A Day to Top All Other Days!

To celebrate Elliott's birthday and Father's Day, Grammie and Grandpa took us to Waldameer! It was a perfect first amusement park for little kids!

It was a day marked by a lot of anticipation:

A LOT.

Seriously. Once Elliott got the hang of rides (Patrick was a little young for most things), he was a FOOL! He ran straight from the exit to the entrance and repeatedly (yes, repeatedly) ran right into people's butts. His excitement... His height... It just worked out. I had to apologize to a number of very flustered people!

We started on these little kid rides, thinking they were age-appropriate, but they didn't hold his attention for long.

We threw Patrick into the mix, and it was just too funny to watch these little boaters get down to business. Here, Elliott reminds everyone of the "no passing" rule on this mechanical, circular ride:

Serious, serious boaters. This isn't fun, people. It's work!

I think the Frog Hopper was when we first started to realize this kid was more of a dare devil than we realized.

Enter the Ravine Flyer! See Pete's knees upping the probability of the bar keeping NO kid from the ravine?

Well, somehow they did stay out of the water. And had a blast!

Meanwhile, I found a little grassy spot so Mr. Patrick could have some fun of his own! Isn't he getting big??

This statue stopped him in his tracks. Here, he reviews the facial features. (No kidding!) Nose... Eyes... Mouth... Now that was cute!

While everyone took turns with Elliott on rides (rides that were making kids TWICE his age cry), it got increasingly tough to contain Patrick. I did what any reasonable mother would do: I tackle-tickled him to weaken his run-away instincts!

We capped the rides with a spin on the train!

It allowed us to get these great family album shots. Honestly. Who taught these kids how to make faces for the camera??!?! Exhibit A:

And Exhibit B: (We actually took this one twice. This was the better of the two.)

Well, at any rate... Happy Father's Day!

(But wait! There's more!)

We topped that awesome adventure with another! A trip to the beach! Here's Grandpa with the boys:

Patrick ran right to the water. He couldn't get enough!

Elliott... dear, sweet Elliott... Elliott decided he should immediately take his shorts off and run around in his Diego underpants until I crashed the party and forced him to put pants on.

We were only sure this kid wouldn't go under when we were driving away. He was just THAT stable. But he sure had fun!

Elliott was far more hesitant at the water's edge.

Look at those reflections in the wet sand! Love it!

What a day! :)

It Ain't Every Day Someone Turns FOUR!

On June 22, the big guy turned four! To celebrate, I cropped his pitchfork out of this photo:

(Got it? Was it obvious only to me?)

Anyway, Elliott cheered up and was all about these noisemakers! Patrick, on the other hand, never really got it. In fact, this display (below) made sense when I later found Patrick's chicken tender inside his noisemaker. (Well, if it isn't a chicken holder, what could it be??)

These things are like megaphones for toddlers. Superneato invention. But aren't those crayon candles cute??

I think I have nearly the same shot of Patrick with his two candles. Good to know we've got TWO pyromaniacs...

We picked up a Cars-themed ice cream cake, and I think I could see Elliott's why-didn't-I-think-of-that? moment. He loved it!

Of course, when you sink to this level...

...you have to move onto presents semi-nude.

Luckily a shirt was in the pile! Elliott's reaction to everything (save the clothes) was ELATION! It was really cute.

Still, I've got to pat myself on the back a little bit because he paused to look through every single book he received! Raising a reader! Yay!!

I don't think this photo even looks like him, but he had a couple of things to open post- (long and sweaty, apparently) road trip. Nothing lights up this kid's face quite like Madagascar!!! Hooray for sequels! And "I Like to Move It, Move It" remixes you could listen to, oh, I don't know... 30 or 40 times in a row!

Happy Birthday, big guy! And, yes, it is a real rule that you can only watch Madagascar 2 once per day. I don't make these rules. I just follow 'em.

And Some Other Stuff

You've missed this face, haven't you?


Howzabout this one?


Dolls, I tell you. Angels. Perfect angels.

Now, you second children out there can appreciate this story. Elliott got a new bike, so that meant two things. 1. He was soooooooo pumped to be old enough to get a big boy bike, and 2. Patrick got Elliott's old bike! Everybody wins! Here's Patrick who's delighted he can FINALLY ride this trike free-and-clear!


Meanwhile, Elliott got to go to the store and pick out a big boy helmet to go with his very own big boy bike. In real life, he was bouncing off the walls. When I lifted the camera to document said emotion, I got treated like a TMZ employee:



Sometimes Dad just can't resist the good stuff at the grocery store. Annnnd neither can Patrick:

He really had a moment with this icing. Don't you miss enjoying cupcakes enough to get the icing INSIDE your ear???

Because Patrick thinks Playdoh probably tastes kinda like that icing, Elliott usually goes it alone. A couple of weeks ago (while Patrick napped), we worked to make some new colors, then built these little crazy guys. Elliott was so proud! I told him I wanted to take his picture with them, but if he made funny faces, we'd never be able to tell which one was him. Give it a go! See if you can spot him!

Do you need a hint?

Ahhh, this one still makes me chuckle!

We've been having one of the mildest Julys on record, but we've still had plenty of chances to play outside! Remember this sprinkler?

I think the boys are getting too smart. They've realized I'm just trying to run them around like puppies in the backyard. Now they find ways to mock my efforts. Run through the sprinkler? How juvenile! I think I'll pull up a chair!

The one good thing about this sprinkler is it's about a zillion little hoses, so the boys can really multitask.

I'm one of those neurotic mothers who lets her kids eat popsicles in two places: outside or in the tub. (They LOVE eating popsicles in the tub, by the way.) Here they are in their "house."

This one goes for speed. (They don't call him "Big E" for nothin'.)

This guy's all about style. He usually gets about one-third to halfway through before it melts enough to just slide off the stick. It's hard to reprimand his speed when it clearly makes his dimples deeper:

Did I mention both boys have been to the doctor for their annual checkups? Patrick is--hooray!--on the charts! Actually, he's about dead center, so... kinda normal and average. His brother, on the other hand, is--you ready for this?--in the 100th percentile. He is the biggest kid in the history of kids! He'll be a linebacker by second grade. (Who's surprised?)