fun-in-a-box

a big red wood box

it was shut with a hook

now look at this trick,

said the cat.

take a look!

then he got up on top

with a tip of his hat.
i call this game fun-in-a-box,

said the cat.

in this box are two things
i will show to you now.
you will like these two things,
said the cat with a bow.

i will pick up the hook.
you will see something new.

two things. and i call them.....

Thing One and Thing Two!

just around the corner

everything is just around the corner.

halloween! if you have been reading this blog from the beginning, you know we love to dress up. a lot. but, i've finally settled on just ONE costume per child this year. and boy are we excited! we'll keep it a suprise until the big day. hint: think red, white and blue. a king size reese's cup to the one who can guess correctly first. until then, you will have to wait until friday for the big reveal.

allison is growing up too fast. i love being with her more everyday to catch those moments of her growing up right before my eyes. the other week, i caught her climbing on davis's chair at the table. i quickly told her "good luck, monkey" knowing her eyes were bigger than her appetite. (or at least bigger than her ability.) so i left her alone taking advantage of the time to put away some laundry. much to my surprise, i walked back in from around the corner and there was the child standing on the table. that's our allison. tell her she can't do something, and she'll do it to prove you wrong.

just a couple days later, i was about to put lunch on the table. i told the kids to go take their seats at the table. allison will walk over to her latch on seat and hold on to the side until you come and pick her up to put her in. well again, i turn around to go help her and the girl is in her chair. now, this chair is actually suspended on the table. it's a latch on chair, not your typical high chair. she did use another chair to balance as she pulled herself in, but again i was very surprised to see how coordinated she was to manuever this skill.

i've included some pictures from our trip to atlanta, the varsity and the zoo. allison loved every minute of it all. for a child who is always moving. all the motion of the varsity and all the excitement of the zoo was right up her alley. stay tuned for more zoo pics later!

the natural

what form. what concentration. and what a natural. our left-handed natural. not like his mom who liked to pick daisies in the outfield and only signed up for softball as soon as i could just to get a tshirt with a number and my name on the back. i was number 9 on "the doves". the back of my little black tshirt was not wide enough to hold all the letters of my name. they asked me if i wanted a nickname put on the back. no. i wanted my name. my whole name. so, the s, t, i and e ended up running over onto the sleeves. but it was official. i was part of the team. the doves. beside our team color, we were not very intimidating. i now wonder how many teams, mascots and uniforms we are going to run through in the future. and if they will allow girls on those teams too. because allison will want to take part too. and i have a feeling that nothing else will do except whatever davis will be doing.

here's our little triple threat: athlete, musician and comic. don't mess with davis's music. he loves the piano, booms (drums), coldplay and drumlines. not quite the most graceful dancer. but you have to give him credit for spunk and rhythm. he's got the beat.

lost and found

we thought they were lost forever. photos from davis and allison's first trip to the beach. but alas! after a couple of searches we found them. then it just took another couple hours to find a way to unlock the files' properties so we could transfer to discs.

a boy and his dog:

sleeping beauty:

relaxing with daddy:

halloween is just around the corner. davis and allison's costumes are hanging in the closet awaiting a night of fun! all we need now is to buy the candy, ask for candy and eat the candy. :)

24

one of my favorite shows is 24. maybe when the next season begins, i will stop recording our own household based on 24

4:37
(sound of feet pattering across the hardwoods.)
mom-mee, mom-mee. mom-mee, mom-mee. mom-mee.
yes, davis. come on up.
no. no. mom-mee, mom-mee. mom-mee, mom-mee. (tugging me out of bed.)
are you wet?
(soaked, change diaper while davis cries out to warn me of his boo boo.)

zach: happy anniversary.
oh yes, thank you. you, too.

okay, davis. back to sleep. (getting in bed.)
no. no. mom-mee, momee. mom-mee. mom-mee. (still tugging me out of bed.)
okay, i got it. milk. lets go get you some milk.
(back to bed....)
mom-mee, mom-mee, mom-mee, mom-mee.
no, davis. go back to sleep.
mom-mee. mom-mee. buuuuhk. mom-mee, buuuuhk.
davis, its too dark to read. go to sleep.
(getting out of bed to get a book.) mom-mee, ,mom-mee. buhk.
zach: alright davis. let's go in the other room.

thank you zach for getting up to encourage our little reader! i got to sneak in a few more hours of sleep, really, i am so excited to see davis's love of books. but at 4:30 in the morning????

23:00
usual routine, end of day. zach and i are reading in bed and we here distant cries. who's that? he asks. i think it's allison. we wait a few moments more hoping she'll turn over and all will be okay.

no. still crying.

go check on allison. wide awake. clutches on when picked up. okay, you're going to bed with us. allison flip-flops for the next two hours.

1:12
get allison milk. davis wakes up and cries for milk too.
davis: mom-meeeeeee!
okay, i'll come lay down with you for a minute.
put allison in crib with milk. close door and say a prayer that she will go back to sleep on her own.

1:25
laying in davis's bed. hugging legs and feet next to my head to get him to sleep. thinking didn't it all started with feet 24 hours ago?

1:35
back to my own bed.

merci

4 years of dating

2 dogs

6 foster dogs

5 cars

9 residences

12 trips across the atlantic

who knows how many trips to/from charleston and back

4 years of marriage

2 great kids in 2 dazed years

joyeux anniversaire de mariage

rain rain saves the day, come again another day

whoever knew rainy days could be so much fun? thank you children's museum! this morning we packed up an early lunch, threw on some play clothes and headed out the door. for the next 40 minutes we bopped to baby einstein tunes and made our way down the road. all the backseat drivers had milk in hand and were in a very good mood. zach and i are surprised each day with how much they both understand. and today, davis and allison seemed to know the final destination would be a great reward. they were both in happy spirits.

davis recognized the playplace as soon as we drove slowly by looking for a parking place. when i passed it, he made sure to point out that our destination had passed us by. i reassured him not too worry, i was turning back around.

enter museum. head straight to the market. davis plays the savvy shopper. allison plays bumper buggy rollerderby. thankfully, she only hit shelves and displays of plastic fruit and empty bottles and boxes in her ongoing circular route.

























next its over to the foam room for some laps around a table and jumps over the blocks. and then to younger tots area. where we were busy reading books, rowing a kayak, painting a barn, tending the garden, climbing in trees, playing with puzzles, rocking in a rocking chair and sliding down the mountain. a couple tumbles and falls, but nothing a kiss on the boo boo and quick hug couldn't fix.






















davis whipped allison up a great taco, a glass of milk and some juice in the cafe. we washed dishes, cleaned the counters and promised to return again very soon.

constant

allison is always in constant motion. this makes it near impossible to take pictures of her. she will not sit still or even acknowledge you for one second to snap a quick shot with the camera. if i want a picture, i have to run around her to find the best angle. which by the time i've found it, she has moved on to something else. davis, on the other hand, will stop, primp and pose for the camera. no matter what he's doing. so if you see a smudge or blur in the background of davis smiling for the camera, that's allison. always on the move.

t k o

allison's sweet revenge. after all the bumps, bruises, slaps and smacks, allison snuck one in on davis. we all knew it was just a matter of time. what we didn't know is that she would quietly walk away unafflicted.























don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks. in fact, this is a clean pic of the battle wound. we eventually had two bloody noses before the night was over as clumsy, sleepy davis ran into the crib and banged up the other nostril.

the funny thing is there wasn't much of a battle to begin with. everyone is happy playing on the bed. davis leans over, bumps his nose on allison's head and ouch! that hurts. then the blood comes running.

allison sat there wondering what just happened? i didn't feel a thing!

davis turned out to be a good sport. he was actually very proud of his busted nose and was a willing model for photographs. now we've turned a corner. allison can fight back. twice the cries, twice the boo boos, twice the hugs & kisses to make it all better.