June

June started off with the kids in jail.
No, really. Adrienne woke up from her nap and THEN had an 'accident'. I was fit to be tied and threatened to not take them to Cindy's house for Brenna's birthday party. Realizing that was more punishment for Cindy & family than for Adrienne I said we'll go.
But NO SWIMMING.

Well, Aunt Cindy was just HORRIFIED by my punishment & immediately turned around, marched inside & emerged with a bathing suit for Little Miss Pee.
OK, she loved it. And they have an enormous 'kiddie end' to the pool which is only about 1 1/2' deep.
(PERFECT for adults to lounge with a cocktail but being that kids outnumbered adults by about 3 to 1 I don't think that was happening today...)

Since I was completely unprepared for swimming (no swim diapers!) Cindy said not to worry & just let him in going commando. No need to worry because every time I made a move to throw him in I got a big:
"NO!!!"

He had a blast with the pool toys. Just not with them IN the pool.
(and poor Wes in the background... "LET ME IN!!"

If you think it's fun on dry land you should really give it a try in the water!
There you go - toss it in!
And with no diaper his shorts wouldn't stay up! I must've taken 30 pictures of that too-cute tush!
With the pool toys now IN the pool I threw him in too.
Nope. He wanted NO part of it and exhibited quite impressive dexterity in getting the HELL OUT as quickly as possible.

For some reason getting splashed with pool water was just AWESOME though...
Checkin' out Brenna and her gifts while simultaneously checkin' out his crack.
Class-SSY!

Adrienne has decided that the MINUTE Cindy sits down for gift opening she MUST be in her lap. All parties. All holidays. Cindy takes a seat and Adrienne, who can be 4 rooms away and have NO clue as to what's going on, will be in her lap in a matter of 5 seconds.
David looked at me & said, "She came over, climbed up by herself & started talking to me!"
Well, she's been working on it for a while... apparently she's perfected her strategy at meeting guys at bars!

Next day... we're off to the races with our old neighbors who braved the shore traffic to spend the day with us. It was the Jazz & Blues Festival that day as well, so the track busted out all the show stoppers - including pony rides.

After going around 2 or 3 times the trainer that had Adrienne's horse let her go solo. Adrienne was PROUD AS A PEACOCK to be on her own.

Meanwhile, Mya was a few horses away and dug it the first few times around.
Then she was done.
REAL done.
Adrienne's horse must've sensed that something was going awry because he dropped an anchor that brought the whole carousel to a jolting stop.
Nick: "Hey! Bring that walking glue factory over here to see my woman!"
(for those of you who lost track... Nick & Mya have been betrothed since birth!)

Mya: "Mmmm... Honey.... I don't think the horse is coming over here... You better let me handle this."

Mya: "What? You no lika the 3 bambinos?!"

Mya: "Fuggettaboutit.... Remember your cousin in The Godfather? Yeah. Think about THAT next time we walk up to the paddock. If there IS a next time."
Going with a little Marilyn skirt action to woo my boy.

Nick: "So listen sweetheart, I'm thinkin' we should head over to the bar - let me buy you a milk - shaken, not stirred."

(if we pretend to be looking at the horses maybe our parents won't realize we're holding hands!!!)

I knew I was pregnant with Adrienne before I 'knew I was pregnant' when Greg & I were at a bar for happy hour and watched as Barbaro shattered his leg at the Preakness. I started SOBBING. You know I'm not exactly emotional... but now, any time I see a horse even just stumble, that's it. Insta-tears. Thankfully the horse was fine & I got it back together.

Back at the house, we no sooner walked in the door and these 2 headed STRAIGHT for the bedroom! My boy moves FAST! Lucky that it was our house & not Mya's. I think Ryan would've met him at the front door with a shotgun...
Be aggressive,
B-E aggressive,
B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E
Aggressive,
Be aggressive!

I said
AGGRESSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think those glasses might be a little too small...
And those might be a little too big.
Wait... isn't there a story with a bunch of bears that goes something like this...?!
First you take your finger and run it around the inside of the bowl...
... THEN you lick it!
And THAT'S how you eat sidewalk chalk dust!
Dr. Jekyll...

... and Mr. Hyde
Mmmmwwahhhhhh hahahahahaha!
For those of you who have not had the pleasure of listening to Nick scream like a little b***h, here you go. It's not the best showing, since they're a little staged... but you get the idea.



Wow buddy! And I thought you only screamed like a girl...
I've never seen Adrienne take on a task so seriously: The decorating of Pop Pop & Papou's Father's Day cards. She spent about 30 minutes on them before we went out and when we got back I didn't say a word to her - on her own she hopped in her chair & went back to work for EASILY another 15-20 minutes.
He now says, "C'mon mommy/daddy/A-dee-in!" with the beckoning finger (interesting that he's using the middle one...) before trying to pick you up if you don't hop to it quick enough.
Sidenote: He's asking for Toy Story, hence "Buzz".

Everyone calls her a 'Little Lori'... so she tried on my sunglasses to complete the look!

Then back to business making rice crispy treats.

They actually did a stellar job & these were the best RCTs we've ever made together.

After our morning treat making, we went over to the outlets as SOON as the shops were open (read: first parking spot & no crowds). The plaza has a few mini playground havens for little ones to find respite from their mothers dragging them from store to store.

This one has all beach themed 'toys'. She tried SO hard to get up on the beach ball herself but it's just a bit too high for her little legs. She was pleased as punch when I propped her up on top.

Meanwhile, Nick was hanging out inside the lighthouse slide. He LOVES to get to the top of slides (or sometimes 3/4 of the way up the steps) and then STOP. All the poor kids coming up behind him never know what to do... they're itching to get to the top but know they should wait their turn. But they can tell he's a little guy so they should go around him but are afraid their mom will yell at them for not waiting their turn.
Can you tell I've witnessed this once or twice...?

He waited there so long Adrienne got herself down from the beach ball & joined him.

Hey! They're both looking at the camera! OK, it's not the best picture in the world but I'll take it!!

Wah-hoo! Here we go!

Whoa! That's a BIG drop!
(it's all of about 3 feet - if that)

Let's do it!

My weekly, weekend tradition of attempting to get a stellar picutre of the 2 of them.
TOGETHER.
There's a shipwreck tunnel that they both desperately wanted to get on TOP of - it's actually pretty high.
"OK, here's the deal: I'll put you both on top but you have to let me take your picture."
Great one of Adrienne!

Great one of Nick!

Could it BE!?!?
The Holy Grail of photography!

I pushed my luck and tried for more.... what I got was the I'll-still-smile-but-I'm-no-longer-looking-at-the-camera face.

Ummm, if the ride is MOVING shouldn't someone be IN it?!?!

As a matter of fact.... YES!
But Nick has suddenly started this white-on-rice-clinging-to-me-fear of random things so AFTER I put the money in he decided he was petrified of it and the ride went on... riderless.

Yet ANOTHER awesome two-some shot?!!? I must've died & gone to heaven... Either that or I DEFINITELY should've played the lottery that day....

Back at home, Nick snoozin', I took Adrienne out on her bike. Although we've had it for a while, and she goes on it all the time with Mima & Pop Pop, this is the first time I'm actually getting to see her in action.

Move over, Lance! A Tour de France victory is on the horizon!



Can you really EVER have enough plastic beaded necklaces and bangle bracelets?!

My girlfriend Carrie showed me a video of her son, not long ago, where he was running 'like a big boy'. The adorable, sure-footed, sumo-stomp of a toddler was gone. By the end of this summer, surely by the beginning of next, my little guy's flat-footed gait will be gone too...

Peek-A-Boo!
(or rather... Pink-A-Boo! for those of you with little girls who TOTALLY know what I'm talking about!!)

BIG JUMP!!

Giving me not one but 2 stellar pictures earlier in the day totally deserved some ice cream. Notice how Adrienne multitasks her ice cream eating with a few dance moves to the ice cream truck tunes.

Where did it go!?!?
Ohh, there it is.... on your FACE, your HANDS...

... your SHORTS ... oh! and don't forget your SHIRT!!

And Adrienne - NOT A SPECK ON HER!
VERY impressive!

OK, all tanked up with sugar... let's play! Nope, they wanted to go over to the softball field to watch the girls practice. This is Adrienne pointing to her tush asking, "If I sit down in the dirt will I get all duurty?"
Yes, as a matter of fact you will! Nick, however, did not have the same concern.
They were enthralled watching a rivoting practice of running bases.

In one of the girliest-girl moves I've seen her pull to date... she found herself a seat among the flowers!

On the other hand, Nick never left his patch of dirt.
PERFECT, Nick. Sprinkle it over your shoulder so it goes down your neck... into your shirt... good job, buddy. Good job.

But since he can't actually SEE the mess he's making behind his back it made more sense to pile it up on his ice cream covered legs!

Whoa! First dirt... now a stick AND a rock! Life does NOTget any better than this!!

Dirt and drool, and puppy dogs tails. That's what little boys are made of!"

I finally got them back to the playground to RUN OFF THAT ICE CREAM!
Nope. They wanted the swings so the only one who got to work off ice cream she didn't get to have was ME!

FINALLY! The junglegym! Adrienne is getting great at climbing & manuvering around. Nick decides he can do it to.

"Tuck mommy! TUCK!"
(tuck = stuck)

I'm pretty sure I've seen an America's Funniest Home Videos episode like this....
Keri!! I SWEAR she came to me TOTALLY on her own with her hair over her shoulder declaring, "Look! I'm Ariel!"

Nick found the phone. I called it. When he couldn't figure out how to answer it he did what any guy would do:
Try to take it apart and when that doesn't work just start pounding it on the nearest surface.

I was on a mission to find a funky lampshade for Adrienne's room to replace the blah white one she's had. I finally decided to fashion my own funkiness since everything was either too funky or too Martha Stewart. So I decide to show Adrienne the work in progress. The FIRST thing she said, "Oh.... You put it on your head?!" SERIOUSLY!? How does she instictively know about that party trick?! I know kids grow up so much faster these days... but I can't say I expected this type of behavior for QUITE some time!

Here it is. Mohawk night.

We started off well enough. Actually, better than usual because he does NOT like the buzzers.

"All done! All DONE DADDY!"

Yes buddy, we're all done...

Here he is!

On to the bath...
This is how they go 'swimming'. They flip over onto their bellies and yell, "SWIMMIN' MOMMY!! SWIMMIN'!!!"

GET OUTTA DODGE!!
Another great picture of the 2 of them! 3 in one month!? This is unheard of!!!

Sure it's a cute picture but I'm more impressed by the strategic placement of the towel and leg angles that cover all the twigs, berries & hoo-has! If I had TRIED to get this it never would've worked!

Well it certainly didn't take long for the bad boy under the mohawk to appear...

As Adrienne watched with great disdain, Nick marched over to her work table and threw the chair aside. What has that haircut done to my sweet little boy!?

The first part of this video is Nick jumping - which he recently learned how to do and is QUITE proud of. The second part... you're going to have to CRANK the volume but it's SO worth it. My mother in law called with her panties in a BUNCH over Nick's mohawk (Greg sent out a picture message to his family). She is FIT TO BE TIED!!!

Oh! There's my cutie boy... hugging his tool...
(No! Not THAT tool, his play drill!)

Adrienne wanted to do her own hair.
It's hard to see but she's got a big ol' mushroom top popping out of her 3 (yes 1-2-3) headbands.

Sure it's a Wednesday but we're going out to eat! We took them to The Lake House... sitting outside (win), next to the water (win), with a fountain, ducks & geese (win x3) with the railroad tracks only a parking lot away (BIG WIN).

Nick decided to add his sister's headband to debut his ferocious new locks.
And I have to say, the guy that seated us (pre-headband) commented on what an AWESOME haircut Nick had. That's right, we've got the cool kid in town!

An early morning shopping trip to Target had them uber-excited for this shopping cart 'ride'. Really?! Great Adventure?? If this is all it takes to tickle your fancy we'll start making DAILY trips to Target!!




At Cassandra's bounce-house birthday party...
If ONLY this weren't blurry... Nick caught some SERIOUS air!!
The next bounce house was sports themed. Nick would risk life & limb for this soccer ball. Even to go as far as performing some intriguing positions that would make even the highest yoga master green with envy.

Ah, here's a much more typical shot of these 2.
Adrienne's not paying attention & is picking at her nose while Nick is trying to make a beeline for his beloved soccer ball.
But they actually let me get a somewhat decent picture of the 3 of us.
Umm, can you tell who is the most bedraggled!? Those bounce house things take a lot of energy!

I didn't even THINK to bring a sippy cup for Nick so he went big-kid style.

Unfortunately his shirt snuck up and sucked the glass dry.

No, really. I think you've had QUITE enough.

But MY favorite part of the party....
a SPORK!
And with that, 9 years worth of grammar school lunchroom meals came rushing back to me in the matter of seconds.... Salisbury Steak, Tator Tots & luke warm, watery milk.... Ahh, the fond memories of childhood....

I don't know why I never thought of this before:
Make them perform for their post-potty jelly beans.
Nick wised up REAL fast (wt...?! we've never had to act like idiots before! why start now!) and then Adrienne caught wind of Nick's refusal to perform so it was over before it even began...



I think we have to stop coming here.
Adrienne's made herself WAY too comfy...

Peter & Keri's Dad's Day BBQ and......
the grand debut of....

SPIKE!

Ooooo. Hey, the water feels nice.

I'd REALLY like to go in......

Well you big dope, while you just stand there pining away, I'm GOIN' FOR IT & NO ONE IS STOPPIN' ME!!

She may be in the pool but I have her toys!!!!
Adrienne had already hijacked their new jungle gym along with her darling Uncle Peter to push her. Because NO ONE can push her like Uncle Peter can.

OK, ok... they finally all got to go in. This is the best shot I got of them together....

But Nick was so elated to finally be allowed in he would've smiled for the next 2 hours if I asked him....

Even after the girls started playing... he was still smilin' away...

Ain't nothin' like the lawn seats....

A dirty little hippie chick running like a dainty ballerina... Hmmm, not sure how that works...

Gentlemen we can rebuild him
We have the technology
We have the capability to make the worlds first bionic man
Nick Billows will be that man
Better than he was before
Better, Stronger, Faster

I wasn't even there when this picture was taken.
And it's hard enough to get a good video of him doing it, let alone a still shot.
But there's NO question.
He's in the middle of his signature dance move.

Killer profile shot of Spike.

Tammy hosed down the slide for an extra slippery experience.
And she got one.

All I can say is thank HEAVEN Uncle Bob was there to catch her because this has 3-hour-crying fit written ALL over it!!

Delicious. Just DELICIOUS!

I've come to the realization that Keri's favorite hobby in the whole-wide-world might very well be loading my kids up with sugary desserts JUST before going home which is usually JUST before bedtime.
First, Italian ices.

Then, chocolate chip cookies the size of their head. Well, maybe Adrienne's head.

There isn't much that can dwarf Nick's noggin.
"Sit, Ubu, sit! ...Good dog!"

Out of Italian ice. Out of chocolate chip cookies. Maybe I'll eat my feet...

This is Nick.
This is sugar.
This is Nick on sugar.
Any questions?

So my grand plan for Saturday (yesterday) was to make banana bread so Greg could have it for breakfast on Father's Day. We were such busy bees that didn't happen.
On Sunday I came downstairs, took one look at Greg & Nick sitting on the couch munching on their cereal with banana slices in it & flipped my lid...
"AHHH! Where did you get that banana?! You didn't slice up one of the bananas from the fruit bowl did you!?!? I NEED that banana to make bread with the kids today!"
He felt so bad he proceed to pick out all the banana slices.
But hey! We got to make our bread WITH chocolate chips, mind you!
(the story doesn't end there - now being crunched for time I used convection bake which cut the time in about half - awesome! Yeah, not so awesome after it cooled & I had a burnt outside and raw middle. I'm the worst wife ever... I literally STOLE Greg's food away from him this morning, on FATHER'S DAY, and now I don't even a CRUMB of banana bread to give him...)

The scrunched up nose (along with a little head bob) and her signature line, "Yeah, it's good." when asked to taste test.
(in this case they were taste-testing chocolate chips)
She takes her baking VERY seriously.
Minutes before leaving Peter & Keri's the night before, Aunt Tammy whipped up this fabulous hair do which I manged to (somewhat) replicate.
I was SO pleased with myself since the hair-styling gene completely missed me.

Pretty specatcular, right?!!?

Adrienne was NOT so pleased because she was expecting a full out double French braid like the girls at school do for her. Keep dreamin', honey.

So with Adrienne out and about with Mima & Pop Pop, it's Nick & me spending Father's Day as Mom & Boy Day.

It really is engrained in their being as men.... Absolutely INCREDIBLE how everything he picks up turns into 1 of 3 things: a hammer (as in this case with the stick), a sword or a rocket ship.

Ants.
Fascinating... Horrifying.... Ants.

We bumped into a friends who brought popcorn to feed the ducks. With a handful I took Nick down to the water to have a turn.

How this child didn't fall into the water is beyond me. Before I had a chance to catch him he went RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE to toss it all in. Not that it's deep... but eww GROSS. The next hour of cleaning muck out of crevices (his and my own) flashed before my eyes...

Luckily he didn't fall in. Actually, he plopped down and just WATCHED. For a LONG time. As the ducks paddled around.

His patience paid off.
Well, sorta. As soon as the duck saw him coming he high-tailed it back into the water. I'm just grateful Nick didn't follow!

As previously mentioned, he's suddenly become Mr. Timid.
45 minutes later he finally gets all the way down the slide.

After the park I took Nick over to a hole-in-the-wall-mom-&-pop luncheonette where we waited a grueling 45 minutes for a few eggs & pancakes (it never dawned on me that the place would be packed for Father's Day!).
Nick, the child who is a saint up until the minute he steps foot into a restaurant was actually PHENOMENAL. He was SUCH A GOOD BOY and considering he was hungry and WAY tired I couldn't believe what a peach he was.

Adrienne got back, everyone took a nap & we headed over to the track to spend time with Greg... being that it IS Father's Day and all...
We pulled into the lot at the track and they FLIPPED OUT!
HORSIES!!!!
And when I wasn't moving fast enough to get them out of their carseats they try to do an Incredible Hulk an burst their way through the straps.



Yeah! We get to see dad on Dad's Day!
It was a crazy day for Greg - usually he can slip away for a few minutes with us but he was running around like a nut. So what better way to spend the few precious mintues of downtime he got with his family than to run after Nick!

Really Adrienne... REALLY??
Well... picking her nose & sitting like a guy... what better way to honor dad than to act like a guy!

It's from my cell phone so the quality is terrible... but they had just figured this out & it's a riot!
The first part they're just roaring at each other, but then they realized they can see each other UNDER the table.

Their school is doing sprinkler days for the kids. Or as Adrienne calls it, "the sprinkles".
With her kinky wavy hair and her surfer girl suit she looked like she was ready for The Big Kahuna.
Greg taught her how to 'surf'... o... m.... G... HYSTERICAL!

Later that night, now donning her hat and sunglasses (ones that are JUUUUUST RIGHT) she's still catching waves...

Next day, Nick's turn with the sprinklers!

The first time the kids see the new railing & why it's a good thing...

Since the day we moved in this child has not had a single problem with the rail-less stairs. Now with the railing, she wavers a little on the steps, slips on Nick's toolbox and finally falls over the stroller.

Family self-portrait (which isn't half bad!!) with the newest addition to the house in the background.

Their unbridled enthusiasm for the first beach day of the year (and Nick's first time ever!) just couldn't be contained.

After what seemed like a 2 hour walk to the water's edge they plopped down & got right to work digging to China.
(Do kids in China dig to the USA, I wonder...?)

The first time her toesies hit the water...
BAHHH! It's COLD!
(oh, the hat & sunglasses... ALL Adrienne's doing!)

Sizing up the Atlantic.

And taking it on!

She did this for about a 1/2 hour... feigning fear as the wave, long past retreating back into the sea, got to her tush.

Back at the towels Nick is completely intrigued by the sand and decided that it isn't enough to have it absolutely EVERYWHERE underfoot...

... so he filled up Yiayia's beach chair too.

Getting ready to hit the waves.

After this one...
... I thought it was all over. She ended up with a faceful of ocean water and sand. But nope! She was right back at it.

I have to say, I could not BELIEVE this was Adrienne. As in the girl who cries over everything / nothing, demands band-aids for every bump & bruise... From the moment we hit the beach she was impervious to getting smacked around by the ocean. Waves in the face, sand in her bathing suit... she was INCREDIBLE! Not a single whimper or complaint! She just played and played and had a FABULOUS time.
Nick.... well it took Nick almost 2 hours to finally get in the water. I would hold him & dunk his foot or hand - he would cling to me and SCREAM like a little girl (see video above) but at an ear-splitting volume. What he enjoyed most was simply running AWAY from the water every time Adrienne did. Oh the HORROR!

Sand = Trampoline?!!?
Who knew!?

Move over Bo, there's a new beach babe in town.

When he wasn't screaming at the ocean while in my arms he yelled at it from the shore.

Finally... he braved a seat 'near' the water.

Not only did this break Yiayia's back but it also broke his fear of the water.

He doesn't even need a wave to knock him over. Plain ol' sand does the trick just fine.

That was it. After this I didn't take another picture because we could NOT get him out of the water. He was literally THROWING himself in the ocean! We left with him kicking & screaming to go back in the water!!

Notice the strategic placement of kids to hide the not so pleasant abundance of chub.
OK, ok, it's a cute picture, I know!
(but I have the girl in the background who is picking her arse to thank for REALLY making the picture a treasured one...)

Turn the volume up to 11 to hear this one... Nick's favorite part of Finding Nemo is the seagulls. They're actually saying Mine, Mine, Mine but when he does it he sounds more like a seal.

He's SUCH a mush.
He'll just stop what he's doing and ask for a hug and usually a kiss too.
(ummm, yeah, for those with a keen eye, Adrienne had randmly decided to take off her shorts & undies)



I picked up some lettering stencils for Adrienne & gave her a pencil. She IMMEDIATELY wanted the pencil behind her ear.
I kept thinking that was a rather adult thing to do... and then it hit me...



The night quickly devolved as Adrienne's lack-of-afternoon-nap caught up with her. I swear, if ever there was a soap opera star in the making, we have the pleasure of living with her. ALL FEIGNED DRAMA!!!!
But watch Nick. You can actually SEE Dennis the Menace materialize on his face with the furrowed brow as he sizes up Adrienne and goes in for a little poke to see if he can get even more of a rise out of her. Quickly looking back at me to see if he's in trouble he realizes I'm not going to yell at him & she's too busy melting down let her buttons get pushed and wanders away.



And that as June.
*phew*
I'm exhausted just doing the blog all in one sitting... not sure how I lived thru it!!!