Some Clarification

Tonight as I was on the phone with Craig, Brody came up to me.  He had something he needed to clarify.

"Mom, I'm not robot. I'm a boy."

Good to know buddy.  He also made it very clear today as we looked at our family picture that Craig is Hunter's dad and I am Brody's mom, but I'm not Hunter's mom and Craig is not his dad.  Hmmm...we may need to work on that one!  But for now, it's pretty funny.

Middle Name Confusion

Apparently my boys try to take after celebs with weird name trends.  I know, Craig and I are no where close to being celebrities and we would never think of naming our children after food.  However, they think it's a great idea.
When Hunter was around two, he believed that his name was "Hunter Chicken Zappe" instead of Hunter Christian Zappe.  It was hilarious and he eventually figured it out.  Yesterday, Brody was eating some ice cream and I can't remember exactly how he said it, but something to the effect that it was just like him, "Brody Ice Cream Zappe".  I think our child is convinced now that his middle name is Ice Cream instead of being named after is grandpa and great-grandpa with the middle name of Augustine.
But for now, we'll let it slide.  He'll figure it out soon enough that his parents aren't that weird to name him after a sweet treat.

Senior Picture

Brody is just practicing his poses for his senior pictures.

Mommy's Monsters

In the spirit of Halloween coming up in the next week, thought you might enjoy these cuties in their monster jammies.  Hunter is really excited and can't wait to wear his costume and go trick-or-treating and I'm sure Brody will follow his lead.



Knock-Knock

Right now Brody is in love with knock-knock jokes.  Does he get them?  Kind of but not really.  He loves telling them and they make sense, but they're not too funny, but we pull out the fake laugh to make him feel good.  He will make a knock-knock joke out of any situation.  For example, today at lunch:
Knock-Knock.
Who's There?
Grilled Cheese?
Grilled Cheese who?
Grilled Cheese is yummy!  So good!

Another classic:
Knock-Knock.
Who's There?
Brody.
Brody Who?
Brody Zappe.

Another good one:
Knock-Knock.
Who's There?
Hannah.
Hannah Who?
Hannah cuts my hair!

Our house is pretty much the land of knock-knock jokes.  Are they funny?  No, they just make sense, but somehow have a way of putting a smile on my face.

Fall Pictures

Yesterday.  5:30 PM.  Eating Supper.  Gorgeous Day. Mid 70's.  No Wind.  Leaves starting to turn.  Knowing it will be cool today.  And Windy.  Windy=Leaves blowing off.  Leaves blowing off=blah looking trees.  Panic.  We have family pictures the end of the month, but the weather is too perfect.  Light bulb goes off.  You can do just the boys today.  Hurry!  Eat supper.  Pick out their outfits.  Line it up.  Clean off the boys.  Give Hunter his clothes to get dressed.  Race Brody down to his room to change the diaper and get new clothes on.  Wipe Brody's face.  Unfortunately he has a nasty cold with a runny nose.  Face clean.  Boys dressed.  Grab the camera.  Get boys in car.  Drive.  But where?  Train tracks.  Take pictures.  Chase boys.  Watch for trains.  No trains in sight.  Not enough fall color.  Hop in car.  Pit stop at home.  Grab washcloth.  Wipe grease off Brody's hands from train tracks.  Drive.  Go to Spruce Hill.  Go to the tunnel.  Did ok, but lighting was getting away from us.  Drive to a spot with more light.  See Deer.  Take more pictures.  Play in the leaves.  Run around.  Enjoy the gorgeous evening as the sun is beginning to set.  And here are the results of my impromptu photo shoot.  Enjoy!

Pictures are my passion.  I carry my camera with me everywhere I go.  I know sometimes the boys get annoyed with me wanting to take their pictures, but I hope one day they are able to cherish their pictures.  I know one thing is for sure, I will never have to hear them complain that there are no pictures of them.

First Time for Everything.

Tonight the unexpected happened while I was giving Brody a bath.  He stood up, said "Uh-oh!", scrunched up his face and pooped in the tub.  That has never happened before with either of the boys!  Oh well, there's a first time for everything, right?  Luckily Hunter wasn't in the tub.  Phew!  But still gross...

Little Oinkers

Between the two boys today, they ate an entire box of mac and cheese at lunch.  It's always a hit, but apparently today it really hit the spot.  I wish I could eat like that and not have to worry.

"Ampa's House"

My dad lives only 5 minutes away or less from our house and it is amazing.  If I ever want to run errands on my own I can usually drop the boys off at his house and get things done a lot faster.  And the boys love it over there.  If we pass by without stopping, I usually hear about it.  Sometimes we even have to turn around just to say "Hi!".  Every time we drive by Brody is in the backseat yelling, "Ampa's! Ampa's!" 
Today the boys were at my dad's while my sister and I went into town.  They had a blast running around, playing, getting treats from grandpa, so on and so forth.  And as always, they didn't want to leave.
Tonight I was giving the boys a bath and I was telling Brody that we get to go and see Hannah tomorrow to get his and Hunter's hair cut.  I pretended to snip at his hair and make it fun because he doesn't love getting his hair cut.  It's not is least favorite either and he is usually ok if we put a sucker in his mouth before we even begin.  I must say though, he is a lot better than his brother was at this age.  Anyways, I get done explaining our plans for tomorrow and his reply was, "I on't ant Annah.  I want Ampa.  Ampa's house."  Wait, it gets better.  He turns, looks at Hunter and says, "Hunter, you want  Ampa too?"  He must have thought 2 vs. 1 on not getting a haircut and going  to Grandpa's would change my mind.  The only thing I could do was laugh.
We shall see tomorrow if he is disappointed that we don't stop by Grandpa's on our way into town to cut the long over due hair off.  Thank goodness Hannah has a bowl full of suckers waiting for us.

Crabby

Yesterday I was pretty certain that World War III was going to break out in our home.  A day of arguing, tears, tantrums, tackling, biting (that's Brody's signature attack move...ugh), stealing toys, you name it!  I couldn't wait for the day to be over.
I put Brody down.  Phew!  One kid down for the night.  Wrong.  He cried and cried and then cried some more.  Finally I caved because I knew there was no way he was going to fall asleep.  He knew he won that battle and was so proud and happy and ready to play.  Hunter was exhausted but "not quite ready" to go to bed.  Every little thing was setting him off.  And I couldn't put him to bed now because I had Brody to deal with. 
Finally I turned to Hunter and asked him, "Hunter, are you crabby?"  He told me he wasn't.  But the best part was Brody turned and looked at me, gave me a pouty face, made those big brown eyes look sad/upset and said, "I'm crabby too.  I'm crabby too, Mom." 
The perfect ending to my crazy day!  I couldn't help but laugh!  It's the little things that can turn the day around :) 

Busy, Busy, Busy!

If I could sum up our summer in one word it would be "busy"!  But I like it that way.  It let's us do fun things and makes the periods in between Craig's rotations go by faster.  Always a plus.  Our August has been very busy.  Here is a run down of what we have done:

August 1st-5th: Hunter had VBS at our church.  He loved it and it got him excited to start school this fall!

August 3rd:  Went to the American Idol concert at the Target Center with one of my best friends, Kiley.  We had a great day of shopping, eating downtown and going to the concert.  The concert was great with so much talent!  And I got to see my favorites from the season. :)  It was a fun show!

August 7th: Craig's cousin, Meghan flew in from Arizona.  It was great to see her again because we only see her for about a week every year.  Not enough time, so we make the most of our time together.  While she was here, we decided to take a road trip to the North Shore and show her a different part of MN. So, August 9-11 we went to the Duluth, Lutsen, Grand Marais area.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip up north.

 Love my boys.

 The boys and I at Gooseberry Falls.

 The whole group! Hunter, Meghan, Melissa, Brody, Heidi, Henry and me!

 Can you believe my 5 year old took this picture?  Impressed?  So was I! Hiking around Gooseberry Falls.

 Brody, me, Hunter and Meghan riding the Gondola at Lutsen.

 Brody on the shores of Lake Superior in Grand Marais.

 Throwing rocks into the lake.

 Hunter and the lighthouse keeper at Split Rock.  He asked him a bunch of questions about his job.

 Brody rock climbing on the shores by Split Rock

 Hunter being adventurous!

Meg and me at the Rose Gardens in Duluth.

On August 13th, I attended a going away party for Kiley before she left for law school.  Yes, she's very smart and in three years if you need a lawyer, I can hook you up.  We had a great day on the lake hanging out and finished the evening at the Garfield Street Dance.  On the 15th, I went to Grand Forks to help her finish moving in and watch her nephew while she went to an induction supper.  On the way, I said good-bye to Meghan when I dropped her off at the airport in Fargo.  It was a sad day of good-byes.  Let's just say a fear tears were let out that day.

See...I told you it's been a busy August!  And I'm only half way done.  Not kidding.

On August 18, we hit the road to the great state of South Dakota.  We were there until the 24th.  Here are a few highlights from our trip:

 After many billboards advertising Wall Drug, we finally made it!!  My cute little cowboy and Indian at the Wall Drug Backyard.

 The family in the Badlands National Park.

 We got off the main road through the park.  Best decision ever.  Ok, maybe not ever, but it was that day.  We came across this herd of bison in the road.  We didn't rush them!  Just your average traffic jam in South Dakota.

 Crazy Horse Memorial.  One day it will be finished.  When?  Who knows.  Still pretty neat to check out.

 Bear Country USA.  What a neat place!  And the best part was that Hunter thought we just took a random road that just so happened to have a bunch of wildlife including a lot of bears.  I think it'll be sad for the day he learns how to read.  All of the excitement of things get sucked out.  Ok, not really, but next year, he may know that it is just a tourist attraction and not just a random road.

 Brody's first train ride!  We rode the 1880 Train from Hill City to Keystone and then back.  Brody loved it for the most part.  He even fell asleep on the way to Keystone.  Half way back to Hill City he was ready to get out of his seat and walk around.

 Hunter loved it too!  He was really quiet and took in the scenery around him and enjoyed the ride.

 The "boys" in front of the train.  It was getting ready for it's next trip so we watched the engineers get water into the engine and prep the train.

 My favorite family picture from the trip :).  Needles Highway.

The family at Mount Rushmore.  I guess Hunter is now Abraham Lincoln and Brody is wondering who the heck that guy is that my mom stopped and is now holding our camera taking a picture. 

 Hunter's a little model!!  Along Spearfish Canyon Scenic Bi-way.  Such a pretty drive with some great waterfalls!

 At the bottom of Roughlock Falls.

 Devil's Tower, WY.  A really neat place.  If you are going to hike around it, make sure to bring good shoes, water, and know that there is a sign marking the half way point when in your head you are convinced you are at least 2/3 of the way around.  It was a hot day and the longest 1.3 miles of my life.  Strap on a 30 pound kid to your back.  But totally worth it.

 Not a bad view for a picnic!  And a cute kid too :)  I know, I'm biased.

 No, we did not force Hunter to take this picture.  He saw them and kept asking if he could take his pictures with the cowboys.  Which is funny because anytime WE would want to take a picture of him he would pout/whine/complain...you get an idea of what we dealt with.  He looks a little nervous, but I think he enjoyed the guys in Deadwood.

 Pretty sure we heard the question "Are we going to the Corn Palace today?" about 5 times a day.  Originally our plan was to stop on our way out, but due to some rain we passed thru Mitchell and stopped on our way back.  Hunter was excited to finally see the world's only Corn Palace.  And it was neat.  We went inside and saw how they transform the palace year after year and come up with a new design.  And Tanya Tucker's band was warming up, so we had some great music to listen to.  Oh!  And the best part was: air conditioning.  It was about 95 outside that day and the sweat would just roll off your forehead.  Yuck.

And our final stop before parting ways was Falls Park in Sioux Falls.  Our view from the observation tower.  The tower that I climbed while carrying Brody thinking that Craig and Hunter were just a little ahead of us.  Only to find out they took the easy way up and rode the elevator.  Why didn't I think of that??  Especially since it felt like 100 degrees inside of the tower with zero air movement.  I was about ready to pass out.

Well, now you can see why I have been MIA this month.  But hopefully this catches you up with our life and you understand.  Hope you all are having a great summer!  Enjoy it while it lasts because before you know it we will be dealing with S***....Yeah, you know that ugly four letter word.

Copy Cat

Apparently Brody has gotten to be quite the funny boy lately, because a lot of my posts have been about him.  Today we were at Craig's parents and were outside running off some energy.  Well, I was standing there wishing I had the energy the boys have, and they were running off theirs.  Really, where do they get it all from?

I noticed their cat, was eating grass.  We told her to stop because it usually makes her sick.  Brody took notice as to what Maddie (the cat) was doing and decided that he should try too.  The grass had just been watered by the sprinklers and Brody thought it would be great to lick the water off of the blades of grass.  Gross.  We told him to stop, but he thought it was pretty funny an apparently didn't taste too bad.

He continued to run around, but before we left snuck in a couple more licks of water from the grass.  Copy cat?  I think so.

Tree Kisser

I know you have all heard of a tree-hugger, but have you ever heard of a tree-kisser?  Meet Brody, the tree-kisser.  Because every tree needs a little love.

Black-Eyed Brody

Two years old and this kid is already getting in fights...ok, not really.  But he does have a nasty looking black eye.  Yesterday, Brody and Hunter were wild childs running around the house and ended up taking off the couch cushion.  Brody went up on the couch because without the cushion it is like a trampoline.  One jump later, he was jumping down, but didn't jump out far enough.  (No, they aren't allowed to jump on the couch, but I was distracted with something and didn't get to the couch in time to put the cushion back on.)  He hit his eyelid on the edge of the couch and now has this beautiful shiner.

Yeah.  I'm pretty tough with my black-eye.

Goodnight Moon

Hands down, "Goodnight Moon" is the bedtime story of choice in this household.  Pretty sure I could say it by heart to you, but I won't bore you.  It is so simple, but such a great way to say goodnight to the world.  While Craig was home, he had the joy of reading the boys their bedtime stories.  I think you can tell by Brody's expression that he thoroughly enjoyed being in his Daddy's lap.

Precious.  It's moments like these that make you wish they would last forever.



Choo-Choo! Brody is Two!

This past weekend, we had Brody's 2nd birthday party.  We decided to do a train themed party because this little guy loves trains!  Yes, I am a nerd and like to theme my son's birthday parties.  I think we picked the perfect theme for him!  We had a great time celebrating with our family and Brody got more than enough toys to last him through the year.  He is one boy who is loved very much!

 Brody at his party.

 Who doesn't love jell-o?  I scored a sweet deal on a box of 101 cookie cutters at Jo-Ann Fabrics for just over $11.  So, we now have cookie cutters for any occasion.  Don't be too jealous.

 Brody's amazing cake.  I wish I could take the credit for this one, but I can't.  One of my former teacher's daughter created this beast.  It was definitely the hit of the party.  If you want her info, let me know.  The details were so impressive.  And it was so nice not having to stress about making a cake, coming up with a design and taking away time with the boys and Craig.  I think this might be the route to go in the future.

Simply amazing.  I had a hard time cutting into it because it looked too good to eat.

 Brody's favorite part of opening presents-tissue paper.  It's the little things that matter.

 Trains, trains and more trains!  He is in train heaven!

 The birthday boy and his cake!

 Make a wish!

 Mmmm!  Who knew eating a train would taste this good!

 Cake Face.

After the party, this lucky little guy got to go to our town's parade.  We walked down and enjoyed watching all the fire trucks and got lots of candy!  Perfect ending to a great party!  Thank you to all of you who made this day special for him and those who sent your wishes!