New Pet

Brian has been working on various projects through the summer and lately has needed a good many bunches of steel wool for scrubbing.

He was working on a pipe or something and twisted and pushed that ball of steel wool all through it, then left it on the kitchen sink. Where it belongs.



As what goes around should, it came around and made him almost squeal like a child when he went back into the kitchen and saw the animal he had created.

I am so not kidding.

Lydia Came for a Visit

And I only got one picture of her.



Here they are, hiding in the tree at the museum.

Lydia: Cheese! Even though one of my flip flops came off!

Svea: Yep. They're Dora.

Henry: I can't stop hugging this tree. Seriously, I can't. But you have to call me Brody Croyle because this is his old jersey. Seriously.

Happy Birthday Aunt Beth!

Aunt Beth had a birthday this weekend and we were lucky enough to celebrate with most of the family in Birmingham.

Here are Harper and Svea standing off at the pool...



...before joining Carter, Graham, Jackson and Henry in the Bounce 'Round:



You could sweat your weight just sitting there in July Alabama heat, so it made sense to have the Bounce 'Round, some corn hole, and some game called Bulong Ball or something that involved swinging golf balls that are attached to ropes. Henry loved it of course, and I was just nervous about everyone keeping their teeth and eyeballs while Henry was swinging.




At the beginning, Henry told me, "Mom, this is the best party I've ever had!"
In the middle of the party, Svea told me, "Mom, I'm ready for the party to start."



We all got to sing Happy Birthday and then dig our fingers into Beth's Strawberry Shortcake birthday cake.



We're so glad you were born, Beth! Thanks for having such a great party.

Mommy & Me

Henry and I enjoyed an early morning chat before everyone else woke up the other day.



He brought the full tennis bag. I brought the coffee.

Misting Off by the Tiger Cage

Mean Guys Eat Poop Sandwiches.

That was the conclusion over lunch...



...along with the thrill of saying "poop." It just never gets old.



I must say, I have to agree.

Round and Round the Dinner Table

Our first old-school merry-go-round ride:



In addition to playground dizziness, Brian and I have been graced with some bizarre and hilarious dinner conversation topics lately.
Like knock-knock jokes.



Henry: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
Henry: Football player.
Me:.........Football player who?
Henry: (in exasperated tone) Football player knocking on your door!
Me: Duh.



Then there's:

Henry: Mom, I've got some GOOD news and I've got some BAD news.
Me: Okay. What's the good news?
Henry: The GOOD news is football players.
Me: Of course. What's the bad news?
Henry: The BAD news is ghosts.



Sometimes we actually eat during dinner and it's a good night when we can remember if Henry has changed his name to Peter, Peter Parker, John Parker, Jack (as in Baby Jack-Jack from The Incredibles or as in Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean which he has never actually seen. In the church nursery today he made the workers call him Jack Sparrow the whole time).

Tea Party for One

All dressed up in proper Princess Tea Party attire...



...Svea is ready for Tea Party #14 of the day.

Stress

We have all, in some way, I feel sure, been dealing with stress this summer. By "all" I really mean all of us out there and here and around.
I think it's sneaky, this stress. It sneaks up on me, my friends and family, and especially my four year old. My two year old is a model of stress management so far.

Henry has been stressed lately about his hair.

There were real tears the other day about his fear of growing a mustache. He does NOT want a mustache.

They next day, there was serious fit before going out for a walk because his hair didn't look right.

Then yesterday morning, again, real tears, because he wanted black hair not blonde.

He even at one point went running for a picture of Caillou (who has no hair) to show me how he wanted his next haircut because his hair was getting too hot. Pedro from "Napoleon Dynamite"?

I tell you, STRESS.

So I gave him a hair cut and he didn't stress today. At least not about his hair.



Svea saw I had pulled out the camera and she had just enough time to put on one Beauty and the Beast shoe, grab her biggest plastic Dora, hike up her pajama pants and pose with Henry. Thank goodness.




(Aunt Brooke, do you recognize Henry's t-shirt? He found that in your drawer at your parents' house. It has a black and white photo on the back of a little boy sitting between two girls, one girl has an AU and one has a UA on her dress. The boy chooses to kiss the girl with the UA and the AU girl is making an awful face at the two kissing. Do you know how to explain this to an overly-obsessed Alabama fan four year old? Any help would be welcome)

Another Good Day at cMoe

We went to cMoe the other week and the kids had a blast, of course. We stayed only an hour since there were so many other summer camps and field trips there. I need to remember to go on Sunday afternoons...







They really loved the more low-key toys like building blocks and plastic dinosaurs. Sweet.



I think Henry is propping up his diving board here and (below) Svea is trying to reach more blocks to put the dinosaurs on.



Overall, a very fun day.

Help, Tony Hawk. I Must Be Crazy.

But he's been asking, and it was $8 at Target, AND he loves accessories so he thinks the best part is all the elbow, knee, shin guard and helmet action.



I can't believe I'm typing this, but I think he really is learning how to do it.

There are no ball bearings so if he's on carpet or holding the wall, it won't move. He's experimenting with balance and has fallen some, but can change directions and actually pose with it.



When we are in the ER with two arm casts and a goose egg on his head, you can totally judge me.

We're All (elephant) Ears

These are popping up in our yard:



I LOVE them and the way they begin all twirled up tight and then fan out within hours.

Henry saw them today and told me to QUICK! RUN TO THE OTHER EAR! I'M GOING TO CALL YOU!



I told him to leave a message.
On one of these phones: