Shoe fly

This afternoon we were outside playing in the water table I overheard Cason say "oh, it's not a spider, it's just a shoe fly". It took me a second but I realized that he thought that flies are called shoe flies because in the past when he has freaked out about a fly buzzing around, I tell him that it's just a fly and then sing the song "shoo fly don't bother me..." To confirm that my thinking was correct, I showed him The Diary of a Spider book that Grandma G. sent him a few weeks ago. I pointed to a fly in the book and asked him what kind of bug it was. He replied "a shoe fly". Priceless!

Cason's latest sayings

This week Cason has said on multiple occasions, "that can be arranged". For instance, when his beloved bugs got taken away on Wednesday for the day and he kept asking for them back, I would tell him he could have them back on Thursday. He would say "oh, that can be arranged".

His other thing lately that I just noticed is he says "otay" like either Porky or Buckwheat from The Little Rascals. I googled it and some sources said it was Porky and some said it was Buckwheat. Anyone from that era want to help me out? Anyway, I think it's super cute and I never correct him.

CrossFit

It's no secret that Kelly is really into exercise. Ever since he did the Navy Seal Challenge last year, he has been more motivated to try competitions and training for a purpose. He is constantly trying new lifts and moves but lately has become bored with traditional exercises in a gym. He heard about something called CrossFit and researched it heavily on the internet before finding out that there is a CrossFit gym in our area.

I asked Kelly to help me explain CrossFit and this is what he provided me: CrossFit is not a specialized fitness program but a deliberate attempt to optimize physical competence in each of ten recognized fitness domains. They are: Cardiovascular and Respiratory endurance, Stamina, Strength, Flexibility, Power, Speed, Coordination, Agility, Balance, and Accuracy. Our program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Our specialty is not specializing. Instead of lifting weights for vanity, CrossFit is functional training for real world application. CrossFit is what a lot of police academies and military special operations use. Kelly would eventually like to compete in CrossFit Games and do triathalons.

So a few weeks ago, we stopped by the gym one night to check it out. It's one big garage with not a lot of bells and whistles. The owner, Rob, was there along with his son and his son's friend. We chatted with them for awhile and Kelly was all excited to get more involved. Tuesday night, he went to join in the workout. He walked in and grabbed the rings and did a Muscle Up. A Muscle Up is one of the most difficult CrossFit moves. He is the first (and only so far) person to ever do one in this gym. Rob took a video of him repeating it.



So last night the whole family went back to watch his workout and get some pictures. This is before the workout actually began. Rob, the owner, is the guy in the red shirt and black hat. He is a really nice guy. The kid in the blue shirt is his son's friend, Matt.



The Workout of the Day, called Fight Gone Bad, consisted of 5 rounds that lasted 5 minutes apiece with a one minute break in between. Each round had 5 exercises for a full minute. The guys counted how many reps they got in that minute and Rob wrote it on the board. There are workouts at 5:30 am, 5:30 pm, and 6:30 pm. Basically, you can look at the board and see how people in the previous workouts did as far as how many numbers they put up and you can push yourself to do more than them. This kind of challenge really appeals to Kelly.

So the first exercise tonight was double unders on the jump rope, which I don't have a picture of.

Then came wall ball. You throw a 20 pound ball up to a mark on the wall that is 10 feet high.



Then you have to squat down to touch your butt on another ball on the ground.



Next came box jumps, as many as you could do in one minute.



Then sumo dead lift.





And finally push press.



That's round one. They got a one minute break and then did it all over again, four more times. The workout changes every day. When you go to the gym, you find out what the Workout of the Day is, most are cleverly named.

Rob has six kids of his own so he is super sweet to Cason and Bryce. He lets them play with his gear and I just try to keep them out of the way.

Proof that Rycie will eat almost anything...

In case you can't hear Kelly, it's a smoothie with protein powder, olive oil, beets, spinach, broccoli, blackberries, and green tea. Personally, I dont know how either one of them can eat it.

The adventure of Green Beetle

Cason still loves his bugs more than anything else. He plays with them every day, often takes a few of them when we run places, and usually sleeps with them. His favorites are red ant and blue ant, he will tell you that they are nice ants and don't bite. Last week, Kelly took Green Beetle with him on a tour. These pictures document his adventure.

Preflighting the airplane in Burlington, Vermont.



Keeping an eye on the annunciator panel.



He became the new heading bug.



Leaving Florida, heading north.



At the Sheraton, taking in Cuyahoga Falls in Ohio.



Found a warm spot to sit in Lexington, Kentucky.

At the pool

This morning we went to the pool with our friends Lacy, Josiah, and Luke. Neither of my kids like the pool. Cason doesn't like getting wet outside of the bathtub. At home, if he gets a drop of water on his clothes, he has to change them immediately. Which makes having fun at the pool challenging. The first day we went a few weeks ago, he didn't get anything higher than his ankles wet. We are making progress because today he got waist high.

I'm not sure what Bryce's deal is. I think he's scared of the water. Maybe if I brought his bath seat to the pool, he'd feel more comfortable. Ha! Also, both times we've been to the pool this summer, he's skipped his morning nap so he was pretty tired. I'm gonna keep on taking them and hopefully by the end of the summer they will be enjoying it more. Thanks Lacy for risking your camera by taking these pictures!

Bryce and his buddy Luke (almost 8 months)







Cason and Josiah





Of course my little Nature Boy found some sticks for him and Josiah. They were "fishing" in the pool with them.

...was his name-o

You can teach a kid to spell any five letter word if you put it to the tune of B-I-N-G-O.

Brother Bear

First Cason does his homework, which consists of him scribbling on something like our Verizon cable and internet bill.



Then he puts his pen behind his ear and says "I'm Brother Bear."



Because he is obsessed with The Berenstain Bears. I think those are about the only books he has asked for the past few months. Kelly and I are SO sick of The Berenstain Bears.

Thank you Lou Ann and Denny!

Thank you Lou Ann and Denny for the gifts for Bryce and the awesome scrapbook you made him (not in the video, didn't want them to destroy it). The video is rather non eventful but you can tell Bryce likes the book.

Baby dedication

We had Bryce dedicated at church last Sunday. No great pictures due to the lighting and the fact that Pastor Pete stood right in front of us most of the time but I wanted to blog this so I wouldn't forget to put it in my next volume of Pages We've Turned.



The backside of Pastor Pete and Gail. Pete spoke to and prayed for the dads and Gail spoke to and prayed for the moms.



At the end, they gave Bryce a monogrammed bag, his first Bible, a toy football, and a sealed letter from Pastor Pete to be opened when he turns 16.

Rycie's birthday

I think Bryce had a great birthday today. This morning we went to Bible study as usual. Our group is small and there are currently only about 7 kids there on Thursday mornings so they all know each other pretty well and have fun there. We came home and had leftover mac and cheese for lunch -- what could be better than that? Both kids took awesome, 3 hour naps for me. When they woke up, I gave them a special treat of ice cream since we had some left over from his party. Bryce didn't like it -- too cold -- but Cason loved it. Then we played until dinner and then after dinner we went to a playground in a nearby neighborhood. I figured we had better get all our park time in before it gets too hot.

The "Birthday Boy" shirt was a hand me down from some friends of friends. I figured he had better wear it on the one possible day he could. I guess it's time to hand it off to someone else.



We go to a lot of different playgrounds and parks so I have to get creative in naming them so Cason can tell them apart. This one is the see-saw playground.











He was trying so hard to sign "duck" but it just kept coming out "milk".





His face when he was watching the ducks. This boy just LOVES animals.



He also really loves to swing!



See his right hand? Cason ALWAYS finds a rock if we're outside for any length of time. Without fail.

Happy Birthday Rycie!

Um, so I haven't thought out this post much so it may be a bit disorganized.

Bryce has 2 real words and does 4 signs. His signs are: all done, more, milk, and hi/bye. He has picked up two of those in just the past week so I really think he'll just keep adding more and more. His first word was "uh-oh" and he loves to say it all day long. We're still working on the concept that it's not uh-oh if you intentionally threw it from your high chair tray. His second word he just picked up in the past day or two. It's "awww" and he says it when he gives his sock monkey a hug. I personally think it's one of the cutest things of all time. Probably because Cason has never been into stuffed animals and never went around hugging things.



He is the complete opposite of Cason in so many ways and I love that about him. When I imagined him before he was born, I pictured a mini Cason. He is quite different and I wouldn't have it any other way. In some ways, he is very much like his big brother though. One example is his intensity. When he is happy, he is REALLY happy. When he is upset, the whole block knows it. And he really is happy unless he is teething, which unfortunately is often. He has the s-l-o-w-e-s-t moving teeth ever.

Bryce started pulling up and cruising at 6 or 7 months. I was so eager for him to walk. I admitted to a friend that I was rooting for him to beat Cason, who walked at 10.5 months. Being the younger sibling myself, I tend to route for the underdog. Well 10.5 months came and went and I came to terms with the fact that he was content to crawl/cruise/be carried. Now I love enjoying the babyness of him and am in no hurry for him to walk. I hope for their sake that is the last time that I compare them like that.

We still haven't found a fruit or veggie that Bryce dislikes although he is starting to become more picky about eating meat. He loves sliced lunch meat but other meats are hit or miss. He loves holding a fork or spoon while he eats and trying to imitate us using them. He also has started to get mad when I cut his food up in pieces and prefers for me to give him the entire sandwich. He is one determined little boy and I love his persistence. I pray he does great things someday with those traits.

He still loves his mama the best but does great in the church nursery and recently Kelly started taking him to the gym child care once or twice a month and they say he is one of the best kids in there. No one can make him laugh quite as hard as Cason can but unfortunately Cason also likes to hurt him when I'm not looking.

I love this age and look forward to watching all he will learn and seeing how his personality develops in the next year. Happy 1st birthday, Rycie, we love you!!!

Thank you Grandpa B.!

So last week my dad calls me and we had roughly the following conversation:

Dad: "Hey. I'm at the toy store. What am I looking for?"

Since Bryce's b-day was coming up, I knew exactly what he was talking about.

Me: "Oh Dad, I really have no clue. He doesn't play with any toys. He likes to play with empty bottles of vitamins and stuff. Seriously, don't waste your money on toys. Go to Bed Bath & Beyond and get him a ladle or something."

My dad started laughing and we discussed it a little more, like how both boys fell in love with a silicone spoon at our trip to Williams-Sonoma last week but there was no way I would spend $10 on a spoon. Then we talked for a few more minutes about other random stuff. He ended the conversation this way:

Dad: "Okay, well I'll talk to you later. I think I'm off to Bed Bath & Beyond."

So needless to say, I was curious to see what he picked out. We got his package today. So here's a rather long video of the boys opening it up and then playing with the stuff. Dad, thanks for sending enough for Cason to have stuff too, made it a whole lot easier on me. You obviously picked out great toys for both a 1 year old and an almost 3 year old.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa G.!

Bryce has been loving Cason's big blue Pottery Barn Kids chair so Grandma and Grandpa G. had the perfect 1st birthday present for Bryce when they sent him a red one of his own! He completely loves it. He climbs up in it himself and then throws himself around in it. He is so proud of himself and I think he feels like such a big boy in his new chair. Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa! It was a great gift and as you can tell, he will get years of use out of it!









Whoa!



Ha ha, he was fine!