Father's Day and the Big 3-0!

For Father's Day this year, we headed out to the utmost kid-friendly, non-womanizing establishment in our neighborhood...also known as The Brickhouse Tavern. 

Can't you just see how disappointed Jared was that we weren't enjoying an uber-boring brunch somewhere more PC? ha. ha. Please disregard Henry's sad face...it has nothing to do with his contentment level (which was high)...more to do with his fever (also, high).

This oh-so-special restaurant didn't even HAVE a high chair...or a booster seat...or a kid's menu. But it DID have a dessert section on its menu entitled "Happy Endings," and all of the waitress' jean shorts seemed to have been attacked by 3-foot tall legwear-eating gnomes. Just sayin'. Debauchery at its finest, y'all. ((Again, I feel I am failing at my bid for Mother of the Year).

A good time was had by all. Here I am, first, with my brothers and dad...and then, with just my dad...

Then, the day after Father's Day was another fantabulous day of celebration. Yours truly did, indeed, change that front number! Despite H's pesky fever, it really was a wonderful birthday. We're doing the 'BIG' celebration this weekend, though, so I'll post more about the festivities and fun then. For now, a pic as we left for 30th birthday date night.

More to come...

3 months old!

Hi, I'm James.

When I was born, I looked like this...

...I've come a long way, baby! Here I am today...3 big, huge, amazing months old!

A rainy Tuesday...

Me: So, Henry, what do you think we should do today?
Henry (very matter of factly): Go to store.
Me: Oh, do you want to? What store should we go to?
Henry: a BIIIIIG one!!! a BIIIIIG store mommy.
Me: Really? Well, what do we need to buy at the big store?
Henry (again, matter of factly): Groceries.
Me: No, we have groceries. What else do we need?
Henry: ummm, a pillow...a CHOOCHOO pillow!!!
Me: A choo choo pillow?? I'm not sure if...
Henry (cutting in, sing-songy): It'll be fun. Mommy...will.be.fun!!

Would it surprise you if I told you that I sometimes convince Henry to get in the car to run errands or go to the store by telling him that it's going to be fun? Little copycat stinker. Speaking of him being a copycat, Jared and I have learned a very important parenting lesson these past few weeks. Here it is: DO NOT respond to your child's incessant questioning with anything but 'yes' or 'no' - no really, don't.

An illustration: Henry has a fascination with having his diaper off and asking if it's okay to pee-pee on things. Just stay with me, okay...you'll see where I'm going. At first, it was sort of an adorable game. Pee-pee floor? No, Henry. Pee-pee couch? No. Pee-pee wall? No. Pee-pee James? No, Hen. You get the idea. Well, after him asking to pee-pee on a gadzillion different things, we got lazy. Pee-pee shoes? No. Pee-pee counter? No, Henry. Pee-pee chair? No. Pee-pee feet? No. Pee-pee pool? No, Henry. Pee-pee TV? Nope.

**sound of record screeching as music comes to abrupt stop**

Fast-forward a few days. Henry, it's time to put your shoes on. NOPE! Henry, seriously, we have to go. NOPE! Henry, come get in your seat. NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! Henry, stop throwing things at James. NOPE! Eat your dinner, buddy. NOPE! And, just since this weekend, he's tacking on an adorable "don't want to" to the end of his nopes. On that note, if I figure out who taught him the ever-charming "don't want to"...well, I'm just gonna...well...nevermind.

In other news, James has all of the sudden found his voice. He's been serenading us all day long, and Henry and I are loving it. Henry gets so tickled, because James looks right into his eyes and squeals and screams as loud as his little baby pipes will let him. He told me today that James is actually singing to him, so a few times, when James was extra loud, Henry would chime in with a few words to songs he knows.

For all you math people, here's the equation. Screechy, excited baby + tone-deaf song-happy toddler = Truly joyful noise.

The weather is humid and drippy, so we're making memories inside until that passes over...you know, in, like, September. :) By the way, it's a big birthday month around here. James will be 3 months old on the 10th (I know, I can't believe it either), and in some even more unbelievable birthday news, someone in our house - ahem - may or may not be changing her front number before the month is out. Let's all hope that what they say is true...it's the new 20, right? :)

More on that later...

...and it's done.

Okay, so here we are...private.

I think I like it so far. We've had a few kinks to work out with the invite emails and the sign-in process, but I think we're all situated now. I can't tell you how reassuring it is (for me) to see only familiar cities signing into the blog this week (see the feed on the lower right side of the page). There's something disconcerting about not knowing a soul in New Guinea or Arizona but seeing those places continually 'checking in' on here. Maybe those are relatives of friends who link us on their blog...or maybe they're not. Nice to not have to wonder anymore. :)

So, what's going on with us? I know I've been M.I.A. for a few weeks, but I assume all of you know that's just the nature of the beast we call life right now. I don't have a lot of time to sit and write unless I'm up before my babies (fat freaking chance that's gonna happen!!) or unless they nap at the same time (even fatter freaking chance THAT'S gonna happen). Rest assured, we're making serious memories up in here...they're just not making it to blog. And, for now, that's okay.

Probably the biggest thing going on right now is that Henry has gotten over his fear of water. Well, I should qualify. He's never been afraid of water, per se. It's more the unpredictability of water droplets. I mean, he's good just sitting in the bath, and the thought of splashing in there has been fun too. It's when the splashes inadvertently lead to water in his eyes or on his hair or anywhere he wasn't expecting water to land. God forbid he accidentally turn the shower on himself. That's a Stage 4 Meltdown in the making, fo' sho'. So, you see, he's been slow to take to the pool. He's been getting in pools since he was about 2 1/2 months old, and he's been getting right back out of them about 5 minutes after he gets in for just as long.

Then, just in the past two weeks, we've seen a change. And it has been so much fun for all of us.

It started with a really sweet birthday party that we attended a few weekends ago at a really sweet pool. This particular pool is kind of like a water park insomuch as it has a splash pad section and a lazy river. We were so excited to see what H would think of it...and we figured it would be a perfect place for him to try lots of different water activities. Bonus: other kids would be there to 'show him the ropes.' Woot. So, we left the baby with my mom, and we focused all of both of our energies on playing with H in the water. By the end of our time there, he was still very pissy about splashing, but we had convinced him to stay in the water for 10-15 minutes AND to jump to us from the side. Progress. Then, at the end of our time in the water, there was birthday cake, ice cream, cute playfriends, and singing. All good associations for the future 'pool' outings to come, right? Right.

The next day, we took him to my brothers' apartment complex pool for fun with his Uncle Jon-Jon, Uncle Justin, Aunt Steppy, and 'Toria. You could immediately tell that he was a recovered pool hater! Not only did he jump freely to all of us, but he stayed in the water for a lot of the time. You should see him decked out for it...he wears floaties AND a tube AND his sandals. Jonathan (my brother) and I joke that all he needs are some flippers and a snorkel to complete his waddly, awkward get-up. hehehe. The photos are just BEGGING to be in a wedding slideshow one day.

Then, the next weekend, my dad got the macdaddy of all hot tubs to replace his older model. Y'all, this thing is ginormous, and it has lights, fountains, and a sound system. Yeah, for reals. So, the 'rents have decided to keep it cool for Henry to swim in during the day, and may I just say, the macdaddy hot tub was the last nail in Hen's watersplashphobia coffin. Booooyah...

Since then, we've spent countless hours beating the heat in pools, sprinklers, splash pads, and of course, in "PawPaw's new pool that has waterfalls."

More later...hell just froze over...I've got both asleep at the same time...