Thank goodness for holiday weekends!

Today was the first day of the three day weekend for the Labor Day holiday. I'm always grateful for a long weekend, even if this one marks the unofficial end of summer (Fall is my favorite season anyway!). Monday is the first day of September, a month in which Tyler will turn 18 months old, and Evan will turn 9 months old. Hard to believe - time is certainly flying!!

It was nice out today, but pretty hot, so not much outdoor activity. I wanted to take the boys for a walk, but by the time it cooled down, they were both napping, and then it was dinnertime. But we had some indoor fun. We dug to the bottom of the toy box today and found Tyler's sunglasses - here he is modeling them:

But he enjoyed chewing on them more...

So he handed them off to his brother,

Who looked pretty darned cute in them!

Dude!!!

Daddy will probably take Tyler to the pool tomorrow - it's supposed to be another nice day. And Monday is the last day the pools are open! I find that hard to believe when it stays hot here through September. I guess if we get desperate we can always go to the indoor pool at the rec center where Tyler took his lessons.

Looking forward to another 2 days of not going to work!!! And only 35 days until our Outer Banks beach vacation!!!

Weekend activity.

It has been a beautiful weekend weatherwise, so we all spent some time outdoors. Yesterday, I took the boys for a walk so Daddy could do some work in the attic. Tyler took advantage of the ride to take a snooze, but Evan was too busy enjoying himself!

Later on, Daddy took Tyler to the swings:

And yes, Tyler is wearing his Redskins jersey again since it was game day. However, it didn't have the charming effect that it had last weekend. We won't talk about the final score of the beating they took... Incidentally, you'll notice the little push car in the background of this video. That is Tyler's favorite mode of transportation. However, lately, he has taken a liking to dragging his foot on the ground as he's riding along. It's summertime, so he's always in sandals. Here is the result of his new habit:

Anyway, it doesn't seem to bother him any, and it surely doesn't slow him down!!!

Today, Tyler and Daddy went to the pool. Here is Tyler in his cool new suit, putting his crocs on and getting ready to go.

And here is some action video from the kiddie pool:

Today we all went for another walk. This time, it was naptime for both of the boys!

Must be nice! When do mommy and daddy get to take a nap??? :) I reckon in about 18 years or so...

And then this evening, a little indoor fun with bubbles!

A good weekend!

A new sound.

About a week and a half ago, Evan discovered that his tongue helps him to make different sounds. He likes to practice while he eats breakfast - this is to help Mommy keep everything in perspective when she is rushing to get everyone out of the house in the morning. Sometimes being on time isn't the most important thing. Here is a quick clip of the new, improved babble:

In other developments, last night Evan was pushing himself up onto his knees and elbows. Should be crawling by this time next week I suspect!

Birthday Party!

Today is cousin Nathan's 3rd birthday - Happy Birthday, Nathan!!! Yesterday was his party - here are some pictures:

The birthday boy!

Getting his birthday hug from Uncle Mitch.

Tyler loved the ballons... and the cake!!

Can I just point out that Tyler actually sat at a little table and chairs with the other kids to eat his meal??? Check this out:

Mitch and I were stunned! I think he sat there longer than the other kids who are all at least 2 years older than he is. We had talked about maybe Santa bringing him a little table and chairs this year for Christmas, but now I don't think we'll wait.

Evan had a good time at the party too...



But after a while, the excitement proved to be too much for him, and he pooped out...

Tyler got tuckered out eventually too...



All in all, a great party and a wonderful afternoon!!

Another first...

Since Evan will be 8 months old tomorrow (!), it is time to experiment with finger foods. The obvious first one being Cheerios.

He got the grasping down ok, and the putting in his mouth. He didn't know quite what to make of them once they were in there though...

But overall, it went well and we'll just keep practicing!!!

Good Luck Charms

Good Sunday Morning! Last night was the Redskins second preseason game (against the Jets starring their "new" qback Brett Favre) - and they WON!!! We think it helped that the boys were in their Skins garb:

Daddy bought Tyler the #26 Clinton Portis jersey yesterday. He wears it well, don't you think :)?


Evan got in on the action too - wearing a pair of Redskins pj's:

Let's hope the Redskins can keep it up and have a good regular season. I don't care so much myself, but it makes Mitch happy so I'm all for it. And I suspect at some point it will be the be-all and end-all for Tyler and Evan too! So GO SKINS!!!!!

Evan's blog...

Today is a very big day for me! I'm sitting up:

And I'm almost crawling!

I love Saturdays!! I can't wait for Daddy and Tyler to get back from the pool so I can show them my new skills!

The Return of the Lump...

So, Tyler took a spill today. Went headfirst into the banister post:

I say "return of the lump" because when we were up in Vermont, he took a spill in the hotel room and hit his head on the leg of a chair. He got a nice big lump and bruise in the middle of his forehead, and also a nice cut about 1/4 of an inch from his right eye (if you look closely, you can probably see the bruise in the picture of him eating the ice cream in the previous post about the trip). Well, today he hit his head in almost the exact same spot - when the previous bruise had just barely gone away! Thankfully this time there is not cut near the eye.

This fall was obviously just an accident, but the kid is a daredevil to the nth degree! He'll climb on anything, pull chairs and tables over - we've had to remove half the furniture from our living/dining room area. We finally had to gate off the kitchen because he can climb up onto our counter high kitchen table and chairs, and he was scaling the front of the stove! But this evening was the kicker. I looked up from making dinner in the kitchen and saw him standing on the arm of the rocking chair, ready to launch himself over the railing of the stairs (going down)! So now, we've had to remove the rocking chair from the room. Sorry Mimi... Pretty soon, the room will just be filled with pillows. I imagine he'll find some way to make that dangerous too...

That's what little boys are made of....

Here's one...

Ok, here is a little video that isn't too big to upload!

Happy boy!!

Some time with Evan.

Ok, these are pictures that I just have to share because I think they're so cute.

Saturday was the beginning of preseason football, so here is Evan in his hand-me-down Redskins garb! But since he is older (and significantly bigger) than Tyler was at this time last year, these clothes won't fit him for long and we'll have to get him some new ones. Tyler will get some new things too. Since the Skins have signed Clinton Portis to a new contract, I'll probably finally splurge on that #26 jersey for Tyler...

Here he is sitting in his big brother's armchair, looking pretty chubby and sporting a decent "fauxhawk"! He seemed to really enjoy sitting in the chair, and he'll probably get his own for his 1st birthday (of course I'll buy it for him and he'll want nothing to do with it!). I have some good video of this that I've been trying to upload, but it appears that it is too big :(

That's all for now!

Graduation!!

This morning was Tyler's last "Baby and Me" swim class!! Though he is certainly not yet a master of the water, I think he is doing remarkably well for his age (as evidenced by last week's dip in Lake Champlain!). Here is a picture of Tyler with Daddy holding the certificate that was earned after the 8 week class:

So proud!!!

What a weekend!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to write about our trip to Vermont, but I've been recovering! Seems I'm getting to old for all that staying out late drinking...

We started out at 6:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, hitting the road with a loaded car and two awake babies.

Within 10 minutes, we thought we were going to have it pretty easy...

I'd like to tell you that that nap lasted a solid 3 hours, but I think it only lasted about 20 minutes! Not to worry though. With an ample suppy of toys and snacks, and lots of stops along the way for stretching, the 12 hour drive wasn't too terrible! (BTW, I only have pictures of Tyler from the car because Evan sits behind me in a rear facing seat so it would take some fancy - and dangerous - contortions to get those shots!)

We arrived in Burlington around 6:00 p.m. and checked into our hotel. My mom, sister, and brother-in-law all came over because they couldn't wait to see the kids. We hung out and ate pizza and a fair amount of wine and beer was also consumed... let the weekend begin!!

Here is a picture of Evan with Uncle Andy, who had never met either boys. Andy has always loved the babies - and the babies always love him!!

On Friday, we met up again with Mom, Kathy, my nephews Jared & Jordan, and my Aunt Lynda (my father's sister) and Uncle See-See for lunch. Lynda and See-See had not yet met the boys either. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures of them at lunch... but here are some shots of Evan (there are no pictures of Tyler from lunch because he was not in the mood to sit so Daddy had to walk him around the mall the entire time we were there!)

It was a very nice visit and I was thrilled to introduce my boys to more family!

On Friday evening, the reunion started with a dinner/dancing at the hotel where we were staying. Mom and Kath came over to babysit for us. It was great! A lot of people showed up and it was so nice to see everyone! Some people hadn't changed, and some were unrecognizable! Here are some shots:

Me and Melissa!!! We hadn't seen each other for about 12 years. Melissa is married to a great guy named Scott and she owns her own business. No kids - she is "allergic" to them :)!


This is Jen. She is a one year (so far!) breast cancer survivor. Yay Jen!!! She is doing the 3-day walk in Boston this coming weekend - GOOD LUCK!!!


Me with Kara and Melissa. They were my two best friends in high school. Kara is married and has one son named Brendan.

Trish and Tracy - they were high school sweethearts and are still married and have 2 kids.

The Boys (from left to right): Todd (married, 5 kids), Liam (divorced, 3 kids), Paul (divorced, 3 kids), Steve (not sure - didn't get to talk to him much!), and Robert (married, 2 kids).


The Class of '88!! Those of us who showed up anyway!!


The next day was a family gathering at the Sandbar State Park. More time to chat with old friends, and I brought the rest of the family along too. Mitch and everyone else watched the boys most of the afternoon. On the one hand, I felt guilty passing off my kids, on the other hand, it was nice to have a chance to catch up with people unencumbered! But still, most of the pictures I have from that day are of the boys!


Evan just chillin' on the blanket.


Here's Tyler enjoying some ice cream that Uncle Andy bought him. No wonder the babies love him!!!

Here he is in Lake Champlain!! And no, he isn't wearing the life jacket... but he was surrounded at all times!

Look at him go!!! The water was very cold and when he came out he had purple feet! But he didn't seem to mind...

Saturday evening, we decided to keep it low key. Mom came back to the hotel and had dinner with us, and then we made it an early night. The next morning, we didn't didn't get on the road until nearly 8:00 a.m. - we had planned for 6:30!!

But the main goal was to make it home before dark, which we did, a solid 12 hours later.

It was a great trip and I'm so glad we went. The roadtrip was so much better than we anticipated, and it was well worth it. I've promised the boys that the next roadtrip will only be half as far - when we head to the Outer Banks in October!!