All random. All the time. Fun, Becca, and self portraits of Matilda.

Some random tidbits as of late:

::: Unfortunately for me and my pregnant self, Tillie and Cal's new favorite game involves throwing small objects in the air and screaming "Baallll-er-iiiina!" Why that word? I have no idea.  Tillie proposed the idea one day, and Cal caught on.  It's craziness.  My mom gave us these mini decks of cards one year for Halloween (she gave them out to Trick-o-treaters (sp? is that how you even write that?)) and sent us several decks.
My kids were/are too little to understand the complexities of OLD MAID and WAR, so each card has been tossed into a Shamu lunch pail at random.  Because of their new game "Baallll-er-iiiina!" I instinctively have hidden the lunch pail as soon as possible.  They are clever kids.  They keep finding the box.  And, after they reassure me they will pick up ALL of the cards, I let them play with the cards.
I like seeing them have fun (obviously) but picking up messes (yes, they help, but it takes 300 times longer) hour after hour/day after day---it takes it's toll.  Sometimes I feel like I might die if I have to keep picking up all the little messes.  Well, that's probably a little too dramatic, but really... this new game of pulling out every toy in the vicinity is getting old.  Quickly.
Here they are in their messy/happy state (in hindsight, I should have zoomed out so you could see the other "fun" messes that were scattered around the room):

::: Because we were in Utah for so long, I think Becca started hyperventilating (she missed us so much... we missed her too!).  Upon our arrival back in the "Big D" we suddenly saw Becca a TON more.  She was driving up each weekend and it was PURE BLISS.  Can I just say... having her IN THE FLESH is such a treat AND a treasure in my life.
Here we are trying out a burger joint I found on YELP.  I'm a huge fan of YELP and find myself not trying anywhere new unless I've read several good reviews on their site.  Anyway, we tried this place... meh.  The highlight was seeing Beccabury's face.  And, sweet girl that she is tried to bring up a few articles of clothing that might fit my pregnant belly from her closet----such a nice thought----wasn't going to happen.  "Becca Snyder: Woman with the Heart of Gold" (quick! name that movie! I'll give you a hint Mr. Nicholas Cage is in it).
In these pics the kids are showing Becca a few highlights (on Aaron's phone) from our Disneyland trip we'd just come back from.

Calvin, a TRUE son of Aaron's, loves cheese.  in any form.  The mozzarella sticks were a favorite of his.  He really enjoyed stretching out all the cheese.  I mean, look at that face!! (not mine, don't look at me, please! look at the sweet CHILD's face.)

After dinner, we went to cash in some of our ColdStone coupons we received at Christmas.  Gotta love that place.  There was a little mini village set up that the kids could play on, so Tillie really enjoyed taking pictures in all the windows.  I think they are all darling.  I'm not biased, though.

Calvin also had fun, but didn't want to pose for me (surprise, surprise).  I think this next one is frame worthy.  I love all the line work happening in it.  What a cute boy he is.  Again, not biased.

::: Tillie is a treat. I love it when she comes into our room early in the morning and wants to lay by us.  Aaron leaves to work and then she stays and sleeps, or sometimes starts telling me about her dreams she had, we talk about the day ahead... it's something I really love.  I took a picture of her talking to me the other morning. 

After a while, I went to go get ready for the day.  Let's see what happened next:
Tillie has recently mastered the art of taking pictures on my phone.  She used to only know how to VIEW the pictures we'd already taken, but now, she's wearing the pants and snapping photos RIGHT AND LEFT.  And, she's loving this whole new world.  Don't believe me?  Go ahead and scroll down. I only posted a SMALL FRACTION of this specific photo shoot.  

Way to go, Matilda!  Do you love her face like I do?  Good.  So funny.

::: We've discovered a new doughnut place.  Normally, I've always purchased doughnuts at the grocery store when we've "needed" them, but recently discovered (via YELP) this new local delight.  I took Becca and the kids there one morning (and have been back a few times since).
Cal is a fan of the chocolate frosted variety (proof he is my child too).

Tillie?  She just cares about the sprinkles (as proof from the above picture, especially).

::: I think I've vocalized my thoughts a few times on the blog about how hard it is for the kids to take naps now that they share a room.  It's ridiculous, really.  They both were such WONDERFUL nappers before I made the change in their little lives.  (sob! sob!)
Anyway, a few weeks ago, I suggested that they could sleep in our bed if they promised to be quiet and REALLY go to sleep.  Since there aren't any toys or books in our room, they were excited at the idea.  And, what do you know!? It's worked SEVERAL times!  They sleep side by side and take GREAT naps!  I'm crossing my fingers that the novelty won't wear off any time soon.

Gotta love how they are hooking arms.  So sweet.

So, there you have a few random updates from the last little while.  Many more to come... as always!