No point in playing catch-up now

I bought a new camera last week and I've been playing with it a lot to figure out all its tricks. My kids are so annoyed with me and the constant picture-taking. I figure if I just keep it up long enough I'll eventually blend into their scenery. Here are some of my favorite shots from last week.

Making some big plans

Busting a move in his latest get-up, and ignore the laundry in the background. Our dryer was recently fixed and I had a ton of laundry to catch up on.

He was trying to explain evaporation to Will. He had to run inside to get a reference book. I love my little smarty pants.

Ahoy!

Polly Pocket was in distress. We were all a little worried.

Boys and cars.

serious art

So instead of junking up your facebook feed, I'm just going to brag about my kids here, where you can choose whether or not to stop by and see all the wonderful things my genius children are up to.

My little glitter baby.

Checking out our sparkly little Christmas tree.
Will: (pointing to a clear ball filled with glitter) That one is mine.
Me: How do you know?
Will: W-I-L-L-L-L-L (His name is on it)
Me: What does that spell?
Will: GLITTER!!

And. . . .his original artwork from school this year.

 

I swear, he must have had glitter in the womb.

So the kids went back to school. . .

I just realized that while I was wiping up my own tears and snot over back to school, I never got around to sharing the boy's back to school fun. Here is a brief run-down:

 Luke started school a week before Will. He was really nervous to go to school with a dog bite on his nose (ouch!) because he didn't want anyone to ask about it. We practiced some responses and sent him on his way. We drove him there but he was going to ride the bus home.

 

When it was time for the bus to drop off, I dutifully went to the bus stop and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, my cell phone rang and it was the principal of Luke's school. Apparently Luke was refusing to ride the bus because it did not have seat belts. He IS our HSO (House Safety Officer) so I would expect nothing less from the boy. I hop in the car to go pick him up and get the full story. I guess what happened is that he got on the bus and got in his seat and started looking for the seat belt. It seems that he started crying or stressing looking for it and the bus driver tried to explain to him that buses don't have seat belts. This surely sent him into tears at which point the bus driver alerted the school teacher monitoring the bus line. She couldn't convince him either so she got him off the bus and took him to the principal. The principal didn't have any luck convincing him either so that is when the phone call happened.  We talked about it and once he was reassured that it was safe and not against the rules to ride the bus without a seat belt he seemed okay with it. I'm not sure if he was more concerned for his safety or the fact that I would be upset if he was not wearing a seat belt. The next morning he climbed aboard the bus and hasn't looked back. I actually had to pick him up the other day because I was up at the school for a PTA meeting and he got mad that he didn't get to ride it home. So to that three year-old Luke who told me "When I am five I will go to Kindergarten and ride the bus without you," I say--"We did it kiddo!"

 

 

 

As for the youngster (sorry for the old fashioned word. Luke found it in a book and is a little fixated with it right now.) I never know what I am going to get with him. I mean, really, what two year-old is predictable? So I took his picture on meet the teacher day AND on the first day of school, hoping for a good one. He's fairly cooperative so I got cute ones both days.

 

Meet the teacher day, in an outfit he chose:

 

And on the first day:

 

Will with his best buddy.
These two are like peas in a pod and were so happy to see each other before class. They are just as excited to see each other every single day as they were on the first. It is really cute.

 

A new ear

Anyone who knows Will knows his love of all things sparkly, flowing, or just downright beautiful.

Today at the bus stop he was just staring off into space twisting and twisting and twisting his ear. (It looked painful.)

Me: Will, why are you twisting your ear? What will you do if you twist it off?
Will: (smiling) Twist it off?!?! I'll have to get a new one.
Me: Where do you go to get a new ear?
Will: Go to the store and get a new ear.
Me: What kind of store sells new ears?
Will: The ear fix it store. (Eyes widen and light up, voice raises about three octaves, grin spreads across his face, his feet start dancing and jumping) GO TO THE EAR FIX-IT STORE AND GET A NEW SPARKLY EAR!!!

I can only imagine what sort of bedazzled, rhinestone encrusted ear he has picked out.

(Uh, I guess he doesn't know how much money we have already put in those two ears he has got!!)

Kid talk

My kids crack me up. My latest favorite moment in conversation:

Scene: Will running, jumping, spinning wildly around the house just before bedtime.
Me: Where do you get all this energy from?
Will: I just have wots of wittle energies.

I swear he did this to himself.

Birthdays are AWESOME!!!

December 8 our Willybird turned 2! He is so grown up now, I just can't believe it. He loves Yo Gabba Gabba so his party was all Gabba themed. I didn't know this going into it but nearly all the Yo Gabba Gabba stuff has to be bought online. Since I am such a good mom, I started planning this one early enough that I actually had time to order party stuff online and get it shipped without having to pay for expedited delivery. And thanks to black Friday I got it on super sale with free shipping.

Thank you Pinterest for the Muno-inspired chocolate dipped pretzels--they were a hit with the kiddies, and delicious too.

Grammy made him a fabulously scrumptious DJ Lance Rock fluffy orange hat cake.

What Gabba party would be complete without Gabba land?? I thought I was buying a Yo Gabba Gabba book for Will on Amazon, but when it arrived it was really this fold out-paper doll play set thing. Not super fun for a 2 year old but made for cute counter top decorations for the party. Luke has enjoyed playing with it.

Luke spun Gabba tunes all afternoon in the play room and showed off some sweet moves.

Will was a fabulous host and welcomed all his friends with big hugs!

He blew out both his candles like a champ.

Grammy made some cupcakes too per special Willy request. Will ate his one sprinkle at a time in true Willy fashion.

 Playing in his Gabba tent filled with balloons! I am still finding balloons all over the house.

The kids played pin-the-eye-on-Muno.

A couple of cute DJ Lances at the exclusive after party.

 It was a fun party and we were so grateful to the friends and family who helped us celebrate. Fitting in one more event in the already busy month of December is no small feat! We had all been at cousing Maya's party the day before so it really was a weekend of birthdays for our families. Next year we are going to try to plan consecutive parties for the two. Hmmm. We'll see if we can be organized enough to pull that one together.

20 facts about Will at 2:
1. Loves cereal. Eats bowls and bowls of it. Probably at least 4 bowls a day. His favorite are Froot Loops, Chocolate Cheerios, and Honey Nut Chex.
2. Loves to jump. On things. Off things. Just jump around. The kid has got so much energy to burn.
3. Favorite TV shows are Yo Gabba Gabba and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Still has a little soft spot for some Baby Einstein though. (Seriously, do kids ever outgrow Baby E??? Even Luke enjoys one every now and then.)
4. Not so much into wearing clothing. Really likes to show off his undressing skills in public places.
5. Temper. Temper. Temper. Stand back.
6. Bangs his head on things when he is really upset. Not just things, he specifically finds hard things. Shelves, tables, wall, ceramic tile. He will get up and walk over to the tile just to bang his head on it.
7.  Wants to be just like his big brother when he grows up. (And this drives Luke bananas.)
8.  Favorite CD is Mama Mia. He can't help but dance when its on.
9.  Gives some pretty sweet snuggles when he needs some love. 
10.  Knows a billion words. Speaks in sentences. Says "Awesome" on a daily basis (which makes me laugh).
11.  Knows all his capital letters, some of his lowercase letters, and numbers 0-10. Can sing most of the ABC song by himself.
12.  Loves to be read to. Current favorite books are Knuffle Bunny, anything Llama Llama, Dr. Seuss ABC's, and Berenstein Bears Clean House.
13.  Charmingly crooked teeth and cross bite create a cutie-pie smile but mommy and daddy forsee a lifetime of orthodontic bills.
14.  Will never turn down ham. Loves the stuff.
15.  Loves dogs, all sizes.
16.  Loves going to "school" and likes the idea of wearing a backpack. Once its on though he rethinks the decision and would really prefer if someone else would carry it.
17.  He needs a haircut. I can't stand when the hair falls over their collar. I'm sure when they are teenagers, my boys will make up for all the short cuts I keep them in now.
18.  He loves to put on a show when he is supposed to be sleeping. He has come up with all sorts of acrobatic tricks to "fall" (read flip, slip, jump, skip, etc) out of bed at bedtime--over the toddler rail of course.
19.  Watching him do somersaults is hilarious. I had him in tumbling once but it's mommy & me classes and he wears me out.  He can't go by himself until he is three.
20.  He is the funniest, sweetest, most energetic, smartest two year old I know and I wouldn't change him for the world.!

Best of Fall

I think I crashed Blogger three times trying to upload all these pictures.

Since I was a big fat slacker and didn't post much this fall I thought I'd just lump 'em all together here in a greatest hits post. Otherwise, I'd never get around to posting about everything I want to share.

Fall school pictures:

 I love the hand-on-hand action in this one. They are going to love it when they are older. The photographer was probably just trying to pin Will down.

Peek-a-boo! The cutest bug I've ever found behind the blinds!

 Getting silly for Halloween

 Darth Vader had some work to catch up on before trick-or-treating.

My sweet little penguin and darth vader before the trick-or-treating begins. Will loved Halloween this year--except for wearing a piece of costume on his head--but loved everything else. The candy, the kids, going door-to-door. We weren't sure he would last long with the walking, but he proved us wrong (as always) and lasted as long as Luke.

 I guess he could have been a pirate but the costume looks a little painful. Gotta be tough to be a pirate.

 Will & I feeling green.

Cute little indian all ready for a Thanksgiving feast!

Thanksgiving we continued our annual tradition of doing the Fort Worth Turkey Trot. The weather was beautiful and all the hats and jackets had been shed by the end. Will was much happier this year--he cried the entire 5k last year. We declared this year the last for Luke to participate in the stroller. Against his will he will be walking it on his own two feet next year. When you add the boys weight and the weight of the stroller it is nearly 100 lbs. This summer we walked to the park a lot and I started having low back pain from it. Training starts Jan 1 for Luke. He's not pleased.

A big grin before he found out he is walking it next year.

We headed over to Grammy & Pops for Thanksgiving lunch. My cousin Sarah took some sweet pictures of the boys while we were there.

A moment of sweet brother-ness. Sitting close watching Toy Story. I assure you it was only a moment.

Luke striking a rock star pose before heading out to school one morning. Must have been a good day!



Wibber Jibber

A picture happy expose on my littlest one. . .

Age: 21 months

Name: Will

Also know as: Willy, Wibby, Wibbers, Willy Joe

Animal he most resembles: Monkey--for all his climbing abilities! And he's goofy as all get out.

 He talks a lot! He says so many things--and we usually know what he is trying to tell us.  Hard to believe that less than 6 months ago he was in speech therapy! Guess it paid off!

Loves to smile, loves to laugh, loves to watch himself on the iPhone. . .

Likes to make you laugh. . .he has a great sense of humor!

Loves to see what he can get away with when you're not looking.

Can't wait to be just like his big brother

(trying out brother's shoes)

He loves animals--especially doggies.

 He loves music and loves to dance!

Isn't scared of anything. I wish sometimes he was.
 

Has the best little crooked-toothed grin.

He loves going to school! Is so happy to go every morning and runs into class happy.  He cries when it is time to get in the car to go home.  But I don't really know if its because he wants to stay or if it is because he hates getting in the car.  I think--well am hoping--that when we get to flip his carseat forward in December this getting in the car business will ease up.  It is a fight to get him in 90% of the time.  Ugh, I hate it! But we are following the rules and keeping him back facing until he is 2. It will be the best birthday present for us both! 

Loves to take a walk to go feed our neighborhood ducks. He will take you by the hand to the door and say "walk. . . duck. . ." in a way you just can't resist.  When you get there and give him some duck food, he just holds on to it and watches in fascination as the ducks and geese swarm around us. 

Snuggles his blankies tight at night. . .

I don't know what possessed me to go take this picture while he was sleeping, though. He's not really one you want to accidentally wake up. You may be in for a long night.

 Loves, loves, loves to play outside. He is dying to get control over this car. He can go backwards but not forwards and that makes him so mad. 

He is a drooler! 

He is an artistic genius.  Loves to color, paint, write, and any medium will do.  He tries to color in the lines. He can name a lot of his colors--his favorite right now is purple.  He loves using markers! He likes to draw circles. He knows all his basic shapes. He knows all his letters and will identify them when he accidentally scribbles one out--we see a lot of "D, P, O, M, S, Z, Q, W."  We have nearly broken him of coloring the walls.

But I guess not the blinds.  He loves to hide behind them with a crayon and scribble his little heart out.  I recently discovered this slat. Looks to me like he is writing his name. What do you think? If he's capable of this at 21 months, he must be a genius!

He is so sneaky! He will be sitting sweetly coloring and if you look away for one minute, he will have wandered quietly away with a secret crayon--which he will hide from you when you check on him! He either puts it behind his back or throws it across the room hoping you didn't notice!