swingin' dangerously

Notice how Atticus comes about 1 inch from banging his melon on the post. I moved the swing. Too close for comfort on that one!!!!

T- Ball

Piper finished her T- Ball season last night. She was
pretty bummed that it ended. We are not sure
if it was the T-ball she will miss, the time with
Caelan or the popsicles. I am guessing she
will miss first, the popsicles followed by Caelan
as a close second and lastly t-ball
It was fun to watch those two. They had fun
sitting in the sand, talking to each other and to the coach while he tried to instruct the others.
Pipers proved herself to be a natural batter. She
could usually get a good hit after spinning around in circles a couple of times and missing the ball
entirely.

Caelan was fun to watch too. Every time she went
to bat she always had a conversation with the coach regarding preferred bat color etc. Such the intellectual she is.


Piper referred to her awesome coach as the "yellow man"
which I imagine as a cross between
curious george's the man in the yellow hat
and a yellow version of Vegas' blue man.


Pipers friend Owen was also in T- Ball. He is
headed for the majors and we hope to see
him there!!! They were on different
teams but all the kids enjoyed getting together
afterwards for a popsicle social.

A True Princess is ALWAYS ready for the Ball....

always. Even after the clock has struck twelve. To the right, you will see Pipers preferred bedtime apparel. Who needs pajamas?? The other day Chris and I took the kids to Como zoo where we saw a bridal party taking pictures. Piper was mesmerized and asked if we could go sit in the chairs neatly lined up for the ceremony. Not wanting to get arrested, I told her we would have to wait for a wedding that we were invited too. She was sad, disappointed and then asked " Hey Mom Where is her prince". As we know, Piper thinks in terms of princes and princesses, not husband and wives. In her head, she really is a princess.



Chris and I are the wicked stepparents that are cruelly forcing her to pick up toys, get dressed, wear shoes ( not plastic heals) drink milk ( preferably white, not chocolate or pink) and of course, go to bed. This is tough for a princess because princesses dont pick up toys, always wear heals, not to mention makeup, and in her eyes, never drink or eat anything not pink. Lastly and most importantly, princesses have dances, recitals and tea parties to attend. Daily chores most definitely get in the way. Piper tries to bring Atticus into her fairy tale world but most of the time he is not having it. She asks him to dance and he tugs her to the ground in a graceful dip. She puts him in a dress and he puts on his Bob the Builder belt, takes off his diaper and pees. She talks about their upcoming wedding (after college and kindergarten she says) and he hits her with a baseball bat. But still she tries.
While Piper fancies princesses, sweeet Atticus has been pretty stoked about motorcycles and guitar hero. cant play of course he cannot play guitar hero, however, a product he is a of the Wii
generation. Sadly, every instrument he sees is labeled guitar hero from the shiny silver flute to loud drum set- it
is all "guitar hero" ( we really enjoy the instrument room at best buy and I feel that they really enjoy me too, when I turn my kids loose for a good time in that secluded little area in the back of the room, it IS fun!! Everyone should try it). Anyway, Chris's mom got a wii and it is good for hours of entertainment. I definitely think that Atticus has the rockstar look down pat. Today, I bought him a (craigs list- compact friendly) new bike! Its a Harley kids bike, complete with fire and hubcaps on the wheels. He is loving it. Pictures to follow soon.

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Sunday morning self-portraits.

Outsmarting Houdini

Can you outsmart Houdini? Or just Atticus? Tonight, I stood outside my gate at midnight
tired and groggy from work and locked out of my front door trying to fumble with the tiny
number wheels of the Master Lock upside down from the opposite side of the gate.
A nervous person by nature I was very worried that
someone would jump from behind and yell " BOO". Luckily, It didnt happen and after
20 minutes I was able to turn the wheels to our tricky ( same number 4 times) combo
and get inside my yard where I then spent another ten minutes fumbling through my
organized purse for my keys.

















So why the Master Lock?? Last Thursday morning at 0900 I was vacuuming (yes, I do vacuum), Chris was showering, Piper was sleeping (yep, at 0900) and Atticus was naked, trying to use the toilet. Well, Atticus must have grown to door lock height magically overnight. Because he let himself out the back door and out the back gate and was suddenly missing. Chris came into the living room and asked where he was..... Heart racing, panic setting in we searched the house with no luck. Finally, I looked outside. And yelled Atticus!!!! No luck.

Still yelling Atticus, I ran into the alley and there he was, buck naked, staring at a motorcycle. Smile on his face, not a worry in the world, he said " Look Mom- motorcycle. Vroom, Vroom. Can I ride it".

still somewhat freaked out by that event we were thrilled when later that day Piper took off the gate caribeaners to let Atticus out of the yard " so he could run around". We knew then it was time to increase security. It was time for Lockdown. It was time for the masterlock.

This is pretty cool!

At first I thought this was the most ridiculous, self-promoting idea to date. While it is a bit, it also is a great way to stay connected with friends & family.

Dad & Atticus.

Piper & Atticus Video Debut

We have arrived!