By amy on October 21, 2010
Our internet has been on the blink for the past few weeks making it difficult to post anything. However, the kids haven’t stopped being cute in that time so I have some random entertainment for my faithful readers.
At Steak and Shake – I had never been here before but was impressed with how well they know kids! Lance kept himself entertained until the food arrived.
They also have the best chocolate milkshake I have ever experienced! Lance thinks so too.
Ivy’s hair is just long enough for an adorable curl of a pigtail 🙂
Lance has a new chore: vacuum the crumbs under the table. He is a very detailed kid and is careful to get every single crumb. He is so thorough that he runs the battery all the way down with each job.
Ivy got these cute ballerina pj’s which are perfect because she already loves to spin around. Here she is joined by her cousin Abbie.
And finally, I had to catch some of Lance talking – he says things the cutest and funniest way! He just picked up saying his full name last week and I love the way he says “peek-a-boo”
Posted in Family News
By amy on October 7, 2010
Normally Brian likes to celebrate his birthday with pizza and a movie, but since he was turning the big 3-0 I thought it would be fun to do something a little different.
Lance and Ivy helped with the preparations – the peanut butter chocolate dessert was deemed tasty.
Since they weren’t going to be included in the festivities I had them make a message for Daddy on the white board.
They also gave him a birthday greeting.
I had several people write letters of encouragement to Brian affirming him in different aspects of his life. Then I planned to give him each letter at a place that represented that area of his life.
First stop was church where we dropped the kids off to a friend and proceeded to enjoy the evening! His first letter was on being a proclaimer of Christ!
Next we ate dinner at Taco Cabana (courtesy of their birthday club) and he opened his letter that affirmed him as a person.
The third stop represented his start into parenthood – our first apartment in Dallas, where Lance was born. We walked around the place reliving some memories and even recognized some of the kids running around!
Next was “provider” so I took Brian up to work – don’t worry, it was romantic, there’s a really pretty area there that’s modeled after the San Antonio riverwalk but almost nobody in sight!
We had a little “snack” of cheese and crackers and sparkling grape juice! Nice, quiet, pretty lights, water and a cool evening. We’ll be going back again!
Lastly we came back to the apartment to enjoy his birthday dessert and his last letter – one from me letting him know how wonderful a life partner he has been. We played a game of backgammon and I beat him even though it was his birthday – oops.
We finished our date the next morning with a little jog in the coolness then a free birthday breakfast at IHOP!
Happy birthday Brian – you have used your 30 years of life wonderfully and the result is a manhood to be admired. I love you!
Posted in Family News
By amy on October 1, 2010
There has been a recent request for a post on Ivy – that she’s growing and changing therefore an update is needed.
Ivy is a second born in peak form: anything Lance can do Ivy can do too – or will die trying. In fact, she often one-ups him in ideas and we find her in stuff or doing things that Lance never tried.
This recent climb into the window sill from the rocking chair is one of those ideas.
She has taken on the job of setting the table (though Lance will still come along and correct her placement). And if Lance is wearing a cape and running “real fast” to mommy then she will join in on the fun – even though she’s not sure why we’re doing this.
Ivy catches on to ideas pretty quick – here she is wiping down her car because the sprinkler got it wet. Ivy is capable and fearless. She will slide down the slide and climb back up it. You have to keep on your toes with this one – she will jump off anything into our ready, or not so ready, arms. She loves to be tickled, thrown in the air, chased and have growling/roaring contests. She also has quieter moments examining a toy or reading a book – ones with animals being her favorite.
Ivy is a talker! She already puts three words together and has said a few 3 syllable words. She will tell me if she needs to go potty (something Lance has yet to do) and politely asks “mommy, ________ please” for anything she wants. The kids get m&m’s for going to the potty and Lance likes to tell me what color he got. I don’t think Ivy has the concept but she has the words and will happily chirp “blue” or “brown” or whatever comes to mind before she pops it in her mouth, saying “mmmmm!.” Once, when walking into a gas station she saw all the food and exclaimed “yum-mee, YUM-MEE!” She can also identify facial features, say “sorry” (and will often say it even when Lance was the one in the wrong) and knows where to find mommy’s baby – though I’m not sure she understands.
Ivy is a delight and her enthusiasm for anything that’s going on shows she really knows how to enjoy life. I love my little girl.
Posted in Family News
By amy on September 27, 2010
Friday I decided to trim Ivy’s bangs because they were hanging in her eyes.
She was very serious about the whole thing and didn’t move. Maybe she was afraid of getting a bad hair day or something.
Here we are after the trim. She has such cute eyes 🙂
And of course, Lance wanted his hair cut too. He kept shaking the hair off the cape and fussed when it tickled his nose but enjoyed being brushed off with a baby hair brush afterwards.
Posted in Family News
By amy on September 10, 2010
Lance is starting to talk more and more, giving us a glimpse into his mind.
Lance noticed the “winnie the pooh” characters on his potty seat and started naming them off: “pig, donkey, bear, tiger”. Guess he hasn’t ever seen the show 🙂
Today he made his stuffed frog go potty and then tried to feed it the m&m reward.
He likes his “crab shirt” and will pinch his own tummy when he wears it.
When we go to check the mail he makes sure Ivy doesn’t get lost if she starts to wander. He’ll call “Ivy, ‘mere” or tell her “dis way, Ivy”
He always reminds us to pray at meals and has started taking on that responsibility himself.
At 2:00 this afternoon he asked to “eat”. I told him no, we had just had lunch. He hopefully asked “snack”?
His chore is to set the table and he’ll tell each piece of silverware who it belongs to as he puts them in the right place (mommy ‘pork’ (fork) , daddy knife, Lance spoon)
He loves to point out colors and the color of his cup determines his drink (Lance blue milk, Ivy orange milk)
We’ve also taught him a few fun phrases.
It’s fun having a parrot in the house 🙂
Posted in Family News
