Full Crib

Some people say that a picture is worth a thousand words well, that is true in this case. When Katie was in town we had a full house - Katie, Megan, my mom (for one night) and Katie's friend was supposed to stay with us one night. Katie and Megan don't like to sleep in the same room because one of them snores and keeps the other up. So, Megan slept in the guest room, Katie slept in Beckham's room, Katie's friend was going to sleep in the play room on the futon (he didn't end up coming). Since Beckham let Katie sleep in his room he got to sleep in Ainsley's room with her. This weekend was the first time they had slept in the same room together and after seeing the picture you will know why it was the last. The first night went well. They both went to sleep and didn't play or talk to each other. The second night was a different story. We heard playing in the room for a few minutes but didn't think much of it. After awhile I decided to go in and put an end to it. You can imagine my surprise when I opened up the door and saw the crib full of every toy in Ainsley owned. Ainsley was in the middle of it all. She was happy as could be until I came in and freaked out. I couldn't believe she was just sitting in the crib allowing Beckham to pile everything on top of her. Needless to say we have not let them sleep in the same room even though they ask. For those of you wondering I took Ainsley out of the crib before going to get the camera so she is not in the picture.

Water Fight

Father's Day weekend Katie was in town for a wedding. It was fun to see her and the kids had a ball with her (and Megan). At one point int he weekend Beckham found the water guns and thought it would be fun to get dad and Aunt Katie (Megan was at work and I was making lunch). He thought it was so fun as you can see from the pictures. I would have posted this earlier but was waiting to get the pics from Katie.

Parenthood

If you have seen the movie Parenthood with Steve Martin you might be able to relate to this picture. Ainsley has a fascination with putting this bucket on her head and running around the house. In the movie the little boy would put the bucket on his head and run into walls. Ainsley has doesn't run into walls but she gets the drum sticks from our play drum set and bangs on the bucket while it is on her head. It is the funniest hing to watch and she thinks it is a riot. Luckily I was able to video record it so I can show it to her when she gets older. Even funnier is Beckham used to put this same bucket on his head (he didn't use drum sticks he would just run around the house with the bucket on his head). I can't find the picture with the bucket on his head but found one with a bowl on his head.

Is that God?

Driving home from Target we were listening to a Christian radio station and Beckham heard the DJ and said, "Is that God talking?" I said no it's the man on the radio. He then proceeded to ask what God sounds like and how does he talk to us. I told him that we can talk to God anytime by praying and he talks to us in our heart when we pray and read the Bible. He then asked how God could hear him because heaven is so far away - it's passed the clouds! I told him that God is an amazing God and can hear us no matter where we are. I guess that answer was good enough because he said, "Oh, OK." It is times like this that I wish I had a tape recorder in the car to record our conversations.

Funny stories from Target

We were in Target today and I was trying to figure out what kind of shampoo to get and Beckham noticed a larger man on the same aisle. He then proceeds to say...that man had a big belly, why is his tummy so big mom? Is it because he eats too much. I was mortified. I tried to tell him to shhhshh! but he kept asking. I don't know if the man heard but I was so embarrassed. I quickly grabbed some shampoo and pushed the cart a few aisles away before talking to Beckham about how it is rude to talk about people's weight or talk about people that might look different. I tried to tell him how God made everyone different and we should love everyone for who they are. He then said, did God make him fat or does he eat too much? At that point I tried to change the subject and finish my shopping.

Pictures

Since my camera is broken so I have to wait until I get pictures from family or friends to post them. I want to blog and document stories when they happen and don't always want to wait for pictures. So here are a few pictures that I would have posted with my pool blog, soccer camp blog, and a few random pics I thought were cute. Enjoy.

Beckham living up to his name at soccer camp

Beckham and Ainsley enjoying the pool

Beckham showing his sister some love!!

Beckham helping me with the grocery shopping. he has gotten much better at pushing his cart. The first time he ran over my heels half a dozen times.

Observations

Beckham is an extremely observant kid. He's the kid that sits back and takes everything in before he gets involved. He is a thinker and loves to observe things and figure out how they work. For example the other day he asked me what the box was at the construction site. I explained that is a porta potty which is a bathroom for the workers at the construction site. As we drove home from the YMCA he said "look mom there's quarter bathroom and there are 2 more". He says quarter for porta and instead of potty he calls it a bathroom so potra potty is now quarter bathroom. After pointing out 3 or 4 he said, "mom, grammy and poppy have a quarter bathroom at their house." I was amazed he remembered because he has only been to their lake house once. I asked what color the potra potty was at grammy and poppy's and he said yellow. He was right. Kids have a great memory.

Then a few days later I was reading him one of his Dora the Explorer books. The title was Play Park. In the beginning of the book Dora talks about how she and Boots (her monkey friend) are going to meet some of their friends at play park and her favorite thing at the park are the monkey bars. After reading the last page Beckham says, "mommy, that isn't play park because it doesn't have monkey bars". He noticed that the picture of the park in the book didn't have monkey bars and that Dora said on page 1 that she liked the monkey bars at play park. I was shocked he noticed. To be honest I didn't notice. Kids amaze me.

Personal Policies

50 Toes has tagged me for a Personal Policies meme. They want to know my personal policies - not moral rules, like "Do Not Kill," I'm talking about the silly policies we impose on ourselves, like "Never eat anything you can't identify," or "Don't step on sidewalk cracks." Beth Moore talked about these when she came to NC this Spring. She called them "DLAMB - Don't Laugh at me but...." and people were supposed to think or a funny quirk. At first I couldn't think of any but then I couldn't stop.

1. I hate being late. If I am going to be late I would rather not go. Funny thing is I hate being too early.
2. When I vacuum all the lines have to go the same way
3. I hate when doors, drawers, and cabinets doors are left open
4. bed has to be made right after getting out of bed
5. I can't stand clutter. We have a rule if you bring something new into the house you have to get rid of something else.
6. Counter tops have to be clean from food, finger prints and clutter
7. I have to sleep on the right side of the bed (if you are looking at the bed from the foot of the bed)
8. I hate when food is left in the sink (not rinsed down after the dishes are done) or when the rag is left soaking wet in the sink.
9. I like to drink out of a straw and I perfer plastic cups over glass
10. I have to strat my day with a cup of Joe (I don't have to but I like to)

I could go on and on but those are my top 10. One of Ainsley's is she has to sleep with 2 pacies and Beckham has to have water at bedtime. Feel free to post any of your personal polies in the comments - it will help me feel normal.

FIRE!!!!

Ainsley's newest saying. Whenever she is mad, doesn't get her way, frustrated, or when someone takes her toy she clinches her fists and yells FIRE!! She learned it from Beckham who learned it from a kid at school. Once Ainsley started doing it Beckham stopped. He would clinch his fists and yell it. Ainsley has taken it one step further and will not only clinch her fists but if she is saying it because of something Beckham has done (or her perception of him doing something) she hits him and yells FIRE! I know that if the kids are playing upstairs and I hear Ainsley yell fire I can guarantee crying is soon to follow (either from her or Beckham). It has become her outlet when she gets frustrated. We are working on stopping this little habit. We are trying to get her to use her words (she is talking a ton now). I guess she could be saying something much worse.

Felt like a circus

Yesterday afternoon felt like a circus we had so many people in and out of our house. A few weeks ago we did our one year walk through with the builder and pointed out everything that needs to be fixed (It's hard to believe we have been here a year already). Well, yesterday the carpet guys came, the garage guy, the painter, structural engineers, electrician, cabinet guy, landscaper, and a second group of guys for the carpet. Some things were fixed and some things got worse. The carpet guys pulled back Ainsley's carpet to fix the sub floor. They had to cut a huge hole in the sub floor to get to the joist. Once they did they found that the floor was squeaking b/c the joist is cracked. They covered it back up and now we are waiting for the framer to come fix the joist. Then our stairs squeaked so they had to cut a huge hole in the master bedroom closet wall to fix under the stairs. Workers are supposed to come by for the remainder of the week (I am sure it will take longer) to fix everything on our list. Luckily Ainsley is a great sleeper and she was able to sleep through them sawing through the floor, hammering, and the workers making all kinds of noise. My dad would say, "she is a determined sleeper and nothing will stop her from her sleep." As I write this there is a guy fixing/adjusting our doors and fixing the trim in a few places. today is not nearly as crazy as yesterday. Iam just thankful they come fix things after 1 yr so we don't have to.

Aunt Megan

My sister Megan is living with us this summer and the kids are enjoying every minute of having her around. I love the way Ainsley says her name as she walks around looking for Aunt Megan calling her name. Ainsley likes to run passed Megan laughing looking behind her in hopes that Megan will start to chase her. Of course Megan complies - who can resist Ainsley's laugh plus, Ainsley will keep running by you until you get up and chase her. We have been to the pool a few times and when we are at the pool Ainsley and Beckham want nothing to do with mom when we are there. Megan is much more fun. The both love when she swims under them and blows bubbles. Ainsley says "tickle, bubbles again, bubbles again". I am sure there will be many more stories of the kids and Aunt Megan this summer. We are enjoying her visit and hope she is too!

I did it!!

That is Ainsley's new saying. Anytime she does anything she says "I did it!" It is so cute. Whether it be getting out of bed or eating her dinner she is proud when she accomplishes something on her own. She is and has always been a very independent little girl. There is a new found happiness and glow on her face when she does stuff by herself because "she did it!!"

Pictures from Doug and Judi

Since our camera is broken I thought I would post some of the pictures Judi sent from their visit.

The one of Beckham and I is of us making a pinata. He helped with the first layer but just wanted to get to the candy part and skip the 2nd layer. So, I got stuck doing the second layer alone.

The one of us in our backyard is when the kids were moving around the "mobile" bird houses Judi made. They are so cute and the kids love moving them all around the back yard.

We went to Monte's office and the kids enjoyed "working" like daddy.

And lastly there is a picture of Beckham in front of the wiener mobile trying to sing the Oscar Myer Wiener song. As you can see we had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Watkins.

Soccer camp

Beckham started soccer camp yesterday. He has been looking forward to it for a few weeks but not for reasons you would think. He was a little disappointed when we got there because he asked - "Mom, where are the tents? This isn't soccer camp." I guess I didn't manage his expectations very well because he thought soccer camp was real camping plus you play soccer. He quickly got over it when he saw one of his friends but I realized that kids expectations and understandings aren't always the same as adults. As Audults we have had many more life experiences to help us figure things out. So when we get frustrated as parents we need to realize maybe there is a misunderstanding and we need to take time out and clarify things.

Waffle House

My parents were in town this weekend. Well, not exactly in town they always stop in on their way to the lake house and on their way back. Even though we don't get to spend much time with them it's fun to see them. We are so glad we can be the resting point on their monthly trips. This weekend was nice because they got in before the kids went to bed on Thursday night. Then next morning they headed to the Lake to decide on paint colors, tile colors, cabinets, etc. Luckily they made all the decision for now until mom changes her mind again. It took her 9 minutes to change her mind after she picked all the paint colors. Saturday night Monte and I hung out and talked with them which led to some pretty funny conversations. One of which is too gross to go into but it revolved around their massive septic tank.

This morning we went to the Waffle House for breakfast. Thanks to Poppy, Beckham has grown to enjoy the Waffle House. Whenever Poppy comes to town Beckham always asks Poppy if we can go to the Waffle house. Monte and I are beginning to wonder if Poppy is paying Beckham to ask so Grammy will let us go. Waffle House is not her favorite but we always go when Beckham asks. We enjoy their visits even if they are short but look forward to them being closer when their house is done. (I am sure they will be happy when they don't have to spend the whole weekend in the car driving down to the Lake).

Fasination with Fire

Last night we took the kids to a Japanese steak house. Both kids loved it (though they were hesitant at first). Once Beckham saw all the tricks the cook could do with fire he became captivated. Ainsley and Beckham are still talking about how the cook put fire in his hat. I don't exactly know how he did it but he flipped a bowl up into his hat and there were flames coming out of his hat. Beckham's first comment was, that's dangerous the Danger Rangers would like that (Danger Rangers is a safety show he watches on PBS). Then he said, that's cool. We made sure he knew that it is OK for the cook to play with fire but he can't. The other funny thing that happened was when we ordered Beckham said he wanted chicken with butter on it (you can tell he has Scott blood in him). We didn't really know what he was talking about so we ordered chicken for him and thought maybe he thought the sauce you dip it in was butter. Guess what the cook put on the chicken when he cooked it? Yep, butter! Beckham had remembered that from when we went to a Japanese steak house for Aunt Megan's graduation a year ago. I only wish I had that kind of memory. We had a lot of fun last night and it made an impression on the kids because they keep talking about the man with fire in his hat.

Can't wait

Many of you know that my parents are building a lake house that will be about 2 and a half hours away. A few weeks ago we went out to see it and got so excited. The last time I saw it was Thanksgiving so you can imagine it looks a lot different now. It is going to be so much fun when it is done. Beckham LOVED walking around all the rooms and really loved seeing the workers actually build the house (they were doing drywall when we were there). We were walking around taking the tour and we got to the grand kids rooms which are above the garage. There are 2, one for the boys and one for the girls. We show Beckham both rooms and when we get to the second (the better of the two) he says "I think this will be the boys room. The girls can have the other one". Neither room is a bad room he just liked the 2nd one because of the ceilings.

Ever since we saw the house Beckham has asked if Grammy and Poppy's house is done yet. He asks everyday (multiple times) and everyday I say not until August which is the end of the summer. Then he asks if the workers have put the elevator in (yes, their house is going to have an elevator - they are planning for the future in case they can't go up and down the stairs). He is fascinated that Grammy and Poppy's house is going to have an elevator.

I am sure once the house is done we will spend a lot of time there and will create a lot of memories. we are anxiously awaiting it's completion (mostly so I can stop hearing Beckham ask if it is done yet!!)

Star in the making

The weekend before school got out Beckham had a program at school. it was a really cute program and was the perfect length. The 2 yr. old classes sang 2 songs, the 3yr olds sang 2 (Beckham's group), and the 4 yr olds sang 3. After the 4 yr olds sang they had all the classes come up and sing one last song. As many of you know Beckham is pretty shy so I think being on stage frightened him a little bit (though he won't admit it). Some how he ended up smack dab in the middle of the front row. He is the second tallest kid in the 3 yr old classes (the tallest kid was right next to him). I felt bad for the parents of the kids that were behind Beckham and Brandon. Beckham hesitantly sang the first 2 songs but then when all the classes were on stage he froze and just stood there for the whole song. It was fun to watch all the kids sing especially those that were hams. The picture is not the best but Beckham is in the blue and white striped shirt.