his softer side

this batcave- playing boy is usually occupied with 'bad guys' and superheros.  and let me tell you, the bad guys are the baddest in 'the whole wide world'!  and no one is excluded from being tagged with good guy or bad guy status- even heavenly beings.
however, this villian-obsessed boy is quite comfortable with his cuddly interior.  he runs to my lap (or his aunt's) the second it's free, loves sentimental books, and falls asleep with a chef's hat on and a barbie computer nearby.

school schmool

stover mom is spending the remaining 12 days until school starts putting on a good face for stover girl but fretting in secret every night.  will she be crying in the lunchroom when she can't open her fruit snacks?*  will she come to me for answers about the real life i've sheltered her from?  how long do i have before she loses my favorite mispronunciations- thlumb (thumb), hide n see (hide n seek), somesing (something), and castigator (calculator) to name a few?

and of course the nagging worries about life according to a school calendar:
will we see extended family as much as we'd like to? how much insanity will result from a 7:30 AM start time? will she and her brother still be buddies? will she still have enough time to play? (the racing with a good friend til you're red in the face with an occasional coloring break kind of play)

*some reassurance came this week when she learned how to put her hair in a ponytail; however, further reassuring comments welcome!

'dad the silly'

stover dad has earned his nickname for a variety of reasons.... here's one:

(his solution to an argument over the candyland figurines)

images from the week

an introduction to skateboarding.

using any and all means to get sleep!

licking sour cream from the carton.

(stover girl prefers the mayo)

MORE beating the heat

(thank you fellow moms for introducing me to slow melt popsicles)

a baby in a bumbo

buying school uniforms

two early birds get the worm

grandpa took stover kids on their first fishing trip.  as a kid, stover mom also went on fishing trips with said grandpa but her fishing trips were much different. 

stover mom enjoyed the process of fishing but had a huge aversion to worms.  (a vivid memory of her childhood is being carried across a wet driveway littered with the little critters!)  in a very prim and prudish manner, the only real function she would perform was holding and reeling the rod while her dad attended to the rest.  (it should be noted that her other very important function was to serve as the 'good luck charm' for her father.)

stover girl proved to be a bit more authentic- jumping in with amazing worm comfortability.  in fact, the worms were the main attraction.  stover girl had them slithering up and down the dock and she swung them around in circles singing 'rollercoaster, rollercoaster'. 

(mom has still never touched a worm)

the other early bird was also extremely comfortable with the worms.  about a half hour into the fishing trip, stover boy exclaimed, 'mine broke'.  his 'broke' at least a dozen times after that.  see 'broken' worm below.

growth spurt

i'm not talking about the fact that she's already sporting 3-6 mos. clothing (wearing a size ahead is unheard of in this house- excluding mom of course!) instead, i'm referring to her instant bud in development upon return.  now away from total overstimulation (who wouldn't be with all the fun at grandma's house?*), she gives eye contact again and instant smiles, her giggle that was first given to grandpa is heard more often, and she coos constantly!  she even rolled over yesterday!
 

*all the fun at grandma's pictures:

(besides sparklers, grandpa had the kids standing in line to light their firework of choice)

(stover boy was scaired that dad wasn't coming back)

(with his 80's lifejacket, stover boy could've easily been mistaken for stover dad back in the day)

(all of the family enjoying a lazy fourth at the 'ocean')

(playing at the park in 80% humidity is almost as uncomfortable as playing in 115 degree heat)

(an activity inspired by their favorite movie: let's go fly a kite)

(stover girl's only request for the trip)

(a brother and sister catch-up on the road)

for the love of... stores

while talking in the car with stover boy he mentioned AGAIN that for his next birthday party he wanted a diego-themed party. tangentially, he added, "and stover girl will have an alicia party and dad will have a cars party."  i couldn't help but be curious about what he thought my party of choice would be so i dared ask 'what about mom- what will mom have for a party?'  without hesitation he replied, "you'll have a store party."

...oh the misunderstood mother whose children believe that her sincere interests lie in errands escapades to acquire toilet paper and milk!