Out of Hand: April 2015

Our Orange Boy

Thursday, April 30, 2015

When Andre gets dressed in the morning, he always asks for this jacket. If I do not put it on him, he says, "jacket, please!" pointing to this specific one until I put it on him:

He also always chooses this orange plate when it is available. Today, it dawned on me that he really likes the color orange. (I might be slow.)

Don't' judge him by his hand gesture. He was trying to be silly.

His favorite hot wheels car is the orange mini-cooper. It really cracks me up. We have a neighbor dad (also very laid-back), who drives the brightest, loudest, orange SUV. Oh the irony! Maybe that will be this one in 20 years:

He also has the best death-stare of any kid ever.

The Engineer: First Haircut

The Engineer's hair was getting pretty long. So I decided that it was time to take him in for his first haircut. This time, I was smart enough to go to a kids' haircut place. Cartoons, candy, toys . . . There was absolutely no screaming! He sat on my lap and watched a cartoon about a pig family with British accents. It got the job done. Then, he played with toys and picked a lollipop. Both boys decided that they wanted to return. I'm not sure what this means for future trips to the barber with Dad, but one thing is certain: We never need to go through this again! (I love laid back children!!)

He received a certificate when he was finished.

He has been staring at it all morning, repeating "nice haircut."

Sunday, April 26, 2015

The Hubs' spring schedule has made it hard for us to spend lots of time together. However, he had today off. So we hiked the Dickey Ridge Trail with the boys. They were super-excited as you can see from their talking here. I had to hold Andre back a bit so he wouldn't trip over his feet. He couldn't get enough of this trail!

DH took a few photos of me doing mom things so I remember the good times. We do a lot of talking: asking and answering questions. This is probably my favorite part about being a mom: seeing the kids' inquisitive minds. They are excited to learn everything. It really sweet and encouraging.

This one talked about dinosaurs most of the way.

This one learned about trail blazes, honey bees, animals of the region, and animals of Africa. He was convinced that we were going to fight either a bear or a lion.

We mostly fought gnats.

These two were happy to let DH carry them on the way back (uphill); but I'm told it was easier than the hike out of the Grand Canyon. :)

We took the boys for ice cream after the hike.

I love our Sundays together!

"Isaac needs a head!"

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

"This is a 'T,' Andre. It makes [insert 't' sound] like TIGER! GRRRRR!" I was wondering where Andre picked up "G" as I hadn't taught him. Some of our hard work is paying off!!!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

We finally tried Blue Apron because I found a deal for $20 off my first order. It cost us $40 for 3 meals for 2 people. The meals were large. All of the ingredients were fresh and local (New York). That said, we had the most eclectic meals sent to us. (You don't get to choose your meals.)

Spring Bucatini Pasta

with Pea Tips, Asparagus, & Mint

Beef Dukbokki

with Quick Kimchi & Fresh Peas

Matzoh-Crusted Chicken

with Orange, Fennel & Golden Beet Salad

Rich said, "we don't need to try them again." On to the next best thing . . .

One Year Ago Today . . .

We closed on our new home!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

I'm stealing these from my sister, who sat for the boys while I went to the doctor Tuesday. Sometimes the boys are just better behaved for her.

Andre broke his food strike with a clementine that Isaac peeled for him. Lately, Isaac has been the caretaker, a role he relishes. Today, Andre said, "Want some food, please!" Isaac took a banana right away, peeled it, broke it in half, put it on a plate, gave it to Andre and said, "Eat this half. Then you can have the rest." He sat at the table and watched Andre eat it and proceeded to give him the rest of the banana when Andre was finished. He is competent!

He is finding his niche and feeling more comfortable and confident. His potty training has improved as well. He really likes Avila:

I can't believe how happy my boys are about fruit. They are going to stay with Aunt Theresa every week now!

Things I learned at the doctor's visit:

1. I cannot be induced because I already had a C-section.

2. A C-section will be scheduled at/by 40 weeks. I do not get to wait until 42 weeks. (That said, the prospects of TOLAC/VBAC are still pretty good.)

3. Recovery from a scheduled C-section tends to be much easier than recovery from an emergency C-section.

4. I have to have another sonogram in 3 weeks to check the location of the placenta. If it doesn't rise, then a C-section will be necessary.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

"Mom, I can't smile anymore."

-Isaac, upon hearing it was bedtime

Sunday, April 12, 2015

The boys have taken a real interest in space ships -- mostly in their being launched into space (explosions, etc.). So, Grandpa and Grandma bought them this photo of the Discovery launching, which is now in their bedroom. Andre likes to sit in front of it with his scale replica of the Discovery and say "10, 9, Blastoff!" over and over:

Dinosaur Land

This local gem is prominently located at an intersection on Stonewall Jackson Memorial highway in White Post just down the street from this flea market, which is every bit as awesome as it looks. This is what we do when the Dear Husband (DH) has to work on the weekend:

The boys have been very interested in dinosaurs these days. Thank you, Dinosaur Train, where even the baby t-rex is adorable. Here the t-rex (or someone in its family) was shown in his natural state. Isaac said, "It was a little bit scary but I liked it." Andre ran circles around their legs for 5 minutes.

A gentleman complemented these boys on posing together and said that his children would never have done that. Andre was really happy about it as you can see. And check out Isaac's death grip:

The shark-dinosaur is visible from the highway. As we were entering, we overheard someone say, "I haven't been here in 20 years and it hasn't changed a bit." Several of the dinosaurs' limbs had fallen off, and their paint and plaster was peeling. But as far as the boys were concerned, it was AMAZING. They've been tell DH about it all afternoon.

A kid-sized dinosaur!

Monday, April 6, 2015

[Pardon the lack of church/dressed-up photos. I spent the morning at the urgent care and pharmacy after a night of coughing. The good news is that it's just bronchitis (My symptoms always last more than 10 days.) and is likely not contagious anymore. But, yes, Easter is about Jesus! And Rich took the boys to Mass in their Sunday best.]

"We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!"

-St. Augustine