Big Cousin

This is the first time Flynn's a big cousin (or Gabe too for that matter).


And she is so good at it!


Here she holds the new cousin, Jack:

She makes a pretty good big cousin...and will make a great sitter!

A Trip to Build-A-Bear, compliments of Aunt G

When Gabe was born, Flynn was freshly 21 mos. & along with that &
her new title as BIG Sister, she was ready for a field trip without us.

And so, Aunt G & cousins picked up Flynn in true date fashion

(she was sporting braids & her strawberry shortcake backpack).

And off they all headed to the mall to build Flynn's Happy Tappy Elmo

(complete with tuxedo & patten leather shoes).

So, when this same milestone hit with Gabe (not the being a big sib part thank goodness),

G decided a trip to BaB was in order for him as well.

Here he is pressing the peddle for the fluff.

(check out his flip flops)

And choosing a heart.

Bubby built a cute turtle, complete with turtle shell back pack.

He is named, "Trek".

G also bought Trek a birthday ensemble (party hat, sash, blower, you know -- everything a birthday turtle wears for a birthday celebration).

Before we went, Flynn was all, "I'm going to build a bear too."

And I was all, "No you aren't...this is Gabe's special day."

And then, Miss Renee gave Flynn her bear bucks.

And Flynn built a bear too (Reed, the cute curly-haired bear with reading glasses and Cat in the Hat boxers).

Two Things...

Two things I like about Flynn...

ONE is:

and the other is:

Scary Hairy

THIS

(check out the knots)

Is why I decided to cut about 3 inches off Flynn's hair tonight.
May many easy brushings be in the days to come.

Because I Never Claimed to be a Computer Guru

Hence my header.... I'm working on it tho & if I didn't need to go & make dinner for two new moms, I would work on it some more.
For now, you'll just have to contend with it.

And speaking of computer gurus,

I Couldn't Have Planned It Any Better...

Shortly after returning from vacaysh (hence the lack of upkeep on the pool & its mossy water),

Jeff yelled at me from his bathroom.

In an excited tone, he beckoned for me to look out his window.

And THIS is what we saw:

We laughed in glee & high-fived & cheered for the little rodent's death.

My only sadness?

That I didn't see the squirrel fall into the pool, then, well, you know what follows...

But, last Sunday, our wish came through.

Again, from his bathroom (are you starting to follow that he spends a great deal of time in there), Jeff yells for me to look! out the window!

And to my delight, there the pesky, nasty rodent, was doggy-paddling (do you call it doggy paddle when it's a squirrel?), the perimeter of the pool.

Apparently these little guys have been scaling the side of the pool, then plummeting to their death. But this one we got to watch, swimming, then attempting to scale the side, and treading some more.

The really sick thing is that we laughed from the window, giggling, videoing it with the camera phone, giggling some more, high fiving, evil laughter (mm'wa ah ah), & high fiving some more.

All on the Sabbath, nonetheless.

Paul Bunyon

Gabe still sports the olive on a toothpick look....

His stats are a whopping 25 lbs & 36 inches tall.
Putting him at the 95th % for his height, but only the 15th for his weight.

And going by the formula at projecting adult height,
Dr says he'll be at least 6 feet tall.

This makes momma happy....finally, passing on the height gene.

How Can My Baby Be Two?

Dear Gabe,

Where have these last two years gone?

I remember the day you were born. . . I was hanging the letters of your name on the wall, and my water broke. You were stubborn back then, and you took 18 hours to arrive.
The night after you were born, you made noises all night long, and I never slept. I just kept getting up to see you.
And I did that for the next 3 months.

We loved you then, your sensitivity, your presence.
And now you're two.

And you definitely know what you want. And you aren't afraid to let everyone know what you like & what you dislike.
You love to play. You love your sissy. But you really love Momma, and everytime I walk out the door, it breaks your heart.
And it breaks my heart when your heart is broken.

I wonder about what the years hold for you. Will you be good at sports? Will you love to read? Will I cry when I take you to kindergarten or when you ask your wife to marry you?
One thing is for sure. I love being your Momma. And I must've done something pretty great to deserve you as my boy.
Happy 2nd Birthday Gabe.

Love,

Momma

Happy Campers

The Perrys recently went on a camping trip.

Bubs was all too thrilled to be getting to eat fig newtons for breakfast.

It even made him do the chicken dance.



THIS picture reminds me what a baby he still is (even tho he TURNS TWO TOMORROW!!)

This is what I saw when I opened my eyes that morning.



Everybody's happy to sleep in a tent.



Even when you don't get to ever sleep becuz there are about

3 coyotes howling outside of the tent.

The great thing about camping is getting to wade in creeks.

and throw sand.

And swing.

Yep, More Pics from the Fourth

With the busyness, and the computer issues,
I didn't have time to post these fab pics (see flags in window above)...
Okay, so I'm a little behind.
Speaking of behinds.

SuperStar

Jr Stars is a competition here in St. Louis, a little like American Idol (minus the other states & all the drama). It takes place at Six Flags.

There were hundreds & hundreds of kids who auditioned.
Mattie was selected to be a finalist.
She competed a month ago.
And it aired on the 11th, the day after she turned 13.

Here we are enjoying watching the tivo'ed episode.
Crowded around the tube with the star herself.

She's #1 in my book!

Chronicles of Flynn

There are some things that she's said the last couple of months that I want to remember & document here.. of course, I've forgotten most of them, but here's what is in my small mind....

"Mom, what's a soul?"

"Hey Mom, why do you & Dad kiss?"

"Bubby's going to be TWO on his birthday. TWO is not big but THREE is big."

"I want to build a birdhouse!" (out of the clear blue)

"G's birthday (Oct.) is right next to my birthday." (with giggles)

Something else cute that she did the other day...
Every night, when we take her to bed, she lets us know how she'd like to be carried to her bed. For a while the two choices were "tree frog" (where she'd bring her legs up, soles of feet together, arms straight down) or "baby" (where she'd lay back in our arms like a baby).
Well, when we got back from FL, apparently she was in a sea creature mode. She told Jeff, "Carry me to bed like a crab", then she proceeded to take her "pinchers" up into the air & pinch repeatedly & fast. She was also picking up her legs really high.
She did this over & over (in response to our uncontrollable laughter).

I'm a bit of a germ-phobic (I don't mind OUR germs, but can't handle public germs). Flynn knows that when we walk into a public restroom that she's not to touch ANYTHING...the walls...the sink....the toilet paper dispenser, that only Mommy touches things & assists her. Apparently, that's really gotten to her. The other day, Jeff motioned for me to go look in the bathroom. There our toilet seat was COMPLETELY lined with toilet paper (something I do to a small degree for the public toilets).

She never fails to make me laugh...and she's at the phase where our laughter spurs her to entertain.

MudCakes

A typical day at Nana's....

THIS is what the kids did while Jeff & I were rocking out with Jeremy Camp.

I have a secret, we were having as much fun as them.

Even without mud running down our legs.

In Her Defense

I feel I must set the record straight.

You see, in the Garden Story below, my beloved Flynn didn't actually take the pink watering can away. At least not in this particular episode.
I lied, because it really went well with the pictures...and, well, that's usually the case.

But in the event these blog entries last longer than I do, I didn't want my sweeties looking back & reading falsehoods.

I'd also be lying if I didn't say how much I loved Carlton from Fresh Prince. Clickety-click-click, for a Happy Monday.

A Morning in the Garden

She looks so innocent, don't let her fool you....

Her brother was so busy & so happy watering flowers with his

"tough guy watering can".

When SHE decided to snatch it from him.

Makes for a very sad gardener.