Sunday, October 14, 2007

"Fall" in Houston

We love the "Fall" season in Houston. It's nice enough to eat popsicles on the front driveway and we can go to parks without getting drenched with sweat.

Coleman's Funnies of the Week:

I have to roll over so I don't mess up my pretty hair.

I don't want to wear my new shoes. They might get dirty.

I don't see that tree in my house! (He's been obsessed with going to Montana, but we're not going until Christmas. So Brian told him when we got a tree in our house it would be almost time to go.)

And our thrill of the week...
Coleman has decided to start using the potty again. I've tried not to show too much excitement. I'm using a new angle this time. "You need to know how to use the potty and wear big boy underwear when we go to Montana! Grandma and Grandpa will be so happy!"

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Cereal Enthusiast


What do our tile floor, the bottoms of my feet, the seat of Brian's pants, the kitchen table, and Coleman's entire body have in common? They are all covered with cinnamon and sugar. Coleman has discovered Cinnamon Toast Crunch . And I have discovered that when a 2 year old eats this particular cereal, everything becomes coated in a thin layer of cinnamon and sugar. It's like a toast crunch bomb exploded in here! We all survived, we're just messier than we were before.
(PS. This is Brian's post.....Amanda claims no responsibility.)

(Amanda's response - OK, so I did write the post and I did find the YouTube video, but it was Brian's idea to actually post it!)

Very good video on YouTube.
High school kids giving props to the CTC.


You got that cinnamon?
Yea we got it.
You got that toast?
Yea we got it.
You got that crunch?
O man! Yea we got it!
What you got?
(Yea Yea)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

12:00 on the dot,
Need the food that hits the spot,
I eye up some cereal,
Like, "Oh my gosh!" Fo-realio,
Thank the Lord for General Mills,
It's the stuff that pays the bills,
My school friends give me props,
Cuz I cut my box-tops!
WOAH!

You got that cinnamon?
Yea we got it.
You got that toast?
Yea we got it.
You got that crunch?
O man! Yea we got it!
What you got?
(Yea Yea)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

Trust me this stuff will change your life,
Cuz you know it's got cinnamon and sugar in every bite,
9 out of 10 Americans don't get enough whole grain,
I know General Mills got me covered in that way,
They're here to stay,
To brighten up my day,
I'm not trying to watch my weight,
No I don't do that,
But if you are it's only got,
5% transfat.
C-I-N-N-A-M-O-N T-O-A-S-T C-R-U-N-C-H
You know it's straight to your face!

You got that cinnamon?
Yea we got it.
You got that toast?
Yea we got it.
You got that crunch?
O man! Yea we got it!
What you got?
(Yea Yea)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Presents or Presence

This morning on the way to school, Coleman said, "I want presents!" I couldn't figure out what made him think about presents until I heard the song that was playing on the radio: "And I can feel Your presence here with me. Suddenly I'm lost within Your beauty" (Here With Me by Mercy Me). He had mistaken presence for presents. I thought it was pretty cute, but it made me realize how I know the words to a lot of songs, but I don't really think about what they are saying many times. Can I feel God's presence with me even when I'm just driving down the road listening to my 2 year old talk? The next song that came on was Show Me Your Glory by Third Day. The line that caught my attention was "Send down Your presence, I want to see Your face." Later in the afternoon, I sat down to do my Bible study. What do I read about but the bread of the Presence. And the scripture for the day: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies..." Psalm 23:5. OK, Lord. Are you trying to tell me something? Maybe one thing is that You are present with me every moment of every day. Sure, I know that, but do I feel it? Do I live like I believe it? I want to! I thank God that He uses the most unusual ways (Coleman wanting presents) to get my attention!

Here's Coleman's cute saying today. We had finished eating our popsicles and Coleman said, "Let's sit down here and talk about my day." Unfortunately, when asked what he did today, he replied, "I don't know."

Update: Libby is out of ICU. There has not been much drainage from the chest tube, but her mom says she is not out of the woods yet.

Sunday, October 07, 2007

Have You Met Snaggles?

Spence has a new nickname: Snaggles. Then there's Snags, Mr. Snagglesworth, and any other variant of Snaggles. He has one front tooth that is really coming in, and another that is just poking through. He looks like a snaggletooth, therefore the nickname. It took us a while to get a picture, so the snaggletoothedness is not as pronounced as it was a week ago. Take a look for yourself!

And yes, he's as sweet as he looks!




Saturday, October 06, 2007

eBay Addicts


eBay is a wonderful thing. Brian and I often wonder what we did before this online auction and shopping website. I of course LOVE to shop, but if I need something specific, or don't have time to drive all over looking for that perfect something, eBay is the way to go. Brian, on the other hand, prefers eBay to any form of shopping. Need a part for the electric VW? Surf eBay. In the market for a pair of Kenneth Cole shoes? Click on eBay. Got a hankerin' for a designer suit at a not-so-designer price? You know where to go. Want an original map of Montana while it was still a territory? eBay's got it. Looking for an antique fireman's helmet to match the nursery decor? eBay! eBay! eBay! So you get the point. Coleman is no stranger to eBay. If not for Grandma and Nana, his entire wardrobe might have been won on eBay. This week, I looked all over the mall for a pair of navy tennies and couldn't find any in his size that didn't cost $30. I'm sorry, but I'm not spending $30 on shoes for someone who drags his toes, plays in the mud, and might hit a growth spurt soon, leaving them virtually unworn. So what's a mommy to do? If you've been listening, then you know...eBay! So today we won a pair of super cute Osh Kosh shoes! We also won a child's Baltimore Ravens football helmet and pants. This will be altered and used as Coleman's Halloween costume. He is insistent on wanting to be a football player for Halloween, but the costume he saw at Party City is quite cheesy. The plan is to pull off the Ravens stickers on the helmet and purchase Texans stickers at Academy to replace them. Then we have to remove David Carr's name from his Texans' jersey, replace it with Matt Schaub's (fortunately they both use #8), and he'll be all set! We have not, however, been able to find Spence a costume on eBay. We've got a few weeks though.

Footnote: Brian would like to defend himself and his eBay addiction. He says that everything purchased on eBay is something we've needed (or would have bought elsewhere anyway) and were able to get a deal, or otherwise we could not find the item elsewhere. Thank you for your understanding.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

I Want That For My Birthday!

For all of you that have been praying for Libby I wanted to give an update. She came through the surgery and is recovering. As of this morning, she was still on the breathing machine, but they are going to try to take her off that today. The family feels your prayers!

Coleman is still taking his medication. He doesn't seem to feel bad, but he's still coughing. Spence is also developing a little cough. Aaahhhh!

Here's a bit of humor for today. Lately when we can't drag Coleman out of the toy department, we'll say, "Maybe you'll get that for your birthday or Christmas." So his birthday has been on his mind. Now he's decided what he wants! It is the backpack leaf blower that he sees the neighbor's yard guy using. He calls it a "backpack mower." I'm just not sure they make it in his size...

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Counting My Blessings

Coleman has had a cough for about a month now. Brian took him to the doctor a few days before we traveled to Iowa, so we thought it was probably a good idea to take him back and see what the doctor had to say about this not going away. He prescribed a bronchiodilator and a steroid, but he also wanted to get a chest x-ray to make sure it wasn't anything besides croup. I was a little nervous as I stood there wearing a big lead apron, holding my baby's hands as he laid on a cold, hard table. We had to turn him on his side for one of the x-rays and he said, "It hurts Mommy." I just had to hold him down and try to assure him that it would be over quickly if he'd be still.

As all of this was going on, I was thinking about a 3 year old girl named Libby and her family. I don't know Libby, but I've been praying for her for years. Her parents were members of our Sunday School class before Brian and I were attending, so our teachers have mentioned them for prayer. Before Libby was born the doctors discovered heart and other defects. She has had many surgeries and spent much time in hospitals. Tomorrow she is undergoing a major heart surgery where it's not a question of whether there will be complications, just how severe they will be. I was just reading her mom's latest post and she was saying that they have a peace that passes understanding. Libby made it through a rough day of blood tests, x-rays, and tests and everything is in order for surgery tomorrow.

I'm so in awe of God's grace. In whatever we face, He gives grace as we need it. Please pray for Libby and her family. There are so many things that could go wrong, but there is only One who is in control and knows what the outcome will be.

As for Coleman, his x-ray looked clear. Thank you Jesus! He started his medication tonight, so hopefully he will start feeling better soon. And Spence made it through his flu shot! I have so much to be thankful for. I've got to go count my blessings...

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Bilingual Baby

Spence has one word - Dada. He loves to say it. He'll even say it on command when Brian asks him. On the way to church today he started saying "dada dada dada." Coleman of course wanted to join in. Then Coleman started saying "muffy" over and over. Yes, that enigmatic word again. With every "muffy" Spence would respond with a "dada." Coleman finally said, "No dada, just muffy!" Coleman is trying to make him bilingual. I use that term loosely since Spence isn't even really lingual, and the second language isn't a real language.

And on a completely unrelated note: I was going upstairs to get Coleman up from his nap and I stopped to pick up a package of diapers that hadn't quite made it to his room. I was thinking to myself, "I wish Coleman would regain his interest in using the potty. I'm tired of all these diapers." I opened his door and he sat up in bed and said, "I wanna go potty!" Wow! Talk about ask and ye shall receive! Excitedly I said, "You want to go potty?!" He looked at me and said, "No, I want to go party." Brian had told him that after he rested we would be going to a party at church tonight. Oh well. At least he's excited about going to church! Anyway, I wouldn't want that package of diapers going to waste.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Chicken Saves the Day

We had just arrived home from a day of shopping and dinner out. Spence was happily playing in the kitchen, so I stepped out of the room to take a look at some of my purchases. I walked back into the kitchen, but Spence was not there. I turned, only to see him already up to the third stair. (Yes, we have a gate, but no, it was not up.) As soon as I started for him, he started falling back. I knew I couldn't get to him before his head would hit the tile floor at the bottom of the staircase. As I was moving toward him, I was expecting to hear a loud thud and then wailing cries, but there was no sound at all. I reached for him, and lifted him off of Coleman's stuffed chicken. Chicken had broken his fall! That ridiculous animal that Coleman carries all over the place and sleeps with every night had saved the day! Thank you, Chicken. No more jokes about making you into nuggets.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Put On Your Listening Ears!

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Throughout this time of uncertainty with Brian's job search, I have never been overwhelmed by fear or anxious thoughts of the unknown. Praise God! I've known that God would take care of us, no matter what. Today Brian began doing contract work for a company. This company wants him to continue working for them even if he goes back to work for his former boss. I thank all of you who have been praying for us. It is so important to have friends and family who are lifting you up in prayer.

I'm doing a Bible study by Beth Moore about the Old Testament tabernacle. I had my concerns before starting, but my mom assured me this was her favorite Beth Moore study. I wanted to get back into a women's Bible study group, and I think I've picked a winner! Girls, if you've never done a Beth Moore study, let me just say that YOU MUST! It is a big commitment, but well worth it. She has a way of making things just come alive and bring out truths that seemed hidden before. She said something in the DVD that struck me as strange, and then true. She said, "You can never get to the bottom of God's word." What??? Oh.... I'm realizing that now. The deeper you dig, the more you find. And that leads you to something else, and something else, and, well, you get the picture. I'm praying that I leave this study changed. A lot of the reading is from Exodus. At least it's not Numbers! Actually, I'm enjoying it.

I'm also enjoying my boys these days! Coleman has a new word: muffy. No, I don't know what it means. I'm pretty sure it's an adjective, but tonight I tried using it as a noun. I think I confused him. He wouldn't tell me what he wanted for dinner so I asked, "Do you want chicken nuggets? Pizza rolls? Peanut butter? Turkey sandwich?" To which he replied, "No. No. No. No." So I said, "Do you want some muffy?" Sounding intrigued, he asked, "What's muffy?" I wanted him to tell me, but he wouldn't. He decided that he did want muffy for dinner. Great. Anyone got the recipe? I tried to convince him that muffy was chicken nuggets with ketchup (he usually eats them with Ranch - a.k.a. Daddy dippin' sauce). He wasn't buying it, but he eventually ate it.

Our family is trying to cut back on M&Ms, so I bought popsicles for dessert this week. Every evening Brian, Coleman, and I all pick our flavors and go sit on the driveway. We each take a bite of each others, and we all share with Spence. It's been fun, and swatting the mosquitoes away has been good exercise! I love Fall, when it's finally nice enough to eat a popsicle outside! Ha!

I do have to mention one other cute thing Coleman said this week. It's only hearsay, so I hope I get it right. Brian was reading Little Elephant's Listening Ears, a book Grandma gave Coleman, the other night before bed. Coleman is very familiar with this book since we've read it every day at nap and bedtime since we've been back from Iowa (that's roughly 20 times). It's a cute book, but let me tell you, Elliot the Elephant is quite the brat. He definitely needs to put on his listening ears, and Mommy Elephant needs to learn some disciplining techniques! Nonetheless, it is a cute book. Back to my story, when Brian was reading it the other night, Coleman asked, "Where's his Daddy?" Brian said, "I don't know where he is. That's probably part of Elliot's problem." Coleman, obviously not picking up on the humor, replied, "Maybe he went to work to look for a job." Isn't that funny? He thinks if his Daddy is looking for a job, everybody's Daddy must be looking for a job! I love it! And I love all of you. Thanks for coming back every day and reading my stories!

Monday, September 24, 2007

I Give It a 10!


My favorite show is back! Yes, I'm talking about Dancing With the Stars. I love it! Did you see it tonight? It's one of those shows that I get so hooked on. I'm rooting for Jennie Garth, because I was a big 90210 fan. But the best dancer tonight was Sabrina Bryan. Tomorrow night the men dance. The only bad thing about this show is the time it takes to watch it. They dance one night and then have a results show the next. Once I get invested in it though, I just can't miss it!

Brian just walked by, saw this post, and said, "Boy, that's pathetic." But hey, everyone needs one guilty pleasure, right? This is mine!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Silly Boys & Mommy and Daddy are Big Spenders

Today we have a guest blogger. Welcome Brian!

Now that we've recovered from traveling to and from Iowa, we're thinking straight again. We stayed at The Renaissance Savery Hotel in downtown Des Moines. Don't knock it 'till you try it, Des Moines was a very nice area.


Saturday before the wedding we went to a very nice and LARGE farmer's market and had some very good breakfast burritos and coffee. It was even a little cold! Very nice compared to Houston. Back regarding the hotel; on our way out, I grabbed a shower cap thinking Coleman would enjoy it in the bath. He did. And it is affectionately called the "Silly Hat".


The weather is getting better down here. The heat index is now below triple digits. We went to the park yesterday and Coleman "rode" his trike there. Actually, I pushed him with a painting extension handle. We had a good time.






On our way home from the gym today, we saw a sign for a garage sale in our neighborhood. We usually do a drive by to see if it's worth it to get the boys out. They just moved in a couple of weeks ago and were getting rid of some of their boy's stuff. We found a great Leggo/Car/Train table for Coleman and Spence for $15. Mommy and Daddy are big spenders. ;-) The boys already had fun with it today.


Friday, September 21, 2007

You're in Radiator Springs, the Cutest Little Town in Carburetor County


If you haven't seen the Disney Pixar movie Cars then you may not get most of the references in this post. I just had to share Coleman's new hobby of reenacting movie scenes though.


Coleman's favorite movie is Cars. It's really a good movie. He has almost all the Cars cars and has seen the movie so many times that he can reenact many of the scenes. The cars race, Lightning McQueen blows a tire, McQueen jumps over an overturned Leak Less, McQueen falls out of his trailer, and my favorite, Mater takes McQueen tractor tipping. For this scene Coleman tips his tractors backwards and sets up Mater and McQueen in front of them. (This is like cow tipping, but with tractors.) His new favorite scene now is toward the end of the movie when McQueen helps all the townsfolk fix up Radiator Springs. They turn on the neon signs and Sh-Boom by The Chords starts playing. I sing along with it every time. "Oh, life could be a dream, sh-boom..." Coleman says, "I want to watch loppa dream!" I'm guessing that's his version of "life could be a dream." All I can say is thank goodness for DVDs and scene selection. I can select that scene and he's happy. We don't have to watch the whole movie (yes, it's a good movie, but I've seen it in its entirety several dozen times) and no fast forwarding or rewinding. Sometimes I've wondered what toys we'd be playing with and what movies we'd be watching if I had girls. My friend Theresa informed me that her 2 year old daughter loves Cars also, and is now obsessed with tires! So rock on Cars fans!


A bonus fun fact! My favorite line from the movie:
You know, I once knew this girl Doreen. Good-looking girl. Looked just like a Jaguar, only she was a truck! You know, I used to crash into her just so I could spoke to her. (Mater, voiced by Larry the Cable Guy)

Thursday, September 20, 2007

I'll be good, for a price.......


For Coleman to be still for the rehearsal, pictures, and wedding we bribed him with M&Ms. It was incredible the power Brian had with those tiny little candies. Below are pictures of Coleman "behaving" for a treat (click to enlarge).

Also, here's a little poem I wrote for the occasion:


I’m two and a half I’m sure you can see

I think the world revolves around me

You know that I could act much better

If you’d give me the candy with my favorite letter

I’d stop running and whining and climbing the wall

I’d be an angel, the best 2 year old of all

I know you’ve got a bag of them handy

Go ahead and hand over some of that candy!




Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Wedding Continued

OK. I'm somewhat recovered from the trip. Haven't quite caught up on sleep, but I'm getting back into my normal routine. Well, things aren't completely normal since Brian is home everyday. It's been nice having him here, but I'm trying not to get too used to it so I won't feel overwhelmed when he goes back to work.

Coleman enjoyed sleeping in Grandma and Grandpa's hotel room. They read lots of books, played with lots of tractors, and made a "snow mountain" out of the big fluffy pillows on the bed.


It was great seeing Rita's family. Her two sisters and their families were there. Here is a picture of all the girls. We should really leave the guys behind and go on a little vacation sometime. I keep hearing about this Mall of America. Sounds like my kind of place!

Sherrie, Dre, me, Jeani, Rita, Mary, Rhonda, and Roz

Coleman thought that the reception was a birthday party. He was amazed by Grandma and Grandpa's awesome dancing! It took him awhile, but we finally got him out on the dance floor with Roz. He partied hard until 11:30!


All this fun, and we added another member to our family. I know we'll have many more happy occasions to celebrate together! I can't wait!

Monday, September 17, 2007

The Wedding

We're back! We had such a wonderful time in Iowa visiting with family and attending all the wedding festivities. I can't go into too much detail tonight because I am SO TIRED. Traveling with small children is not fun. We got back home last night around 12:30. Let me just say I have serious concerns with airport security in Des Moines. I was able to get on the plane with 3 juice boxes filled with 6.75 ounces of juice each.

Coleman was a super ring bearer. Coleman was also a stinky ring bearer. I did not detect the dirty diaper until the wedding party was lined up to march down the aisle. I don't think too many people smelled him.

I know many of you reading this were at the wedding. We enjoyed seeing all of you! It's sad that we live in so many different places (Texas, Montana, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa), but that makes it even more special when we get together.

Here are a few highlight pictures from our trip. There are many more wonderful pictures and much more to say, so I'll post more in the next few days.



Coleman and Spence watching the planes



All dressed up for the rehearsal Friday night



Saturday morning at the Farmers' Market
with Rhonda, Jared, and Roz



The big day has arrived and Spence is ready for his pictures!



Our family before the wedding



Coleman with the flower girls, Andrea's cousins



Grandpa and Coleman in their tuxes



Brent and his beautiful wife, Andrea

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Turn! Turn! Turn!


That's what I'm saying to Humberto. How dare a tropical storm threaten us the day before we leave for Iowa. Where did this thing come from??? I think it's safe to say that Humberto would have to face the wrath of Grandma Rita if it prevented us from getting to Iowa on time. It looks as though the storm is turning and will not cause as much trouble as was thought a few hours ago. Please pray that we will have a safe journey tomorrow!

We are all looking forward to our trip and the wedding. I'm sure we'll have some wonderful pictures to share. Hopefully we'll have a cute story about what an awesome ringbearer Coleman was, and not how he set the church on fire and caused widespread chaos...

I'll post again on Monday!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Need a Laugh?

Yesterday Brian was sitting on the couch with his laptop. Coleman was playing nearby and suddenly stopped and said, "Daddy." Brian finished what he was reading then said, "What Buddy?" Coleman pointed at him and said in a very strong, stern voice, "Daddy! GET A JOB!!!"

This morning Spence was sitting on my lap and Coleman was playing with his cars. Spence passed gas and I said, "Spence just tooted on me." Coleman replied, "That was maybe me."

Seriously, I don't know where he learns this stuff...

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Friday, September 07, 2007

"Shear" Excitement

(Not sure what happened to the pictures here. Maybe I'll have Brian see what the problem is soon.)

I'm 10 months old today!

This was haircut week. We all got one so we'd look presentable for Brent's wedding. I must say, we look stunning. Well, at least Coleman and Spence. Here are their before and after pictures.

This was Spence's first haircut. The poor stylist not only had to deal with a crying client, but his older brother singing, mom telling her what to cut and what not to cut, and dad with a camera snapping pictures and making video. It was like the circus had rolled into town!

Here's the picture I desperately wanted to get,
where he's sitting nicely and sucking on his sucker.

This picture more realistically captures the event.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Random Conversations

There are always cute things that Coleman says that just don't seem to fit in with my daily posts. So here are the top 5 random conversations we've had this week.

#5
I always ask Coleman if he needs to potty when he gets up. He usually says yes, but lately he comes up with an excuse not to go.
Amanda: Good morning! Do you need to go potty?
Coleman: No. I went before bed.

#4
Brian: You're a cookie man!
Coleman: No, I'm a cookie little boy.

#3
Brian: Coleman, pick up your cars please.
Coleman: I can't. I've got a tummy ache from eating hamburgers at Mr. Dan's. (that was the previous day, and he only ate 2 bites)

#2
Coleman was helping me put his cars in the basket before bed and Spence was trying to dump them out.
Amanda: You're a helper. Spence in an unhelper.
Coleman: He's a dump-it-outer.

And the winner, hands down (and eyes closed).
While eating dinner, Coleman was squinting his eyes closed as hard as he could and then taking a bite.
Brian: Why are you eating your dinner with your eyes closed?
Coleman: So I don't get chicken nuggets in my eyes.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

All Before 9 A.M.

It's 7:45 and I don't want to get up, but Spence has been making noise for at least 20 minutes. He'll probably start crying soon, then Coleman will wake up. I start climbing up the stairs and hear Coleman. "Mommy, get me UP!!!" I'm still tired. Too bad.

Downstairs, Coleman wants to play his drum (the metal trashcan turned upside-down). Luckily his new drumsticks are a pair of straws. Much quieter than the previous drumsticks - his hands. He says, "I might sing The Messy Song." The song starts with a 15 second drum intro. Then it goes something like this:
You're so MESSY!
You're so MESSY!
You are messy.
You're a messy baby.
So stop!

He drums and dances around while singing, so I get quite a kick out of the performance. "Sing it again," I ask. To which he replies, "No, it's over."

Brian comes in the living room and Coleman wants him to hear The Tractor Song. This song consists of a few taps, then he'll say a word. This time he says Construction (tap tap), Paramedics (tap tap), Big rig (tap tap), Farm tractor (tap tap), Construction (tap tap). We clap, then Daddy has a request. "Sing a song about Montana." But Coleman says, "The Montana Song is not on. Let's eat."

After breakfast, Coleman wants to play baseball. He has to wear his baseball mask. I'm not even going to try to explain this, you'll just have to see the picture below. Maybe later we can share some video.

Just think, if I was still in bed I would have missed all this...

Coleman and his baseball helmet. Notice how he pulls
the flap over his eyes and nose. He can see through it only
slightly, so it really affects his batting average.

Yesterday I was cleaning the dining room floor so I moved
the chairs into the entry. Coleman was pretending that it
was a bus. Duckie is driving and we're all passengers.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

No Clever Title

This Labor Day weekend we went to several cookouts. Saturday we went to a barbecue at some friends' house. We made the mistake of telling Coleman the day before that we would be going to Mr. Jim's house and that he had a pool. Coleman had no clue who Mr. Jim was, but he asked every 2 minutes when we would be going. This family does not have any little boys, so we took some of Coleman and Spence's toys. The boys were more interested in the cat toys though! They dumped out the cat toys and were entertained the entire time we ate dinner. Strange, but nice that we got to enjoy the meal and they were happy.

This afternoon I was reading one of Coleman's library books, How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight? After I was done I asked how many kisses he wanted. He said, "One, two, three, four, five." I asked him where he wanted them and he said, "On my head, my back, my nose, my leg, my check, and my nother cheek." Yes, that's six, but you can't kiss one cheek and not the "nother."

Later, Coleman started screaming and hit my foot because he didn't get his way. He was punished and then Brian told him to come apologize to me. He ran over and so sincerely said, "I'm sorry Mommy. I kiss your toe?" He wanted to kiss my toe because he thought he hurt it when he hit me. How can kids go from mean to sweet so quickly?

Here are some new pictures of the boys.

Coleman at "The Tractor Store" with Daddy

Spence playing with the parking garage