A Girl After Her Dad's Heart

Dude's 2nd Mom for the Weekend

Last weekend my hubbie was blessed with 3 full days of man and motor time (he went racing with our friends, the Spoelhof men).  I won't even begin to explain the intricacies of this weekend of door to door racing in a piece of crap (chump) car, but just know that he had the time of his life and came home grinning, ear to ear.  In exchange for his leaving me with the little monsters, I invited my girlfriend, Carrie, to fly in from Iowa to keep us (me) company.  And that she did.  She was my angel that weekend and Tim's as well.  Knowing that I was smiling at home rather than grinning and bearing it made his weekend that much more enjoyable. 

Carrie turned out to be Dude's little partner in crime.  They had a blast together - talking football, watching football, making a Build-a-Puppy, exploring caves, discussing life...she was amazing with him.  I loved watching them interact and form a bond.  She was the mommy Dude chose to run to all weekend long, which was FINE.BY.ME.  Thank you Carrie, for taking time out to hang, assist and catch up.  I too enjoyed her company:)  We had a lot of lost time to make up for and I think we accomplished it. 

Come back soon and bring Brian with you next time!  Miss you already!

 We had a bit of a high school reunion on Friday.  My old high school side-kick, Anne, came with her darling daughter Daisy and sweet Denise (who had left already) with her babe Olivia.  It was a bit surreal and super fun to all be together at this stage in life.

 She and Dude sewed together a soccer puppy, which was a solid hour of entertainment.  Can you tell he was thankful? 

 Learnin' non-verbal football language.

 We took Carrie to Red Rocks on Saturday.  This was the highlight for Dude. 

 The weather put on an excellent show for the weekend. 

 It took 20 minutes of convincing Dude there were no bears in here about to eat him for lunch, but he eventually made his way into the depths of a road side cave.  He and Carrie celebrated this accomplishment with 3 cheers and a bunch of cheesy pics. 

 We lined up a much needed babysitter and spent the night at Canvas and Cocktails.  One bottle of wine  and 2 rather stunning amateur paintings later, we went home happy and refreshed.  A great night to remember fo sho. 

Check out that artwork friends.  Impressed?  Be impressed.

This was Tim's home for the weekend.  The Chump Car, proudly sponsored by Tire Source. 

Photo Shoots Cont.

 I love this shot, due to the caped dude, wading around in the background.

 My Dude, in a nutshell.  Nothing about this outfit was prompted.  We worry about the day when capes and rain boots are no longer socially appropriate attire.

All the photos below were taken by photographer, extraordinaire, Cara.  THANKS friend, for capturing some fantastic shots of my little fam. 

 LOVE LOVE LOVE this shot of my favorite "big" guy and my favorite little gal.

Opa had her crackin up with his little jigs.

A Day in the Life of our Punky

These Two (and some other peeps)

Our two kids are a dynamic duo round here. They make each other laugh (equally), bring each other out of funky bad moods, giggle at one another's antics....what did Dude ever do without a sibling? The fact that this little person laughs at him and eats up his presence is like candy to him. They keep us smiling and warm and fuzzy inside (until Dude kicks her in the face or squeezes her cheeks like he's performing a turnakit). Monitoring is still a good thing. We're just grateful our son has chosen to view his sis as a playmate, worthy of his time and attention, and not as a disposable toy.

 

 Where is that brother of mine?

 I see you down there you funny little chimp!

Ahhhh...there he is.  Could a human being be any funnier than my brother?  I think not.

There's been (and probably will continue to be) way too much blogging attention on our little punks, so here are some shots of other people in our world taken lately.  Believe it or not, other folks do exist. 

 Darling Chloe girl above and her twin beauty Caroline below. 

 Little girls adore our Punky.  The girl is not lacking for attention.  Ever. 

 Dude is surrounded by women.  All the time. 

 My girl.

 Emma and the caped crusader wade around in the park river looking for "crawdids and red vulva."  Your guess is as good as mine. 

My girl Stace.  She's a keeper.

8 Month Dudette

Our little Squirt is closing in on that year mark.  Crazy how fast our little peanut is becoming a Toddler.  Not so baby like anymore.  She's on all fours, scooting around (not quite crawling, but on the verge).  She's into EVERYTHING and has lightening quick speed.  She's a squawker to say the least and makes the most charming noises to tell us stories.  Spitting is still the mode that she uses to let us know that she's not okay with the world.  Dude is her favorite person/place/thing and she's now resorting to climbing on him and wanting everything that he's involved in.  He's starting to get annoyed with this "hands on" interest.  Sleeping is still consistently 7:30pm-7:00am with 2 daytime naps and she's chowing on anything you put on her tray.  Anything.  Still just 2 teeth in those chubby cheeks and yes, still very very chubby cheeks.  Luckily her brother has halted all references to her as "fat face."

Happy 8 months happy girl.  Oh how we love you. 

(We've taken so many blog worthy pics lately, so we'll go back to the pillow shots next month)

Check it out!  Jeans that actually fit her.  Granted, they're 18 months, but no matter. 

The Faces that Melt Me

I went a bit crazy (even I'll admit it) with the camera this weekend.  We went to the Botanic Gardens with Lance, Katie and the girls Saturday night, which is a photographer's paradise.  Naturally I forced the children to pose until they both literally started screaming at me.  BUT...I got some rather priceless shots that I adore.  Well worth the child angst.  Sunday night we picnicked at another park with the Tebbens, which posed even more photographic backdrops that couldn't be wasted.  Aside from Squirt eating mit fulls of sand, there was no screaming at that shoot.   And then there was the cabin on Monday - God's country equals the very BEST backdrop you can muster.  Especially when Cara is on hand to take family pics.  One can only handle so much cuteness in one sitting, so we'll save those shots for another day.  Maybe tomorrow.  Or maybe our Christmas card.  I know, the anxiety might just kill you.    

 That would be a pile of grass clippings in my daughter's mouth.  Aunt Katie promptly removed them, which caused much anger from the little 8 month old hungry monkey.