Breakfast helper

My little cart monsters

At big lots... Rocky might not be wearing shoes, but neither of them could pass up the end cap of cool hats :)

Talking to the flag

So I heard this little voice shouting the pledge of allegiance at the top of his lungs, and looked on the front porch to find this:

"For liberty and justice for all... And God Bless America!!!"

When I asked him about it, he said, "I'm just talking, that's all."

Oliver's appointment

Oliver had his two month appointment today (two weeks late) and he's squarely in the middle of the pack at 12 lbs 7 oz (51st percentile) and 23.5 inches (54th percentile). His head circumference is still on the small side at 30th percentile. Everything looks good, says our doctor. 

Tantrummed out

Rockam's "graduation"

Today Rockam graduated from Baby Church to Little Praisers. Stephen moved up from Little Praisers to Explorers. 

Stephen the thinker

Lately Stephen has been saying some really cute things... On Saturday, I took him and Rockam to Aldi, and as I was unloading the shopping cart I noticed my bagged salads were squished beneath other items. I was fretting about my lettuce when Stephen tried to comfort me: "Mom, it will be ok. You'll still enjoy your lettuce, right?" 

"Yeah, Steve, it's really not that bad. I'll still be able to eat it."

"Yeah. Just like God still loves us even when we're naughty. It's just like that," my son says.

I laugh and say, "yep, just like that."

Then he starts laughing at himself his analogy, and says "that's kind of silly. God did that because He likes to laugh!"

Tonight he was talking about how he would have a wife when he grows up. Then he asked me if God would make his wife. "How does God make her head?" This was followed by a series of questions... How does God make her neck, shoulders, stomach, legs, hands, fingers, ankles, feet and toes! Then he lamented that he had to grow up before he could marry his wife. With that, Steve sits down on the kitchen floor, hugging his knees and says, "I'm NEVER going to have a wife!!!" And puts on this truly dejected look. 

When your five, I suppose adulthood does seem an eternity away! I bent down to comfort my son... Then joe calls him into the living room to Skype with nonna and papa. In typical Non Sequitur Stephen fashion he springs to his feet and shouts "nonna! Papa! I'm going to be a hamster!!!" And with that happy thought, all is well in the world again. 

Ollie faces

Ollie is 2 months!

Stephen's first day of kindergarten

Stephen had an attitude of "no sweat" this morning, despite my best efforts to be stressed out (about being late, about forgetting to label all 50 of his school supplies, about getting a good parking space, etc.)

Rocky as a big bro

An afternoon in Paducah

After church Sunday, we ate a quick lunch at home and loaded the boys up in the van for a quick getaway. 

We headed to downtown Paducah, where nearly everything was closed on Sundays, and visited a neat little museum called the River Discovery Center. 

This compact attraction houses some fun hands on exhibits that were surprisingly kid friendly. 

The boys enjoyed pushing buttons, seeing some turtles and running around the movie theater while an informational movie played. 

Ollie snuglied the whole time.

The best part of the museum was a high tech boat simulator. Stephen drove a speed boat under a bridge. He took his task seriously and was quite nervous. Rockam was a more rowdy captain, growling with delight as he spun the steering wheel and sent our virtual boat spinning in donuts. 

Mommy even took a turn-- driving the speed boat at night! Pretty scary. Especially when your two year old is trying to jerk the steering wheel in the direction of a passing vessel. No photos of that, of course.

After the museum, we took a peek at a train...

And the river...

Bubbles & Frog

It's been sweltering hot and meltingly mucky this past week in Kentucky. Since Stephen isn't back in school yet, it's been quite a challenge entertaining the boys. Usually, they tear up the house in the morning... All the Legos, action figures, play food, trains, cars, Rescue Bots, and dress up clothes come out. Every book is pulled off every shelf. Every puzzle has been turned over. Every couch pillow pulled off. Every curtain panel in a bunch. And then, maybe around 10:00 or so, mommy begins to get a little neurotic.  So, it's off to the library or a store, but only AFTER we clean up--- or "queed up" as Rockam likes to say. 

Well, there are only so many mornings one can drag three wee ones to the library (and for better or worse, we are well known there)-- and heaven forbid another trip to the store would result in another toy to add to the chaos and glut of toys we already have. So, some mornings we need other diversions. 

Once, when Stephen was really keen on volcanoes and rock collecting, I took them to a gravel parking lot to steal--er--collect some rocks. 

Another morning, we made presents-- Stephen insisted on making a Father's Day present. He said if we made a present for daddy, then it would be Father's Day. (He made a volcano)

Then, there are other times when the solution to the steamy dog days hops right up to you. 

I was changing Rockam one morning when I had that mildly unsettling feeling I was being watched. Usually, this is my bug radar indicating a large ugly spider is lurking all sinister somewhere. This time my eyes fell on a dark little lump on the floor. "I thought it was a fuzz," Stephen says when he retells the story. "But it was a frog!" 

Now, granted, we often have frogs, lizards, seahorses, centipedes, scorpions and other creepies--- all of the genus Plasticus--- scattered throughout the house as part of the aforementioned daily chaos. But this frog was quivering as Steve and I crouched over to inspect. "Get your bug box!" I told him. The frog jumped. Stephen squealed and jumped onto the bed, throwing his blanket over his head. Guess who gets to be the Designated Frog Catcher? Same person who inexplicably became the Designated Spider Squisher somewhere around the time her firstborn acquired language skills. 

You might recall this is not the first time we've discovered a tiny Gray Tree Frog where it shouldn't be. When Rockam was a baby, one rode home nestled on the soft fuzz of his newborn head. 

I'm not entirely sure how this one hitched a ride into our house, but my guess is some similar scenario. :) 

He was pet for a day. And then after the poor frog was shaken and flipped and slapped against the sides of the little bug box all day, I told Stephen to let him go. 

(Just imagine that I took a picture of joe and Steve as they freed our petrified frog by a big tree in the back yard.)

School starts Wednesday... I'm afraid ill be at a loss how to engage Rockam without the help of my activity ring leader.

 

Minivan view

Zig zag bouncers with a new friend

Thursday afternoon the boys and I met up with some new friends to enjoy air condition and inflatable bouncers.