Guillaume est deux!

Thanks go out to my mom, ever the life-saver, who lent me her camera so that I could take some pictures of these boys. And it was just in time, too, since Buzz celebrated his second birthday last week!

Last year, we started a tradition of going out to eat at Crabby Bill's in his birthday in honor of him being, well, a crabby bill. (His zodiac is cancer and his real name is...well, y'all already get the picture.) I can't believe the place isn't over run with birthday party celebrating Bills this time of year...

Last year, we went to the land-locked restaurant near our house because I thought the name was cute, but I had no idea that there is an entire Crabby Bill's network in Pinellas County. This year, we chose the one near the Clearwater pier so that we could all play at the playground and go swimming after dinner.

For his birthday this year, Buzz got a "truuuuck". I'm so sorry that I don't have video of him talking because talk he does and most of it about trucks. He knows all about construction machines, fire engines, airplanes & helicopters. If it's a vehicle, he's into it. The other day, we got to help the recycling guy dump the stuff into the back of the truck and Buzz was so excited that he peed in his pants. No matter, he's still in diapers!

A few days after his birthday, we had a little party for him at the house. So fun. Here he is with Matthew trying to figure out what we're talking about when we say, "Alright, blow out the candles!" That was definitely something I should have practiced with him before.

The theme of Buzz's party was Bob the Builder, Can he birthday? And the answer is: Yes, he can. Buzz loves Bob the Builder, who he affectionately calls Bob Bilwer. The only song he loves more than Bob Bilwer is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Don't get me started on how often I get requests to sing Chitty Bang Bang 'cause I might get carried away and start telling you how proud I am that I know all the words!

Buzz's other present from us was this playhouse. The boys love it, and so do the mosquitoes. They all play in there for hours each day. Buzz comes out looking like he's got the chicken pox from all the welts and sores. And then Matthew bops out with not a bite on him. Ahh...

Speaking of big brothers, Matthew has a big birthday coming up in a few weeks and it shows. He is so mature and thoughtful, funny and sweet. His reasonableness is amplified by Buzz's frequent meltdowns, but that's the be expected of a two year old and his big brother. I'm just so pleased at the way these two boys are growing up. How much they enjoy each other and their world.

Butterfly Brothers

Today, Matthew found a beautiful monarch butterfly near the milkweed in our garden. She hung out with us for quite a while which is probably evidence of her being on her last legs. But it was still magical to see her move and marvel at the magnificence of her wings.

Matthew wanted to put the butterfly on something so he could carry her around. His solution: the rip up one of my newly blooming zinnias, roots and all. The good part is that the butterfly liked her new home and let us gawk at her for a good half hour.

Speaking of insects, Buzz has been complaining of a bee in his bed for the last three nights. It sounds something like this, "Bed. Bee." Of course, those are two of only about 20-30 words that he knows, so I didn't think he meant it literally. Maybe there was something sharp on his sheets or something. But I checked. At 2AM I checked. I pulled back the covers in the morning and checked. No bee. We even made a game of it, "Look Buzz, no bees!"

So this morning, guess what I found in his bed - that's right, a bee. And when I looked at his ear, it was the size of Texas with a big swollen sting. So I'm the worst mom ever because my barely-speaking child TOLD me there was a bee in his bed and didn't do all that I could to protect him. Nana had a good theory that maybe the bee was in his pillowcase the whole time, which is why I couldn't find it before. She also had a theory that there might be a hive of bees in the wall, so I'm not sure how credible she is. (I love you, Mom. And y'all watch, I'm going to make fun and sure enough they'll be a damn bee hive in the wall. Just wait...)

After playing in the water for a while this afternoon, the boys were psyched to cozy up in their new robes, courtesy of Grandma Susan. They are doing so well right now, even with Matthew's hurt leg (a story for another time). I'm so proud of how strong and capable they are, and the love they show one another. They also bop each other routinely, but when push comes to shove they are loyal and kind. Like brothers. Butterfly brothers.

Minneapolis Winter

A few weeks back, we left the burgeoning spring of Florida to spend a few days in the still heavy winter of Minneapolis. I hadn't been there since I was 16 - which I realized as I was reminiscing on the plane was 16 years ago. So I took the boys to see their Grandma Jackie and many uncles, aunts, and cousins.
While we were there, we were lucky enough to have some beautiful sunny days for playing in the snow. We only made a couple of outings into the snow because, well, it was cold. But the kids enjoyed their first times in the fluffy white stuff all the same.
It took me almost 20 minutes to get both kids dressed for the snow, then another 5 minutes to get my self suited up. Then I forgot the mittens the first time, which is a total non-starter because if any ONE place on the body is uncovered, you might as well not have covered the rest of it. Luckily, Aunt Linda had some mittens we could borrow.
Of course, the most fun we had was seeing Nana and Peter again! We shared an adjoining hotel room with them and had so much fun with all the toys Nana brought. Our favorite toy, bar none, is the iPhone. The children love to play Bubble Breaker and a game I don't know the name of where you throw a crumbled up piece of paper into a trash can.
We went sledding a couple of times and the children thought that was fun, but it was hard to get into it since it involved a lot of slogging up the hill with a kid on one hip and the sled on the other. Maybe we'll wait until they get a bit bigger - and better able to pull the sled up themselves - before we try it again.
It was wonderful to see Grandma Jackie and all of our family, but I was happy to get back to sunny Florida. I'm so impressed that people can live in that climate because it's basically trying to kill you. I'm glad we survived the trip and I was very impressed with the boys on the plane. I heard that there was more snow just the other day, while we are already getting sunburns. Maybe the Minneapolis family should come visit us next year???

Friends & Family.

We've been having a good time with our friends and family. Jeff's parents are in town and we've been spending time at the beach. Our buddy Finn has been around a bunch, too, which we always like. Finn is a wonderful complement to Matthew's strong leadership style and crazy ideas. Finn is right there to participate or tattle, depending on the idea.

New Videos

I've added some new videos to the list. Enjoy!

Sunset Beach

After both boys took a long nap the other day, we headed out to the beach to watch the sunset and check out a place I've been dying to see, The Postcard Inn.

They're getting ready to build a new highrise down the beach so there was a massive sand hill that the boys (all of them!) had a great time scaling. Of course, the most fun was had on the return trip!

Buzz was uncharacteristically cautious, scooting down in Matthew's wake. He *loves* his big brother and is always trying to follow in his footsteps.

We had a great dinner at the barbeque place that is the restaurant at the Postcard. They even serve Abita Turbodog beer on tap so I just had to get one. I paid for that decision later!

Hope you're all having a wonderful spring! If you're sick of the winter, y'all come on down 'cause it's nice and warm here already - and soon it'll be so hot that you won't even want to visit!

Spring Bloom

This is just a reminder for all of you still in the depth of winter...spring is on its way!

Check out all these cute photos I've taken with my phone over the last year! (No need to comment on my inability - until now - to figure out how my phone syncing works. I'm mother of the year for even taking these pictures, so we can leave all the judgement of my tech skills at the door.)

Here are the boys at the park...

...and piled in our bed reading...

...and dressed up like a doctor...

...and at the Christmas party...

...and acting sweet at another park...

...and on our way to the beach...

...and at the beach!

What a wonderful life it is! Thanks to all who have helped us get here!

Jacksonville Trip

This weekend, we went on what I hope will be the first of many roadtrips. We weren't planning to go - I was sick when I woke up on Saturday morning and the kids have been fighting off something that's had them up all night for days - but Jeff convinced me that since I wouldn't be doing anything strenuous, I'd be fine.

We had a nice drive over to Jacksonville where two of our good friends live. (Thanks for the DVD player, Mom! The children were plugged in and quiet the whole time!) First we went to see Jeff's friend, and Matthew's godfather and namesake. We had a great time hanging out at the park and I was happy to take the children up for bed that night while Jeff went out of the town!

The next morning, we met my good friend at the zoo. What a good time the children had on the slide there! I loved seeing little JB who is crawling now and still has his sparkling personality. His sister is still as spunky and fun as ever, and she and Matthew competed for the three-year-old talking contest!

Thanks for a nice weekend! Hope to see you all again soon!