Grant's BIG day!

For a few days now, Grant has been asking to try his bike without training wheels. This afternoon we took them off and he took off. It was amazing. Unfortunately he had a big fall and so now doesn't want to try again...but I think that we will tackle it again tomorrow. :-) Maybe add a few pads to boost his confidence. :-)

Beckett is working on going up and down curbs. He took a spill a few days ago and hasn't tried again since.

Bruises...oh so many bruises!

I was sitting on the couch across from the kids and when I looked up I thought, "good God!"  I grabbed my camera and took the following pictures. Not sure what the summer holds for us, but the spring sure has been rough on the legs!

These are Grant's legs.

These are Beckett's legs...he has a large scratch/bruise on the side that didn't come through.

And finally, here is Beckett's head. He fell off the chair before dinner the other night. His eyes look goofy in this picture...it's just the bruise on the forehead though. :-)

Whew. It's rough being a boy!

Summer Hair

We have had such an amazingly warm spring and the kids' hair was so shaggy, we knew haircuts were in our near future. Not happy with our previous haircut establishment, I began asking around. Turns out, pretty much every place not only has an inconsistent reputation, but also charges upwards of $15 for a kids' haircut. Thus, Roger and his clippers came out the other night. Of course, there is only one option when we go down this path....yep...summer haircuts. No more shaggy Grant. No more wavy Beckett. Oh well. It will come back in the fall. :-)

Before photos:

And afterwards (they are eating their ice cream sandwiches since they were so good. :-)

Why is it that a haircut can age them so much? :-(

Hope you are also enjoying warm weather!

Rainy Day Exercise

Today was a rainy rainy day so to get some exercise, we took everyone to a big parking lot this evening...the kids rode bikes and played with their BIG trucks. Riley chased the ball and frisbee.

Here is a video of the kids on bikes. And I promise, Grant is fine. What's another bruise? :-)

And here are a few pictures from this week:

 This week was "v" week at school, so for show and tell, Grant made a volcano out of playdough. He's VERY proud of it...took it outside and showed all of his friends. :-)

 Here is my newest find on the Facebook garage sale. HUGE Tonka truck set - Beckett is playing with the rescue tow truck and Grant has the HUM-V rescue truck. Very cool, very loud and VERY big. The kids couldn't be more excited. And hey, for $5, how can I pass it up? :-)

 No, Beckett is not picking his nose. Roger and I think that he's forming an evil plot..."hmmm...what can I do to Grant now?" :-)

Beckett caught himself before falling off his bike.

Beckett's Big Week!

This has been a big week for Beckett - I think that he has officially gone from toddler to little boy.

First - he's doing REALLY well with his potty training. There are occasional accidents, but I am proud to say that for the most part he's stayin dry and rockin the boxers.
Funny story - he needed to pee while we were out and about, so he had his first experience peeing outside. So now Roger and I are now battling him peeing outside whenever and wherever. Today he came inside with his pull-up (not sure why he still had it on) all tangled up in his shorts - pull-up on the outside. Oh what the neighbors must think!

Second - I found a new bike for him on a Facebook garage sale site for a mere $5. He is so excited. As you will see in the video, when he first got the bike he had trouble pedaling. Today we went to a bike path and he was pedaling like a pro. Look out world! Beckett is loose!

Grant went with me to get the bike. He was so cute about the whole thing - genuinely excited for Beckett to get a bike. When we got home, Beckett and Roger were out walking Riley. Grant hid in the playroom waiting for them to get home. When he finally saw them around the corner, he gave up the hiding and went running yelling, "they're coming!" You will see the unveiling in the video. :-)

Here is the video of Beckett getting his bike and Grant trying to surprise him as much as possible!

My boys on their big boy bikes...so proud (snif snif)...

Grant hanging out with the big kids across the street. These kids are in 3rd or 4th grade and Grant thinks they are the coolest!

Here Beckett is today on the bike path - look at him pedal! :-)

Here are a couple of things from earlier in the week:

 Beckett playing air hockey at the gym.

When Riley is tired and thirsty she just lays by her water bowl. Her head was resting on the rim - she moved right as I got the camera out...of course.

This is Beckett on his big wheel going down a hill. Lifting his legs and just going...scared me to death but he's all smiles and even looks back at me. Silly boy.

Fun Day at Park

The last week or so we have seen some CRAZY weather - cold, warm, stormy. It's been all over the place. Saturday was no different. As Roger said, if the wind would stop blowing it would be pretty warm out here. :-)

We decided to take the kids and Riley to the park by Roger's office. The fenced in area has a playground, small bike path and pond. The kids had fun playing and riding their bikes; Riley enjoyed being off the leash the entire time and running, running, running. :-)

Beckett is pedaling his bike really well these days - has definitely figured it out. Poor Grant desperately needs a new big wheel (we are looking at a Razor Rip Rider for him). We think that Beck is probably ready for a new bike too - Radio Flyer makes one that we are contemplating.

 The boys goofing around at the playarea in the mall. Somehow they both squeezed their bottoms into the little red car. :-) 

 Riley on the shaky bridge at the playground. Roger put her up there so she wouldn't eat the rubber mulch - unfortunately she seems to put EVERYTHING into her mouth - yes, just like a baby. :-)

 Nothing like swinging - definitely a favorite.

 LOVE LOVE LOVE Grant's face in this picture. Roger was pushing him crooked and he thought it was great! 

 Beckett is definitely too big for the baby swing - he got stuck when I was trying to get him out. :-)

Grant told Beckett - just follow the yellow line.

Video of Riley playing with her ball and the kids on their bikes.

Riley Has Found Her Voice

About a year ago we decided that Beckett is going to be the one that we really need to watch...he was already the first to go to the ER (twice) and the first to go to Urgent Care (once). Well, this week he did it again. One night, I was getting dinner together and Roger was trying to get Riley outside. Then we heard a cry...the kind of cry that makes you stop what you are doing and run outside. Beckett is running at us with his hand over his eye. Crying too hard to tell us what happened and curled up in Roger's arms so that I couldn't see what has hurt...pretty scary. Turns out he was playing with a tennis racket and ball and hit the ball under a bush. When he bent down to get his ball, a leaf or branch or something scratched his eye. Yep...there was a visible scratch on his eye. So Roger whips out the computer, I console Beckett (and then pretty much have to hold him still so that he won't go back outside). Turns out bacitracin and an eye patch helped immensely. So that night we had a pirate dinner with a pirate cheers in hopes that he would keep the eye patch on. :-)

Beckett is VERY proud of being able to do thumbs up. When we were teaching him he frequently would get one thumb and one pointer up - "thumbs up and ones up!" But we are happy to report that he can now do both thumbs all on his own.

Yesterday was a very rainy day so for our morning walk, Beckett pulled out his rain boots and umbrella. He had a great time splashing through the puddles and Riley eventually got used to the rain and enjoyed getting all wet and muddy.

New Videos

Here are a few new videos.

This is one of Beckett singing in the car. Most songs these days are his "favrite." :-)

Here is one from our walk this morning. This is at 830 in the morning. Oh, how I miss slow mornings with my coffee... :-)