flock of seagulls and tree of oranges

we went out to annie grannie's dock yesterday to feed the fish. . .but we ended up feeding a flock of seagulls (literally) instead. then we picked some oranges from her tree. and jumped in the puddles the whole way home. after that, in between some sprinkly rain, bryce played in the pool. a pretty perfect day for a five year old boy!

chunka lunka's photo shoot

i pulled out the camera yesterday because tanner was looking cute and chubby (as always) and rolling around on the floor. . . enjoy!!! :)

our trip to the drs

Both boys had their checkups this morning - Bryce, his five year old checkup, and Tanner is four-month-old checkup.



Bryce: 40 pounds, (25th percentile for weight) and 44 inches tall (50-75th percentile for height) He grew FOUR IINCHES this year!!!!! (Shall we call him, Mr. String Bean?) He had four shots today - everything he needed to start kindergarten in the fall. He cried a little, but handled it like a champ. (and was rewarded with chocolate afterwards - a spoonful of sugar really DOES make the medicine go down!)

Tanner: 20 pounds, 5.5 oz (97th percentile for weight!!!!) 26 inches long (75th percentile for height!) (Thats my chunka lunka!) Had two shots - hardly even cried! Amazing!!! He fell asleep as we were checking out, and Bryce headed to school.

With Tanner's height AND weight, he has officially outgrown the infant carrier, so I will be off to Target this week to buy new booster seats for Bryce, so that we can turn his current convertible-seats back into carseats for Tanner. UGH!!! The biggest pain will be that when Tanner is asleep in the car, we can't just pop his carrier out of the car and take it in the house. And shopping will be interesting, because he can't quite sit up in the cart yet.


We can start giving Tanner rice cereal whenever we want - I'm not in any hurry. Not sure when we'll try it . . . she said it probably won't help him sleep better, but we could try if we want. He goes back to the dr in two months, and Bryce goes back next year!

And because I didn't want to leave you without a picture, here's a recent one of the boys - I know it looks like Bryce is smooshing Tanner, but really he's not. Tanne flips over SO quickly now. . .and this was the one time that he figured out that when his neck gets tired, he can turn his head and LIE DOWN. . .why he hasn't done it again, is beyond me. He'd rather cry and get frustrated and wait for us to flip him back over (so that he can do it all again.) :)

this one. . .

As promised a few days ago, THIS ONE. . .

* . . .usually turns our coffee table into a war zone of Lego guys, football players, knights, or dinorsaurs, as seen.

* . . .is sporting his new Hot Wheels watch (his first watch!) in the photo in front of Nana's Christmas tree.

*. . . thinks some of his favorite Christmas gifts were his new football, new soccer ball and net, basketball, and Football Guys (seriously one of the coolest toys I've seen in a long time!)

* . . ..has acquired the fine art of bathroom humor, now that he's started preschool - "poop head" and "pee pee face" are among the phrases we are trying to remove from his vocabulary.

* . . . .is still reeling from a full month of present-receiving. It's going to take some time to reign him back in, and he thinks that every day he should still be getting more STUFF.

* . . . wants to go to Toys R Us and buy more Star Wars Legos. (See above statement for clarification!)

* . . .seems to be the only child at his preschool who is totally unaffected by the crazy cold weather we are having. He is still happy to run around, and wants to take off his coat, despite the fact that its 40 degrees, and everyone else is shivering. (Daddy's boy, or what!?)

XOXO

remembering poppop

how it's possible that i am doing this again, is beyond me. . . .

Poppop.
He used to play hide-and-seek with me, at my dad's restaurant. (When it wasn't opened, of course!)
He bought me pink Mickey Mouse sneakers.
We had ping pong championships in his basement. In the basement where he stockpiled enough canned food to feed an army. It was always chilly and damp down there, but there were always treasures to find. I always came home from Nene and PopPop's with treasures.
He and Nene came to Florida every Christmastime.
And he always put a box of chocolate eclairs in the refrigerator after he arrived.
And slipped money in my hand or pocket. (And said "Shhh, buy yourself something nice.")
He could be gruff. And impatient - but never with me. He was a teddy bear. Big and warm and sweet. And when he laughed, his whole body shook. It was a big wonderful chuckle that I can still hear.
He loved his grandchildren and great grandchildren with all his heart . . . and children LOVED PopPop. There was just something about him.
Sweet PopPop, we will ALWAYS love you!!!
XOXO

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/app/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=138180889

happy new year!

this one . . ..
is rolling onto his tummy.
(and doesn't know what to do once he gets on his tummy!)
loves the hat that Nancy made him!
is such a smiley little thing!
loves his big brother.
wasn't a huge fan of the COLD weather in North Carolina!
needs to start SLEEPING at night!

Will share about THAT one (the big brother) soon. (that report will include Legos and a sassy mouth!) ;)
Just wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year.
We're home from North Carolina, and trying to regroup and unpack.
It's been a strange Christmas/New Years week to say the least, but we had some fun this week, and we are praying for a beautiful new year. Hugs to all of you!!! I'm hoping to start getting some more December pictures up soon. . .now that it's January!!!