Bubble Bath

Justin conned me into getting some Thomas the Train bubblebath at Target the other day. So he has started his first batch of bubble baths this past week. Who doesn't love a good bubble bath? He had resorted to showers over the last month, but now he is loving the bathtub again.



His new thing is counting, "One, two, .." and he can't say three yet, so he likes for me to finish it for him before he jumps and falls. He'll do this anywhere - as you can see, the bathtub as well. In the pic he is getting some air before falling down in the bubbles.

All boy

It's been raining a lot here! Everyday the rain comes suddenly, stops for a bit, and comes right back. Justin had been a little under the weather himself, so we had a lot of alone time this week. 30 minutes before his nap I looked outside and saw him sticking his head in about 2 inches of rain water in our dirty little pool. I tried to find my camera, and by the time I took some pictures I realized my lens was foggy from going to a very humid outside. So the pictures are a bit hazy. He had a blast, we changed clothes, and he took a very long nap. Sometimes boys just need to get a little dirty (don't worry Wendi, the shirt is spotless!).

Dinner

Sunday evening we had Shane & Kaki, my cousin Hilary & her roomie Ashley, & our neighbors, Denise & Krikor, over for dinner. I made a great recipe from my aunt Kerry - ribs that you bake in the oven. Sounds kooky, but they were fabulous. We still were housing Putter & Gracie & there was a huge rainstorm that started right before everyone came over. So all 8 adults, one crazy boy, and 3 animals crammed in to one house had a great evening. Here are the dogs looking pitiful being gated at the stairs.

Denise & Krikor talking with Ashley. This was the first time I had actually returned the favor and fed the Hovsepians for a change.
Hilary letting Justin play with her bracelets. He loves wearing bracelets.
Shane helping Justin feed Gracie a chip. She loves chips, but probably not from a two year old boy cramming it in her beak.
Ashley, Hilary, & Kaki with Justin. Sorry some of these are a bit overexposed. The indoors still messes with me sometimes.
We finished the night off with a little Olympic diving competition. Justin really hadn't been given the chance to watch any of the Olympics (we don't turn it on until after he goes to bed). He loved it and clapped after each competitor splashed in the water. He was probably trying to postpone bedtime as well. But he enjoyed the Olympics nonetheless.

Bedtime Routine

My aunt Joannie gave Justin a pop-up tent to play with. It had been in the back den area in our house. I moved it yesterday up to his bedroom to replace the bassinet filled with stuffed animals that he never seemed to pay attention to. He immediately thought this was a cool place to be. He put a pillow, a bunch of blankets, the biggest stuffed animal dog he had (he likes to wrestle with it), and a hand-me-down toy lantern that we got from a family Kaki babysits for. So before his naps and bedtime, he and I get in his tent, lay down on our palette, turn on the lantern, and have a pretend camp out experience while we read a few books. He loves it, and I have to admit that I enjoy the change of scenery from the normal bedtime routine. He giggles as we keep reading "one more book". I haven't had a chance to take a picture yet, so this post is just words. Just wanted to share our fun new routine.

Pinata

This is the face of a pinata. It was hanging from the front tree in my parents' front yard when we drove up on Saturday morning to Waco. My mom said it was for Justin & Barrett to get a bat and get all their aggression out of their system.

With Justin hitting it with one hand and Barrett just barely grazing the goofy looking creature, we knew we would need to speed this up.

Aaron & Elise are in the background being amused by the action. Hey, at least the boys weren't hitting each other!

Justin is still trying to hit it with one arm. He is right handed but swings like a lefty. Interesting combo - possible switch hitter?

Finally Aaron beat the pinata enough to let the booty fall out. If you had seen Justin's surprised expression when it fell in two pieces. My mom, ever the careful dental hygienist, didn't put candy in there because it might choke them. Oh no - she put mardi gras beads! Yes, what every mother of boys wants them to want to play with. Here's a picture of Justin wearing his prize and looking at the destruction.

Mowing Men

Justin loves to do what Derek and I are doing. So that includes mowing like his daddy. He sometimes likes to push the big mower with Derek. But this past weekend he insisted on copying him with his toy mower. In this photo he is trying to do it faster - already so competitive, which is a trait he unfortunately gets from both parents.

It's funny to see Justin next to his dad. I think Justin is so big until I see him next to a 6 foot 7 inch man. It's so nice to have such a good helper around the house these days.

Roxy's new do

So Roxy gets groomed twice a year. Her hair grows back real fast and it's to help relieve her during the hottest parts of the summer. I took her to our favorite place, Gizzie's. My buddy Kacey told me about this place where they let the dogs run around all morning in the same room until it's their time to get the clippers. Roxy is probably pretty aloof since she thinks she's a person and not a dog. So I told them to do what they normally do. Long story short, Justin and I walk in to get her and almost don't recognize her. Justin is laughing at the goofy looking creature that stole Roxy's body. She barely has any hair. But she still thinks she's a princess. Here's a look at the squirrel, I mean dog.

Justin is just looking at her, not sure what to think.
I'm sure she feels a lot better with the 90 degree heat here in Houston!

Green Lake

Derek and I went to Green Lake, Wisconsin, back in July with the Michaelis side of the family. I started my blog after the trip, so I wanted to show a few pix from one of our big summer vacation. I know it's probably blog blooper to post pix from a month ago (and not in chronological order), but hey, I haven't played by the rules thus far. Tom, Derek's dad, kept convincing me that the water wasn't "that cold" and for me to get in. When Justin started whining the first time he got in, well, you guessed right that I never completely submerged myself in Wisconsin water. Derek's aunt and uncle own a house right on the water, so we literally would all walk over from our cabins and hang out all day long. Justin loved it.

Joseph is Derek's 8 year old cousin who was sometimes like a babysitter to Justin (awesome for Derek & I). Justin loved hanging out with him and his brother, Owen.

Owen was five years old and Justin shadowed him the entire trip. He was a trooper letting a little guy follow him around.
Justin learning how a guitar works from Uncle Tim
Showing Justin how to work a water gun.

Justin watching his dad on the rope swing. Yes, that is a long sleeve shirt in July b/c it got down to 55 degrees at night there.

Justin wanted to ride this all the time, like his father. He didn't like it when people would drive off without him. I rode it a few times and even went up to 20 mph! Ever since a random fly away at Lake LBJ with my buddy Caryn, I don't like riding jet skis that much anymore.

Um, delicious!
I had to take a picture of all the boys in their matching colors
Ryan brought his girlfriend, Stephanie, along for the trip. Had a blast hanging out with her and having another girl around! It's fun to see Ryan and her together - brings back memories of the dating years....

Justin did not get the concept of playing baseball. He wanted to be the only one with the bat at all times. Try being there for that conversation of me explaining that to him. We did give him a chance to swing it on his own. Justin "helping" his dad field balls
The baseball crew
4th of July shirts from Old Navy

Derek literally acted like a little boy with the jet ski. He couldn't wait to get on it again. It was like Justin asking "more" all day long. Here's the happy boy on his favorite toy.

The whole crew in Green Lake
Janel helped create the shirts we all wore for the family photo. Here's what the back of them said:

Tom and his siblings: Roger, Jodi, & Tim

All the cousins: Stephanie, Joseph, Ryan, Janel, Owen, Derek, Justin & Myself
The Michaelis crew with Stephanie
All and all a great trip. Justin did great on his first plane flight, and we had a blast hanging out with family we don't get to see on a regular basis.

Wiggles Concert

So don't ask my why I was so excited about a Wiggles Concert. Maybe because the last concert I went to was the Black Crowes back in November of 2007. Or maybe because it's the only TV I watch these days. Or possibly because it's Justin's favorite and only following that he has. He wakes up every morning and after naps asking for the "Woo-woo". I have to put it off as long as I can before he gets to watch his 25 minutes of TV. I mistakenly got a CD of songs and we have to listen to it every time we get in the car. So Derek, Justin, and I were on the 15th row at Toyota Center Sunday evening.

On each seat was a pamphlet of Wiggles paraphernalia and stickers for the kids to play with until the show started. Brilliant thinking, as this kept Justin busy until the show began. He did notice the other kids' hats, toys, etc. that their parents were guiltily buying them. But I don't think he realized that if he was a year older than he would know to be asking for it to. Only human nature.

When the concert first started, he looked very alarmed at that he might cry when he saw the clowns with the whistles in the pitch black dark. Then he had a very serious face for the first few songs. Eventually he got into the hand motions. Since we were on the floor, he had to either stand on one our laps or sit on Derek's shoulders in order to see past other kids standing up. I only took my old Sony camera since it was small and easy to transport. So these pictures aren't that great. Here's the fab foursome singing "Big Red Car". They had a few bloopers during the conert, and the adults laughed at the men laughing at themselves. Greg (yellow Wiggle) was replaced by a look-alike named Sam, whose accent was just as good. Anthony was the most entertaining of the four - he was laughing the entire show.
Mommy and Justin at the end of the last song. He was about ready to go after 1.5 hours of fun. Though when the lights turned on he wanted to stay and wave at the Wiggles for awhile.


A quick video of Justin during one of his favorite songs. I had to pry his fingers out of his mouth (still teething) to do the motions. He loves to mimic the Wiggles by putting his index fingers in the air, like those crazy Tech fans. All and all, a very fun night for the three of us.

A few more

Last of the beach pix, I promise. My cousin Ginger has been taking a photography course and knows more about the Canon Rebel XTi than I do. She had a zoom lens and was taking some great shots of Justin. For some reason, I packed a whole suitcase full of clothes. I realized one afternoon that my child was running around in a diaper for all these pix. Oh well - might as well get him comfortable in his own skin.

All I have to say is nice hammock, Morby fam. The holes between the cords doesn't hold Justin in, and truly isn't comfortable for me either.

Looking at boats with Papa Snuf. His body is slowly starting to look like a toddler from the back. I'm going to miss those rubber band arms and doughboy appearance when it finally disappears.

Crazy hair with a zombie expression

Looking at the boats again

Thanks, Gingi, for the pix! It's nice to have someone else take a few for me for a change. If you're getting annoyed with all the pix I post with each blog, then too bad. No one twisted your arm to read this, and if you even remotely know me, then you know that my camera is another appendage to my body. :-)

More beach pictures

Valerie & Ginger were at the beachhouse for 24 hours and met the Smith clan at Shrimp & Stuff for lunch. Great place where everything but the coleslaw is fried.All four dogs: Roxy, Grace, Putter, & Snickers
Kaki making her beer battered-pickles which were fantastic with the spicy ranch we were dipping them in
Uncle Shane horsing around with Justin

I liked the lighting in this one, though it's a little grainy. Still playing around with no flash indoors. Still a good pic of Aunt Kaki and her favorite nephew
Family photo - like the little boy with his entire hand crammed in his mouth? Bring on those last set of molars.... We had just had dinner at Waterman's on the bay in Galveston. Great food, especially since we don't eat out much at the beach.

Me with my favorite boys