Fishing for a Compliment

I just overheard the following exchange:

Carson: Hey Spencer, see this painting I did?

Spencer: Oh, hmm.

Carson: Are you amazed or anything??

I don't know if "amazed" would be the best word to describe Spencer's reaction, but that's what Carson was hoping for! I think everyone has experienced this situation. You're so proud of some accomplishment and you finally share your news with a special someone and they just don't react as strongly as you hoped. So you want to grab them by the shoulders and ask, "Are you amazed or anything??" Oh well.

First Day of School 2012

It's that time of year... already! The boys started school July 25. Spencer is now in third grade and so far he's he's having a good time. He finally lost his other front tooth, so now he has the typical vacancy in his smile. (I'll have to get a picture of that to put on here too.) He was in P.E. class when he decided to just pull it out. He keeps losing teeth and Parker keeps growing them--eventually they'll have the same number, right?

He says his teacher is funny because she does math problems backwards (gotta ask about that at parent-teacher conference)! She seems like a really cute lady.

Carson is in Kindergarten and he LOVES it!! It's fun to see him come running behind Spencer at the end of the day, pulling his little backpack and looking very scholarly and busy. He's been doing a lot more paperwork at home too. I separated his "school clothes" from his "play clothes" and he is very good about changing as soon as he gets home.

One day Andy made some (jokingly) chauvinistic remark and Carson piped up, "That's what men do!" How will I ever survive this house of boys?!

Aww, I love sleeping babies! When the kids are at school, Parker and I are free to play, play, play! I like taking him out and about, but it's getting embarrassing. He's started pointing at people and laughing, "HAHAHA!" I worry about this child. He may be the troublemaker. His latest tricks include: folding his arms for prayer and "bowing" his head (touching his cheek to his shoulder), making animal sounds which all sound the same (a soft, high-pitched "Ahhhh!"), and pretend eating (I think I mentioned that in an earlier post). Oh, and he also loves a game of peek-a-boo, even though his hands don't often land over his eyes.

Spencer was eating Pop Rocks tonight and of course, several of them fell on the floor. Dakota started licking them up and I could hear the little crackly sounds in her mouth! She has become such a good doggy, there really aren't any stories to tell about her. Well, except for the day she snatched a waffle off the counter top. That was a huge no-no! She likes to sleep in our room at night now, which is fine except for when she's dreaming. She must be chasing cats or something because she twitches a lot and makes little throat sounds. Silly puppy!

Family Pictures

Here are my favorites of our recent family pictures, for anyone who hasn't already seen them...

July

Year-round school makes the summers especially short, but this one has flown by faster than usual. We only have a week and half left!

Parker loves to "read." Several times a day, I find him in his room, perusing his basket of books. Sometimes they're even upside down, but enjoyable nonetheless. If he turns it right side up, it's like a whole new story!

I started putting one boy in the tub, and then another one wanted to bathe with him. I was against the idea (I envisioned water flying all over the bathroom and none of it in the tub), but Andy just undressed them all and plopped them in together! Naturally, he laughed and left me to contain the chaos.

Parker started sleeping in the "stinkbug position." I love it!

Fourth of July sparklers--light me up, Dad!

Andy is always giving me a hard time about the money I spend on clothing, home decor, etc. Guess what? He went to Walmart and bought a $50 aerial firework! It was spectacular...for about 30 seconds.

I don't think Carson had done sparklers before. So much fun! The smell of them brings back happy memories. We also let the kids stay up late one night to go to the carnival, and you'd think the little guys never got out. They were ecstatic! Then we stopped at Wendy's for a snack (I was thinking ice cream, but the boys ordered cheeseburgers!). We sat in the back of Andy's truck and watched the fireworks. They kept singing, "We get to stay up laaaate! Woo hoo!"

Parker's first chocolate chip cookie--mmm! He's learning to do lots of fun new things. He can finally do "roll 'em and roll 'em" for Pat-a-Cake. He also pretends to eat by sticking a finger in his mouth and making little chewing motions with his mouth. Our favorite new trick is blowing kisses. He smacks himself in the face with an open hand and laughs!

Smiles

I've been heavily involved in redecorating my living room, so I apologize for the lack of blogging. I'm refinishing furniture and making new window valances. It's very exciting, but time-consuming. The boys don't get into it, either. Just rearranging the furniture is troublesome to them.

I took the kids to the zoo one day when Spencer was off. Parker had a relaxing ride in his stroller. Wouldn't it be nice if someone just wheeled you wherever you wanted to go, offered beverages occasionally, and generally ensured your every comfort? As you can see, he's got it made in the shade!

Grandma insisted we ride the carousel. Spencer's favorite animal is the tiger. I couldn't get a decent picture of Carson, but he rode it too.

Parker looked so cute in his little sunhat, so I had to take a picture before he pulled it off.

This is one of those Norman Rockwell kind of things. If you can't read it very well, it says, "Sherman Detective Agency: Open Monday-Saturday 8am-5pm." Then he wrote "$100 per hour," but crossed it out and put "FREE!" He told me that Carson suggested maybe the price was a little steep, so he slashed it by 100%! I don't know if they ever got any business, but I do remember that when I called them in, they complained that they were just getting started on a "new case."

Dakota is the kids' furry footrest. She lies on the floor while they watch TV and they wiggle their toes in her fur.

Parker is becoming Mr. Mischief! He is very aware of what "no" means, and many times he smiles and says, "Huh!" The other day he dumped an entire bowl of Dakota's water all over the floor, and both of his brothers just stood there and laughed!

Guess who said "mama" over the weekend?? He had just finished eating lunch and I went to the sink to get a washcloth. He knew if I wiped his face clean he could get down and play. He got excited, wiggled his arms and legs, and exclaimed, "A Mama!"

All he wants for the Fourth of July is his two front teeth! He's only lost one, but the other one is getting there. We begged him for days to get that tooth out. Finally at school the kids all started chanting, "Pull it out! Pull it out!" Even the teacher got involved! Sometimes only peer pressure can convince a kid.

Last night we rented "Return of the Jedi" because the boys love Star Wars and hadn't seen it. Carson always roots for the bad guy, so Darth Vader is his favorite character. For anyone unfamiliar, Darth dies in the movie. Spencer started pointing at Carson, and at just that moment, Carson began wailing. He was heartbroken!

One more thing about Carson.... He told me that when he grows up he wants to be "a fighter-fighter because they have cool boots." Fighter-fighters=firefighters

Milestones

Big changes never come alone. We always seem to have two or three at a time. Carson graduated from preschool, Parker turned a year old, and he started crawling! Sometimes I feel like life is cruising along so swiftly, the only way I can keep up is if I hang on and let it drag me!

Carson is now officially ready to move on to kindergarten. Preschool graduations are always entertaining. It was fun to watch Carson sing so solemnly about "Jumbo Elephant." Here he is, Mr. Serious, with his teacher, receiving his diploma.

Each of the kids had a little part (no speaking involved--too scary). Carson was George Washington, and his friend was Abraham Lincoln. I don't think "Abe" could see anything under that big hat!

Parker is one year old! That was the fastest year I've experienced yet. I wish we could keep him just like this for a long time. He had a great birthday until his party guests arrived. There was just too much activity and he felt overwhelmed.

The hat didn't last more than 10 seconds, but we got some pictures anyway.

I love the smile! He didn't know what to do with his cake, but he knew it was something special!

This is Parker's cousin, Ben, who is just 4 months older. At this point, the age difference is still a big deal, but it will lessen with time. I think they will be good friends!

Oh such a happy boy! He is still so proud of himself whenever he stands. When he starts walking, he'll be ecstatic!

Now that he is crawling like crazy, he is into all kinds of mischief! One of his favorite games is playing with the doorstop, affectionately known as "the doingy thing." He also enjoys removing all his clothes from his dresser drawer, unrolling toilet paper, getting into the trash, throwing pieces of dog food all over the floor, and splashing in the dog's water dish. (We've been rearranging the household quite a bit!) When his brothers see him coming down the hall, they yell, "OH NOOOO!" Even the dog stays out of his way when he's on the move. Look at that sweet little face--he couldn't possibly cause trouble, could he??

Despite getting into their stuff, Parker's big brothers always want him to sleep with them. It might be fun for about five minutes, and then they'd be sorry! I've slept in a bed with him, and he snores! (Like father, like son?)

Parker has a flair for posing. You may think I'm exaggerating, but he really turns on the charm when I pull out the camera. He knows just what to do to be adorable!

Nap time. I put Parker to bed and when I went to check on him, Dakota was there to keep him company. Awww!

They are good pals. Of course, this was taken before he was mobile, so this sort of thing doesn't happen anymore. Dakota's been rolled on a few times and now when she sees him coming, she goes to a safer spot! She sure is his best buddy when he's in the high chair though. Not only does she get what he throws on the floor, but he hand feeds her sometimes! He giggles when she licks the Cheerios out of his hands.

The Beach

This is really the last one about the vacation. Finally we got to the beach! This was the boys' first time at the beach, so it was the highlight of the trip. It wasn't warm enough to get into full swimming gear, but we rolled up our pants and got our ankles wet. They enjoyed jumping over the ripples of water and the sensation of the sand washing out from under their feet.

Shouldn't this be on a Father's Day card?

Parker barely touched his feet on the wet sand and then he refused to put down his landing gear again!

Carson couldn't speak much because he was giggling.

Andy cracks up every time he looks at this one because it looks like Carson is saying, "Holy smokes, Spencer, look at those WOMEN!!"

When you travel with boys, you have to take note of all the "cool" cars around. We were on our way to dinner when Spencer dropped his jaw at this Ferrari. I guess I'm just not tuned in to stuff like that.

But this is his dream car--a yellow Corvette. He'll have to be a careful driver because police will easily spot him in a sunshine yellow car!

The day we went home, we had some time to kill in the morning, so we went to some little shops nearby. This pirate-themed store was a hit!

Nah, I think Andy's cuter. A pirate's life isn't for me!