a trike ride

We went for a long walk today.  Well -- "long" as in, it took us an hour and a half although we didn't cover a braggable distance, and "walk" as in, I walked, Owen rode, and Bob triked ("triked" being the tricycle equivalent of "biked").  I was surprised at Pupper's endurance; when he wanted to add an extra leg to the journey I was sure I'd end up somehow pushing the stroller and pulling the trike and carrying Bob all at once, but what do you know-- his little legs pedaled the whole way home.

Pupper is in the market for a balance bike, but we've told him we'll get him one when he gives up his pacifier.  So... that will be never.  Or maybe if we're lucky it'll correspond with the time when pink is no longer his favorite color.  Because of course he's insistent upon having a pink bike.  Which is fine by me, really.  But Pup's really going to have to work on convincing Dad on that one.

To both boys' joy, we met a dog along the way down the old mill road.  Pupper and the pup played fetch for a while; they each were absolutely ecstatic about their luck.  "I LOVE my new dog.  This is the best dog ever.  This dog is much better at fetching than Archie and Willie."  (Archie and Willie are Grandma's dogs, a dachshund and a Chihuahua.  They do not fetch.)

It was a lovely sunny day but cold.  I cannot WAIT until real spring arrives and we can go out without the 30 minutes of pre-walk bundling.  I'm a summer girl.  Why do we live in Massachusetts, anyway?

random lately...

Owen loves escaping mid diaper change and climbing up onto everything he can.

Bob loves to play "Star Wars guys" which really means Ben's superhero action figures.

This guy's cute.

Bob found this toy chainsaw outside and, well, you can see how happy he was about that.

A little chillax time.

Yes, my son thinks he is a dog.

Owen thinks he is absolutely hilarious when he steals Bob's blankie.

"Batman" has been known to rock these jammies for 48 hours straight.

Owen is just about as obsessed with playing fireman as Bobby is.

Bailey came to play on Sunday, and both pups were thrilled.

Taking care of their babies.

Lots and lots of rock box time lately; Owen's allowed in now and it's one of his favorite things to do.  He goes over to the box and pats his chest to say "please" and I almost always oblige even though he almost always makes a huge mess.

Dumping milk is so much more fun than drinking it; especially when you can just snag some boobie time a little later.

That's our lately; low-key but lovely.  How's yours?

i have a feeling tomorrow's not going to look much like spring

It's March and we're finally getting some snow, eh?  Just about when I'm completely ready for spring.  Or summer, actually.  I don't know if even spring will do it for me.  As much fun as it is to play in the snow with the pups, it sure is a lot of work getting them {and me} all bundled up to go out.  By the time the second one is all dressed, the first one is either dying from heat exhaustion indoors or has already fallen face first into snow outdoors.  Or so it seems.  But... none can deny that falling snow is gorgeous; hence my camera and tripod being dragged out into the elements this weekend.  And Owen -- with each storm he gets a better taste of the snow and loves playing in it more.  Today while I was bringing in groceries from the car he made a break for it in his socks, following close behind Bob.  A couple of menaces, I tell you!

Happy "Spring"!

journals

There's a reason I haven't been quite as obsessive about keeping up with little things here on the blog: daily notekeeping in my journals.

Last year I kept a book of Bob's quotes...

This year I've taken it a step farther and I also include notes some days and once in a while I even let Bobby contribute...

And I've got one going for Owen this year too...

I went shopping for daily journals at Barnes and Noble on January 1st because they're already half price by then; it's pretty much my favorite New Year's tradition.

Keeping the journals has been super satisfying and not hard to keep up with; they help me feel as though I'm saving a slice of these sweet years to savor later on.  And if I don't live 'til they're grown, or even if I do, my boys will be able to look through these books and know how very, very, very much their mama loved them.

Me Too! by Mercer Mayer, read by bob at age 3

I've been meaning to post another Bob reading sample for a while {here are part one and part two} but normally Pupper doesn't like to read for the camera, and I don't have time for that crap anyway.

But one day recently I got lucky.  Full disclosure: we've read this book a hundred times and pup probably has most of it memorized.  But, we haven't read it much lately, and he totally could read this whole book even if he had never seen it before.  We're now more surprised when he can't read a word than when he can.  And of course his little reading voice is adorable to listen to, so here it is.

"Me Too!" by Mercer Mayer

read by "Pupper" -- age three

swim lessons for bob!

Right after Bob turned three I signed him up for swim lessons with his buddy Shane.  We like to show up early and play ball in the gym for a little while beforehand.

photos from his very first lesson

The lessons are pretty darn hilarious.  Tiny little people flailing their limbs about in the water.  Owen spends the entire 45 minutes trying to evade me and climb into the pool.  It's funny and all and I love his tenacity but it's exhausting and a little nerve racking and by the time class is over, I am ready for it to be over.  Bobby has great days and awful days.  Sometimes he's all smiles, chatting it up with his buds, jumping off the diving blocks... other times he claims he doesn't want to swim at all, or he gets hungry, or tired... Mom has given many a pep talk -- some nice, others a bit more stern.  We always come out happy in the end.  The warm shower afterwards is a favorite part of the whole ritual.  Now that Owen can really walk he gets in on it too.  I'll tell ya -- the whole thing is a hassle and I'll be glad for summertime when I can just take him swimming myself.  But in the meantime, it's good for him; a different experience with a little structure and another authority figure, new kids, practice in the water... It's worth it.  But still.  I'll be ready for a break come summer.  {And I'm ready for summer to come!}