Alyssa the Performing Monkey

She wanted to play with the camera yesterday, so I had her sing some of her favorite songs. She's a little shy with the camera so she whisper sings but I still think it captures her personality pretty well. 90% of the time she's adorable and this is such a fun stage! I'm kind of dreading what comes next....

The video is a bit long, but it's four songs edited together so I did my best. She's even cuter in person, so come visit while the weather is still gorgeous!

The Bet

About a month ago Eric starting working slightly more normal hours, meaning that he was at least home on Sundays. While the weather is nice, we like to take a family walk around the neighborhood. Apparently, Eric believes this is relaxation/de-stress time. Scotty, on the other hand, thinks neighborhood walks are a great occasion for conversation. Constant conversation. On one particularly chatty day, I tried everything. We hunted for treasure. We listened for animal sounds. I sent him on "adventure quests" to keep him distracted. Nothing. The mouth just doesn't stop. When we finally arrived back home, Eric mentioned that he wanted to watch a show, and Scotty wanted to join us.

E: Scotty, you can't keep your mouth quiet for more than two seconds.
S: I'll be super quiet!
E: Try to be quiet from the mailbox to our house.
S: (after about five steps) humming. clicking. buzzing. Outright talking.
E: SCOTTY!
S: I promise I'll be quiet!
E: I'll bet you ten bucks you can't just sit quietly for an entire show.
S: How about 70 dollars?
E: Fine. If you can sit quiet for an entire show and not talk AT ALL, I'll give you $70.

I had no part in the conversation, but found it amusing enough to post "The Bet" as my facebook status to see who would win. Not ONE person picked Scotty, because we all know (and love!) the kid. Quiet is just not one of his strong points.

Eric proceeded to watch the full hour of 60 minutes with Scotty perched quietly next to him on the couch. Whenever Eric would pause it, Scotty would turn and excitedly ask: "how am I doing, dad?" He clearly remembered the deal and was keeping his end of it. When I joined them, we re-watched part I had missed, so really Scotty kept his end of the bargain for and hour and a half.

Eric claims it was money well spent.

Last week Eric finally took Scotty to the bank to collect his $70. After a talk about tithing, and setting some aside for his savings account, Scotty started brainstorming all the things he was going to buy. Lots of rootbeer. Bouncy balls from the quarter vending machines. Toys from the dollar store. This kid dreams big :o) Then he remembered the remote controlled helicopters his Uncle Brent has....maybe when you're a bit older than four, bud!

Still, he was very proud of what he picked out.

You earned it, Scotty. And now Eric will take his bets a little more seriously!

Random Pictures

I finally pulled out my camera and discovered the random assortment of pictures from the past few months. Basically, the batteries in my camera are dead, but I don't have any new ones to replace them. So occasionally I can get my camera to take a picture or two before it shuts off, times three months worth of random daily adventures. I am also stealing some pictures from friends and family who have happened to take a few shots.

my (favorite) cousin visited in February with her adorable little boy

Getting ready for an airplane ride to Colorado

"shoes" is a favorite word around here

my fabulous SIL, April

cousins! Alyssa and Ella are only a few months apart

Our cute kids. Alyssa was obsessed with all the little chairs

Scotty finally got the snow he was hoping for! (a few hours drive away while on our trip to Colorado)

An accident at the park leads to a scrape and, later, a nice black eye (thanks, Nana!)

but look, her hair fits into a ponytail now!

Best Buds

hey look, I even get out of pj's sometimes!

celebrating glorious March weather in the backyard

He asked me how to spell the words to write this message to his daddy

at the zoo. Come see our Komodo Dragons!

I promise I am buying new batteries at the store today, so I can hopefully get some pictures/videos of the most recent things my kids are up to.  Alyssa is quite the performing monkey!

5 Things

1. Scotty, Alyssa, and I got to spend Spring break in Colorado with family and we had a wonderful time relaxing, playing video games, going to bed really late, and seeing cousins.
2. Alyssa is finally getting new teeth! Two more on the bottom, for a grand total of 12.
3. Eric spent several weeks working out of town in the boonies. His hours are pretty much just as bad, minus the Saturdays. He's not a very happy camper and I can't blame him!
4. My parents are cruising Hawaii and Eric's parents are cruising the Bahamas. Thanks for the great pictures, hope you're having a wonderful time, next time bring the grandkids! ;o)
5. I'm still sick but less so (I think) and we'll find out whether this water baby is a boy or a girl in just a few weeks. Scotty has made a request for a brother so I'm doing what I can....

I have taken a grand total of 2 pictures in the past month on my camera, so if you have pictures of me or my kids (preferably looking cute and/or happy) send them my way!

Alyssa's Favorites

Valentine's Day at the park

Here are the stats on our little toddler:

weight: 22 lbs (20%)
height: 32" (60%)

learning to use a spoon

favorite foods: grapes, cucumber, strawberries, crackers, juice, milk, raisins, corn, goldfish, clementines
no longer likes: hot dogs, yogurt
favorite animals: monkeys, elephants, fish, dogs
favorite character: Elmo. There is serious excitement for Elmo around here.
favorite activities: slides, swings, climbing on chairs, pushing her baby stroller, playing with scotty, sorting/dumping things out, reading books
favorite book: Goodnight moon, Mommy Kisses, Barnyard Dance
least favorite activities: getting dressed, not getting to put on her own shoes, not seeing daddy every day, doing anything that wasn't her idea
new phrases: "nope", stated very emphatically, usually accompanied by head shaking and sometimes stomping
"I go" when she wants to get out of the house and do something fun

pigtails!

things I love about this age: she's still a great cuddler, she tries to imitate and sing along when I play with her, and her hair is long enough to pull back in a pony tail or pig tails (she looks so much older with her Donald Trump mullet!), she seems to find a new word everyday and is working hard to communicate with me and tell me what she's frustrated about

she picked this outfit out herself

things I DON'T love about this age: it's her way or the highway. Sometimes getting dressed to go out the door takes an hour because when she doesn't cooperate I can't just pin her down and get the shirt on her faster than she can take it off again. Most of the time she's great with baby sitters and being away from me, but she's unpredictable so I never know when to anticipate chaos or clingy behavior. Also, she's suicidal, in that she is physically capable of lots of things that her brain doesn't register as insane...

she likes treats....