funny things

Real quick funny things:

• On Sunday we went shopping at BJ's. In the parking lot, Addie said she needed a bulldozer. Much to our surprise they had bulldozers in the toy aisle. Ben got a dump truck. At the far end of the aisle, she says she doesn't want the bulldozer- that she wants the purple thing instead. We take her back down the aisle and see a Cinderella doll in purplpe packaging. She trades her bulldozer for the Cinderella. Ben immediately starts handing over his dump truck too. He trades his dump truck for a Belle barbie! Brian supported it! I was very impressed. I thought he would have a harder time with accepting that preference.
• On the car ride home, Ben and Addie both stripped their dolls down to nothing. Atta boy, Benjamin! It was entertaining to see him ogling her boobs. As many of you know, this boy is still nursing. He's obsessed!
• Our car rides have been filled with the alternating song choice of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Bruce Springsteen and "You Can Call Me Al." Over and over and over again.
• Brian and I bought a water slide this weekend! We can't wait for the weather to be warm enough to use it!! The kids will have fun too.
• Ben's vocab has blossomed over the past week. His latest additions: yellow, Addie (not Adda), Bye (with emphasis on the 'i' sound), Hi (again same emphasis now!), yes, and no. He's also really good at saying juxtaposition for some odd reason.

Lotta updates

Yesterday we were driving in the car, and Ben says, "mama, mama!" So I look back and Ben had transformed into Mr. Miagi from Karate Kid! He was holding a bumble bee by its wings!! Seriously, no sting or anything. I grabbed that bad boy and threw it out the window as quickly as possible. Can someone please explain to me how an almost 18 month old catches a bee by its wings?!

Today was the Circus trip for Addie and Ben with Muddy and Guppy. Addie's been talking about it all week. When she woke up this morning, the first thing out of her mouth was "It's the Circus day!" which was followed by, "And I get to help Daddy with the mulch!" (We had 5 yds delivered yesterday and it's been itching at her to play with it.) The Circus was quite the hit, from what we can tell. Addie's favorite part was, "when he lost his hat. It was in the big bubble." She was referencing the Ring Master, who starred in the storyline of Over The Top. Muddy an Guppy were more tired than the kids after the show. LOL. Muddy took pics and will share them with me, so I can post them.

After they didn't fall asleep on the way home from the circus, we decided to drive them back to Philly to visit with one of my friends from online. Poor Linny didn't know what she had gotten herself into! Besides the fact that neither kid had a nap and it was 3:15pm, we decided to meet in Rittenhouse Square, a large grassy park area. Well there were pigeons there. Lots of pigeons. You would have thought that Addie and Ben had never seen a bird before, they were so into chasing the pigeons. I think Linny and I had a total of 10 words shared, amidst me chasing after one of them in one direction while Brian went in the other direction chasing the other one. Addie was so ferocious, she actually was making the pigeons run into people! I'm sure all of the park patrons who came there to relax and enjoy the nice weather had second thoughts when we were there. Then in a rage of pigeon chasing Ben took a spill. on the concrete. on his face. Not a pretty sight. So now add into the mix a screaming Benjamin, who has swelling on his forehead, along with a scraped chin and cheek. Our visit lasted about 40 minutes total. Poor Linny. She was such a sport though! And she brought the kids gifts, which was totally not necessary, but very much appreciated. Once we were in the car, they were both asleep within 3 minutes.

Because of the pigeon chasing, I didn't get any pictures of Linny at all! :(

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days:

Addie and her new sandals. This was Sunday. They are already wrecked! She knows how to use a pair of shoes!

Ben relaxing LOL

Wednesday, playing with the bubble makers. (Don't mind the junk pile in the background. Our "special trash pick up day" is May 10th and that stuff is waiting for a new home)

Last night, after dinner. Does he look just a little proud to have his own bowl of ice cream?

Before heading up to see Linny. Standing where he's not supposed to be!

Exactly how Addie fell asleep after seeing Linny. Look at her with her new book! A big hit!

Close up of Benjamin, after his collision with the concrete. Poor baby!

My own reality show...

How would I go about getting my own reality show? Not that I think people would be particularly fascinated by my everyday life, but it would be a great way to document everything that goes on! I can't even begin to tell you how many times I stop and think to myself, "I wish I was taping this" or "I have to remember to write this down." Guess what doesn't happen? Also honestly reading some of these stories can't do them justice. Reading about Addie-isms just isn't the same as seeing them happen naturally. It's a riot all the time!
Today we were out the entire day. We started with a 9am trip to Target. I got them the shirt-type bathing suits, the ones that protect from the sun. Both kids inherited my fairness (skin tone that is!) and I cannot let them go through the agony of sunburn.
After Target we were wasting time at The Christmas Tree Shop, where we got some great bubble makers. Then it was off to lunch with Muddy and Guppy. Addie was devastated, because she ordered spaghetti and insisted on twisting the noodles on her fork. Each time we twisted, she'd go to pick the fork up and they'd all fall off. Tears soon followed. She was so dejected. Muddy showed her to scoop after twisting and eventually she got it. It was a painful 20 minutes up to that point, though. So much so that the Hostess there came over to see why she was so upset (it's the place we go on Sunday mornings, so they know us). Once Addie got it, we were all cheering for her and saying how proud we were. She was so ecstatic. Unfortunately, every second forkful she's forget to scoop and it would start again. Really sad to hear your almost 3 year old say, "I'm not proud of myself anymore." :(
We ended up going home after lunch and playing with the bubble makers for about an hour. Then we headed over to Muddy and Guppy's (and the obligatory nap in the car on the way over!). We played outside after they woke up. Muddy and Guppy came back from Guppy's cardiologist appointment and played too. We played with the bubble makers. I'm a bubble dork- and I get it from Muddy. They're just so freaking cool.
Addie decided to play Doctor with Guppy. She had a piece of vine, she was using at first as floss. Then it somehow turned into a speculum for his nose. Talk about tolerant, Guppy allowed her to stick this thing up his nose. Repeatedly. Over and over and over again. She giggled her behind off the whole time. At one point Guppy said, "ow!" and realized his nose was bleeding. Yup, Addie made his nose bleed! The best part came though, when Guppy willingly laid back and allowed her to squirt a water gun up his nose. Talk about clearing out one's sinuses!
See? Wouldn't video footage of that be worth viewing?

Sprinkler fun!

Friday we enjoyed time at Muddy and Guppy's house with the sunny 80 degree temperature!
How could he resist two kids in bathing suits, beggin him to join in the fun? What a trooper, in jeans and a t-shirt!

Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, duh! Guppy escorted to the sprinkler, after changing into his bathing suit too.

Lots of fun!

I love this one! Look at the close up of his expression!



Not surprisingly, Addie spent a portion of time digging for worms.

Muddy joined in on the sprinkling fun.

Fighting over who got to hold the sprinkler

Ben, caught, mid sprinkle. It was new to him each time the water came around.

Busy days of beautiful weather!

We spent today doing yard work. Then we went to Bellevue State Park, which is the park that I grew up across from, and had some fun there.

It was 80 degrees and sunny. Simply gorgeous weather!

A Wednesday with Muddy & Guppy

These kids crack me up. Today I had to attend a conference so they were with Muddy and Guppy all day. I love hearing reports from Muddy about how a day with my crazy kids went. Here are some highlights:
Within a half hour of me leaving this morning, Addie was asking to go to Muddy's house. It went something like this:
A: Muddy, let's go to your house
M: Uh huh
A: Muddy, I want to go to your house now
M: Mmm huh
A: Grandmother, I want to go to your house!
M: Ok
A: Please, Grandmother, I want to go to your house now!
She totally gets relationships and how people are connected through roles. We spend a lot of time going through, "who's my Mom? who's your brother? who's your grandmother? What's her name?" sort of questions.

My children spent the afternoon outside at their grandparents' house, digging in the dirt. Addie & Ben spent hours filling up buckets with dirt, looking at worms, covering up the worms, getting giddy wondering where the worms were, lifting up rocks, and repeating that over and over again. By the time I got there, Ben was sound asleep on Muddy's shoulder in the house. Addie was outside digging with Guppy. She stayed out there with him in the same general area for the next 90 minutes! That's how into digging she was. Oh and Ben was introduced to the rhythmic dance ribbon (think 'Get In Shape Girl' for those kids of the 1980s), and loved it. He was mesmerized by it and played a long time with it too.

Here's a video of the kids on Saturday playing on the rollercoaster. Again, they were filthy after playing. Hmmm I'm starting to see a trend at Muddy and Guppy's house!

Finally, Happy Birthday Aunt Kim!

Weekend updates

Had a busy weekend. So busy, in fact, that I feel like it just zipped by. Friday was Brian's mom's birthday. It also was the day that their golden retriever, Sandi, ended up not being able to use her back legs at all. After dinner with Brian's parents, Brian and his dad took Sandi to the vet and she was put to sleep.
Saturday was busy with a birthday party at Xbos and then Aunt Kim's birthday dinner at Muddy and Guppy's. The surprise for the kids came when they saw that Muddy had purchased the roller coaster from next door. It's the new big hit. It's really a great thing for them to have at their house. It gives the kids something extra special to look forward to. (hint, hint, hint Muddy and Guppy!)
Sunday was busy running between the grandparents' house. We also managed to get Addie's birthday jeep all put together, while they were napping. It's so freaking cute! Addie and Ben will be riding in style.



Ben wouldn't leave the house without wearing a barrette, like Addie



Eating pizza Xbos. I almost used this for her bday invite, but Brian said she looks crazy



Loving the icing



Note the icing missing from the cake, with the cake fully in tact- that's my boy!



After coming down the roller coaster. OMG he was filthy, covered in mulch and dirt.

They never tire of that thing!

One of Addie just for good measure, since I had so many of Ben!

Pictures are in!

This morning at daycare, the Assistant Director said, "Cory! Pictures are here!" I got all excited. I said, "how did they turn out?" "Well, Addie's are cute." Uh oh, I thought. That's not a good report.

Obviously, Addie loves the camera.



Ben, on the other hand, not so happy.


And, finally, the best one ever. Look at this face! Look at his stance. PRICELESS!

To prove that he does take happy pictures, here's one from yesterday.

Worst idea ever!

You may recall me saying how excited I was that daycare was having "eat lunch with your kids day" on Monday. Both Brian and I went. I had told Addie in the morning that there would be a surprise at lunchtime. We got there and we were the only parents in her class. She was excited to introduce Daddy to everyone. We ate and all was well with the world. We told Addie that we were going to see Ben for a minute and that we'd be right back. We went to Ben's room. He got very excited to see us. He was crying hysterically when we left. We get back to Addie's room and she was patiently waiting at her 1/2 door. The rest of her class was laying down on their cots. We had her lay down on her cot. Brian even sat on the floor, which he never does, and tried to pat her to sleep. Long story short, she wasn't having any part of us leaving her there. I had to get back to work for a meeting. Brian had taken a half day, and ended up taking Addie with him! So, the scorecard says: Having lunch with kids at daycare while being the only parents there- F.





I ended up sort of spur of the momently (like that phrase?) made a hair appointment yesterday as well. I took advantage of the fact that Brian was home with the kids after work!! Here's the result:


I have gotten so many compliments all day long. From the people at daycare, to my coworkers, I've got people doing double takes! Really, really funny. I might have to invest in a flat iron and blow dryer now! (I don't really see that happening anytime soon, b/c for reals- I don't have the time to make my hair look like this all the time!)

A day to have "fun"

That's how I enticed Addie into getting ready for the day. We were going to have "fun" today. BAM! She was eager to get her bath, dressed, etc.
Brian resurrected the Safari Wagon box from the basement that Santa brought the kids. If you recall, Brian was really sick on Christmas Eve and after putting together the Playhouse, I couldn't bring myself to assemble the wagon in the wee hours of the morning. Instead the kids saw the box on Christmas morning and I assume forgot about it.
We put it together, which really was easy. Addie and Ben were huge helps with it too. LOL
We ate lunch at home and then went on our quest for "fun." The temperature was about 60 degrees, with an occassional breeze. The sun was out. Spring flowers are in bloom. Overall, a beautiful spring day.
Leaving the house to have "fun"

About 80% to our fun destination, Addie realized where we were headed!
Once there, we were greeted by a Zoo member who showed the kids a turtle shell.

Addie wasn't scared to touch it at all. Ben was a little more hesitant, but ultimately did.

Here's Addie saying "I love the Binturongs."

The Safari Wago is really cute. It's such a great idea to have them protected from the sun!

The most exciting part of their zoo fun- petting the pygmy goats.

It was really nice, because we were the only three people in the goat area.



When we were done at the zoo, we went up to the playground and had even more fun!
Unfortunately my camera battery died just after we got there. I only have two pictures from the playground.

We got home after about 3 hours out in the fresh air! Both kids took naps and all was right with the world!

A convo with Addie

LOL. That's all I gotta say about that.




*I'm so happy I got him saying please on camera! It's the cutest thing. All he says is the p sound and then the s sound, but only in a whisper.

Things I'm loving again

Benjamin is a hugger now. He actually will lay on the bed and pull me down so he can hug me. He holds on tight and just giggles away. What a sweetie. He's really into feeding babies now. He hasn't tried to nurse them...yet. He even makes the little sucking sound for them. This morning he grabbed Brian's hand and led him around saying, "Baby? Baby? Baaaayby?" because he was looking for a baby to give a bottle to. Very sweet.


Whenever we go out to a restaurant, Addie must try out their bathroom. I know, seriously very exciting. Nonetheless, she always has to go potty when we're out. I don't mind at all. Usually we're out with someone else, and when she has the option of who to take her, she typically chooses them (Muddy, Guppy, Onkteb, Daddy, etc). Muddy has been working with her on identifying the womens room from the mens room by the symbol. On Friday we were out at lunch and Muddy took her to the bathroom. Muddy asked her which room they should go into and she pointed to the ladies room. Muddy asked her why and Addie's answer was............


"because he doesn't have clothes on!" I guess she's technically right. Muddy has shown her that the girl is wearing a skirt, so obviously the dude is naked. LOL


Not much picture taking going on recently. Bad, I know. My house is a disaster area; the laundry is backed up; dishes aren't done; toys everywhere. BUT, my kids are healthy and having a good time with Mommy, so that's what counts.

Ben is all about the accessories. He loves wearing this hat that Muddy made for one of Addie's sundresses.


Hey, wait a minute! Why are there two peacefully sleeping children in MY bed? (See Addie's booboo that isn't healing yet, b/c she picks it!!>?)

The other night Brian called at 7:45pm and said he was leaving work. He asked if I could keep the kids awake for him. When he walked in around 8:10, this is how they spent time, all cuddly.

Finally, you can see the healing bruise from Ben's big accident on Friday. Imagine it being a blood blister!
* oh yeah and remember my injury from my nose pad? On Saturday, the whole nose pad piece broke off! That's how hard Addie accidentally hit me! It broke the metal clip!! I got it fixed on Monday.