Personality Plus

Spencer talked to his Grandma S. tonight. Of course I only heard snippets of the conversation, but my ears really perked up when I heard him say, "Dad just kept messing with Mom ALL DAY yesterday!!" He then went on to explain that Andy was TALKING a lot and Spencer felt he couldn't get a word in edgewise. Yikes!!

Carson spontaneously burst into song tonight after dinner. He started singing "Barbara Ann." It's actually more like yelling--"Ba-ba-ba-ANN!!"

Little Rascals

Well, the excitement of being a schoolboy is wearing off. Spencer has decided he doesn't like homework anymore. His teacher made each student a homework book. They are supposed to bring it home every day and practice writing one letter and draw pictures that begin with that letter. A couple of weeks ago he didn't bring it home. When I questioned him, he said his teacher said he didn't have to that day. It happened again and again. Finally I asked his teacher if it was still supposed to come home every day. She giggled and said, "YES!" I guess he thought if he didn't take it home, he wouldn't have to do it. So we had a little chat. Yesterday it was missing again. I packed everybody up and we went over to the school. They were both really mad and bawling on the way over--Spencer because he didn't want his book, and Carson because he had other plans for his afternoon. We found the homework lying on the floor by the coat rack. Good thing we got there before the janitor!

Carson is increasingly "full of it." He can be somewhat of a bully to his big brother. He bops Spencer on the head as he walks by, for no apparent reason. If Spencer is standing in the doorway, he pushes him out and says, "GO!" What a tyrant! He is becoming more and more familiar with the Time Out chair, which is currently the piano bench, turned to face the hallway. He was acting up at dinner one night and I said, "Do you need to go to Time Out?" He suddenly cast his big blue eyes downward and said quietly, "No." He was better after that. I think I have my hands full!

The Latest

Here are miscellaneous pictures of the boys doing their daily cute stuff. I love being a mom!

Carson is starting to like talking on the phone as much as Spencer. Here he is talking to "Mam-mam" (Grandma) on the real phone and "Bapa" (Grandpa) on his play phone. He is so good at multi-tasking!

Not everyone gets help from Superman when they're mowing the lawn!

Carson loves his big brother (most of the time)! One day he just climbed up in his lap and gave him a big squeeze. Boys also have odd ways of showing affection. Lately Carson grabs Spencer's arm and snorts on it. They both think it's hilarious. That's just not something I ever thought of doing!

Number 2 wants to be JUST LIKE Number 1!

I bought these glasses for Spencer in St. George. They're actually a straw. You can put one end in your mouth and the other end in the drink. The liquid goes up and around both eyes. It's pretty cool!

Awwww! Nothing cuter than a sleeping baby! Look at his wrists...they still have fat pads so it looks like he has a rubber band around his wrist. I love that!

My Funny Boys

Spencer has discovered my Achilles heel. I HATE spiders! I've been cleaning out closets and found a few books I had put away until he was old enough for them. One happens to be about spiders, with large, closeup photos on each page. I told him I would read him any story we own EXCEPT that one. He got a wicked gleam in his eye and kept shoving it under my nose, saying "Look Mom!" Then he giggles and makes spooky spider sounds. This morning he was at it again, begging me to read the spider book. When I refused he said, "But Mom, they're not real." I said, "No, but they're still yucky!" He said, "They're not yucky...they're FANTASTIC!!"

Carson is experiencing a language explosion. Finally!! He repeats just about everything we say, especially if Spencer says it. One morning we were making him say stuff. We started naming everyone we could think of. "Say Slippy." "Bippy!" "Say Pooh." "Pooh!" "Say Spencer." "Dadoof!" He is so funny. I wonder how long he will call his big brother Dadoof! Spencer made a sign for his door that says "No Babies in my Room." He told Carson what it said and Carson replied, "No no no babies!" Then he laughed and opened the door and helped himself!

They are such good kids. We waited for an hour and a half today for our flu mist. They were angels! Spencer is taking more swimming lessons. He really doesn't like going under water, but he tries so hard and does it anyway. I know exactly how he feels. I hope he gets the hang of it soon so we can be done!

Zoo

Typically we only make one trip to the zoo annually, but this year we splurged again because Spencer was out of school and had a burning desire to see the new baby elephant. They also had lots of other babies, like a baby giraffe, snow leopards, and Spencer's favorite--a crocodile! He claims the baby croc was "cute." I'm not sure that's the word I would use, but if you're a reptile aficionado maybe that works!

Visiting the cats is almost always a disappointment. They are so...catty. They hide and sleep all day, which makes bored little guests. These were the only cats we could get a really good look at without contorting our bodies or wearing out my muscles trying to hold people up to see!

Here you can see baby Zuri and her mom. She really is tiny (for an elephant). I found her quite endearing too.

Here are the boys in the giraffe house. It always surprises me how tall these things are. God has a very creative imagination! We have a picture of the baby giraffe, but it didn't turn out great. He was cute, too. I am glad I didn't have to carry around a baby giraffe for nine months!

We enjoyed a ride on the carousel before we left. Carson was exhausted by then and would NOT sit on that giant monkey with a post down the middle. Then they turned on the carousel and I tried again. Suddenly it was a marvelous ride and he giggled the whole time!

Spencer is an old pro and of course found a yellow and blue frog to ride on. He made us seek out EVERY single animal that lives at the zoo, and consulted the map to be sure we hadn't missed anything. We really got our money's worth!

This is how I found Carson one night when I went in to check on him. I hope he's not planning on being a ballerina when he grows up! He does have a cute little tummy.

And here he is in his new little bed. He loves it! So far he hasn't tried to get out once we put him to bed, either. I love to be able to go in and kiss his little cheeks at night. I also love that I don't have to lift him in and out. Toddler beds are rather convenient and they don't take up near as much space as cribs do!

One other note.... Carson is saying just about everything now (if he feels like it). We all think it's fun to make him say new words. We looked at a photo album the other day. I pointed to a picture of him and asked, "Who's that?" He replied, "Honey." I guess I do call him that a lot! Don't worry--he still knows he is Carson, too.

Children's Museum

As many of you know, I went for a little vacation a couple of weekends ago. I went to St. George with my family (saw a play, went shopping, etc.). So while I was gone, Andy had to feed and entertain the kids for FOUR days! Somehow he managed to cook only once (the day I returned). He's pretty good at making people feel sorry for him. Anyway, I suggested he take the boys to the children's museum, so here are the pictures....

He said they had a great time and probably could have spent much more than the two hours they were there. This little safari set-up would be enough for an entire afternoon, I'm sure.

Regardless of your political stance, you must admit that this face looks a lot cuter in the Oval Office than the one that's in there now!

He just needs to get a little taller....

My little firefighter has a bit of growing to do, too. He still loves fire trucks and gets excited when we see one. He is saying new words every day. Tonight it was "apple" and "peas."

I wish I could keep them this size forever. They are so sweet and tender and they still think Mommy is the most wonderful person in their lives!

Swimming Party

Here are some pictures from our last swimming party of the summer. It was a church-sponsored party. We had a good time. I even got brave enough to go down the slide again and I loved it! I know how to keep from going too fast, so I don't get my hair wet. (I do the curly slide, not the straight, fast one!)

Here is Carson enjoying a cookie afterward. He was being so careful not to spill the crumbs, and he was cold too.

Andy took him down the curly slide a couple of times and he loved it (as you can see)! Spencer wouldn't go. I am so afraid he's going to turn out like me!

Carson loves his baby float. He's getting rather big for it, though. He'll have to learn how to swim soon!

Wow--what a babe. At least you can't see my lower half.