Pillow fort!!

Wyatt's dr appt

Wyatt had a dr's appointment on Thursday. He is 22 pounds and they didn't say how long. He's in the 75-90th percentile for length though! Still only the 25th for weight. He's growing like crazy! He still hasn't gotten that bottom molar but it's all swollen and ready to pop any minute now. He's ahead for speech and right on schedule for everything else.

new Wyatt words

duck, book, mmm-mmm (like no) and shakes his head, donut, boomana (like an exploding banana?), pee

added 11/7 - purple, pen

added 11/9 - boop, peep (as in peep peep, which is a bird), Gramma, Woody (from Toy Story) and airplane. He also learned the sign for bird.

When he has a poo diaper he points to it and says BOOM!

The mega-slacker update

Oliver had his 3 year dr's appointment on the 22nd of October. He was 37.5 inches tall and 32 or 33 pounds. He can stand on one foot, he can jump really high and really far. He can draw a circle and a plus sign (He CAN!). He passed all the test the doctor gave him. His vision is good, his hearing is good, his blood pressure is good. He's right on schedule for everything, except he's ahead in speech. He uses looooong sentences (10 or more words) and uses big words, too.

He has started making up stories, too. Really simple ones but they are so cute. He tells me a lot of them while we're driving so I don't get to write most of them down. I posted some of them a few days ago. He's got a good imagination.

Oliver can read the words eye, ear, hair, and nose. This is in addition to the words he could already read - woof, biscuit, oliver, mim, daddy, wyatt, jasper, see, bee, and we.



Cute things Oliver has said lately...



Bob: Can you get me the coffee and a spoon?

Oliver: coffee and a spoon, coming right up!



I took a drink to wash it down!

The moon is ROUND - like a smiley face!








Oliver was Spiderman for Halloween (see below for pictures). He thought he was the coolest Spiderman ever. The woman at Target called him "Spidey" and he got upset. I'm SPI-DER-MAN, he said. He ended up with a pumpkin full of candy but only went to two houses for trick-or-treating. I can bribe him to do anything for a candy bar! (the tiny milky way)



Wyatt has started running. He's pretty fast, too. He's a climber, too - he can get just about anywhere as long as there's some kind of foothold.

He has learned a lot of new words. Just today he started saying Spiderman. Yesterday it was Uh-oh! When he says the oh part he makes his mouth into a little O shape. It's so cute! He also says boom!

He learned the sign for airplane, bird, cup, boy (which we use for brother), Spiderman (shooting a web), and gimme. He made up the sign for gimme and it's just like milk but more emphatic.

He helps me put his clothes on, putting his arms in sleeves or legs into pants. He still doesn't like getting his shoes on and barely sits still for it. He knows where his pants are. He also knows socks and shoes. He can find his eyes, ears, nose, hair, belly, feet, hands - although he's been doing that for a while and I think I might have already posted it.

He likes to "read" his book - a big board book with bright pictures. He can recognize most of the pictures in it, too. girl, boy, airplane, jacket, fish, bird, train, cup, ball, car, orange, apple, banana, puppy and kitty.

Wyatt will also do anything for a candy bar. The boy has a sweet tooth, just like me! He didnt' get as much candy as Oliver did (mostly because he can't have nuts or anything chewy like Twizzlers) but he enjoys it. He was Woody (from Toy Story) for Halloween. Everyone kept saying what a cuuuuute cowboy he was - very few people knew he was Woody. (frustrating!!) Anyway, he WAS a super cute Woody. Bob went out and got him a little stuffed Woody to play with and it's been his favorite ever since (sorry kitty kitty!).





Last week the boys and I headed up to Asheville to visit Gramma and Grampa. We also got to see Aunt Rachael, Uncle Dave, Aunt Sarah and Delilah. We were a few days too early to see the new baby, Adriana, but hopefully we'll see her soon. We stayed at Gramma and Grampa's house, ate good food and played A LOT. Gramma took a few days off work so she could hang out with us. Wednesday Gramma watched the boys so me, Rachael and Sarah could go out and do sister stuff - which ended up being donuts for breakfast, shopping, pizza for lunch and then home. It was fun, though, and nice to hang out without the boys. They did great with Gramma and were fine, although really tired, when I got back. The boys took a nap then Rachael helped me start crocheting a lion. Haven't worked on it since because I'm a slacker! In fact, it's still in the suitcase.

That is all I can think of for now. Hopefully I'll be able to make more time to post instead of waiting weeks to cram everything into one post and then forgetting it.

Wyatt as Sheriff Woody

Reach for the sky!

The Perfect Cowboy Snarl

There's a snake in my boot!!

Happy to be the Sheriff!!

Oliver as Spiderman

Showing off his muscles

Hero pose

Happy to be a Spider!

The Webslinger

Oliver's first illustrated story ever!!!!

Once a time there was a dragon. He fell down. Someone helped him up. Then they were friends!

Oliver's story #3.

There were lots of dark clouds. A dragon came and breathed fire on the clouds. It started to rain on the people and the castle. The people shut their doors. They went to their car and got an umbrella and went for a walk.

Oliver's story #2

Once a day there were two lions. They were not scary. They went for a walk together. They were being friends!

Wyatt...in the lego bucket

Why he got in the bucket I do not know!

some Oliver cuteness

Some Wyatt cuteness...

Pirates!! AAAAAARGH, Matey!

random outside pictures

Fun with the new playset

More pictures from the new playhouse

The new edible classroom

The Greensboro Children's Museum just added an edible classroom to their many other interesting exhibibts. We went to the opening ceremony and Oliver got to ride a tractor, make a medallion and plant spinach seeds. There were a lot of different vegetables planted in the garden there.

Since the last time we were there they also added a new train exhibit. Oliver liked that a lot. He didn't really want to go look at the garden once he saw it. There's a hole in the engine compartment where you can shovel big fake coal pieces. There's also a conducters hat. It was extra busy because of the ceremony so we didn't get a lot of pictures OR a lot of turns.

Our latest craft project

We had tiny sodas as a treat then we put water and beads and ribbon and glitter in them to make a new toy. Oliver had lots of fun putting things in his bottle. I also tried to incorporate learning about recycling/reusing. Either way, they love these things!

fun with the new computer camera

following the exploits of the locavores...

http://locavoremakeoverproject.blogspot.com/

I saw this article in the Gso news and record. I was interested so now I'm following these families to see how they do eating local, seasonal food for one year. I think it will be easier than they anticipate. I might try doing this at some point but right now is crazy so I'll stick with my current mix.

I made for dinner tonight:

(local) pasta (purchased at the Farmer's Market, made in colfax, nc) topped with Ragu (obviously not local) mixed with squash and zuccini (from the farmer's market). We had a side of cherry tomatoes from a friends garden.

The boys ate it up! I did, too. it was so yummy! I might try to go to the farmer's market once a week from now on. We had also gotten some sweet potatoes that I made fries with and everyone loved those, too.

Wyatt potty...

Yesterday morning when we woke up I went to the bathroom just like usual and Wyatt followed me just like he always does. When we got in there, though, he pointed to Oliver's little potty and then sat on it. Well, he's peed in it a few times and pooped once so I stripped him down and put him on it. He peed right away! I decided since I had to go out and get diapers anyway that it might be time for his own potty. He picked out this one. We brought it home and he sat on it again and peed right away (he was still dry!) and then pooped in it, too. After our nap he did it again. That's 3 times in a day! He sat on it twice more but was clothed and I'm sure he peed when he sat because he was dry before and when I got him up he was wet. I tried a few more times before bed but he only sat there, no pee. I'm ok with this because he's so young but he really likes sitting on the potty!
He did pee again today when he first woke up but only a little bit. We'll keep trying!
HOOOORAY, WYATT!!!

Wyatt playing with Bella

They were so cute together. This is the first time Wyatt has gotten to play with someone close to his own age so he had a great time!

What a good sharer!!

Wyatt with his new best friend

Introducing "kitty kitty". Kitty kitty is a gray and white cat that Wyatt picked up at Toys & Co. He now takes Kitty Kitty everywhere and sleeps with him as well. He's learned the word and the sign kitty.

playing the "guitar" and singing the cutest songs ever

how old...

Oliver, how old are you?

What about you, Wyatt?

Oliver's glee face...

The face he makes for pictures now

who's under that basket?

For some reason Oliver loves to cram himself into small spaces...

Wyatt's glee face...

I tell Oliver to make a "glee face" when I take his picture so that he'll smile really big.
This is what Wyatt does when I tell him to make a glee face...

Not a good day

Today was very trying. Every time I turned around Oliver and/or Wyatt were doing something they weren't supposed to. Every time I tried to do something they were fighting every step of the way. I know they were tired. I was, too. I ended up yelling quite a bit. I hate yelling at the boys! They are such sweet well behaved boys most of the time. It just seems like there are days when EVERYTHING goes wrong and neither one of them wants to listen. I'm going to try harder to be patient and yell less. No excuses...they are kids and they're going to whine and cry and misbehave. From now on only correction, no yelling. Consequences, but gently. Most of all, understanding.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLIVER!!

My big guy is 3 today. He's 3. Three! I can hardly believe it. The time has really flown by and he's changed so much. I haven't weighed him but we measured him today and he's 38 inches tall. He talks like a kid - full conversations. He's got an imagination! Always talking about spacemen and aliens and he's got several imaginary puppies and babies running around. His new thing lately is that "he's a baby". He says that when he's tired or just upset.

His favorite toys are legos and stuffed dogs. He builds the coolest towers and the ones he's the most proud of go on top of the entertainment center for a few days to be admired. He can climb any ladder at the playground and slides all by himself. He's started pumping his legs when he swings so I don't even have to push him anymore. He's all over the place, running and jumping and climbing. Another of his new favorite things to do is "wash his hands" or ...play in the sink. He "helped" me do dishes today and it was too cute. He rinsed everything sooooooo well before I put it in the dishwasher. He was really upset when we were done.

He goes potty all by himself as long as the light is on. He can wash himself in the bath. He dresses himself, even socks and shoes! He colors pretty well for a 3 year old, I think. He's started to recognize words. He knows moon, room, woof, Biscuit and we. For his birthday today we got him a "learning to read" book call Biscuit - biscuit is a dog so I thought it went well with his puppy obsession. Anyway after reading the book to him twice he already learned woof and biscuit! I think he is going to love reading as much as I did as a kid. He carries books around all day long and tells me stories out of them. He has a children's encyclopedia (he calls it the multopedia) that he's learned quite a bit out of already. He likes planets and space a lot so he knows Saturn (saturin) and Jupiter (joopter). He knows what the rings of Saturn are made of and that Jupiter is the biggest and has a red spot. He also knows (sort of) Neptune and why it is blue.

He's a good big brother most of the time. Very gentle with Wyatt. He also helps Wyatt learn signs and new words. Wyatt will do anything Oliver does, though, so we have to be careful about what we let Oliver do.

Anyway, Oliver is smart, strong, and super handsome. He's my big guy and I love him!!!

Oliver last year
Oliver 2 years ago
Oliver 3 years ago

So much to do...

It seems like housework is never ending. Every time I turn around there's another load of dishes or laundry to wash, diapers to stuff, toys to pick up, toilets are dirty again, towels are everywhere. There's always a meal to be made. There's shopping to do and exercise to squeeze in somewhere, hopefully. Bob managed to mow our grass and part of each of our neighbors' yards yesterday. The boys are getting more cooperative as the days go by. I can usually sneak a load of dishes (10-15 minutes) or laundry (5-10 minutes) in while they play nicely with each other. Oliver is in the "MINE" stage. He's also throwing things lately and SCREAMING at the top of his lungs. Both of which land him in time-out. It doesn't seem to work sometimes but sometimes he gets up and says he's sorry. Then off he goes - usually he does pretty well after that.

Wyatt still wants to be where I am most of the time. I don't know if it's still separation anxiety or if it's just baby neediness. Either way it makes it hard to get things done. Don't get me wrong, I love that he needs me so much and that he's always there to get snuggles or play with. He's such a happy little boy. I just wish sometimes I could have two minutes to go to the bathroom by myself.

Work is getting crazier and crazier. I can't get into details but wow...the nerve of some people!

Anyway, the boys are asleep and I'm going to veg out for a bit then head to bed early. I have to work a long day again tomorrow and I've been SO tired lately.

Tickle Tickle Tickle...

Wyatt says this now, and knows what it means because he usually says it while getting someone's belly!

Wyatt's new word

He says and signs "All Done!!" It actually sounds more like aaaaah daaaaah!

He also says "ta da!" and puts his arms over his head. It's toooo cute!

Bob is back in school

He started back on Tuesday. Today and Tuesday were hard because I'm not used to having the boys by myself all day anymore. We had good days for the most part, though. Today we went visiting (Boxy) and walked to the grocery store for some snacks. Tuesday we went to Toys R Us to check out their swingsets and then to Arby's for dinner. The boys were well behaved and got along with me and each other. There wasn't much trouble and I was even able to cook something for dinner. I'm going to try a new recipe tomorrow for Bean Balls. I'm very excited about it!!

Big guy

At the playground with Pappy

Decorating the cupcakes with dinosaur sprinkles (Oliver picked out the cake mix, frosting AND sprinkles)

Enjoying some juice to wash down the cupcake...and cool off

Sliding down the tunnel slide...weeeeeeeeee!

Wyatt's first birthday cake...

The cake was super cute! A horsey for the horsey.
He seemed to like it pretty well, he actually went straight for the horse.
of course, he ended up with frosting EVERYWHERE...
And since I didn't plan ahead very well he spent the rest of the party in nothing but a diaper.

Wyatt update

Wyatt now says bye bye and waves. He also blows kisses. He signs milk. He says puppy and brother. He's still a flirty little guy everywhere we go. He got his first pair of shoes for his birthday so now we can play outside more often and he walks around everywhere picking up sticks and leaves and who knows what else. The mosquitoes bite him a lot so we don't stay out too long but he sure does like it out there.

He's sleeping through the night in his bed. Not even waking up to stir or whine until about 6. When he does wake up I just bring him in bed with me and he's out for another 2 hours or so. Yay!

cool guy on the playground...

flirting with the older chicks...cuz he's cool like that

fun with bubbles

smooooth

close up cutie

super happy!

dancing!

wwwwwwwwwwwww!

let me explain...

look at that dimple!

what are you doing?

super cutie!

My baby...

One year ago...the day he was born

More recently...just before he turned one!!

The card reader on my computer doesn't want to work so I can't upload the pictures I took on his actual birthday. He just had his one year checkup and he is HALF AS TALL AS I AM! He's 30 inches tall, 19 pounds 14 ounces - that puts him in the 10% for weight. He's ahead for speech (he says 5 words) and he walks, stoops and recovers, and can turn around! He's my baby and I love him to pieces!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WYATT!!

My baby is 1 year old today. I can't believe the time has passed so fast. What a character he's grown into this past year! He's a fun, loving, exciting, outgoing, fearless little boy who can do so much. He's walking like a pro and can even turn around and go back the direction he came from. He can bend down and pick something up and get back up without holding on to anything. He still eats like a horse. Everything is funny to him and he's almost always laughing. He's still a little rough with Oliver sometimes but he's getting better about that, too. Oliver is still his favorite person and he'll do anything Oliver asks him to.

He knows a bunch of signs including naked, bath, eat, ball, banana, more and puppy. He says Mim and Dada and banana. He understands a lot more than that. If I ask him to give me something he will. When I ask him what he wants to eat he heads for the kitchen. When I say it's bathtime he heads for the tub.

He has a lot more hair than he did when he was born, he's longer and heavier, too! I weighed him yesterday at work and he was 20 pounds! He's only a bit shorter than Oliver so hopefully he didn't inherit my height. There are still only 8 teeth in his mouth, 4 on top and 4 on bottom but he's been drooling and chewing again lately so I think those "1 year" molars are on their way. He's still reddish blond with just thin wispy hair. There's not much of it but it suits him pretty well.

Climing is one of his favorite things to do. He loves the view from up there - up anywhere really. He can get onto Oliver's bed, chairs, the sofa, the loveseat, the futon, the bed. When we're outside he'll climb up the little slide and go right down with no hesitation.

He's almost always smiling and so good-natured. I'm so proud that he is our baby!!!!!!!

I love you, Wyatt. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Learning streak...

Wyatt signed "juice" tonight...for a total of 7 signs!

He also walked a little more tonight. He really wanted those chips and salsa.

another sign!!

Wyatt learned another sign..."bites" (which is actually "eat"). Apparently he learns the signs from Oliver. Yay, guys! What a good big brother, too. Now I know the secret and Wyatt's vocabulary is about to get much bigger...

Wyatt's signs...

I've been slack about posting this because he's been signing for quite a while but here they are. He signs naked, dog, more, ball and banana. He also says puppy and banana (in addition to Mim and Dada, which I think I posted before).

He has mastered the tower of rings and can build with Legos...the huge ones. He loves books. He's taking 4 or 5 steps at a time now. He tries to do everything Oliver does. He eats like a horse. He loves cups and bowls. He splashes and has fun in the bathtub. He blows kisses. He's still only snuggly when he's tired. He's still a paci addict. He likes the slides at the bouncy place. He likes to carry a toy in each hand, even while crawling around. He still almost always falls asleep in the car. He can drink from a sippy cup and a straw. He can climb onto the futon and the sofa all by himself. He can do a chin up on Oliver's bed rail. He doesn't sleep through the night in his own bed. Usually halfway through he wakes up and I bring him in with me. He doesn't like to be left alone and if I leave the room he follows me. If he can't follow he gets terribly upset. He seems to be teething again because he's chewing and drooling like crazy.

Ok so that turned out to be more than just signs but that's what is going on with Wyatt

biggest loser/start moving contest

I've been participating in a Biggest Loser contest at work. In order to qualify for prizes you have to lose 8% of your total weight. So far I've gained 3 pounds so I'm not doing so well on that front.

In the start moving contest you have to exercise for 2500 minutes before Oct 17th. So far I've logged 765 total points. You get one point for each minute, plus bonus points for anything over 30 minutes. Whew!

no updates for...i don't know...a long time

We've been busy! Bob has been remodeling the kitchen (with not much help from me and plenty of hindrance from the boys). He took down all the cabinets and they are in the back yard being painted. The walls are painted finally (I helped with one wall) and we are now trying to figure out where to rehang the cabinets and put the appliances (the fridge is on an extension cord right now) to make the kitchen more organized and less cluttered. I spent the last three days at work ...working 7 hours Sunday, 8 yesterday and 9 on Saturday. We had a big sale and it was super busy. The new boss we just got, the one I liked so much, has been transferred again. He's in Raleigh now and our new mgr is the old mgr of the Raleigh store. It will definitely take some getting used to.

The boys are being boys. Wyatt is getting closer and closer to walking. He just needs to realized it's easier to get around that way. I shaved Oliver's hair off. He seems to like it. he hasn't even complained about not being able to twirl it when he's going to sleep. That's a good thing!!

I have to go make breakfast for the little beasts now so I'll try to update more often...

walking...

Wyatt took two consecutive steps yesterday morning. I haven't taken the time to post about it until now because I'm a slacker. He was so proud...I was, too!!

Vacation is officially over...

We had three vacations this summer. The first one in WV that I posted about before. Then we went to the beach for two days with Pappy and Nanny and lots of cousins. We had lots of fun playing in the waves and sand. Oliver got used to jumping in the waves after a few dunks. After that he just wanted to get in the water. He built a few good sandcastles and collected a few shells, there weren't many there. The first day we were there we went to the aquarium in Wilmington and had lunch and shopped a little downtown. Then we headed up to the house where the boys went in the ocean for the first time. We saw some fish and a crab and sea gulls and pelicans. The boys had a great time with their cousins - even though they are all a good bit older than the boys. It was too bad we only got to spend two days!

This past sunday (the 5th) the boys and I headed down to my uncle's condo for a few days. We left poor Daddy at home to remodel the kitchen (which turned out to be a bigger project that expected). Gramma and Grampa were already there when we got there so we settled in and played a bit before heading out to the beach. This beach was a lot more shell-y than the other beach so Oliver spent a lot of time picking up shells and putting them in his bucket. He even found a sharks tooth! Gramma dug a "pool" up above the waves and both boys had a pretty good time playing in there. Wyatt did not like the waves but Oliver played in them a lot, trading off between me, Gramma and Grampa. We got home in time for naps and then headed to the pool. Oliver swam "all by himself" in the floatie ring and Wyatt hung out in his space shuttle floatie. Wyatt made the cutest face when he was splashing. He'd reach waaaay over the side and make a squinchy little grinning face and wave his fat little arm at the water. Oliver helped Gramma build a sand castle the second day but Wyatt spent two hours in the Moby wrap ASLEEP that time. Grampa tried to dig up a crab but we couldn't find him (the crab)! We spent a few hours at Broadway at the Beach (in Myrtle Beach, SC) where Oliver played around a fountain while we waited to see the dragon. Unfortunately the sound system was having trouble so the show ended after a few seconds. He got to see the dragon blow a few times, though. Oliver also rode a few rides (dunebuggies, a boat and the carousel where he rode Pinky Lou the pig) We went to a big candy store and got some M&Ms and Jelly beans then to the Disney store where Gramma and Grampa got Oliver some Cars toys. When we got home it was dinner and bed! The next morning we were just relaxing and packing up and cleaning up. Grampa took Oliver out to the pond to go fishing and he caught 3 fish! (with help, of course...but he reeled them in all by himself)..the first two were the same kind but I don't know what they were. The third one (that I missed because Wyatt wanted to go in) was a LARGE MOUTH BASS!!! Gramma got some pictures so hopefully I'll get them and post them soon. Both boys were pretty well behaved. Oliver got only one timeout and, other than crying whenever I left the room Wyatt was happy and playful. They both ate like horses, too. We had a great time and I hope we can go back again. Probably when the boys are older and Wyatt can appreciate it a little more.

When we got home Bob was still workin on the kitchen. Apparently the previous owner had moved a wall at some point but neglected to patch the wall and ceiling where the old wall was. Instead they just put up paneling to cover it. Bob tore all the paneling down and then realized this so he spent almost a whole day patching that. He also took down all the cabinets and he's painting them to match the accent wall, which is blue. The rest of the walls will be the same color as the living room...super light, almost white, gray with a hint of purple depending on the lighting. Anyway, right now the kitchen and living room are in chaos. Everything from the cabinets is on my couch, loveseat, tables, floor, pretty much anywhere except the path that Bob left so we could walk through. Hopefully we'll get this done soon but it will be SO worth it!!

i like this one even though it's blurry

Spider-Oliver

new jammies

look at my muscles!

throwing a web...

the wall crawler!

pictures from the zoo...

Oliver insisted on getting this turtle walking stick so he could use a cane like Pappy Lucian.

The whole giraffe family. There's a new place at the zoo where you can feed the babies.

more zoo pics

The results of the zoo...

my super boys

faster than a speeding bullet!

cute random Oliver pictures

snuggle nap

more random wyatt pictures

cute random wyatt pictures

superman in training

June 16, 2009

the bed and the tooth

Wyatt got another tooth...bottom right second over. He also slept in his bed all night last night. Bob and I got up about a million times to make sure he was still breathing because that NEVER happens!!