Two Brubbies and a Baby

Ah yes, brotherly love.
Connor is the perfect jungle gym for Ramsey when he's here; he lays on him, crawls on him, and snuggles up to him to watch Connor play a game on his iPhone or Kindle.
Whether Connor wants them or not, he gets hugs, kisses, and the occasional whack!

Ramsey absolutely ADORES his Big Brubby Connor.

I suppose you may be wondering "what's with the DOLL?"  Oh, so happy you asked.  (I am sure that Ramsey will give me a ton of grief when he's older because I posted the pictures and videos.  Sorry, Doodlebug, love you!!)  

Substory:  I purchased this lovely baby doll over a year ago (I promise that I DID look for one that had a blue or boyish outfit, but they didn't have any), in the attempt to teach Ramsey to be very gentle with babies and to be nice and gentle in general... and, just in case we ever decided to have another little curtain climber.    He didn't ever play with it and couldn't have cared less about it... until about two weeks ago.

To date, Ramsey hadn't "bonded" deeply with any sort of blanket, stuffed animal, toy, or other inanimate object (sure, he has his favorite Darth Vader figure and such).   For some reason, he and this sweet little baby doll did solidify a bond.  This baby goes many places with us (she has to stay in the truck when we go into Walmart, Dad says), it calms him down when he's having a tantrum (yes, he's finally having those now - oye!), and he takes it to bed with him when he sleeps.  He is always giving his baby hugs and kisses.

As strange as it is for our little "rough and tumble" Star Wars and light saber-loving, sticks and stones-playing toddler boy to have a precious little baby girl doll, it is very sweet indeed and his kindness towards the doll melts our hearts.
Sidenote: Daddy says it's his "girlfriend", not his baby doll.  :-)

Oh, and this one's for Dad.   He's also very loving and sweet with his Storm Trooper.  But, Storm Trooper doesn't fit in his bed very well for nigh nigh time.  :-)

Whooptie-Doo, More Fun on the Deck!

I rave about my deck... not because it's the biggest most glamorous deck in the world (cuz, let's face it, it's nice, but...), but because the kids love it.  Riggs loves it.  And, because we don't have a fenced-in yard, the kids and dog can roam freely, playing on it for as long as they want (or until it's supper time).  I am thankful I have the deck!  Ah, the little things in life....  :-)

Ramsey loves learning how to ride his trike on the deck (his feet don't yet quite touch the pedals).

And "push mow".

The deck is an awesome place to slide (usually head-first).

And run.  Or do "side-winders" like he was doing here.

It's a great place for "bubble time" (in your pajamas, of course!!).

And holy heck, who knew, it's the coolest place EVER to play with the Kindle!

Ramsey's First Ice Cream Cone

It's summertime!  The Twist Cone has been open since the weather hit 70 degrees (back in March).  Last weekend, we finally ventured there for the first ice cream of the season.

There is nothing monumental about this post, but for the simple remembrance that it's Ramsey's first ice cream cone....ever.  Yes, we are terrible parents, aren't we?    He's so deprived!  The kid has had a malt before, so simmer down.  :-)   

Sidenote:  Ramsey wouldn't touch the cone and wouldn't even try it until it started to melt.  After the first bite, he finally hankered down and got a sizable portion ingested.  

You're thinking: I will post just about anything, won't I?   They're only young once, so... yes... I... will!  

All Giggles "On Deck"

A random "chore" turned out to be a playful fun time for the boys... and Riggs.

Back story: Our bird feeders have been attracting all sorts of lovely feathered friends lately; house finches, gold finches, chickadees, sparrows, cardinals, thrushers, orioles.... and black birds.  ...large obnoxious blackbirds who use our deck as their personal bathroom!

What started out as a task to hose off the dirty deck turned into some serious fun and laughs.   Riggs loves water... any kind of water... to include the garden hose, which he loves to drink from and get sprayed with.  Riggs wouldn't leave Connor alone while he was "working" and wanted to be sprayed.  Connor was loving it (years ago, he used to love spraying Wyatt with the hose) and happily obliged.   Ramsey thought this was just the cat's meow also.  He got sprayed a few times too and wound up completely soaked.  :-)

I gave Ramsey a bath afterwards and Connor shampooed Riggs thereafter also.  And, the deck got cleaned up.    Projects completed, and all with lots of smiles.

Oh yeah... after everyone got bathed, here's Riggs.   So much for the nice shampoo job!!  (The algae is coming in.)    We tried!!  :-)

Tractor Ridin'

Yes, it is that time of year again; time for yard-mowing!  Eric is thrilled.  (Smell that sarcasm?!?!)  :-)

When Ramsey was a baby, he loved tractor rides with Daddy!

This year... not so much!  Last weekend, it was more like a bull-riding championship.  He barely made 8 seconds.

Game. Set. Match.

Connor enrolled in the middle school tennis program again this year.  Watching his vollies, it is apparent that he is very fond of playing this spring sport!
Last Friday, he played his last home matches of the year against the local Catholic school team.
He played very well!  He lost his first match, but he and his partner won their doubles match.

I think he was quite proud of himself after his matches.  I know I was!

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a quick pick of the boys and me to commemorate Mother's Day 2016.   Love you guys!

We had a nice relaxing day, with some pampering thrown my way.   We went to church, Eric cooked for me (more than once!), I had some great gifts from the boys, and the weather was beautiful, thereby allowing us some great outdoor time!

Connor's Last Spring Concert in Middle School

On the way into the school to watch Connor perform in the spring concert, we saw some friends of ours that we used to play pool with.  They commented that this will be our last concert to watch our kids play at this school.   I hadn't thought of that until they had said it!  WOW!   The next time we attend one of Connor's concerts, it will be at the high school and Connor will be a Freshman.  Crazy!

The spring concert was an hour + full of music from the 6th , 7th, and 8th grade bands and orchestras.   For their ages, the musical sounds were very impressive!

In the picture below, Connor is playing his French horn, located slightly left of middle.

Here's an excerpt from their first piece, entitled "Triumphs!".   They also played the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean and two others.

Big Time Buds

Ramsey was in heaven.  Big Brubby Connor.... with Ramsey's favorite Star Wars ball.... outside, on the deck... with Riggsy (until he got too wild).... playing.  

It may seem like "another ordinary day" or playtime, but these times are precious and we savor them!  They grow up way too fast.

The ball did end up on the roof a few times, then into the yard.   Ramsey thought that was funny, but he wanted to go with Connor to retrieve them.  Sorry, out of luck, Sparky.

 Lots of laughs and so precious!

The Last Day of Kindermusik

In the hopes to acclimate Ramsey to other children his own age, plus have a little fun outside of the house, I enrolled him in the local Kindermusik class for his age group.   We had started the class half-way through the semester (starting in March) and we attended the last class on April 27th.

The instructor was a 30+ year Kindermusik veteran, "Ms. Sonya".  She had told me that this spring semester was going to be her very last class to teach, something she was very sad about.
Instantly, we loved Ms. Sonya.  She had been very welcoming and warm.  And, since her start, years ago, she has seen soooo many children, each with unique and special personalities.

Since Ramsey has never had a lot of "structure" in his daily schedule (due to not going to daycare), this would give Ramsey an activity whereby he could learn such structure in a fun way through music and dance.

Let's say that the first few weeks were a little "rough".  Ramsey was so excited and interested in the other children that he didn't want to sit still for lap time songs, story time, or join into the group activities; he just wanted to run around to investigate and meet new chums!   Ms. Sonya assured me that his behavior was quite normal, given his circumstances, and he would acclimate after a few weeks.  And, that he did!

In Kindermusik class (or, as Eric colorfully calls it "KinderVirus" - more to come on that soon), Mommies, Daddies, or caretakers, with the children, sing songs with actions, learning verbal, musical, and other skills to interact with others.   In addition to the social interaction and meeting friends, we thought KinderMusik would also help with Ramsey's speech progression.

Over the period of 7 weeks, Ramsey met a lot of new little pals and I got to know some of the parents.   There will be summer classes (which we won't be able to attend) and then another fall semester with the new teacher, Miss Emily.

Kindermusik not only brought an array of emotions to the family and a learning experience, but it also brought sickness... a LOT of sickness!   Other than not knowing quasi-rigid structure via daycare, Ramsey also hadn't had much exposure to other kids' germs!  To keep the story short, this household was sick almost the entire month of April!  The very last class imposed yet another virus, of the respiratory and sinus kind.  Yay.

All in all though, the class was quite wonderful.   The final class and Ms. Sonya's small "going away" party was last Wednesday.   The actual musical portion of the class was about half as long as it usually is, with the final half of the class being a time to hang out, have snacks, and say goodbyes to Ms. Sonya.   We will miss her!

 Ramsey went wandering again after he'd finished his iced sugar cookie.  His little buddy Elijah and his Momma are sitting on the right.

 Ya, I don't know what he was doing here.  But, it was typical of what he normally did at some point and time, during or after the class!

He's checking out more kids again and seeing what's going on!

 Farewell, Ms. Sonya!  We will miss you.

Sticks and Stones... are Awesome!!

What's a kid to do when it's sunny and warm outside?   WANDER!  Yes, wander around the neighborhood and search for treasures.
And, by "treasures", I mean rocks and sticks.  Cuz... well, let's face it, they're riveting!

In addition to his fascination with his Star Wars, Paw Patrol, cars, and food toys (I'm convinced he's going to love being my sous chef soon), plus his love of gaming, this kid is obsessed with sticks and stones.    ...and for years, [the late and great] George Carlin had said that kids don't play with sticks anymore!

Whoah, look at THIS rock!

Fascinating.

 Let's roll around in them for a while, shall we?!?!

WOW, look at THIS stick!!   You're excited, aren't you?!?!    I can tell.

 Sometimes, when you're a kid, the simple things are still the best.  :-)

The Great Wall of Pillows

When it's time for some brubby play time, Connor always has a fun idea.   This last time, it was "the Great Wall of Pillows".

Connor and Ramsey wrangled up every...single... pillow in the entire house!   They took my throw pillows, all of the bed pillows, Ramsey's Thomas the Train pillows, Star Wars Pillows, a big crazy walleye pillow.. you name it.

The wall was built in the hallway downstairs.

Then, what to do next?  Yup, you guessed it.  Wreck-it-Ralph style it and time for demo... head-first!

Yes, the pictures are blurry, but they had such fun, laughing and carrying on, that I had to post this as a remembrance of some massive giggles.