Watch Out!

Look out - you might get video overload from our blog for a little while. We were given a new Flip camera yesterday. It is the size of a digital camera, but takes video. It has a built-in USB, so you just plug it in, and can upload videos, edit videos, and even create a "movie mix" all very quickly. So, we went to McDonalds today (I take the boys once a week - Brice LOVES to play there), and I got out the new camera. I took a couple videos of Brice, and when we got home, I got both boys down, and started playing. I created this movie mix using the videos I shot. Really - it took like 3 clicks of my mouse. The video isn't that great, but I am very impressed by my little man being able to make it all the way to the top in the playland. What a stud. :)

Movie Night

We have been thinking of ways to get Brice to sleep in later. One theory we had, was that he was hungry early in the morning, so we tried getting him as full as possible before he went to bed. Nope - 5:30 still. Next theory...he goes to bed at 7. We thought maybe a later bedtime would help. So, last Saturday, we decided we'd have movie night. Rule #1 for the next movie night - don't tell him quite so early in the day. As soon as we said something about movies, he went and got all his favorites, and had a stack about 6 high of movies he wanted to watch. Thankfully, he forgot about it after a little while.

During the afternoon, we went and picked out a new movie - Charlotte's Web - he loves farm animals, so this was an easy choice. We then wore him out at a grand re-opening shindig at our local Lifeway Christian Store. They had a huge inflatable slide that Darren took him down once...after that - he was all about it...I swear he went down it at least 15 times.

Rider decided he would rest during the concert put on by our friends' band Pocket Full of Rocks.

So when we got home, we ate some dinner and then movie night began. Rider even got to participate a little before he went to bed.

Brice when we started the movie and he saw the pig...unfortunately, you can't see that he is jumping up and down saying "pig, pig".

We rounded out the evening with milkshakes and fruit snacks. Brice had a great time - he didn't sit through the whole movie, but he got to stay up until 8:30 anyway, playing with his new car from Grams.

And no, he didn't sleep any later...still got up at 5:30. Needless to say, his bedtime will remain 7pm. :)

Grams and Pa-paw Visit

Grams and Pa-paw came to visit a week or so ago. After a visit to the park and lunch date with dad, we took a trip to Arringon Vineyard, where Brice got to pick grapes right off the vine. He was very meticulous about his grape picking - making sure not to pick ones that were within his reach, but choosing ones that were well over his head. He would reach up, pick a grape, step back, eat it, repeat. This kept he and Pa-paw busy while Grams, Rider and I were inside checking out the wine.

That night, after the kids were in bed, we taught David and Joan how to play Wii Bowling. David was a natural, and it only took Joan one game to get in her groove.

The boys had a blast during their visit - too bad it was so short. We look forward to seeing you guys again soon!!

What Is He Thinking???

The mind of an almost 2 year old is an amazing, intriguing thing. I often find myself wondering, "What is going on in his head?". His, meaning Brice's, of course. Lately, he's been asserting his will and independence in some pretty adorable ways. Here are a few things that he's done lately that make us laugh and make us wonder...

At bedtime, we always read books. Lately, Brice has taken to designating one of us as the "reader" for the night. It is usually dad, but sometimes I get to do it. After jammies are put on, he snuggles under the covers, and will tell us who gets the honor for the night. And don't you dare try to change his mind, or disobey. He comes un-snuggled and throws a mini-fit until the proper person begins reading. Thankfully we both still get hugs, kisses, and get to pray with him.

He will only drink milk from an orange sippy cup. You think I'm joking? Try giving him milk in another colored cup! He will drink water or juice from any color, but milk - only orange! Thanks to cousin Taylor (and Uncle Brad and Aunt Crystal) for forgetting Taylor's orange sippy cup after vacation, so now we can use one and wash one! We owe you guys!

So this one, we got to the bottom of, but it is still very funny. I have to preface this by saying that at dinner time, if something is on the table, it has to be on Brice's plate...salad, salad dressing, butter, shredded cheese, etc. So, if it is something we are using, he wants it too. So, sour cream has been an addition to our meals a few times since vacation, and every time, Brice would ask for some, but rather than putting it on his plate, he wanted it on his nose. Yeah - his nose. So, I obliged - what can it hurt? He just would wipe it off, and lick it from his finger. After the second or third time of this happening, I had to know why. My first thought - my dad, "dad-dad". "Why?" you ask. Well, that is just the type of thing he would teach the grandkids. So, I called him - my mom answered - I asked her about it. She said she didn't teach him that...my dad overhears and I can hear him laughing in the background. Sure enough, he taught him to put whipped cream on his nose, and since sour cream looks like whipped cream, Brice thought that is where it went.

Finally, Brice likes to get up at 5:15. Are you kidding me?? And if he didn't bang on his door and yell "daey" (daddy) until we went in there, it wouldn't be so bad. However, this morning, Darren went in, and got him to chill out - he stayed in there until 6:15 when his banging and yelling routine started again. Not sure what he did for that hour, but we got to sleep more. Anyway, I really wish I knew what was going on in his head to cause him to get up so stinkin' early!

So, what is he thinking???

A post about all things Rider coming soon!

New Developments

WOW! There is a lot going on around our house!!

We'll start with Rider. He is now 4 months old, and can sit on his own for about 3 seconds before he topples over. He also rolled over from his back to his belly for the first time this morning. He was in the living room playing on his playmat, and I was feeding Brice breakfast. I KNOW I put him on his back, and when I went back in the living room, he was on his belly playing with a toy!! I still didn't believe it, so I put him back on his back to have him do it again...sure enough!! Only problem now, is that he doesn't like being on his belly, so when he rolls - which he has done numerous times since then, he gets rather upset. He can roll the other way (well, at least he could a couple months ago), but he won't....so he's stuck - or so he thinks. We've also started trying to work on Rider's sleeping. His naps have been better - still not great, but at least taking one good long nap a day. Night time is another story. He goes to sleep fine, but sometime around 9 or 10 every night, he wakes up. He isn't hungry then, but has a hard time getting back to sleep. So, we've started letting him cry some. So far, we've done it for 2 nights, and it hasn't worked very well. We will keep trying...once he does finally go back to sleep, he sleeps pretty well until morning...if only we could get him past that 10 o'clock hour!! So, that's Rider's world...he's a happy, energetic little guy - with a smile that lights up his whole face. I love it!!

Here he is showing off his new sitting skill!

On to Brice. Brice had his first visit to the dentist yesterday. He wasn't too sure about laying flat on his back to let the hygenist look into his mouth, so all we did was have him lay back to let the dentist count his teeth and check them really quickly. Otherwise, the dentist was a fun trip for him...while Darren and I had our teeth cleaned, the assistants had a blast playing with Brice. He's quite the flirt! On to other news...we have started potty training. Let me start by saying that I was fine waiting at least another year before we started this. Brice had other ideas. First it started just by taking his shorts off - all the time. Then yesterday, he took his shorts and diaper off and peed on the floor. So, I decided we should give it a shot. We went and bought him a potty, and let him sit on it last night. First time on, and he peed! No, it's not that easy! Today, we've been working on it, and we have not peed in there at all! Oh well - I am really in no hurry - it is just rather time consuming to sit him on the potty every 20 minutes. Oh, and we'll be securing Daddy's job because we're using M&Ms as incentive to sit on the potty!

Here's a picture of Brice at the dentist...

And because I can't end my post with such a distressing picture, here he is afterwards in his cool sunglasses...

And just for fun, one of the boys helping me cook

Goodness, I'm tired just talking about all the changes going on!! So glad it's almost Friday, and that Grams and Papaw are coming to visit next week!! Mama could use a break!!

Chopped!

My side of the family all went on vacation a couple of weeks ago...everyone...8 adults and 5 kids (all 3 and under!!). It was as relaxing as having 5 kids all in the same house can be. We took lots of walks to the beach, went to the pool on a daily basis, and drove to a couple of beaches. Having kids made us take it easy - we didn't try to do too much since they needed (and I mean needed) their naps and early bedtimes. A typical day for us was ...wake up (times varied depending on the children - we were up early because our precious Brice likes to wake up early), eat some breakfast, walk to the ocean, play, eat lunch, go to the pool, take naps - the kids and sometimes the adults, play, maybe walk back to the ocean, feed kids dinner, baths for kids, bed for kids, adult dinner (more about that later on), then dessert and maybe a card game or two. Sounds crazy, but by the end of the week, we had it down to an art, and it wasn't too bad. Since the kids were outnumbered - for now at least - there was usually an extra set of hands if someone needed help or needed to rest. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the week...you can check out my album on facebook for the rest of the pictures.

Our home for the week...it was just as pretty inside!

Just too pretty not to post.

Rider showing off...

"Boat boat"...Brice's favorite game to play...point out every boat he sees (and doesn't see).

Mommy and Brice at the beach.

Darren caught a shark...a baby one, but hey - it was a shark!

I promised (and I know you are dying to know) that I'd talk about our dinners. You might remember my post a while back about my dinner challenge. Well, that idea blossomed into a fabulous dinner menu for the week. Now, the kids all still ate mac 'n cheese, ravioli, hot dogs, avocados, etc. But, the adults - man, we ate good! So, each couple created a list of 4 ingredients (a la another Food Network show - Chopped), we drew names and traded lists. Every night, during the kid dinner, bath, bedtime, one couple was releived of those duties, and got to cook dinner for the adults. (May not sound like a good trade off, but trust me, not having to feed, bathe and put kids to bed every now and then is VERY nice!) Each couple paid for the groceries they used for their meal, and it was fun to see what we could eat for - no one's dinner was over $10 a plate, and every dish would have easily been more than that in a restaurant. So, here's what we created...

Beth and Clark...Sirloin Oscar with Spinach noodles and a lemon, garlic sauce. The sauce on the sirloin was a crab bernaise sauce...sounds fancy, and it was delicious!

Brad and Crystal...Shrimp Scampi with linguini and a lemon caper sauce and a fruit salad. Theirs was my favorite!

Mom and Dad...Toasted walnut grouper with a fruit salsa and mashed sweet potatoes. Can't get much better than fresh - and I mean fresh! - fish!!

Darren and I...Bacon wrapped cream cheese and jalepeno stuffed chicken with an adobo peanut butter spread and jalepeno spoonbread and salad with avocado vinagrette dressing. In our defense - our ingredients were by far the most difficult...jalapenos - no big deal, peanut butter - what??, ritz crackers - what??, and polenta (we used this, but it was not very tasty the way I did it...maybe I'll try it again someday). Oh, and I made sopapilla cheesecake for dessert...thanks to my friends for their help with the recipe! :)

What a fun week - it was good to get home, but Brice still asks to go to the beach...almost on a daily basis. I'd love to be able to grant him that request! Maybe next year buddy!

You can check out a couple other blogs if you haven't read enough...my sister, sister-in-law, and dad have also blogged about our time together!

Mmmmmm

Mmmmm...that is what Brice says when I am eating something that he wants. It's also the way I get him to try new things....I will eat it, say "mmmm" then suggest he try it...it usually works. Anyway, we like food around our house. We also like to watch cooking shows. Brice will watch almost an entire episode of Rachel Ray - no joke. I am convinced Brice is going to be a little chef - which is fine with me - maybe one day he'll cook me dinner! Here he is helping "cook, cook" - which he asks to do every day around 5 o'clock. Yeah, it's Hamburger Helper - don't judge - read on! :)

Anyway, one of our favorite summer shows is Next Food Network Star. I wish I was getting some sort of compensation for promoting their show - even some free food would be nice. I'm not, but I'll still tell you that we like the show. So, every week they have some sort of culinary challenge. So, this week, we had our own "dinner challenge". Now, I think I'm a pretty good cook - if I have a recipe. If I don't have a recipe, forget it. But, here's how the challenge worked...Darren gave me 6 ingredients that I had to use in our dinner...no computer to use to look stuff up, no cookbooks, just my little brain. My ingredients were: cherries, honey, pineapple, carrots, avocado, and chicken. Here's what I came up with:

Honey-Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Pineapple, Red Pepper, and Avocado "Relish" - here's a pic - I didn't think about taking pictures until after we were done, but there was some left over.

Honey Glazed Carrots

Cherry, Berry Sauce for dessert - and a pic of this too. Not the greatest picture, but it was delicious!



Darren told me I won the challenge...not sure who I was competing against, though. Nonetheless, it was a fun way to change up the daily "What's for dinner" question!