keep your dum dums

little miss was a purple dragon this year for halloween, and she was bound to let you know that she was a purple dragon... not a purple dinosaur, not a purple monster. oh, and that she was a "nice one" despite her spikes. 

i made her costume and had it all ready to go the night before halloween when she looked at it and said "where are my wings"? great. so i stayed up until midnight trying to make her wings. it made her halloween, which in turn made mine. which in another turn helped me look past the fact that when allowed to pick her candy she always chose the dum dums. come on girl! go for the chocolate and leave the suckers for the suckers. 

so, here is our "nice, purple dragon":

poor rhet was supposed to be a sushi roll. or if you asked annie he was going to be a rolly polly. he was neither. he was just a cute little 6 month old in a halloween onesie. sorry buddy. next year i promise.

it's fall, ya'll!

and with that, of course, comes a trip to the pumpkin patch! 

the scenery was picturesque, the hayride entertaining, the weather obliging, and most importantly 

all rabbits were still intact after we left.

3 months and some change

and by "change" i mean add 3 more months. poor rhet, he's only my second babe and he's already receiving the fourth child treatment (not that i know anything about that). as in he doesn't have as many pictures as babe #1,  not every milestone is written down, no applause or cheer for pooping, and no regular blog updates. i hope he turns out ok. 

here is me trying to play catch up.

• our sweet boy rhet is still in the 98th%ille for height. all of his pants are now capris. are boy capirs still in? oh wait...they never were. darn. but if anyone can pull it off, he can. 
• rhet is all smiles all of the time. he is such a calm, happy boy and we are REALLY crossing our fingers that he remains that way. he likes just about anybody but will roll over backwards just to look at annie. he adores her and i adore him for doing so. 
• he still looks just like his dad.
• he is starting to suck his thumb despite all of my anti-thumb tactics. that sneaky little boy sucks on his thumb until i catch him and pull it out and stick a binky in his mouth. no thumb suckers in this family!

• he has a little cock-eyed tilt with his head to the left. 
• when he's tired i throw a blanket over my shoulder, pick him up and he just nuzzles his face into the blanket. he then turns his little head so his cheek is resting on mine. favorite 'rhet' moment of the day hands down. 
• he screeches, squeals, blows raspberries and spits his food out with great distance. 
• rhet loves to be tossed around, thrown around, and takes annie's poundings like a champ.
• he makes it into annie's prayers every time: "and thank you for baby rhet-a-rooni".

we love this kid so much!

 do you see the fear in his eyes?

 poor kid inherited kev's white skin and doesn't have a shred of hair on his head

 so he's stuck wearing this goofy hat. sorry rhet.

summer snippets

summer was crazy. summer was fun. summer was busy. but now it's done. 

here's a recap of our summer:

a LOT of this:

multiple visits from this cute face:

and this cute face:

a 4th of July bash with these cuties:

 and a fun filled week with a visit from heidi and her gang.

(texas bernhisels, we just need you guys to come visit to top it off! 

there are blow up mattresses and multiple closets with your name on it!)

a trip to visit mama and papa b in raleigh, nc:

while we were there we went to Durham to see cameron indoor stadium and duke's basketball museum. 

when it was time to go, there was a lot of kicking and screaming....

 but mom and dad promised to bring me back, so i finally let go of the krzyzewskiville sign and left in peace. 

hopefully that next time back will be for an actual game...i'll keep dreaming (or kicking and screaming)

a trip to the zoo:

 several trips to museums and the aquarium:

 help with the yard work

and a few rainy days. 

 hope your summer was just as fun and eventful! let's all go take a nap...or two.

one of these things is not like the others...

one of these things just doesn't belong...

and i believe it is the thing in the middle. 

oh boy

she tried stacking a third chair on top and climbing up 

but that's when i felt i should put the camera down and do some parenting. 

some firsts

annie mae's first trip to the dentist! it was really tough for her...they had a huge safari play place in the waiting area, large flatscreen tvs at each chair, and they let her pick which movie she wanted to watch while the hygienist and dentist did their work. oh, and then she got a token for doing well which allowed her to go pick out a small prize. maybe i wouldn't have so many cavities and fillings if my dentist visits were this posh when i was little. 

first hair cut!

first sighting of freckles! 

you can't see them in the pictures but little miss is getting freckles on her cheeks. and here i thought she couldn't get any cuter. 

 ok...this picture doesn't fit with the theme but her hair turned out so cute i had to throw it in.

shootin' the breeze with little miss

this girl definitely keeps me on my toes. here are some of her recent happenings:

******

annie and i were getting ready in my bathroom when she left to go get her toothbrush and toothpaste from her bathroom. i continued getting ready but noticed she was taking a while. rhet started crying so i went to help him then realized it had been quiet for way too long. i go to her bathroom to find her sitting, fully clothed, in her sink, the drain plugged up and the entire sink filled with water while the water continued to flow. she just said "mom, it's ok. I takin' a bath".

******

we were at one of our neighborhood pools the other day with a friend from church and a girl from my neighborhood whom i just met the previous day. the lifeguards temporarily closed the pool due to thunder so the kids went onto the grass to run around and play. i was talking to my new friend when i noticed she had quite a troublesome and almost horrified look on her face. she obviously stopped listening to what i was saying and interrupted me with a slow "um....Lyndi (continued horrified look in annie's direction) um...Annie is peeing in the grass". i turned to look and there annie was, legs spread wide, hands on hips and peeing. and then in one continuous motion she popped up from the split position and resumed her place in the running/screaming game on the grass. classy. 

******

most of the time if we are not going anywhere after annie's naps i typically let annie run around in just her shirt and underwear. in fact she has become quite used to this that she now protests when i make her put on some pants if we are leaving the house. so one day after her nap she was playing around the house and eating some grapes for a snack. i go to check on her and notice that she is walking funny and  her underwear looks lumpy. i ask her what is going on and she says "mom, it's ok. grapes in underwear. in pocket,"then pulls a grape out and eats it then continues going about her business. i then introduced her to purses--a more sanitary approach to carrying things.

keep the flowers

...and just give me tim tebow (his book at least). so i'm not really into getting flowers. well, i am when they are not expected. i am more of the send-me-flowers-on-march-10th kind of gal rather than getting them on predictable occasions and dates. i like them "just because". well, kev has done himself one better than to send me "just because"flowers. he has gotten me "just because" tim tebow. thanks babe for thinking of me and letting tim rest on my nightstand for a few weeks. 

2 months and some change

little man is, well, not so little. at his 2-month check-up rhet boy topped the charts with 97th percentiles all around. i just looked at annie's records and rhet is the approximately the same height and weight that annie was at 4 months. my dad suggested we possibly have a florida linebacker on our hands. i would be happy with that or a duke forward. let's hope his height and weight continue on this path (for my love of sports sake). here are some pictures of our sweet boy.