Scarrrrrrry Monster

Aidan was very scared of the thunder during today's rainstorm, so we decided to make scary fun. We built a cave and told scary monster stories. Both kids loved it.

Here's part of Allison's monster story.

Redemption

Today was ROUGH with Allison. Constant talking back, not listening, time-outs, etc. We made it through dinner with few problems, so she earned a few minutes of computer time back. By the time 7:30 rolled around, I was very ready for her to get her bath and go to bed. I said, "Allison, go put your clothes in your laundry basket, go potty, and I'll meet you at the bath tub." Well, she did the first two and then this is what I found when I walked out after cleaning up the kitchen.

She said, "They're slippers for the ocean!"

I had to laugh and could no longer be mad at this crazy girl. She just cracks us up! We have Tyler to thank for the photo editting. You can even see the lipstick around her mouth that she was in trouble for getting earlier in the day. What a nut!

So Close

Aidan is getting close to crawling. I thought I was going to catch it on video today, but he's not quite there yet.

AWYHD Week

This is the end of "Appreciate What Your Husband Does" week. While the kids were in Portland I went with Tyler to a few different comapany related events. Thursday night was a happy hour with co-workers and a vendor. I had met most of them before. It started off with some business talk, but was mainly just for fun.

Then, on Friday, I was dropping him off at lunch with a couple of vendors when his supervisor and one of the vendors insisted I stay. This was a business lunch where the vendors were trying to get Tyler to purchase their networking stuff. It was pretty enlightening to see him in his work environment. I know I'm biased, but he is one smart cookie.

Friday night we had reservations for dinner, but beforehand a different vendor was schmoozing him again for business over cocktails. I went for the last hour. Hey...lunch and cocktails were comped, so I was happy!

Finally, since Tyler has an injured heel, I had to mow. Last weekend a knife went into his heel after fishing, and he can't put any weight on it. It's pretty bad. He's had a crutch at work. We had a mowing service for a couple of months, but I wanted to save money. He agreed it was best, he would mow, etc. Well...he can't mow now. So, here I am, wanting to beat up the mower. The grass was so high it kept dying on me. No need to go to the gym today! That was one serious workout!

Coldplay Concert

Tyler and I had such a great time last night at the Coldplay concert. It was one of the best concerts either of us have ever seen. They put on such an amazing show.

This was when they played "Yellow".

Yellow balloons filled with confetti were bounced throughout the crowd.

Twice during the show they went out into the crowd and played.

They even did a cover of Billie Jean in honor of Michael Jackson!

It was pretty funny and unexpected. The crowd loved it.

Operation Switch-er-oo

Allison and Aidan have gone to visit Omie and Papa Fred for a few days, and I have Uncle Ryan's two dogs here. After a fire at his house, he's in a condo on the fourth floor for a few months. My parents have been keeping his dogs, so while the kids are in Portland the dogs are here. Austin is very happy to have some playmates. I am only an hour and a half into this deal, and I can't believe how quiet and calm things are around here. I'm actually fixing my hair. That doesn't happen very often.

I do already miss the kids, but a little break is nice. Tonight I have bunko with my teacher friends, tomorrow night Tyler and I are going to the Coldplay concert, and then at some point we're finally going to dinner for our anniversary that was over a month ago. Allison and Aidan will hit the beach in the morning. She's so excited!

Here's what the dogs are up to. Ahhh...silence.

Opie

Austin

Mable

(She was asleep but woke up when I took her picture.)

What do you wear to the grocery store?

Allison wears a fairy costume with wings and sparkly pink shoes.

Why not?

We Love Legos

Allison has always loved Legos, and now Aidan is crazy about them also. They were always one of my favorite toys as a kid. When we were in Portland a few weeks ago Allison had so much fun playing with our old Legos. Unfortunately Aidan can choke on the real deal, so she'll have to wait to have her own. For now the Duplo blocks are getting plenty of action.

On Thursday I was taking a few pictures on the couch when Aidan decided to make a run for it. Allison was quick and caught him. It was hilarious!

Bathroom is Finito!

Check it out! (I decided to leave it white.)

This sign says, "I'd love to help, but I've misplaced my wand." Very Allison.

Camp Week

This week Allison has Camp Cornerstone each morning from 9:30 - 1:00. She loves it! The theme is everything related to water, so she's very happy. Here she is the first day before we walked in. Her camp teacher is Mrs. Banks. Mrs. Banks was her Friday MDO teacher while I was on bedrest and they let Allison attend that extra day each week. She really loves Mrs. Banks, and she's coming home wiped out each day from all the fun.

I have been pretty productive the last two mornings thanks to camp. I have always disliked the wallpaper in the second bathroom, but I just haven't done anything about it. This week I decided it was time. I put up a white, textured wallpaper that can be painted. The texture is a thin vertical stripe. I haven't caulked or painted, but the paper is up! I haven't decided on a color. At first I thought I just wanted white, but I've had a ton of suggestions for a pale green. Light blue was also suggested. I don't know what to do. Feel free to offer your opinion! I'm just really excited to done with the hunter green, khaki, and gold stripes. Seriously, what were the previous owners thinking?!?

Our family is growing!

Scared you, didn't I? No, I'm not pregnant. Hee hee. Allison has a fish. She chose a pink Beta and named him "Lessa". "She's a cute girl" according to Allison. She also chose a pink aquarium with pink rocks. She is definitely her father's daughter because she took 15 minutes to chose the perfect fish, and then ended up wanting the most expensive Beta they carried. Most cost $3-$4. Lessa cost us $13.99. He's a Halfmoon Beta, whatever that is. Allison is so excited and loves her new pet. She's in the living room talking to her cute fish right now. Lessa is well worth it.

7 Months Old and A-Ta

Tuesday Aidan was 7 months old. Time is flying by! There are only a few new developments since the sixth month post. He is sitting up, he's very interested in playing with Allison, and he has started thrusting himself forward in an effort to crawl. He gets his entire body up, and then throws himself forward using his legs. It's pretty funny.

Our 10-year old lab, Austin, is our first baby. One of Allison's first words was "A-ta" for "Austin". Going back to Allison's pictures, I realized that was around this age we took some cute pictures of her with Austin playing on the rug.

Allison and Austin - June 20, 2006 - 8 1/2 months old

Austin is such a good sport, even when Aidan fell back on him he didn't move.

Beach, Fireworks, and a Princess

This past weekend we went to my parents' house. On Friday we took both kids to the beach while Tyler was out fishing. Allison loved it. She didn't want to leave and asked to go back the rest of the weekend. Aidan wasn't sure what to make of it. The poor little guy was uncomfortable in his swimsuit, so we stripped it off.

Then, Saturday morning my mother and I ran to Corpus with the kids for a quick shopping trip. She bought us a tandem stroller, which I am so grateful for! She also set Allison up with a princess outfit for a birthday party she's attending in August. Let's hope the dress lasts that long. Her first question was why the wand wasn't working. (Tyler was fishing again. He didn't catch a single fish the entire weekend. He was not happy.)

Saturday night we took Allison to see the fireworks show over North Beach. She kept saying, "Oh, that one is bee-tiful." Again, a huge hit. I had either forgotten or blocked my memories of how humid and sticky the air can be. We were a mess at the fireworks. It was fun though! Allison had a blast sitting in beach chairs in the back of Daddy's truck.

Before we headed home on Sunday we gave in to Allison's requests and went back to the beach for an hour. She loves jumping the waves. She also did a little fishing and of course sand digging. She's a true beach babe.