Back To The Future

We're helping Phil's parents sort through some of their things on the second floor of their house. Phil still has a whole desk with papers, notebooks, and memories from grade school / high school / college.

We started trashing some of his things and he came across an envelope that said "Phil's 1991. Written & Signed December 31, 1991." It was sealed and then double-sealed with duct tape. Such a Phil thing to do!

So we cracked it open and he had written a page-long reflection on his year. Some interesting tidbits included picking his future career as a nurse, crushing on a girl, and commenting on his grandfather's failing health.

It was poignant, touching, funny, and SO Phil!!

I think I want to do something similar, and then put the letter away to be lost like his was. Who knows what I'll think of my 30-something reflections 17 years from now.

P.S. I cannot believe 1991 was 17 years ago!!!!!!!!!!

Move Over Dawson

We spent the afternoon at Marsh Creek today. Don't let the name fool you...the "creek" is actually a huge lake (535 acres to be exact) and the boys splashed around to their heart's content.

There are so many ways to look at the below video.

(1) Although to some it will look like I kick his chair over at the end, I'd like to contend for the record that I was using my foot to try to rescue him from falling over.

(2) Phil had to abrubtly cut this short in order to save him from said fall...but have no fear, he was completely unphased by the situation.

(3) Isn't it too cute that he's so entertained by splashing his feet in the water? Oh, to be 1 again.

Truckin'

Today was Touch A Truck Day. Essentially anything with wheels rolled into a huge parking lot and the kids were allowed to climb in and beep the horns. There were fire trucks, ambulances, cranes, cement mixers, buses, etc. etc.

The boys had a blast. Ry insisted on wearing his Bob The Builder construction hat and he took his truck driving very seriously.

The kids kept asking me to explain every button and knob on every truck...I kept mumbling incoherent responses like "I think that's the chain attachment" or "That's probably where the hose goes."

Guess I'll have to study up for next year!

Look What You Did To Mr. Bigglesworth!

Our wonderful friends from NY came to visit for the night. In our attempt to document the memories, we gathered the kids on the couch. After 5 minutes of squirming and bribing Ry to sit still with the promise of chocolate muffins, Jim took a fantastic picture with his camera (all 3 of them actually smiled at the same time...it was magical). Then the camera started beeping with a message "insert memory card."

Oh well...this was the best we could do with our camera. Graham is giving us his best Dr. Evil.

Safety First

We have satellite radio and the Kids Stuff channel is always on when the boys are in the car. Whenever a new song comes on Ry always says "what's this song called Mommy?"

Today it was Dora The Explorer singing Dancing In The Streets. Our conversation went as follows:

Ry: What's this song called Mommy?
Mom: It's Dora singing Dancing In The Streets.
Ry: Oh. Dora shouldn't dance in the streets. It's too dangerous.

You go Ry.

Momma's Boy

My Dad just found this old picture of me at around 1 year old. Now we know where Cole gets his cuteness from.

Where's Cole?

This is classic Cole. A rainbow of emotion.

Kicks it off excited...starts to crack up...happiness ensues...sees something he wants...wants it bad...starting to get frustrated...must have it...L8R!

Michael Phelps Jr.

It took about 26 sessions at the Y, but we finally have a swimmer. Inspired by the Olympic Games, Ry had his last class tonight and made his momma proud.

The next step in our adventure is purchasing the skateboard I promised I would get him if he swam on his own. Stay tuned...that's sure to bring on some blog-worthy moments!

Friends

Ry and some buds had an intense game of ball in the alley tonight. They took a break for some team photos.

Cricket Thermometer

We had central air conditioning installed a few weeks ago. The first half of the summer was so unbearably hot that we finally broke down and got the job done. Of course, Murphy's Law dictated that the rest of the summer would be cool, breezy, and perfect for sleeping with the windows open.

This leads me to my story. Last night we were getting ready for bed (windows open, of course). Listening to the crickets chirping, Phil hit me with a fun fact: "Did you know that you can tell the temperature outside by counting the number of cricket chirps in 15 seconds and then adding 37?"

It was the most random thing I ever heard in my life. I immediately turned on the Weather Channel for documentation and demanded that we test it out.

It worked! We tested it about 57 times and give or take a few degrees, he was dead on.

Phil's randomness strikes again!

Gotta Love The Moose

I've been saying for awhile that when The Moose is on the loose there's no stopping him. This was confirmed today by a cute note I got from his teacher:

"Cole is such a little ball of energy! He just bounces from toy to toy and from friend to friend to friend all day long and never slows down! No wonder he takes such great naps! He had us laughing all morning!"

Keeping up with Cole is exhausting to say the least...but at least he makes people smile (after he runs them over!!)

Tales From The Zebra's Den

Last night, Ry insisted on going to sleep with a stuffed zebra. When he woke up this morning, he told me that he loved Zebra and asked to get his picture taken with him.



Ry then gave Zebra his Transformer and asked that I take their picture as well. It seemed like they were enjoying themselves so I obliged.

Past The POINT Of No Return

Cole is growing into a little man right in front of my eyes. His vocabulary is increasing (although I'm probably the only one who knows what he's saying) and he's following in his brother's footsteps as a little jokester.

Right now he can speak the following words. I also included the way that he says them in case you're ever caught in a conversation with him and need help translating:

• More: Moo-ah
• Ball: Bu-all
• Mom: Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma (and so on and so forth)
• Dad: Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da (you get the point)
• Ry-Ry: Eye-eye
• Thank You: Aaah - Oooh
• No: No (see below for details)

So the point of all this is to tell you about Cole's bath last night. His new favorite hobby is to stand up in the tub, look at me with this intensely mischevious smile, and wait for me to tell him to sit down. After I do he laughs so hard that he falls onto his bottom, and this viscious circle continues for about 6 hours until I take him out.

Last night he stood up and gave me the look. In my attempt to look authoritative I pointed my finger at him and sternly said "sit down Cole." He pointed his little finger right back at me and said "No."

The shock! The horror! Is it really possible for a 1 year old to talk back to his mother? I tried not to laugh as I immediately pulled him out of the tub and gave him a lecture about the importance of respecting your elders. In the end I think he was sorry and he ended the conversation with a hearty Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma (I think this was his way of saying "I apologize and I love you.")

P.S. I just happen to have a picture with one variation of "the look":