Scavenger Hunt Sunday

1. Sunset

2. Sweet

3. Hanging around

4. Funny face

5. Space

Sandy Sunflower

I recently bought Liam a little "Sandy Sunflower" kit that includes everything you need to plant a sunflower. I thought it would be a fun and different thing for us to do so one morning while Brygit was still asleep we did a little gardening.

I was surprised that Liam was as excited about it as he was. Sometimes, when I recommend things, I'm met with a big fat "Not really."

I do not have a green thumb so the kit having step by step instructions and including everything in the same container the flower grows in was perfect.

Liam was very helpful and when it was all said and done, he wanted some immediate results. He wanted his flower to sprout, like yesterday, and he was not happy to hear that he had to wait.

Lucky for him, he was easily distracted and we were met by these little sprouts just 3 days later! They are now three times that size and I think I may be more excited about it than he is.

Faces

Brygit is teething. She soaks everything in drool, bites anything within reach and has been super fussy. But she has also been making the most hilarious faces. She purses her lips or sticks out her tongue to rub it against her gums. It makes me feel so bad for her but I can't resist taking pictures.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

 1. Warped 

 2. Concentric Circles 

 3. Gear 

 4. Glazed 

5. Marble 

 

iphone post

Every now and then I like to do a post after we empty our iphone pictures onto the computer. It really gives a good picture of what our lives look like between blog posts.

For example, we took Liam to the circus for the first time a couple of months ago and he was so super excited about it. I didn't bring my camera because I was lugging both kids by myself until Paul met us there when he got off work. Luckily he snapped a few pictures on his phone when Liam was running around outside during intermission. By the way, did you know that Circus Vargas doesn't have animals? It's a new humane circus but I must say that it wasn't quite the same as the circuses I saw as a kid. But Liam liked it a lot, especially the clowns.

Liam went through a phase when Brygit was a newborn where he became mommy to this cute pink bear we got at Brygit's baby shower. He called her "Brygit Bear" and he fed her from an empty bottle, lifted his shirt to nurse her, and rocked her to sleep. It was very sweet.

We have had a few trips to Disneyland and Liam has collected many more autographs for his book.

We had a rather uncomfortable ride on Casey Jr. one day. Brygit got scared when they started the engine so she cried pretty much the entire time.

And Liam was smushed between Paul and I the whole time. Maybe two separate cars would be a good idea next time.

But the carousel was fun, as always.

And we felt extra adventurous so we took the kids to the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney only to be extremely disappointed that the place completely creeped them out. They both cried a whole lot. Nothing like enjoying a shrimp and steak dinner while being "that family" at the restaurant. Luckily, it was extremely loud in there anyway with the jungle music and thunderstorms and whatnot so I think we were the only ones disturbed. And, apparently, I smiled for a picture so it couldn't have been that bad, right?

Liam has always been a mama's boy so when Brygit came along, Paul has been making it a point to step in when I can't. He has even taken Liam on some fun outtings alone for some extra male bonding time. Liam really enjoys these times and he has gotten really good at leaving me (tear). I'm sure it's because the outtings usually look like this. Ice cream at "Mickey Donald's!"

One of these times Paul took Liam to an air show and they had a blast.

I love that the two of them are growing so close and that Paul is teaching Liam things I know nothing about.

Fun at home

Brygit hates the car seat. There, I admitted it. I have officially parented TWO babies who completely freak out on car rides. Brygit isn't as bad as Liam was because she will fall asleep or give up eventually. But what is worse about her is A) she is a whole lot louder than Liam was. Cries less, but louder. And B) when she cries, Liam cries. So then I get it in surround sound. At first I was super frustrated because anytime I would go anywhere, we would all be in tears by the time we returned home. There is just something about the urgency of her cries and how panicked she sounds that strikes a nerve. I mean, think about it, she doesn't know why she is in a car seat. She only knows that she is facing the back of a seat, strapped down nice and snug for a long period of time. She just doesn't like it. She's good for short trips but after about 10-20 minutes, she's done. And so am I. So... I don't go many places without Paul anymore. At first, I hated it. Liam and I were both so stir crazy for the first couple of weeks but we are slowly getting a hang of it. The weather is nice and there is a lot to do outdoors as well as indoors that doesn't involve the car. We still do a couple of playdates or park days whenever we can and the rest of the time, we entertain ourselves. We paint, play with play doh, spend time in our loft/ playroom, swing on the swings, play with dogs, blow bubbles, draw with sidewalk chalk, take walks. You name it, our block is our playground. Here is what we have been doing.

Brygit doesn't mind staying home. She prefers it. She spends most of her time cutting teeth and learning new skills.

Like this one. She can now suck her thumb. And she does it a lot. I think it's cute how her fingers lay on her face. Sometimes she pokes herself in the eye or nose when she does it.

Liam still asks to hold Brygit and he enjoys cuddling with her as much as ever. She likes watching him as he plays but sometimes he a little too fast for her to follow.

Brygit loves chewing on cloth. Whenever she wears a dress she lifts it up to gnaw on it. And she's getting amazingly good at grabbing things.

Liam can entertain himself pretty well sometimes. I found him clipping his Rhino's nails a few days ago.

And, oh, the swing set. Liam would swing all day if I let him.

I recently put Brygit in her excersaucer to see how she liked it and she did pretty well. She can only last a few minutes because she still isn't very good at holding herself up but she thinks it's fun to try to grab all the hanging toys.

Since my husband loves me so much, he put the pool up this year! I have a feeling it will be the last time he does it until we invest in a below ground pool because he really hated putting it up. But it's up! And it is going to save me this summer. Hopefully, by the time it cools down, Brygit will have come to terms with her car seat. Here's hoping!

Paul

Happy Father's Day to the love of my life, my whole world, my everything. He's the most incredible father to my children. He is up before the sun, returns home once the sun has set, reheats his dinner, then helps put his children to bed making sure that they know he loves them. He then devotes his weekends to showing them a good time and making their lives better. I love him more than I can say.