Ranch Party, 10-20-11

On Thursday evening, we headed out to our pastor's ranch with a small group of people. The kids love visiting "Don Don's ranch" and we're always grateful for the opportunity!

Walker's pointing to the horse. :)

waving to her fans

Thank you, Bud, for keeping Walker away from the cows.

Lainey and Pastor Don ("Don Don"), talking about cows 

throwing hay over the wire fence for the cows

This was a fun game that lasted for a while.

Lainey and Liam (far right) had the best time. Liam is Pastor Don's grandson. They played and ran around and did everything together. It was cute. Except for when they were getting into trouble. :)

That's one way to cross over the cattle guard. I wish I had done that!

Walker LOVED throwing hay with Ms. Kim. She was throwing it up in the air and he kept throwing it right back at him. I am proud of my boy for getting dirty. :)

The three kids. Lainey, Liam, and Walker. Lainey was marching in this picture. It was beginning to get dark, hence the out-of-focus pictures due to lack of light and my amateur photography skills! We concluded the evening by having a yummy dinner of brisket, potatoes, and corn and then we roasted s'mores by the campfire. All in all, a great evening! I am sad I didn't get more pictures of everyone who was there; I felt like we were following our accident-prone kids the whole time. Mainly Walker. He was so fascinated with the tractors and ranch equipment! And the cows!

Lainey and Her Name

I feel like we've been working on writing Lainey's name for a long time now. Each time I'd suggest it, she'd write the "L" and the "A" and then announce that she "can't do it." So, I stopped there - I've never pushed the issue. Well, on Sunday, during Sunday School, I used little dots to make the letters of her name and she connected the dots. Tonight, I tried the same thing and after she did that in her brown crayon, I had her try to write her name independently with a blue crayon. And she did it! She gets stuck on the letter "N" because she almost always makes it into the letter "M" but shortly after she wrote this, she practiced writing the letter "N" over and over again. I think she wanted to get it right. Anyway, I'm proud of her for actually trying to write her entire name on her own. She may be my I-don't-want-to-do-it-unless-I-do-it-right child. And you might think that she gets that trait from me, but in actuality, I think she might get it from her dad. And maybe her aunt Allyson, too. :)

Top: Assisted

Bottom: Independent

Big girl. And, in other big-girl news, this one gave up her binky last Monday, October 10th. It was hard and if she's really tired, she'll still ask me for it, but overall she's doing well without it. It was time. :)

 And, not to be outdone by his sister, Walker proved that he could write his name, too. And say "cheese" at the same time. :) What a stinker. Shortly after this, he proceeded to eat a brown crayon and the tip of a purple marker. Haha!

Reading Books

Reading books together...sorry for the crummy photos! Lainey is making up words to tell her own version of the story and Walker is trying to sneak a peek.

And here's a video. :) 

(I finally figured out how to make my videos show up in widescreen!)

Walker, 20 Months Old

Walker is 20 months old! He is most definitely a cute little riddle. We can never quite figure him out. He has this sweet, adorable, cuddly side to him that is just precious and I can't get enough of. I look forward to his hugs every morning and whenever I pick him up from school. The fact that he gives hugs spontaneously and grabs your hand without being asked just melts your heart... And yet there are other times when Walker just cries. And we have no idea why. He can throw massive fits in public, evoking stares and sympathetic looks as his mom carries him in a football hold while trying to dodge his powerful kicks and flailing arms. He can throw massive fits at home, but those are much easier to ignore. I just have to make sure he's laying down on a soft surface so he won't throw his head backwards and hurt himself. He's pretty good at doing the backwards-head-butt - the back of his head into the front of my face - and that hurts. It's hard being 20 months old. A roller coaster of emotions and a lack of communication makes for a grumpy Walker sometimes.

As a 20-month-old, Walker...

• is really jabbering, using inflection and imitating our facial features
• throws rocks - if he has one in his hand, he's very likely to throw it
• says that most things are “ha” (hot) even if they aren’t – Ben thinks (and I agree) that this is his way of discussing temperature…hot or cold
• loves to fake sneeze with a head bob and everything…and he even tries to make the sound of a sneeze
• can (sort of) do the hand movements to “Itsy Bitsy Spider”
• can move his hands to the song "Wheels on the Bus" (really just the part about the wheels going round and round)
• tries to imitate Yiyia’s whistle ("hoo hoo")
• can sometimes tell us what a dog says ("hoo hoo") but most of the time all of his animals have the same sound, and they sound similar to a car...
• loves to identify and say the letter "G" (not sure why)
• loves to toast by saying "chee" (cheers)
• is talking more...he's getting better
• has some words that mean the same thing, like "chee" means "cheers" and "cheese" and "ha" means "hot" and "hat"
• likes to throw a bag over his shoulder and wave "bye" to me...much like Lainey did when she was around his age
• loves bending down and putting his arms behind him like he's taking off to somewhere exciting...this is how he runs around sometimes
• has learned to say one of the most important words in a toddler's world..."MEH!" (MINE!) He'll grab whatever he wants, swing it away from his sister, and shout "MEH! MEH! MEH!" :)

"Geee!"

still doing the "cheese" smile :)

 "Hmm. What happened here? Lightning McQueen and one of Lainey's princesses used to be driving this truck. Where did they go?"

"No worries. I can make do without drivers."
(Love that little booty.)

This one is all about cars these days.

Happy 20 months, Walker! Love you tons!

A Horse's Day to Shine

This is how I found Lainey's horse this afternoon. Beautiful, no? Lainey even used a dog leash to tie the horse up to the art easel so she can't escape while wearing all of those beautiful accessories. I love the bunny ears and of course I almost laughed out loud when I saw the shoes placed so carefully on the horse's hooves!

Walker's Rendition of "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

Walker was sort of cooperative. You can kinda get the idea. This song was one that Lainey made Walker do over and over as an infant. She would make his tiny hands do the movements. It was so cute, and wouldn't you know that this is the first song that he will "sing" along with and do the hand movements.

 

And here's little Lainey Lou and her version of "Itsy Bitsy Spider." I think she was around 19 months old when we shot this video. :)

Ronald

Thank you, Lainey, for welcoming Ronald into our family. I'm pretty confident that he won't keep your necklace for long, but I know he appreciates being included and treated like a sibling.

Neighborhood Wildlife

Why travel to Colorado hoping to see wildlife when you can see bobcats and coyotes in your very own neighborhood? Goodness. I'm trying to monitor Reagan...I'm afraid that she will look like a tasty snack to one of these creatures!

Mama's Shoes

I'm noticing that Walker is often without pants. Ha. Oh well. It's probably just because I love his cute little legs! Oh, and maybe because putting shorts on Walker (or any kind of clothing for that matter) is an absolute battle these days. So, if we're in for the rest of the night...no pants it is. And sometimes, his shirt is off, too. The only requirement around here is a diaper.

 Cute little muscular legs!

 saying "cheese" while looking at the floor (pretty sure he was trying to not fall down)

"Uh-oh." (I think he had just stumbled.) 

This picture is blurry, but I love Walker's eyes.

 Lainey is pretty confident in her ability to "hold Walker." I love his little happy face.

Lainey's turn to wear my shoes. She had just gotten home from gymnastics, hence the leotard.

 This is Lainey's version of giving Walker a piggyback ride. :)

Big Yiyia, James, Yiyia, Bud, and Yiyia's sister Elsie came over after dinner last night. Walker and Lainey had SO much fun with James. 

And, jumping into Aunt Elsie's lap was fun, too. :)

So Dramatic

The Scene

Location: Yiyia's office at the church where the kids go to school

Date: October 4, 2011

Persons involved: Yiyia, Walker, and me - the Mom

Time: about 2:15 p.m.

Five minutes prior to this picture being taken: Walker heard Yiyia whistling to him...she has this signature whistle that instantly alerts the grandkids (and us, too, actually) that she's in the area. So, Yiyia was whistling from her office and Walker heard her, smiled, tried to find her, and when he couldn't, walked back over to me and grabbed my hand so that we could search for her together. 

One minute prior to this picture being taken: Walker and I found Yiyia in her office, and upon seeing her, he immediately collapsed onto the floor, in this position, and bawled. I think he thought I was going to leave him again after having just picked him up from school. Oh, Buddy.

One minute after this picture was taken: Yiyia won Walker over by giving him a sucker. The boy has a weakness for Dum Dums. :) 

Playing after school...

with this little one! Baby Audrey! (I think she'll always be called that...even though she's just four months younger than Walker.) After all the kids went to school today, Gage, Ainsley, and Audrey came over to play for a bit. It was so fun and I can happily report that the only person who cried was Walker. But that's not all that surprising. I didn't get any pictures of Gage...but he was there, I promise! Thanks for coming over to play, sweet Audrey. We hope to see more of you AND your big brother Keegan when he gets home from Boston! 

Walker is blowing out the candle. :)

Audrey was fascinated with Reagan. In this picture, she's in the process of waving at Reagan. Reagan wanted nothing to do with her, although she couldn't tear herself away. Our dog is a little crazy. She loves to be in the middle of the action but really can't stand the kids. It makes no sense to me.

Cute friends. :) One thing in common - they were both prohibited from going into the overly-crowded tent.  There were two girls in there (and 40 stuffed animals and toys) who had some certain opinions about who should and should not play in the tent. Actually, I think Gage might have been in there at this point, too. I'm grateful that the babies didn't go in there...they would have been smooshed!

Stinky Blogger....

that's me! I have not taken very many pictures lately. Here are just a few random ones...nothing special. As you will see for yourself.

typical goofy Lainey

Ironing!

A few sweet stories about this little one....

• Lainey took a break to (sort of) pose for me. She was in the middle of running up and down the stairs telling Ben (upstairs) and me (downstairs) "secrets." Most have to do with "loving the family" and loving us and loving Reagan. :) 
• She saw this picture on my camera and said, "Aww. I look so cute!" Haha!
• Today I forgot her tap and ballet shoes for dance class (duh) and she was so sweet about it. I said I was sorry and she gave me a hug and said, "That's okay, Mommy. I forgive you. I'll love you forever."
• Yesterday, she told her Sunday School class that everyone should "have a sweet little brother like Walker." (I am pretty sure that was a ploy to give him away to someone...!). 
• If Ben or I get onto Walker or ask him not to do something, she's quick to say, "It's okay, Walker. We'll always love you."  

But, that sweet side can flip right on over to a grumpy side in a heartbeat. As I'm typing this, she's just run into our bedroom and closed the door saying, "Walker, you can't follow me." The other day she shut him in the closet. With the light off. She's definitely three...happy, sad, sweet and mad, all in the span of 10 minutes. :)