A Rockin' Halloween

On the way to the ranch, the boys were getting pretty sick of traveling, so I was doing anything I could think of to keep them entertained.  At one point, I busted out with an old AC/DC classic, 'Cuz I'm T-N-T...I'm dynamite'  That's all the words I know, but that didn't matter.  Brady was transfixed!  Folks, I think we've got a rocker on our hands!!!  Brandon casually suggested that maybe Brady should dress up as the guy from AC/DC for Halloween, and that was it!  I tried to dissuade him, fearing that other kids wouldn't know who he was or would laugh at him, but he was not going to change.  I'm so happy he didn't!  I really learned something about him through this experience.  He's definitely his own 'man' and it didn't bother him at all that he wasn't Spiderman or whatever all the other kids were.  Several times he was told that he had the best costume of the night.  Not only that, many adults recognized him right away.  I'm so proud of my little Angus Young!

Mommy the roughneck and Angus at the Fall Festival at school.

For the weeks leading up to Halloween, as he mulled over what it would be like to be a rocker, he would come up with the funniest things.  One morning during breakfast, he announced that he knew exactly what he needed to do to be a good rockstar....he then got down on the floor and played air guitar while turning himself on a circle on his back.

There's Angus!

He was so committed to his costume!  He didn't take the wig/hat off once the whole night!

I made Finn a Perry the Platypus/Agent P costume (Phineas and Ferb).  He was fine with it, but didn't really like the Agent P hat, so I guess he was more like Perry.

After going to a party at some friends, we headed back to our street for Trick or Treating.  We all went to our closest neighbors and then Brandon took Finn home to bed while Brady and I kept going.  We had such a nice time together!  Brady was hilarious!  I explained to him that when I used to trick or treat, I would get one piece of candy at each house.  He thought this was very sad.  At one house, the owners had a table setup in their front yard, and they were serving punch.  I could tell by his body language that Brady was not going for the punch.  When they asked him if he'd like some, ever the diplomat, he deferred to me, asking if I would like some.  I told him that I didn't want any, but he could certainly have some.  He politely declined saying, 'No thank you.  I'm not thirsty.'  The lady then handed him one little candy bar (a big contrast from every other home where people were dumping their candy buckets into his bag).  As we walked away (we'd only gone about 2 steps), Brady looks up at me and says, 'What do you think was going on there?'  I guess between the punch and the single piece of candy, he didn't think those people quite knew what was going on with Halloween!

Montana Trip

I've got to really backtrack here.  I'm not sure if anyone really reads this blog, but I suspect that if anyone does, they're probably friends with Grammie and Papa, and if that's the case, then you already know about all this.  If not, then it's your lucky day for new information about what we've been up to!

In October the 4 of us travelled to Montana for a week at the ranch.  There has been record rainfall this year, and it was greener than I've ever seen it.  I'm more of a green/lush/lakes person than a dry/brown/desert person, so this was right up my alley!

The boys had a BIG time during the week we were there, especially Brady!  He went hunting with the men, went on endless Rhino rides, and was the proud recipient of his first b-b gun from Uncle Nate and Auntie Erica!  He definitely thinks he's a grown-up now.

Meanwhile, Brandon and I went on a terrific hike and also got to play golf.  It was a great getaway!

My boys all decked out in their FWP (Foster Wildlife Preserve) gear.

The Daisy Red Rider...Brady was speechless!

Despite the fact that I don't like guns, I really like this picture.  Look at his little fingers!

Not sure who's having the most fun here!

There goes that TDiamond brand.  Their long journey is almost over here!

Finn's Finale

It's official!  Both of the boys are finished with ISR!  Finn's final 'test' was last Tuesday, and he did absolutely fantastic (or Finntastic as it were).  For the first time ever, I was nervous watching him, but there was no need because he knew exactly what to do, which I guess is why he passed!

Brady Graduates!

I'm a little behind...Two Fridays ago, Brady had his final, full-clothes-on ISR test.  He had to wear a hoodie, jeans, and tennis shoes.  I expected him to panic a little bit when he jumped in (I know I would), but he stayed cool as a cucumber, waiting patiently for his arms and legs to come to the surface (which is hard!!)

Finn is also doing great!  He has two days left until he's finished.  He'll need to do some refresher lessons in the spring, but he's able to swim about 5-10 feet on his own, and when he realizes that he doesn't have anything to grab, he knows to roll over onto his back and float.  Amazing!!!

We also have had several exciting firsts around here!  Brady's reward for doing such excellent work at swimming was his first pet, a fish!  Brady chose a turqoise beta and named him 'Swimmy'.  So far we've kept him alive for 2 days, so I'm hoping we can keep it up.  Brady picked out all the stuff for the aquarium, and it looks great - he has great taste!  Also, Friday morning Brady and I were talking about how fun the swimming finale party was going to be that evening.  He asked me if he was going to get a swimming trophy.  Not wanting him to be disappointed, I told him that I didn't think he was going to get a trophy for swimming, but soon he would get one for something else.  Little did I know, he really would be receiving a trophy that night - his first!  Here's the fish and the trophy!

Finn also had a first this weekend...his first wagonride!  He LOVED it!  It was a PERFECT day, and I can't think of a better way to spend it than going for a wagonride.

ISR Week 4 - We're getting close!

These last 4 weeks of swimming have flown by!  Brady is getting really close to the swimming-fully-clothed test, which is kind of like the final check.  Finn made some HUGE strides this week!  He went from crying and looking for me at all times to smiling, splashing, and waving, and in general doing the 'watch me, watch me' thing.  At one point, he was holding onto the bar and he launched himself forward and swam toward Amy without her prompting!

In other news, Finn has started imitating in the last 2 days.  He'll give you a kiss or stick his tongue out at you and laugh.  Tonight I signed 'milk' to him and he did it back.  Too cute!

ISR Week 3 and a Big Birthday!

ISR continues to amaze me, with both boys making excellent progress again this week!  Finn went back to crying a bit more than he had been, but I'm sure it's a little nerve-wracking to be learning all this new stuff.  Even so, he is swimming farther and farther distances.  Brady is just off to the races.  He looks so comfortable, as if he's been swimming forever!  We are so proud of these two!

The other big news is that it was Finn's 1st birthday on Sunday!  Yay Finn!  I would bet every parent says this, but this year has gone by SO fast!  Finn has a very laid-back, happy personality, and we feel so fortunate that he's part of our family.  Nothing makes Brady happier than getting a laugh out of Finn.  For his birthday, we had a nice day together, including a trip to the splash park for some time in the fountains (**why is it that this activity doesn't seem NEARLY as fun when your mom is prepared with swim trunks/towel as it is when it's a random day and you go in fully clothed and not prepared?**)   Later, we had our neighbors over for dinner/presents/cake.  At first, Finn didn't seem to care what the fuss was about, but by the end of the presents, he was getting into it a little more.  After present, he really enjoyed his cake!  At first, he wasn't sure how he should go about getting it into his mouth.  He tried leaning over and putting his mouth down on it, but that didn't quite yield the results he was looking for.  Eventually, he just picked up half of it and proceeded to feed himself bites.  I made him a special birthday bib, but he didn't actually get very dirty.  It was a lovely celebration with good friends!

loving the fountains

with the girls

opening presents

singing happy birthday

the cake

full birthday gear

yum!

ISR Week 2 and Labor Day at the Beach!

Despite being rained out one day, the boys both made more excellent progress at their swimming survival lessons this week.  I tape the whole lesson (10 mins each), but will just post short clips here as I'm sure this is about 10% as exciting for the general audience as it is for Brandon and me.

This is Finn swimming to the bar and pulling himself up.  I don't believe she's holding him anymore than just maybe the tag of his shorts.

Here Brady is working on the swim/float/swim technique.

For Labor Day, we rented a beach house in Galveston with our neighbors, The Webbs.  It was so much fun and very relaxing!  This video shows sandcastle building, but what I wish I had been taping was Brady boogie-boarding the next day!  The waves were a bit bigger than normal because of all the wind, and I was just amazed to watch him jumping into them with enthusiasm, even when they crashed over the top of his head!  I guess you just have to enjoy some moments as the mom rather than the videographer.

The beach was a big hit both days, but it took it out of us!  Finn took very long naps both days, and had good sleeps at night.  After dinner, the rest of us played games and watched movies.  It was a great getaway with great friends!

I guess now would be as good a time as any to post our First Day of School pics.  Brady's doing great in his new Kindergarten room (he's still pre-k age, just sitting in the Kinder room) and Finn continues to do great at Dixie's.

In front of the school on the first day

Here they are in Dixie's front yard - I don't think Finn likes this pose!

Walking and Swimming?

Here's a front view of Finn walking in his jammies this morning.  It's so funny how there are big bursts of growth.  Last week, after taking that video of just a couple steps, the very next day, Finn walked from the living room into our kitchen.  He's off to the races now!

This week was also our first week of ISR (Infant Swim Resource) for both boys.  ISR is a wonderful (not to mention intense) program that teaches kids a swim/float/swim sequence that they can rely on in water.  The theory is that if they can see underwater and find a target, they can get themselves there as long as they know to float for a short time to catch their breath.  The main focus is drowning prevention, but the water confidence gained is also huge.  Both boys are doing great!

What you're seeing in this first video is Brady floating, and then turning himself over to swim to a target (in this case the teacher or the steps).  I apologize that he's off camera for a little bit...my trusty assistant moved my camera for me prior to the lesson.

This one is Finn.  He has learned this week to be able to roll himself over into a float.  Though he gets mad while he's in the water, he's no worse for wear once he gets out.  It is absolutely thrilling to see our child gaining this valuable life skill!

Finn's off and running...er, make that walking!

Finn took his first steps a couple weeks ago, and I haven't been having much luck getting several steps on video.  Tonight, Brady asked if he could use my Flip video camera, and I realized that he might be the perfect videographer!  Sorry for the clanging and banging...it's a typical day's soundtrack with two boys around.

I think Finn is really happy to be walking.  He seems less frustrated now that he can navigate the world upright and on his terms.  He has entered that cute, goofy-smile, lots of belly laughs, huffing and puffing laughter stage.  I love it!

This one is from early July (Finn already looks different now!), but this is pretty typical.  Brady would do nothing all day but squeeze and kiss on his brother if Finn would let him!

VBS a HUGE SUCCESS!

Brady got to go to his first week of Vacation Bible School last week, and he had a lot of fun.  I was there volunteering, and as the first day ended, the song leader commented to me that my son is sure, 'exuberant!'  Yep, that's him!  Here is a video of his recital Friday night.
Brady's VBS Recital

Also, I realize I haven't written about Finn in awhile.  He's doing great!  Tonight I observed him walking around our coffee table (while holding on of course) until he got to the far end to reach for the remote.  I don't think it will be long until we're all out walking.  Lookout!!  We're working on Patty Cake and Bye-Bye.  He's done So Big a couple times, and then looks very proud when we all light up.  Brady continues to mangle him at every chance he gets - the kid just CANNOT keep his hands off his little brother!  At his 9 mos. check-up, he was 21 lbs 3 oz and 30 inches long.  That translates to 50-75% for weight, 90-95% for height, and 25-50% for his head circumference.  I guess I've got another pea-on-top-of-an-orange shaped baby.

Here he is on Father's Day

Dropping F-Bombs on the Playground

Lastnight we were driving to dinner at Brady's favorite spot, Lupe Tortilla.  We were meeting his friend, Palash's, family, so he was quite excited.  Lupe Tortilla is Brady's favorite because they have a large sandpit for children to play in while their parents enjoy some much-too-infrequent-with-small-children dinner conversation.

When we picked Brady up from school, his class was out on the playground.  I could see that he was running around with a girl that I would deem his scheming-smart-funny-female counterpart, Rocky.  As we drove away, we asked him what they were playing.  He said that he was the king, and Rocky was the Snow Queen, but for short he calls her 'F-Bomb' and she calls him 'F-Bomb-F'.  Again I ask...what are we going to do with this kid!?

Happy Father's Day!

The Grabnabber and The Gummie Worms

This kid of ours...  We've had a bit of a challenging week from a behavior perspective.  Finn is much more mobile, and hence demands a lot more attention.  That's the only thing I can think of that's different, because it seems like Brady has started doing the whole 'act naughty to get attention' thing.  But, I have to hand it to him, he's clever!  Sometimes I don't want to punish him because secretly I'm proud of the things his little brain comes up with.  Today was one of those times.

This morning, I asked him if he could run down to the laundry room and get me a roll of paper towels.  I explained that they were right next to the fridge, but after several minutes, I heard him say to himself, 'Nope...no paper towels here.'  I went down to see what was going on and immediately recognized why he hadn't found the paper towels.  Apparently the Grabnabber had gotten his attention prior to the towels.  You know, it's one of those trash picker-upper stick things like workers use to get trash out of the ditch.  Brandon bought it for me when I was pregnant with Brady because he thought I'd really appreciate his attempt at humor when my belly was too be to bend over, but that's an aside.  Brady thinks it's a pretty cool thing.  Nothing more happened this morning as we had to leave the house shortly after all this.

Then tonight, we got home before Brandon, and I noticed when Brandon walked in that I didn't hear the usual chorus of, 'DDAAAADDDDDDYYYYYY' like I usually do when he walks in.  When Brandon came upstairs, he asked where Brady was.  I told him I thought he was downstairs, but was surprised he hadn't seen him already.  Brandon grinned and said that he noticed the light was on in the laundry room and the door was closed.  He went down to check it out.  As he opened the door, Brady said, 'don't come in!'  I have to backtrack for a second.  This same scenario presented itself a couple weeks ago, and when I found Brady in the laundry room, his mouth was full to the brim.  I asked if he was sneaking Gummy Worms, and though his mouth was so full he could barely talk, he gave me his best little brown-eyed look and said, 'Yes...I'm sorry mom.'  I told him he wasn't in trouble because I was proud that he hadn't lied to me.  In order to avoid this situation in the future, I simply placed the Gummy Worms on the top shelf of our storage unit.

I know you know where I'm going with this...tonight he used the Grabnabber, that he remembered from this morning, to procure the Gummy Worms off the top shelf, and was now enjoying his prize.  I just had to laugh when Brandon told me!  The fact that he had figured out where the Gummy Worms were, and then figured out that he could get them with the Grabnabber, and then was actually coordinated enough to do it!?  What are we going to do with this kid!?

Guys Getaway

Many moons ago, Brandon and Brady went on their first guys trip together.  They had an absolutely wonderful time and were very compatible traveling companions!  They went to Gillette and saw Uncle Nate and Aunt Erica as well as some life-sized Tonkas at Unlce Nate's mine.  Then on to Montana Tech to teach a class to some college students.  From there, they went to the ranch.  So much fun!

With Uncle Nate at the mine (or 'mind' as Brady calls it!)

With daddy in the biggest sandbox ever!

Love the big Tonkas!

At the Museum of The Rockies

Making Brady's fave, carrot cake!

Helping Papa with a baby calf.

Playing with daddy's childhood toys.

And he learned some other things while at the ranch as well...

While they were on their trip, Finn and I went to DC for the weekend to meet Idris and see the rest of the Ken family.  Here are some photos of our trip!

Finn with Auntie Ivy

Our whole gang!

Ken with both babies

Io in her Rainbow Brite gear

Happy Birthday Brady!

To celebrate Brady's 4th birthday, we had a HUGE party! We have dodged the 'kid party' scene the previous 3 years, but realized this year that we would no longer be able to get away with that. There was some debate about how many/which kids to invite, as Brady's class at school is pretty big (about 30 kids). In the end, we decided to just go ahead and invite everyone to avoid the playground squables about who is invited and who isn't. We ended up having 21 kids and their parents and it was TONS of fun!

This is the train that came to give kids rides around the neighborhood - fun!

Here's Brady while we're singing with his Transformer carrot cake!

This is Brady with his teacher, Mrs. Mirella as the kids sang Happy Birthday to him when we brought cupcakes on Friday.
Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!