March park pics

Since the beginning of March, we've tried to maximize the warm-weather days and go to the parks close to us. There have been fewer opportunities than I would've liked, but here's to wishing for 70 degrees on a regular basis!

Here's Emerson in our neighborhood park, contemplating whether or not she should attempt the big-kid swing again. She's remembering our last visit and the face plant in the rubber chips when she let go too early.

Jax is giving his best goofy grin, completely oblivious to the fact that his sister is barrelling down the slide toward him, head first, about to knock him flat on his back. If you can't tell by now, I'm kind of a hands-off Park Mom.... I think kids should learn what it feels like to fall down when they let go or what rubber chips taste like in their mouth. I mean, how else are they going to learn?

I'm so proud of the little climber. She can do this rock wall almost all the way to the top. After this picture was taken, a group of 3 middle-school cheerleaders came to the park and helped her do it quite a few times. They also helped her do a back bend & somersault, but that's whole 'nother story.

I just love this picture of Jaxipoo. That blonde hair & those blue eyes are gonna break my heart someday.

These next pictures are from a Sunday visit to a park in a neighboring town. We love it when Daddy gets to go to the park with us!

Jax is doing a half-war-face here.

Catching this picture this way was total luck. I love that she's peeking those squinty eyes and that Daddy's in the background, too.

Stick a fork in him, 'cause he's done!

Gorgeous Night

Tonight after the kiddos went to bed, I talked the hubby into taking a little break and going out on the back patio with a glass of wine to enjoy the fantastic weather. It was wonderful... a little bit of a chill in the air, my toes tucked under his nice little toosh while sitting across from him, the smell of his cigar lingering in the air. He rarely smokes a cigar, but I love it when he does. The smell reminds me of being in college together, hanging out with his baseball buddies, staying up WAY too late on weeknights. We had some really fun times back in the day. Sometimes I miss the lack of responsibility, the ability to survive on 3-4 hours of sleep on certain days, the spontaneous, silly things we did... SIGH... I really enjoyed my college experience. Okay, so back to our night tonight. I think we need to make it a somewhat-regular occurrence. We were able to talk without interruption, listen to the sounds of the open field behind our house, and just enjoy each other's company. That, to me, is about as perfect of a night as they come.

In honor of my walk down college memory lane, here's a little gem for you. This is what I GOT TO MARRY. Lucky me.

Strange

Yesterday Emerson ran from the living room and was gone for a few minutes. I had my back to her when she returned, and about a minute later, I turned around to see this.





She had gone to her room to retrieve a pillow from her bed, then she grabbed two floor mats from the kitchen/breakfast nook and made a little makeshift blankie out of them.

And then this next picture makes me laugh. Until I looked at it for the first time tonight, I had no idea what was going on in the background. I thought I was merely snapping a cute shot of Daddy & Bubba playing together... but no, the 2-yr-old in the tutu is playing with a hot glue gun. I'm going to assume it was unplugged at the time, mostly to clear my own conscience. Because I have NO IDEA.

I'm starting to see a pattern here

Daddy calls it Jax's 'War Face.' For about the last three weeks, he's been crinkling his nose, showing his teeth, and doing this rapid-breathing through his clenched teeth. It makes me laugh every time, and he's so serious about it. I'm really starting to see some agression coming out in him lately, and he's been yelling "NO!" an awful lot. Emerson and I have taken a liking to the nickname Bruiser for him.

Update on the potty-training front... success still!!! I take her about every hour-and-a-half, and she's been doing so well.

My friend Lisa's house sold, so she's been down in Houston looking at houses with her mom. I'm kind of realizing that her move is actually going to happen, and it kind of sucks. I kind of don't want to think about it, so I'm not going to. I'm going to get dinner ready. I'm making pasta with scallops, and Daddy just called and said he'll be home a few minutes early tonight! Woo-hoo!

Conversation with a 2 1/2-yr-old

Overheard at the Van Valkenburg house this morning during nursing of the second child:

Emerson (pulling up her shirt): "Yook Momma, I have nipples!"

Me: "Yes, you sure do have nipples."

Em: "But I don't have bigs."

Me: "You don't have bigs?"

Em: "No, I don't have big apples."

Me: "You mean you don't have big nipples?"

Em: "Yeah! I don't have milk to eat Bay Gax (Baby Jax). Bay Gax not eat my apples!"

Me: "That's right. You don't have milk. Only mommy has milk for baby Jax to eat."

Gap Give & Get

March 18-21, get 30% off @ Gap, Old Navy & Banana!

https://www.gapgiveandget.com/Facebook/Landing.aspx?r=e0d5a103-98ff-4f15-b7d8-591c7748e07f