It's official...

...was Noble's last movie for a while. Seriously, I said that after Friday night's adventure, but tonight clenched it. It wasn't horrible or anything, but it's just oh, so obvious that sitting for an hour and a half (plus!) isn't in Noble's skill set just yet. So, we'll let him grow up a bit (um, like, years...) and then try it again.

On the way home, we had a moment of silence for family movie nights. Sniff.

The plus side? We got to have a date with the Ellis family...always a plus! Thanks, Steve, for being our movie go-to guy! :)

Reality Check

Today was Noble's 12-month check up. Yup, 2 days after his 15-month birthday. It's been a busy spring, what can I say? As the doctor and I went through the standard question and answer period, I realized something about myself: I'm a hypocrite. (If that's NOT news to you, just shut it. I'm getting there.)

I've been very firm about not comparing Noble to Kayci because frankly, it's apples to oranges. But when the pediatrician asked me if I had any concerns and I brought up Noble's speech, it was a look in the big ol' shiny hypocritical mirror. I heard myself telling the doctor that I was concerned that Noble didn't say that many words, blah blah...I heard it. And while I was hearing it, I was thinking, hmm...is that really a concern? Turns out, not so much. Just there in the office Kayci and I came up with 18 words that Noble says consistently. When I told the doctor that, he just gave me THAT look--I've given parents THAT look before, and I knew I was in for it. He gave me a very polite but very firm speech about not grading Noble on Kayci's curve...kids his age are supposed to have 5 words. So he's good. Advanced, even, the doctor says.

His mommy? Well, turns out I need to take some remedial parenting classes. I needed today--I needed to see that I had unrealistic expectations and I was looking at Noble like he was "slow" when in fact he's right on track. He's just different than Kayci was, and that's way okay. Sigh. Sorry, Bubby...hope you don't hate me one day. And if the low expectations didn't do it, me holding him down while he got 3 shots might have...but I don't think so. He was fine once he got a balloon. (And yes, he can say balloon. Well, ball...close enough!)

I'll do better, Bubby. I've said it before and I'll say it again, looks like we're growing together. Who knew it worked both ways?

A year later...

...Kayci rediscovers one of her favorite b-day gifts from last summer.  She's so like me...she loved, loved this scrapbook set but didn't ever open it because she wanted time to work on it.  Yesterday I gave her the assignment to go through every bin and drawer in the office and make a list of her stuff, thinking it would help her rediscover said stuff and fight off boredom.  So far, so good...yesterday she didn't make it past the first bin before she was asking to play play-doh.  And now she's got her scrapbook out, just cutting and gluing away.  Score one for the moms (and packrats!) of the world!

Name That Photo

7:45 AM today:  I snapped this just as he pulled the top off of the Marks-A-Lot.

That's a gift (for someone else) he's about to write on, by the way...

I'm calling it, "Why Noble goes to daycare...even during the summer." 

Or, "why Mommy drinks." 

Hmm, or, what about "Mommy, what are those lines on your forehead?" 

Or, "hey, look, it's THAT kid!"

Or really, "why we love Noble (anyway)."

He definitely keeps us hopping, but you know, he keeps us smiling, too.  

Yesterday as we were getting in the car at Wal-Mart, 

Kayci looked up and said, 

"Have I told you today how much I love you, Mommy?" 

I bent down and kissed her, and Noble got a little jealous. 

When I put him in his seat he held up his face for a kiss, 

patted me and said, "Mom Mom."  

I know it was just a reaction to what Kayci did, 

but still, I melt over those little (close-mouthed!) kisses

and hearing that voice say, "Mom Mom."  

Yesterday was a good day--Kayci truly did her best at Swim Lessons, 

and she did everything she needed to do in her skill level.  

I was so proud at her for trying so hard...

I admit, I got weepy when she kept trying until she made it to the bottom

and came back up with that pink dive ring.  

I clapped before I realized what I was doing--yes, I'm that Mom.  

I'm a little bummed that I have to work tonight 

so I won't be there to see what group she's assigned to, 

but it'll be cool for her to have some time with Daddy.  :)  

The Throwback prayer

Dear Lord,

Thank you for this Throwback, for which I am about to receive.

Thank you for its smooth, sugary taste and for my job, which allowed me the money to run my refrigerator to make it ice cold.

Thank you for my wife, Kristi, who delivered the Throwback out of the urban wilderness to Brenham to join other such things that taste good.

Bless the fine people at the Pepsi-Cola Company for making such yummy goodness.

And please bring forth the Mountain Dew Throwback.

Amen.

(for my review of Pepsi Throwback, be sure to visit my blog, Destructoville.)

Happy Weekend!

We're wrapping up a great weekend!  The kids and I came home Friday night, and we just picked Daddy up and headed into College Station for a family movie date.  (That's another post for another day...it was Noble's last movie for a while.  And yes, I'm sighing.)  When we sat down for breakfast yesterday morning, we agreed that we would a) stay in Brenham this weekend and b) not worry about getting LOTS of stuff done, but just focus on getting a couple of things done.  So, we did...and we did!  

I won't bore you with the details, but we did get a lot accomplished this weekend even though that wasn't the goal.  Most importantly, we got Sami moved into the big yard (wait 'til you see what they did to her house!!) and we got the deck spiffed up and yes, sanitized so we're ready for outdoor meals again.  We pretty much literally spent the whole weekend outside, which was lots of fun.  Noble still loves his swing, and Kayci has introduced him to jumping rope.  Well, he's not so good with the jumping but he does love to follow her around carrying his own jump rope.  

James cut down the two big trees (or bushes, we're not sure...all we know is that we and everyone we know has "almost" gotten hit trying to pull out onto Stone St.--the things were a hazard.  And ugly.)  in the corner of the yard, and the random trees in our side flower beds.  We had fun yesterday making a few trips to the dump to take the trees and a load of old Sami hay...I don't know why going to the dump is entertaining, but it is.  Our next "big" outside project is going to be tearing out all 4 flower beds around our house.  We're going to take every thing out, including the lumber edges, and rebuild them from scratch.  Our goal is a more organic shape and to choose plants that we actually LIKE.  We'll also replace the trees with a bed in the corner of the yard, but that might be more decorative grasses, etc.  We'll see on that one.  

I guess the point of the post is, we've had a great weekend.  We were accidentally productive, and it feels good to have our outside back.  :)  I thought about Grandpa a lot this weekend as I worked on the deck...he'd be happy that I FINALLY cleaned out those gutters!...and got it in tip-top Grandpa shape.  It's hard to explain how I feel--this weekend I've really missed my Dad, but I felt close to him, too, doing the things that we used to do together and doing things "his" way.  James and I have talked about this a lot, about how sometimes when we're doing something we can just hear him talking us through it like he always did.  Those times are both painful and joyful, and I think that's a good way to sum up a lot of what I felt this weekend.  

Summers around here mean time spent outside and of course, time spent eating outside.  We try to eat fresh food as much as possible during the summer, which is time-consuming but so satisfying!  Yesterday our wonderful neighbors gave us a bag of veggies from their garden, and we paired their tomatoes with our basil for our first-ever Caprese Salad.  It was gorgeous AND delicious...this one's a keeper!  

GoGo, Angus and Adam came out for lunch today, and we had a nice afternoon just hanging out with them. After they left, we headed to the Aquatic Center. Tomorrow both kiddos start swimming lessons, which will be fun. I hope! Either way, I'm sure we'll keep you posted...

Friday Funny

The kids and I went to Sears yesterday to take Grandma to the eye doctor.  When we walked in, I noticed this cool red grill that looks a lot like the one we just bought only, well, it's red.  So I snapped a picture of it and sent it to James with this caption...

If Mommy ruled the world...

After lunch I happened to check my e-mail, and I saw this one:

If Daddy ruled the world...

And this one:

If Kayci ruled the world...

And finally, I was laughing out loud at this point:

If Noble ruled the world...

Just a little fun on a Friday afternoon.  Hope it makes you smile, too!  

Baby's got Benadryl...

Noble has developed quite a cough over the past couple of days, and tonight I was forced to do something drastic (after consulting with a medical professional, of course)...I gave him his first dose of Benadryl.  

20 minutes later, Noble was literally running back and forth across the living room like the little maniac we always knew he could be.

Is it wrong that I found it really, really funny?  

Fear Not...

Pepsi Throwback has apparently come to Houston...I did some checking after an e-mail from Lynn yesterday and today after work we're going to hunt some down.

Oh, the things we do for love.

And sugar.

Mexican Coke

If you've ever read my other blog, Destructoville, you know that I'm a HUGE fan of soft drinks that are actually flavored with sugar, instead of high fructose corn syrup. It's so much smoother and tastes SO much better.

"Dublin" Dr Pepper is the one addiction that I fight. And I'm really, really mad that while Pepsi decided to make both Pepsi and Mountain Dew in their original formulas with real sugar (for a limited time), they seem to only be offering it for sale in New York City.

But Coke has never stopped making their product with the original sugar formula ... in Mexico. So "Mexican Coke," or Coca-Cola imported from Mexico is somewhat of a rare treat. So last weekend Kayci and I visited a little hispanic store called Lupita's that's here in Brenham (it's the only place in town that carries my favorite chicken maranade). While we were there we found that they carry Mexican Coke, so I bought a bottle (a glass bottle, no less!) and shared it with Kayci.

She was a little hesitant at first ("it came from ... Mexico???") But when she tried it, she LOVED it. In fact, we had a real father/daughter bonding moment as we shared a Coke the way God intended for it to be consumed: made with sugar and from a glass bottle.

Kayci especially loved the way the bottle felt on her lips and the cool "ploonk" sound the top of the bottle made after she took a drink.

I have fond memories of ordering Coke bottles out of a bottle vending machine and drinking them when I was about her age. I'm glad we found a way to pass on some of my childhood memories to her - as well as some of the things that remain unspoiled by "progress." I'm looking at you, plastic bottles - and yes, you too, corn syrup.

Now if only I could find Cherry Coke to drink from a pull-tab can or a Pepsi in a real steel can, I'd have even more great things to pass on...