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Thursday, May 27, 2010

I Like It

That's one of Alden's new phrases. He's becoming more and more verbal with complete sentences. When he scribbles over a picture he's coloring or over stickers he often says, "It's hiding!". So any of you relatives who get a card from Aldi-man will now understand his brilliant artistry. Alden's even branching out into math. His favorite math thought is, "3 10!". He says this any old time when he's running in the yard or counting jellybeans or just wanting to say something intelligent to impress the ladies. Wally once asked him if he was going to stay in his booster seat for more than 3 seconds (Alden loves to say he's done and then change his mind). Alden turned around, grabbed 3 bibs off the back of his chair and said triumphantly, "A 3!". He does take after his daddy. Somehow happiness and numbers go hand in hand.


Enjoying fresh peas out of the shell. They never do well in our garden, but they sure are fun to snack on.


Fun native American headgear: elastic headband plus 2 feathers. So easy! Why didn't I think of this before? We've had a lot of rain.

Although Rhianwen is above "hiding" things behind scribbles, she still loves drawing, coloring, cutting, and "writing". She's taken to making her own paper dolls.

She cut this one out all by herself (notice it's not a rectangle; she's getting good at rounded corners etc.). I put contact paper over them so that they last longer. It's so cute b/c she'll write their names on paper. This is usually what it looks like: AHAAHHHAAAAH. Then she'll ask me what it says. I try very hard not to laugh.


Making a turtle stepping stone. We even mixed the cement and poured it in the mold! It came out quite well. Thank you Aunt Clara and Uncle Brooks! Notice also that I caved and got Rhi a scooter (she adores it) and Alden a trike (also loves it). Now it's sometimes hard to lure them to our enormous back yard just b/c they want to ride around in the driveway all day. Hmmm, I just noticed Aldi-mans "boots". He never keeps his shoes on, so they get scattered all over the yard, and daddy gave up trying to fine a complete dry pair and gave him Rhi's old ones to wear that day.


Alden's first "big-boy" haircut. Instead of daddy doing it, he went to the barber. I actually really hate the bangs so we've already introduced hair product for my little 22 month old. How silly!


Look who can climb trees really well! Watch out Minkey and Zephir and any other sock-monkey bloggers!


My sweet beautiful girl.

She makes up these hilarious songs when I'm putting her to bed. Often, if she doesn't know how to keep going or finish, she'll stop and say, "Oh, I've got to check it out on the computer later." She mixes in Jesus with some crazy storyline in her songs. I really have to try hard not to laugh, but my face must give it away b/c she sometimes sings "And this is a silly soooong!". Then I just roll. I love it!


Driving in an ambulance.

Our playgroup visited the local fire station yesterday, and they had a blast! I can't get over how much the firemen let us do. We even got to see them go to a real emergency and come back. They also gave us frisbees and stickers and were so informative. It was really fascinating! It took the kids a little while to warm up b/c the trucks are so big, but then it was hard to keep them from treating the trucks like a playground. The firemen took it all in stride and were so relaxed about it. I just feel bad about all the little fingerprints on all that shiny chrome.


Boys aren't the only ones who love fire trucks!


Back at home it was back to the unglamorous life of pulling beets. Surprisingly, they did well, and now I have to figure out how to prepare them in an enjoyable way ;0) I'm also dreading pink stained clothing.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Ask Grandmama



Well, Wally whisked me off to NYC to see Phantom of the Opera for my birthday, so I have no idea what I should say about the kids. Grandmama and Grandaddy made every effort to completely exhaust them by the end of the day to ensure a good night's sleep. The zoo, sand, collecting chicken eggs, running through (Rhi) or being terrified of (Alden) the sprinkler, attending Bible study were all part of the good time the kids had. One of Rhianwen's favorite animals at the zoo was the tiger. Grandmama said it came out and wouldn't stop roaring. I guess it knew a kindred spirit when it saw our Clemson kids. It probably was trying to say, "What am I doing in Columbia?! Hey guys, can you let me out of this place?" When Aunt Clara asked Rhianwen if it was a Clemson tiger, Rhianwen said something like, "No! Because all his feet touch the ground." It took Clara a minute, but, apart from her stint at USC, Clara really is quite intelligent and figured out that Rhianwen was referring to our Mascot who walks around on only 2 feet, upright, like us and not like the tiger in the zoo.


I do have to say, it's amazing how relaxed I can be without the kids, how I can pace through a book in 2 days, and how quickly we can walk without them. Sadly, we both could feel it in our legs after walking like that for 3 days! People always ask me if it's strange not having the kids with us, but, honestly, I feel like we are back to normal. Just the 2 of us, being spontaneous, relaxed, and together. We've really only had kids for a fraction of the time that we've been together, so "weird" is having kids. "Normal" is being without kids, strange as it may seem.

Back home, it's routine as usual. We spend a good part of our time outdoors and are ever thankful for such a wonderful yard for roaming. Of course, it never feels quite safe now that Alden knows how to open the gates! I feel like if I can't see him, then he likely has made a mad dash for the vast forest unknowns. So far, he hasn't quite made it, but I worry.

Alden in the safest spot in the yard, spotting our owl.


One of our owls. He's looking at us!


Celebrating my birthday with the kids. Cheesecake made by Wally to near perfection (although Junior's off Broadway was better...Shhhh.) For some reason they weren't thrilled with it this year. That's ok. More for me!

I asked Rhianwen and Alden what we should get Daddy for his birthday. Although Daddy tries to give me a hard time about being ancient, he's only a month behind me. She said, "A tool. Like a hammer." Alden said, "A balloon." So cute!


In an airplane comparing "owies" with a friend.