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.