My Everyday Life

We went to the pool to hang out with Oma and Opa.  The big yellow raft was intended for J and the little blue one for R.  We tried to put J in his raft but he refused to go.  R was a ready and willing volunteer, so in he went.  After about 10 minutes of watching his brother have a blast in his raft, J insisted on going in one too.  So Opa put him in.  About 3 feet from the side of the pool, J wanted to get out.  So Opa took him out.  He watched his brother laughing and splashing for a few minutes, then wanted to go back in.  So Opa put him in.  About 5 feet into the pool, J wanted to get out.  So Opa took him out.  Repeat scenario 2-3 more times and then J was finally in and floating around the pool with Opa.  He had a really good time.  But he never did let go of his deathgrip on Opa’s shoulder or hand.

R was his usual maniac self.  Splashing.  Dancing.  Screaming.  Trying to launch himself out of the tube at his brother.

It meant “appetizers” when I was a kid.  Now it has an entirely new meaning to kids.  And parents.  To kids, it means “Yes! I get to play with mama’s phone!”  And to parents, it means “Yes! 15 minutes of peace and quiet!  Except, gee, I hope this is not rotting my child’s brain.  Ok, maybe only 10 minutes of peace and quiet.”

Little man has been refusing to nap in his crib the past few days.  Instead, he hangs out in there playing and talking to himself during nap time.  So I go and get him out of his crib because he is “clearly not tired,” feed him a bottle, and this happens….  Is it bad parenting to leave a sleeping baby on a couch all alone so I could get my camera to take his picture?  Does it make it better if I put pillows on the floor all around him?

75 degrees and sunny.  A perfect afternoon to sit outside with Nana!

And for cousins to play together!

Given his presence in our daily lives, I figured it was only fair that Mike have some of his own blog posts.  He had a lovely morning swinging from the tree branches in the backyard.  It might have been a perfect day for Mike if only there were other monkeys around so he could pick bugs off of their heads and eat them.

What is he doing?  I was wondering the same thing myself.  The only other time I’ve seen this is when a dog tries to lick the bottom of a cup clean and gets its snout stuck.  That’s my boy!!

I love Christmas.  I love everything about it: the family get togethers, Christmas carols, Christmas trees, Christmas lights and decorations, Christmas stories, Christmas movies, Christmas wrapping and presents, Christmas shopping, the eager anticipation on Christmas Eve and the excitement of Christmas morning.  I know I sound like a super cheeseball, but I can’t help it.  It’s my favorite time of the year.  Every year, mid-July is when the Christmas bug starts nipping at me and I start getting antsy for Christmas time.   Today was an odd weather day; it poured, but the sun was out shining.  That may be typical for Florida, but certainly not NJ.  So I got out my camera to try to take some pictures from our sunporch.  I had pretty grand visions of what I wanted, but alas, none of them worked out.  Except for this little image – it may look like a messy blur to most, but to me, the second I saw it, it made me yearn for some beautiful Christmas lights!  So here’s to 138 days left until Christmas!

Most mornings, while R is napping, J and I go upstairs “to do makeup” and “to do blow dryer” (as J says it).  I think it’s adorable how he gets up on his stool and we stand there getting ready together.  He likes to mimic everything I do from brushing my hair to cleaning out my ears with Qtips.   On this particular morning, Mama was getting a blowout so Mr J needed one as well.

It’s cooler outside than in my house with the A/C on.  It’s August.  In New Jersey.  What is going on??  So we opened the windows to air out the house a bit.  J immediately found a new place to put his cars where his brother couldn’t really reach.

I don’t know why, but J has always loved pretending to clean.  Oma P’s cleaning gene must have been passed on to him.  He loves the vacuum, swiffer and he particularly loves grabbing a rag and spray bottle.  So today, I let him go to town on all the wet nose spots on the french doors.