Magic Tricks

With Nonna and Pop-Pop in town, Elliott has perfected a new magic trick. Check this out!

Can't reveal any secrets, but in step 1, hands go in the sleeves...


They're really gone! No one can see them!


Wait! Don't panic! They're right here! Ta-da!



Meanwhile, Patrick can't do a dang thing but look cuter than humanly possible in the tub.

P.S. It's hardly my news to share, but here I go spilling the beans: Hoo-ray for two of my closest college friends joining the sleepless ranks of motherhood in the past few days! Welcome to Ruthie and Aaron! Tell your mamas I am ready for more photos, baby blog entries and Q-&-A sessions as needed.

Wagons Ho!

The other day we went for a family walk with the boys in the wagon. Elliott loved it. Patrick, probably too young for such an adventure, kept grabbing the side rails and looking for emergency exits. All it took was some instruction for Elliott ("Hold him like a big brother!") and some repositioning for Patrick (in between his brother's legs and immobile in his bear hug).


Now Elliott tries to convince Patrick: "Yay! Remember? You LOVE this thing!!!"

"It's working, Mama. He loves it! Now quick: PULL us!!!"

If you know Elliott, you know this is his obligatory smile, pained okay, Mother. Camera time is over face. Makes sense. It's just about the time Patrick decides he loves this wagon thing! (Just LOOK at those dimples!)

Kid (NOT Car) Updates

Any time the dogs sit (to beg for food) or even remain still for more than a moment, Elliott decides they need hugs. Riley will just take it (above), but Tragus (in the background) will start growling as soon as he starts to approach.


Meanwhile, Patrick works on perfecting his Art of Eating a Cheerio. (No wonder this kid's such a peanut! It's hard to pack on the pounds at this rate...)

Success!

Storytelling

Stop me if you've heard the one about the drunk driver who tried to park in our living room last night.

(Bet you won't stop reading now!)

Last night/this morning, I woke to what I swore was a gunshot at 3:30 a.m. Pete jumped out of bed to look and, after finding my glasses, I joined him at our bedroom windows. We found a presumably drunk driver being berated by his passenger in a string of words you can't repeat around toddlers.

Why? Just because he was speeding down a residential street and had a teeny-tiny, full-impact, head-on collision with our neighbor's car (parked in front of our house)? It couldn't have been the driver's fault!

The duo resumed rational behavior and fled.

So, off they tried to speed, leaking every possible automobile fluid and pushing their front bumper like a snow plow on a crisp spring morn'.

Pete joined several other neighbors outside, where he snapped these photos (note our mailbox in multiple pieces) and thanked God they didn't continue through to our house. Or our van, which was parked just a couple of feet from the flying mailbox. (We don't think our insurance company would've remained friends with us if we had to make two car accident calls in one week...)

We couldn't read the license plate, so do let us know if you spot an older dark red vehicle with a lower-than-usual front bumper.

If you're curious, the poor parked car (that of the daughter's boyfriend) had to be taken away on wrecker.

That New-Car Joy

We hardly had a chance to share our news: We got a new (slightly used) car! (There we are test-driving on the curvy coast of California.) It's a 2007 Chrysler Sebring (with Flex Fuel -- cool!), and we love it. We were just deciding which Sirius radio to install when it went CRUNCH.

(Sorry, no photos available.)

Pete got into a minor fender-bender (because "fender-cruncher" sounds silly), so the poor new car is at the fix-it shop now. She'll be just like almost-new in no time!

Quiet Moments, Not-So-Quiet Battles

Elliott's learning -- perhaps by necessity -- how to entertain himself, including the ever-important burying of his arm in the sand.

Meanwhile, the other son hears a lot of "PA-TRICK! No doggy bowls!!!" as we have our daily race to the most disgusting spot in the house. (Why, WHY must babies be obsessed with dog dishes??? Is it only in my house?)

Luckily, distraction still works. ("Patrick, can you clap? YAY!!!")

Bottling Days

Loyal readers know I once said this wouldn't be a weather blog, but heck if we haven't had two of the most perfect weather days in the history of weather!

If you're not in central Ohio these days, it's sunny and breezy with a high in the low 70s.

Just like Snow Mountain (in the cul-de-sac outside of Grammy and Grandpa's house at Easter, see below), I still don't know how we ever got Elliott to tear away and actually come inside.


Payton came over to play, and the couple got such a kick out of being in "the house" together.


Patrick is thrilled with his baby swing, while Elliott gets used to the idea that he now uses the big boy swing. (And ONLY the big boy swing??? Okay...)


Bottle it up, boys. We'll be back below freezing by the end of the week!

Spring Cleaning

Under the watchful eye of Patrick...

...Elliott set out to take care of some much-needed spring cleaning, toddler style. (Seriously. What did she DO? Leave the cover off the sandbox table ALL winter???)

Meanwhile, the poor dogs stood poised and ready, just in case anyone wanted to play Marathon Fetch for a change.

A little later, Patrick's eyes filled with awe. Did anyone else notice we have a whole playgound in our backyard?!? Cool.

P.S. If you're checking in and even mildly enjoying the blog, please let me know in the form of a comment below. I sometimes wonder if I keep up with this just for me. And my Mom. And my two blogger friends (yo, yo, yo, Stacie and Jill!). Thanks!