Night Blooming Cereus

We had quite a treat last weekend. Gimmie and Big Daddy brought over one of their Night Blooming Cereus plants right before it bloomed. These are the coolest things!! They bloom for about 5 or 6 hours...ONE time....ONE night...they open up and they are gorgeous, and have such a unique strong scent! Gimmie has had blooms for at least 4 years now, and has made several from cuttings of her original. We were able to watch this NBC bloom both Friday (6 blooms) and Saturday (3 blooms) night. Here is some info on the NBC, also known as the Queen of the Night: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2443/

Friday night I caught this moth on camera...It was so big I originally thought it was a hummingbird! Turns out it is a Cecropia...the largest moth in North America. They only fly at night, and only live for 2 weeks as a moth. Their main purpose in this stage is to mate and lay eggs. They also pollinate the NBC, apparently. http://www.wormspit.com/cecropia.htm

You learn something new everyday.....

Bye-Bye

Tyndale is now consistently saying his first word! Bye-Bye! As you all know, I am an SLP, and I wanted to make sure that it was a consistent production with meaning that he initiated, not a repetition of something that we said....(such a dork, I know). I will try to get it on camera soon and post it. He loves pretending to talk on the phone, and this is when he says it the most. He holds the phone WAAAAY back at the back of his head...so funny!

Watch out Beckham...

...there is a new soccer star in town! Quinn played her first soccer game the other night, and had so much fun! We got beat a million to zero, but her team had a great time. Her coaches are Mark and Josh and her friends Kate and Sara Rodgers are on the team. Big Daddy and Gimmie came, and Tyndale LOVED walking around in the grass with Gimmie. Quinn was hesitant to get near the ball very much (probably a good human instinct...not wanting to get bulldozed!), but I'm sure the more she plays the more confident she will be about it. She was even the goalie a few times! (And yes, a totally different sport, but did you see what number she is? 5! Just like Pujols!)

Quinn's half-birthday

Our big girl is officially 4 1/2!! We celebrated her half-birthday with cupcakes and a tie-die/tattoo craft that she picked out (as you can see in the pictures....ALL over her hands). The tie die shirt turned out really cute...I'll post a picture of her wearing it soon.

Tyndale's new cry

One thing that we have been laughing about for a few weeks now is Tyndale's new "fake cry." (Where do they learn this stuff?) Here is a picture of the face he makes when he is

doing it, and there is an accompanying whine that sounds like "ayahhhh." The funniest part of the whine/wrinkled nose/squinty eye fake cry...is that our always happy boy looks like he is actually smiling! Makes us laugh every time.

why?

You have got to love the innocently questioning mind that comes with a 4 year-old! (actually, 4 and a half today! We celebrated Q's half-birthday with a half cupcake...the top half, with all the frosting...and singing half of happy birthday, and a tie-dye craft that she picked out today) She always asks the funniest questions, and I have to get better about writing them down! Earlier today there was a girl on tv who had a shaved head and she asked..."mama, why is she naked on top?" too funny. Well, that would have been enough for today, but just now as we were brushing teeth and getting ready for bed she asked why boys don't have to wipe after they go potty. Ummmm......what would you say?? I told her to ask daddy, because I didn't know...sorry Brad. He was intent on providing a correct answer, all the while trying to gloss over the whole anatomy thing....so funny, I wish you could have all been here to hear it!

My Baby Deer

Here is a post for my Blue-Boy loving, Daddy imitating, smiling, slobbering, laughing, water splashing, growling, dancing to rap, five-tooth having, sweaty sleeper, sister following, toilet-bowl playing, sand eating, snuggly baby boy. The days go by too fast.

Tyndale...walking!!

Just a few days after his 10 month birthday, Tyndale is learning to walk!

August Beach Trip

We had a wonderful beach vacation in Gulf Shores last week. It was absolutely beautiful, with the temperature in the 80s for most of the week, and only one rainy day. It was paradise! Quinn and Tyndale spent a ton of time on the beach. Quinn caught fish, crabs, mussels, and found beautiful shells. Tyndale mostly tried to eat sand and walk directly into the waves! Quinn and Tyndale both had fun hanging out with their cousins, Violet and James. The rest of the family enjoyed our usual beach activities...swimming, fishing, bocce, hearts, cold beverages and smack talk!

Tyndale and Big Daddy playing on the porch at sunset.


James and Tyndale in their baby pool on the beach. This was just about the only time they were on the beach that they were not ingesting handfuls of sand.

Quinn on one of the many beautiful beach days we enjoyed.

Gimmie-san made us a sushi lunch one day...a feeding frenzy was the result!

Resting after lunch.

Exchange Club Fair

The Exchange Club held it's yearly fair this week to celebrate the kids getting back to school. It was hot, as usual, but just as fun as in years past. We even rode some new rides this year: the tilt-a-whirl, and Quinn's favorite, the roller coaster.

Tyndale's favorite toy

Thought it would be something a little more exciting, huh? Well, just goes to show you that you can have as many baby toys as can fit in your house and THIS is the thing that a baby will not put down!! Seriously, he has it in his hands or mouth ALL the time. Courtesy of Aunt Lindy (as a gift to Quinn to fill up her play kitchen) it is a fake can of rolls...the paper that used to have a cute little picture of rolls on it was probably chewed off by the same little boy that holds this toy so dear. So thank you, Aunt Lindy!

All I really needed to know.....

...I learned in Preschool! Quinn's new teacher came across the hall to get me because she had never seen the sink in her kitchen area used in this way! She said they washed Quinn's hair first, then took turns. Love it!



Here is Quinn's new teacher, Mrs. Theresa. She is wonderful and I know firsthand, because she teaches at my school, Mamie Martin! Quinn had a great first day. She met a gerbil that lives in the 1st grade classroom down the hall, and she got to see Mama a lot! I mentioned before that I am right across the hall, so it should make for a very interesting school year for both of us.

St. Louis Trip

Brad and I on our way to the Cardinal game vs. the Astros. All of the adults had a night out at the ballpark sans little ones and it was so fun! We even captured Mom's rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame...hilarious! If I can figure out how to download it from Eric's web storage page, I will put it up here.

Here is the whole gang at the game, minus Dad. The guy taking the picture cut him out for some reason. Maybe he heard Mom's ballgame song, and decided that Dad couldn't possibly be with our crew!

Next stop: Grant's Farm, owned by the Anheuser Busch Company (which was bought by Embev over a year ago, so we are not sure how much longer the new company will hold on to this gem). It opened in 1954, and Dad and I realized that our family has been coming here since before 1973. I have so many good memories of Grant's Farm, and I hope that our kids will too.

Lindy and Tyndale in the Biergarten.

Tyndale hanging with the big guys..note that he is drinking formula instead of the requisite beer. It is Anheuser Busch, after all!