Super Brothers

I am Super Tommy! I am fast and strong! Watch out, bad guys! I am SO super!
Brady is Super too. Do you know how we became so Super? Well, Mama made Brady a Super Cape, and then Grandma made me one!

You never saw such a cool pair of Super Brothers. Never! Gotta go save the day now! Bye!

Halloween Day!

Happy, happy Halloween! This is the first year I got to choose my own costume and I had such a hard time deciding. I wanted to be a frog, then a crocodile, but in the end I went with...
Peter Pan! Don't I look awesome! I even have a dagger to put in my belt! Of course that was on Saturday and Sunday. Today I was Spiderman at Brady's school and I don't know about tonight yet. Too many choices!

I think my favorite part of Halloween is the pumpkins. See what we made last week? Well, Daddy made most of them. Daddy's is a pirate. Mama's is a sleepy monster. Brady's is a spooky one with sharp teeth. And mine is the little one with big, huge eyes--it's a skeleton!

This is Audrey's. It's Spookley. (Spookley the Square Pumpkin is our favorite Halloween movie). Mama made it with melted crayons.

The pumpkins now sit on our porch and every time I walk out the door I just have to stop and check them out. I lift all their lids, pat their heads, and talk to them. I also like to point out which one is mine. Aren't they great?

BOO! Happy Halloween from me and my spooky family!

Family Beach Day

Not very long ago Pop and Yaya and lots of family came to visit. We did lots of things together--parties, dinners, and play time. One of the best things we did was go to the beach.
I really love the beach.

Yaya loves the beach too. She played with me in the sand and talked to me. She loves me a lot.

Pop played with me too. We made sand castles and walked down to the waves together. Pop is my friend.

This is Uncle Greg, Aunt Courtie, and my cousin Barrett. They came to the beach too. Uncle Greg is fun--he makes great faces (which made Brady laugh). Aunt Courtie is so nice and she smiles like sunshine. But, much as I love them, Barrett is my favorite.

He likes the same games I do. We poured sand on his Mama's legs, filled lots of buckets, and just enjoyed each other. He's just about my size and so nice and quiet. Don't get me wrong--I love Brady and his noisy games, but Barrett is just more my speed.

Barrett and I are more than cousins now. We are friends. I want to see him again very soon--Christmas will do, I guess.

The day we had at the beach was perfect. Family, sand, food, and lots of fun. Mama says next time we see Barrett and the others will be at Christmas and we will play in the snow. That sounds pretty good to me. I think I like snow and I know I love my family. Brady says I'll love Christmas too.

So...when is Christmas then?

No Naps, Mama. No.

I still take naps and I don't like it, but I can't seem to help it. If I don't get my nap, I'm a grouch.

I think I'm too big for naps. Brady doesn't take them and I'm big like him. Well, almost. Close enough!

Mama just doesn't see it that way.

Sometimes I sleep in my new bed (It's a bunk bed!) and I'm a very good boy. I stay in my bed when she asks me to, even when I really don't want to. Sometimes I sleep in the car. When Mama has lots to do, I usually get dragged along and catch my nap in my comfy seat.

Okay, I guess I do need a nap, but I wish I didn't. I would love to stay awake and never miss anything fun! Maybe when I'm big like Brady...

Uncle Stu and Aunt Barb

My Uncle Stu lives far away in a place called St. Louis. A few weeks ago we flew on a plane to see him get married to a beautiful princess--my new Aunt Barb.
Stu is really silly (he pokes me a lot) and Barb is fun and pretty. She was so pretty when they got married that I couldn't look at her. I was just too shy.

This is just after they got married. Brady and I ran right up to meet them. Brady wanted to be next to Barb all the time. He has a thing for princesses. I had more fun with Stu, mostly because I know him better and (like I said before) I was shy of pretty Barb.

This is our family. Look at how small Audrey is! She is so much bigger now!

After a few pictures, I tried to escape (it was really, really hot, you know), but Alli snatched me up and took me back for more. Now, I love Alli, but that was just plain mean.

We took a whole bunch more pictures and I made Mama hold me. I was SO done.

But then we got to go cool off and have a big, yummy lunch. And that night there was a big party with cake and toys called Sparklers (I liked mine until it touched my legs and I freaked out).

Well, it was hot and busy and I could have done without all the photos, but I had a good time at Stu and Barb's wedding. Not like Brady. He got sick and had a harder time. And Audrey was just so little, she didn't notice anything and was too young to eat the cake. But I had fun.

Hoooray for Uncle Stu and Aunt Barb!

Hugs and Kisses

I am a big boy--two years old now! But even though I'm big, there are some baby-things that I still like to do.

The biggest one is cuddling.

Every day, when Daddy gets home, I'm the first to hear the garage door and I give Daddy a good hard squeeze.

Daddy's cuddles are good and strong. His arms go all the way around me (twice!) and I feel safe with him.


Mama gives good cuddles too.

I like her lap (Outta my way, Audrey!) and I love her to carry me around so I can give her hugs and kisses whenever I want.

Mama says she likes my cuddles because when I give a hug, I give it with my whole body and when I give a kiss, it's a good hard one.

Hugs and kisses are also my favorite part of bedtime. If Mama and Daddy forget, I always remind them. I even give Brady and Audrey hugs and kisses.

Mama says she hopes I never get too old for cuddles. She wants hugs and kisses from me forever!

You got it, Mama!

Not Feeling Great

Lately, I've been a little sick. All right, a lot sick. How come when everyone at our house gets sick, I get it worst of all?
See, we all got colds, but I got a hot fever, a bad cough, and I still have a little bit of runny nose. Colds make me feel all hot and fuzzy in the head and tired. Yuck.

When Brady got pink-eye, he got over it pretty quick. When I got it, I gave it to Audrey, then I got it again. I'm STILL getting eye drops for it! LAME!

Being sick makes me tired and grumpy. I follow Mama around all day, crying for her to hold me or get me a cold drink.

Once, a few days ago, she was making lunch and I wanted her to hold me. She said she would when she was done cooking lunch, so I curled up on the floor and waited. Mama says I fell asleep waiting. Wow. I must have been pretty sick that day to fall asleep on the kitchen floor! Mama was nice though. She tucked me into bed with a cold drink of juice.

Thank goodness the fever and cough are gone. And my eyes feel better now too. I don't like being sick and I better get all better soon!

I AM Big!

Oh, yeah! I'm THE toddler in the house now.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'm giving up my baby indulgences. I still sleep in my crib and take comfort from my apple juice "Wocky" and my blue blanket. I still want Mama to sing 'Rock-a-bye' to me and cuddle in her lap.

But I AM a big boy. I'm starting Joy School in a few months. I eat my meals at the table and with my own spoon or fingers (I'm not into the whole fork thing).

I like to ask 'why?' and can keep up a pretty silly stream of consciousness almost all the time. I'm friendly, but a little shy. I like to laugh, make other people laugh, and tease Brady.

So, see? I AM a big boy!

And I'm Out of Here!

Yes, it's true. I'm moving on from this Blog. I'm going to start pre-K in a month and with friends, chores, and keeping in constant motion I have to have my own Blog. Come and see me!
See, I'm not a Toddler like Tommy and I'm not a Baby like Audrey. I'm the big brother around here. I'm a big boy--four years old.

So, I officially hand this Blog over to the new Toddler in town...Tommy!

A Funny Collection

Some kids collect cars, or stickers, or even rocks. I collect funny faces. I spend hours in front of the mirror practicing my faces. Mommy loves it. She even teaches me new ones sometimes.
This is my Piggy Face. Pigs have flat noses and silly faces. It's not my best face, but it's pretty good.

This is one I came up with myself, but I haven't named it yet. Scary, right?

This is the first one Mommy taught me. It's the Platypus Face. I'm not as good at it as Mommy is, but I love to do it.

Here is a Fishy Face. Every kid knows this one--it's a classic. I've added the splayed fingers because it makes it more dramatic.

This one is harder and I'm still learning how to do it, but it's my absolute favorite. Mommy taught it to me and she says Grandpa taught it to her. It's really gross when you do it right.

This is the Monster Face. You have to do it with a growling noise or it's not as funny. Tommy can do this one too, but I'm better at it.

The trick to collecting funny faces is practicing and experimenting. You never know what your face can do unless you try different things.

Faces are a great thing to collect. They don't take up any space and you never have to clean them up when you're done. They make people laugh and that's the whole point.

By the way, if you happen to know of any faces I don't have yet, show them to me the next time I see you. I need some more!

Princess Flower

This is all about my baby sister, Audrey Karren Princess Flower Lyle. Isn't that the prettiest name you ever heard? I wanted her name to be Princess Flower Lyle, but Mommy and Daddy insisted on calling her Audrey Karren (in fact, they still seem to think her full name is just Audrey Karren Lyle--boring!)

I'm willing to accept that her short name is Audrey, but the long name I gave her is beautiful...just like her!
See? This is Audrey right after she was born. Check out her belly button. Weird, huh? Daddy says it's an owie, but it will be better soon.

Mommy says Audrey cried a lot when she was born and one of the only things that would calm her down was Daddy singing the Lasso Song. I'm not surprised she likes it so much--it's my all-time favorite too.

Daddy says she also really liked her first bath. The nurses were surprised that she liked it so much, but that's silly. Everyone likes baths.

I loved visiting my new sister in the hospital. She is so pretty and sweet and tiny and amazing. I could stare at her all day.

I love to hold her, kiss her, tickle her belly, and show her all my toys. We are so lucky to get to keep her!

Have you ever seen a prettier baby than my sister Audrey? No, you have not.

The only thing about Audrey that is a little frustrating is that she sleeps all the time. And even when she is awake, she looks and acts sleepy. She doesn't know how to smile or laugh and she doesn't even try to talk. Mommy says she'll do all those things when she gets older.

This is Audrey when she came home from the hospital. She had never been in a car before, but Mommy says she slept the whole way and missed it! I tell you this baby sleeps way too much. Humph!

Still, she is the prettiest, sweetest, bestest baby in the world and she's ALL OURS! Yep, that's my new baby sister--Audrey Karren Princess Flower Lyle.

My Room!

Today Daddy and Mommy decided to fix my room. Well, I guess it's Tommy's room too, but really it's mostly mine.

They took out the two little dressers and brought in a big new one for me and Tommy to share. (Baby Sister gets one of the small ones). They hung lots of pictures, our long train, and ALL my artwork on the walls! Then they brought in our toy chest that looks like a truck--it fit all our toys!
If you look at the picture, you can see the new curtains Mommy made for our room. They keep our room nice and dark while we sleep and then we tie them back with ribbon during the day. Mommy says they aren't quite done yet, though. She's going to put a moon and stars on them so they glow in the dark and keep me safe at night. I like this idea a LOT.

It's a nice room, don't you think? Daddy is very happy about it. He keeps going back to look at it and smile. Mommy likes it too, but I think Tommy and I like it best of all.

When I first saw it all done, I said, "Wow! Oh, I like my room! I love it! I do!"

Now, all that's left to do is see how it looks with our toys all over the floor. Ha ha!

Easter Holiday

Easter is a very interesting Holiday. It's like Christmas because it has two very different stories to tell and both are fun and exciting.
First story is the Easter Bunny. This one is confusing. Don't get me wrong--I love the idea that a big bunny hops around leaving candy-filled eggs for me to find and eat. Who wouldn't like that?

But who is this bunny? Why does he bring everyone candy? And what is a bunny doing with eggs anyway? Weird.

Oh well. I like the Egg Hunt thing and all the jelly beans I got, so I'll just keep my silly questions to myself.

The other story is a better story, even though it doesn't come with candy, baskets, and fuzzy green ears.

Daddy and Mommy told us a story about Easter. When he grew up, Jesus died and his friends were so sad. They buried him in a cave, behind a big round rock. After three days, an Angel moved the rock and Jesus came out alive! All his friends and everyone was so happy! They said "Hooray! Jesus is alive! Happy Easter!"

You can't tell me there's a better story than that.

Daddy even showed us the story. He made a cave out of pillows and blankets. I got to be Jesus and I got in the cave. Daddy covered the door with a BIG pillow (the "rock") and then we all counted to three (I'm so good at counting). Tommy was the angel. He moved the rock and I jumped out. Mommy and Daddy cheered and clapped and said, "Happy Easter!"

I LOVED this game and played it for days and days.

So there you go--one holiday and two stories. It's late for me to say it, but HAPPY EASTER anyway!

Bedtime

Every night it's the same thing. Tommy and I have to go to bed. EVERY NIGHT.

You'd think Mommy and Daddy would shake things up now and then. You know, let us stay up and watch TV with them--that would be nice, just for a change.

So how does bedtime work? Most nights we start with a bath. A bubble bath. That's actually a lot of fun and afterward Tommy and I get to sit by the heater and toast our backs. Mmmmmm.
We cuddle there by the heater until Mommy gets our jammies ready.

These pictures are a little wrong, actually. Usually Tommy and I don't sit next to each other. The heater has two sides and we each take one. I guess we were feeling extra friendly that night.

Once we're dressed all clean and warm, Daddy gets our juices and blankets and soft, little friends (Cuddly Bug, Ducky, Bah, and Pooh in my case. Tommy likes his Bah, pink piggy, Poppy, and his chocolate rabbit (or "raddit"))

The lights go out and Daddy and Mommy come in for family prayers (we take turns saying it--even Tommy gets a turn!) and then Mommy and Daddy sing a song. Then it's kisses and hugs and off to sleep.

And it's always the same. EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.

You know what, though? I wouldn't change a thing.