Where is Audrey?

This is a reenactment of the scene Tommy found this morning when he woke up -- Audrey was hedged in on the couch. She and I had fallen back to sleep early this morning on the day bed in her room. The boys woke up around 6:45, came into her room and played with the noise machine for a few minutes. I talked to them and then laid back down. The next thing I knew, Tommy came in asking, "where is Audrey?" Dade had carried her into the living room (he and I had worked on this skill just this week) and placed the pillows and cushion around her. He then pushed the coffee table up against the cushion. She was very content.

School Baby

I started home school preschool with Dade and Luke this week. Dade LOVES to learn and is really enjoying his work. Luke joins us for a while then wanders off to play. When they are "at school" they call Audrey 'school baby' and Bonham 'school dog.' I am using the Cy-Fair ISD curriculum and adding in a few things of my own. We are working on writing the alphabet, counting, early reading skills, and everyday we do some sort of art. This is not what I had in mind when I sent them outside with chalk... but notice Dade's beautiful sun.

On Friday, we had show-and-tell. Dade brought his "sneaky snake" and Luke brought a toy 4-wheeler. When I asked Dade to tell us about his snake (which we bought 3 or 4 months ago), he said he got it from the "next-hand store" (the consignment store) and that it was up high on the shelf. What an amazing memory this boy has!

In other news, Audrey has started getting up on her hands and knees and scooting backwards. Time can't be going by this fast!

Luke and Audrey... do you think they have the same feet?Who doesn't love watching a school baby sleep?Her new moves...My latest craft -- blocks to put in Audrey's room.

Broccoli and Craft Sticks

What do these become in the hands of Luke & Dade? Trees and chainsaws. My lumberjacks hard at work.

Dade

Luke

Audrey had her first few bites of cereal today; she wasn't too interested in it.

Luke & Audrey this morning.

Dade & Luke playing with their new water cannon.

More of What I Love

>when Dade says, "aw, pants!" I have NO idea where this expression came from, but he uses it when he is frustrated or disappointed.

>how Luke says flip-flops (clip-clops) and goggles (gobbles)

>hearing Luke tell me I'm his "best girl"

>how Dade says sweating (sweat ten)

>when the boys put their cups together and say "cheers!"

>when Dade told me today that I was "the best boss ever"

>that D&L can spend almost all day together playing & imagining up what to do next. Today they made a barricade by taking apart the couch, moving the coffee & end tables, & pushing the ottoman aside.

>that Audrey LOVES her bath

>that (for the most part) Audrey has been sleeping through the night for almost two months now

>how Audrey smiles and laughs at anyone

I will do my best to get some new pictures up tomorrow.

Ponytail Promises

Tonight on the way to Tommy's softball game I put my hair up in a ponytail. Dade said, "Mom, you have a nice ponytail." After I thanked him he said, "God knows how much hair you have." Thank you Dade for reminding me of God's promises.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." Matthew 11: 29-31

Sittin' Pretty

I'm trying to win a Bumbo cover... these are ridiculously cute! Audrey can't sit in a plain blue Bumbo can she?!

http://bumbocovers.blogspot.com/

Gander Mountain, Here We Come

Dade and Luke have discovered a new ploy to get us to take them to Gander Mountain. They tell us they want to go eat at the restaurant near G.M., and they conveniently throw in that we can go to G.M. after we eat. (Note: two of the restaurants next to G.M. are Chuy's and Texas Roadhouse; two of our favorites). This usually works and the boys are usually well behaved at dinner knowing what's in store. We walk in G.M., they head straight to the toy pow-pows and they begin their quest. After they try out the 4-wheelers, the struggle to get them to put back the $30 guns and leave begins. This is the exact scenario EVERY time we go. (Maybe I should ask Big Daddy how he gets them to leave...) Today after lunch at McAlister's, Dade decided it was a good day to go to G.M. We decided it was NOT a good day to go since the boys had not had a nap. Dade did not like our answer and began chanting, "G.M. here we come! G.M. here we come!" I think by the time we turned into our neighborhood, he knew we were serious.

No, this picture was not taken after his attempt to get us to take him to G.M.

We also celebrated a birthday around here this weekend.

Dade helped me pick out the cake, and the boys stuck the candles in.

And no, he did not eat this whole piece... only half.

Luke the Duke -- only wants the icing.

I will admit to starting this...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMMY! We love you!

What I Love

Luke sleeping Luke
Dade
Dade & Luke

>hearing Dade say "good morning, Audrey"

>Dade asking, "do you have a story about Cowboy Luke & Cowboy Dade?" -- almost every night Tommy or I will make up a story (with help from the boys) about the roughest, toughest, bravest cowboys that have ever lived. It always involves an animal or a person being rescued by them.

>that Dade wears a watch and tells us the time

>Dade's wink

>that Dade remembers EVERYTHING

>how Dade convinced Tommy & I that since we always have date night that he & Luke needed "Dade & Luke" night -- to get to stay up late watching a movie.

>Dade telling me "you're so pretty" when I have on a dress

>how Dade says basket (bastik), yogurt (yogret), breakfast (breastif), and pajamas (jamuhs)

>watching D&L ride their imaginary horses Jack & JoJo around the house & their occasional "giddy up." They even tie their horses up to something when they stop and say "tie, tie, tie" complete with hand motions. Of course they untie them as well with "untie, untie, untie." Sometimes Dade will have his hand clinched; when I ask him what he has in his hand he says his horse (the reigns).

>that Dade wants to be "a police officer that rides a motorcycle that helps Luke, the fireman"

>Luke telling me "you're a pretty princess" when I'm wearing a dress

>that Luke has only ever sucked his left thumb. He holds his blankie in his right hand, almost instinctively grabs a blue tag, and rubs his nose or cheek with it. He even rubbed the blue tag on my arm this morning when I pretended to be sad & asked me if that made it better.

>Luke's laugh

>that Luke will turn anything into a weedeater (and how he used to call it a "weed eed eed")

>that Luke has no fear & will try pretty much anything

>the way Luke clicks his tongue between words

>Dade saying "Mom, I love you 'cause you don't give me too much spankings."

>D&L saying "boys play rough" and "you're a rock" (to Tommy) and "you're a delicate flower" (to me).

>Dade saying "you scared my feelings away" when he gets in trouble

>that Dade says he had 15 feet of fun -- not sure where this one came from

>that Luke says "I sure do/am" instead of yes and "I sure don't" instead of no

>that D&L call our church "animal church" beacuse the classes are labeled with different animals

>that D&L LOVE to look for green tractors whenever we're in the car

>Dade saying "ever or not, here I come" when he's playing hide-and-go seek

>how Dade says underwear (wonderwear)

Photos courtesy of http://www.susangentilephotography.com/

and not to leave Audrey out...

>how her whole face smiles when she is happy

>her reaching for my face

>when she laughs at the boys

Photo Update

Future dancer? Audrey has found her feet and plays with them all the time.

She is starting to sit up.

This morning I made a list of colors and told the boys to go around the house & take pictures of something that matched the color... a scheme to give me a few moments of peace! Here is what they came up with:

Luke's red picture

Luke's orangeLuke's pink

Luke's green

Dade's orange & pink

Dade's green

Dade before swimming yesterday. His "dad" shirt says, "I get my muscles from my dad." He loves wearing it!

salad-boy has a point

Luke is also known around here as salad-boy. Dade gave him this name because Luke loves salad. Today for lunch I offered PB & honey, turkey & cheese, fish sticks, spaghetti or salad. He picked salad.

After naps we picked up some Diego videos from the library. Dade opened one in the car and noticed it was dirty; he thought we should clean it with a shirt. A shirt was not going to get it clean. It literally had a piece of food stuck to it with fingerprints covering the disc. I mentioned that we would probably have to try to clean it with some soap and a little water. Luke went into hysterics; he said we'd "never be able to watch it." Dade chimed in, "he does have a point."

My Sous-Chef

The boys decided to fix PB & honey sandwiches this morning. After that they buried each other in the clean clothes. Luke started to get up from underneath the pile and Dade told him it wasn't "time to pop out yet". What imaginations!

Go, Dog. Go.

This past weekend was our Mothers Of PreschoolerS retreat. The boys stayed home with Tommy. On Saturday he took them to see Go Dog, Go. Dade liked that the "dogs barked like parrots," and Luke liked the red and white dogs. When I was snuggling them into bed Monday night, Dade said, "Mom, you're great. I'm so happy." Then he said, "Mom, you're just right." What could be better than that?!


Here are a couple of pics of the boys that my sister took at my parents' house. Luke on left, Dade on right.

bumGenius

I've decided to try my hand (and Audrey's heiny) at cloth diapering. I considered using cloth before Dade was born and just never took the first step. Since my stash of disposables is running out, I thought now was as good a time as any. I ordered four to get started; we have used them day and night with disposables while they are in the wash. These are not your mamma's cloth diapers (no offense, Gran and Nana!). All-in-one, they go on and come off just like a disposable and since they are one-size, they will fit from now until she is potty trained. I ordered this "shabby chic" diaper and will be ordering more (at least enough to last through an entire day). No worries... if you babysit, I will leave the cloth at home!

Our Daily Picture

"Audrey girl" and Dade


getting ready to nap with Luke

My Garbagemen

The boys have been known to go in their room, pull ALL the clothes out of their dresser, make a mound with them (along with various other objects in their room) and call themselves garbagemen. All fun and games until time to clean up... the part they don't enjoy. However, today after swimming, I took the kids to a park. After playing for a while, we took a walk on the nature trail through the woods. On our way back Dade saw an empty water bottle, picked it up and said, "I'm helping take care of God's earth." I love my garbageman!

"I'm Really Disappointed At You"

This is a saying the boys have picked up from us, except they say "at you" which is very comical. Luke didn't want to play captains (pirates) this morning. Dade told him he was disappointed at him, to which Luke replied, "no you're not Dade." Dade's response? "How did you know that?"

We're Here

After requests from a few friends and family members, I will attempt to keep a blog. There will definitely be pictures, hopefully some video and probably some sayings from Cowboy Dade & Cowboy Luke.

The boys had gymnastics today. For the second week in a row when I asked them what they liked best, Dade said "everything," and Luke said "the play structure." (They have a really fun indoor structure that the kids play on at the end of class).

Where have the past FOUR months gone?! Audrey does not stay in one place for too long anymore. When I put her down for "tummy time" she either rolls to her back or scoots herself off her blanket. She is usually very content as long as her stomach is full. The boys adore her. Today Dade was sitting by her in her bouncy seat and said, "she doesn't like it when I'm not by her." Too sweet.

http://www.susangentilephotography.com/