rex loves to sit in his new toy :)

 

 

crafts with grandma val!!

last night was much better! malloy only woke up once to got pee at 12:30am and that was it! yipeeee! everyone got some sleep! we had another fun-filled day!!! the kids did crafts with grandma in the morning, then kassie and aunt amy came over to play for a bit. after naps, we went over to grandma tappy and grandpa gary's house to visit and take a bath!! aunt rose ann and amanda brought us pizza for dinner and we had a great visit!!! gotta love seeing all this family!!  malloy was singing, running, spinning, jumping, and eating pizza all at once. rex finally warmed up after he got some food and tylenol in his system and was doing all of his party tricks - saying "i love you", answering what a cow says, what an elephant says, where his nose is, where is ears are, and where his tongue is. he's really fast at those questions/tricks! when i asked him if he was wearing a hat, i thought he just ignored me and crawled away. he actually went over to his robot stackers, took one piece off and put it on his head! SO CUTE!!!! the kids went to bed late but i'm sure they'll be up at 6am on the dot!!

 

you're supposed to sit in this, right?

rex finally opened all of his toys from grandma val and grandpa don! he loved his car toy, but for the wrong reasons!! i don't know if he thought it was a sit and spin or what, but all he wanted to do was sit in the middle while it was spinning! it was really funny. pretty sure he did some damage to it about 10 minutes after he opened it!!! woops!!! we had a nice dinner with grandma tappy and grandpa gary - we had spaghetti and meatballs YUM!!!! it was a nice visit! the kids were crazy and went right to sleep as soon as they hit their beds!! hopefully they stay that way!!!!!!! fingers crossed!!!

last night was R.O.U.G.H.!!!!!!! i'm gonna go ahead and say that was the worst night of sleep i've ever had and that includes going through the newborn phase - twice! malloy's sleeping on her princess air mattress but the fitted sheet/sleeping bag that goes on kept slipping off and so did malloy. she fell out of bed once while i was still awake. then she fell out at 12:30am and continued to wake up and yell out for me every half hr until 2:30am. then rex wakes up screaming at 3am and would not calm down. i gave him medicine, milk, rocked him, read him stories and finally he went down around 4:20am. during this time, malloy's up having a snack and cuddling with grandma val. i finally got a good solid 2 hrs before they both woke up at 6:45!!!!
they weren't too bad this morning considering the lack of sleep. malloy was so excited to have a visit from d'lynn, shea, and ahneka! she kept asking when her friends were coming over. she made ahneka hold her hand and walk with her and then made her jump, run, hop, march, etc just like she was! then she made shea play with all of her dolls, squinkies, and what not. well, i should say "play" because really, malloy played with the toys and talked at shea in long, drawn-out, strung together sentences that really weren't making much sense. (she's been doing this for a few weeks - she LOVES to tell stories, even if they make no sense at all!!!) rex also had a fabulous time with the girls! he was so funny hanging onto ahneka's legs, practically pulling her pants down! he was mauling her for quite a while. what can i say? he loves the older women ;)

no nap for me! malloy was way too excited to nap so she laid in bed with grandma val and watched tangled. she was so excited to tell her all about her favorite movie. it was cute! roro and papa hank came over to play and have dinner. malloy was being such a ham dancing around the deck and singing for everyone. she sang "grand old flag" 5 times in a row and made everyone else sing it, too. it's the first time i've ever heard her sing it and she knew almost all the words (or at least uses a word in place to fill in space - not sure what "never a boast or brass" means *wink*). rex loved the visit as well. he got some more presents for his birthday! i think this might be the longest birthday celebration ever! he got a dog that plays music and teaches body parts, a transportation puzzle, a robot stacking toy, and some cars. and he has more presents to open tomorrow and then more on friday! malloy is loving all the gifts but having a hard time sharing. good thing rex has a 2-minute attention span and really doesn't care!

this morning, the kids and i drove to grandma val and grandpa don's. it was our first trip ever without daddy!!! i was really nervous, but they were amazing! no crying, whining, potty accidents, etc!!! i'm so impressed with both kids!!! we listened to aladdin, lion king, tangled, and beauty in the beast and had some snacks - that seemed to be entertaining enough! that and mommy singing "grand old flag" about 80 times in a row at malloy's request! both malloy and rex were so excited to be at their grandparents' house - they ran/crawled around the whole house, ate lunch and went down for nap! i'm about to take a nap, as well, as soon as malloy falls asleep. why is it that driving is so exhausting??

what a busy weekend we've had! i've been packing up pretty much everything we need on a daily basis in order to go help grandma val and grandpa don out for the week and then to go to the beach! yesterday, in between packing, we went for a nice long walk to the farmer's market. this was the kids' first wagon ride! they had fun, but it was a but too long - rex started falling asleep with his head lolling all over the place and malloy spilled her smoothie all over herself and the wagon and had to sit in it all the way home!! all and all, it was a fun trip. malloy loved running around the market! she went with me and bought cookies - both asking for the cookies and handing the woman money. she also did some sand art at the art tent for kids. today was filled with lots of packing!! malloy is so excited to see her grandparents. this morning she said "yay! we're going to see grandma and grandpa! i love then "sno" much!!"

rex's new favorite noise to make - the motorboat!

we had a great time at malloy preschool hot dog mixer tonight! malloy got to meet some of her classmates, ate hot dogs, got her face painted, ran around the playground and then left with a cupcake and an Amherst Nursery School t-shirt. we didn't get to meet malloy's teacher but it was fun, nonetheless! we came home and ate our treats then it was time for bed!!!

rex's friends party

we had friends over for a birthday party play date this morning. it was a lot of running, yelling, screaming, and whining but everyone had fun! we had pizza, decorate robots, had cupcakes, and opened rex's present - a WAGON - yippeeeeee!!!! i think i was more excited about it!!! i can't wait to use it and i know both kids will LOVE riding in it!! thanks everyone!! we're lucky to have such good friends!!! :)

quote of the party- malloy: look at my crap (she meant craft) - hilarious!!!

gotta love garbage day!!

rex is into trucks right now and loves watching the garbage truck and men. i sit on the coffee table with him on my lap. the driver of the truck always waves and beeps his horn. rex was waving back today like it was the most exciting thing ever!!! it makes his whole morning :)

gotta wash down all the waffle!

malloy's favorite movie of the moment is Tangled, however she thinks the beginning is scary so she watches it like this.

couldn't help but take a picture!!

mommy needs a vacation!

i love my kids so very very much, but i can only take so much whining!!! this afternoon was brutal! rex is whiny because of his teeth and was crawling all over me one second and the next he's fighting to get off of me like it was my idea to hold him in the first place! malloy took a long nap and was all smiles when i went in her room. then as soon as i told her we needed to go downstairs, the flip was switched and out came Mrs. Cranky Pants!!!! "i don't want to go downstairs. i want to go downstairs. come up here with me mommy!! no go away, don't come upstairs. i have to go potty. no! i don't wanna go potty! leave me alone!" and so on! things all seemed to settle once everyone had a drink and a movie was put on. is that horrible of me??!! i guess it's better than the alternative - running away, leaving the kids on a church doorstep...KIDDING of course!!!
even when they're extra cranky, there are glimpses of sweetness. i was talking to my mom on the phone and she told rex "i love you" and he replies "i you"!!!!! first time he's ever said it as a reply on his own - you should feel very special, grandma val!! when neal got home, i told rex to say "i love you" instead of saying anything, he just pointed right at neal. he's a funny boy! malloy also settled down and turned back into my sweet little girl. and then threw my kiss i blew her for bedtime back at me. she's a roller coaster!!! no idea where she gets it from! ;)

monkey see, monkey do

malloy was playing with her "pretties" this morning and rex was all over it! he wanted to have everything that she had. malloy told me that rex wanted a headband, too, so i put one on him. as soon as i put it on, he says "ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh" and is trying to look up at it, touching it. he did NOT take it off like any other hat i've ever tried to put on him. silly boy!
we spent the day at home but kept ourselves busy! we took some pictures to put in neal's DAD frame (kinda missed father's day but better late than never!!) and then painted with squish balls - so fun!!!  (stole this idea from jamie!) rex needed all the distractions he could get - he's been clingy and whiny with his teeth coming in, poor guy!! malloy was great today - pleasant most of the day and cooperative!!! (it seems to be a rare occurrence these days!) happy malloy = happy mommy!!! :)

down

rex has another new word! it's so cute!!! i asked him if he wanted to get down this morning. he starts saying "dow dow dow dow dow..." later in the day, i said "up" when playing with a toy and he immediately said "dow". he's also repeating more and more. he was saying "daddy" yesterday, as well as "roro".

always on my toes!

 i heard rex rummaging around in the kitchen and come out to find him under the table with half of his shirt off! who knew he could take his clothes off?! malloy still has no idea how to take off her shirt - just one of the many many differences between them!!

sunday, sunday

we had a fun evening after the kids both took LONG naps (malloy slept for 2 hrs and rex slept for 3 hrs and 45 min!!!!!). we went out to dinner with uncle ryan and kari at Buffalo Brewpub. malloy did awesome!! she had mac and cheese for dinner and ate it all on her own!!! she very rarely eats on her own without tons of encouragement, but tonight she just sat and ate almost all of her meal! i was so proud of her!!! rex had a great time munching on celery, pickles, beef, and bread. he also loved throwing everything he could on the floor and saying "uh-oh." we came home and had cupcakes and ice cream to celebrate rex's birthday, yet again!
oh! and we turned rex's car seat around and today was the first time he rode forward-facing! he loved looking out the windshield and watching where we were going. he was also looking at me in the rear-view mirror and would giggle every time we made eye contact :)

"iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii yooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

i recently taught the kids the "skinnamrink" song and it was an instant hit! they were watching some clips of sharon, lois, and bram on youtube this morning. both kids are standing with their faces 4 inches from the tv (i know, tisk tisk) and rex is singing along "iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii yooooouuuuuuuuuuu". i tried very hard to get in on video, but i don't think i captured the absolute sweetness!

happy housewarming, uncle paddy and aunti andi!!

we had a great time at uncle paddy and auntie andi's housewarming party tonight!!! malloy made a buddy, emma, who was 6 - the played so well together. malloy was begin a little bossy with emma but, at the same time, there were glimpses of intimidation and shyness. they were so cute! they played with smurf dolls and played tag, among many other things!
malloy was so excited to go to the party! the first thing she said when she woke this morning was "we're going to uncle paddy and auntie andi's now?!" when i told her that we were bringing them presents for their housewarming, she insisted that we get walfredo something, too. she can be such a sweetie pie!!
rex crawled all around the party. he was manning the keg for a bit, crawling in between girls' legs, waving and saying hi, giving some high fives, chasing the dog. his favorite activity was to crawl over to the speakers, turn the volume up, and dance! SO CUTE!! he fell asleep in the car on the way home and went directly to bed!! malloy fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow - which is very, VERY rare for her!!

rex's one year photos are up!!!!

peanut butter play dough

i tried making peanut butter play dough for the first time. the kids loved playing with it and rex especially loved eating it!! i wasn't too happy with the recipe. we'll have to look for a better one next time!! after i finished cleaning up the kitchen, i came into the living room to find malloy sitting in a box in the chair and rex eating stickers. or showing me he was putting them in his mouth, spitting them into his hand, holding it out to me so i could see what he was putting in his mouth, and then putting it right back in so i'd have to dig it out!! never a dull moment!!!

cheers!

while i'm thinking and giggling about it, i thought i'd throw a random post up. i LOVE when malloy and rex are playing together and she makes him tap their juice cups together and say "cheers". these tiny little moments make all the tantrums, accidents, etc all worth it!!!

just a day in the life...

what a busy day!!! i feel like the kids have both been sick and we've been laying low, bummin' around the house for the past week or so. today we actually had some fun!! rex had his pictures taken by our good friend, katie. check her out on facebook Katie LaDota Photography - you won't regret it, she's amazing!! i've already seen some sneak peeks and CAN'T WAIT to see the rest!!! after naps (which don't feel really long lately) we had a story and snack (think i need to implement this more regularly - it was a hit!), swam in the pool, played outside on the deck with all of our fun toys, came back inside and painted!! i was sure ready for a nap, but it didn't seem to make a dent in their energy supply!! neal came home from work earlier than usual tonight and the kids were THRILLED to have some extra daddy time!!! malloy had a great time flying around the house "like tinkerbell" with some help ;) let's hope malloy and rex sleep a teeny bit later than the 5:45 am start they had this morning!!! *fingers crossed*

potato daddy

malloy drew this all on her own. the reclining potato figure is daddy. he's on the couch. and all the way to the right is the tv. :) in neal's defense, he is rarely on the couch watching tv when he's home!! the day she drew this he was not feeling well and lounging/drifting on the couch.

i'm done with the indecisiveness!!

malloy: i don't want juice.
me: that's fine i'll put it away
malloy: (screaming and crying) NO!! i want juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiice!

the above scenario is a recurring theme at the moment and it drives me CRAZY!!! malloy is asserting her independence and trying to let me know she's boss by telling me she doesn't want something. when i say that's fine instead of trying to persuade her, she melts down. how do i make this stop?! it happens about 30 times a day - no matter if she's had a good night's sleep or not. i love malloy to pieces, but i'm afraid i'm not going to have any teeth left in a few weeks because i grit them so hard to keep from losing my cool!!! ahh, the joys of 2 year olds!!

happy birthday rex!!!!

born to rock!

 

malloy loves her guitar lately. she's so cute strumming the guitar and bopping around. we skyped with grandma val in the hospital today and malloy treated her to a private concert ;)

fun at uncle paddy's and auntie andi's!!

we had a fun time at uncle paddy's and auntie andi's today! the kids loved playing with the dogs. malloy was having a blast throwing the ball for the dogs - she was elated that they were running after the balls and retrieving them so quickly, just giggling and shrieking the whole time. rex had no fear of them either! we got to play with uncle matt, too! malloy told us that she thought maybe she would be afraid of uncle matt before we got there, but she loved him, asking where he was if he was out of sight! after our yummy dinner we went out for ice cream at Lake Effect and it was awesome!!! malloy loved her loganberry ice cream cone and rex shared some of everyone's. he left his mouth open and tongue out the entire time, just in case an ice cream cone was passing by him :) the kids were exhausted when we got home and went right to bed! in fact, rex was asleep in the van and couldn't be bothered to wake up while i was changing him into his pajamas - he kept his eyes closed and his head was lolling around the entire time i wrestled him out of his clothes and into his pjs! running with the dogs in exhausting!!

she doesn't miss anything!!

malloy was helping me clean the floors today when she decided she wanted the washcloth on her head. she said "i'm wearing a hat like grandma tappy." she is so observant and picks up on the littlest things!!

BALL!

 

rex's new favorite word is ball! just in case you couldn't tell ;) he saw this ball in the other room and repeated "ball" over and over for about 5 minutes before i realized that he was actually telling me that he saw a ball and not just saying it for fun!! 

summer colds are NO FUN :(

the cooler summer days have been such a nice relief from the hot and humid days, but both kids now have pretty bad colds!! it's such a bummer!! guess i'm just getting a glimpse at what the winter will be like!!! LOTS of boogies! (note to self: invest in some puffs tissues stock) rex could care less that there are boogers are all over him - he's still as happy as could be! malloy is at an awful age to be sick. she's so miserable!!!! she was up at least 8 times last night. i really wanted to just crawl into bed with her for the night, just so we could maybe sleep longer than a 2 hr stretch, but i fear that she'd want to do it every night. i love her dearly, but need a little more room than a single bed to sleep comfortably! get better soon kids!!

knock, knock

malloy's trying very hard to tell knock knock jokes. they go something like this: "knock knock. who's there? don't cry. bless you." she's combining answers of different jokes :)

rex is talking!

we were in walgreen's today and passed by a huge tower of balls. it took me a minute to realize that rex was the one saying "ball" over and over again! he's looking right at me saying "bah, bah, bah..." guess we're going to add that one to the list!! so far i've heard: mama, dada, uh-oh, hi, moo, dah (dog), abah (airplane), cheese (for the camera), and now bah (ball). not too shabby for a soon-to-be one year old!! :)

it was bound to happen...

poor rexy got his fat little sausage leg stuck between the crib bars :( i was wondering why he was so whiny and taking so long to fall asleep!!! woops!!!

you never know when you're going to need a helmet

"i need a helmet on so i can play drums. so i can be happy." sounds like a good enough reason...

what's a morning without pancakes?!

 

malloy doesn't like to eat at the table. the trouble with eating at the coffee table is REX! when food is around, rex can be found!!! she'll learn fast enough! malloy left her food unattended for about a minute before rex noticed and then he was all over it. picked up the entire pancake and starts shoving it in his mouth as fast as he can. neal and i watch and wait for malloy to have a fit. i quickly bring rex over to me and put the pancake back together as best i can. she went back to her food and didn't notice right away, she looks over at rex and his face is covered in chocolate and he holds his chubby little pancake-filled fist out at her as if to say "look what i have. what are you gonna do about it?" we all got a giggle out of it! never a dull moment, i'm telling you!!

painting fun!!

we had a fun afternoon painting outside and then in the bathtub! what a great way to spend a few hours!!! the kids had a blast and really needed some time to be allowed to get messy. aside from a meltdown or two from malloy, it was fun fun fun!

on a completely different topic, malloy told us "i'm just joking" for the first time tonight. i love to hear her use the same phrases we use!! most of the time.

better late than never...

so, i've decided it's about time that i started a blog. the kids are so funny these days, i don't want to forget anything and i feel like a blog could really help me out here!! i've been putting this off for a long time figuring that since i didn't do it from the start when malloy was born that it was too late. but i'm terrible at keeping up with malloy's baby book and rex doesn't even have one!!! this is my solution - something i can have to look back on. i'm thinking that i'll combine our day to day lives with memories of the past - if and when they pop into my head! rex has been learning so much these past few months and it reminds me of things malloy used to do that i've totally forgotten about. hopefully blogging will help me organize some of my thoughts/memories and we can have something to look back on (if you know me, then you know that i could definitely use some help in this department!!!!). and so the adventures begin...