Talker and Go Getter

Things don't stay on low tables with Hugh walking around!

He always has something to say, "mm bla mm bla ba." I always wonder what he thinks he's saying. Definitely something!

Baby Backpack

I tried carrying Hugh around on my back. It was comfy for me, and he seemed happy. I haven't done it this way much. He's usually on my hip in the side sling or in the front sling.

You may not play with the real toaster

I wouldn't let Will play with the toaster, so we made one out of a box with some paper toast. He likes it.

Brother Pushing

Hugh LOVES being pushed around on this toy. He smiles and laughs the whole time. Will is always rambunctiously trying to play with High. Will also tries to push him around as he stands on a kitchen chair(which Hugh can now climb onto. Ack!) I'm not so pleased when they do that one.

Saturday Breakfast

Lexa and Will were exited about having scrambled eggs for breakfast for some reason.  Lexa thinks Grandmom makes the best scrambled eggs, and told me I should get her scrambled egg recipe.

I texted her.

Sewing Project

I get to wear a white lacy dress in Sara's wedding this spring. I've been thinking about just what I want it to look like, and I realized I have a white lace dress in my closet that my mom made me for our fifth anniversary when we had our party and renewed our wedding vows. I thought it might be special to wear something mom had made. 

The dress was way too small on top, so I decided to have a go at altering it into something like what I want to wear. It was fun to be creative and actually work on a sewing project for once in a long while.

I took out the back zipper and cut it all the way open. I attached the satin sash to each back(now front) edge to make the dress wider and sewed on some ribbon ties so that I could wear it as a wrap dress. I detached the lace from the underdress at the hem so that the lace would be sheer at the bottom. (I'll probably go back and make a smaller hem on the underdress so that it's an inch longer and not quite such a big difference between the two.) Then I trimmed a little lace off the bottom edge corners to make the lace cap sleeves and trim along the top edge of the neckline. I also cut out the backing in the top of the straps to make it sheer on the shoulders. 

It didn't come out quite as perfect as I had imagined. So I haven't decided if I'll wear it yet or not. I had fun playing around with it though.

After picture:

Here's a couple of before pictures.

Baby Timmy 💕

Pizza Night

Lexa loves putting together her own pizza. Although they never want any topping except pepperoni..

Timmy is happy to have his with no sauce or cheese- so bread with pepperoni placed on it. 

Thank you for this fun pile of dirt and dropped food, Mama!

Every time I sweep the kitchen floor, Hugh sees the pile for the dust pan, lets out a happy squeal, and delightedly toddles over to try to play in it faster than I can get it up. Eww. 

Interests

The kids were requested to write down interests for the frontier girls/quest boys(it's like scouts) badges they could earn this year. 

Here's what Timmy wrote down as his interests:

Lexa told Patrick some things she like to write down:

Here's what I wrote for Will: 

I should have added fire trucks and maybe dinosaurs. 

I just asked Will himself what he likes. This is what he says:

I like bedtime, swinging, watching Lexa climb on trees, playing at the playground, the jungle, drawing, wearing hats and getting costumes on, and rolling down hills.

Morning outside

It feels so great outside this morning! I love watching Will play. He likes wearing hats. He just requested that we do Easter now. Hmm..

Big Sis

Lexa's pretty helpful with High sometimes. She'll watch him while I make dinner or do dishes, fetch him from going down the hall to "the forbidden rooms" and intercept the small objects. 

She loves him. It's great to see what a great sister she is.

Orange Drinks

Lexa had an idea to put a straw in her orange. Of course Will wanted to do it too. It didn't work very well, although if you squeeze your orange, you can get some juice this way we discovered.

Houston Museum of Natural Science

Back to catching up on some of our summer adventures.We visited the Houston Natural History Museum, and it was really neat. It's really something to actually see these things in person rather than only in books and shows. Timmy was in awe walking through the dinosaur fossils, literally dropping his jaw and saying, "whoa...". He LOVED it. They also loved the gem and mineral exhibit. It was very beautiful, dark with spotlights on the crystals. There was also a huge, 4 foot diameter amythyst geode at the entrance that they were impressed with.

Ahh!

Timmy was very freaked out by the actual mummies in the Egyptian exhibit.

The alligator is on the ceiling in the curiosities room.

We watched a 3D documentary about dinosaurs.

Those of us that stayed awake, saw the planetarium show. I guess after going through the rest of the museum first, sitting down and turning out the lights was just too much! Timmy really loved the astromy show though. 

After that we took the tired crew to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Not very relaxing with the crazies, but the food was good.

Hugh enjoyed some breadsticks.

Lap Napper

They're so sweet when they sleep. There's a million chores I could be doing, but I love being able to take a break and hold him while he sleeps. 

Dishwasher Unhelper

It's so hard to try to load the dishwasher with this guy around!

Baby on a Box

Hugh has been climbing up on this box today and stands up there so happy and proud of himself, laughing and clapping his hands!

Muffins with Mom

Timmy and Lexa's school had "Muffins with Mom" this morning. They were so happy to have me come and eat breakfast with them, very sweet and loving. Will tried to follow Lexa to class when they were lining up to leave. 

I stopped by the park afterwards with the little ones. The weather was so nice and cool that early in the morning. I let Hugh walk around. He was super excited to be let free to explore. He climbed onto the merry-go-round and only tried to put a rock into his mouth once.

Kid Podcasts

I listen to this podcast called Brains On Science Podcast for Kids with the kids, usually on car trips. It's really good. Timmy loves it. They answer questions from kids, and he always wants to send them his. I finally actually wrote some down and sent an email for him. Here's what he wanted to know:

Why is it hotter when you get closer to the middle of the earth?

How do things rust?

Why do some bugs live in colonies?

How do Venus flytraps work?

Why do cats have multi colored fur?

Why were most dinosaurs plant eaters?

Why does oil kill bugs?

Why are trampolines so bouncy?

Lexa wanted to ask about cars.

How do cars work?

How does gasoline work?

Why don't cars drive themselves?

And also, 

How are babies born?

Another podcast I like with the kids is Story Pirates. Kids send their stories in and they read them, then act them out as radio plays. It's amusing.

A Little Boy Can Turn Into a Tree

Ever since Aunt Sara and Kenny introduced Will to charades a few weeks ago, at random times he will freeze stiff and say, "A little boy can turn into a tree."

What shall we play with?

In spite of the over abundance of toys we have in our house with four kids, I think Hugh's favorite thing to play with is my broom. You can see the light up, flashy ball at his feet doesn't stand a chance when he's gotten hold the broom again.

Other things he'd love to play with: my phone, my cup of coffee, the canned goods in the pantry, the Corning ware in the cabinets, our toothbrushes, the toilet water, pencils, everything in Timmy and Lexa's room, the tv remote, anything I try to set on my bedside table, including the lamp..

Will the Wedding Planner and Puppet Show Director

I'm 

Will put his sheriff hat, a bandana, and a headband on my wrist and told me, "Now you're ready to get married!" 

Then he told me to sing a big, big, big song, and said, "Let's celebrate celebrating!!"

Another cute thing he did later was start telling Lexa "Start" "Stop" and "Action" with arm gestures while she played puppet show.

Read ALL the books

This is the stack a "few" books they brought to me to read to them. (Apparently as many as Will and Lexa could carry.) I started marathon story time and had all 4 of them in the chair with me at one point.

I love that they love books. I remember reading one book after another book to Timmy when he was a toddler, an hour or more everyday. He's still always says, "One more chapter!" everytime I finish reading to him today.  Will is really getting into books now too. We could probably read stories all day as well.

 It's hard for me though because Hugh usually starts grabbing the book and crying. I think he notices I'm not paying much attention to him.

Those books have stayed in the living room for a few days now, and Lexa and Will keep bringing me a handful to read. 

Timmy keeps picking one up to read himself. Lexa too, a little.

Pink Balloon, Sequined Hat

Play a board game with me? Read to me? Get me snacks? Not right now. Okay, I'll just sit on your armrest inflating and deflating this balloon.

Late Night Football

Aww. Hugh cuddled up with his big sis, passed out on the living room floor while we were up watching late night Aggie football. 

Hugh was so tired, but he just wouldn't give in. He'd play a little, lay down for a minute, then back up again, then down for another breather. 

Timmy was heading to his bed, (of his own violation!? Unheard of, by the way.), but Patrick made him come back to lay in the chair again. Arkansas had made a big play when Timmy walked out of the room, and apparently you cannot change anything when the Aggies are doing well. The A&M football team went on to play the rest of the game really well, and Patrick sent Timmy over to my chair to give me lots of kisses.(touchdowns). Boom! 

Thanks for helping the Aggies win, Timmy?

Silly Hair

Hugh woke up today with half his hair sticking out to the side. It seems like it's going to stay that way. I couldn't get a very good picture, but he's looking pretty silly.