Bikes

This summer is already starting off with big changes. Spencer finally decided to lose his training wheels. Andy said it took less than five minutes for him to take off. Now I struggle to keep up with him!

And so Carson inherited the little bike with training wheels. He thinks he is sooo big now! It's gonna be a busy summer! (And yes, Carson does typically wear his helmet--he was just showing me his big bike for the picture.)

This is a major bed head!!

I don't know what kind of acrobatics he was doing the night before!

Do you like the horns??

Carson's Birthday

Carson is three years old! He seemed to enjoy his birthday. He talked about it a LOT in the days previous. He mentioned over and over that he wanted "chocat cake" and a "birfay hat." So I made sure those two wishes came true. Here are the pictures....

You'll have to trust me that the cake tasted delicious even though it looked like a disaster. It was called "Feathery Fudge Cake." Mmmm! I will do that one again! Carson thought it was pretty good too. He gets very serious about eating cake.

No little boy party is complete without a cool fake tattoo. They were trying to show them off, but if they could see their tattoos, I couldn't. Oh well. You can see the fire truck on my dad's head. He didn't realize until too late that it was more than just a sticker. I sent him home with a little baby oil to remove it!

The morning of the birthday, we went to the fire station with Andy's parents. (We spread out the fun and have two parties on two different days.) Carson wore his birthday hat (as desired) to the event.

We watched a little show about fire safety. This picture kind of gives me the willies because my boys look like they're in a courtroom. I hope they're the plaintiffs!

The fireman who gave us the tour was very good with the kids. Carson trusted him instantly and reached up to hold his hand.

We have a new fire station here in town. They have quite a spacious living area with several of these big leather recliners in front of an enormous flat-screen TV. These guys look so small in those big chairs!

They got up in the trucks and pushed some buttons, including turning on the flashing lights.

Carson didn't say much, but he was having a great time.

Our firefighter friend was going to let the kids try on some gear, but they got called to a medical emergency. So we watched them drive off and when we were almost home, there they were! The emergency was just down the street from our house!

This was the second time blowing out the candle. He did a much better job this time.

Walkie talkies and a tunnel to play in--cool!! Unfortunately, Spencer can't hear anything Carson says because he doesn't understand that he has to hold down the button when he talks!

There's my little fire chief. He's a hero every day!

My Grown-Up Baby

I can't believe my baby is three years old! (Birthday pics coming soon.) He has accomplished so many things I thought might never happen--walking, talking, eating "people food." When they're babies it's hard to imagine them ever NOT being babies. Then suddenly they're boys and the baby has disappeared. Such a bittersweet experience, parenthood!

Look out ladies!! He hates his bowtie, but he sure looks good in it! He forgot he was wearing it about 10 minutes later.

Shockingly handsome, aren't they?? Poor Spencer crashed at school, if you're wondering what happened to his head. He and his friends were having a race, and one boy gave Spencer a little shove to help him "go faster." Obviously that wasn't a winning strategy!

Not only is he a pretty boy, he's a rugged outdoorsman too! Look at this crocodile hunter....

Hah! Got him! Just don't hang it on my wall for a trophy.

Tidbits

First, my two favorite words from Carson are "erget" (yogurt) and "wunk" (milk).

Second, a Spencer story. The other day he was out playing with all the little neighborhood boys. (Our house is one of six in a row in which little boys live who are all close to the same age.) Someone found a snake and they were all crowded around inspecting it. Spencer came dashing into the house, looking frantically for his little book about different species of snakes and alligators. He must have his reference material to properly identify it! As he bustled out the front door, he called, "I think it might be a king cobra!" I had my doubts.

Third, my boys are quite shy around unfamiliar children. We went to the park today and they were having a great time until another car showed up with children in it. Spencer ran to me and whispered conspiratorially, "NOW what are we going to do?? There are THREE of them!" I told him to go play and not worry about it. It was bothering him though. He collected some lovely treasures--a dirty golfball, a yucky old feather, half of a nutshell--and wanted me to hold them. I advised him to put them in the car for safekeeping. He didn't come back. I found him sitting there in the hot car. He said the other mother had looked "right at" him and called him "Owen." (Apparently one of her kids is named Owen.) I suggested that perhaps Owen was actually behind him and she wasn't talking to Spencer at all. No, he was certain. She had called him Owen. So he sat in the car to avoid being called Owen again. Good heavens--how will he ever cope in the world??

Michigan Trip Part Two

And here are the rest of the pictures from our trip....

We drove north to visit Aunt Luanne and Uncle Chuck. We had a lovely walk in their woods and cooked burgers and roasted marshmallows in their backyard. Spencer is quite an expert marshmallow roaster; I, on the other hand, need a bit of practice.

Modeling our straw hats a la Grandma Jr.

I've never been drawn to cowboys, but this one definitely grabs my attention! Who'd have thought MY kid would look so cute in a hat like this??

Coloring Easter eggs with Aunt Luanne. She always knows just what kids will love. I had fun too. After the traditional method, we tried a Martha Stewart egg-dying idea, and had quite exquisite results!

Naptime with Daddy. Note how Andy is clutching Spencer's stuffed kitty. I wonder if he needs one of his own....

Lake City has the COOLEST playground I have ever seen! Utah officials need to take notes--lots of swings and slides, all kinds of stuff to climb on, not to mention this fabulous fire engine that was dearly loved by a certain little cowboy.

Let me just reinforce that SWINGS are vital for a cool playground. And I certainly don't think they are any more dangerous than monkey bars! What better way to tone up your thighs??

Here's a tired little fella in Grandpa's lap. I hated to disrupt them. They both seemed so content sitting there.

What a sport! This is one picture that will definitely go in our records! In fact, maybe we'll make it poster size and hang it on the wall....

Big News

No, it's not what you think! (But I had you going for just a minute, didn't I?)

The news is...Carson used the potty tonight!! Yippee!! Spencer and I are quite elated. Carson was rewarded with three M&M's and lots of loud celebrating. He looked up at me and said, "I am getting bigger?" We assured him that he is, indeed becoming a "big boy." Then he called Grandma to say, "I made water in potty."

After his bath, he told me he is a "bath man." Spencer is also a bath man. "Daddy-O" is a "shower man." I asked, "So am I a shower lady?" He said, "No, you're kitchen lady." True enough. I spend so much time in the kitchen, my children think I never shower!

Michigan Trip Part One

Now that we've been home for two weeks, I'm finally getting these pictures posted. The boys were pretty much angels during the whole thing, which is remarkable. I was so worried they wouldn't be very flexible.

This was Carson's first airplane ride, so it was pretty exciting. Here they are at the airport, Spencer of course trying to steer Carson's head in the right direction to see the planes. He enjoyed his first flight. He was very good and when we landed, he giggled heartily all the way down. Actually, it was a good, deep belly laugh and people all around us were laughing at him laughing. It was great!

Grandpa R. met us at the airport. He and Spencer held hands on the way out to the car. It was so cute. I wish I had a picture of that, but I was too busy trying to carry all the "stuff."

Here are my two tired little teddy bears. I wasn't sure they would sleep if we put them in the same bed, but they did very well. After viewing this scene, I was glad I didn't have to sleep with Carson!

I turned him around and covered him up again, and then he snuggled right up to Spencer like this.

We went with Grandpa to the Frederick Meijer gardens. The boys enjoyed the butterfly exhibit.

There was also a kids' garden with lots of fun play equipment and stuff to see and do.

Spencer will be a frog in his next life.

We spent some time at Andy's family homestead. Here are all my cuties in the woods behind the house. Andy said he got a little teary seeing his little guys at the house--"another generation...." (He cries over "Extreme Home Makeover" too!)

We had a lovely walk in the woods. Spencer and I heard all kinds of frogs in the swampy area, but we couldn't see any. Next time we're going to bring galoshes so we can get out there and catch some! If you don't stay on the trail, you have to hash through the bushes, as you see here. Spencer leaned over and came up without his hat!

This is classic Andy, leaping toward us in the meadow.