Meet the Teacher

On Friday, the kids got to meet their teachers for the school year! Lainey is in the same class as last year; she has the same teachers and all of the same classmates plus a few more. SO excited because I love this group of kids. :)

The younger sibs love hanging out with the older kids. Walker and "Gace" (Grace) played so happily in the older kids' room...but weren't thrilled about going to their own classroom. Thank goodness they are together again this year; these two are cute friends. 

I'm laughing because Walker is flying Mr. Potato Head through the air. And notice his favorite "choo-choo train socks." Super stylish!

Gavin (building the tower) and Jake (purple shirt)

Ains :)

The only part I played in dressing Lainey was picking out the actual dress. The rest was her. 

Emerson and McKenna

Sara

McKenna and Sara

We got to see Yiyia!

Thank goodness for blocks...they are the reason Walker even walked into his classroom. :)

Walker's teacher, Ms. Linda, trying to warm up to him. (She was Lainey's teacher, too!)

Walker was ready to blow that joint. He didn't even want to play on the playground!

Cute Audrey...trying to follow the big girls. She and Walker will be together at school on Fridays this year. I'm SO happy about that!

The girls picked a bouquet. :) So lovely.

Gage was cheering for Walker as he went down the slide.

Such a sweet 4-1/2 year old. Can't believe this is the last year of preschool for these big kids!!

Walker's Bedtime Friends

This collection keeps growing and growing and growing...these little friends live on Walker's nightstand and he is happy to have them there. Sometimes there's less, and sometimes there's more...but there's always something. :) He's our little OCD boy. He likes things a certain way and there's no arguing with him!

70 degrees? In August?

We enjoyed a little "rain walk" this evening in the cool 70 degree weather. Might I mention that it's August? In Texas? We just aren't sure what to do with ourselves. I've been a little cold all day. Ha!

during the "rain walk"

 frog sighting #1

 

frog sighting #2

 catching raindrops on her tongue :)

trying to imitate his sister :)

Trains, Trains, and Trains

"Mommy! Pay choo-choo trains me!" Walker says this about 200 times a day. And if I say no, he gets so sad. Thankfully his sweet big sister will sometimes play choo-choo trains with him because I am can't always stop what I'm doing to sit down and play with him. Bless his little bones. He would love for me to sit and play trains with him all the livelong day. I always get to be "Bash" or "Gordon" or "Toby." We have to "talk" and pretend that the trains are doing "work" or going on a mission or have a job to do. And they always greet each other by saying, "Hello! I'm ______!" It's really kind of funny. And anything can be a "choo-choo train track." He's very good at identifying things that could be choo-choo tracks, things that look like choo-choo tracks, things that could be made into choo-choo tracks. :) It's also pretty funny when I'm trying to play with Lainey and Walker at the same time. Most of the time her Barbies  (or whatever she's playing with) become part of the train community. The Barbies dance for the trains and the trains cheer them on or the trains and the Barbies have conversations...very interesting stuff. :) Once, the trains and the Barbies even attended a birthday party together. The trains were picky, however - they weren't really into the cupcakes and ice cream that the Barbies were serving! Good times, good times. :) It was quite the scene!

posing...yet again :)

 silly face

 Walker's silly face. He looks like he's about to start throwing some gang signs.

Not sure what's going on here. A trick, I'm sure!

Baby Girl Bader

Our sweet friend Jessica (yellow necklace) is about to have her third child. A baby girl! She has a boy Walker's age and a girl Lainey's age. We met about a year ago and we all became fast friends (our kids did, too!). We celebrated the upcoming arrival of Baby Girl Bader yesterday with a "Baby Sprinkle" at a nail salon. Good times had by all and I cannot wait to meet this sweet baby. 

the hostesses with Jess...me, Kelley, Jessica, and Brooke

 one side :)

 the other side :)

Walker in Colorado

A quick little video of Walker in Colorado...he's not so good when you ask him to "perform" for a video, but in this instance, he's being secretly recorded (by Emmy) so we have an opportunity to hear his sweet little voice on camera!

Lainey and Ella

Lainey and Ella, about to bake cookies, at Bud and Yiyia's house. The girls spent a few days there for their annual "Camp Bud and Yiyia" experience. They had a ball, and so did their dolls. :) We welcomed home one very tired (and slightly sick) little girl yesterday (Tuesday). Thanks to Bud and Yiyia for a fabulous few days...Lainey had so much fun!! 

Miss Dancing-Pants

Lainey recently auditioned for and joined her studio's dance company for little kids called the Broadway Bitties. She still loves to dance. I think she has watched her recital video (in its entirety) about 25 times and will probably watch it 100 more times. And she's trying to mimic all the dances...she has a lot of energy. :) This is a video of the dance that she used to "try out" for the team. It makes me laugh every time I see her do it - just too funny. This will be a big year for us...this dance stuff is no joke! A big commitment. I only hope Walker and I can hang in there. :) 

"Yike Tuck!"

"Yike Tuck! Uh, uh, uh!" 

(Walker is working out...lifting this roller thing up and down and proclaiming that he's exercising "like Tuck.") So funny!

Walker - Update

A little bit about our (almost) 2-1/2 year old...

"I go so fast!"

Cute words:

• "po poh-wee"(roly-poly)
• "hah-co-low" (helicopter)
• "Yah-co" (Walker) "Heddis" (Harris)
• "yahhhs" (yes...drawn out so that it is 2 syllables)
• "Sah!" (Stop)
• "Nainey!" (Lainey)
• "boo-booey" (blueberry)
• "Co-co Yola" (Charlie and Lola, a TV show)
• "yike" (like)
• "bum" (gum)
• "bim" (gym)
• "peet-suwe" (picture)
• "babket" (basket)
• "yook" (look)
• "beebees" (babies)

Cute phrases:

• "Tank oo, Mommy." (Thank you, Mommy.)
• "Ah home!" or "No home!" (We have that toy/thing/picture/food at home.)
• If we can't find a toy, he says that it's playing "hide/seek."
• "Ohhhh, hi Baby!" (He says it in this really cute low voice...like I do when I see a baby. It's actually probably more annoying than cute! Ha!)
• "Puppies tute!" (Puppies are cute.)
• "Oooh, cool!" or "Oooh, cool, Mommy!"
• "Play Cah-yus Mommy's sone." (Play the Thomas game on Mommy's phone.)
• says “oh” after I tell him something, like “We’re going swimming after your nap.” And his reply is “oh.”
• "I tooted." (And laughs and laughs and laughs!)
• He now laughs at Wow Wow Wubbzy...he will say “cupcake"and then laugh hysterically. 
• “That you!” (When talking about Thomas the train – he shows Thomas a picture of Thomas and says, “That you!”)
• "I happy now (or I happy again)! No chi-ing (crying)."
• "Mommy get it."
• "I own know." (I don't know)
• "I okay!" or "Ok!" or "I okay, Mommy!" (He says this after he falls or if Lainey falls or if I fall...you get the idea.)
• "I dig boy!" (I'm a big boy.)
• "Nainey happy! No chi-ing!"(Lainey happy! No crying!)
• "Mommy, pay choo-choo trains (or cars) me!" (Mommy, play choo choo trains with me!)
• “Ah you, Mommy! Ah you!” (When he’s colored something for me and wants to give it to me…I think he’s trying to say “for you.”)
• When he's hungry, he just says "eat" over and over again. 
• "Where goin'?" (As in, "Where are we going?")
• “None Lainey!” (no Lainey allowed)
• "Mommy! Yook! Choo-choo train ears!" (He was holding two trains in his hands, pressing them against his ears. I was trying to reprimand Lainey at the time and Walker wouldn't stop saying "chop-choo train ears." It was one of those times that I just had to stop talking to her because I was laughing so hard!)
• "Turn up!" (He likes loud music in the car...he doesn't like it if I turn down the volume!)
• "Tee tiny ______!" (whenever he sees something teeny tiny)
• "Bye ______! I miss you!" or whenever I return from somewhere, "Mommy! I miss you." And he'll say "bye" to anything - shoes, rocks, the pool, the gym, the wagon...
• "Go 'way, Mommy!" or "Go 'way, people!" (This one is not so cute.)
• "Aay, Gay, lake!" (Ainsley and Gage are at the lake.)
• "Yook! Yook!" (Look! Look!) (He tells me to "look" for things even if I am certain I don't have them. For example, he'll ask me for fruit snacks, and if I say that we don't have them, then he'll beg me to "yook" for them! Same with gum, candy, a missing car, etc.)
• "Sah it!" or "Sah it, Mommy!" (Stop it. Stop it, Mommy!) (This one is also not so cute!)

 So cute...wish it wasn't blurry! :(

Cute (and not so cute) other stuff:

• We once went shopping for shoes at Nordstrom, and Walker became obsessed with putting the ones he owns “on” – like his crocs, his lightning shoes, etc. He thinks all of them are his! Even though he just has ones like them at home.
• Does not like sharing.
• LOVES cars and trucks and trains. He likes lining them up so that they're touching. Then he "smash crashes" them.
• Hits when mad/frustrated at sister.
• He loves driving on overpasses and is quick to tell us if Ben or myself is driving too fast. "Whoa! So fast!" Ha!
• He claps for me and says "Yay, Mommy!" when I go potty. :) Thanks, Buddy. He also will go on the big potty or his little potty if placed there. He is good at going both #1 and #2, but we are nowhere near ready to start potty training for real. I'm gonna wait on that one!!
• Walker is very particular about his bedtime/naptime routine. His cup of milk must sit on the coaster on the table, the light must be on, and he must have books piled on the table next to the chair. Sometimes he deviates - it depends on who is putting him to bed. He'll sometimes allow me to read to him on the floor (we lay on our tummies) and if that is the case, then things are a little different. But that cup of milk always sits on that coaster. :) Nothing else can sit there!! If I have a drink with me, I have to find another place to put it!
• He still has an amazing memory for songs and their lyrics...he can sing along to all of the Thomas songs in his Thomas the Train song book and he can sing along to many songs that he hears on the radio or his music player or Lainey's music player (both kid songs and adult songs). He likes singing "Happy Birthday" quite a bit, too. 
• He and Lainey were playing in our bedroom and somehow a Thomas train got thrown into the wall...and made a hole...and he blamed it on Yiyia. Just because she had once made a hole in our laundry room wall...she must be responsible for the other holes in the walls. :)
• He smacks his food. He's a very loud eater! :)
• Immediately after his bath, he's freezing. Naked, wet, and freezing. And he wants to be held and does not want to be told "no." :)
• His already-been-chewed gum always ends up in the side pocket of his car seat. I have to always "sweep" that area before getting out of the car. :) 
• He loves babies. He loves going to look at the "beebees" in the nursery at the hospital if we're ever there visiting Daddy or a patient.
• He loves to search for school buses, point to school buses, and count how many school buses that we see driving along (particularly during the school year...but in the summer, whenever we see one, it's a bonus).
• Loves blue things - especially blue cars, trucks, and houses.
• He's a pretty calm little guy. He likes to play quietly and doesn't go 100 mph like some two-year-old boys (and girls).
• If we say it's Gage's (shoes, clothes, socks), then Walker will wear it. So many shoes, clothes, and socks have - for the sake of argument - become Gage's. :)
• He does this odd eye-rolling thing when he's thinking or if he can't decide whether to answer "yes" or "no" to a question...or if he's just trying to tell us to leave him alone. :)
• Always wants to make things for Gage (pictures, coloring pages).
• He's the seatbelt police. He will always tell me "seatbelt on" whenever we get in the car. 
• He has "ouchies." And very sensitive little feet. 
• Likes to jump over poop. “I jump over it.” So strange. He likes to jump over a lot of things, actually. Puddles, sticks, bushes, flowers...things like that.
• He likes to go behind the couch (to where his toys and trains are) to go #2...or he will go upstairs. He definitely prefers privacy when he can get it. :) 
• He wants to play with Mommy (me!) all day long. He's not the best at playing independently. He does understand that I can't play with him all the time...and sometimes he holds up one little finger to signal that he wants to play "tee tiny play" or "one play." Although, after that "tee tiny play," he'll usually want to play longer!
• Walker likes to pretend play with the dollhouse/train people and other toys...someone is always the Mommy/Daddy and someone is always the child. :)

Love you, Buddy. You are one of a kind. That is for sure!

Crazy :)

So funny! She was having a "fashion show." :)

Sleepy Buddy

Walker likes his "alone time" in the mornings...he's slow to awaken and enjoys just hanging out, sucking on his binky, and rubbing his blankie. I was able to snap a quick picture of him before he sat up...