Mudpies and Meatballs

If you've been around Tyler lately then you know he loves watching Food Network. It all started during the winter months when Matthew was sick and we were home on the weekends. Jason and I were tired of watching cartoons all the time and, with an absorbent 4 year old around, you have to be careful with what you watch, so we started watching Food Network. Little did we know that Tyler would absolutely love it! Now that it's warm outside, when we get out the baby pool in the backyard, he loves to cook with mud. Give him a bucket of water, some dirt, and a few sand toys and he's happy for hours. Reminds me of a little girl 25 years ago that liked to play in the dirt and make mudpies, too!

Look at those hands!

What a dirty little boy!

Fishing At Mimi and Perry's House

Last week I took the boys over to my mom and Perry's house for a visit. Tyler couldn't wait to go fishing in their pond. They bought him a Spiderman fishing pole so he was super excited to have his very own fishing pole. Perry baited his pole with real, live worms and Tyler did the fishing. At the end of the evening, Tyler caught a total of 15 fish whereas Mimi caught only 3, 4, or 5...the number changes each time Tyler tells the story! While Tyler fished, Matthew had a fun time playing on the slide in the gated yard outside the pond. One day soon, when his balance is better, he can walk around the pond and fish, too.

Matthew's First Trip to the Dentist

Our first day of summer break started off with a trip to the dentist. Tyler was scheduled for his 6 month check-up and cleaning so we went ahead and took Matthew for his first visit to the dentist. Both boys were so good! Matthew laid down on the chair and opened his mouth for the hygienist to look at his teeth and even clean them with the little "tickler". Tyler jumped right up in the chair beside Matthew and served as a good example for little brother to see. They cleaned the boys teeth at the same time so I was nervous not being able to stand beside Tyler like I always had but Tyler didn't mind a bit. I guess my little boy is growing up faster than I thought!
Here are both boys after their visit playing at the dentist's office. Tyler was too busy playing to smile, but Matthew is showing off his freshly cleaned mouth full of teeth!

Anniversary Time!

Eight years ago, on the same day in June as our first official date, Jason and I married. Two kids later and fifteen years from our first date, here we are still going strong. Here's a picture of the big day. Yes, I know it says "proof" and it's not a good quality picture but I can't seem to find any of my digital pictures of our big day. Hopefully soon I'll find (or scan) a better wedding picture but for now the proof is all I've got! I love you, Jason, and am so proud of the man and father you've become. Happy Anniversary to us!

Matt

That's what he's called a lot these days. It seems that Tyler has turned in to Ty and Matthew has turned in to Matt. Not all the time, of course, but I find myself calling them Ty and Matt more and more. So here's what's been going on with "Matt"...

We kicked the bottle habit! What a dirt kid in the picture below in his stained up shorts and Alabama tee, but I couldn't resist posting this picture of my 14 month old child laying on the chair in his room drinking his "ba-ba". He absolutely loved his bottle so it wasn't an easy task transitioning from the bottle to the sippy cup full time, but we made it about a month ago. Now, instead of downing a bottle every morning, he downs a sippy cup of Next Step formula just like it was a bottle. We still haven't made it to whole milk...he hates it...so that will be our first battle of the summer.

Although he doesn't like milk, Matthew loves almost anything else to eat and boy does he eat! I think he would eat all day if we would let him. His favorite thing to eat right now is a "nana" (AKA a banana). When you ask him if he wants to eat, he gets all excited and goes to his highchair. He requests to eat by saying "bite" or "nack" (for snack) or "wa-wa" (for water). He always wants whatever we are eating even if he has the same thing on his tray. I guess ours looks better not all cut up in to small pieces!

Matthew loves to be outside. He likes to swing, but he also likes to just roam. He gets in to anything and everything! He likes to follow his big brother around and try to do what he's doing. For now, Tyler's pretty sweet and let's Matthew join in. We'll see how long that lasts. Matthew will enjoy the summer, spending our days outside playing!

Tyler's Spring Music Program

Tyler was quite animated for his 3rd spring music program at his school. He loved being up in front of a crowd and putting on a show. The first song they sang was It's a Very Simple Dance We Do. Tyler loved it. He got to pull his ears, flap his arms, touch his toes, and do all sorts of motions as the song went along. Next, they sang Down By the Bay and he got to hold up a sign of a moose kissing a goose which, as you can see from the picture, he took very seriously. Finally, he sang You are My Sunshine and God You Made Our Big Blue Sky. He had been talking about the program for several weeks and was excited to perform for us. Only one more spring program at school for him next year and then he'll be in "big school". I cannot believe my baby is so grown!

Summer Is Almost Here!

Yay...summer is almost here! My last day of work is Friday and then I'm off until August. I cannot wait to spend another summer with my two precious boys. Every time I open my Internet browser on my computer I am painfully aware that I need to update the blog in the worst way. I have so much to blog about...the remainder of Tyler's t-ball season and end of the year program at school and Matthew's milestones. For now, I'm just posting a current picture of the boys. We are off to church to a class tonight and then maybe I can post more tonight or tomorrow. I hope everyone is enjoying a nice, long weekend. More posts to come soon, I promise!