Connor is my prince!

Mommy and Daddy had a date night Saturday night while the boys went to Gma's house. While we were getting ready, Connor came in and told Mommy she looked like Cinderella (I had a dress on). Wasn't that the sweetest thing - Connor can be my prince any day! Chris said he must be buttering me up for something. Brady on the other hand asked if I was going to wear my dress to work. Date night was nice, but I always miss my boys too! We went to dinner, furniture shopping (not that we need anything), and then went for drinks and dessert at Hacienda. I love their mudslide dessert. While we were eating all evening, the boys were getting wild with their cousin Ethan and keeping Gma on her toes.

Brady's 2 Year Picture Slideshow!

Play Day at Scales Lake!

Papaw suggested a play day at Scales Lake today with all the kids and grandkids - what a great idea this turned out to be. We had a great day of hanging out with the family - picnic in the park, playing in the sand at the beach, swimming in the lake, going down the BIG waterslide, and playing on the playground (especially the seesaw - over and over again). My brother is back from Wyoming so he was there with his son and his son's mom. My sister and her fiance were there with their crew of SIX (yes - SIX - her 2 kids, his 3 girls, and the baby). My parents were there and while most of us were at the beach, they stayed back at the picnic table with baby Tyler. Our picnic consisted of sandwiches, chips, and whatever else could be grabbed for the picnic but didn't require cooking. I think the boys snacked the entire time except for when we were in the water.

We learned today that Brady has no fear of swimming, but also has a strong instinct for kicking his arms and legs. He loved to prove his independence and try to walk straight out to deeper waters. Connor, who has been taking swim lessons, preferred to be in less than 1 foot water or clinging to Mommy. (FYI - Scales Lake does not allow flotation devices). There was a kiddie slide in the water that the kids loved to go down. There was also a large waterslide (separate from the lake) that Connor went down twice - each time with a parent. That was deeper than either one of us thought, so that when you drop off that long, winding slide you DROP and are trying to swim with both of you. Connor thought it was a blast!

It was a great day that we will have to repeat again!

Happy Father's Day!

Today was Father's Day! Unfortunately for daddy, it was also the day we promised the boys we would set up the water table and the new pool. I finally talked daddy into a small 8 ft pool that we could get in with the boys. Not too big, but it is a start. (I already have plans for the 12-15 ft next year). We started out the morning splitting up the family - I took Brady to the doctor due to a rough evening of fever and shivvers. Yep - another ear infection after my theory that we were past this and didn't need to replace the tubes. Daddy took Connor to the grocery store. The remainder of the day was spent outside where the boys played in the water ALL DAY- migrating between the water table, their kiddie pool, the hose, and the big pool that was filling up. By time it was ready, Connor and I were the only 2 that got in and that was a max of 20 minutes! That evening, the grandparents came over for a Father's Day grill out and to see the boys play some more. Hopefully daddy doesn't feel like he did too much work on his special day! Happy Father's Day to a wonderful, supportive dad and husband!

Time flies - My baby boy is 2!

My youngest baby boy celebrated his 2nd birthday this week - it just seems like yesterday that I was spending the summer on maternity leave with him and settling into our new house. He started his birthday out with a nice fall at daycare that resulted in a busted lip - that wasn't going to stop him from enjoying the festivities! Friday, we had take home pizza and then headed to the drive-in movie. The boys lasted until about 9:30 watching Kung Fu Panda before climbing into their car seats to go night-night.

The next day was the official "Blue Clues" themed birthday party where we had lots of friends and family over to celebrate. He got lots of great gifts to play with - water table, fisher price dump truck just like daddy's from the 70's, swim toys, and more. Later that evening, some of the family stayed for an extended visit where we enjoyed the nice weather outside. It was so nice to see everyone and to end the birthday celebrations on a good note!

Biting is okay if you say you're sorry, right?

Brady went on a biting spree today at daycare...when asked by both mommy and daddy why he bit, his response was "I say I'm sorry". Oh okay - that makes it all better! I love this age (1-2) - they call it the oral stage. I think Brady is old enough to know better if he knows how to justify...hopefully he was just having a bad day!

Some Pictures of the Seaton Boys

Awesome Weekend with boys!

We started the weekend off with a private event at the CMoe museum for UE alumni. The boys played with legos, played with the dinosaur dig, had a blast in the ball area above the Quack Factory, and then ended the visit at the Quack Factory. We ran into some friends of ours, so we got to spend a little time visiting with them while all the kids got soaked. Afterwards, Connor had an unusual request for pizza (it is usually McD's or Cracker Barrel) so we went to Cici's for dinner. Saturday morning we went to a "Family Fun Day" at Shoe Carnival where Connor got brave enough to go through the Train inflatable. Of course, Mommy and Daddy had to go through a couples times with him first. We also played bean bag toss, walked around the lake to look at the geese, and visited with some of daddy's coworkers. Afterwards, we ran a few errands and ended up at McDonald's (Brady's request). Later that afternoon, Brady surprisely went down for a nap (forced of course) while Connor enjoyed playing in the swimming pool by himself. I bought him a swim ring that he figured out would allow him to float and get in the water more. That evening, we went to Gma Darla's to celebrate Aunt Robin's birthday. On Sunday, the boys woke up rise and shine as usual where they watched some Blues Clues. Later that morning, Mimi and Papa picked the boys up for a few hours of visiting at their house. They went back to their house where I am sure Brady insisted on playing in the garage. I heard they also had grapes and cheese for lunch - surprise surprise! That afternoon, they played in the pool together until it was time to go to Papa Terry's for a birthday celebration for Brady. While the boys slept (worn out from swimming), we visited with everyone. The boys had a lot of fun this weekend and Connor agreed when we were putting him to bed that evening. He was very disappointed to learn that it was Sunday night and we had to go to school and work tomorrow. I have to agree with him...

Toddler Conversations!

Connor wants to know why the Coffee table is called a coffee table if it doesn't smell like coffee (yes, he smelled it to check).

Brady wants to know why about everything...why you doing that, why is Connor sleeping, why are we going to ____, why can't I have fruit chews. I think Brady has started with the "whys" a little bit earlier than Connor, probably because he hears it from Connor. I think the "whys" are a good sign of curiosity and wanting to expand their knowledge...however, it can sometimes be exhausting and lead to an endless road. Brady has also made the connection between going to the grocery store when we are out of something that he wants - very demanding child!

Tonight, Connor wanted to control the box of wheat thins. Brady proceeded to do his sign language for please (rubbing his chest) while saying "more". Connor then said, no (the sign for) more is (signed more here) and you need to do this for please (signed please). After much debate, Brady did the sign for please and Connor decided to pass him some crackers. Connor said he was the Cracker Passer tonight. A few minutes later, he recruited daddy to help him pass the crackers and then said he no longer wanted to pass the crackers because he was tired (explaining sign-langauge to Brady was exhausting).

Trampoline Action

We went to a cousin's graduation party this afternoon and the boys were just enthralled with the trampoline! My mother decided it would be a good idea to let the boys jump - I felt like I was scrambling all around that thing the whole time out of fear they were going to fall or spring board off.

Check out this great action shot - I look unimpressed in the background, but I must have been taking a relief break. I think by this time, I had 4-6 people all around spotting the boys.

The Boys Vacation

While we were off in the Pacific on our cruise, the boys were enjoying some quality time with the grandparents. They started out their week at my mom's house. It was like a big 3 day slumber party where they got to play outside, eat cake, and play with the grandparents. On Wednesday evening, Mimi picked them up for the remainder of the week. Papa was out of town, so she recruited help from Aunt Julie (who is back from Canada). On Friday, Papa was back and they decided to pick the boys up early from school for an evening at Kids Kingdom and then dinner at Chick Fil A. They didn't tell the boys that we would be returning that evening, so it was a big surprise to them when they went home and we were there! Mommy and Daddy kept the boys up late to spend a little visiting time with them (and hoping they would sleep in on Saturday). They were both very good while mommy and daddy were gone and enjoying their own vacation. Connor knew that we were on a Big Ship and we would be back later in the week. However, for the remainder of the weekend, Connor reminded us how much he missed us and how next time we have to take them with us.

Our Vacation

We left May 19th for a kid-free vacation. We dropped the boys off at my mom's the night before, since we had a very early morning flight to LA. We arrived in LA and on the cruise ship without a hitch. The cruise was a 3 day cruise to San Diego, Catalina Island, and Ensenada, Mexico.

The first day was in San Diego where we went on an Olde Town Trolley tour which toured all sites in San Diego ending at Olde Town for margaritas and mexican food. We then toured the USS Midway, the longest running ship in the Navy, which is now a museum. The next day, Catalina Island and our Kayak trip was cancelled due to Gail Force wind warnings. We skipped that stop and had a leisurely day at sea - which wouldn't have been so bad if the weather was a little more pleasant. It was cloudy, overcast, and windy the entire trip (while my co-workers were in the Bahamas and St. Croix enjoying 90 degrees and sun). The final day was spent in Ensenada Mexico where we took a tour bus to the La Bufadora (the blowhole) and then toured the street market of Mexican wares. We ended the tour with an authentic mexican taco!

The cruise dinners and nightly entertainment were excellent. We looked forward to that part of day which included my "drink of the cruise", Lava Flow. We returned on Friday looking forward to an extended weekend with the boys and some nicer weather.