Funny Kid Stuff

I couldn't think of a clever title for this post so I just called it what it is. This post is a tribute to how much my kids make me laugh.

Sam insists on getting in this chair by climbing over the arms. We have tried to show him how to do it and I know he knows how, he just prefers to do it the hard way. As you can see by the next few pictures, he becomes a little frustrated but eventually makes it into the chair.

ALMOST... Keep going...

This picture represents all things "4 years old". Sydney wants to wear this red velvet, holiday dress almost everyday. She has even wanted to wear it to school. I've managed to convince her not to wear it to school because it is so "special". But she has worn it for several weekends in a row (my mom had to talk her out of wearing it to church). This picture was taken before we went to Wal-Mart. Red velvet, white flip flops - How appropriate! Sydney is a very strong-willed child so fighting over things like this are so NOT worth it.

My Sydney is so funny! She wanted me to braid her hair one Sunday afternoon. 2 braids, she requested. So I finished one side and started to work on the other when she stopped me. "NO MOM!" She wanted a regular ponytail on one side and a braid on the other. Too bad this wasn't the same day she wore the red dress and white flip flops. Sydney is definitley her own person and those that know her well, know you do not go head to head with Sydney over things that truly don't matter. You might win, but it won't be easy! But this is what I dearly LOVE about her. She is very spirited and has a mind of her own. While sometimes challenging at 4, these are all qualities that will suit her well in life. So the next time your kiddo wants to wear a ridiculous outfiit or hairstyle (or all of the above), let them! It will make you smile (and probably those that see you at Wal-Mart, too.)

Sydney and Sam have been running around after bath time in these frog towels. They were laughing so hard. It was difficult to capture it on film because they were moving so quickly and I was laughing so hard. Sam would run (his version of run) down the front entryway and the towel would just drag behind him. He reminded me of E.T. when they dressed him up as a ghost for Halloween.

Not so funny... Sam had his first black eye today. He fell and hit the coffee table. He's pretty cute with a black eye, though.

What a Weekend!

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend. We headed to Granbury for the 4th. We spent time on the lake with our family then headed home just in time for fireworks - in our dreams, that is. We haven't made it to fireworks in a few years. It is so darn late that our kids are too wiped out by the time 9:45 rolls around to kick off the fireworks. Okay, so maybe Mom is just too tired, but all the same, no fireworks. On Saturday we had our good friends, the Hinsons, over to our house for dinner. We've had a 4th of July tradition for close to 10 years. We enjoyed hanging out and catching up with them. On Sunday, Kyle went to one of his favorite golf stores and came home with a set of clubs for Sydney. He chose blue over lavendar thinking Sam would NEVER play golf with purple clubs when Sydney outgrows these. She was pretty excited. I'm pretty sure the last thing Sydney needs is 4 or 5 long, metal sticks to swing around the house. But Kyle has been taking her out back to practice. Kyle is an EXCELLENT financial advisor so of course he sees a big investment in this purchase. Golf scholarship to Stanford is what he has in mind (that is if she doesn't get kicked out of preschool, first). Enjoy the pictures :)

Just a cute picture!

The clubs...

Practice time

FORE!

I promise she did NOT ride this jet ski alone. She kept telling everyone that took her on a ride to "go faster". She kept telling her Daddy, "get that wave".


I hope those golf clubs are exciting enough for Sydney.

A Few of My Favorite Things

So I'm stealing this idea from another mom blogger - Jennifer. It's fun to check out the things other people love using. Now I'm no Oprah so my things are not that great and I can't give them away to you. But I do hope you enjoy checking out some of my favorite things. Be sure to leave your favorites on your blog and leave a comment so we know to check out some of your faves, too.

1. Bare Minerals Make-Up... I've been using it for about a year. I LOVE IT. I've started using the blush and eye shadow, too. As I make my way towards the mid 30's (gag - I can't believe I said that out loud) my face breaks out way more than when I was a teenager. But this foundation has made a HUGE improvement in my skin. 2. Redken 18 Quick Dry Hairspray - My hair lady (I'm sure she loves that term) turned me on to this stuff. BONUS: it smells great.

3. ScrewPull corkscrew - My mother in-law gave this to me for Christmas. It is so easy to use. I've been forced to push the cork into the bottle with other wine tools or wait for Kyle to open it for me, but this one is a piece of cake. Your guests will be impressed with your wine opening skills. No more holding the bottle between your knees and using all your strength to pull the cork from the clenches of the bottle (don't judge me... when a girl needs a glass of wine, she needs a glass of wine).

Ride 'em Cowgirl

This past weekend we had our annual Edward Jones summer regional meeting at Horseshoe Bay Resort near Marble Falls. It was a ton of fun. Unfortunately, keeping up with my kiddos at a lake resort and having my camera ready for the Kodak moments was nearly impossible for me. But I did get a few shots of Sydney. Friday night we had a western dinner - BBQ, line dancing, horse shoes, and of course a mechanical bull. Everyone who knows Sydney can imagine how crazy my child went over this bull. She must have rode it 50 times. She kept trying to cut in line to get as many turns as possible. She had blast!

Summer Fun

We've been having so much fun at the pool this summer. We have 5 pools in our neighborhood and have tried 4 of them. After work on Friday (Kyle's work - I had my first day off this summer last Friday so I sent the kids to school and went shopping. I felt guilty for the first 15 minutes then got over it when I remembered how many stores you can go to in a short amount of time without strollers, car seats, goldfish crackers, whining, etc.) we headed to a new pool in the neighborhood. We were the only ones there. It was really fun to relax and unwind after a hard day of working (and shopping). Sunday we went to the pool in our neighborhood - officially the best because of the great beach entry and mostly shallow water. Again, the only ones there for awhile. Sydney is a great swimmer. She has really gotten right back into swimming; thanks, Aqua Kids. As you can see from the pictures below, the pool is very relaxing for Sam.

Sam was worn out from all the pool action! He was falling asleep on his float. When this boy is tired, he has no problem going to sleep.

I took these pictures tonight. Sydney and Sam are really starting to play together. Sam was trying to brush her hair for her. It turned into a sword fight so to speak. But it was all in good fun.

Sam is a drooling machine. I can't figure out what teeth are coming in, but these pj's had been on for about 5 minutes. SOAKED! The boy has a mouth full of teeth so I'm not sure what's going on in there.

I have a feeling that it will be a while before Sam needs a brush.

Good Morning, Little Brother!

This morning as I was getting ready, I heard some noise on the baby monitor. We always have to wake Sam in the mornings so I was curious as to what was going on. I saw Sydney on the monitor. She was at his bed whispering to him that everything was okay - I can imagine him thinking, "of course everything is NOT okay, you are waking me up!" But nonetheless, Sydney was reassuring him everything was just fine even though he wasn't even awake. I see her leave and assume she is headed downstairs. But I never hear her come down so I look again at the monitor. This time she is back with her "bear and blanket" and is now climbing into the crib with him. I think Kodak moment and grab the camera. It is almost pitch dark in the room (as most of you know Sydney is not a late sleeper - 5:45 to 6:15 is typical and yes, that includes weekends) so I needed a flash. This just about blinded my poor boy as he is very sensitive to the light in the morning. Poor Sam!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the special Dad's out there (I'm sure not one of them reads this blog). Here are a few shots from the day.

Sydney kept asking where her present was so she decided the next best thing was opening the presents for Dad.

We bought Sam this new float for the pool. He thought it would be just as much fun to lounge around in the living room as it would be the swimming pool.

He kept leaning back and laughing so hard at him self. What a funny boy!