Monday, September 30, 2013

Alligator A

Milo has been extra-curious about letters lately, and he's really good at spotting quite a few of them. That said, I realized it's time to really buckle down and teach him all the letters and then work on reading (slowly, ever so slowly... not trying to push him too fast but he's just so curious). So I borrowed from Emily's pinboard (she's teaching at Mother's Day Out) and started with the letter A today. Milo was so excited about making a "letter craft" that he couldn't even be bothered with getting dressed.

We started out by talking about the letter A.

Then Milo glued green "alligator skin" on the letter A.

Still gluing...

Okay, so I skipped the pictures on a few steps... Gluing the teeth, and then the alligator eating the Big A's and the Baby A's... And then the eyeballs, which are totally NOT glued where I would have put them, but I was trying to let Milo do his thing and not be too bossy... Imagine the alligator turned on his side instead of upright...
The computer cabinet is now the display board for the day. Hooray for letter A!

In the end, Milo was delighted (he is my child, bless him, and he loves a craft), learned the upper and lower case letter A, and made a craft that he was so excited about he literally giggled and said, "I can't wait to show Daddy what I made!" Ladies and gentlemen, I'd say that was 20 minutes well spent. Happy Monday!

Oh, and here's a link to the craft if you're just itching to make an alligator today... http://www.crystalandcomp.com/2013/04/letter-of-the-week-a-is-for-alligator-preschool-printable/

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Full weekend

My sweet son is a character. He keeps me laughing all the time, and between Milo and Nate, Lucy and I are always entertained. For example, when I was a little girl, I believed in super heroes (after all, my Daddy was one...). It's a good thing, because now I'm prepared to live with two heroes. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... BlanketMen! Oh yes, there are two of them, and they're both mine. Don't be too jealous.



And the littlest BlanketMan also morphs into a baby shark at bath time.

And just for fun, here's Milo in his favorite chair these days. You might have recognized it from when he was five months old... Yes, he still fits in the Bumbo.
Milo at two and a half years old...
Milo at five months old...
Happy weekend to you!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

A busy week

Ohhhhhh. Some day I'll have the time to actually give you real updates, and funny stories, and blabbity blab like I used to... Here's a quick blurb, though. Milo has been having a rough time with bedtime again (what's new, right?). He was up until midnight Tuesday, and last night it was 11:00 when he came out with an emergency. "Daddy, I need to show you this." He was rolling his tongue. Just like he's done since he was a year old. But we definitely needed to see it right then... This busy little boy doesn't like to slow down for bed, but he'll learn.

Here's a quick photo update. Happy Thursday!

This cutie has some big boots to fill, but he's working on it.

Lucy is already sitting up really well, so we put her in the Bumbo for just a few minutes here and there.

Lucy is already rocking the nerd-chic look, thanks to her big brother, who "helped" her accessorize the other day.

Smiley girl on her tummy!

A great outfit, thanks to Auntie Jen (shirt) and Auntie Ann (shoes). Two of her super-stylish aunts making one super-stylish baby girl.
We took the kids to the Forest Festival with Big Paul (Milo's nickname for him), Emily, and Lilypaul. These four were pretty darn interested in the lumberjack competition. Emily and I were busy giving the stankeye to a pregnant woman smoking a cigarette (grrrr).

These two had a blast together!
Milo was brave this year and fed the goats. He loves animals of all shapes and sizes, but he doesn't always want to touch them...

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Family time

Well hi! Just enjoying some family time... Look at this amazingly handsome man and these two perfect kiddos!


Sunday, September 15, 2013

New hat

I know I showed you my brand new pile of yarn the other day when I was thinking of cheery things. Well, I've totally re-caught the knitting bug (although I can't just knit for hours on end because every time I nurse a baby my arms start going numb at random times...) and thought I'd start with a little something for Lucy. And I'm working on a scarf and a pair of socks for Milo. On top of that, I get to put some of my things in a booth at the Hello Holidays sale in Lufkin November 1 and 2. All that to say, look at this little nugget. Could she be any cuter in her new hat?



Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Cheer up!

I woke up today in a funk - congested and with a crick in my neck, plus two cranky, congested kids. Instead of dwelling on this, though, I'm going to tell you some of the things that are making me a cheery person when I want to mope.

Toms wedges. Super comfy and super on sale. Plus a child somewhere gets a pair of shoes, too...

Mini pumpkins promise that Fall is coming... At some point...

My chai stash (and caramel syrup to bring out the flavor)

Longer-length lace shorts and a ridiculous crotch selfie

New yarn and a new knitting season

Milo wearing headphones the other night
All the pictures I'm collecting of Milo and Lucy in Lucy's crib, because Milo always wants to get in when we wake her up and then tells me, "Mommy, why don't you take a picture?"

Followed by, "Don't you want to get yours two babies?"
So there you have it. A nice picture list of happy things. Fall is (surely) coming. My child will grow out of his telling Mommy "NO!" phase. And yes, my stint in an adult kickball league starts tonight. Happy day to you!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Carnies and Cotton Candy

Ladies and gentleman, it's been a year since we took our family photos at the VFW carnival. It's been an eventful year since that time. Is it even possible that it's been an entire year? Last year I was newly with sprout and didn't even know it. This year I got to carry my little bundle around in the front pack with me. And look how big Milo has grown since then! Plus Nate's Mom has moved down since then and got to spend the evening with us (So fun - a carnie let us both on the carousel for free and I'm pretty sure I have her to thank. Work it, Mom!). So the carnival came, and next is the Forest Festival, and I'm trying to talk the weather into going along with the program and pretending it's Fall.
Literally the two handsomest guys around.

Family outing on the ferris wheel. Milo was so excited!

Again... SO handsome.

I sat this one out.

Why yes, Pegs did get on the horse, and I've got the picture to prove it.

Love Milo's delighted face here.

Family carousel photo

Is Lucy smiling here?

This little sweetie loves to snuggle.

HAD to have the cotton candy.

One sweaty mommy and two happy kids

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Kashi Hummus Crisps

So I joined a website called BzzAgent, where I get to try new products and review them. They sent me a sample of Kashi's new Sea Salt & Olive Oil Hummus Crisps, and I felt like I needed to share the word. First of all, I'm a huge fan of Kashi and have munched on their granola bars and cereals for years now, so I was excited about trying these. Also, I love chick peas and hummus, so, added bonus, right? Absolutely right. The chips are really light, almost like a thinner version of mini rice cakes, and they taste like whole grains and seasoning (super huge plus in my book - it might not be in yours). They also have 3 grams of protein in each serving - as a vegetarian trying to get protein anywhere I can, this is also a big deal. Yay! I'm loving these! I got this sample for free, but I'd definitely buy them again, and you should give them a try. In fact, come see me and I'll give you a coupon. How's that for being a good friend?


Note: These crisps are Nate and Milo-approved.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Lucy and I


It's not very often that I get a good photo of just me and one of the kids. Usually I'm the mommy-photographer, but Nate managed to sneak this one in while we were visiting his family this weekend. Hooray! Nate claims that Lucy looks more like me all the time. I'll let you decide for yourself. I'm the classic, "Well, he/she just looks like a baby, not like anybody else" person, so it's hard for me to say. No matter what, I'd say she's pretty darn cute, wouldn't you?