My flowers

Strawberries - I planted these this spring and then had to pinch all the flowers until July 1. These are some of the first berries.

What remains of the lettuce. The amazon rainforest zuchinni and a bit of the tomatoes - which are also rather Amazon. All started from seed.

The hosta I divided and planted out front this spring after ripping out (with the truck) the yucky old evergreen bushes.

The view from the garage of the flower side of the driveway. Oatgrass, Zinnia, then a small wildflower patch, and some rose-of-sharon.

Wildflowers, day lilies, marigolds, pansies (I got 15 plants for $0.25 in a planter that looked pretty shabby - they are doing pretty well, all things considered), and daisies.

I love the colors in this picture - a pretty zinnia.

I grew some nasturtium from seed and planted them here - they are happy. Got the idea from a house on Jefferson St last summer - their sidewalk was lined with nasturtium - the colors are happy.

The red flowers are a perennial that my mom bought - can't remember the name right now. Pretty though.

Day lily.

Cosmos.

Ice Cream Cones

Ice cream cones. Yumm!! Isabele's first.

"Well of course I know what to do with it. The same thing I do with everything - put it in my mouth."

"It's not my fault I've got ice cream in my nose - they gave it to me."

When all other options for keeping sick kids happy fail, give them ice cream cones and let them make a mess. Hopefully their colds won't last too much longer.

"Daddy's Airport"

I had to go to the airport today to get Titus' carseat out of the Jag. The conversation between Titus and me went something like this:

Me: Titus, we are going to go get your other carseat at the airport.
Titus: Go get carseat at daddy's airport. See daddy's airplane.
Me: We might see daddy's airplane but daddy isn't there so we cannot touch it.
Titus: Daddy is in Texas.
Me: No, Daddy is in Arizona.
Titus: Might see airplane but can't touch it. Daddy is in Texas.

When we got to the hanger, 710 [one of the planes] was being worked on. The mechanic was pushing the running plane out of the hanger with the "tractor". Titus was not at all happy with the noise, which is understandable as I couldn't hear myself think due to the noise. We happened to show up right after Barry, Brian's boss, so we talked to him a minute and went in the side door as Titus wasn't going to go in the front door by the "very, very noisy plane".

Titus told Barry "Daddy is in Texas." Bob was inside and Titus told him about the "very, very noisy airplane." He thought the mechanic was Brian, "Oh, There's daddy!" [The pilots and mechanics all wear black pants and grey shirts, so they all look a bit like Daddy from a distance, at least to a 2 year old.]

We sucessfully found the car keys in Brian's desk, got the carseat and returned the keys. Titus said to Emily, the scheduler, on the way out, "The airplane is not very, very noisy now. Airplane is very, very quiet. Airplane went night night." [The plane was shut down as we left the hanger.]

We continued to talk about the airplane and where daddy was all the way to Wal-Mart.

Crawling?

I think Isabele went forward on her hands and knees today. She also figured out that cupboard doors open. Guess I'm back to the days of all the pots and pans on the floor any time we are in the kitchen. At least I'll have an excuse for the cupboards being a mess - the lower ones, that is. Now I just need a good excuse for the higher cupboards being messy.

Babies

Out of the blue today while eating lunch, Titus said, "Auntie Hannah has a baby in her tummy."
I said, "Yes, she does, but not for long. Pretty soon she'll have a baby like Isabele."
Titus thought for a minute, then said, "Auntie Hannah has a baby in her tummy. Pretty soon Auntie Hannah will have a baby like Ibele." He then pulled up his shirt, pointed at his bellybutton and said, "Titus has a baby in his tummy."

And that was the end of that conversation. No clue where it came from.

Isabele is mobile

She still hasn't actually gone forward on her hands and knees, but she is certainly mobile. Backwards on her belly, from sitting to on her belly and back again, scooting backward on her back by arching her back over and over, and the latest, this funky crawl type thing on one knee with the other leg half under her and half in a sitting position. She uses this one to be able to reach things and then go back to sitting. Maybe in the next couple days she'll figure out crawling. She loves to pull herself up onto her knees so she can reach higher.
And attitude - this girl has plenty already. It will be quite interesting to watch her personality continue to develop. She certainly lets us know when she isn't getting what she wants, be it food, toys, milk from a glass, or just picked up.

Titus the talking machine

Titus has really started talking in the last couple weeks. Today my dad asked him if he wanted to go take a nap with Grandpa. He said "Go take nap with Grandpa up ladder" [meaning in the chicken coop in the loft - the spot for random younger people who need a place to sleep for a night or two]. My mother said "Oh, in Hannah's room? Do you know where Auntie Hannah is?" Titus responded "Auntie Hannah in Las Vegas with Uncle Mike."

Later on, when asked "Where is your dad?" Titus responded "In Texas". [He is actually on his way to Arizona for 9 days to help his day with an airplane, but Texas is where he usually goes when he's going to be gone for several days].

We are actually starting to have conversations with Titus. It's so cool to watch things start to click in his head.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Mr. Titus and Miss Isabele

Titus almost always helps cook breakfast. This morning he was helping his dad make pancakes. Not too bad for a 2 1/2 year old.

The happy cook.

Titus and Isabele before going to church this morning.

Princess Isabele

She adores him, and he likes her, even when she has just pulled his hair. Maybe they will always like each other.

Prince Titus

Just some random pictures of the kids

Titus was quite happy playing on his own - he put Connect Four pieces into the base for stackable rings. Of course they got stuck and I'm still not sure how I'm going to get them out.

Sweet pea. He's been climbing in our bed in the middle of the night off and on for months now. I can't figure out why. If I put him back in his bed enough times in the night, he will stay, but often I'm too tired to get up for the 3rd or 4th time and just give up, letting him finish the night in the big, warm bed where the covers stay up.

Nothing like getting lots of help with the spoon, huh? Isabele.

It started out with Isabele sitting on the counter and I was feeding her banana with a spoon. Then Titus saw the action and needed some too.

What a hair-do. I know that eventually she will have more hair - in the meantime "rooster hair".

Havoc got in Titus' tent last night so she could sleep right next to Brian. For quite a while she had her head on Brian's foot.

Isabele wouldn't stay asleep for naptime in her bed, so I got her up and layed her on the floor by the computer while I messed around. She fell asleep and had her hour nap on the floor.

Lilliputians

Isabele was staring at the fan in the window at lunch and I remembered a tidbit from Titus as a wee little one and thought I'd add the email from Titus to my mother and back.

Titus wrote (with my help):
"My mom said to ask you if you have Lilliputians that live on the tops of the ceiling fan blades at your house. They live on the ceiling fans here in Arizona and I really like them, so I hope that they live in Indiana too. I like to listen to them - they talk to me and sometimes I talk to them.
"Anyway - if you don't have any, that's okay, because I think I'm going to bring a few of the ones from the bedroom with me.
"See you in 2 weeks!"

My mother replied:

"Dear very wee Titus:

"I have REALLY good new for you. I was paying very close attention to a fan in our loft the other day and I noticed some movement there. On closer inspection I was astounded to note that there was an entire colony of Lilliputians living there. I was so shocked that I hurried to the other fans in the house to check and see if there were more. (We have three fans here at Grandmother's house) You will be thrilled to know, that I found two families of cousins to the Lilliputians living on the other fans. In fact. one family is living in the very room you get to sleep in when you get here. I spoke briefly with them and they said they had absolutely no intentions of vacating in the near future, so they will be here anxiously awaiting your arrival. I told them that you were coming and bringing a few AZ lilliputians with you. They said that would be great as the fan they are presently living on has five blades and they are only occuping four of them. They did say though, that they would prefer that you bring the very prettiest and most handsome of the AZ people with you. It would be good for their population (if you understand what I mean) Have a good trip. Grandmother Lisa and the Indiana Lilliputians."

The adults involved all got several good laughs out of that. Titus was 3 or 4 months old and loved to stare at the ceiling fans, so I made up the Lilliputian theory.

Soup?

So Titus made "soup" for lunch. We were eating out on the deck at my mother's and Titus decided to stir the firepit. The firepit happened to have a fire in it at some point prior to the rain yesterday morning. Then it rained yesterday morning, thus adding a lot of water to the already existing ashes and mostly burned up wood. Titus saw this as the perfect oportunity to make soup. He stirred and stirred with the metal thing that is used to open and close the mesh cover to the firepit. Then he picked up a piece of charred wood and said "What is it?" 'Bia answered, "It's meat. Put it back in the soup." Titus complied and continued stirring.
There were no takers on his soup. Maybe next time.

Elephant Ears

I think that maybe Titus isn't really my kid. We went to the fair for lunch with my mom and dad and got an elephant ear for dessert. (I could have skipped lunch and just had the elephant ear). Anyway - Titus is chopping away on his little piece - one little mouse-bite at a time. After about 5 minutes, he looks up at me, hands me a little more that half of what I gave him, brushed his hands off, and was done eating elephant ears. (I had no problem finishing his piece for him).

He walked around the fair, looking at all the rides and those crazy game places with all the stuffed animals. He was interested, but was his typical, well-behaved self, not arguing when I told him he couldn't go. I think his favorite part was sitting on the tractor at the entrance, and looking at the huge front-loader.

Next year we'll have to take the kids on kiddie day and let them ride some of the rides - Isabele will be walking - it should be a hoot. Must remember the camera.

Peanutbutter and Jelly

Titus wasn't eating his peanutbutter and jelly sandwich for lunch, so I gave a quarter of it to Isabele. She loved it and Titus started eating the rest of his. Gotta love competition.

Big, big owwies and big, big messes

What a morning. Big, big owwie: Titus stepped on a fuzzy bee and got stung on the bottom of his second toe. 15 minutes later, with popsicle in hand, he was sitting on the lawn chair watching me finish mowing when I ran over the little door-mat rug and stalled the mower. 5 minutes later he was okay enough for me to clean up the big, big mess. Again armed with the same popsicle, and now standing in the sandbox, I finally finished mowing.
Titus is now sitting on the front porch with Uncle David looking at Japanese flashcards. His little foot is puffy and red 3/4 of the way to his ankle. Thankfully he doesn't cry when he walks. And he doesn't know that a bee inflicted the damage, so he isn't afraid of bees yet - success!!!

Tummy Tickler Road

Okay - I'm liking this blog thing already.
I was out running errands with the kids this morning and one of our errands led us into the country. Next thing I know, I hear a little giggle from Titus's seat. A little bit later, another giggle. Then I realize that he's giggling after cresting hills - guess his little tummy was getting tickled.

Miss Isabele Ann

Isabele has become quite the consumer of food in the last couple weeks. At just over 8 months, she now grabs at any and all food within her reach and cries if food is taken away or not given to her fast enough.

Here she's chewing on fresh cherries and drooling cherry juice all over everywhere - but she's happy.

What a life - laying on her back on the kitchen counter eating cherries via a mesh bag so she doesn't choke since she is still toothless (when the pictures were taken a couple weeks ago).

Painting help from a 2 year old

I told Titus to only get a little bit of paint on his paintbrush. He concentrated very, very hard every time he needed more paint, and to his credit, he only got the whole bristle area in the paint twice. Not too bad for a 2 1/2 year old.

Titus painting the chair.

My little man, posing for a picture.

Sweet boy

My sweet little boy. He wanted to help his dad paint the stand for my clothesline, but that wasn't an option as Brian was using a spray paint can. So - mom to the rescue. I had wanted to paint one of his chairs for quite some time and just hadn't gotten to it. Titus's lucky day.

Why Not?

I was talking to my mother this evening and realized that I don't remember much from Titus's infancy, so I thought - why not try this blog thing? It will get me to write more and maybe even serve as a place for extended family to keep up with our life. I don't like filling people's inbox with pictures if they don't want them, and who would ever say "I don't want the pictures of your kids that you keep sending me?" I, for one, would just think it, but never say it.