The Alley Rally

Today we had our 2nd Annual Alley Rally. What is an Alley Rally, you ask? Well, all of our neighbors that live along the alley way (our particular alley forms a "Y" shape so that there's a large area in the middle) converge upon on the Ruster's driveway where we set up the grill, the chairs, the coolers, and all of the stuff for the kiddos. They run around and play with one another in the alley (really safe, right?) while the adults hang out, have some adult beverages, scarf down some food, and try to engage in adult conversations, all while keeping a wary eye on what the kids are doing and playing referee, if necessary. The kids had a great time and played really well with each other for the most part. There were a few spills that resulted in scraped knees, and a few tears over a particular toy, but all in all it was good.

Our neighbor Tiffaney brought out the new addition to their family, Boudreaux the hairless cat. The kids got a kick out of him.









Yesterday we took the boys to get their portraits taken. They turned out really well. I took a couple of snapshots with my camera during the session. Conley's going to really hate that I put him in this costume when he's older.

Guess who's gettin' some teeth!

Well, finally! Conley's has his two little bottom teeth starting to poke through!

Gross!

OK. so Grayson loves it when Jon puts him up on his shoulders and spins him around. So last night after dinner, Jon bribed Grayson to go up stairs and take a bath with the promise of a spin session once he got upstairs. Bad idea...Grayson ended up blowing chunks afterwards! At first he just coughed really hard and I noticed that he had liquid coming out of his nose. So we took him to the bathroom to clean him up and thank goodness we made it in time because he just let it go all over the counters, the mirror, the floor...you name it, it was covered. Thanks, honey, for giving me just one more big mess to clean up at the end of my day!

Oh, the drama!

So Thursday afternoon while in SuperTarget, we had our first all-out tantrum over a toy that I was not going to buy for him. You would have thought this kid was being tortured by the intensity and the decibel level of the crying and screaming. I normally let him look at the cars in the toy section, but that day, I gave him the heads up that we would NOT be buying any more cars until he earned all of the ones I already bought for him as his reward for going pee and poop on the potty (which he has put a cease and desist order on lately - ugh). All was going well until he grabbed a package containing "Cars" movie replicas of all the characters in one package (nevermind the fact that he already has all of them but one). He pulled the package into the cart with him and I decided that he could look at it until it was time to go and then he would have to put it back - BIG mistake. So the whole time we're walking through the store, he's saying "I don't wanna put it back", over and over and over again. You would have thought this kid was Rain Man or something. I tried to just ignore it, but after about 10 minutes of this, I finally told him that yes, we had to put it back and that we were not buying any more cars right now. Screaming and lots of tears followed...people would either look at me with disgust, empathy, or pity, depending on whether or not they were childless, had kids, or were grandparents, respectively. So, lesson learned...if you're not going to buy a toy, don't tempt fate by going to "look" at them.

Yesterday, we went to The Big Orange Pumpkin Farm in Celina and met up with all of our neighborhood friends. The weather was awesome and the kids all had a great time. They got to feed some cows and goats, go on a hayride, pick out some pumpkins, and run around all over the place. Conley was quite the trooper, especially since he did not have his usual morning nap.


















Today we went to see Tammy, Tom, and Emily and we watched the TX-OU game together. It was such a great game and our Horns pulled out the win. Hook 'em! Grayson and Emily had a fun time playing with each other.

It's Not Bad

Well, Grayson had his first official mommy-given haircut today (not counting the baby hair trims). I decided to try to cut it myself since taking him somewhere to get it cut is such a total nightmare everytime we go. Grayson saw me trimming Jon's hair with the clippers one day, so I asked him if it would be okay for mommy to cut his hair and he nodded yes. Apparently, Mommy with clippers is not as scary as the stylists with clippers. So, with Mimi and Grandpa here for support, I proceeded to trim his entire head with a #8 guard. Note to self - do not use a guard on the top of his head because even the #8 makes it too short! At least it will grow out fairly quickly. And Grayson was a champ through the entire thing! So proud of him. After we were done, I asked him how it was and he replied, "It's not bad."

Grayson's new haircut

Conley's finally starting to be able to sit up on his own. Today was the first time he sat up on his own for about a minute or so before toppling over onto his side.

Grayson and Mimi raced lawnmowers today

It's Official!

Well, today is a great day (although you might have to ask me again at the end of the day, after I've been with the boys all day - ha)! Today makes it official...as of this morning for my weekly Weight Watchers weigh-in, I have lost 30 lbs and am now down to 115 lbs! I truly didn't think it was possible after having two babies, but Weight Watchers works! It probably helps that I am at the gym at least 4 times a week, too, but I am SO excited to be my old self again! WOOOOOO-HOOOOOO!

Conley's New Ride

Today we bought Conley a new mode of transportation to get himself around the house...I know the pediatricians hate these things, but when Grayson was Conley's age, he thought his walker was the bomb, so I figured Conley would probably get a kick out of it as well (it also keeps him from becoming the human swiffer as he creeps along the floor). And, I was right! Conley seemed to be digging his new ride.

Grayson had his own fun pushing Conley (a little too fast for my comfort) back and forth through the house.

We went to the park today for some afternoon fun. Conley's first ride in the baby swing seemed to go over well. I took some pics. The sunlight shining behind him lights up his baby afro as though it were a halo...awwww, what a sweet little angel (for now)!

On the flipside, Grayson's ride in the big boy swing did not go as well...he asked me to push him higher, I told him to hang on tight, and the next thing you know, "THUMP!" Grayson fell backwards out of the swing...good thing he really wasn't going that high! I think it scared him more than anything. You think he would learn...this was the second time it has happened to him

Grayson has become quite the negotiator with the whole potty training business. Before we left the house this morning, I asked him if he would like to try to poop on the potty. He responded by saying, "I want a car". I told him that if he pooped on the potty I would give him the car right then and there. And you know, this kid can poop on command when there's a new toy to be had!

Grayson and Conley have a snack together