Staycation

We've been having lots of fun & relaxation on our "staycation" I came up with the term & thought it was pretty clever!  Vic had to use or lose his vacation time by February so he took time off work and we didn't have any plans for a vacation so we've been enjoying a staycation!  It's actually been really good for both of us to get our much needed sleep, exercise, & quality family time in.  After 6 months of crazy busy schedules & living apart this is just what we needed.  This update is very out of order, but here is the last month:

Whitney got her first major haircut last month so here she is after cutting off her 3" side wings.

Then last week I decided to finally try pig tails and Vic and I LOVE them!

So after 2 cute pictures I can show you this gross picture... Here she is right after waking up. I wait to give her a bath until after breakfast... Seriously... zoom up on this picture & see just how insanely messy this girl is when she eats.  It's like she enjoys threading food through her hair. It cracked me up when I walked in & saw a cheerio sitting on her head & had to capture just how messy she is & why I despise meal time!

 This is Tommy's devil face.  I always know I am going to find an unpleasant surprise when I see the sheer look of naughty JOY in his eyes. I never can catch it on camera, but I got lucky cuz he thought I was taking a picture of messy Whitney & not him caught in the act of feeding his sister and making a mess of her.  It is so weird to see how being naughty can make him so happy.  Hopefully that is a 2 year old thing and not part of his permanent personality!  All day long he is looking for trouble or an adrenaline rush.  He is constantly trying to climb higher and jump farther.  He even stands at the top of his balloon pit, turns around backwards, and falls without blinking or trying to brace himself.  He doesn't care if he jumps in the pool and has to drown a minute before we catch him... he comes up with a big grin & does it again.  He is so scary!

 This kid will never fall asleep anywhere but his bed or the car seat.  Lately he is struggling with trying to stay awake from 7am to 11pm with no nap.  We had to take a picture of proof that he will fall asleep elsewhere!  This is the first time he has done this.  One second he was wide awake, hyper, & begging for more food & we turned around to get it for him & when we came back with the food this is what we found.

 We fed Tommy's train obsession by taking him to Purdue's train tour of campus.

 He really loved it and gibbered the whole way about different things he saw.  Right now Tommy is speaking Donald Duck's language w/ a few English words thrown in here & there.  We keep wanting to get it on video, but every time we pull it out he stares at it & says "cheese".

 We took the kids to free Friday family night tonight and they both loved the swimming.  I was surprised there wasn't more people there.  Whitney adores Tommy & chases him all over the house, but lately she has been really funny and if he gets too close to her then she throws a fit.  This picture is no exception!  I was in the tube with her & she was really happy & Tommy saw Vic pull out the camera so he jumped in the tube to be in the picture & she just started bawling. (and of course was fine as soon as he went away)

 Here favorite part was the little geysers and gnawing on the tube. She is teething like crazy & gnaws on anything (even us!) She is making major changes this last month.  She took her FIRST STEPS on Tuesday, started climbing up the slide & now loves going down it (we have a little one in Tommy's room.)  She is signing "all done",  says mama, frequently says dada, and if you ask her for a kiss she'll start smacking her lips over and over.  She is also loving music. Anytime she hears ANY beat she starts bobbing her head and if she happens to be standing she'll bounce her little bum all over.  She is at such a cute stage right now!!!

 This one is blurry as Tommy was running back and forth too fast, but just wanted to show what a cute little center it is for free!

Tommy made this back in December.  I swear the uglier a craft is the more it makes me smile :)

 And like most crafts of Tommy's... here it is 10 minutes later!

 We made a valentine set for each grandparent (later had their picture in the heart). I made the ones on the right for Whitney's picture & he made his own.  He did pretty good.  If you have time you should try to spot the differences!  He is constantly thinking that everything he does is hilarious & he kept putting the nose on the eye ball, pointing to it, and snickering.... another thing I wish I could get on camera.  He laughs at himself all the time and it is the funniest thing in the world!  It takes a lot of control to not giggle when it for something naughty, a part of parenting that I never thought would be so challenging!