Fun in the Sun (and Happy Anniversary!)

Today is Curtis' and my 4th wedding anniversary. Since he's in Little Rock right now, he did the sweetest thing and sent me 2 dozen roses to the house! I was completely suprised and they are beautiful. Toby loves them too :)

Let's see. Today was busy. We started with playgroup this morning at the park. It's a wonderful park to play at, with loads of soft sand and lots of trees for shade. So we parked the kids and some sand toys and they went to town! And noon, 2 of the moms and I took our strollers to town to grab a bite for lunch, then it was back home for naptime. Toby was SO tired by this point, but he fell asleep in the car, and by the time we got home (a whopping 10 minutes later) he had had enough sleep for one day and decided NOT to take his normal 2 hour nap. Lovely.

So with a tired but apparently not sleepy toddler on my hands, I decided to pull out the baby pool as a nice distraction for the afternoon. It was 45 minutes of fun. Toby laughed and played, the dog had a grand time with him, and I basked in the sun. Then came cleanup.

The pool was a mess since Toby decided it was fun to grab handfuls of sand and dirt, then he would rinse his hand in the water...muddy mess. He had dirt stuck all over his chest. He also splashed the dog, and the dog, being quite wet, did the only thing natural for a dog to do - roll in the dirt and get nice and dirty. So there I was with a dirty pool, a dirty son, and a dirty dog.

First things first, I get Toby in the house in a towel and we head for the bathroom where I strip him down. He didn't really need a bath since I hosed him off outside. Until I got the diaper off and he peed all over himself. Lovely. So into the bath he went.

1 down. Fill the tub again, toss the dog in. The dog who loves baths (insert eyeroll). I get him clean. Of course now the tub is a mess and the floor isn't looking much better. And the pool is still outside and dirty. So I strap Toby in my mei tai carrier (to keep him from getting further dirty outside again) and we clean up the yard, wind up the hose, etc. Back in the house, I get the bathtowel and the bathmat (both soaked with pee) into the washer. And clean the bathroom.

So 45 minutes of fun and an hour and a half cleanup. I haven't decided yet whether it was worth it, but Toby sure did have fun. He refused to sit down in the pool, but kept walking back and forth and would squat to splash in the water. The pool is a lot smaller than I thought it was, so I think he could use a little more room to play in. But anyway, here are the pics.

Here he is drinking the pool water - he's come up sputtering, but he kept going back for more! What a goof!

And yes, Lex was a Mess.

Hope you enjoyed the pics! We certainly enjoyed taking them!

Love,

Chel

My little Piano Man

Toby has a newfound fascination with Mom's piano (despite the fact he has a very nice toy piano of his own). He has learned to open the piano, pull out the bench, and climb on up. And he LOVES to play!


LOL, doesn't Lex look a little freaky in this last one?

But what good are pictures of the boy playing the piano? How about some sound?

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

April Showers bring May Flowers

Toby and I took a trip to the botanical gardens today. We had beautiful weather, highs in the upper 70's with low humidity! I'm trying to enjoy it now because by this weekend it's supposed to be in the 90's. :(

Here is Toby making a funny face


Here he is reading the map for mama

Does this need a caption?

We had a really nice time. The whole idea was to wear Toby out with lots and lots of walking, but unfortunantly he wanted to be carried, so my back is complaining now! And every time he saw water he wanted to play in it, lol! We had a nice time though.

Shopping, anyone?

We bought this little shopping care and basket at WalMart today...BIG hit! Actually, we saw it at Playgroup this morning and it was such a hit there that we picked one up for our house! Toby had so much fun taking the fruits and veggies from the cart to the basket and back again...then he started picking up all sorts of things around the house and toting them around in his cart, lol! My socks and his shoes both ended up in there :)

We're trying to keep pretty busy around here, hoping it makes time pass quickly - so far, so good! 1 day down :)

Love to all,

Chel

Post o' updates

Happy Mother's Day! I have had a wonderful Mother's Day. Yesterday, Curtis took Toby out mother's day shopping, which left me with a house to myself for almost 2 hours - divine! Today I got a wonderufl present - Toby's first experience with fingerpaints!


Here he is playing "doggie" - he carries his lovey in his mouth and shakes his head like the dog - it really is hilarious! He's seen Lex shaking his stuffed animals a few too many times!

And here he is just watching the world go by...

I had to post this picture - I so rarely get to see him sleep because the instant you open his door he wakes up - he tends to be a very light sleeper. But we had to wake him mid-nap this morning for church, and he was out. of. it. So I had to commemorate the occasion with a picture!

Here are Toby and mama on Mother's Day!

This is the necklace Curtis and Toby gave me for mother's day - isn't it pretty! Curti s also brought home yellow roses for me yesterday - what a sweetheart he is! Double brownie points for him!

It has been pretty busy around here lately. The weather has been lovely though. Tonight we took a walk before Toby's bedtime. The mosquitoes aren't even that bad - yet. I'm sure their day is coming! In the meantime we're enjoying the weather.

The Survivor finale is tonight so we're going to watch that as soon as Curtis finishes a water change in his tank. Have a wonderful Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!

Love,

Chel

Socks

I knitted these with Sockotta sock yarn...it's ok to handle, but not as soft as pure wool would be. Still they're cute and I like them. MY 100purewool is on it's way and I'm looking foward to the diaper covers I can make with it! I'm also starting a pair of booties with the leftover sockotta.

First Haircut

Well we delved into a new realm today. I have been wholeheartedly resisting the first haircut, even though the long hairs on the neck and over the ears were getting quite long...they finally bothered me enough that I pulled out the scissors today.

Here is the before

I decided the easiest route would be to have him outside in his swing with something to keep his little hands busy...and it honestly worked like a charm! He was so happy and relaxed to be outside that he stayed very still for me! It's not the best haircut in the world (the back is definitely not even enough for me), but I didn't nick him at all, so I'm quite satisfied :) He looks much better now, and I'm not the slightest bit sad he's passed this milestone!

Goodbye flyaways!

We've been pretty busy around here lately, but I also wanted to post this pic of Toby and Lex...believe it or not I didn't post them at all! They are almost inseperable of late.