how Oliver earns his allowance...

He loads the dishwasher (seriously! I handed him the dishes and he put them in!)

and he's so HAPPY about it. I don't know if he realizes that it's work.

he washes up the table...

and he vacuums the living room. I have to help him get out of corners sometimes but he vacuums the living room and hall.

is that a COON?

It IS a coon - out in daylight. Jasper kept barking and barking and finally I went out to see what he was so upset about (since he wouldn't come in the house) and this is what I found. The poor little guy only had one eye and he was kind of stuck on the fence. I don't know why he didn't go down the other side but Jasper was keeping him there very well. He was making cute little chirping noises but when I got close enough to get Jasper away he growled at me. Anyway, I got Jasper away from him and when I looked back he was gone.

The boys are ready for Fall

Look at these handsome boys! We went out shopping last week and these are a few of the things we ended up with. The boys like wearing coordinated shirts, but not matching ones. I have tried to get them a few like these (same shirt, different color) so that when we're out I'll be able to keep track of them more easily. Anyway, they look absolutely adorable! They kept posing in front of the door, even after I was done taking pictures. They were giggling and pushing each other to try to get the other ones' rectangle (see them on the door?).

Oliver was being a robot in this picture, that's why his arms are down by his sides like that. He does this ALL THE TIME.

Oliver is so big now. He's sso thoughtful and a wonderful helper.

Wyatt is full of personality. He's always on the go and he's ALWAYS smiling!

words Oliver can read in a story

Look
See
Jump
Jane
Dick
Spot
Puff
and
can
not
here
come
down
mother
help
go
away
play
baby

I'm very impressed!! We checked out "Go Away, Spot" (a dick and jane reader) from the library and Oliver is getting a lot better at sounding out words and figuring out sentences. So much so that I went out and got him his own Dick and Jane reader today.

Wyatt's first haircut

We took Wyatt for his first haircut on Thursday, August 19th.
He wouldn't sit in the barber chair but he sat really well on Bob's lap.
The barber snipped and snipped and pretty soon all his beautiful little curls were gone.
Without his floppy hair he transformed from a baby to a little boy. What a handsome boy, too!

Maryland...

Oliver making faces at Ilona. She would smile and wiggle when he did it. He really got a kick out of it. It looks like Anni was pretty amused, too.

This was just a random shot but I really like the way it turned out. He looks very pensive.

Digits and Wyatt sitting together. It looks like they're having a very serious discussion.

more from Maryland...

craziest looking chicken ever...it looks like a Muppet.

The boys with papa bear.

the dish ran away with the spoon...or the Wyatt ran away with the Oliver

I'm sure this little boat had a name but I either didn't see it or don't remember. What I do remember is that it was right outside the merry millllllerrrrr's house. CREEPY! The boys liked the boat, though, and pretended to drive it.

Pictures from Maryland

I can't believe I forgot to post these pictures. The boys and I had such a great time visiting Digits, Anni and Ilona.
This first picture is the one good one out of about 15 I took.

Oliver with Ilona.

We went to a little petting zoo and Oliver fed the goats. He thought it was funny that they licked his hand.

There was one little goat that was outside the fence and Oliver tried to make friends with him. The house in the background is the three little pigs house. There were all three (sticks, straw and brick). There were also lots of other fairy tale and nursery rhyme things.

I'm glad I took a break...

I was cleaning today. My to-do list is a mile long and I'm behind on dishes and laundry and just about everything else. As I was folding clothes from the third load of laundry I'd done today I heard giggling from the bedroom. I went back to see what was going on - the laundry can wait. I'm glad I did! The boys had made a spaceship out of pillows and they were just getting ready to blast off. The boppy pillows are their seat belts and they are both driving. We flew to the moon and the Oliver explained how his space suit has a string on it so he won't float away. Then he showed me how astronauts walk on the moon - by jumping everywhere he went. We finally came back to Earth but the trip was so much fun.

The laundry was waiting for me when I came back and lunch still had to be made. It put us behind on naptime. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Adventures at Second Creek...

Wyatt wet head

Oliver searches for snails and crawdads

brave boys on an adventure

Wyatt splash

Adventures at Second Creek!

We took the boys down to the river and let them loose. At first Wyatt was afraid of whatever algae or plant was growing on the rocks. It looked like hair and it was fairly long and slippery. He didn't like it one bit! After a while, though, he got used to it and he was off right beside Oliver. They splashed and threw rocks and chased Crawdads. What a fun time they had!!

What is it with boys? get your FINGER out of your NOSE!!

more fun in Lewisburg...

Mammaw all dressed up for church. What a lovely hostess she was! She cooked some fantastic meals (one of which I learned how to make) and kept the boys entertained.

The only good picture (out of about 30 or 40) of all the kids.

All the Walkup boys (that were at the house at that time). 4 generations!!

fun in Lewisburg

Wyatt sitting with Pappy Lucian. Wyatt looooooves Pappy Lucian!

I don't know what Oliver and Pappy (Bob) were playing but they look like they were having a lot of fun.

Wyatt winding up for the pitch. The boys spent a lot of time playing catch with those balls.

The boys knocking Pappy (Bob) down.