Walking 101

We're walking! And we never stop! The boys started walking about a month ago. And those 30 days have been full speed ahead. It seems they only have two settings: "on" and "off." There is no middle speed. The "off" setting occurs when they are in their cribs, strapped into their high chairs, or when one bumps into the other (which is quite often).

My vocabulary consists of consoling and congratulating the whole day through! "You did it! Yeay!" or "I'm so proud of you!" On the other hand, I do spend a lot of time saying things like: "I'm sorry you bumped your head on brother, but I don't think he meant to plow you over" or "I know brother walked over your back and head, but I'm not sure he knew you were sitting there." It seems our day is a series of near misses and collisions. :)

I stopped following them around long ago. Because inevitably they always go in the opposite directions. You can see from the photos below that they circle the house through the kitchen. Usually running into each other around corners.

Fall is here...I have no plants.

Fall is officially here. I usually take note of the seasons by measuring the level of "deadness" of my potted plants. Somewhere between the end of the scortching Texas summers and the beginning of fall, my enthusiasm for watering my potted planes wanes. And so, I often look out on the porch only to discover withered leaves, cracked potting soil, and bare branches.

However, it seems my plants have met a different fate this year. Oh, the plants are still dead alright, but instead of me being the perpetrator, I recently caught two little critters red-handed de-potting my precious plants.

Oh, they look innocent enough in their critter-sized GAP sweatshirts (ps - thanks Nana).

But these critters are dangerous! Especially the one on the left.

I mean, there he is - in broad daylight - pawing through my pots!

...throwing them around like a wild animal!

And here he is eating the dirt - now that's definitely "critter" behavior!

Well, offering to share the dirt with Dad is sort of nice...

Aww...he's really upset.

Dada to the rescue. Sometimes even plant-robbing critters need a little help.

Hat, Hat, Hat...

Hat is said three times...by patting your head three times. At least that's the way Zach says it. We are teaching the boys baby sign language. They are picking up all the phrases that have to do with food ("more" is their favorite - go figure). But recently, Zach picked up the word hat and now he goes around patting his head all the time. For months we've tried to get them to wear baseball caps as a way to protect them from the sun. But no - they would rip them off the second we put them on. No, all the sudden, Zach can't get enough of his. He likes to wear it sideways, frontways, backerds (backwards), and any which way he plops it on. He also likes for mom and dad to wear it although we look a little silly with a child's cap on. I'm pumped about what his means for winter..cute little stocking caps here we come. Now if we can just get sweet Jonah to jump on board, we'll be all set...



Credits: Golden Afternoon kit by Sugarplum Paperie