Boys

JoLee is in NYC this weekend at Book Expo America with her friend Jessica. I'm alone with the two boys doing boy stuff.

The first night, Friday, did not go so well. I needed to get Beckett some underwear, so we went to Target. The car radio was tuned into Delilah's, "Girls night out". Then I found out that all the 4-year-old underwear was sold out. Meanwhile Felix took an interest in a My Little Pony doll. Then I noticed all the glazed looks on the faces of the other dudes in the store. That's when I realized that buying underwear at the Target was no way to spend a Friday night. We promptly headed to the monster playground where Felix fell down and skinned his knee. At that point, things were starting to look up for us boys.

On Saturday we went to the skills park at Rockburn and ran through the BMX track. Beckett was quite skilled at the curves and the jumps (while on foot). We also hiked some of the trails. Then we went to my office and drank soda, played pool, and made photo copies of our hands. We rounded off the night with a trip to Costco where we ate hot dogs, pizza, and cookies. On our way home we listened to "The Boys" from the Big River soundtrack and "Moves Like Jagger" from Maroon 5 (a.k.a the move-it song); that's when Beckett said, "I no miss Mommy". Of course he also said, "Daddy is nicer than Mommy" and "Daddy sings better than Mommy", which can't possibly be true. That guy is going to be a great salesman if he keeps that up. Felix doesn't talk, so I can't say for sure if he misses mom or not, but he did look content with all that chocolate covering his face.


On Sunday morning we had a breakthrough. Beckett pee'd at the toilet standing up. I told him the previous night that I would buy him a new train app on the iPad if he would pee standing up. The next morning I awoke to cheers of ,"I did it!" Beckett's week spot is obviously the iPad. I explained to him that now he can pee anywhere -- school, the park, church, even dad's office. He liked that idea a lot.

In summary, I'd say our boys weekend was really successful. We had a lot of fun without actually breaking anything. Here is a partial summary by the numbers:

• Head wounds: 3
• Scraped knees: 1
• Pizza meals eaten: 4
• Hours playing the iPad: not quantified
• Late nights playing video games: 1
• Phone calls to Mom: 2
• Bathroom breakthroughs: 1

He Keeps Growing

Felix just turned 15 months. However, it feels like he's been 15 months for months already, probably because he is so crazy busy and has been walking for 5 months!

 See how Felix is sitting on this park bench? He climbed up there himself.

Those curls. You guys. I am crazy about those curls.

This torpedo? He can climb on and off it himself. 

An aside: While we are on the subject of the torpedo, can I just say how weird I think it is that the cute chipmunk at our local park is paired with a deadly torpedo? I can't help but think of Dr. Strangelove whenever I see it, and that's a disturbing image to have every, single time I go to the park.

Felix can feed himself with a fork and a spoon. 

I think I find this much more remarkable than it is because Beckett (although he could feed himself with a fork and a spoon) was still asking me to spoon feed him until well after 2 and a half.

These two are getting along.

Kind of.

 

Beckett loves to show Felix how to do things. Big brothers are good teachers. Some times too good. Beckett is teaching Felix to be a tough guy, thanks to all the knocks he takes around the house. Felix didn't even cry when he got his shots today.

There's something about this age that is incredibly charming. Felix is so engaged in his world. He is a super pointer. The problem is, of course, that half the things he points to he can't have, like electric razors and houseplants. He's started looking at books on his own and letting me read to him, instead of snatching the book and putting it in his mouth. Felix listens to us and usually does what we ask him to do. Everyday when we get dressed I will show Felix his pants and socks and tell him that it's time to put them on. He then walks toward me, turns around and backs up to sit in my lap. The cuteness gets me every time. This curiosity also means that he's into everything. Everything. He'll pull every single wipe out of the case. He'll slowly tear tissues into tiny pieces. He threw a book into the toilet tonight. He likes to rummage through the trash. Every morning he makes his rounds and unplugs all of our electronics. We had to replace the outlet plates with baby proof versions so he'd stop trying to then plug everything back in. We are constantly saying, "Felix. You are such a mess."

Felix has always been a happy boy. He continues to love people. He will look and look at someone until they finally smile at him and then he'll flash a big grin back.

He's pretty much the best and cutest baby in the world.

Best Library Finds (5)

What Time Is It, Mr. Crocodile? Mr. Crocodile plans his day, but those pesky monkeys just won't leave him alone. This is a fun little tale, written in catchy verse. It has a clock on every page.

Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? Beckett loved this book. It has a lot of things going for it. The question and answer style was a big hit. It also has colorful illustrations, flaps on every page, and a review half through and at the end. It's pretty clever too, for example, "If a kid grows and becomes a goat, can a sweater grow and become ... a coat?"

Tupelo Rides the Rails Every time we go to the library we have to come home with at least two train books. Sometimes this seems like a pretty tall order, and I settle for ANY book that has a train. Needless to say, some of the train books we've brought home have been real duds. I was sure that this would be one of those duds, but it's not. Tupelo is an abandoned dog. She joins a bunch of other dogs who ride trains looking for homes. Not only is it way cuter and cleverer than I thought it would be, but I would recommend it to both dog-loving and train-loving children.

{Mother's} Day Camping

On Mother's Day we went day camping. What is day camping, you say? It's camping that doesn't involve spending the night. Fortunately for us, we have fantastic campgrounds in the state park just 15 minutes from our home.

We had a few reasons for day camping: 1. It was Mother's Day and camping gave me a bit of a break. 2. The kids have never been camping before, and Nate wants to take Beckett camping this summer, so it was a dry run. 3. It was cold. 4. We've had church at 9am since January and having everyone inside the house for the rest of the day is driving us all insane. 5. Beckett insisted on going home to use the potty.

The boys got the campground an hour or so before I did (that was part of my Mother's Day break). They played on the tire park. 

Felix slid down and climbed up the slide. Little Monkey. 

I think Beckett must have been running around like a crazy kid playing bullet train or something because I don't have any tire park pictures of him to post.

Once I arrived we went to set up our campsite. Nate cooked on the grill, and Beckett fed his brother.

The boys helped set up the tent.

Here's our car's audition for a car commercial.

We climbed into the tent, and Beckett showed off his sleeping bag. It has a pocket, and he thinks that's super cool.

Felix is starting to actually enjoy reading books, instead of just eating them.

The fire made Beckett crazy silly.

Happy Mother's Day to me.

Not Ready for This

I found Felix on the table for the first time today. He was eating crackers from the box and very pleased with himself. Nate nicknamed him "Felix, Little Monkey" when he was a wee baby. He seems to be growing into the name. He's not even 15 months yet!

Under a Shady Tree

Texas Cousins

All my kids' cousins live in different states. We have Utah cousins, California cousins, and Texas cousins. We spent out spring break with the Texas cousins. We had such a nice break. The big kids were so good with Beckett and Felix. Jen watched our kids so we could go to dinner three times and to a museum one morning! She is a rock star. It was a much needed break. And, if you are in Dallas sometime between now and June 9th, we highly recommend the Cindy Sherman Exhibition at the Dallas Art Museum. I miss the good restaurants. Jen, you should definitely try Torchy's. It's the one that I really wish I could visit again. 

Unfortunately Will isn't going to feature heavily in the pictures that follow because he was on a campout. But, Nate and Beckett did get to see Will tear it up at soccer. They also went to his classroom one morning during Felix's nap. And Will and I spent an afternoon home alone together playing with Felix (they were so cute together) and learning about dinosaurs. Every night Will (and sometimes Savannah and Lila) joined in on the bedtime train story that Nate tells Beckett. Will was so good about letting Beckett play with all the awesome toys in his room.

 

We had a really fun day at the Dallas Zoo. The kids loved feeding the giraffes. Savannah, especially, is so good with animals.

 These little gymnasts scaled the elephants with no problems.

These two were quite the pair. They loved and annoyed each other. Beckett and Lila were sitting in the back of the car and he was blowing towards her, which, of course, drove her crazy. Neither could stand to have the other touching or looking at him or her. Both wanted to be the boss. But then they would go outside and run around together, have a blast, and take turns with no drama.

 Cute Hazel. She is one month older than Felix.

 We all enjoyed the tram ride once the doors finally shut and it started moving along the track.

The Dallas Zoo has a really fun children's section. Beckett had a blast playing in this stream. He loves that kind of stuff. And we let him get soaking wet even though we weren't really prepared for it.

The stream was super fun until it ended in tears. Beckett somehow cut his toe and had to take a trip to the First Aid Room. He was so upset and kept saying, "I got a bleed."

The children's section also has a really great bird exhibit were visitors can feed the birds. This was my favorite thing about the Dallas Zoo last time we visited. (Oh my. I just looked at those pictures and it was so long ago. The kids are young. I look so young.) Savannah and I went to the bird exhibit together. I fed this beauty.

Then I taught Savannah how to get a bird to step onto your hand. (Thanks for the budgie lessons, Mom.) She is such a natural with animals. 

Felix had a couple firsts at the zoo. He rode the carousel for the first time. He liked it, even if he looks a little unsure in this picture.

Not only did Felix ride a wooden horse, but he also rode a real pony!

We had such a nice visit in Dallas. It was the perfect combination of relaxation and recreation. We kicked it at home and made leisurely breakfasts and watched Wreck It Ralph. We also got out to see the museum, the zoo, and the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science. We ended up staying an extra day because we missed our flight home, (We didn't have the best experience with the budget Spirit Airline. Checking in was a nightmare which is why we missed our flight, but the flight itself was fine.) but it still wasn't quite enough time.  

Best Library Finds (4)

Who is Driving features a bunch of different animals driving a bunch of different vehicles and going a bunch of different places. I like how all the animals are carrying keys and are dressed appropriately.

Demolition is a real winner if you have kids who love vehicles and construction. B liked this book and its companion Roadwork so much that they took several car rides. I like hearing Beckett say "DEM-O-WITION" with his hands thrown up in the air. Demolition and Roadwork are written in verse and are easy to read.

Z is For Moose was a huge hit at our house. After the first read, Beckett asked to read it again. Zebra is organizing an alphabet book. Moose is eager to be in it and gets very upset when mouse is chosen to represent M.

Going to Kansas City?

Janssen is doing a series on her blog, Everyday Reading, and she graciously allowed me to participate. Head over to read about what I'd take you to see in Kansas City if, you know, we were both visiting my former stomping grounds.

Happy Easter Day

 The kids got all dressed up for Easter. Beckett kept telling us, "Happy Easter Day!" A few times he mistakenly said, "Happy Valentine's Day" and then got really embarrassed. The boys loved the baskets and the eggs. We went to the Lamborn's for Easter dinner again. We ate all the same food and did an egg hunt with the kids. The rain forced us to have an indoor egg hunt this year, but it's becoming a little tradition.