUUVVVVED to talk!
M: What about now that you're four?
J: I just like to talk a little now.

really?

Bonnie Raitt

They call US the firemEn

I just realized why I'm so tired ;-) We also lucked into a Fire Safety program outside the restaurant where we ate lunch today.

sPARKS

We visited a few of their favorite parks today, and tomorrow is D&my 9th anniversary, so the title seemed to work ;-)

Just being cute....

I thought these two had great shadows - Harry blew out a flipflop

and Jack worked hard to jump onto this bouncing equipment
They realized at the same time that they'd met their friends J&S 'right over there!'

Harry is really into giving us things lately - here he is giving my purple flowers 'Your Favorite!'

Jack loves to jump on these little stool thingies

ColdPlay song

I Like To Go Swimming

I'm not sure this is technically a song, and I can't believe I'm using it, but I'm tired and a little punchy
We enjoyed an afternoon swim at our hotel, despite the rather chilly temps and major wind. Aunt Jackie's goggles came in handy and are too cute not to make another appearance some day soon! They look like they are doing Phelps' impersonations ;-)

Under My Thumb

So, when your teeny baby starts sucking his thumb and you're so relieved not to have to chase TWO pacifiers at one time....keep this trick in mind - the dentist suggested Jack wear boxing gloves to sleep (the main time it's a problem). Jack, surprise!, loves this idea and it seems to be helping a lot. Will keep you posted, but I thought this pic was too cute not to share :wub:

Sing, Sing a Song (Happy Birthday Grandma)

We're late, as ever, but it's still heartfelt - hope you had a great day, Grandma!

They were distracted by passing people, but you get the idea ;-)

Smile

Have I mentioned that the boys have a wonderful pediatric dentist? Their staff is great, the technicians are all professional and nice, and the doc is wonderful. It is really one of the best medical experiences I've ever had. Their offices are set up with two seats on each side of a wall, so if you have four kids, they can all have appointments at the same time! The boys each get a balloon (today's was a sword - lightsaber, Rebecca?) along with a bag of goodies like a birthday party favor bag. Both of them did a great job today, not a moment's anxiety and really cooperative - YAY! Thanx Dr. Chris and staff :-)



BTW, these are the last awful phone camera pix - we traded up today!

Some recent comments:

Harry: I'm not a star yet, Mommy! (I beg to differ, sweet boy!)
Jack: Can I have just another minute (of timeout), Mommy?

The world according to Jack has a recent one that is great but not appropriate for blogging, so be sure to ask if you want a laugh ;-)

z-I-N-G-O, Zingo was it's name, oh!

So the boys had a great time with Dean last nite, and I felt really good about helping with the Y's Bright Beginnings program. In our little community, they provide backpacks chock-full of school supplies, cute shirts for the shoppers, dinner and a $100 shopping spree for clothes - it's a pretty impressive program, and the kids were so appreciative. It's a great program, from my little experience!

I cannot get this little song out of my head, the boys are asking to play it again as soon as naps are over. Thanx, I think, Aunt Jackie for finding this game for them :-)

We saw The Water Horse at the movies with their friend Zach and my friend Christina - it's really the first in-depth story they've seen, and they all did pretty well. It's set in WWII and provides another version of the Loch Ness Monster legend....I think the PG13 rating was mostly based on the somewhat violent setting and a more intense story line. If you like beautiful scenery and magical tales, it's a good one. This is our last weekly movie trip because we're traveling next week and the place we're going is a week behind us (not sure they'll want to see either of these again so soon). It was a lot of fun, more so every year!

The only negative about this year's season is that the sponsor was Cartoon Network, which tends to be a lot more visually grotesque and 'mean' than they really like. Who knows why they changed - the current story includes some pretty nasty-looking creatures and introduces a cross-dressing monster who says something to the effect of a real girl has to be pretty and a real man has to be ugly (WHAT?!?), lying, manipulating, and all sorts of bizarreness that just seemed unnecessary....yikes, am I getting old or what?! A few of us are talking about giving them some feedback about what sort of pre-show show would be appropriate....we'll see how that flies ;-)

My DH got me a new camera memory card and we're hopefully switching out phones soon, so there will be some pix to entertain you soon.

Happy Thursday!

Ha ha ha ha ha! Are you ready?

I was listening to that Beach Boys song, School Days, and tho completely out of context, this is how I feel about them going to school.....laughing because it's hard to believe it's that time already, prouder than proud of where they are and the job we've all done so far, and ready but not, if that makes sense. Sigh.

They had their third and final pre-preschool picnic today and received their information packets, met their teachers 'officially', etc. It's wild to see their schedule for the whole year and imagine how many things will change and how they will mature this year. Sniff.

My sweet DH is coming home early to hang out with his boys while I go on the Y's Bright Beginnings trip - they provide the kids with a shopping trip for clothes and supplies, along with dinner; they needed a few extra adults along. Wish me luck.

Beach Boys

Take Me Out To The Ballgame (again)

We were at the library today, and I stumbled upon this book, almost passed it by since the boys will NOT be playing pigtails, but something made me stop. Then Jack looks over and pipes up "Look, it's Aunt Livvy's team!"

This is a pretty cute book, prompted by the author seeing League Of Their Own and listening to the lyrics for Take Me Out To The Ballgame - how many times have you heard it? Did you realize it was a girl asking for the game to be their date rather than a show? Anyway, I looked it up, and there were actually two versions, both about girls who loved to play baseball. So, there.

Just in case you don't know, my beloved Great Aunt Libby (Elizabeth Mahon, South Bend Blue Sox) played pro ball for 9 years in the league depicted in the movie. Here are the websites for AAGPBL and a good baseball history site, if you're interested :-)

http://www.aagpbl.org/

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_stmo.shtml

Cootchie, Cootchie, Coo, I Love You

The boys love these toys that Aunt Jackie gave them, and this is one of their favorite 'patterns' :wubwub:

I think Jack's may officially be backward, but it still means I Love You

Happy Week!

Do You Know The Muffin MEn?

I hope they always love to cook as much as they do now - it makes it more fun for all of us. These pix are not very clear because I forgot I had a nitetime setting (duh) but they were making me laugh, so I hope it is worth the post ;-)

Harry pretending this big new mixing bowl is a coffee cup (he's tired and 'need my coffee!', if you can't tell from his silly face)

Jack as Sir Mix-A-Lot

And a pretty masterful pourer he is becoming, too

whew! Cooking is hard work, but worth it (if they only knew where the flour was hiding, they could really ham it up ala that commercial, right?!)

BTW, the cranberry orange muffins were delish, along with the boiled eggs they made and the bananas they peeled. Everything but milking the cow ;-)