Team Cross

Yucky Weather and Water Table

Well, the entire week has been off and on rain, so each day it's been a crap-shoot if the boys get to go play outside.  Today, it stopped for a while, so out they went!  I thought that is would be terribly muddy event, but our grass has gotten thick very fast, and it wasn't bad at all!  Austin asked if I would put water in the water table so I did, and of course, both boys got SOAKED.  They can't just nicely play in the water table, they just start throwing water all over each other and dancing around.  Cody got so wet that the weird moisture-absorbing stuff in his diaper exploded all over the patio, so he ended up naked.  And, since Cody was naked, Austin thought that he should be naked too.  I swear they are pygmy bushmen...they just need some spears and face paint...

Austin making what he called "a spiderweb", which means "a big mess" in mommy language.

 

Poor Tyler watching all the water action from his place at the gate.  It's ok though because I don't think he liked all the water flying everywhere.  He got wet a few times and complained about it!

 

 

See.  Pygmy bushmen.

Tyler has decided that he likes potato salad...a lot.

Cody's First Full Sentence!

Austin had school today and the boys and I ran into Target for a quick trip to grab some things I forgot.  We also did some 'car' errands, which are my favorite because I don't have to get kids out!  We ran to the bank, the post office, and I drove through to get a coffee.  After naps when we were getting ready to get Austin, I was feeding Tyler a bottle and Cody walked in, and very slowly said, "Mommy, I want see choo-choo...omon Mommy, omon!"  I was stunned.  He said it clear as day!!!  And he kept saying it over and over!  By the way, 'omon' is his way of saying 'come on'.  He said it all the way to pick Austin up from school.  I think he was referring to going to Barnes and Noble and playing with the train in the kid section.  I couldn't get a hold of Scott because he was doing study hall, but I texted him, and he could not believe it, and then asked me to get it on video.  I tried later, but Cody wouldn't go for it.  I am going to try today again, and if I get it, I will post it because it is the cutest thing ever.  He focuses so hard!  It is amazing to Scott and I, to hear Cody talking so well at such a young age, because at this age, Austin was speaking in one-word phrases.  I had not enrolled him in Mother's Day Out yet, and I think because he was home with me all day every day, he was a little later when it came to putting 2+ words together.  It wasn't until he was almost 3 that he had an explosion of vocabulary.  I think Cody is at an advantage because he tries to keep up with Austin, and has 2 choices:  either speak up and get heard, or be quiet and never get a word in!  Anyway, some of my favorite words that Cody says are: Mommy (he says it really well and pronounces each letter-it's really cute), Bless You!-when someone sneezes, have it-when he wants something, dip-means chip, pew pew-that's the way he says poo poo, thank you Mommy-almost everytime I give him something...he's got very good manners, amem-means yes mam...that's all I can think of as far as my favorites for now.  Cody is putting sentences together everyday, and it gave me goosebumps to hear him speak so clearly today.  The best thing about it, is that I was here to hear it.  I feel so blessed to be able to not miss a thing, and stay home everyday with my kids.  I have witnessed every milestone in person, and I appreciate that so much.  I was talking to Rachel about this yesterday, and telling her about how one day, when I was still working, I dropped Austin off at Barbara's when he was about 7 months old.  Austin was about to start crawling any minute, and I told Barbara as I dropped him off, "If he crawls today, DON'T tell me." and she replied, "I never do."  I was so happy yesterday, to be able to hear Cody with my own 2 ears!

Austin's Pet Snake

A couple of weeks ago Scott took Austin to Cracker Barrel to meet a recruit for breakfast.  Afterwards, they browsed the store section of the restaurant and Austin saw a toy wooden snake that he really wanted.  Scott told him if he was good, then maybe he would buy it for him.  Here we were several weeks later, stopping at Cracker Barrel for breakfast on our drive back from Salado, and Austin immediately asked about the snake.  We told him that if he was good, then he could use the bribery money from Uncle Danny the day before, and purchase the snake.  He was great at breakfast, and Scott went to get him the snake.  I have never seen Austin more in love with a toy than this dang snake.  Sunday night, he got out of bed and came in to tell me that he had forgotten to tell his snake goodnight, and then proceeded to go over to the toybox, take the snake out, kiss the snake, and tell the snake that he loved him and that he would play with him in the morning.  Monday morning, the snake traveled with him on the ride to school, and Scott and I were given specific instructions to leave the snake by his seat so that he could have it immediately after school.  After school on the drive home, I asked Austin what the name of his snake was and he said, without hesitation, "Austin Rocket".  So, Austin Rocket it is.
 

And it's a good thing Austin didn't see this today...

 

Saturday: Ma's Big Birthday Bash in Salado!

Ma's birthday weekend in Salado was held at the Stagecoach Inn, a historic site in Salado.  Everyone made it in, and it all seemed to go off without a hitch.  We had a big dinner at the Inn at 6pm, followed by hanging out by the pool and ping pong table, in rocking chairs telling stories and laughing a lot.  Scott and I had fun, and the boys had a blast running around with all their cousins.  Here are some of the pictures from my camera.  The only people missing in this first picture of everyone is Jack's (my grandmother's husband) other daughter, Lynn, and her husband and 3 kids.  They made it in just in time for dinner.

This is Uncle Danny trying to bribe Austin into taking a family picture.  It worked when he offered to give him a dollar to buy a snake.

 

Ma and Cody

 

Uncle Steven, Aunt JaNice, Michael (standing) and Chase

 

Kendall, Uncle Danny, Kyle, Aunt Desiree, and Kameron

 

Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jimmy

 

Ma and her 6 kids: Danny, Tommy, Steven, Jimmy, Jean and Rosann

 

Aunt Nini (Rosann)...her husband Kurt, and son John were unable to make it, but I got a picture of her!

 

Me and my Ma, the birthday girl...

Me, Michelle, and Mom

Uncle Danny and Tyler...Tyler thought he was hilarious...and I think he is too.

Uncle Danny eating Tyler's fist.  Tyler was pretty interested in this.  I guess he was wondering why his fist was disappearing.

Uncle Steven and Cody.  Cody laughed at him all night.

Austin decided he did not want to sit with us and instead took a seat with his cousins at the end of the table.

Uncle Jimmy and Tyler

Tyler's first taste of ice cream, well, sherbet and meringue...he loved it so much that he kicked and flapped his arms between every bite because my mom wasn't shoveling it in fast enough for him.

Thursday and Friday in The Woodlands

Thursday we left for my parent's house at 3:30.  I had originally wanted to leave in the morning, but Scott had a recruit come in at the last minute.  Dang husbands!  Anyway, we had a nice drive in, and arrived right around 7:30.  The boys ran around like crazy, pooped, and then we put them to bed.  Scott and I followed after watching the Spurs game (insert groan here).  On Friday we woke up and went to the park located on my parent's street.  The boys had so much fun.  Tyler got to swing, Austin learned how to climb all the way to the top of the climbing rock (and then proceeded to do it like 10 times in a row), and Cody tested out every single piece of playground equipment.  After the boys played for a while, we decided to go for a walk.  There are walking trails everywhere, and we headed out to see if we could find another park.  What we found was so much better!  There were blackberries growing everywhere!  We picked a TON.  Austin had so much fun spotting ripe ones and picking them, and one time, while bending down to pick a berry, saw some movement in the bush and there was the biggest fattest lizard we have ever seen outside of the zoo.  It was a good fat 8 inches long!  Austin jumped back and got SO excited.  We all froze, and I was able to get a shot of it before it scurried off.  We collected quite a bit of berries, and took them home to wash and eat them.  They were good!  At naptime, Scott took me up to a nail place so that I could get a pedicure, while my mom stayed with the napping boys.  Later that day, we went up to the Woodlands shopping center, where we ate at Cheesecake Factory and walked around.  They had fountains and cool stuff to look at, and the kids loved it.  We got home just in time to put everyone to bed...it was a great day!  Saturday morning I started the process of packing up since we were going to drive to Salado for Ma's 75th birthday bash.

Much Love for Toy Story

Thursday Austin asked if he could watch Toy Story 2 while the babies napped.  After the movie was over, he called me into the den and held up his foot.  I asked him why that was stuck to the bottom of his foot (it was a sticker he found on the bottom of the ottoman), and he replied, "I have an owner."

I couldn't help myself!

Some of my favorite pictures of the boys from today!  I LOVE THIS CAMERA!

My New Favorite Thing!

This is the new camera I just purchased and it came today!  Thank you Rachel for all your camera advice...it helps to have a friend that is also a photographer!  I was snap-happy today trying to figure it out and experimenting with all the settings...lots of better pictures to come!!!

I love my gator.

After we got the floors done, we didn't quite put back everything that was in the garage.  Some toys got 'left behind' and others made a re-appearance.  The rubber alligator is back.  This alligator was purchased in 2007 to go with Austin's Steve Irwin Crocodile Hunter Halloween costume, which never happened because we didn't get the costume in until AFTER Halloween.  Anyway, Cody has adopted the alligator as his own and calls it "gator".  He carries it around EVERYWHERE, gives it kisses and hugs, and it even has gone with us to pick up big brother from school.  If anyone attempts to put their hands on Gator, Cody comes running and takes it back, with force.