Catching up: Papaw T & Grandma

A few weeks ago (yes, I know, I'm behind on the blog-- life gets busy with a 2 & 4-year-old!) my dad & step-mom visited and stayed with us for a week. We had such a great time and Papaw T & Grandma helped us out around the house so much-- we didn't want them to leave!

Bubble time on our backyard dirt patch... a few days later, Papaw T helped us lay sod. Yay for free labor!

Enjoying the view at Lake Peachtree.

Playing with the boys at the children's museum, downtown Atlanta.

The boys played in the Centennial Olympic Park fountain and loved it!

Deja vu

Remember this photo?

Here we are again, this time with kid #2 (aka Grant).

How does your garden grow?

Way too big! These pictures were taken a week ago when I harvested my first cucumber. Everything has grown even taller since then... corn stalks all have tassels, tomato plants had to be re-staked and the cucumber plant is out of control!

First harvest: butter lettuce and cucumber. Drizzle with oil & balsamic and serve!

Happy 4th birthday, Evan!

Today was Evan's big 4... and what a day it was! We were brave and hosted a backyard party that included 9 kids ages 1 through 4. The goal was to keep the kids well entertained with the bouncy house and slip-n-slide so that they wouldn't run around inside the house. That nearly worked... they stayed outside most of the time, played in the bouncy house, slip-n-slide and the sand box; we managed to avoid large quantities of sand and cake in the house except for a pile of sand at the bottom of Evan's bed (no idea how or when that happened). Judgding by the testimonials -- "Mom, Evan's party is FUN!" -- we think all of the kids had a good time. The slip-n-slide turned out to be the biggest hit... for little kids and big (in spite of the 110 lb. weight limit). And I'm happy to report that there were no casualties or boo-boos of any kind... not even a dropped piece of cake! For history's sake, here are a few fun facts about Evan at age 4:

Favorite colors: green and blue (he not only likes them, he's obsessed)

Favorite drink: chocolate milk (everyday for lunch)

Likes to: talk, dig in sand or dirt, dance, listen to music, read

Favorite song: Tempted (by the fruit of another) or Break Your Heart (by Ludacris)

Favorite book: Don't Forget the Oatmeal

Favorite food: hotdogs & beans

Favorite animal: do worms count?

Favorite phrase: "See you around like a doughnut!" or "Mom, I have to ask you something..." or "Guess what!"

A weekend away and apart

The kids spent their first-ever weekend away from Mom & Dad and stayed with Grandma Soon and Papa in Hilton Head. We had a wedding to attend in Boston, thus the reason for sending the kids away (at any given time, there are several reasons to send the kids off, just not the means to do so). We had a great little weekend away and rediscovered our grown-up selves -- people actually called me "Cara" instead of Mom... whoa. The kids however, got the best end of the deal. They had a BLAST in Hilton Head with Grandma & Papa. They were beyond exhausted at the end of every day... and with trips to the beach and pool, a bedtime of 9:45 and wake-up of 6:15, who can blame them? And likewise, G&P were pretty well spent too! We were relieved (and proud) to hear that their behavior was good, apart from a few incidents of brotherly love.

We can't wait to do it again! (No, really... we can't wait-- G&P, how does a full week sound for next time? ;)

Updates & such: Visitors

Long break from blogging. So busy. Lots of work. Lots of kids. Little sleep. But alas, my public needs an update.

We were treated with some awesome visitors a couple of weeks ago, beginning with an overnight stay from my sister Amanda, bro-in-law Clint and nephew Ethan. It had a been a year since we saw them last so it was great for the kids to get together and learn about each other. We had a blast touring PTC in the golf cart and spending time catching up.

After the family visit, our good friends Chris, Misty and their kids Cole & Caia visited for four days. The boys loved having new live-in playmates and it was great to catch up with old friends. Jason and Chris also raced in a local triathlon during their visit. Unfortunately I took a big-fat ZERO pictures... oh well, next time!

In case you didn't get enough...

Here are more pictures of Grant's birthday saga.

The train cake (yes, those are trains). Mary-- thank you and curses to you. While it turned out ok, the cake was a PAIN to make! ;)

New picnic table to enjoy in the back yard -- thanks Grandma Soon & Papa!

And, last but certainly not least... pictured below is a gift from a certain Aunt & Uncle (you know who you are) who thought it might be ha-ha-larious to bestow upon Grant (and in turn, Evan) the Little Tykes Mud Pie Makin' table. Oh yes, it's everything you would ever imagine it could be. Am thinking of the perfect gift for my sweet little nephews in NYC... ant farms are fun!

A note to my 3 (almost 4) year old Evan

Tonight as I visited your room for the umpteenth time during bedtime (and I can assure you that I wasn't very happy when I did so), you said to me, "But I don't want to sleep, I just want to play." And then it occurred to me: You're only 3 (almost 4)! As grown up as you appear (and sound) sometimes, in reality, you're just a child who wants to play. And while that's hard for me to understand, I know it must be hard for you to understand just how important my quiet time is to me (I can assure you, it's really important; you'll understand one day, and I'll say "Ha! See!").

Happy 2nd Birthday Grant!

Dear Grant,

It was your birthday today and boy, did you have a rough one. From the minute you and your brother woke up, you were annoying each other, teasing each other and just having quite a day. Turning two is tough! But, like we usually do, we made the best of it (despite it raining ALL day long). There were waffles for breakfast, play time with friends, a fantastic nap, your favorite dinner of chicken fingers, fries and broccoli (well, I'm pretty sure that broccoli isn't your favorite, but you ate it nonetheless), and of course, cake, ice cream and presents! You successfully thwarted most all of the attempts from your older brother to con you out of your new toys and instead shared some of them during bath time. Then, of course, what's a long birthday day without getting up from your bed approximately 5 times before you finally fell asleep for the night? A tough day for my tough, but so sweet, full-of-personality little boy.

Grant's pre-birthday fun

For Grant's 2nd birthday (tomorrow), we took the boys to Thomas' Day Out in Chattanooga. The boys had no idea where we were going until 2 minutes before we arrived. A note to novice parents: Never tell your kids you're going to do something/go somewhere until you're actually, physically onsite. Trust me on this one -- I've been burned too many times. They were excited and we were thankful that the impending 70% chance of rain held off. Turns out though, threat of rain wasn't our biggest problem. Two minutes after this picture was taken:

Grant fell, face down on the asphalt, looking like this:

Once Grant stopped crying, we meandered through the festivities, including a giant tent filled with train tables as far as the eye can see.

Shortly after this photo was taken, Evan stumbled out of the tent, turned pale as a ghost and nearly collapsed into my arms. We think he got dehydrated (he has a little cold) and overheated. We quickly remedied the situation with a sugary neon blue juice drink from the concessions. Nothing that a little high fructose corn syrup and blue #6 won't cure.

Next stop: Petting zoo! Which was really fun, since the petting zoo at Thomas' Day Out features attack donkeys! Some well-meaning donkey bit the hand that fed him and unfortunately that hand (thumb) belonged to our little Grant. Grant's interpretation of the event: "Horsey eat!"

Thomas' Day Out is FUN! No really, after those few fiascos, we took a real train ride, ate lunch, stopped at the gift shop and all was right in the world. The following pictures feature the more enjoyable moments of our day trip. Fair warning: there are lots of pictures included in this post, so go ahead and take a moment to grab a cold beer, pull up a chair and enjoy.

And this is what you get after a face plant, a near fainting, a donkey bite and an otherwise fun day with Thomas. It's what I call "Success."

Brothers and the games they play