caleb counts

One, two, fwee, foh, five, sis, seben, ayteen, nighteen, twinnie!

jack-in-the-box

Granny's birthday

Yesterday was Granny's 96th birthday. Maddie and I made some biscuits to bring with us to dinner. I was taking a picture of Maddie with the biscuits when 'the swiper' suddenly appeared!

Granny with her birthday request: Lemon Merangue Pie.

Caleb ready and waiting for his share.
Cake! Ah wan cake! Cake pweese!

it seems like creativity often leads to...

...disaster.

I decided to bake cookies with my kids this morning. I chose a simple eggless recipe, so we could eat batter with abandon, because isn't that half the fun of making cookies? And Little Bobe took me up on the offer and started chowing down.

I had to take the wet bowl away from him for fear we'd have no batter left. I gave him the dry bowl to stir. That's where I made my mistake.

I was standing right there, letting them stir. Maddie needed a little help combining, so I bent over to help her, and Caleb stuffed a big spoonful of flour into his mouth. I think he inhaled because he couldn't breathe for a few seconds, maybe it was just 1 second, but it seemed long. Somehow I got him to drink water almost immediately, and that help flush the dusty flour down so he could breath a little, and then there was plenty of spitting and gagging that followed, but at least he was breathing. With a few more drinks of water and some soothing, he was fine and running around within a few minutes.

Once Mommy recovered, we regrouped and were able to roll our cookies into balls, roll them in sugar, press them on the cookie sheet and bake them. Here are a few of the cookies Maddie and I made...

...and here are a few of Caleb's creations.

But isn't that what making cookies with a 2 year old is all about?

scooters and bikes

Before my aunt and uncle moved out of the area, they brought us loads of hand-me-downs via my parents...which included a scooter and 2 bikes. Maddie loves her new scooter. The smallest bike is just a hair too big for the kids, but I bet by fall one or both of them will be riding it. These pics are from earlier in the summer at my parents' house.

Poor Braden had just pulled the bike out of my parents' garage when a bird flew by and pooped right on him--all down his shoulder and pants. Gross!

Smile, Caleb!

That day, Braden got to ride a scooter too. Our friend Rob, next door, let Braden take his for a spin.

one of each

Coincidentally, both of these have to do with going down to the basement fridge...funny how that happens. :)

I was getting Caleb some milk, and there was only enough in the carton to put about an inch in his cup. I told him I'd have to go get some more milk--meaning run down to the basement fridge where I keep the extras. He looked at me and said, "You go get more...in the base-ball?"

I told Maddie I needed to run down to the basement to get something from the fridge. As I hurried on down, Maddie called after me, "Mommy, when He runs, God is a LOT faster than you!"

...there's more!

Well, Maddie succeeded in insulting both Braden and me in one evening. :)

"Daddy, can I ride on your sholdiers?" "On my soldiers?" (joking with her). Pointing to his shoulders, "Yes, on those little things."

Maddie was sitting next to me, and she put her little hands around my arm and patted it gently, saying ever so sweetly, "Mommy, you are fat."

Maddie is full of funny sayings these days!

"Mommy, I don't like this watermelon. It gives me TOO MUCH trouble in my heart."

Caleb was jumping around the house, and Braden called him a 'jumping bean.' Maddie turned around and exclaimed, "Caleb is not a jumping bean. There are no jumping beans in THIS family!"

My dad asked Maddie if she was going to get married. She said when she grew up she would. He asked her who she was going to marry. "Carson." He asked if Carson knew that. "I think he knows a little bit, but Carson doesn't know everything."

maddie says

We were walking downstairs this morning and the shades downstairs were drawn and no lights were on, so it was dim. Caleb said, "Iss dawk" in a perturbed little voice. Maddie--who has been quite afraid of the dark lately--replied, "I'm not afraid of the darkness...(she mumbled something I didn't catch)...and when God shows up, He has light coming out of him!

maddie

When asked where she wanted to eat her snack... "Mommy, I want to watch our plants grow," and Maddie sat down by the slider to eat her snack and 'watch our plants grow.'

san diego - here and there - part 5

One afternoon Bray and I went to Balboa...actually, come to think of it, I think we went there twice. It's a nice area with a few small gardens, museums and beautiful architecture.

stopping to paint

I love the eucalyptus trees--the bark is beautiful!

The last few pics are from when we went out to dinner--the infamous night the bug flew down my sister's shirt. More on that story on her blog. That's one of those stories that I think will be told and retold many times over the years! :) The restaurant sat right on the beach, which we loved. Our table is right in front of us.

Some cute pics of Dave and Jess that they took before they took the above picture of us.

san-diego - midway & fireworks- part 4

We went to see the Midway, which is docked downtown. It was fascinating! We spent about 4 hours going through the entire ship.

Up on the deck there are many planes and helicopters parked.

Braden getting ready for take-off...

...with his co-pilot Bob.

Braden had to take a quick call.

anchor chains

below deck


a valve

anchor roping

my favorite piping!


temperature control panel

laundry room


A huge replica of this famous photo is nearby.

For the 4th of July fireworks, we went to Dave's office downtown. We went out to the outdoor lounge, which gave us a wonderful view of the harbor and fireworks. On our way to his office, we took a detour to Little Italy for gelato. Yumm! Jess' friend Sara met us there at Dave's office.

Boy, don't we all look thrilled. We had fun, I promise! :)

sunset

Fireworks begin!


Fireworks have special meaning to us, since Braden proposed to me on the 4th of July under the fireworks. Happy Engagement Anniversary to us!