Our Knight

Karie and I discovered this hilarious costume at Wal-Mart last week, and after Matt's nod of approval it became ours! Trenton may look happy and excited about wearing his knight getup, but this smile is actually an uncomfortable "get this thing off of me" expression! He liked the hat until he saw all of us try it on--apparently adults wearing a child-size knight helmet is scary to a two year old! Who knew?!We'll have to work on it for Friday.

Showtunes

Trenton's vocabulary is pretty limited for a 2 1/2 year old (lots of reasons, mostly because he doesn't have good mouth/tongue coordination due to not eating), so we celebrate any new words he comes up with! I couldn't tell you why, but about a week ago, I began singing Annie's "Tomorrow" to him. The next thing I knew, he was shouting "tomorrow!" just the same as me. WOW -- multi-syllabic! That was big time. Since then (much to Matt's happiness), we've added arm motions with our song, and it's become an entertaining part of our car time. We just turn down the radio and sing like Annie! Our newest song is Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours." He loves to sing the word "more" in the melody, and when the song ends, he again tells me "more!" It's amazing how much he loves music. I caught him beating on his chest to a song twice yesterday. I'm already seeing drums and a microphone in his Christmas future. :) Concert dates and times to be announced at a later date! Stay tuned!

These pics are right after he's finished with his "tomorrow!" singing with arm motions. You can tell how happy it makes him.

Al Gatore

Yes, this picture is creepy, I know. It's an aligator foot (or is it a claw???) that has been the center of a lot of laughter in my family. I think it's supposed to be a back scratcher for some lonely, desperately itchy person who perhaps also has a strange love for alligators.

Somehow, my mom thought she needed one of these things years ago. As teenagers, we were repulsed at how it was always laying out for all of our friends to see! Eventually, I think my sister cracked and the "claw" thankfully disappeared.

Ironically, my sister was vacationing in Florida a few years ago when she happened upon a new batch of claws! So this lovely fellow made his way into our lives, and began showing up whenever we least expected. He's been spotted in luggage, hiding in beds, cars, closets . . . you name it. "Al" recently came out of a few months of hiding (my brother misplaced him, I think), and ever so politely made a home in my bed for a few hours until I climbed in, ready to crash, and was reunited with my old friend. And the fun continues on.

Last night we all decided to give Al his own facebook page and surprise my mom in Virginia with a little visit from an old friend. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when she opened that friend request! Now our new mission is to see how many people will accept him as a friend on facebook. If you'd like to check out his page, just search for "al gatore" from florida. Leave him a message, or just check out his profile! And watch out! You never know where he might just pop up next!

The Lotion Party

Trenton has been battling some eczema lately, so we are forever putting lotions and creams on his legs, arms, and cheeks. Tonight he developed a fascination for his lotion bottle. Ashley and I laughed as he pretended to rub lotion on his hands, cheeks, and hair! It's amazing how quickly they learn what to do (although I think he was a bit confused with lotion vs. hair washing!). Anyway, he sat next to me as I was engrossed in Grey's Anatomy, completely unaware of any trouble brewing! Within seconds, he somehow managed to look like this:





Oh yes. That's lotion everywhere. Hands, cheeks, hair, COUCH. . . He had somehow managed to sit on the lotion bottle, which to his delight exploded everywhere, allowing him to have a quiet little lotion party. Needless to say, a bath took place next (but only after Ashley and I laughed til we cried!).






And this, my friends, is the look of a sweet angel. An angel that knows he's hilarious, up to no good, and has his mom wrapped around his little fingers. How could anyone resist this face?

The house!

Many of our friends and family are far away, so we've put together a "slide show" of pictures of the new house! It's a progression of pictures from its origional nasty HUD condition to the beautiful home it is today! We have so many people to thank for helping us work on the house, especially Matt's parents. What would we do without their home-rennovating expertise? :) Enjoy the pics!
Pics of house

How do they do it?

Zander Zazzer Zuzz and Trenton

Holy cow. I am awestruck by moms (and dads) that have more than one child under the age of 3! Today we are taking care of our 5 1/2 month old friend, Zander (or Zander Zazzer Zuzz, as we call him!) while his parents are at work. Zander could quite possibly be the cutest baby ever, but as all babies tend to do, he's cried a little today. So here we are, crying baby in my arms, and a jealous Trenton literally suctioning himself to my legs so that I can't move. I successfully put T down for a nap, but Zander keeps screaming. FINALLY, they are both asleep for a glorious 2 minutes. Then T wakes up with a puddle of puke next to him in bed. ARGH. How do parents do it?!? I am at a loss for how parents can juggle the needs for more than one kid at a time! They definitely have my respect, and today's motto is: "No More Beaver Babies." Well, it's the motto at least until I throw Trenton's dirty sheet into the washer and that sweet baby laundry detergent smell convinces me otherwise. :)

Can't you just see the look of annoyance on T's face? Babies are cute until they are in your space, which includes Mama's arms.

Trenton's New Obsession

Trenton realized where Matt's hats are kept a couple of weeks ago--since then, he has been a little hat monster! We have to bring out every hat (one is not enough) so he can walk around wearing them and putting them on each of our heads. In fact, as I type, he is trying to put a hat on his cousin, John. Who needs toys when you have your dad's hats?