Still here...

Geez. It's like you blink and people are yelling at you for not blogging. I don't have much to say except life is flying by fast and even though there are days when I would say we did "nothing," every day is so busy they are hard to keep track of! Wyatt is growing and changing so fast and is so much fun to raise (except when he is mad). If I can think of enough high pitched phrases to throw at him or have enough energy to continue peek-a-boo for minutes on end, he is a happy baby, even when he's cranky. Henry has somehow warped into a little boy. Though he still stubbornly clings to several toddler-like behaviors, for example, screaming at the top of his lungs after preschool when he was offered the wrong flavor of pastry by another preschool mom (okay, it was Jenna - hee!), he is a fun and easy kid to raise, too. These boys LOVE each other something fierce and it never ceases to make my heart feel like it is bursting out of my chest when I see how sweet and tender and thoughtful Henry is towards Wyatt. What a lucky mom I am!

***

I interrupt this post to remind readers that both my children have hyper-charged emotions and scream louder (and at a higher pitch) than 11 year old girls when they are angry, hurt or were told "no" (and sometimes just for fun).

***

But we love them!

Here are some pics from this morning - mostly of Wyatt because the eldest son likes to do this when the camera comes out:

The cutest little pirate I ever did see:

For reals!

Alas! A smile!

Such a fun age...so curious about everything.

And still not crawling! Getting really good at going backwards, though. ;)

Smartypants

Henry: But I don't waaaaant a naaaaap! I'm not tiiiiiirrrrrred! (repeat, repeat, repeat)

Me: If you don't stop whining, you're going to time-out. Do you want to spend some time in time-out?

***Dramatic pause***

Henry: If I go to time-out, then I don't have to have a nap?

Honestly. What happened to just saying no???

8 month update!

I'm sorry...did I just say 8 months? Well, officially 8 months and 5 days. These have been the fastest 8 months I've ever lived, I'm sure of it. Time flies when you have an older child that has to be shuttled to and from preschool, play dates and the like. Scheduling has kind of gone out the window and really, I'm okay with that. Wyatt sleeps 12 - 12 1/2 hours at night and takes about 3 - 4 hours (cumulatively) in naps every day. For that, I know I am blessed. He is such a happy baby, which makes everything that much easier. Smile, smile, smile...that's Wyatt in a nutshell. Lately, he's been a little bit of a mama's boy and while I'd like to say we're trying to remedy that, I have such a hard time with the looks he throws my way when I walk away from him! He's got me under his spell! I am totally guilty of feeding this problem and I always run to his rescue. :)

Wyatt LOVES his big brother and all the things they play together. He is lucky to have a big brother who always wants to entertain him! Henry is not too keen about the slobber all over his toys, but he deals with it.

What's new at 8 months? Wyatt has been clapping for several weeks now, and he's also been pulling himself up to a crawling position for about a month. He still just rocks back and forth and scoots backward until he hits something, but I think it's only a matter of time before this one's on the move. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be crawling long before Henry was (11 months!). Oh yeah! And now he has two bottom teeth! The started coming in around 7 months, but they are very visible now.

He is a chatterer, for sure. Talking, squealing, drooling, LOUD. I'm afraid he might be slightly hyper and it's obvious he's an extrovert. Clearly, he takes after Jim. (snicker)

***

Assuming the position...

Some overexposed teeth!

Little munchers. Seriously, they hurt.

The big brother, with matching eyes

There's nothing like some early morning CHEESE sessions

Moving on to video...

Here is Wyatt, so proud of his new trick:

And here are my children during Wyatt's bathtime, a sometimes family event (don't ask me why). Henry likes to "help" out, which usually means pouring water over Wyatt's head. Wyatt just splashes away, just happy for all the attention. :)

Breakfast with Character(s)

When my brother and I were little, my mom would take us to a character breakfast on our birthdays. This was always a huge highlight of our year and has become somewhat of a family tradition when we visit now. It is SO fun to experience these beloved Disney characters through my children's eyes. Henry was antsy with excitement and chowed down his Mickey Mouse waffles so he'd be ready when Minnie, Donald and Goofy came to our table.

*

I'll mostly let the pictures speak for themselves, but it needs to be said, IT WAS AWESOME! Parents of young kids, if you're ever in Orlando, DO THIS. You won't regret it!

*

Henry and Wyatt, talking over plans for maximum exposure

Getting psyched up...

Although many babies and young toddlers cry when approached by these ginormous, over-sized animals, Wyatt was extremely curious and did some major staring. Perhaps a few smiles. And open-mouthed kisses.

I think it is irritating when some parents are forever talking about how cute their kids are, but I feel like there are also a few acceptable times. Like when Henry met Donald.

I know. Get out!

So much fun.

Can you tell someone missed his morning nap (below)?

Space Cadet Wyatt, the apple farm called. They want their cheeks back.

Animal Kindgom, Check!

We interupt the Magic Kingdom posts to bring you this...

I was really excited to take Henry to Animal Kingdom this trip. They have the BEST safari ride with so many awesome and up close animals right off the side of the road that you're driving on. You almost forget you are at at Disney theme park...almost...until the driver of your jeep starts up with her jokes again.

*

Here is a picture chronicle of some of our day:

On the tram to the front gates. Someone is sleepy...

Can anyone find the differences in this next picture? I'd like to call it, normal people vs. people who have no idea what cold means. It was about 65-70 degrees this day. You know I love you mom...even with your scarf on. :)

Our first stop was at Dinoland, which is pretty much perfect for Henry's age group.
Getting ready to fly with dinosaurs!


Henry lovin' his control over the up or down function:

I would like to thank my husband for this awesome angle of my face. It was important that Mr. Huge Yellow Brontosaurus-type dino was in the photo op. Henry's obvious joy at his surrounding wins, though. I shall say goodbye vanity...

Here we are at The Boneyard, a HUGE play area with super-tall tube slides that you climb up robes and stairs and ladders to. Also know as "heaven" to 3 year olds.

Wyatt just enjoyed the sunshine. And all the loud kids running from one slide to the next.

Do you think he liked it?

And off he goes! Didn't even wait for poor Grandma, who is awesome because she did these slides with Henry. Can you tell she loved it? Heee.

Because my mama's got connections, we got the best seats for the Nemo show. Which was freakin' awesome! Such talent! It's all huge puppets and live singing and acting. I didn't believe it would be so cool (I mean, there is no singing in Finding Nemo), but it really, really was.

And I'm not kidding, Henry was this captivated the entire time:

Here's another clip of the sweet show:

Then we had lunch. I have to say, Disney has stepped it up for kids meals. Henry had chicken nuggets with CARROTS and GRAPES. That made me feel so great! Especially because Jim, Mom and I each had our own GINORMOUS turkey leg. Which none of us finished. And there are no pictures because our faces were smeared with turkey grease. Delicious.

Next up was the safari ride and we were all excited, even this little one who just had fun smiling at everyone in line around us:

I will only show a few pictures of my favorite animals. First, some of the bazillion giraffes they had:

Cheese!

There were also many elephants, but this one was my favorite:

And here's the dude I just sat and stared at for a while. Poor thing. He just sat there and stared back at all the people who were staring at him. You gotta wonder what he's thinking. Such a powerful and amazing animal though!

There was more to our day, including talking Henry into going on the river rapids ride with me and my mom. HA! We just kept laughing hysterically when we would get soaked or travel down enormous water slides so he would think it was funny. It worked! Such a brave boy. It is truly something different to get to experience the magic of Disney through your children's eyes. This particular day was just so much fun.

Stay tuned for more sporadic and out of order posts!

My First Roller Coaster by Henry

Hello. I wanted to share what it was like to go on my first roller coaster. I was way over the height requirement, but also a couple years younger than most of the kids on the ride. I didn't care. I was SO excited. It was called The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm. I like Goofy. The ride was like an airplane and I liked the airplane ride we took to come to Orlando, so I was obviously going to love this ride.

*

Here's me, mommy and grandma in line:

Here we are at the beginning. My mom kept giggling in front of us and I was wondering why we kept going uphill...

And then...

this:

Mommy was still laughing and I am no longer visible in pictures because I was in Grandma's lap.

Here I am telling Grandma that this ride is TOO FAST! Can you see the concern on my face (for all the other children, of course)?

Daddy wanted me to smile but I just wanted to get the heck out of there! Why do I get the feeling my parents were enjoying this?!

Maybe I'll try it again in a couple years when I'm actually 5, and not just as tall as someone that age. But my mom and dad said I was so brave. Well, duh.