7.29.2011

7.28.2011

Tiny Tales Thursday...

I know the little is supposed to look up to the big, but here lately Radley has had some one liners that make me think he wants his sister by his side all the time...

Scenario 1:

Me: Good morning, Rad! Did you sleep ok?
Rad: rubbing eyes Yes, Mommy. Where's Emmy?

Scenario 2:

Almost bath time; Rad uses restroom so I tell him he can play in his underwear for a bit.

Rad: Where's Emmy?
Me: Playing.
Rad: She in her underwear?
Me: No, she's in her play clothes.
Rad: Oh, well, take off her shorts so she can be like me.

Scenario 3:

I'm cleaning the dishes and Radley and Emmy are playing.

Rad: Mommy?
Me: Yes, buddy?
Rad: Can I take Emmy to my room to play?
Me: Of course.
Rad: She likes my cars a lot.
Me: I know, buddy, and she likes you a lot, too.

Love them.

7.26.2011

Playdates...

Saturday was full of fun and playdates! We woke up early, got dressed and headed over to Jackson and Atticus' house! Radley was P-U-M-P-E-D! I mean he was just SOOOOO excited! 


It took all of 15 minutes to drive to his house but at about minute 4 Radley kept saying, "why it taking so long Mommy?" Over. and Over. 

Finally we arrived and were welcome to a fabulous spread made by Jenna and Jason, parents of young babes, and had a ball! These two play really well together (as well as any 3-4 year olds, I guess) and Radley has fun doing all things "man" since he is typically surrounded by friends of the female persuasion. 


Little Atticus was just as content as could be. He is 5 months old and almost as long as Emmy. :)


And she was ready to romp and stomp with the boys, too. I should have known this would happen and dressed her in less girly clothes. She may be my artistic child...she just loves to "draw" and just gets so happy when she makes a mark. 


She insisted on getting in the pool with the boys and since I didn't pack her bathing suit, she was allowed (just this ONCE) to go skinny dipping with the guys. 

;)


The Kurten's have the best back yard! They have homemade blocks, outdoor toys, and a great play set that Jason keeps adding to; he even added a rock wall to the side that the boys loved. For the last half hour of play time they just climbed up and down it with buckets full of dirt to pour down the slide. 


This big kid had fun, too. He is trying to rope a stump...I think in about 100 more attempts he would have succeeded. 

We had so much, Kurten family! Next time we will host (and Jenna, maybe we can escape to some place else)! :)


The kids were out cold about 3 minutes into the car ride home and slept hard until it was time to head to Lake Bryan with the Munsons. This is our car for a family of four for 3 hours at the lake. 

Ridiculous. 


If this was even a small glimpse of how much fun the kids will have at the beach, then I am so ready to go! Lake Bryan actually resembles much of the Gulf with its brown water and sandy shores... but we love it. Josh and I even commented on how we should have gone to the Lake more in college. 


Seriously cheap, fun, entertainment! 


And now it's even better because we have kids that will get our drinks... 

Radley said that this was "my beer, Mommy. For when I get old like Daddy." I really do remember getting the Budweiser for my parents and their friends/relatives and taking sips along the way. (No, Radley didn't take a sip before people start calling CPS on us). 


Caro even helped out Uncle Ryan with the silver can. 


And this girl once again thinks she is just hot stuff hanging with the big kids. I just wonder what is going on in that quiet little head of hers. You can see her brain just thinking away and when she decides she is going to talk, we better all watch out. 


The whole crew. 


What a great Saturday from start to finish. 

Friends, family, food and fun... not much more a girl could ask for. 

7.21.2011

Tiny Tales Thursday...

 It is probably no surprise that within a 2 minute time period, the house can go from neat and tidy to disaster zone. We really don't mind because what would be the point of having all these toys if the kids never played with them.

One night we were starting to wind down which meant that it was time to clean up the toys. Radley doesn't usually mind but also doesn't jump for joy at the thought of playtime being over. This particular night, we was a little more reluctant than most.

I was in the bathroom getting Emmy ready for her bath when Radley walked in and as sweet and serious as can be said

"But, mommy. My legs are just too tired to clean up toys. I need a rest."

And while I almost did melt at his attempt to get out of it. The timer was set and the toys were picked up in 5 minutes.

Maybe next time, buddy.

7.17.2011

Can she BE any cuter....

I know she's my child...


and I know that makes me a little biased... 


but I seriously don't know if I can take it... 


she is just divine. 


I love you sweet, Emmy! So much! 


She's TWO...

I can't believe this sweet girl is TWO!


Annaliese is the {current} youngest of the HMMs and we got to celebrate her birthday yesterday!

Cindy, as usual, threw a great party for all of Anna's family (aren't we lucky to be included in that group). The theme was pastels and you know that I love to match a theme so Emmy and Radley did not disappoint. 


Anna got a sandbox (plus maybe 1000 other fun things) which was a major hit for everyone! 


After the party wrapped up we headed to eat and then home where Radley showed off his biking skills to GiGi. He went all the way up that hill! :)


Such a big kid. 


Then he had to show Pops his skills at bouncing the sky ball all the "way up to the sky"! 


We had a fun weekend with family and friends. I could get used to this for sure! 

BFFAEAE...

In case you were wondering what the title of this post means it refers to how I would sign most of my notes to my BFFAEAE (best friend forever and ever and ever), Jenni in middle school. (We also used LYLAS, VBFF, etc...). 


We got a treat last week when Jenni, Karli and Cooper came to spend the night with us on Thursday! We headed to Gattitown (or as Radley calls it "Daddy-town") for dinner and some arcade games before coming back to our house for a late night! Emmy didn't go to bed until 9 and Rad and Karli got to stay up until almost 11...holy cow that's late for us!But they were all ready to go to one of our favorite places on Friday, the Children's Museum (thanks so much for the membership, Nanan!).

I didn't take too many pictures of Cooper because he was all cozy in his seat, but just how cute is this kid?!? Jenni and Cotton know how to make em! :)


And this girl. Again with the upside down reading. At least her nose is in a book, right?! 


I am pretty much obsessed with this romper. Ob.Sessed. I think if they had it in my size I would wear it. 

Well, maybe not. 


These kids are obsessed with the "grocery store" at the CM. I KNOW if I had the space I would put one of these in my house. A lot for the kids, but a little for me, too. One of my "dream jobs" at the age of 7 (besides being a solid gold dancer) was to work at Winns as a cashier. I loved that place. 


They sure know how to pick groceries. Ice cream and soda...wonder where they get that from? 


There is a new exhibit that was a HUGE hit. Lowe's sponsored a "house" and it was so cool. There is frame and then the kids can put up the "drywall" themselves. 


Little squares that have magnets on the back that just pop into place. Big hit. 

Even Emmy helped out with the plumbing. 


And don't think that the kids are the only ones that had all the fun. Jenni and I entertained ourselves for a good 20 minutes with this mirror. Look how SKINNY we looked are! 

2 kids each and we still got it! 


We only got distracted for a minute and quickly found spotted resumed playing with the kiddos. 


Karli bug loves to draw and Radley found, what else, cars, trucks, bull dozers and excavators to enjoy!



We all had a great visit! Thanks for coming Jenni, Karli and Cooper! We love y'all!

Ordinary...

Some of my favorite moments are the ordinary ones. I love the nights that Ryan gets home before seven and our little family can just hang out and do "nothing".

Last week Emmy's new car seat came in so Ryan adjusted all the straps according to her petite size. Technically she should probably still be in a rear facing seat, but she yells. A LOT. when facing backwards, so we will promise to buckle her extra tight. 


She loved this thing. She instantly knew it was for her. Even when he was done "fitting" her for it, she kept making her way back over to the seat and climbing back in like she was ready for a ride. 


The only thing that was a bit more interesting was her brother playing..... you guessed it... CARS. 


We have now moved onto "Cars 2" which is a COMPLETELY different game from "Cars". 



Carla Veloso, Francesco Bernoulli, Lightening, Raoul CaRoule, and Jeff Gorvette line up for the big race. 


Carla spins out. 


And Francesco takes the lead. 


But somehow Lightening always wins. (He was sooo fast, I couldn't snap the picture). 

Yes, ordinary moments make my heart happy indeed. 

7.14.2011

Tiny Tales Thursday...

Ryan and I hate our mattress. It's awful. It's slightly better than sleeping on cylinder blocks, but still not good. We had grand plans of purchasing ourselves a mattress for Christmas, but then our refrigerator broke so our mattress became a fancy place to store food.

Anywho. Since we don't love our mattress we have gotten in the habit of sleeping on our couches. I know, that's awful. But we LOVE our couches and they are much closer to the kids' rooms in case anyone has a bad dream. Less walking = more sleep.

Over the course of the past two months of this habit, we have woken up to find Radley watching the TV that we left on, or him just curled up sleeping next to us. Awesome parenting, huh? On Tuesday night we ventured over to our other set of couches because I was working on a craft project in the other room. Around 2pm I woke up and Radley is curled up on the other couch sound asleep.

I wake him up:

Me: Buddy, come on, let's go to bed.
Rad: alkghakhgal (that's grumbling)
Me: Come on, buddy, I'll carry you.
Picking Rad up
Me: Why didn't you wake us up?
Rad: Because.
Me: Because why? Were you scared?
Rad: No. I just wanted to sleep on the couch like you and Daddy.

Great. These kids see everything. I guess we'll have to suffer through cylinder blocks to make sure he knows we are supposed to stay in our beds.

7.13.2011

Zoolander's got nothing...

On this kid!

How many faces can one child make in .5 seconds?



1. The tormented child... 


2. The sad puppy... 



3. The "did I do that?"...



4. The silly guy... 


5. The strong man... 



6. The "put the camera down, Mom"...


7. And the smile...