Hummers

Our boys are big fans of Hummers.

Hummingbirds, that is. Oliver has been making observations about nectar and "hummies" the entire time we've been in Abilene. After making and then sampling some hummingbird nectar, he decided it was time to fill up the feeder and wait for the hummies to come eat at the Hummer Restaurant.

Here he is, carefully pouring nectar into the feeder. Notice Truett with the Lightning McQueen cup? He's drinking nectar.
I love how Oliver is holding his tongue "just right" to pour the nectar:Now the feeder is hanging and open for business.
(Side note: Please notice O's big boy pants. I don't want to say too much but I *think* we've arrived. Eeeek! He's still wearing a diaper at night but is waking up dry. Yay! This topic deserves its own post, however, so I'll stop now.)

Truett is waiting at the window. He's been signing "bird" and flapping his own little wings whenever he sees a hummie stop to eat. That usually scares them away, of course. (Jammie and Oliver decided that hummingbirds are very shy.)Our beautiful one-year old boy.I wasn't fast enough to snap pics of any hungry hummies after we replenished the feeder today but these are some Jammie took last week:
I think hummingbirds are amazing! Did you know their little hearts beat up to 1,260 beats per minute? And that they are only found in North and South America? And that you could mail 9 or 10 hummingbirds with a single first class stamp?

Okay. I'll stop.

Chrys

A Rainy Sunday Afternoon w/ Jammie

We've gotten nearly five inches of rain over the past few days. While Jordan, Mike, Melissa and I were at the mall taking advantage of tax-free weekend, Oliver and Jammie decided to suit up in Jammie's raincoats and play outside.

I love how he's got his tongue sticking out in this pic:
I don't know many grandmothers who would willingly get drenched. You're a sweet one, Jammie.

Chrys

Zoo

Our Dallas Zoo membership can conveniently be used at the Abilene Zoo so we headed there this morning for another day of celebrating Mr. T's first birthday. The rain held off and allowed for a cool, breezy, very un-August-like visit. What fun...Chrys

Dog Days of Summer

We went to the Grace Museum for Artwalk this evening. The boys played in the Children's Museum and then did a dog art project.
Several trains flew down the tracks while we were there. O loved watching them.Afterwards we stayed for the Dog Parade. We predicted the boys would love it--especially Truett. And we were right.The boys met their very favorite dog, a Giant Schnauzer named Maggie. I told Maggie's owner that Maggie should feel very special--Truett hasn't yet said all of his family member's names but he now says "Maggie". He was crazy about her!After the parade there were lots of fun activities at the park. Oliver won lots of goodies by catching fish.There was a band playing and our music lover was so into it. O "played" the drums across from where they were until they graciously invited him to come over and play the real drum. So cute. He wanted to play the guitar and sing in the microphone as well. Abilene is such a great town.

Chrys

A Honey of a Haircut

I've been cutting on Oliver's hair a lot lately and it's a mess. I admittedly don't know what I'm doing so I asked my mom if she would attempt to clean it up for me. We teased her for taking too much off but it will grow. Like a weed. It always does!

I trimmed Truett's a little too:Chrys

Cubbies

PawPaw returned from his baseball trip today and brought the boys baseball caps as souvenirs.
Chrys

Old Glory

Oliver loves to help PawPaw take down the flag every evening.
Our boys learn so much from their grandparents. We are so thankful for them.

Chrys

Pupcakes

Truett's "real" birthday party isn't until Saturday but I have a thing about celebrating on the actual day. We arrived in Abilene this evening and celebrated with "pupcakes" that Aunt Jordan brought over for dessert.After we sang "Happy Birthday", Oliver didn't give T a chance to attempt to blow that lone candle. O swooped right in and did it for him, from quite a ways away. We all laughed.Truett wasn't sure what to think at first. He hesitantly tasted the icing and decided he liked it. But he wasn't so keen on the cake part. I'm one!
Oliver is a fan of the pupcake. Every last bit of it.
Chrys

Virtually PawPaw

Mike found a web cam outside of Wrigley Field so he called PawPaw and told him where to go so we could spot him. Sure enough, we saw him!
Chrys

Where Is PawPaw?

Our beloved PawPaw is on a baseball trip thru the Midwest. He and some of his buddies are catching ten major league games in eight days. It makes me tired just thinking about it, but he's having a blast and eating lots of hot dogs.

Mike and Oliver are mapping PawPaw's trip. O's easel is full of maps and travel itineraries.They made a PawPaw cut-out and have been moving him from place to place each day.Before bed tonight they were looking online at a pic of Great American Stadium in Cinncinnati, where PawPaw is right now. They called to ask where he was sitting and Mike said O kept looking for PawPaw in the picture online.

It has been too long since Oliver saw his grandparents. He talks to all of them on the phone all the time but it's not the same. We were at a store recently when a sweet, older couple gave the boys lots of attention. As we were leaving I said, "Say bye, boys." They waved and smiled sweetly then Oliver said with a confused look on his face, "Was that Jammie & PawPaw??"

Chrys

Freddie Forklift

Several years ago my dad retired from writing and took a job doing predominately manual labor. I initially judged it a waste of his talent b/c he is brilliant and so overqualified for his current position. But my opinion changed when I saw how much he enjoys it. He is fulfilled and I am so proud of him.

And his grandsons are proud, too. Oliver thinks Ro-Daddy has the coolest job ever b/c he gets to drive big trucks, use a forklift and work around construction equipment.

For almost a year now, O has received letters from Freddie Forklift. Freddie works with Ro-Daddy so he sends reports to Oliver about what they've been doing. These letters arrive about once a week and always include old-school polaroids of construction projects they're involved with. Freddie has lots of cousins and he tells Oliver stories about how hard they're working and what they're building.Oliver loves going to the mailbox each day, anxiously awaiting a letter from Freddie. Then he calls Ro-Daddy to tell him he got a Freddie Forklift letter and Ro-Daddy acts surprised.O has quite a collection now of pictures and letters from Freddie. They are treasures to him.

Today at lunch Oliver was inspecting a picture of Freddie's cousin Bubba Bucketmouth. (He said his mouth looks like Mommy's, by the way. Nice.) He hugged it and said, "Bubba Bucketmouth loves me so very much." Yes, Oliver, he does. So does Freddie Forklift.

And so does Ro-Daddy.Thank you, Lord, for a creative, thoughtful and loving dad who loves my children so well.

And thanks, Ro-Daddy. I love you.

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

O&T Sand Co.

Ro-Daddy is always making neat stuff for his grandsons. He found this vintage, metal Tonka dumptruck, sanded it and repainted it for the brothers to use in their sandbox!
Thanks, Ro-Daddy! We think it's going to haul a LOT of sand this summer. Check back for pics!

Chrys

Sandy

Poor Oliver has had a rough couple of days. Having a zillion fire ant bites is woeful for anyone but it's especially dreadful for a two-and-a-half-year-old with things to do and places to go. It has really cramped his style. He has been irritated and irrational. I've extended him an extra portion of grace and mercy b/c I know he is hurting but it has been comical at times.

The last two days have gone something like this:
Oliver: "I want you to hold you me, please."
Mommy: "I'd love to, O. Come here."
Oliver: "No!!!!!!!!!!" (bursting into tears) "I don't want you to hold you me! I want to play trucks."
Mommy: "Perfect. Then let's play trucks."
Oliver: "No!!!!!!! I don't want to play trucks!" (more tears) "I want to read books!"
Mommy: "Super! Pick a book."
Oliver: "No! No books!" (tears, tears, tears.)
Mommy: "What would you like to do, O?"
Oliver: "I cannot understand." (tears, tears, tears and more tears.)

He feels wretched and nothing can make it better. We've given him round-the-clock Benedryl and Motrin for the pain. We've done a clay poultice, oatmeal baths, tea tree oil, hydro cortisone and every anti-itch cream known to man. Bless his heart. And feet. He's so agitated he can't think straight.

So why in the world would we do anything to cause this face, you ask??
Let me back up.

My parents (Honey & RoDaddy) have been wanting to build Oliver a sandbox since he was born. They built me a yellow sandbox when I was a baby and I have many happy memories of baking sand pies with my dog, Ope Jones. But now that I'm the mom who's sweeping the floors (well, sometimes I do), I wasn't so keen on the idea of a sandbox. What a mess!

But I've matured since last summer and come to the realization that every boy needs a sandbox. After recent afternoons of watching Oliver dig in the weeds and play in the dirt of our relatively boring backyard, I relented and took my folks up on their offer. They were thrilled and acted quickly.

And they showed up late last night with the finished product in tow. They very politely waited to arrive until they knew Mike and I were finished with our Thursday night Office & Lost date. (Was Lost not unreal??? Love it!)

The boys were so excited to see Honey & RoDaddy this morning. What was the surprise everybody kept talking about? What could it be???

They had to wait until Mike got home and it was time to get the sandbox in place and have the big reveal. Oliver was very interested in what Mike and RoDaddy were doing. He watched intently as they slowly filled the big, wooden box with 650 lbs of sand. Always the cautious one, he carefully investigated.
Truett wasn't sure what to think but he could sense Brother's excitement.Once the sand was in place, O politely asked Mike if he could help rake it.Honey's love language is gifts so she always brings goodies. As if a sandbox wasn't enough, she showered Oliver and Truett with all kinds of toys and tools to use in the sandbox. They were elated.
I was waiting for it to happen so I could catch it on camera: T-Bird's first mouthful of sand. Oliver was a little older when he first tasted sand so Truett is getting an early start.
What did you think, T?After awhile the brisket in the crock pot was smelling really tasty and the sun was beginning to set. Time for supper, everybody!

Okay, let's put the lid on the sandbox and we'll play more tomorrow!
Oh my. A fit like I have never before seen.
So now you know how the sad face happened.

I'll bet there will be even more toys and surprises tomorrow, boys. I'm so excited for you. I delight in watching you play in the sand and enjoy one another. Life with you is so very sweet.

Mommy is gonna be sweeping up lots of sand this summer...and I couldn't be happier about it. Let the backyard fun begin!

Thanks so much, Honey and RoDaddy. I can tell that Oliver is already feeling lots better!

Chrys

Jammie & PawPaw

Jammie & PawPaw came to help us as I recover from surgery. Thank you for loving us and serving us.
Chrys

I Had A Dream.

This is going to be a catch-up post. I hate it when I get behind on the blog b/c the perfectionist in me stresses out. So the procrastinator in me ignores the blog completely and then I get even more behind. Oh well. Here goes...

Mike and I finally had our anniversary getaway on Friday night and it was fantastic. We were a month late in celebrating b/c of Sickfest '08 but we had such a great time! His folks came in town to take care of the boys and they all had a ball. I asked if the kids noticed if we were gone and the answer was a sad one: Oliver inquired about us once.

Here's Oliver waking up from his nap to find Jammie & PawPaw here on Thursday:We missed the boys terribly but thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Mike kept all the details a surprise b/c he knows I love the anticipation. We spent the night at the Omni Mandalay in Las Colinas.

When the bellhop brought our luggage to the room he said, "What is this? You brought your tackle box?" I looked up and saw the teen aged boy holding my breast pump case. Ummmmm, yeah. My tackle box. You can call it that if you want to. Not wanting to embarrass him I quickly said, "Yes! Can we fish from our balcony?" (We were on the twentieth floor so it would have been difficult.) He was surprised (guess I don't look like the fishing type) and said that I could if I had strong arms. He left and Mike and I cracked up. Can you imagine if he'd known what was really in my "tackle box"??? He's probably never heard of such a thing.Mike scheduled a pedicure for me at the spa and I felt so spoiled. Then we went shopping at Grapevine Mills to find some new shoes but I'm too picky and everything hurts my feet. We struck out on that. But we did get a Magic Bullet and I love it so far! We ate and ate...had a nice dinner at a Japanese steakhouse that evening and a delicious buffet at the hotel on Saturday morning.

On Saturday we walked around the canal where I had my bridal portraits made over four years ago. I was already nostalgic when we came upon a bride having her portraits made right there! It brought back memories.

Then: And now: We also peeked in the window at Kidd Kraddick's studio. I've had a little crush on Kidd for about fifteen years now. It's harmless. And I think Kellie Raspberry has the best job ever. (BTW, I had dinner with her several years ago after my famous friend was on The Apprentice. I even sat by her. Does that make me cool?? I'm a geek. But she was really nice.)Late Saturday afternoon we met up w/ the boys and Mike's folks for supper at The Rainforest Cafe. We thought Oliver would love it but we were seated next to some very loud gorillas that he was a little fearful of. He kept covering his ears and shhhhhing them. Hilarious.I found a super place to discreetly nurse a hungry baby in public: the broken photo booth. Oliver was even entertained for the duration of the feeding.We got home Saturday night and were thankful for such a fun weekend away. We love being with our children but it really is important and healthy to just focus on one another every once in awhile.

So now we're home and back into the swing of things. We've had so much fun with the kids.

When Mike went in to get O out of bed this morning Oliver announced that he had a dream. He said he dreamed he fell out of his bed onto Texas. Interesting! After his nap this afternoon he told me that he dreamed about elephants. It is wild to me that he is capable of remembering his dreams and telling us about them.

Chrys

Something To Look Forward To

Well, we didn't get to have our night away after all. So sad. Mike started feeling achy on Thursday night and by Friday morning he had a 101+ fever. We were just sure it was the flu. Ironically his doctor was out with the flu and their practice was totally booked b/c of all the sick folks around here so he went to a random clinic and got a flu test. It was negative, thank God. (I was especially concerned about baby Truett getting the flu b/c he's too young to take Tamiflu.)

Even though it wasn't the flu, Mike still felt terrible and it only got worse. So we decided it was best to cancel our reservation (I still don't know anything about those plans). Later we were even more certain that we'd made the right choice b/c I started feeling achy and sick by that evening. Thankfully Mike's folks were here to take care of the boys so that we could rest. I never had more than a low grade fever but poor Mike was burning up. We slept a lot and woke up Sunday morning feeling a thousand times better.

And we are all well now. It is so exciting!

Jammie & PawPaw have promised to come back another weekend so that we can try it again. It gives us something to anticipate, which is always fun. We hope to get that on the calendar soon. This will be our first time to leave the kids overnight so it's a big deal.

Chrys

Christmas Day

What a fun day celebrating Jesus' birth with our family. PawPaw read the Christmas story from Oliver's new Bible and then we opened gifts. Oliver's new space shuttle, blocks, more Geotrax stuff, music, books, gears and bomber jacket were big hits. Truett got some fun toys but so far big brother has enjoyed them more than T.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying family and eating lots of yummy food.

Happy birthday, Jesus! Thank you for our many blessings.
Chrys

Wonder, Part II

He's changed so much since this time last year. What a joy he is to us.Chrys

Public Dancer

Jammie & PawPaw have a bay window that Oliver thinks is a stage. After bath shows are especially amusing since he runs around nekkid. I fully expect to find an audience in the front yard one of these days.