Red Rubber Boots

This is exactly what rubber boots were invented for... splashing in puddles. RTR wasn't quite ready to get in the car as we left our baby n' me music class this morning. So there he was wading through all the little puddles along the teacher's driveway and yard. And there were a lot of them. It was quite a study on his part. He would pause, mid-puddle and seemed to be giving the dynamics of water and rocks and leaves a lot of thought. Consider the depth of each puddle and what happens when a rock is dropped in. He even tried to peel the rocks out of the landscaping for more splashing action. Of course, one little slip, and he was done. He doesn't seem to like getting his hands muddy. Another lesson for me too that I should slow down and not always be in such a rush to load up and drive off to the next place.

Brothers

We've hit a milestone... at least CSR and RTR seem to have. Playing in the backyard together. CSR headed out to the backyard to play Friday afternoon. RTR (aka Mr. Me Too) of course, couldn't be left inside. He put on his boots, pulled me over to the coat rack and pointed to his vest. This fleece vest that's almost too small. It's tight across RTR's middle, reminding me of a middle aged man with a spare tire. But I digress. So once zipped into his vest, he heads outside too. First I see him carefully scooping up water and dumping it back into the muddy soup that's developed in the sandbox. A little while later, RTR is following CSR along the back fence, carefully stepping along the rocks trying to keep up. Both wearing their rubber boots. Another glance out the window and I see the two of them and what looks like them having a conversation with RTR pointing at something and CSR saying something. And then it's all topped off with a soft knock at the door. I open the front (!) door to find both of them smiling, ready to come in.

Trying To Get Ahead

Why take all those digital photos if all you're going to do is let them either sit on the memory card or languish in some file on your computer? Although, even filing the prints in photo albums isn't necessarily rewarding either-- the only people who seem to look at them are CSR and maybe my mom and mother in-law when they come to visit. So I'm dusting off the picture files and sharing a few recent ones. The quality of some also make me think we need a new camera. What's the life span of a digital camera?

Carefree carousel days




Fun times at the aquarium

Treating Your First Child As If It's Your Second

I got this title from a chapter in a book called "How to Raise Children at Home in Your Spare Time." While the book is a little outdated, I thought the chapter title made some sense. I wish I had treated our first born as if he was our second. It seems our second born is a little more independent-- figuring out how to put his shoes on, grabbing his coat when he's ready to go and trying to dress himself. At almost six years old, there are still times when I have to do all those things for CSR. Makes the 21 month old child look so much more advanced.

Snippets

I've experienced my first really bad haircut. Last night, I was called into the bathroom to check out the mess that appeared there while I was simultaneously making dinner and on the phone (important conversations too!). The surprise was little snippets of blonde hair on the rug, counter and floor. Apparently CSR felt that RTR needed a trim, his first haircut. Using kitchen scissors he cut big hunks of hair off of the top of RTR's head. As I gathered up the little curls to save for the baby book, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. One friend pointed out how amazing it is that RTR didn't get cut or gouged. That's one thing to be grateful for. Now I'm wondering what to do about the bad haircut. The short patches are right on the top of his head. Turns out CSR used papa's razor for that part. Is RTR too young for hair mousse to keep his comb over in place? I'm just grateful he's blond so the baldness doens't show as much. The picture above is the best one I got showing one of the bald spots. The picture below is just cute.

Coffee Klatsch

When you're a busy mom, having someone else make breakfast is a heavenly treat. It turns out CSR is pretty handy in the kitchen. His latest thing is to make me breakfast, which consists of toast in some form and coffee. The first day he made the coffee, he put water in the coffee maker and added the grounds to the pot after the water went through. I thought that was a pretty good first effort and explained how to use a filter and measure out the coffee. Next day, amazement as he brewed a pretty good cup of java. I guess he thought more would be a good thing. Yesterday, he doubled the amount of water but left the amount of coffee the same. Talk about weak. Yikes. But I think things maybe improving, today was better-- but he did add sugar to the grounds. Now if I could just get him to make the toast like I like.

Cornered

When it comes to working in the kitchen, I have a little shadow. RTR thinks any time I am in the kitchen, it's his job to slide one of the kid-size chairs into the corner at the counter between the stove and sink and help in whatever way he can. It can make dinner prep a little crowded and challenging. Tonight I thought I would turn the tables on him-- moving to another part of the counter. At first at worked. But before I could get a salad made, there he was, sliding his chair over to where I was. Oh well. Nurturing this kind of kitchen help could come in handy in the future.