Monday, August 31, 2009

Just Beachy.

On Saturday we went to the beach with a few of our friends.
The boys had a great time.
Owen was a little harder to keep happy, while also trying to keep the handfuls of sand out of his mouth. I can't wait until he can walk, it'll make the little day trips like this easier on everyone. Tayson and Carter playing on the beach in the sand. They also did a little surfing with the bigger kids and dads. Carter had a few wipe outs and swallowed some gulf water. The first time I picked him right up and he looked at me and said, "I crash" through his tears. He did get back on the surfboard, but it was short lived. (not long enough for me to get a picture at least)The beach trip was cut short because of a thunderstorm. We loaded up the kids and car just as it started to rain. This is my kind of off roading. I believe my little SUV looks great on the beach and Mike had a good time driving too!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Spaghetti.

We had spaghetti for dinner tonight, thanks to Mike's awesome homemade sauce.
I'm not sure how much of it actually made it into Owen's mouth. It was straight to the bath tub after this, well after a short stop in the kitchen sink to de-noodle him.

(I'll post more pics of the boys tomorrow Charlotte, I promise.)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Same Thing.

It's been a week of a lot of the same things over and over again.

Owen follows me where ever I go and uses my legs to pull himself up. Now when I walk, he follows holding on to my legs as well. This new stage makes it difficult to get much done in the kitchen or any where else for that matter. Carter also likes to follow Owen around and give me the play by play of what Owen is doing. Right now I hear a lot of "O-we crash." Here he is hanging on my leg. Owen is a very mild tempered little guy. He's pretty laid back and doesn't do much crying. Except for when you put him to bed, then he brings on the tears and whines. I'm doing my best to give him objects of comfort in his crib. Right now he has a burp cloth, blanket, rattle, aquarium toy and a green spotted giraffe. Each time I go in to get him in the morning or from naps he has the giraffe in hand. Good to know something I've put in there is sticking. And yes, he still sucks his thumb.
Some Saturdays are best spent at home playing in the backyard in the rain with daddy and the hose, while your baby brother watches longingly from the window.Carter is the snack bandit in the house right now and with his summer growth spurt he can pretty much reach everything. Owen also loves the pantry now and I frequently find the two of them playing inside it. I can't decide when would be a good time to baby proof the pantry door.
This is the...
"Mommy eat... fish" face.

Some of our LOVES this past week.

Carter loves to feed the dog. "Eat Dog" and "More Eat Dog" are pretty common phrases we hear. He thinks it's hilarious to make him sit and shake his hand. Along with feeding the dog, Carter loves "Bolt" more than "Cars" this week. Although while watching Bolt he still clutches onto his Lightening McQueen Car.

Owen loves to climb in the fridge and pull the dish towels off the oven door. He loves to eat grapes, cut into very small pieces. He can easily eat Carter under the table these days. Anything you put in front of him he'll devour. He loves to climb underneath the kitchen table and cruise around all of the chairs. He also loves looking out the sliding glass doors. He cruises back and forth all afternoon. He loves to play peekaboo and has learned to cover and uncover his face to play.

Mommy loves asiago cheese bagels from Panera Bread and a cold coke. I also love the feeling of accomplishment I've had this week. The house was cleaner this week than it has been in awhile and that feels good.

Daddy loves coming home early on Friday afternoon to play with the boys. He also loves going to the gym with us on Saturday mornings and sleeping in on the weekends.

With that being said, we're getting ready to do it all over again. Have a great week everyone!

He Stands.

In the last week Owen has decided that he no longer wants to be on all fours. He'd much rather be standing and cruising. He wants so badly to be walking but is being more cautious and working on getting his footing first. Every time he stands he's able to stand a little longer and becomes a little more sturdy.

Here are a few videos from tonight.




Thursday, August 20, 2009

A little Blue Bell.

With the summer coming to a close, we decided to take the boys on a summer field trip to the Blue Bell ice cream factory in Brenham, Texas. We'd been talking about going all summer and meeting our good friends, the Ashe family, that had moved to Austin last spring. We finally made it happen. I left Owen home with a babysitter and Lindsay and I packed our boys into my car and went on a mini road trip. Good thing it was only an hour drive. I thought one two year old was a challenge, entertaining two is much more challenging. But Lindsay did a great job of keeping the boys happy during the drive. We had lunch and then went to the ice cream factory. The best thing about the tour is the free ice cream at the end. I'm normally not an ice cream fan, but I have to admit it was pretty good. Now I understand it's company motto even more, eat all you can and sell the rest, or something like that.

Carter in his blue bell hat with a flower he picked.
The Ashe, Dille and Ramage boys.
Carter admiring one the first Blue Bell ice cream trucks.
Tayson and Carter climbing on the truck. Which the sign in the window says not too. So after I snapped the picture we found something else that they could climb on.
Carter and Tayson fixing each others hats.
Double Trouble strikes again. These two have so much fun together when they aren't fighting.
Petting the cow. (You have to double click this one to make it big to fully appreciate the expression on his face. )
Lindsay, Tayson, Me, Carter and Will.
Carter and I in front of the factory and cow. He was saying "hot" just before then he tried to sit on the cow and it was super hot. It was a pretty warm Texas afternoon. I can't imagine how hot it would have been if it wasn't overcast.
A few more of Carter and Tayson.

The best part of our trip. The ice cream. Carter was so intent on eating it he wouldn't be bothered by a picture.
We had a great day. It was nice to get out of Houston and into the country. It felt strange to be without Owen. In fact at lunch I almost panicked when I sat down about where Owen was. But I'm glad just Carter and I went. I forgot how it felt to just have one child. Carter had all of my attention and I didn't have to divide it. I was able to really enjoy him and the stage that he is at. He loved standing in the window to see the ice cream being made and I loved holding his hand as we walked in the tour.

It was also wonderful to spend time with great friends. Thank you for coming to meet us Stacie and thank you for coming Lindsay. The trip wouldn't have been much fun without either of you and your beautiful families.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Music to my Ears.


Ah, music to my ears.
I called Mike at work so Owen could tell him his new word. Then I told him he should be home more, because apparently I'm the favorite.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Baby Blues.


They get these gorgeous baby blue eyes from Mike.
(Anyone know how to fix the over exposure on photoshop?)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Sunday Thoughts.

So here is your spiritual thought for the night courtesy of Carter in Senior Nursery. Our Church just split the nursery into two groups and Carter loves it. He comes home with little projects and gets to do more in class than before. I'm grateful that Carter loves nursery and has always just run in without a problem. He really is a secure little guy and has a strong understanding that we'll come back and get him. So he just enjoys his time to play with other kiddos. Now if I could just get him to tell someone other than me that he has to go potty I would feel a little better about him starting school (mothers day out) in three weeks. He was very excited about the mobile above, and well you know me, I get excited when he is excited.

Both boys in the weekly Sunday photo op.
So it has occurred to me in the last few months how entirely different Owen and Carter are. Owen is my laid back baby and the picture below fits him to a tee. Such a handsome little guy and now 10 months.
This is Carter's "cheese" smile.
What's a post without Mike? Thought I'd sneak one in.
The week ended better than it started. By Thursday we were all starting to feel better and were able to make it out of the house to the gym. On Friday we were back to usual and started at the gym and then met playgroup at the pool. I really have a hard time taking the boys to the pool without Mike. I'm nervous the entire time. There's only one of me and two of them that need 100% attention. Lucky for me a few of my girlfriends were helpful in keeping tabs on Carter.

Have I mentioned how hard 2 is for me and Carter? Sometimes we just have a hard time meshing. I know that he is learning that he is his own person, but the power struggles that follow this discovery are very trying for me. Lately, "mine" and "no" have been the most common word coming from his mouth. He wants to "crash" everything and when he decides he wants something he whines, or goes into full on melt down mode. Granted there are moments when I just adore the "mommy" and "mamma" coming from the backseat of the car and can't get enough of the little person who helps me change laundry and make the bed. I guess it's just learning the balance and realizing there will be good days and bad. How did you or are you handling the two's with your little ones? I could use some advice.

We had a great weekend with Mike, who for once I don't believe did any work this weekend. He seemed much more relaxed and less distracted. We were able to hit the gym on Saturday morning, run a few errands, have lunch, take naps, hit the pool and watch a movie. It was a perfect Saturday for us and Sunday was pretty good too. A great way to refuel for the upcoming week. Which I've been told will be very busy for Mike. So I'm going into this week with a plan to get out as much as we can and just play. If you're going somewhere fun, call us and we'll tag along.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

House Arrest.

The past three days have been filled with Tylenol, ibuprofen, medicine charts, sleepless nights and fevers. The only Dille lucky enough to not catch the bug was Mike. Well maybe luck isn't the right word, because he stayed home to take care of all of us. Yes, dad of the year did it again and saved me.

I'm not sure what we got, just fevers and body aches, but that was enough to do us in and enough to put us all on house arrest for the week. I can't decide where we caught it, some carrier monkey at either the gym daycare or church nursery would be my guess. :) But on a happy note everyone seems to be fever free tonight and feeling better. A sigh of relief considering last night was a doosey. Once we were able to get one baby down and settled, the other one would wake up screaming. This went on until about 1 a.m. and then Mike brought Carter into bed with us. I would have too. He felt pretty bad and just wanted to be close to Mike and I. This would have worked out better if he actually slept. Instead, for five hours he tossed and turned, stood up and down, poked our heads, patted our faces and laid diagonal taking up as much bed space as possible. I believe the only sleep Mike and I got last night was a few hours after 6 when I was able to put Carter in his own bed.

After three days of not leaving the house we are all in dire need to get out. So that is the plan for tomorrow, go somewhere where Carter can get all of this wiggles out and run a muck. I also need a reason to actually get dressed and get moving. There's only so much "Cars" and "Bolt" this mommy can take. I heard this all week, "more cars" and "more dog" oh and then I also heard a lot of this, "mom" "mommy" "ma" "mom" as Carter followed me around every inch of our house. I love my little boys, but I believe a break from each other and seeing a few new faces is much needed.

So here are a few pictures from the past week. It has been almost a week since I last posted.

Owen, still has the baby arm rolls.
Carter showing of his new truck pj's. He loves his cars and trucks.
Owen attempting the sippy cup. His facial expression to me seems to say, "mom, seriously? I'm thirsty how do I get it out of this thing?"
Owen 9.5 months last Sunday.
Carter at the playground last week. He insisted on "no shoes" while he was there. I've always wondered how he takes his shoes of all the time, because at home he usually hollers for help. That afternoon, from across the park, I see Tayson and Carter sitting in the grass. One shoe at a time Tayson helps Carter take his shoes off and then Carter turns to help Tayson. Mystery solved.
Here's to a better rest of the week.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Bath.

Giving a bath with two can be a challenge at times.
Carter likes to splash.
Owen likes to explore every inch of the bath tub.
Carter likes to dump water on Owens head.
Owen like to put everything he finds in the tub in his mouth.
We like seeing their little bond grow and enjoy seeing them have a good time together.
We love hooded bath towels at our house. Carter now puts one on and he's out the bathroom door like a flash with his towel cape flapping behind him. Here are a few pictures of Carter playing with his towel and hiding from the camera. Sometimes he can be a little shy. Don't mind the mess in our bathroom, it gets a little crazy during bedtime.
The real question is... Where did Carter go?

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Splash.

We've been spending a lot of mornings at the splash pad these days because the boys have such a fantastic time. They wear themselves out playing with their buddies and then come home and take long naps in the afternoon. Normally Owen passes out in his car seat before we make it out of the parking lot. I love it too. I get to hang out with other mommies and watch my babies have fun in a safe and contained area. It's a great way to pass a hot summer day here in Houston.

This is the happiest I've ever seen Owen in a picture. He was so proud to have pulled himself up and was thrilled to be able to see everyone at a better angle. Can you see all of his chompers? He has four up top and three on the bottom. What a happy little man.

Owen with his baby ladies Kate and Morgan... already leaving the ladies hanging.

Carter getting a good soak.

Woah, where's that water coming from?Owen playing in the water in his own way.

Carter, Owen and Tayson. This was the only picture I was able to get with my boys. They were both too busy to slow down for even a moment.

So Glad.

Two words can usually describe my feelings after my mom comes to visit, "So Glad." I'm so glad she found an airline ticket for a short weekend and came and spent three days with our family. I'm so glad my boys remembered her and picked up where they left off. I'm so glad we had a chance to go out for great Mexican food and spend a lot of time outside with the boys. I'm so glad she watched the boys so Mike and I could see a movie.

Here's the gang at the park. We decided to go feed the ducks. It was hot and everyone was worn out in the end. Even Owen took a little nap in the stroller. Owen enjoying the ride. Carter enjoying nature. Still amazes me that just a simple leaf could provide so much entertainment.
Carter enjoying the ride. Half way around the lake he decided he was "all done" and wanted "up." I have a lot more respect for Mike carrying him this way, Carters pretty heavy.

Grandma spoiling Owen. Owen looking like a little frog on her lap before bed time.
The grandkids and grandma.
A little self portrait at the airport.
She gave Carter a new red car before she left. He was thrilled, look at this face. Too excited to be bothered by the camera.
Lastly, thanks for coming Mom. We're so glad you came! Love you!