MacGyver I am Not

Resourceful Mommy I am even not! About 2 seconds into our car ride to pre-school this morning, Quinn decked out in his Halloween costume, he was messing around with the mask portion of his Robin costume, Robin being from Batman and Robin, so this mask is quite important at keeping his identity secret you know. When all of the sudden--zing--and well there goes the elastic on one side of the mask. Well apparently THESE super hero costumes were not made all that well. So I tell our super hero that mommy can't fix it right now in the car to pre-school. He is wailing,sobbing, as all good super heros will you know. How will he fight bad guys when they know who he is?


I try to explain that mommy does not have a fix it all kit in the car and that I will be able to fix it for trick or treating, just not for pre-school in 30 seconds. He calms down sort of and goes to class where he proceeds to tell everyone he broke his mask and I leave. I immediately call daddy to tell him the terrible news. Daddy, ever resourceful daddy says "How about stapling it?" Mommy says: "Stapling? Nah, no, you can't staple it. It would never work, I'll just sew it later." Meanwhile in the back of her mind she thinks, why on earth didn't I think of that! Men just think like MacGyver I guess.

Changes, like autumn leaves

Ok, first the crawling. It's over. Old news. Done. Finite.

Walking is in. WAAAAY in. Might as well call it running. The kid's completely over with the knee thing and into the feet.

It's fun watching Keaton figure out the whole walking thing all of a sudden. It's like watching the evolution of man in fast forward. One day he takes two steps, then it's six, and finally today we've got to keep him from a running sprint to the highway.

I'm not sure, but I think he asked for a motorcycle today.

When that happens, I'll post pictures, just like the ones below from the past few days and our week-long trip to see Grandma and Grandpa Smith in Pennsylvania.

And in case you need evidence of our walker, there's plenty of video below.

It's show time

It's been too long since we've posted. We know this. Apparently chasing after two boys really cuts into our blogging time.

Some day, we'll get our priorities straight.

To satiate your need for Quinn and Keaton news, here is a whole highlight reel from the past three months, starting with our trip to Minnesota in June.

Enjoy.

Talent show

At this point, I'm wondering if there's anything these boys can't do.

First Keaton: Crawl? Check. Climb? Check. Squawk like a bird? Youbetcha. Cute? Of course.

Now Quinn: Dance? Naturally. Sing? Like no other. Hunt for Easter eggs? Gleefully. Play trombone? Are you kidding? Better than his Dad.

In case you don't take our word for it, here's the video evidence.

Sunday Drive

Keaton has been spotted out & about lately in his sporty new red plastic car with the snazzy dad handle. He likes it, dad likes it, what's not to like about it? He's been seen getting the mail in it, spotting ducks and touring the neighborhood. We got word it needs to go back to the shop for some work, so we'll have to get it in soon.

In other news our little big man has been pulling himself up to things and standing for short periods of time. He likes his big brother's train table and I caught him standing up next to it this evening tearing it all apart to get to another piece of the track that was out of his reach. He's a wily little fella who seems to be a bit mischievous and jumps with a start if you catch him doing something he probably shouldn't be doing.



Quinn is becoming the big helper around the house, whether it's gardening, or sweeping the back porch. He may not be perfect yet, but at least he tries.

We visited a pre-school last week where we hope he can go in the fall. He watched as the kids sang songs and did their daily jobs. He joined in on the fun when it was free-play time and it was hard to tear him away. He was a little wary about going to "school" but I think he'll fit right in come September.

Bugs and Teeth

Our littlest member has been a fussbudget recently. Don't dare put him down to play or you will receive his wrath, usually just crying and crawling as fast as his arm will drag him to get to you, making you feel just guilty enough to pick him back up.

After another unsuccessful day of trying to get him to nap, a light bulb went on in my head. Hmmm, maybe he's getting teeth. Maybe is an understatement. I can say that literally overnight -- OK, could have been a few nights -- Keaton has 3 new teeth. Three! He's growing them like beans in there.



Meanwhile Quinn has a new found love for all things relating to bugs. Mostly he likes to try and find them and then stomp on them for all he's worth. Last Saturday we all spent the morning outside doing yard work, dad doing the heaving lifting of mossy brick, mom digging up weeds and tulips and Quinn digging for worms which he would study for about 5 seconds before bringing down his foot several times on it making it fertilizer. Today he was hanging out behind the blinds, Handy Manny flashlight in hand looking at a "mysterious bug" he told me later. Well he is definitely a boy!

Keaton, other than sprouting teeth, is "talking" more these days, although he is pretty quiet about it. He's formed an attachment to a bear that has been in his crib since he was newborn and hangs onto it when he's trying to get comfortable. Mom wants to replace it with a bear that will stand the test of time. But I'm getting opposition from Dad and probably would from Keaton too. So we'll see.

As a sports-loving dad, it's hard not to push your kids into being athletes.

Sure, Quinn's got a great throwing arm (righty, though I'm encouraging lefty), can hit a baseball (to all fields, no less), and is a natural soccer player (uses both feet, with power and control).

But there's more to life than athletic prowess, right?

That's why we're encouraging the boys' artistic side. As you can see above, Quinn is becoming an accomplished painter. He even describes himself as an artist. Just the other day, his smattering of paint on paper was deemed good enough to hang in a gallery (and by gallery, I mean my cubicle at the office), where it received rave reviews.

Keaton may be too young for sports (built like a linebacker; early signs of a killer pitching arm), he has his own artistic talent: stand-up comedy. He loves to sit on the floor, stare up at you with a goofy grin and make a stacatto-like sound: "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhh."

He'll be here all week, folks. Try the veal.