Can't Get Enough

There's no denying I am raising future Momma's Boys.  I mean, I adore them.  Adore them.  It's fun to be girly with Isabella, talk boys, Twilight, music.  But there is nothing like the love a Momma has for her Little Man.  And I get two of them.  We should all start praying for their future wives now.

Too bad I can't post 95% of the pix I take during Bathtime.

Once again, I turn my back for one minute...

Super-cool dance move

He's trying to flash the Peace sign,

but instead it looks like he's sniffing his fingers.

Love Him

Love Him Forever

Him, on the other hand, is running around with a pink guitar.

Yeah, I know.  Cuter than cute.

Oh, the places you'll go...

Little Drummer Boy

Ryan and I have been sick all week, and are slowly coming around.  I have no less than three posts already started, but never finished.  I know.  I suck.

So as I try to get my computer ducks in a row during Ryan's nap time this afternoon, here's a quickie post.

The boys and I just got back from Ms. Kari's house - a playdate to celebrate lil' Nathan's third birthday this week.  Nathan received a *real* kid's drum set from grandma (of course!).  Being a lingerer pays off when it comes to playdates, and Sean got his chance to bang a gong!

You'll note that he is still in his pajamas.  His Batman pajamas with detachable cape.  I have a love/hate relationship with these things.

My future rock star.

Or, at least, Boy Band star.

I love little Nathan in the background,

totally looking like his Momma!

Halloween #1 - Main Street!

I know, only a full week late!  I blame small children, it's my favorite card to play.

We began Halloween week with a Playgroup Halloween party at Anastasia's house, but we took not one picture!  So imagine it in your mind.

On Friday, I wasn't sure we were going to make it to Trick or Treating on Main Street, as it had poured every single day that week, including that morning.  But luckily, my dear friend Kari told me what a loser I would be if I didn't bring the boys out, so we got ourselves together at the last minute.  And I'm so glad, the skies opened up, and it ended being the perfect Fall day!  Main Street is already awesome, oozing with charm and character.  It was damp, cool, leaves falling everywhere, with swarms of ghouls, goblins, witches, super heros, princesses and the like.  It was So Halloween!

We ran into friends as we begged for candy from the local merchants.  And a week later, I barely remember how we all wanted to kill our children.  I believe Baby Taz was the *only* one who didn't have some form of a meltdown.

Peter Pan and Dash getting ready to fill their buckets!

Tinkerbell

Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Dash & Baby Jack-Jack

I took no less than 20 photos of the four of them.

This was the *only* one where they are all facing forward.  =)

I love that Kari actually owns these pants.

As pants, not a Halloween costume.

Sean Thinks He Can Dance

We love "So You Think You Can Dance" at our house. But Sean may love it more than any of this.

This isn't *the best* he's ever done, but it is the first time I've gotten Sean on video trying to copy the dancers. Next time, we'll make sure he's not wearing jammas that are obviously too big for him! He's the coolest, I just gotta say. Watch towards the end, he crosses his arms in front of him like a badass.

Not without my Sugar!

Last weekend, Isabella spent the night with some girlfriends for a birthday party/sleepover, and the boys, Trey and I took in a local church picnic. Seriously, some of the most fun you can have! Good eats, families, music, carnival rides. We ran into a few people we knew, and managed to avoid the storms that hit throughout the weekend. Even more exciting? We not only got Mr. ScaredyPants on some rides, but he fell in love.

Everyone, I would like you to meet Sean's new pet horse, Sugar.

Trey helping Sean hold onto Sugar.

Sugar is the bestest horse ever!

When we could get Sean off of the coolest horse ever,

he chose to go cruisin' in these sweet green & gold sparkly wheels.

It took Sean a good week to get over Sugar, not understanding why The Coolest Horse Ever wasn't still at the church when we would drive by Joachim & Ann. But I'm sure in time...

But Sean wasn't the only one who had a good time. Though Ryan couldn't ride anything, he totally loved all the lights and sounds. And even though I really should have chosen just one of these three pics, take a look at my Piglet below. Look at that personality beaming out of that little 9 month old baby!

You're going to steal hearts someday, my little one!

Momma loves you so much!

My Easy Rider

When Sean turned 3 in May, he got a brand new bike! And then never rode it. At all, wouldn't even sit on it, to the point where I thought "Why do I ever buy this kid anything for his birthday?" His 1st and 2nd birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy have already been sold on Craigslist.

He did like to run around in his Lightening McQueen bike helmet and knee pads, but he was more interested in modeling them than breaking them in.

Sean, aka Mr. Blue Steal, back in May

Well, to my complete and total surprise, two weeks ago, Sean not only decided to take the safety gear beyond mere accessories, but decided he wanted to ride his bike! I am so proud of my Little Guy!

The big guy getting help from Daddy.

Notice Sophie getting completely ignored as usual.

My biker boy, sporting a mean tat from Sports Clips.

Look out, X Games 2022, Sean's bringin' some mad skillz!

Who is this Little Man in my house?

While I've been non-blogging, my baby is growing up. Fast! I'm referring to my first born, Mr. Sean. AKA Lil' Boo. AKA Little Man.

Sean is growing like CRAZY! He is as tall as my hips, talks like a little boy rather than a baby, tells jokes (badly). He knows all his colors, shapes, most of his letters, can spell his name, and is getting better at his numbers. He asks a million and one questions a day (OK, I actually hate this, but I know it's a good thing.) And my favorite, dances like a madman! He's seen a few episodes of So You Think You Can Dance. And he thinks he can! (And, um, he actually can!)

Flyboy Sean, mid-back spin. He's got some mad dance skillz!

Oh, and we're peeing on the potty. =)

Yessirree, a week after I decided to stop talking about it, and give it a rest for a month, Sean decided he wanted to be a big boy and he *stands* and pees in the potty, just like Dad does. Not to sound perverted, but it's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Now, the #2 duty is nowhere on the horizon, and I'm hoping he figures that out by the time he moves out of the house. So he still wants to wear diapers, not big boy underwear or even Pull Ups. He's had few accidents, and most of those were out of indifference. I don't love this trait in my son, something that he's shown ever since he was a baby. Remember how he didn't walk until 17 months? It wasn't because he couldn't do it. It was because he was like "Meh. I'll do later." So we still have a long road to go before he's 100% potty trained, but at least I know we're on the road!

And I cannot tell you enough. I have a gorgeous son. I mean, he's just flat out beautiful. I know I'm his mom, but seriously, he is going to be that little boy that all the girls are googoo-gaga over. I'm so in trouble.

Pretty boy, with his big, brown eyes. And goofy grin.

In the meantime, Sean's adjusting to sharing a room with his brother. They're doing great, though Sean's waking up a good hour and a half before he used to, and not making up for that with an afternoon nap. (Lots and lots of whiny, cranky 3 year old this past week. Ick.) And I've tried to let him sleep in, and just get Ryan up, but this picture shows what I am now walking into at the crack of dawn.

My boys. Two peas in a pod.

Needless to say, these boys love each other to death, and Sean is just the *best* big brother. Until he rams Ryan over at full speed. Or my favorite - he knocks him down, Ryan starts crying and Sean starts shushing him to be quiet so Momma won't come in. I know eventually I will have to pad all the walls like an asylum and replace all my household goods with rubber and plastic. But at least my boys will be close!

Happy Birthday, America!

We had a pretty fabulous 4th of July weekend. And in some ways it started the weekend before, when my best friend from college, Kimberly, got into St. Louis with her husband Charlie. She moved to Dallas six years ago, and we rarely get to see each other. But there's more to our story than just that, as Kimberly is responsible for my marriage. You see, Kim and Trey are cousins - well, second cousins, but I've learned that in the Latta family, damn near everyone is a cousin in some way. Trey's dad, OC, aka Poppa Latta, is first cousins to Kimberly's mom, Momma Becky. So not only is Kimberly my best friend of 15 years, but she's family!

Thames & KimKim

Let's be clear, I love this woman!

Anyhoo, Trey and I met up with Kim and Charlie last Saturday, went out for drinks and a little gambling. Much alcohol was consumed. Then on Tuesday, Kim and I met up with some old co-workers - yes, we not only are best friends and family, we also worked together back at Knights! We met Beth, Cathy and Jeffrey out at the Trainwreck, and Oh Lord, I was in stitches the entire time. I forgot what a riotous crew we are when we're together! Kimberly has a picture of all of us.

So Thursday we made our way to Hannibal, where Nana Roxy was cooking up a good, old fashioned southern fried chicken dinner, complete with every fixin' you can think of, for Momma Becky and Charlie's birthdays. My arteries were reeling, but my mouth was so happy! And it was the first time Kimberly got to meet Ryan, and the first time in almost two years she saw Sean.

On Friday, Mandy and Nick, along with Baby AddieCakes and Nick's parents were in town, so we hung out at Poppa Latta's house, eating like gluttons, swimming, and letting the cousins play and get to know each other. And Friday evening, we headed out for my first Hannibal Cavemen baseball game - Hannibal now has a collegiate league, and while they lost, we had a really good time dodging the rain, telling stories and watching some great fireworks when the game was over. There was a wee bit of drinking here, too.

Addie, in the hands of a bad influence, Terry.

But the big day was Saturday - not only Independence Day, but also Ryan turned seven months old! Miss Isabella was in the parade, so we convened once again, this time on the streets of Hannibal to watch what was a really great, small town, holiday parade. Beauty queens waving from the tops of convertibles, old time cars, candy in the streets, Red, White & Blue flags waving from little kids' hands. Yes, it was Americana wrapped up in a little package!

Daddy & Sean

This picture is just too precious to me!

Izzy B, our own Miss America

Aunt Mandy and Baby Addison enjoy the festivities

After the parade, though, Trey and I packed up the boys and headed home, because we have learned over the years that the best place to be on the 4th of July is our house. We must have some pretty rich neighbors, because quite a few of them shoot off hundreds (maybe thousands?) of dollars worth of fireworks, and St. Charles County becomes aglow for hours. If you can stand the thick, sulfur-laden smoke that blankets the air, the best seat in the house is in our driveway, where we hang out with the Blake's for a night of drinking and explosives. Plus, it gave us an excuse to break in that new piece of street right in front of our driveway.

Unfortunately, this year, the rain moved in just as it was getting started, and everyone started shooting everything they had at once, and only the diehards kept going long after it started pouring. But Trey and Sean and I opted to snuggle in on the couch for some popcorn and Sean's new favorite movie, Ice Age. (Yay, no more Annie!)

Sean and his girlfriend, Emma

Here's a little video that I took, right before the rain hit. The video does not quite capture the awesomeness, but you do kind of get the war-zone feel of the evening.

So what did we do Sunday? Not much. Of anything. Oh, Trey got his panties in a wad about getting stuff done, but I smacked him around a bit and told him to do something he rarely does....Relax! We still got quite a bit around-the-house stuff done, but nothing was pressing, we didn't have to go anywhere, and we had the Blake's back over for an incredible BBQ. Man, Trey can cook a rib like nobody's business! And the lemon water and salad helped me push through that food baby I'd started to grow those few days in Hannibal. :-)

Checkout the rest of the photos from the weekend!

Good Morning to You!

Just a quick post, as I'm downloading all this past week's photos off the camera and iPhone. Here's one from Thursday morning, 7am, bright and early, my boys.

Pretty sure Sean is flipping me off.

BTW, I'm slowly working on moving the blog over to WordPress. There are a myriad of reasons, the least of which being that I hate Blogger, but one big reason is that WordPress has an iPhone app, which means I'd be able to snap a quick photo, and post it to the blog in a jiffy. Those of you on Facebook already reap the benefits of my Facebook iPhone app, as I can easily throw up cute pics of my boys during the day without having to stop what I'm doing to fight with Blogger for an hour. Of course, some days I get lots of work done on the transition, but most days, I just think about how much I'd like to get done. Such is life as a Stay Home Mom with two lil' ones.

Singin' a New Tune

I love making up songs and singing them with Sean. He and Ryan each have their own "Lullaby" song, there's a naptime song, etc.

So today, when I put Ryan down for his afternoon nap - which is the signal to Sean that it's his "Quiet Time," Sean put up a fight, and this is what ensued.

Mom: Sean, what movie do you want to watch in Mom's room for Quiet Time.

Sean: No, I don't want to do that!

Mom: Well, it's Quiet Time, so you can play quietly in your room, or watch a movie in Mom's room. It's your choice.

Sean: (grunts Very loudly, and then starts singing in his own made-up tune)

"My Mom is craaaa-zy!

She says it's qui-et time, but it's noooo-t!

I wan-na play a gaaame,

And that's not a prooo-blem!"

I'll let you know when the Greatest Hits album is released!

A Birthday Kind of Weekend

You should all know by now that April and May are crazy for us.  It's Birthday Central for the Latta family - at least 2/3 of ALL of our family was born in these two months!  And with accommodating Isabella's mom's family, we frequently have to rearrange weekends and celebrate birthdays and holiday unconventionally - such is life, we've learned to roll!

So this year, in order to have a cool shindig for both Sean and Isabella, we did a combo party!  Could have been a disaster and mass chaos, but instead it was awesome, and I owe it all to our awesome kids!  Sean and Isabella loved partying together, no one got upset, no one begged for more spotlight time, they loved helping each other out.  Most of that comes from the incredible big sister, Isabella!

How do you celebrate a 10 year old girl and a three year old boy?  With a Fiesta, of course!  Our guests this year were Grammy, Poppa Latta & Roxy, Grandma Fran & Papa Z, Grandpa Phil & Oma Annie; Aunt Jessica came in from Memphis; our neighbors, The Blakes (sans a sick Joe); Isabella's friend Kirsten; and our good friends, The Caylors.  

FIESTA!

Grandma & Papa Z

GiGi & Baby Ryan

Oma Annie & Baby Ryan

Baby Amerra's getting so big!

We chowed down on yummy BBQ & Fiesta fare!

Poppa, you have a little chili pepper on your face.  =)

The Buffet Line

Birthday Girl Isabella

Ms. Hope

Sean & Kirsten

The kiddos opened their many presents - we have such amazing friends and family!  Thank you ALL for being a part of such a fun and wonderful day!

Lil brother & Big sister helping each other out!

SMILE!

Sean's new favorite noise maker!

Isabella got a new American Girl doll from Grammy!

New bikes from Mom & Dad!

Then we headed outside to beat up on a defenseless pinata - of which I took not one single photo, apparently!  I did, however, nab some great photos of Isabella taking advantage of her sleeping Poppa!  Everyone needs a nice Mani every once in awhile!

Which is his best color?

And then we dug into some great birthday cake and ice cream!

"Happy Birthday to You!"

Aunt Jess

Sean would like you to SEE how great his cake is!

Ryan getting his first taste of cake & icing!

Hope, Isabella, Kirsten & Emma