Simple Gifts

Lately, Will has come home from school every day with a special gift for me. Usually it's a leaf, but sometimes, if we're lucky, I get a rock. On Tuesday, I got two leaves. He gathers them on his way to and from the playground, and his teachers are very sweet to make sure that every leaf, rock or other natural object makes it carefully into his book bag and home to me.

And when I pick him up, the first thing he tells me about is what special treasure he collected that day. He is so excited about his rocks and leaves and I love that he is bringing them home to me.

In fact, I believe he has started a trend. He tells me that his little friend A also loves to gather leaves. Lucky A's mom, to have her very own collection of leaves and rocks!

These are Will's "don't-take-any-more-photos" faces.

Isn't being a mom just the best? I just can't wait to see what this little guy comes up with next!

Weezie-nana

Weezie? No, not this Weezie.

Nana? Nope, not this Nana either.

You know. Weezie-nana, the state.
See? Weezie-nana.

Henry always grabs Weezie-nana. Sometimes he runs away with it, but normally he puts it right where it belongs, next to Texas.

Sometimes it's upside down or sideways. But we always get it in there eventually.So, Weezie-nana. That's how Henry says it and it's his favorite state, after Maine and Florida. But then, who doesn't love Maine and Florida?Do you see it? Florida and Maine are always the first two states. Oregon is in there too, but it is upside down and kind of where Washington belongs. We're working on it.Sometimes you just have to take Florida out and put it in again, especially if your brother got to it first.

Oh, and don't forget Texas. That's a pretty big one.
The boys are getting really good at this puzzle. I wasn't too sure when Will got it for his third birthday, since it's for ages 6 and up, but it was a great gift. The boys both love it.
Will's ready to take it apart, put it away and start all over again tomorrow.

Nature Boy

Gene took Will to his first Tadpole Troopers class at the Houston Arboretum on Saturday. Will loves nature and exploring outside (remember his spider birthday party last summer?). But for some reason, he did not want to attend this class! Gene snapped this picture of Will on one of the walkways at the Arboretum.

What a sad face! Apparently he never got into the class, but he did enjoy exploring with Gene and eating lunch at Kim Son, which is his new favorite restaurant (he loves the orange chicken).

Will has four more Tadpole Troopers classes, so hopefully he'll learn to enjoy some of them!

WHEE!

Santa didn't bring us a playset for Christmas, but we shopped the after-Christmas sale at Rainbow and got it ourselves!

The boys love their new playset. I was going to hold off on getting it for awhile, but I am so glad we made the big purchase now. They enjoy it so much.

It has a ramp. I would have never though the ramp would be the most fun part of the playset, but they love it. Peekaboo, anyone?

I love this series of photos. Will stood at the bottom of the slide and kept saying, "I'll catch you, Henry." Henry doesn't need to be caught, but Will was being so sweet to his brother. It just makes my heart melt.

GOTCHA!

Ready, set, GO!

What's in a name?

Deciding to create a blog: that's the easy part. Coming up with a name for your blog: now, that's the hard part. I have a whole list of rejected titles, and each one says something different about me (and my family). Everyone in the house helped come up with ideas. Here are the ones that didn't make it:

• Boy to Man (Gene's suggestion, which fits since we are raising boys to become men, but perhaps just a bit too boy band?)
• Jigsaw Jungle (I liked the alliteration, plus I really do feel like I live in a jungle sometimes)
• Snips and Snails (makes total sense in a house full of boys, but it's pretty common and overused)
• Juicebox Jitters (still love this one, but eventually we may outgrow the juiceboxes)
• Adventures of Ellyboo and Waddle (these are two of the boys' stuffed animals)
• Eat (I asked Henry and this is what he said. Hmmm, no surprise for anyone who knows the kid!)
• Weezie's Wonderland (more alliteration, but doesn't really fit)
• Muddy Knees (lots of those in this house!)
• Shanty Away (Will's suggestion, but I have no idea what it means!)
• Controlled Chaos (I like this too; Gene said "But with K's," so Kontrolled Khaos??)
• Whoosh Went the Wind (from one of Will's favorite books)
• Loads to Go Before I Sleep (how fitting, as there is always laundry to do here...)
• Dump Truck Dormitory (seriously, with the number of dump trucks and other vehicles in this house, I sometimes really think I do live in a dump truck dormitory. BOYS!)
• The S___ Circus (I like the alliteration with our last name and circus, because it really is a circus here, but I just didn't want our last name plastered all over the internet with such personal stuff about our family, so this one went into the reject pile.)

So, the winner is Cracker Crumb Chaos. Gene said, "But with K's!" I think you get the picture; he said that about every title! Um, no. No K's. But Cracker Crumb Chaos fits. There are cracker crumbs everywhere. I cannot escape them! In the kitchen, in the breakfast nook, in my old car (oh, that poor car). And chaos, well, that just goes without saying in a house with two young boys. So, I got my alliteration, and a fitting title, and Gene got to say "But with K's" one more time.