Best Shot Monday

here it is monday again and time for my best shot.

this week i'm taking you to com fest. you know, a delightfully liberal outdoor festival- you all have them in your towns too, right?? no? pitty. ;) well, other than a rain storm and few chicks that decided to walk around topless (that really should NOT have been walking around topless- eeek!) it was a perfectly lovely time. the place was a mud pit due to all the rain we've had recently but that didn't stop anyone from throwing down a blanket and hanging out. we sat and enjoyed the music while bean and her friend... let's call her "papaya" for anonymity's sake... ran around in the nearby tree. and thus my best shot...i realize this picture is focused on the tree and not the girls AND i know that you can't even see papaya's face because she is moving out of the picture. but i LOVE it for some reason and can't get enough of it! is that weird or what?!

oh, you want to know what i don't love? i don't love taking a little one to potty in a port-a-pot. that is SO not fun and i got to do it four times yesterday. aren't i the luckiest girl in the world?! i know you are all so very jealous!

hope you all had a fun weekend too! if you want to see more great shots this week, be sure to visit melody.

Sprouty's Photo Shoot

you all said you wanted to see them, so here are a few of the images from sprout's first photo session.












hope you enjoy!! :)

The one where she confuses us with a bizarre pronunciation

ready to giggle? well, here you go! that is right, it is time for this week's beanisms!

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we were talking about opposites. i said, "what is the opposite of cold?"
she says "hot!"
i say, "what is the opposite of up?"
she yells "down!"
i ask, "what is the opposite of fast?"
she stops for a second then screams "speed limit!"

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wednesday i go out to the car to find it has a flat tire. daddy moves car seats for me and then we are on our way. bean asks if papa is coming to fix the car. i tell her that he lives too far away to come fix it and we can't take it to him because you can't drive a car with a flat tire.
"then who's gonna fix it?" she asks.
"we will have to call triple a," i tell her. "they come help people who are having trouble with their cars."
when we get home she sees the car's tire is still flat. she runs into the house and asks daddy, "why didn't you call trix-l-a to fix the car daddy??"

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she is "reading" a book to daddy when i hear him say, "a what?"
"a easter-not bunny," she replies.
daddy looks down at the page and starts laughing.
i come in and say "what's so funny?"
he says, "tell mommy what this is!"
she looks annoyed but repeats, "a easter-not bunny."
i look puzzled, of course.
daddy turns the books so i can see the picture. i giggle.
"oh! it is an astronaut bunny!" i declare.

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interesting pronunciations of the week:

except- seems straight forward but bean always says "fur-cept"
extinct- apparently bean thinks dinosaurs are "re-stinct"

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hope you all have a super fantastic weekend!!

3 Month Sprout

yeah, sprout turned three months old yesterday. i suppose you want to know what is new, huh? well, lets see....

*that laugh that he busted out a little over a week ago- that has not been repeated. he looks like he is going to laugh sometimes but he stops before any sound comes out. it seems that he is just a little tease!

*that whole "drooly mon" thing he has going on- yeah, that is teeth. i got a quick glimpse at his gums today and i definitely saw something under the surface. how long it will take for them to come in i don't know but he is starting to exhibit cranky teething behavior. oh what fun!

*he loves to sit up. when he is reclining he actually tries to get more upright! lifts his head right up and tries to lean forward! what is up with that?!?!

*he loves to grab the toys that hang down from his play mat. especially the ones that make that crinkly sound when you play with them.

*he is doing this low, mumbly, cooing babble. it is cute.

*he is starting to really pay attention to us while we are eating. he seems really interested in what we are doing. won't be too much longer buddy!

that is all i can think of right now. i have no stats to share, he doesn't see the doctor again for another month. i can tell you the story about how i almost smashed him the other day though....

yeah, you heard me right. we were at the photo studio and i was carrying him over to an ottoman to lay him down and change his clothes. i tripped over a chair leg (because i'm just that clumsy) and started to go down. somehow i managed to direct my fall in the direction of the ottoman and the upper part of me landed there partially on top of sprout. thankfully i got turned and he didn't go to the ground with me on top of him! my lower half didn't fair so well as i got a ugly rug burn on my one leg and twisted an ankle. oh the drama!
anyways! tune in next month for the exciting adventures of the 4 month sprout.... assuming he survives with this clumsy woman as his mama!! ;)

It could have been worse.

the picture appointment went ok. the sprout's nose stayed under control and so did the bean's for the most part. some of the pictures are quite cute. they would be cuter, however, if the studio photographer wasn't so slow on the shutter. she missed every single one of his adorable smiles!! she would talk, he would smile, she would hold the camera up, he would stop smiling, she would take the picture. GAH! you are using a digital camera here lady, just hit the dang button already. if the picture stinks don't use it. GEEESH! regardless, we got several cute shots before sprout decided he'd had enough.
when we got home (after doing a bunch of errands) i realized that the sprout had a mild fever. poor boy. the bean might have had one too but she would not submit to having her temperature taken! so, the pictures could have gone much worse, i guess. neither one was the cranky mess that they could have been.

anyways, i have a new favorite picture of the bean to share with you all. i took it the other night in the backyard...i find that to be simply adorable! :)

oh, and on sprout's delightful new habit of peeing through his diaper and all over the bed: yes, i do make sure his boyhood is securely pointed in the down direction when changing his diaper. i think he just pees a whole lot at one time. like he is saving it up for one big pee instead of going a little here and a little there. ya know what i mean? anyways, it has been atleast 7 nights in a row now. i think i need to get some more crib sheets and buy some stock in tide or something! ;)

Why, Oh Why

is it really necessary that the kids get runny noses right before picture day? i mean, honestly! snotty babies at a photo studio.... my day is going to kick ass, isn't it? ;)

For Pete's Sake!

will someone kindly inform my son that sleeping on his stomach is no longer an option. i've had to change him and his sheets five nights in a row now. (one night he had his jammies changed twice!) i'm tired of doing his laundry. he never once peed out of his diaper when he slept on his back- not once! but now he can roll and he thinks it's so cool to sleep on his stomach......
honestly buddy, give mommy a break already!!and wipe that innocent look off your face! ;)

Best Shot Monday

happy monday! time for the best shots of the week!

this week we have bean playing in the hose. i was on a blanket in the grass with sprout when i noticed how cool the hose water looked with the sun shining through it. so of course i got the camera out! here are two of my favorites. i don't think i can explain why i love them, i just do!

last week was FULL and hectic and this week is looking to be the same. i think i need a break. maybe after the big birthday party...... yeah right, who am i kidding?!? ;)
stop by tracey's to see more wonderful photographs. have a great week everyone!

Weekend Funny.... Again!

why are all the funny pictures of sprout? i don't know! all i know is he makes me laugh. in this picture he is wearing his daddy's hat and sporting a "deer in the headlights" stare. don't tell me that doesn't make you smile!

The one where she makes up an elaborate story...

i don't got much for beanisms today. sorry! but here's what i got, hope you enjoy!

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it's father's day. my sister bought a gift for all of us to give my dad. she gets it out and sets it on the table. bean asks, "is that mine?"
"no, baby, it isn't. it is father's day and you aren't a father so you don't get any presents." i tell her.
"oh," she replies, "so, when it's mother's day i will?"
"no, you aren't a mother. only mothers get gifts on mother's day. you are a child, sweetie," i say.
she had a eureka moment. you could almost see the light bulb turn on over her head.
"on child's day i get presents!" she declares.
i shake my head and smile. "yeah, it's called your birthday, honey."

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we are listening to music. the song dancing queen by abba comes on. i say, "hey bean, dancing queen is on!"
bean jumps up to dance and yells, "hey daddy, can you dance queen?!?!"

snicker

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on this one i'm afraid i don' t have exact quotes. it was quite elaborate and the story kept growing and growing......

it seems that bean has invented her own character. his name is "the blankie man" and he comes to steal little kids blankies. she claimed he was waiting on our porch to get her blankie. BUT he couldn't take it because he couldn't take blankies that were silky on one side. apparently he also can take stuffed friends too. (interesting....)

i thought for sure that daddy had started this. he thought that i had started it. but we hadn't. bean invented a character.... a bad character. what is that about??

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that is all for this week. hope you all have a delightful weekend!!!

Hello Reptiles!

we went and visited with the turtle lady and her reptile friends at the library yesterday. she is just great. she has tons of turtles, lizards, snakes, and even a few frogs that she uses to teach children about these kinds of animals. of course toddlers and preschoolers don't listen well so she didn't get to teach them much. it seems everyone's favorite part is the end when everyone is allowed to pet the turtles, lizards and snakes!

bubba came with us. his mommee was a little surprised that he touched the turtles and even more surprised when i showed her a picture of him petting the snake (that happens to be his arm in the picture to the right). i guess she thought he wouldn't want to, but i really don't think he had a choice. i mean, bean marched right up and started petting it. i'm sure he didn't want his girlfriend to think he was a wimp, right? ;) he he! what i think is funny is that bean went straight for the snake but was a little apprehensive about the turtles! go figure!

in totally unrelated news.... we sent in the registration form to get bean into preschool next year. wow! my kid is going to go to school! is she really that old???

What' s new with the sprout??

what is new? well, he has figured out using his arms to support himself makes being on his tummy much more bearable. but much more important than that is that he LAUGHED last night. oh, it was a delightful giggle that only bean and i heard. he has yet to repeat it for anyone else.
also, his new nickname should be "droolly mon". about 2 weeks ago he started with the drool. the drool is outta control! his shirt is soaked all the time. he also is chewing his hands, he'd chew both at the same time if he could. i can only suppose this means he is starting with the teeth. oh what fun! ;)

At the Zoo

so, yesterday we went to the zoo with mommee and her boys. the mommies remembered to reapply sunblock to the children but not themselves. the mommies are just as pale as the children- maybe even more so. the mommies will try to remember next time so they don't get sunburns...... at least we hope so!

bean and bubba had an awesome time together at the zoo. especially when we had to stop to feed the sprout. they chased each other around and around giggling the whole time. so cute! they also love to walk holding hands. check out the picture there on the right. don't they look adorable! and grown up! akk! the picture on the right is of them sitting on the baby manatee sculpture.













bubba claims that bean is his girlfriend. if they weren't toddlers (oh gosh, they are very nearly preschoolers now aren't they!?) i might believe him! i don't know if bean knows what a boyfriend is but she most certainly favors bubba over all of her other friends. they are just too sweet! they even stand the same way when they watch the gorilla! ;)

thanks for inviting us to the zoo mommee! we had a great time and hope we can get together again soon!

Best Shot Monday

i took bean and sprout to the rose gardens this past week. bean asked me to take pictures of some of the roses she liked. some of them turned out really nice but, i thought they would be even nicer if you couldn't see the background. so i turned up the shadows and played around a little and this is what i got......i think they turned out really cool! and i'm so proud of them that i'm not including pictures of my kids!!! whoa!
for more best shots, visit tracey.

Happy Father's Day!

happy, happy father's day to bean and sprout's daddy and all the other daddies out there!

Weekend Funny

bwah ha ha ha ha!!!!
(don't look at me like that! i swear he isn't really that fat, it's just the way he's sitting! honest!!)

he he he he he!

The one where she insults my looks.

you thought i forgot about your beanisms, didn't you? no! we just were switching internet providers this morning and i had an installer in my way. so, now that i'm able, here are your funnies for the week!

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we were at nana and papa's house. papa was watching "sunday morning" on tv. bean was sitting on the floor reading a book. suddenly she looks up and yells:
"stop bothering me tv, i'm trying to read!!"

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my brother was also staying at nana and papa's. he woke up sunday morning and came out into the living room. he was wearing shorts, but not a shirt. this is the conversation that was had between bean and her uncle:
bean looks up at uncle and says, "my daddy usually gets dressed when he gets up."
"oh, really" says uncle.
"yes," says bean in a very matter-of-fact voice.
"so, i should get dressed?" he asks.
"yeah, you should pro'lly put a shirt on," was her response.

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we are outside and bean is getting sprayed with the hose. she turns her back on me. i grab the back of her bathing suit and spray the water down inside. she jumps and runs away giggling. then she turns and runs back screaming:
"do it again mommy! do it again! my butt's thirsty!"

ha ha ah ha ha ha!!

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she is riding her rocking horse. i ask her what the horse's name is. she thinks for a second and answers, "jen-day".
"jen-day? i don't know that name," i say. "what does that mean?"
she responds, "it means you have to grow a plant without watering it." and continues rocking.
huh????

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and lastly, i got my hair cut. i got a lot cut off. i asked bean what she thought....

"do you like mommy's hair like this?"
"no." she says.
i pout.
"but i like you mommy!" she exclaims.
"thanks," i say.
"i like you! i just don't like your hair like that!" she says.... i think she is trying to reassure me. but really i don't think the haircut is that bad. what do you think?please keep in mind i took this picture first thing in the morning. i didn't even do anything to the hair but run a comb through it..... yeah, that's what i look like when i wake up in the morning. scary! ;)

have a great weekend!!

Summer has begun....

we know when summer is here. it is when our schedule becomes very, very hectic. daddy is home and wants to do lots of stuff. mommy wants to do lots of stuff. family want us to visit. there are birthday parties to attend (and throw!). it is always a lot of fun, even if it totally wears me out!

yesterday was library story time and we also stayed to watch a clown perform. today we visited the rose park in our town and went to a puppet show at the library. tomorrow is a down day but then i believe that my parents are coming into town for father's day weekend- they can see all of us since my sister, brother and i all live within 35 minutes of each other. monday is a possible zoo trip with mommee. and wednesday we have story time and a presentation by the turtle lady........
it goes on and on and on, all summer!

here is a few shots of our trip to see the roses:












it was a very warm and sunny morning- as i'm sure you can see. we didn't stay very long and bean was a little upset that our trip didn't include the playground. but, when you have a hot cranky baby and a hot cranky mommy it is in everyone's best interest to go home!

oh, and here is a little bonus shot for all of you. it seems that even though you tell your child repeatedly that there are thorns and she must be careful, incidences do occur. and when these things happen, said child becomes highly suspicious of the roses!
(no children were seriously injured in the rose garden, i swear!) he he he he he!!

Uh-oh!

these are the kinds of things that happen when you aren't paying close attention......

i was just sitting there trying to take some pictures of sprout smiling. somehow you don't notice the dog coming when you are looking at the screen of your digital camera. apparently you lose all your peripheral vision? eh, i don't know. what i do know is that dogs LOVE the smell of formula and the resulting picture is pretty darn amusing! ;)

Me and My Sprout

well, it has been a little while since i lamented about not really bonding with the sprout. i just though i'd let you know that things are getting better.

he's more awake now so i get to actually interact with him a little bit. that has helped. he says things like "ahh" and "gooooo" and "mmmmmmmm". (and all kinds of weird grunts and gurlgles that i can't spell!) he smiles a lot when i talk back to him. if someone else is holding him and he hears my voice he will turn toward me and smile. i have to admit, that feels good. he is a very sweet boy and seems to love his mama quite a bit. (poor daddy, both kids favor me.... right now.)

i've come to terms with my unrealistic expectations. i think somewhere inside i thought that this baby would be just like my first, a carbon copy if you will. i know that is ridiculous, you don't have to tell me. i just loved bean so much i wanted another one just like her! when sprout started out a boy, well that kinda threw me for a loop! don't worry, i've completely gotten over that and i'm actually glad sprout is different.... turn's out he's a much easier baby! bonus!

so, yeah, the bonding has started. (if i had more time with him i'm sure we'd be further along BUT i don't think bean is going to go for that!) it wasn't the instantaneous "i'm so in love" that i was expecting, but more of a slow and gradual warming. and that isn't such a bad thing. :)

Best Shot Monday

my absolute favorite shot of the week is already posted here. (that shot makes me melt!!) so i thought i'd look for something else to share. this is what i found...

bean went on the slip-n-slide with her cousins last week. my sister has a yard that is excellent for both sledding in winter AND "sliding" in summer. we set the slip in slide up on the hill and let the kids slide down it. they think it is great fun.... well, bean did once her aunt pushed her down. see, bean was scared and wouldn't go so my sister set her down on it and gave her a big shove. these are the pictures i took of her when she reached the bottom. i think that she liked it!

the first shot is great because she looks so happy. you can tell she is having a good time. and it makes me smile....
the second shot i love because of the way her wet pony tails are curled, the way her eye lashes look so beautiful and the way her tongue is just peeking out. so CUTE!

don't forget to stop over to tracey's and see what everyone else is up to!! :)

Sprout Happenings

so, this morning, after i brought sprout into our bed.... HE ROLLED OVER!! like one minute he's laying on his back happily kicking his legs the next he is laying on his stomach grunting and squirming!
"holy crap!" i exclaim.
"what??" says husband.
"mister mister just rolled over! you missed it!"
"really?" says still sleepy husband.
i put sprout back on his back. i couple minutes later i feel him kicking around again. he's half way over. i tell husband to "LOOK!"
he says, "he still has his arm underneath him."
and right then sprout kicks, wiggles, grunts and wham! he yanked his arm out from under himself!! he rolled from back to front twice in less than 10 minutes!
i'm both impressed and horrified at this turn of events. because a) he is growing up way to fast and b) this agility could lead to terrible things- like early crawling! gah!

GAH!

the air conditioning people can't come until tomorrow- we won't be here tomorrow! grrrr. it is going to be near 90 everyday through tuesday. this house will be an oven by the time someone comes to fix it!! (it also means we have to come back from our trip early so they can fix it on monday) sigh.

in better news.... sprout slept through the night! he ate at 9:30. went to bed at 10:45. and woke up at 6:15!! woo hoo!!
of course bean woke up at 4:10..... every time he sleeps she wakes up.

The one where she asks me to do the impossible.

beanisms? you want your weekly dose of beanisms? ok, you got it!

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bean is in the garage "helping" daddy clean. she finds the yard stick that we used to measure the snow during our "blizzard". she lifts it as high as she can into the air. she stands on her tip toes. she looks over at me and says:
"mommy, can you measure the sky?"
umm. no, baby i can't. (especially not with a yard stick!!)

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saturday morning she is watching her shows. she looks at me and says:
"i wanna watch another opposite."
"huh??" is my intelligent reply.
"of mickey mouse club house, mommy! another opposite!"
"oh!! honey, the word is episode!"

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i'm putting her to bed on tuesday night. daddy isn't home and i'm struggling to keep it together. i finally get her in the bed and she says this to me:
"i don't want to go to bed"
"well, you need to," is my response.
and she says, "but i don't like sleeping! i don't think it's necessary!"

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and to turn you all into a pile of goo- because you will melt from the cuteness.....

she was saying, "awwww, beautiful brother. i love you." when i took this picture. awwwww is right. :)

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have a great weekend everyone!

Why?!

tuesday night: the garage door broke. a pain but seeing as no cars were in the garage at the time not a huge deal.

wednesday afternoon: husband's cell phone breaks. he can't go without a phone so we have to buy a new one. sigh.

thursday afternoon: i realize that the air conditioning, that i turned on last night in anticipation of the 90 degree weather we were to have today and tomorrow, is not working. this is the air conditioner that we bought last year. gah!
and, why on earth would a child want to wear flannel pajamas when it is 85 degrees in the house! she threw are level 5 tantrum about the matter too! double gah!!
AND, who told my son that it was ok to do this:
i put him in his crib to nap and i came in to find him sleeping mostly on his stomach! dude! what are you doing rolling like that already!!

for obvious reasons, i'm afraid to wake up tomorrow. i mean, what else can break............. DON'T answer that!

The genius of the blankie cape

"what's this?" you say. it's a blankie cape, duh!

here's its story:
lauren happened upon this post here. and thought that she had just the thing for us. she emailed me and offered me one of her fantastic blankie capes if i would tell you guys all about it. my first thought was, "sure, why not!" i loved the idea of supporting an artist and helping her sell her stuff! then i was unsure, i mean, i don't have a huge readership. would it even be worth it to her? i didn't want to take advantage of her generosity. but she said that every little bit helped and she would be sending one out. we got it yesterday.

this is a cool item! it will not fall off when you put it on! no more worrying about it coming untied! lauren created a way of attaching it that works great and is also easy for a child to remove when they are done. genius!! and she uses the greatest fabrics- check out that purple fuzzy stuff! it is SO soft. bean kept rubbing it on her face. :) it is also beautifully made.

so, i like it. woop-dee-do! the real test is does a kid like it, right. well...












bean was running around so much that i couldn't get great pictures but i think you can see that she does like it quite a bit! it is a success!!

so where can you get a blankie cape for your little super hero? simple, stop by lauren's esty shop- frank and me. (frank is her son and the inspiration behind much of what she makes.) and she makes more than blankie capes too! need a gift for a new baby? check out her site! she makes beautiful blankets, bibs, burp cloths, and other great items. my personal favorites are the changing monster and the burp monster. SO cute and funny!! the fabrics she has to choose from are beautiful but if you don't see something you like she does do custom orders!

so if you have a moment, go check out lauren's store. it will be worth the trip!! :)

Best Shot Monday

it is a big monday at our house. it is daddy's last monday of the school year! starting next week we will have daddy home with us all the time.... i'll let you know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. ha!!

anyways, on to the best shot. i just couldn't choose, so you get two. a sweet one and a silly one. lucky you!

first the sweet one. awwwww, my babies look so cute cuddling together!! if bean's hair wasn't all wacked out it would be better but what can you do?!? she is two (for only one more month!) after all! ;)

and now the silly. this picture just makes me giggle! she picked this flower and was smelling it. how she thought she would smell it with her mouth i'm not sure. ;) and the expression! ha ha ha!

i hope you all had a lovely weekend!!

don't forget to stop by tracey's to see more great shots!!

The annual "first spraying"

ahhh, summer is here. i know that technically it doesn't start for a few more weeks but we go by a different calendar of sorts. summer starts the day we can get the hose out and spray the bean.

bean has loved being sprayed with the hose since the first time we did it. she wasn't even one year old yet. she never wants us to stop. she will be shivering and her lips will be blue but she will still want to be sprayed! she was sprayed twice on saturday and twice today. my guess is that she will want sprayed again tomorrow.

we are definately looking forward to next year when we can see if the sprout appreciates being sprayed like his sister does!