A List for Tuesday

5 Things I Wonder About Regularly
(in no particular order)

1. How does Dr. Doofenshmirtz know Perry the Platypus's name?
2. Why do so many people think Dane is a girl?
3. Why is it that my kids will ignore me until I have something important to do?
4. How many kid shows can I watch before my brain turns to mush?
5. What does penguin taste like?

What do you wonder about?

A List for Tuesday

5 Things Dane Says All The Time
(in no particular order)

1. Nah-nah-nah - loosely translated means, "Give me food now!"
2. Dane-Dane - he likes to say his own name repeatedly.
3. What doin'?/How doin'? - his first sentence! The other day his Uncle Zakky walked into the room and he asked him, "How doin'?"
4. Hello - said with a strong W sound in place of the L's.
5. Da - used to refer to his favorite person in the world: his Daddy!

Good Friends are Hard to Find

I've never been very good at keeping friends. I'm okay at making them, but if they're too much work then I just give up on them. Somehow, even with my selfishness and total lack of compassion for others, I have been lucky enough to have some of the best friends in the world. Here are just a couple of examples:

On Friday night my friend Julie and I went to see Roman Holiday at Pioneer Park downtown. The only thing that could make this awesome movie better is seeing it outside, with free popcorn, on a warm summer night with one of my favorite people. It also helped that Julie had never seen it before and it had been a long time since I'd seen it.

Gregory Peck is so dreamy. Just saying.

On Saturday my friend Jenel and I drove together to our monthly book club (which, despite my encouragement, still has not been named). I think my favorite part of the night was the ride there and back because I can talk to Jenel about pretty much anything and know that she doesn't judge. It's a nice feeling. Not to slight the girls at book club, however. Cat has been my friend for years now and I don't know what i would do without her!

Lastly, two of my friends from Seton Hill have been keeping an inside joke alive on Facebook and it made me smile. I graduated over 2 1/2 years ago, but I'm still close to the friends I made there.

So even though good friends are hard to find, I seem to have found quite a few without really trying. I'm one lucky chick.

A List for Tuesday

5 Reasons it Sucks That Bo is Dead
(in no particular order)

1. Dutch asks on an almost daily basis where Bo is and anytime anyone is sad he tells me it's because they miss Bo.
2. The food under Baby Dane's high chair does not magically disappear.
3. I have a hard time writing at the house without my furry footstool.
4. I'll be doing something and suddenly remember that he's gone. It hurts all over again.
5. When I can't sleep there isn't anyone to keep me company.

I miss him so much.

Balloon Festival

On Saturday morning we got up bright and early, walked a few blocks down to our local park and watched a dozen or so hot air balloons take off. Heather and her girls were with us and the kids loved it. I always think of The Wizard of Oz when I see hot air balloons, and lines from the musical Wicked kept going through my mind. Here is my favorite picture of the event, taken by my sister Heather:

Photo Catch-Up Highlight Reel

I found my camera cord! And here are a few photo highlights from our summer.

Midnight showing of "The Avengers" with Clarissa 

Dane and Evie meeting for the first time 

Brand new fence for the yard 

Dutch and Dane playing with the cardboard house
Aunt Amy gave them.

(You can see Greg's hand;
he barely fit inside,
but the boys thought it was hilarious.) 

First year of pre-school over! 

Posing with his "diploma" 

 The frog that likes to get caught everywhere.

We first found him in the water valve box,

then one basement window well,

then the other basement window well.

I think he is not so bright.

 Dutch's very first horseback riding lesson!

The horse is named Felice.

 Tracy Aviary with the cousins

Tracy Aviary, looking at the flamingos.

More summer pictures coming soon!

Dutch and Dane Stats

We took a trip to the pediatrician this week to see how the little bubbas are growing. Dutch went in for his 4-year check-up and Dane went in for his 15-monther. Here are the vital stats:

DUTCH
Weight: 50 lbs 6 oz (97th percentile)
Height: 45.7 in (99th percentile)

DANE
Weight: 21 lbs 3.5 oz (10th percentile)
Length: 29.3 in (5th percentile)
Head Circumference: 46 cm (15th percentile)

So, in short, Dutch is super-huge for his age and Dane is super-small. They are both healthy and adorable. They also both had to get shots and neither one of them cried! The nurse was very complimentary about my tough, brave boys!