Is it July already?

Believe it or not, I really had intended to write the blog every week last month. But actually having Craig around, we found ourselves much too busy for me to stop and write much of anything. And after he headed back to work last week, the kids and I got sick. So we've spent the better part of the week watching TV and hacking/coughing/sneezing our way to bedtime. I just haven't felt well enough to write about that. LOL. But I think I'm starting to get over this so I'll try again this month to write consistently.

Vash took this selfie to show us his super hero face. He's all business when it comes to his powers. He likes the super hero thing so much, I'm actually going to theme his birthday pictures to Superman/Clark Kent.

We had a great fourth of July. Rhyla wore her handkerchief dress but refused to hold still for a picture. My mom made chicken wings and, despite being sick, we set off some fireworks in the front yard for the kids. They loved it so much that Vash keeps asking when we get to celebrate the fourth again! There's a carnival coming to town this week and supposedly they'll be setting some off, so I told him we'd go check that out.

While Daddy was home, he bought the kids a fishing pole and we visited Twin Lakes a few times. It's pretty and it has a great path to take a nature walk. The kids weren't patient enough to catch a fish, but I don't think they minded. Vash just wanted to cast and Rhyla just wanted to reel in; a perfect match.

Rhyla's terrible twos aren't so bad. But she is a little sneaky sometimes. The other night she asks me, "See this finger?" And when I nod, she says, "Boop!" and pokes me in the eye.

Forgot to mention it last time, but Vash was thrilled to be home. We got in super late, (1AM) and so the kids went right to bed. But when Vash woke up he comes in to me and in a reverent whisper says, "Mommy, I'm in Vash's house." It was like he couldn't believe it.

Some other funny things about when we got home: Rhyla left her riding giraffe in the living room one night, and Vash runs in and says, "Mom," all serious like, "There's a giraffe downstairs. I SAW IT."

Guess with the dark and everything, he got a bit spooked. 

Rhyla found a long lost binky and wanted to hide it from me, so I wouldn't take it. So she asks herself, "Hmm. Where to put a binky? I know! In my shirt!" Then she quickly tucked it into her pajamas. Unfortunately, it fell out the bottom and became long lost again. LOL. 

Vash is getting so big. He's way into learning about sports now and wants to learn to fight like a superhero. I told Craig  that I'll be sad when my little boy gets so big that he'll no longer look at us, cock his head to the side, and say, "Ha Ha" like a mechanical doll. (This is something he does to be cute and it's actually really funny, but something I know will stop once he's a teenager.)

He also said the other day, "I don't like girls. I like Mommy!"

LOL. Yeah, once he's thirteen I'm sure that tune will change too.

And now that Rhyla is bigger she's getting in to dance; a woman after my own heart, of course. She parades around and twirls and shakes her booty. Seriously; She was bopping around the other night and she says to me, "Look Mommy. I dance like a show girl!"

Not sure if she knows how bad that sounds, but I laughed. 

This is the Iron Man cape Craig brought for Vash from Texas. He runs around in it while holding his other Iron Man toys. As tough as this boy tries to be, deep down I know he's a softy. He gives lots of kisses and hugs and always says how much he loves me. The other day he wrapped his Dumbo up in a blanket and says, "I snuggle Dumbo in a blanket. Is that so sweet?"

Vash posing with some of his birthday gifts. You know, he's a practical boy too. He kissed me the other day and my lips were particularly chapped. He says, "Oh Mommy, your lips are poky."

I apologized, and he says, "Oh it's OK. Just get new lips!"

He's also very curious still. He wants to know what everything is and what it does, etc. He doesn't always believe my answers though. We watched James and the Giant Peach recently and Vash takes one look at the giant peach and asks, "Mommy.... is that a bottom?"

I laughed and told him no, it's a peach. But he looks at me with a serious face and says, "But Mom. It looks like a bottom."

He giggled the rest of the movie.

My bed bugs. I rarely sleep well sharing the bed with so many extra occupants, but how can I shove something so cute away? 

These two were playing another game together. Rhyla was wearing a shirt with a flower on it and Vash was pretending to be a dog, so Rhyla says, "Come on Doggy! Flower lick!" Then she'd run away and Vash would try to pummel her and lick the flower. Fun and yet somehow dangerous. 

To close, a few fun Rhyla stories.

The other night she was snuggling me in bed and begins to pat my head. Then she whispers, "My special bear." And I'm like, "Awe, my baby is old enough to hand out terms of endearment!"

Rhyla now begins almost every sentence with, "Hey, let me tell you a story."

Then she'll go on to ask for food or tattle on Vash. Something along those lines. Occasionally she'll tell a real story. "Hey, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, I was hungry and I wanted donuts. Then Mommy let me watch Bo on the Go. The end. So can I watch Bo on the Go?"

Rhyla loves a handful of education TV shows. She like them so much that she'll walk around the house, narrating her play like the shows would. "I can't find my doll. Do you see the doll anywhere? Right! There it is! Let's hop like a kangaroo Bo buddies! Hop hop. Very good! What are you drinking? Right! It's delicious milk." All day she does this. LOL.

Anyhow, best be off for the night. Got to go join my bed bugs!