Where's Aiden?

That was the question on mine and Andy's faces when we went to do a routine "boy check" and found Aiden's bed empty.  We ran into our room and look what we found:

He had never done this before and hasn't since.  

Hilarious, but still so precious!

Bye-Bye Dirt, Hello Soap Squirt!

Playing Out Back

Last week was warm, even in the mornings.  So after breakfast, I filled up the kiddie pool and let the boys have free reign.  They, of course, loved it!  At 3.5 and 1.5, they have their moments of fighting over toys, but really do get along.  And just recently, they have begun enjoying playing together, not just side-by-side.  So cliche, but I must say it: it warms my heart!

Picnic Out Back

Sometimes a Man Just Needs His Space

No truer are those words applied than to my hubbie.  His "recharge" is always by himself.  After a stressful 5 weeks, my man finally gets some days off.  I was looking around the house for him while the boys were napping, but was coming up empty handed.  I had almost resigned to the fact that he must have gone for a walk to the creek when I happened to peer into the backyard:

Happy Boy

The snack shack just might be Aiden's favorite place in the whole wide world.  He gets the same thing every time: small cup of vanilla soft serve with rainbow sprinkles.  It's the only place he is completely silent, engrossed in the deliciousness of childhood. 

Late Summer

Well, we made it to Saturday. Yay! Andy has been off since Thursday afternoon and after a day of readjusting to being around each other (it's a firstborn thing), we are having a delightful Saturday. A cool breeze is drifting from front to back door and dark, rain laden clouds move swiftly across the sky, intermittent with bright spots of sun. Reminds me a bit of an Arizona winter or a Colorado spring or a Maine summer ... early autumn in New York is all its own. It finds us staining deck furniture, organizing kitchen cabinets, planning home improvement projects and then opting for college football and pizza. It finds little boys taking 3 hour naps, trees tinged with yellow and orange, fiction novels read late into the night, and classical masterpieces drifting throughout the house.
And now with my inner Anthony Bourdain almost running on empty, I leave you with some pictures of summer around our house.

... whenever Blogger decides to bring back the icon that allows me to upload pictures ... sorry!

Ha-ha!  After online research, I figured out I was stuck in HTML mode.  I'm back into blogging/composition mode ... so here are pics!

It's a Dog's Life

Our puppy is so wonderfully quirky (both in looks & actions!) and yet so patient with the boys.  No, there are no pics of her and Ashton because she steers clear of him most of the time.  We think he might have been the culprit in her "droopy tail" a few weeks back.  He has a bad habit of grabbing onto her tail and not letting go, no matter where she goes or how fast she runs.  (He thinks it's the greatest game ever invented!).  Dog-Dog (as the boys call her) has given Aiden so much confidence outside and he likes having someone to lord over. And cleaning up after South Paw doesn't bother me one bit because of the laughter and companionship she provides - I just love her!

Here's an excerpt I had written about a pretty typical day for South Paw in our house:

With 2 boys in the house, it's never a dull moment!  The boys and I were just quietly sitting in the living room, South sleeping at my side, when Ashton slid the laundry basket full-throttle into my arm, knocking my coffee in the opposite direction: all over the dog! Poor thing, she thought my reaction yell was directed at her!

Fall Is In the Air

Distinctive seasons are one of the many perks of not living in Arizona anymore.  Just when I was getting tired of having the AC running in the house, cool weather moved in.  Today we are enjoying overcast skies and a cool breeze dancing in through the doors and windows.  No worries, because I have been looking forward to autumn for weeks! 

Dad, check out how good these mums look at the base of the mailbox holder you and Andy made!

Mum clippings gracing the kitchen in a Polish pottery vase.  Thanks so much, Gigi!  And Kisti, Brynn & Kira - I know you girls approve!

Acorns from the backyard!  The squirrels work so hard to pick and drop the nuts, but then they have very little opportunity to harvest, thanks to South Paw and her big-dog presence.  I on the other hand enjoy finding them in the grass with my bare feet and using them as free decoration!

My Gardening Assistants

 

Always talking ... and I don't want to hear it about the shorts: he dressed himself!

Checking out the lawnmower ... and telling me ALL about it!