Alex and Teague regularly have “dance parties” which are much more just making loud noises. During tonight’s dance party, Alex got out his guitar and composed his first song.
Alex has been begging to play Mario Kart (we haven’t had it on in years so I’m not sure where he got the idea), but today Wade hooked it up and showed him how to play.
Alex has been begging to play Mario Kart (we haven’t had it on in years so I’m not sure where he got the idea), but today Wade hooked it up and showed him how to play. Of course Teague wanted to play too!
Today was Iris’s dedication! I’m so glad we got to attend the dedication and the celebration afterwards!
Alex and I had spied these parachute bunnies at CVS. We were hoping they would work in his parachute launcher but they were too big. We had fun with them anyway.
Today was wonderful weather and we couldn’t get enough of playing outside.
Alex has developed a love of “mix up” things. Last night he decided to mix up his pajamas.
Wade got the boys’ new bikes out today and we embraced the warmer (slightly) weather.
Wade got the boys’ new bikes out today and we embraced the warmer (slightly) weather.
Daddy’s home! (I happily turned bedtime routine back over to Wade!)
Sometimes everyone just needs their favorite ice cream. Vanilla for Wade. Chocolate chocolate chip for me. Mint chocolate chip for the boys.
Alex unmakes my bed and sets up with books.
Madison takes a nap right outside the shower door.
Teague comes in periodically to check on me and offer me my towel.
Early morning shenanigans.
Snuggles with Gram.
When we sold our house I immediately felt stress-free. When we sold our house, Wade immediately became stressed about buying a house. He spent last weekend checking out houses and had one he was super excited to show me. I drove down and spent yesterday with the realtor. Wade met us at his favorite house and I had to agree – it was pretty much perfect. We ended up with the owner’s contact information (which rarely happens and is Wade’s dream) and Wade spent a while talking to the man last night. Today we submitted an offer on the property. The owner immediately called Wade to thank him for his generous offer and to discuss one of our contingencies – a riding lawn mower. The owner is moving to a smaller property and will no longer need it. This house is on 5 acres and our push lawn mower will definitely not be sufficient. The man told Wade it was one of his worst purchases and he couldn’t let someone else have it in good faith. He asked Wade to lower his offer and submit it again. (Is this guy awesome or what?) The contracts are signed and we have a house!
This boy was not happy with the bubbles in the tub. He would have preferred the tablets to make colored water.
Bubbles.
Legos!
(Photograph courtesy of Gram)
Legos!
(Photograph courtesy of Gram)
Gram brought the stuff to dye Easter eggs!
(Photograph courtesy of Gram)
I’m a little sad that Alex’s opinions about his clothes are becoming so strong. It took everything I had to get him dressed for church (and I even agreed to the jeans).
Then the second we got home he was upstairs changing into something else.
Gram is here!
Alex has really struggled to learn his letters. We tried to work on them last summer (when Teague learned his) and Alex wanted no part of it. I thought he just wasn’t interested. But then school started and he would come home with a letter stamped on his hand and have no clue about it’s name. I let it go for a while and then realized he still didn’t know any of his letters. About this time his teacher also emailed me and then we had a regularly scheduled parent conference. It turns out Alex excels at rhymes. He has an above average vocabulary. He can look at a letter and tell you the sound it makes and four words that start with that letter. He can not tell you it’s name.
His teacher and I decided this was just going to have to be brute force memorization and unfortunately hard for Alex. I started with two letters he already knew “A” and “O.” Then I have slowly added letters one at a time. Every time he can name all the letters from previous days with his new letter he gets an M&M. The plan seems to be working and we are finally up to 15 letters! Today we are stuck on “N.” The only time learning a letter is easy for Alex is when the name of the letter is in a word – like Z is for Zebra and T is for Teague. I have yet to find an N word that actually says “N” and not “nnnn.”
Just a little painting.
Just a little painting.
Both Alex and Teague refer to Teague as a “car boy.” Teague loves toy cars, real cars, books about cars, etc. It has taken quite a bit of effort but I have finally managed to find quite a few “good” books that meet his stringent criteria. If you also have a car boy (or girl) you will thank me!
Alex was adamant that he wanted to play Operation. (I didn’t even realize we had it.) Unfortunately Wade had stolen the electronics (probably for this) but Alex still enjoyed using the tweezers to retrieve the little pieces.
Little guy play date with Grant.
Just two weeks ago Alex and I were doing the same thing at the same time. Oil change time.
Teague’s school had “Muffins with Mom” this morning. What a nice treat!
Talking to Daddy before bedtime. Thank you Skype!
When we first moved in our house we created a series of small notecards with projects and then assigned them a point value (Wade’s idea). Over the years our priorities have changed and most of the projects were completed. I realized today that I still had all the cards (completed and uncompleted) on our bulletin board at the backdoor. It occurred to me that I probably should have taken those down before showing the house and definitely before the home inspection tomorrow. (I wouldn’t want to point out needed improvements to prospective owners.) Below is a picture of some of the cards. The first is completed projects and the second is uncompleted.
In other news, our house sold! It was officially on the market for 6 days. In those 6 days we had 18 showings! We got two offers (thank you bidding war) and offered both a counter. One of the couples accepted and we couldn’t be happier! The best part is their particular offer had no contingencies (other than a home inspection) and their loan doesn’t require an appraisal. They even agreed to our closing date of May 16th. Life is good!!
A little Lego time with a friend.
What a trip! I have traveled over 3,000 miles in 11 days. The boys and I first drove to Kansas City to see Wade. Then we drove to Memphis to visit Granny and Pop. I left the boys and drove alone to Altanta for the SEC tournament and then a few days later to Paducah. I picked up the boys and we made the final drive home to Milwaukee. We had a great trip but I am so thankful to be done!
Everyone was glad to be back home and in our own beds!
The boys waving and sending a picture to Mom and Dad.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
Teague being silly.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
UK played in the final game of the tournament so we didn’t want to miss a minute. The game was great even if the ending didn’t go as planned. We had lunch, watched the game, and then said our good-byes.
I dropped Wade at the airport and then started my drive north. I made it to Paducah in time to run a few errands and still be at Mom’s by midnight. One more day of driving and then I’ll be home!
Granny said that both boys loved riding behind the tractor but Alex pretty quickly wanted to go inside to play with Wade’s old Legos.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
This picture is the perfect one of Teague. Driving a car, but with ear protection. That boy is always complaining about things being “too loud.”
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
Thankfully there was a CVS less than a block from our hotel.
Checking out the Collierville library.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
Checking out the Collierville library.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
A couple about our age was sitting next to us in the stands today. About five minutes after we sat down, the girl asked me when I was due. I have to admit the question startled me. There is no hiding my baby bump (at 6 months) but it also doesn’t scream pregnancy. There is still that slight doubt about just carrying my weight in my tummy. After talking to her a few minutes I understood – she is 9 weeks pregnant with her first and dying to talk babies. It turns out we had all kinds of things in common – her name is Holly too. I’m not sure I have ever enjoyed the games quite as much. I could watch as much basketball as I wanted and then also chat and talk when I needed a break. Wade was probably equally happy to have someone else to entertain me.
Due to some of the fans sitting near us, we got all kinds of attention from the UK mascot. I took these pictures for my boys.
Exploring on Pop’s farm.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
I skipped out on the first round of games to head to the Dawsonville outlets. (I was just too close to pass it up!) But then Wade and I headed to the Georgia Dome to spend some time watching the games. We had third row seats and loved the action!
Granny and Pop took the boys to see the Lego movie. Alex is a little bit of a scaredy cat and doesn’t tend to like theaters. He was obviously willing to give it a try for this movie.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
Alex talks about his “red car” daily. He knows it won’t come out till summer, but he still talks about it all the time. I decided to pack it up and take it to Granny and Pop’s with us as a special treat.
(Photograph courtesy of Judy.)
The boys are staying in Memphis for a few days, but I am on the road again to Atlanta. Wade is meeting me there tonight and we are going to watch some SEC basketball! I got in the car this morning to find two gifts from Pop. The first is a detailed map showing the easiest way to Atlanta (maps haven’t quite caught up with recent road building). The second was a bag with three of his turtles. Yum! (You’ll note in the picture that I have already eaten one.)
