First Sentence

Aaron said his first sentence this morning. Anyone who has spent time around the little guy will find it entirely appropriate. While we were all lounging in our bed this morning, Aaron said, "Go Eat!" The boy does love to eat! Guess it's breakfast time now.

When you gotta go, you [don't really] gotta go

Oh, some of our "adventures" are just too crazy not to share. I hope that this will be funny to me tomorrow.
Today, we had lunch at my favorite fast-food restaurant Chick-fil-a. After lunch and playtime, we finally made it to the van where as soon as I had strapped Aaron into his carseat, Elliott announced that he had to pee. So since we were in a somewhat landscaped area of the crowded parking lot, I told Elliott to do his business as discreetly as possible there instead of unstrapping the tired Aaron and hauling both boys back into the busy restaurant and to the restroom.
After getting Elliott in the van and starting on our way, he announces that he now has to poop. Really badly. So badly that he can't wait until we get home (which is probably about a 20-25 minute drive). And since we have somewhat recently had such a poopy accident in a very similar scenario, and, come to think of it, the same Chick-fil-a, I promptly pull off the interstate just one exit from where I entered and pulled into the Mapco. A Mapco which smelled like some fried gas-station delicacy gone terribly wrong. So from the moment we entered the store, both boys kind of screw up their noses at the smell. It doesn't get better in the restroom, where we promptly enter the stall for my firstborn to do his business. And then...he doesn't. "I guess I didn't really have to go," he says. At this point, I am racking my brain for some way in which to make him go, and realizing that is a futile effort, promptly inform him that the next time he says he must go, I am not stopping. Perhaps this should have been handled with more kindness and patience. Please don't leave negative comments on my parenting. I know I should have handled it better.
Moving along, we wash hands, and Aaron's paci which he has dropped on the bathroom floor, and then head to the automatic hand dryer. As soon as Elliott put his hands underneath, Aaron freaks out at the incredibly loud sound. He was a little apprehensive when we flushed the toilet, but this beastly machine on the wall was just too much for the little guy. He is afraid of loud noises after all. I'm not sure how he lives in our house, but I digress. After we are all clean and dry, we head back through the stinky store and get everyone strapped back in to carseats and continue on our merry way with no further stops.
It's so nice to be home.

Stop, Drop and Roll

Elliott and I had our first lesson on dialing 911 today. We talked about some scenarios when he should or should not call 911. Tonight as I was putting him to bed, he wanted to continue talking about it. His first scenario was if Daddy was cutting down a tree and it fell on him, then he should call 911. Next, he says, "If Daddy was by the campfire roasting marshmallows and he stepped in the fire, then I should call 911. No...I think I would say, 'Daddy, you should just Stop, Drop and Roll. That'll help ya.'"

Matt wants to know why all of the scenarios involve him being injured.

Are we there yet?

This was definitely the year of "Are we there yet" from Elliott. I think he asked us 200 times on the way to the beach. He started asking when we were just 2 counties from home. And he didn't stop. At some point past Montgomery, he started saying, "Okay, I'm just going to ask one more time...are we there yet?" Finally, my boy, we are here!

Beach Trip - Take 1

Our summer beach trip is lots of fun so far. The boys are enjoying the sand and the ocean. Aaron prefers the water from the safety of my hip, but what else is new? Matt is golfing today and the little guys are both napping. I told Elliott that he can invite his cousins to watch A Bee Movie tonight if he takes a nap today. Apparently my plan worked. So now I'm going to finish posting some pictures and maybe get in a nap and some reading time myself!

A Special Adventure

Last week, Elliott and I went to the Discovery Center with our friends Amy and Caleb. The big boys enjoyed a special adventure without their little brothers. First, we ate lunch at Cracker Barrel (one of E's favorite restaurants), then we headed to the Discovery Center.

The children's museum had water play, a fire engine, an archaeological dig site, a car to repair, a train with a coal car, grocery store, digger, crane and much more. The boys had a blast! Oh, and did I mention a slide that went from the second floor all the way down to the first? Caleb and Elliott's favorite activities were the fire truck where the boys dressed up in real firefighter gear and the car where they changed tires, replaced mufflers, filled the antifreeze and oil and wore mechanic's jackets. The car was like the one that Elliott enjoyed for quite some time at The Magic House in St. Louis last fall. It still held great entertainment for the little handyman - and his best buddy.

Firefighter Elliott

Firefighter Caleb

Gathering coal for the train

Crane Operator

Digger Operator

Caleb and Amy make a delivery in the farm truck

F-O-X

Tonight, Matt and Elliott were watching some baseball on TV when Elliott said, "Dad, why does the TV say fox?" Matt asked what he meant and he said, "right there, it says f-o-x." We had no idea that he knew how to spell fox! He said that he learned it in his magnetic alphabet book that we haven't looked at in months. Kids really are learning even when we don't know it!