Manly Men

Chrys

Saturday Morning Adventures

Oliver adores his Dadoo. They pack up on Saturday mornings for a little riding, playing, and building.
Chrys

A Fair Maker's Faire

My techy genius husband loves all things geeky so we trekked to Fair Park today for the Maker's Faire. He is a big fan of their website and was very excited about the event. We were picturing a huge science-fairish atmosphere of DIY tech projects but I have to say we were a bit disappointed at the meager number of maker exhibits. The big Maker's Faire will be in Austin on October 18-19, so any of you who live there should check it out. Very cool stuff. Even for a not-that-technically-inclined wife.

We still had a blast at the Museum of Nature and Science. Here's our little family in the kaleidescope. I love how the boys are hugging:
The coolest part of the Maker's Faire was the Tesla Coil Music. (This is similar to what we saw today.) It was incredibly loud and it kind of freaked me out when I thought about the power (and danger) of it all but it was fascinating in spite of the terror. Just kidding. We kept the boys' ears well covered. O talked about the "fire musicka" for the remainder of the day.

They were excited to get balloon swords but Truett's didn't last long. I'm telling you, the kid will eat anything.

What just happened??

Oliver thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his science-loving Dadoo. They dug for dinosaur bones, gathered eggs, rode tractors, crawled through ant holes and did lots more that I'm not sure I can accurately describe.

I love how you can see O's reflection in the bottom left of this pic.

The water table was by far Truett's favorite. He squealed with glee when we saw it and cried when it was time to leave that exhibit.

Mike enjoyed the periscope that allows a nice view of downtown D. Great shots, as always, Dadoo:These boys come from a long line of weatherphenes. (Yes, I just made up that word.) Mike's family talks about the weather constantly. Don't think I'm kidding or exaggerating. I'm not. It's in their DNA. And they are so handy to have around. So it's really fitting that the boys enjoyed their debut as weathermen on WFAA:
O's favorite maker exhibit was the robotic arm that he controlled. He knocked over a stack of blocks and thought it was the greatest thing ever. He's always loved robots but after Wall-E and the Maker Faire robots, I'm afraid I may find one around the house just any day.We stopped by the hospital so I could run in and see Christy and Baby Squeak. So, so sweet. Both boys missed naps and were sacked out on the way home... Chrys

Love This.

I love these boys. Both of them got haircuts tonight. Truett will be needing one soon.

Chrys

Not Sure Who Enjoyed It More.

For months Oliver has been requesting a ride on Mike's bike that hangs in the garage. Mike was excited about it and found a brand new bike trailer on Craigslist. He picked it up yesterday evening and couldn't wait to take the boys out for a spin.

Oliver got to take a quick trip around the block first thing this morning while Truett was still snoozing. He loved it and told Mike he wanted to ride the bike to Owen's house. Mike told him that was too far and later in the day he relayed the info to me: "I want to ride to Owen's house but it's far too far away.....in Antarctica." Wow. That is far. And cold.

This evening they couldn't wait for Mike to get home so they could go for a ride. Truett did his bear-crawl out to the bike:
They were thrilled about their new helmets.
The next pic is classic. So gross, Oliver.
As you can tell in the above pic, poor Truett couldn't see with his helmet on so we turned it around.
And off they go! I cheered and took pics. I guess I'm going to have to get myself on that bike so I can take them riding, too. I honestly can't remember the last time I rode a bike.What a great Dadoo you are, Mike. Our boys are crazy about you!

Chrys

Bird Home

Oliver loves to go to Lowe's and "On Teepo" with Dadoo to build. Today's project was a "bird home". I'm not sure why that was so humorous to me, but it was. Bird home. Hee! It still tickles me.

I was home with a napping Truett but thoughtful Mike took pics on his phone so that I felt included. Here's our little builder making his bird home:
He was so excited to show it to me: He kept referring to it as a "bird home" (which made me laugh all over again) until once he slipped and called it a "bird house". We giggled and Mike said, "You're right, Oliver. It's a bird house. It's not really a home until someone moves their stuff in and decorates, is it?"

O laughed and said, "You're joking, Dadoo!"

Hilarious kid.

So he tried to let someone move in and decorate. But it didn't work so well:Oh, it's just as well. We all could have predicted what Oliver's bird home would be used for anyway:Chrys

A Star-Spangled Fourth

We were admittedly a little sad not to be in Granbury this July 4th like we have been for the past several years but staying close to home ended up being a blast. Firewheel was rockin! We had dinner, walked around, listened to the bands playing and found a good place to plant for the fireworks.

Talk about a perfect spot--we were so close that we had to keep reminding Oliver to stay off the "Do Not Cross" tape b/c we were right in front of the field where they were shooting the fireworks! The only family pic we got was on Mike's phone:My favorite quote of the evening was when Oliver commented on the planets he was looking for in the night sky: "I see one Mar. Only one Mar." We laughed so hard. I had never thought of it before but I guess "Mars" does sound plural.

I'm a former American History teacher and I'm especially fond of Independence Day for obvious reasons. Just to annoy me, my obnoxious funny husband kept telling our children that we were celebrating George Washington's birthday. (Duh, everyone knows GW's birthday is in February.) If Oliver ever quotes that fallacious factoid I will forever hold it against his father.

Here's the sliver of moon we could see: We were so close to the fireworks that we had to lie back on our blanket to see them all. I have never been so close before and I loved it! We were concerned that the boys would be afraid but were awestruck. They couldn't have enjoyed it more! Wide-eyed Truett said, "Wow!" every time one went off and Oliver giggled with delight.

It was greatness.

My only complaint about the evening was the smoking. I H-A-T-E cigarettes. My sensitivity to it is heightened b/c I am so rarely around it. It makes me physically ill and I don't want our babies inhaling secondhand smoke. The only negative about our perfect perch for firework viewing was that we were seated in between two groups of smokers. Ugh. It is seriously difficult for me not to be totally rude about it. I lack compassion. I just don't get it. Why do people smoke?? It is so disgusting! Okay, I'll step off the soapbox now. Whew!

Mike is an incredible photographer. He and I are very different in that he's an engineer and he reads the instruction manual. (For everything. Not kidding. He still has the instruction card that came with the nonstick cookware we received as a wedding gift. And he refers to it. Regularly.) Therefore his pics are usually better than mine. For anyone who has attempted to photograph fireworks before you know it's not easy. Mike took the tripod and got some amazing shots. I know that if you've seen one firework pic you've seen them all, but I couldn't just pick a couple:Pretty impressive, huh? I had to brag. The last one is my fav--looks like a bouquet of neon flowers.

Kool & The Gang hit the stage after the fireworks display. We sure did celebrate good times, come on!

It took forty-five minutes to get home but it was totally worth it.

I couldn't help but think about watching the fireworks last year in Granbury. I was having lots of contractions and was incredibly uncomfortable. I kept waddling my enormous self across the parking lot to the Kroger restroom. I had tears in my eyes during most of the fireworks display and we contemplated driving back to Dallas that night just so I could be closer to the hospital. I was only 33 weeks along so I didn't think it was real labor, but it turns out those contractions were productive--I got put on bedrest the following week b/c I was 75% effaced and dilated to 2.5 cm.

Chrys

Happy Father's Day!

It's pretty sad that the only pic I took of my amazing husband w/ our sweet kids on Father's Day was on my phone while waiting for a table at lunch. I'm so sorry, Dadoo. Despite the quality, I love pic!
I did snap this one of Jammie, PawPaw and Melissa with the boys before they headed home. Thanks for coming to see us!
Here is a picture of Dadoo's stepping stones. I should have taken a pic of the ones we made for PawPaw and RoDaddy before we sent them to Abilene.We are so thankful for the dads in our lives. You are loved.

Chrys

The Circle of Protection

I absolutely adore my husband. Not only is he the greatest, most involved, dedicated father I know, he's wildly intelligent, creative and completely hilarious. Case in point:

Today was a tough day. Oliver made some really poor choices while at a beach party with some friends. Choices like, oh, shoving a little boy out of the wading pool and onto his head b/c he had a front-end loader that O wanted, then throwing a screaming, kicking fit b/c he didn't want a spanking for the first bad choice. I ended up carrying my hysterical child off the sand volleyball court and we had to leave the party b/c of his behavior. We were there for a whole twenty minutes, I think. It was such a bummer. I was THAT mom, the one with the out-of-control kid. All the other moms (with their perfect angels) were watching from the sidelines as I failed miserably at this parenting thing. Ugh. Oliver screamed most of the way home and kept talking about how we could go back to the beach party if we wanted to.

Nope. Not going to ever leave the house again.

He is just way too smart for his own good sometimes. We have no idea where he got this but he has recently been telling us that he is going to run away. This threat is always made when he doesn't like our rules and thinks he could do a better job of running the household. I was expecting this behavior much later. Like, I don't know, in another decade or so. But at two years of age? Really?? Is your life that terrible, child?

After hearing this threat last week I asked him where he would go if he ran away and he said, "I will run out in da stweet and a car will squish me and I will have to go to da hospital in de ambulance." Wow. I told him that was a terrible idea and that we'd be so, so sad. I also told him that he'd have to get shots at the hospital and it would hurt, so he changed his mind and said he'd just run away to his sandbox instead.

Anyway, back to today. I was in tears when I called Mike on my way home from the beach party. Oliver's atrocious behavior made me question everything we're doing with him. Mike listened carefully and was very sympathetic. He was saddened to hear about how O acted.

Oliver took a long nap and was much more obedient this afternoon. He felt warm to me so I took his temp and discovered he's got a fever. While it in no way excuses his behavior this morning, it gave me a little insight.

When Mike came home from work he asked Oliver how his day was and O told him all about this morning, including the part about pushing the little boy down b/c he wanted his toy. Mike took the opportunity for a teachable moment and I left them alone. When I came back downstairs I found Oliver holding a piece of paper with this on it:
Yep. It's the Circle of Protection. When I asked what it was, Mike told Oliver to explain it to me. And he did. Remarkably well. He told me that when we obey God (and Mommy and Dadoo) we are within the Circle of Protection. But when we choose to disobey, we leave the circle and are subject to the consequences. In O's case, the consequence is Sad Man (our wooden spoon with a sad face drawn on it). He can choose to stay inside the Circle and be protected from Sad Man or he can choose to leave the Circle and face the consequences of disobedience.

While I couldn't help but giggle as I pictured Robert De Niro and the Byrnes Family Circle of Trust, I completely appreciated my husband's efforts to convey this truth to our son. And apparently it was quite effective b/c Oliver talked about it long after Mike left for his meeting. We all want to remain inside the Circle of Protection.

And yes, Mike is an engineer. He is quite fond of diagrams and instruction booklets. His favorite show is "How It's Made" and he relishes any opportunity to explain how something works. Just ask him. He'll know the answer.

Before I put Oliver to bed tonight I asked him what Bible story he wanted to read. He immediately answered, "Jonah!" I said, "Wow, that is so appropriate. Jonah was very disobedient." We read the story and talked about how Jonah should have gone to Nineveh and obeyed God the first time. Instead he had to face some dramatic consequences.

So we'll let him sleep on that tonight. Between his new "Circle of Protection" visual aid and his fear of ending up in the belly of a whale, maybe he'll make better choices tomorrow.

All kidding aside, it really was a tough day. Seeing our precious child make decisions to be selfish and mean is just heartbreaking. I know it's just the beginning of a long journey in parenting but I pray for wisdom to teach and guide him well. May he grow into a young man with a heart to obey, honor and love God above all else.

Chrys

Take Me Out to the Backyard

Oliver talked all day about playing baseball when Dadoo got home. He was so excited!
Chrys

To the Zoo with Dadoo

The guys in our Community Group decided to take the kids on an outing to the zoo and Oliver has been counting down the days all week long. I'm not sure if he was more excited about the zoo or about getting to ride the train to the zoo. Either way he was stoked to spend the day with his favorite person.

I heard they had lots of fun. Oliver even ate pizza (???) for lunch! I was so excited to hear that news. Peer pressure??

And apparently it's sometimes hard to get pics with a busy two-year-old. Mike did a great job, though.
After the zoo they headed to a birthday party. While on the train they ran into some friends of Jordant's who recognized O from the blog. Small world. Here's Oliver with Mckinsey & Whitney:
They celebrated Amelia's second birthday party at a park. Oliver was napless and exhausted but he managed to have a great time despite falling head first from a high platform on the playground. These pics crack me up.
The party favor was a book, which Oliver the Bibliophile promptly sat down and read.
And read... And read......until the train came and they headed home. What a fun day with Dadoo! I missed them terribly but I knew they were making memories and enjoying a gorgeous Saturday together. I'm so thankful that my dear husband is such an intentional father who genuinely enjoys spending quality time with our boys. What a blessing.

Chrys

Nothing Egg-ceptional

I thought this Deceptively Delicious recipe for scrambled eggs looked yummy: They were really easy to make and the time commitment was nothing compared to the last recipe. These contain cauliflower puree and Parmesan cheese.

Once again, my version didn't turn out to be nearly as aesthetically appealing as Jessica Seinfeld's.Unfortunately Oliver's reaction remained the same. "Take it away," he demanded tearfully.But fortunately True's reaction was consistent as well:

What? More food that Oliver won't eat? Bring it on!

For what it's worth, Truett and I thought the cauliflower scrambled eggs were tasty and light. Dadoo wasn't a fan, though. He said they tasted like, um, cauliflower.

Hmmmmm.

Note to self: Be more deceitful next time.

Chrys

Psalm 127

Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them...
Psalm 127: 1,3,4,5a

Oh, how I love this man. Thank you, LORD, for my dear husband.

Chrys

Choo Choo the Snowman

We didn't pack warm enough clothes but thoughtful Aunt Jordan got Oliver a coat and some boots so he could play outside in the snow. What fun we had! Oliver giggled the entire time and screamed bloody murder when it was time to go inside. I'm not sure if his favorite thing was jumping in the puddles or throwing snowballs at Daddoo. He was positively giddy the entire time we were outside.

Here he is all bundled up:
We made a snow man and O named him Choo Choo since he heard a train going by in the distance. Choo Choo had a carrot nose and Oreo eyes. Poor Choo Choo has a short life expectancy, however, as it is supposed to warm up tomorrow. Our first snowman! How much fun. I honestly can't remember the last time I built a snowman. It's amazing how seeing the world through the eyes of a child provides new perspective and surprising joy. What a gift. We are grateful people.

Chrys

While the cat's away...

Mike here, Chrys has asked me to blog for a change so here goes.

Mom was out of town over the weekend visiting with some of her friends and took Truett with her. That left just Oliver and Dadoo to fend for themselves. We managed to survive and had a fun time to boot. I had planned a fun outing for the weekend while Oliver and I were alone and had been talking about it to him all week. He was really excited about it (as was I) and he talked about it frequently. Now I realize, the typical father son thing to do while mom is away is go to a baseball game or some other sporting event. But, we have done that already and I want to do that more when he is older and can better appreciate it. Instead, we did something that I have really wanted to do together that would indulge the love of airplanes that we share. We went to the airport to watch planes land. Admittedly, that is not something that everyone can love like we do, but given that I am an aspiring pilot with nearly enough hours

First Solo (after landing) - 2003

(but not nearly enough money or time) to be licensed, and Oliver's love of all things mechanical, especially things that fly, it works out nicely for us.

We headed out around 8:00 AM and drove out to the north end of Dallas Love Field to a park known as Bachman Lake Park. The jogging trail and road around the lake is literally just a few hundred feet from runway 13L. The "X" in the picture shows where we were sitting.

There is another area that is even closer to the taxiway. Here is a picture showing that location. All of this was outside any restricted area.
And the view:Here are some of the favorite shots from the outing:

Studying the airport diagram

Ahh, peaceful...

As it turns out, Saturday was also the Smithsonian Museum Free Admission Day so we also went to the Frontiers of Flight Museum just around the corner from where we were watching the planes land.

"I think I could get the hang of this, how hard could it be?"

It took more time to take off his shoes that he spent inside the bounce house.

"Dadoo, can we keep him?"

Beech E-17 "Staggerwing"
(Voted one of the ten sexiest planes)

Oliver's second favorite flying machine.

Someday?

I thoroughly enjoyed the day and I think Oliver did too. I look forward to the next one.

Mike