New books

We got these cool books at Costco today.

They have a story and then all these little Thomas trains and a play mat.

I dove right in

Jack tried out the Cars

Do you know what's better than playing with trains and cars by yourself? 

Playing with Dad!

Do you know what's better than playing trains and cars with Dad?

 Playing with Dad and your brother!!!

Eating with dinos

This weekend, we decided to have a bit of a Stay-cation

and do a few of the fun things around town we never do.

Tonight, we make the long trip out to Legends Mall to eat with

DINOSAURS!!!

We got to drink "Shark Water" out of blinking cups!

Yum!

Mom and Wes,

hanging at the under-the-sea bar

After a tasty meal of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and popcorn shrimp,

it was time for the best part...

DESSERT!

I picked it!

Chocolate Extinction!

Check this out...

Wes and Dad were pretty stoked too!

4 chocolate brownies with chocolate sauce,

4 scoops of ice cream with whipped cream and Butterfinger topping,

and some dry ice???!?!!?

As I say "It doesn't get any better than this!" 

Weston agrees.

Then Dexter came by for a picture.

This was our 4th or 5th meeting of the night.

It took me a bit to warm up.

Wes still wasn't into it.

Cheese!

What's up next???

Super truck

Having your brother push you on a digger is pretty fun!

You know what is even better?

Having your brother push you on a digger in a SUPER CAPE!

Oh, yeah !

Westers and Jackisms

It's been a long time.  I haven't kept track of Jack's antics like I should have.  He keeps us laughing all the time with his precocious vocabulary.  Things like "as a matter of fact" roll off his tongue.  He's quick to help Dad and I with dinner or cleaning (most of the time) and loves to help his little brother.  And he LOVES to teach Wes things--how to put together a puzzle, how to run the electric train, how to brush his teeth.  It's so cute.  I'll keep better track of his stories from now on...

Some Weston updates:
--Wes knows just about every animal noise you can think of: cow, horse, pig, sheep, chicken, rooster, dog, cat, fish, frog, monkey, lion, tiger, elephant (complete with trunk raise), bird, owl...  He also knows what noise a car, firetruck, and airplane make.  But our personal favorite--a robot (beep-boop-beep complete with a robot dance).  Thanks Ms. Julie at preschool!
--He says "pitty, pitty" and signs please for pretty, pretty please.  He can pretty much get whatever he wants with that one.
--If he wants you to sit next to him, he's yell your name (MAMA!  DADDY!  JACK!) and then quietly and calmly pats the spot beside him.  Doesn't matter if you can see him or not or have any idea why he's yelling your name, he's patting and expects you there...pronto.  Similarly, if there is something interesting he'd like you to look at, a "MAMA! See?" is quick to be yelled.  And you'd better see it fast!
--Grandpa Mike taught him "see-food."  He's very proud to chew up his bite, then yell your name, and open his mouth to show you his successful chewing.  And he expects a "Good eating!" in return.
--Wes is NOT to be left out.  If Jack is doing something, he is quick to be by his side.  If I'm working on something on the counter, he is running to get his stool so he can help (the stool is seriously his best friend).  If he needs a glimpse of what you are looking at, he'll tug on your arm with a "See? See?"
--He can sing several songs now:  ABC's, Baa baa Black Sheep, Jingle Bells, Baby Bumblebee.  My favorite is No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed--"No mo mah-kee 'ump 'ed!!!!" in a deep and serious voice (that's how the doctor says it).
--And a few of my favorite words--color is "calour" and Chuggingtons (from the books) is "Chung-ing-tons" said soooo deliberately I can't help but laugh every time.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

It was Birthday Weekend...

Uncle Adam's 29th on Friday night (forgot the camera for that one)

and

Great Grandma and Grandpa Sweeney's birthday lunch on Saturday (oops, forgot again).

Today we gathered at Grandma Janice's

(who has been renamed "Nana")

for her 60th birthday!

To kick off the night,

we tried on our homemade Snuggies...

TRACTOR Snuggies!

Like my Snuggie, you do?

(Catch the Star Wars reference?  Looks a bit like Obi-wan, don't you think?)

There was lots of Tinker-toy fun to be had.

We (with Jack) were building a "hotel"

I think my face says it all...

Does this really require a picture?

Then it was on to the trains

Papa was hard at work on the fried catfish

And boy was it delicious!!! 

There was balancing of spoons on noses

(maybe the table helped a bit),

a sing-a-long on the piano,

some sitar playing

(yep, Nana really played it)

and of course,

lots of dig-digs

And of course,

what's a birthday without cake???

Or pie in this case

Make a wish!!!

Then,

just when we thought the night was winding down,

mass chaos erupted.

There was wrestling with "Meena"

(Aunt Mandy)

A LOT of wrestling

Then I snuck up on Papa...

boy, was he surprised!

He was quick to get me back

Head over heels!

We need to do that again!!!

(or 5 or 6 times!)

More wresting with Mandy-

where does one Snuggie end and another begin???

Then Papa started chasing us around the living room...

Uh-oh!

I'm caught!!!

Head over heels

(this is the best part; you should hear me squeal)

And more tickling

Mom said this reminded her of when she was little

and it was her, Mandy and Papa...

We agree.

Lots of fun!

After a bit more giggling,

we packed up and headed home.

Happy birthday, Nana!!!

Here's to 60 more!

(well, at least 30 or 40...)

Playtime

We had a quiet Sunday morning--

breakfast at "Waffle's House,"

a little grocery shopping,

and lots of time with the new toys.

Diggers are great,

but they are SUPER great with your cape on.

"Un-er, Mommy!  Un-er!"

(I was pretty excited to use "under" the table as my garage)

Jack got pretty good at running back and forth with the wheel loader,

sliding on his knees under the table

(Mom didn't catch that one in action)

Pretty great,

that's what this is.

Know what's greater?

Having a "pack-pack" (backpack) to put the diggers and cape in when it's time to go...

Nachos, bowling, and NYE

Finally, the next holiday has arrived!

We headed out to El Maguay to kick off our NYE

with some chips and cheese!

More than one kind of "cheese" apparently... 

Tom and Amy were in town for the event!

And we got to hang with Cooper again!

Tom kept the fun going with some funny videos on his phone.

He may be Jack's new best friend.

Then, we headed to the bowling alley to celebrate in style...

with our PRIVATE lanes!!!

Jack thought it was pretty great

I just liked the hats

The Reed Men,

hard at work,

pulling those strikes

Mika and Mike,

making a go of it

The night ended with Chelsea coming to babysit me and Jack

while Mom and Dad headed back out for some "adult time."

I was too exhausted to partake,

but Chelsea and Jack toasted the New Year with some

sparkling apple juice as the clock struck 0000

(ok, Mom set a timer, but the fun was still there)

What will 2012 bring???