My Life These Days

I've been really busy lately, and haven't had a whole lot of time to myself. That's why I haven't been blogging. I'll try to do better. This week, my sister let me take Little L's 1 year pics, and Sweet T's 3 year pics. It was so much fun! Here's a tease (Keep in mind, I'm not a pro):

This was before we started officially shooting, but I love the face!

SUCH a cutie!

If you can't tell, I love these boys! My sister took this one.

The idea for this picture came from Pinterest. I LOVE Pinterest.

Smart Kid

I am loving my summer. Can't believe it's time to start thinking about next year already!

I spend quite a bit of time with my sister these days. We both enjoy the company. :) I'm also spend a good deal of time with my nephews. I hope you're not tired of stories of sweet T, because I've got another one for you.

He's learning to use his imagination and it's a lot of fun. (He's made himself a new "home" in the living room using a chair he got for Christmas. It's very small, but apparently good for taking naps). It's time to give you a little context for this story... My family loves coffee. Specifically Starbucks. Seriously, I'm on a first name basis with the barista (not unusual for me. I always manage to become friends with the coffee guy. Hello free coffee!) Tyler has inherited a passion for Starbucks (one of the few things he gets from our side, so we all like to encourage this relationship with the good ol' Bucks). His great grandma recently sent him a gift card so he can buy himself some "hot tachy" (Hot chocolate).

Yesterday, we were all spending the day together, and T decides that he's thirsty and wants a drink, so he runs into the kitchen and "orders" a "hot tachy" from "Starbucks." This starts a whole game of "Mommy, do you want hot tachy from Starbucks? How about cake pops? Do you want some macamoee (guacamole)? " As everyone knows, Starbucks is not cheap... So Mommy asks if he needs money to pay for all this food and drink we've ordered... Of course he needs money, so he runs up to Mommy and waits. She sticks her hand in her pocket and pulls out money that's as real as all this food we've been "consuming." The kids response? "Mommy, there's no money there."

Apparently Starbucks has raised their prices again, because now they're charging for imaginary food!

Pumas

Most little children have the whole fear-of-a-monster-living-under-the-bed-or-in-the-closet at some point in their lives. Let's be honest, you've peed the bed once or twice, too, in your day.

I got a text message from my sister the other day that said something like this: Most kids are afraid of monsters in the closet. Not my kid. My Sweet T is afraid... of pumas in the closet.

He and I had watched "Go, Diego, Go!" the other day, and there was a friendly puma on it. Apparently, even when pumas have an amiable facade, it's obvious that they are not a friendly animal. My brother-in-law had to take T on a tour of the room to prove that there were, indeed, no pumas present before the kiddo would go to sleep.

Like every good aunt, the next time I played with him, I chose the game "OH NO! There's a puma! Hide from the Puma before He Sees You!"

You're welcome, dear sister, for the many sleepless nights to come.

Who Is This Child??

I bought lunch at work today, and it came with chips. I wasn't too hungry, so I threw the chips in my purse for later and forgot about them...

My family went out to dinner tonight, and I sat beside my nephew. After we were done eating, he looked in my purse and found my chips. He pulled them out of the bag and gave a very emphatic "wow!" Our conversation went as follows:

Kiddo: We need to share.

Me: Those are my chips.

Kiddo: We need to share with Mommy.

Me: We need to put those back in my purse.

Kiddo: We need to share with Daddy.

Me: Those are my chips!

Kiddo: We need to share with Papa.

Me: Give me my chips!

Kiddo: They're MY chips!

Me: No, they're MY chips! May I please have my chips back?

Kiddo: Well....... I'll just hold them here in my arm pit!!

*Places bag of cheese puffs in his armpit!

He also licked the table in the restaurant.

I love him.

Dairy Queen

My family went to Dairy Queen tonight and I sat next to my nephew.

As I finished my ice cream, I looked at my sister and asked if I had ice cream on my face. If you ever ask anyone in my family if you have food on your face, the answer is yes-- whether you have anything on your face or not... Naturally, she said yes. There was food on my face.

I looked at my nephew and asked him (two year olds apparently don't lie). The stinker grinned and wiped his spoon on my face!!

Yes... There is ice cream on my face. Thank you, Nephew.

Nephew Again

"Au Schee Schee-- I don't want to wear this."
*Points to jacket.
"Ok, let's take it off."
*Remove jacket.

"Au Schee Schee-- I don't want to wear this."
*Points to shirt.
"Ok, let's take it off!"
*Remove shirt

"Au Schee Schee-- I don't want to wear this."
*Points to pants.
"Ok. You don't need those!"
*Remove pants.

"Au Schee Schee-- I don't want this crayon in my diaper."
...
"What?"

*Remove diaper. Find crayon.

I repeat: What?

Life with a Two Year Old

Sister to naked nephew: "Where are your underwear?"

Nephew to sister: "Der up der" (Translation: they're up there).*Points to the top of the fridge.*

Sure enough, kiddo threw his underwear on top of the refrigerator.

I mean, why not throw your underwear around the kitchen, right?

Quality Time with the Nephew

I make dinner for my sister's family once a week. It gives her a break, and it gives me a chance to try new recipes. It's a win/win!

My brother-in-law worked late today, so it was just her, me, and the kids. I stayed late to help her put T to sleep. I love that kid. He and I were playing before bed time. As I would pretend to sleep, a little 2 year old hand would reach out and tickle my face. After a few rounds of this game, he got bored-- without telling me. I closed my eyes, pretending to sleep, and when I open them, I saw this:


I'm not talking about this grin lying sweetly on his pillow-- oh, no. In my face. Hello, dear child! Why, yes, you are wiping your nose on my face! It was disgusting.. And adorable.

Another favorite game: pretend to sleep and snore like Papa.