Lazy summer nights...

WTF??

I have absolutely no clue what these are about but they make me laugh so I have to share.
























I actually think he may have been mid-fit when they were taken.

For Kevin..

I came across this video on my phone this morning. Right after I watched it, I checked Facebook and Kevin posted that he prayed last night that he could see Noah one last time so he would know that he is still with him then found a brief video of Noah on his phone this morning. It can't be a coincidence that I came across this at the same time. I already sent it to Kevin but felt the need to share with everyone.

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The many faces of Brendan

Several times a day Brendan has to demonstrate his facial emotions to Jeremy.

The "Oh" face...
















The Angry Face...
















I have NO idea what this face is suppose to be. Happy, maybe?!?

















The Shocked look...
















And you people say he never shows emotion in his facial expressions!

Look what I caught...

A concrete cow and her calf are the only kind Owen can catch.

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Sometimes we are friends....

I love Lucy

Last week we got a text with a picture of three kittens asking "Which one would the boys like?" I think it was meant to be a joke, but when we got a little more info on the kittens we found ourselves in the car on they way to pick one up. What is wrong with us?? For the first time in years we are down to one cat. I think that Uma enjoys suffering from Only Cat Syndrome. The boys love her, but she isn't a huge fan of them. She isn't mean to them. She just tries to avoid them. She is almost 13 years old so she's turned into an old lady cat. She does enjoy some quality time laying in bed with Brendan, but as soon as she hears Owen coming she is gone.

Anyway, we didn't tell Brendan where we were going, just that we had a surprise for him. We got out of the car, took the kitten out of the box, and his face lit up. We handed her to him and they were instant BFF's. He sat in the car holding her while we visited. She never squirmed or tried to get away. We drove home and she slept on Brendan's lap most of the way.

We talked kitten names and Brendan decided on Lucy. (or Woocy in Brendan language) She was very calm and so tolerant of Owen. She was kind of spooked by him, but handled it pretty well. She adored Brendan. They slept together that night (and every night since). As he was falling asleep Brendan said "I love Lucy. Today was the best surprise ever."

Lucy is not photogenic AT ALL. And she looks scared in this picture because she was being stalked by the dog. Please excuse her crusty eyes. I cleaned them several times a day, but it seemed never ending that first week. She's better this week.

Lucy is a little saint and she loves the boys. Well, she loves Brendan. She tolerates Owen. She follows him from room to room. When we were outside playing she sat at the door crying because she couldn't get to us. She watched them take a bath the first night but hasn't since because there was too much splashing for her taste. She left the room dripping wet.


Owen loves her. He chases her all over. She does a pretty good job of hiding from him. For the most part he is only allowed supervised visits with her. He isn't mean to her, but sometimes he gets a little overexcited. I don't think I've said "remember to be gentle", "pet her softly", "not so rough" so many times in my life. He's getting better.


Most of the time she sits there and never tries to escape from him (I would!).


So, Lucy has moved in and it doesn't look like she is going away anytime soon. There would be two heartbroken little boys. Even the other animals are adjusting really well.

The Redneck in me

When I picked the kids up from the sitter's the other day they had been playing in the pool. Owen in his diaper. Brendan in his underwear. They didn't want to get dressed so I threw them in the car and we drove home like that. Once we got home, they wanted to play outside. Nowhere I would rather be when it's 100 degrees. So, Owen played in his diaper. Brendan in his underwear. For over two hours. Brendan must've known how wrong it was because he avoided the camera.




It really doesn't get more pitiful and pathetic than this...



Snot and all.

Some people dream of angels,

we held one in our arms...

I can't believe that it has been a month since we lost Noah. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday, but other times it feels like forever. I think about him every day. Off and on all day long, really. I keep thinking if I think of him as often as I do, I can't imagine what it's like for Alicia and Kevin.

Tonight I was thinking about last day I saw him. Mom and Alicia were cleaning the basement, Dad was doing yard work, so I was playing with the kids. He woke up from his nap full of smiles which was typical. It was a nice day and the older kids wanted to be outside. Noah and I sat on the deck with Owen. Owen went back and forth between loving Noah and hating that he was having to share my attention with him. Noah would just smile at him like the kid was nuts. Owen was into tickling so he would tickle Noah. Owen's tickles are not enjoyable in any form or fashion, but even Noah seemed to know to play along and smile and pretend that it was. We got a few belly laughs out of him by tickling those thunder thighs while Owen tickled his belly. Owen believed the laughs were from his tickles.

We eventually went inside to watch a TV. Noah was right in the middle of anything the older kids were doing. He was a nosey little bugger and didn't miss a thing. He sat propped up on the bed between Maddy and Owen alternating between watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates and the kids. He lit up every time any of them moved because he thought they were going to talk to him. He had such a serious, almost grumpy look all the time, but was so darn happy. He made my heart melt. He still does. I miss those smiles. And those rolls. Oh, the rolls.


Apparently, Owen got bored and ditched us.

I came across this video the other day. I didn't know I had it. It's brief. It's rather boring. But, my God, it's priceless.


02/12/2011

First trip to the dentist

Brendan had his first dentist appointment Tuesday. I fully expected it to be a disaster, but he was very cooperative.



I went first. Brendan sat in the corner playing a game but by the time she was polishing my teeth he practically had his head in my mouth to see what was going on. When I was done, he hopped right up in the chair.



He got to take a few rides up and down. They laid him down and asked them to show how big he could open his mouth.



Since the dentist was still there from my exam he took the opportunity to count his teeth. He was excited to announce there was no cavities.



After the dentist left, the hygienist counted his teeth too. Since he was being so cooperative she took the went ahead and cleaned his teeth. When we were done he got his toothbrush, toothpaste, and gum. Gum!! I never get gum. She walked us out and had him pick a balloon and walked him over to the prize shelf where he picked a pirate hat and patch. Go figure!

Hangin' with my homies...

Just another lazy a Saturday, chillin' in the driveway, workin' on our art skills.

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Round and round we go...

We went to the Henry Vilas Zoo a couple weeks ago. The last several times we were there Brendan wanted nothing to do with the Merry-go-Round. This time I was afraid we'd have a fight when I said it was time to go.


Are you SURE this thing will hold me?




You would never know by the exciting expressions on his face, but he loved it.

I'm outta here

Owen would stay outside all day if you let him. Mosquitoes the size of your head mean nothing to him.

His new favorite is zipping around the yard on his quad.



The problem the other day was that he suffered from selective hearing. The closer he got to the road, the less he seemed to be able to hear.



I should've taken a picture of the fit that he threw when I made him turn around and go back to the house.





That look clearly means "screw you, mom". He's probably plotting his next escape.

Instead they were banned to the backyard.

Our new do's

Last month I took Brendan to get his hair cut. He's finally starting to enjoy it. Well, I don't know that "enjoy" is really the appropriate word, but he allowed a cape this time. That's a major step up.



Since we were there, I asked her to cut Owen's hair too. The poor child is nowhere near needing a real hair cut, but he had random pieces here and there that were longer than mine, I swear. Plus, he had this mop thing going on top. She evened it all out for him.



Nearly a month later, it looks almost exactly the same. Poor kid.